Amber by David Wood

the castle?” Bones looked puzzled. “Seems kind of obvious, doesn’t it? I mean, I’m sure everyone’s already looked all through it by now, right? All these years...Same as the wreck, really, but at least that’s hard to get to. Anybody and their dog can walk through a building.”
    Professor responded as Maddock wrangled the SUV through another turn while glancing in the rearview mirror. “The castle is just collapsed ruins now; the standing ruins were taken down by a demolition team in 1968. The only part left today that might be able to be explored is the subterranean tunnel system beneath it. Archaeology teams still occasionally do excavations there in the hopes of finding treasures including the Amber Room. That’s where most of the expectations for finding anything on that site lie.”
    Bones was still not convinced. “But it’s not like anybody can just go walking into the ruins anymore, right?”
    “We’re not just anybody, Bones. We’re special warfare operators on a government sanctioned mission. But you’re right. There are alternate entrances and a lot of secrets in general surrounding the castle. That’s where our local contact comes into play.”
    “Zara? She could come into play with me anytime, no doubt about it. Doesn’t make her any less annoying, though. And what’s this other place we’re meeting her at?”
    “King’s Gate. It’s one of the six old German guard houses from the 1800s that fortified the city. Today it’s a tourist attraction.”
    “What does it have to do with the Amber Room, though?”
    “Nothing, I don’t think. It’s just a well-known place to meet at so we can find her.”
    “And here it is.” Maddock’s voice brought them back to their current objective. Leopov. He slowed the vehicle as they pulled up in front of a brick building with a central tower featuring a trio of statues mounted on the facade. Bones pointed to them.
    “Who are those guys?”
    Professor answered. “Prussian kings.”
    Willis looked not up at the statues but on the ground level. “You guys see her?”
    “She’s hard to miss,” Bones began. “She’s super freakin’—“
    “Hold it.” Maddock’s voice had that icy tone to it that the team knew well enough to know they better shut up and listen.
    “What’s up?” This from Professor.
    Maddock stared into the driver side door mirror while he responded. “I took an extra loop a while back there so that we weren’t taking such a direct course to our rendezvous point, but now I see the same black Citroen that I saw before I made the extra loop.”
    Professor wrinkled his brow as he tracked the vehicle in the rear view. “Coincidence?”
    “There she is!” Bones announced before Maddock could answer. Three of the four heads in the SUV turned while Maddock kept his gaze riveted to the mirror. A woman dressed in an overcoat, scarf, pants and a jacket walked around the corner and strolled down the sidewalk in front of the King’s Gate. Willis gave a catcall whistle that couldn’t be heard outside of the SUV.
    “ Damn . Look at that !” Then Willis shook his head and seemed to clear his mind. “I don’t see our contact, though. Where is she?” He glanced up and down the sidewalk. Bones chuckled.
    “What ‘choo talkin’ about, Willis! That’s her! That’s Leopov.”
    “Hey, Bonehead, I told you to stop sayin’ that. It’s low-hanging fruit, man. You gotta be better than that.” But the fire was gone from his reply as he watched Zara sashay down the street. “You’re serious—that’s really her?”
    Bones already had the door open. “Be right back. Slide your big butt over and make some room.” Bones took a couple of steps toward Leopov.
    “Well hello again, beautiful!” A brunette, Leopov had a vaguely Slavic look with high cheekbones and shoulder length hair with a mild wave to it.
    She turned and stared at him for a moment over lowered sunglasses, then walked briskly past him. “Hurry, get in.” The