Abigail ran her finger over the hieroglyphics. “It says it was stolen by the Philistines and ended up in the hands of Goliath the Gath. It says it then went to the Land of Abram and was stored with Solomon’s gold.”

  Charles interrupted once more. “Yes, I read that too, and that also lined up with the Bubastite Portal which mentions taking Solomon’s gold and treasures, but it doesn’t mention the spear specifically.”

  When Abigail didn’t say anything, he waved a hand. “Do go on.”

  “Then it says that Shoshenq took the spear back. And then there’s a strange symbol. Maybe it’s a determinative, but it’s one I’ve never seen before.”

  “What’s a determinative?” Myles asked.

  “It’s a symbol placed at the end of a word to show what it means,” Charles explained slowly. “For example, the symbol of a city would be placed at the end of a city’s name. That’s how you would know it was a city. Determinatives are not read as they exist to indicate the nature of the adjoining word. There are determinatives for people, plants, all sorts of things.”

  “Show it to me,” Charles said, turning to look into the back seat. “Yes, I’ve never seen it before. Surely, it is a determinative. But what could it represent?”

  Riley looked over. “It looks like a labyrinth.”

  Charles clapped his hands. “Out of the mouth of babes!”

  Abigail was puzzled at first. “A labyrinth?” she echoed. She took the papyrus copy and stared at it. “Yes!” she said. “A labyrinth along with cartouches for Amenemhat III!”

  “I’m a genius!” Charles said. “I figured it out just before you spoke.”

  “Would someone please fill me in?” Riley said.

  “It is possible that Goliath’s spear is in the Black Pyramid,” Abigail said.

  Once more, Charles interrupted her. “The Black Pyramid was famous for its labyrinth. It was a huge complex with twelve huge separate courts all interlinked by various interior hallways and columned halls, and a myriad of corridors, shafts, and colonnades. Anyone going into the labyrinth would get lost entirely.”

  “There were also plenty of false doors,” Abigail added. “I don’t mean the false doors in Egyptian terms that were for the Ka—I mean actual false doors and they were sealed by stone plugs. It was made to confuse any visitors.”

  “And a burial chamber was in the center of the labyrinth. We don’t know if it’s true, but an ancient writer said it was cut from a single block of granite and weighed one hundred and ten tons,” Charles offered.

  Abigail readily agreed. “The ancient writer said it was far more impressive than any of the wonders he had seen, and he saw plenty in his time. That was the ancient historian, Herodotus. He lived around 500 BC, about four hundred years after Goliath’s spear was stolen,” Abigail said for the benefit of Riley and Myles.

  “Is this pyramid still standing today?” Riley asked.

  Myles made a dismissive sound. “Of course not! It’s a mess. It was made of mud brick and clay instead of stone. The core of it was mainly mud brick with no internal walls. It was built on clay, so it began to sink.”

  “The three pyramids at Dahshur are close together—the Black Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid, and the Red Pyramid,” Abigail told them. “If the spear is in the Black Pyramid, I have no idea how we’ll get inside because it’s just a big mound on the landscape now. As far as I know, there are no entrances. It was last excavated a while back. The earlier writers said some of the passageways were flooded, or at least filled with water to some degree.”

  Abigail was about to say more, when a vehicle rammed them from behind.

  14

  EN ROUTE TO CAIRO

  The car pulled alongside them. Myles slammed on the brakes and the car skidded past. Abigail saw a man leaning out the back of the vehicle with a gun. He appeared to be firing it, but none of the bullets hit the car.

  “It’s an armored vehicle,” Myles said.

  “He’s an awfully bad shot, all the same,” Riley said.

  The car accelerated away. “It might be a good idea to take an alternative route,” Myles said.

  Charles made a sound of disapproval. “Alternative is the noun. Alternate is the adjective. You want to take an alternate route, not an alternative route.”

  Myles ignored him.

  Charles chuckled. “I know, I know. Sometimes I can be a terrible bore, but grammar is the very fabric of our society.”

