Their mission was over, and they were headed home.
Meanwhile, Copeland’s crew moved into position.
Just as he had done in Romania, Copeland had arranged for a separate team to remove the treasure after it had been found. There was no need for multi-lingual historians, computer geniuses, or stealthy thieves. Instead, Copeland had hired a private security force that would follow his every command and keep their mouths shut. These men couldn’t care less about the historical significance or cultural value of the items inside the tomb. All they cared about was Copeland and his bank account.
He paid handsomely to protect his life and his secrets.
In exchange, his men would do anything that was asked of them.
After locating the entrance and establishing a perimeter, the recovery team locked down the burial site without even going inside. That would happen later. For now, they had more important things to worry about than the treasure.
Copeland’s men had no way of knowing if the entire Muharib force had been eliminated, and they wanted to be ready if more swordsmen arrived to defend their legacy. In addition, the destruction of the compound near Siwa had drawn the attention of a dozen governmental entities, everything from the Egyptian Army to the Environmental Affairs Agency. Because of their investigations, not to mention the hordes of satellites that were focused on Egypt because of the tragedy in Alexandria, the scene was still too ‘hot’ to risk the removal of the treasure.
It would be another week before they could act.
But Copeland couldn’t wait that long.
He needed to know if the second piece was inside.
And he needed to know now.
As he stared at the glass sarcophagus, Copeland wondered how many great men had come before him. He knew that kings and conquerors throughout the ages had made the pilgrimage to Egypt to pay homage to Alexander. He also knew that many of them believed that Alexander’s body somehow made its owner invincible.
Copeland chuckled at the concept.
Those are the true Fools of Alexander.
The hope of divine intervention had no place in Copeland’s philosophy. He too had fought battles and shed blood in the pursuit of his goals, and his experiences had taught him the only way to accomplish greatness was to be smarter, faster, bolder, and more committed than his opponents. Those were the qualities that separated leaders from followers; it had nothing to do with blessings from the great beyond.
It was a tenet that had served him well.
Copeland took one last look at the casket then casually turned and walked away. He realized that the body would be heralded as the crowning jewel of the discovery, but that didn’t mean it was the most valuable. For those in the know, there was a greater prize hidden in this vault.
Fortunately, he knew exactly where to look.
As he strode confidently through the tomb, Copeland studied the names engraved above each archway. He was quite sure that each chamber contained riches far beyond the comprehension of normal men, but he was uninterested in these baubles. There was only one name he was searching for, and the object he sought would put the rest of the collection to shame.
And then he saw it. A single name in an ancient language emblazoned across the stone. A sign — a literal sign — guiding him toward what he had come to find.
TIBERIUS CAESAR AUGUSTUS
Copeland grinned at the sight. Despite the name on the wall, he knew that the second emperor of the Roman Empire had never visited the tomb. Instead, his tributes had been delivered by a legendary general in the Roman army — a man named Paccius.
As one of Tiberius’s most trusted confidants, Paccius played a major role in the expansion of the Empire before he mysteriously vanished on a trip to the British Isles. Some believed he had been killed on the battlefield; others suspected he had faked his death in order to carry out secret missions for the emperor. Whatever the case, it had happened long after Paccius’s trip to Alexandria.
His heart pounding in anticipation, Copeland stepped inside the alcove. He didn’t have to wait long to find the item that he sought. Sitting there in the far corner of the room was a large pedestal meticulously carved from a single block of marble. The sturdy construction of the platform was needed to support the weight of the offering that it cradled: a golden sphere encrusted with sparkling gems.
The precious stones caught the beam of Copeland’s light and bounced it throughout the room like a multi-colored disco ball. Ruby red and sapphire blue reflected from the surface, painting the floor. Deep purple hues of amethyst and striking green shades of emeralds danced across the walls. And beneath all the gems, the fiery glow of the polished gold seemed to illuminate even the darkest corners of the space.
Though he was struck by the beauty of the shimmering tribute, Copeland concentrated on the task at hand. He set his flashlight on the marble base and attempted to lift the basketball-sized artifact from its platform. Just as he suspected, the sphere was heavy but not unmanageable.
Rolling it in his hands, he was stunned by the details. Despite being constructed more than two thousand years ago, the globe displayed a likeness of the modern world. North and South America were clearly defined, their basic shapes outlined in gleaming opal and aquamarine. The inclusion of these continents struck him as odd, given that Roman cartographers in the time of Christ had no knowledge of their existence. These lands wouldn’t be discovered for another fifteen centuries.
Besides, the map shouldn’t be round at all.
It was built at a time when everyone thought the world was flat!
In an instant, he understood the importance of his discovery.
The object in his hands was the oldest known globe in the world.
One that predated all others by more than a thousand years.
And yet it was merely a vessel for the prize inside.
His research had told him that the sphere was hollow, formed by two halves connected along a hidden seam so well designed it would take an X-ray to spot it.
Like a child examining a plastic egg on Easter, he gently spun the globe in his hands as he poked and prodded, twisting it in every direction, searching for some clue as to how it opened. Yet the gems didn’t budge, and the halves showed no signs of separating.
Desperate to breach the shell, Copeland considered prying loose the magnificent diamond that represented the South Pole, hoping that its removal would allow him to reach inside. But he fought his urge to pull the gem free and pushed it inward instead.
The act was counterintuitive, but it worked.
The stone sank beneath the golden casing.
Righting the orb, Copeland watched as fine, white sand poured from the gap he had created. His eyes flashed with excitement. He somehow knew that each flowing grain brought him closer to his goal, like an hourglass counting down to destiny.
Once the sphere had emptied, Copeland twisted the hemispheres again.
This time, the globe separated at the equator.
As he raised the upper half, Copeland uncovered the core of the device — a secret compartment created to protect the very thing that he had longed to possess.
A smile spread across his face as he lifted the object from the hidden cavity.
His faith and his risks had been rewarded.
He had found the second piece of the puzzle.