From her small canvas sling-strap satchel she pulled a magnifying glass. Both Sam and Joanne looked impressed with her deftness, but Nina merely raised an eyebrow and accepted their admiration. While the cold bit at their skins and tussled their hair, the three concentrated on deciphering the difficult message and the diagram that accompanied it.
“Here, look,” Sam pointed out something. “Are we surprised?”
It was a watermark at the base of the document depicting the dreaded sigil of the Order of the Black Sun.
“What is that?” Joanne asked.
“A secret occult organization within the Thule Society,” Nina explained to her friend. “It was attended by a handful of the elite of the Nazi Party, the High Command of the SS, and at the helm was Himmler, trying to bring to fruition some ludicrous prophecy that Hitler was the chosen vessel to bring forth the old gods — evil gods that would rule the world once more.”
Frowning in fear, Joanne's voice trembled as she deliberately exhibited her repulsion, “Je-sus. That’s not twisted at all. How did the SS pull this off?”
“The Order of the Black Sun was so secret, not all members of the Thule Society knew of it. Very exclusive, for very exclusive evil fucktards,” Nina delivered her concise lecture in a mock-professional manner to support her sarcasm.
“What does it say, though, Dr. Gould?” Sam asked, reminding her that they were busy reading the document. “How is your German these days?”
“Oh my God,” Nina gasped as she read through the parts that had not been eaten away or rusted. “I don't think Leslie stole this coin from the Nazi treasure they were loading here, guys.” She looked up from under her dark, unkempt fringe at her two companions. “According to this, there was another clandestine mission under the pretense of this Nazi stash. The stuff they loaded here was only Nazi plunders of art and treasure from Europe. This was just another place where the Nazis hid their stolen loot.”
“So… Alexander the Great's medallion is bullshit?” Joanne moaned in utter disappointment.
“No, no,” Nina smiled. “Listen to me. The coin and this document was what Yvetta had in her possession when she came to oversee the supposed transfer of the U-537 treasure. On her person she had Jo's coin and this document! That was why she went to such great lengths to hunt Leslie down after the girl stole her coin! She must have neglected to realize that Leslie's coat stayed behind, that it contained the document while the coin went with the thief, see?”
Sam was filming the damaged decree. He chimed in, “So Yvetta was actually here to find what this blueprint is showing. She was here to find what this letter refers to as the Treasure of Alexander the Great?”
“Aye. We are dealing with an operation that was actually two operations. One was loyal duty, the other was greed,” Nina grinned. “Are you guys ready to get rich? God knows we will need it after this little treasure hunt of ours.”
“I am very ready, believe me. I’m wearing my best pair of cargos and they're already ripped,” Sam winked. Nina and Joanne smiled at him. “If we find this treasure we'll be richer than Purdue.”
“That is almost true, y'know?” Nina agreed before she dropped her eyes once more to the words, forgotten by those who’d once written them. “This memorandum was issued by Karl Wolff, Obergruppenführer of the Waffen-SS. He states here that he is initiating Operation Olympias…”
“Olympias was Alexander the Great's mother!” Joanne chipped in, glowing with intrigue.
“What was Operation Olympias? Does it say?” Sam pressed.
“It was an expedition Wolff would secretly facilitate, sending small missions out to parts of Greece, Turkey, and Egypt to find the treasure Alexander had hidden according to legend, after receiving a letter from his mother, Olympias, that revealed a devastating secret.” She frowned as she tried to string the existing sentences together where words lacked. Her right index finger nail trailed along the third line from the bottom. “Most of this is missing, but it speaks of this blueprint being the casket of the Olympias’ Letter.”
“Yvetta lost the blueprint and the coin before she could study it. Her true mission to Canadian soil failed because of a young girl's interference. I'd be livid. Jesus, I'd be pissed! No wonder she put two slugs in Leslie's skull; probably sheer frustration!” Sam speculated.
“Well, now that we know why,” Joanne announced, pointing at the blueprint, “we can get to the where. If we find the letter, it will direct us to the treasure Alexander chose to conceal, right?”
“Correct,” Nina affirmed. “See? I told you, he would not hide just any treasure. The man owned everything he walked through. He had no reason to bury treasures.”
“What do you think, Dr. Gould, is so valuable about this particular hoard that Alexander the Great did not wish it to be found?” Sam asked Nina, holding the camera steady.
“Truthfully, it could be anything,” Nina replied, looking at the lens. She turned to Joanne. “What would you think, Miss Earle? As a history teacher and an admirer of the legendary warrior king, you should have a firm opinion as to what he would have found so special about gold and silver.”
Joanne caught her breath when Sam pointed the camera at her.
“I am no expert, certainly, but I think it would be something his other conquests, his collective treasures and estates could not give him. It has to be something more important, more substantial, than mere riches,” she explained. “But as to what exactly it is? I honestly have no idea.”
“Nice,” Sam smiled as he switched off the camera. “Now for some… I don't want to say it… dirty work. Does the blueprint show the point of entry?”
“Someone's coming!” Joanne shrieked and fell to her knees, pulling Nina and Sam down with her by grasping their sleeves.
“Where?” Sam asked.
She pointed over the bottom of the bare window to the darkness outside. Sam peeked for a few moments, showing no response.
“Sam!” Nina whispered hard. “Is someone there?”
He came back down, drawing his gun from his left boot. “I see two flashlights. They are moving slowly, but they are coming straight here. Do you have weapons?”
“Oh God, not this again,” Joanne lamented, remembering Nina's insistence on blunt force protection the last time when they went looking for Leslie's empty grave.
“I have a hunting knife,” Nina panted. “Joanne, take the gun in my bag.”
“Excuse me?” the teacher started.
“Take the fucking gun, Joanne,” Nina growled, shoving a Beretta into her friend's hand. “This is not an action-adventure fiction novel. This is real! We don't know who they are, but I am pretty sure anyone else who knows about this place is not here to ask us for directions. Do you understand?”
Joanne looked pale, her expression one of careful adherence as she reluctantly took the weapon from Nina. Backs to the flaking wall the three of them waited for the two strangers to enter the ablution block. Sam was aiming straight for the doorway, looking calm and intent. Nina chewed her bottom lip and Joanne missed the annoying conversation of Mr. Spence at camp before she had to fear for her life.
The approaching threat yielded no conversation. No voices could be heard to ascertain the nature of their visit in the middle of the night or why they were there. At least, if they had spoken to one another during their arduous journey to the derelict building, there would be some way to detect their accent, thus their origin and with it probably their purpose. Their hearts raced as they waited anxiously for the strangers to follow the growing beams of their flashlights. Sam's eye sharpened and he shut out the din of the frigid gales and creaking roof boards.