Order of the Black Sun Box Set 11

by Preston William Child

  “Oh come on,” Nina said, rolling her eyes. “It's a museum, Elijah. The whole point is to have things out on display for people to see. These artifacts are meant to be visible, not buried in the deep vaults.”

  “They would be better off there,” Elijah said. “Given that this place just got broken into and robbed. Kind of proves my point, don't you think? Maybe we should come up with a plan to steal from museums ourselves...make sure we actually lock these priceless items down.”

  “That's your brilliant plan?” Nina couldn't help but laugh, pointing at the life-sized model legionnaires. “Kind of a tall order, don't you think? Are we going to take this army with us, too?”

  Elijah wasn't amused. He was very serious about his distaste for museums and she was sure he was being mostly serious about wanting to just take all of the exhibit's items and lock them away, too. That was just the type of guy Elijah was. He was pragmatic, even in times when it was unrealistic to be that way.

  But they weren't going to start stealing from museums. They weren't going to turn into the group that was running around and robbing the museums in Rome.

  “Dr. Gould!” A voice called from across the hall.

  A tan man with well-groomed, curly black hair waved to them. He was dressed in an expensive beige suit that suited his figure well, almost too well, like he had put countless hours into making sure that he looked good. Nina wasn't surprised. Santino Rossi was exactly like she remembered.

  “I’m so glad to see you made it!” Santino said, looking very pleased. He went from person to person, shaking their hands and making the introductions. “Your timing isn’t ideal, unfortunately...as I’m sure you could tell by your entrance. The police have been here for hours, asking questions, looking around, although I think they'll be wrapping up their search soon. I'm not sure what they expect to find...fingerprints perhaps...but I highly doubt these thieves are still lingering around the museum.” Santino glanced at the lifeless models dressed in their legionnaire armor and holding their weapons high. “Look at these men...there are so many of them and they're all armed, looking ready to fight...but they couldn't defend my museum.”

  “They're mannequins...” Riley said, apparently not registering that Santino was joking.

  Santino focused on Nina and flashed a broad smile. “It's been so long. I'm so happy to see you, despite these circumstances. I notice that David Purdue is not among you. He’s usually your companion on your expeditions, is he not?”

  “Usually,” Nina said, feeling a sting of nostalgia prick her mind. “But we recently expanded our entire operation. This is my team for this, and I can promise you, they're all very good at what they do.”

  “Fantastic,” Santino smiled. “This morning, as I was speaking with these policemen, I considered asking you to instead recover what was taken, but I realize how ridiculous of a request that is. I won't ask you to go chasing after criminals. No, I need your help in finding something lost, not something stolen.”

  “The sword of Caesar,” Nina said with a nod. “So you have a clue that might point in the direction of the sword?”

  “I do, yes,” Santino said. “Please follow me. Monica, could you find some beverages for our guests?”

  Monica didn't look thrilled about being ordered around by Santino but she nodded. “I can, yes.”

  “And while I am speaking with our guests, could you be a dear and answer any further questions the investigators have? I’ll be preoccupied with explaining the situation to Dr. Gould and her friends.”

  Again, Monica seemed dismayed by having to listen to Santino, but he was her boss so she did as she was told. “It was nice meeting you all.”

  She seemed like a nice lady, and despite Santino's materialistic nature, Nina knew that he was a nice enough man, too. It was a shame that they had to deal with people breaking into the museum that they very clearly put a lot of work into preserving.

  They followed Santino down into the basement of the museum. It was where they stored any of the new shipments of items that they received. Some were found specifically for the museum by archaeologists they hired to find new attractions. Other things were donated to them by private owners who were kind enough to want to share the pieces of history they owned.

  He brought them over to a display case on wheels that looked primed to be taken upstairs and joined all of the other attractions. Inside of the case, there was a brown scroll with old writing on it. A much cleaner white piece of paper was beside it, with a typed up translation of the contents of the scroll beside it.

  “This arrived not long ago and the moment I looked it over, I knew that you would want to see it for yourself. Remember how we used to get into those hour long debates about Caesar?” Santino laughed.

  “Yeah, I remember,” Nina said. Of course she did. It was all they ever really talked about back in the day. They’d never been close enough to discuss anything too personal. It was only ever about work, about history, and about their shared interest in Ancient Rome. “You acted like Caesar was the greatest man to ever walk the Earth. While I agree that he was incredibly influential...”

  “You thought he got more credit than he really deserved,” Santino finished. “You said something like that. I couldn't believe that, but you're not from here, so he doesn't quite have that same national hero quality that he has for people like me. You see him as just another world leader, just another dictator. But Julius Caesar was no Mussolini, I can assure you that. They were two very different kinds of dictators. Mussolini was a tyrant, an imbecile. Caesar was a great man who changed the history of the world. Who knows how much more he could have done if those cowards hadn't stabbed him in the back?”

  “Not just the back,” Riley cut in. “All over, from what I remember.”

