5
Grand Canyon Snake Valley Retreat, USA
Sam's phone buzzed in the balmy night. He unwound himself from Lilith's sleeping form and padded out to the deck to take the call.
"I've sent pictures." Krait, his second-in-command, was gruff as ever. "That should be all you need. If you want the actual bricks, we're gonna have to tear them out the wall. I've got myself a hostage in case we need more time so I can do it, but we'll have to hurry."
"Give me a minute to check the resolution." Sam could barely contain his excitement. Finally, they were so close.
He ended the call and went to his wall screen, logged onto his secure email and opened the images that Krait had sent. The brilliant blue of the Ishtar Gate bricks filled the screen, a series of strange dots superimposed over them. Then th
