“The demon and the Cabalist were here tonight,” Simon said. “Others couldhave been here before that.”
Leah looked down at the small skeleton. “Whoever this was, he was killed downhere and buried when the underground floors were sealed off.” She paused. “Andhe was killed under mysterious circumstances in a location we’re interested in.”
“Your we or our we?” Danielle asked with only a hint ofsarcasm.
“The database I’ll be using is restricted. I’m going to share whatever I findout with you.”
“Without trying to sound overtly suspicious, why would you do that?” Nathanasked.
“Because you can do more with the information than we can,” Leah said. “Forthe same reason we turned Macomber over to you.”
“Only to lose him to Booth’s men,” Danielle added.
Leah was silent for a moment. “Iwedidn’t have anything to do withthat.”
“You could be playing both sides against each other.”
“We’re not.”
“Did it ever cross your mind that whoever you’re with might not be tellingyou everything?” Nathan asked.
Leah didn’t reply.
“Something else I have to ask you,” Nathan said. “What makes you think you’regoing to get the chance to return to whoever it is you work with?”
“We’re going to let her go,” Simon said. He didn’t need to turn around to seethem look at him in surprise. He saw their reactions on the HUD. More than that, he felt them looking at him.
No one said anything.
A moment later, Simon spotted a hairline crack revealed through the HUD. “Magnify.”
The HUD’s perspective changed as he focused on the fissure. It outlined arough oblong near the bottom of the cell.
Simon leaned forward and formed “claws” at the ends of his gloves. He thinnedthem so they slid into the fissure easily.
“What is that?” Nathan asked.
Leah knelt down beside Simon.
“A hiding place.” Simon popped the cover off. The piece of rock didn’t fitexactly. It touched the outer perimeter of the hole hidden behind it in five places.
“The hole was dug out,” Leah said. She dragged her gloved fingertips over thenearby stone surfaces. “Then the cover was chipped from another surface to makethe cover.”
Simon had guessed the same thing.
“Considering that such a feat took a lot of time because whoever did itdidn’t have proper tools, he must have been extremely determined.”
“Or desperate,” Simon added. He leaned down and looked into the hole behindthe opening. His HUD cycled and increased his night vision.
A metal tube as thick as his wrist and as long as his forearm lay inside. Soot covered the tube and the inside of the secret vault.
“The soot drifted in through the cracks between the wall and the false front,” Leah said. “It wasn’t airtight. That means theflames could have gotten in as well.”
Simon hoped not. Gingerly, he reached inside and removed the tube.
“It’s metal,” Nathan said.
“That doesn’t mean it was protected,” Leah said. “Paper has a low flashpoint. I don’t remember what it is, but I know it’s highly combustible once it’sexposed to enough heat. Judging from the condition of this cell, I’d say therewas enough heat.”
The tube was cast iron, not steel. It sagged at one end as though the fire had gotten almost hot enough almost long enough to melt it. A cap screwed on one end.
Excitement flared in Simon as he examined the tube. It looked old, even older than a hundred years. Markings scored one side but Simon couldn’t read them.He’d studied a variety of languages, most of them orally but a few of themwritten. The markings in no way looked familiar.
He offered it to Danielle. “Do you recognize it?” She’d had more linguisticsthan he had.
Danielle studied it for a moment without taking it. “No.”
Carefully, Simon gripped the cap and twisted. The wrenching shriek filled the cell. His audio dampers kicked in automatically to protect his hearing.
“Easy,” Leah said.
Four full rotations later, the cap came off. Visions of the illuminated manuscript filled Simon’s mind as he peered inside. Then those vanished asdisappointment, and outrage filled him.
“They’re burnt,” he whispered.
Thin curls of vellum had turned black. The sheets remained whole, but they weren’t legible.
Simon started to toss the tube aside. He’d captured the image of the tube’s inscription. It was possible that they could uncoversomething about it in the Templar files he had access to.
“Don’t.” Leah grabbed the tube. “Be careful.”
“It’s no use,” Simon growled. “The manuscript is ruined.” He didn’t let Leahtake the tube, though.
“Maybe not,” Leah said. “This isn’t regular paper or it would have been gone.Some of the people I work with are artists at recovering lost documents.” Herfaceplate opened and she looked at Simon. “Please. Let me try to help you withthis.”
Silence filled the cell.
Simon didn’t know what to do. Nothing the Templar had could recover thedocuments. But do you want Leah and whoever she’s working with to see thesedocuments before you do?
There was no easy answer.
“Simon,” Danielle said.
“What?”
“Either you trust her or you don’t.” Danielle’s voice was soft and easy.
Simon never took his eyes from Leah’s face. She was beautiful and brave, andshe’d placed her life on the line to save his. That doesn’t mean thateverything she’s done for you hasn’t also served her.
“Do you trust her?” Simon asked.
“It’s not my decision,” Danielle said. “You’re the one that has the historywith her.”
“Nathan?” Simon asked.
“Like Danielle said, mate: if you trust her a little, you’ve got to trust herall the way. If you ask me, I think those papers are burnt beyond recognition. Anybody gets anything out of them, it’ll be bloody magic. I don’t see you gotanything to lose.”
Simon pulled the tube back and placed the cap back on it “Let me think aboutit.”
Leah’s face didn’t show anything, but her faceplate closed and sealed. “It’syour decision, Simon.” Her voice held no emotion.
Simon nodded toward the cell door. “Let’s get out of here.”
Leah accompanied the Templar back up to the surface. She remained aware of being an outsider the whole way. It’s your own fault, she chided herself.You need to pick one side or the other. You can exist in two camps, a good double-agent always can, but you can only swear loyalty to one.
That was one of the first
