The bowed head lifted and peered at the monitor. Rubbing his eyes, Andrew Jamieson switched on the overhead lamp and looked at his notes trying to recall where he was before the system went down.
'Not that bloody dream again', Andrew muttered.
Andrew had awoken from a reccurring realistic dream, so far removed from his current technological environment that he had to take a moment to readjust to his present situation.
‘Thank God. At last. Maybe now I can finish before the morning shift arrives.’

Before continuing his work, he glanced at the screen of his mobile phone which was running an App he had devised, the UFO/Ghost/Emf detector App, just as a diversion from the monotony of his paid work.
‘No luck', he sighed.
He thought it an ideal time to test it, as there was talk of a ghost seen wandering around the premises at night.
He obviously didn't believe in such things, but if it did exist and approached him, his App would detect and record it, using the camera and magnetic, temperature and barometric pressure sensors on the phone.
Anything for a bit of excitement around here.

Back to reality, as he remembered the sense of urgency that his supervisor had related to him at the start of the shift.
The pace had risen perceptibly in the last twenty-four hours and with the system being down for the last two it wasn’t the best environment for completing a crucial piece of complex software.
Even the experience that comes with ten years as a software contractor, meeting constant deadlines, didn’t dull the rising knot of tension in the pit of his stomach.
It was time for another Omeprazole ulcer tablet.
To cheer him up, he reminded himself of the rate he was on for tonight’s work.
£100 an hour plus time and a half for night shift.
Not bad.
He considered himself fortunate with unemployment rampent in all the EU countries resulting in instability and riots.
But here in Switzerland things were relatvely calm while chaos, terrorism and civil wars erupted round the globe.

Someone had lied to him. It didn’t get any easier in fact it got harder.
At the age of thirty-five and surrounded by people of a younger generation he felt increasingly isolated.
It didn’t help that he was inward looking and although his technical skills had increased over the years his social skills hadn’t.
But that was soon to be all behind him.
His goal was in sight.
This would be his final contract and with the thought of the sun drenched Greek villa of his dreams about to be within his grasp, he now focused on his test notes.

Looking through his test notes he again thought of the differences between this project and the many others he had worked on in the past, in particular the type of data that was required to test his software.
The range of software from his knowledge seemed to encompass all forms of media from Smartphones, Pads, Laptops (all Operating Systems), Mainframes, Databases and all interconnected by all forms of communication.
And at the center was something hidden and highly restricted but noticable by the uniquness of its test software.
He had worked on military and commercial projects including submarines, tanks, simulators, factory control and manufacturing systems through to financial and business software, but the data required here was completely different.
What on earth would finally supply this data?
Because the project had been broken down into hundreds of modules, each team only knew of their piece in the puzzle and of the immediate pieces around them, so Andrew had no idea of the final use of the complete software package.
Was it for military or benign commercial use?
The one recurring reference he had noticed was the name of the installation at the other end of Switzterland, that of CERN. Maybe one day he would have his curiosity satisfied and discover the answer.

His was not the only small island of light in this large inky dark room.
About ten desks to his right and fourteen behind him another pool of light had at its center one of his software team, a young local Swiss boy called Hans Schenk.
The rest of his night shift team; Russell MacIntyre, Franz Steiner, Douglas Crammond and Jane Davidson had each returned to their allocated hotel when the system went down.
Andrew had decided that it was only himself and Hans who were required and should remain in the hope that the system would come back online in time for them to complete the software, which had to be ready and tested by morning.
He would rather be here anyway than at his hotel, situated next to the main Swiss German border post,or Hauptzoll, as tonight was disco night.

‘Come in Georgi, you’re just in time to make your move.’

The small figure of the city pathologist closed the door behind him, as he made straight for the chessboard. ‘At last,’ he said, staring intently at the board. ‘You’ve made your move. Just as well we don’t play strictly by the rules and time our moves or you would have been disqualified a long time ago.’

Yuri shrugged his shoulders. ‘You know that’s not why we play our game. It’s a source of pleasure and a haven from the intolerable pressures of our workloads. If we timed ourselves it would defeat the purpose.’

Georgi knew the Inspector was right but he had to make some excuse, because as soon as he saw the smile on Yuri’s face he suspected the worse and a quick glance at the board had confirmed this. ‘That was quite a move you made, Yuri, I never saw it coming, it’s taken me somewhat by surprise.’

Yuri sighed, the smile disappearing from his face. ‘Yes, Georgi, chess seems to reflect real life sometimes and throws up surprises when you least expect them.’

Georgi sat down, and stared at his friend. ‘You sound a little too philosophical, Yuri, when you should be gloating over the corner you’ve put me in. Is something bothering you?’

Yuri raised his hands. ‘Ah, it’s nothing. Only the usual story. When you’re just starting to get into one case, another lands on your desk.’

Georgi looked surprised. ‘You’ve not been taken off the case of that grotesquely distorted body found yesterday, have you? I’ve just received the results of the toxicology report, and it makes quite interesting reading.’

‘No, that’s just the point. I’ve to continue that investigation, but on top of that they’ve given me another case which is equally important. I’m no juggler. How can I concentrate on one case without the other one suffering.’

Georgi looked sympathetically at his friend. ‘Look, let’s take one case at a time.
First, let me tell you the results of the toxicology report. And after we’ve discussed that you can tell me about your new case, maybe I can help with that one too.’

Yuri leaned back in his chair and let out a deep sigh. ‘Your right of course. One case at a time. Make a bit of headway in one, and then switch to the other.
Keep them both progressing.
That should keep upstairs happy.’ With renewed vigour, Yuri sat upright in his chair. ‘Right! What have you got on that poor creature in your mortuary?’

Georgi opened the file before him. ‘Although I said the results were interesting, I’m not sure what light it will shed on the mysterious facts of this case. But maybe it will make sense to you.’

Yuri’s shoulders slumped slightly at this introduction. ‘OK then, what does it say?

‘Well, my suspicions were right. There was the presence of a hallucinogenic drug in the body. The actual drug was mycoatropine, a form of psychotonic poisoning.’

Yuri smiled at this. ‘Poisoned. That’s good news, we have our cause of death then?’

‘Not exactly, Yuri. The concentrations were not sufficient in this case to be the cause of death.’

‘Well what was the cause then?’

‘I think it was a combination of things. The marks around his head indicate he was wearing some kind of headpiece, just before his death. This almost certainly administered the drug. But it may have also presented something else to him. Something so horrific, that combined with the drug produced the grotesque effects that we saw on his body.’

‘Do you think it may have input other drugs somehow into him that we haven’t detected yet?’

‘No, there are no other drugs involved. The only other things that could have been presented to him, possibly by the headpiece, are visual and audio inputs.’

‘What, you think pictures and sounds killed him! God, they’ll like that one upstairs.’

‘No, not quite. There were also traces of a substance normally used to attach Pads to the skull to enable electrical signals to be efficiently read from or administered to the brain. After a bit of investigation this could mean one of two things, reading signals through ECG or applying current through tDCS, short for transcranial Direct Current Stimulation.’ So, specifically a combination of all these inputs, and possibly more all presented through the headpiece, may have been so horrific as to induce the effects we saw on his body.’

‘Well, I suppose that’s some sort of lead. But it sounds incredible. Is this even possible?’

‘We just have to find this headpiece and we have our cause of death.’ Georgi shifted uncomfortably in his seat. ‘There is one thing that’s totally inexplicable so far, though.’

‘And what’s that then?’ Yuri asked, fearing the answer.

‘The missing parts of his internal organs.’ ‘God, I forgot about that,’ he mused as he put his hands behind his head and tipped backwards in his seat. ‘Right, we’ll leave that for the moment. We have our first lead and that’s just what we need before we can look at the next case.’ Leaning forward he scribbled a few notes in his casebook and then closed the folder, putting it to one side.

Georgi looked relieved at his friend’s positive attitude. ‘Good, now you can tell me about your new case, maybe I can help there as well.’

Yuri moved his head over to his friend and beckoned him to come closer. In a low deliberate voice, as if not wanting to be overheard, he started. ‘I‘m not sure I should be telling you this, but I know if I ask you not to repeat it to anyone, you won’t.’

‘Definitely,’ Georgi reassured him. ‘Whatever you tell me remains a secret.’

‘Good. Now I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of something called a SADE device. Have you?’

Georgi thought hard for a few seconds. ‘SADE. No, I don’t think I’ve heard of such a device. In what context is it used? Is it used in police work or for medical purposes?’

‘No.’ Yuri replied emphatically. ‘In fact its just the opposite. Its used by the military.’

Georgi shook his head. ‘Military. Then no, that’s not in my sphere of interests. So I’m sure I’ve never heard of this device.’

‘You’re just like me then Georgi. Until today I too had never heard of this device and until the breakup of the Soviet Union not many other people also would have been familiar with it.’

Georgi’s curiosity was mounting. ‘Well what is it used for then?’

Yuri smiled at him. ‘Patience, I’ll get to that in a moment. Suffice to say that it’s small enough to be carried about in a suitcase and at the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union, there were about fifty of them in existence. That was then, but recently due to the threat of international terrorist organizations a crackdown was made in security and there was an audit of the SADE devices. The authorities in Moscow were then horrified to find out that only thirty of the devices could be accounted for. Twenty were missing.’

‘Who had them, then?’ Georgi asked impatiently.

‘That was the problem, even after intensive investigations, there were no clues as to their whereabouts, until now that is.’

‘Why, what happened?’

‘The Chief Inspector called me to his office this morning and told me that he had received information that at least two of the missing devices were in Kaliningrad and about to be passed on to terrorists in exchange for a large sum of money.’

‘Why did he pick you to tell this to?’

‘Because of the name of the person who was about to sell them.’

‘Rostov!’ Georgi exclaimed.

‘Yes your right, my old friend Peter Rostov, the arms dealer that I’ve had so many runs in with. That’s why the Chief picked me.’

‘Have you managed to find out anything yet?’

‘Yes, this afternoon I went round with a team to Rostov’s usual haunts. We found him in a warehouse down at the docks.’

‘Did he have the devices?’

‘No, we were too late. Rostov said nothing but a search of the warehouse found indications that the devices had already been passed on to the terrorists and a large sum of money paid to Rostov which we found in a hidden safe along with other documents. It seems that part of the deal was that Rostov would be told where the devices would be taken, so that he could avoid that area when they were used.’

‘What on earth were those devices for then and where were they being taken?’

‘Well the word SADE stands for Small Atomic Detonation Emissions and they were being taken to Greece.’

‘Jesus!’ Georgi gasped. They’re not what I think they are? Are they?’

‘Yes I’m afraid so. They’re nuclear bombs with the same explosive effect as the one dropped at Nagasaki and they’re headed for Greece. But as a precaution , a battalion of Missiles have been deployed to Kaliningrad. And in addittion, due to this information, Greek border controls have been massively stepped up to catch the terrorists who have those lethal weapons. All nation states had quickly responded with a build up of border defences in their own countries. Georgi, in the Grand scheme of things, all sides have now become involved. Whether by design or fate, the world is now effectively at War!’

Anthony Lykourgos couldn’t prevent the small smile of satisfaction from forming on his face as he stood at the international arrivals gate holding a card bearing the name of the Swiss Inspector whom he had been ordered to meet by his superior.
Things seemed to be progressing in the right direction.
The first day of the World Peace and Anti-Terrorist Summit had passed without any trouble and now he was meeting someone who could at last provide him with a breakthrough in the Eleusis murders case.
What a difference from two days ago when nothing seemed to be going right. The burden of solving the murders case, which seemed to be going nowhere and organizing the conference security in the face of terrorist threats, had become unbearable. But that was in the past and now he was looking forward to meeting one of the reasons for his much-improved outlook in life.
He didn’t have much to go on, just a brief description of her.
Age, thirty-four, two years younger than him. Five feet nine inches, quite tall. Slim with short blond hair.
He wondered if she was like him, single and married to the police force. It had been his whole life, up till now. Two days ago, when he was under intense pressure, he suddenly felt alone in the world, with no one to turn to and share his burden with. Maybe it was time to create a life for himself outside the police force before it was too late.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as another group of travelers pushing their case laden trolleys before them, poured through the arrivals gate to be greeted by waves and shouts from the waiting crowd who surged forward to meet them, leaving Anthony hidden at the rear. Holding his card in front of him, Anthony pushed his way gently to the front of the rapidly dispersing mass, as one by one the waiting groups paired with their expected arrivals, until there were just a few stragglers left, of which one in particular caught Anthony’s eye.
Then, there was just the two of them standing there, Anthony with his card held in front of him and her holding a small black suitcase with a light over-coat draped over her arm.
Monika made the first move, extending her hand.
‘Inspector Lykourgos, Athens police?’
Anthony dropped the name card as he quickly rubbed the palm of his hand against the side of his light coloured jacket to remove any traces of sweat before gently grasping her hand and shaking it.
‘Yes. Pleased to meet you. And you are Inspector Monika Weiss of the Swiss police?’
‘Yes, thanks for being so prompt in your reply to my request to come to Athens to track down my murder suspect.
When I received it yesterday, saying you would meet me first thing, it took me by surprise.
I barely had a chance to pack my things. But don’t worry, I’m not complaining, this is the breakthrough I’ve been waiting for over the last seven months.’
He was slightly taken aback at the pale delicateness of her skin, covering the fine sculptured features that proclaimed the most attractive smile he had ever seen.
Her short blond hair was unusual, with a side parting that had her constantly flicking a falling wave of hair from her eyes.
As he offered to take her case, he couldn’t help admiring her outline, slim and elegant in a figure hugging light blue jacket and skirt. And to top it all, she seemed to have a pleasant personality. Anthony had to suddenly check himself.
Why was he thinking like this?
This was serious police business, and here he was admiring a colleague in a way he had never done before.
It was as if he had just awakened from a dream where everything had centered around the police force and suddenly, here he was feeling completely at ease with a stranger.
Composing himself he quickly put all those new thoughts and feelings to the back of his mind, where he would later explore and try to understand them.
Anthony opened the car door, and beckoned Monika to enter.
‘No Miss Weiss, I should be thanking you.
This case of mine was going nowhere until I received your file with the details of the priest’s death and the similarities to my murder victims.
Now I feel I’ve got something concrete to follow up.’

As Anthony started the car and pulled away from the airport, Monika looked at her new colleague.
She had always been wrapped up in her police work, never finding any time to do much outside of that world.
Not even to travel far from Switzerland. Just Germany, as it was on the border with Kreuzlingen.
That was the extent of her travels.
Now, here she was in Greece, sitting next to a charming Mediterranean sun tanned policeman.
She had only known him for five minutes and already she felt at ease with him.
None of the antagonistic attitudes and rivalries she experienced with her colleagues back home.
For a change she was working with a man who wanted to help her and who also wanted her help.
For the first time in a long while she could feel her self relax with the prospect of the nightmare of the last seven months coming to an end, replaced with a new hope of solving her mounting case load, here in Greece.

