John debated with himself on what his priorities were going to have be. Residence, base of operations, study location, meeting with Jensen, getting his computer system running, and establishing an appropriate place for his library. So many choices and so John decided to do something else entirely, he checked his wallet.
Pay dirt. Finally, John received some good news. John's realtor found him a house. Actually, it was more like a sizeable piece of property with a main house, guest house, pool house, and work shop that could easily be converted to a controlled environment study. He was stoked. He called his realtor immediately,
"Buy it. Don't let this acquisition get away. Don't fucking haggle. Get me this property and I will give you a bonus of 20,000 dollars. Do it now."
Time was running short. The cuneiform tablets that is people had unearthed in the Gulf of Mexico would be arriving in Moscow soon, and John needed to have an established location for their safe storage and study. As he was verifying the arrival time for his tablets, there was a knock at the door to his loft.
John grabbed his Mark 11 and cautiously went to answer the door. This building had private security and unannounced visits were not a common occurrence. The man standing at the door was in an immaculate suit, tailored to fit and impress.
"John Smith?"
John nodded in acknowledgement.
"I have a message for you".
The man handed John and envelope that was obviously from an exquisite collection of stationary, quite unusual.
"You don't look like a courier."
The man offered John a small smile in response and departed as anonymously as he arrived.
John wondered who would send a courier that didn't flinch when the door was answered by a man with a semi-automatic pistol in his hand. The funny part was that the courier smelled of approval when seeing John's precaution. He carefully open the missive, and his initial surprise was replaced with genuine shock.
Armande Giánni̱s polla kharein kai errosthai,
Chairetísmata.
I had the immense pleasure of being a colleague of your Archeology mentor while we were both at Harvard. I see much of him in your studies, and applaude your recent efforts, particularly your deauthentication of the Q Document.
Our interests are greatly aligned. I have dedicated my life to the collection of antiquities and a mastery of ancient languages. In honor, the Holy See has deigned me Director of the Vatican Historical Society. I offer my assistance in the verification of the cuneiform language, and am in personal possession of some documents you might find intriguing as well.
I reside in Moscow at the moment, overseeing the opening of our second headquarters. However I frequently travel to the Vatican. I wish to arrange a meeting at your convenience.
Ta d' alla, seautou epimelou hin hugiaineis,
Director, Vatican Historical Society of the Sancta Sedes,
and
Servus Servorum Papa, His Holiness,
Armande Nicodemus
John sat down and reread the letter. Twice. John was definitely a man of means but to have access to Vatican resources. I was almost a dream come true. This was an offer that had to be explored.
John was curious as to why the sudden overture from the Holy See. Most likely it had to do with his de-authentication of the "Q" Document. But in the back of John's mind he couldn't help but wonder if they were interested in his newest cuneiform acquisition. Did they have an idea what was written on those tablets? Did they have any idea of what he suspected might be the purpose of transporting those tablets to the other side of the world?
Continued in
http://w11.zetaboards.com/TheFirstAge/topic/9185156/1/
Edited by
doulou, Oct 6 2013, 08:59 PM.
