"I-Where would you like me to start?" she asked, her voice breaking.

"The beginning would be nice," he said, taking a seat at the table opposite her.

"Alessandra had contacted me after she had gone to work on an excavation in Egypt. She said the government, you, I presume, thought the whole dig was a setup to cover illegal arms dealing."

"She told you this?"

"Only because she believed that the government had made a mistake, but she wanted to verify it. She thought the dig was absolutely authentic."

Sydney tried to remember her conversation with Tasha at dinner that night in D.C. Something about returning from some dig, and her apparent paranoia. And Sydney wondered, What were the chances it was the same one? Not that she was about to interrupt Griffin's interrogation to ask.

"I thought you hated big government," Griffin said. "Why did you agree to work with her?"

"Because she'd overheard something by the men she was supposed to be watching, something that had to do with a third key."

Griffin's reaction was barely noticeable, a slight tensing of the shoulders, and Sydney figured he was thinking of what she'd been able to pick up at Adami's gathering at his villa. "What about this third key?" he asked Francesca.

"It's supposed to be the means of finding-well, of finding this map. Alessandra was certain that this is what the men were actually searching for in Egypt, but something made her think that perhaps they were searching in the wrong place. That they'd misinterpreted the location, and she wanted proof. She sent a postcard from the Smithsonian with a note. The pyramid. Not in Egypt. I'm sure she felt that one couldn't disrupt an entire government operation based on conjecture about some map that many scholars think is merely legend."

"A map to what?"

It seemed several heartbeats before she finally answered, as though it was a secret she still didn't want to share. "Some believe it's the key to the lost Templar treasure. Some, however, believe it is the key to something far more dangerous. Something that could kill millions."

28.

Griffin was certain he'd heard wrong. "The Templar treasure? Dangerous? Forgive me if I don't follow. We're talking gold, right?" treasure? Dangerous? Forgive me if I don't follow. We're talking gold, right?"

"Gold?" Francesca's expression dismissed this possibility outright. "Do you have any idea what is said to be found in the Templar treasure? Put aside its historical significance, or the questions it could possibly answer about religion, questions that entire wars have been fought over. This goes beyond mere gold." She looked at each of them, waiting for some response, and when no one spoke, she added, "Do none of you read the Bible?"

"File your complaints with Dumas," Griffin replied. "About the Templars and these religious artifacts," Griffin said. "I was under the impression that the treasure was lost in the raid and destruction of the Second Temple of Solomon."

"Not lost. The treasure itself has been captured and moved many times, cursing all who come across it. One can either believe in G.o.d's hand, or fate, or perhaps the misfortune of being in the path of the black plague, but each time someone has attempted to possess the treasure for their own benefit, the downfall of their civilization has followed shortly thereafter. What remains is trying to retrace the last years of the treasure's whereabouts. Rome in 70 A.D A.D., Carthage in 455, Constantinople in 533-"

"Carthage?"

"As in Tunisia."

h.e.l.l, he thought. No wonder Adami had set up shop there. He'd been searching for this treasure a lot longer than they'd thought. "Go on."

"The last word was that the treasure was returned to Jerusalem, only to be hidden once again when the city was ransacked by the Persian Sasanians. After this point, it was never seen again. Except for the rumor that the Templar Knights found it and became the guardians."

"So the rumor that the treasure is sitting in the vaults of the Vatican is false?"

"If it were at the Vatican, then ask yourself why Dumas is busy searching for it."

A good point, he thought. "And Adami would be after this for what reason?"

Sydney answered. "Wouldn't the acquisition of religious artifacts worth billions factor into Adami's game plan? If you're going to sell weapons to terrorists, and you want to keep warring factions at each others' throats to inflate your prices, then it seems to me possession of these artifacts would up his ante."

"You both are missing the point," Francesca said. "I am not talking about the gold, precious stones, or scrolls. I am talking about the Ark of the Covenant that was found by the Templars. Everything Everything doc.u.mented in the Bible and history beyond proves that wherever the Ark landed, death and destruction followed. I am talking about what might have been contained doc.u.mented in the Bible and history beyond proves that wherever the Ark landed, death and destruction followed. I am talking about what might have been contained in in the Ark, or possibly hidden along with it. The deadly plagues. The the Ark, or possibly hidden along with it. The deadly plagues. The biblical biblical plagues that Moses brought onto the land at G.o.d's behest." plagues that Moses brought onto the land at G.o.d's behest."

Griffin and Sydney stared in disbelief. Even Giustino looked up from the monitors, waiting for an explanation.

"Surely," Francesca said, "you didn't think Adami was in this strictly for the advancement of art or religion or academia?"

