Curse of Atlantis (36 page)

“Astounding,” Burt said simply, rubbing his hands lightly over the scepter of Zeus.

“Nice… So what do you think the meltdown value would be?” Jack teased. “Enough to buy a fancy steak dinner?”

“I’d shoot you dead before I let you do that,” Serena shot back in good humor.

Jack shined the light around the room. More busts of men and women sat on ornately carved stands made of stone. Nearby, there were exquisitely decorated pottery and carved statues of horses and miniature replicas of boats.

“Wow, look at this boat,” Burt said, now shining his own light on it. “Amazing. Look at the size. I’m betting it could have held a couple dozen men, at least.”

Javier looked around the room and suddenly, a look of disappointment crossed his face. Looking past her father, Serena noticed the expression.

“Dad, you ok?”

“I’m a little disappointed. I was really hoping to find the King of Atlantis in here.”

“He’s not in here,” Jack grinned.

“You found him? You found the King?” Javier shot back, now instantly excited.

“Well, sort of,” Jack replied.

Walking over to the altar, he rested the crystal on the concave surface of the pedestal and adjusted its position to line up with mark on the pedestal’s surface. As it began to descend, Jack pulled a lighter from his pocket. He flicked the dial and created a flame. With the crystal hovering just above the altar, he moved the lighter next to the crystal and watched a dim beam of light stretch across the room. Keeping his eye on a spot on the far wall, he raced over and ran his flashlight over the area. All eyes were glued on Jack.

“Ah ha,” he said, approvingly.

“Jack, you found another lock,” Burt said. Looking around, he asked, “Is there another doorway in here?”

A
s he pushed on a round tile, it sunk into the wall by two inches.

“I haven’t done this before, but I suspect your answer to the ‘doorway’ question lies somewhere outside the pyramid.”

They all stood quietly and listened as the familiar
"
hissing
"
signaled the start of flowing sand. A moment later, a dull
"
thud
"
sounded deep within the pyramid.

Burt, Javier
,
and Serena each scanned the chamber with their flashlights.

“Nothing happened,” Serena said.

“Right, nothing happened in
here
,” Jack said wryly.

“Jack, you think the King’s buried somewhere outside the pyramid?” Javier asked incredulously.

“No, I think he’s still buried inside this pyramid, but I think we need to go outside to find him.”

“Ahhh, I think I understand,” Burt said with a knowing grin.

“I’m not sure I understand, though,” Serena responded.

He flashed her a toothy smile and said, “Follow me.”

~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~

Energized and excited, the four hurried back through the chambers and down the corridors, exiting out the front of the pyramid in less than a half hour. As they assembled just outside the front entrance, Jack explained his theory.

“Remember how I told you I examined the altar
and
the scrolls? Well, I realized that whoever recorded this info, probably followed similar logic in both. In other words, if the altar contained hidden meanings, then the scrolls probably did too.”

“You found something on the scrolls, Jack?” Javier asked, now eager for information.

“Yup, sure did. On the scroll that described the burial of the King, one of the images of the pyramid and the ‘
all-seeing eye’
was slightly different
from
all the rest. At
first,
I just chalked it up to a mistake, but then I remembered the hidden meaning of the image on the altar. I began to compare the data with suspicion and made an interesting discovery.”

“Which is?” Serena asked, growing impatient.

“Basically, this one image of the pyramid showed the
‘
all-seeing eye’
suspended in its center, not hovering over the top of the pyramid like the
other
images showed. Additionally, the image showed a couple of squares located at the pyramid
'
s bottom edge. Originally, I thought they were smudges, but when I looked at them under a magnifying glass, it was obvious they were intentionally drawn in.”

“I think I get, Jack,” Burt interrupted. “The lower blocks represented the chambers we just visited, so the
‘
all-seeing eye’
in the center must represent the King’s burial chamber.”

“Exactly. They built
traps for raider
s
down low and bur
ied
the King up high where it’s inaccessible. It’s perfect,” Jack concurred.

“So somewhere up above, you think there’s a door?” Javier asked.

Jack hurried a few yards away, enough for him to see the outside of the pyramid clearly. He looked up and smiled.

“I don’t
think
there’s a door above… I
know
there’s a door above us. I can see it,” Jack shouted loudly, now barely able to contain his excitement.

Burt, Javier and Serena ran to Jack’s position and looked skyward.

“It’s a door… an open door,” Javier blurted happily.

“How’d we miss that? We excavated right past it,” Burt said.

“I’m sure it was barely visible and we probably just thought
its seams
were thin cracks,” Jack replied.

“I’d like to know how the heck we’re going to get up there. The face of the pyramid is smooth from bottom to top and that door has to be at least two hundred feet above us,” Serena said.

Burt pulled his cellphone from his pocket and pressed a button. As the phone began to ring, he said aloud, “Let’s not make this complicated. Anyone up for a helicopter ride?”

“What are you… INSANE?” Serena blurted loudly. “I just spent two months in captivity: haven’
t washed, eaten or slept
in months. I’m thinking a cheeseburger, a long bath and a good night’s sleep
first
,
before I even
consider
stepping into another danger
ou
s situation.”

