Avril looked like she wanted to disagree on principle, but she grudgingly gave a nod and tapped the map. “A strong potential. The National Museum was renowned as the best.”
“While that was true,” Nik said, “it was a large public museum. It was much more likely to have had artifacts evacuated and sent off-planet. My research has led me to believe the city also had a large number of well-funded, private museums that housed rich collections.”
Avril’s gaze narrowed. “You have a particular one in mind.”
“Yes. The Larco,” he answered.
She frowned. “The Larco? The name sounds familiar, but I don’t know anything about it.”
“A wealthy private collector started it to house his extensive collection of pre-Columbian artifacts.”
“Pre-Columbian?” Solomon said.
“Artifacts from all the cultures that lived in the region before Europeans arrived. Not just the Inca,” Nik clarified. “While the state museums were being emptied out, I suspect the Larco was largely ignored, despite its excellent collection of ceramics, and gold and silver. I think it’s worth a look.”
Avril tapped the holo-table. “Computer, run a search for all relevant data on the Larco. Everything you have, its collections, layout, and coordinates.”
“Searching…” the melodious computer voice responded.
A moment later, the holo-screen changed, the map shrinking into one corner, and images and data records filling the screen.
“It was a beautiful building,” Avril said.
The image was of the museum in its heyday. It had been housed in a historic building with a cream-colored exterior and beautiful wooden double doors at the front. Lush gardens were just visible surrounding it.
“I found references to the building being eighteenth-century,” Nik said. “And possibly built on an ancient Incan site. It seems a safe bet that the jungle has taken it and the remains of the city back.” He touched the screen. “Here were the main star attractions of the Larco. The Gold and Silver Gallery.”
“Now, that sounds more like it,” Gunn muttered.
Nik ignored the interruption. “And the pre-Columbian Erotic Ceramics Gallery.”
Solomon snorted. “Come again?”
“Did you sayerotic?” Nera asked.
Nik grinned at her. “Yes. Apparently, the ancient Peruvians crafted thousands of ceramic pots depicting different sexual acts.”
She shook her head with a smile.
“The collection was apparently popular?—”
“I’ll bet,” Solomon interjected.
“—mainly because the very religious Spanish conquerors who captured the region destroyed any erotic ceramics they discovered.”
“I remember now—” Avril tapped the screen “—why the Larco sounded familiar.” Her face lit up. “It was said they had a map, created by a former Naval officer by the name of Blake. There’s a legend, that Blake and another man, Chapman, supposedly found the Lost Inca Gold.”
Gunn leaned forward. “How much gold we talking about? Terran gold is worth a hell of a lot of e-creds.”
Avril shot him an annoyed look. “I care about the historical value of the artifacts, Mr. Gunn. A treasure trove of hidden Inca artifacts, from a fascinating time in Earth’s history, would be a boon to our cultural heritage.”
Nik frowned, studying Avril’s face. She was pumped full of enthusiasm. “The Lost Inca Gold was lost even in Terran times. A myth, a legend.”
“Even I’ve heard the legend,” Solomon said. “The invading Spanish took the Inca emperor hostage. He promised them a mountain of gold in return for his life. But the Spanish killed him, and the emperor’s loyal general, already coming with the gold, hid it in a cave in the mountains, instead.”
“A nice myth,” Nera said. “I’ve heard versions of the same thing in about half-a-dozen different systems. Lost treasure of immense value hidden in a cave. It isn’t particularly original.”
“And yet, it seems many Terrans did try to find it,” Nik said. “None of them returned alive.” He speared Avril with a hard look. “You really think we can just waltz in here, after thousands of years, and find it ourselves?”
