Treasured Dreams by Kendall Talbot

now.’
    Alessandro had no idea if he was serious or not. ‘Professor, whilst I respect your professional opinion, Ginger and I will remain in the room when you open the urn. We shall dress in the necessary Hazmat gear too.’ Alessandro clenched his jaw. Standing up to a man of Sezoine’s credentials was not something Alessandro had done before. But this was a unique situation and he had no intention of leaving the room until he’d seen what was inside the statue.
    As Alessandro waited for Sezoine to answer, he swallowed back a lump that’d formed in his throat. He was certain everyone heard it in the silence.
    Finally, the professor’s grim look changed to a grin. ‘Tell me you have the necessary Hazmat gear to handle this.’
    Alessandro turned to Leonardo and Lorenzo, and they each shook their heads. ‘Ginger, can you stay here with the professor while I make a call?’
    â€˜Sure.’ She tugged at her plait folded over her shoulder.
    Alessandro stepped from the room and slipped into the hallway. He rang Archer and explained the situation. ‘Make the arrangements,’ Archer said. ‘Then tell me who to pay.’
    â€˜Thanks, Archer.’
    Alessandro hung up from Archer and it required a further four phone calls before the arrangements were made. Forty-five minutes later, the Hazmat suits arrived, and the three of them climbed into them.
    â€˜I don’t get it.’ Ginger’s voice was muffled through the clear plastic covering her face. ‘If we’re only worried about ingesting mercury, why don’t we just cover our mouths rather than our whole bodies?’
    Alessandro looked to Sezoine for the answer. ‘Because the ancient Egyptians were also brilliant alchemists. Some of the poisons they used were effective just by touching your skin.’
    â€˜Oh. Okay then.’ Through the clear plastic, Alessandro noticed Ginger’s wide eyes. He wanted to reach for her hand and whisper in her ear that he’d protect her, but the suit rendered it impossible.
    The threesome moved back into the room and Alessandro looked up, past the dangling lights, and saw Leonardo and Lorenzo staring down at him from the balcony.
    The monkey statue faced them side-on, and Alessandro admired its brilliant craftsmanship. It was impossible to believe this piece could be thousands of years old.
    He marvelled at the gold and contemplated its worth. A piece like this would bring out the who’s who of antiquities buyers. The bidding would be fierce. But Alessandro had no intention of selling it. This piece was destined for pride of place in a museum.
    He glanced over at the camera set up in the corner; the red light indicated it was still recording. The video replaying the opening of the statue would make an excellent addition to the museum display.
    â€˜There’s a trick to opening the urn. I’ve seen it before.’ Professor Sezoine placed his blue plastic gloves on the neck of the statue. He leant in close and Alessandro and Ginger eased in with him. As his fingers applied pressure to the symbols on the statue, Alessandro realised he was searching for a trigger mechanism. His breath caught in his throat as Sezoine went from one symbol to the next. He gasped when a small triangle attached to a straight line, like a very simple flag, moved inwards at the professor’s touch.
    Sezoine moved his hands up to the monkey’s head so that he could also reach the triangle with his thumb. Then as he applied pressure to the triangle, he twisted the head anticlockwise. It moved, and the ease with which he did it made it look as if the statue had been made yesterday, not centuries ago.
    â€˜Stand back.’ Sezoine spoke through clenched teeth.
    They did as they were told. Alessandro didn’t take his eyes off the statue; he didn’t even want to blink. There was a muffled click, and ever so slowly Sezoine lifted the head off.
    An explosion