Archpriest Sychkin had his own worry, announcing it over the grind of metal through skull. “Let us hope, Captain Turov, that no one else discovers what we’ve found!”
4
May 10, 5:33P.M. EDT
Washington, D.C.
Following Jason Carter’s warning of trouble, Gray and the others gathered inside Sigma’s intelligence nest. It was down the hall from Director Crowe’s office. Jason had insisted they all accompany him here, as there were details that he wanted everyone to see in person.
At the moment, the young analyst was hunched over a curved bank of monitors. Kat kept to his side. Jason had wanted to consult with her before addressing the group. The two whispered conspiratorially, using arcane jargon and cryptic acronyms.
All that Gray understood was the last question posed by Kat: “Have you been in contact with Vatican City and Italian intelligence?”
“Yes, also theSluzhba Vneshney Razvedki,” Jason answered.
Gray recognized the name for Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, their equivalent of the CIA. Considering the discussion in Painter’s office, the mention of Russia’s involvement in this new matter rankled his suspicions.
And what the hell does the Vatican have to do with all of this?
The director was also losing patience. “What’s got you both stirred up?”
Jason looked to Kat, who nodded for the young man to take the lead. In fact, she left his side and headed to her office, likely to pursue the matter further while Jason briefed them.
“Sorry,” Jason said. “I should’ve caught this earlier, but with all that’s been going on...”
“Caught what?” Monk asked.
Jason opened a window folder that had been hovering on his screen. “This file hit our systems a few hours ago, but it got shuffled to a low priority. Sigma’s data-gathering algorithm didn’t recognize the sender as a priority contact.”
“Where did it come from?” Painter pressed him. “Who sent it?”
“A man named Alex Borrelli, a monsignor with the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology.”
Gray shared a glance with Seichan, beginning to understand the Vatican connection. In the past, Sigma had dealings with the Holy See in Rome.
Painter stepped closer to the monitor. “What did he dispatch to us?”
“Nothing that makes sense. It’s just a series of photos of an old Greek text. I was able to translate the name off its leather cover.Historiesby Herodotus.”
Jason opened the list of attached jpegs. They showed various pages, often photographed askew. It looked like the pictures had been hastily taken on a set of dark stairs.
Most of the pics were of yellowed pages filled with Greek writing. Several passages were boxed off or underlined. There were annotations in the margins, even a drawing on the bottom of a half-page. But there were also several snapshots of what appeared to be the inside cover. It showed a gold book hovering over the sketch of a building and faded writing.
Painter studied the array of pics. “Was there any explanation aboutwhythis was sent to us? What it might mean?”
“No, nothing. It’s a puzzle, maybe one the monsignor hoped we could solve.”
“Why us?” Monk asked.
Seichan sighed. “Has anyone called the priest back?”
Jason nodded. “It was the first thing I did. But my inquiry revealed that Monsignor Borrelli had been killed. Along with an archivist from Moscow’s Museum of Archaeology. According to Russian intelligence, the pair were accosted and murdered by muggers at the edge of Red Square. From the timeline, it appears the monsignor sent us this packet of photos during the attack.”
“While it was happening?” Gray frowned. “If so, then whatever he sent must be important.”
Kat returned to the group, her brow heavily furrowed. “I contacted an associate, someone I’ve known for years at Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service. With some wrangling and a promise of future cooperation, he forwarded me footage of the attack.” She took Jason’s place and tapped at the keyboard and swiped a mouse. “This is from a street camera at the edge of Red Square.”
As she stepped aside, the monitor’s screen filled with a black-and-white view of a street corner. The image was grainy, and the light was poor. Two figures in jumpsuits and helmets entered the frame and hurried along the edge of the square.
