The Pacific Conspiracy (11 page)

***

Frank stopped to catch his breath. He'd had to go back through the breach in the crater wall and climb to the summit of Mount Agung to get to the helicopter pad.

The sun was just starting to rise as he stepped onto the asphalt surface. He took the last of the food Haji's mother had packed - a handful of rice and meat in a spicy peanut sauce, wrapped in a banana leaf - out of the knapsack and swallowed it in two bites. He was running on adrenaline now.

Frank leaned over the edge of the helicopter pad and looked down. The shed Gina and the others were trapped in was about thirty feet down. He didn't have a rope, and the inside of the crater wall was too sheer to climb. All the ladders ran through each building. The last thing he needed to do was run into Boris right then.

That left the elevator. He couldn't use it even though the car was right in front of him, waiting. The noise would alert everyone. But the rails the elevators ran on - that was another story.

He examined them closely. They were about four feet apart, offering a gap big enough to wedge himself between and shimmy down to the building he wanted. Of course, one slip and he'd end up as lava soup. He didn't want to think about what would happen if someone summoned the elevator while he was climbing down.

Still, what choice did he have? Slinging the knapsack over his shoulders, Frank lowered himself from the edge of the helipad and dangled over the crater below.

He moved his feet around until they banged into one of the elevator support struts. He wrapped his legs around that and shimmied down the strut until he was flush against the crater wall. From there he swung into the gap between the two rails, pressing himself tightly between them.

Then he began climbing down. It took close to half an hour to reach the entrance to the third shed. Grabbing onto one of that building's support struts, he swung himself into the narrow door frame.

Slowly he forced the elevator door open.

Gina was standing there, shock written all over her face. "Frank! How did you get here?"

"It wasn't easy," he admitted. "Where's Joe? And Endang?" There was a door to another room at the end of the shed. He walked past Gina and entered it. It was a bathroom, with the access ladder he'd noticed before running through it.

"You've come to rescue me," Gina said. "Haven't you?"

Frank was a little confused. "This doesn't seem like a prison cell."

"It isn't," Gina responded.

Frank didn't have a good feeling about this situation. What was going on here? Why was Gina acting so strangely? Slowly he turned and found himself facing the barrel of a gun.

"But I'll be happy to show you to a cell in a minute," Gina said, a smile spreading across her face.

***

After an hour of whittling away at his bonds with the piece of crystal from his watch, Joe had managed to free himself and Endang. They were still trapped inside the shed. Then he'd spotted the air ducts in the ceiling and remembered something from the blueprints Forrester had been carrying.

"These run between the buildings," he said. He was able to boost Endang up into the shaft. He watched as she wedged herself in the shaft and began shimmying up. Then she disappeared from sight.

The next thing he heard was a yell of surprise and a loud thump. Then nothing.

A cable shot down from the ventilation shaft.

"Come on up," Endang called down. "The coast is clear."

He pulled himself up into the next building and saw what she was talking about.

Bill was on the floor, out cold. Endang was sitting before a shortwave radio holding a transmitter and frantically twisting knobs.

"This is their communications center," she said. "From here we ought to be able to reach the Network."

She tried for five minutes to get the system working. Nothing.

"Here," Joe said, taking the transmitter from her. "Let me try."

Just then a door at the rear of the structure swung open, and Boris and Gina stepped through, both carrying guns.

"Well, look who's here," Joe said. "Our couple of the month. Mr. and Mrs. Psycho."

"Get away from that transmitter," Gina commanded. "And get your hands up. Both of you."

"There's no need for that," Boris said. "We're just going to kill them, anyway."

He raised his gun and pointed it straight at Joe. "Right now."

***

"I don't think you ever wanted the money," Frank said to Nwali. "Why? What do you hope to accomplish by blowing up half the world?"

"You're mistaken, my friend. I would have taken the money," Nwali said, "if they'd given it to me on my terms." With one hand he held a gun on Frank, and with the other he wheeled the bomb into the elevator.

"But I don't look at the world the same way you do," Nwali continued. "I was born an Indonesian, born into a country held hostage by Dutch colonialists for three centuries. When we finally became independent I saw the almighty Western dollar take us hostage all over again."

