Atlantis Stolen (Sam Reilly Book 3) (5 page)

Andrew Brandt caught
his private elevator to his secure carpark, ten stories below his One Hyde Park
penthouse. It was currently the world’s most expensive and overinflated piece
of real estate. He would have to start making his way to meet the buyer.

In his car, he
switched his cell on.

Andrew didn’t
believe in the concept that cell phones were invented so that people could
maintain constant contact. He had kept a strict policy of being contactable
during specific business hours or prearranged times outside of those hours.

After returning
home from his work in Amsterdam the day before, he’d picked Sarah up. She fell
into the category of business, even though he didn’t entirely dislike the
prospect of seducing her. His business was to be with her, and for that, he did
not want interruptions.

His smartphone
came up with two messages:

Something’s
wrong.

Call me.

It was Alex, one
of the operatives he’d used in Amsterdam.

Andrew relaxed
into the seat of his Bentley.

It was going to
be a long day.

He then pressed ‘call
Alex.

“Do we have the
product?” Andrew asked.

“No. Someone else
kidnapped her before we could do so. It happened yesterday.”

“Yesterday? I saw
her yesterday. Do you know who?”

“No, but we’ll
keep trying. It’s not like they’re going to get her out of here without us
noticing. We have all local airports, marine ports, railway stations, and bus
lines covered.”

Andrew looked out
the window, temporarily distracted by the conversation, and then said, “The
buyer’s not going to be happy.”

“There’s something
else that you might want to know, too…”

“What?”

“She had new
information about Atlantis.”

“You’ve got to be
kidding me. HE was after Atlantis?” Andrew looked at a cat running across the
road. He accelerated carelessly, seeing if he could hit the creature.

“It appears so.”

“What makes you
so certain?”

“We stole her
laptop from the trunk of her car. It was riddled with images of the Arcane
Stone and what she had to do to use it.”

“Really?” Andrew
grinned with the surprising new development. “Okay, send the message out, call
in all sleeper cells around the world. The Phoenix Resistance are going to have
their first meeting for the millennium.”

It wasn’t every
day that two of his projects collided.

Tom Bower burst
into Sam’s hotel room.

It had taken him
less than twelve hours to catch a flight across the Atlantic as soon as he’d
found out about Billie.

“How the hell did
you let them do this to her?”

“It wasn’t my
fault. I was following up another lead while she was being targeted.”

“But by who?”

“I have no idea.
If she’d discovered a new fact about the Master Builders I might have been
worried THEY had got a hold of her. But this is about Atlantis. No, whoever got
her knows she’d discovered Atlantis.”

“Seeing as
Atlantis is more renowned for its enormous wealth, we can hope that whoever
we’re dealing with are willing to negotiate on financial terms.”

“You mean
ransom?”

“Sure. Your
father’s rich enough to pay anyone off. You will buy her life, won’t you?”

“Hold on Tom. I
know you’re smitten with her, but let’s not jump the gun here. No one has even
asked for a ransom yet. We might just solve this problem ourselves.
Alternatively, I’m sure you can agree that Billie can be… how do I say this? A
little rough around the edges. We might just get lucky and have them decide
she’s not worth it and send her back?”

Tom looked at
Sam. The man was making a joke, but even so, it was the wrong one.  He fought
himself not to take the bait.

“Okay, what about
your lead. What did you find?”

“Nothing. A dead
end.”

“So what exactly
do we know happened to Billie?”

“She was on her
way back from the National Archives Center when she called me to tell me that
some people had been following her. I told her to stay on the main roads and
that I would come and get her.”

“So what
happened? Why didn’t you protect her?”

“By the time I
reached her, they had already got to her. It appears that someone intentionally
drove into her to send her off the bridge and into the bay below. By the time I
entered the car, one of the windows on the driver’s side had been broken – from
the outside in – and the rear back door was still wide open.”

“Okay, so someone
took her while the car was sinking. That’s promising. At least they didn’t
intend for her to drown. Did you retrieve anything from her car?”

Sam looked
guilty.

“When I dived
down the trunk was open and there was nothing inside.”

“Oh shit! Don’t
tell me…”

“She should have had
her laptop with her today.”

Tom shook his
head. “Do you have a backup hard drive?”

“Sure, but now
they know what we do. Which means we’re in trouble.”

Tom grinned. “That’s
great news…”

“What the hell
makes you say that?”

“Because if
Billie’s as smart as we both know she is, she’ll work out the next stage of the
map and leave a clue for us.”

“That’s great,
but you’re forgetting one thing.”

“What?”

“We have to work
out the next step of the map.”

“But we know that
she was on to something at the National Archives. She found it, didn’t she?”

“Yes, the Arcane
Stone.”

