and took out some Polaroids.
Milton’s jaw dropped. They were carefully taken close-ups of the skull from various angles. He held the photos up to look at it closer.
“It’s beautiful,” he whispered, “in an almost eerie way.” He flipped to a photo showing the hollowed out eyes. “This looks just like the Mitchell-Hedges skull.” He flipped to another picture.
“Exactly the same as far as I can tell,” agreed Acton. “Completely smooth, no tool marks.”
“Where is it now?”
“On its way to London, God willing,” replied Acton. “When I was in Mexico I FedEx’d it using one of my student’s IDs, to an expert on the skulls there.”
“Who’s that?”
“Professor Laura Palmer of the British Museum. She’s been studying the one they have for years and is known as the expert in these things. She’s apparently examined all of the ones known to exist that are accessible,” explained Acton.
“What do you mean by accessible?”
“Some are in private collections.” Acton looked ahead as the traffic stirred again. “Okay, we’re almost out of the tunnel. You brought the money?”
“Yes.” Milton reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Nine thousand nine hundred dollars, the most I could withdraw without flagging a government inspection.” He handed it to Acton.
“I think it’s five thousand now,” said Acton as he took the envelope.
“What? Are you sure?”
“I think they changed it recently.” Acton stuffed the envelope in the inner pocket of his jacket. “You might be flagged, but they’re not looking for you.”
Milton tried to put on a brave face. “Well, the important thing is you’re now flush with cash. I assume you’re going to London?”
“Yes, there’s a midnight flight.”
“How are you going to get through security?”
“They’re not after me, they’re after the skull. They must know by now that I don’t have it so I’m probably safe for the moment.”
“Let’s hope so.” Milton nodded toward the pocket Acton had just put the envelope in. “There’s also a new Visa and bank card from the university in there. If you have an emergency, use them. Hopefully they won’t think to trace them.”
“Hopefully, but these guys are pros.”
“Any idea who they are?”
“I don’t know. They must have been some type of special forces. They came in by chopper, were well armed, state-of-the-art equipment, well disciplined,” recalled Acton. “I shot one and pistol-whipped another. That one I spoke to, his English was perfect Bronx.”
“You’re sure they were ours?” Milton shook his head. “I can’t believe that. Why would our government want to kill you over this?”
“I don’t know, but don’t forget, our government, as you put it, doesn’t always know what these black ops guys do. It could be some rogue element that the administration doesn’t even know about.”
Milton was still shaking his head. “I just can’t believe it. You’re sure it wasn’t the Shining Path or some other rebel group? They’ve killed a lot of people.”
“No, they don’t have equipment like this.” Acton looked in his rearview mirror to see if they were being followed. “I think we lost them.” He took the exit for JFK.
“You’re not worried about them knowing you’re on the plane?”
“A bit. I’ll just have to hope they’re not willing to shoot down an airliner full of people. They’re after the skull, anyway, and right now they don’t know where it is. I’ll try and lose whoever is waiting for me in London. I can’t believe they’d want to risk an international incident at the airport. My guess is they haven’t even notified the regular authorities to watch for me since that would raise too many questions.”
When they arrived at the airport, Acton battled his way to the departure drop off area and jumped into a spot as another car pulled away. He turned to Milton. “I don’t want any more help from you. If they
Milton’s jaw dropped. They were carefully taken close-ups of the skull from various angles. He held the photos up to look at it closer.
“It’s beautiful,” he whispered, “in an almost eerie way.” He flipped to a photo showing the hollowed out eyes. “This looks just like the Mitchell-Hedges skull.” He flipped to another picture.
“Exactly the same as far as I can tell,” agreed Acton. “Completely smooth, no tool marks.”
“Where is it now?”
“On its way to London, God willing,” replied Acton. “When I was in Mexico I FedEx’d it using one of my student’s IDs, to an expert on the skulls there.”
“Who’s that?”
“Professor Laura Palmer of the British Museum. She’s been studying the one they have for years and is known as the expert in these things. She’s apparently examined all of the ones known to exist that are accessible,” explained Acton.
“What do you mean by accessible?”
“Some are in private collections.” Acton looked ahead as the traffic stirred again. “Okay, we’re almost out of the tunnel. You brought the money?”
“Yes.” Milton reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Nine thousand nine hundred dollars, the most I could withdraw without flagging a government inspection.” He handed it to Acton.
“I think it’s five thousand now,” said Acton as he took the envelope.
“What? Are you sure?”
“I think they changed it recently.” Acton stuffed the envelope in the inner pocket of his jacket. “You might be flagged, but they’re not looking for you.”
Milton tried to put on a brave face. “Well, the important thing is you’re now flush with cash. I assume you’re going to London?”
“Yes, there’s a midnight flight.”
“How are you going to get through security?”
“They’re not after me, they’re after the skull. They must know by now that I don’t have it so I’m probably safe for the moment.”
“Let’s hope so.” Milton nodded toward the pocket Acton had just put the envelope in. “There’s also a new Visa and bank card from the university in there. If you have an emergency, use them. Hopefully they won’t think to trace them.”
“Hopefully, but these guys are pros.”
“Any idea who they are?”
“I don’t know. They must have been some type of special forces. They came in by chopper, were well armed, state-of-the-art equipment, well disciplined,” recalled Acton. “I shot one and pistol-whipped another. That one I spoke to, his English was perfect Bronx.”
“You’re sure they were ours?” Milton shook his head. “I can’t believe that. Why would our government want to kill you over this?”
“I don’t know, but don’t forget, our government, as you put it, doesn’t always know what these black ops guys do. It could be some rogue element that the administration doesn’t even know about.”
Milton was still shaking his head. “I just can’t believe it. You’re sure it wasn’t the Shining Path or some other rebel group? They’ve killed a lot of people.”
“No, they don’t have equipment like this.” Acton looked in his rearview mirror to see if they were being followed. “I think we lost them.” He took the exit for JFK.
“You’re not worried about them knowing you’re on the plane?”
“A bit. I’ll just have to hope they’re not willing to shoot down an airliner full of people. They’re after the skull, anyway, and right now they don’t know where it is. I’ll try and lose whoever is waiting for me in London. I can’t believe they’d want to risk an international incident at the airport. My guess is they haven’t even notified the regular authorities to watch for me since that would raise too many questions.”
When they arrived at the airport, Acton battled his way to the departure drop off area and jumped into a spot as another car pulled away. He turned to Milton. “I don’t want any more help from you. If they
Similar Books
