The Quest of the Empty Tomb

by Elyse Salpeter

  It was two o’clock in the morning on a lonely thoroughfare in downtown Prague. The museum was a nondescript gray brick structure, with a complete lack of signage. Stuck between an old apothecary shop and an office building in the process of being renovated, one could have been looking for it and walked straight past.

  Though not a large and sophisticated museum by American standards, one couldn’t simply step inside and steal what they wished. A year-old security camera system was placed strategically around the building, while a single, slightly overweight, after-hours security guard lounged just inside the front door.

  “You have the laser, kid?” Joshua asked, checking his equipment.

  “Kid?” Kelsey huffed. “Of course I have it.” Kelsey took out the portable laser and adjusted the focus to a large beam diameter. At their location, thirty feet away, it would make it much easier to aim.

  Joshua leaned towards Kelsey, inches from her face and sniffed her neck. “God, you smell good.”

  “Will you just shut up? You can get yourself a drink when this is done and calm yourself down. Geez, Josh, where were you when we were in high school?”

  He grinned. “Hanging with your brother and waiting for you to grow up. As for the drink, I’d invite you to join me, but you’re not even legal yet. Okay, send the beam right into the camera sensor. Just be careful you don’t get lens flare. That light will bounce all around the glass and metal inside the camera if that happens.”

  “It won’t be a problem. Ari reconfigured this laser with multi-coated optics. We’ll be fine. It’s not the first time I’ve fired one of these, you know.” Kelsey aimed the laser and activated it.

  Joshua touched his earpiece, nodded, and glanced down the long street to an idling van on the corner with a third operative inside. “It’s disabled.” He watched Kelsey take out a pair of ATN NVM-14-3P Night Vision Monocular Goggles and put them on. Without another word, he ran to the back of the museum and disappeared from view. Seconds later, the lights on the entire block went out.

  Show time. He peeked around the corner and watched Kelsey bolt across the empty street and slip in through the front door. He sprinted to the entrance and met her inside.

  The layout was simple. The first floor had six square display rooms separated by a long hallway in the center, three rooms to a side. The second floor was the same, a lone vertical staircase in the middle, bisecting the corridor.

  They needed to go to the left rear room on the first floor. Once there, it went down fast. Joshua used a ceramic glass pick, broke the glass, removed the documents and they fled, all before the guard had made even a full perimeter check of the building.

  The local police and newspapers reported the black-out and the connection to the theft at the museum, but found no evidence or leads left behind to help them solve the case. Since no jewelry or other more expensive exhibits had been touched, and no one was injured, the investigation simply went away.

  Josh checked his watch. Enough time had passed. He stood up, grabbed his duffel bag and made his way out of the park.

  Chapter 7

  ATONEMENT

  They drove for an hour past sleeping villages and made their way to a thicket of brush at the base of the Nile River. Armand pulled up to a small complex of huts and parked the car in front of the largest one. A single oil lamp post lit the area.

  A six foot tall Egyptian woman in her twenties came out the hut’s door. She had high cheekbones, a body as lithe as a dancer's, and wore her hair in hundreds of tiny braids that stretched down her lower back.

  Jay couldn’t stop staring at her.

  “Everything is ready, Monsieur.”

  “Thank you, Eldana.” Armand replied. “These are the guests I was telling you about.”

  Eldana stared at Jay curiously and then smiled. “Oh, this must be Jibade. What a pleasant surprise. I had thought he wasn’t coming.” She glanced at Armand slyly. “You are right, Armand, he does look just like you. Not to worry, I set up extra beds in case you had additional guests. So nice to meet you, Jibade. I have heard much about you.” She put out her hand and brazenly flirted with him.

  Kelsey swore Jay reddened as he shook it. “You can call me Jay,” he mumbled.

  Eldana turned to Armand. “My father will have breakfast ready in the morning when you wake.” With a wink at Jibade, she turned and left them alone.

  Armand ushered them into the hut.

  It had been set up as sleeping quarters. Kelsey assumed the other huts in the complex held the kitchen and living areas.

