Return to Dark Earth (13 page)

He groaned and for a second, thrust against
her hand. She got the impression of a thick, generous cock before
he pulled back.

She spun, frowning. “Your turn, now. Let me
return the favor.”

He shook his head. “Soon. But not tonight.
Tonight was for you.”

Nera frowned. A man turning down a chance to
come? “Niklas—”

He leaned down and pressed a quick, very
brief kiss to her lips. She blinked at him as he walked her out the
door and down to her cabin.

“Goodnight, Nera. Sleep well.”

She got another quick kiss, this time to her
forehead, before she watched him walk back to his room.

Inside her cabin, she pressed her back to
the door and gently touched her lips. She wondered if Niklas
Phoenix would ever stop surprising her.

Or doing things that made her want him more
than she already did.

***

Nera stood outside the
Drake
. The
pilots had landed it on a flat plain of black rock that looked
almost like a hardened lava flow.

Behind her, she heard the Institute team
bustling around, preparing to trek into the nearby ruins.

She lifted a hand and shaded her eyes. New
Mexico City. Here, the desert came up to the northern part of the
city ruins. The southern half looked far different. She lifted her
binocs and zoomed in.
Vegetation
. Black, twisted trees and
plant life crawled over the southern half.

The ruins here were also much more intact
than those in New York.

It was easy to imagine the people who’d
lived here. Men and women walking the streets, kids playing, people
hurrying to work. Now…well, now everything was dead.

“Sun feels hotter here, brighter.” Niklas
stepped up beside her.

She wanted to scowl at him. She’d tossed and
turned for a few hours before she’d finally fallen into a fitful
sleep. Even with the orgasm he’d given her, she’d been edgy, desire
a low burn in her body. The man had far too much patience and
self-control for her liking.

“Good morning. And yes, the sun is
harsher.”

His gaze was on the ruined city. “Amazing so
much is still standing. But it was a newer city, so many of the
buildings were built with more modern technology and better
materials.”

“There’s vegetation to the south.”

“Yes, but it looks nasty.”

Someone walked up behind them. Nera turned
and saw Solomon stop beside them.

“Nice day for a treasure hunt,” the young
man said.

“It’s always a nice day to find treasure,”
Nera answered.

Solomon cleared his throat. “I wanted to
thank you both again. For saving me in New York. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe us anything, kid,” Niklas
said.

“Yeah, I do.” Solomon shoved his hands in
his pockets. “Never leave a debt unpaid. My father taught me
that.”

“Sounds like a wise man,” Nera said.

“When it suits him. You both have a marker
from me. Call it in whenever you need it.” Solomon turned and
headed to the small group of Institute agents milling nearby.

Nera regarded him. “He has a story, that
one.”

“We all do.”

Maybe, but she recognized the shadows in the
young man’s too-old eyes. “But his is not a pleasant one.”

“You aren’t going to hold him to his debt,
are you?”

She lifted a shoulder. “We’ll see. I like
collecting debts, you know that.” She eyed Niklas’ rugged face.
“You owe me quite a few. I just haven’t made you pay up yet.”

“Something tells me you never will.”

“Don’t bet on it, Phoenix.”

“All right, everyone.” Avril stepped
forward.

She was wearing an Institute uniform, and
Agent Ryant stood a few meters behind her, with a small number of
his security team.

“Our primary target is the Museum of
Anthropology. We’ll head straight to the museum together. Once
there, we’ll split into smaller recon teams. If you see anything on
the way that looks promising, let us know.” She tapped her ear.
“The radiation here is at lower levels than in New York, so we have
four hours exposure time. We also have limited comms, so the
quality isn’t great.” She nodded. “Let’s move out.”

They walked into the city and were soon
heading down a long, wide street. The security team fanned out
ahead. Gunn and Solomon followed behind Avril, with Niklas and Nera
bringing up the rear. The pavement was cracked and worn. Here and
there, some black plant life twisted up through the cracks. The
buildings nearby were mostly tumbled ruins, but it was easy to pick
out their shape and functions.

Nera spotted the remnants of a metal sign.
It was red with some sort of bottle logo on it. “There are some
small finds around here.”

