He knew exactly how things worked. After all, he’d been running similar operations to catch traitors for nearly thirty years. It wasn’t his primary job, but it was certainly part of it. Because of that, Pak trusted the general implicitly and knew better than to ask whether the room was clean or not.
“Any word from the others?”
Min-Woo’s face lengthened into a troubled scowl. “Unfortunately, they were not able to complete their part of the mission.”
“How is that possible?” Pak’s eyebrows knit together, wrinkling his forehead.
The general set the image back in the case and put his hands behind his back. “They’d been working the site with the archaeologists from America. It seems when the sarcophagus was opened, somehow the Americans seized control. One of our men was shot and killed immediately. The other made it out of the cave with the medallion, but he fell to his death off a cliff.”
“Were the French authorities able to identify them?”
“It’s unclear at this juncture. All I know is that they’re dead and the Americans have the medallion. Their leader, a man named Tommy Schultz, was the one responsible. We believe he’s received permission from the French government to do further research on the object before turning it over to them.”
Pak crossed his arms over his chest. “Sounds like I need to pay them a visit.”
“I have others I can send. You just got back. You need to rest.”
Pak knew what the older man was saying was a test. He’d seen it before, hundreds of times. Weakness was never rewarded in their culture.
“I’ll be ready to leave within the hour, General.”
Min-Woo feigned considering his operative’s offer. “Very well,” he said after a moment. “Take your best three assets with you. This research is extremely important, but none of it matters without that medallion. Understand?”
“Clearly, sir.”
“Good.” Min-Woo pointed at a folder on the edge of the counter in the kitchen. “You’ll find everything you need to know about Schultz in that file. He’s had a history of encounters with dangerous people. So don’t let his appearance fool you. Schultz is a problem. Once you have the medallion, kill him.”
“With pleasure, General.”
Chapter 5
Tommy stared out the window of the seventeenth-floor office window. The city bustled below, like it did nearly all hours of the day. Atlanta had turned into a sprawling epicenter of capitalism over the last few decades. The city had grown so much that all the peripheral towns became monstrosities in their own right. Buckhead had been nothing more than a cool hangout when Tommy was in college. Now it had its own downtown area.
He looked over to the left where the rubble of the old IAA building was being transformed into what would be their new headquarters. The foundation had already been laid. With that done, things would progress rapidly.
The doorknob clicked and Tommy spun around, wrested from his thoughts. He was surprised to see Sean at the door.
“Where in the world have you been?” Tommy asked as he stood up.
Sean’s eyes danced over the room before settling on his friend. He gave Tommy a short hug and then sat down in one of the guest chairs. “I already told you; we were in Italy, working on a project.”
Tommy raised a suspicious eyebrow. “One of Adriana’s Nazi art things?”
“No,” Sean’s head moved side to side. “This was something different.”
Tommy’s eyes went to the black leather-bound box under his friend’s arm. “Is that it?”
Sean ignored the question for a moment. “I have to say, I like the new digs.” His eyes wandered again, taking in Tommy’s temporary office and the view of the city. He pointed at the construction site a few blocks away. “Keeping an eye on things from above?”
Tommy snickered and glanced back over his shoulder out the window. “That’s not why I rented this space.”
“Didn’t hurt either.”
Tommy’s lips cracked a thin smile. “True.” He decided to change the subject. “So, I found something interesting while I was in France.”
“Yeah, I saw your text.” Sean had received the text message from Tommy before returning to the United States. “You were a little vague as to what you found. And by a little, I mean you gave me nothing to go on.”
Tommy’s grin widened as he raised both eyebrows. “Seems like we both have something interesting to share. That reminds me, by the way, I could have used you in France.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Turns out two of our assistants on the dig weren’t vetted very well. They tried to steal the artifact we found in a sarcophagus.”
“Sarcophagus? What sarcophagus?”
“That’s the part of the story you’re interested in? Not the fact that I was almost killed, along with several other people? What about a priceless and mysterious artifact almost being lost to antiquity?”
Sean snorted and bowed his head. “Yes, I apologize. Go on. Tell me what happened.”
Tommy hesitated and motioned at the object on the desk, his curiosity getting the better of him. “No, I’d rather see what you brought me first. The box is nice.”
He stared at the leather-bound box, analyzing its shape and size.
Sean smirked. His friend had always struggled with patience. They’d known each other since childhood, their bonds tested through Tommy’s parents’ mysterious death when they were younger.
“Fine, go ahead,” Sean said. “Open it. Just stop making it weird. I’m not asking you to marry me.”
Tommy’s eyebrow twitched upward. “You sure?”
Before Sean could reach out and take back the box, Tommy snatched it off the table. Sean crossed his arms and watched with a smug grin on his face.
Tommy carefully pulled the lid off the box and set it to the side. He stared into the container for a second and then looked up at his friend. “So, seriously, you’re not asking me to marry you, right? Because this looks like a yellow diamond.”
“It is.”
“This can’t be a real diamond,” Tommy said, shaking his head. “I mean, I’m no gem expert, but something like this would be incredibly expensive. Which, again, I’m just curious why you’re giving it to me.”
Sean’s smirk broadened. “You don’t recognize that rock, do you?”
Tommy held the box closer to his face. He tilted his head one direction and then another, trying to get a better angle to analyze the precious stone. He gave up after less than a minute.
“No,” he said with a shake of the head. “I mean, if this is real — and I’m still not sure about that — it’s probably one of the biggest diamonds I’ve ever seen. Where on earth did you find it?”
“Funny you should ask,” Sean said as his friend continued staring at the yellow-hued gem. “I tracked it down to some guys in Venice. They run a crime syndicate there. Jewelry isn’t really their thing, but I guess for this one they made an exception. Normally, they deal in paintings, which is how Adriana and I found them.”
“So you used your girlfriend’s connections.”
“Don’t hate the player,” Sean said with a shrug. “Do what you have to.”
“I’m still confused. Why should I know what this is, and why did you go looking for it?”
Sean crossed his arms. “Honestly, I’m disappointed in you, Schultzie. I really thought you’d recognize the Florentine Diamond right away. It’s one of the more famous missing jewels in the world.”
Tommy looked up from the box and gazed at his friend, appraising him to see if Sean was lying or not. “The Florentine Diamond? You can’t be serious.”