The Tenth Cycle: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 1)

by JC Ryan

  Barry gave Sarah an appraising look that gave her an uncomfortable feeling she couldn’t identify. At last he spoke.

  “I think the University of Cairo has that data, although I’m not sure it’s complete. When do you need it?”

  “I’d guess he wants it as soon as possible. Will they lend it to us? I was going to get in touch with my contacts in Egypt.”

  “I’m not sure they could help, though you’re welcome to try. But, if I pull the right strings, I’m sure we can get it. I don’t know if it’s in electronic format, though. We may have to pay to get it copied and sent here. Do you want that to come out of your research budget?”

  “Hmmm, it isn’t really relevant to my research. Let me ask Daniel what he wants to do. What do you think it might cost?”

  “A few hundred dollars, at most. I got the entire Book of the Dead from Queen Mentuhotep of the 13th dynasty copied and shipped for about one-fifty if I recall correctly. Of course, the list of the stones would probably be longer, but not as much as twice that long, I wouldn’t think.”

  “If you don’t mind, would you go ahead and make inquiries? I’m sure Daniel will want to go ahead. I can leave my credit card with you if you like.”

  “That won’t be necessary, dear. I’ll square it with accounting, and you can pay me back when we know the exact cost.”

  “How can I thank you, Prof. Barry?”

  “Just don’t get so caught up in this wild goose chase that you forget your own research. You do have a publication deadline, you know.” So that’s why he’d given her such a strange look. Well, he’d gotten her involved in this, now he’d just have to live with her decision to follow through.

  “Only too aware of it, sir. I’ll be ready.”

  Later that evening, Sarah said to Daniel, “I’ve spent some money in your behalf, hon.” Their Skype calls were getting to be a nightly pleasure, as often fraught with sexual tension as business.

  “Oh? What did you buy?” Lowering his voice though he was alone, he continued, “Another of those amazing teddies, I hope. A white one?”

  “Don’t be silly,” she laughed. “Do you have anything else on your mind at all?”

  “Not much,” he grinned cheerfully. “How can I have anything else on my mind? You own my heart, my brain and my…”

  “Daniel!”

  “Well, you do. Seriously, what did you buy?”

  “I told Prof. Barry that we’d pay for a copy of the inventory of the blocks in the Great Pyramid.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  Even though it was late when he and Sarah finished talking, Daniel called Raj to invite himself over. Now that they had a source for the data he’d need, Daniel wanted to go ahead and enlist Raj’s help.

  The spare room in the apartment was a veritable Area 51 museum. Poster-sized images on the walls purported to be photos of the bug-eyed creatures that supposedly crashed in the New Mexico desert near Roswell and were immediately taken into immediate government custody. One wall was nothing but a huge bookshelf surrounding a TV/DVR combination with VHS tapes and DVDs in the shelves below. Daniel assumed the videos were either documentaries or fictional movies about the incident. Of more interest were the rest of the shelves. Two were crammed with books about Area 51.

  Exploring further, he found bits and pieces of metal and other artifacts, turning to question Raj with his eyes.

  “Possible debris from the crash,” Raj stated. “I picked it up in the desert, can’t tell you where. Just know that I wasn’t supposed to be in that area, and if the FBI or CIA or NSA knew I had that stuff, I would probably just disappear and you’d never know what happened to me.”

  Daniel did his best to be respectful of Raj’s obsession, having the unique perspective of someone who had a theory he couldn’t prove yet, about a mystery that no one else believed mysterious. But, Raj’s statement was just a bit over the top. It was difficult to keep a straight face, so he turned back to the shelves, the rest of which were filled with dozens of three-ring binders. He pulled one out at random. Raj rushed to take it from him and examine the label on the spine.

  “Okay, you can look at that one.”

  “Raj, what are all of these?”

  “Research binders. I have search bots combing the web for every story about sightings, the crash at Roswell in 1947, essays and studies, pictures, you name it. Every scrap of information I find, I print out and put in the appropriate binder.”

