‘Hell!’
‘What’s the problem?’ Neith had been checking out the room’s other doors and windows, ready to make a quick exit. ‘Move over, oh...’
Neith’s voice trailed off. They had four digits, but this was a six digit safe. ‘Bugger.’
The pair of them looked at each other.
‘Any bright ideas?’ asked Julius as he tried the four numbers he had and then tried to replicate some of those numbers to fill up the two extra spaces. It was a weak idea, and it wasn’t working.
‘Look up, Lucky,’ said Neith thoughtfully. ‘That’s the bit of the clue that referred to the safe combination. Maybe the word “Lucky” provides the other two digits? Think Julius, what could Lucky mean to Charlie?’
‘What about fourteen? It was his favourite number on the rugby pitch. Said it made him lucky. It was a joke because we nearly always lost. But it’s a bit obvious.’
‘Only to you. Remember, Charlie wrote this message for you and you alone.’
Julius sat back and watched as Neith turned the dials 1, 4.
‘No wait,’ Julius said, stopping her, ‘the clue said, “Look up, Lucky,” so the 1876 first and then 14.’
Neith nodded and moved the number on from 4 to 8, and continued with 7,6,1, and finally 4. As the sixth tumbler clicked in, Neith paused and looked at Julius.
‘Ready?’ she asked, then twisted the handle and pulled up the door.
Sitting in the middle of the safe was a round object wrapped in a tea towel. Leaning forward, Julius carefully placed his hand around the package and lifted it out.
‘It’s heavy!’ Gently, holding the item in one hand, he pulled back the tea towel with the other hand. The pair of them stared in awe at an enamelled egg, featuring St Basil’s basilica sitting on a base of pearls and diamonds.
‘Wow,’ said Neith, ‘that has to be one of the most perfect things I have ever retrieved.’
‘Still not worth dying for.’
Neith glanced across at Julius. ‘No, I’ll give you that.’ Gathering her wits, Neith was suddenly all action. ‘Right, let’s get this thing safe.’
From her backpack she pulled out a container that looked a lot like a child’s sturdy lunchbox. Opening it up, she placed the egg alongside a carved red stone; both were lying on a specially moulded base that seemed to cradle the artefacts.
Julius looked at the stone with suspicion. ‘Is that an image of Tsarevich Alexei? Have you had the hidden treasure all this time?’
‘I’ll explain later. Trust me.’
Julius was beginning to feel uneasy. This complete stranger was asking him to trust her, but he realised that he knew absolutely nothing about her. Up until now he hadn’t much cared about the egg. It had been an abstract construct. Something to keep him busy whilst he mourned Charlie. But now, sitting here looking at it, he realised that he cared very much about the egg. He didn’t want it to disappear into some private collection. Especially as it was indeed a previously unknown design.
‘Neith, I’m not sure about this.’
Ignoring him, Neith clamped the box shut, put it back in her backpack, then cuffed the backpack via a tether to her wrist. Tapping her wrist brace, she spoke into it.
‘Team. The parcel is secure. We need to leave now. Ramin, find me somewhere open and dark nearby where we can meet. I don’t want any more surprises, and I want us all leaving together.’
She listened to her head-piece then turned to Julius.
‘We’re leaving now. Can you get me to the back lawn? When I’ve gone, you’ll find a letter from me explaining everything, and there’s a finder’s fee in your bank account. Come on, let’s go. Time’s running out.’
Julius wanted to protest. He wanted Charlie back, he wanted to spend more time with Neith. What he said instead was, ‘That egg belongs in a museum.’
Neith turned and kissed him, a broad grin on her face. ‘I agree, and it will be. The best in the world. Now run!’
Surprised by the kiss, Julius had to race to catch up with her. Looking back, she urged him to keep up.
‘Paul may have already left, but once he knows we’ve gone and the egg has gone, you’ll be safe.’
Julius leant on a heavy wooden door. ‘Through here, it's quicker,’ he said, and suddenly they were outside in the cold, biting air. ‘Turn left,’ he called to her as she ran ahead.
‘It’s blocked. Maintenance,’
‘Okay, along here and we’ll turn left at the Chapel.’ As she had to backtrack, Julius was briefly leading the way. But then Neith passed him, running along the gravel path as he sprinted to catch up. The pair turned and the path opened into a large grassy quadrant. The lawn was lined by dimly-lit ancient buildings on three sides and a river on the fourth. Two bridges crossed at each corner on the other side of the square.
#38 Neith -Beta Earth
I checked my wrist brace and saw Clio and Ramin were approaching from different corners. Turning to Julius, I realised I was going to miss him.
‘It’s time for you to go,’ I said, frowning. I could hear a motorboat approaching. That was all I needed; witnesses. I could release a wow bang if necessary, but that was a bit ugly, and I tended to prefer a more refined exit. Nice and quiet, no drama. Plus, I would rather spare Julius two mind-altering hits in the same week.
‘Seriously Julius. Go quickly.’
As I stepped forward to give him a hug, a bullet whizzed past my ear and things began to go wrong very fast. It looked like we were gearing up for a dramatic exit after all.
From out of the
