The Orpheus Legacy

CHAPTER TWELVE

When Scarlet looked around the room, she groaned. “It’s not exactly up to my usual exacting standards, is it now?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ryan said. “Some people say cockroaches make nice pets.”

She looked at him. “Exactly who says that, boy?”

“No one,” he said apologetically. “No one has ever said that.”

“The boy folds like a lawn chair.” She threw her bag on one of the beds and collapsed down beside it. Taking a deep breath, she sighed with relief that the shooting had finally stopped and dreamed of her imminent shower.

Kamala returned from the bathroom, slipping a small bottle of pills into her pocket. “But that’s why you love him, right?”

Lea saw the small plastic bottle but said nothing. It was probably just headache tablets and none of her business. Watching the former Secret Service agent in battle had given her no cause for concern and she believed she was more than up to the job.

“Who says I love him?” Scarlet asked.

“I can see it in your eyes.”

“Then you should have gone to Specsavers, darling.”

“Huh?”

Hawke laughed. “She’ll explain another time.”

Lexi gave him a sideways glance and turned to the relic on the bed. Lifting it up she balanced it in her hands and was impressed by its substantial weight. “Now then, let’s have a proper look at this little harp and see what all the fuss is about.”

“Lyre,” Ryan said. “It’s a lyre, not a harp.”

“Looks like a little itty bitty harp to me,” she said without apology.

“This from the woman whose idea of a successful first date is if she hasn’t broken one of his arms.”

“You don’t know me at all,” Lexi said. “When I’m on a date I’m actually a kind, quiet woman. A pussycat, really.”

After a suitable pause, laughter broke out in the room and dispersed some of the tension that had been building since Kim Taylor’s murder a few days ago. The team had done their usual and simply avoided the subject, but now it felt like they could finally put it behind them and concentrate on getting the job done for Francken and getting their cash.

“Pussycat,” Ryan said. “More like a two hundred kilo tiger.”

She glared at him. “Are you saying I’m fat?”

“No, not at all,” he said hurriedly. “Not fat at all. Lean, strong in fact. Lithe. I’d use the word lithe and please don’t beat me up.”

More laughter as Lexi gave him a play punch on his shoulder.

Lea pulled a chair out from under the desk and sat down. It felt great to get the weight off her feet but she knew they still had business to attend to. “So what have we got, Ryan?”

“I know you’ll be amazed to hear it, but I’m having trouble with these symbols.”

“Fuck me,” Scarlet said, loud and clear. “You mean you can’t do it and we need someone else?”

Ryan ignored her. “There’s a lot of water damage for one thing, but the real problem is they’re just not something I’m particularly familiar with, and Uncle Google has been no use at all. Anyway, I’ve done some research and our best bet is a Dr Jazmin Benedek. She’s a Hungarian archaeologist with some serious specialist skills in the Orpheus myth and the top bod in Europe on the subject. She works at the museum in Buda Castle on the Danube and from what I can tell she should be able to work this stuff out much quicker than I can using only online resources. Decryption is long and hard work.”

“And there’s another reason we should contact her,” Lea sad. “If she really is the top academic authority on Orpheus it’s not going to take long for Dimitrov to track her down and send Kashala after her. They need a new archaeologist after what happened to the last one.”

“She’s right,” Hawke said. “We have to assume Dimitrov will have photos of the lyre and its symbols. We all know Professor Parvanov isn’t going to be of much use to him anymore, so he’s going to be on the lookout for a new expert.”

A brief silence fell over the room as the team remembered watching the wolves dragging a kicking and screaming Parvanov into the woods.

“Plus,” Lea continued, “they’ll presume we’re going to take the lyre to her anyway so we need to get a move on and get there as fast as possible. Time is running out.”

Camacho checked his watch and raised an eyebrow. “What’s the quickest way to get there?”

Ryan was already on his laptop. “Eight hours by car.”

“That’s no good.” Lea had also gone online on her phone. “That’s the main route into Hungary and has tolls, too. Don’t forget we’re on the run now. We’ll get picked up at the border for sure.”

Hawke nodded. “We’ll take the main road until we get to the border and then break off and go in on a country lane. Both countries are in the EU so the border won’t be manned at every single country track. Then we get back on a main road and get into Budapest. How long for that?”

Ryan tapped away at his laptop. “More like ten hours.”

Hawke said, “Then we drive through the night and we’ll be there first thing in the morning. What are the chances of you being able to get hold of this Dr Benedek’s phone and warning her about Kashala?”

Ryan shrugged. “Not great, but I can give it a try. Her office phone would be straight-forward — just a matter of looking her up on the museum website, but it’s way too late for her to be at work. I doubt her personal number is online for just anyone to find.”

Camacho landed a hefty slap on the young man’s back and nearly knocked him off the side of the desk. “But you’re not just anyone, are you?”

“All I can do is try my best,” Ryan said.

Hawke cracked a mineral water and fell down on the bed beside Scarlet. After a few wolf-whistles and giggles, he said, “Anything we need to be aware of in Budapest?”

Ryan shook his head as he closed the laptop. “Some anti-government protests have been rumbling on for a few days but nothing that need concern us. We should be in and out in a few hours.”

“In that case let’s get cleaned up and ready to hit the road. This Dr Benedek’s life is in danger.”