  “Good lord, Raj, why? Why not just keep it in your computer?”

  “For one thing, I don’t want a digital trail, but this is just backup. When online I use proxy servers all over the world which are changing my IP address every few minutes so that no one can track me down. My only exposure is when I print the article, and I do that at public libraries under a false name. Then I scan it into my external hard drive here. The computer it’s attached to is never connected to the internet.”

  “That seems, I don’t know what to call it Raj, besides paranoid.”

  “You’ve said that thing you say about paranoid many times, Daniel. How does it go? Just because you aren’t paranoid doesn’t mean someone isn’t out to get you? Well, I’ll admit it. I am paranoid. This conspiracy is so big, and the American government so corrupt, that I feel I have good reason to believe someone is out to get me. Or would be if they knew what I had, and how close to a breakthrough I am.”

  Daniel had come with an objective in mind, so he changed the subject.

  “Raj, I’ve stumbled on something that I could use your help with. It’s very sensitive, but I know I can count on your discretion.”

  Raj leaned forward and whispered, “It has something to do with your pyramid? I knew it! Aliens did build it!”

  Daniel responded in equally hushed tones, “I don’t know about that, Raj, but it’s damned sure the Egyptians of 3,500 BC didn’t build it. We think we’ve discovered something that will help us figure out who and why.”

  “Tell me more, how can I help?”

  Well, we think there’s a message in the stones, maybe a code, maybe an alphabet. We’re not sure yet. Sarah has sent for full data on the dimensions of the stones in the pyramid. It’s a big project, Raj, but what we need is someone who can catalog them, both graphically and numerically, and then help us search for the message.”

  “You keep saying ‘we’. Who is interested in this?”

  “You know Sarah, my research partner. Me, of course. And a former professor of Sarah’s, a mathematician.”

  “You’ve told no one else?”

  “No one else knows the full picture, why?”

  “Think about it, Daniel. Who else could the builders have been, if not the Egyptians? It’s got to be aliens, and that’s a dangerous subject. You’re sure no one’s onto you?”

  Daniel reflected. How far to indulge Raj’s obsession? Finally, he said, “I really don’t think so, Raj. I mean, a couple of other people knew I was looking into the question, but it went nowhere at the time, and probably everyone else either doesn’t care or has forgotten about the whole thing. It’s just my pet project, you know?”

  Raj narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to a lot of trouble for just a pet project.”

  “You know how it is, man. A question gets hold of you and won’t let you go.”

  “All right, my friend, we will leave it at that for now. But when the time comes, you know that I know there’s more to it. When do you want me to start working on it?

  “Thanks, Raj! We should have the hard copy for the stone dimensions within a week. If there’s an electronic file, it will be sooner, but Sarah doesn’t think there is.”

  Raj rubbed the back of his neck. “Where is this hard copy being sent?”

  “I’m not sure. Do you want it delivered to you?”

  Raj almost yelped as he whisper-shouted, “No! I want nothing to lead to me, certainly not a delivery. When you get it, we’ll arrange a way for you to give it to me.”

  “What if it’s several boxes? It prob
ably will be, you know.”

  “We will make the transfer away from the city, where there is no one to see. That will do.”

  By Friday, Daniel was on pins and needles. He missed Sarah more every week, and looked forward to weekends like a dying man in the desert looks forward to an oasis. This week, it didn’t help that every time Raj passed his desk, he lifted one eyebrow in an ‘is it here yet?’ question. This morning, he was wrapping up his weekly column and getting ready to leave for Providence as soon as he was finished at his desk. The car was packed, he didn’t even have to go home for it. Raj passed by, two aisles over and pretended to cough. Daniel looked up at the sound. Raj was tilting his head toward the restroom in short, jerky movements. Pushing out his breath in a heavy sigh, Daniel got up and sauntered toward where Raj was waiting.

  “Any word yet?”

  “No, Raj. I’ll let you know, okay?”

  “What is taking so long?”

