Tomb Raiding PHD

by Martha Carr

  The men raised their rifles and opened fire, their muzzle flashes lighting up the night. The tomb raider sprinted behind them. She’d planned to do this quietly, but since they’d already fired, she might as well take the easy path.

  Shay pulled out her 9mm and blasted toward each muzzle flash. Three men went down with screams. She rushed toward a nearby tree, and a counterattack by one of the men blasted bark into the air. She returned fire, downing another man.

  The two surviving night raiders rushed toward Shay, one laying down suppression fire as the other tried to flank her. She put two quick rounds into the first man, but the final man flanked her just in time to exchange shots.

  She hissed and fell to the ground as a bullet ripped through her forearm. Unfortunately for the other man, Shay’s bullet blasted right through his night-vision goggles and into his head.

  Shay took a deep breath and reached into a small pouch on the harness. Her last healing potion. She’d need to get more, but she had to finish the expedition first.

  Hope this was the main group of assholes.

  She downed the potion, the agony vanishing from her arm as her wound closed.

  Shouts erupted from the expedition camp.

  Shay holstered her weapon and sprinted toward it. She needed to reach it before they turned on the lights or she would have a lot of explaining to do.

  The shadows of several of the men emerging from the tents appeared. Everyone’s attention was focused on the source area for the gunfire and not on the tents. Shay vaulted the fence with ease and hurried into her tent.

  “What’s going on?” Shay shouted as several light poles clicked on.

  “Gunfire.”

  Shay stuck her head outside the tent to look for damage from the gunfire. She didn’t see anything obvious, so she grabbed a jacket to cover her harness and the bullet hole in her shirt. “Grab a couple of guns, and let’s check it out.”

  Good. Now that the riffraff’s clear, we can get what we need tomorrow.

  Daniel arched a brow as he skimmed the incident report the next day. Extraction of the gold containers and other valuables was proceeding even faster than he’d anticipated. Professor Carson claimed she’d never been there before, but she seemed to have an uncanny understanding of where to find things and the magical defenses.

  Hmm. She’s hiding something, maybe some sort of clairvoyance artifact. That’d make a lot of sense, but that’s not the real problem. Can’t believe the expedition was attacked.

  There must have been a leak. I was sloppy, and could have lost a good resource in Professor Carson.

  He narrowed his eyes as he continued reading the report. Six men dead from gunshot wounds before the expedition team had even pulled their weapons out of the storage lockers.

  That meant someone had taken out a well-trained team armed with assault rifles and night-vision goggles in the dark. One major question remained.

  Who?

  22

  “No one else showed up?” Peyton asked over the phone.

  Shay checked her GPS as her Mercedes continued down the road. She wasn’t that far from Munich. “Nope. Did you find anything else on them?”

  “Those six guys were the main group, so unless they’ve done a bunch of recruiting in the last few days, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. You get everything from the lake, then?”

  “Yep. We did some additional sweeps to verify, and the team collected everything. I stayed with them as far as Salzburg, where some very serious and angry-looking individuals in suits showed up to take control of the cargo. The government payout will come to me in a few weeks.”

  Peyton laughed. “But you’re used to getting paid right away.”

  “Shit, it’s the government. I should be happy it doesn’t take months.” Shay changed lanes to let several cars zoom by. “Besides, I have this job you found me in Munich for an easy payout. Just have to raid a tomb that’s a little more recent.”

  Peyton sighed. “Weird mix of people buried at Munich Waldfriedhof, everything from Nazis to Nobel Prize winners.”

  Shay laughed. “Well, I don’t care unless they rise from the dead. Just gonna pop into the crypt, grab the diadem, and get the hell out. I’ll hit the cemetery at night, so I don’t have to worry about running into anyone.”

  “Well, running around a cemetery at night isn’t my idea of fun, even if it is to get an artifact that lets you tell lies.”

  “Beats going under a lake or into rickety old tunnels underground that might collapse on you.” Shay grinned. “Don’t worry. I’m sure this will be an easy job.”

