The Forbidden Tomb

7

Cobb remained focused on the task at hand. He had to admit that the holographic map was far more impressive than the paper version. He hoped it would be more effective, too. ‘How long will it take to analyze the layout of the city and come up with a list of possible locations for the tomb?’

Jasmine shook her head. ‘First of all, let me be perfectly clear: there is almost no chance — zero — that Alexander’s body is still buried in Alexandria. The area has been too well developed to hold out hope for a miracle like that. No, what we’re looking for are clues as to where and when the tomb was moved.’

Cobb grimaced. ‘You’re one hundred percent sure that Alexander isn’t there?’

‘Well, no,’ she admitted, ‘I’m not a hundred percent sure about anything. But I can tell you this: people have been scouring the city for the last two thousand years, looking for Alexander. I choose to believe that if someone had credible evidence that he was still buried there, they would have found him by now.’

Cobb pointed at the hologram. ‘But what about this? I thought this map was new evidence — something that no one else had at their disposal.’

‘True,’ she conceded, ‘the map is a revelation. It offers tremendous insights into a place that was literally erased by time. With these new pieces of the puzzle, the things we could uncover about the ancient city are… well, they’re limitless.’

‘I understand that and I’m happy for you and historians around the world, but I’m not concerned about the full implications of the map. For now, all I need you to do is figure out what it tells us about Alexander. That’s it. I simply need to know if the map will narrow down our list of possibilities; and if so, how long that process will take.’

‘Okay. I can do that.’

Papineau cleared his throat at the head of the table.

Cobb glared at him. ‘What?’

‘If you’re assigning tasks, does this mean that you’ve accepted my terms and will be leading the next mission?’

The team glanced at him, hopeful.

Cobb mulled it over. ‘I’m in… for now.’

It was not the enthusiastic response that Papineau had been hoping for, but it was music to the squad’s ears. They knew Cobb much better than Papineau did and he would not accept a mission that was doomed to fail; particularly one with so much at stake. As crazy as it sounded, if a levelheaded leader like Cobb believed that they could find Alexander’s lost tomb, they knew it was more than possible.

They knew it was likely.

Instantly, a wave of energy surged through the team.

‘Jasmine,’ Cobb said, pulling their attention back to the matter at hand, ‘can you have something for me by the end of the day?’

Jasmine grimaced and nodded at the exact same time. ‘I can have something for you, yes. But it won’t be everything. It might not even be close.’

‘That’s fine. All I need is a place to start. We can figure out the rest as we go.’ He turned toward Garcia. ‘Hector, I’m willing to bet that this program has a few more bells and whistles we haven’t seen yet. Hopefully some of that can help Jasmine better understand what she’s looking at. You’ll show her what the technology can do?’

It was an order disguised as a question. Of everyone in the group, Cobb knew that Garcia had the most sensitive disposition. Appealing to his sense of importance was a small concession to keep him motivated.

‘Absolutely,’ Garcia replied. ‘We’ve barely scratched the surface. You should see what this thing can do!’

‘Another time,’ Cobb said. ‘Right now, I’ll leave it up to you and Jasmine. She’s the expert, but you’re her Yoda. Walk her through everything.’

‘My pleasure, it will be,’ he croaked in Yoda’s voice.

Cobb spun in his chair and stared across the table at McNutt. He could only smile as McNutt continually reached out in an attempt to grab the holographic images. He was thankful that the Marine was battle-tested, otherwise Papineau would have kicked him out of the unit as Section 8: mentally unfit for service.

Suddenly aware of Cobb’s staring, McNutt snapped to attention. ‘Yes, chief?’

‘What do you know about Egypt?’

‘It’s in the Middle East. Does that answer your question?’

‘No, but it’s a start.’

‘Control of the country is tenuous, at best. The national president has managed to piss off nearly everyone on both the Muslim and Christian sides of the aisle. In short, I think he’s fighting for his political life — if not his actual life. Based on violence at recent protests, I’d say Egypt is on the verge of civil war.’

