Curse of Atlantis (13 page)

“Hmm, how many days to you anticipate before the pyramid is found?”

“Gentlemen, that pyramid has been hidden for thousands of years. We’re doing our best to find it, but it will take time,”
Javier replied, now growing worried about their impatience.

“Longer than twelve days?”

“Much longer than twelve days, I’m afraid. There’s so much work to do and we’re having trouble getting the permits approved. Burt Samuelson has been working his connections for months now, but hasn’t received approval yet,”
Javier explained.

“Mmm, this is most unfortunate. The Boss does not like delays,”
the taller man said in apprehensive tone.

Ignoring his sense of warning, he asked, “How’s my daughter? Is she ok?”

“She’s doing well… as long as the Boss
does not lose his patience
,” the taller Russian said, his voice now turning grim.

“Tell your boss I
‘m doing my best and will continue to do my best. My daughter’s life’s on the line. He’s got to know that mean
s
everything to me,” Javier said, his voice growing louder from the strain of the situation.

“I’m quite certain you are doing your best, but the Boss
’s patience is limited
.
Once he’s reached his limit,
he makes ‘changes’. It is just the way it is in our business,” the taller man said, using his fingers for quotations.

“Changes?” How long do we have before ‘The Boss’ loses his patience
?”
Javier asked in disgust.

“Hard to say… a month… maybe more, maybe less,” the taller man said coldly.

“A MONTH?
This is madness. Archeology isn’t like medicine or engineering, where a person’s efforts result in a predictable outcome. I could spend the rest of my life looking and still never find that damn pyramid. This is irrational and grossly unfair,” Javier shouted, bursting out in rage. “I haven’t slept in days. I’m pushing myself beyond my body’s limits of tolerance.
Yesterday
, I nearly collapsed as a result of over-exertion. That has to account for something. He has to give us more time.”

“He has to give you nothing. It is you that has to give… and you must do it short of too late,” the taller man snarled.

The two men stared into each other’s eyes, one set reading far different
from
the other. Javier swallowed nervously, then stared at the floor, the sight of the two men sickening him. He wanted to say more, but n
o
w his words would be viewed as meaningless.

Putting away his notepad and pen, the taller man stood and headed for the door, his associate in close pursuit. As he brushed past Jack, he said simply, “We’ll be watching.”

As the door closed to the outside,
Dimitri
got into his car and started the engine. Looking over to his associate, he said, “Call Nicolae, give him the update immediately. He’ll be waiting.”

With a simple nod, the other man dialed his cell phone.

~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~

Moscow
,
Russia
:

The quiet warehouse was situated on the outskirts
of
Moscow
. In its heyday, the building was once a bustling manufacturing company, producing cheap textiles and clothes for the common worker. As the manufacturing shifted from
Russia
to
Indonesia
, the once
-
profitable factory fell silent, now used only for commercial storage.

Nicolae hung up the phone and stared across the dingy room that was once the main office area for the plant. Old desks and worn chairs still occupied the same space
as
the moment of their last usage. Eyeing the worn metal door on the opposite side of the room, he felt a sense of irritation that it represented.

He stepped from the old desk and walked toward the door, kicking a chair covered by a thick blanket of dust
,
and sending a cloud into the musty air. He coughed as he moved through it, cursing the stupidity of his action.

Serena heard the distant cough and stiffened. She watched the door of her room and instinctively wondered about her safety. Although her previous days in captivity were devoid of any violence or abuse, the veiled threat hung heavy in the air. Sitting nervously on a couch that
reeked
of cigarettes and mildew, she nervously watched the door knob turn.

Nicolae entered the room. Scanning the old ten by twelve office, he mentally took inventory of its contents: an old couch, Russian magazines stack a foot high against a wall, an old office chair, a milk jug half filled with water and a plate on the floor with scraps of food stuck to it.

Making eye contact with Serena, he said, “I trust your accommodations are adequate, Miss Arista?”

“Would you live like this?” Serena spat out, angrily.

“There’re people in my country who live in far greater poverty,” Nicolae replied.

“It still doesn’t make it right. I haven’t showered in days, the food is positively revolting and this couch smells like an ashtray,” Serena rebutted.

“I assure you, the alternative is far less appealing,” he threatened.

Serena searched his eyes for truth. In an instant, she had her answer in the chilling eyes of a murder
er
staring back at her. She fidgeted nervously as the silence in the room grew louder. Quickly, she changed the topic to one less dangerous.

“Has there been any word from my dad?”

His eyes narrowed for moment as he recognized the subtle ploy, then became
receptive,
as the topic was one of interest to him.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, there has been. Your father and Jack Roberts have started their search two days ago. Unfortunately, they’ve found nothing so far. I’m growing anxious for their success.”

Serena thought about his answer for a moment. Something about it felt strangely wrong.

“I can understand your excitement about the pyramid, but you do realize it’s going to take some time to find it, right?” Serena asked, treading lightly around the topic.

“I don’t see why it should take very long. They know the location of the pyramid. It should be a simple matter of making a few test digs to find it.”

