Operation Rubicon Read online

  Nina looked at a large piece of wall that had been broken off from its original resting place. It now lay on the floor, but the hieroglyphics on it were still very apparent. She couldn't make out what the glyphs were trying to communicate to her, but she knew it must have come from some place very, very old.

  There was a stone tablet resting on top of a little table nearby. It was partially covered by a cloth, but enough of it was poking out of the fabric to catch Nina's eye. She approached it slowly, and stood over it, leaning down to try and obtain a better look. She couldn't decipher the etchings that were carved across it, but it was some kind of Egyptian calligraphy, dating after they moved away from only hieroglyphs.

  “And what's this?” Nina asked innocently, inadvertently reaching her hand out toward it. Her curiosity was getting the best of her but her hand was stopped as Odion's fingers caught her wrist. He pulled her arm away from the stone tablet.

  “Something that you promised not to touch.”

  “Sorry,” Nina said and took an apologetic step back. “Do you know what it is, though?”

  “Yes,” Odion said. “That’s what I spoke of before. One of the only things in our collection that specifically talks about Rome. My great aunt used to be the keeper of all of these items. Now that responsibility has fallen on me. It’s my duty now.” He really enjoyed reminding them that this cache of relics belonged to him; it was actually starting to get irritating, and usually it took a lot more than that to annoy Nina. “When she turned this over to me, she told me about all of the things that she’d stored away secretively. That stone was writings from an Egyptian, sometime around the first few centuries after Christ and all of that. From what my great aunt could determine. She was always much better with dates than I was.”

  “And you said Rome is mentioned on it?”

  “Yes,” Odion said. “As you well know, the history between Egypt and the Romans was heavily connected. Those Romans came and got involved in all of our affairs, in things that had nothing to do with them.”

  “Like Caesar and Mark Antony,” August said proudly, like he was trying to prove what he'd learned.

  “Yes,” Odion said, not giving him any credit for making that connection. “But this was long after them. The tablet mentions a leader of Rome coming back to Egypt under the cover of night, and taking what was not his to take. He took this treasure back to the place he loved the most.”

  Nina's attention was practically laser-focused on Odion now. He was talking about something that she had never heard of before, and it was more than a little interesting. “A leader of Rome? An emperor?”

  “Probably,” Odion said with a shrug. “Just another powerful man who came to Egypt to steal from us.”

  “Who was it?”

  “The tablet doesn’t say,” Odion said. “The bottom portion of the slab is hard to make out though.”

  Nina wanted more than anything to rip the fabric off of that slab and to try to figure out what it said, but she wouldn't be able to just from looking at it. No, that slab would need to be very closely inspected for any clues that might give them more insight into this mysterious emperor.

  “And did your great aunt tell you what that emperor took?”

  Odion gave her a hard stare, looking much more hesitant now. He could probably sense how much he had piqued her interest and might have been somewhat intimidated to feed her curiosity anymore, now that he could see how rabid she was for more information. She couldn't help it. The story of that mysterious Roman emperor taking something from Egypt was too interesting not to delve into deeper.

  Cautiously, Odion continued. “Rome came looking for something that they felt was theirs. So, of course, they decided to take it by force under the cover of night. Absconded with something that had been in Egypt for a long time before then.”

  “Did it belong to Rome first?” Nina asked, trying her hardest to connect the dots.

  “How should I know?” Odion said. “I wasn't there...but does it matter? There were plenty of Roman things that were here. They had a long history with my people and had planted their roots very deep. Those things were here, though, not in Rome. So doesn't that make them Egyptian? What gives them the right to come all the way here and take something from our soil?”

  Nina didn't want to push any of Odion's buttons, but he did seem to have one very big one that was hard not to push. The ownership of things in Egypt was a sore spot for him, especially when it came to people taking them away. She tried to shift the focus back to the identity of the emperor himself.

  “You mentioned it was in the first few centuries AD, yes?” Nina asked.

