Dathan swore. Zayn whistled. Nik just stared. The damn thing certainly looked like it was made of gold.
His pulse began to race. The idol was the image of a squat man with an elaborate headdress. His pulse raced. He’d seen this before. In historical records. “It can’t be.”
“What?” Dathan demanded.
“It looks Incan.” One of Nik’s areas of expertise. He took a step closer and the platform rocked again. He stilled. “The Inca were skilled metalworkers, especially in gold. And see the green-blue inlays? That looks like turquoise. If I’m not mistaken, this is a statue of the Inca sun god, Inti.”
“Inca,” Dathan said reverently. “Highly valuable and collectable. Private collectors go nuts for Inca artifacts.”
“Dathan? I think we have trouble.” The female voice came through their earpieces.
“Babe, now isn’t a great time,” Dathan responded to his wife.
“I know you’re in the middle of the hunt,” Dr. Eos Rai-Phoenix said dryly. “But a ship has just entered orbit around Mazona V. And they’re being stealthy about it.”
“They spot you?”
“No. TheInfinitasis safely tucked behind Mazona’s moon.”
“Is it Darc?” Nik asked. But even as he asked the question, he knew that if their rival, Nera Darc, was here, they’d never see her coming.
“No,” Eos answered.
“Must be treasure hunters after our find,” Zayn said with a frown.
“Wrong again,” Eos replied. “I ran a search. The ship’s coming up as Institute.”
The Institute of Historical Preservation was here? Nik frowned. Jesus, he would have preferred rival treasure hunters. They’d be more trustworthy. “What the hell do they want?”
“I suggest we don’t hang around long enough to find out,” Dathan said.
“They’ve just launched a shuttle, so be quick. See you when you get back,” Eos signed off.
Nik studied the idol and the platform.
“Now what?” Zayn asked.
“Let’s all run to the middle at the same time. That should, hopefully, keep the platform steady,” Nik said.
“And after that?” Zayn peered over the side. “It’s a long way down.”
Dathan’s gaze narrowed. “Let’s grab the idol, then all three of us need to run back to the grappler line at the same time.”
“The platform will tip,” Nik said.
“Yeah, but if we hold onto the line, we can use it to swing back to the other side.”
If the damn thing held carrying the weight of three fully-grown men. Nik took a deep breath. “Not many other options. Ready?”
His brothers nodded.
“Go!”
They sprinted for the pedestal. The platform wobbled beneath them, but stayed reasonably stable. Nik lifted the golden idol off the platform. His heart thudded. It was in excellent condition. He couldn’t wait to get it under a scanner and study it. So many old Earth records were lost, but he might be able to track down something on it.
“All right.” Dathan was looking at the grappler line. “Ready for phase two?”
“Not really.” Nik tucked the idol into his backpack.