Cobb smiled, but not at the news. He found it amusing that McNutt, someone who seemingly viewed the world through cartoon eyes, was able to brief him on the political climate in the Middle East without any prep time, and yet a few minutes earlier he had just fallen over his chair in an attempt to catch a hologram.

‘Take the rest of the day,’ Cobb said to McNutt. ‘Find out everything you can about the region: who’s fighting who, where, and for what reasons. I want to know whom we can trust, if anyone, and whom we need to avoid at all costs. I also need a map of safe zones and restricted areas. Plus, I need a list of friendlies.’

‘Friendlies?’ McNutt said with a grin. ‘Chief, I haven’t been to that part of the world in years. And even when I was there, I was usually a thousand yards away from a target, laying low, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Establishing connections with the locals was a little above my pay grade.’

‘Not to mention his abilities as a human being,’ Sarah added.

McNutt laughed. ‘See, she gets me. Yes, I’m adorable, and yes, women want to rip my pants off, but my sense of humor doesn’t really translate to other cultures.’

‘Doesn’t translate to ours, either.’

‘Exactly!’ McNutt said. ‘I’m not the guy you ask to make friends.’

Cobb conceded the point. ‘Fine. Don’t worry about the friendlies. But I want you to get me everything else by the end of the day. Understood?’

‘Understood.’

‘Good. I’m sure Garcia can set you up with whatever you need.’

On cue, Garcia pulled a laptop from a shelf in the corner and handed it to McNutt. ‘It’s already connected to our encrypted network. You have access to government and military databases, and just about anything else you can think of.’

‘How about Google?’ McNutt asked with a straight face.

Garcia chuckled. ‘Yeah, it has Google.’

‘Then we’re all set,’ McNutt replied. He grabbed the laptop and hurdled the small wall that separated the conference table from the more casual side of the room. He plopped onto a plush recliner, opened the laptop, and starting typing.

‘He’s like an obedient dog,’ Sarah mused.

‘You’re right,’ Cobb answered. ‘When the time comes, he does exactly as he’s been told. Exactly. No surprises. That’s more than I can say for some people.’

‘Am I too much for you to handle?’ Sarah asked.

‘I’m not sure. Let’s go outside and find out.’

‘Wait… What?’

‘You and me, right now, out in the yard.’

‘Hold up. You want to fight me?’

Cobb shrugged, as if to say he had nothing better to do.

‘What about the mission prep?’

He scanned the room. ‘Hector and Jasmine are looking into the map and the history of the city. McNutt is outlining our options for a visit. So unless you know something about Alexandria that you’re not telling me, you can either stay here and play cards with Jean-Marc, or you can get some exercise with me in the yard. Your choice.’

She smiled. ‘You’re on.’

Sarah had started the day in blue jeans and a T-shirt but had traded the casual attire for something more athletic. Now she wore the type of outfit she preferred in the field: a form-fitting black bodysuit that afforded an unrestricted range of motion and helped to conceal her covert movements. Although she looked the part of a cat burglar, she didn’t view herself as one. Instead, she preferred ‘retrieval specialist’ to ‘thief’.

For one reason or another, she hated that word.

Regardless of her title, the end result was the same.

She was still being paid to acquire items that didn’t belong to her.

And she was very good at her job.

She circled Cobb like a hungry wolf. She was confident, but she knew her enemy could attack at any moment. She kept moving, searching for the right opportunity to strike. ‘You really think this is the best use of our time?’

Cobb cracked his neck from side to side, then rolled his sleeves above his elbows. ‘Do I think what is the best use of our time?’

‘This,’ she answered. ‘Fighting.’

He shrugged. ‘You’re the only one who said anything about fighting. I just mentioned coming outside, and you took it as a personal challenge. Just like you always do. One of these days, we’ll have to figure out why.’

‘Wait. So what is this?’

‘This is us having a conversation,’ Cobb replied. ‘Away from curious ears that might want to listen in if they thought we were up to something sneaky.’

He leaped forward and tried to sweep Sarah’s leg with his own.

Sarah dodged the attack and threw a jab toward Cobb’s midsection. ‘You mean this is all just misdirection? You weren’t really challenging me?’

