“You’re looking very happy this morning,” Purdue said.
“Aren't I usually happy?”
Purdue shrugged. “It’s hard to tell sometimes, I'll say that. What's got you in such a chipper mood, aye?”
“I got a really interesting call last night.”
“Those are the best kinds of calls.”
“Do you remember Santino Rossi?”
“The name does sound a little familiar.”
“He works at the Palazza Nuovo in Rome. Specializes in Ancient Roman history. We collaborated with him years ago, briefly. He was also one of the people that we sent out invitations to when we took over the order...he was one of the ones who declined to join.”
“Ah, yes,” Purdue said, pursing his lips. “So that bastard had a change of heart, aye? Realized he could be part of something really special...”
“No, actually,” Nina said. “He just wanted to let me know that he recently received some information that points to the location of a lost artifact from Rome's history: the sword of Julius Caesar!”
It was nice to see that glint in his eye, even for a second. It reminded her of the old days when Purdue used his riches to drag her and Sam Cleave on all kinds of adventures. He’d been so passionate about history then. Part of her always thought it was for the thrills but as they’d grown close, she’d realized that there was much more to it than that. It went much deeper than that. That was why he’d taken control of his former enemies' organization—to be able to protect history at an even larger scale. But with all of that growth, it was nice seeing something small and familiar in his gaze.
“The sword of Caesar?” Purdue gave a whistle. “That would be quite the prize, don't you think? That's been lost for thousands of years. So what is it that Mr. Rossi has found that points to it actually existing?”
“He didn't say.”
“Typical,” Purdue said, lacing his fingers together. “That sounds like something that’d be worth the time to investigate, aye?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Nina said, glad that they were on the same page. “So when are we going to go get it?”
Purdue chuckled to himself. “Not we. You.”
“What do you mean?”
Purdue usually liked to be running things himself. He was a bit of a control freak, definitely somewhat narcissistic, and a perfectionist. He practically lived his life by that old, tired expression of needing to do something yourself if you wanted it to be done right. Sure, he now had the order to help carry out tasks, but he never sent the Black Sun agents on any of the big catches. For those bigger ones, Purdue preferred to lead a team himself. He wanted to be there when they found something truly amazing. The sword of Caesar was something that he’d definitely want to handle personally—but apparently not.
“You know what I mean, Nina,” Purdue said. “You don't need me for this one. Hell, you probably didn't need me for a lot of those trips we took. You know more about history than I ever could. You're a walking, talking, encyclopedia.”
“I've always been that,” Nina said, folding her arms. “Why are you backing out now?”
“I’ve been very preoccupied with something else and...well...it's taking up quite a bit of my time of late. As you said, I look like hell...I'm in no condition right now to go running off to Rome to chase after a famous sword. You, on the other hand, are perfect for this. We both know how much you know about Rome. You’d be a perfect choice to lead this time.”
“Lead who?” She knew the answer, but this was all happening so fast that her brain could only let her just ask questions instead of draw her own conclusions.
“Your own team, of course,” Purdue laughed. “You need to do this one without me...but not on your own. You'll just be calling the shots. You’ve been following my lead on these treks for so long. I think it's well past time that you take the ropes.”
“This isn't like you...” Nina said.
“Stop your whining, aye?” Purdue snickered. “I've never seen someone look so terrified of taking a leadership role. You want to find Caesar's sword, right?”
“Of course,” Nina said, without a second thought.
“Well, then put together a team, completely of your choosing, and find that sword. It'll be a great experience for you, Nina. Ever since we’ve taken charge of the Order of the Black Sun, we’ve had to adapt to a new way of doing things. This is just another one of those. It's time you started calling the shots sometimes. You’ve earned it.”
“Thank you,” Nina said, hoping he didn't see her trepidation. She’d never enjoyed being the one leading the way. She preferred having someone else navigating an expedition. That way, she didn't have to worry about the big decisions; she could focus on the little details of the things they were going to find. Nina took a step back toward the door, still shell-shocked by just being assigned to lead her own expedition. She turned back to Purdue. “You really need sleep. Get some sleep.”
“You might be leader of your own team, darling, but you're not in charge of me.”
3
HER TEAM
Elijah Dane despised being interrupted. His job to examine artifacts in the Order of the Black Sun's deep vault was supposed to be a private affair where he could just focus on examining the formerly lost relics. Naturally, Nina took some pleasure in interrupting those work sessions. It was the least she could do after Elijah had taken so long to help her escape from her former cell. She was glad that he’d seen the light, but it would have been nice if he could have seen it a bit earlier.
She marched into the deep vault room with the same hop in her step that she usually had when she entered that room. The room had been one of her only relatively safe spaces when she was a prisoner, sent there to help Elijah with curating. That was where she’d gotten to know him pretty well, and it was where he could still almost always be found. Elijah believed his purpose in life was to protect and preserve the world's rarest items. He hadn't been with the Order of the Black Sun willingly. He was a prisoner like she’d been, but he’d helped her anyway. That was why Purdue allowed him to stay with the order after he took over and the previous leadership had been overthrown. Elijah Dane wasn't an evil man, but he’d just been forced to work on the wrong side. His time with all of those relics had made him one of the most knowledgeable historians Nina knew.
