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Chapter 89
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Just for two weeks Chapter 90
Rodriguez took the key and studied it. "My goodness. The Seal. Where did you locate this?""My grandfather gave it to me before he died tonight."Rodriguez ran his fingers across the key. "A church key?"She drew a deep breath. "It provided us access to the Archstone."Rodriguez's head snapped up, his face filled with disbelief. "Impossible! What church did I not search? Every church in France I've searched for!""It's not in a church," Sophie said. "It's in a Swiss depository bank."Rodriguez's look of excitement waned. "The Archstone is in a bank?""A bank vault," Jimmy offered.Rodriguez shook his head violently. "That's not possible. The Archstone is supposed to be hidden beneath the sign of the Rose of a church.""It is," Jimmy said. "It was stored in a rosewood box inlaid with a five-petal rose."Rodriguez looked shocked. "You've seen the Archstone?"McEwan nodded. "We visited the bank."Rodriguez came over to them, his eyes wild fear. "My good friends, we have work to do. The A
Just for two weeks Chapter 91
Rodriguez sat on the couch, cradling the wooden box on his lap and admiring the lid's craftsmanship and intricate inlaid Rose, thinking that tonight has become the strangest and most magnificent night of his life."Lift the lid," McEwan whispered, standing over him, beside Jimmy.Rodriguez smiled. Do not rush me. Having spent over a decade searching for the Archstone, he wanted to savor every millisecond of this moment. He ran a palm across the wooden lid, feeling the texture of the inlaid flower."The Rose," he whispered. Rodriguez felt foolish. For years he had traveled to Cathedrals and churches all over France, paying for special access, examining hundreds of archways beneath rose windows, searching for an encrypted Archstone.Rodriguez slowly unlatched the lid and raised it.As his eyes finally gazed upon the contents, he knew in an instant it could only be the Archstone. He was staring at a stone cylinder, crafted of interconnecting lettered dials. The device looked surprisingly
Just for two weeks Chapter 92
Suslowicz and his agents burst through the front door of Sir Albert Rodriguez's estate with their firearms drawn. Spreading out, they began to search the rooms on the first floor level. They found a bullet hole in the drawing room floor, signs of a struggle, a small amount of blood, a strange, barbed leather belt, and a partially used roll of duct tape. The first floor seemed deserted.The moment Suslowicz was about to divide his men to search the basement and grounds behind the house, he heard voices on the top level."They're on the upper floor!"Rushing up the wide staircase, Suslowicz and his men moved room by room through the huge home, securing darkened bedrooms and hallways as they closed in on the sounds of voices. The sound seemed to be coming from the last bedroom on an exceptionally long hallway. The agents inched down the corridor, sealing off alternate exits.As they neared the final bedroom, Suslowicz could see the door was wide open. The voices had stopped suddenly, and
Just for two weeks Chapter 93
Jimmy suddenly didn't want anything to do with the embassy. All he could think of was the Archstone, the inscription, and the information it holds. He wondered if Rodriguez was right about Britain. "Sir?" Scott said. "Are you truly thinking of returning to England for good?""Scott, you don't have to worry," Rodriguez assured. "Just because I'm returning to the Queen's realm does not mean I intend to subject my palate to bangers and mash for the rest of my life. I expect you will join me there permanently. And adventure, Scott. I say, an adventure!"Jimmy had to smile. As Rodriguez railed on about his plans for a triumphant return to Britain, Jimmy felt himself caught up in the man's infectious enthusiasm.Gazing absently out the window, Jimmy watched the woods passing by, ghostly pale in the yellow blush of the fog lights. The side mirror was tipped inward, brushed askew by branches, and Jimmy saw the reflection of McEwan sitting quietly in the back seat. He watched her for a long t
Just for two weeks Chapter 94
Gizmogo TFC-621 engines thundered, powering up the plane skyward with gut-wrenching force. Outside the Window, Le Bourget Airfield dropped away with startling speed.The thought of fleeing the country made McEwan force her body back into the leather seat. Until this moment, she had believed her game of rate race with Romano would be somehow justifiable to the Ministry of Defense. I was attempting to protect a forcefully accused individual. I was trying to fulfill my grandfather's dying will. That window of opportunity, McEwan knew, had just closed. She was leaving the country without documentation, accompanying a wanted man, and transporting a bound hostage. If a "line of intuition" had ever existed, she had just crossed it. McEwan was seated with Jimmy and Rodriguez near the front of the cabin - the jet Executive Elite, Design, according to the gold medallion on the door. Their plush swivel chairs were bolted. A mini-boardroom. The dignified surroundings, however, did little to camo
Just for two weeks Chapter 95
Seconds later, Romano was packing up and preparing to leave Château Sunnyvale. He had just learned that Rodriguez kept a private jet nearby at Le Bourget Airfield and not just, the plane had taken off about a half hour ago.The Bourget representative on the phone had claimed not to know who was on the plane or where it was going to land. The takeoff had been unregistered, and no flight plan had been logged. Highly illegal, even for a small airfield. Romano was certain that by applying the right force, he could get the answer he sorted."Lieutenant Suslowicz," Romano barked, heading toward the door. "I have no choice but to leave you in charge of the investigation here. Try to surprise me, for a change." As Gizmogo leveled off, with it's none aimed for England, Jimmy carefully lifted the rosewood box from his lap, where he had been protecting it during takeoff. Now, as he set the box on the table, he could sense McEwan and Rodriguez leaning forward with anticipation.Unlatch
Just for two weeks Chapter 96
Sixteen thousand feet in the air, Jimmy Davis felt the physical world fizzle away as all his thoughts sequenced on Esquibel's mirror-picture poem, which was exposed through the lid of the box. McEwan quickly found some paper and copied it down longhand. When she was done, the three of them took turns looking through the text. It was like some kind of archeological crossword… A riddle that promised to reveal how to open the cryptex. Jimmy read the verse slowly. Before he could even consider what ancient password the verse was trying to reveal, he felt something far more essential resonate within him - the meter of the poem.Jimmy had come across this meter often over the years while researching secret societies across Europe, including just last year. For decades, trochaic pentameter had been a preferred poetic meter of unspoken literati across the globe, from ancient Greek writer Archilochus to Shakespeare, Voltaire, Chaucer - bold souls who chose to write their social commentaries in
Just for two weeks Chapter 97
"You're awfully calm," Jimmy said, gazing across the Gizmogo's cabin at McEwan."Just resting," McEwan replied. "And the poem. I'm not sure."Jimmy was feeling the same way. The hum of engines and the gentle rocking of the plane were soporific, and his head still throbbed where he'd been hit by the monk. Rodriguez was still in the back of the plane, and Jimmy decided to take advantage of the moment with McEwan to tell her something that had been on his mind. "I think I know part of the reason why your grandfather conspired to put us together. I think there's something he wanted me to explain to you." "I think I've had enough."Jimmy wasn't sure how to proceed. "The rift between you. The reason you haven't spoken to him in years. I think maybe he was hoping I could somehow make that right by explaining what drove you apart." McEwan squirmed in her seat. "I haven't told you that story of what drove us apart?"Jimmy eyed her carefully. "You witnessed a sex custom?"McEwan recoiled. "
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