The Loch Ness Legacy (29 page)

“More than I want to think about. I’m sorry you have to think about it now.”

“But you do it anyway. You chose to go into the Army knowing you might have to kill people. Why?”

Tyler was silent a long time before responding. “It was my job, my duty to a greater cause than myself. I guess the real answer is that I went into the Army
despite
knowing I might have to kill someone. Some of the soldiers under my command went into the military with a different attitude. They wanted to get into battle as soon as they graduated from boot camp. For everyone except the very few sociopathic recruits, that eagerness lasted until the first firefight. It was nothing like they’d expected it to be. Confusion, terror, and remorse had never been part of their idealized mental image of battle. After that initial experience, most of them just wanted their buddies and themselves to get back alive.”

Alexa shuddered. “It sounds horrible.”

“It is. Bloody, messy, and brutal. As you’ve seen first hand.”

“I’ve always bragged about you to my friends as a hero, but I never really understood what that meant until now. You’re a hero for putting that uniform on in the first place, knowing the piece of yourself you’d have to give up.”

“I’m lucky. Lots of guys I knew couldn’t let it go. For some reason, I can compartmentalize. I think that’s why I could eventually go on after Karen died.”

“I hope I can do that, too. Compartmentalize it.”

Tyler turned to face her. “I think you will. I don’t see the thousand-yard stare or the jitteriness that doomed some of my guys.”

“Must be our Locke genes.”

“You’ll be all right. But remember I’m always around to talk if you need to.”

“Thanks.” She gave him a hug. “You, too.” She felt like they had closed a distance between them, as if Tyler now trusted her with something she didn’t understand before. She couldn’t imagine him talking like this with Grant. Their way of communicating was more subtle, the jokes and macho posturing easier for guys like them to deal with.

She stood up. “Let’s see what Edmonstone has to say.”

They all got back in the car, and the others dozed or contemplated quietly while Alexa laboriously read through the journal looking for the relevant passages, carefully turning the singed and yellowed pages so as not to tear them. After thirty minutes of scanning, she finally found it.

“Listen to this,” she said, her heart pounding as she read Edmonstone’s notes to them.

Mr. Darwin and I returned from Loch Ness, and I hardly believe myself what happened. I’ve never been scared like that, not even when I was set free and had to fend for myself.

We were camping on the east shore of the loch where Mr. Darwin was collecting specimens. I spent my time hunting for animals to add to my taxidermy collection and fishing for our dinner. I caught some big salmon using the Guyana blue shark saltfish my cousin sent me as bait, and I think that’s what did it.

We were coming back across the loch to start the journey back to Edinburgh. I was trolling for one last fish for the trip home while I rowed, and that’s when we spotted the beast for the first time. The wake it left behind was bigger than ours, and it slapped against the bottom of our boat to give me the biggest fright.

I rowed with all my strength, but we couldn’t outrun it. Just in sight of Urquhart, it rose from the water like some great ghost haunting the dark waters. I only saw shadows until the beast attacked and Mr. Darwin fought back. Using his ax, he hacked off a piece of the creature’s tail. I stabbed it with the only thing I had by my hand, a gaff hook, and lost it in the combat.

The creature went under never to be seen again, and we made it to shore while I thought my chest would burst. The only thing we had to prove what happened was the fleshy bit Mr. Darwin kept.

On the trip back, we agreed never to speak of it—Mr. Darwin to protect the wretched creature and me to keep my business. I didn’t think anyone would believe us even though Mr. Darwin let me keep a piece of the beast. I knew it was the spawn of the devil as it wouldn’t die, but I kept it safe all the same because Mr. Darwin asked me to.

I don’t abide ever going to Loch Ness again, but if I do, I know what would bring the beast calling. This demon craved the taste of shark.

Alexa looked up and saw Grant gaping at her.

“Could it be that simple?” he asked. “Shark is like catnip to the Loch Ness monster?”

Tyler borrowed Brielle’s new phone to use its Web browser. “According to this site, saltfish is a salt-cured and dried dish and was commonly eaten by slaves in the Caribbean in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries because it was cheap and easy to preserve and transport.”