  Armand turned to them. “I suggest everyone get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. The bathroom is through the curtain at the back of the hut.” He turned to his bed and folded down the blanket.

  Jay rounded on his father, angrily. “Dad, that’s it? Just go to bed without any explanation of what’s going on? Why did you desert me in Paris? Why did you make me your pissboy to deliver a letter to her and not ask me to help you? I’m your son, for God’s sake.” Jay’s face was beet red and his body shook in indignation.

  Armand turned to his son, his expression genuinely pained. “Jibade, I’m so sorry. Sorry for everything. I’ve… been a terrible father to you.”

  Jay’s expression of fury switched to stunned amazement. For a moment he seemed unsure of what to say. Finally he stammered, “No, you haven’t.”

  “Yes, I have been, and we both know it. But I had my reasons.”

  Nigel coughed and Gianni gave him a stern look, silencing him.

  Armand glanced at them, chagrined. “I’ve made some decisions in this life that I’ve regretted. Regretted mightily. But I intend to fix them if I can. It’s time I made things right.” He glanced at Kelsey. “To both of you. Come on, it’s late. Please, let’s rest up and I promise I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.” He stepped over to Gianni and Nigel and they spoke amongst themselves.

  Kelsey sat down on her cot. She fingered the thin sheet and watched Jay take off his T-shirt and throw it under his pillow. He had another tattoo inked on his chest above his heart. A Sa. When he turned his back to her, she started.

  “Jay? What’s that mark on your back?”

  Armand, Gianni, and Nigel all ceased speaking and glanced at her, their expressions unreadable.

  Jay glanced over his shoulder at the small x-shaped scar right above his left armpit. “Oh, that? It’s nothing, really. When I had that asthma attack as a kid, I apparently fell onto a glass table and cut myself.”

  Kelsey slid out of bed and moved over to him. She ran her fingers across the scar and then squinted in confusion. “This is so strange.” She tossed her blouse on the cot and pulled aside her tank top, showing Jay her own scar. It was a mirror image of his. She turned to Armand. “You remember when I got this, right? From a glass shard in the car accident. You and my mother were with me at the time.”

  Armand shuffled uncomfortably, but remained silent.

  Gianni shot him an angry look. “You’re not going to say anything? Didn’t you just say you wanted to make things right? That is why she’s here isn’t it, or was that a lie, too?”

  Armand exhaled loudly and sat down on his own cot, his head in his hands.

  Nigel shook his head. “Stubborn arse.”

  With a huff, Gianni took off his jacket, unbuttoned his shirt, removed it and turned around. An x-shaped scar was on his back, too. He nodded at Nigel. “He’s got one, as well, and so does this stunad.” He pointed towards Armand.

  “Why do we all have this?” She stared at Armand, understanding dawning on her. She looked at him disgustedly. “Was my scar the payment for your debt?” She nodded towards Jay. “Him, too? Were we both some sort of poker bet?” She stormed over and grabbed his shoulder, making him look up at her.

  He seemed stricken. “You were never meant to be a poker payment. In fact, Kelsey, you were never meant to have happened at all.” He sighed heavily. “I guess this won’t wait until morning. Please let me explain.”

  He beg
an to talk, but a young girl’s scream pierced the night and silenced him.

  Chapter 8

  THE TRAITOR

  Eldana ran into the hut. “The militants are here. Armand, they just attacked my father. He’s dead!” She fell to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably.

  Jay ran to her side and caught her before she collapsed to the floor.

  Armand pulled a gun from the waistband of his jeans. “I’ll hold them off. Jibade, get Kelsey and Eldana out of here. Nigel, go with them.”

  “And leave Gianni? Not blooming likely.” Nigel pulled out his own gun. “I’ve got more experience from my time in the Royal Marines than all of you lads put together.

  “Fine, stay you fool. Now the three of you, get the hell out of here!” Armand ran towards the door and glanced out.