  “A figure of speech, Miss...Duda...was it?” Santino said with a chuckle. “But yes, those traitors' knives found many different parts of his body. Poor man never stood a chance without his weapon.”

  There it was. Santino's showmanship that she remembered. He knew how to lead up to what he really wanted to discuss. That kind of talent in building suspense was usually best for novelists or filmmakers but it was what made Santino such a unique purveyor of antiquities. It was what made this museum such a success.

  “His weapon, his sword has been lost since his death,” Santino said, mostly for the benefit of August, Riley, and Elijah since he knew that Nina already knew all of this. “There have been many legends about it but the actual weapon has never been discovered. All we have ever known about it was that Caesar supposedly wielded the same sword from when he was a soldier in the legions, through his civil war with Pompey, all the way up until his death. Caesar just never brought it with him to meetings, as was the custom. Unfortunately, those senators that conspired against him didn't care about following that rule. So Caesar was unarmed when he was butchered on the Ides of March.”

  Santino looked at Nina and pointed at the display case with the scroll and the transcript inside.

  “As I stated on the phone, this scroll came in after being discovered and the contents of it talk about the sword of Caesar. It’s merely one of the only specific references to the sword that has ever actually been found. Proof that it wasn't completely lost.” He waved them over toward the display case. “This letter was a message couriered between Egypt and Rome between Cleopatra and Mark Antony.”

  “Really?” Nina was taken aback by those two names. The affair between them played a huge role in the aftermath of Caesar's death and the beginning of the Roman Empire. “From who to whom?”

  “From Mark Antony to her. Apparently around the time Mark Antony had taken most of Caesar's belongings after his death. As Caesar's closest ally, and best friend, Mark Antony notoriously saw himself as Caesar's true successor. When Caesar's will named his nephew, Octavian, as his successor and left him a great inheritance...Mark Antony was...a little resistant to just handing a boy such a huge inheritance and responsibility. Really, if you ask me, Anto
ny was just jealous. He didn't give Octavian the items that Caesar had left him for a long time...and even when he did...he evidently didn't give the young man everything. According to this message, he sent the sword far away to Egypt, in the care of Cleopatra.”

  It was incredible to hear an actual definitive location. After years of thinking that the sword would be lost forever and it was nothing more than an old fable at this point, it was unbelievable that there was concrete proof of where the sword might have ended up. Nina took a step closer to the display case and read the translated inscription to herself. If it was an accurate translation, then this really could be a big enough clue to launch a proper search for the sword.

  “And everything has been validated? Examined? Verified for authenticity?”

  “Of course, as we always do. It is...what's that American expression...the real McCoy. The genuine article.”

  Elijah joined Nina up by the display case, looking it over himself. He had the most experience of authenticating old relics, but she knew it would take more than a quick glance for him to be sure. She trusted Santino, though. If he said his museum curators made sure it was legitimate, then it was legitimate. Elijah probably wouldn't agree though, considering how he felt about the museum.

  “That’s truly remarkable,” Elijah said. “But is it safe?”

  “Well of course,” Santino said. “As you can see for yourself.”

  “Right, down here perhaps but what about when it's ready to grace the exhibit floors, hmm? Aren't you at all nervous that the people that broke in last night and who have been stealing things all over town might come to snatch something like this away? I saw the extent of your security upstairs and I've got to say...it wasn't very reassuring. Most museums lack an adequate security system, if I'm being honest.”

  “That's enough, Elijah,” Nina said, shaking her head.

  “It's quite alright, Dr. Gould,” Santino said, his lips twisting into an uneasy smile. “It's a fair enough question after what happened last night. The people who took from us are just a minor problem.”

  “They’ve hit numerous museums and have yet to be caught,” Elijah said. “I’d consider that at least a moderate problem, wouldn't you?”

  Nina wanted to slap Elijah. She knew he hated museums but he didn't need to be so directly confrontational with Santino. They had two different ways of maintaining historical artifacts. That didn't mean there needed to be a fight. Nina hated that about so many men. It was always a competition when it didn't need to be.

  “You may have a point, yes,” Santino said, still trying to be a hospitable host despite the hostility being thrown in his direction. “Perhaps I’d deem this group of thieves to be a moderate problem, yes.”

  Elijah looked pleased that he seemed to have won that verbal exchange. “Your floor manager mentioned that the thieves left behind a note. I’d very much like to read it.”

  “I'm afraid that the police took it as evidence,” Santino said but Nina could sense that there was more to it than that. Santino's frown was too pronounced, too dramatic. It was part of a show, like so much of what Santino did. That frown twisted into a big grin. “So naturally I took a copy of the letter before they arrived. For my own records, of course.”

  That actually made Elijah smile and stop his endless criticism. Santino reached into his pocket and unfolded a piece of paper before handing it over for Elijah to read. Nina, August, and Riley gathered around, all of them wanting to hear just what these thieves had to say.

  Santino looked excited for them to read it. “As you’ll see, they're far from boring thieves. They’ve quite a way with words for a bunch of desperate imbeciles.”

