by Anna Hackett
On-screen, Jonah watched as the gray-clad team used a laser to cut through the warehouse door.
“Arlo will be pissed,” Axel said.
Jonah felt a heavy weight in the air around them. Arlo would be pissed, if he made it out of surgery.
Taking a deep breath, Jonah focused on the screen. The team had entered the warehouse, and came out moments later with a small box.
“That’s the box that contains the Horus artifact,” Brooks said.
“Brennan must have gotten into your system somewhere,” Evan said. “Worked out exactly where to find the artifact.”
The team had gone straight back up the elevator, then blown it behind them. They’d snuck out in the confusion and chaos of the drone attack.
“Fuck.” Lachlan kicked a crate.
Beside him, Seth shoved his hands in his pockets, his scars stark on his face.
“Assholes.” Blair pressed a hand to the back of her neck.
“Bloody hell,” River muttered.
“Let’s go down and assess the damage,” Jonah ordered.
When Lachlan handed him a harness, he started pulling it on. Blair handed one to Evan.
The rest of the team went first, dropping into the elevator shaft and rappelling downward. Jonah clicked on the line and waited for Evan.
They followed.
At the bottom of the shaft, they unclipped and stepped into the base. The rest of the team was waiting for them, and apart from the damaged elevator shaft and the dead body, the rest of the base looked normal.
Except for the circular hole cut into the closed warehouse doors.
“Smith, Axel and Blair, clear the base,” Lachlan said. “Ensure no one stayed behind.”
The three jogged away in different directions.
“They were professionals,” Lachlan said. “They weren’t distracted by the other artifacts, didn’t deviate off the mission objective to head into the labs or offices.”
A sensation of burning anger grew in Jonah’s gut. His base had been violated. His people attacked and hurt.
“Clear,” Blair yelled from the corridor.
Jonah swiveled and touched his ear. “Brooks, free Ty and Nat.”
Jonah had been tasked with the safeguarding of these artifacts and he’d failed. He would stop Brennan. Whatever it took.
Fingers touched his and he looked over to see Evan holding his hand, her face concerned.
For him.
She understood how this felt. Brennan had targeted both of them.
The click of running heels. Nat appeared in the corridor, wearing a black skirt and a red shirt. Axel strode toward her and pulled her into his arms.
A disgruntled Ty appeared behind the archeologist. He looked at the warehouse door. “Fuck.”
River moved toward her man and he slid his arm across her shoulders.
“They got the Horus artifact?” the scientist asked.
“Yes,” Jonah said.
Nat closed her eyes. “Dammit.”
Axel ran a hand down her back.
A dejected air fell over everyone.
“Arlo got shot,” Axel told them.
“No,” Nat breathed.
Axel hugged her closer. “Callie’s taking him to Vegas to the hospital.”
“Fucking fuck,” Ty said.
“We have to work out why they need that artifact,” Evan said. “We need to know what it does, and what the hell Codename Leo is.”
Nat straightened. “Luckily, Ty’s already scanned it.”
“You’ve got the results?” Jonah asked.
The tall scientist nodded.
“Okay. Let me call in an auxiliary security team to help safeguard the base and the warehouse. I don’t want any of our enemies getting any bright ideas to attack us right now. We need that door fixed, and Brooks, I want to know how they got in. I want you to plug the gap in our security systems.”
“I’m already on it.” Across the comm line, Brooks’ voice held a hard edge of promise.
“I’ll meet the rest of you in Ty’s lab shortly.”
In his office, Jonah made his calls. People he trusted would send backup security. He organized for a repair team to fix the elevator and warehouse door. Finally, he was able to meet Evan and his team in Ty’s lab.
Long workbenches filled the bright space. Several artifacts rested on the shiny surfaces, either being scanned or analyzed. Some sort of high-tech, prosthetic hand sat on a clamp at the end of one bench. Some sort of new prototype.
On the screens on the wall were images and scans of the Horus artifact. Jonah took a second to take in the perfect carving of the bird, and the large disc on its head.
