Apocalypsis 1.03 Thoth Read Free

gasped for air.
    »That was only a few seconds, Mr. Adam,« said Alessia Bertoni in a calm voice, »and time is really not our concern right now. So let me ask you again: did you kill Loretta Hooper?«
    Peter stared at the young woman’s face.
    »I don’t know.«
    »Better, but not the ideal answer. How long have you known that Mrs. Hooper worked for the United States Secret Service?«
    »What?«
    »You should not disappoint me again, Mr. Adam. Loretta Hooper was assigned to gather intelligence about the disappearance and the current whereabouts of the Pope. And she used you to help her. But it’s obvious that she underestimated you. We will not make the same mistake, trust me.«
    »Loretta worked for the CIA? Jesus! I didn’t know that.«
    »What are the current whereabouts of Pope John Paul III?«
    »Do you work for the CIA too?«
    Not that this question would have been of any relevance at this point. But Peter wanted to gain some time. He knew that they would »treat« him again with the towel and the water, but he wanted to delay the »treatment« for as long as possible. Because Peter Adam suddenly doubted that he would leave this room alive.
    She saw through his tactics, of course she did. Nonetheless, she answered his question. »These two gentlemen do,« she said. »I work for another international agency. The world is rattled by terror attacks and the lead agencies have decided that this crisis can only be overcome if we all work together.«
    Mossad! She speaks with an Israeli accent.
    »Where is Pope John Paul III, Mr. Adam? And don’t tell me he’s hiding in some monastery in Sicily. We checked that already.«
    »But that’s where he was! And that’s all I know.«
    Again, the two CIA men grabbed him and subjected him to the horrific waterboarding procedure. Death was a water creature. Death was the excruciating and endless process of drowning. Peter had always known it. All that swimming had never done anything to conquer this fear.
    As soon as Peter was sitting once again in front of Alessia Bertoni, she continued: »We are convinced that there is a direct connection between the ISS disaster and the Pope’s resignation,« she said. His gasping did not faze her in the least. »One of the astronauts aboard was a Jesuit priest.«
    »Loretta told me about that.«
    »Shortly before the disaster, he sent off a radio message through a secure line. What was the content of this message?«
    »How should I know?«
    »Because you are part of a worldwide terror network, Mr. Adam.« Now her voice sounded sharp.
    »This is absurd,« Peter screamed, »I’m a journalist. You can check it out!«
    »We did.«
    She pulled a file from underneath her chair.
    »We’ve learned quite a lot about you, Mr. Adam. We know that your parents died in a car accident when you were four years old. We know that you grew up with adoptive parents in Cologne. And that you were trained by the military.«
    »I served my time in the Bundeswehr. So what?«
    »No, Mr. Adam. You were trained as an Army Special Forces Officer and you even made the grade as a combat swimmer. Afterwards you left the Bundeswehr but continued to serve as an embedded journalist with the German forces during combat operations in Afghanistan. Quite strange, isn’t it? In Afghanistan, the Taliban lured you into an ambush and kidnapped you. A friend of yours, a journalist by the name of Heiner Degner, was killed in the process. After two days, special commando forces rescued you from a dugout. Since that time, you’ve been suffering from regular migraines.«
    »How do you know all these things?«
    Alessia Bertoni shook her head irritably and continued. »Last year you lost your girlfriend, Ellen Frank, under mysterious circumstances during a work-related trip to Central Asia. According to your statements, Mr. Adam, she was murdered by a British archaeologist by the name of Edward Kelly.«
    Edward Kelly, you filthy rat. I’ll kill you.
    »However, this Edward was