The quartet reserved a private four-seat enclave on the jet. They used their time in the air to conspire.

“We must exert the utmost caution. They know about Hunter and of my involvement. We must take steps to mask our inquiries.” Virgil said.

“I’m two steps ahead of you, boss.” Hunter replied.

With that he whipped a Norwegian identification card from his jacket pocket.

“Meet the new Doctor Ragnar Sudbø.” Hunter said with a flourish.

“John Terrance Price! What did you do?” Tiyana screamed incredulously.

Hunter held out Doctor Sudbø’s identification card for all to see.

“Don’t worry. I slipped him a tip for letting us borrow this, more than enough to compensate him.” Hunter explained.

Tiyana just shook her head in wonder, “Easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission, I suppose.”

“That’s the spirit. Take a walk on the wild side with me.” Hunter teased.

“Hunter, none of us look anything like that picture.” Virgil added.

“I do not think that will be a problem.” Hongo added. “I am sure that we can find people who can adjust that for us. I think it will do just fine. So, it is settled. Hunter is Doctor Sudbø with the World Health Organization. He is looking into the spread of infectious diseases. I am his African assistant. The two of you will lay low. I suggest we start with Beira City Hall. We find out who the port authority is in Nacala. Then, we drive to Nacala and we throw cash around with the port officials.”

“That’s pretty much what I had in mind.” Hunter said.

“I don’t like being left out.” Tiyana pouted.

“Stay by your phone.” Hunter replied. “We don’t want to get into another debacle like in Somalia. You are not totally being left out, you know. You’re our only backup. If anything goes sour, you’re all we’ve got. We’re traveling under the radar, if you know what I mean. It’s not like the U.S. Embassy will look kindly on helping us once they see the little updates we made to our passports.”

Tiyana smiled, “How did we ever get here? I mean look at us, jetsetting around the world, fighting a war that no one knows about. We were scholars just weeks ago. Now we’re some kind of vigilantes.”

“Yep.” Hunter said simply.

“I love you dear, nothing ever fazes you, does it?” She asked sweetly.

“Nope.” Came the reply

“I suppose I’ll have to keep busy while you and Hongo gallivant around town. Why don’t hotels provide labs for their guests? I’d like to get more time in studying the Dahjaat stone.” Tiyana asked rhetorically.

Virgil responded, “It has a name. The gaiacarn. The ‘mother-stone.’ The Cywornal Clan and other Chthonians believe that the gaiacarn brought on a new epoch when it landed. The doctrine, and do not ask me to explain the logic, is that this epoch marked the end of human’s dominance over the earth.” Virgil sighed. “The deep-seated belief that the Dahjaat are destined to have dominion over mankind is what makes the Chthonians so dangerous.”

“What do you believe?” Tiyana asked.

Virgil chuckled, “That the journey is the goal. That we are all tasked with a purpose. That our heart tells us this purpose. That our instincts and capacity for rationalization tend to lead us astray.” Virgil paused.

“I think I get the point.” Tiyana said. “You like epithets.”

Her instinctive skepticism toward Virgil had gradually faded. She was beginning to realize that she enjoyed his company. Despite his stoic demeanor, he had a charming, jovial side hidden thinly beneath the surface.

“Our guru.” Hunter said light-heartedly as he patted Virgil on the back.

Eventually they landed in Beira. They were close on Ghaelvord’s heels now. Ghaelvord had no trouble learning the identities of Hunter, Tiyana, and Hongo. Their names were all over the news regarding the major digsite find. Ghaelvord had contacted President Macamo. Macamo had Hunter, Tiyana, and Hongo on a government watch list. When they passed through customs, their names were logged from their passports and entered into a government database. Under the right circumstances, Macamo himself would have been alerted to their presence and he, in turn, would have alerted Ghaelvord. Unfortunately for Ghaelvord, the Prices and Hongo had doctored the names on their passports. The Beira immigration officials did not have facial recognition software or access to passport databases. Without the correct names, the system failed and the Prices entered Mozambique with Macamo and Ghaelvord none the wiser. Virgil, of course, entered using the fake Chinese passport that he had picked up back in Tibet.

Hongo had no trouble finding a place that would fix Doctor Sudbø’s identification with Hunter’s characteristics, for the right price. While Mozambique had made great strides toward truly unified government and the rule of law in the past few years, the country still had a thriving extralegal sector.

Hunter barely got the slightest twinge of attention from the city clerk when he flashed his Norwegian doctor identification and started talking about the dangerous spread of infectious diseases, but when he flashed a wad of American dollars, he got all ears. The bigwig at the Nacala port went by the name of Joachim Chivambo. Hunter declined to call or set up a meeting, but he got the address and contact information. He preferred to just drop in unannounced and unexpected.