Finding North

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  She was about to take off her pants when she felt something in the back pocket. She took out the odd metal point that Margaret had found. She held the piece up to the light. It looked solid and sturdy. She set the metal point next to the cufflinks and went into the bathroom. This was her designated time to receive her senior-officer privilege of a hot shower. When she saw the bathtub, she changed her plan. Turning the water on for a bath, she sat down on the toilet.

  The metal point weighed on her mind. Was it the key? Where did it come from? Why had the mysterious Eloise Le Grande been so weird about the metal point? And the cufflinks? And the ring? And Raz’s watch?

  Alex flushed the toilet and went back into the bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, she looked at the cufflinks. The metal bar was too thin to hold an actual cloth cuff. She picked up a cufflink and the metal point. She threaded the cufflink through a small hole near the square end of the metal point and swiveled the bar into place. The cufflink was a perfect fit. She threaded the other cufflink through the second hole. The metal point now had two small compass roses facing one side and the bars from the cufflinks on the other.

  Alex picked up the ring. The ring was small, possibly a child’s ring. The compass rose was delicately etched into a flat gold piece on the top of the ring. The band was also gold. Unless her grandfather had been very small, he could not have worn this ring. She slipped the ring over the half-inch metal piece on the end of the point. The ring fit perfectly.

  She held up the point to look at it more closely. With the addition of the ring, the metal point held three small versions of the compass rose and eye. Setting the point down, she went to the pile of stuff Raz had taken out of his pockets when he’d showered. She picked up the pocket watch and brought it back to her side of the bed. As she’d suspected, the watch fit perfectly into the hole in the middle of the metal point.

  “What the hell?” Alex asked out loud.

  It was only then that she remembered the book. She went to Raz’s side of the bed and found the book on top of the dresser. She sat down on the edge of the bed and flipped through the vellum pages. The book was line after line of Linear A. Shaking her head, she carried the book to the cartographer’s tool kit and slipped it into the slot. The book clearly belonged with the case.

  She went to her dresser and took Ben’s directional compass from her drawer. She tried it in the cartographer’s tool case. It fit perfectly, as if the case had been created for this compass. Puzzled, Alex shook her head.

  As fascinating as this mystery was, Alex did not want to miss out on her chance to take a bath. She closed the case and set the cartographer’s tool set down next to the bedside table. She finished undressing in the bathroom.

  Before stepping into the bath, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her left hip remained a horror show of scars and shrapnel. The surgical scars on her left forearm, where she’d broken her arm and then survived sepsis, were pale in color and almost unnoticeable. She had a large purple bruise on her left leg from when the SUV had hit the police cruiser. The more recent knife scar and subsequent surgical scars on her right chest were red and looked as inflamed as they felt. Anxiety and a strict exercise regimen kept her bone thin. She put her hands on her protruding hips. Since working on Linear A, she’d lost all the weight she’d gained in the last few years. She looked like a skeleton. Shaking her head at herself, she stepped into the warm bath.

  The warm water embraced her. She slid down until her head was underwater. For a moment, she let the quiet warmth invade her sore and tired body. She stayed underwater until her lungs ached and she longed for breath. She pushed her way out of the bathtub only to find that she was not alone in the bathroom.

  Zack’s girlfriend Bestat was sitting on the end of the tub. She was impeccably dressed in a linen skirt and light-blue silk blouse. Her long black hair was in a single braid down her back. Her almond-shaped auburn eyes, with their long eyelashes, had the most delicate touches of makeup. Even in this bathroom setting, she was stunning.

  “Bestat,” Alex said.

  “You must leave Paris tonight,” Bestat said.

  “What?” Alex sat up in the bathtub. “Why?”

  “Ji Song, son of Steve Pershing and Song Fong, has been arrested for treason,” Bestat said. “We have arranged for him and his mother to stay with my kin. The government of China has agreed to let you, and only you, remove Ji and Fong from China. They are telling the press it’s a return courtesy. Did you help them with a hostage situation?”

  “A few,” Alex said. “China’s a big country.”

