Relics

by K. T. Tomb

  Their plan was to appear as private collectors from England who were looking for a particular item, which had been on the National Museum’s insurance itemization. Perk would play the role of the financier and she and Edwin would play the role of a married couple on their honeymoon who wanted something extraordinarily rare to take home with them in memory of the occasion. When the dealer was well oiled, Danna would casually remark that she wished that she could get a hold of Pandora’s Box, even one of the replicas from antiquity.

  “It’s not a difficult role for me,” Edwin smiled. “I actually would like a memento of some sort to commemorate the occasion.”

  “Be careful what you wish for,” Danna warned and then winked at him as she watched the confused expression shadow his stoic features.

  “I am a natural in my role as well,” Perk broke in from the front seat.

  Danna was already beginning to wonder if she’d made a horrible mistake by bringing him along. She was surprised later, however, when she discovered that Perk had been a perfect, snooty choice for the role and added an enormous amount of credibility to their characterization.

  ***

  “I don’t know, love,” Danna sighed heavily, so that the antique dealer would be well aware that she was bored with what he had shown them. “We’ve had an extraordinary trip so far, and these things just seem so incredibly ordinary in comparison.”

  “I don’t know, dearest,” Edwin had replied. “I’m rather taken by this shield of Telemachus. It would certainly be a nice conversation piece in the study.”

  “Of course it would for you, love, but this is for us; something that we can share.” Danna even pushed out her already full lower lip in a disappointed pout.

  “I’m sure we’ll find something, dearest,” Edwin replied, patting her hand.

  “Something that is within your budget, of course,” Perk added with impeccable timing.

  Danna rolled her eyes at him and sighed. “If we could only find Pandora’s Box, even one of the antique replicas that Simons told us about.”

  “That would be next to impossible, dearest. Those are all in museums.”

  She ignored Edwin’s comment and turned directly toward the dealer and lowered her voice as she glanced from side to side and leaned forward.

  “Did you know that they made a number of copies of it so that they could confuse and thwart thieves who might have evil designs on the actual box?”

  “I did know that,” the dealer said, leaning toward her as well. “The copies are quite valuable, but I can do even better than that, if you can convince your man there to agree to pay the sum.”

  The dealer nodded toward Perk.

  “What are you saying?” Edwin joined in.

  “I’m saying that I can get you the original box,” the dealer responded.

  Danna sucked in her breath as she responded. “That would be incredible. Wouldn’t that be incredible, love?”

  “What kind of a sum are we talking about?” Perk asked, leaning into the conversation.

  “I’m not able to quote a price, but I can take you to the person who owns it now,” he replied. “I’ll want a finder’s fee, of course.”

  “Not until we can confirm its authenticity,” Perk countered in an irritating tone, which was more than natural for him.

  “Come back tonight, but don’t come with your driver and don’t bring your wife,” the dealer said, speaking directly to Edwin.

  “I’ll come, or we’ll purchase nothing at all,” she responded.

  “It’s not exactly the kind of place to take a lady,” the dealer responded.

  “Then perhaps it is better if we just forget the whole thing,” she said in a confident tone as she rose up out of her chair.

  “I agree,” Edwin announced, rising up as well.

  The dealer instantly began backtracking, which was exactly what they had hoped for. “It’s not that bad, really,” he replied, already having smelled blood in the water and not willing to give up the finder’s fee that he would certainly receive for making the connection for them.

  “Very well, then,” Edwin responded. “We will return later tonight.”

  “I’ll be waiting, just tap on the door three times.”

  The three of them left the dealer to begin counting the money that he stood to make on the impending sale and returned to the car for the ride back to the hotel.

  “That went splendidly!” Perk exclaimed. “We’ve made our connection, perhaps even to the original box.”

  Danna glanced at Edwin, while fighting back the desire to leap forward and wrap her hands around Perk’s throat. “We’re a step closer,” she whispered.

  “It doesn’t sound like it’s going to be without some dangers,” he responded.

  Danna wasn’t sure if she heard a subtle shaking in his voice, but she did see the worry in his eyes and she instantly realized that it wasn’t out of concern for himself, but for her. Was she beginning to see that man she’d hoped to discover in Percival beginning to emerge already? Time would tell.

  “We’ll need to be on our toes this evening from the sound of it,” Perk announced in an excited tone. He had no idea what dangers they might be running headlong into.

  Chapter Seven

  His contact, simply known as Cy, met Andriy after he landed in Athens. He had certainly hoped to be part of the offensive back in Ukraine, but one did not refuse the Hammer and live long; so he had been told.

  “The trip was not bad, huh?” Cy asked.

  “It was comfortable enough,” Andriy replied. “We have no time to waste. The Hammer wants the box before we start the counter-offensive. What do you have for me?”

  “I was able to get police reports and insurance itemizations from three robberies that occurred in museums that each claimed to have Pandora’s Box among its artifacts.” He slipped three folders from under the seat and handed them to Andriy.

  “You mean to tell me that there is more than one box?”

