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herself selected by customs for a bag search.  
    In her carry-on, they found nothing out of the ordinary, just her laptop, a cellular phone, and a few books. One of her checked suitcases passed without notice as well, nothing but clothes and toiletries. But the other checked bag, the large one, that's what drew their attention. Specifically, the ancient weapons they found inside.
    And now, Elisa Hill sat in a small room with no windows, a dim light and only one door. She sat at the table, facing off against two men wearing suits.  
    “What purpose do you have for bringing these weapons into India?” asked one of the agents, who identified himself earlier as Basati.
    “They're not weapons, they're ancient artifacts,” said Elisa. “I'm a professor of archaeology and mythological studies at Burroughs University in America. I'm here to meet a colleague of mine and I brought the artifacts with so she could have a chance to examine them.”
    “Why not just have your colleague visit you in the States?” asked the second agent, named Shah. He had a hint of a British accent in his voice.
    “Because I'm still on sabbatical from Burroughs. She isn't.”
    “Sabbatical? Looks more like an extravagant vacation from your passport. You were just in the Caribbean a week ago?” asked Basati.
    “Also part of my sabbatical. I'm researching the correlation between the myths of the Americas with the myths of the east.”
    “And the weapons are a part of that?” asked Shah.
    “Artifacts. And yes,” she said.
    A knock came at the door. Shah glanced to Basati who left the wall he had been leaning against to answer it. Almost immediately, a young Indian woman with short hair and glasses barged into the room.  
    “You can't just—” Basati began to protest, but cut himself off when he saw the man who followed her in. His commanding officer.
    “This woman is free to go,” he said, motioning to Elisa.
    “But sir...” said Shah.
    “I said she is free to go.”
    “And just who is this?” asked Shah, referring to the new woman.
    “Professor Lakita Rai of the archaeological studies department at Mumbai University,” said the woman. “Professor Hill is a guest of ours and she is here on sabbatical for research purposes.”
    “That doesn't excuse the weapons she brought in,” said Shah.
    “As a matter of fact, it does,” said Lakita. “Those aren't weapons, they're ancient artifacts I requested the Professor to bring with her.” Lakita held up a copy of a form and handed it to Shah. “Perhaps if you had bothered to check the proper documentation, you would see they had already been approved for entry by your organization.”
    Shah muttered something under his breath in Hindi as he turned away. Elisa smiled, the superior officer apologizing to her profusely. Lakita continued to glare daggers at both the two agents.
    “I have a car waiting outside. Would you be so kind as to bring Professor Hill's luggage out to it? And be careful, those artifacts are worth more than your life.”
    Once they climbed inside Lakita's car, Elisa burst into laughter. Lakita just smiled as she started the engine and pulled away from the airport.  
    “I was starting to wonder how I was going to get out of there,” said Elisa.
    “Maxwell Finch always makes sure to cover his bases, you should know that,” said Lakita.  
    “Well, I can't thank the both of you enough, Professor,” said Elisa. “Speaking of which, how were you able to get approval on such short notice?”
    “A retired myth hunter from Calcutta now works with the customs department,” said Lakita. “And you can call me Lakita. But don't start celebrating yet, we still need to find the Churchward Tablets before this Davalos character does.”
    “So I take it Max filled you in on all the details.”
    “He did.”
    “Good, saves me the trouble of having to explain everything,” said Elisa. “First thing's first though, I need to get a shower. Several hours in a plane is