THE MAHABHARATA QUEST:THE ALEXANDER SECRET Read Online Free PDF Page A

this mission, there was no getting away from them tonight. And, as the team’s expert on the period in which the tomb had been built, she knew the two directors would want to hear her views on the bizarre discoveries within the tomb.
    As she contemplated this unwelcome thought, a staccato chopping sound filled the night. A helicopter, passing by overhead, very low. The sound of the chopper continued for a while and then suddenly died down, almost as if the machine had landed somewhere nearby.
    Alice was still focused on the unpleasant task ahead of her. Sighing, she took out her laptop and camera and placed them on the desk in the room. She slipped her mobile phone and the memory stick from the camera into her waist pouch and rose to make her way to Damon’s villa.
    As she placed her hand on the doorknob, an insistent tap came from the window that overlooked the garden. It was unbarred and the shade was up, so she could see Marco’s frightened face pressed against the window pane very clearly. It was white with fear, as if the blood had all been drained away from his face. He tapped again, with greater urgency, indicating that she should open the window.
    Alice retraced her steps and let Marco in through the window. ‘What…’ she began, wondering what had terrified Marco, but stopped short as Marco burst into tears. 

3
    Out of the frying pan…
    ‘They killed Damon,’ Marco blubbered, collapsing into a heap on the floor. ‘Peter shot him. Just like that.’
    Alice couldn’t comprehend what Marco was saying for a few moments. What was he babbling about? He wasn’t making any sense. Why would Peter shoot Damon?
    She knelt down beside the weeping boy and put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. ‘Tell me what happened,’ she said gently. ‘I’m sure it is all a misunderstanding.’
    ‘I saw it with my own eyes!’ Marco wailed. ‘Stavros was shouting at Damon. He was angry with Damon for leaving you alone in the tomb and for letting you photograph the artefacts. He said that Damon should have brought the cube to show them.’ A fresh flood of tears welled up in his eyes and he choked on his words.
    Alice waited patiently, offering him a box of tissues. Suddenly she felt she was in a dream. A very unpleasant dream. She wished to be woken up right now.
    Marco blew his nose loudly and continued. ‘Then Peter took out a gun. He told Damon that he was a liability since he didn’t follow instructions.’ He paused as he recollected the scene he had witnessed through the open windows of Damon’s villa. ‘Damon was terrified. He pleaded, begged for Peter to give him another chance. He was crying. But Peter wouldn’t listen. He just shot him.’ Marco’s sobbing renewed.
    Alice stood up as she heard the sound of people racing down the corridor leading to her villa. Was it Stavros and Peter? The reality of her situation suddenly hit her like a cold shower on a snowy winter’s day, shocking her into action.
    She sprinted for the door and double bolted it. That would buy them some time. If Damon had been killed, there was no doubt about what would happen to Marco and her.
    ‘We have to get out of here,’ she voiced her thoughts to Marco. ‘Come on.’
    She hefted her backpack and slid out through the window just as someone tried the door.
    ‘It’s locked!’ That was Peter.
    ‘Break it open!’ That was Stavros.
    The sound of an assault on the door came to them. The latch shook with the impact but stayed fast.
    Alice looked at the door and then glanced at Marco, who was frozen where he sat, staring at the door like a deer caught in the headlights of a car on a forest path. She knew it wouldn’t be long before they broke through.
    ‘Marco!’ she hissed, not daring to shout. If Peter knew that she was aware of what had happened, they would guess that she was trying to flee and would take action to pre-empt her. ‘Get the hell out of there!’
    Her voice seemed to jolt Marco back to reality. He stood up