The Alexander Cipher Page 0,122
was also a lesser-known incident, when Alexander visited the tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae. Cyrus had been the greatest conqueror and emperor before Alexander, a semidivine figure worshipped throughout Persia. Yet Alexander discovered his bones lying scattered on the floor by bandits who had tried unsuccessfully to steal his golden sarcophagus. The inscription on Cyrus’s tomb read, “O man, whoever you are and from wherever you may come—for I know that you will come—I am Cyrus, who won the Persians their empire. Therefore, do not begrudge me this little earth which covers my body.” But his plea had gone unheard.
They said that when Alexander was lying on his deathbed in Babylon, aware his end was upon him, he tried to drag his failing body down to the river that ran by the palace, so that he would be swept away by the waters, and the world might believe him taken up to his rightful place among the gods. But maybe he had also sought to deny his successors the chance to treat his mortal remains with the disrespect they had shown Cyrus’s. So maybe that was the fate Alexander had wanted for his body: not Siwa, not Alexandria, not Macedonia, but the oblivion of water.
The oblivion of water. Yes. And finally, the germ of an idea came to Knox.
It seemed forever before the truck stopped next. The back of the container shrieked as it was opened. Knox leaned his head back against the steel wall, fear tickling his chest like the beads of a rosary. Stars lay low on the horizon. The day was gone. Perhaps his last. Nicolas climbed up inside, one side of his hair spiky, as though he had napped against the window. He pointed the Walther at Knox. “We’re in Suez,” he said as Eneas untied Knox’s bonds and pulled the gag from his mouth. Knox clenched and unclenched his hands to get the circulation back, then stood gingerly, grimacing at the pain in his thigh.
Nicolas gestured for Knox to go to the mouth of the container, but Knox ignored him. He picked up the guard’s water bottle and found a few mouthfuls left. He removed Gaille’s gag, held the bottle to her lips, tipped it up for her until it was empty, then kissed her on her crown. “I’ll do my best,” he promised her.
“I know you will.”
“Move,” said Nicolas, jabbing him with the Walther’s muzzle.
Knox hobbled to the end of the container, making more of his injury than it really warranted, hoping to convince Nicolas that he was badly hurt. He helped himself gingerly down onto tarmac, giving a little cry of pain as he landed, then hopping a couple of times on his good leg. They were in the corner of a huge empty parking lot that stank of stale fumes and scorched rubber. Arabic music drifted from a distant petrol station. Over a wall of trees, the sky glowed orange.
“This is how it’s going to work,” said Nicolas. “You and Leonidas will go to see al-Assyuti. You’ll negotiate our safe passage back to Greece. When Leonidas is satisfied, he’ll call me and—”
“Fuck that,” said Knox. “I do nothing until Gaille is safe.”
Nicolas gave a tight smile. “When Leonidas is satisfied, he’ll call me, and both you and the girl can go free.”
“Forget it. Let Gaille go now, and I’ll do my best for you. You have my word.”
Nicolas sighed. “The girl’s our leverage. You can’t expect us to release her.”
“And Hassan’s my leverage,” replied Knox. “I’m not going to deal with him for you until the girl’s safe.”
A siren wailed out on the main road. Flashing blue and red lights. They all turned as casually as they could, competing to show the least alarm. It was only an ambulance. They waited until it was out of sight.
“We keep the girl,” said Nicolas. “That’s not up for discussion.”
Knox shrugged. “Then how about this,” he suggested. “I go see Hassan, like you want. And I take your man with me. But Gaille comes, too.”
Nicolas snorted. “What kind of fool do you take me for?”
“You want to get out of Egypt, don’t you? All I want is this over and done with. We’ll all go in together, if you don’t trust me.”
“Sure!” mocked Nicolas. “Straight into your trap.”
“What trap? How on earth could I have arranged a trap? Besides, you’re going to have to entrust yourself to al-Assyuti at some point.”
Nicolas glared at him for a few moments, trying to read what he