Book of JUDAS

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Athens Airport

Anna and Simon watched from the balcony as the flight from Basle landed. They had stopped briefly at Anna’s lodgings where she had collected a few personal things and written a lengthy note to her deputy on the excavation. She had taken Simon’s advice and explained that she would be travelling for an indefinite period due to the death of a close relative. She made sure there were no clues to her whereabouts and didn’t leave any contact details just in case someone came looking.

Simon had spent the last forty minutes at the sales desk sorting out the tickets to Bangkok. He already knew the flight details – they would have a three-hour wait before the departure of the flight via Delhi.

They watched as the passengers swarmed down the steps to the waiting buses that would carry them to the airport terminal.

“C’mon,” said Simon, “let’s go downstairs.”

As they descended the staircase towards the Arrivals exit, he began to wonder how his brother had packed the ancient manuscripts. He saw the puzzled look on Anna’s face – she was obviously thinking the same thing.

“Philip’s carrying the scrolls with him, somehow…” explained Simon.

“This is madness,” replied Anna scornfully. “If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to make the Customs and Immigration people go mad, it’s the mere thought that someone’s smuggling ancient antiquities − it’s been the pastime of villains round here for years! He could be carrying ten times the normal duty allowances and he’d be safer…”

They waited behind the barrier as passengers from Philip’s flight, mainly holidaymakers, began to drift through, pushing old trolleys laden with luggage. As the double exit doors swung open Simon’s heart jumped – a Customs official was poking around in Philip’s open suitcase, while apparently firing questions at his brother.

Anna saw what was going on.

“That’s it − they’ve got him,” she whispered. “What do we do?”

“Just wait a minute,” Simon’s voice held out a small glimmer of hope. The case was being closed and a second guard seemed to be approaching them. This is it, he thought, either Philip’s about to be taken away or he’s free to leave.

The doors closed again and nervously they stood there, fearing the worst. What’s happening?

The automatic doors sprung open once more and Philip emerged smiling and pushing his luggage trolley.

“What happened?” said the exasperated Simon, hugging his brother.

“If you’ve got the manuscripts with you, you’ve just had one of the greatest escapes of all time,” said Anna, looking up at him. Her heart had been in her mouth for the last few seconds.

“And you must be Anna,” said Philip grinning broadly. “Don’t worry – there’s no cause for alarm.”

How alike they look! she thought. Philip was definitely the elder brother. Not because of the difference in age was obvious, after all it was only fourteen months, but there was something more commanding about his presence and she could sense this in the way Simon greeted him.

“What happened?” she quizzed.

“Just a routine check − that’s all.”

“And found nothing?” said Simon, looking confused.

“Don’t worry, they’d never have found anything − c’mon, I’ll explain,” said Philip, and he lifted their bags onto the trolley and started pushing it towards a small café on the concourse.

Anna felt a surge of confidence with Philip’s arrival. He was charming, intelligent and full of self-assurance. If Simon was the adventurer, the dashing risk-taker, Philip was the very model of control, a natural leader whom people looked up to. Her whole impression was cemented by the appearance and stature of the brothers. Looks counted for a lot when it came to making the right first impression and Anna noticed that Phillip was a shade taller than Simon. She placed him at about six foot four.

Simon stayed at the café table as Phillip and Anna walked to the counter and ordered three coffees.

“Well? Where did you hide them?” asked Simon curiously when they came back.

“I didn’t hide them at all − in the beginning I packed them in the luggage the best way I could but it didn’t matter. I knew if the luggage was opened then the manuscripts would be found so in the end I had second thoughts on the way to Basle airport − I didn’t feel I could risk Customs at this end of the journey.”

“Ok, so what have you done with them?” asked Simon.

“I got the taxi to turn around and I went to a shop selling posters − I then carefully rolled them up between two large prints of impressionist paintings and gave them back to the shop assistant who put them put them in a sealed cardboard tube − that tube’s now travelling by international courier to a hotel address in Bangkok. We’ll pick it up when we get there.”

Philip smiled broadly and produced a courier’s airway bill.

Both Anna and Simon smiled back.

“I can’t say I’m that happy to be letting them go so soon after recovering them but I think it’s the safest thing we can do − if everything goes according to plan the package should be arriving at around the same time as we do. I’ve called the Century Hotel and made our reservations − I’ve asked them to hold onto a package addressed to me if it does arrive before we do.”

“What did the scrolls look like?” enquired Anna, excited by the prospect of seeing them.

“I can guarantee you’ll find them fascinating and intriguing, Anna − forget finding the keys of arkheynia,” he joked. “We’ll need all your skills to understand the map – it’s clearly of the Biblical lands but that’s where my understanding ends. The names and references are written in a script that’s not a language I recognise.”

“I wish I could see it,” Anna said eagerly.

Philip looked at her. Simon had been right when he spoke to him at Delphi. She was stunningly beautiful, her pretty face beaming warmth and sincerity as she grinned up towards him. Suddenly his thoughts jumped back towards his fiancée, Heather, and a wave of sadness came over him. He recalled her trembling voice after he had explained why he would not be coming home. “Then take me with you,” she had pleaded tearfully but Philip had been adamant. He deliberately hadn’t revealed the true extent of the danger and he promised to call her whenever he could.

Sipping his coffee, Simon explained the travel arrangements for the night ahead and Phillip confirmed his approval of the plan.

“Ok, so we can check-in shortly − I take it you haven’t seen this yet?” said Phillip, standing up and throwing the rolled up newspaper onto the table in front of them. Anna picked it up and unfolded it to reveal the shocking headlines on the front page. They both pored over the story while Philip made his way down the concourse to buy some provisions for the long journey ahead.

The imagery that Simon had conjured up that afternoon in the taverna at Eleusis became stark reality as Anna read on. If she had any doubts about the story or the horrendous danger they were in then they were now dispelled.

Philip saw the startled look on their faces as he returned.

“Anna, can I buy you dinner in Bangkok tonight?” said Phillip, trying to inject a bit of light humour into the atmosphere.

Anna grinned.

“That sounds very nice. I accept!”

The smiles returned as they proceeded towards the first class check-in desk.

“Oh, I’ve also got some reading for you,” he added, revealing a brown leather book from the inside pocket of his jacket as they strode down the concourse. It was the notebook that had accompanied the scrolls in the safe deposit box at Bank Ehinger. He pulled it out and handed it over to Anna.

She nodded and flicked through a couple of pages before carefully returning it into her hand luggage.

The plane from Athens airport departed twenty minutes late on its eleven-hour crossing to Bangkok and the Far East.