A/N: Okay firstly I forgot to put a disclaimer at the start so here it is.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Sydney, Nigel, Claudia or François. I don't Relic Hunter- don't sue me.
Secondly, that Legend isn't real. I made it up- don't sue me.
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"Great… so close and it was stolen from us." Sydney slammed her briefcase down on her desk, "How could I have let this happen?"
"Sydney, it really isn't your fault." Nigel stood in the doorway.
"But it is; I should have jumped them when I had the chance."
"What's going on?" Claudia came to behind Nigel, a bottle of nail polish in her hand.
"Syd is blaming herself because we didn't get that artefact." Nigel explained.
"Oh, is that the Greek one? The one you have the map for?" Claudia asked.
Nigel turned & looked at her, puzzled, "How did you know that? It was barely mentioned to you & when it was you didn't even listen."
"I'm not the airhead you think I am," she said, with a cheeky smile on her face, walked to her desk & picked up a page, "And a Rufus Maxwell called asking if you had it."
"Damn!" Sydney pulled the sheet out of Claudia's hand. She looked at it, sat down & dialled. Claudia looked at Nigel, shrugged and went back to her perfect brush strokes. Nigel sighed and sat down, placing his hands on Sydney's desk.
"Rufus? Hi, it's Sydney Fox here. Yes, I know I was supposed to call. I know that you're on a tight schedule, I understand that." She rolled her eyes and sat forward, "It's just we have a problem. Well, it seems that others want this artefact too. Yeah, of course, but we're going to need a little more time. A week? Rufus, that's a very tight schedule. You have employed the best but sometimes… yeah, of course… two weeks is fine. Of course… yeah, I'll see you there." She hung up & sighed.
"Didn't want to hear it then?" Nigel enquired.
She shook her head.
"Well, look, you must stop blaming yourself. If anyone is to blame its François, he's the one who's following us."
Sydney's head shot up, her eyes bright, "Nigel, you are brilliant." She jumped up and pulled the map out of her bag.
"What? What did I do?"
Sydney scanned the map, "If François is 'following' us then it's possible he has another map. If we can figure out where to go next then it's possible we'll catch him.
"Ah, Syd, one small problem. The legend tells us that only two maps were created; one to find the chalice… & one to kill the seeker. We don't know who's got which map."
"Yes but some ancient philosophers argued that only the end position was changed, so we could be following the same trail until the end. And besides, this map has been in existence for thousands of years… he could have a copy."
"Syd, I just…"
"Oh come on Nigel, it won't hurt."
"That's what you said the last time!" he watched her walk out and muttered, "And you very nearly got us killed."
* * *
"If this is correct, François should be in Killarney, in Co. Kerry." Nigel poured over the map as Sydney fastened her seatbelt in preparation to land in Dublin Airport, "We'll have to journey there and find a hotel."
Sydney looked out the window at the star-filled, night-time sky, "I think we should book into a hotel here in Dublin for tonight. It's getting late."
"Do you really want to wait? They could be gone before we get there."
"No, I know François. If this is all paid for, he'll stay in Dublin for a night. We should do the same."
"Okay." Nigel fastened his belt and prepared for descent.
* * *
Sydney dropped her case beside Nigel's early the next morning and leant towards him. "Morning!" she said in a loud voice.
"Ugh, Syd go away. You know I can't function on any less than 8 hours sleep. What normal person would get up at a godforsaken time like…" he looked at his watch, "… 10a.m.…"
"Come on, we've got to get going." She pulled him to his feet and handed him his case, "There's a car outside for us."
Nigel immediately perked up, "I think I'll drive. I have more experience driving on the right side of the road."
"No way. I rented the car, so I'm not letting you smash it up." Sydney snatched the keys back & lifted her case, "Well, come on."