The 13th Tablet (39 page)

Jack and Mina went dead silent.

‘Mina? You still there? Jack? You need to contact the appropriate authorities
right now
. You both need get out of there with your family. There's no way of knowing what's going to happen and how safe you are in Thailand,' Daniel said. He had obviously been thinking of nothing else since realising his mistake.

‘I understand,' said Jack, ‘but are you sure this time?'

‘Yes, one hundred percent.'

‘The problem, Daniel,' said Jack, ‘is that we still don't know exactly
what
is about to happen, nor where exactly it will hit. That means I'm not sure who to contact.'

‘But something is going to happen; think of everything you've gone through, Wheatley, Shobai's people scouting for this tablet through the ages… it must mean something! It must be for real!'

Jack felt his stomach churn. He had to spring into action. ‘OK Daniel. We won't stick around to find out if it is or isn't,' he answered, ‘we'll get back in touch once we land in the US. We'll try to contact the appropriate authorities.' Jack added, ‘Not that anyone will believe us.'

‘Alright. I'm really sorry about this,' said Daniel.

‘It's not your fault,' answered Jack through clenched teeth, before hanging up the phone.

 

Jack reached for Mina, who was shaking violently. They held each other tightly, then stood up and returned to the restaurant, where Maureen and Jen were wondering what on earth was going on.

‘Mum, Jen, don't freak out. We all need to return to the hotel right away and pack.'

‘Why, what's happened?' asked Jen.

‘I'll explain everything later. Hopefully we'll manage to get flights out tonight, or at the latest tomorrow morning. All you need to know right now, is that something catastrophic is about to happen in this region and we need to get the hell out of here.'

‘Alright Jack,' said his mother, trusting her son instinctively.

They left the restaurant and separated near their hotel. Jack gave his mother and sister a few more instructions and left with Mina to find an internet café. They located one off the main street, next to a shop selling anything and everything from telephone cards to sandals. Mina realised she was still wearing winter shoes. She hadn't even had time to buy sandals. They sat at one of the terminals and Jack starting looking for flights.

‘Who should we contact?' asked Mina.

‘I'm not sure, Mina. We need to work that out.'

‘Why don't you just call your “friend” in the secret service or whoever she is?'

‘I told you. I can't do that,' Jack replied, ‘it would start off a whole snowball effect of questions. Believe me, we're better off staying off their radar. No, we need to figure it out ourselves.'

‘What would be the first point of call in a situation like this? Some sort of Earthquake centre, or Seismic tremors?' asked Mina.

‘I guess, but then again, it's supposed to happen in the Indian Ocean, so maybe we should contact NOAA.'

‘That sounds pretty biblical,' said Mina.

‘N.O.A.A.' said Jack, spelling out each letter, ‘not Noah! It stands for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.'

‘Ah, where are they based?'

‘I'm not sure. Let's look it up online.'

Mina typed the word ‘NOAA' and ‘Indian Ocean' into Google. Lots of results came back, but searching some more, she found their switchboard number in Hawaii.

‘Here's their number,' said Mina.

‘Thanks.'

‘I'll look for flights, while you contact them.'

Jack pulled out his phone and dialled the number in Hawaii.

‘Hi, Major Jack Hillcliff here, US Army. I'd like to speak to your director.'

‘I'm sorry, he's unavailable right now. Can I take a message?' said a man with an irritating nasal voice.

‘It's an emergency, please patch me through.'

‘An emergency? About what?'

‘Listen carefully, man, I'm only going to say this once. A terrible earthquake is about to happen, in the Indian Ocean,' said Jack.

‘Where exactly Sir?' he answered. ‘Why do I always get all the nut jobs out there?' he thought to himself.

‘I don't know,' answered Jack.

‘Well, It's a large area and we've had no readings so far about anything of the kind, Sir. Where are you getting your information from?' asked the man.

‘Who am I speaking to?' asked Jack.

‘I'm Bob Rear, the Centre's secretary.'

‘Right, Bob. The earthquake will occur on the 26th. The source of this information is classified top secret.'

‘Classified, hey. Two days from now? Do you think I'm stupid?' said Bob.

‘No Bob, I don't think you're stupid.'

‘Everybody knows it's impossible to get seismic readings two days ahead of an earthquake. Even if it were possible, we at NOAA would certainly know about it before anyone else, especially if it occurred in the Indian Ocean, and certainly before some dubious Major from the US army.'

‘Now you're being unnecessarily rude,' said Jack.

‘I'm sorry Sir, but I don't have time for crank calls.'

‘This is not a crank call. Christ!' said Jack, losing his calm.

‘Sir, you've seen too many movies! What was your major in College? Conspiracy theories and UFOs?'

Jack turned to Mina. He was fuming.

‘I'm going to kill this guy,' he said.

‘Calm down Jack,' said Mina, ‘what's going on?'

‘Listen,' Jack shouted down the phone, ‘I'm deadly serious. I need to speak to your director, right now!'

The line went dead.

 

‘He cut me off!' Jack said, ‘that asshole of a pen-pusher cut me off.' He re-dialled the number but this time no-one picked up the phone.

‘Will you try again?'

