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got up. Selena put scroll back in the box and took it with her as they followed him outside. Three cars and a van pulled up. A dark-haired woman wearing a red winter jacket got out of the lead vehicle.
    "Wait here," Forsberg said. "I won't be long."
    He walked over to the woman and began speaking with her. He pointed at the barn, then at the ditch, where the remains of the Volvo smoldered under a sullen sky.
    Nick took out his phone. "I'd better call Harker."
    Elizabeth picked up on the second ring.
    "About time, Nick. Where are you?"
    "Standing in the Swedish countryside looking at a wrecked car. It's been a busy couple of days."
    He ran the events of the past forty-eight hours past her.
    "The Swedes are going to raid that refugee center. I want us along."
    "You think they'll have a problem with that?"
    "I can't see them letting us go with them. For one thing, they won't give us weapons. They'll send in their SWAT team."
    "Then let them go ahead and do the work," Elizabeth said.
    "What if they miss something?"
    "They're professional. KSI is small but they have a good reputation."
    "Can't you pull some strings and get us on that raid?"
    "What's your concern?"
    "The government here is way over on the left and afraid of international opinion. The Muslim refugee issue is a mine field. Forsberg says he can get the raid approved but I'm sure that if something sensitive turns up it will be suppressed. ISIS is flooding Europe with stolen artifacts. The immigrant center is one of the distribution points and no one is monitoring them. There could be evidence inside that implicates someone in the Swedish government or identifies an important buyer, someone who's protected. If there is, I want to get a look at it."
    "Mmm. It would be a big help if we could identify a buyer."
    "That stuff isn't cheap. Whoever is paying for it is rich and that means he's got clout. If the buyer is Swedish, we're never going to hear about it unless we're on the scene."
    "I see your point. I can't guarantee anything, but I'll see what I can do."
    "Let me speak with her," Selena asked.
    "Selena wants to talk to you."
    Nick handed Selena the phone. "Elizabeth, we found something with the artifacts."
    "Yes?"
    "It looks like a lost book from the Bible, or at least part of one. I'd like to translate it before I have to give it to the Swedes. It's an incredible find. The government is sure to conceal it until they've had a chance to study it."
    "And you want me to make sure you have the opportunity first?"
    "Yes. I could take photographs but it will be more accurate if I have them in my hands. Can you make that happen?"
    "That will be easier than getting the four of you on that raid," Elizabeth said. "With your reputation, I don't see why it should be a problem. You'd be doing them a favor."
    "Wonderful. Thanks."
    She handed the phone back to Nick.
    Forsberg had finished speaking with his colleague. He started toward them.
    "We're about to head back into town," Nick said. "Anything else, Director?"
    "Play nice with the Swedes and keep a low profile."

CHAPTER 11
     
     
    The raid was on, but Forsberg had been warned in no uncertain terms against creating an international incident. If there was trouble and the government needed a scapegoat, he was going to be it. He'd decided the best way to head off potential problems was with a show of force.
    Nick and the others had been allowed on the raid as observers. They still had no weapons. They were not allowed to enter the center until the Swedes had secured the building.
    It was three in the morning, dark and cold. The air felt raw and smelled of coming snow. Nick, Selena, Ronnie and Lamont sat in a car parked three blocks away from the center, behind two Plasan sand cats carrying the Swedish SWAT teams. The SWAT vehicles had been designed in Israel and carried eight men each. The Plasan was basically an armored box slapped onto a shortened Ford F-350 platform. It was cheap, rugged and effective.
    The cold seeped into