“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
