She shook her head. "They'd want to know what we're up to." "Blue can lie."
"It'd still take too long to find something. We can't just—" Gallo sat up straight. "George would have known the excavation was off limits. He wouldn't send us there." "Then where?" Rook asked.
"The university. Everything taken from the excavation is cataloged at the University of Athens. He must have found something before leaving."
"Can you get us in?" Queen asked.
"I don't have security clearance for the vault. I always go with George." Gallo stood. "But I'll try."
"Vault?" Rook said. "They keep the artifacts in a vault."
"Much of what we find is priceless," Gallo said. "Believe me, people would kill for it… people would die to protect it."
Rook nodded. "People have."
After a five-minute walk out of the tight neighborhood, the three sat in Gallo's cramped Volkswagen Fox, and rumbled off, over the cobbled streets, toward the University of Athens. If Gallo had thought to check the rearview mirror she might have noticed the two shadowy figures in pursuit, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. She might have noticed that the two figures avoided patches of bright light. And she might have seen them leap onto the roof of her vehicle, which would have been the only evidence that they now bore two additional passengers, because no one heard a thing.
FORTY- TWO
After driving over a speed bump that felt more like a springboard, Gallo pulled up to the Ilissia Gate that lead to the heart of the university's main campus. A streetlamp lit her face through the car's windshield. Her lip quivered as she held her I.D. up to the armed guard. Despite passing through the gate, sometimes daily, she had never entered the campus for less than academic reasons and her gut reminded her of it every few seconds. The guard waved her through.
After passing through the main gate successfully, she began talking about the history of the buildings as they passed. Like a nervous tour guide on her first day, Gallo gave a verbal dissertation on the Informatics building, the Energy Policy and Development Center, and the School of Theology building before pulling to a stop at the outer edge of the parking lot for the School of Philosophy, which housed the Archaeology Department and its vault. She put the car in park, and looked at Queen sitting next to her, and Rook, sitting hunched over in the rear of the small car. Both grinned at her.
With a huff she said, "It's not like I break into my own university every day, you know."
"It's not every day I cram myself into a sardine can, either," Rook said. "Can we go now?"
They entered through the side door of the six-story, utilitarian building that looked more like a hospital than a place where works of art and history were studied. Gallo waved to students who recognized her and smiled nervously as they shot odd looks at Rook. They entered a stairwell and descended two levels. Gallo stopped in front of a door marked Basement Level 1: Archaeology, Anthropology, V
"Through this door is a long hallway. Pierce's office is down here, too. The vault is at the end of an adjacent hallway. There will be one guard, Sebastian. He will recognize me, but only full-time staff are allowed unscheduled visits to the vault." She took a deep breath, licked her lips, and added, "But I'll try."
They entered the basement hallway, passing Pierce's dark office on the way. The hallways, though underground, were well lit from above and accented by the occasional sconce hanging on the green walls. The red industrial rug lining the floor masked their approach, but Gallo stopped them well away from the corner that lead to the vault and motioned for them to stay put. After taking one more deep breath of the basement's stale air, she rounded the corner and headed toward the vault. Despite the intimidating title, the vault was little more than a warehouse with one entrance — a thick steel door that required a keycard to enter. A keycard that hung from Sebastian's neck.
Sebastian smiled at Gallo as she walked toward him. He tipped his hat toward her and in his best English said, "How are you, Dr. Gallo?"
She smiled. Sebastian had a reputation as being a ladies' man. Given his smile and use of the English language whenever she spoke to him, she didn't doubt it. The man was charming. But the gun at his waist also meant he could be deadly. "I'm fine, Sebastian, how are you?"
"I was bored, but now.. " He held his hands out toward her. "You have arrived. How can I help you?"
Doing her best to hide her twisting stomach, she replied, "I was hoping I could look at a few items in the vault. I don't need to remove anything, I just need to confirm—"
Sebastian was shaking his head. It seemed he took his job more seriously than his flirting. "I'm afraid you'll have to make an appointment or return with Dr. Pierce."
"You know he's out of the country."
He shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I could lose my job. Were it in my power, I would take you anywhere you wanted to—"
"There you are!" Queen's voice echoed down the long hallway. Sebastian leaned over and looked around Gallo. Queen strode toward them, smiling wide. "A girl could get lost in this maze."
She stopped next to Gallo and extended a hand to Sebastian. He shook it, smiling wider. "And you are?"
Queen mocked surprise. "What, you can't see it? We're cousins."
Sebastian glanced at Gallo, his expression fiendish. "Cousins. Perhaps I can show you — oof!"
Queen yanked on the man's arm. He fell toward her as her knee came up and met his gut. When he doubled over, Queen brought her entwined fists down on the back of his head. He collapsed to the floor.
Gallo backed against the wall, hand to mouth.
"He'll live," Queen said, then whistled down the hall.
Rook walked quickly toward them as Queen wasted no time removing the keycard from Sebastian's neck. They entered the vault a moment later, where Rook secured the guard with plastic zip-tie handcuffs.
Despite her shock over Queen's violence, Gallo maintained her composure and when Sebastian was secured, said, "Follow me." She led them through rows of shelves containing an assortment of artifacts, labeled drawers, and unopened crates. Despite the age of the room's contents, the tightly controlled atmosphere in the room smelled more of ozone thanks to the four air conditioners that kept the air dry and temperature even. During blackouts, this was one of the few locations on campus that had a dedicated generator.
Gallo paused in front of an aisle. "This is it. Everything on both sides of this aisle represents what we have recovered from the shipwreck. My instinct says to ignore the drawers because they hold the smallest objects, usually potsherds or coins, but since we don't know what we're looking for… "
"I'll take the drawers," Rook said.
They set to work, inspecting every artifact, but most were clearly irrelevant — shards of rotted wood, ancient tools, bowls and cups. Nothing stood out as important.
After twenty minutes of searching Rook loudly closed the last of the drawers. "There's nothing worthwhile here. It's like looking through some ancient guy's trash."
"There's got to be something," Gallo said.
Queen shook her head and put down a sword hilt. "Maybe somewhere else?"
Gallo stood up straight. "You're right." She looked at Queen. "When George found the amulet he didn't catalog it. He hid it." "Before he gave it to you?" Queen asked. Gallo nodded with wide eyes. "In his office."
They exited the vault, leaving the still unconscious Sebastian behind. Feeling a sense of urgency, they began running. After rounding the corner to the main hall, Queen stopped short, reached out, and stopped the other two.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Gallo asked.
Rook saw immediately. "Pierce's office. The door is open."