‘It looks as if working together will be mutually beneficial to both of us Inspector Lykourgos.
From what I’ve heard, both our cases were going nowhere, but now we have a common purpose, find Andrew Jamieson and his girlfriend Helena Miropolous.
They’re the key to solving both cases.’
Anthony nodded as he entered the outskirts of Athens.
‘Yes, two separate incidents.
One in Switzerland, the other in Greece but connected by the unique similarities in the way the victims died.
Plus the fact that the accomplice of your suspect is a Greek citizen who has returned to her hometown of Athens.
I think the first thing we should do after I take you to your hotel, is find out more about our Helena Miropolous at police headquarters on the central computer system.’
‘Yes, I agree, if we find out her background, confirm where she lives, her usual haunts, we can keep a watch on them in hope of catching sight of her.’
Anthony glanced at Monika as he turned into Ermou, a main road in the center of Athens.
‘Do you think they suspect they’ve been trailed here to Athens, Inspector Weiss?’
‘Please Inspector, let’s not be so formal, just call me Monika.’
‘OK. Monika it is.’
‘But no, they could have escaped to any country, so I suspect they have no concrete reason to believe we know they’re here for certain.
Although the fact that Helena Miropolous is from Athens may make them cautious and take precautions to avoid contact with the local police.’
Anthony stopped the car and turned to Monika.
‘Well here we are.
The Hotel Plaka.
It’s got a good reputation and a lovely roof garden with a panoramic view.
As good a place as any to familiarize yourself with central Athens.
Let’s get you checked in and then we can decide our next move.’
Anthony carried Monika’s case as they both entered the reception area.
Signing in, Monika received her keys and turned to him.
‘I’m just going to dump my case in the hotel room and come straight back down.’
‘Don’t you want something to eat first, or freshen up after your journey?’
‘No I’m keen to get started, if you wait here I won’t be a moment.’
‘OK, if that’s what you want it suits me.’

Monika disappeared into the lift, while Anthony sunk into one of the large leather sofas in the lounge area.
Making himself comfortable he started to examine the new thoughts and feelings he had tucked away at the back of his mind earlier, when he had first met Monika.
He could start to feel the beginnings of an impending divorce.
For all of his working life he had been married to the police force. Of course there had been women, but the police force was a demanding marriage and his relationships didn’t last long. Up until recently this hadn’t worried him, but after finding himself alone in his flat in the Veikou district two days ago with the unbearable pressures from work and no one to turn to for comfort and share his burden, he knew it was time for a change. What that change would be, he wasn’t quite sure.
But with Monika entering his life this morning, something had stirred in him making him more resolute than ever to make that change. From her file, he noticed that she too wasn’t married.
Maybe she was just like him, wrapped up in her career, until now. Looking at himself, he wished he had taken more care in his appearance.
His thick black hair could do with a trim and he should have had his light coloured suit cleaned.
He would put it into the cleaners tonight, he thought and pop into the hairdressers for a trim.

‘Ready?’ Monika’s voice broke into his daydream.
Anthony looked up to see Monika’s attractive smile directed at him and felt that stirring yet again deep inside him.
‘Yes, first stop, police headquarters,’ Anthony suggested as he expertly extricated himself from the comfort of his deep sofa and guided Monika to the exit.
Stepping into the bright sunlight, Anthony made for the car and opened the door for Monika.
‘Thank you Inspector. Are all the men so courteous to women here in Athens?’ ‘Of course, it’s our tradition, it would be disrespectful not to be. And like you said, lets not be so formal, just call me Anthony.’
‘OK, Anthony. Where to now?’ Monika asked as they both settled in their seats.
‘Police Headquarters.’ Anthony replied as he pulled the car from its parking spot and joined the passing traffic.
‘This is your first time in Greece, I take it?’
‘This is my first time out of Switzerland, except for the odd cross over into Germany, actually.’
‘Well, let me be your guide.
The area we’re in at the moment, surrounding the Acropolis, is called the Plaka or Old Athens.
It’s like a village within a city and it’s my favourite spot with its tavernas, old houses and narrow winding streets.
If we have time I’d like to show you around, maybe even take you to my favourite taverna for a meal.’
‘Thank you Anthony. I’d like that very much,’ she said, enjoying the attention this charming man was giving her.
What a difference from the hostile attitudes of her male colleagues back home, she thought as she stared up admiringly at the Parthenon, high above her.
‘As you’ll probably know, that’s the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis.’ Anthony offered, noticing her looking up at it.
‘Yes, I’m afraid that’s the full extent of my knowledge of Athens. I’d love to have the time to find out more about it but I suppose our priority is finding our suspects. Maybe after we’ve solved our cases.’
‘Yes, speaking of which, this is Athens Police Headquarters,’ Anthony said, as he drove the car into the compound and stopped in a spare parking slot.
Leading her into the building, he signed her in as a visitor and pinned a pass to her lapel. He then guided her through the maze of corridors to his office, where before entering, he introduced her to his admiring colleagues.
Shutting the door behind them, he pulled up a chair for Monika as they both sat in front of the computer terminal on his desk.

‘Right, what was her name? Helen Miropolous was it?’
‘No, its Helena.’ Monika answered as she opened the file in front of her.
‘This is all the details which the SPAK Corporation had on her when she applied for a job with them. And that’s the Athens home address she gave.’
‘Hmm, she lives in the Veikou district,’ Anthony noticed, as he entered her details into the computer.
‘That’s where I live.’
Anthony leaned back in his chair as the computer responded to his query by filling the screen with Helena’s details.
‘Yes that’s where she lives all right.’
‘Age twenty-five.’
‘Graduate of Athens University in philosophy.’
‘Parents … Jesus!’ Anthony exclaimed as he leaned closer to the screen, peering at the details.
‘What is it?’ Monika asked in bewilderment.
‘This can’t be right, there must be a mistake. They’ve got different surnames.’
Monika also stared at the screen, unable to figure out what was disturbing him.
‘What’s the problem Anthony?’
‘It say’s here that her parents are Simon and Helen Maguz with an address in the Kolonaki district.’
‘What’s wrong with that?’
‘He’s the Greek multi-millionaire and financier who’s hosting the final day’s banquet for the World Peace and Anti-Terrorist Summit at his new country estate near Eleusis in three days time.
I should know, I’ve spent the last month organizing the security. In fact its one of the reasons I was picked to investigate the murders at Eleusis, due to the close proximity of his estate. But her second name is Miropolous.’
‘Try entering Simon Maguz’s details and see what that brings up.’
‘OK, it’s worth a try,’ Anthony muttered as he entered the new details.
‘Right here we go, Simon and Helen Maguz, Kolonaki, have a daughter Helena Maguz, age twenty-five, graduate of Athens University in philosophy…’
Anthony trailed off, as he turned to face Monika.
She shrugged her shoulders.
‘Maybe she changed her surname, because of security, to stop her being identified as the daughter of such a rich and powerful man.’
‘Yes. With rich parents, there’s always the fear of one of their children being kidnapped and held to ransom. That’s as good a reason as any to change your surname.’
‘Let’s go and visit them, make them aware of their daughter’s situation and find out what they know,’ Monika suggested.
Anthony turned and stared at her.
‘They aren’t the type of people you can just call on unannounced and start to question. Especially when they’re going to entertain all the worlds leaders in three days time.’
‘What will we do then? It’s our first definite lead in Athens.’ Monika pleaded.
Anthony pushed his chair back and stood up.
‘I know it is. But we have to tell the Chief about this, that the accomplice of our murder suspect is the daughter of one of the most influential men in Greece. He can then make the right decision. I saw him in his office as we were coming here. I was going to introduce you anyway. Now’s as good a time as any.’

Anthony led Monika out of the quiet of his office and into the noise of the busy central open area filled with rows of desks and the bustle of detectives answering phones and interviewing a mixture of suspects and potential witnesses.
Andrew’s office was just like all the others surrounding this area except for one large office at the top end where Anthony gently tapped the top glass panel of the door.
Looking up from his desk, the Chief noticed Monika next to Anthony and stood as he beckoned them in.
Anthony opened the door for Monika who entered first as he introduced her.
‘Chief, this is Inspector Monika Weiss.’
‘And Monika this is Chief Inspector Yiorghos Larentzakis.’
‘Pleased to meet you Inspector Weiss, welcome to Athens. You had a pleasant trip I hope and have settled into your hotel?’
‘Yes, thank you.’ Monika replied as they shook hands.
‘Inspector Lykourgos has been most kind and made me feel at home in your beautiful city.’
Chief Inspector Larentzakis went back to his chair as he gestured for them to take a seat on the other side of his large mahogany desk.
‘Ah good, I hope we can be of some help in the pursuit of your murder suspect for as you know solving this case could be beneficial to us both. Any assistance you require, just ask Inspector Lykourgos.’
‘Inspector Lykourgos has already been most helpful, resulting in our first lead, here in Athens.’ Monika said eagerly.
The Chief Inspector looked surprised.
‘What so soon? What –’
Anthony interrupted.
‘Ah, yes Chief, that’s the main reason we’re here. We’ve just looked up the details of the murderer’s accomplice, Helena Miropolous, on the central computer system, and it’s turned up some surprising facts.’
‘And what are they?’
‘Helena Miropolous is actually Helena Maguz, the daughter of Simon Maguz the multi-millionaire and financier, who’s hosting –’
The Chief Inspector leaned forward waving his hand.
‘Yes, yes, I know who he is, but are you sure? We can’t afford to link those two together by mistake.’
‘There’s no mistake, all the details match, we’ve double checked.’
Chief Inspector Larentzakis sat back in his chair and sighed, pausing for a moment, then stared straight at Anthony.
‘What ever you do, don’t attempt to contact Simon Maguz about this. I’ll have to inform my superiors. This is a delicate situation, which they can decide on. In the meantime put a surveillance team on Helena Maguz’s flat and check all the hotels in Athens to see if they’ve checked in under any of these names. Plus issue pictures of them to all investigating officers. If they’re under assumed names, we can try to match their descriptions.’
The Chief Inspector got to his feet and walked around to Anthony and Monika.
‘Right, you can take over the special incident room next door and assign whatever resources you need to this case. Because of the link to Simon Maguz, there’s a possibility of a security breach around the world leaders when they go to his estate for the final days banquet. So I’m assigning this top priority with both of you jointly in charge.’
‘Right sir, we’ll get onto it immediately,’ Anthony said as he and Monika headed for the door.
‘But remember, at the moment, this is a surveillance operation until I get feedback from above. If there’re found, contact me immediately,’ the Chief reminded them as they left the room.

Troops, and military motorised vehicles thundered through the normally tranquil side streets of Athens. The build up of of Military forces on the Greek borders had been recipricated by a nearby ally of Greece. Greece, a small milirary country had resorted to help from their neighbour in response to no backing from other nation states. There was an invisible hand at work here,with Andrew and Helena now suspecting one powerfull world corporation behind all orchestrated events. natons accross the world were inoccent pawns in some grand deadly chessboard game.

Helena glanced at a newspaper stand as they left the Hotel Philippos for their meeting with Father Angeletti.
‘The newspapers seem to be full of so many impending man-made and natural disasters Andrew. It’s just like the professor said yesterday, that more and more incidents will occur as the time of The Black Hole Of Souls approaches.’

‘I know,’ Andrew acknowledged as he picked up one of the newspapers.
‘Every day seems to bring a new threat. The latest seems to be that volcano not far from here on the island of Santorini. They said that the last time it erupted it destroyed the Minoan civilization on Crete and left Santorini with a large sea filled hole in its center. If it blows again, it could affect us here in Athens, it warns in this newspaper.’

‘Look at this, Andrew, they think that terrorists may now be trying to acquire nuclear weapons from Russia on the black market. God. Think of the devastation that would cause if they used it in a large city like Athens. Especially after that terrorist video tape shown on Athens television.’

Andrew put his arm around her. ‘Don’t worry. I know it seems like we’ve been plunged into some hopeless nightmare, but remember also what the professor said about a possible way out, as mentioned in the last part of the text. If we can find out what that means, then there’s still a chance.’

‘Your right. We can’t dwell on what might be. We have to concentrate on finding out what the SPAK Corporation know about this prophecy, and if they’ve decoded the final part.’

Andrew opened the car door and kissed her gently. ‘That’s the spirit. We’ve three days left. Let’s make the most of the time available.’
With both of them settled in their seats, Andrew started the open topped car and joined the traffic heading in the direction of St. Denis Cathedral.

As if to shake the cobwebs from her mind and clear her thoughts, Helena put her head in the path of the oncoming air and took a deep breath as her long dark hair lifted and blew in the wind.
Andrew turned and looked admiringly at the beautiful woman who had filled an empty void in his life.
Nothing, he vowed, nothing, would ever take her away from him.
As they approached the Cathedral, Helena sighed as she turned to Andrew.

‘Should we tell the priest anything of what Professor Zarganis told us yesterday, after he left the professor’s office?’ Helena queried.

‘No, if he does ask, just say the professor went on to give more details of the initiation ceremony at Eleusis.’

‘Yes. Your right, the professor did say he wanted his involvement with the Gnostic sect kept a secret.’
Andrew then pulled the car to a halt outside the Cathedral, to find father Angeletti waiting at the main Cathedral entrance.

‘Hi Father Angeletti, how are you today,’ Andrew greeted him as he shook his outstretched hand.

‘Fine, fine. But eager to try out this device and delve further into the SPAK website,’ he replied, leading them into the Cathedral.
Andrew and Helena looked at each other, both relieved to find that the priest had shook off the anger and rage he had displayed yesterday at the professor’s comments on Christianity.
‘This way,’ the priest beckoned, as he led them to the top of the aisle and down the winding stairwell, just like their previous visit, where he opened the heavy black wooden door leading into the long arched stone vault.
‘I’m expecting the device to arrive any minute now. If we could set up the equipment ready to try it out we’ll be able to start the moment it arrives.’

Andrew surveyed the equipment before him. ‘OK, everything’s just as we left it yesterday, we just need to power it up.’
The stone vault reverbated with electronic sounds as the computer screen blinked into life when Andrew threw the main switch and connected the SmartPhone with the SPAK App to the usb port.’
Without any prompt, Andrew Clicked SPAK icon symbol displayed on the Mobile Phone's screen.

Andrew leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh of relief. ‘So far so good.’

Helena turned to him. ‘Which option will we try with the headset then?’

‘I think one of the group options that logs us onto the SPAK website, Group Pre-Initiation.’
‘That was the one we tried before but displayed a message saying we needed an external device connected.’
‘Hopefully they meant the device that Father Angeletti’s bringing.’

Father Angeletti, looked at his watch and nodded. ‘Ah, the device should be arriving any moment now, I’d better go and wait at the main door to meet the courier.’
At this, Andrew selected 'Group Pre-Initiation' to immediately display -

Andrew turned to Helena. ‘OK, we’re now back to where we were yesterday. When Father Angeletti arrives with the device, we’ll plug it in and press the retry button.’

Helena nodded then pointed to the screen. ‘Yes, but look at the number of users logged on now. Yesterday there were around twenty thousand, now it’s around half that.’

‘I think that’s probably because a lot of people have moved up to the next level.’
‘If we were able to…’
Andrew’s voice trailed off as the sound of the heavy wooden door opening reverberated through the vault causing them both to turn round.
Andrew’s reaction to the figure entering the vault was immediate, as he quickly stood up and moved in front of Helena to protect her.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘How did you find us?’

