The Valhalla Prophecy by Andy McDermott Read Free Book Online Page B

towering Secretariat Building was still dappled with snow from an unexpectedflurry a few days earlier, and a chill wind had whipped around them as they crossed First Avenue and the plaza outside the UN complex.
    “You were the one who wanted to take the subway rather than getting a cab.” Eddie took off his battered leather jacket, looking entirely unfazed by the weather.
    “And you should have tried harder to convince me that was a bad idea!”
    “When have I ever managed to do that?” He hung up his jacket, then watched with amusement as his wife shrugged off layers of clothing. “So what’s in today’s diary, then?”
    “Jeez, at least let me get to my desk.” Finally shorn of wool, Nina sat and opened her laptop. “Okay, there’s the international relations meeting at nine thirty, the general accounting briefing at eleven—”
    “Count me in! Fucking thrilling.”
    “The IT upgrade group at two, and the interagency communications meeting at four.” She leaned back, shaking her head. “You know what’s missing from all of those? Anything to do with actual archaeology.”
    “See? This’d be a good time to take a long break. There’s nothing new actually going on.”
    “It’s tempting. Very tempting.” She started to check her emails, but was interrupted by the intercom. “Yes?”
    “Dr. Wilde?” said Melinda, Lola’s French replacement. “There is a Mr. Trulli asking to see you. He does not have an appointment, but—”
    “Matt?” said Nina. “That’s okay, let him in.”
    Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Matt’s here?”
    “Must have come back early from Down Under.” Before long, there was a knock at the door. “Come in!”
    Matt Trulli entered. “Morning, guys!” said the Australian cheerfully. The couple had not seen him for a few months, and in that time the Oceanic Survey Organization’s chief engineer had topped up his tan and also acquired a sun-bleached beard and several extra pounds around his already ample midsection. “Great to see you both.”
    “You too,” replied Nina, getting up to greet him.
    Eddie shook his hand. “Welcome back! How was your trip home?”
    “Bloody brilliant, mate. Just what I needed to relax after everything that happened down at Atlantis.” The previous year, Matt had almost died in a crippled submarine among the ruins of the lost city. “Spent the time designing a new sub—with a two-way release on the docking clamps this time!—and building a couple of ROVs.”
    “Your idea of relaxation ain’t the same as mine,” said the Englishman. “That’s not what I call a holiday.”
    “It wasn’t really a holiday, mate—it was technically a sabbatical.
Working
holiday, the best sort.”
    “My thinking exactly,” said Nina, embracing Matt. “Maybe I married the wrong man …”
    “Oi!” protested Eddie.
    Matt laughed. “Wouldn’t dream of splitting you two up, mate. For starters, I know you’d beat the crap out of me!”
    “So you’re back at the OSO?” Nina asked.
    He nodded. “Don’t start again until next week, officially, but I fancied coming in to clear the decks beforehand. I’ve been out of the office for months, so I hate to think what my inbox is going to look like! But I wanted to pop in and say hello to you guys first.”
    “Aw, thanks, Matt,” she said with a smile. “Glad you’re back.”
    “Nice to be back. Although the weather’s a bit crook! So what have you two been up to? Got anything exciting going on?”
    “Not at the moment,” said Nina. “Lots of meetings, bureaucracy, budgets …”
    “There’s no bloody pleasing her,” Eddie scoffed. “When things are going smoothly, she complains. When she’s being shot at or thrown out of blimps, she complains!”
    Matt looked surprised. “You were thrown out of a blimp?”
    “No,” Nina assured him. “Although it’s about the only thing we
haven’t
been thrown out of.”
    “Yet,” added her husband.
    She jabbed a finger at him. “What did I