  He wants me to run? Not a chance. “I’m not leaving. I can fight,” Kelsey said. She took out her knife.

  Armand shook his head. “You don’t understand. They’re after you and Jibade. Get of here while you can. I need to keep you both safe. Now go, I promise we’ll find you,” Armand ordered.

  “I’m not leaving,” Kelsey said.

  Rifle fire riddled the night and more screams met their ears. People ran through the village shouting. A man screeched and then went silent.

  Nigel turned his glare on Kelsey. “Ms. Porter, belt up and have your soddy row with Armand later. If you don’t go now, they’re going to kill everyone in the village until they find you. You want that on your head? Now enough of your first-world American theatrics. Budge up and leg it the hell out of here.”

  “Kelsey, come on.” Jay grabbed a flashlight resting on a side table, clasped Kelsey and Eldana’s hands and pulled them out the back door of the hut.

  “Follow me. I know a place we can hide,” Eldana said.

  They ran. People emerged from the other huts, holding brooms and shovels in their hands as weapons. A few of the villagers ran towards them, bearing rifles.

  “Where are we going?” Kelsey asked, frustrated. She wasn’t used to retreating from a fight. Her sandals quickly filled with desert sand.

  “It’s a safe place. I used to go there all the time as a child to hide from the militants on patrol.” Eldana took the flashlight from Jay and guided them out of the village and into the thick brush. After a few minutes they came to a tall ravine whose walls were lined with chalk, shale and limestone. They skid down the side into a deep gully and followed a trickling stream until the ravine ended. Eldana pushed aside some scattered branches and a cave entrance appeared. She ushered them inside.

  “We’ll be safe here.” The cave felt cool compared to the heat of the Egyptian night.

  Eldana sat on the floor, rubbing her arms as goosebumps appeared. Jay sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. The boy had absolutely no shame.

  Kelsey also noticed that Eldana didn’t stop him.

  “I’m so sorry about your father, Eldana,” Kelsey said.

  The girl mumbled something incoherent and pushed her face into Jay’s chest.

  Kelsey bent down next to her. “Who are those people attacking the village?”

  “Soldiers, militants. A group of men who patrol this area looking for victims.”

  “Victims?” Kelsey asked.

  Eldana nodded. “There’s an old fairy tale about raiders that come in the night and take away children who are bad. Our parents got us to behave that way. These men are like the ones in the story. Once they take you, no one ever sees you again.”

  A minute went by. Jay spoke up. “How do you know my dad, Eldana?”

  “He hired my father and me last year to tend to his home.”

  “My dad lived in those huts?”

  Eldana nodded. “Many times throughout the year he stayed there. The other day he called to tell us he was coming and I needed to prepare for guests.”

  It was silent outside the cave. “Does your dad know how to shoot, Jay?” Kelsey asked.

  Jay nodded. “All the archaeologists he works with do. I think it’s some unwritten rule that they learn how to fight so that when they’re on location at a site, if they’re attacked, they can protect themselves. It happens all the time. Thieves will watch from afar as a new excavation is set up, waiting until a discovery is made. Then they swoop in and try to steal it from the archaeologists. There’s been some horrible massacres in the past that started this way. My father has owned guns ever since I was little. Not that he ever bothered to teach me to shoot,” he said, bitterly.

  Kelsey stood up and strolled over to the cave walls. Ancient drawings were painted across the rock face, depicting ceremonies with hieroglyphic texts interwoven throughout. Some broken clay pots lay scattered on the floor, and next to one wall stood a small stone table, surprisingly intact. She ran her finger across the table's tarnished exterior. A dark stain was etched into the surface. She could only imagine what sacrifice had been performed upon it.

  “Do you know what this place used to be?” she asked Eldana.

  “We believe it was once an old temple.”

  Kelsey moved around the cave until she came upon the entrance again and glanced outside.

  Eldana called out to her. “I wouldn’t do that. Those people could be searching for us and from where you’re standing, they’d see you. Stay inside and you’ll be safer.”