“That sounds like
something out of Harry Potter. What is it?”

“Legend is, the
Arcane Stone, when placed correctly, will guide the viewer to the opening of
the Atlantis Archives – a secret library built during the reign of the
Atlantean people, in order to document their history.”

“So, she has it?”

“No she made
digital copies. Said the security was too tight to steal it, or she would have.”

“Do we know where
to use it?”

“No, but Billie
definitely did. And I’m hopeful we can work it out.”

Andrew entered
the National Archives building.

After watching
the two men walk up the stairs, he followed them, walking up the first two sets
of stairs and heading directly toward the last three rows of archives, in a section
dated 1630 to 1650. There, the two men had stopped to examine the dates. One
appeared average in height, while the other looked like a giant. Both men, he
noticed, had arms and shoulders as big as professional boxers. There was also
something about their posture that suggested they were both confident and
focused at the same time.

The taller of the
two had dark curly hair and hazel eyes. His face portrayed a certain intensity
that Andrew couldn’t quite put his finger on immediately. He carefully examined
the man’s features until it registered, as he knew it would – this man has a
relationship with Dr. Swan which is strictly non-professional. Whereas the
shorter one, who was still at least six feet tall, had dark blue eyes, tousled
brown hair that looked like he’d just come out of the surf, and a grin that
made him appear more interested in the antiquity he was admiring than whether
or not he was able to rescue Dr. Swan.

He guessed they
had both served in the military at some stage, and would be quick and capable
at defending themselves if the need were to arise. Not that Andrew envisaged
any reason for that today. After all, he wanted them to succeed as much as they
did. It was only through them he could discover where Dr. Billie Swan had been
taken.

To reach
Atlantis, he was going to need her help, and he would have it – whether she
wanted to give it, or not.

He had no reason
to hide. He’d never met or even seen either man before. He’d heard about Sam
Reilly, and had previously been approached by his rich father with business,
but there was no way the two men could place him with any connection to
Billie’s abduction.

Especially,
since, in the end, someone else got to her first.

The two men in
front of him opened several books, appearing to check serial numbers and dates.
After making notes, he heard the shorter of the two men say, “Okay, let’s go
get it.”

Andrew opened up
a book called
Reclaiming Land from the Sea
and pretended to read it as
he watched the two men enter another room labeled Historical Artifacts.

The shorter of
the two handed the librarian a piece of paper, presumably with the item’s
serial number. Both men were asked to provide photo identification and then
directed to sit down. 

Andrew put his
book back and walked closer toward where Sam and Tom were now patiently
sitting, waiting for the librarian to bring out whatever it was they were
after. The second she returned and placed it on the table in front of them, the
lights above made it shine like an orange sun. He was stunned at its
appearance. He recognized the artifact immediately.  

The Arcane
Stone

Confused, he
recalled that the Arcane Stone had been lost for centuries.

He watched the
two men quickly examine the stone. Then, after a quick exchange of words that
he couldn’t quite make out, the taller of the two placed the artifact in his
pocket and stood up.

Andrew looked to the
entrance at the other end of the building. There were at least ten security
guards.

All armed.

Surely they
wouldn’t be so stupid as to try to steal the damn thing?

His eyes returned
to the room they had been sitting in. They were both gone. Andrew quickly ran
to the main entrance of the artifact room.

There he was met
by the same lady who’d retrieved the artifact for the two men.

“Where did they
go?” he asked, urgently.

“Where did who
go?”

“Sam Reilly and
Tom Bower. They were examining the Arcane Stone.”

“I’ve never heard
of those gentlemen.” She smiled helpfully and said, “But there is a Mr. Duchamp
and his associate, from the British Museum, who are examining the artifact.”

She turned her
head to point them out, but they were no longer able to be seen.

“I’m sorry. They
appear to have left.”

Andrew turned
around, scanning the area, and then said, “And they took the Arcane Stone with
them. Call security. Place the archives into emergency lockdown.”

“Who are you to
give me orders?”

Andrew showed the
lady his ID card. She stepped back in visible fear.

“Yes, of course,
Mr. Brandt.”

Sam Reilly
followed Tom, who walked confidently out the front door of the artifact storage
room. Neither of them ran but to a casual observer appeared focused and moving
toward a purpose. No one would have expected them to have committed a great
theft.

He took note of
the man in the dark suit with a blue tie. Sam thought he looked out of place
reading the history of the development of Amsterdam’s waterways. Even at a
glance, Sam thought the man appeared to be more suited to a boardroom as an
executive than an archeologist. Then he saw the distinct bulge on the side of
his coat.

The man was
packing a weapon of some sort.