  Abigail rolled her eyes. She wondered how Charles could be so blasé, not to mention irritating, at such a dangerous time.

  Myles suddenly swung off the road.

  “I’m not too sure it’s a good idea to leave an area of high traffic,” Charles said. “Surely, it would be safer back on a major road?”

  Myles continued to ignore him. Instead, he said, “Riley, should we go straight to the Black Pyramid at Dahshur?”

  It was Abigail who answered. “I don’t see that there’s much point really, as much as I’d love to see it as soon as possible. There’s nothing to see there.”

  “I thought the pyramid was visible,” Riley said.

  Abigail nodded. “The pyramid is now a big mound of black dirt, hence its name, but it was only part of the vast structure. We need to get underground, and I have no idea where to start.”

  “We should question Alaric Addington,” Charles turned around. “He excavated at the Black Pyramid complex.”

  “And where do we find him?” Riley asked.

  “I think he’s retired. He was teaching at the University of Manchester. Or was it the University of Durham? Wait, do they have an Egyptology department?” Charles scratched his head. “Sorry, all this spy excitement is too much for a simple academic like I am. Can someone google him?” He pulled out his phone. “Never mind, I’ll google him.”

  Myles reached across and snatched the phone before tossing it over to Riley.

  “Hey!” Charles protested. “What are you doing?”

  “We can’t take any chances, and we don’t know you,” Myles said. “You can have your phone back after all this is over. Abigail, can you google him? Do you know him?”

  “I’ve never met him,” Abigail said. “Of course, I’ve read his papers.”

  She googled the name while Riley flipped through Charles’s phone. “You don’t have any texts with that agent, and your phone records aren’t showing,” Riley said.

  Charles turned around. “He took my phone just like you did, only he gave it back.” He glared at Riley before turning back to the front.

  “I found him,” Abigail said. “He did work at the University of Manchester, and it says he’s retired and living in Scotland now.”

  “Whereabouts, exactly?” Myles asked her.

  “Dumfries.”

  Riley looked up from Charles’s phone. “It looks like we fly to Scotland. Abigail, see if you can find out whether he’s in Scotland at this time. Maybe he’s on Facebook.”

  “I’m already looking,” Abigail said. “He’s just recovered from a bad cold, and there’s a photo of him with a cat.”

  Riley groaned aloud. “Not another cat!”

  Myles shot a quick look into the back seat. “What’s that about?”

  “Just a private joke.” Riley smiled at Abigail.

  Charles looked around, and Abigail could see he was not pleased at the exchange. Charles had asked her out on a date several times, but she had always refused. He was nice enough, but she wasn’t attracted to him at all. She could see he was a little jealous of Riley, and unless she was imagining it, Riley also seemed a little jealous of Charles’s attention to her.

  “Can I have my phone back? You can see I’m not a secret evil agent,” Charles said with a laugh.

  Riley shook his head. “No, I’m keeping it with me for now. We can’t alert anyone to the fact we’re going to meet with this professor.”

  “So, we’re just going to show up at his house?” Charles said in disbelief.

  Once more, the other men ignored him.

  “It would be nice to drive through Dahshur on the way to Cairo to have a look at the Black Pyramid,” Abigail said. “I mean, it won’t help,” she added.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Myles said. “They know the vehicle we’re driving and we don’t want to tip them off. Maybe we should fly from Hurghada rather than Cairo.”

  “If they know we’re flying to Scotland, they might put two and two together,” Riley said. “That won’t be good. Hurghada sounds good to me.”

  “You’re a couple of regular James Bonds,” Charles said, although his tone held no admiration. “What an exciting life you lead.” He turned around and winked at Abigail, earning him a scowl from Riley.

  “Abigail, I prefer you with blonde hair,” Charles continued. “The black hair is quite becoming of course, but I have a thing for blondes.” He winked once more.

  This time, Abigail glared at him.