  “That is what my aunt determined, yes.”

  That really didn't narrow it down too much. There were so many emperors during the Roman Empire's existence. It didn't help that a lot of them had very brief reigns and didn't live for long. Still, if she could figure out which emperor came to Egypt looking for something Roman, then it might lead to the lost sword even.

  It would be hard to do without getting a better look at that stone slab—but that seemed like impossibility. Odion would never give that up, and she’d vowed that they had no intention of taking anything besides the sword. Maybe she could convince him to loan it to them...she had to give it a shot. He might even surprise her, but she was going to have to make him that pitch very, very carefully.

  “Odion...you know...I really meant what I said about not wanting to take anything from you but...” Now that she was speaking, she really didn't want to say the words. She knew how bad it would sound, how hypocritical it would look. But there wasn't any choice right now; they needed that slab. They needed to know what Roman emperor had come and taken the sword from Egypt. The only way to know that was right there. “But we need to see that.”

  Odion's expression sunk and he glowered at her. Any shred of friendliness burned away right in front of Nina's eyes, and she was the one who set it aflame. “I said no. I’ve shown you too much when I shouldn’t have. I trusted you when it might have been wiser not to.”

  “That's not true!” Riley exclaimed. “You are right to trust us! We're not planning anything bad! We don't want to do anything to upset you. Really!”

  Odion was still staring at Nina. “And yet, you upset me anyway. You played to my weakness of believing you, only to let me bring you here and then start making demands.”

  “Not demands!” Riley was trying her hardest to pour water of this sinking ship. She was usually very good at getting someone to listen to her, or at least humor her, but Odion's decision was unwavering. His mind was already made up. Nina could see the anger, laced throughout his face, and knew that it wasn't directly toward just her team. Much of that fury was directed at himself, incensed that he’d ever allowed himself to think that he could bring them to such a safeguarded and secret place. He probably felt like his generosity, or gullibility even, had compromised their entire operation and put so many priceless Egyptian heirlooms at risk.

  He turned away from them. “Leave. Now. Do not come back to this place. Not ever. If you do, we won’t be as welcoming then. I promise you that.”

  Nina's colleagues started shuffling backward a couple of steps, away from Odion. She didn't even consider retreating, not now. That slab could give them a big clue as to the whereabouts of Caesar's sword. Without it, they would be stuck and the search would come to a very abrupt halt. They would be trapped in some kind of purgatory until they eventually gave up altogether on ever finding the sword of Caesar. Santino Rossi would never come close to seeing that sword in his museum, and Nina's first time leading a venture for the new Order of the Black Sun would always be remembered as a failure—she’d especially recall it that way herself.

  They couldn't just give up now, not at such a pivotal crossroad. She understood Odion's resistance. She really did. She didn't want to go back on what she had said before. She fully meant every word of it, but this wasn't her trying to steal some random Egyptian trinket. This was something that
had real worth to her: it was connected with what they convinced him they were searching for formerly. They weren't trying to steal Odion's Egyptian heritage. They still just wanted the sword, that was all. This slab was just a means to an end, nothing more, and nothing that she wanted to dishonor or ruin.

  Odion clearly noticed that she wasn't budging and took a threatening step forward. Riley and August each put a hand on one of her shoulders, trying to tug her away and bring her along with them on their retreat. They were worried, and though she wouldn't admit it, but Nina was, too. That nervousness couldn't control her, though, and she wouldn't let it. Odion and his men weren't the scariest threats that she had faced. She reasoned with them before, maybe she could negotiate with them again? If she couldn't, then she would find another way to get that slab.

  Odion was right in her face, a vein bulging on his bald head. “Did you not hear me? You need to leave. Right now.”

  “I'm not going anywhere,” Nina said, standing her ground. “Not without that.”