He looked at Frank. "I would have taken the money. But what I want most of all is change."

"Destroy a country to change it?" Frank asked. "That makes no sense."

"Sometimes it is the only thing that does make sense," Nwali replied. "Tear something down to start all over again. And Indonesia will not be the only country destroyed by this explosion."

"I've seen Krinski's simulation," Frank said.

Nwali nodded. "Then you know the entire world will be different after today. America, Europe, Africa. No place on earth will escape untouched."

"You're crazy," Frank said. "Millions will die."

"And millions more will be born into a better world. A world without superstitions like the Eka Dasa Rudra. When people believe such foolishness they can never have real power. Like the wayang kulit and the dalang," he said. "In the world of wayang the dalang is king. But outside that world he is just a man."

He shook his head. "My father was a dalang, and the Dutch killed him as easily as you or I would stomp on a bug."

Frank was finally beginning to follow Nwali's twisted logic. He realized there was no way to talk the Assassin out of the decision he'd just made. In a sense, Nwali had been preparing for this moment all his life.

"Now, this," Nwali said, pointing at the bomb, "this is the ultimate truth, the ultimate power."

Nwali pressed a button on the clock, and the display on it changed to read 00:30:00.

"Thirty minutes till it explodes," Nwali said. "Come, Frank." He held the elevator gate open. "Let's take a little ride."

***

The elevator was open on three sides with a rail running around the cage at about waist height. As they descended, moving closer to the bubbling crater below, Frank started to feel nervous. On the climb up the mountain Haji had told him stories about Mount Agung, calling it the abode of the gods. Right now it seemed as though the gods were angry. Agung was churning even more intensely than he had remembered.

"From here it's very simple," Nwali said as they came to a stop. They hung about twenty feet over the crater. "We disconnect the elevator from all other controls by pressing this, then." He held his fingers poised over a button. "By pressing this we detonate explosive charges calculated to send the bomb into the lava at the correct velocity. And the rest, as the professor would have said if he were here" - Nwali smiled - "is history."

"If you do this thing, there will be no history," Frank pleaded. "Do you know how many people are going to die because of this explosion?"

Nwali shrugged. "People die all the time. You have to look at the larger scheme."

There was a sudden jolt as the elevator began moving upward.

"That's impossible," Nwali said. "They know not to interrupt the launch sequence."

Now it was Frank's turn to smile. "In the larger scheme of things," he said, "I think that means that you're alone."

"No," Nwali said, turning toward the control panel. He slammed a button, and the elevator came to a stop. "I won't be stopped now!"

Frank saw his chance. He kicked out, and the gun went sailing out of Nwali's hand and into the bubbling crater below. "Now we're evenly matched," he said.

Nwali turned and smiled at Frank. "Evenly matched?" The terrorist shook his head. "I think not. Twenty-five minutes," he said, reading off the time registered on the bomb's display. "I think you'll last for no more than five minutes."

Frank suddenly realized the man was right. He hadn't slept at all the night before. There was no way he could last more than five minutes, not against a disciplined fighter like Nwali.

Without warning Nwali launched into a series of sidekicks that drove Frank against the cage wall.

Frank stepped forward and swung. He missed, and Nwali followed with a flurry of punches that sent him crashing to the floor. Blood trickled from the side of his mouth.

"Not even five minutes," Nwali said, looming over him. "Pathetic."

Frank looked up at him, gasping for breath. His gaze bore into the Assassin's. "Tell me, Assassin. What would your father think of you if he could see you now? What would he think of what you're trying to do here today?"

"Now you're a psychologist, is that it?" Nwali said, suddenly angry. "Get up. Let's finish this."

Frank struggled to his feet. He knew he looked done, but he wasn't. Not quite yet. He had one good swing left in him.

Frank pretended to sway, and Nwali grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Frank smiled at the man.

"You have nothing to smile about," Nwali said, drawing back his fist.

"That's what you think," Frank said. He swung with everything he had. His right hand connected with Nwali's jaw, and the Assassins' eyes rolled up into his head. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Frank took a deep breath and leaned on the railing, looking out over it into the crater below.

Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought the gods seemed a little less angry than before.

***

Boris had too much of a head start. He was going to get away, Joe realized.

Instead of continuing when he reached the helipad, the Assassin paused at the top of the ladder.

"I'm waiting for you, Hardy," he called down. "Come up without your gun, and I'll fight you." He smiled. "And then I'll throw you right into the crater."

"Tough talk," Joe said.

He scaled the ladder as fast as he could. He wanted to fight Boris, too. He knew it didn't make any sense, but he blamed him for Gina's death. It was easier, he guessed, than blaming himself.

"All right," Joe said once he was within reach of the Assassin. "Step back onto the helipad - "

Boris slammed his foot down hard on Joe's right hand.

His fingers exploded in agony.

"Idiot," the Assassin said. He started climbing back down the ladder, raising his foot again to stomp on Joe's other hand. "Why should I fight you fairly?"

Joe held his right hand to his chest and tried to back down the ladder. But he knew he couldn't go fast enough to get away from Boris.

"Hold it right there," a voice said, "or I'll blow you away."

Boris stopped. Joe looked up to see Haji, the kid who had rented them the motorcycles, standing behind Boris. He was holding a rock up against the Assassin's head. Boris, of course, couldn't see that it was a rock.

Joe forced himself not to smile.

"Don't turn around. Just step back up toward me," Haji said. "That's it, nice and slow."

Joe followed them up and got another surprise.

Two more helicopters were sitting there. One was full of police, who quickly surrounded Boris.

"Look who's here," Endang said, climbing up behind Joe. She pointed to the other helicopter.

The Gray Man and Colonel Mangkupradja stepped out and jogged over to meet them.

"It's all over," the Gray Man said. He took turns shaking their hands. "Good work."

"Not quite," Joe said. "Frank's still down there."

Just then the elevator rose up from below. The gate swung open, and his brother emerged.

"Where's Nwali?" Joe asked.

Frank nodded toward the elevator. "In there, with the bomb." He turned to Mangkupradja and the Gray Man. "You've got about twenty minutes to disarm it."

Mangkupradja nodded. "I can handle that." He barked out a series of orders, and a squad of police immediately formed up around the elevator. Two men in white lab coats climbed out of the same helicopter the Gray Man and the colonel had emerged from, and they entered the elevator.

"They'll take care of it," Mangkupradja assured them all.

"How'd you find us?" Frank asked.

The Gray Man and Mangkupradja pointed to Haji, who smiled.

"The police like to know who's climbing the mountain," Haji said. "I told them some crazy Americans were running around up there."

"Ali and I put those reports together with your disappearance," the Gray Man said to Endang. He shrugged. "It doesn't take a genius to get four when you add two and two."

"It did take some quick decision making to bring the police in," Mangkupradja said. He put an arm around Haji's shoulders. "Let's talk about what line of work you plan to go into."

"Sure," Haji said. The two of them began to walk toward the waiting helicopters. "Do you know anyone in the computer industry?"

"Nice work again, boys," the Gray Man said.

"When are you going to stop calling us boys?" Frank asked.

The Gray Man laughed. "Come with me and we can talk."

Frank followed him.

That left Joe and Endang alone.

"It was great working with you," he said.

"Same here." She smiled. "Look me up the next time you're in Indonesia."

"I will," Joe said. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Joe said. Then Endang turned and walked after Mangkupradja and Haji.

He watched as the police brought up Gina's body and loaded it into one of the copters. He still felt bad about what she'd done to him, but more than anything he felt sorry for her.

He walked after the Gray Man.

"I don't know where your brother went," the Gray Man said, leaning against one of the helicopters. "He was here just a second ago."

"Frank?" Joe looked around but didn't see him anywhere. Finally he spotted him at the top of the crater, looking down the mountain.

"You see that?" he asked Joe as his brother joined him, pointing down the mountain. Far off in the distance there was a splash of vibrant color.

"Yeah," Joe said. "What is it?"

"Temple Besakih," Frank said. "The last day of the Eka Dasa Rudra." He smiled. "The exorcism of evil."

"We did our part," Joe said.

"That we did." Frank clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go home."