  “Well, the government of China would like to avoid scandal,” Bestat said. “The arrest is not personal. They are secretly disbanding his entire team. It seems they ran some missions over the last few years that the Chinese would like full deniability on. His team is being allowed to emigrate as long as they don’t emigrate to the US.”

  “Only Ji,” Alex said.

  “They can’t prevent him,” Bestat said. “He has dual citizenship.”

  “Why are you here?” Alex asked. “In my bathroom?”

  “The message came through the Egyptian embassy,” Bestat said. “My diplomatic group has worked out the details of the deal.”

  “Why you?” Alex asked.

  “I think they are aware of my ties to your team,” Bestat said. “To Steve. If they weren’t already aware, I made them aware. They will turn Ji and Fong over to you. You and your team will travel with my diplomatic team to China. I will brief you on the plane. My kin will ensure your safety in China. You will travel home with us.”

  Alex nodded.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” Bestat asked.

  “What does it mean?” Alex asked.

  “You will not have free access to the Mogao Caves,” Bestat said.

  “Did I want free access to the Mogao Caves?” Alex asked.

  Bestat gave her an exasperated sigh, and Alex smiled.

  “My kin works with Fong,” Bestat continued without answering her question. “My kin has arranged for you and your Rasmussen to spend one hour in the caves.”

  Alex nodded. Bestat got a towel from the rack and held it out. Alex wrapped herself in the towel. For a brief moment, Bestat was close to her.

  “You found the key,” Bestat said in her ear. “You haven’t completed it yet. You still need two more items — one of which you already possess, and the other you will have to find in China, in the caves.”

  Alex scowled.

  “Keep the key with you at all times,” Bestat said in her ear. “Many humans have died to protect its secrets. I will explain everything. I will. But for now, you must trust me. Fong and Ji’s life depends on it.”

  Bestat patted Alex’s shoulder and walked out of the bathroom. Alex scowled at the reflection of Bestat’s back. Every fiber in her being wanted to climb back into the warm tub. Alex sighed and followed Bestat out of the bathroom.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Friday afternoon

  May 20 — 1:35 p.m. China Standard Time (7:35 a.m. CEST)

  Between Beijing and Dunhuang

  Alex looked around the private jet. Most of the team was sleeping or reading. Margaret was helping Joseph with his Chinese at a round table near the front. They had flown on Bestat’s private jet to Beijing, where they had met her “friend” and Egyptian diplomat to China, Amam Ibn Hinna. While Bestat treated Amam Ibn Hinna like an old friend, Amam Ibn Hinna was almost reverent to Bestat. Amam Ibn Hinna greeted every member of the team by name.

  Amam Ibn Hinna stiffened when he met Zack. The tension between the men was palpable as they sized each other up. Zack’s stance was aggressive, and his sharp blue eyes stared at the man like he was a dog or beast. Alex was about to intervene when Amam Ibn Hinna smiled and moved on to the next person. When he met Raz, Amam Ibn Hinna’s eyes lingered on Raz’s face.

  “It’s a great pleasure,” Amam Ibn Hinna had said to Raz. His heavy Egyptian-accented English had a subtle hiss, whic
h made every word he spoke seem menacing. “I’ve waited a long time to make your acquaintance.”

  “Sir,” Raz had said.

  Amam Ibn Hinna opened his mouth to say something and then looked at Bestat. He gave Raz a wide smile and moved on to say hello to Vince. The entire interaction took less than a minute total, but Raz was so unnerved that Alex had steered them away from Bestat’s “friend.” They had changed planes in Beijing and were now flying to Dunhuang and the Mogao Caves on Amam Ibn Hinna’s private jet.

  Alex leaned into Raz and put her right hand in the palm of his left. Feeling her hand, his hand closed over hers.

  “You okay?” Alex asked in a low tone.

  “No,” Raz said. He opened his eyes. For a moment, he stared straight ahead of him before glancing at Alex. “I am not okay.”

  “What happened?” Alex asked.

  “Which time?” Raz asked. “When we were almost killed by the French military or now that we’re flying seven hours into the interior of China with a madman?”