  Odion got even closer and she prepared herself for the worst. Maybe he would try to strike her, spit on her, or something much worse? She refused to step back and she would do her best not to flinch if something came her way. She wouldn't even bat an eye if he decided to start using physical force to make her leave.

  August stopped trying to pull her away and instead, placed himself between Nina and Odion, like a massive brick wall. He was bigger than them both, staring down at Odion.

  “You heard her,” August said, putting a big hand on Odion's chest to keep him an arm's length away from Nina. “We aren’t going anywhere until we get to look over that rock. So hand it over and this doesn't get bad.”

  “It’s already bad.” Odion pointed to something behind them.

  Nina and August both looked back and found Odion's gang closing in around them, looking ready to finish what they started in that alleyway. They were itching for a fight. August was tough, strong, a capable fighter, and was larger than any of them, but even he wouldn't be able to take them all on. He especially wouldn't stand a chance since they were all waving around their weapons. They looked like they wanted to finish the fight that almost broke out in the alleyway.

  Odion started speaking again, looking so confident now that his men were surrounding his enemies. He reiterated his point but it was even more threatening this time. “You’ll leave immediately. You’re going to forget this place. If you do not, then my friends will make sure that your brain won't remember much of anything at all. The brain might not even remember how to make your body work when they’re through with you.”

  “Let's get out of here,” Elijah spoke up behind Nina, busy cleaning his glasses and looking bored. “We can't fight all of them, and this embarrassing negotiation isn't exactly working. We can find something else...we don't need some Egyptian rock to tell us what we need. We can figure it out on our own. We will.”

  Nina was furious that Elijah would even say those things. He couldn't have been more wrong about needing that slab. Elijah Dane spent his whole life looking at old slabs and rocks and knew that potential value of them probably even more than she did. Yet, here he was, acting like it wouldn't be a big loss for them. He was always so passionate about the items brought to him to curate...so why was he referring to something with real worth as nothing more than a rock? It didn't make sense. He had to know how important this was to finding Caesar's sword...he must!

  As Elijah continued scrubbing his glasses with his shirt, he flashed a quick wink that Nina barely even saw. It was so fast—maybe even just a twitch—but it seemed to be directed right at her. If that was the case then...this was an act. He knew exactly how valuable that “rock” was to their mission after all. It was surprising, but she had to admit, there were times when Elijah wasn't quite as pretentiously aggravating as he seemed.

  “Listen to your friend and walk away,” Odion said. “Go, and don’t ever dare of coming back.”

  Nina didn't know what Elijah's plan was but she went along with what she assumed was what he hoped she would do next. It wasn't hard to pretend to quit when the odds of winning looked to be so badly stacked against her.

  “Fine,” Nina said, looking to the ground. “You win. We won't bother you again.”

  Nina turned to leave and August flanked her, making sure Odion didn't try anything once her back was turned. She walked by Elijah who finished cleaning his glasses and then put his glasses on his face. He didn't turn to follow her to leave. He just offered an awkward smirk as she passed him.

  “What are you doing?” She muttered, barely even opening her mouth.

  “Curating.” Elijah said and started walking forward toward Odion.

  Nina stopped her departure to watch Elijah as he approached the Egyptian with that cold determination that he applied to most challenges. Elijah observed Odion like he was looking over one of his relics in the deep vaults. It was the same analytical gaze, like he was trying to learn everything he could about the man or find any flaws that might have found themselves along his surface.

  “Excuse me for a moment,” Elijah said to Odion and turned his attention toward some of the Egyptian artifacts lining the room. “I was just looking at some of these...” Elijah chose his words carefully, tiptoeing around upsetting Odion further. “As you and Dr. Gould were having your...passionate discussion...I couldn't help but notice that totem over there...the statue of Anubis that you have there in the corner.”

  “What about it?” Odion asked, flashing a narrow glance over to where Elijah was looking.