  Daniel sighed and shook his head as another man stepped out of the crypt with a briefcase in hand. The CIA agent had been afraid of this ever since he’d read a report the British government had hired Hollingsworth Retrieval Specialists to recover the diadem.

  Maybe if he’d finished his previous job a few hours earlier he wouldn’t be in this situation, but scoring a minor artifact after his previous mission would be a nice bonus. He’d been lucky to be able to get to Munich so quickly.

  Between the lake, my last job, and this one, it’s been a good week. I was right to bring on Carson to supervise the lake expedition. I might have missed out on the second artifact otherwise.

  The Hollingsworth tomb raider continued walking away, oblivious that he was being watched.

  Sorry, my friend, but I need this more than you do.

  Daniel kept low, darting from gravestone to gravestone. The English tomb raider whistled a jaunty tune as he continued away from the crypt.

  The CIA agent wasn’t above killing when necessary, but Hollingsworth men weren’t actual scumbags so he’d have to do this the hard way.

  Daniel jumped up from behind a gravestone and the tomb raider spun toward him, his eyes wide, just in time to get a good old-fashioned American punch to the face. He lost his grip on the briefcase.

  The tomb raider stumbled back with a grunt. “You’re not a bloody zombie.”

  The CIA agent shrugged. “Not yet, anyway. Just walk away, and this doesn’t have to go badly. I’ve got nothing against you, but I need that artifact.”

  The Englishman raised his fists. “Come on, you bloody arsehole. Let’s see what you got.”

  The men exchanged a few quick jabs, but couldn’t land a solid blow. The tomb raider charged low and tackled Daniel with a grunt. The men sprawled to the ground and rolled, slamming their fists into their enemy’s body and head.

  Daniel untangled himself and hopped back to his feet, then smashed one of his black wingtip into the tomb raider’s stomach. The other man grimaced and stood, his face bloody and battered.

  The Englishman shook out his hands. “You’re tougher than you look, prick.”

  “Like I said, I’ve got nothing against you. I just really need that artifact.”

  The other man sneered. “And I really need you to kiss my arse.”

  “I…” A blur in the corner of Daniel’s eye caught his attention. Had he miscalculated? Was there another man there?

  He spun toward the movement just in time to spot a dark-haired woman in a jacket rushing away from the men, briefcase in hand.

  “Damn it! Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

  The men exchanged glances and sprinted after the thief.

  Daniel picked up his pace, trying to close on the woman. There was something vaguely familiar about her. Maybe a tomb raider he’d read about in a file or someone from another country’s intelligence agency? He’d solve the mystery when he caught her.

  The woman leapt atop a gravestone and jumped from it toward another gravestone, then jumped again, sending her to the edge of the roof of a tall crypt. She grabbed the lip of the roof with one hand, pulling herself up, the suitcase still in her other hand.

  The English tomb raider grimaced but continued running after the thief on the ground level as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop. “Now, that’s just not bloody fair.”

  Daniel considered shooting her, but he didn
’t want to kill someone without at least seeing their face.

  Another few quick vaults and jumps sent the woman over an internal cemetery fence.

  Both men slowed to a jog. There was no way they’d catch up.

  The Hollingsworth tomb raider looked at Daniel and shrugged. “And she wasn’t yours?”

  Daniel shook his head. “I take it she wasn’t yours?”

  The other man shrugged. “How did she move like that?”

  “Artifact, I’m guessing.” The CIA agent rubbed his sore jaw. “Well, we don’t have a reason to fight anymore. Unless you’re aching for it?”

  “No point.” The tomb raider stared after the vanishing form of the dark-haired woman. He shrugged and walked away. “Fuck, I just wish I knew where she gets all those wonderful toys.”

  “Maybe it’s not an artifact. Maybe she’s a Light Elf.”

  “Light Elf?” The tomb raider eyed Daniel. “Is that what you’re going to tell whoever you’re working with?”

  Daniel shrugged. “Better than saying some nice lady ran off with the prize.”

  “How about those Drow? I’ve heard a lot of people blaming shit on them lately.”