  Things had rapidly become more complicated, which meant that he needed to step up his pace if he was going to accomplish what needed to be accomplished. The dates of the cases were spread out over a time spanning nearly 40 years.

  Which one was the authentic box with the spirits held captive inside of it?

  He closed his eyes and considered what would happen to him if he brought home any box other than the one that the Hammer had asked for. The image of the two wolfish men snatching him out of the chamber and dragging him away to be shot flashed through his mind. Surely, they would not want to mess up the carpet in the CEO’s office.

  “I’ll start with the newest case first,” he announced, deciding to think out loud and make use of Cy as a sounding board. “The trail won’t have gone cold like the others. Perhaps I’ll have some quick luck, huh?”

  “An excellent idea,” Cy responded. “I haven’t examined the cases in any depth, but I did recognize the names of some of the persons who were mentioned in the reports.”

  “Then we will begin there,” Andriy responded.

  He had not slept since receiving the order from the Hammer, except for the little bit he’d gotten while on the plane. In spite of the fact that his mind was slow, he decided to dive right in and start discussing the 2012 robbery case with Cy.

  “No hotel?” Andiy asked as they pulled off of the main thoroughfare and wound their way into a residential sector.

  “There is a safe house here and we have access to weapons,” Cy informed him as he navigated the car along the maze of streets that led to their destination.

  “I will want two handguns,” Andriy responded. “I would like one of them to be smaller and in an ankle holster. The other I will tuck inside my waistband.”

  “I can accommodate that,” Cy responded, as he pulled the car over in front of a house on a nondescript street somewhere in the tangled web of streets that made up the city of Athens. Cy led him into the house and showed him to the larger bedroom, which, amazingly enough, had its own pri
vate bathroom attached to it.

  After the flight, a chance to crawl into a shower would the perfect thing for helping to clear his mind. Feeling somewhat more human, he settled into the king-sized bed and fell asleep as soon as he felt his body relax on the mattress.

  The following day was spent becoming more familiar with the files and making use of the internet connection in the safe house to review his understanding of the Pandora myth, by nightfall, he was ready to follow his first lead for recovering the box.

  He buckled the ankle holster in place, checked the rounds in the cylinder, slid it into the holster and snapped the thong in place. He checked the rounds in the semi-auto as well and dropped a second clip into the pocket of his jeans.

  “Let’s go,” he said, tucking the semi-auto into his waistband.

  Andriy realized that he was completely at Cy’s mercy as the driver wound his way among the strange roadways of Athens toward their destination. It was a strange feeling for him. He was used to being in charge in his own city and among his own streets. The feeling of dependence irritated him.

  More irritating than that feeling of dependence, however, was the fact that things began to go wrong from the very beginning.

  “That’s the dealer,” Cy said, indicating the man who was hustling down the sidewalk and climbing into the front seat of a car that was occupied by two other men and a woman. The car pulled away from the curb and started down the street with the man they’d come to consult within it.

  “Trail them and see where they go,” Andriy ordered. “But be careful and don’t tip them off.”

  They trailed the car and its passengers through a continuous maze of streets and into a part of Athens, which Cy informed him was a part of the city where less-than-honest persons tended to do their business and make their homes.

  “You know this part of the city?” Andriy asked.

  “Where do you think I purchased the weapons you’re carrying?” Cy responded.

  “Perhaps he is leading us right to where we planned on going in the first place,” Andriy grinned.

  After following the car deep into the shady part of the city, they slowed and pulled to the curb as the car in front of them pulled off into a driveway and its four passengers got out of the car.

  “We’ll give them a few minutes to get settled in and then we’ll surprise them,” Andriy directed, pulling the pistol from his waistband. He worked the slide to chamber a cartridge, thumbed the safety into place and returned the pistol to his waistband.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  Chapter Eight

  The knotted-up mess in Edwin’s gut had reached a brand-new level by the time they arrived at the house. The nondescript building was where they and the art dealer were to meet the man who had possession of Pandora’s Box, or one of its copies.

  They were definitely not in a part of Athens that anyone, especially Danna, should have been. He kept his eyes moving, checking every shadow and willing them to see through the darkness, though it did no good.

  Though it was foreign to him, an instinct to protect Danna rose up inside of him. Having never been the aggressive type or athletic, he hadn’t the first clue how or what he would do for her if the need arose, but he was on edge and ready to do whatever it took.

  Continuing to scan the shadows and darkness behind and about them, they waited several agonizing minutes after the dealer tapped on the door. The building was decrepit. However, in that neighborhood, it still passed as a home, even though it was in a state of complete disrepair.

  When the door was finally opened, Edwin experienced a moment of relief. It didn’t last. They stepped through the door and their unkempt host eyed each of them, spending a great deal of time with his eyes on Danna. Edwin saw the lust in his eyes and even noticed that he licked his lips as she passed by him. He glared at the man, who smiled back at him and pulled back the tail of his shirt to show him that he had a pistol tucked in his waistband.

  We’ve walked into a trap.