“Why would a freshwater animal like shark?” Brielle asked.

“The Loch Ness monster may not be a strictly freshwater species,” Alexa said, “although it’s now stranded in the loch. Shark may be one of its favorite foods, but it makes do with fish like salmon.”

Grant looked dubious. “Don’t you think someone would have come across this affinity by now?”

Alexa shook her head. “Not necessarily. I would never think of using shark as bait, and I’m sure few highlanders would either. The uncommon scent of shark meat might have been irresistible to Nessie. Sharks themselves can detect a few drops of blood in the water from miles away. Edmonstone’s trolling might have acted like an underwater beacon.”

“Then it’s pretty apparent what we need to do,” Tyler said. “We have to find us some pickled shark.”

He called Aiden and laid out the unusual request. Aiden said he’d call back as soon as he had an answer.

“This journal entry verifies everything,” Brielle said. “Darwin did come away with a sample of the Loch Ness monster. His portion somehow ended up in the hands of the Nazis over a hundred years later, while Edmonstone’s half was flushed away by Zim today.”

Alexa nodded. “If we can find Nessie again, an antidote is truly possible.” She squeezed Grant’s shoulder. He looked at her in confusion and then read her eyes and knew that she was aware of his plight. He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers in a reassuring gesture.

“How big did you say Nessie is?” Brielle asked.

“At least thirty feet long,” Alexa said. “If the mass is commensurate, maybe over two tons.”

“Are we able to catch something that big?”

“We don’t have to catch it,” Tyler said. “We only need a piece of it.”

“And we can do that?”

“We’ve got just the thing. I’ll show you when we get to Loch Ness.”

“What did Edmonstone mean when he said that the ‘spawn of the devil’ wouldn’t die?” Grant asked. “Is it immortal?”

Alexa scrunched her brow and looked at the relevant passage again. “You said that the Altwaffe acts by aging people prematurely,” she said to Tyler.

He nodded. “I’ve seen the effects myself.”

“That can’t be a coincidence.”

“Why not?”

“The weapon must attack the telomeres in some way.” When she saw blank looks, she continued. “Telomeres are nucleotide sequences at the end of each chromosome. As cells divide, these telomeres get shorter and shorter until they disappear, which means the chromosomes can no longer duplicate. That’s what happens when we get older. The telomeres deteriorate. If the Altwaffe destroyed the telomeres, it would replicate the effect of rapid aging.”

“Biology was a long time ago for me,” Brielle said. “How does that relate to Edmonstone’s observation about it not dying?”

“If he saw something unusual in the tissue sample that he had—say tissue repair—then the Loch Ness monster’s body might have some way of regenerating its telomeres. Lizards and starfish can grow new tails and limbs after they’ve been amputated, so the Loch Ness monster may have a similar ability. Essentially, it wouldn’t age. The Nazis could have figured out how to reverse the process using the tissue sample from Darwin.”

“Bastards,” Brielle spat. “They had something that could help mankind, and instead all they did with it is create another way to kill.”

“Except they were more interested in poison gasses for battlefield use or the extermination camps,” Alexa said. “Altwaffe may have worked too slowly for their purposes, and that’s why they never used it.”

“And all it took from the monster itself was a bit of flesh it probably re-grew in a few days,” Grant said. “A week later you probably wouldn’t even see any scars. I have to say I like mine. They’re good reminders of what I’ve been through.”

Grant’s words struck a chord with Alexa.
They’re good reminders
.

Brielle’s phone rang. Tyler answered with, “What have you got, Aiden?”

“Grant,” Alexa said, waving her hands at him, “let me see your phone.”

“Sure,” he said, handing it to her. “What’s up?”

“I have to check something.”

She brought up her YouTube video and fast forwarded to the sighting of the monster. She played it three times, holding it as close to her eye as she could until she was sure she wasn’t hallucinating. She dropped the phone to her lap and stared at Tyler.