  Charles chuckled. “Oh, I see. It was a disguise? Not a very good one, apparently. They still know where you are.”

  Abigail sighed long and hard and decided to change the subject. “Do you have any idea how we would get into the subterranean chamber? And do you have any idea why Shoshenq would have stored Goliath’s spear in the Black Pyramid complex?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Charles asked.

  “If it was obvious, I wouldn’t have asked,” Abigail said through clenched teeth.

  “The labyrinth of course,” Charles said. “What better place to hide something than a labyrinth?”

  “I wonder what state of repair it was in at the time?” Abigail said. “It started to collapse not long after it was built.”

  Charles threw both his hands into the air in dramatic fashion. “Chronology! We teach our students one thing, but as we know, reputable scholars have questioned the chronology.”

  Riley interjected. “So how long after the pyramid was built did Shoshenq take the spear back to Egypt?”

  “It’s not just the pyramid, it’s a whole complex,” Charles began, but Abigail got in first.

  “About one thousand years,” she said. Shoshenq was in the Twenty-Second Dynasty, and Amenemhat III was in the Twelfth Dynasty, almost one hundred years earlier. I’m sure Charles is right—it was a good hiding place because of the labyrinth. The labyrinth would make it hard for robbers, and no doubt there were measures.”

  “Like booby-traps?” Riley said, his tone wary.

  “You’ve been watching too much Indiana Jones,” Charles said with a snort.

  Riley and Abigail exchanged glances.

  Myles piped up from the front seat. “All right, we track down this Dr. Alaric Addington. We ask him how to get into the labyrinth under the general area of the Black Pyramid. Is that correct?”

  “Yes,” Abigail and Charles said in unison.

  “So both of you think the papyrus says that Goliath’s spear is under the Black Pyramid complex?” Riley asked.

  Abigail tapped her chin. “Yes, it is. It was confusing at first, but once you know, it all becomes clear. The only problem is that everything might have collapsed in there by now and I’d be surprised if all the passageways are still open.”

  She had a sudden thought. “I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me before. This spear wouldn’t be the only treasure in there. The Bible says that Shishak, that is, Shoshenq, took the golden shields made by Solomon as well as all the treasures. If this spear is in there, then a lot of gold must be as well.”

  “That didn’t even occur to me,” Charles said, although his tone was less than convincing.

  15

  HURGHADA, EGYPT

  “Where are we going now?” Charles complained in a whining voice.

  Abigail wished he would stop antagonising Riley and Myles. She was sure he was getting under their skin. He was certainly getting under hers. “I’m starving, and you said we could get something to eat.”

  “That was before someone shot at us and rammed into the back of the vehicle,” Myles said in patient tones. “If we’re still alive by the time we get to Cairo, then we’ll get something to eat.”

  Charles simply nodded. Abigail looked out the window. Part of her was terribly excited to be on the mission, but part of her was in fear for her life. Had that bullet at Karnak been met for her? Vortex had tried to capture Charles, and they certainly didn’t need two Egyptologists. That meant one of them was expendable.

  Abigail looked out the window, entranced by the scenery, fertile plains and palm trees giving way to sandy desert. The conversation had ceased by the time they grew close to greenery again.

  “We’re approaching the Red Sea,” Riley said, as if guessing her thoughts. “Hurghada is on the Red Sea.”

  “Does it have food?” Charles said in a waspish tone.

  “It’s a city, population around sixty thousand,” Myles told him. “It’s a resort city, very pretty with good beaches and snorkeling.”

  “Are we deliberately driving in circles?” Charles asked Myles. “Or are you lost?”

  “I’m just making sure we’re not being followed.”

  Charles pointed out the window. “Stop there. The sign says it has Russian dumplings.”

  Riley leaned forward. “You can read Russian?”

  Charles shrugged. “Languages become easy after you have learned the first ten or so.” He turned around and smirked at Abigail.

  Myles sighed. “I suppose we can stop here.”