‘It’s all right,’ Father Angeletti reassured him as he entered the vault putting his arm around the figure that had caused so much alarm.
‘This is Megan O’Connell.’

‘No it’s not Father,’ Helena said anxiously. ‘She may be one of them, it’s Jane Davidson. We should know, we’ve worked beside her for the last seven months.’

‘I know,’ said the priest as he moved towards them, his arm around Jane Davidson, who was carrying a large brown box. ‘And she’s not one of them, she’s one of us.’

Jane placed the box on the table. ‘Hi Andrew, Helena. How are you both keeping?’

Helena stood up and stared at her. ‘Not bad, considering. How long have you known Father Angeletti?’

‘Since I was selected to join SPAK, about the same time as both of you.’

Andrew turned to the priest. ‘Is she the one you said was working undercover for you in SPAK then?’

‘We have more than one person working there, and Jane’s one of them.’

Andrew and Helena went over to Jane and put their arms around her, smiling. ‘Were you following us when you were on the boat with Franz in Konstanz?’ Helena asked.

‘Yes, just as far as Mainau when we were sure SPAK weren’t on your trail, then it was just Father Angeletti. And no, Franz isn’t one of us, I just took him along as cover.’

Andrew looked at Helena.‘God, it’s one surprise after another. What next?’

Jane pointed to the brown package. ‘Well hopefully, this will provide us with a few surprises, and make it worth the journey.’

Andrew started to unpack it. ‘How did you mange to come across this then?’

‘Father Angeletti contacted us yesterday and asked us to look out for something resembling the device you thought was required by the SPAK website. And just by luck, one of our operatives, who works in dispatch came across this as it arrived at the factory. It seemed to fit the description, so we smuggled it out yesterday afternoon, and here it is.’

Andrew then took the lid off the box and stared at what appeared to be a golden headset in the shape of an ancient warlike Greek helmet with red tinted slits for eyes and a mouth.
‘Are you sure this is correct?’

Jane moved over to the package and carefully lifted the device out of the box, holding it in front of her. ‘Yes, I know at first it doesn’t look like some kind of high tech device. But I’ve already checked it. It’s basically a fusion of antiquity and modern technology. A Virtual Reality headset, and much more, in the shape of a Greek warriors helmet.’

‘Why an ancient helmet?’ Helena asked, looking puzzled.

‘I think it’s in keeping with everything that’s happened so far,’ Andrew replied. ‘The people at the Eleusis Mystery ceremony would probably have worn symbolic head wear, of that era, when they were being initiated, where they would have experienced various sights and sounds from plays and musicians. Probably even taken drink or drugs. But now all that remains is the helmet with hopefully technology providing the rest.’

Jane held up the golden headset. ‘Yes, you said that the device you were looking for would have audio and visual outputs. Well here, at the front, behind the eye slits, are two red tinted eyepieces, which would display images to the user. And at either side are extendable panels with small speakers in them.’

‘Does it have the ability to administer drugs, just as in the simulation?’ Helena asked, staring at the headset

‘I think so. Look here, on the inside, just to the front and above the ears. There are three small holes, in the shape of a triangle on either side. When placed on the head, these would be next to the temples, where drugs would somehow be injected through the holes. Exactly how, I’m not quite sure.’

The priest patted her on the back. ‘Good work Jane. You’ve probably risked your life getting this to us. Let’s not delay any further and try it out. How do we connect it to the computer then?’

Jane picked up a small silver object from the bottom of the box and plugged it into the back of the computer. ‘This is a wireless device with software that automatically links the computer and mobile phone App with the headset. No need for cables.’

All four of them then sat in chairs around the computer, with Andrew seated opposite the monitor.

‘OK, that’s the external device fitted, let’s see if it’s happy with that.’ Andrew then retried the Group Pre-Initiation option to immediately display another message.

Helena looked at Andrew anxiously. ‘I don’t think that would be wise. It could be dangerous.’

Andrew picked up the device and started to place it on his head. ‘We don’t have much choice. Jane’s risked her life getting this to us. We have to try it.’

The priest nodded in agreement. ‘Yes, if you don’t, we're no further on than before.’

‘OK, but at the first sign of anything wrong, I’m taking it off you Andrew,’ Helena warned as she helped him ease it onto his head.

‘Well there’s no time like the present, so here goes.’ Andrew then pressed Begin.
Almost immediately there was a low buzzing noise as the golden headset came to life lowering the eye and earpieces to lock it firmly on his head. All three stared in amazement, focused on Andrew, as an eerie red glow emitted from the center of the eyepieces, while the screen indicated the system was now running.

Helena moved closer to his face, staring at the headset. ‘Can you hear me Andrew? Are you all right?’

He nodded his head. ‘Yes, I can barely hear you, some sounds are starting to come from the speakers. And… Images are beginning to appear in front of me… In fact all around me. It’s amazing. It’s crystal clear now. And the sounds. Its as if I’m actually there.’

The priest moved next to the side of Andrews’s head. ‘Where are you, describe the scene.’

‘I’m in a crowd, and the way they’re dressed, it must be sometime in the past, an old city, somewhere in the Middle East. We’re at the entrance to the city and the people are waving branches, some throwing them on a road. I think I can see someone coming up the road. If I can just move forward, through the crowd… Jesus, I’m moving through the crowd, in the direction I wanted to, just by thinking about it. Right, stop here. Oops, sorry. I just pushed somebody who gave me a look. Ah they’ve accepted my apology. The crowds are all shouting and waving at somebody coming up the road. I can see him now. He’s on a donkey.’

Father Angeletti moved even closer. ‘The crowds should be crying something Andrew, what are they crying?’

‘Yes they are shouting something. It’s … Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Does that make any sense to you?’

At that, Father Angeletti let out a cry. ‘It’s the Messiah, it’s Jesus entering Jerusalem as prophesized in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament. Follow him Andrew. He should come to a temple soon. Follow him in.’

‘Oh. Someone’s just turned to me and asked if I believe the man on the donkey is the Messiah.’

‘Tell him, yes, you believe he is the Messiah,’ the priest prompted. ‘I think its part of the initiation.’

‘Yes, he’s accepted that. Now he asks if I want to be baptized.’

‘Again, say yes. This is the baptism by water, to initiate you into the next level.’

‘Yes, he’s nodded his head and says I’ve to follow him to … Ah the scenes changed now. I’m at a riverbank and the man who was on the donkey is in the water, being baptized by someone.’

‘It’s Jesus being baptized by John.’ The priest explained.

‘The man you call John is now waving to me, beckoning me to go to him.’

‘Go to him,’ the priest urged, ‘he wants to baptize you.’

‘OK I’m in the water. He’s now pushed me under. God this seems so real. I feel I have to hold my breath. Right I’m up again and heading for the riverbank… Wait, there’s some Roman soldiers coming, marching this way.’

Helena looked at the changing screen. ‘Andrew, you've passed to the next level, Phsycic!’

Andrew replied, staring anxiously beyond the the headset at Father Angeletti. ‘Great, but something's wrong, I may have upset someone with my success.’

Father Angeletti looked puzzled. ‘They may be coming for John or to break up the crowd. But it doesn’t seem right somehow, this isn’t in the Bible.’

‘Andrew continued, ‘Yes they’re marching up to the crowd, who are moving away. They’ve seen John now and are heading towards him. But they’re still looking around as if for someone else. Shit, they’ve changed direction. They’re heading towards me! I’ll try to move away, see if they’ll follow. Yes they’re ignoring everyone else and coming after me...’

Suddenly, violently interupting the scene, all three turned from focussing on Andrew as the heavy wooden vault door was pushed open and a man appeared, with outstretched arms holding a gun.

Jane reacted first. ‘Quick get down,’ she shouted, pulling a gun from inside her jacket.

Just in time, all three ducked, with Helena pulling Andrew down, as a gunshot exploded in the vault sending a bullet flying over their heads and into the dark depths of the vault. Jane responded with a shot that sent the two men at the top of the vault looking for cover.

Helena struggled to remove the headset from Andrew. ‘Help me with this, it seems to be stuck.’

Andrew shouted, ‘no it’s locked on, you have to select the Stop option. Quick, the soldiers in this thing seem intent on killing me.’

Another shot flew over them as Helena put her hand up on to the table searching for the mouse. Finding it she raised her head slightly to catch sight of the screen. As Jane fired another shot, she quickly found Stop and clicked the mouse button. Immediately, the eye and earpieces retracted and Helena pulled the device from his head.

‘What’s happening?’ a disorientated Andrew asked, sounding and looking confused.

Jane replied, ‘I think there’s three of them now. I can only hold them off for so long. Is there any other way out of here Father?’

‘Yes, there’s a secret door at the back of the vault, but I don’t know when the last time it was used. It may not be easy to open.’

Jane fired off another shot. ‘We’ve no choice, it’s our only way out of here alive. Father, you lead Helena and Andrew to the back of the vault and try the door. I’ll hold them off.’

‘No, we can’t leave you here!’ the priest exclaimed.

‘It’s all right, once you get the door open, give me a shout and I’ll make a run for it. Go! Now!’

Keeping their heads down, the priest led Andrew and Helena into the dimly lit back of the vault, as another bullet ricocheted off the stone arched roof above them.

‘Hurry,’ Jane urged them. ‘They’re moving forward. I think there’s four of them now.’

At the back of the vault the priest found the spot where he was shown the secret door lay. Searching, he located a block of stone with a rusty iron ring attached, which he twisted and then pushed forward. The stone moved into the wall slightly, but not enough. ‘Help me Andrew. Grab hold of this and we’ll push together.’

The two men pushed on the stone as Jane’s voice reverberated down the vault. ‘Quick,’ she shouted. ‘They’re getting closer. I’ll have to make a run for it soon.’ With Jane’s voice ringing in their ears, Helena now joined in, all three pushing, when suddenly, the stone moved a couple of inches resulting in a section of wall springing open to reveal a gap a couple of feet wide.

‘Its open Jane, come on!’ Father Angeletti shouted.

Jane fired two quick shots in succession and then headed for the back of the vault, head down, as quickly as she could. With all three urging her on, four figures now appeared at the computer and a hail of shots rang out, deafening, in the confines of the vault, which seemed to fill with ricocheting bullets. Suddenly, Jane was thrown forward, propelled by the force of the bullets that thudded into her back, as she fell sickeningly, just yards from escape.

‘No!’ Helena cried.

‘My God!’ the priest exclaimed, crossing himself

Andrew pushed them through the gap in the wall, as bullets crashed into the stonework above their heads.

‘We can’t leave her here!’ Helena pleaded.

‘She’s dead, come on, she sacrificed her life so that we could escape. Don’t make that a worthless gesture.’

The priest grabbed Helena’s arm. ‘He’s right, she mustn’t have died in vain. Let’s go.’

The four men were now running to the back of the vault, as Andrew and the priest pushed with all their effort on the stone block on the other side of the gap. As the four men ran past a motionless Jane, the concealed stone door suddenly slammed shut with a resounding bang.

Helena looked strained as she entered the study. ‘Thanks, Professor, for letting us stay at your house.’

Both men turned, then the professor went towards her reaching out his arm to put around her shoulder. ‘That’s all right,‘ he offered comfortingly as he led her to a large sofa where Andrew was already seated. ‘You know you’re always welcome here, as are your friends, especially after your ordeal yesterday.’

Helena looked up at the professor as she sat next to Andrew. ‘God you’re right! It was yesterday. It seems so long ago – just like a distant dream, or worse, a nightmare. And look at the time, why did you let me sleep so long. We’ve so much to do and there’s only two days left until your prophesized descent into irreversible chaos!’

Andrew turned to Helena, sensing the sound of rising panic in her voice, and held her hands gently. ‘Look, don’t worry. You were in such a deep sleep, we just didn’t want to wake you. I think your body was trying to tell you something, and no wonder after the last five days. And anyway, the professor has some good news, he’s discovered more details about the prophecy section of The Black Hole Of Souls text.’

Helena, still waking up after her long sleep, shook her head. ‘That’s good, it’s nice to know we’re making some progress.’ Then looked around the room, suddenly realizing, somebody was missing. ‘Where’s Father Angeletti? He stayed here last night as well, didn’t he?’

Andrew rubbed her clasped hands tenderly. ‘Yes, Father Angeletti stayed here last night, but he left early this morning after making a few phone calls. He says he’ll be back later.’

‘Is he going back to the church to see about Jane?’

‘Probably, but he’ll have to check its safe first. They may be watching it, in case we return.’

‘I still can’t believe it happened, though. Jane dead. And how did they find us anyway?’ Helena asked despairingly.

‘Father Angeletti thinks that the headset may have been used as bait to find out who was working undercover at SPAK in Switzerland. If it had a tracking device attached, it could easily have led them to the church, and to us. Father Angeletti blames himself for Jane’s death and says he should have been more careful. He’s more determined than ever now to find the killers.’

Helena looked at the professor, then Andrew. ‘Of course. He knows nothing of the danger we all face in two days time. He thinks this is all about a cult of killers trying to spread their influence and destroy the Catholic Church –’ Then she suddenly remembered Andrew’s words a few moments ago. ‘You said we’ve discovered something new about the prophecy. What is it? Will it help us?’

The professor smiled at Helena. ‘When Father Angeletti left this morning it gave me a chance to tell Andrew the result of the meeting with my fellow Gnostics yesterday. When I told them of your experiences, this shed a whole new light on the meaning of The Black Hole Of Souls script and in particular, it’s prophecy. After a long day of intensive study and re-examination of the Jesus Story, taking into account what has occurred over the last five days, we now have more details on the prophecy part of the script. We now believe that there are specifically two “pure souls” who may save mankind as mentioned in the prophecy.’

Helena sighed. ‘I suppose its progress. But it just means, that out of all the people in the world we have to find the two who can save us. Do you have any clues as to their identity?’

‘No, I’m afraid not.’

Helena baulked at the size of the task ahead.

The professor noticed this and quickly added, ‘but we do know where the prophecy will occur.’

Helena looked up. ‘Where?’

‘At Eleusis,’ the professor announced triumphantly.

‘I think we should go there immediately,’ Andrew suggested, trying to keep the positive momentum going.

‘Your right,’ the professor agreed. ‘If that is the correct site then we have to go there and discover if anything unusual has happened recently to help us understand what we have to do to fulfill this prophecy and avoid The Black Hole Of Souls.’

Helena stood up suddenly and with a look of renewed hope started towards the door. ‘Well, what are we waiting for, let’s go.’

‘Christ that’s all I need!’ Anthony Lykourgos barked as he slammed the phone down.

Monika Weiss halted her conversation with the police officer and went over to Anthony’s desk. ‘What’s wrong, something to do with our case?’

‘Not exactly, it’s more to do with my other job involving security at the World Peace and Anti-Terrorist Summit. But it still demands attention, leaving less time to work on this case of finding Andrew Jamieson and Helena Maguz. Especially since we’ve no leads as to where they are. And the Chief is breathing down our necks. I’m sure her big wig father Simon Maguz is piling on the pressure.’