  “Nope. A Drow would have killed us. It’d have to be a Light Elf.”

  The Hollingsworth man snorted. “Those damn Oricerans.”

  “Maybe not.” Daniel furrowed his brow and tried to remember if he had seen a wand.

  “Maybe not?”

  “It could be a former Silver Griffin,” Daniel suggested.

  “Huh. A witch?”

  Daniel’s phone dinged, and he pulled it out. “Sorry. Have to take this.” He gave a polite nod to the tomb raider and started walking away. No use wasting more time thinking about who the thief might be. He’d lost the artifact, and given the presence of a tomb raider, it wasn’t shocking that someone else had shown up.

  Need to be more careful.

  He clicked on the alert message, and a satellite image appeared of the graveyard. One needed a good eye for imagery analysis, but his experience let him spot the hiding humanoid form atop a mausoleum roof. The time stamp showed it was only a few minutes ago. Apparently, this mysterious witch or elf was still in the graveyard.

  Trying to wait us out, eh?

  Daniel glanced over his shoulder to confirm that the other tomb raider was heading the opposite way before jogging toward the edge of the graveyard toward the building hiding the mysterious thief.

  He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small sonic grenade as he closed on the building.

  “Here goes nothing.” The CIA agent tossed the grenade.

  The dark-haired woman shot to her feet and tapped something on her ear. “Fuck.” She turned and leapt, wincing as the grenade whined and blasted out its stunning frequencies. She tumbled over the edge of the fence. The briefcase flew out of her hand and landed on the other end of the fence, close to Daniel.

  The woman stumbled away until she managed an unsteady jog.

  Some sort of quick-neutralizing wave patterns? Nice tech. She’s no amateur.

  Daniel ignored her, instead heading over to the briefcase. He picked it up and opened it. The diadem lay inside.

  He smiled. “Sorry, whoever you are, but I guess I get to go home now after using one of my wonderful toys without any guilt.”

  About a half-mile from the cemetery, Shay slumped down in front of a tree, her head still throbbing.

  “Shit. I can’t believe I lost it. I don’t even know how he tracked me down. I figured he would have been long gone in the opposite direction. Fuck. He’s a lot better than I thought.”

  “But at least you didn’t get caught,” Peyton replied through her earbud. “And you’re getting thirty percent of the lake haul, so it’s been a good few days even without the diadem.”

  Shay rubbed her temples. “I just didn’t expect to run into Daniel in Munich, of all places. Find anything on him yet?”

  “I did my due diligence, and I couldn’t find anything.”

  Shay snorted. “Not surprising. The guy is a government spy. Keep digging. I don’t know what his deal is, but I want to know who he really is and what he’s doing for the government.”

  “What do you mean? You don’t think he’s just a CIA guy interested in aliens?”

  “I don’t know whose side he’s on.” Shay blew out a breath. “And I can’t begin to even think about trusting him until I do.”

  A day later, Daniel placed his hand on the palm scanner, then leaned forward for a retinal scan. He finished with a DNA scan from the surface of his thumb. The door beeped, and the lock popped open.

  He stepped through with a smile aimed at the attractive middle-aged dark-skinned woman sitting behind the cherrywood desk and reading a tablet. She was wearing her usual white pantsuit.

  “Hello, Miss Rose.” He set the briefcase on her desk.

  “Agent Goldstein.” Her gaze cut to the briefcase. “This is it?”

  “Yes, although I had some interesting company on my way to get it.”

  “So I heard.” The woman gave him a thin smile. “But you handled it well enough.”

  “I always do.” Daniel shrugged. “I’ve already logged in almost all the nice government-issued toys and weapons you let me borrow.”

  Miss Rose nodded. “I’m surprised you didn’t use some of them on that little Munich trip.”

  “Oh, no reason to let some idiot from Hollingsworth see my coolest stuff.” Daniel shrugged. “Sometimes the most efficient and low-tech way is the best.”

  The woman snorted. “Maybe if you’d used a toy, you wouldn’t have had to chase down this other woman.”

