He spoke frankly. “Surely you know, Miss Villa. The Eye of Zeus can foretell the future. Once I have it, I will be able to snuff out my enemies before they rise up. I will be able to forecast the maneuvers of any military on the planet and move my forces accordingly. Even the military might of the United States will not be able to stop me.”
“So what, you want to take over the world? Good luck with that.”
He started for the door and stopped at the threshold. “No, Miss Villa. I do not wish to take over the world. It is far too large, with too many people. I simply state that no military will be able to intervene in what will happen here. The meddlesome Americans always try to police the activities of the world, and their friends, the British, usually come along. In this case, they will be powerless to do anything to stop me. Besides, those countries only get involved when there is money to be made. It’s in their capitalist nature. If they don’t see a financial opportunity here, they will not come. I will be elected as the new ruler of Greece, and when I am, I will make every country in the European Union pay for turning their backs on us.”
Before she could ask anything else, Gikas disappeared into the doorway and slammed it shut.
Adriana took a slow breath, grimacing at the pain each time she took in air. Right now her primary concern wasn’t her own health. This madman had something big planned, and she needed to figure out how to stop him.
Chapter 34
Sean considered breaking the wax seal right away, but he feared that the cold, moist air on the mountain might not be the best environment to expose a potentially delicate and vital piece. His curiosity desperately wanted to know what was inside, but it would have to wait until they got back to the hotel where they had a few things that could aid in the preservation of the tube’s contents.
“It’s a marble cylinder,” Sean said loudly to Tommy. “There’s an image of Julius Caesar on one side.”
“What do you think is in it?” Tommy asked, ready to explode from excitement.
Sean carefully made his way back across the stepping stones, much faster than he did the first time. When he reached the embankment, he placed the cylinder in Tommy’s hand. “Not sure, but it’s probably the map we’re looking for. We should take it back to the hotel and open it in a safe environment in case it’s written on some kind of paper.”
“Good idea,” Tommy agreed as he examined the object with a sense of reverence and jubilation.
He had always been like that when the two discovered something out in the field. Ancient artifacts were a link to people from the past, real lives that had walked the same earth, breathed the same air. What Tommy held in his hand right now was a direct connection to one of the most influential and famous people in the entire world’s history. Julius Caesar had held that very cylinder in his hands. The thought overwhelmed him for a moment.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Sean said, observing his friend’s reaction to the piece.
“It’s always awesome when we find something like this,” Tommy said, his voice still distant.
Sean put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know, buddy, but we can admire it later. We have to get this back to the hotel and get it open. Right now, it’s the only thing that can give us an in with the man who took Adriana.”
Tommy nodded and handed the cylinder back to Sean, who gripped it tightly. The two friends climbed back over the fence and started to head down the trail toward the parking area when they simultaneously froze in their tracks. Something flashed in the darkness about a hundred yards down from where they stood. It was only for a second, but both of them saw it. Someone was coming up the path, trying to conceal their lights.
Instinctively, Sean grabbed Tommy and pulled him off the trail and behind the wide trunk of an oak. He watched from around the back of the tree, seeing the faint light flash again. Whoever was trying to shade the flashlight was doing a poor job of it.
“You think it’s a park ranger or something?” Tommy whispered, hopeful with the question.
Sean shook his head and responded in an even quieter tone. “A ranger wouldn’t be trying to sneak up on us. And there are two of them.”
“Gypsies?”
“Doubtful.” Sean gave a quick twist of his head, along with a derisive glance. He put his finger to his lips, motioning for Tommy to stop talking.
Sean pulled out his gun and held it close to his face. Tommy copied the gesture.
The two figures continued to sneak up the trail toward the spring. When they reached the crest of the hill and left the shadows of the forest, Sean realized who the men were. Standing in the moonlight on the edge of the clearing, the Roman police officers looked around confusedly. They ceased their efforts of trying to hide their flashlight beams and began flashing them around, searching desperately for their quarry.
The skinny officer, who Sean had noticed was staring at him at the jail, was saying something in Italian. He was a little too far away to understand everything, but it sounded like he was giving orders. Sure enough, the thicker cop started to fan out, walking around the fence, searching the area. The one in charge went around to the right, following the path in a direction that wound its way uphill.
Tommy glanced at Sean as if to ask what he should do. Sean held up a finger and motioned for his friend to follow around the broad tree trunk. As the man in uniform neared their line of sight, Sean and Tommy shifted to the right, keeping their position behind the tree. Sean took a quick look across the clearing at the other officer. He was at least sixty yards away at that point, and moving cautiously up the hill, shining his light into the woods. Satisfied the leader was far enough away to make his move, Sean stepped out from his hiding place and back onto the trail’s soft dirt. He moved quickly on the balls of his feet, careful not to step on a twig that would snap and draw his target’s attention. He held his weapon level, belt high, aiming it straight at the back of the chubby policeman.
Sean was only a few feet away from the man when something rustled in the woods off to his left. He didn’t know if it was a squirrel, a chipmunk, or something bigger. It didn’t matter what it was, because the cop spun around at that noise, waving both his flashlight and his gun as he turned. His eyes grew wide when he realized one of the men he was searching for was right behind him. He tried to raise his gun to fire, but Sean was on him before he could make the move. Sean leapt at him and lashed out with his right foot in a flying sidekick. The force of the blow struck the man’s hand hard enough to knock the weapon to the ground. The cop’s next move was an attempt to call his partner for help, but Sean nipped that as well, striking the man across the jaw with a dramatic upper cut. The stunned Italian policeman staggered backward before falling flat on his back.
Sean wasted no time rolling the man over and finding a pair of handcuffs on the left side of his belt. He slipped them out of the holster and cuffed the cop’s hands behind his back, leaving him lying face down in the dirt.
Tommy shook his head in mock condemnation from his hiding place behind the tree. Sean deftly returned to the spot next to his friend, his breathing slightly elevated from the brief encounter.
“Good job,” Tommy said, admiring the handiwork. “But what are we gonna do about that one?”
Sean stared up the hill. The other cop was nearly a hundred yards away, his flashlight weaving back and forth as he scanned the woods. “When he comes back down the hill, we flank him just as we did with his partner.”
Tommy nodded his approval.