Part 45 (2/2)
”We have to get there,” Jack said, suddenly standing. ”We have to get there before the deadline.”
”What do you mean?” Julius asked.
”The way I see it, there are two ways this thing can pan out-one, Wizard, Lily, and Zoe get the Pillar and get to Cape Town which means they're going to be arriving in Cape Town with enemies hot on their heels. They'll need us there.”
”And second?”
Jack bit his lip.
”The second option is worse. It's that Wolf gets the Pillar and heads for Cape Town with it. If he sets it in place, that's fine by me-it saves the world for a little longer. But as you've just said, Wolf's CIEF team has been compromised by the j.a.panese Blood Brotherhood. At least one member of his team, this Switchblade, is a traitor-and he doesnot want to see the Pillar set in place at all. He wants to destroy the world, to erase j.a.pan's shame. And if Switchblade is part of Wolf's Cape Town team, then he's going to make sure theydon't successfully lay the Pillar.”
”Which would be very bad,” Lachlan said.
”Endoftheworld bad,” Julius said.
”Yeah,” Jack said. ”So, either way, we have to get to Cape Town, to help Wizard or-and I can't believe I'm going to say this-to help Wolf.”
Julius asked, ”But how do we get to South Africa within four days andnot do it by air?”
Jack gazed out the window.
”There's one man I know who might be able to help us, but we haven't a moment to lose.” He stood up. ”Come on, gentlemen. We're going to Zanzibar.”
NAIROBI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
DECEMBER 13, 2007, 1800 HOURS.
4 DAYS TO SECOND DEADLINE.
THAT EVENING, Jack stood on the tarmac at Nairobi International Airport, about to board a chartered private plane, a little Cessna that he'd paid for wholly in cash, adding a grand to ensure that no questions were asked.
The Kenyan pilot took the money without so much as a blink. Such payments weren't uncommon for people traveling to Zanzibar.
As the twins boarded the plane, Jack remained on the tarmac with Pooh Bear.
”I guess this is it,” he said.
”It's been an honor and a privilege to serve with you, Jack West Jr.,” Pooh Bear said.
”The honor has been mine, my friend.”
”When you see Lily again, please give her my love.”
”I will.”
”I am sorry I cannot go with you from here. But I just can't leave Stretch to-”
”I understand,” Jack said. ”If I could, I'd go with you.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. Then, as if he were struck by a thought, Jack reached down and unstrapped his bulky wrist.w.a.tch. He handed it to Pooh. ”Here. Take this. It has an SOS distress beacon, a GPS locater. If you get in rouble, press the b.u.t.ton and I'll know where you are.”
Pooh Bear took the watch and put it on. ”Thank you.”
Jack regarded Pooh for a moment, then he stepped forward and embraced the Arab tightly.
”Good luck, Zahir.”
”Good luck to you, too, Huntsman.”
And then they separated and Jack watched as Pooh Bear walked purposefully off the runway, and as he stood there by the steps of his plane, Jack wondered if he would ever see his friend again.
ZANZIBAR.
OFF THE COAST OF TANZANIA.
DECEMBER 13, 2007, 2345 HOURS.
4 DAYS TO SECOND DEADLINE.
IT WAS ALMOST midnight when Jack and the twins arrived in Zanzibar in the Cessna.
Zanzibar.
A small island off the east coast of Africa, in the 19th century it had been the haunt of pirates, slave traders, and smugglers-a decadent and lawless hideaway for those with little respect for the law.
In the 21st century, little had changed.
Except for the glitzy waterfront hotels that serviced tourists on their way home from Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar largely retained its centuriesold seaminess: modernday pirates lurked in backalley drinking holes while South African fishermen frequented the many gambling dens and brothels, engaging the services of cutprice African native girls in between blackjack hands. Old pirate caves on the island's ferocious eastern coast were still used.
It was to this ferocious eastern coast that Jack and the twins headed in a c.r.a.ppy old Peugeot rental car, heading for a longabandoned lighthouse on a remote headland.
They pa.s.sed through a barbedwire gate and drove up a long overgrown driveway to the front door of the lighthouse.
Not a soul could be seen anywhere nearby.
”Are you sure about this?” Lachlan asked nervously. He fingered the Glock pistol that Jack had given him.
”I'm sure,” Jack said.
Stopping the car, he got out and walked over to the main door of the lighthouse. The twins followed him, eyeing the waisthigh ring of uncut gra.s.s that encircled the structure's base.
Jack rapped on the door three times.
No answer.
The door did not open.
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