Cobb deflected the punch and stepped back. ‘Why would I challenge you? I know what you can do in the field. I’ve seen you in action. I’ll take McNutt in a gunfight, but in hand-to-hand combat, you’re the one I want to watch my back.’

It was one of the highest compliments that Cobb could bestow upon her, and she knew it. She instantly swelled with pride. ‘In that case, what do you need to talk about?’

‘You’ve seen the video cameras recording our every move?’ To emphasize his remark, he grabbed her arm and spun her tightly into his chest. It was meant to look like a modified bearhug/chokehold of some kind, but it actually allowed her to survey the entire yard as she twirled around.

‘I count six,’ she said as she tried to wiggle free. ‘Three along the balcony and another three along the rear hedge.’

‘What about inside?’

‘Too many to count. Why?’

With her arms pinned to her sides, she kicked a leg toward the sky and hit Cobb in the face. Had she wanted to, she could have easily broken his nose. But since they were just putting on a show, she only hit him hard enough to make it look good.

Cobb released his grip and shoved her away. ‘I want to know if there’s anywhere private on these grounds. It seems that Papineau wants to watch our every move, and I need to know if he’s got the whole place covered. If he doesn’t, I want to know where our team can go to be alone. No cameras. No mics. Just us.’

‘Countersurveillance,’ she said. ‘That’s what you really want, isn’t it? You want to watch him watch us.’

‘We’ll get to that later, but first, I need to know what he can and can’t see. Can you handle that for me?’

‘With pleasure.’

‘If possible, I’d like you to do it before you leave for Egypt.’

She stopped circling. ‘I’m leaving for Egypt?’

Cobb used the distraction to charge forward. Had he wanted to, he could have taken her out with a number of different moves, including an open-palmed strike to her nose that would have ruined her face forever. Instead, he opted to teach her a lesson by slapping the back of her head. ‘Focus! Never let your guard down!’

She sneered at him. ‘Screw you, Mr Miyagi.’

He ignored the Karate Kid reference. ‘I’m serious. If this is going to work, I need you to stay focused at all times. Otherwise, we’ll get into trouble.’

She returned to her fighting stance, looking for the opportunity to take him out. ‘If what’s going to work?’

‘Our joint rekky to Egypt.’

She smiled. ‘Hold on, are you asking me out?’

‘Yes,’ he said sarcastically, ‘I’m taking you on a romantic getaway to war-torn Egypt because unstable governments are a huge turn-on for me.’

‘No judgment. Whatever floats your boat.’

Cobb shook his head and circled to his right. ‘You know damn well that I like checking out the scenery before I plan a mission, but considering the chaos in Egypt right now, I thought a second set of eyes might come in handy.’

‘Makes sense to me. Should I bring lingerie, or do you prefer—’

‘You know what? Forget it!’ he said, blushing slightly. ‘I’ll take the trip alone. But while I’m gone, I’m leaving McNutt in charge of the team. I’m sure that will be a lot of fun for you. I can picture it now: a solid week of cleaning his guns while he’s watching cartoons with the strippers he brought back from the club.’

She grimaced at the thought. ‘So, when are we leaving for Egypt?’

Cobb nodded. ‘Yeah. That’s what I thought.’

‘Seriously, when are we leaving?’

‘I’ll let you know. In the meantime, I need you to strangle me.’

‘Jack, I’m not going to—’

‘You know Papi’s going to see this, and everyone heard you throw down the gauntlet. So we have three choices: I kick your ass, you kick mine, or we call it a tie.’

‘I’ll go with door number two.’

‘I assumed as much. So here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to attack, and you’re going to—’

Sarah didn’t wait for him to finish his instructions. Instead, she planted a foot on his knee and grabbed his shoulders. Then she swung her body around his like an acrobat, wrapped her arm around his throat, and leaned back with all of her weight.

The two of them fell to the ground.

As they did, she tightened her grip on his neck, her bicep squeezing his carotid artery like a python crushing its prey.

In a matter of seconds, he would be unconscious.

‘Atta girl,’ he said as he closed his eyes.