The Milestone Protocol by Ernest Dempsey (best books to read in your 20s txt) 📕

14

Stockholm

“So, what’s this all about?” Tabitha asked. She crossed her arms and waited for an answer.

“No offense, Agent Strong,” Sean said, “but I don’t know you. That means I don’t trust you. Not yet, anyway. There are a few things I need to discuss with my colleagues in private.”

“I’m here on an official investigation, Sean,” she said, using his name with derision. She flicked her head to the side for emphasis. “So, unless you want to all head back to HQ with me, I suggest you start talking now.”

Sean winced, feigning fear for a second. “Yeah, except that you have nothing on any of us, and my friend Magnus here is a pillar of the community in Stockholm. Would be a bad look if MI6 wrongfully arrested him or any of his associates, especially after such a rousing speech given by the director of the IAA.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Tommy said from the corner where he poured a drink from the bar.

Sean replied with a wink.

“You’re going to play it like that?” Tabitha asked. There was no hiding the threat in her voice, which had been stoked by Sean’s own not-so-subtle implication.

Sean simply let his hands open wide as if he had nothing else to say.

Her eyes shot from Sean to Tommy, then to Kevin, who looked like he wasn’t sure what was happening, and then to Magnus.

“Fine,” she said and turned to leave. She reached the door and then stopped. Tabitha looked back over her shoulder, glowering at Sean. “I have an idea,” she said.

“Which is?”

“Ask Emily.”

“What?” The statement caught Sean off guard, which wasn’t easily done.

“Ask Director Starks who I am and if you can trust me.”

Sean’s right eyebrow reached upward as he assessed her request. “Okay,” he said. “You think that will change my mind?”

“Tell you what.” She reached into her pocket and removed her phone, then began typing a quick text message.

Sean sat up a little straighter, only slightly unnerved by the abrupt change in the conversation.

She hit the send button and waited, clutching the phone in her hand down by her waist.

“Did you just text message Emily Starks?” Tommy asked, sipping on his drink.

Kevin watched with the rapt attention he might watch a bizarre reality television show.

“Yep,” Tabitha answered, accentuating the p at the end.

It took less than thirty seconds for Sean’s phone to vibrate in his pocket. He rolled his eyes and drew the device out of his pants and looked at the screen. The preview said it was from Emily. Before he even opened the text, he knew what it was going to say.

“Tell her everything she wants to know,” Sean read out loud. “You can trust her.”

Sean sighed and typed a quick “thank you” before putting his phone away again.

“Fine,” he said. “But you’re not going to like what we’re about to discuss. You may not even believe any of it, which is fine. Might even be better that way.”

Puzzled, she wrinkled her forehead as she frowned at the statement. “May not believe what?”

“Yeah,” Tommy agreed with Tabitha. “May not believe what?”

Sean turned to Kevin and grinned fiendishly. “You’re up, Dr. Clark.” Sean spread his arms across the back of the sofa and watched while Kevin looked around for a second, almost trying to figure out what he should do.

“The tablet,” Sean mouthed.

“Right,” Kevin said with a nod. He disappeared back into the bedroom and returned a minute later holding the tablet within the plastic bag.

“What’s that?” Tommy asked.

Magnus’ eyes widened. “Yes, Dr. Clark. What is that?” The eldest member of the group reached into his jacket pocket and produced a pair of spectacles he placed on his nose.

Kevin brought the tablet over to the coffee table and carefully laid it down in the center.

“Well, I wasn’t sure what it was, to be quite honest, until Sean offered his…um, theory.” Kevin looked over at Sean apologetically. “No offense.”

“None taken.” Sean waved it off. “Just show Tommy and Magnus what it is.”

“Right.” Kevin removed the tablet from the bag and left it on the table for the others to inspect. “As you can see, we’re dealing with something that was written in the language of the Khans.”

“Classical Mongolian,” Tommy breathed.

“That is correct,” Kevin said, unsurprised. “But I was baffled by the mysterious message it contains.”

“Which is?” Magnus insisted.

Kevin passed Sean a glance that pretty much asked for permission to tell the others. Sean answered with a slow nod.

Permission granted, Kevin continued. “These symbols at the bottom are the ankh, which I assume everyone here knows about.” The audience nodded, except for Tabitha, who hesitated and then bobbed her head unconvincingly.

“The second symbol is one of the common emblems we find in ancient Egyptology in reference to the god Thoth.”

“It just looks like a bird,” Tabitha commented.

Magnus fired her an annoyed glare, and she pursed her lips together.

“It is, actually. It’s an ibis, much like a crane or a heron. They were sacred in ancient Egypt.”

Tommy inched closer, suddenly far more interested in the tablet than he was mere seconds before.

“The tablet was written by one of the royal scribes from the house of the Khans. It says that they are always watching, calculating, weighing the sins of man.”

“Who are they?” Magnus asked. “Angels? Demons? God or gods?”

“It’s unclear,” Kevin said with an uncertain glance at Sean. “It also goes on to say something strange. The saint guards the rose stone. But be warned. The power of the gods can it unleash, for those who mean to rule.”

Everyone exchanged confused looks, except for Sean, who stood off to the side with his arms crossed, gauging everyone’s reactions.

Tommy did a half spit take, thrusting his palm over his mouth just in time to keep from spewing the drink he’d been sipping all over the coffee table, tablet, and Dr. Clark.

“Oh, my,” was all Magnus could manage.

“What?” Tabitha asked, sincerely confused by the abrupt change in mood in the room. “What is it?”

For nearly a minute, no one said anything. Magnus straightened and