“So, does it have any advanced abilities?” River asked.
Nat shook her head. “Not that we can tell.”
“The disc does have a core of metal under the stone exterior,” Ty said.
Jonah could see the metal on the scan. Beside him, Evan frowned.
“There are some engravings,” Nat said. “They are all related to Horus. Nothing unique.”
“What are you thinking?” Jonah asked.
“I’m thinking it looks like some sort of key,” Nat said.
“A key?” Evan prompted.
Ty pointed. “Under the stone, the metal has edges that look like it fits into something. Maybe a locking mechanism?”
“It unlocks something,” Evan mused. “Maybe the elusive Hall of Records where the Leo artifact is stored.”
“Except we don’t know where the Hall of Records is, or how to get in there,” Nat said. “‘Under the Sphinx’ isn’t quite precise enough.”
Jonah pressed his lips together. “We need to know what this does.”
“We need some extra help,” Nat said. “Someone with extra expertise in Egyptian archeology.”
“Who?” Evan said.
“Dr. Layne Ward.” Nat looked at Jonah. “We need Treasure Hunter Security.”
“Make the call,” he ordered.
Chapter Ten
In the Bunker, Evan poured herself a coffee. She wasn’t sure about bringing in this Treasure Hunter Security group. More people involved, meant more chances that things got messier than they already were.
She sipped her coffee. “Ugh.” It was as strong as battery acid.
Blair held out a box of cupcakes. “Do not drink Axel’s coffee.”
“It’s good coffee,” the man in question yelled from the conference room.
Evan took a cupcake covered in sprinkles, then dumped creamer in her coffee. Jonah came out of an office, his face grim.
Her heart jumped and beside her, Blair stiffened.
“Arlo?” Evan asked.
“I spoke with your mother. He’s still in surgery.”
She took in the hard set of Jonah’s shoulders. Screw it. She set the coffee down and went to him. She wrapped her arms around his middle, careful to keep the sprinkles off his suit.
After a beat, he closed his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. Over his shoulder, Blair gave her a wink.
“Cupcake?” Evan held the cake up.
He broke a piece off, but she could tell he only ate it for her.
“He’ll be okay,” she said. “Arlo strikes me as too ornery to stay in bed very long.”
A faint flicker of amusement crossed Jonah’s face. “True.”
They joined the others in the conference room. Nat stood at the front of the room, looking stylish, despite the attack on the base. The woman dipped her dark head toward the screens. The detailed images and scans of the Horus artifact appeared on one screen.
“Incoming call from Denver,” Brooks said.
A couple appeared on the second screen. A rugged man with a tanned face stood behind an attractive brunette sitting at a desk.
“Hunter,” the man said.
“Ward,” Lachlan replied.
Evan detected the faintest edge between the men.
“Still attacking innocent people?” the man asked.
“That happened once,” Lachlan said. “We’ve rescued you since then. Remember that?”
Ward’s lips twitched with amusement, and Evan realized they had a history.
Jonah stepped forward. “Mr. Ward, I’m Jonah Grayson.”
“Declan. And this is my wife Layne.”
Pieces clicked in Evan’s head. Evan remembered that Declan Ward and his archeologist wife had discovered a mythical, lost oasis in Egypt—Zerzura.
Layne leaned forward. “Nat, you have something for me to look at?”
Natalie pointed to an image of the Horus artifact. “I emailed you some high-resolution shots.”
Layne pulled a laptop closer and studied the screen. “Got them.” The archeologist made a humming sound. “It’s gorgeous.”
“What is it, Dr. Ward?” Jonah asked.
“Please, call me Layne.” Her gaze sharpened, fascination in her eyes. “It’s a statue of the god Horus made from diorite. A very hard stone. The falcon represents Horus.” She lifted her hand and tapped her nail against her lip.
“It has a core of metal inside the disc.” Nat pressed a key. “Take a look at the scans.”
Layne’s eyes lit up. “Wow. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
“It’s linked to the Shemsu-Hor,” Nat added.
