Read Online The Project 05 - The Tesla Secret by Alex Lukeman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alex Lukeman
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Elizabeth, you need a break. Maybe Hawaii...No you can't. Not now. Maybe later.
When all this was over she promised herself she would take that vacation.
She opened her eyes. Reality returned. Stephanie had been right. She had to send the team after the Codex. Nick and Selena could join Ronnie and Lamont in Portugal after they were done in Prague.
CHAPTER TWENTY- TWO
Red velvet rope kept a group of tourists away from a glassed case holding the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Emperors. Two armed guards wearing elaborate powder-blue uniforms kept watch on either side of the case. Blue Cap was in the group. Suspenders pretended to study a display of medieval armor a hundred feet from where Nick and Selena stood.
They looked at the glittering display. The crown was made of hoops of gold rising from a circular band of gold set with precious stones. Four elaborate finials rose from the band, studded with the biggest sapphires Selena had ever seen. The crown was topped with a golden cross embedded with more sapphires. Diamonds, rubies the size of pigeon eggs and gleaming pearls rounded out the decorations. A golden scepter and orb, both set with an abundance of jewels, completed the display.
"We're lucky to see these," Selena said. "They're usually locked up. It says in the brochure that it takes seven separate keys just to get to where you can access the vault."
"Some of our politicians in Washington would like a set of those."
"I'll bet that crown was heavy."
"Price of being king," Nick said. "You get the toys, you get the headache and the stiff neck."
"Can you imagine living here?"
The original castle had been started in 880 CE. It had been added to for centuries. Every style of European architecture was represented somewhere. There were hundreds of rooms. There were chapels, quarters for medieval monks and nuns, kitchens and bedrooms and dungeons, buildings for every use and description, a large cathedral. The castle stretched for half a mile, a rat's maze of halls, passageways, walkways, gardens, bridges and stairs.
She said as much to Nick.
"Rat's maze. Our rats are still with us. I'm getting tired of sightseeing. Let's get them somewhere quiet."
Nick consulted a map of the castle he'd picked up when they came in.
"Here."
"The Basilica of St. George?"
"There will be fewer people around. It's good a place as any."
The Basilica was located toward one corner of the castle grounds, away from the main buildings, connected to a former Benedictine convent and marked with two needle-shaped towers of whitish stone. The towers were over 90 feet high. Everything about the castle was big. The Basilica of St. George was no exception.
They strolled through the castle grounds until they reached the Basilica. They went in with their watchers not far behind. Their footsteps echoed on the hard stone floor. Nick looked around and pointed at a side chapel.
"That looks like a good, quiet spot."
The tour map identified the chapel as the shrine of Vratislav I. A sign with closed in four languages hung from a chain strung across the entrance between two metal stands. They stepped around the barrier and into the shrine.
It was an impressive room. The high, arched ceiling had been fitted together with a master stone mason's skill. At the far end of the chapel, wide stairs swept up in matching curves to a curved apse with tall windows. The dome-like ceiling of the apse bore faded paintings of religious figures against a white background. Afternoon sun streamed though the windows and filled the chapel with light.
The tomb of the saint was to their right. It looked like a small wooden house set on a stone base and was decorated with a painting of a nun and a bishop holding a staff. The bishop knelt in front of the nun. Nick didn't have time to contemplate the symbolism. Blue Cap and Suspenders came in. Steel flashed in their hands.
"Go for the high ground," he said. "There's room to move up there. Try not to use your gun."
They ran
When all this was over she promised herself she would take that vacation.
She opened her eyes. Reality returned. Stephanie had been right. She had to send the team after the Codex. Nick and Selena could join Ronnie and Lamont in Portugal after they were done in Prague.
CHAPTER TWENTY- TWO
Red velvet rope kept a group of tourists away from a glassed case holding the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Emperors. Two armed guards wearing elaborate powder-blue uniforms kept watch on either side of the case. Blue Cap was in the group. Suspenders pretended to study a display of medieval armor a hundred feet from where Nick and Selena stood.
They looked at the glittering display. The crown was made of hoops of gold rising from a circular band of gold set with precious stones. Four elaborate finials rose from the band, studded with the biggest sapphires Selena had ever seen. The crown was topped with a golden cross embedded with more sapphires. Diamonds, rubies the size of pigeon eggs and gleaming pearls rounded out the decorations. A golden scepter and orb, both set with an abundance of jewels, completed the display.
"We're lucky to see these," Selena said. "They're usually locked up. It says in the brochure that it takes seven separate keys just to get to where you can access the vault."
"Some of our politicians in Washington would like a set of those."
"I'll bet that crown was heavy."
"Price of being king," Nick said. "You get the toys, you get the headache and the stiff neck."
"Can you imagine living here?"
The original castle had been started in 880 CE. It had been added to for centuries. Every style of European architecture was represented somewhere. There were hundreds of rooms. There were chapels, quarters for medieval monks and nuns, kitchens and bedrooms and dungeons, buildings for every use and description, a large cathedral. The castle stretched for half a mile, a rat's maze of halls, passageways, walkways, gardens, bridges and stairs.
She said as much to Nick.
"Rat's maze. Our rats are still with us. I'm getting tired of sightseeing. Let's get them somewhere quiet."
Nick consulted a map of the castle he'd picked up when they came in.
"Here."
"The Basilica of St. George?"
"There will be fewer people around. It's good a place as any."
The Basilica was located toward one corner of the castle grounds, away from the main buildings, connected to a former Benedictine convent and marked with two needle-shaped towers of whitish stone. The towers were over 90 feet high. Everything about the castle was big. The Basilica of St. George was no exception.
They strolled through the castle grounds until they reached the Basilica. They went in with their watchers not far behind. Their footsteps echoed on the hard stone floor. Nick looked around and pointed at a side chapel.
"That looks like a good, quiet spot."
The tour map identified the chapel as the shrine of Vratislav I. A sign with closed in four languages hung from a chain strung across the entrance between two metal stands. They stepped around the barrier and into the shrine.
It was an impressive room. The high, arched ceiling had been fitted together with a master stone mason's skill. At the far end of the chapel, wide stairs swept up in matching curves to a curved apse with tall windows. The dome-like ceiling of the apse bore faded paintings of religious figures against a white background. Afternoon sun streamed though the windows and filled the chapel with light.
The tomb of the saint was to their right. It looked like a small wooden house set on a stone base and was decorated with a painting of a nun and a bishop holding a staff. The bishop knelt in front of the nun. Nick didn't have time to contemplate the symbolism. Blue Cap and Suspenders came in. Steel flashed in their hands.
"Go for the high ground," he said. "There's room to move up there. Try not to use your gun."
They ran
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