The Einstein Code by Tom West Read Free Book Online Page B

of
New Scientist
and the padded envelope containing the cylinder from Amelia Earhart’s plane. He went
straight for the envelope and felt the shape of the object inside.
    ‘What’s this?’
    ‘It is connected with our work,’ Lou began. ‘A sample we removed from a wreck.’
    The officer held his gaze. ‘Could you open it please, Dr Bates?’
    ‘Sure.’ He peeled back the flap of the envelope and removed the cylinder swathed in bubble wrap.
    ‘Keep going.’
    Lou glanced at Kate. She shrugged and Lou pulled back the wrapping, then laid it on the counter with the cylinder resting in the middle.
    The officer went to pick it up.
    ‘Please,’ Lou said a little louder and more aggressively than he had intended, ‘it’s a delicate item. We are taking it to our lab for analysis.’ The two officers
gave him a dark look.
    The man lifted it with exaggerated care. Lou exhaled loudly.
    The officer turned it around end to end and looked closely at its corroded metal skin.
    ‘What is it?’ the woman asked.
    ‘I’m afraid that is confidential,’ Kate replied.
    ‘Could you open it please?’ The man held it out to Lou.
    ‘No!’ Kate exclaimed. ‘Now this has gone far enough. We have done nothing wrong. You have seen our licence and other documentation. We are on a perfectly legal and legitimate
expedition. This is a delicate and precious—’
    ‘Dr Wetherall.’
    ‘I insist—’
    ‘You are not in a position to insist upon anything,’ the male customs officer snapped and glared at Kate. He turned back to Lou. ‘Dr Bates, could you open it please?’
    ‘Definitely not,’ Lou answered. ‘It is an artefact from our studies. If I open it, any contents will crumble to nothing.’
    The man looked a little taken aback by that. He glanced at his colleague. ‘Please wait here, I will have to consult my superior.’ He walked away from them quickly.
    Lou spotted a sign over a door that said CUSTOMS INTERVIEW ROOMS 1–4, and marched over to it, pushing it open.
    Finding himself in a small side room, he saw a woman behind a counter and paced over to it, slapping both hands down. ‘What is all this about?’ Lou hissed, leaning forward.
    ‘Could you please remove your hands from the counter, sir,’ the woman said.
    Lou looked down at his hands then back up at the woman. ‘This is outrageous. What is all this about?’
    ‘Unless you remove your hands from the counter I will be forced to place you in custody.’
    Kate came up behind Lou and tapped him on the shoulder. He straightened with a heavy sigh, and they went back to their luggage.
    A door opened and the customs officer entered. Following him was another, older man, and two paces behind them strode an armed guard, machine gun at his waist. The two men walked round behind
the counter, the guard stood a few feet to their right eyeing Lou and Kate.
    ‘My name is Mr Manor,’ the older man said. ‘I am the most senior officer here. I’m afraid we will have to confiscate all your luggage, your briefcases and personal items,
including this.’ He nodded towards the cylinder resting in the bubble wrap.
    ‘What!’ Kate exploded. ‘What possible reason . . .?’
    ‘Dr Wetherall, Dr Bates, please, we are required to inspect these items. They will be properly cared for, and if they do not transgress regulations, after we have finished with them, they
will be returned to you. You will be placed in custody until our investigations have reached a satisfactory conclusion.’
    ‘That’s ridiculous!’ Lou said, his face flushed. ‘We are not carrying anything illegal. We have permits and licences. Check the damn paperwork, man.’
    ‘We will, Dr Bates. In the meantime we have to take the precaution of confiscating your luggage so that it may undergo close analysis.’
    Lou lost it and made a grab for the cylinder. The female customs officer was closest to him and looked startled. Kate emitted a small scream. The armed guard stepped forward, lifted the gun and