The Relic Hunters

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

“Jemma, we’re inside Thomas Kilby’s office.”

“Good. Another step closer to getting away unseen.”

Bodie looked at the guard Cross was dragging in. “Yeah, well, we have to assume it’s been altered, redecorated and God knows what else done to it over the years so suggestions are welcome. Jeff?”

“I’d say pictures,” he came back. “Pictures on the wall.”

Cassidy was already on it. “Nothing,” she said. “Not even Illuminati-ish. A few old drawings of old York, the Viking encampment, the Roman fortress, and a modern aerial view. A letter and a certificate. Nothing here with Kilby’s name on it; not a surprise.” She licked blood from her split knuckles.

“A safe?” Gunn suggested.

They lifted pictures and frames. They checked the carpet and the desk, finding nothing suspicious. Bodie checked the walls for hidden alcoves. Cross even looked suspiciously at the ceiling.

They paused and studied.

“Y’know,” Bodie finally said. “The oldest things in here are those pictures. The discoloration underneath shows it. I say we have another look.”

The dead guard groaned. Cassidy glared over at Cross. “ ’Kinell, old man,” she growled. “Not only are you slower than a long winter, you’re losing your marbles too.”

Cross licked his lips. “Shit, Cass, I was sure he was dead.”

“Well maybe my sensual personality brought him back to life.” Cassidy walked over to the guard. “It’s been known before, but in a different way.”

Cross frowned. Bodie ignored them as he scanned the wall. Every little detail, even the York pictures, might be the key. He tried to imagine what an archaeologist and a fallen member of the Illuminati might come up with in the early 1900s.

It struck him.

The letter.

“Jeff,” he said. “When exactly did our archaeologist friend embark upon his quest?”

“The year was nineteen hundred and ten,” Jeff read the text aloud. “Part of the very first footnote. Is it a clue?”

Bodie couldn’t stop the grin. “Damn right it is. This letter they have on the wall is a vital piece of Illuminati history. Yes, it’s a copy but I’d say they have it on every office wall in this house. It’s a letter meant for all and addressed to the Antiquity Lodge. The date is 1910.”

“So you’re saying the unhappy member of the Illuminati, perhaps in his last act, wrote that letter with the intention that it would always remain on the York Lodge’s wall? It has to be pretty powerful.”

“It is,” Bodie said. “They wrote this letter to the Antiquity Lodge that admits to many years of struggle and strife, that instead of them ceasing to exist they will accept the rule of this other lodge and are happy to be absorbed by it. Basically, it’s the end of the York Lodge as an entity, the dissolving of their power, the end of an era.”

“And a transfer of power, membership and leadership to the Antiquity Lodge,” Jeff said. “As you say, the most important document in their history.”

“Not only that,” Bodie said. “It’s signed by Thomas Kilby.”

Cross was shaking his head at Cassidy. “You missed that?”

“I’m a fighter, not a fucking nerd. That’s why Bodie always double checks me.”

The master thief looked over. “Umm, thanks, I think.”

“Take a photo, just in case,” Jemma said. “Then get the hell out of there. Same way you got in, double time.”

“Yeah, that’s gonna be a slight problem,” Bodie said. “We have a passenger.”

The line went quiet, then Jemma said, “Dead?”

“On and off.”

“On and… what the hell does that mean?”

“It means get yer sexy drawers on, honey,” Cassidy drawled. “ ’Cause we’re coming in hot.”

Cross took the photos whilst Bodie helped Cassidy manhandle the unconscious guard. Once the redhead had him in a good hold they were ready. Bodie cracked the door, checked outside and waved them on. Soon, they were back at the metal staircase. Bodie went down first, checked the lay of the land and signaled the all-clear.

One more corridor and they were again in the basement, flashlights out, and avoiding the sensor. Up the stairs and through the courtyard, locking up every door behind them. Gunn switched his overlay off, killed his monitoring.

Bodie gave the group a smile of intense satisfaction. “Perfect job, folks. The best team in the business just proved their worth.”

Jemma pointed out the elephant in the room. “What about him? They’re gonna know he’s gone.”

“He’s Heidi’s problem now. And yeah, you’re right. But nobody saw anything, nobody heard anything. It’s just another mystery.”

“Under duress,” Cassidy said. “I think we done good.”

Bodie made to move away as the team gathered everything up. “Jeff,” he said. “Any ideas on this Antiquity Lodge?”

“Oh yeah,” he said. “It’s the oldest lodge in the UK, the oldest outside of Germany to be honest. It’s another name for the Grand Lodge of London.”

Bodie groaned. “Bollocks. You do realize that’s where I was born?”

Jeff looked unsure. “I can’t help where they founded a lodge hundreds of years ago.”

“I know,” Bodie worried. “But it’s gonna bring back some memories and none of them are good.”

“Skeletons in the closet?” Jemma asked.

“Enemies in the woodwork. Killers in the cupboard. You name it.”

Cassidy cracked her knuckles. “Shall we get going then?”