Jasmine shook her head. ‘First of all, let me be perfectly clear: there is almost no chance — zero — that Alexander’s body is still buried in Alexandria. The area has been too well developed to hold out hope for a miracle like that. No, what we’re looking for are clues as to where and when the tomb was moved.’
Cobb grimaced. ‘You’re one hundred percent sure that Alexander isn’t there?’
‘Well, no,’ she admitted, ‘I’m not a hundred percent sure about anything. But I can tell you this: people have been scouring the city for the last two thousand years, looking for Alexander. I choose to believe that if someone had credible evidence that he was still buried there, they would have found him by now.’
Cobb pointed at the hologram. ‘But what about this? I thought this map was new evidence — something that no one else had at their disposal.’
‘True,’ she conceded, ‘the map is a revelation. It offers tremendous insights into a place that was literally erased by time. With these new pieces of the puzzle, the things we could uncover about the ancient city are… well, they’re limitless.’
‘I understand that and I’m happy for you and historians around the world, but I’m not concerned about the full implications of the map. For now, all I need you to do is figure out what it tells us about Alexander. That’s it. I simply need to know if the map will narrow down our list of possibilities; and if so, how long that process will take.’
‘Okay. I can do that.’
Papineau cleared his throat at the head of the table.
Cobb glared at him. ‘What?’
‘If you’re assigning tasks, does this mean that you’ve accepted my terms and will be leading the next mission?’
The team glanced at him, hopeful.
Cobb mulled it over. ‘I’m in… for now.’
It was not the enthusiastic response that Papineau had been hoping for, but it was music to the squad’s ears. They knew Cobb much better than Papineau did and he would not accept a mission that was doomed to fail; particularly one with so much at stake. As crazy as it sounded, if a levelheaded leader like Cobb believed that they could find Alexander’s lost tomb, they knew it was more than possible.
They knew it was likely.
Instantly, a wave of energy surged through the team.
‘Jasmine,’ Cobb said, pulling their attention back to the matter at hand, ‘can you have something for me by the end of the day?’
Jasmine grimaced and nodded at the exact same time. ‘I can have something for you, yes. But it won’t be everything. It might not even be close.’
‘That’s fine. All I need is a place to start. We can figure out the rest as we go.’ He turned toward Garcia. ‘Hector, I’m willing to bet that this program has a few more bells and whistles we haven’t seen yet. Hopefully some of that can help Jasmine better understand what she’s looking at. You’ll show her what the technology can do?’
It was an order disguised as a question. Of everyone in the group, Cobb knew that Garcia had the most sensitive disposition. Appealing to his sense of importance was a small concession to keep him motivated.
‘Absolutely,’ Garcia replied. ‘We’ve barely scratched the surface. You should see what this thing can do!’
‘Another time,’ Cobb said. ‘Right now, I’ll leave it up to you and Jasmine. She’s the expert, but you’re her Yoda. Walk her through everything.’
‘My pleasure, it will be,’ he croaked in Yoda’s voice.
Cobb spun in his chair and stared across the table at McNutt. He could only smile as McNutt continually reached out in an attempt to grab the holographic images. He was thankful that the Marine was battle-tested, otherwise Papineau would have kicked him out of the unit as Section 8: mentally unfit for service.
Suddenly aware of Cobb’s staring, McNutt snapped to attention. ‘Yes, chief?’
‘What do you know about Egypt?’
‘It’s in the Middle East. Does that answer your question?’
‘No, but it’s a start.’
‘Control of the country is tenuous, at best. The national president has managed to piss off nearly everyone on both the Muslim and Christian sides of the aisle. In short, I think he’s fighting for his political life — if not his actual life. Based on violence at recent protests, I’d say Egypt is on the verge of civil war.’
Cobb smiled, but not at the news. He found it amusing that McNutt, someone who seemingly viewed the world through cartoon eyes, was able to brief him on the political climate in the Middle East without any prep time, and yet a few minutes earlier he had just fallen over his chair in an attempt to catch a hologram.
‘Take the rest of the day,’ Cobb said to McNutt. ‘Find out everything you can about the region: who’s fighting who, where, and for what reasons. I want to know whom we can trust, if anyone, and whom we need to avoid at all costs. I also need a map of safe zones and restricted areas. Plus, I need a list of friendlies.’
‘Friendlies?’ McNutt said with a grin. ‘Chief, I haven’t been to that part of the world in years. And even when I was there, I was usually a thousand yards away from a target, laying low, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Establishing connections with the locals was a little above my pay grade.’
‘Not to mention his abilities as a human being,’ Sarah added.
McNutt laughed. ‘See, she gets me. Yes, I’m adorable, and yes, women want to rip my pants off, but my sense of humor doesn’t really translate to other cultures.’
‘Doesn’t translate to ours, either.’
‘Exactly!’ McNutt said. ‘I’m not the guy you ask to make friends.’
Cobb conceded the point. ‘Fine. Don’t worry about the friendlies. But I want you to get me everything else by the end of the day. Understood?’
‘Understood.’
‘Good. I’m sure Garcia can set you up with whatever you need.’
On cue, Garcia pulled a laptop from a shelf in the corner and handed it to McNutt. ‘It’s already connected to our encrypted network. You have access to government and military databases, and just about anything else you can think of.’
‘How about Google?’ McNutt asked with a straight face.
Garcia chuckled. ‘Yeah, it has Google.’
‘Then we’re all set,’ McNutt replied. He grabbed the laptop and hurdled the small wall that separated the conference table from the more casual side of the room. He plopped onto a plush recliner, opened the laptop, and starting typing.
‘He’s like an obedient dog,’ Sarah mused.
‘You’re right,’ Cobb answered. ‘When the time comes, he does exactly as he’s been told. Exactly. No surprises. That’s more than I can say for some people.’
‘Am I too much for you to handle?’ Sarah asked.
‘I’m not sure. Let’s go outside and find out.’
‘Wait… What?’
‘You and me, right now, out in the yard.’
‘Hold up. You want to fight me?’
Cobb shrugged, as if to say he had nothing better to do.
‘What about the mission prep?’
He scanned the room. ‘Hector and Jasmine are looking into the map and the history of the city. McNutt is outlining our options for a visit. So unless you know something about Alexandria that you’re not telling me, you can either stay here and play cards with Jean-Marc, or you can get some exercise with me in the yard. Your choice.’
She smiled. ‘You’re on.’
Sarah had started the day in blue jeans and a T-shirt but had traded the casual attire for something more athletic. Now she wore the type of outfit she preferred in the field: a form-fitting black bodysuit that afforded an unrestricted range of motion and helped to conceal her covert movements. Although she looked the part of a cat burglar, she didn’t view herself as one. Instead, she preferred ‘retrieval specialist’ to ‘thief’.