Niklas nodded. “Yes. I’m sure the Institute
will fund further expeditions and come back to explore some more
and pick up the smaller stuff.”

They turned a corner. An eerie sensation
fell over Nera. Here, the buildings were much more intact. Time
hadn’t knocked down walls or stripped away all the paint.

“Gorgeous,” Niklas murmured.

“I keep expecting someone to walk out of one
of these buildings,” Nera added.

“There it is,” Avril called out.

“Wow,” Nera said under her breath. The
museum rose up ahead. The building was an imposing structure topped
by a large dome, now grimy with time. It was impossible to tell
what it was made of. “So much of it is intact and still
standing.”

“It was custom-built to house the country’s
archeological treasures,” Niklas said. “It was reinforced and
constructed using some of the best tech of the time.”

As they neared the building, the ravages of
the years were easier to spot. The windows had long ago been
smashed in, and were now just gaping holes. Black, soot-like stains
coated the once-cream façade. And she could see that the eastern
wing of the museum had completely collapsed.

Long, wide steps led up to the large metal
front doors.

“Clear the debris,” Avril ordered.

Ryant and his team hurried up the stone
steps to clear the accumulated debris that blocked the
entryway.

Before long, the way was cleared. One of the
agents pulled out a portable laser cutter and set to work on the
heavy metal doors. Orange flame flared as the man cut an opening.
As the cutaway section fell, he flicked off the cutter and stepped
back.

Ryant raised his laser pistol and went in
first, followed by two of his team.

Everyone waited. Avril tapped a boot, her
gaze never leaving the door.

A moment later, Ryant popped his head back
out. “Clear. Come on in.”

Avril pushed forward and ducked through the
opening. Nera followed Niklas in.

The museum must have been just as grand as
some of the Institute’s monstrosities in the central systems. The
tiles, even under the dirt and grime, looked like they were a
once-regal marble. Huge columns speared up to the soaring dome
overhead. A mezzanine floor circled the dome. She studied the upper
level. It appeared to have been just used for display, as there
were no stairs leading upward, and the mezzanine held several large
statues and engraved pieces.

Wide, arched doors led off into corridors
that she presumed led to the different wings.

Avril clapped her hands. “Okay, we’ll split
up here.”

Niklas stepped forward. “Nera and I will
take the northern wing.”

Avril looked between them, her expression
falling. “I’d hoped you’d come with me to the southern wing, Nik.
It was supposed to have housed the museum’s star attractions.”

“Maybe after I take a look in the northern
wing.”

Nera ran her tongue over her teeth. She
might need to have a little chat with the perky Dr. Luma-Smythe if
this kept up.

“Fine.” Avril waved a hand. “You two take
the northern wing. Gunn, Solomon, you take the western wing.”

“Got it,” Gunn said.

“Okay, everyone synchronize timepieces. Like
I said, the radiation levels are lower here, so the exposure limit
is four hours, but I don’t want any more close calls.”

Nera watched the woman lean in for a quiet
word with Agent Ryant. Ryant gave a short nod, and waved at two of
his team, who disappeared into the collapsed eastern section. Nera
watched them go.

“Ready?” Niklas asked.

She nodded, hitched her small backpack
higher on her shoulder and followed him out.

Their footsteps echoed on the floor. The
corridor was long with rooms opening off it. In places they had to
climb over rubble where parts of the roof or wall had collapsed.
“Why this way? Why didn’t you take up Dr. Perky’s offer to head to
the southern wing?”

He glanced back. “I wanted to go with you.
And I think the Sun Stone is this way.”

She jumped over a large chunk of rubble.
“Why? Wouldn’t it have been in the southern wing?”

“During my research I found references to a
special exhibition taking place right before the worst of the
Terran War battles. The museum placed some of its most popular
exhibits together in the Special Exhibitions Hall, a room reserved
for only exclusive exhibitions. I couldn’t find a list of what was
included, but the Sun Stone was one of their most popular
pieces.”

Nera nodded. “Makes sense.”

“Besides, I think the special exhibition was
a front.”