  “Madman?” Alex smiled.

  “Did you see how he treated Zack?” Raz whispered. “You know, I’ve heard for years that Zack trained with you as kids, but I’d never . . . It wasn’t until that moment that I saw the Patrick Hargreaves in Zack.”

  “Take-no-prisoners body language,” Alex nodded.

  “You and Colin do it,” Raz said. “Samantha, too.”

  “We are sexy,” Alex said.

  She nudged him with her shoulder, and he smiled.

  “At least we’re not on a freezing fucking cold C-130,” Alex said. She stretched out her legs to demonstrate the room. “No numb feet or ear-bleeding noise. This is comfy.”

  “Sure, keep the people comfortable so they don’t get freaked out,” Raz said. “Anxiety ruins the taste of the meat.”

  Alex laughed, and Raz smiled.

  “You know his name means . . .” Raz nodded, “Man eater.”

  “Watch out boy — he’ll chew you up,” Alex said.

  Raz raised his index finger and pointed at her.

  “No,” he said in a stern voice.

  Alex burst out laughing. He chuckled.

  “And the ‘Ibn’?” Alex asked. “Is that just to throw us off his true purpose?”

  “You mean because Ibn means ‘son of?’” Raz raised his eyebrows. “I’m not buying for a moment that he’s the son of the man eater.”

  “He’s the man eater,” Alex nodded.

  Raz gave an involuntary shiver.

  “It is a little horrifying,” Alex said.

  “You should be sleeping,” Raz said.

  “How can I sleep when, at any moment, I might have to slay a dragon?” Alex asked. “I didn’t even bring my sword.”

  “Sword?”

  “Dragons are always killed with swords,” Alex said. “Prince Charming uses a sword.”

  “An arrow in The Hobbit,” Raz said.

  “Shit, I left my bow in Beijing,” Alex said. “And look around you. You are definitely on the ‘Most Likely to be Eaten’ list.”

  “Trece’s got to be first,” Raz smiled. “He’s our prize bull.”

  “He has an impenetrable defense,” Alex said.

  “Which is?” Raz gave her a skeptical scowl.

  “He can talk the dragon to death,” Alex nodded.

  Raz laughed. Alex smiled.

  “Talk to me,” Alex repeated something he often said to her. “Tell me what’s going on. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.”

  He grinned at her. As he usually did, she stretched up to plant a kiss on the top of his head. She kissed the scar where they’d opened his skull last fall to relieve the pressure of his swelling brain. Laughing, he swatted her away.

  “What did Eloise Le Grande say to you?” Alex asked.

  “She said that my father was anxious to meet me,” Raz said.

  “And that freaked you out?” Alex asked.

  “Sort of,” Raz said. “She said, ‘Your mother is such a love.’”

  Raz let out a breath.

  “Momma.” Raz didn’t attempt to mask the sorrow in his voice. “She spoke as if Momma were alive. I . . . felt like a hole had opened, and I’d fallen into . . . my desperate loss, my grief, those dark days after losing her . . . and Vicki, if you can believe it. That darkness just . . . closed around me. And then I looked at you. I knew you’d figure it out, or kill this creature who’d said these wonderful and horrible words to me. You’d fix it. I just knew it.”

  Raz put his hand over his heart.

  “Will you kill her?” he asked.

  “Of course — with my sword.” Alex held out her right hand as if it held a mighty sword. After a few slashes at the air, she grabbed her right chest with her left hand. “Maybe an arrow. Yes, an arrow would be easier. We’ll barbeque her for dinner. Lucky we got that big grill.”

  Raz smiled, and Alex laughed.

  “She . . . my mother . . .” Raz shook his head. “I’m a grown man, and I still miss her. I wish you’d known her. She was . . . so beautiful and loved me . . . so much. I’ve never gotten over losing her.”

  “I know.” Alex squeezed his hand.

  “We were such great friends,” Raz said. “I didn’t know that then. I thought every boy and his mother . . . Now I see that she was my mother and we were friends. It probably wasn’t great parenting. But for me . . .”