Monika put her hand on his shoulder. ‘Look, if its got something to do with Summit security then it may have something in common with our case. What’s it about then?’

‘Well, we’ve just received information from Kaliningrad that terrorists have acquired powerful explosive devices on the Russian black market and that they’re heading here, to Greece, with them.’

‘How powerful,’ Monika asked hesitatingly.

Anthony pulled her closer. ‘At the moment, they won’t say. All we have is a description of the containers.’

‘What do they look like, then?’

‘This is the hard part. They look just like normal briefcases.’

‘God! That’s going to be difficult to detect.’

‘I know. We’re going to have to step up security at all entry points to Greece, ensuring that they receive these details to make the necessary searches on all incoming freight and baggage –’

‘Inspector. Phone call for you. He says it urgent.’ Anthony turned round to see a detective at the far end of the special incident room holding up a phone.

‘Who is it?’

‘Says his name is Christos Kerykes, site caretaker at the Eleusis sanctuary.’

‘Pass it through to me.’ Anthony lifted his ringing receiver and Monika watched intently as he received the call, his eyes suddenly widening and the beginnings of a smile erupting into a beaming grin. Slamming the phone down. He let rip, ‘yes! Just what we’ve been waiting for.’

Monika smiled. ‘Good news?’

Anthony grabbed his jacket and started for the door. ‘Right, pass those terrorist details onto Detective Markos. We’ve got other work to do. We’ve just had a sighting of Andrew Jamieson and Helena Maguz. We need another two cars, plain clothes.’

Monika followed Anthony, quickly handing over documents and issuing instructions as the steadily growing stream of bodies left the office and made their way to the exit. ‘Where are we going?’ Monika shouted in his ear.

‘To Eleusis,’ Anthony shouted back.

‘Well, what did you make of that?’ Andrew asked the professor, who seemed to be deep in thought as he stared beyond the bleached remains of the Eleusis sanctuary and into the distant blue sky.

‘What? Oh sorry. I was in another world, or more precisely another time there for a moment. It’s hard to stand here in the center of this ancient site without imagining what it was like at its glorious height in the distant past.’ The professor looked around as if to orientate himself. ‘Yes, what did I make of what the caretaker told us? Hmm, quite fascinating. The two men and women found dead here five days ago were wearing similar clothing to those who would attend the ceremony here, two and a half thousand years ago. The men were wearing a short tunic known as a chiton and the women were wearing a longer tunic known as the Doric peplos. There’s one thing wrong though. The timing. The bodies shouldn’t have been found five days ago, as no one would have been here.’

Helena stared at him. ‘What do you mean, “no one would have been here”?‘

The professor smiled, as if warming to the subject. ‘To understand this I have to explain the complete process of the Eleusis Mystery ceremonies. First of all there were two parts. Candidates for initiation into the Mysteries were first admitted to the Lesser Eleusinia, which were held in the month of Anthesterion at Agrai, in Athens, on the banks of the Ilissos.’

‘Anthesterion?’ Andrew quizzed.

‘This ancient Greek month was around the end of February and the beginning of March.’ The professor explained.

‘OK,’ Andrew nodded.

The professor continued. ‘Once accepted as mystai or initiates, they were allowed to attend the Greater Eleusinia, which took place in Boedromion, our September, and lasted nine days, beginning and ending in Athens.’

‘So five days ago would have been day one of the Greater Eleusinia which began in Athens.’ Helena suggested.

‘Exactly,’ he replied. ‘The first four days of the ceremony were held in Athens which consisted of sacrifices and bathing in the bay of Phaleron for purification. It was on the fifth day, that is, today, that the great procession would assemble at the Eleusinium in Athens and then set off on the twenty-five kilometer walk to Eleusis. This was no small, quiet, somber procession though. On the contrary it would have been quite a sight.’ The professor paused as he looked beyond the ancient site in the direction of Athens as if to imagine the spectacle. He continued. ‘Being led by priestesses carrying the sacred instruments and the figure of Dionysus, tens of thousands of Athenians carrying bundles of branches, danced behind in a state of euphoria, accompanied by the frantic rhythm of clashing instruments. As part of the Demeter and Persephone myth they would periodically stop and shout obscenities, sometimes being beaten by men wearing masks.’

‘Dionysus, he was the dying and resurrecting godman of the Greek Mysteries you mentioned at the University, wasn’t he?’ Helena asked. ‘But who were Demeter and Persephone?’

‘Quite right, Helena, Dionysus was the symbolic dying and resurrecting godman but the myth of Demeter and Persephone also represented the cycle of dying and resurrecting as in the cycle of the seasons. This was because Demeter’s daughter Persephone was carried off to the Underworld, representing her death or winter, and was only allowed back for part of each year, representing her resurrection or emergence from winter. They all reinforced the essential essence of the Eleusis Mystery, that of dying and being resurrected.’

‘This is the fifth day, would the procession have arrived at Eleusis by now?’ Andrew wondered.

The professor shook his head. ‘No, today we traveled the Sacred Way or Iera Odhos, as its known in Greek, in less than an hour. But then, it would have taken them the whole day, arriving at Eleusis in darkness. They would just be over half way by now.’

‘What happened when they arrived then?’ Andrew was keen to know.

‘When they arrived they would then rest, ready for the sixth day which would consist of fasting and sacrificing. It was on the seventh day, in the evening, that the initiation would take place. This initiation night is the crucial time both for them and for us. As a Gnostic Christian I still have ties with this important part of my heritage and have retained and built on its inner meanings. But both of you as Literal Christians have been cut off from this so-called Pagan ceremony and its inner meanings. Just like all the literal religions of the world, believing that only their particular literal outer teachings are correct causing conflict and division when in truth they all have a common earlier inner meaning which has been denied.’

Helena held her hand to her eyes to avoid the sun as she looked at the professor. ‘What exactly did they do during the initiation ceremony?’

The professor also held his hands to his eyes avoiding the glare from the bleached stone remains beneath the blazing sun. ‘I know its hard to imagine standing in the sun amid these ruins, but at the moment we are in the center of the Telesterion, a huge hall, fifty five meters square with stepped terraces on all four sides from which three thousand initiates could watch the ceremonies. Twenty square pillars supported the roof, and in the center, around where we are standing now, was a small room known as the Anaktoron.’

All three looked around at the bare remains of the sanctuary, trying to reconstruct this picture of its former glory.

‘At one corner of the Anaktoron was the throne of the Hierophant who acted like a master of ceremonies. The initiates would then crowd into the large hall, illuminated only by torchbearers. A door in the Anaktoron next to the throne would then open in a blaze of light and the Hierophant would emerge to take his place on the throne, symbolizing Persephone’s return from the world of light. The new initiates who had been fasting since the previous night were now consuming a barley drink known as kykeon, sacred to Demeter, and were subjected to the sounds of a mighty gong and alternating periods of darkness and bright illumination combined with various other sound and light effects and dramatised scenes.’

‘This sounds like the sort of thing the SPAK headset would present to the wearer,’ Andrew interrupted.

Professor Zarganis nodded. ‘Yes you’re quite right, but the SPAK Gnostics also developed on the Eleusinian ceremonies to incorporate the later four initiation levels of the Christian Gnostics. Compared to the Eleusinian ceremonies, where the desired heady experience would rarely if ever be completely achieved, the SPAK headset, using advanced technology, produced a highly efficient and exact presentation to produce in the wearer the precise desired experience every time.’

This is the interesting bit, Andrew thought. ‘What were the experiences they were trying to achieve Professor?’

‘Good question, and I think this will explain exactly what the SPAK Gnostics will be trying to achieve in two days time. This is because there’s a common theme running through all these Mysteries and ceremonies, whether it’s the Pagan Eleusinian Mystery or the Jesus Story. As you may know there are four levels. The first is the Hylic where we see ourselves as selfish bodies, wary of what others, as bodies themselves, may want from us and also what we can get from them. Obviously this is not a desirable level, but unfortunately there are a lot of people like that and the ancients knew this, so they devised the outer level of the Mystery story to take people to the next level, the Psychic. By understanding the moral tales of the literal Mystery stories the Psychic would start to see himself as not just a body but a person who understands ideas and also empathises with others who too have thoughts and ideas. In the Eleusinian Mystery this lesson is taught by Persephone being freed from the Underworld, or her Hylic body, and being reunited with her mother Demeter, or her Psychic nature.’

Andrew nodded in agreement. ‘When I tried on the SPAK headset to simulate Psychic initiation, I had the experience of seeing the literal Jesus teach me and others.’

‘Yes, even at this low level you can see how powerful a tool the headset is,’ the professor added. ‘But I think it will really come into its own at the higher levels. However getting back to the Psychic level, we can see how this is a vast improvement on the Hylic, as people now have ethics and a soul and will now work together. The drawback with this is that it’s limited and temporary, people see themselves as separate mortal beings who are born and will die. This is why the ancients devised the inner Mysteries.’

Andrew and Helena looked at each other. At last they were about to be told what this mysterious inner level was.

‘This would take us to the next level,’ the professor explained,’ the Pneumatic or Spiritual level which will reveal that we are not just a temporary fearful mortal, but that we are something more permanent. You’ve heard me mention many times about the dying and resurrecting godman of the various Mystery Stories including the Jesus Story. Well, it’s at this point the death of the godman or the crucifixion of Jesus is symbolic of the death of the initiate’s combined body and psyche or eidolon as it’s known and the realization that we are Consciousness witnessing the actions of the eidolon who is born, lives and dies. Since it is not us who are born and then die, but the eidolons that we are witnessing, we now feel safe recognizing our true immortal nature.’

Andrew was taken aback at learning for the first time what it really meant to achieve this level. ‘Well, this is more than just presenting a three-dimensional world of Jesus telling stories. If the SPAK headset can make you think that you are an immortal Consciousness witnessing your temporary bodies actions, then it must be some experience. Almost out of this world!’

‘Absolutely,’ Professor Zarganis agreed. ‘This must be getting near to the full power of the device if it can achieve this precise experience for the initiate. I almost wonder if the user would want to, or be even able to, come back to our reality especially if others had achieved this in communion over the internet or some other link.’

Helena looked up, as a thought suddenly occurred to her. ‘Professor, those people who’ve achieved this state, could they have escaped The Black Hole Of Souls?’

‘That’s something I was beginning to ask myself, Helena. Could this be what the SPAK Gnostics have been striving for all along, and what they hope to achieve in two days time? Not to save mankind through the prophecy, as we would like to do, but to selfishly escape The Black Hole Of Souls and leave mankind behind, trapped for ever?’

‘What about the next and final level, would they have to achieve that before they could escape?’ Andrew asked.

‘Yes, there is a possibility that to completely escape they would have to achieve this final stage of Gnosis through four steps. First the watery baptism of Jesus depicting the second Psychic death of the hylic eidolon. Then the crucifixion of Jesus was symbolic of the achieviement of the third Pnuema or ephemeral air level. Then at the fourth level it is now the resurrection of the godman and Jesus which is symbolic of us being finally free of our separate identities and being as One. Initiates, who achieve this fourth level Gnosis, understand that there is no distinction between the watcher and the watched, me and you or the separate Consciousness’ who witness the separate eidolons. We are all part of the one Consciousness of God. We are all at One with the Mystery.’

At this the professor paused, then smiled as if he had suddenly just realized something. ‘Ah. The clue to their ultimate aim may have been under our noses all along.’

Andrew stared at the professor. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Have you got that SPAK smart card still, Andrew?’

‘Yes,’ he said pulling it from his pocket.

‘Can I have it for a moment please?’

‘Sure, here you are.’

The professor held up the card so that Helena and Andrew could both see it clearly. ‘Here we have a picture of the Leviathan serpent biting it’s own tail, and in the center is the Greek writing “Hen to pan” which in English is “One is the all” If this symbolizes their ultimate aims then they must be attempting to achieve the Oneness of the fourth level of Gnosis in two days time to escape The Black Hole Of Souls and leave us all here behind to face the physical and spiritual devastation that is coming.’

At that thought, all three were suddenly struck silent for a moment, as time seemed to stand still.

As if to give an indication of what was to come, Helena suddenly noticed in the distance, beyond the Bay Of Elefsina in the direction of Athens, a streak of thin gray smoke stretched high in the sky coming slowly towards them. ‘What’s that?’

Professor Zarganis looked up in the direction Helena was indicating. ‘That’s from the island of Santorini, I think. I heard earlier that there was a large change in the size and height of the emerging volcanic islet in the waters inside the island, which gave off a huge dense cloud of smoke for miles into the atmosphere. God, it would almost be unimaginable if that volcano erupted again with the same force it did three and a half thousand years ago.’

‘How bad would it be?’ Helena asked hesitatingly.

‘Well, the most powerful recorded erupting volcano was Krakatoa. But the Santorini volcano was over five times as powerful. So much so that the center of the island collapsed and disappeared into the sea creating a large tidal wave that wiped out the Minoan civilization on nearby Crete. In recent times the top of the volcano reappeared in the waters in the center of the island caldera and yesterday it increased again in size releasing this smoke we now see. The locals have given it the name Nea Kameni which means New Furnace.’

Helena turned back to the professor. ‘Do you think this is all part of the prophecy?’

‘Definitely, that, together with all the other signs; the impending asteroid, the floods ravaging Europe for the first time, the major financial collapses due to falsification of company audits and rising tension due to the audacious terrorist attacks all over the world. If we don’t do something soon this will all climax in two days time plunging the world and everyone left in it, born or unborn, into an irreversible insanity. The only ones who will escape are the SPAK Gnostics.’

‘Two pure souls at Eleusis in two days time.’ Helena muttered. ‘That’s our only chance according to the prophecy. But who are those two souls and what have they got to do here, at Eleusis in two days to prevent The Black Hole Of Souls?’

Professor Zarganis sighed. ‘Well we’ve come here and discussed all the possibilities but we’re no closer to understanding what it is we have to do.’

‘If this headset is the way out for the SPAK Gnostics, then maybe it’s the way out for us as well.’ Andrew offered.

The professor shook his head. ‘No, that would be just like them, escaping but leaving mankind behind to suffer.’

‘No I don’t mean for us to escape, but to use it to help prevent The Black Hole Of Souls somehow. You said that it worked every time Professor is that correct?’

‘As long as the equipment was functioning normally, that the initiate had successfully completed the previous levels and that they had been correctly conditioned for the level they were now attempting.’

‘That’s a lot of preparation and organization to get things just right. What if just one of the necessary conditions wasn’t met?’ Andrew asked eagerly.

‘Then I think it could prove disastrous for the wearer, if not fatal. Let’s hope neither of us finds out.’

‘One of us may have to,’ Andrew replied ominously.

‘Just how dangerous is he then?’ Anthony asked Monika without taking his eyes off the road.

‘Well, as far as we know, he bludgeoned his workmate to death with the butt of a high-powered automatic weapon. Then while escaping from hospital he did the same again to one of my officers guarding him, although this time his victim survived, albeit with serious head injuries.‘

‘Violent eh, and both times he’s used a gun, although not to shoot his victims. Probably because the noise of the shots would have given him away. Right, we have to assume he’s got a gun and willing to use it. You stick close to me. Anything else we know about him, how he’ll react when he’s cornered?’

