Contents

The Gutenberg Rubric

Twenty-Five

EVERYTHING WAS QUIET when Keith woke up. Maddie was still nestled into the crook of his arm, which felt like it might fall off soon if he didn’t move it. A stone under the tent floor seemed to be lodged directly under his kidney. He carefully extracted himself from the sleepy embrace and slid his clothes on. The wind had died. When he unzipped the tent flap it was still dark outside but the skies were clear. He slid out of the tent and scanned the area with his flashlight. There was a clean crust of icy snow on the ground and Keith thought absently that it was a shame to spoil it with urine. He found a place against the overhang downhill from the tent to relieve himself as he gazed up at the millions of visible stars. They were scintillating. With no city within a hundred miles to light up the sky, nothing interfered with the clarity of the patterns. It crossed Keith’s mind that Gutenberg could have meant charting heavenly stars according to the pattern drawn on the lion. If so, they would not find the treasure on this trip. It had been hard enough to find the moon and star symbols at the tumulus. Regressing a star chart 600 or 2000 years to get the right pattern was not in his mental repertoire. It would require computer software and time that he didn’t have right now. He heard a sound behind him and without turning said, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it, darling?”

“I’m not your darling,” said a male voice, “but for what it’s worth, it is beautiful.” Keith began to spin around, but the voice halted him. “Keep that thing pointed away until you’re finished, if you don’t mind.” Keith zipped himself up and then turned to face the newcomer.

“Who are you?” Keith asked.

“I’m your secret Santa,” the man said. The voice was even and cultured, and creepily smooth. The flashlight he held swung toward the tent. “Wakey-wakey, Madeline,” he called. “Get your freckled ass out here and talk to papa.” There was a frantic stirring in the tent and Maddie’s head popped out.

“Derek?” she said, startled.

“Please take time to get dressed, Mrs. Zayne,” Derek answered. “It’s cold out here.”

“So you’re Derek Zayne?” Keith asked.

“Yes,” the man answered, “and you’ve been sleeping with my wife.”

“Ex-wife,” Keith responded.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Go to hell, Derek,” Maddie called from inside the tent.

“Be civil, Madeline,” Derek responded. “You were supposed to be in the village on the other side of the mountain tonight. Poor Yousef will be worried sick.”

“What do you mean?” Keith asked.

“Madeline’s brother has been so afraid she would get hurt, what with buildings seeming to blow up wherever she goes,” Derek said. “He asked me to please come and find his dear defenseless sister.”

“I told you to stay away from Joey,” Maddie said as she emerged from the tent pulling on her second boot.

“That is the fastest I’ve ever seen you dress,” Derek said. “We can have our little meeting now and you can tell me where Daddy’s long-lost treasure is buried. In the morning we’ll all go collect it.”

“Why would anyone tell you anything?” Maddie said. “You should be thankful we even came out of the tent. I don’t know how you found us, but you are just as stranded out here as we are.”

“Madeline,” Derek said, “do you really think I would come out here in the middle of god-forsaken nowhere alone? You are the only ones foolish enough to do that.” Derek pointed his flashlight to his left over the top of the tent. Maddie and Keith saw Najat standing there with a rifle trained on them.

“You were supposed to come down the other side of the mountain,” the driver said.

“You see,” Derek said. “We could have had this conversation in comparable warmth and comfort if you had followed the plan. Instead, we had to come out to track you down and rescue you in the middle of the night after the snow stopped. At considerable risk to ourselves, I might add.” Derek pointed to their tent with his flashlight. “Now pack up your gear and don’t try anything stupid. We have a long walk back to civilization ahead of us and I’m getting cold.”

“Poor boy,” Maddie sneered. “How did you find us? I’m not carrying my cell phone anymore.”

“Oh, has everyone been suspecting dear little Madeline? No one even gives a thought to your traveling companion?” Derek asked, turning toward Keith. “I hope your injuries are healing and that hand isn’t giving you any problems, Dr. Drucker.”

“You did this to me on purpose?” Keith asked, stunned. “You blew up a library so you could plant a tracking device on me? I don’t believe it.”

“No one intended you to be injured in the blast,” Derek said. “But once you were in the hospital and I was paying for your care…”

“Implanted homing devices are science fiction,” Maddie declared. “Don’t let him get to you, Keith. He always sounds like he knows more than he does.”

“Just pack up your crap and let’s get going,” Derek snapped, pointing at the tent.

Keith and Maddie looked at each other and silently went about the task of reloading their packs. Keith crawled into the tent and rolled up the sleeping bags one at a time, handing each out to Maddie as he completed the task. As he was loading the food back into his pack, he felt the phone that Agent Fry had given him. He turned the phone on, quietly tapped out the message “SOS” and hit send. He added the phone to the pack, buried at the bottom, and then crawled out of the tent.

Keith pulled the tent stakes out with his ice axe. The driver carefully stayed clear and Keith saw no opening to disable him. The tent collapsed with a twist of the frame. Keith strapped it to the pack and then pulled on his gloves.

“Let’s go then,” Derek commanded. He led the way back toward the tumulus, uphill and over two kilometers away. The exertion of making the climb in the middle of the night with full backpacks kept Maddie and Keith warm. The driver, rifle still trained on them, brought up the rear.

“What really happened to our first driver?” Keith asked.

“He had an unfortunate accident on the way to pick you up. It happens all the time,” Derek said. “The PKK is always kidnapping someone or another. Najat here stepped in to take his place. You were very lucky someone reliable was available.”

“Yes, lucky,” Keith muttered.

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