"Let's see what we have here."
Nate was sitting on the couch of their new motel room, a cold beer bottle held to his head, eyes closed. They hadn't bothered returning to their old one, whoever it was that followed them into the church likely had a good idea of where they were staying and didn't want to risk it.
After the shootout, they got into their car and drove as fast as they could out of Tyniec, forgoing Krakow and stopped at a motel in Suchedniów, a small town two hours outside of Warsaw. They parked the car in a corporate parking lot, hidden from the main road and walked back to the motel.
Nate was desperate for a shower and sleep, his body aching but the idea of moving didn't appeal to him right then, so he sat there in his damp clothing. He didn't speak much in the car, despite Sully's constant questions, telling him he would explain what happened when they were safe, and he'd eaten something.
They were safe, and he'd eaten a chocolate bar, which was wholly unsatisfying but that didn't stop Sully from reasoning that they were, in fact, safe and he had, in fact, eaten. Sometimes he could have the reasoning of a child.
"Fine" he groaned, opening his eyes. Sully was on the bed, cigar sticking out of his mouth, blood still smeared on his forehead, examining the papers from the folio.
He read the letters, mumbling out loud about Martinus and secret entrances and the Crown Jewels.
When he finished reading, he said, "So this confirms we are on the right track."
"Yeah Sully" Nate said.
"Where do we go next then?"
"We go south."
Sully looked at him, "South could be next door or Antarctica. Do you wanna narrow it down a bit?"
He got up groaning and walked to the bed. He pointed to the letter from Charles Clerke that was in his and said, "Read this part".
Sully read from where he pointed, "'We journeyed a great distance, crossing vast plains, deep lakes, high mountains, we came across red hedgehogs, wild horses and great falc-"
"Have you ever seen, let alone, heard of a 'red hedgehog'?" Nate interrupted.
Sully put the page down, "Can't say that I have."
"Exactly!" he said. "Clerke, either subconsciously or deliberately, included that in his letter. Maybe deep down he wanted the Jewels to be found, or someone to follow in the trail of Captain Cook in case he failed.
"You see if Cook succeeds this letter is pointless, everyone will know the story when the Jewels are returned to England. But if he fails, Cook might be forever remembered in history dying in Hawaii. Maybe Clerke didn't want that for his friend so this is his backup plan, a way to follow in Cooks footsteps and find him. Not the Jewels, that's a by-product and he wants them buried forever, but subconsciously he wants to help recover his friend. So, he drops a clue in this letter."
"Nate, you're not making a lick of goddamn sense here. What clue?"
"Don't you see Sully, there is no such animal as a red hedgehog. Not even back then."
"So, it's a crumb?"
"That's right".
"Then where does this crumb lead us?"
Nate pulled up the European map they'd bought at the airport in Amsterdam. He scanned it and then pointed.
"Hungary?"
Nate nodded, "Budapest to be exact."
"How do you figure."
Nate smiled, "The red hedgehog."
Sully glared at him, "You're getting annoyingly cryptic, Nate."
"Alright alright. When Clerke mentioned Red Hedgehogs, he wasn't talking about an animal, he was talking about a place; Vörös sün ház."
"Which is?"
Nate's smile grew wider, "The Red Hedgehog House."
Sully took the cigar out of his mouth, "You're kidding"
"Not at all," Nate said with a laugh, moving back to the couch and taking a swig of his beer.
"Do you think the Jewels are there?" Sully asked, grabbing a beer from the fridge and twisting the cap off.
"I don't think so" Nate said. "Clerke's letter indicated by the time he left Cook he hadn't found them. So, they left the Red Hedgehog House empty handed but worked out where to go next."
"Good. I'll organise tickets to Budapest" Sully said, getting the laptop out of the bag.
"Hold on a minute, Sully."
Nate had been waiting for the best time to say what he was going to say and this seemed as good a time as any.
"Tonight, the mercenaries that were at the Abbey..."
Sully looked blankly at him, "What about them?" he asked.
"Aren't you at all concerned about who they were? Who they were working for?"
Sully shrugged and took another swig of his drink, "They were probably opportunistic thugs or Polish mafia or something. You know these Eastern European types, see an American tourist and decide to rob them for all their worth."
Nate shook his head, "They weren't Polish mafia, Sully. They were far too organised and well equipped. The man who followed us last night, he was there as well. And notice how the police were slow to arrive?"
"What are you trying to say, Nate?"
"I think they were the police."
Sully scoffed, "You're joking right?"
Nate shook his head, "They were carrying standard issue firearms, they worked in teams. It's just a feeling I have."
"But why would they be interested in us? No one knows what we are looking for, this is as far under the radar as we have ever worked."
"Maybe someone worked it out."
"Like who?"
He shrugged, "The only other people who could possibly know are the ones from the museum. Maybe they told someone, word got out, who knows?"
Sully slammed his bottle, liquid splashing on the table, "Nate, you're being ridiculous! No one knows what we are doing, no one has worked it out. How could they?"
Nate shook his head in a manner saying that he didn't know.
Sully continued, "I've-we have come too far, and we are close, Nate. I can feel it, just stick with it."
Nate frowned; he caught the slip up but decided not to bring it up. Instead he said, "Take it easy, Sully. All I am saying is we can't go to Budapest half-cocked. If there is someone on the same trail, we need to be careful. That's all I'm saying. I'm not giving up."
Sully breathed out, "Sorry Nate, I didn't mean to explode like that."
"It's alright Sully."
"You know me, I don't want to let a great opportunity like this fall through our hands. We are close, Nate."
Nate sighed, "I'm not going anywhere, pal."
With a smile and salute of his beer, Sully asked, "You hungry, kid?"
Nate smiled back, "Starving."