  “Maybe, but it doesn’t matter. I caught up with her in the end.”

  “I suppose.” Miss Rose tapped the tablet. “You’ve not checked the Torino in yet, I see.”

  “Oh, I was going to do that next. It’s hard to part from such a nice little piece of technology.”

  “And the modifications? How were they?”

  Daniel smiled. “The armor was excellent, as were the aquatic modifications. The sensors were a nice touch. Maybe a tad overkill for the mission, but I can’t complain too much. All in all, though, everything worked very well indeed.”

  Miss Rose set the tablet down. “I’ll pass that on to R&D. I’m sure they’ll be glad to hear it.”

  Daniel grinned. “A man can never complain when he gets to play with such nice toys.”

  23

  Shay moved her arms back for support as she inverted herself from the hammock. Her muscles tensed but didn’t burn as she held the position and stared at Bella, who tried the same movement only to slip into the hammock with a frown.

  She’ll probably be pissed if I laugh.

  Kara and Janelle were still attempting a basic star inversion. They both managed to rest on their tailbones with their hands gripping the side of the hammock, but when they tried to let their bodies fall backward and opened their legs to stabilize their position, they kept falling.

  Everyone needs better core strength. The running helps, but it’s not enough.

  Shay righted herself and moved into a star inversion, then bent her right knee and hooked her foot across the front of the hammock to hold the position. Every muscle in her body was worked by her normal routine, but a little aerial yoga was a nice change of pace.

  Janelle settled her butt into her hammock and laughed at Shay. “Apparently, everything I’ve ever seen about archaeologists in movies is true.” She winked. “They should call you Professor Buff instead of Professor Carson. You’re like a freaking acrobat up here.”

  Kara sighed. “When you guys mentioned aerial yoga, I thought this had something to do with the Little Mermaid.”

  Everyone laughed, and Shay let the smile linger on her face.

  It felt nice to be stretching and soaring in the air, free—almost as free as she felt when she was doing parkour. After her recent busy days of taking on gangsters, recovering lost treasures, and losing an artifact to a CIA a
gent, that freedom tasted all that much sweeter.

  She also had a date with James that night, and she got to pick the restaurant.

  Bella finally managed her star inversion. “You know what would make this even better?”

  “Hot guys doing it too?” Kara suggested.

  “No. Some wine.”

  Kara, Bella, and Janelle laughed.

  Shay smirked.

  This sort of calm freedom was why she needed these friends. They would never be told the truth about her life, but when she was with them, she didn’t have to worry about anything but a good time. She could approach something that still felt so strange at times: relaxation.

  “Maybe next time, girls,” Shay suggested with a bright smile. “Maybe next time.”

  Shay paced across the front of the classroom and nodded toward a world map that had various outlined new continents, including Atlantis.

  “As we’ve discussed today and during this lecture series, the key to revised history is not blindly accepting that every myth is an accurate representation of past history, but viewing such myths as a jumping-off point that can help lead you to the truth.”

  Shay clicked the presentation ahead to an elaborate oil painting of Rhazdon. The Atlantean’s hair tendrils were more wild and serpentine than realistic, though it did look grand on the large screen.

  “We went through the classic view of Atlantis earlier in the lecture and discussed the ramifications of there being a lost continent that was once populated by ancient and powerful beings who were beyond the other societies of their time.”

  The students nodded, many leaning forward with their attention focused on Shay.

  The tomb raider glanced at the screen. “The important thing to keep in mind is that our legends humanized the Atlanteans, despite the fact we know now that they were a very non-human race and had access to powerful and dark magic.” She advanced to a slide marking Atlantean energy transfer monuments all over the world. “The existing myth clearly has many holes, such as suggesting primitive humans could have repelled the Atlanteans militarily. It’s obvious now that was a later addition to the myth. It was added to establish some agency for the oppressed human cultures that had to deal with Atlantis while still passing along the story of the ultimately magic-related sinking of the continent. The truth was in front of us the entire time, even if it had been covered by a few coats of paint.”