He spoke to the gunman; Banna’s name was mentioned. That snapped her back to full awareness. Where were her companions, and what had happened to them? Where was Eddie? She looked around. Other intruders were moving through the treasury, hunting for the rest of the group. One huge hulk had already located Assad, hauling the older man to his feet. Another black-clad man dragged the dazed Banna out from behind a pillar.
‘You are Dr Nina Wilde?’ She looked back at the mad-eyed man.
‘Uh… yeah, yes I am,’ she mumbled.
He gazed unsettlingly at her as if examining a specimen under a microscope, then surveyed the treasury. ‘Anyone else who is here, show yourself now!’ he shouted. ‘If you do not, you will be killed on sight.’ The command was repeated in Arabic, but stiffly, the phrases learned by rote.
Two more intruders, both young men, called out. Nina shuddered as she saw Schofield and Dina’s blood-splashed bodies in the beams of their lights. Rasche stared at Nina again. ‘Are there more people with you?’
She forced herself not to glance in the direction where she had last seen her husband. ‘No.’
‘If you are lying, I will kill you.’ There was distinct anticipation in his voice at the prospect.
‘This is all of us, I swear.’
It was evident that he didn’t believe her, but seconds passed with no reports from the other searchers. ‘Very well,’ he said eventually. ‘Where is the body of Alexander the Great?’
She gestured towards the stairs. ‘Up there.’
He nodded. ‘You will come with us.’
The gunman yanked her to her feet and shoved her towards Banna and Assad, who had been corralled in the main aisle by their captors. Nina counted twelve men altogether, all armed with sub-machine guns and wearing webbing holding extra magazines. Some had other equipment too: more stun grenades, lethal hand grenades, even blocks of plastic explosive.
She risked looking back for any sign of Eddie, or Macy. Nothing. At least two of the intruders had searched the area where he had been, so he must have found a hiding place…
The gigantic man holding Assad — Walther, another of the escaped war criminals — regarded Nina with a hard expression. ‘Dr Wilde,’ he said, ‘take us to the statue of Bucephalus.’
‘Which one?’ she asked, playing for time. If their attackers could be delayed in the tomb, it would give Egyptian reinforcements a chance to respond. ‘There are several.’ She indicated a couple of the nearest examples.
Rasche snorted — then lashed out with a gloved fist, knocking her to the floor. Banna flinched, while Assad stiffened in outrage. ‘Do not waste my time. You were given stolen plans of this operation; that you are here proves you know what we seek.’ Nina glared up at him, a hand to her cheek.
‘I–I am in charge of this dig,’ said Banna, voice pitched high with fear before he cleared his throat and managed to lower it. ‘If you want anything, speak to me. She is only an observer; she is no longer even a member of the IHA.’
Nina saw Walther and Rasche exchange looks. Had they expected her to be an official part of the excavation? ‘Then you will take us to the statue of Bucephalus,’ said Rasche, pointing his gun at Banna. The young archaeologist shrank back. ‘The one in the burial chamber.’
‘Do as he asks,’ said Assad. ‘Nobody else needs to get hurt.’
‘Good. Now move.’ Rasche issued more orders, and five of his men started back towards the entrance. The rest pushed the three prisoners to the stairs.
In the darkness at the other end of the chamber, the lid of a bronze chest opened slightly. Eddie peered through the gap, the start of a creak from the hinges deterring him from lifting it higher. ‘Bollocks!’ he whispered. ‘They’re taking Nina up to the coffin. Assad and Banna, too.’
A strained squeak came from beneath him. ‘Eddie, your elbow’s right on my chest!’ Macy gasped.
‘It’s okay, you’ve got plenty of padding there.’
‘What? You asshole!’
Eddie smiled faintly, but the brief levity vanished as he saw that some of the attackers were positioning themselves to guard the entrance. The nearest man was twenty feet from him. His hiding place was not in their direct line of sight, but he doubted he would be able to get out of the box without making a noise — and drawing their fire. Farther away, Nina and the others climbed the steps to the burial chamber. ‘Shit,’ he muttered.
Macy squirmed beneath him. ‘What’s happening? Are Nina and the others okay?’
‘For now, but I doubt they’re going to let them go. And Bill and Dina are dead.’
‘Oh my God! They’re — they’ll kill us too!’
‘Stay calm,’ he told her, changing position to take as much of his weight off her as he could. ‘I won’t let that happen.’
His assurance calmed her, a little. ‘What are you going to do?’
‘Buggered if I know.’
‘Y-yeah, that helps.’
‘First things first. I need to figure out how to get out of this fucking box without them hearing me.’ He shifted until he was able to put his hand down beside her neck, then carefully levered himself up, raising the lid again until it began to creak.
The guards hadn’t moved, watching the door — and Nina and the others were now out of sight.
‘There,’ said Banna as the intruders pushed the surviving archaeologists into the burial chamber. ‘There is the statue. Please, take it. We will not stop you.’
Most of the torch beams turned to where he was pointing, but some explored other parts of the room. Walther whistled appreciatively as he shone his own light over a large golden vase decorated with multicoloured gemstones. The huge man made a suggestion, which drew chuckles from some of his companions.
Rasche did not share their amusement. Nina guessed from his impatient reply that he was telling the others they were only there for the statue. The younger men responded to the rebuke by straightening and issuing apologies, but Walther was more relaxed, shaking his head in wry amusement. He spoke again, Nina understanding a few words: ‘Wir brauchen mehr Gold, Rasche.’ We need more gold, Rasche.
Rasche spoke again, with more anger. Walther shrugged, but acquiesced. He crouched and clamped his massive hands around the sculpture, lifting it as easily as though it was a bag of sugar.
‘So you’ve got what you came for,’ said Nina, fear rising. Now that they had the statue, the Nazis had no reason to keep their prisoners alive. ‘What are you going to do with us?’
Rasche did not respond at once, instead gazing at the desiccated figure inside the crystal coffin. ‘So this is Alexander…’
‘You are interested in the great king?’ asked Banna.
Rasche shook his head. ‘Not I. But our Führer has a fascination with the man. Which is fortunate for us, as otherwise we would not—’ He caught himself, as if about to give away some secret. ‘It is a shame we cannot take the body. He would like to possess it, very much.’
‘Egypt will pay anything you ask to ensure the safety of Alexander’s remains,’ said Assad. ‘I am the senior archaeologist of the Ministry of State for Antiquities; if it is necessary, I will act as a hostage during negotiations.’
‘There will be no negotiations,’ Rasche said sharply. He nodded to Walther. Cradling the ceramic horse, the big man headed into the tunnel. The leader regarded the mummy once more, then made a silent decision. ‘Take them into the treasure room,’ he ordered.
The other men shoved the prisoners back down the painted passage. ‘What are you doing?’ Nina demanded.
‘Our Führer would be… unhappy if anything happened to his hero,’ Rasche replied, a veneer of disdain telling her that he did not share his commander’s concerns. ‘So I will make sure that the burial chamber is preserved.’