  “Sarah mentioned that they might need to photocopy the records, and then FedEx them. I’m not sure whether there’s overnight service between Cairo and New York. Might take two or three more days, especially if it’s heavy.”

  “Okay, my friend. I may be out of cell range part of the weekend.”

  “That’s okay, I’ll just catch up with you Monday.”

  “Fair enough.”

  When Daniel got to Sarah’s late that afternoon, though, a pleasant surprise was waiting. Sarah had received an email that the data was on its way, and even better, it was on DVDs, not hard copy. Less bulk to sneak around with to satisfy Raj’s natural caution. But Sarah had an even better surprise.

  Since it was Daniel’s birthday on Monday, Sarah wanted to get him a special surprise. After a lot of thought, she realized that the best gift she could give him was the fulfillment of a fantasy. Accordingly, she’d gone to Victoria’s Secret and purchased just what he wanted - a white teddy.

  Chapter 12 – A Lovely Declaration

  Daniel managed to signal to Raj that the material was on its way as he passed by Raj’s cubicle on the way to lunch on Monday. Although no words were spoken, Raj got up and casually followed him out.

  “When do you expect it?”

  “Sarah’s email said Second Day delivery, so she should get it tomorrow. She’ll bring it here on Friday”

  On Wednesday morning, Sarah sent a text that the package had arrived. Such a small package for what would potentially be the biggest archaeological find in recent times. He forwarded the text to Raj, feeling like James Bond or some super-spy. Raj passed by casually a few minutes later, and gave him a straight-faced nod. Daniel felt this crazy spy craft thing was a bit much, but whatever suited Raj and didn’t make Daniel look like a nut case, he’d go along with for now. He just hated to have to wait until Friday to pass the material along and get Raj started.

  Sarah was able to get away early on Friday, so she arrived at mid-afternoon, dressed in a pretty spring outfit and looking so beautiful that it made Daniel’s heart race. He wondered if there would ever be a time when he’d be able to breathe when he first caught sight of her. Then Owen made a spectacle of himself and Sarah both by staggering up from his chair and throwing himself at Sarah’s feet, clutching her ankles and begging her not to leave him again. The whole newsroom floor was in an uproar in minutes, as Sarah’s clear laugh pealed out and others came to see what was so funny.

  Sarah was now pleading with him, “Get up, Owen, that’s enough. Yes, you were very funny and I’ll take you back and love you forever, but you’ve got to let go of my ankles before I fall down.”

  It was only Daniel’s approach that made Owen scramble to his feet, hold both hands up in a warding gesture, and say, “I had to try, man, just look at her! She’s a vision of loveliness.”

  “That’s true, but you’re going to be a vision of bloody nose and broken jawbone if you ever pull that again.” His tone and expression were much milder than the words would have indicated, though. Sarah was still laughing, along with a few of the onlookers.

  Owen had achieved his objective, so he meekly went to his desk, but not without a parting shot, “She did say she would take me back and love me forever. Beat that, you dork!”

  Daniel was shaking his head in disbelief when he got to Sarah. “So, you’ve thrown me over for that clown,” he said, smiling.

  “I had to - he was about to bring me down to the floor with him.”

  “If I thought you were serious, I’d have to kill him.”

  Raj had planned an elaborate charade that included a picnic at a state park outside the city, to which he brought a date. Daniel was stunned to see that Raj’s date could have been a supermodel. She was a woman whose features and name suggested she was also from India, but Daniel couldn’t see how Raj would have attracted a woman like Sushma. He’d have to watch his friend more closely for clues.

  On the Tuesday after the transfer, Raj signaled Daniel to meet him outside. Daniel reflected that they might both have to take up smoking if they were going to meet this way, otherwise it would be noticed. Raj merely told him that he was making good progress.

  “I’m thinking the first thing to do is replicate the shapes in graphic files, using the measurements and a precise scale. Once we have the images and the dimensions of each in a relational database, we can apply whatever queries you want.”