  “She was everything,” Alex said.

  “Do you know if she’s alive?” Raz asked.

  “I’ve never seen any record that your mother is still living,” Alex said. “I asked Ben about your father when I saw him.”

  “You did?” Raz asked.

  “Just trying to figure everything out,” Alex said. “He said your mother never told anyone. ‘Took that secret to the grave,’ Ben said. But if she’s alive . . .”

  Raz snorted a sad laugh.

  “If she’s alive . . .” Raz took a breath, which made him seem taller, bigger. “That would be very good.”

  “I find it very hard to believe that she would be alive and not . . . connect with you in some way,” Alex said. “No, I’m sorry, Raz. I’d never believe that your mother was alive and not in your life. And if she were, I’d know about it. I believe she’s gone.”

  “She’s gone.” He gave a sad nod. “Did Ben tell you who put up my name to work with him?”

  “He said he didn’t know and would look into it,” Alex said. “I heard from him before we left. He said your name was on a list of five people. He’d asked the person who sent the list. They didn’t recognize your name. Ben said that he was so desperate for a good candidate that he didn’t think much about it at the time.”

  “What if she’s . . . alive?” Raz asked.

  “Sasha Peretz? Your mother?”

  Raz nodded.

  “I think we have to be careful,” Alex said.

  “Because I want it so much,” Raz said. “She could be an imposter or someone trying to kill us.”

  “Or one of these creatures,” Alex said.

  Raz nodded.

  “And your father?” Alex asked.

  “Who cares?” Raz shrugged. “I never did. There’s more to being a father than fertilizing an egg. Why would I care now?”

  Alex nodded.

  “Sami’s asked me about it,” Raz said. “When we were talking about having a child. She thought my father might be important to our child. I told her that our child will not want for males in his or her life. Patrick, as grandfather, of course, John, Wyatt, Max, Cian, Eoin, and now Jackie . . . the team . . . Like the twins, our child will have a village of men and women ready to love him or her. That’s my family now — and all that really matters to me.”

  Raz nodded.

  “I like your family,” Alex said.

  “Me, too,” Raz said. “Your turn.”

  “My turn?” Alex looked at him.

  “What was the book?” Raz asked.

  “Something Eloise Le Grande gave me,” Alex
said.

  “When did she give it to you?” Raz asked.

  Alex told him about the first time she and Jesse went into the bookstore. Raz’s brow furrowed, and he swallowed hard. He shook his head.

  “You think that was real?” Raz asked.

  “I have the book.” Alex shrugged. “Jesse was there, too.”

  “I remember something . . .” Raz nodded. “A feeling of panic of ‘Alex!’ — like when we couldn’t find you after hearing you and the team were dead. Full-blown panic. It was like a blink. Panic over you, and, then, wham! You were standing right next to me. My heart was racing and I wanted to run into the building, but there you were. I felt . . . crazy.”

  “Sounds crazy,” Alex nodded. “We need to be attuned to these kinds of discrepancies. These feelings, human feelings, may be the only way we know when things aren’t right.”

  “Their manipulation of time isn’t perfect,” Raz said. “I wonder if anyone else felt that.”

  “Let’s ask,” Alex said. “Quietly.”

  Raz nodded.

  “So, what is this book?” Raz asked. “Did you look at it?”

  “Page after page of Linear A,” Alex said. “Eloise Le Grande said that I would get the codex from Bestat — at least that’s what I took her to mean.”

  “Weird,” Raz said. “This whole thing is . . .”

  “Weird,” Alex said. “Get this.”

  Raz looked at Alex.

  “The book fits into the slot in the cartographer’s tool kit,” Alex said. “I’m sure the caliper fits, too.”

  “The one that was your grandfather’s?” Raz asked. “The caliper in your safe?”

  “Ben’s directional compass, too,” Alex nodded.

  “Ben has a directional compass that fits into that box?”

  Alex nodded.

  “It’s all just so weird,” Raz said. “This cartographer’s tool kit, the pocket watch, and cufflinks, finding the books at the store, the map . . . Was it the map you’d looked at before?”