That was the farthest from Griffin's mind. Carlo Adami, an arms dealer and secret intelligence broker, was first and foremost a master manipulator, willing to sell out to the highest bidder, no matter what country was involved. He was loyal only to himself. The man craved power, and anyone who held important religious artifacts would wield a lot of power, stirring up radicals into a bloodl.u.s.t over territories and beliefs. And if those religious artifacts contained something that could be used as a bioweapon? Was it even possible? "What exactly are you talking about?" exactly are you talking about?"

"Carlo Adami was funding the study for the search. My friend was the recipient of the grant and gave periodic reports to him, unaware, I'm sure, as to what his true motive was. Regardless, several years ago, this friend of mine, a biblical archeologist, came across some papers in the Vatican archives detailing information about a map leading to the Ark of the Covenant, a map held by the Ark's guardians, the Templar Knights, papers he is certain were misfiled and not meant for public view. And therein lies the problem." Francesca leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "The Vatican was not very forthcoming when he tried to research further, and the doc.u.ments he'd been researching were promptly removed. Some scholars insist that this third key is merely legend. No map, no gold, no artifacts, nothing at all. They think that the entire concept was invented by di Sangro as a ruse to anger the Vatican in revenge for ruining his name, and to keep them from finding the treasure."

And here was that di Sangro prince again. "What do you believe?"

"You were with me when I found the first key in the very columbarium that I know for a fact was searched and ransacked before, including by the Vatican in the 1700s. They were searching for the first key back then. How can I not believe?"

Griffin pushed his chair back, trying to figure out what the h.e.l.l was going on. "How do you know that what you found in the columbarium was the first key, if you found no second key at the crypt? And why is it so important?"

"It's difficult to explain."

"Try."

"Di Sangro ensured that without all three keys, if someone tries to remove this map, that person will be killed."

"This has something to do with a so-called curse at the tomb of the Valley of the Kings?" Griffin asked, thinking of what Tasha had told him when she'd first returned from the dig in Egypt.

"That's a separate curse entirely, and, as most of the Egyptian curses go, a fable to ward off grave robbers. What di Sangro constructed in his own crypt is no curse. It will will kill you." kill you."

"What was di Sangro's motive?"

"Familial duty. The city of San Severo, his birthright, was owned by the Knights Templar. Add to that that di Sangro was the first Grand Master of the Freemasons in Naples in the 1700s, it explains why some scholars believe he was also an appointed guardian of part of the Templar treasure."

"Why waste time searching through these long-forgotten chambers of death for keys that may or may not exist? What's to prevent someone from just going in and taking the d.a.m.ned map?"

"According to my research, historians believe he constructed his crypt to fall upon itself if anything is moved without benefit of the three keys."

"And you believe this?"

"Di Sangro was considered the Leonardo da Vinci of the eighteenth century, and his job was to ensure that this map did not fall into the wrong hands-which makes perfect sense if, in fact, it does lead to something as deadly as a biblical plague and that plague could be used at will to kill one's enemies. If someone should discover where this map had been hidden, then tried to remove it, death would be imminent."

"Can we get past the curses and legends?" Griffin asked. "There's got to be something more substantial."

Giustino shook his head. "For Americans, legends are difficile difficile to believe, probably because your country is so very young." to believe, probably because your country is so very young."

"Giustino?" Griffin said.

"You want me to be silent?"

"Anything," he said, fast losing his temper, "that will allow her to finish her story in a timely manner."

"That," Francesca said, "could take hours. You don't understand-"

"You don't understand," he said, deciding the h.e.l.l with keeping his cool. "We have less than twenty-four hours. I'll give you five d.a.m.ned minutes to tell me what is going on." He looked at his watch. don't understand," he said, deciding the h.e.l.l with keeping his cool. "We have less than twenty-four hours. I'll give you five d.a.m.ned minutes to tell me what is going on." He looked at his watch.

Francesca bit her lip, and looked around the room, as though trying to decide whether he was serious. No one moved, no one said a word. "I can't possibly give you any more than a very rudimentary explanation in such a short time."

"Not a problem," Sydney said. "He's a rudimentary kind of guy."

Griffin made a show of consulting his watch. "You have four minutes and thirty seconds."

"Fine. As I explained, Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero, first Grand Master in Naples, was imprisoned and ordered by the King of Naples and the Vatican to reveal the names of each and every member of the lodge. Their ultimate goal was to learn who was in the inner circle and who might have knowledge of this fabled treasure, which had been hidden by the original Templar guardians when King Philip of France had every Templar in France imprisoned to take control of that treasure in 1307. The Templars went underground and were never heard from again-until the Freemasons emerged in the 1700s."

"I don't want a d.a.m.ned history lesson."

"Then you don't want the d.a.m.ned map, do you? Now if I might continue?" When he said nothing, she proceeded. "Di Sangro was brought in by the Vatican, questioned about his ties to Freemasonry, and forced to reveal the names of other Masons. Worried that his fellow Masons might give up some of the secrets of the inner circle, di Sangro moved the treasure to a new location, then entrusted the first key to his mentor from the Jesuit school he attended as a boy. Di Sangro gave explicit instructions about how and where the key was to be hidden, and how it should be pa.s.sed on only to the next guardian. And that is a very, very basic explanation."