  With about twenty blocks entered, Raj explained that the bulk of the progress had been on Sunday, so Daniel should expect the first one hundred to be completed by the end of the week. Most of Saturday evening had been used in thinking about how to approach the problem and setting up the database, which would only have to be done once. Daniel hoped that the process would become quicker as Raj settled into it. Raj explained that he was selecting 100 blocks from among thousands, but not doing so in sequence, in order to get a better sampling.

  True to his word, Raj used every spare minute to enter the data for the first one hundred blocks, finishing on schedule. Raj had made a copy of the database file on a flash drive, which he slipped surreptitiously to Daniel at the coffee shop. Daniel planned to deliver it to Mark with much less drama when he went to Providence Friday afternoon. He managed to ask a few questions of Raj sotto voce.

  “Will he need special software to open this?”

  “Is he on a Mac or a PC?” Raj asked.

  “Mac I think.”

  “Hmmm, is he computer literate?”

  “I guess. What does he need?”

  “He won’t have a native database program, but he can get an app that will open the files, and even support queries. He should be able to get one from the Mac App Store if he doesn’t have it already.”

  “Okay, I’d better write that down.” He made a note in his iPhone. “Thanks, Raj. I’ll let you know if we run into any problems.”

  “Tell him that there’s a text file on the drive that will give definitions and ranges for the ID numbers and sequence numbers, that’ll help him do queries. And it can all be exported to a CSV file to transfer everything but the graphics to a spreadsheet. Or, if he has Office for Mac, it can go straight into an Excel file.”

  Daniel had to admit that at this point, he was way over his head in understanding all that was going into the research. He was working on pure gut feeling that this exercise would bear fruit, either in the form of a code they might eventually break, or in a straight message that they just needed to find a way to translate. He wasn’t even sure he could articulate what he meant by the difference, only that there was a difference, and they would have to devise a way to determine which it was, as an intermediate step.

  On Friday, Daniel arrived in Providence just in time to take Sarah out to dinner. One of these Fridays would be the day he’d pop the question. Not today, though. He was waiting for the stone he had chosen to be set into a band of platinum with five tiny diamonds flanking it on both sides. He hoped it was elaborate enough, but Sarah seemed to have simple though elegant tastes. The stone was very beautiful, as he had taken an independ
ent appraiser with him to advise him on the clarity and brilliance.

  Sarah was quiet. While Daniel paid attention to the wine list, she wondered what it was going to take for him to declare his feelings. Without saying it in so many words, hadn’t she given him enough demonstration that she loved him? He seemed to feel the same about her. What was stopping him from saying it? Was she going to have to break her resolve and say the words first? Men! Can’t live with ‘em, can’t kill ‘em! Damn, now she was making his jokes, too.

  Daniel saw the look of exasperation cross Sarah’s face, turning from the server after having made his selection just in time to catch her thoughts expressing themselves externally. He tilted his head slightly and crinkled his eyes. Taking her hand, he said, “What’s wrong my love?”

  Tears sprang to Sarah’s eyes immediately, alarming Daniel even more. “Sarah?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “I don’t know much about women, but I do know when you say it’s nothing, it’s something. What is it sweetheart?”

  “I can’t…”

  “Come on, honey, you can tell me anything. Don’t you know that nothing in the world could make me stop loving you?”

  At this, she broke down entirely, burying her face in his shoulder. “Daniel, that’s the first time you ever said you did!”

  “What? No, I say it all the time!”

  “Not to me. I wasn’t sure.”

  “Oh, baby, how could you not be sure? I love you with all my heart, and all my soul, and I thought I showed you that every day.”

  Overcome, she wept in his arms until the server, alarmed, came to ask if there was anything they needed. Daniel waved him away, then put his free arm around Sarah to hold her close. “It’s okay, baby, I’m sorry I never said it. I’m an idiot!”

  Sarah’s voice was muffled by his shoulder as she said, “Don’t you call the man I love an idiot.”

  It was Daniel’s turn to be emotional, but the physical manifestation was completely different. Grinning now from ear to ear, he raised her face with a thumb and finger to her chin. “You mean that? You love me too?”