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“No. The museum’s building dates back to a century before Stamford’s time on the island.” He looked across the group. “But when he lived here, it served as Jakarta’s city hall.”
He stared across the group.
Seichan understood. “As lieutenant-governor, Stamford kept an office there.”
“He did. And if he wanted to hide some important paperwork, he might’ve felt confident enough to secure them there.” Gray shrugged. “Seems like a good place to start a search for those missing pages.”
Seichan waved toward the balcony, reluctantly accepting his conclusions. “Then best get on with it before the whole city burns down.”
Another booming detonation shook the building, reminding him it wasn’t just Jakarta that was at risk—but this entire region, maybe the rest of the world.
Still, as they left, Gray knew they had to be cautious. There was more of a threat out there than just fire and ash.
We’re not the only ones trapped on this island.
23
January 24, 3:07A.M.WIB
Jakarta, Island of Java, Indonesia
Heng cracked his knuckles as he waited for the scanning electron microscope to finish its assay. His foot tapped, too. He stared about the small research lab in the basement of the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology in central Jakarta.
The facility was part of a larger medical research complex, which was likely why it still had power. The building itself dated back to the nineteenth century. Even then, it had been a medical facility, one built to study bacteria. Today it was a state-of-the-art institution, with its own biosafety lab and gas decontamination chamber.
Pray we don’t have to use them.
The facility had been closed for the night, but Xue had arranged for the emergency use of the lab due to a cooperative outreach between China’s scientific community and the Indonesian Ministry of Research. A lone guard had opened the gate and hurried them inside. He had looked panicked and ready to bolt.
And he was not the only one.
Behind him, just outside the lab door, Xue was arguing heatedly with Captain Wen, head of the Falcon Command Unit. Wen wanted to evacuate his men, along with Xue and Heng, back to mainland China. Apparently, the captain had a boat anchored far enough out in the bay that it had survived the initial tsunami and subsequent tidalsurge. Xue refused to leave, plainly frustrated that he had lost those museum papers.
More of Wen’s men guarded the hallway and were posted between them and the gated archway that led out of the facility. Regular updates alerted them to the status outside. Not that Heng needed any. Volcanic detonations regularly shook the building. Even buried in the basement, he heard sirens and screams from the panicked city. The stench of sulfur had grown heavier as he worked down here.
While waiting for his work to finish, he had used the facility’s wireless internet, which shockingly was still working—further testament to the importance of the medical complex and the two neighboring hospitals. He had looked up the history of the volcanos on this island. Java alone had more than forty active volcanos. The closest—Mount Salak—had last erupted back in 1938, but it had been regularly outgassing, leading to the deaths of six teenagers in 2007 as toxic gas filled its caldera.
The latest report from Jakarta’s emergency services was that another dozen peaks on the island had begun spewing fumes from fissures and cracks. It was further evidence that this could be the start of a greater geological catastrophe.
Xue stalked into the lab. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes flashing. “How much longer do you need, Dr. Luo?”
Heng checked the countdown running on the monitor next to the SEM unit. “Less than a minute.”
“Perfect. Time is of the essence. We must be off quickly.”
Heng understood the danger. He turned back to Xue, again struck by the man’s finely sculpted features. It took Heng an extra breath to continue. “And we’ll be heading off the island after that?”
Those dark eyes settled on him, a slight smile shadowing his lips.
“That’ll depend on your findings here.” Xue glanced at the doorway. “And the temperament of Captain Wen. He lost seven men during the firefight.”
“But you intend to stay in Jakarta?”
“Despite the danger, there is one avenue of pursuit that I wish to undertake. If your research bears fruit.”
“What do you mean?”
Before Xue could answer, the computer chimed, announcing the completion of the SEM assay. Heng twisted around in his seat as a file popped up on the window.