"And who was this next guardian?"

"No one knows. The priest never gave up the information after he completed this quest of hiding the first key."

"Then tell me what you do know."

"According to my earlier research and confirmed by what I found in the Vatican archives, the Jesuit priest told his inquisitors truthfully that di Sangro had given him the first key to hide, and that key was hidden in the ossuary-the bone chamber-'past the great pyramids of the Nile,' and to look for the 'graffito behind the wall beyond the tomb of the harpists.' It was a.s.sumed that he was referring to Egypt, the Valley of the Kings, primarily because the Vatican's search of the columbarium in Rome was fruitless. The priest also warned them that the map was well protected, and without all three keys, the finder would be crushed. According to the Vatican archives, he said he did not know the location of the other two keys, only di Sangro did."

"Maybe this priest or di Sangro gave it to someone else? The next guardian."

"As far as we know, both he and di Sangro died before the next guardian was chosen, and I don't believe he would have ever entrusted the information to anyone else."

"And so what you found in the columbarium?"

"I'm sure it was the first key."

"But no second key at the crypt."

"If it's there, I can't possibly say where or what it could be."

"Do you know the location of the third key?"

"The general general location of di Sangro's hidden burial chamber is in Naples, but no one has been foolish enough to attempt to access it without having the three keys." location of di Sangro's hidden burial chamber is in Naples, but no one has been foolish enough to attempt to access it without having the three keys."

"So this map everyone has been seeking has been sitting in some chamber for years on end, free for the taking?"

"If one has all three keys."

"And what if the keys and this so-called curse or trap are merely a ruse?"

"Would you be willing to risk your life or another's because you thought it was merely a ruse?"

"I'm not even sure the map exists," Griffin said.

Sydney crossed her arms, gave a slight shrug. "Doesn't matter what you think. Adami thinks it exists, which sort of makes it a moot point."

h.e.l.l, he thought. Pyramids and bone chambers, and triangles carved on faces...Someone believed it was true. And if there was a trap, Adami had the advantage. Send in Griffin. If the trap worked, Griffin was dead...and so was Tex. "Get McNiel on the line," he told Giustino. A moment later, Giustino handed him the phone. "Mac? Griffin. I have a...development on this third key." He told McNiel what Francesca had said. believed it was true. And if there was a trap, Adami had the advantage. Send in Griffin. If the trap worked, Griffin was dead...and so was Tex. "Get McNiel on the line," he told Giustino. A moment later, Giustino handed him the phone. "Mac? Griffin. I have a...development on this third key." He told McNiel what Francesca had said.

There was a long stretch of silence on the other end, and he was certain that like him, McNiel was having a hard time absorbing this. "How sure are you about this?"

"I'm not sure at all," Griffin replied. "But as Fitzpatrick mentioned earlier, does it matter? Adami believes it to be true, therefore what choice do we have?"

More silence. Then, "When are you leaving for Naples?"

"First light."

"If there's any truth to this, that map isn't to leave in unfriendly hands. Keep me informed."

Griffin disconnected, then looked at Giustino. "You have almost everything ready to go here?"

"A team is on its way, adesso adesso. We should be out within the hour."

To Francesca he said, "Naples?"

"Naples."

And just when he thought that was the end of any discussion on the matter, Sydney looked right at Francesca, and said, "You never did mention the name of this anthropologist you were speaking about..."

Great, he thought. How the h.e.l.l was he going to get out of this one?

29.

Sydney watched as Griffin quelled the professor into silence with one look, then asked Giustino to take the professor into the kitchen so that they could talk. If that wasn't telling, the fact he could barely look Sydney in the eye was. silence with one look, then asked Giustino to take the professor into the kitchen so that they could talk. If that wasn't telling, the fact he could barely look Sydney in the eye was.

"Well?" Sydney asked.

"Your friend," he said. "Dr. Natasha Gilbert was the anthropologist who had worked with Alessandra."

"Tasha?" she said, and still had a hard time believing it. She wasn't even sure what to say, what to think. It didn't matter that she'd suspected this from the moment she'd heard Francesca mention that an anthropologist had been working with Alessandra. Too coincidental for it not to be she. Once again Sydney thought back to the beginning, the night she and Tasha went to dinner, the conversation they'd had.

She recalled thinking that something was off. Tasha had seemed jumpy, had purposefully deflected any personal questions...

Sydney got up, walked to the window, stared out, seeing nothing. With the clarity of hindsight, she realized that Tasha had been worried about something, no doubt this dig she'd gone out on. Tasha probably had no idea the depths to which it ran, or the dangers involved. Nor was she trained to deal with such matters. Griffin, however, did know, and Sydney turned, glared at him. "How could you not tell me?"