CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

September 29, 12:00 P.M.

Cusco, Peru

ZARA PACED, WATCHING Mustafa work, stewing because her insurance policy had crashed and burned. Waiting for the other two teams in the field to check in only served to increase her anxiety. She assumed her trip to Virginia would simplify the rest of the operation, but the excursion proved a total waste of time. Like years ago in Hong Kong, she planned to stay one step ahead of Cash by manipulating a weak and lustful man. Unfortunately, Owen Washburn confessed his involvement in the disaster to the director before blowing his brains out. She never imagined he had it in him to pull the trigger on anyone, especially himself.

“I have a message from Reza. They encountered some problems in a rural village, but they have everything under control. They followed the targets into Salta and have tracked them to a hotel in the city. They are waiting for them to leave, then they will continue to trail them.”

Zara cringed at the mention of trouble. Argentina appeared to be a simple assignment. The discussion they had eavesdropped on verified the woman’s civilian status. Cash argued against her accompanying the man named Diego, with the Regional Secretariat Office, to Argentina. Diego had the advantage of home turf and local resources, but he should be hampered by the untrained woman. Interpol primarily dealt with information and left the physical tracking of criminals to other agencies. Zara had heard of Diego Vilas before, so she knew he hadn’t always worked behind a desk, but she figured that like Owen Washburn he had probably gone soft.

“Any word from Heinrich and Marabout?” she asked, trying to push Reza and Ahmed out of her mind.

“Nothing, but I think I’m on to something as far as how to unleash the power of the crystals.”

Zara stopped pacing and whirled around to face Mustafa, fire in her eyes. “What is it? Show me now.”

“I conducted several experiments on the objects in your absence. Some didn’t go all that well, but others showed promise.”

“You were not to remove the artifacts from their boxes. I trusted you to protect them.” She pressed a knife to Mustafa’s throat so quickly he didn’t realize what was happening until he felt the cool steel against his skin.

“Wait. The relics are back in the locked chest and none suffered damage. Using the actual artifacts was the only way to accurately test my theories, since I believe the individual shapes and sizes are important and these specific items may contain additional properties not present in commercially available crystal. Crystal is very stable and I did all my experiments on a small scale, so as not to risk harming them in any way. Let me show you what I found.”

Zara lowered the knife, unsure why she had reacted so violently to her long-time trusted colleague. The thought of someone taking her treasures out of the secure holding cases sent a surge of panic through her system. She wasn’t prone to rash actions, and the momentary lapse in control unsettled her.

“Follow me.” Mustafa rubbed the spot on his neck, still tingling from the blade of Zara’s knife as he led the way to a room in the back of the warehouse which once served as a walk-in freezer for storing goods to be distributed throughout the city. “I thought the set up provided an ideal place for testing, since the entire room is so well insulated that noise and fire could be contained, and conditions more easily controlled, without drawing attention from anyone outside the building.”

“What did you find?” Zara demanded impatiently.

“I think you will be pleased with the results of my experiments,” Mustafa replied, struggling to keep the anxiety from his voice. She had always frightened him, but she had become even more unpredictable and dangerous since they began their current mission. Clearly she was in no mood for mistakes, and he feared the consequences if he, or any other member of the team, failed. “After you.” He opened the door and stood aside to let her pass.

Zara scanned the room, speechless with the scene. The walls and ceiling were charred and a substance had melted and begun oozing through the seams between the metal panels. Some of the molasses-colored material had fallen to the floor, but most hung from the ceiling like thin, black stalactites. Whatever had happened in the room had turned the once creamed-colored enamel coating of the walls to shades varying from caramel to coal. Zara shook her head in disbelief and suppressed a smile. She didn’t want Mustafa to suspect she found anything amusing in what he had done and wished she had witnessed the explosion that caused all this damage.

“This is the result of an unsuccessful experiment. I tried what you jokingly suggested, and made a giant cigarette lighter. The high voltage produced as the hammer hit the crystal ignited a tub of flammable fuel as the current jumped the spark gap. Impressive, but not what we’re looking for.”

“Interesting,” Zara muttered.

“Next, I started focusing in on vibrations. In 1917, a student of Pierre Curie used quartz piezoelectricity to detect and generate sound waves in water. Using this theory, I set up an experiment with a fish tank full of water and two crystals. I introduced a sound wave at one end of the tank. The vibrations replicated as they traveled, each one stronger than the previous. I then provided direct light to the first crystal, and the results were even more dramatic.”

“What does this mean?”

Mustafa pointed to a mop and bucket in the corner and a large pile of shards and debris. He relaxed as he realized Zara’s ire had now been replaced by curiosity.

“The aquarium glass shattered with unbelievable force, all from the introduction of a tiny sound wave and light. There is something about the head’s size and shape and quartz’s reaction to light that amplifies the effect. These are not normal reactions. As I suspected, there is an unusual property associated with these unique and complex crystal relics. Maybe the heads need to be arranged in some sort of formation or order and exposed to the right amount of light and stress to keep multiplying the size and strength of the vibrations, until an unfathomable disturbance is created. I’m not sure, short of trial and error, how we’ll be able to ascertain the precise arrangement. That would take time we don’t have. But, I think I’m on to something, so don’t worry. I’ll figure it out.”

Zara never worried. Once they acquired the last three relics, Mustafa would have the mystery solved, or he would be replaced with someone more capable. The effect from his small experiment boggled her mind. She walked to the metal filing cabinet at the opposite end of the room and pried an embedded piece of glass from the front panel. She held it up and shook her head.

“Mustafa, I do believe you are a genius, and quite valuable to me. If I trusted men, I might consider marrying you.” She studied the glass shard held between her fingers.

He didn’t know how to respond. She nearly slit his throat just moments ago, and now she stated he was valuable, which she had never said before. The abrupt change in his worth made him uncomfortable. His lips quivered as he forced himself to nod and smile. “I could only be so lucky,” he replied as he turned and led her out of the room before she could see the fear and revulsion etched on his face.