He could make that happen overnight.
‘I need a new laptop,’ Garcia stated boldly. If Papineau was meeting terms, he didn’t want to miss out. ‘Custom-built to my specs.’
‘Done. Anyone else?’
‘A new Harley,’ McNutt said.
‘Same for me,’ Sarah added.
McNutt raised an eyebrow.
‘What?’ Sarah snapped. ‘You’re not the only one who likes to straddle something powerful on the weekends.’
McNutt opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it.
‘Also granted.’ Papineau turned toward Cobb, the only one left. ‘And what about you? What is that you would like?’
‘Me?’ Cobb answered. ‘I’d like to know what you want us to find.’
3
The kitchen conversation was over. It was time to get down to business.
The group descended the hidden flight of stairs that led to the ‘war room’ in the basement. The heavy door of the bunker wasn’t just similar to that of the White House Situation Room, it was identical. When properly sealed, it would keep out water, gases, and toxins. Much of the room on the other side of the door was also copied from the blueprints used in Washington. The main difference was that the President’s foxhole was furnished with efficiency in mind; Papineau’s didn’t skimp on luxury.
The space was climate-controlled to museum-level perfection and decorated with fine art and other expensive trappings. A short railing separated a long glass conference table from the leather couches and amply padded easy chairs, providing two distinct meeting areas: one formal, one far more casual.
The team took their seats around the hi-tech table as Papineau stood at the head, waiting for them to settle in. Then, without a precursory explanation, the lights began to dim. He stepped to the left as the massive video screen that covered the entire wall behind him sprang to life. The map of Eastern Europe that had been used for their first mission was gone, replaced by an image of the Balkan Peninsula.
The countries were not labeled, but Cobb knew the area well enough to know that the borders were not accurate. Or, at the very least, not current. The southern portions of Albania, Macedonia, and Bulgaria were shown as a single area. And what should have been Greece was divided into several distinct territories.
Papineau let the silence linger, waiting for someone to hazard a guess.
Instinctively, the group turned toward Jasmine.
‘That map is at least two thousand years old,’ she said.
Papineau smiled and nodded. ‘Two thousand three hundred and fifty years, to be exact.’
Jasmine did the math in her head. ‘The League of Corinth. Philip’s unified force, at war with the Persian Empire. The Kingdom of Macedon.’
‘Excellent,’ Papineau said.
‘Can someone translate her translation?’ McNutt asked.
Jasmine took it upon herself to clarify her statement. ‘Philip the Second of Macedon was a brilliant military tactician. By 336 BC he had conquered most of Greece. In doing so, he brought the various factions together under his rule. He put an end to their internal conflict and unified their strength against the Persian forces across the Aegean Sea.’ She pointed toward the map on the screen. ‘The area may seem divided, but it was actually governed by a single man.’
‘For how long?’ Cobb wondered.
‘Philip’s reign lasted more than twenty years — a remarkable feat for the time. The map we see here was from the end of his rule, not the beginning. Upon his assassination, all of this land was left to his son.’
‘And his son was…?’ Sarah asked.
‘Alexander the Third of Macedon,’ Garcia answered.
As the team turned toward him, they realized for the first time that the conference table was not made of ordinary glass; instead, the surface was the same material as the touch-screen control panel at the gate. What they couldn’t see was the myriad of electronic technology housed in its narrow depth. Manufactured by Payne Industries for US Central Command (CENTCOM), the advanced rendering of the futuristic computer was used to plan military strikes with depth of field.
Eager to show off his new toy, Garcia had entered keywords and dates from Jasmine’s briefing into a government search engine displayed on the tabletop in front of him. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he was able to distribute copies of that information to virtual screens at each of their seats. The ‘virtual reports’ looked like they had been slid across the top of the desk when, in fact, it was nothing more than a fancy special effect. The graphics were so realistic that team members actually tried to catch the reports before they slid off the end of the table.
‘I love this thing,’ Garcia said with a laugh.
McNutt was so captivated by the technology he put his face against the glass and tried to see the gadgetry underneath. ‘Can I play Pac-Man on this?’
Sarah ignored McNutt and concentrated on the name. ‘Alexander the Third. Never heard of him.’
‘Me, neither,’ Cobb admitted.
‘Yes, you have,’ Jasmine assured them. ‘You probably know him by his nickname: Alexander the Great.’
McNutt sat up, suddenly focused. ‘Hold up! You’re telling me that Alex was given all of that land when his father died? Hell, I could be great, too, if I had that type of real estate. All my dad left me was a six-pack in the fridge and some beef jerky.’
Jasmine frowned. ‘When did your dad die?’
‘He didn’t. He just left.’
‘Anyway,’ she said, suddenly uncomfortable, ‘Alexander wasn’t content with his inheritance. He had a much bigger kingdom in mind.’
As if on cue, Papineau changed the image on the wall display to a much larger map. The outline stretched eastward from the Adriatic Sea to the Himalayan Mountains along the border of India. It extended south to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf, and into the northern territories of the Arabian Peninsula and much of Egypt. The original Kingdom of Macedon was little more than a speck in the northwestern corner of this new map.
Jasmine continued, ‘Alexander the Great controlled the entire area — more than two million square miles in total. It was one of the largest empires in history.’
Sarah whistled. ‘That’s a lot of land.’
‘Indeed,’ said Papineau, who knew a thing or two about real estate. ‘But that’s only part of his story. Alexander was trained by generals and tutored by none other than Aristotle himself. Their combined efforts resulted in the most brilliant military mind in history. Hoping to reshape the world, Alexander quickly set his sights upon the expansion of his territory. By the time of his death, he was known far and wide as a conquering hero: an unyielding, yet merciful force that swept across the land, leaving unity and prosperity in his wake. To many, he was seen as a god in human form.’
Papineau changed the image on the main screen.
To ensure their focus, all of their workstations went dark.
The group turned in unison as the giant map disappeared and was replaced by an ancient engraving. At first glance, it appeared to be a stone chamber being pulled by more than a dozen horses. The structure was nearly two stories in height, with a round, vaulted roof, and surrounded on three sides by ornate pillars.
‘Upon his death, Alexander was placed inside a coffin of hammered gold. It was then placed inside a magnificent funerary hearse that was nearly twenty feet tall.’
‘How magnificent?’ Sarah wondered.
Papineau changed the image again, this time to an ancient painting that highlighted the ornate design of the hearse. ‘A vaulted ceiling made of gold and precious stones was supported by a row of solid gold columns. Gold molding adorned the tops of the walls, and intricate gold figures decorated each corner. According to legend, the hearse was lined with a collection of golden bells to announce Alexander’s arrival. They could be heard for miles around.’