Free Pompeii's Ghosts (A James Acton Thriller, #9) by J Robert Kennedy Page B

“It’s a curiosity, obviously, but I fail
to see how this could impact the balance of power in the region, or why it
merited a visit from the UN and the IMF.”
    Wangari
smiled then jabbed his finger at the bar of gold now sitting untouched on the
table. “What if I told you there was more where that came from?”
    “I’d say
it belongs in a museum, and ask the same questions.”
    Wangari
grinned. “I knew I’d like you,” he laughed. “Your file doesn’t do you justice.
Look,” he said, leaning in and lowering his voice, “enough dancing. Full
disclosure. What if I told you they found an ancient ship buried in the sand,
and it contained tens of thousands of these bars worth over one billion
dollars?”
    Acton’s
chest tightened and his eyebrows raced up his forehead. “I’d say you better get
it some place safe before every criminal in the world tries to get their hands
on it.”
    “If the
find is authenticated, we intend to do exactly that,” replied Reese.
    “So why
are you here?” asked Laura. “I fail to see how this involves us.”
    “We are
here, Professors, because you are the closest experts to where the hoard was
found, and about the only two in the region that the permanent members of the
UN Security Council could agree on to send.”
    “Send?”
asked Acton, red flags suddenly springing to attention.
    “Yes, send ,”
said Reese. “We need the two of you to come with us to Eritrea and confirm the
find, and if it proves genuine, extract it, prepare it for delivery, then see
it safely out of the country.”
    Acton
looked at Laura, his eyes wide in shock, then at the two suits. “Are you
kidding?”
    Reese
suddenly became serious, any trace of her Southern hospitality erased. “I never
kid when it comes to lives, Professor Acton.”
    Acton
shook his head slowly. “Can we at least think about it?”
    Wangari
smiled, spreading his hands out as he stood up. “Of course! Please, talk about
it among yourselves. We’ll wait outside. But”—he tapped his watch—“we leave in
ten minutes.”
    “ If we agree,” added Acton.
    Wangari
smiled again with a nod. “Of course, Professor Acton, of course. You are of
course free to choose, but I am confident you will come to the correct
decision.”
    “And
should you not,” said Reese, holding the flap of the tent open, “we will be…”
Her voice drifted off, then she smiled, again all pleasant. “Well, never mind
that. I’m certain you’ll come to the right decision.”
    And
Acton was certain he heard in her tone two important, unspoken words.
    Or
else.
     
     

 
     

    Market Road, Pompeii, Roman Empire
August 24 th , 79 AD
     
    Avita huddled under a blanket, her three young children surrounding
her, the boys on either side, her daughter in her lap. All had their heads
under the blanket to keep the ash out, which made their slow, arduous journey
all the more terrifying, her imagination filling in the blanks of the horrors
she heard on the other side of the thin canvas of the wagon.
    The
wagon suddenly came to a stop, Labeo cursing from the front, the incredibly
brave and loyal servant refusing to be relieved, instead remaining at the reins
the entire time. Avita lowered the blanket to see what was happening and almost
immediately regretted it, her imagination not doing the devastation justice.
    The
entire area before them had a dull orange glow that seemed to pulse with an
energy all its own. Sunlight was nowhere to be seen and she wasn’t even certain
what time it was. Leaning forward the night sky was a rippling mass of black
clouds, strange flashes that looked almost like lightning streaking across, yet
no rain fell. Houses all around them burned, at least those that had the
misfortune of being thatched or topped with wood. Others had collapsed inward,
the weight of the falling ash proving too much, and her mind flashed back to
her own home and the collapse of the south wing just as they were leaving.
    It had
leant a feeling of