  “Well...I hate to tell you this, and forgive my terrible timing but...that totem is a fake. In fact, quite a few of these items in here are fakes. Good imitations, I'll give them that...but most certainly forgeries. Believe me, I spend all my time looking at the real deals. I even have some of the real ones stored in the vaults where we keep our artifacts.” Elijah stepped up to the Anubis totem and pointed out the pointed ears of the stone statue. “You can see the warp on the left ear, can't you? Compared to the first? An imperfection like that didn't happen back in the day. Ancient Egyptians wouldn't have been so sloppy when it came to paying tribute to one of their gods...and this one...” Elijah pointed out another item and started going on and on about the indicators that they weren't the real artifacts.

  Odion listened and watched Elijah closely but was looking angrier by the minute as Elijah continued showing him evidence of forgery.

  The stone slab was lying on the table fifteen feet away from Nina. She barely noticed it was unguarded now but when she did, she saw the opportunity that Elijah was making. Elijah had diffused the tension in the room, made it seem like they were giving up, but in actuality was just making an opening to start an even bigger conflict...but a conflict that would end with them having the slab and on their way to finding out the next clue to the whereabouts of Caesar's sword. It was a gamble and could very easily lead to all of their deaths, but there was also a chance it could work.

  There was an exit in the far corner of the room. She didn't know where it went but she could run to it, grab the slab on her way, and make her escape. That was their chance, and might be the only way to get out of here with the information that they needed.

  Nina glanced to Elijah and as he was speaking about an old Egyptian urn, he flashed her a look that told her to act now. Nina nodded and nudged August. She peered over her shoulder and saw Riley with that gang of Egyptians standing a short way behind her with their weapons. Hopefully, Riley would follow her lead and bolt out of there with her and August and the slab. She didn't know how Elijah planned on getting away from them, but hopefully he would get out, too.

  “And this sarcophagus...” Elijah cracked open one of the Egyptian coffins leaning against the wall. He peeked inside like he was inspecting every minor detail about it. “Well...this was probably made in some warehouse in Beijing or Taiwan.”

  Odion looked over the sarcophagus with him with his arms folded—nice and distracted.


  Nina launched herself forward, sprinting toward the slab on the table. August was right behind her and she hoped Riley was close behind him. She heard one of the Egyptian gang members yell out a warning, but it was too late to stop her. She was already at the table and scooped the slab into her arms. She glanced back and saw Odion yelling, but Elijah grabbed him and pushed him into the sarcophagus they had been looking over. Elijah slammed the door of the coffin shut on him, trapping Odion inside, giving him a firsthand view that so many dead pharaohs endured.

  Elijah hurried away from the sarcophagus as the gang chased after everyone, managing to keep ahead of them and followed his allies out of the room. August shut the door behind them, blocking off Odion's cronies from pursuing.

  Nina was so relieved that all of them had gotten out of that room—and with the slab. They found themselves in one of the warehouse's corridors. Thankfully, it wasn't a dead end and she could see the exit to the outside world, far away from the foes trying to murder them. They headed straight for that door and burst out into the sunlight, hopefully going toward the next stage of their search.

  “Thank you, Elijah,” Nina said as they hurried out of there. “I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't pulled that off. I maybe would have thrown August at them and hoped for the best. Your plan was much cleaner.”

  “Cleanliness is important in all parts of life,” Elijah said proudly. “I had to do something since your plan was crashing and burning.”

  “It wasn't...” Nina couldn't even finish the sentence. She couldn't deny that he was right, even if it felt insulting. He wasn't wrong. “Thank you. I guess it's just lucky that you had a good distraction. How quickly could you tell that we were surrounded by a lot of fakes?”

  “They weren't fake,” Elijah said with a thin smirk. “All of those items that they had there were very legitimate. I just had to make him doubt that for a few minutes. He cared so much about protecting Egypt's history. I knew he’d get a bit frazzled at the thought that he’d been spending so much time guarding nothing but fake replicas. Those boys may have been violent, but they’ve amassed quite the collection of valuables.”