In a quick move that caught everyone’s attention, Jack
inhaled deeply, held his breath, then
stepped
abruptly
to the other side of Serena. Looking back at the
others
, a wily grin
spread across his face. He then exhaled.

Serena shot him a disturbing glare and said, “Ok Jack, what’re you up to this time
?
”

“Nothing,” he replied, feigning innocence. “Just stepping upwind.”

“
Oh my GOD, Jack!
That’
s not even funny,
” Serena
said.

After knowing him
for mo
nths, she came to understand Jack’s
somewhat twisted sense of humor and knew he meant no harm. She glared at him with scorn, as she struggled to hide her grin.

“Serena, bathed or unbathed, you still look amazing,”
he responded
affectionately.

“You know, you really make it hard for someone to dislike you
,
Jack
,” Serena shot back with an appreciative smile.

Standing beside him
, Burt bumped his elbow into Jack’s
side
and said under his breath, “
Nice save.”

“It’s a gift,” he said quietly in return.

Chapter 20

Two days later:

Berta stood
next to Serena. With her arm wrapped
firmly
around her shoulder, she held her daughter tightly and refused to let go. Having gotten
the word of
Serena’s safety, she took the next flight out of the
Islands
. The next day, their tearful reunion was punctuated by protests of their next dangerous escapade.

Standing in front of the Russian
-
made MI-26 heavy-lifting helicopter, Jack, Javier, Serena
,
and Burt listened intently to the operations officer instruct them on safety during their mission. With their waist and chest harnesses tightly fastened, they were ready to be lowered to the upper chamber on the pyramid.

“Ok, file in and fasten your seat and shoulder belts,” the operations officer instructed.

“You be careful, Honey,” Berta said to Serena.

“I will,” Javier responded back, humorously.

Berta shot him an unpleasant glance and said, “Not you. I was talking to Serena. You, I could kill right now.”

Looking to the rest of the crowd, he shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile, “At least she’s still talking to me.”

One by one, the
y
climbed the ladder and stepped into the large open door of the helicopter. Finding a seat, they fastened their seatbelts and waited for further instruction. Moments later, they heard the high pitched whine of the engine and then saw the main rotor begin to rotate.

“Nervous?” Jack asked, sitting across from Serena.

“What gave it away? My white knuckles?” she joked.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. Once I’m in, they’ll lower you next. I’ll haul you in and clip you to an anchor inside,” Jack said.

Serena nodded simply.

A great
smile spread across Jack’s face.

“What are you smiling at?” Serena said, feeling a bit self-conscious.

“I’m just happy to see you. I missed you,” Jack said.

Serena’s reddened and her stomach fluttered.

“I missed you too, although I’m sure you look a lot better than I do right now,” she replied, nervously
touching her swollen cheek and lips, her last attack still evident on her face
.

“I think you look beautiful.”

Serena’s heart pounded. Before she could respond, the engine sped up and the rotor speed increased. In seconds, they were airborn
e
.
Standing beyond the rotor’s reach, Berta waved vigorously as the helicopter lifted off.
The lift to the top of the pyramid was short, less than thirty seconds. As they hovered over the apex, the operations officer stood and made his way to the back with his passengers.

“Ok
,
Jack, you’re first,” he said.

Grabbing a cable fed from an outside beam, the operations officer pulled out a few extra feet, the
n
hooked the connection to Jack’s harness.

“Ok, just like we practiced,” he yelled over the sound of the rotors.

Jack nodded simply and stood up.

The ops officer pushed a button on a panel and the winch connected to the beam started to real in the excess cable. As Jack’s harness came taut, the ops officer motioned him to stand at the opening.

“OK, step out and I’ll start to lower you. Just like we practiced, ok?” he yelled once more.

“Got it,” Jack yelled back.

Jack took a small step and felt the cable slowly release. He leaned out and let his weight hang from the beam. The ops officer worked a joystick and began to lower Jack. All eyes watched nervously as he disappeared beneath the aircraft.

Staring down at the ground, Jack watched the team of police swarming the base of the pyramid as they began their investigation into the deaths of the Russians. Thinking of Serena’s swollen face, he felt warm satisfaction that he had beaten her attackers at their own game.

Descending lower, he
watched the apex of the pyramid rise up to
meet
him
.
In seconds, he was at eye level with it. A moment later, the apex was far above him.

Looking down, he kept his eyes on the doorway. As it came up
quickly,
his heart pounded with anticipation.

In less than a minute, he watched his feet come in contact with the edge of the open door. The ops officer worked the joystick to help keep him steady. Jack could see inside the doorway now. Mostly dark, he felt apprehension about what lay inside.

Reaching out his hands, he grabbed the edge of the stone and stepped onto the floor. Instantly, he felt the cable go slack. Moving inside the pyramid, he turned on his flashlight and scanned the corridor around him. Just inside, the door that had once covered the opening lay on its side. Jack pulled out an extra rope and tied it securely to the heavy stone door, then to his own harness.