front of me right now. “I saw some old-looking bricks, maybe made out of sand? That’s it.”
Her eyes lit up, and she virtually bounced. “That’s awesome. The storm must have exposed them.”
“Come. I’ll show you,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and nodding toward the northeastern side of the dune.
She called Molly and Jason on her walkie-talkie. “Hey, leave the equipment and join us over by the dune. Matt says there’s something there.”
“Copy that, boss,” Jason’s tinny voice came through.
Harry and Matt beat the younger two there. “Wow. This is nice. I can’t wait to see what these belong to.”
Matt was scanning the horizon for other people. Just an instinct probably, and in EOD they learned to always trust instinct over intellect.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry bend over. He slipped a glance at her denim-clad ass. Dammit all, he was going to hell.
“Hey, moneybags. You dropped these.” She stood upright and handed over three one-hundred-dollar bills. He took them. They weren’t his. “Are there any more?” he asked evenly.
They both looked around. Matt found one, under a brick. “Can I move this to get this one?”
“That’s strange. How did it get under the brick if you dropped them today?”
“They’re not mine. I didn’t drop them.” He fell silent. His mind was running at a hundred miles an hour. Who the hell had money like this, in U.S. currency, to flash around in the middle of the desert? It was trapped under a brick, so it must have been before the storm. By the weathering on the bills, even before. He peered at them closer. They were real. He could tell by the watermark.
“Then who did?”
“They’re old. The storm must have somehow brought them to the surface.”
Harry bit her lip. “I don’t like this. I get heartburn enough thinking about looters, but if anyone finds out about this, this whole site will be a disaster. It’ll become too dangerous for us to do anything here.”
“Let’s not tell anyone. We’ll keep it between us. Just us two. That way we can be sure it stays a secret.”
Jason and Molly came into sight. Matt stuffed the bills in his pockets.
“Look at the masonry here.” Harry pointed to the exposed brickwork.
“Look at the money you’re throwing around,” Molly said to Matt, holding out a couple more hundred-dollar bills.
Matt hesitated, then took them. “Thanks. Careless of me. Let me know if you find any more.”
“Sure we will,” Jason said, and with his eyes hidden behind his glasses, Matt couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or genuine.
After a second, Harry gave more orders. “Okay, as you were. We will circle this area, and all three of us will manage the geo-phys here so we don’t move anything.”
“On it,” Molly said cheerily as they turned to trudge back over to their equipment.
He and Harry walked back to the trailer in silence. He was definitely worried now. He needed to call this in. The only people moving around this kind of money as far as he knew was the U.S. military or terrorists. Billions of dollars of cold hard cash had gone missing during the war, and although a lot of it had been accounted for, still many millions hadn’t. If these serial numbers lined up with that money, Harry, Molly, Jason, and he had just stepped onto an IED. All they could reasonably expect now was the mother of all explosions.
Chapter Eight
No more cash was found that day. Thankfully. Harry was perfectly content to have Matt handle that. If indeed there was anything to handle. She suspected that some rich Iraqi had been fast and loose when pulling money out of his pocket in the storm. Although nearly all commerce was done in Iraqi dinars since the allied forces had left.
Anyway, with Matt checking out those bills, she could concentrate on finishing the project and moving on to the next one. Which, if this trip ended on schedule, meant being an extra set of hands on a temple excavation on a
Her eyes lit up, and she virtually bounced. “That’s awesome. The storm must have exposed them.”
“Come. I’ll show you,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and nodding toward the northeastern side of the dune.
She called Molly and Jason on her walkie-talkie. “Hey, leave the equipment and join us over by the dune. Matt says there’s something there.”
“Copy that, boss,” Jason’s tinny voice came through.
Harry and Matt beat the younger two there. “Wow. This is nice. I can’t wait to see what these belong to.”
Matt was scanning the horizon for other people. Just an instinct probably, and in EOD they learned to always trust instinct over intellect.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Harry bend over. He slipped a glance at her denim-clad ass. Dammit all, he was going to hell.
“Hey, moneybags. You dropped these.” She stood upright and handed over three one-hundred-dollar bills. He took them. They weren’t his. “Are there any more?” he asked evenly.
They both looked around. Matt found one, under a brick. “Can I move this to get this one?”
“That’s strange. How did it get under the brick if you dropped them today?”
“They’re not mine. I didn’t drop them.” He fell silent. His mind was running at a hundred miles an hour. Who the hell had money like this, in U.S. currency, to flash around in the middle of the desert? It was trapped under a brick, so it must have been before the storm. By the weathering on the bills, even before. He peered at them closer. They were real. He could tell by the watermark.
“Then who did?”
“They’re old. The storm must have somehow brought them to the surface.”
Harry bit her lip. “I don’t like this. I get heartburn enough thinking about looters, but if anyone finds out about this, this whole site will be a disaster. It’ll become too dangerous for us to do anything here.”
“Let’s not tell anyone. We’ll keep it between us. Just us two. That way we can be sure it stays a secret.”
Jason and Molly came into sight. Matt stuffed the bills in his pockets.
“Look at the masonry here.” Harry pointed to the exposed brickwork.
“Look at the money you’re throwing around,” Molly said to Matt, holding out a couple more hundred-dollar bills.
Matt hesitated, then took them. “Thanks. Careless of me. Let me know if you find any more.”
“Sure we will,” Jason said, and with his eyes hidden behind his glasses, Matt couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or genuine.
After a second, Harry gave more orders. “Okay, as you were. We will circle this area, and all three of us will manage the geo-phys here so we don’t move anything.”
“On it,” Molly said cheerily as they turned to trudge back over to their equipment.
He and Harry walked back to the trailer in silence. He was definitely worried now. He needed to call this in. The only people moving around this kind of money as far as he knew was the U.S. military or terrorists. Billions of dollars of cold hard cash had gone missing during the war, and although a lot of it had been accounted for, still many millions hadn’t. If these serial numbers lined up with that money, Harry, Molly, Jason, and he had just stepped onto an IED. All they could reasonably expect now was the mother of all explosions.
Chapter Eight
No more cash was found that day. Thankfully. Harry was perfectly content to have Matt handle that. If indeed there was anything to handle. She suspected that some rich Iraqi had been fast and loose when pulling money out of his pocket in the storm. Although nearly all commerce was done in Iraqi dinars since the allied forces had left.
Anyway, with Matt checking out those bills, she could concentrate on finishing the project and moving on to the next one. Which, if this trip ended on schedule, meant being an extra set of hands on a temple excavation on a
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