Elijah was examining an old flintlock pistol and, as always, didn't notice or at least acknowledge that he had a visitor. He was always like that. He wasn't a bad person, but he was definitely not the friendliest in the world. It took a lot to even get a smile out of him.
“Working hard or hardly working?” Nina asked, knowing full well that Elijah hated common phrases like that. She kind of liked getting under his skin. It was just so easy.
As expected, Elijah didn't even look up from his work to see her. He just gave a gentle shake of his head and grimaced. He obviously wasn't pleased with her arrival, but he was just going to have to suck it up. She had business to attend to and he was the first piece of that.
“What are you doing for the next couple of weeks?”
That got Elijah to look at her and behind his glasses, she could see a glimmer of confusion. “What do you think I'm doing?” He gestured around. “Working, of course...obviously.”
“Yeah, but aren't you bored of being in here all day? It must get pretty stuffy. Don't you want a change of scenery?”
“Not at all...” He looked like he was dreading wherever this conversation was going. “Why?”
“I've just gotten Purdue's okay to put together a team to embark on a whole new venture. I'll be leading the search this time, so it's on me to assemble a good group together...with people who’d be suited to finding the artifact...”
“No.”
“I haven't even asked you yet.”
“You don't have to,” Elijah said firmly, pushing his glasses up his nose and brought his attention back to the old pistol in his hands. “The answer is no.”
�
��Really?”
“I went to that Mayan temple in the Arctic, remember? I almost died to help you and your friends bring down Julian Corvus. That was my one and only field contribution. I'm much more useful here than I could ever be out there.”
“Come on,” Nina groaned. “You aren't even a little bit interested in what we're going to be looking for?”
“Oh, I’ll be,” Elijah said with shrug. “Once the artifact is found and brought to me here. That's when I'll care. I'll care when it's in my hands, safe and sound and secure in this room.”
“But wouldn't it be so much more satisfying to bring it here yourself?”
“Not at all. In fact, it’d completely ruin my anticipation of seeing what will come through those doors next.”
Nina wanted to keep arguing her point. She’d barely even been given a chance to give him her pitch before he was already shooting her down. Elijah was a tough nut to crack though and she knew that there was no hope of getting to him once he retreated into his shell.
“Fine, have it your way then,” Nina said, and started walking away. She shouted back to him before she left. “It's the sword of Caesar by the way...his personal weapon. You could be the first one to look at it in thousands of years. And I don't mean once someone's brought it to you. I mean on the spot, right where it's been hiding for millennia. It's not often you get to see a new item so freshly discovered, is it?”
She didn't know if that would work, but it was a last ditch attempt.
Hopefully he changed his mind. Despite how hard he was to work with, she knew how beneficial it could be to have him on the team.
The new Order of the Black Sun was full of much nicer people than it used to be. After David Purdue took over as leader, most of the bad eggs tucked tail and ran away, as far as they could. Some of the old ranks had already been beaten during their sadistic former leader's defeat. There were a few stragglers and some of them still seemed pretty hostile toward the idea of Purdue being in charge. It seemed like there could be a full on coup at any moment and it would end with a knife in Purdue's back.
August Williams seemed like he’d be one of those members still holding a grudge toward his new boss. He appeared like a prime candidate to be joining in on any potential attempt to overthrow Purdue and reinstate someone terrible again as the leader. At least, at first glance he would have been the type. He was a big muscular bear of a man who was part of the Black Sun as nothing more than a tough enforcer. He wasn't interested in the history that was being collected or anything; he was just supposed to be a grunt and that was all. He was exactly the kind of person who Purdue wouldn't recruit for his new Order of the Black Sun.
But during their search for Genghis Khan's tomb, August had proven everyone wrong. He was a somewhat dense behemoth whose strengths were physical instead of mental, but he was far from just a thug who didn't have any actual thoughts. He was also far from some angry minion holding a vendetta against his new leader. August enjoyed the work and that's all he cared about. He liked being part of something bigger than himself, even if he was just a big cog in a much, much larger machine.
August had genuinely surprised Nina—and that was why she wanted him on this expedition, too. He was trustworthy, even if he looked intimidating. He was the best of the stragglers who’d remained from the previous Black Sun roster.
He’d more than already proven himself as an ally, but he still seemed utterly shocked that Nina was recruiting him for her new mission.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you,” Nina said with a laugh. “Why do you look so surprised?”
“Maybe because last time, you and Purdue kept looking over your shoulder at me the whole time, from here to Mongolia. You were scared that I was going to stab you right in the back. Wouldn't take your eyes off me for a second.”
