“Nice day for a treasure hunt,” the young man said.
“It’s always a nice day to find treasure,” Nera answered.
Solomon cleared his throat. “I wanted to thank you both again. For saving me in New York. I owe you.”
“You don’t owe us anything, kid,” Niklas said.
“Yeah, I do.” Solomon shoved his hands in his pockets. “Never leave a debt unpaid. My father taught me that.”
“Sounds like a wise man,” Nera said.
“When it suits him. You both have a marker from me. Call it in whenever you need it.” Solomon turned and headed to the small group of Institute agents milling nearby.
Nera regarded him. “He has a story, that one.”
“We all do.”
Maybe, but she recognized the shadows in the young man’s too-old eyes. “But his is not a pleasant one.”
“You aren’t going to hold him to his debt, are you?”
She lifted a shoulder. “We’ll see. I like collecting debts, you know that.” She eyed Niklas’ rugged face. “You owe me quite a few. I just haven’t made you pay up yet.”
“Something tells me you never will.”
“Don’t bet on it, Phoenix.”
“All right, everyone.” Avril stepped forward.
She was wearing an Institute uniform, and Agent Ryant stood a few meters behind her, with a small number of his security team.
“Our primary target is the Museum of Anthropology. We’ll head straight to the museum together. Once there, we’ll split into smaller recon teams. If you see anything on the way that looks promising, let us know.” She tapped her ear. “The radiation here is at lower levels than in New York, so we havefour hours exposure time. We also have limited comms, so the quality isn’t great.” She nodded. “Let’s move out.”
They walked into the city and were soon heading down a long, wide street. The security team fanned out ahead. Gunn and Solomon followed behind Avril, with Niklas and Nera bringing up the rear. The pavement was cracked and worn. Here and there, some black plant life twisted up through the cracks. The buildings nearby were mostly tumbled ruins, but it was easy to pick out their shape and functions.
Nera spotted the remnants of a metal sign. It was red with some sort of bottle logo on it. “There are some small finds around here.”
Niklas nodded. “Yes. I’m sure the Institute will fund further expeditions and come back to explore some more and pick up the smaller stuff.”
They turned a corner and an eerie sensation fell over Nera. Here, the buildings were much more intact. Time hadn’t knocked down walls or stripped away all the paint.
“Gorgeous,” Niklas murmured.
“I keep expecting someone to walk out of one of these buildings,” she added.
“There it is,” Avril called out.
“Wow,” Nera said under her breath. The museum rose up ahead. The building was an imposing structure topped by a large dome, now grimy with time. It was impossible to tell what it was made of. “So much of it is intact and still standing.”
“It was custom-built to house the country’s archeological treasures,” Niklas said. “It was reinforced and constructed using some of the best tech of the time.”
As they neared the building, the ravages of the years were easier to spot. The windows had long ago been smashed in, and were now just gaping holes. Black, soot-like stains coated theonce-cream façade. She could see that the eastern wing of the museum had completely collapsed.
Long, wide steps led up to the large metal front doors.
“Clear the debris,” Avril ordered.
Ryant and his team hurried up the stone steps to clear the accumulated debris that blocked the entryway.
