This was met by another silence. After a moment, a faint smile appeared on Glinn’s face. He glanced around the room. “Thank you all for your time,” he said.

At this tactful but obvious dismissal, the room emptied. Glinn waited until only himself, Gideon, and Garza remained. Then he motioned Gideon to a chair at the conference table.

“Are you certain about this, Gideon?” he asked in a low voice. “After all, you’ve had quite an ordeal. Not just the physical manhunt, but the emotional toll as well.”

Gideon had long since ceased to be amazed at Glinn’s ability to learn everything about him. “I was never more sure of anything in my life,” he replied.

Glinn looked at him carefully for a moment—a long, searching look. Then he nodded. “Excellent. Glad to hear you’ll be with us. It’s a very interesting time to be in New York. In fact, next week there’s a special exhibition at the Morgan Library—an exhibition of the Book of Kells, on loan from the Irish government. You’ve heard of the Book of Kells, of course?”

“Of course.”

“Then you’ll come have a look at it with me?” Glinn asked. “I’m a great fancier of illuminated manuscripts. They’ll be turning a new page every day. Very exciting.”

Gideon hesitated. “Well, illuminated manuscripts are not exactly an interest of mine.”

“Ah, but I was so hoping you’d accompany me to the exhibition,” said Glinn. “You’ll love the Book of Kells. Not only is it Ireland’s greatest national treasure, but it’s the finest illuminated manuscript in existence. It’s only been out of Ireland once before, and it’s only here for a week. A shame to miss it. We’ll go Monday morning.”

Gideon started to laugh. “Honestly, I couldn’t care less about the damn Book of Kells.”

“Ah, but you will.”

Hearing the edge in Glinn’s voice, Gideon stopped despite himself. “Why?”

“Because your next assignment will be to steal it.”

The thrillers of DOUGLAS PRESTON and LINCOLN CHILD “stand head and shoulders above their rivals” (Publisher’s Weekly). Coauthors of the famed Pendergast series, their books Relic and The Cabinet of Curiosities were chosen by readers in a National Public Radio poll as being among the 100 greatest thrillers ever written, and Relic was made into a number one box office hit movie. They are also the authors of Fever Dream, Cold Vengeance, and Gideon’s Sword. Preston’s acclaimed nonfiction book, The Monster of Florence, is being made into a movie starring George Clooney. His interests include horses, scuba diving, skiing, mountain climbing, and exploring the Maine coast in an old lobster boat. Lincoln Child is a former book editor who has published four novels of his own, including the huge bestseller Deep Storm. He is passionate about motorcycles, sports cars, exotic parrots, and nineteenth-century English literature. The authors welcome e-mail from their readers; you can visit their website at www.prestonchild.com.