The Cup by Alex Lukeman Read Free Book Online Page B

decide what to do with it. After poking around a while longer, she went back outside.
    Several police cars had arrived. With Forsberg's men, the cops moved the occupants of the refugee asylum into groups. They stood shivering in the cold, surrounded by hostile stares. Guns were pointed at them. No one smiled.
    Selena took Nick to the side and showed him the phone. "This was in Gabriel's room. Should I give it to Forsberg?"
    "Let's find out what's on it first. I'll take it."
    She handed him the phone. Nick dialed Virginia. Elizabeth answered.
    "What is it Nick?"
    "The raid went south. There was a jihadist cell inside the center, armed to the teeth. They opened up on the Swedes."
    "Why did they start shooting?"
    "That's what everybody wants to know. Forsberg thinks they were tipped off. Selena thinks they were hiding something. That might be, but I think they're mostly just stupid jihadists who thought this was their opportunity to meet Allah. Forsberg and his people are going over the building with a fine tooth comb."
    "Will they tell you if they find something we need to know about?"
    "Maybe. Maybe not. I thought I might improvise a little, just in case they don't. I have something for Stephanie. Can you put her on?"
    "Wait one."
    Stephanie Willits came online. Steph was a critical cog in the complex machine of Project operations. There wasn't much she couldn't do with a computer or a piece of communications gear. Satellite communications was one of her specialties. She'd helped Nick and the others out of a bad situation in the field more than once.
    "What's up, Nick? Elizabeth says you guys ran into serious trouble."
    "We did, but it's over now. I have a phone in my hand. I want to send you whatever is on it."
    "Give me a minute," Steph said.
    Nick waited while she set up the transfer.
    "Okay, go ahead."
    Nick plugged the cell into his satellite unit, turned on Gabriel's phone and pressed a sequence of keys. Thirty seconds later the file transfer was complete.
    Stephanie said, "Got it."
    "This phone belonged to one of the jihadists. He’s missing and he may have been second in command. These guys were selling looted artifacts on the black market. If something indicates Swedish involvement, Stockholm will cover it up."
    "You want me to look for whatever I can find, right?"
    "Yup."
    "I'll have to run everything through a translation program, unless the conversations are in English. It will take time."
    "Whatever it takes," Nick said. "Thanks, Steph."
    Nick broke the connection.
    "Let's see what comes out of that." He looked around. "We're done here. I'll tell Forsberg we're leaving."
    He went over to where Forsberg stood talking with one of his men.
    "Selena found this in Gabriel's room." He handed the phone over.
    "What's on it?"
    "I don't have any idea," Nick said.
    Forsberg pocketed the phone. "We'll take care of it from here."
    He looked at Selena. "I've been told to let you keep those scrolls for now, while you translate them."
    "Wonderful. It shouldn't take more than a few days."
    "You must have some serious pull. Make sure nothing happens to them. Nick, I'll call you at the hotel later."
    "Yeah," Nick said.
     

CHAPTER 13
     
     
    Back in their room at the hotel, Selena carefully unrolled the scrolls and laid them out on a low coffee table. She photographed them and began working on a translation. Ronnie and Lamont were next door, catching up on sleep.
    After a while she looked up and said, "No one has ever seen anything like this. The descriptions of the crucifixion in the Bible show minor variations, but they're all pretty much the same story. This one is similar up to a point, but then it's different."
    "How so?"
    "Because of what it says about Joseph of Arimathea."
    "Who was he?"
    "A rich follower of Jesus, one of the ruling council in Jerusalem. He donated his tomb for Christ's burial. Tradition says he purchased a shroud to wrap the body when they took it down from the cross. That's in here, but there's