“But you didn't,” Nina said happily. “You more than earned our trust. You even saved Purdue a couple of times. Can you really blame us for being a little cautious around you at first? I mean, given the circumstances...”
“No,” August admitted. “But...you and I...you remember me from when you were a prisoner, don't you?”
“Of course,” Nina said. “But don't feel too bad about it. You were just following orders and doing your job.”
“Isn't that the same shit that the Nazis said, too? I don't think it's the best excuse to use.”
Nina smirked at that. He did feel guilty, that much was clear, but she didn't want him to feel too bad about it all. It wasn't just an excuse that he was following the Black Sun's orders. She knew that really was the situation that he’d been forced to perform. August hadn't been one of the guards keeping her prisoner due to any sort of real malice or anything personal; it was just part of the job for him. She couldn't hold it against him too much. He hadn't been cruel or anything, like some of the other menaces. He hadn't tormented her or taunted her or spit in her food. He just tried to stop her escaping—but he’d failed at that in the end.
“You're not the only one from the old order that we've forgiven, you know.”
“That creep, Elijah, right...but at least he helped you before Julian went down. I didn't until after.”
“Well, if you really feel that bad about the whole thing, then just keep making amends if you want. The next step toward your redemption is lending me some muscle on this search, if I need it. Got it?”
August thought it over. The guilt was still plainly etched along his face, but she could see it starting to fade. Her words were impacting him. The enormous lumbering man looked so fragile and uncertain, but he slowly nodded.
“I guess I can roll with that. Where are we heading? What are we after this time?”
“We’re going to be looking for Julius Caesar's sword.”
Riley Duda looked much less stunned to be asked to join on this new quest. After all, she and Nina had gotten along rather well during the last mission. Riley was young and easygoing, but knew her stuff and was determined to excel in the new Order of the Black Sun. Riley took her membership very seriously, always doing her best with a thirst to prove herself. She was reliable and her bubbly personality would help keep their morale positive during what was no doubt going to be a long journey.
“That sounds great to me,” she said with a bright smile. “I'm just honored you’d even ask for my help, really, but it's nice knowing that us girls will stick together!”
Nina explained that they’d have to travel to Rome to visit Santino, and Riley seemed completely on board. It didn't take much convincing at all. If only Elijah could have been nearly as agreeable, then Nina would have the complete team that she wanted.
“Pack your things and pack smart. I don't know how long it’ll take to the find the sword.” There was still a high chance that they wouldn't find the blade at all but she left that part out. There was no need to start the search with such a pessimistic mindset, no matter how realistic and possible it was. “I'll meet you and August outside, tomorrow morning. Try not to miss the plane out of here, alright?”
Riley clapped with excitement, looking downright giddy.
Nina spent the rest of the night feeling a bit agitated that her dream team wouldn't completely form. She always knew that Elijah Dane was going to be hard to convince, but she didn't expect him to be so vehemently against the idea. His outright refusal was more blatant than she ever predicted it could be, and it was outright annoying.
So her team wouldn't be quite ideal—but it’d still do. She at least knew what to expect with Riley and August. The three of them would probably be able to handle things well enough on their own. Nina would just be the one that had most of the historical knowledge. Riley was well-educated and knew a lot of basic facts and helpful things, but she wasn't a fully-fledged historian. August was more likely to punch a textbook than read one. They’d have to do.
That damn Elijah Dane always had to be a thorn in her side.
The sun rose the next morning and Nina looked up at the pink sky uncertainly. This was
her first time in a real leadership position in the Order of the Black Sun. It was her chance to prove herself to the rest of the organization. They’d see that she wasn't just the brainy woman who knew a lot of dates and names of famous dead people. She’d show that she wasn't only the new leader's old friend either. They’d all understand that she was her own force to be reckoned with who didn't need David Purdue holding her hand all of the time.
Nina waited by one of the Order of the Black Sun's private jets. The Black Sun had acquired their own runway back when it was being run by megalomaniacs and it was one of the only things that Nina appreciated them for. She always wondered how those Black Sun agents they used to fight got around so quickly, always following them all over the globe. They had their own private squadron of jets. The pilot was already prepping the plane, a mercenary like all of the other pilots who flew the jets. They were being paid well by Purdue, far more than they used to be which immediately won Purdue their loyalty.
“Morning,” August said, lumbering up to her with two bags in his hand. He let out a massive yawn that came from the bowels of his big body. “We couldn't have started a little later? I can barely keep my eyes open--”
“Of course not!” Riley said, appearing close behind him. She was far too perky for that early in the morning. “An early start is the best kind of start for things like this, obviously. Right, Nina?”
“Right,” Nina said, but wished that Riley would turn down her volume a little bit. She loved the girl, but it was too much at once at the moment.
This would be the team for the foreseeable future. They each had their strengths and weaknesses, her probably most of all, but they’d worked well on the last mission to find Genghis Khan's bones. She knew what great things these two were capable of. They were reliable, and that was something she really valued.
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