The Apocalypse Script Read Free Page A

man in your field would have
seen similar tablets already if they were in the public
domain?”
    “ Not necessarily. I deal in
languages and writing systems. It’s possible that there are
artifacts with similar markings that I haven’t seen simply because
the engravings were classified as decorative or ritualistic and
have never been brought to the attention of someone in my
field.”
    “ I see,” the woman said, looking
mildly disappointed.
    “ Don’t get me
wrong,” he added, “I am interested in the job. I just need to do my due
diligence. I’ve got appointments in New York and Istanbul this
week, but as soon as I return I’d be happy to meet with your friend
to examine the tablets in person.”
    Lilian frowned. “Oh, no, Ben. I’m
sorry, but that won’t do. Ridley would be furious with me. He wants
you to examine the tablets tomorrow .”
    “ Tomorrow? I’m afraid that’s not
possible. As I said-”
    “ You will be well-compensated, I
promise.”
    “ It’s not that, Lilian. I have
commitments to long-standing clients.”
    A long silence followed as the
prim woman studied her manicured nails. At length, she said, “What
if you didn’t?”
    Ben didn’t understand the purpose
of the question. “Well, obviously, I’d then be happy to examine the
tablets, but that’s not the situation I’m in.”
    Lilian took another sip of her
tea, looking at him over the lip of the delicate, translucent cup.
Lowering it, she asked, “Have you checked your messages
recently?”

    Ben eyed her skeptically before
warily pulling out his phone. He saw that six texts had arrived in
that last twenty minutes. Each was from a client he was supposed to
perform work for that week, including a prestigious New York
museum, and each client said that due to events beyond their
control they would be unable to keep their appointments with
him.
    “ This doesn’t make any sense,” he
said, staring at the screen.
    “ You have an opening,
then?”
    He looked at her accusingly.
“You’re behind this?”
    “ I am.”
    The man struggled to reconcile his
anger and disbelief. “I’d like to know how you gained access to my
schedule and what you said to my clients to persuade them to
cancel. You may have significantly damaged my reputation,
Lilian.”
    The woman sighed. “Ben, your principles and
indignation aside, how much would I have to offer you to get you to
meet with Ridley tomorrow?”
    His anger winning out, he said
loudly, “I don’t put my principles aside , Lilian.”
    “ Ten million dollars.”
    The anger vanished like a whiff of
smoke in a hurricane. “What?”
    “ Ten million dollars for one day
of work. If you determine the tablets are authentic and agree to
decipher them, that figure will be far higher.”
    The researcher said nothing for a
long moment. Then, “You can’t be serious.”
    “ I’m quite serious. In fact, I’ve
already taken the liberty of having the funds deposited into your
account.” She nodded at the phone he still held. “I don’t mind
waiting while you verify that.”

Chapter 2 -
Afghanistan

    Back at his office, Ben Mitchell withdrew a beer
from the mini-fridge and plopped down in front of his computer,
still in a state of shock. He had been paid ten million dollars in
advance for a day’s work, with the promise that the tablets he
would be inspecting contained the oldest writing system ever
discovered. Swallowing his pride, he had agreed to meet Lilian at
her mansion at eight in the morning the following day.
    A millionaire. He was a millionaire.
    He held his beer in the air and
tipped the neck of the bottle in the direction of a photograph on
the wall. It was a photograph of him in his Marine dress blues,
taken many years ago. A grin on his face, he said, “You’ve come a
long way, Corporal Mitchell!”

    He had been born just over three
decades earlier in Boduska, Colorado, the only child of a tractor
parts salesman and a substitute teacher. His father had died of a
heart