FBI Field Office, Chicago
Chris allowed the door from the underground garage to slam shut behind them as he followed Gallows into the FBI division building.
‘The man who held us at gunpoint in that cave is the very man you say heads the “Church” responsible for this plot. He gave a cryptic allusion to using another name among his followers, but it was definitely Bell.’
They rounded a corner and headed up three flights of steps. Chris continued, breathless at the pace. His shoulder still throbbed.
‘He was almost maniacally intent on getting his hands on what he called a “keystone”, which turned out to be a small item of pottery covered in engravings. I found it in a recess of that cave.’
‘You found this keystone?’ Gallows was incredulous.
‘And he took it. A feat that ended with me shot and nearly concussed, and the three of us trapped.’
Gallows seemed not to notice the details of Chris’s plight. Stories of agents facing danger were, by his expression, commonplace.
‘Did you learn where he was going? What he intends to do next?’
‘Only that it has something to do with ancient documents kept in Cairo. I’m not an expert on these things, but the people I was with, Emily Wess and Michael Torrance, are.’
‘And where are they now?’
‘Still in Egypt, following Bell.’ He paused a moment, catching his breath. ‘Ted, this could be the most important lead in your case. We know where this man is. We might be able to stop him.’
There was a long stillness between the two men. Gallows pondered, considering Chris’s information.
‘It’s good you told me this,’ he finally said, turning and continuing his ascent of the steep staircase. ‘You’re right, it might represent our first major break. But I want to process the data before we throw this blindly onto the table – check out the details and confirm what we can pursue. Leave it in my hands for the moment. I’ll make sure everything gets passed up the chain of command.’
‘Passed up the chain? This isn’t some trifling bit of interesting dross, Special Agent Gallows. It’s something we’ve got to act on, now.’
Gallows reverted to his air of hierarchical authority and pushed his way through a door to his floor.
‘I told you, Special Agent Taylor, I’ll deal appropriately with the information you’ve provided. In the meantime, I expect you to follow protocol and not speak of this to anyone else. The last thing I need are agents abandoning their details to chase up new leads before we’ve had a chance to assess them appropriately.’
Chris stared at the other man, reminded in full measure of why he had never liked bureaucrats.
‘Now get to work on figuring out the Church’s next move,’ Gallows added, stepping into his office. ‘I’ll want to cover this new material with you in more detail soon. Until then, not a word.’ He swung his office door closed in time to match his final command.
Chris stood before it, dumbfounded. Then angered. Then belligerent.
‘Not a word, my ass,’ he muttered, flipping through his pocket and extracting his mobile phone. Locating Michael’s number from his contacts, he hit ‘Dial’ without hesitation. ‘This connection is not dying here.’