“Change of plan,” Heidi told the pilot. “We’re going to Italy.”
Cross nodded his agreement. Cassidy leaned forward expectantly. Bodie sighed and tried not to think of all the things that could go wrong, as the pilot acknowledged the change of course.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Milan’s Galleria and Duomo cathedral sat at the heart of the city, surrounded by bustling crowds all day and through the better part of the night. A vast open square helped draw the eye to the details and immensity of the buildings that proudly rose up around and within it — the cathedral in all its Gothic glory, which took six centuries to complete, and the Galleria, opened in 1877 and famously known as the world’s oldest shopping mall.
Bodie jumped out of the taxi facing the entrance to the cathedral, then realized he couldn’t actually see the doors or anything at ground level due to the mass of people wandering through the square. The building itself rose magnificently toward cloudless blue skies, with the great arch leading to the resplendent Galleria on the left.
“This noise level is gonna affect the comms,” Heidi said. “Could we have come at a busier time?”
Lucie joined her at the side of the road as the taxi eased away. “Somebody mentioned civilian security.”
Bodie believed she was being honest, straight, and informative rather than sarcastic. He wondered if there was any way to get Lucie Boom to let her hair down. Heidi scanned the crowds.
“Stick together, people, and keep your wits about you.”
Lucie nodded. “Alessandro is a well-known language guru. I hope you don’t think your enemies will come too.”
“He’s not the only language guru capable of translating the text, though, right?” Jemma questioned. “I mean, if our competitors wanted to decipher the text, they could go elsewhere?”
“No. He’s not the only one. But he is the best.”
Carefully, they threaded through the crowds. The Italians and the local tourists certainly weren’t shy, brushing past heavily and manhandling each other out of the way. Those who didn’t move quickly enough were barged aside, and yet everyone who paused for a snapshot was mysteriously given their own space, the human traffic flowing around them.
Bodie gazed up at the cathedral and the surrounding architecture. An incredible vision, it made him feel humble. Who really needed the legend of Atlantis when they had wonders like this to admire?
They came to the steps at the foot of the cathedral. Bodie smelled coffee and sweet pastries on the wind and noticed the restaurants all around the square. His head whipped to the right as he heard Lucie’s name being called.
“I am here!” A man he assumed to be Alessandro waved and held up a bottle of water. Bodie saw Lucie walk toward an older man, maybe sixty, with thin, smooth hands and salt-and-pepper hair. He was dressed in a suit, with the shirt undone down to the chest hair, and clearly kept himself fit. When the rest of the team approached, he ceased shaking Lucie’s hand to address them.
“It is good to meet you.”
After the introductions, Lucie explained more of what they required. The group sauntered to the edge of the square opposite the entrance to the Galleria. Cassidy, Cross, Jemma, and Gunn were tasked with watching the crowds and remained silent, taking it all in. Lucie and Alessandro spoke carefully.
“I will need to study the compass,” the Italian said. “The text will likely be heavy. Dense. I will need to be sure of my translation.”
Lucie nodded, but Heidi broke in. “We don’t have time for that. What we need is a quick feel.”
“A quick feel?” Alessandro studied her. “Is that not American locker-room talk?”
Heidi smiled, seeing the amusement in his sparkling eyes. “Yeah, I guess so. But we need your best theory, Professor, and quickly.”
“If it ever existed, Atlantis has been there for ten thousand years,” Alessandro said. “What is the rush?”
“We want to find it first.”
“Oh, of course you do. Americans.” Alessandro shook his head. “Will you save the world?”
“No, but we might change the world,” Bodie said. “Imagine the right technology, ancient or not, getting into the wrong hands.”
“That depends on your definition of the right hands,” Alessandro said. “But you are the people who found the Zeus, yes?”
Bodie nodded, watching nearby windows and doorways.
“I respect that. It was done properly, and the artifacts allowed to benefit the Greeks. I do wonder what happened to the Illuminati, though. Did the American government make you release them?”
Bodie was surprised at the question and at the assumptions people generally made. “No,” he said. “We took down everyone we could find.”
But not the boss, he thought. Who escaped.
“Good, good. Like I said, I respect the way you handled it and I will try to help you.” He glared at Heidi. “Posthaste.”
“Thank you.”
They found a table and ordered drinks, while the others continued to scan the crowds. Lucie fished her tablet out of her bag. Alessandro took it from her and studied the images of the runes. Bodie expected a lot of professional awe, perhaps even expressions of admiration or suspicion, but the professor didn’t utter one word.
Bodie sipped his coffee, reflecting on how the team had evolved since agreeing to help the CIA — how their thief skills had developed and helped in so many other useful ways.
Alessandro leaned forward so that his nose almost brushed the screen. He flicked to the next image. Presently, he took out a ring-bound notebook and a pencil. With infinite care, he licked the carbon tip and began to write. Bodie leaned in but couldn’t understand the Italian script.
Assuming it was Italian. He decided to keep quiet at the risk of embarrassing himself.
Lucie stared out across the square. Bodie looked for Cassidy, Cross, Jemma, or Gunn but couldn’t see any of them. The respect he felt for both Jemma and Gunn had bloomed of late, with Gunn’s vital support to the team in Rio, and Jemma helping out in the Alps, not to mention the superficial graze on her leg.
Hours later, Alessandro leaned back in the skinny, wrought-iron chair. “It is a mixture, as Lucie says,” he said reflectively as if to himself. “And yes, it could only have been done on purpose. This man, Danel, specifically wanted a learned individual to uncover his secret.”
Alessandro and Lucie peered at Heidi and Bodie with dissatisfaction.
“Spill, Professor,” Heidi said. “I’m not getting any younger.”
“Prettier, though.” Alessandro crinkled a well-practiced smile at her.
Bodie winced inwardly for Heidi, and waded in to sort it out. “Suspicious movement in the square,” he lied. “Can we move along?”
Alessandro didn’t look convinced but tapped his notebook. “Essentially, most of the runes mean the same thing. They were added to cause confusion, to muddle the translation, which baffled poor Lucie here.”
“And what do they mean?” Bodie asked.
“Poseidon.” Alessandro nodded sagely. “The script includes seven different forms of the word ‘Poseidon,’ largely unknown, I might add, and just a single sentence.”
“Please,” Heidi urged. “Please tell us the sentence.”
“‘Go to the temple of Poseidon in the mountains of Atlantis.’”
Bodie waited for more, but Alessandro offered nothing. Is that it? crossed his mind, but then he realized he’d foolishly tempted fate.
“The friggin’ Moroccan Bratva are here,” Cassidy breathed over the comms. “I see four of them, including Cross’s honey trap.”