Demanski jerked his thumb toward the jet. "So where do I tell him to take us? London or Chicago?"
"Chicago. I think Dawson would be much more likely to consult Dr. Wiley in this instance. Wiley has done much more work in Old Kingdom linguistic studies."
"Okay," Demanski said. "But what are we going to do about hedging our bets with this other expert?"
"We should keep tabs on him, too."
Demanski pulled out his phone. "I know a good P.I. in London."
"Not necessary. I've already made arrangements for a very efficient man to keep an eye on him."
"And you trust him?"
"Completely."
Rachel frowned. "Ben?"
Tavak shook his head. "Nuri. He'll arrive in London from Cairo this afternoon."
AS SALAM INTERNATIONAL HOSPITAL
CAIRO, EGYPT
Ben Leonard gingerly pulled on his shirt as he tried to avoid the nurse's withering stare. "Stop arguing with me, Nuri. I'm going with you."
"Tavak did not invite you." Nuri sat in the hospital-room visitor's chair, his legs extended in front of him and crossed at the ankles. "I only told you I was being sent out of the country so that you would not be concerned when I didn't show up for our daily game of chess."
"I don't give a damn. Tavak would have given the job to me if I hadn't been laid up here in this blasted third-world pig—"
Nuri was holding up his hand. "Do not insult my homeland, or I will be forced to punish you for it." He sighed. "Perhaps you should listen to your nurse. She says you are not ready to leave."
The nurse, a heavyset woman in her sixties, frowned. "Your doctor says it, too. He is on his way to tell you himself."
"Then we'd better get out of here quick, Nuri." Ben opened a cabinet and pulled his belongings down from a high shelf. When Nuri had told him that Tavak had sent for him, Ben had jumped at the chance to get out of this hospital and back to the real world. He felt totally rejuvenated. In the past few days, lying in pain and boredom in that hospital bed, he had even flirted with the idea of partnering with his brother in a Florida car dealership. What the hell had he been thinking? He was no kid, but he wasn't ready to retire in some suburban hellhole.
The nurse grew even more insistent. "You cannot leave until the doctor signs you out!"
"When will he be here?"
"Thirty minutes. Get back into bed!"
"In thirty minutes, I'll be gone. Have you seen my belt?"
The nurse threw up her hands in frustration and stalked out of the room.
"Good," Ben said. "I hate bossy women. She reminds me of my second wife. Now can you get me a ticket on your flight?"
Nuri held up two folded color printouts.
"What's that?" Ben asked.
"Our airline tickets. Cairo to London."
Ben grinned. "Nuri, I could kiss you."
"Don't you dare. I would really punish you then. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving you here at the mercy of that extremely efficient and totally intimidating dragon. I could see how restless you were becoming. I prefer to have control of the situation." He grimaced. "But Mr. Tavak is not going to be pleased with my decision."
"Probably not. But he'll get over it." Ben glanced at him as he closed his suitcase. "Then why are you doing it?"
"I've grown accustomed to beating you at chess. It's excellent for my ego. Also you would probably follow me anyway." His smile faded. "Finally, perhaps because I sympathize with your boredom and frustration. It's difficult to sit and watch a friend be unhappy."
"Are we friends, Nuri? You're not just Tavak's idea of a babysitter?"
"Perhaps it was like that in the beginning," Nuri said quietly. "But that changed, didn't it, Ben?"
"Yes." Nuri had been with him through pain and frustration, and his humor had made both bearable. "Yes, we're friends, Nuri." He paused. "And partners?"
Nuri nodded. "And partners." He picked up the suitcase on the bed. "Come on, we have a flight to catch."
ARDMORE UNIVERSITY
HOUSTON, TEXAS
Val Cho swiped her ID card across the scanner, waited for the reassuring ping, then pushed open the door that led to the computer lab. She had planned to work from her apartment tonight, but it was just too frustrating to deal with the sluggish remote connection with Jonesy. It was easier to drive to the lab in her sweats and grab a few winks on the folding cot she kept in her office. Just like she did almost every other night of the week.
No wonder she couldn't keep a boyfriend. Ah, no biggie. She was young, and there would be plenty of time later to-—
She stopped.
There was a single desk lamp on, and she saw movement near the consoles on the far wall.
Who in the hell… ?
She held her breath. Had they heard her?
She crouched low and tried to get a better look between the steel racks. The desk light abruptly switched off, plunging the room in near darkness.
Shit.
Still crouching, Val moved between the server racks. She couldn't see or hear anyone. Where the hell had they gone? The only way out of the lab was down the main corridor. Unless…
A strong pair of hands gripped her shoulders.
She screamed, and the hands violently spun her around to reveal…
"Simon!"
He was laughing as his hands raked her sides, tickling her.
"You asshole!" She hit him in the stomach.
He held his hands up. "Hey, you scared the hell out of me! You told me you needed to get away from this place."
"I did. But you know how it is." She glanced around the darkened lab. "Why didn't you turn on the lights?"
"I guess I didn't want to announce my presence here. After what happened to Rachel, I've been a little spooked."
Val walked over to the wall panel and switched on the overhead lights. "Don't worry. I'm here to protect you now."
"Thanks," he said dryly. "I'm actually glad you're here. I was about to call you."
"About what?"
He motioned for her to follow him back toward his desk. "The project that Rachel and your boyfriend are working on."
"My boyfriend?"
"John Tavak. You have a thing for him, don't you?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"If you say so." Simon pointed to his desktop monitor. "Rachel and Tavak have Jonesy searching for patterns based on the symbols on those tombs. They're looking for a code based on geography, mathematical theorems, religious signs, and various languages, among other things."
"I know. I've already taken Tavak's program apart and put it back together to figure out how he's doing it. It's brilliant. It's probably one of the most elegant—"
"Enough of the hero worship. The point is, I think Jonesy is onto something."
"What?"
Simon pointed to the screen.
Val leaned over and peered at the scrolling rows of symbols. A text box offered a few lines of explanation:
PATTERN MATCH: DIAMICUS (LANGUAGE)
87% PROBABILITY
DECRYPTING RUN SEQUENCE IN PROGRESS
She turned back to Simon. "Diamicus?"
"It's a dead language. It was probably dead even in Peseshet's time. I just did a quick search on it, and it's not totally understood. There's no Rosetta stone that completely translates it for us. But Jonesy picked up some patterns that suggest it may have been the basis of the code that Peseshet's disciple, Natifah, used."