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come down here," Nick called.
    Forsberg came down the ladder, followed by Selena. She played the light around the room. Four long crates stamped with Swedish markings were stacked against a wall. There were boxes at the end of the room.
    Nick pointed the light at the nearest crate. "What does that say in Swedish?"
    "Shit," Forsberg said.
    "It says shit?"
    "Those are military markings."
    He walked over to the crate. The lid was loose. He lifted it up.
    "Assault rifles. AK5Cs. They're issued to the home guard."
    "That explains the lock," Nick said, "and why they left someone behind."
    "Bring the light over here," Selena said.
    She stood at the back of the room, looking down at the contents of an open crate. It was filled with artifacts packed in straw. It was easy to see that the objects were old. Selena picked up a statue of a goddess, about eight inches tall.
    "This is Babylonian. It's a statue of Astarte. Probably looted from Iraq."
    "ISIS,"Nick said.
    "Has to be."
    Nick turned to Forsberg. "After finding this, I don't think you have to worry much about what happened at the refugee center."
    Selena lifted the top off another crate.
    "Wow," she said.
    The gold gleamed in the light of her torch. The crate was filled with objects stolen from Christian churches. There was a gold chalice and two gold candlesticks. With the chalice and candlesticks was a silver Orthodox crucifix set with precious stones.
    There was a silver box, about a foot long and eight inches across. Words in Latin were scribed on the surface of the lid.
    Liber Simon
     
    Selena opened it. Inside were two ancient scrolls of vellum.
    If she hadn't opened that box, everything would have been different.
     

CHAPTER 10
     
     
    Selena took the box with her when they climbed out of the hidden room. Back in the house, they sat down at a wooden table in the kitchen and waited for Forsberg's people to arrive.
    Nick looked at the silver container. "What does the Latin say?"
    "It says, 'The Book of Simon.'"
    Selena lifted one of the scrolls from the box.
    "It's still flexible. I think I can open it."
    She laid it on the table. With great care, she unrolled it.
    "This is written in biblical Aramaic."
    Selena scanned the scroll.
    "I don't believe this. If this is real..."
    "Well?" Lamont said. "What does it say?"
    "It's a description of the crucifixion, written by Simon of Cyrene."
    Nick looked at her. "Who was Simon?"
    "He's the one who helped Christ carry the cross. If this is authentic, it's an amazing find."
    Forsberg said. "I'm surprised those barbarians didn't melt the box down and throw that scroll in the trash."
    "They may be barbarians, but their leaders aren't stupid," Nick said. "They need money for weapons. Looted antiquities are a big source of income for them, right after oil. The black market for artifacts is huge. There are plenty of people who don't care how something was obtained. One of those little statues like Selena held up is worth thousands to a collector."
    "Your man Andersson must have discovered what they were doing," Ronnie said.
    Nick turned to Forsberg. "Everything points back to that refugee center. Are you going to raid it?"
    Forsberg sighed. "The government is reluctant to do anything that involves Muslim immigrants. They're afraid of being criticized at the UN."
    "I was them, I'd be more afraid of the terrorists," Lamont said. "Whoever hid those guns wasn't planning on hunting reindeer."
    "We don't have reindeer down here," Forsberg said.
    "Whatever."
    "I'll have to go to the Minister with this. I can make a good case for a raid, but I can't do it without permission."
    "What if you can't get it?" Nick asked.
    Forsberg smiled. "Even a politician can be persuaded to do the right thing once in a while. They'll give it to me. There's an election coming up. Finding and eliminating an ISIS terror cell would look good in the papers. Not everyone in our government is afraid to do what needs to be done."
    "I hear vehicles," Selena said.
    Forsberg