‘I don't know. After all, we're trying to convince scientists, their eyes glued to the most sophisticated seismic detection instruments in the world, that a three thousand year old Mesopotamian tablet has foretold a devastating earthquake in two days time. I can see why they'd think we're crazy.'

‘I guess so,' said Mina.

‘I'll try again, but first we need to get flights out of here pronto!'

Same day. Mumbai, India.

Oberon Wheatley was sitting at his desk, in his brand new offices in Mumbai, reviewing recent operations on his multiscreen, state-of-the-art computers. He smiled to himself, thinking that from the moment he had outsourced his computerised weather forecasting systems to India and to a number of other emerging countries, his company shares had skyrocketed. He had thousands of experts all over the world striving towards one goal, that of updating and calculating every possible change in the weather, even in the most remote regions of the world. His client list kept growing. In some areas, even the military needed his updates. Most weather channels used his systems, indirectly of course. They had no idea how he produced his results. Using his dedicated staff, together with his massively powerful supercomputers, it was certainly not qualitative research, but number crunching beyond what one could dream of. He had brought sweatshops into the modern digital era.

His thoughts drifted as he fantasised about what he could achieve if he recovered the Mesopotamian tablet. With a proper translation and some serious thinking, he'd surely manage to decrypt its untapped knowledge. And once that happened, the sky was the limit! He'd know when natural events would take place, and where. He'd buy up entire regions. The price of land and property would quadruple after a disaster struck nearby. Complex money-spinning schemes kept unfolding before his hungry eyes. He had to get his hands on the tablet at all costs.

 

Wheatley's phone rang. He checked the caller ID, and recognised his secretary's number in New York.

‘Yes, Miss Dawson?' said Oberon.

‘Sir, you have a call from a Mr Wilde. Should I put him through?'

‘Yes please,' he said.

‘Mr Wheatley? Wilde here.'

‘Is this line secure?' asked Oberon.

‘Yes, sir.'

‘What's going on?'

‘We're not sure, but you asked us to listen in on any unusual calls to all major weather centres. It seems that Major Hillcliff just called NOAA in Hawaii from a mobile phone in Phuket, Thailand.'

‘Jack Hillcliff?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘What was the call about?'

‘We're not absolutely sure, as the line was very bad, but it seems he was trying to warn NOAA of a pending emergency, some earthquake, but they didn't take him seriously and finally hung up on him.'

‘I want you to track his mobile phone immediately and find out exactly where he is staying in Phuket. Call Natasha as soon as you have results,' said Oberon, before smashing the phone down in its cradle.

‘Damn!'. He dialled Natasha's number.

‘Yes, sir?'

‘Prepare the jet for Phuket, Thailand. We're leaving right away. Find us a yacht and get me the number of that Bangkok thug I did business with a few years ago.'

‘Do you mean Ong-Tha, the lunatic guy with the cut-up face?'

‘Yes. I'll explain everything when we're in the air. Meet me at the jet in half an hour.'

 

Two hours later. Phuket, Thailand.

Jack was still trying to reach NOAA, but nobody picked up anymore. He had even tried calling from a local phone box, but to no avail.

‘Any luck with booking flights?' he asked Mina.

‘There's nothing before tomorrow, late morning.'

‘OK, let's take them.'

‘Why don't we leave Phuket now and stay overnight in Bangkok?'

‘No, we're better off staying here tonight. Let's go back to the hotel,' said Jack.

 

Mina needed a walk on the beach front. She wanted to hear the sound of the waves hitting the shore, it would help her calm down and gather her thoughts. Jack decided to accompany her and they walked for about an hour.

‘I can't believe it's going to happen so soon,' she said.

‘I know exactly what you mean. Until this evening and since leaving the Bamarts actually, I've felt almost no pressure. We had a decade to prepare and compare our notes with all sorts of specialists, agencies, either to confirm or deny our worst fears.'

‘It just doesn't feel real. I mean, look at this beautiful beach! How can anything change this?'

‘Don't forget that according to your and Daniel's assessment, the earthquake is going to occur somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Thailand may be completely safe.'

‘Then why are we getting on the first flight out of here? Who are you trying to convince, Jack?'

‘I'm not trying to convince anyone. I just don't like taking any chances if I can help it. That's all. Maybe nothing will happen tomorrow, maybe something will, and Thailand will be spared, but either way I'd rather hear about it from a safe distance.'

When they returned to the hotel, Jack left Mina packing her things and stepped out into the warm night air, heading for his mother's bungalow. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. The glass door was smashed open, chairs were upturned and the contents of their suitcases were strewn all over the floor. He looked in the bathroom and in Jen's room, both equally wrecked, but there was nobody to be seen. They had been kidnapped, he knew the signs only too well. Looking around he found a note near the phone. It read, ‘
No police or you no see women again. We call you.
'

 

Jack ran down the beach, back to their bungalow. Mina's suitcase was ready, on their bed, but she wasn't there. He felt his mind was about to explode. ‘It's impossible,' he thought. How could they have also taken Mina, in the few minutes he had been away? He sat on the bed, deflated and motionless for what seemed an eternity then he heard footsteps coming from the porch. He moved noiselessly to the bay window and hid behind the curtains. Someone was entering the room. Just as he was about to strike, Mina spun round to face him.