Celtic Empire (Dirk Pitt 25)

At the campsite, Riki was gathering her belongings. Dirk approached and offered a hand. “Can I give you a lift somewhere?”

She looked into his eyes and answered with a hopeful smile. “That would be really nice. I was due to head back to Cairo in two days with Dr. Stanley and catch a flight home. Where are you headed?”

“Upriver to Assiut, where they took the professor. We borrowed a survey boat from the university there.”

“That would work great for me. They have a sizable airport, from which I coul

d catch a flight to Cairo. And it would be great to see how Dr. Stanley is doing. You sure you have room aboard?”

“It’s not a royal barge, but we’ll make it work,” Dirk promised. “Even if I have to sleep on the roof.”

24

It was nearly dusk when Riki boarded the survey boat with Dirk, Summer, and Zeibig. They sailed a short distance up the Nile, then anchored for the night in a protected cove. Dirk fired up a grill on the deck and cooked lamb kabobs while Summer helped Zeibig prepare falafels in the galley.

“I was expecting tinned stew,” Riki said as she joined the others at the stern deck workbench that served as a dinner table.

Dirk popped the cork on a bottle of Italian white wine and filled everyone’s glass. “We try not to suffer too much when we’re in the field.” He raised his glass in a toast. “To a beguiling day in the desert.”

Hungry from their ordeal, the four devoured the meal.

“So what exactly is NUMA doing here in Amarna?” Riki asked, filling her plate with seconds.

“We’re supporting a joint project with the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry and the University of Assiut,” Dirk said, “to survey the shorelines of the ancient cities of Amarna and Akoris. Summer conducted a marine life survey off Amarna last year and spotted some submerged cultural remains just south of here. Rod and I joined her to conduct sonar and sub-bottom profiles of the sites.”

Summer laughed. “I was lonely, not having anyone to share the one-hundred-ten-degree temperatures with.”

“Been here long?” Riki asked.

“Long enough,” Summer replied, placing another kabob skewer onto her plate. “A month for me, about two weeks for the guys. We were scheduled to wrap things up tomorrow.”

“I’m glad you were around,” Riki said. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t arrived.”

“You have Rod to thank for that,” Summer said. “He was clicking away on his radio, and we finally realized it was a distress call.”

“Nervous fingers,” Zeibig said.

“What’s your involvement with Dr. Stanley and the excavation?” Dirk asked.

“The company I work for has been a major sponsor of Dr. Stanley’s work in Egypt for many years. I handle public relations for the firm, which enables me to spend time firsthand with Dr. Stanley. The company’s founder was an amateur Egyptologist who befriended him many years ago. He’s no longer with us, yet the firm has continued the sponsorship as a legacy to his passion for all things Egyptian.”

“A worthy cause,” Zeibig said. “But you mentioned this wasn’t your first foray into the Egyptian wilds?”

“Not at all. I have worked with Dr. Stanley on several digs in Egypt.” She gave a sheepish grin. “My thesis was on the archeological record of Nefertiti.”

“You have a background in archeology?” Dirk chided.

As Riki nodded, Zeibig laughed. “I knew there was something about you I liked.”

“Maybe you can shed some light on the artifact Summer found yesterday.” Dirk rose and disappeared into the pilothouse.

“It’s a small stone with an inscription. I found it underwater, where we believe a merchant dock may have been located,” Summer said. “I was hoping to have Dr. Stanley examine it.”

“Perhaps he can see it in Assiut,” Riki said. She looked up as Dirk appeared, holding a jagged piece of flat stone. Summer cleared some dishes so he could set it on the table.

“We aren’t supposed to remove artifacts,” Dirk said. “Summer uncovered this accidentally and received authorization to bring it up.”

Nearly two feet wide and the color of alabaster, the stone had a worn panel of hieroglyphics across the top and the fragment of a carved image below.