Читать книгу The Manhattan Puzzle - Laurence O’Bryan - Страница 19

Xena closed the door of the apartment. Pastor Stevson walked slowly into the main room overlooking Fifth Avenue.

He poured himself a coffee, then sat on the black leather sofa.

‘I didn’t get much sleep, Lord Bidoner, but I’m here.’

‘Thank you for coming. We need to move things forward.’

‘You told me to get ready, sir. I’ve done that. The money has been rounded up and the laboratory is up and running. I’ve even told my wife that His return is near.’

‘Have you told anyone else?’ said Bidoner.

‘No, no. I did as we agreed. She knows nothing about how His coming will be achieved.’

‘Tell no one else. I told you this already,’ said Lord Bidoner. ‘He will return, but we must keep every detail secret. No more talking.’ He pointed at Pastor Stevson.

‘You ain’t got nothing to fear on that count.’

‘There are many who will try to stop us.’

‘The devil’s workers are all around.’

‘Your tests are finished, you said?’ Lord Bidoner stood up and began pacing.

‘You bet, they can clone from any good cell sample now.’

‘Good. They should be congratulated.’

‘It’s all working, like you said. This doc did some research for another IVF clinic, he didn’t even put it on their website.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s amazing. The whole process is simpler than I thought.’

Lord Bidoner smiled. ‘But he has no idea of our real plans?’

‘No idea at all. He still thinks I’m some crackpot millionaire who wants to clone a dead relative. He’s happy to get his payoff and then disappear. And he’s all ready. He’s tested injecting a whole range of DNA cells into defective human embryos at least a dozen times. Each live embryo has been a hundred per cent clone of the DNA sample. He hasn’t had one single failure.’

Lord Bidoner smiled. The process of producing full clones had been done with mice for years. It was illegal with human embryos, but once the embryo was planted in a womb no one would know the difference between what they had done and standard IVF treatment.

‘All we need now is that DNA sample,’ said Stevson. He leaned forward. ‘You’re sure we can find it?’

‘Yes. We had the carbon dating repeated on the page with the symbol on it. It came back again as the period around Christ’s death. The symbol will verify the DNA, when we find it.’ He sat down.

‘Most people assume that such a quest is a romantic fantasy. They have no idea that there is truth at the heart of it.’

‘That book resurfacing now, out of the blue, when we can do something with it, has gotta be divine intervention,’ said Pastor Stevson.

‘I agree.’ Lord Bidoner smiled. ‘It is an intervention.’ He was staring out of the window. There were flakes of snow driving up against it now. It was a surreal view.

Pastor Stevson smiled. ‘You know, I always liked that story about Joseph of Arimathea catching Christ’s blood in a cup.’ He smiled. ‘But I really never thought I’d be involved in a search for it.’ He sighed, shook his head, as if remembering something.

‘You are sure DNA survives from dried blood that old?’

‘Human DNA can survive thousands of years. That’s been proven, again and again. DNA cells from long-dried blood have been extracted many times.’

‘And you’re near to getting into the site?’

‘Very near. I’ve managed to persuade someone to give us some useful security codes. We have access.’

‘You’re sure it’s the right site?’

‘It couldn’t be anything else.’

The pastor shook his head. ‘Like I told you, it’s divine intervention.’

He leaned forward, put his hands out as if he was appealing to the heavens.

‘We have been chosen to open the Seventh Seal.’ He closed his eyes, went forward until he was kneeling on the thick white carpet.

Lord Bidoner had his hands together too.

Pastor Stevson whispered, ‘And the vials of his wrath will be poured upon the earth.’

Lord Bidoner stared out at the twinkling lights of the city. The skyscrapers looked like shards of sparkling crystal as the snow flurries gathered in intensity.

‘Have you made the transfer into the fund?’ he asked, after a minute had passed.

Pastor Stevson opened his eyes, then rose to his feet. His legs were unsteady under him. ‘That was a lot of dough you needed, but it’s done. A hundred million went into your fund this afternoon.’

‘The price of heaven is not cheap,’ said Lord Bidoner. ‘If there was another way I would have chosen it. Every penny I have is tied up in this. I can assure you of that.’

Xena came into the room. She placed a phone on the oak coffee table. It was vibrating. She was wearing only a gossamer-thin black shift, which came down to her thighs. Her thin body was visible through it.

The pastor stared at her.

‘I must take this,’ said Lord Bidoner. ‘I want you and my friend to pray together.’ He put the phone to his ear and walked to the other end of the long room near the double-height window. The glass shone as if it were a mirror. Outside the twinkling lights of other skyscrapers filled the air.

He listened for a few minutes. Then he spoke, forcefully.

‘You will make him cooperate. Do whatever it takes,’ he said.

He closed the line and put his hand on the window glass.

‘The last one is near,’ he whispered.

Then he turned and went after Xena and the pastor. She had left the door of the panic room open just a half an inch. Through the crack he could see her helping the pastor take his shirt off. He stood in the darkness of the hall and watched until they were both naked.

She ran her hands all over the pastor’s pudgy white body.

Few could resist the way Xena prayed. And this pastor certainly wouldn’t have needed much persuasion about the earthy spirituality of her ancient beliefs.

He had no idea what he was letting himself in for.