Judging by the
shape it made, Sam was pretty confident it had a silencer attached to its barrel.
And that meant he wasn’t part of the good guys’ team. He certainly didn’t look
like any of the security personnel he’d taken note of when they entered the
building.

Sam looked at Tom’s
face. One glance, and Sam knew they shared the same evaluation of the man. The
two quickly moved behind the next row of shelves. Without saying a word, they
began following the miles of bookshelves deeper into the heart of the National
Archives Center.

And then the
alarm sounded.

“Well Tom, that was
unexpected,” Sam said calmly. “Do you think you might let me know next time
before you steal an ancient relic?” 

Tom looked
guilty. “Sorry, I figured we don’t have time to play by the rules. It was meant
to have been made of copper or something. Can’t be too valuable. I didn’t
expect them to have someone guarding it.”

“Well, it’s done
now.” Sam picked up his phone and rang a secure number.

“Who’re you
trying to call at a time like this?”

“Elise. And I’m
trying to get us out of here.”

Elise was a
computer whiz Sam had met years ago during his specialized training as a Ghost
Agent for the U.S. Military. He never saw her in person, only through computer
challenges and games of riddles designed to test how each of them responded had
they become friends. From what he’d heard, Elise had an IQ of 162 – that was two
points higher than Einstein, and she’d been recruited by the CIA when she was
still a teenager.

Elise had
discovered something that she didn’t agree with while working for the agency
and a few years later, simply disappeared. Sam worried that her malcontent had
gotten her killed, but last year she started sending him encrypted messages
that only he and four other people on the planet could possibly decipher. Since
then, Elise had been working intermittently on a variety of projects for Sam.

Sam took the lead
and started running down a set of stairs, which led deeper into the archives
storage, where millions of boxes covered more than ten miles of basement.

“Where the hell
are you headed? We’re only burying ourselves deeper by going that way.”

Sam ignored the
question and kept running.

“Sam, what do you
need?” It was Elise, his computer whiz, who answered. Her voice was curt, as
though she’d been expecting his call.

In front of them,
a solid glass door was locked. Tom kicked at it several times without making so
much as a scratch.

“You know how we
discussed plan A and plan B for getting the Arcane Stone?” Sam said.

“Yeah.”

“Well, Tom
decided he’d elect for plan B. Now we’ve got about twenty security guards, and
some sort of spook I’ve never seen before, after us. We’ve just reached the
basement, and the first door is locked.”

“Ah, boys. You
sure will get yourselves into trouble.”

Above, someone
started shooting at them. He guessed it must have been the man with the
silencer, because he couldn’t hear the sound of the shots being fired. Only the
sight of bullet holes ahead let him know. They were off by several feet. More
warning shots, he guessed.

“Not to rush you
Elise, but we’re a little short of time. Can you open the basement door or
not?”

“Hang on. I’m
just getting you on their CCT. Ah, there you are. Tell Tom he looks guilty as
hell.”

“Yeah, well,
that’s because he is.  Not that it’s gonna matter much if you don’t get us out
of….”

And then the
glass doors clicked open.

They both ran
towards the end of the corridor, where the next door opened automatically for
them, and then the next one.

“I’m just going
to superimpose fictional characters over your bodies, so that the investigators
don’t get an accurate image of you two. You’re now Santa Claus, and I’m afraid
Tom’s one of the reindeer… you know that one with the bright red nose, or
something…”

“Rudolf?”

“That’s the one.”

Sam stopped. Dead
in his tracks. The last door remained firmly locked.

“Elise, I’m going
to need the last door opened.”

“Are you sure? That’s
a pressurized room – they’re not going to be very happy if you destroy their sterile
atmosphere.”

“And I feel
terrible about it, really I do… but if you don’t open it, I’ll be asking you to
break us out of prison, or more likely, find us a nice place to be buried!”

The door opened.

And the two men
walked into the sterile room.

Sam looked
around, pulling covers off drawers, searching for something.

“Stop where you
are! You have no way out, and we’re armed.” It was the stern voices of the
security guards.

The security door
closed once more.

A couple of the
guards kicked at it aimlessly before accepting that it was locked and had been
designed to offer protection against force.

Sam looked behind
and saw that the man in the dark suit with the blue tie was ordering them
about. He stared at the man for a second. There was something sinister about
his grey and intense eyes.

Who are you?

Confident that
the door was sealed for the time being, while Elise had control of their
computer system at least, Sam turned to ignore them and kept pulling expensive
drawers out of the desks around the sterile room.

“What are you
looking for Sam?” Tom asked.

“A way out,
anywhere.”

“Um… those are
just drawers. What are you expecting to find?”

“This,” Sam said revealing
an opening.

Sam turned to
look at the man who had been following him since he arrived at the National
Archives Center.

And then stepped
into the garbage chute.