  “Where is this box?” Perk demanded, entirely oblivious to the danger that surrounded them or a very good actor; Edwin wasn’t sure which it was.

  His request drew the attention of the host, which, to Edwin, was another moment of relief, though an uncomfortable one. He would keep his eyes on their host the entire time and be prepared to protect the woman he loved.

  “Ah, yes, the box.” Their host transformed into an oily salesman in an instant. “It is a fantastic piece; a very powerful and dangerous one as well. I hope that you’ve come with the intention of paying a tidy sum.”

  “We’ll pay nothing until we are certain that it is the original Pandora’s Box,” Danna responded in an even tone, surprising Edwin. It gave him a boost of confidence to play his role as well.

  “My wife and I won’t be taken advantage of,” he announced. “She is an expert in antiquities.”

  “Of course she is,” their host responded, leering at Danna.

  Edwin instantly wished that he hadn’t drawn attention to her.

  “Just let me get it for you. Please, sit.”

  He cleared a stack of items from a chair and pulled up another to a table in the corner.

  Though he thought little of the action, Edwin moved toward the side of the table where his back would be into the corner. Danna was already moving toward that position as well. Perk and the antiquities dealer sat in the chairs across from them.

  “Here it is,” their host said, beaming as he carried the box in front of him as though it would explode at any moment. “You must be very careful with this. You must never open it. But, of course, you understand why.”

  Edwin shifted uncomfortably as he watched the man’s eyes come to rest on Danna and then travel down her neck toward the curvature of her breasts. Edwin tensed and leveled a glare in the man’s direction once more. He felt Danna’s hand on his thigh under the table, patting him softly. It was a sign for him to restrain himself.

  “It is extraordinary,” Danna cooed, as she brought both of her hands above the table and began to caress the outside of the box, running a critical finger over the golden hinges and golden hasp.

  “Is it authentic, then?” Perk asked. It was difficult to tell if he was playing his role or just being the usual pain in the ass.

  “The lady is to be the judge of that, or so it has been explained to me.” He looked toward Edwin, then back at Danna. “What is your assessment, Miss…?”

  “Douglas,” she responded with ease. “And it is Mrs. Douglas, not Miss.”

  The fact that she pointed out that she was married to Edwin did not go unnoticed by him or their host, though for two entirely different reasons.

  Danna was in the process of forming her reply when they heard a loud crash. The splintering of the door as it left its hinges caused all eyes to turn in that direction. Perk pushed back his chair and stood, whirling toward the door.

  “What is the meaning of this?” he snapped, as though he was scolding a child. The instant he saw the pistol in the intruder’s hand, he collapsed to his knees and began whimpering.

  His challenge had drawn the attention of the intruder just long enough for their host and, surprisingly enough, the antiquities dealer, to pull their own pistols, though it proved to be a fatal mistake.

  Without thinking, Edwin drew Danna under the table and placed his own body over the top of hers the moment shots began to ring out in the small room. As he drew her under the table, he pushed it over and the box tumbled to the floor. Its hasp broke open as it tumbled and the empty box came to rest only a short distance in front of the feet of the intruder.

  The intruder, who had not spoken a single word up until that point, shot the antiquities dealer and the host before they were even able to level their weapons and fire. He turned the pistol toward Perk and then toward the table where Edwin and Danna had taken cover. There was no way of guessing whether he might have opened fire in the next instant, but his eyes were drawn to the empty box at his feet.

&nbs
p; “It’s not the real one,” he growled in what sounded like Russian to his companion, who had slipped through the door behind him. He gave the box a kick and let his eyes scan the room before backing toward the door. “Let’s go.”

  Several moments passed with no other sound than the ringing in his ears and Perk’s quiet whimpering before Edwin moved from on top of Danna and looked down at her.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she responded, sitting up and surveying the room.

  “Perk? Are you okay?” he called out.

  “Not hardly,” came the broken response. “Unless you didn’t notice, we were just shot at.”

  Edwin stood, glancing at both of the lifeless bodies on the floor. He lifted the table back into place and set the chairs on their legs again. Danna followed suit and then stooped to pick up the box and tuck it under her arm.

  “We probably need to get going,” she said, moving toward the door.

  “Yes,” Edwin replied, scooping up the pistol that was lying close to the fallen body of their host and tucking it into his waistband. “Come on, Perk. This is no place for civilized people to be hanging out.”

  “Shouldn’t we call this in and wait for the police?” Perk asked.

  “Do you really want to explain this to the Greek police?” Danna asked, waving a hand at the bodies on the floor.

  “We didn’t kill them,” Edwin replied.

  “They’re not going to see it that way,” she said. “Especially now that your fingerprints are on that pistol.”

  Edwin took the pistol out of his waistband, examined it a moment and started to put it back where he’d found it.

  “You might want to keep that,” Danna commented. “Come on, let’s go.”

  She was right. It was better to not have to try explaining to the police about what had taken place and why they were there. It was certainly better not to place a weapon with his fingerprints at the scene. Edwin tucked the pistol back in his waistband, helped Perk from the floor and started out the door.