“The exact location isn’t pinpointed on the scrolls or the crystal: only generalizations, albeit very specific generalizations.
Kythira
Island
is not more than ten square miles in size
, but even so,
it’s not like finding a needle in a haystack
. It’
s like finding a n
eedle in a small box of needles. W
e know we should be able to find it eventually, it
’s just going to take some time,
”
Serena explained.

“I disagree. There are only so many places you can hide a pyramid on an island that small. Even a child can figure that out. It should take them no more than a month to find,” Nicolae countered, now beginning to feel anger over the topic.

“A MONTH?
” Serena blurted. “Are you freaking crazy? It could take years.”

Nicolae raged from her insolence. No one in his organization dared to speak to him in that manner. Clenching his fists, he struggled to control his anger. In a moment of weakness, he reached out and slapped his hand across the side of Serena’s head, knocking her off the couch and onto the floor. Standing over the top of her, he fumed.

“EXCUSES
AND
DELAYS!” he shouted. “I kill men for less. There will be no excuses and there will be no delays. If they fail, they will simply be replaced with those who won’t. For your sake, you better pray I don’t replace them.”

Seeing his prey cowering on the floor, he thought of kicking her, but reconsidered.

“I grow tired of this banter,” he said in a low deliberate tone.

He coolly collected himself and turned toward the door. Looking back over his shoulder, he felt a moment of uncharacteristic pity.

“I will send for better food,” he said, his voice sounding almost sympathetic.

As he closed the door behind him, Serena climbed back up onto the dingy couch.

“Thanks… asshole,” she said quietly under her breath.

~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~

Javier’s mind raced from tangent to tangent as Darrien drove south to their next location near Kapsali. The picturesque scenery with its rolling mountains, old stone ruins, desert vegetation and wild flowers, went unnoticed as he frantically searched for solutions to the ever
-
compounding crisis.

As they rounded the top of a hill and the ocean expanded far out in front of them,
Javier
saw the solitary monolith of Avgo Nisida that stood like a centurion two miles out at sea. In its isolation, it had tested time and the elements
,
and still remained standing.

Javier reflected on its strength and suddenly thought of Burt Samuelson. In the many years that he had known him, Burt had overcome tre
mendous obstacles in archeology:
obstacles where
in
others had failed, he had succeeded, a trait that had propelled him to the top of his profession.

Javier reached for his phone and dialed.

“Burt, this is Javi… we’ve got huge problem. The Russians paid us another visit this morning,” Javier started.

“Uh oh
, what’d they say?” Burt responded instantly.

“They’ve put a time table on our search. We have to come up with something in a month or so,” Javier said, worry filling his voice.

“A month? Or what?” Burt asked, already knowing the answer.

Javier paused a moment, struggling to get out the words.

“Or they kill Serena,” he replied grimly.

“That’s ridiculous. We can’t find it in a month
!
Don’t they know that?”
he replied in disgusted tone.

“Logic has nothing to do with this. According to our visitors, they claim if we don’t hurry, their boss will lose
his patience quickly and take action.”

“
Take action… in other words?” Burt asked grimly.

“It’s an impossible feat. We’re going to need your help as soon as possible,”
Javier replied, ignoring the question.

“I’m meeting with the head of Culture and Tourism again today. I think he’s ready to modify one of the existing permits, so I better stay today and keep the pressure on. We’re so close,” Burt said trying to give hope. “If all goes well, I’ll fly in tomorrow morning and we can concentrate our efforts.”

“Call me if anything changes,” Javier said.

As he put his phone away, Jack said, “Is he coming today to help out?”

Javier shook his head, “No… he thinks he might be able to get an official to approve our permit
s
, so he’s going to stay there today. He might be here tomorrow morning
though
.”

“To hell with the officials. We need his expertise now. A lot of good a permit is going to do anyone if we’re all dead,”
Jack
blurted out loudly.

“Jack, I understand your logic, but without that permit, we can’t place one shovel in the ground without authorities hauling us all off in chains,”
Javier continued.

“But we’re doing that now. We’ve dug all kinds of holes yesterday.
”

“Yeah, and technically, we did that illegally. I’m ok with a few shovels here and there, but when we’re digging for real, with heavy equipment and lots of men, that’s
a
whole o
ther world we’re talking about.”

“Well, I sure hope he’
s got some tricks up his sleeve.
”

“We’re going to need more than a sleeve full of tricks. We’re going to need a miracle,” Javier replied.

Darrien’s old Range Rover negotiated the boulders, ditches
,
and hills with ease. As they neared the top of the mountain, the angle
of
ascent was too great and they could drive no further. They backed down the slope a short distance and parked on a small bluff.

Jack hop
p
ed out the back of the open vehicle, grabbing
his
pack and radar platform before exiting. Javier walked around the back and took out the two remaining packs, handing one to Darrien and donning the other.

“Jack, I don’t think that radar works. Why don’t you leave it in the car? Besides, I have all the latest equipment. I really don’t have a use for it,” Javier said, noticing the device on the ground.

“I’m sure it works. It’s probably just a little temperamental. If it’s all the same to
you, I’d like to try it anyway.
”