The young man was outraged. ‘But this is an archaeological mission! If soldiers start crashing around inside the fortress, they could wreck everything!’

Eddie grinned. ‘You really are Nina’s student, aren’t you?’

‘I’m being serious!’ Cheng looked back at Hui. ‘This is your project – you’re in charge. You don’t take orders from them!’

‘I’m afraid I do.’ She sighed. ‘Everyone does, if they know what is good for them.’ A moment of maudlin defeat, then she raised her head. ‘Professor Wilde, Zhi? We must go.’

Zan hastily concluded his exchange with the Nephilim. ‘I’m ready! But I need to get some things.’

‘You have fourteen minutes,’ Hui told him. The translator hurried away, Gadreel watching him go. She turned back to her still fuming son. ‘Just because the military want to secure the site does not mean there will be nothing left to discover.’

‘I hope so,’ Cheng replied, unconvinced.

‘We will set up a live video feed to the control centre. I want you to monitor it. And take Mr Chase and his daughter. If anyone questions their presence, tell them you are all there on my authority.’

‘What if they call Colonel Wu and he orders us out?’

‘I think the colonel will have more important matters on his mind.’ She kissed Cheng on the cheek. ‘But you should get there quickly. If you are already inside when the military observers arrive, they will be less likely to make you leave.’

He gave her a reluctant nod. ‘Zàijiàn,’ he said, before facing Eddie and Macy. ‘She’s right. We should go to the control centre.’

‘Okay,’ said the Yorkshireman. ‘Nina, you take care.’

‘Don’t I always?’

‘I wouldn’t need to remind you if you did!’ They shared a smile. ‘Come on, Macy. Let’s see if there’s anything expensive you can break.’

‘Daddy!’ Macy objected as they followed Cheng from the lab. ‘You’re the one who always breaks things.’

‘Are you ready?’ Hui asked Nina.

The redhead sighed. ‘No, but that’s never stopped me before.’

Ten minutes later, the two women headed for the elevators. Hui had detoured to collect a hastily assembled pack of archaeological tools and an expensive camera. Nina almost started to gather equipment of her own, but suppressed her professional urges; the operation was still in the hands of the Chinese military, and she was being forced to help them. Her cooperation would be the bare minimum she could get away with.

‘I do not know how long this will take,’ Hui said as they entered the corridor leading to the Atlantean vault’s hangar. ‘Gadreel may recognise the landscape when we arrive, but—’ To her surprise, Zan emerged from the archive ahead of them. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I – I was checking the original inscriptions,’ he replied. ‘I wasn’t sure I’d translated some of Gadreel’s words properly. I wanted to look at the source.’