Part 41 (2/2)

Then slowly, very slowly, the stalact.i.te-the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon-came to rest, on its side, half-submerged in the wide quicksand lake, just another broken rock formation in a world of broken things.

Thus, the American force left the foothills of the Zagros Mountains with everything they had come for in their grasp: Lily and and the Piece. the Piece.

And somewhere underneath all the wreckage and destruction they left behind-with no possible chance of survival-were Jack West Jr and Pooh Bear.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY.

LUXOR, EGYPT.

19 MARCH, 2006.

THE DAY BEFORE TARTARUS.

MESSE TOWER.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY.

19 MARCH, 2006, 1500 HOURS.

1 DAY BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF TARTARUS.

At the same time as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were cras.h.i.+ng into oblivion, Wizard, Zoe and Fuzzy were being transported via limousine-under armed guard-from the airfield at Frankfurt Military Base into the city of Frankfurt.

After they'd been captured in Rome, Wizard and his team had been taken by Lear jet to Germany. Having been held overnight at the base on the outskirts of Frankfurt, they were now being taken to the headquarters of the European coalition: the Messe Tower in central Frankfurt.

The Messe Tower is one of the tallest skysc.r.a.pers in Europe. It stands fifty storeys high and is known for one singular feature: its peak is a magnificent gla.s.s pyramid. More importantly-but far less well-known-this pyramid has been 'sectioned' horizontally just like the Golden Capstone.

But when a pyramid surmounts a shaft-like column like a tower, it becomes something more again: it becomes an obelisk.

The ultimate symbol of Sun-wors.h.i.+p.

Conspiracy theories abound that the Messe Tower, the Canary Wharf Tower in London, and the old World Financial Center in New York-all built in the shape of giant gla.s.s obelisks-formed a modern triumvirate of 'super-obelisks' built by the two Sun-wors.h.i.+pping cults: the Catholic Church and the Freemasons.

Wizard thought about these theories as he, Zoe and Fuzzy were brought, handcuffed, to the uppermost floor of the Messe Tower.

They stood inside its spectacular pyramid-shaped pinnacle. Its slanting floor-to-ceiling gla.s.s walls revealed a 360-degree view of Frankfurt and its surrounding rivers and forests.

Francisco del Piero was waiting for them.

'Maximilian Epper! My old seminary cla.s.smate. Oh, how the Church lost a great mind when it lost you. It's good to see you again, my old friend.'

'I'm not your friend, Francisco. What is this about?'

'What is this about? What it's What it's always always been about, Max: power. The eternal struggle for one man to rule over another. Call it Europe v America. Call it the Church v the Freemasons. It doesn't matter. It is all one and the same. A ceaseless battle for power that has lasted generations, all of it coming to a head tomorrow, at a once-in-5,000-years event, an event which can grant absolute power: the arrival of the Tartarus Sunspot.' been about, Max: power. The eternal struggle for one man to rule over another. Call it Europe v America. Call it the Church v the Freemasons. It doesn't matter. It is all one and the same. A ceaseless battle for power that has lasted generations, all of it coming to a head tomorrow, at a once-in-5,000-years event, an event which can grant absolute power: the arrival of the Tartarus Sunspot.'

Wizard glanced at Zoe, 'Now you can see why I never went through with becoming a priest.' To del Piero: 'But the Americans have four of the Pieces. You have one, and the last two remain unaccounted for.'

'Max. It is not who holds the Pieces now now that matters, but who holds them when Tartarus arrives,' del Piero said. 'And we will have all the Pieces soon enough. Thanks to your courageous Captain West, we now know that the Tomb of Alexander lies in Luxor-its location to be revealed by the focused rays of the rising Sun s.h.i.+ning through the obelisks at the Luxor Temple. The Americans know this, too. that matters, but who holds them when Tartarus arrives,' del Piero said. 'And we will have all the Pieces soon enough. Thanks to your courageous Captain West, we now know that the Tomb of Alexander lies in Luxor-its location to be revealed by the focused rays of the rising Sun s.h.i.+ning through the obelisks at the Luxor Temple. The Americans know this, too.

'But when they arrive at Luxor, we shall be waiting for them. As I say, it is not who holds the Pieces now that matters, but who holds them when Tartarus arrives. We We shall hold them when Tartarus arrives.' shall hold them when Tartarus arrives.'

'We?' Wizard said.

'Oh yes, I don't believe you've met my young friend and greatest ally...'

Del Piero stepped aside to reveal a small boy, with dark hair,darker eyes and really dark frowning eyebrows. Just in the way he stood and glared at Wizard, the boy had a disconcerting air of superiority about him.

'Max Epper, meet Alexander, son of the Oracle of Siwa, expert in the Language of Thoth and the vessel of Tartarus.'

'h.e.l.lo there,' Wizard said.

The boy said nothing.

Del Piero said, 'He has been groomed since the day he was born-'

'The day you stole him from his mother's arms...'

'He has been groomed since the day he was born for tomorrow's event. His command of Thoth is unrivalled. His understanding of the ceremony unmatched. This boy was born to rule, and I have personally inculcated in him the mindset of the perfect ruler. He is strong, he is firm, he is wise ...and he is uncompromising uncompromising, intolerant of the weak and the foolish.'

'I thought all the greatest rulers governed for for the weak,' Wizard said, 'not over them.' the weak,' Wizard said, 'not over them.'

'Oh, Max, I love your idealism! So n.o.ble yet so fundamentally flawed. How about this theory: the strong rule, the weak get ruled over. Some are born to rule; most are ruled over. After tomorrow, you will be in the latter group.'

Zoe looked at the boy, Alexander. He returned her gaze coldly, without emotion.

'Hey kid,' she said. 'You ever played Splinter Cell in dual-player mode?'

Del Piero frowned, not understanding. But the boy knew what Splinter Cell was.

'It is a game. Games are tools by which we the rulers keep the ma.s.ses entertained and amused,' the boy replied. 'Games are for fools. I do not play games games.'

'Is that right? Some games teach us lessons that we can use in our everyday lives,' Zoe said. 'Have you ever thought about that?'

'I do not have an everyday life.'

'You want to know what I learned from playing Splinter Cell in dual-player mode?'

'Enthral me.'

'It's always nice to know someone's watching your back,' Zoe said. 'My question for you, Alexander, is this: when the going gets tough, who's gonna be watching your your back?' A dismissive nod at del Piero: 'Him?' A disdainful glance at the guards arrayed around the room: 'Them?' back?' A dismissive nod at del Piero: 'Him?' A disdainful glance at the guards arrayed around the room: 'Them?'

<script>