Andy McDermott - The Midas Legacy

‘Agreed with whom ?’ demanded Nina.

He gave the tiniest shrug of amusement. ‘That does not concern you. As you have made clear, you are not a member of the Midas Legacy.’

‘It concerns me in every sense of the word,’ she shot back. ‘The Crucibles aren’t yours to sell — and who’s willing to pay ninety million dollars for them in the first place? Especially when they’re giving you sixty million of it in gold. Who would need to make gold if they’ve already got that much going spare?’

‘That’s a very good point,’ said Olivia. ‘I think we need to know all the details before we make any decisions.’

Lonmore exchanged whispered words with his wife, then nodded. ‘Agreed.’

Anastasia was angered, Sarah worried, but Mikkelsson merely gave another little shrug. ‘As you wish. The client is a nation state with which I have dealt on a diplomatic level for some time. In the process of doing so, I made personal connections with senior officials. As soon as the prospect of finding the Midas Cave became a reality — even before you left for Nepal, Nina — I approached them in secret. Given what the Crucibles could provide them with, they were eager to accept my proposal in principle.’

‘ Who was eager to accept?’ said Nina.

Mikkelsson fixed her with an unblinking stare. ‘North Korea.’

There was an uncomfortable silence, finally broken by Eddie’s disbelieving ‘ What? ’

‘You made a deal with North Korea ?’ said Olivia, equally shocked. ‘Are you mad?’

‘Quite the contrary,’ Mikkelsson replied. ‘As I discovered during my negotiation of the nuclear treaty, they have the technical capabilities to make use of the Crucibles, as well as the urgent desire to obtain what they can produce.’

‘But they obviously already have gold if they’re willing to pay us in it,’ said Lonmore, confused.

‘They are not interested in gold. Well, that is not strictly accurate — like any nation, they maintain reserves, though in their case it is to make purchases on the black market rather than to support their currency. But the Crucibles can be used to produce something far more valuable. Gold is not the only element they can create by nuclear transmutation. They can also make plutonium.’

Again, the Icelander’s statement was so matter-of-fact that it took a moment to sink in. ‘ Plutonium? ’ Nina said, horrified. ‘You mean they can use it to make nukes ?’

Mikkelsson nodded. ‘I realised long ago that the same process that creates gold from mercury can also create plutonium — in this case, from uranium. North Korea has plentiful reserves of uranium-238. This is non-fissile, so useless for military purposes, but it can be transmuted into plutonium-239. Doing so in a nuclear breeder reactor would produce large amounts of the unwanted contaminant plutonium-240. The Crucibles, however, would create almost entirely pure plutonium-239: “supergrade” plutonium.’

‘You mean weapons-grade,’ said Eddie.

‘Exactly. The more pure the plutonium, the smaller the amount needed to create a nuclear weapon. And the smaller the weapon, the easier it is to mount upon a ballistic missile.’

Nina shook her head, struggling to accept what she was hearing. ‘Did I step into a mirror universe this morning? You’re the UN’s senior nuclear negotiator — your whole job’s supposed to be about stopping countries from building nukes!’

‘I have my reasons,’ Mikkelsson replied, still as calm as ever. ‘But I do not wish to get into a political debate.’ His gaze flicked between the members of the other families. ‘First we must put it to a vote.’

‘I’d think you were joking, but I know you too well,’ said Lonmore. ‘You’re actually serious about this, aren’t you?’

‘I am, yes.’

‘This is lunacy,’ said Olivia. ‘Sheer lunacy! Do you know what would happen if you broke a nuclear arms embargo? Ninety million dollars is no use if you spend the rest of your life in jail!’

‘I know very well what would happen,’ said Mikkelsson. ‘I helped draft the treaty that set the penalties. But the risks are minimal, and I have contingency plans should the sale be exposed.’ He straightened, setting both hands firmly upon the table to either side of the small Crucible. ‘Now. The vote. My proposal is to sell both Crucibles to North Korea, for a total sum of ninety million US dollars. All in favour?’

Anastasia and Sarah raised their hands. There was a marked lack of movement from the others. ‘I see,’ he said. ‘All against?’

Lonmore hesitantly lifted his hand, followed by Petra. Still standing with Nina, Olivia raised hers more firmly. ‘The motion is defeated,’ she said. ‘Thankfully.’

Mikkelsson shook his head slowly. ‘That is most disappointing,’ he said. ‘Of all people, Olivia, I thought your greed would lead you to make the right choice.’

‘She did make the right choice,’ said Lonmore. ‘Making a deal with an insane dictatorship? You must be mad yourself, Fenrir! How could you possibly think we’d go along with it?’

‘I had sincerely hoped you might,’ he replied, ‘but I suspected you would not. Which is why I prepared for this outcome.’

He gestured to De Klerx — and the Dutchman advanced, drawing a gun from inside his jacket.

‘Shit!’ Eddie gasped, hurriedly moving to shield Nina. ‘I fucking knew it!’

‘What the hell are you doing?’ gasped Lonmore, jumping up from his chair. Petra squealed in fear, grabbing his hand. Behind them, Spencer half rose from his own seat before freezing as the muzzle flicked towards him.

‘The Legacy has lost its ability to function,’ said Mikkelsson, standing. Sarah looked on with apprehension; Anastasia with anticipation. ‘It has lost its purpose . If it cannot fulfil its purpose, then it must be replaced.’

‘Fenrir, please!’ cried Lonmore, wide-eyed. ‘We — we can talk about this, we can reconsider! We’ll take another vote!’

‘You have already cast your ballots,’ the Icelander said. ‘Now we will cast our bullets.’

‘No, wait—’

Another gesture — and De Klerx opened fire.

The first rounds tore bloodily into Lonmore’s chest. Petra screamed and tried to run, but only made a single step before another rapid-fire fusillade cut her down. Behind them, Spencer leapt from his chair and sprinted in panic across the room—

De Klerx tracked him. A couple of bullets narrowly missed the running man, one of the panoramic windows exploding — but another hit him in the shoulder, shattering bone. Overcome by blind agony, Spencer collided with a chair and fell to the floor. De Klerx rounded the table and closed on him. Before the young man could recover, a last bullet hit him in the side of his head, an exit wound bursting open on the other side of his skull and spraying its contents across the pale wood floor.

Eddie saw that the gun’s slide had locked back: the magazine was empty. ‘Nina, run!’ he yelled, but the Dutchman was already replacing it with a new mag from the strap of his shoulder holster and bringing his weapon to bear.

Nina, Eddie and Olivia froze by the fountain. An ice-spiked wind blew in through the broken window as De Klerx looked to Mikkelsson for instructions. ‘What are you waiting for?’ the Icelander snapped. ‘Shoot them!’

The Dutchman glanced at Anastasia, who smiled, then back at his targets—

Nina stamped on a metal pedal.

The fountain gushed into life, boiling water erupting from the model volcano — and instantly producing a blinding, choking cloud of steam as it hit the freezing air from outside. The gusting wind swept it across the lounge, swallowing De Klerx.