Monika shifted her gaze from the old Roman bridge to her left back to Anthony. ‘As well as the crimes we know he’s committed, there are links to others. Such as the disappearance of Kurt Hus, who was related to the man he killed in the SPAK factory. Hus’s SPAK identity card was found in the confession box of the priest, whose tortured looking body was fished out of the Bodensee. He had injuries similar to your Eleusinian bodies. So with all those possible charges hanging over him, I think he’ll be desperate not to be caught.’

Anthony glanced at Monika. ‘The caretaker said that there was a girl with him and an old Greek man. The girl will be Helena Maguz, but this is the first I’ve heard of the old guy. Ring any bells?’

‘No, not from their time in Switzerland. And as far as I know it was just the two of them who flew into Greece. They must have made contact in Athens.’

‘OK. So Andrew Jamieson is the main threat. He’ll be the only one that’s armed. We concentrate on him. But remember what the Chief said when we contacted him, Helena Maguz mustn’t be harmed. We’ll need to tell the others.’ Anthony then swung into the main square of Elefsina, past the attractively restored chapel of Ayios Zakharias, quickly followed by the two other unmarked police cars.

Coming to a halt. All six swiftly got out of their cars and met to receive instructions from Anthony, who indicated that one of them should stay on the outside in case they managed to get past them. The other five then headed along the pedestrian precinct that led to the main Eleusis archeological site. At the entrance they met the caretaker as arranged where Anthony quickly introduced Monika and the other officers. ‘Thanks for your help Christos, where are they now?’

‘The last time I saw them, they were just around the corner in the area of the Telesterion, next to the Anaktoron, where the bodies were found. That was a couple of minutes ago.’ The caretaker then led Anthony to the edge of a crumbling wall and indicated where he last saw them.

Anthony peered round the corner of the wall, quickly scanning the area for their suspects.

Monika noticed a frown start to form on his forehead. ‘What is it? Can you see them?’

He beckoned her to come and look. ‘You know them better than I do, have a look, see if you recognize them. I just can’t see anybody that fits their descriptions.’

Monika edged past him, making sure she couldn’t be seen, as Helena might remember her from Switzerland. Then casting her gaze over the site, she immediately thought that the few people milling about the ruins were much older than their suspects. She turned back to Anthony. ‘I don’t recognize anybody over there. They must have moved.’

Anthony was just about to ask the caretaker where else they might be, when his small two way radio cackled into life.

‘Inspector, this is Markus, have you seen the suspects yet?’

‘No. Why do you ask?’

‘Because a man and a woman fitting their descriptions, and an old man have just passed me and are getting into a car.’

‘OK, get the number plate, and wait for us, we’ll be right there.’ Anthony quickly thanked the caretaker then all five headed off at a run out of the sanctuary and down the pedestrian precinct to waiting Detective Markus Zinni who gave them the details of the car, pointing to it as it left the square.

Right, we’re just going to follow them, for the moment. When they arrive at their destination, I’ll indicate when we move in.’

Anthony and Monika led the procession of three cars out of the square, catching sight of the blue Ford as it passed the chapel of Ayios Zakharias and on to the old road of Iera Odhos out of Elefsina.

Passing under the new road Monika soon caught sight of the ancient Roman bridge she saw on the way in.

‘Looks like they’re sticking to the old route to Athens,’ Anthony observed. ‘Suits us fine, there’s a couple of cars between us, we’ll try and keep it that way.’ At a junction, with a large garage to their right, Anthony noticed the blue Ford turn left, just as he expected. Taking the same turning he noticed the traffic was now increasing as he accelerated to keep up with flow of assorted cars and lorries heading for Athens. Won’t be long now, at this speed, he thought, this road takes us straight into the heart of the city, it’s there the chances of losing them increases dramatically. Picking up his radio he passed on the details of the car to central control, who would advise all patrols to keep a look out for their suspects and relay their position back to control. That should keep us in touch with them, he satisfied himself.

‘I was meaning to ask earlier,’ Monika interrupted his thoughts. ‘But we were too busy. What’s that trail of smoke high in the sky beyond Athens.’ ‘Santorini,’ Anthony replied almost mechanically as he kept his eye on the blue Ford ahead.

‘Santorini? What’s that?’

‘It’s an island about a hundred and fifty miles from here. Its volcano seems to be stirring after being quiet for over three and a half thousand years. Nothing to – Jesus! Watch out!’ Anthony quickly put his foot on the breaks as a car that had just over taken him suddenly swerved in front squeezing into the small space between himself and the car in front. ‘Christ, if we weren’t on a job I’d have that bastard,’ Anthony swore.

Monika, still shocked at the sudden jolt in the car, was even more shocked at Anthony’s reaction. She’d only known him for a couple of days but this was the first time she’d heard him swear. It was understandable, though, she thought. They could easily have crashed.

Just as Anthony had regained his composure, the black Toyota suddenly pulled out and over took the two cars in front, swerving recklessly again, to nestle in behind Andrew Jamieson’s blue Ford. ‘God! What is that guy up to?’ Anthony muttered as he strained to see around the two cars ahead of him. He glanced quickly at Monika. ‘I’m going to move up closer to Jamieson. Take a note of that black Toyota’s registration. We’ll get him later for reckless driving.’ Before he could make his move, Anthony noticed another black Toyota flash past him and watched as it moved ahead of Andrew Jamieson’s car then suddenly swing in, hemming the blue Ford in between the two black Toyota’s. Then he noticed the speed of this convoy of cars slowing, in response to the reduced speed of the front Toyota. This seemed too much for the two cars in front, as they swung out and accelerated into the distance. Anthony now found himself with just the Toyota between himself and Andrew Jamieson. ‘This isn’t what I wanted,’ Anthony said to Monika with a wave of his hand. ‘We’re too close to Jamieson. He’ll soon notice us following him. And why’s that front Toyota going so slow?’ Before Anthony could decide what to do, the Toyota in front of him swung out and moved up beside the blue Ford, keeping pace with it, and boxing it in between the two black cars and Anthony’s.

‘Anthony look!’ Monica shouted. ‘They’ve got a gun!’

Anthony swung his gaze over to the car alongside the blue Ford, and could definitely see a gun being waved at Andrew Jamieson, indicating him to pull over. ‘Christ, what’s going on here. They can’t be cops. We’re the only ones involved in this operation?’ Anthony quickly radioed into control and confirmed that whoever they were, they weren’t police. He then informed the two other police cars behind him, of the situation, and ordered them to move up. By now, the front car had slowed right down, and with the car alongside the blue Ford swerving over, Andrew Jamieson was being slowly herded off the motorway and into the emergency lane. As if in response to this, Anthony watched as the blue Ford swung back at the black Toyota, trying to break out. The swift reaction from the car alongside was to fire a warning shot over the roof of the blue Ford. ‘Right, put the lights on,’ Anthony barked into the radio, as he put his hand out the side window and stuck the blue flashing beacon on top of the car roof. With the sirens from all three cars now blaring Anthony moved out and behind the black Toyota, accelerating to bump into its rear buffer, jolting it’s passengers. He now held their attention. The gun, which had been pointing at Andrew Jamieson, was now turned in their direction. Anthony noticed just in time to swerve, as the gun went off sending a bullet searing past Monika’s right hand side window. ‘Keep your head down,’ Anthony shouted as another bullet was fired, this time smashing into the windscreen, shattering it, leaving a large hole as it flew between Anthony and Monika and out through the roof of the car. Anthony pulled at the cracked windscreen in front of him to give a clear view of the black Toyota, while Monika leveled her gun through the hole in the window and fired, sending a bullet thudding into the boot of the Toyota.

‘Too low,’ she muttered under her breath.

‘Watch!’ Anthony warned as he noticed another gun appear, now at the back left hand window.

Just in time to even the odds, one of the other police cars now drew up alongside Anthony, as Detective Zinni, the top half of his body hanging out of his right hand window, gun in outstretched hands, took aim and fired a shot into the rear window of the black Toyota.

Anthony watched as the hand holding the gun ahead went limp, releasing the weapon, which bounced along the road behind him. When Monika also fired into the car, smashing the side window of the front gunman, this signaled a change of heart as the black Toyota suddenly accelerated and pulled away, quickly followed by the other Toyota.

Anthony passed on the details of the two cars to control as he pulled alongside Andrew Jamieson’s car.

Monika indicated to them to pull over, which they started to do almost immediately, as if the sight and sound of the three police cars seemed a reassuring alternative to the threatening black Toyotas. All four cars soon came to a halt with the blue Ford in the center, surrounded by six armed police aiming their guns over the bonnets of their cars in the direction of the three Ford occupants.

‘Open the doors, and come out slowly with your hands clearly in the air,’ Anthony commanded loudly.

Monika watched as the two nearside doors opened, a pair of hands rising out from behind each of them, followed by the head of Andrew Jamieson at the front door and that of a gray haired old man at the back passenger door. At the far side another pair of hands now rose above the roof of the car followed by the head of Helena Maguz, whose long black hair was blowing in the light sea breeze from the Bay of Elefsina in the distance behind her.

With the sun hanging low in the reddening sky beyond the bay, Anthony shielded his eyes as he ordered all three to place their hands on the roof of the car. As soon as they had obeyed, he rushed forward to Andrew Jamieson quickly followed by Monika, who

headed for Helena Maguz, and Detective Zinni who made for the old man. The other three policemen watched on, still aiming their guns at the suspects.

After quickly searching them, their arms were pulled behind their backs and handcuffs snapped on their wrists. Anthony and Monika looked at each other smiling, sharing the same common feelings of triumph and relief.

Another feeling was stirring in Monika though, as she had noticed that all through this, Helena Maguz and Andrew Jamieson had stared at each other with a look in their eyes that she thought she recognized. Was it a look of caring and compassion for each other – or love as it’s more commonly known? How could a violent killer like Jamieson show such tenderness towards someone when all he had shown to his victims was a ruthless mercilessness? And then there was the old man, how did he fit into all this. We’ll soon find out she thought, sitting beside Anthony, with Andrew Jamieson and Helena Maguz in the back seat, as the three police cars headed off towards Athens and the police headquarters.

The flight from Stockholm had just arrived and the passengers were making their way to passport control. At the plane, the underbelly was opened and its contents loaded onto the baggage trolleys. As they filled up, a larger vehicle drew up and a silver container was fork lifted out of the hold and onto the rear of the transporter.

Back at the concourse, the passengers were now milling around the luggage area, waiting hopefully for the first signs of baggage to burst through the flaps and be dragged along the circular conveyor belt. Three men stood side by side, smartly dressed in suits – company men most people thought – as the passengers looked around at each other, passing the time while they waited.

Suddenly a case broke through the hanging plastic flaps. All eyes now focused on spotting their luggage as the long line of assorted cases, hold alls and bags moved past the eagerly awaiting crowd. Gaps began to appear in the steady parade of baggage, as hands would suddenly dart out from the throng of passengers to lift and heave their belongings off the belt and onto their waiting trolleys.

The three men in suits were lucky; their three cases had arrived early, next to each other, to be plucked effortlessly and piled one on top of each other on to a single trolley. They then joined the trail of passengers making their way to the international arrivals area, side by side with the one in the middle guiding the trolley, eyes straight ahead. The passengers left behind looked enviously at the ones who had successfully retrieved their belongings, quickly switching their gaze back to the thinning line of luggage in the hope that they too would soon be reunited with their accompanying baggage and that, God forbid, it hadn’t made a separate journey to some unknown destination.

At international arrivals, an expectant crowd awaited the imminent appearance of the newly arrived travelers. It was a mixture of friends, relatives, loved ones and – dotted among them – business associates, holding aloft small placards proclaiming the names of various companies. Familiar names such as IBM, Microsoft, Dell and others could be seen bobbing about in the crowd, all part of the International Computer Exhibition, which would start tomorrow. Suddenly the cards were held high, as the next batch of travelers poured through the arrivals gate to be greeted by waves and shouts from the eager crowd trying to get the attention of the ones they had patiently waited for. Small islands of people now formed as couples embraced and larger groups politely shook hands before drifting away into the night.

One placard in particular caught the attention of the three men in suits. NETSOFT. This respected and rapidly growing company based in Stockholm would join the worlds top computer firms in the annual shop window of the International Computer Exhibition. The three men were greeted warmly by their colleague, all exchanging knowing glances, as if they were relieved that they had arrived safely. Their thoughts were also with the cargo that had traveled with them in the silver container, holding the equipment they would display and demonstrate to the world tomorrow. This container had passed through customs after a cursory inspection by the officials. After all it was NETSOFT, who hadn’t heard of them. And it was just computer equipment for the big show. There was no reason to suspect that they would try to conceal something other than what was on the official accompanying itinery list. No reason at all.

With his feet up on the desk, Anthony Lykourgos leaned back in the chair and rubbed his eyes. What a night, he thought as he turned and picked up the steaming mug of black coffee, sipping it carefully. ‘Ah, just what I needed,’ he said appreciatively, his gaze shifting to Monika sitting on the other side of the desk. ‘Well, what did you make of their statements?’

Monika leaned on the desk, feeling the effects of lack of sleep. They had finished at one o’clock last night and then went on to Anthony’s favourite taverna. When they left there at three o’clock, she was tempted to go back to Anthony’s, but had kissed him gently on the cheek as he dropped her off at her hotel. There was no rush. There would be other times, she had thought as she finally fell asleep. Before she knew it, her alarm was ringing at seven in the morning and now here she was, as if she had never left the station.

Anthony’s voice broke into her daydream. ‘Not exactly what I had anticipated,’ he added, taking another sip of his hot black coffee.

‘Well, I didn’t expect them to admit to everything,’ Monika said, still trying to shake off the effects of too little sleep. ‘But the fact that they blamed everything on some shadowy organization working for the SPAK Corporation seemed a bit too much‘ – she stopped suddenly reminded of what happened yesterday – ‘although there were those gun men in the black Toyota’s yesterday. Did we get a trace on their cars?’

Anthony swung his feet off the desk. ‘No, the license plates don’t exist, which is very strange, just like everything else in this case. So who knows who they were? I suppose they could just as easily be who Jamieson said they were, gun men working for SPAK.’

Monika shook her head. ‘No, the SPAK Corporation is a world wide respected company, Jamieson’s just trying to shift the blame.’

Yea, your right,’ Anthony sighed. ‘They’re a well-known employer in Athens. We don’t want to start throwing these sorts of allegations at them. The fact remains, even though they were interviewed separately, their stories still tallied. So either they’re telling the truth or they’ve spent a bit of time agreeing what to say in case they got caught.’

‘Then there’s the old man,’ Monika added. ‘He’s a respected Professor of Philosophy at Athens University, not the type you’d expect would hang around with a violent killer.’

Anthony looked intently at her. ‘Are you starting to have doubts?’ he asked quietly.

‘No.’ She answered firmly, shaking her head. ‘He was her Professor at University, after all, and he seems like more of a family friend, so he could be covering for her. Talking about her family, has her father been informed?’

