Eddie looked from Falk’s body to the statue of Bucephalus. ‘That fucking thing had better be worth all of this,’ he rumbled.
‘I hope it is,’ whispered Nina.
12
The statue rested on a tabletop in a government office, the survivors of the tomb’s opening standing around it.
Habib was first to speak. ‘This may not be the best time,’ he said, ‘but… with the death of Dr Assad, the responsibility for dealing with this situation is mine.’
Banna gave him a sharp look. ‘I am in charge of the dig.’
‘The dig, yes, but this statue clearly has a wider importance. It must be dealt with by the Ministry — it is now a government matter, not simply archaeological.’
‘The IHA is involved too,’ said Nina. ‘That makes it an international issue.’
The reminder did not sit well with either Banna or Habib. ‘You are no longer part of the IHA,’ said the former.
‘I was asked to come here by the United Nations, at the request of the Egyptian government. The IHA representative on site — and my friend — is dead. Until someone higher up tells me otherwise, I’d say that makes me the ranking IHA representative. Wouldn’t you agree?’
It was clear they did not, but neither had a compelling rebuttal at hand, or for that matter the willingness to argue. Banna shrugged, then returned his attention to the sculpture. ‘Very well.’
‘The statue should be removed to a more secure location,’ Habib insisted. ‘I will take it to the Ministry in Cairo.’
‘Make your arrangements,’ said Banna with a dismissive wave. ‘We have work to do.’ The irked official took out his phone and left the room. ‘Dr Wilde, it is time you told me everything. Who are these raiders, what do they want, and why is this statue so important to them?’
Nina took a deep breath before launching into an account of what she had learned about the escaped Nazi war criminals, and events from her encounter in Los Angeles onwards — minus any mention of the Mossad agents. ‘I’m still as dubious as you look to be about the Spring of Immortality really existing,’ she concluded, noting the Egyptian’s sceptical expression. ‘But I’ve now seen three of the SS men who escaped after the war. They should be in their nineties, or even older — but they’re not. That suggests they’ve found something that slows the effects of ageing… and their being willing to take such extreme action to get their hands on this,’ she indicated the statue, ‘means they’re convinced it can lead them to its source.’
Eddie nodded, then winced; the cut to his scalp had been stitched up, but was still painful. ‘If you’re an escaped Nazi who’s managed to stay hidden for seventy years, you don’t stick your head out of your hole unless it’s for something really important.’
‘It’s not just the original guys, though,’ said Macy. ‘You said there were, what, eight of them? The people who attacked us were like a small army. And most of them were young.’
‘Boys from Brazil, like I said,’ Eddie told Nina.
‘They’re not clones,’ she replied. ‘But they knew the Bucephalus statue would be in the burial chamber with Alexander, so they had information we didn’t. Presumably, they also knew that it would tell them what they needed.’
‘The riddle of Bucephalus,’ said Banna. He used a magnifying glass to examine the tiny letters inscribed upon the horse’s reins. ‘But what is the riddle? We have read all the text, and there is nothing that could be a puzzle.’
The writing had been translated into both Arabic and English. Nina picked up a transcript. ‘Well, let’s see what we’ve got. According to this, Andreas the cook made the statue to honour Alexander.’
‘Three hundred years after Alexander died,’ Macy reminded her dubiously.
‘It’s not as crazy as it sounds. We’ve got bad guys who are half a century younger than they should be, looking for something that’s linked to the legend of the Spring of Immortality. Maybe it’s more than just a legend.’
‘Wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened to us,’ noted Eddie.
‘Whether or not it was made by Andreas, most of the text is in praise of Alexander.’ Banna recited an example from the Arabic translation. ‘“None could hope to match the wisdom and bravery of Alexander; he was and shall ever be unique in all of history, a true giant amongst mere men whose greatness will never be equalled.” The rest says that solving the riddle of Bucephalus will lead you to the Spring of Immortality. But there is no riddle.’
‘Maybe it originally had a base with more writing on it,’ Macy suggested.
‘There would have been marks on the feet where a base was attached, but there aren’t any,’ said Nina. ‘It’s a single sculpted piece. A very good one, too.’
‘The workmanship is beautiful,’ Banna agreed, admiring its lines. ‘A priceless artefact.’ He ran a fingertip along the horse’s neck, stopping at the ragged bullet hole in the mane. ‘Even with this damage,’ he added, giving Eddie a disapproving glare.
The Englishman was unrepentant. ‘If I’d hit it a couple of inches lower, I would’ve blown the whole thing to bits and all this would be over.’
Banna muttered something in Arabic that Nina doubted was complimentary. ‘Brute force has no place in archaeology,’ he went on.
‘Yeah, I’ve been telling him that for six years now,’ she said.
Eddie made a face at her. ‘Funny, I seem to remember it working for us quite a few times. It’s like that whole Gordian Knot thing — Alexander just chopped it in half. Problem solved! If you can’t figure something out with brainpower, sometimes you’ve got to take the direct approach…’
He tailed off, staring at the statue with sudden intensity. ‘What?’ Nina asked.
‘I think I’ve just solved the riddle of Bucephalus.’ He picked up the statue—
And before anyone could stop him, dashed it to pieces on the floor.
Banna gawped at the broken remains. ‘You — you maniac! What have you done?’ He ran to the office door, shouting for security.
‘Eddie, Jesus Christ!’ Nina cried. ‘Why the hell did you do that?’
‘Because that’s what it said to do.’ He crouched and picked through the debris. ‘Something like “Only Alexander’s wisdom could find the solution to the Gordian Knot, and to solve the riddle of Bucephalus you need wisdom like his”, wasn’t it?’
Several members of the Antiquities Special Protection Squad rushed into the room. Banna stabbed an accusing finger at the Englishman. ‘Arrest him! He has destroyed a priceless relic!’
‘Yeah, and I’ve found an even more priceless one,’ Eddie announced as the uniformed men surrounded him. He raised one hand to show he was not a threat — and in the other held up a metal object. ‘See?’
‘Wait, wait,’ Nina said urgently. ‘Dr Banna, look! He’s right — there was something inside the statue.’
Banna hesitated before issuing a command for the ASPS to stand back, but not withdraw. ‘Give it to me.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Eddie said sarcastically as it was snatched away. Banna gazed at the new discovery, Nina joining him.
‘It’s a fish,’ she whispered. The hidden treasure was around nine inches long and half an inch thick, a flat bronze lens shape with a small triangular tail attached by a hinge to one end. Lines of tiny Greek text were inscribed around the artefact’s outer edge. A circular hole at the head, a centimetre in diameter, represented the fish’s eye. A slot ran down the centre line, some sort of measuring scale marked along it. Standing proud of the slot was a metal pointer, which could apparently move; glimpses of a mechanism were visible through the opening. ‘Turn it over.’