Solomon's Gold

CHAPTER 8

The next morning Friedman called Selena.

"It's gone?"

"Gone. There were artifacts of gold in plain sight but the thief left them. He was only after the scroll."

"And he killed the guard?"

"Everyone is very upset. My PA was crying most of this morning."

"I wonder how he found out about it?"

"Several people knew about the scroll and that it was important. I don't see how it's going to do him any good. Even you had to use a super computer to translate it. Not too many people have access to one of those."

"We have to assume he'll find a way. It's all the more reason for us to get over to Israel as soon as we can."

Nick sat nearby, waiting for her to finish the call.

"What was that about killing a guard?"

"Someone broke into the museum and cracked the safe. He set off an alarm and a guard confronted him. The thief killed him and took the scroll."

"Sounds like a robbery that went wrong."

"There was gold in the safe. The thief didn't take anything except the scroll."

"It didn't take long for this to get complicated," Nick said.

"We'll need weapons over there," Selena said.

"Wait a second," Nick said. "I thought you quit."

"I did, but it doesn't mean I quit using common sense. Whoever took that scroll will find a way to read it. Once they do, they'll know everything we do. You know they're going to look for the gold. They wanted that scroll badly enough to kill a guard. We need weapons."

"Now you're talking about a full on mission. We'll have to talk with Harker. I'm not sure I feel okay with you doing this."

"You're worried about the baby?"

"Of course I am. I was just getting used to the idea that you'd be out of harm's way."

"I'm barely two months pregnant, Nick. There's no reason I can't do this. It's not like jumping into Pakistan or Aleppo. Besides, once whoever took it translates the scroll, they still have to figure out what it means. By the time they do, we'll be far ahead of them."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Oh, come on, Nick. This is the stuff of legends. It's exciting."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Nick said. "Too much excitement."

An hour later, the team sat once again in Harker's office. Elizabeth tapped her pen on her desk as Selena told her about the theft.

"Killing the guard changes the equation," she said. "I'm going to have to run this by the President. I can't send an armed team into Israel without his permission, not now that Corrigan is coming in."

"What if he says no?" Nick asked.

"Then you're not going."

"Director…"

"If he says no, we'll hand it over to the Israelis."

She turned to Selena. "Assuming he says yes, are you sure it's wise to take a couple of civilians with you?"

"The same argument holds," Selena said. "Friedman gives us respectability and cover. Besides, he's an accomplished archaeologist. He'll see things we'd never notice. We could walk right by something without him."

"I'm seeing President Rice this afternoon to give him a final briefing," Elizabeth said. "I'll run it by him then."