‘Oh yes,’ Anthony smiled. ‘Last night the Chief said he’d been notified and was now using his influence to arrange for her release. All credit to the Chief though, he’s resisting the pressure from above, saying we need more time to interview her. But I don’t think he can hold out much longer. I think we need to see them again before we lose her and the professor.’

Yes, there’s two things I still can’t reconcile,’ Monika agreed. ‘One is the fact that Andrew Jamieson was found with the murder weapon in his hand in Switzerland. That’s incontrovertible. And he did escape from the hospital, where the guard was seriously injured, implying that it was his handiwork. If he was innocent, why did he flee the country and come all the way here to Greece? Everything points to him being guilty. They’re the actions of a guilty man. But the fact is we did see with our own eyes those gun men trying to force them off the road yesterday, backing up Jamieson and the girls story that there are other people involved who were responsible for the death of Hans Schenk and the assault on the police guard. Yes let’s bring them up here again to the interview rooms. I think they’re holding something back. If we press them hard enough we may find out.’

Anthony nodded as he stood, sifting through Andrew Jamieson’s pocessions. ‘I’ve had a chance to look through Jamieson’s things, and this‘– he lifted the crimson-red card with the picture of the black and white snake – ‘I’m sure I’ve seen this symbol somewhere before, but I just can’t remember. I’d like to interview Jamieson again and ask him about it.’ Pocketing the card Anthony then led Monika out of the office and down to the detention area.

Outside, three white vans drew up in the narrow street at the side of the police station. The back doors of the first van flew open and out jumped six men all dressed in black, from their close fitting black masks down to their heavy black boots. They then raced over to a metal door at the top of a small flight of six stone stairs. Five were cradling Israeli made Uzi sub machine guns. The one to reach the entrance first had his gun swung round his back, as he used his free hands to enter a code on the keypad at the side and to turn a key in a lock to release the door which he kicked wide open. As all six now charged up the stairs inside, the other two vans spewed out their contents similar to the first van. Six more men ran up the stairs, the final six, remaining at the entrance.

Inside, Anthony and Monika had went down to the detention area, signed the three detainees out of their cells and escorted them up to the interview rooms. As they were about to put them into the three separate rooms, Anthony turned in response to what he thought was the sound of distant machine gun fire, coming from the far side of the room and down some side stairs. It can’t be, he thought, lack of sleep was making him imagine things. Then a scream. And another burst of machine gun fire, closer this time.

Anthony turned to Monika. ‘Did you hear that …‘ His voice trailed off at the sight of a group of men, all in black, storming into the far side of the office, shooting anyone who got in their way, with short bursts of rapid machine gun fire. Like rabbits caught in the beam of an oncoming car, the people in the large open office, stared, fixed to the spot, at this unreal scene, until they were thrown back and up into the air by the force of the stream of bullets thudding into their bodies, showering the paper strewn desks with crimson blood. Anthony watched as Chief Inspector Yiorghos Larentzakis who had stepped out of his office to see what all the noise was about, became the target of a nearby gunman who blasted away at close range, throwing the Chief back into his office and killing him before he hit the floor.

One of the gunmen who had just entered the room caught sight of Andrew Jamieson and barked an order. ‘That’s Jamieson over there, kill him!’

Anthony moved first. ‘Down!’ he shouted, moving over to Monika, pushing her and the three prisoners down to the floor behind a line of desks. Just in time as a concentrated burst of gunfire was let loose above their heads, the bullets exploding into the wall behind them showering them with plaster ripped from the surface. Anthony tapped Monika on the shoulder and told her to move further down the line of desks. Once there, he took a deep breath, pulled the gun from its side holster and motioning the other four to keep low, swiftly raised his gun over the desk with outstretched hands and took aim at the nearest black clad figure. The force of the gun going off pushed him back slightly as the bullet left and found its target, slamming into the chest of a masked man, who released a burst of gunfire as he crumpled to the floor. Quickly swinging his aim he brought into sight another figure and released a shot, this time finding the head of his target, red appearing on the black mask as the man fell back and onto a desk.

Anthony now had the attention of the advancing figures who had spread out in a line and were now pointing their weapons in his direction. Ducking, just in time before the expected onslaught, Anthony motioned to the other four figures to cover their heads, as the windows from the offices behind shattered from the thunderous concentrated gunfire, showering them with shards of glass. Splinters of wood also exploded into the air as all five felt the bullets thudding into the desks in front of them.

By now, Monika too had found her gun and looked over to Anthony as if mouthing, what next. Anthony moved his hand downwards indicating for her to stay low as he quickly raised his gun again, letting off two rapid shots. To his right he could see out of the corner of his eye another two shots being fired by the figure of Detective Zinni who was just two desks away. The response was another hail of bullets inches above their heads. Anthony looked over beyond Zinni to the emergency exit sign that led to a stairwell and down to a door at the side of the building. Indicating the exit sign to Monika and Zinni, he motioned them to head towards it.

Covering them, he again raised his gun, and let off another two shots, catching someone in the shoulder. Surprised at how close they were, he urged Monika and the prisoners on. He then crawled below the now constant gunfire above his head towards Monika, looking back just in time to see an armed figure about four desks behind him. Christ, he thought, as Zinni caught the gunman in the stomach, causing him to drop his machine gun and clutch his midriff as he fell.

Monika was now at the door, which she pushed open, and then led the prisoners, crouching, on to the stone landing. Standing half up, all four now started to race down the two flights of stairs, with the sound of bullets ricocheting off the white painted brick walls behind them. Anthony motioned to Zinni to follow him through the exit door, but Zinni waved him on as another figure appeared, this time ducking just in time as Anthony’s shot flew over his head.

‘Go!’ Zinni shouted. ‘I’ll hold them up for a few more seconds to give you a chance to escape.

Anthony could see the resolution in his eyes as he patted him on the back. ‘OK, but as soon as you see me go down the stairs, follow me. That’s an order.’

‘Right sir,’ he replied smiling, before turning back to fire two more shots into the rapidly encircling line of black clad figures.

Keeping his head below the line of desks, Anthony dashed for the exit door and passed through it onto the stone landing. Before heading off down the stairs he glanced back at Zinni, shouting and waving at him to follow him.

Zinni waved him on as another burst of fire sent bullets ricocheting around the stairwell. The detective replied with another couple of shots. ‘You go on Inspector, I’ll be right behind you.’

No Zinni, come –’ Anthony watched in horror as several bullets ripped into Zinni, exiting from his back in fountains of blood. ‘Oh shit!’ Suddenly four figures appeared around Zinni’s body. Anthony quickly let off a couple of shots, not waiting to see the results, before turning and throwing himself down the flight of stairs. When he reached the bottom, he ran through the already open exit door and looked around for Monika.

‘Over here, Anthony.’ Monika shouted from behind a parked car in the small side street.

Anthony made straight for the car. ‘Keep your head down they’re right behind me,’ he shouted, as a burst of machine gun fire from behind made him dive the last few meters to land rolling on the ground and over to the side of Monika.

‘Zinni?’ she whispered hopefully.

Anthony shook his head as he reloaded his gun.

Monika sighed. ‘Who are these men, and why are they killing everybody? What are they after?

‘Us.’ Came a voice from behind.

Monika turned as Jamieson continued. ‘They’re SPAK gunmen and they want to kill us. They’ve been trying ever since Switzerland.’

Before Monika could speak, the car shuddered as raking gunfire ripped into the other side shattering the widows.

‘We’ve got to get out of here,’ Anthony interrupted as he looked for an escape route. ‘If we can make it over to that other car, the main road is only a short dash away. Right when I shout make for that car.’ Quickly moving up and resting his gun on the bonnet, he took aim and fired three rapid shots. ‘Now! Go!’

Two advancing gunmen fell, prompting the others to halt temporarily, focusing their aim on Anthony. Before another burst could be let loose, Monika and the three prisoners succeeded in their dash to the other car. ‘Come on Anthony, I’ll cover you.’ Monika shouted, waving him over.

Anthony ducked from the hail of bullets and got ready to run over to Monika who had raised her gun over the back of the car and started to return fire, causing the black clad figures to duck and turn their attentions to her. Anthony used this opportunity to make his break for the car, arriving next to her to add to the returning firepower. Suddenly, they all turned at the sound of screeching tires, to see three white vans racing up the small side street, coming to a halt at the exit door. Six more men jumped from the back of one of the vans and started to advance, firing continuously. The automobile shook at the increasing amount of automatic gunfire thudding into it. Anthony ducked back down and turned to Monika.

‘Christ, there’s more of them, we have to get out of here, they’ll be all over us in a couple of minutes.’ Before he could move to return a shot, everything suddenly went quiet. Anthony and Monika looked at each other.

‘Give us the girl, and you can go free.’ A voice boomed from over from beside one of the vans. ‘You have twenty seconds to decide.’

Andrew Jamieson put his arm around Helena. ‘No. Don’t. They’ll kill you and then us. It’s a trick.’

‘Has this all been just because they want you?’ Anthony asked Helena, staring at her intently.

‘I don’t know,’ she replied shakily.

It’s a trick,’ the professor added. ‘Don’t believe them, you’ve seen what they can do.’

Monika put her hand on his shoulder. ‘We can’t hand her over to them,’ Anthony. They’re killers.’

Anthony held up his hands as the other four looked on. ‘All right, all right, don’t worry I hadn’t even considered the possibility. But we need to take advantage of this temporary cease-fire and make a break for the main road. Right, when I give the signal, run for it, and head round that corner over there.’

All five looked over to the corner, as a black car drew up beside it.

‘Look it’s Father Angeletti,’ Helena shouted as the nearside doors swung open and a man beckoned for them to enter.

Anthony quickly turned to Helena. ‘Do you know him, is it safe to go with him?’

‘Yes, yes. It’s our only chance.’

‘Right, when I say, go for it.’ Anthony moved all of them to the back of the car and then shouted. ‘Go!’

All five raced for the car as Anthony back peddled shooting into the gunmen, who taken aback at this move, ducked. This element of surprise was just enough to enable them to reach the car and start to jump in. Monika was just getting into the back seat and Anthony into the front, when the expected burst of gunfire blasted into the side of the car. Anthony turning round to check Monika, looked on in horror, as he saw her being hit in the back causing her to fall out of the rear entrance and onto the ground. ‘No!’ he screamed, jumping out and rushing over to her. Bullets flew all around as he lifted her up and threw her into the back seat. ‘Go!’ he shouted at the priest, who didn’t wait to be told twice as the car screeched away, doors flapping open, with bullets thudding into the rear, out of the side street and onto the safety of the main road and away from the police headquarters.

‘Are they following us?’ the priest shouted!

Andrew Jamieson twisted his body round and looked out the back window. ‘Yes, I can see the three vans about six or seven cars behind us.’ Anthony had turned round and was leaning over the back seat, gently stroking Monika’s brow. He had seen enough dead bodies to know she was gone. It didn’t happen often, but he could feel the tears welling up inside of him. Tears of sorrow and also of anger. Such a strong bond built up in so little a time, just for her to be so violently taken from him. Yes, he thought, turn all the sorrow into anger and direct it at the murdering bastards who did this. He turned his gaze to Helena who was cradling Monika in her arms. ‘You say you know who those people are. Who are they? And why would they go to such unbelievable lengths to kill you?’

Andrew Jamieson leaned forward. ‘They’re SPAK gunmen and they’ve been trying to kill us since Switzerland.’

Anthony looked at Jamieson who was sitting next to Helena. ‘But why?’

‘I think it’s because of what we know.’

‘Know what, exactly?’

‘Back in Switzerland my workmate was murdered because he saw some information on a screen. I also saw it and that’s why they’ve been after me ever since.’

‘Well they’re not giving up. We have to lose them.’ Anthony said with a sense of urgency as he looked beyond Andrew Jamieson to see the three white vans overtaking cars behind them.

The priest, without taking his eyes off the road ahead, shouted back, ‘where too. Where’s the safest place to go?

Anthony glanced at him then back at the three white vans in the distance. ‘Well, we can’t just go in to a police station. They’ll follow us in and shoot up the place, just like the headquarters. Jesus, in all my years as a policeman, I’ve never seen anything like that. It was like a planned military assault on the building. And they seemed to know where you were in the building. How could they know that?’

Andrew Jamieson turned towards Anthony. ‘They’re a big and powerful organization. They seem to know a lot of things, as Helena and I have already found out to our cost. Maybe they have connections in the police force.’

Anthony shook his head. ‘No‘ – then remembered what had been nagging at him – ‘although, the way they came at us, they would have to have known the security code and had a key to get through that side door. Christ, that means I’d better not call in and let them know where we are – for now anyway.’ He paused for a moment as if thinking what to do next, then quickly turned round in his seat and looked straight ahead out the front window. ‘Right, we have to lose them. Where are we? Hmm, Ippokratous. Take this next turning to your left into Acadhimias, Father.’

Father Angeletti followed Anthony’s instructions and was soon passing the University on his right. Professor Zarganis glanced out the window and sighed as the University faded into the distance.

Anthony looked back. ‘Are they still following us?’

Andrew Jamieson turned round and squinted through the back window. ‘Yes, about five cars behind us now.’

Anthony glanced out the front window. ‘We’ll soon be coming up to the Plaka district where there are lots of small streets. We’ll try to lose them there and then head for my place in Veikou. Take the next turning to your left, Father, this should take us to Syntagma Square.’

As Father Angeletti turned the corner he recognized where he was. ‘My God, there’s St. Denis Cathedral, where poor Jane was murdered.’

Anthony looked at him. ‘Who was murdered?’

‘Jane Davidson,’ Father Angeletti replied. ‘She was killed by SPAK gunmen in the basement.’

‘Christ, another murder!’ Anthony exclaimed. ‘This SPAK Corporation has a lot to answer for –‘ He then noticed the Syntagma post office to his left. ‘Take this next turning to your right.’

The priest turned into Mitropoleos. ‘What now?’

‘Next on your left.’

As Father Angeletti swung left, he noticed how narrow the roads were becoming. ‘Straight ahead?’

‘No, right then left again.’

Andrew Jamieson twisted round just catching sight of the first van entering the road as they left it. ‘We’re out of sight of them now. If we turn off quick here we may lose them.’

Father Angeletti quickly took the next turn left.

‘Next right, and follow the road round. This will double us back up. Hopefully they’ll continue on ahead.’

Andrew Jamieson peered through the back window. ‘There’s no sign of them.’

Anthony turned and patted the priest on the shoulder. ‘Good driving Father. You’d make a great getaway driver.’ Anthony now guided the priest through the winding streets of the Plaka until they reached the Veikou district where he lived. Indicating a block of flats, he told the priest to turn down into a ramp, leading to the basement car park. As the car came to a halt in the quiet of the dimly lit basement, all the occupants breathed a sigh of relief, releasing the tension that had built up over the last few hours.

Anthony spoke first. ‘There’s the lift over there. I’ll carry Monika.’

