I need to hide, she thought, looking around. There!
It wasn’t her first choice, but Zahra found a place to lay low. She limped forward and vaulted over a waist-high, ram-sphinx sculpture. She went against museum rules and planted her hands on its back, going airborne. A second later, Zahra disappeared from view inside the sarcophagus of Nectanebo II. The sarcophagus had belonged to the same man as the black obelisk back in the Great Court. The one thing she could take solace in was that the coffin had never been used to house the dead. Nectanebo II had fled to Nubia following the Persian invasion of 343 B.C.
Zahra rolled onto her side and cringed when her flashlight dug into her side. She tore it free of its holster and peered through one of a handful of holes drilled along the sarcophagus’ base. They had been used to drain water once the coffin had been converted into an elegant bath for its new owner.
Huh, I guess it did hold bodies, after all.
Thirty agonizing seconds passed before Zahra spotted a pair of black, military-style boots. Thing Two stepped carefully, but the hard floors and high ceilings made it impossible for him to fully hide his steps. Quietly, Zahra gripped the handle of her knife and unsheathed it, biting her lip as she did.
The gunman’s toes turned her way, and he stepped forward. If she was discovered, Zahra would become a permanent addition to the exhibit, and it’d be her blood, not the waters of the river Nile, draining through the holes at the base of the sarcophagus.
She pulled her mind away from the image of her lying dead inside a 2,000-year-old stone casket. The gunman took two more steps toward her position. But then, he turned back the way he came and spoke.
“No sign of her here.”
A radio crackled to life. “Keep looking, Ehsan. And do not call me back until you have her!” This time, the caller’s voice was female.
Thing Two grumbled. “Yes, Ifza.”
Ifza? Zahra asked herself. So, their leader is a woman named Ifza?”
This was Zahra’s chance. With the assailant distracted, she heaved her flashlight high into the air, aiming for the end of the room. When it landed, Thing Two — Ehsan — spun.
That’s when Zahra made her move. She jumped to her feet and plunged the blade of her SOG knife deep into the meat of Ehsan’s right shoulder. For good measure, Zahra twisted it around before ripping it free. The injury caused the man to drop his rifle and his walkie-talkie and reel back in surprise and agony. He stumbled and fell, clutching the wound with his opposite hand. The injury wasn't life threatening, however, it left him unable to shoot Zahra in the back while she got away.
Zahra thought about pressing the attack, but quickly decided against it. Instead, she hurried for Room 4’s northern exit and the staircase beyond.
Chapter 23
Zahra
The western stairs led up to exhibits featuring that of Egyptian mummies, the Middle East, and Ancient Greece and Rome. Zahra had no interest in any of them, however. She was just trying to ditch the screaming, wounded criminal back in Room 4. His cries would surely bring more gun-toting assholes his way. Zahra knew she could take them out one at a time if presented with the opportunity. Her greatest advantage wasn’t her training or conditioning, it was her knowledge of the labyrinthian museum.
The wide, low-angled stairs were deeply set, making them simple to casually traverse in large groups. The design didn’t make it easy for Zahra to sprint up them, however. Taking the steps two at a time was practically impossible. She was never able to get into a comfortable rhythm. Her strides became jerky and awkward, causing her ankle to hurt worse.
She rounded the first landing and kept going, heading up to the third floor. Just beyond it was Room 59 and the collection celebrating Ancient Levant, a region comprising modern-day Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, among other Eastern Mediterranean countries. Following the flow of the floor to the east, Zahra would eventually pass through rooms containing exhibits featuring different eras of Mesopotamia.
She barely made it inside Room 59 before a figure stepped into view further ahead. In the dim emergency lights, Zahra spotted a long rectangular object in his rising hands.
Shit!
Moving on pure adrenaline and instinct, Zahra unclipped her new grappling hook and swiftly snapped open its hooked head. She hung it on the banister and planted her left hand atop it, and jumped just as Thing Three opened up with his rifle. This wasn’t exactly the way she had planned to test Tommy’s new design. Her calloused hands managed against the fifty-foot drop, but they burned like mad. Any more, and the skin would tear.
Zahra looked down to spot her landing. She did so just in time too. Ehsan appeared directly beneath her, and looked up, obviously confused by the rappelling cord’s initial appearance. The timing couldn’t have been better… Zahra lashed out with a strong kick and caught the bleeding murderer in the face, spilling him to the floor as she landed.
Tommy’s new design worked like a charm.
At the same time Zahra touched down, she looked up to see the spring-loaded hook disengage, now free of her weight. The device fell harmlessly back to earth.
She heard a shout from the other gunman.
He had just swung his legs over the banister in an attempt to pursue Zahra. Tommy’s warning replayed in her head.
It will only support about ten percent more than your current body weight.
Zahra turned away from the edge as the assailant landed with a slap and a crack.
“That makes three,” Zahra muttered, catching her breath. She had no idea how many of them there were. She knew there was at least one more, the leader of the group, Ifza. “No way I’m that lucky.”
This time, Zahra was given the opportunity to disarm Ehsan, relieving him of his weapon, a Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifle. The select-fire AK-103 featured its signature “banana mag” that held thirty rounds. Zahra guessed there was about half of that available after the man’s destructive salvo back at the Rosetta Stone. Still, it was better than nothing.
She released the magazine and confirmed the round count. Sixteen left.
Zahra slammed the magazine back home, mumbling to herself. “Now I have a machine gun. Ho, ho, ho…”
She shouldered the AK and got moving, going straight rather than heading right and returning to Room 4. The commotion she and Ehsan had created would surely bring unwanted attention. In a blur, Zahra made it to Room 24 and its massive Easter Island head — a Mo’ai — without conflict. The stunning stone monument sat dead center in the middle of the Living and Dying gallery.
A decent place to die, I guess.
Chapter 24
Grant
A soft knock at the door caused Grant to stand bolt upright. His bladder tingled, threatening to release its payload then and there. Until now, Grant hadn’t heard a peep out of anyone or anything. The underground office space was typically silent, naturally soundproofed by the tons of concrete surrounding it. A voice followed the third knock, but its owner was speaking in too hushed a tone for him to understand what was being said.
Grant tiptoed closer, stopping within two feet of the door. He was under strict orders not to open the door for anyone besides Zahra. The voice picked up again. The speaker was female. Grant reached for the deadbolt. Just before his shaky fingers met it, the woman, Zahra or not, shouted loudly.