“The Followers of Horus, and possibly survivors of the flood.” Layne straightened. “Wait. Wait. This looks familiar…” She turned to look out of view. “Darcy, I need quick access to my Abydos files.”
A dark-haired woman appeared beside Layne, her sleek bob brushing the line of her jaw. “Hang on.” The woman leaned forward, tapping on Layne’s keyboard. Then she lifted her head to look at the camera. “Hi.” She waved.
“Darcy,” Lachlan murmured.
“Nice to see you guys again. You know, without bullets flying and bad guys around. How’s the Orlov diamond?”
“Safe,” Lachlan said.
Evan glanced at Jonah and he leaned closer, voice low. “The team helped rescue Darcy and her FBI agent fiancé from some black-market thieves a little while back. There were some cursed diamonds involved.”
“Oh, my God,” Layne breathed suddenly.
On-screen, Declan frowned. “What is it, babe?”
“Have you heard of the Osirion?” Layne asked.
“Of course,” Nat replied. “A temple near Abydos, Egypt. Close to the temple of Seti I. Named for the Egyptian god, Osiris. Lord of the dead and rebirth.”
Images of the ruins of a blocky temple with lots of clean lines and large stones appeared. It appeared to be set down in the ground. Evan frowned. It didn’t look like any other Egyptian temples she’d seen in documentaries or photos. It lacked the elegant beauty and hieroglyphs.
“You probably know the speculation about its history.” Layne raised a brow.
Nat smiled. “Of course, that is my area of expertise. It’s unique. Mainstream archeology attach it to Seti, but it’s set below Seti’s temple, and it’s clearly different architecture. It’s in fact older. Antediluvian. Pre-flood.”
Layne nodded. “Here’s the plan of it.” A black-and-white image showing an aerial plan view of the temple appeared on the screen. There were lines of pillars, sunken pools.
“The only other temples like it in Egypt,” Layne continued, “are the Valley Temple and Sphinx Temple, right beside the Sphinx at Giza.”
Evan’s pulse tripped. The Sphinx.
“Take a careful look at the plan.” Layne tapped a key, and the image rotated.
“Holy cow,” Axel said.
“It matches,” Evan breathed.
“The metal inside the Horus artifact matches the layout of the Osirion Temple.” Layne overlayed them. “I agree it’s a key,” the archeologist continued. “Likely to something in the Osirion.”
“Fancy a trip to Egypt?” Jonah asked Evan.
Brooks tapped on his screen. “I found something, as well.” The man’s mouth moved into a flat line. “Hugh Sprouse caught a flight to Rome yesterday, with a connecting flight to Cairo. I can’t find any flights under Brennan’s name, though.”
“Brennan would travel under an alias.” Evan nodded, excitement licking her veins. “But he’ll be there.”
“Want to clue us in, Grayson?” Declan asked.
“A few hours ago, a team attached to a rogue CIA agent breached our base and stole the Horus artifact,” Jonah said.
Layne gasped. “Oh no.”
“I worked for the man,” Evan said. “He framed me, because I uncovered some of his plans.”
“Evan got too close,” Jonah said.
“I discovered that he’s after a dangerous, powerful artifact. Team 52 thinks it’s stored in the Hall of Records, likely beneath the Sphinx.”
Layne glanced at Dec and back again. “The Egyptian authorities deny that there are tunnels under the Sphinx. They claim there are only fissures, and one small tunnel dug by treasure hunters in the past. But there are pictures of archeologists entering shafts and tunnels. The entire Giza plateau is riddled with tunnels. The Osiris Shaft is very well known. It’s located in the causeway linking the Sphinx and the second pyramid. It descends one hundred feet below the plateau, has several levels, and there is crystal-clear water at the bottom of it.”
Shit. It was more and more likely Brennan would find the Hall of Records and whatever he was looking for.
They had to stop him.
“So, the Horus artifact is a key that leads to something hidden in the Osirion, a temple of a similar style to the temples at the Sphinx,” Nat said. “Whatever is in the Osirion must lead the way to the Hall of Records.”