One by one they got out of the car, flexing their cramped muscles and made their way to the lift. Once inside, Anthony pressed the third floor button. No one spoke as Anthony held Monika in his arms. Once at the third floor, Anthony indicated his flat to Andrew Jamieson, who opened it with the key Anthony had given him earlier. Anthony nodded in the direction of the living room. ‘Take a seat, I’ll be back in a minute.’ He then went into the bedroom and gently laid Monika on his bed. The tears started to well up again at the thought of what might have been. Picking up a white linen sheet a carefully spread it over Monika. I’ll make these bastards pay for this, he promised himself.

Entering the living room, He switched on the television. ‘The news is coming on. We’ll see what it says about the attack on the headquarters.’ Just as he had thought, the main story was of the attack. A number of people had been killed – no exact figures yet – and others injured when the police headquarters was attacked by a group of heavily armed men. So far there were no clues to who these gunmen were or why they did this.

Anthony sighed. ‘God, nothing we don’t know already. What –’ He broke off noting that all four were listening intently to the next news item.

‘The island of Santorini is to be evacuated, as scientists are predicting that it could erupt within the next couple of days. Although it will not have the same devastating effect as it’s previous eruption, three and a half thousand years ago, it will be large enough to endanger the lives of it’s inhabitants…’

Anthony stared at the pictures of the smoking Nea Kameni volcano in the center of Santorini caldera. ‘Good God…’ His voice trailing as another news item started.

‘A couple of days ago we reported that a one and a half mile wide asteroid will pass within fifty thousand miles of the Earth tomorrow night. We can now report that another, almost identical sized asteroid, will also pass within fifty thousand miles of the other side of the Earth at the same time …’

Anthony switched the television off and turned to the professor. ‘What’s happening? Has the world gone crazy? The police station attacked… Monika, the Chief, countless others murdered. Then… Not just one massive asteroid passing close to the Earth, but now two. At exactly the same time. What are the odds on that happening?

The professor looked up at him. ‘Astronomical, I would think.’

‘Literally impossible,’ Anthony continued. ‘Then there’s Santorini looking as if it could blow after thousands of years of nothing happening, the floods, outrageous terrorist attacks, nuclear States squaring up to each other … The list is endless.’

The professor nodded in agreement. ‘Yes, you’re quite right Inspector Lykourgos. Things do seem to be coming to a head.’

‘What! You think something’s going to happen soon?’

‘Yes –’

‘Professor! There’s blood on your shirt, you’ve been wounded!’ Helena interrupted, turning to open his jacket.

‘Its alright, one of the bullets must have grazed me.’ The professor reassured her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Anthony moved closer to look as Helena removed his jacket and opened his shirt. Anthony inspected the wound. ‘It’s not all right Professor. We’ll have to get you to a hospital.’

‘No. There’s too much to do. Just clean it up and put something on it.’

Helena looked at him, concern written all over her face. ‘But –’

‘No,’ the professor insisted.

Anthony turned to fetch some hot water and bandages. ‘OK, if that’s what you want…’ Returning with the water and a first aid box, Anthony watched as Helena cleaned the wound and skillfully applied the bandage around the professor’s midriff. ‘Not bad,’ he congratulated her. ‘You’ve done this before?’

‘Yes, I always thought my first aid classes would come in handy sometime, although this is just temporary. Professor, as soon as we’re able, we’ll get you to a hospital.’

‘Yes, yes. But first we have to decide what to do next.’ The professor looked up at Anthony. ‘Inspector, you’ve now seen what these people are capable of.’

Anthony sighed at the thought of Monika lying dead next door. ‘Yes, it looks as if they would do anything to kill the three of you and anyone who got in their way.’

‘In your investigations, have you come across anything that may help us find out more about them? We don’t have much time left.’

‘What do you mean “there’s not much time left”, you hinted at this earlier, is something going to happen soon?’

‘Yes. I’ll explain later. But if you’ve discovered anything about them it may help us.’

‘No. We‘ – he sighed and corrected himself – ‘I haven’t had enough time to investigate the things revealed during the interviews…’ His voice trailed as he remembered what he was going to do just before the attack. ‘Although there are a couple of things I was going to investigate. First was the Swiss SPAK ID card of the man alleged to have carried out the attack in Germany. A Peter Kocher, if I remember correctly. And in the light of what happened today, this may be our chance to link SPAK to the gunmen. And the other thing was the smart card with the picture of the snake biting its tail. I’m sure I’ve seen this before somewhere. But I just can’t remember.’

‘You’ve seen this before?’ Father Angeletti asked, staring at him. ‘This is important, you must remember.’

Anthony put his hands over his eyes, closing them as if to picture a scene. ‘If only I can… It wasn’t at police headquarters… Another building… Not on a card… It was on a… Got it!’ he exclaimed. ‘It was to do with my other work, overseeing the security for the World Anti-Terrorist And Peace Summit that finishes tomorrow.’

‘Where did you see it? The priest asked eagerly, as they all stared intently at Anthony.

‘The British Embassy,’ he replied.

Athens seemed to be at the center of the Universe today, as the World leaders were assembling for the penultimate day of the World Anti-Terrorist And Peace Summit. And here at the Athens Exhibition Center the largest names in the high tech industry were displaying their latest products in the annual shop window of the International Computer Exhibition.

Thronging around the maze of stands that filled the large open plan hall of the Exhibition Center, people gazed in amazement at the sight of newer, faster, bigger, smaller computers, ipads, mobile phones that displayed new operating systems, office packages to increase productivity, realistic graphics for modeling, network solutions to link more people together and even games and VR to relax overworked employees. All the big names were here, IBM, Microsoft, Sun, Compaq… and Netsoft.

Things were going well at the Netsoft stand. Plenty of people had shown great interest in their new networking product. Some orders had already been placed, keeping them on course to meet their targets. The men in suits were slick and professional in demonstrating their product, causing passers by to stop, mesmerized at the dazzling display of multiple computers operating together in synchronized harmony. Just think of the efficiency and the savings made from employees working closer with each other, they would proclaim to their avid listeners.

Hidden behind the stand, two other men smartly dressed in suits were unpacking the remains of a container, two tower computers. Each of them took one of the computers and proceeded to loosen the screws holding the outer casings to the frames of the units. When the outer casings were removed to reveal the inner workings of the computers, it wasn’t the usual sight of printed circuit boards populated by integrated chips but of metallic brief case sized objects carefully packed and held in place by polystyrene padding.

The men stared at each other before turning back and starting to unpack the objects. Taking great care, they methodically removed the packaging, carefully lifting the objects out of the hollow computers and placing them on the floor. They now brought over two leather brief cases into which they carefully placed each of the metallic objects, glancing at the Russian writing inscribed on them, before snapping the brief cases shut. They again turned to look at each other, wiping the small beads of perspiration that had formed on their foreheads and allowed themselves a small smile of satisfaction.

Standing, they brushed their suits with the palm of their hands, straightening out any creases that had formed during their exertions. Satisfied, they picked up the briefcases and went from the quiet of the back of the stand and out into the bustle and noise of the exhibition. No one took a second glance at them, why should they, they were only two ordinary men in suits carrying two ordinary briefcases.

Things were happening and changing too fast Anthony Lykourgos thought to himself as he swung his car into Vasilissis Sofias on his way to the British Embassy. Not long ago he and Monika had Andrew Jamieson down as public enemy number one. But now Monika was dead and here he was about to check up on the British Ambassador just because of what Andrew Jamieson had told him, while he remained back at his flat together with Helena Maguz, the professor and the priest. But he had seen with his own eyes those ruthless gunmen trying to kill Jamieson and in the process, killing Monika. The professor and the priest also backed up their story about the SPAK gunmen being responsible for the deaths in Switzerland and now here in Greece. He would do anything to catch those murdering bastards who carry a card similar to the one he had in his pocket. And now the same symbol displayed on that card had been seen on the computer screen of the security advisor to the British Ambassador here in Athens.

That was what he had finally remembered in his flat, where he had seen this symbol before. During his job of organizing security for the World Anti-Terrorist And Peace Summit, he had visited many of the embassies in Athens to co-ordinate the security of the visiting heads of State. And it was at the British Embassy where he had noticed this symbol on the computer screen of the British security advisor. Why would this symbol, used by the SPAK gunmen, be displayed on a computer screen in the British Embassy? Had security been breached and SPAK infiltrated the embassy, obtaining access to details on the movements of World leaders during the summit? For this reason alone he had to go back to the embassy and speak with the advisor. But there was also the additional reason to find out more about the people who had murdered Monika. He owed her that.

Andrew Jamieson had explained to him what to look out for; a smart card reader attached to the computer. If he had a chance he was to insert his card into the reader and check if the snake symbol appeared. He would only have ten minutes to find out all could, as the secretary Miss Sylvia Lawrence had explained on the phone. Sir Richard Chalmers was a very busy man.

Swinging up to the gates of the embassy he displayed his ID card and passed through into the driveway quickly finding a spare parking spot. Once in the hallway of the impressive mansion he went over to reception and was pointed in the direction of a large door up the wide carpeted stairs and second on the right. Knocking on the door as he entered, Miss Lawrence looked up from reading an open folder on her desk, adjusted her glasses and focused on him.

‘Inspector Lykourgos. I’ve an appointment with Sir Richard. We spoke on the phone earlier.’ Anthony explained as he moved over to her desk.

‘Oh yes,’ Miss Lawrence said remembering him from previous visits, ‘I’ll let him know you’re here.’

While the secretary notified Sir Richard of his presence, Anthony noticed something familiar out of the corner of his eye. Swinging his gaze from the thin, elegant, graying haired Miss Lawrence to her computer screen he immediately recognized the snake symbol that filled the display. And sitting next to the computer was a smart card reader, just as Andrew Jamieson had described. Shocked, he quickly tried to gather his thoughts. He had expected to see the symbol – but not here. It was Sir Richard’s computer that had displayed the symbol the last time he visited – and now her too.

‘Sir Richard will see you now Inspector.’

Her voice shook Anthony out of his temporary shock at seeing the symbol so soon. ‘Oh. Right. Thank you,’ he replied, his mind filling with questions as he made his way to Sir Richard’s office. Opening the door, he entered the large elegantly decorated room with its high corniced ceiling to see Sir Richard sitting behind his desk at the far side of the room. On seeing Anthony, Sir Richard stood up and gestured to Anthony to take a seat.

‘Nice to see you again Inspector. I’m afraid I can’t spare you much time, we’re very busy at the moment.’

Anthony shook Sir Richard’s outstretched hand glancing quickly at his computer screen. Jesus, he thought to himself, again catching sight of the snake symbol, this time filling Sir Richard’s screen. Everybody here seems to be displaying this SPAK symbol. Quickly re-gathering his thoughts, he smiled at Sir Richard. ‘Yes it’s just to confirm the final details of the security for the last day of the summit and the evening banquet.’

‘Ah, I have already prepared a copy of the Prime Ministers schedule for tomorrow,’ Sir Richard replied, handing the details over to Anthony.

‘Thank you,’ Anthony said leaning over to receive the blue folder.

‘You’ve done a good job Inspector,’ Sir Richard continued as Anthony glanced at the contents. ‘So far we’ve had no incidents to speak of. Just one more trouble free day and it’ll be all over.’

Anthony looked up to see Sir Richard smiling at that thought, staring past him as if into the distance. Suddenly another look came over his face, one of concern as if he had just remembered something. ‘Terrible business though, wasn’t it?’ Sir Richard said, taking Andrew by surprise.

‘Sorry, what –‘

‘The attack on your police headquarters,’ he explained. ‘Oh, yes, hard to believe it happened.’ ‘Were you there?’

‘Err, no. I was out at the time.’

Anthony noticed Sir Richard looked slightly surprised at this reply. As if he had expected him to say that he was at the station at the time of the attack.

‘Do they know who it was and why they attacked your headquarters?’ Sir Richard continued.

‘No we have no idea, but we’re still investigating. It has nothing to do with the summit, though, so everything should continue there as planned.’

‘Good,’ Sir Richard said standing up. ‘Give my condolences to the relatives of the poor people killed in the attack.’

Anthony realizing the meeting was over, quickly stood and shook Sir Richards outstretched hand. ‘Thank you sir, I’ll pass that on.’

Anthony turned and headed for the door shutting it behind him as he left.

Miss Lawrence looked up from reading some notes on her desk. ‘Goodbye Inspector.’

Anthony nodded and smiled at her as he left the small outer office and then headed down the stairs. Questions were now forming faster than they could be answered, if at all, in his mind, as he left the left the building and made for his car. Why would Sir Richard and his secretary at the British Embassy display the SPAK Corporation symbol on their computer screens? The very same symbol on the smart card that the gunmen carry around with them. What’s the connection?

As he left the embassy and swung his car into Vasilissis Sofias he remembered how surprised Sir Richard had looked when he said that he wasn’t at the headquarters when the attack took place. It’s as if he knew he was there he suddenly thought, looking into his rear mirror to catch sight of another car leaving the embassy behind him. ‘Something’s wrong here, I think they’re on to me,’ he muttered under his breath as he noticed the car following him at a discreet distance.

Anthony quickly pulled out his mobile phone and called a number with two short rings. This was what he had told Andrew Jamieson to expect if he called him. Ringing the number again, it was quickly answered.

‘Jamieson?

‘Yes!

‘Lykourgos here. I think they’re on to us. You have to get out of the flat quickly. Go round the corner to a small cafe called Spiro’s. Wait for me there. I’ll be about ten minutes. I’ve got a car tailing me and I have to lose it.’ Anthony pocketed his mobile phone and looked in his rear mirror. Right, he thought let’s see if I can lose you as easy as I lost your friends this morning.

‘We have to get out of here fast,’ Andrew Jamieson explained as he put the phone down. ‘That was the Inspector, he said he’s being followed. We’ve to meet him at a small cafe called Spiro’s, round the corner.’

Helena moved over to the professor. ‘Yes I know where that is. But what about the professor? He’s in no condition to walk very far.’

Andrew motioned to Father Angeletti. ‘We’ll support him, one on each side.’ Andrew and the priest went to either side of him and put his arms around their necks then slowly started to help him stand. ‘Do you think you can make it professor?’ Andrew asked noticing him wince slightly at the effort.

Helena looked at the professor, concern etched on her face. ‘We can’t move him. It’ll just make his condition worse.’

He turned to her. ‘We have no choice Helena. If these gunmen are coming here we have to get out now. But don’t worry you’ve done a good job patching me up. I feel much better now.’

‘Good,’ Andrew said as he helped him over to the front door with the aid of the priest. Outside as they waited for the lift, Andrew noticed an old woman locking her door and turn towards them making for the lift. ‘There’s someone coming professor, do you think you can stand by yourself?’ Anthony whispered.

‘Yes,’ he replied as Andrew and the priest slowly took his arms from around their necks. Helena smiled at the old lady as the lift arrived. Once inside, the professor leaned against the back wall as the lift quickly descended. At the ground floor the old lady got out and Helena pressed the basement button.

In the basement, Andrew and Father Angeletti helped Professor Zarganis over to the priest’s car and gently eased him into the back seat.

Helena got in and sat beside him. ‘How are you feeling professor?’

‘Fine, Helena,’ he said patting his side. ‘Ever since you bandaged me up, there’s not been much pain – only when I move suddenly. I should be able to walk unaided into the cafe.’