  I’d be safer with a gun, thank you. She moved away from the entrance. This isn’t like me, hiding away. It doesn’t feel right. She glanced at Jay, who happily flirted with Eldana. The girl giggled back.

  Giggling? Right after her father was killed? Kelsey stared at Eldana, noticing that her tears were gone. In fact, she didn’t seem upset in the least that her father had just been murdered and they were in a dire situation. Kelsey stared around the cave, realizing it didn’t extend further into the rock. If someone came after them, there would be no way for them to escape from the inside. She glanced outside at the ravine, realizing anew what a precarious position they were actually in if these militants showed up. Eldana had essentially led them to a dead end. Into a cavern at the bottom of a closed ravine. Her instincts kicked in. They had to get out of here.

  Eldana giggled again and cuddled closer to Jay, who appeared blindingly naïve to whatever spell she spun around him.

  Kelsey strolled casually to the mouth of the cave again and peeked outside. Her stomach dropped. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw dark shapes moving into the canyon. Flashes of metal and glowing lights illuminated their wrists.

  She felt so stupid. How could she have let this happen? She should have seen through Eldana’s ruse. Dammit to hell, she was better than this! She had just seconds to make a decision. She pulled out her pocket knife.

  Swiftly, she grabbed Eldana, pulling her roughly from Jay’s embrace and put the knife to the girl’s throat just as the shapes moved into the cave. Six men burst in with their guns drawn.

  The Usthatan had arrived.

  “Kelsey, what are you doing?” Jay yelled. He finally noticed the men in the cave and took a startled step back, unsure of what to do.

  Eldana struggled, but Kelsey kept the knife to her throat. “Don’t come any closer or I’ll kill her,” she called out. Eldana was a traitor. She was sure of it. She could only hope the young woman's life meant something to the soldiers. At the moment it was the only bargaining chip she had.

  Kelsey leaned in and whispered in Eldana’s ear. “Who are they?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’re lying.” She tightened her grip and the knife cut into the girl’s throat. She made only a superficial nick, but it hurt and bled. “She betrayed us, Jay.”

  Eldana gasped. “No, I’m one of you. I have a scar, too. Please. I don’t want to die.”

  “Release the girl,” one of the militants ordered. His voice had a graveled edge to it.

  Kelsey stared at him. The man was built like a Mack truck, light-skinned and had a blond crew cut buzzed so close to his head, his skull seemed to glow. “There i
s no way out of this. Let the girl go.”

  “Or what?” Kelsey said. She whispered again in the girl’s ear. “Who are they? Tell me and I’ll let you go.” Did she say she was one of us? She had a scar, too?

  “I know nothing. Please don’t kill me.”

  “Say nothing, Eldana. You know the rules,” Crew-Cut said. “You speak, and the protection of the order is gone.”

  “She says nothing and she’ll die,” Kelsey hedged. She increased the pressure on the girl’s throat and Eldana shrieked. The girl looked up at the ceiling of the cave pleadingly. “Ustha, please help me! I beseech you!”

  A gunshot fired and Eldana ceased speaking.

  Startled, Kelsey released her and Eldana dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap. Blood pooled underneath her. She was expendable? Eldana’s chest rose and fell heavily and her eyelids fluttered.

  Kelsey stared down at the barrel of a gun now trained at her face. The man with the crew cut stepped over to her. He reached out and ripped off her necklace. Instantly, she felt nauseous and her stomach cramped. Another man tore off Jay’s necklace and Kelsey’s nausea worsened. She heard Jay begin to wheeze.

  The tallest man in the group sauntered up to them. He had a bushy black mustache and a thick beard. He reached out and grabbed Kelsey’s shoulders, and she flung her arm out to push him away. Crew-Cut shoved his gun in her face. The butt of it pressed sharply against her cheek. “Be still, girl.”

  The other man ripped off her tank top until she just stood there just in her bra. Crew-Cut grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. “There it is,” he said. “Right below her shoulder.”

  Kelsey felt confused. She had thought they’d wanted something entirely different. They're just looking for my scar?