“We’re going to Abydos to stop Brennan.” Jonah looked at Declan on the screen. “Care to join us?”
Dec nodded. “I think we will.”
Jonah looked out the window of the X8, staring in admiration as they flew in over Egypt. It was an amazing view: the Nile, a single ribbon of life-giving water surrounded by strips of green that rapidly gave way to desert sand. It was possible to literally step off grass and onto sand. The river had been the lifeblood of Egypt for millennia.
Soon, they’d be landing in Luxor, gateway to the Valley of the Kings.
“Did you check in?” Evan appeared, disrupting his thoughts and dropping into the seat beside him.
“He’s fine,” Jonah said. “Resting.”
Jonah had visited Arlo before they’d left Las Vegas. The older man had been out of surgery, but sleeping. Raquel had been reading magazines beside him. Jonah had made a few calls on the flight to Egypt, as well. Arlo was currently resting comfortably.
Evan fidgeted.
“Nervous?” he asked.
“Brennan won’t give up without a fight.”
“We’ll stop him.”
Behind them on the jet, the rest of the team was sleeping, reading, or playing cards. Axel, River, Blair and Seth were conducting what appeared to be a vicious game of poker.
The passengers also included Declan and Layne Ward, and two of Dec’s Treasure Hunter Security team—a man called Logan O’Connor, and another named Ronin Cooper.
Jonah was well aware of THS’ capabilities. These men were all former Navy SEALs, and were good at what they did. Cooper had also spent a few years with the CIA. He and Evan had met before.
They had the best of the best here on this aircraft. Even if Brennan put up a fight, he didn’t know they were coming.
Jonah pressed a hand over Evan’s. “We’ll do this together.”
She studied his face, then nodded.
A short while later, they landed in Luxor. As they stepped off the plane, the dry air hit him in the face. It was hotter here than the desert around Area 52. Waiting for them were several, dark-green Jeeps that Kinsey had organized. The team started loading their gear into the vehicles.
Jonah’s phone beeped, and he pulled it out. An incoming call from Brooks. He thumbed the screen.
The tech expert’s face appeared, Kinsey’s blonde head sitting
beside him. The pair were back at the Bunker in Las Vegas.
“So, Brennan, Sprouse, and their mercs are holed up at the Sofitel,” Brooks said.
Jonah frowned. He figured Brennan would have headed straight to Abydos, not park himself at a hotel. “Why?”
“Curse of the pharaohs.” Brooks grinned. “They’re all puking. Got some stomach bug.”
Evan grinned. “Karma does exist.”
“I have a bug droid that I gave to Seth. I’ve asked him to slip it in to their hotel so I can monitor them. I hacked into the Sofitel security feed. From what I can gather, they’re all sick and going nowhere for at least twenty-four hours.”
“So, we wait?” Evan said.
Brooks nodded.
Kinsey leaned forward. “I’ve rented a villa on the Nile that’s private, and big enough for all of you. You can get there, recharge and plan your trip to Abydos.”
“And I’ll keep you updated on Brennan’s movements,” Brooks added.
It was a short drive, and soon the villa appeared, most of it hidden behind a large stucco fence. They drove through the gate.
Dec whistled. “I like how you covert guys do things.”
They pulled into the circular driveway.
Terracotta-colored stucco covered the arches and domes. It had Mediterranean and Arabic influences, with large, arched windows, and vines covered in brightly colored flowers dripping down the walls.
As the team carried their gear inside and started assigning bedrooms, Jonah walked outside. Behind the villa was a beautiful pool, with lush greenery covering the stucco fence. He kept moving and reached a fountain that was burbling quietly. Beyond it was a majestic view of the Nile. Long, low cruise ships vied with smaller feluccas, with their white, triangular sails.
He stood at the railing, and imagined Egypt of the past.
Once again, he had to send his team into danger. His hands tightened on the rail. He thought he’d be used to it by now, but it still made his gut tighten. And now he’d be sending Evan into danger as well. Emotions twisted and churned.