Helena smiled at that reassurance as the car pulled out of the basement car park and out into the autumn sunshine of Athens. Leaning over to the priest who was driving, she instructed him to turn right then right again and pointed out the cafe as they approached it. Pulling into a small side street the priest parked the car and all four went into the cafe, the professor managing to walk the short distance by himself. Taking a table by the window, Helena instructed the waiter to bring four coffees.

Andrew looked out the window at the passing traffic. ‘He said he’d be here soon, assuming he manages to lose the car that’s following him.’

Helena shifted her gaze from the window to Andrew. ‘I wonder if he found out anything at the British Embassy. He seems as determined as us now to find out about the SPAK gunmen especially after they murdered his Swiss colleague. I think she was something special to him.’

At that thought, Andrew held Helena’s hand trying not to think what he would feel like if she were taken from him.

The professor sipped his coffee and placed it on the table. ‘This thing must be bigger than I originally thought, first Switzerland, then here in Greece and now the British. How many other countries are involved?’

‘Yes, but remember it’s the British Embassy, that’s the government. How far up does this thing go?’ the priest added.

The professor looked at Andrew and Helena. ‘I think we should tell Father Angeletti of our discussion after he left us the other day. He has the right to know the full story.’

‘What do you mean?’ the priest asked, intrigued.

The professor turned to him. ‘After you left the other day, I revealed –‘

‘Wait a minute professor.’ Andrew interrupted, looking out the window. ‘I’ve noticed the same car with four men in it pass by three times now. Each time they’ve been looking out as if searching for something. I don’t think we can stay here much longer or we’ll be spotted.’

‘What about the inspector?’ Helena asked. ‘He should have been here by now. Something must have happened. Maybe he couldn’t lose the car that was following him – or worse.’ Helena stared at him. ‘But where will we go?’

‘What about your mother and father?’ Andrew suggested. ‘You trust them. Don’t you?’

‘Yes of course I do but –‘

‘That’s a good idea,’ the professor broke in. ‘Your father’s a well-respected man of influence here in Athens. He may be able to help us.’

‘That’s settled then,’ Andrew decided. ‘Right, get ready to leave. As soon as that car passes again we’ll go. That’ll give us a couple of minutes to reach our car before it comes round again.’ All four now looked out the café window. Watching anxiously. Then Andrew suddenly spotted it. ‘Here it comes. Look away from the window… God they nearly saw us then. Let’s go.’ Andrew and Father Angeletti helped the professor to his feet, holding him on either side as they left the café and made for the car. Easing him carefully into the back seat they both went into the front while Helena got in beside the professor.

‘Right which way?’ the priest shouted back to Helena. ‘Straight ahead.’ She replied. The car then pulled out of its parking space and headed through Athens to the house of Simon and Helen Maguz.

Anthony looked in the rear mirror as he approached Syntagma Square. Still on my tail, he thought, right I’ll head off into the Plaka as before and try the same maneuver to lose them. Swinging right into Mitropoleos he continued until the first turn off on his left where the roads became noticeable narrower. Quickly turning right he noticed the black car just entering the street as he left it. I’m out of sight of them now he thought, a quick turn left and I’ll lose them. Taking the next left turn he followed the road round to double back up the way he had just come. Peering into his rear mirror he could see no sign of the black car. Done it again he thought, smiling as he headed into Apollonus. Taking the next turn off to head back down to Veikou, Anthony suddenly cursed as he noticed the black car once again settle back in place three cars behind him.

‘God their back!’ he muttered under his breath. ‘It must be luck. They must have just taken the right turn off after I’d lost them and bumped into me.’ Anthony tried again, another similar route through the winding streets of the Plaka. But just as before when he thought he’d lost them, they suddenly appeared on his tail again. After a few more failed attempts through other parts of the city, he came to the conclusion that they must have planted a tracking device on his car back at the embassy while he was talking to Sir Richard.

‘Wherever I go in this car, they’re going to be right behind me. I’ve got to ditch it and make the rest of the way on foot,’ he spoke quietly to himself, trying to form an escape plan. Looking around he saw the Acropolis rise above him to his right, the Parthenon sitting atop it proudly in the fading autumn sunshine. This was the oldest part of the city with a maze of side streets filled with cafes and tavernas. That’s it, he thought finally. The next time I lose sight of them, I’ll dump the car and head for the pedestrian precincts in the Plaka then on down to Veikou on foot.

At the next turn off, out of sight of the following black car, he suddenly screeched to a halt and jumped out of his car, slamming the door behind him. Noticing a small side street brimming with people, he headed into the crowds losing himself amongst the cafes and tavernas in the colourful narrow pedestrianized street. Following the line of narrow streets heading southward, he soon found himself in the Veikou district. Again keeping to the side streets he finally made it to Spiro’s café. Entering, he quickly scanned the small smoky interior. No sign of them. Looking at his watch, he remembered he told Jamieson he would be there in ten minutes. That was forty-five minutes ago. Did they even make it to the café?

Looking up he noticed Spiro, a small round graying man with a wispy moustache and a permanent smile. ‘Spiro. How are you today?’ he greeted him.

‘Ah. Anthony, you weren’t here for your morning coffee, not like you. To busy with a case?’

‘Yea, something like that. Eh, you didn’t notice three men and a beautiful young lady in here in the last hour, did you?’

Spiro looked into the air thoughtfully. ‘Yes. Sat by the window looking out as if watching for something. Left in a bit of a hurry, about… half an hour ago.’

Shit, Anthony thought to himself. Why’d they leave suddenly? Had they been followed as well? Christ, now I’ve lost them. And I haven’t a clue where they are. They could be anywhere in Athens.

‘Well thanks Spiro, I’ll catch you later.’ Anthony turned to leave.

‘Were they part of your case Anthony?’ Spiro shouted after him.

Anthony sighed. ‘They were Spiro, they were.’

Likavittos hill loomed ever larger above them as they approached the plush Kolonaki district of Athens.

‘Wherever I go in this car’, said The professor, ‘they’re going to be right behind me. I’ve got to ditch it and make the rest of the way on foot,’ he spoke quietly to himself, trying to form an escape plan. Looking around he saw the Acropolis rise above him to his right, the Parthenon sitting atop it proudly in the fading autumn sunshine. This was the oldest part of the city with a maze of side streets filled with cafes and tavernas. That’s it, he thought finally. The next time I lose sight of them, I’ll dump the car and head for the pedestrian precincts in the Plaka then on down to Veikou on foot.

‘Turn right into Vasilissis Sofia and continue straight ahead until we come to the British Embassy.’ Helena instructed him.

The professor turned to her. ‘When was the last time you saw your mother and father, Helena?’

‘Oh‘ – she paused to think a second – ‘it must have been about eight months ago, just before I started the contract in Switzerland. But I’ve spoken to my mother a couple of times on the phone since. Just to reassure her I’m all right. You know what she’s like?’

‘Yes I do,’ the professor replied. ‘You’re lucky to have such caring parents. I’m sure they’ll be delighted to see you.’

‘Yes,’ she said thoughtfully as she saw the British Embassy approaching. ‘Turn left here, Father.’

Turning left, the priest followed Helena’s instructions until they were travelling along a road lined with impressive neoclassical mansions.

Andrew stared in amazement. Helena had never given the impression that her mother and father were so well off. ‘Don’t tell me you live here, Helena?’

‘Well I used to. This is where I was brought up. As Helena Maguz.But even here hasn't escaped the mounting troubles of Greece,’ as she noticed the graffiti festooned suburb.

Andrew and the priest looked at each other, as they pulled up outside the most impressive of all the mansions in the street. ‘Helena Maguz!’ Andrew exclaimed. ‘But you’re Helena Miropolous.’

She leaned forward as the professor smiled at Andrew’s reaction. ‘It was my fathers idea,’ she explained. ‘He thought that being the daughter of one of the richest men in Greece, I could be a potential kidnap victim and held to ransom, especially when I worked abroad. So I did it to keep him happy.’

‘Oh,’ Andrew said as he and the priest nodded in agreement. ‘Sounds a reasonable thing to do – in the circumstances. But you hid it well, being the daughter of such a rich man.’

She smiled at him as she opened the back door. ‘It’s not something to boast about. The right man would find out at the right time.’

Andrew thought about that as he watched her get out of the car and go over to an intercom at the side of the large black wrought iron gates. After speaking into it she returned to her seat.

‘They’re not in at the moment, but they shouldn’t be too long. We’ll go in and wait,’ Helena said as the large gates opened to invite them up the tree-lined driveway.

Father Angeletti drove the car up the winding sloped entrance as the wrought iron gates closed shut behind them. The trees soon gave way to open lawn dotted with statues, classical Greek Andrew thought. The priest pulled the car off the driveway and into the open graveled parking area in front of the imposing mansion that rose above them. Still reeling at the unexpected grandeur of Helena’s home, Andrew and the priest helped Professor Zarganis out of the back seat and followed Helena up to the marble columned front door. Almost as they reached the large twin doors, they swung open to reveal a beaming head-scarfed lady wiping her hands on her apron before she grabbed Helena in a bear-hugging grip. Standing back, the woman held Helena at arms length and looked at her.

‘My little one, it’s so good to see you. It’s been too long. A year at least,’ she said stroking her hair affectionately.

‘No, nana, about eight months,’ Helena corrected her, smiling.

‘Well it seems that long. Anyway come in. And who are your friends?’ the woman asked as she ushered them in, recognizing the professor. ‘Ah Professor Zarganis nice to see you again.’

The professor smiled as he was helped into the large hallway. ‘Nice to see you too, Mrs. Popodopolis.’

As the woman led them into the lounge, she noticed the professor being helped along by Andrew and the priest. ‘Are you not feeling well professor?’ ‘Yes I’m fine just a little tired.’

Nodding in the direction of the priest he continued. ‘This is Father Angeletti‘ – then turning to Andrew – ‘and this is Andrew, a good friend of Helena’s.’

‘Pleased to meet you Father… and you too Andrew.’ The woman looked Andrew up and down as if trying to decide if he was good enough for her little Helena. Once the professor was seated, Helena went over and hugged the small round beaming woman.

‘This is Maria our housekeeper, who basically brought me up. My mother and father were away a lot of the time when I was young leaving me in the capable hands of my nana.’ Maria blushed at the compliment. ‘Yes and I loved every minute of it. You were a lovely child… and now a beautiful woman. I still feel lonely when you’re not here‘ – she wiped a tear from her eye then sniffed and pulled herself together – ‘but you’re here now with your friends. Your mother and father won’t be long. Can I get you anything? Something to eat perhaps?’

Helena smiled at her. ‘Just some sandwiches and coffee I think,’ she said looking at her three seated companions who nodded in agreement.

Maria then scuttled away humming to herself, her heart lightened at the return of her lovely Helena.

Andrew looked around the beautifully decorated room with its high ornate ceiling and large windows looking out over the back lawn that stretched down to a line of trees. The setting autumn sun was low in the sky filling the room with a dim orange glow that prompted Helena to pull over the heavy crimson curtains and light some of the many lamps placed around the lounge. ‘This is a lovely house,’ Andrew said admiringly as he looked around. ‘A bit better than our hotel rooms back in Switzerland.’

She smiled at this as she sat beside him. ‘Yes, but they did have a certain charm don’t you think?’

No.’ He replied emphatically, remembering his soulless noisy room back at the Swiss, German border.

The priest suddenly leaned forward in his seat as if he had just remembered something. ‘Professor. Back at the café. You were going to tell me about the conversation you had after I left the other day. You mentioned, “telling me the full story”. Is there something I should know?’

The other three looked at each other, nodding in agreement. ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘There is.’ The professor then went on to tell Father Angeletti about his involvement with the Greek Gnostic sect and their discovery of the impending Black Hole Of Souls tomorrow night. Looking on astonished, the priest then heard how the headset was to be used by the SPAK Gnostics to escape before the arrival of this irreversible descent into chaos. ‘But –‘

Suddenly the door burst open, as the priest was about to ask the first of his many questions, and four men, arms raised holding guns aimed steadily at them, rushed in and surrounded the shocked group. Before Andrew could react he and the others were pulled roughly to their feet, quickly searched and their hands bound behind their backs.

‘Don’t touch her –’ Andrew growled as a gun was whipped across his face, causing him to spit blood.

‘No –’ Helena screamed, as tape was placed over each of their mouths.

The professor winced in pain as they were all turned around and led out the room to be taken from the house and into two waiting cars with blacked out windows. As the cars sped away from her house Helena turned and looked at Andrew, fear in her eyes at what lay in store for them at the hands of their captors. She knew all too well what they were capable of.

Space - 425000 miles from Earth

Deep in space the two large irregular shaped dark masses of rock and iron spun as they hurled towards the Earth. Half a mile wide and traveling at a speed of twenty five thousand miles an hour they were the mavericks of space with no regard for whatever lay in their path. The astronomers back on Earth were of course correct when they said that the two asteroids were on separate courses that would narrowly miss us. But what about the next time they headed towards us? That was why they would be tracked well into the future, because each time round, their routes would change and next time we may not be so lucky.

Earth - Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Peter Strauss in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Pasadena sat back in his chair and felt quite satisfied with his past weeks work. He had discovered a few asteroids in his time but the two that would narrowly miss Earth were his finest achievement. He had plotted and verified their paths through the heavens using the most powerful computers in the world and now as predicted they dutifully followed these paths. Turning his head to the screen he pressed the Return key with an outstretched finger and watched as the simulation went through the motions of displaying the asteroid’s path as it approached the Earth, narrowly missing it and then continuing its journey through space. That was the first of the two asteroids he had spotted.
Selecting the simulation of the second one, he watched a repeat performance as this almost identical asteroid followed a mirror image of the first as it narrowly flew by the other side of the Earth.

Shaking his head, he still couldn’t believe this was happening. It was like the synchronized dancing of two bodies in the heavens around the Earth. Quite poetic he thought as he re-ran the simulations again to wile away the time before he received tonight’s space shots from the Maui Space Surveillance Site, Hawaii. They were monitoring the two asteroids closely until they had passed the Earth safely, and Peter was waiting in anticipation to see exactly where they were tonight. He knew where they would be though, he thought to himself confidently. This was just to confirm his predictions. There was no reason on Earth why they wouldn’t be where he predicted. No reason at all.

Space - 400000 miles from Earth

Deep in space and unaware that they should be following the plans of the tiny creatures on the planet ahead of them, the two asteroids were about to cross paths, before they would start their final approach to swing around the Earth. Peter Straus was correct when he had used the word synchronized. But he would have been more accurate if he had added the word exactly. For that’s what they were, exactly synchronized to cross paths in such a way that they would alter each others route through the Solar System. Peter Straus had been meticulous in checking how the asteroids he tracked would interact with the Earth but he never considered investigating how the approaching asteroids would interact with each other. It was too remote a possibility to be worth checking; that they would pass so close to each other to change their course through space. But that’s exactly what had happened. And now the two asteroids were on a much narrower course; that would have them swing, not past the Earth, but directly into it. They had in their sights only just the one target, Eleusis in Greece.