Alex Lukeman - The Cup

"It makes you wonder," Selena said.

"What does?"

"Whether or not we're meant to find it."

"The Grail?" Nick said. "We either find it or we don't."

"You don't think there might be more going on here?"

"Like what?"

"What if it really is more than just a cup? What if there is a mystical connection to it? If there is, only the right person can find it."

"It's just a story, made up a thousand years ago to keep people entertained. Medieval TV, sitting around the fire pit listening to the minstrel."

"Maybe," she said.

Back in Washington, Selena and Nick made a quick stop at home and went to the hospital. They visited Stephanie first. She had two black eyes and bruises all over. Aside from that, she'd escaped with nothing more than an aching body and a wrenched shoulder. It was Elizabeth's side of the car that had taken most of the impact in the crash.

The new baby lay on the bed next to Stephanie. The two women bent over the sleeping child, talking in low voices. Nick stood nearby wondering what else to do after congratulating Stephanie. He decided to ask about the Grail later.

"Where's Lucas?" Nick asked.

"Shh, you'll wake the baby," Selena said.

"Don't worry about that," Stephanie said. "He's like his father. He's a sound sleeper, at least when he's asleep."

"What's his name?"

"Michael."

"I thought Lucas would be here," Nick said.

"He had to go over to Langley. Something's up, I'm not sure what. I should be used to it by now. Have you seen Elizabeth yet?"

"Not yet."

"She's in ICU. It's on the third floor."

"You go ahead, Nick. I'll join you in a few moments," Selena said.

Nick left the room and headed for the elevator.

Glad to get out of there, aren't you?

His critical inner voice whispered to him. He never knew when it was going to stick it's two cents worth into his life.

"Always got something to say, don't you?" he said out loud.

A nurse passing in the hall gave him a wary look.

On the third floor he followed arrows painted on the wall to the intensive care unit. Elizabeth's room had a glass window that allowed hospital staff to observe her and kept visitors and their germs at a distance. Nick recognized two of the security team sitting in the hall. They nodded to him as he approached. Clarence Hood stood outside the viewing window, looking in.

"Hello, Nick."

"Director."

Nick looked through the window. Elizabeth lay on her back, slightly raised in the hospital bed. Her head was tightly bandaged and locked into a brace. She looked as white as the sheets she lay on. Her eyes were closed. A bag dripped clear liquid into one of her veins. A second bag hung next to it.

A monitor near the bed displayed a steady stream of half a dozen vital functions in bright, digital colors. More machines stood ready nearby. Nick didn't know what their function was, but they looked as though you'd be in deep trouble if you needed them.

Intensive care wasn't a fun place to be.

"She's sedated," Hood said. His voice sounded strained. "I can't talk to her, let her know I’m here."

Nick and Selena had speculated about the relationship between Elizabeth and Hood and wondered whether or not the rumors were true. The way Hood was looking at Elizabeth told him they were. Hood's face had the haunted look of a man who thought someone he deeply cared for might die. Nick had seen that kind of face before, but not on the director of the CIA.

"She has a cracked cervical vertebra, three broken ribs, a hairline fracture in her skull and a broken collarbone," Hood said. "One of the ribs punctured a lung."

"She's tough. She'll pull through."

"I know," Hood said. "But seeing her like that… "

"It never gets easy."

"All these years, working in the agency, I never once had to go through this. Waiting to see if someone close was going to live or die."

"She's made it this far," Nick said. "If were you, I'd stick with that thought."

Hood turned to look at him. "You have no idea how refreshing it is to have someone say it like it is. Thanks. I was beginning to let my self-pity get the best of me."

"I know the feeling," Nick said.

"You're stepping into a bad situation," Hood said. "I don't want to brief you here. In any event it can wait until tomorrow."

Nick looked at Elizabeth, lying unconscious.

"You'd better count on being in charge for a while," Hood said.

Early the next morning, Selena sat in the kitchen in a Japanese robe, sipping coffee and thinking about Stephanie.

Nick came in wearing sweats and running shoes. Tucked in the small of his back was his backup pistol, a new .40 caliber Smith & Wesson Shield. It was light and powerful and fit well in his hand. The Smith replaced the Colt .380 he'd carried for years. More punch, and the rounds were the same as what he used in his Sig.

"I'm going for a run. I've got my phone with me."

"I want to go to the hospital this morning," Selena said.

"I can't go with you. I've got to start getting things sorted out and talk with Hood. There'll be a briefing later. Come in as soon as you can."

Nick walked over and kissed her. "See you later."

He rode the elevator down to the ground floor and stepped out into the chill of a late October morning. A gleaming black Cadillac limousine idled at the curb. A man in a formal chauffeur's uniform stood by the car. He opened the rear door as Nick came out of the building.

It can't be, Nick thought.

"Good morning, Mister Carter. I've been told to give you this."

He stepped forward, holding up a gold coin. Nick's hand slipped to the butt of his gun, just in case this wasn't what he thought it was. The chauffeur handed the coin to him. It was about the size of a silver dollar and bore the seal of the Knights Templar, two Knights riding on a single horse.

A man Nick knew only as Adam had given him a coin like that. Adam had told him that anyone showing him a similar coin was from the Guardians, a secret society formed in the twelfth century within the Knights Templar to protect the sacred relics and holy places of the West from desecration and conquest. The Knights had been betrayed and persecuted in 1307, but the guardians had survived.

Adam had always met Nick like this, without warning, at his doorstep, waiting in a black Cadillac limo. But his car was ripped open and turned into a smoldering wreck by a bomb thrown from a motorcycle, right after Nick had gotten out of the car. As far as Nick knew, Adam was dead.

The chauffeur gestured at the open door. "Mister Carter?"

What the hell.

Nick got into the back seat of the luxurious car. The chauffeur closed the door. It locked with a soft sound. In a moment the car began moving, accelerating silently away from the curb. Nick was plunged into a sense of déjà vu. It was surreal to be sitting in a car he knew had been destroyed

Everything was as it had been before. The compartment was lit with discrete lighting. The seats and fittings were rich, black leather and polished rosewood. The windows were completely blacked out. Nick had no idea where the vehicle was going. The chauffeur was hidden behind a raised panel of black glass. A similar panel divided the rear compartment in two, so that Nick was unable to see who was on the other side of the glass. There was a speaker and a closed slot in the glass that Nick knew concealed a large drawer.

"Good morning Nick. It's good to see you again."

The voice was distorted by electronics. It was impossible to know if the speaker was a man or a woman.

"Adam?"

"You sound surprised." Nick heard a soft chuckle on the other side of the glass.

"You're supposed to be dead."