  Elijah cleared his throat, held his glasses in front of his eyes, and started reading the letter. “We represent the Third Triumvirate. Like the first and like the second, we are here to shape the future of Rome and the future of the rest of the waiting world. For two millennia, Rome has crumbled and fallen from the great expansive nation it once was. Rome was once the center of the known world and it could have been the entire world in due time. We will restore Rome to greatness. First, we will reclaim the history that has been stolen by weak leaders who are satisfied with leaving our greatness in the past. They do not want to bring us back to glory. They take what came before and put them on display, making traditions into tourism.”

  Elijah paused his reading and glanced at everyone.

  “I don't entirely disagree with them on that point.”

  “Keep reading,” Nina said, making sure he saw how hard her eyes rolled.

  Elijah pushed his glasses up and carried on reading the letter.

  “The time of accepting weakness ends now. The time of being just another country ends now. Rome will be as powerful as it once was. We will take back the history of strength and then return Rome to power. Prepare yourselves. The great Empire will rise from the ashes it was reduced to. Signed...the Third Triumvirate, the saviors of Rome. Mr. Nero, Mr. Commodus, and Miss Caligula.”

  Elijah threw the letter down, shaking his head.

  The letter was just as obnoxiously self-indulgent as the group's name was. It sounded like a bunch of delusional children whining that they weren't getting enough attention—which was probably exactly what they were. Naming themselves with monikers based on some of Rome's worst rulers was just asinine as well and just screamed of desperation, a desire to be seen as more important than they were. They weren't important. They were just burglars and it was ridiculous that they thought thievery would somehow inspire all of Rome to become an empire again.

  The whole thing felt like a poorly planned terrorist threat. This manifesto they left behind was just all over the place, hoping to hide their childish thrill-seeking behind a nonsensical political message. They wanted to feel revolutionary. They weren't. They were just like all of the other criminals that pretended to have some deep motivation that excused their poor behavior.

  If they did bump into them during their search for the sword, Nina would do her best to make sure that this Third Triumvirate got their asses kicked. They deserved it just for that terrible letter alone.

  Elijah put the letter down and shook his head. “What a nuisance...”

  They were just that---but also clearly a legitimate threat despite how childish they seemed.

  Santino might have been acting like they were just vandals but she could see the stress that this theft had caused him. He was putting on a happy face and a good show but Nina could see that Santino was really worried about this. They may have just been deranged ravings from crazy people, but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous.

  This Third Triumvirate had all apparently taken the names of who most people believed to be the three worst emperors of Rome. It was debatable of course, but those three were almost undeniably the worst of the worst. It was odd that people boasting about making Rome a wonderful empire again would take the epithets of rulers that didn't help Ancient Rome very much. In fact, they were part of a long line of deranged leaders that contributed to weakening Rome until its eventual collapse.

  Nero was infamous for supposedly standing by and letting Rome burn. Most historians agreed that he suffered from some kind of a paranoid psychosis and performed sadistic acts on his subjects, and even his closest family members as well.

  Commodus was known as an emperor that was much more concerned with the entertainment in the famous Roman Colosseum than he was in actually performing his duties. He cared more about the arranged battles between gladiators than the actual battles that the empire was partaking in. It was like he thought that the domain he ruled over didn't stretch any further than the Colosseum walls. Commodus often participated in some of the gladiatorial matches himself, though the outcome of his fights was often rigged in his favor. He played out all kinds of sick scenarios to fulfill his fantasies. Nina had even heard the story that Commodus tied a number of dwarves together in the Colosseum arena, claiming that they were a giant, and then proceeded to brutally murder all of th
em in front of his adoring crowd.

  Last but certainly not least was Caligula. He was most often considered the very worst of even the most tyrannical and demented of Rome's emperors. His reign was filled with nothing but utter madness. He committed all kinds of debauchery and sadistic acts while running the empire. Nina's personal favorite tale about him was that he declared war on the sea god, Neptune, even going so far as to send his legions to the coast to fight his new enemy. The soldiers slashed and hacked away at the breaking waves, and brought sea shells back to Rome as “trophies” for their great victory. Caligula even used his nearly limitless power to appoint his horse to a position of political power as one of his advisers.

  Now some woman had taken Caligula's name for herself. It was so strange.

  Those three emperors were prime examples of how far the leadership in Ancient Rome would sometimes fall. They were so far removed from its greatest and most influential leaders like Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, and of course, Julius Caesar himself. Those leaders would never have just given into their insanity, and especially not have subjected all of Rome to it.

  It wasn't just the individual names that bothered Nina.

  The Third Triumvirate...they were a lot different than the first two triumvirates.

  The first and second triumvirates weren't made up of simple, petty thieves. They comprised some of the most influential and powerful people that Ancient Rome had to offer at the time. It was an insult to claim to be a successor group of three, especially for a group of anarchist burglars to profess.

  The First Triumvirate was never an official club of any kind, though membership was rather exclusive. There was no public alliance or agreement between the three men that formed it. It was a much more secretive, clandestine alliance to help each other rise higher in their positions of power in Rome.