She thought about it for a second. “To move
the most valuable pieces together…and possibly transport them out
if needed.”

“There’s that clever mind of yours.”

She passed what looked like an odd
accumulation of dried up…something. Organic material? She kicked at
it and frowned. “What is this? Some sort of…nest?”

Niklas paused. “Maybe some animal sheltered
here at some stage?”

It was a pretty damn big nest, so it had
either been a large animal or a pack of smaller ones. Neither
prospect made her happy. Then she spotted a flash of paler color
among the debris. She crouched to take a closer look. “Bones.”

There was a small pile of them hidden under
rubble and nesting material.

Niklas picked a long bone up, turning it
over. He caught her gaze with a frown. “Definitely human.”

“Let’s hope that whatever did this lived in
here a long time ago.”

“Well, it doesn’t look fresh.”

They kept moving. Niklas was studying his
wrist Sync. “Not much farther. Ahead should be the doorway to the
Special Exhibitions Hall.”

Nera really wished she could explore some of
the side rooms. They all appeared damaged and empty, but her
treasure radar was going off, and she’d bet her bank balance of
e-creds there were still small valuables in there to find.

Her boot struck a rock. She almost ignored
it, but she quickly glanced down and paused. “Look at this.”

It was the top half of a small statue. She
picked it up, turned it over. Terribly damaged, but still valuable.
The woman’s face was serene, her arms by her side in a rigid pose.
A long, elegant headdress sat on her head, accenting her long neck.
“Egyptian, right?”

“Yes. I might make an astro-archeologist out
of you yet,” Niklas said, grinning in the gloom.

“I don’t think so.”

He touched the statue. “It’s excellent
quality. Such a shame it’s broken. She’s—”

When he broke off, she looked up at him.
“She’s?”

“She was ushabti. A servant for the
afterlife.”

Nera stared at the woman’s face. “You mean a
slave.”

He didn’t say anything, but she smiled. God,
he was cute…trying to protect her from a past long dead. For some
reason, that tight, hot pain she often felt didn’t feel so
poisonous right now. “I’m taking her. I like her.” Nera opened her
backpack and carefully slipped the statue inside.

Shouts came through their nano-earpieces.
They were cut with static, making it hard to make out what was
going on. Nera tensed, ready for anything. Niklas pressed a finger
to his ear and he smiled. “Gunn and Solomon found something.” He
paused again. “A giant Olmec head. Avril’s organizing the security
team to secure it and ready it for transport.”

“Come on, then,” Nera said. “We can’t let
Gunn outdo us.”

They reached a wide-arched doorway at the
end of the corridor. It was partially blocked by rubble.

“This it?” she asked.

He nodded, and started pushing at the rubble
to make an opening wide enough for them to fit through. Nera
helped.

But after they’d moved several chunks of
debris, they found a solid-metal door blocking their way. “Damn,”
he muttered. “Security door.”

“Maybe it kept looters out.”

“But now it’s keeping us out. We’ll have to
ask Avril for that laser cutter.”

Nera raised a brow. “Hardly.” She opened her
backpack and pulled out what she wanted.

Niklas frowned at the small metal ball.
“Ah…what is that? Not explosive, right? Because I don’t want to
bring the entire place down on us…and living with Lala’s made me a
bit twitchy.”

Nera shook her head. “Don’t worry, Phoenix.
I’ll protect you.” She hit the button on the side of the ball.
“This is called a shredder.” She pressed it to the door.

For a second, nothing happened. Then it
started moving in a large circle, leaving a line behind in the
metal.

Niklas crouched to look at it. “It’s not a
laser cutter. There’s no heat.”

“Nope. It’s Rendarian tech. It’s filled with
a corrosive chemical that is delivered in a way that cuts into
metal. You can use it when a laser cutter or explosive is too
dangerous to use.”

“Nice.”

The shredder finished with a beep. Nera
pulled it off and packed it away. Then she gave the circle it had
cut a kick. The piece of metal fell through to the other side with
a dull clang.

She eyed his broad shoulders. “Will you be
able to squeeze through there?”

“It’ll be tight, but I think I’ll make
it.”