“You’re the man,” Tyler said into the phone. “Ship the package to Inverness airport. Brielle will pick it up there since I’m a known fugitive. I’m hoping the police don’t realize yet that she’s an accomplice.” He hung up.

“What package?” Brielle asked.

“Aiden found a market in London that specializes in food from around the world. They have twenty pounds of Caribbean blue shark saltfish. He’s getting an expedited shipment of the whole thing to Inverness in the next two hours. Then we’ll see if Edmonstone’s theory is correct or if we—” He paused when he saw Alexa staring at him. “What’s the matter?”

“I think the cell regeneration theory is right,” she said. “Look at this.”

They huddled around the phone as best they could. Alexa played the video, which showed the surfacing flipper.

“What are we supposed to be looking for?” Grant asked.

“The glint of light. It’s faint, but once you notice it, the outline becomes obvious.”

Brielle squinted and then gaped as it was replayed.

“Is that what I think it is?” she gasped.

Alexa nodded. “That’s a gaff hook embedded in the flipper.”

She shook her head in disbelief at the revelation. They weren’t searching for a descendant of the creature that Darwin and Edmonstone had encountered. There was only one Loch Ness monster, and it was over two hundred years old.

WORLD NEWS

Arab Countries Indicate War Is Imminent

By PHYLLIS CROUCH and MARCUS THUNE

June 22, JERUSALEM – As forces mass along the eastern and western borders of Israel, residents of this ancient city have flocked to the holy sites of the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, praying for a miracle to avert an invasion that seems nearly inevitable.

With the leaders of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan rumored to be in intensive care, the more hawkish ministers in those countries have garnered support for a retaliatory strike against the perceived aggressor, the Israeli government. With the support of other Muslim nations whose leaders are also in dire straits and bolstered by new missile technology purchased from China and Russia, the armies arrayed against Israel are the most formidable they have faced since the Yom Kippur War of 1973 nearly drew the United States and the Soviet Union into a nuclear standoff.

The massive military buildup has caused the United States to raise its threat level to the highest it has been since the 9/11 attacks. Countries in western Europe are undertaking similar preparations for possible terrorist strikes. Some analysts believe Israel may call on its allies if it fears being overwhelmed in an assault, which could draw the western powers into wider war.

Authorities are racing to identify the true perpetrators of the Eiffel Tower attack that set these events in motion, but even if Israel is proven not to be culpable, the deaths of the Muslim nations’ ailing leaders may tip the crisis past the point of no return.

Dunham yawned and opened her eyes when she felt the Range Rover slow and turn onto a dirt road with a rutted track that looked like it saw no more than two vehicles a week. The clock on the dashboard read 2:34 p.m.

“Where are we?” she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“The east shore of Loch Ness,” Zim said.

Dunham made careful note of the location since it was going to be their way out when the mission was over. Zim parked in a turnout, and they all climbed out of the Range Rover, stretching their legs and removing their disguises before making the short hike to the point where the Zodiac outboard from the
Aegir
picked them up.

In contrast to the sheep pastures and scrub brush they had passed for much of their way up, the loch was surrounded by thick forests. Dunham peered over the side of the boat and could see nothing beneath the rippling black surface of the water. Three white boats were visible in the distance, all of them cruising around the ruins of Urquhart Castle clinging to a rocky promontory. Its jagged stone walls and crumbling tower were only shells of the redoubt it used to be, damaged in an explosion long ago to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

As they approached the whaling vessel, Dunham could see two seamen cutting a net away from an object floating on the water. Most of it was hidden from view, a concealing tarp hastily thrown over it. All she could spot was the black fin of a sleek craft knifing out of the water. Zim called it a gift from Gordian Engineering.

The
Aegir
’s cobalt blue hull was topped by a white superstructure, and the ship looked indistinguishable from any other fishing vessel to Dunham’s untrained eye. Fresh paint and a new registry number had been applied so that it wouldn’t be recognized as a whaler. The yellow foremast was equipped with a boom crane and topped by a crow’s nest for spotting whales. The harpoon launcher at the bow was covered by another tarp.