The damn pain in his knee was ruining this joyful moment.
Marduk was free. Finally. Months of rotting away in that jail cell had felt like long years. Months of planning, of finding Cassadaga, of contacting the crazy, bloodthirsty thief. Of plotting beyond that … towards something more than diabolical.
When the Vatican soldiers and Joe Mason stormed the Amori’s coastal hideout in their search for the remains of Jesus Christ, Marduk’s plan to destroy the Church had come crumbling down. He’d tried, tried to release all the incriminating evidence that painted the saviour Christ himself as actually being a warrior king rather than a gift of love from the Father, but hadn’t quite managed it.
First, because Joe Mason had stopped him. And second, because the Vatican soldiers had overwhelmed their hideout. Marduk had been shot as he tried to release the damning evidence, after first killing and blowing up several members of his own organisation in an attempt to kill Mason and his cronies.
Now, Marduk hurt. He hurt every second of every day. Sometimes the pain helped focus him, put him on the right path. Sometimes it drowned him, filling his mind with nothing but pure hatred and vitriol. Ever since he’d tried to steal the Book of Secrets, his attention had been on the Church. It should be destroyed along with the stain they called Christianity. The Church had more foul secrets than a sewer, and Marduk had nearly outed several of them. Of course, he’d done it all in the service of the Amori, the age-old entity that predated the Church by thousands of years and had helped found Babylon, its ancestral home.
We are the allies of humanity, not its enemies. He repeated the mantra often in his head, convincing himself. Christian scripture was a lie based on lies. But, so far, Marduk had not been able to prove that to anyone outside the Amori.
But where were the Amori now?
Scattered. Blown to the four winds by the devastating attack on their hideout, by the police forces of the world, by Vatican pressure. The Amori had put thousands of years of work into destroying the Vatican – now it seemed quite the opposite had happened.
But how could a benevolent God endure the ghastly trials of humanity? How could He stand by and watch all the pain and suffering? Surely that was proof – there was no God, and millions couldn’t see it.
Marduk realised at that moment that Cassadaga was talking to him.
‘I said … are you okay?’ the thief asked.
Marduk looked down at himself, surprised at the question. ‘Umm, yes. I think so. It’s not my blood.’
Daga smirked. ‘The blood of fools and innocents.’
The car was heading back towards Milan, presumably to pick Ivana up.
‘What’s next?’ Daga asked bluntly.
‘Next?’ Marduk blinked. To him, the answer was obvious and had been for many months and years. In prison, they said his mind was not what it once had been. He’d cracked. Even when he was monarch of the Amori, he’d heard it whispered that some elders believed he’d lost his mind. Of course, they’d tried to oust him – to their total loss.
‘We destroy the Church,’ he said with vehemence.
‘We?’
‘Don’t worry, you will get paid.’
‘You mentioned you were short on funds.’
And Marduk regretted that. During the negotiations with Cassadaga, he’d made the mistake of explaining to him he had enough to cover the cost of the prison break, but would then have to make a new plan to cover further costs. Now, that lapse was coming back to bite him.
‘I need you and any mercenaries we can both buy for a quick job. Remember, I am the leader of the Amori. I know where all the wealth lies. I know where to find what we need, and far more. I can set you up for life, Daga, so that you can … do your thing … for the rest of time without having to worry about funds. Imagine how your legend would grow if you’re doing your thing into your sixties, maybe even seventies.’
He could tell Daga was interested. ‘And how would you do that?’
‘We need mercs willing to go, briefly, to Iraq. And we need ruthless bastards, like yourself and Ivana. People unafraid to kill, no matter the sex or age of the civilian. That’s an imperative. There’s an ancient site we need to uncover.’
Daga concentrated on the road as they hit the outskirts of Milan. ‘Go on.’
‘Do you know the history of the primeval Tower of Babel?’
‘Vaguely.’ Daga shrugged. ‘Something about humans deciding to build a large city with a tower that reached into the heavens in order to get closer to God. The big man thought they were being impudent and then confounded their speech, so they couldn’t understand each other and continue, inventing all the languages we have today, scattering the people across the world.’
Marduk looked over at him. ‘You’re more learned than I thought. Yes, that’s the story behind the Tower of Babel. Any you might also know the supposed site of the tower?’
‘I’m not here for a history lesson,’ Daga growled.
‘It’s Babylon,’ Marduk said quickly. ‘But the whole Tower of Babel thing has been confused with the Etemenanki ziggurat. Etemenanki means the foundation of heaven and earth. It was a ziggurat located in Babylon and the site where the original Amori riches were buried. It’s all there if we can reach it, all there for the taking.’
‘On the site of this ziggurat? Even now?’
‘Of course, it’s very well buried in underground chambers. And we, the Amori, have controlled that region from afar all the time. We can’t stop people going there, but we can influence government interference and the like. If you know the War on Terror, you will remember we even made sure the Americans built a base close by during the war to help safeguard our ancient assets.’
‘I remember,’ Daga said. ‘Camp Alpha. Fanatics say that because America reconquered Babylon, so to speak, it now is Babylon.’
Marduk brushed that away with the sweep of a hand. ‘It is the Amori homeland and always will be. Long before there was Iraq, we were there. Long before there was America, we were there. The Amori and Babylon were born as one.’
Daga said nothing.
Marduk went on. ‘Just as importantly, we will gather the Faithful. They have a role to play in this too.’
Daga frowned. ‘The Faithful?’
‘Those who would die for the Amori. The true believers. We will need their help in the ultimate attack.’
‘You have barely tasted fresh air for thirty minutes,’ Daga said. ‘And yet you are contemplating death and chaos once more.’ He sounded approving.
‘Contemplating?’ Marduk’s face twisted into an unpleasant smile. ‘You are entirely wrong. My plans aren’t about contemplation. They are absolute, and they will come to fruition.’
‘Sure,’ Daga said.
‘You are thinking of my past failures?’ Marduk found it hard to speak the sentence. ‘Those were unfortunate, yes. But I have all my enemies in my sights now, not just the Vatican.’
‘Mason?’ Daga asked.
‘Yes, and his team. And also, Cardinal Vallini. They have thwarted me twice. There will not be a third time.’
Marduk rubbed his knee as a spike in blood pressure increased the pain. The deep ache throbbed. He shifted his weight in the car, but it did no good. ‘And I suffer for my losses,’ he said. ‘Every damn day.’
‘Maybe you should tell me more about this plan,’ Daga said.
And for the first time, Marduk smiled. ‘We’re gonna kill everyone,’ he said gleefully.