  The building stood out like a sore thumb amidst a sea of concrete. To the left was an apartment building five stories high. It was in a commercial area full of shops. Abigail couldn’t read Russian, but various types of dumplings decorated the signboard. An illustrated menu board stood out the front along with wicker tables and chairs. Once more Abigail wished she could be there as a tourist.

  “We should all maybe take a bathroom break here,” Myles suggested. “We don’t know when we’ll get another opportunity.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Charles said with a chuckle. “And is the American government paying for my food? If so, I’d like Pelmeni dumplings, cheese dumplings, coffee, and maybe an ice cream. It’s best to stock up on food since we don’t know when our next chance to eat will be,” he said with a grin.

  Abigail took the opportunity to go to the public restroom. It was much cleaner than she had expected. She had only taken one step outside, looking forward to food, when Charles rushed past her. She looked up to see Charles sprinting away at a great rate of speed.

  Riley appeared by her shoulder. “Run!” he said.

  Abigail looked back at the car to see someone leaning against it. It happened too fast for her to see if he had a gun in his hand, but something in the back regions of the mind thought it might be. No shots rang out, but Riley took her hand and pulled her around to the back of the building.

  Myles had caught up with Charles and grabbed him by the elbow. Riley and Abigail ran more slowly. Abigail wished she were in better shape. Since her last mission, she had taken to jogging slowly most mornings, but obviously not fast enough to make her able to run at speed for any length of time. They ran behind the building and into a street filled with shops. At once, Myles stopped running and pulled Charles back.

  “They’re after us,” Charles said, just as Riley and Abigail caught up with them.

  “We will draw more attention if we run,” Myles said. “We need to find a bunch of tourists and mingle with them.”

  “Over there,” Riley said, nodding to a group of fifty or so people who all appeared to be together.

  They walked into the middle of the group. No one appeared to notice them, or if they did, they didn’t appear to care. “I thought you said we weren’t being followed,” Charles said.

  “You must have a tracking device on you,” Riley said.

  Myles agreed. “Give me your watch.”

  A look of shock passed over Charles’s face. “My watch? No…” He no doubt would have said more, but Myles ripped the watch off his hand and crushed it under his foot.

  “That was quite expensive!” Charles snapped.

  “What price to put on your life?” Riley said. “It’s the only way they could have tracked you.”

  “Or maybe it’s his phone,” Myles said.

  “Wait, no!” Charles began, Riley whipped Charles’s phone from his pocket and crushed it under his heel.

  “We can’t take any chances,” Riley said.

  “That’s right,” Myles said. “We definitely weren’t followed. They had a tracking device on you, Charles. Is there anything else on your person?”

  “No, and if there was, I wouldn’t tell you.” Charles’s tone was quite churlish.

  “Now Charles, you don’t want to be shot, do you?” Abigail said in a placating tone as if speaking to a child. “If they find us, they’ll shoot us.”

  “They haven’t shot us yet,” Charles said.

  “That’s because they wanted to keep either you or Abigail alive,” Myles said, confirming Abigail’s fears.

  Riley shot Myles a look, but he didn’t appear to notice.

  “Abigail, stick close to Charles in case someone is trying to take a shot,” Myles said. “They won’t risk shooting if they’re concerned they might hit you both.”

  Abigail stepped over to Charles. He put his arm around her and drew her close.

  Riley loudly cleared his throat. “Not that close,” he said.

  “What price do you put on life?” Charles shot back.

  Abigail could feel the anger emanating from Riley.

  “What do we do now?” Charles said. “Do you want to throw my shoes away? Do you think the agents put tracking devices in my soles?”

  “Don’t give me any ideas,” Riley growled.

  Abigail removed Charles’s arm from her shoulder. “Behave, please Charles,” she said.

  Myles hailed a cab, effectively ending the conversation. They all piled into it, Charles pushing Riley out of the way to sit next Abigail. He turned to Riley and held up both hands palms to the sky. “What? Myles said to stick close to her.”