Free The Einstein Code by Tom West

white light spilled out. Kate and Lou were ushered up the
stairs.
    ‘Welcome,’ said a dark-haired man in a black tracksuit. He ushered them into the office. Lou and Kate stood bedraggled, water pooling on the floor. The bald cop covered them with his
revolver.
    ‘What exactly is this all about?’ Lou said, surprising himself with how remarkably calm his voice sounded.
    The man looked from Lou to Kate and back, then indicated to the cop that he should lower the gun. A little surprised for a second, the man complied.
    ‘Who are you?’ Kate hissed.
    ‘Well, to answer the pretty lady’s question first. My name isn’t important. Call me . . . oh, I dunno . . . Pete. Yeah, that’ll do.’ He turned to Lou. ‘This
is all about a certain something you have, and we want, bud. Blank looks . . . oh very good. Your best poker faces! Let me fill you in. The two of you – newlyweds, I hear, how lovely,
I’m a great believer in the institution of marriage – the two of you have just returned from a charter boat anchored close to Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean, yeah? There, you
happened to find Amelia Earhart’s long-lost aircraft. And you discovered something else.’
    There was a sound behind them at the door to the office. The man in plain clothes who had driven the cop car kept the door open with his foot and struggled through the opening with Kate and
Lou’s suitcases, one in each hand. The blond guy helped him and they laid them on the floor close to a metal desk.
    ‘There are two more boxes,’ the plain-clothes guy said. ‘The small one’s a sample box or something. Left them at the foot of the stairs.’ The blond cop headed
through the door. A moment later he was back with Kate’s shoulder bag and camera bag, Lou’s briefcase and the two metal boxes.
    The man calling himself Pete leant on the desk, keeping his eyes on Lou and Kate. The bald man levelled his gun.
    ‘Open them.’
    Kate found the keys in her pocket and crouched down to unlatch first one case then the other. Lifting back the lids, she stepped away. The guy in the leather jacket and jeans began disgorging
the contents of the cases, tossing clothes aside, searching roughly along the bottom of the cases before yanking open the pockets inside the lids. Finding nothing, he picked up one case, flipped it
over, and shook it before turning his attention to the other.
    ‘Nothing.’
    Pete kicked the large metal box with the toe of his shoe and nodded to the two bags beside it. ‘Get these open.’ He turned to the blond cop. ‘Go check the car. Take it apart, I
want that fucking artefact.’ He glared at Kate and Lou. ‘It would be much easier if you just told me where the fuck it is.’
    Lou shrugged. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
    Pete nodded almost imperceptibly to the bald cop with the gun. He stepped forward, swung his arm and smashed the butt into Lou’s jaw. Lou groaned and collapsed to the floor. Kate screamed
and grasped his hand as Pete grabbed her arm.
    ‘No!’ He spun Kate round, her face inches from his. ‘Now, where is it?’
    They all heard the noise from the floor of the warehouse. It sounded like a muffled yelp followed by the clang of metal.
    Lou was getting up, the side of his face reddening, a line of blood running down to the collar of his shirt. ‘Leave her . . .’
    The bald cop went to hit Lou again, but Pete stopped him with a wave of the hand. ‘Sssh . . . What’s that?’
    They all gave him blank looks.
    ‘All right, tie them.’
    The plain-clothes guy pulled a couple of lengths of cord from the pocket of his leather jacket. Pete crouched down beside the bags and the boxes. Undoing the small bags, he tipped out the
contents, rummaged through the side pockets, found nothing. He tried to unlatch the larger box, but like the cases, it was locked. Reaching into his tracksuit jacket, he pulled out a pistol,
brought it down heavily on the lock. It didn’t give way. He stepped back,