Curse of Atlantis (24 page)

Moments later, he stood next to Jack and watched the display as he started over at the beginning of the row. Within seconds, the display showed spikes and voids that represented materials of varying conductivity. As he watched the reading, his heart began to pound.

“Jack, I’m getting the same thing. There’s definitely something down there,” Javier said, excitedly.

“If you had to guess, what do you think it is?”

“I hate to say anything
,
seeing we just started our analyses mere minutes a
go, but I’ll tell you this much,
those voids are big, really big, like a room in a house kind of big. And, it’s very distinctive,” Javier said. Pointing to the display, he continued. “Look at how the lines of reflection are consistent, then dramatically change within a couple of feet. I’m guessing there’s a wall down there, Jack and it looks like it’s about ten to fifteen feet tall.”

“No way!” Jack blurted out, excitedly. “Javi, that’s it. That proves it. We’ve found the pyramid,” Jack said, excitedly.

“Whoa
,
Jack. Hold up a minute. It’s way too early to tell. It’s only a guess at this point,” Javier responded, exercising restrained enthusiasm. “We’re going to need to fully document this entire area. After we’ve done that, we can then start making assumptions.”

“Say what you will, but I think the evidence is already overwhelming,” Jack responded.

“Jack, a picture on your camera and a couple of anomalies are good clues but they don’t make a hidden pyramid just yet. Let’s stay focused and collect the rest of the clues, then we can make a decision.”

~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~

Nicolae sat on his couch and read through his morning’s reports. As the classical music played lightly in the background, his mind drifted in and out of focus between his work and newfound interest: a 1925 Bugatti Type 35B racer. With only two in existence, it was rare and he wanted it.

Having heard about it years before, he had missed his opportunity to own the stolen vehicle when it was briefly offered for sale through
"
discreet purchase.
"
Now, many years later, the rare vehicle was reportedly about to be offered to select collectors. He was not going to lose his chance this time.

He stared across his ornate office and let his mind daydream about the thrill of driving such a vintage vehicle. He could almost smell
a
faint hint of exhaust and the handcrafted leather seats. He smiled as he let his mind wander.

Suddenly from behind him, the phone rang loudly, startling him and breaking the serenity of his private thoughts. He stared at the annoying sound in disgust, then forced himself from the comfort of his white Italian leather couch.

On his ornately carved mahogany desk, he pushed the button on the phone transferring the sound to speaker.

“W
hat is it?” Nicolae said, mildly irritated by the intrusion.

“Boss, they’ve found it,”
Dimitri
said, his voice showing the excitement of his waiting approval.

“The Bugatti? You’ve located it? That is wonderful news,” Nicolae gleamed.

For Nicolae, the thought of paying five million American dollars for a stolen vehicle was an unsettling option, not when he could have his men steal it for free.

“Boss, I’m not talking about the Bugatti. It’s the pyramid… they’ve found it,”
Dimitri
said, now slightly disappointed at his employer
'
s reaction.

“
Really?
” Nicolae
shouted, now instantly excited
.

“They hope to be excavating very soon,”
Dimitri
added.

“I see. How long?”
Nicolae said, now with guarded optimism.

“Maybe in few days, I’m guessing.”

“Not how long before the
y start digging. H
ow long before they e
nter the pyramid?” Nicolae asked, growing anxious with anticipation.

“They told me six months...”

“SIX MONTHS?!” Nicolae shouted angrily, cutting
Dimitri
off before finishing. “Shut ‘em down. Shut them all down... replace ‘em. Find someone who can do it in two.”

“Boss, I gave them two months to get it done. They claim they can do it,”
Dimitri
said, now nervous about his boss’ temperament.

Nicolae thought for a moment. He realized
Dimitri
had anticipated his reaction and had forced the team to accept a timeline he would find acceptable.
Dimitri
had done his job well.

“Good work,
Dimitri
. You are my most valuable asset,” Nicolae complimented.

Feeling the satisfaction of recognition, he replied, “Thanks
,
Boss. This one has been challenging.”

“Hmm, right, that Arista girl. She has been difficult,” Nicolae concurred. “I can’t wait to be rid of her… and them.”

Dimitri
heard the statement, but sat quietly and waited for his boss to continue.

“Have you made any plans yet… for their disappearance?” Nicolae asked cryptically.

“I have. I’m planning an unfortunate cave-in after you’ve taken your interests from the chamber,”
Dimitri
replied, his tone growing cautious once more.

“A cave-in… hmm, I like it. Takes care of everyone in one event. No mess, no clean up.” Nicolae paused a moment, then continued. “Now that they’ve found the pyramid, I want them watched ‘round the clock. I don’t want to get there and find the chamber empty.”

“I’ll take care of it,”
Dimitri
responded, feeling a bit embarrassed for not having thought of it sooner.

With more pressing business matters to discuss, Nicolae moved onto a more important topic.

“So what is happening with the Novatek piping contracts? Are they still giving us trouble?”

“I have Bullinski handling it. He’s making progress,”
Dimitri
replied.

“Good. He’s a tough negotiator,” Nicolae responded cryptically.

“I just hope there’s someone left to sign the contracts when he’s done.”

~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~

Javier pulled a rag from his back pocket. Lifting his field hat, he wiped the sweat off the top of his head, then stuffed it back into his now baggy pant
s
. Standing for a moment and resting, he thought about Serena. Her face as a teen in braces registered clearly in hi
s
mind. He smiled slightly, then quickly frowned as he thought about her captivity. The pressure and strain of trying to save her life weighed heavy on him. In the previous weeks, he had barely eaten enough to survive and now, having lost nearly forty pounds, he looked gaunt and felt weak.

With his hands shaking from dehydration, he pulled a water bottle from his pants pocket and drank a large slug of the warm water.

“Javi, we do have cold water in the cooler,” Jack said, from behind.

Startled, Javier spun around. He flashed an amicable smile, the
n
replied simply, “Thanks.”

Seeing the sadness on his friend
'
s face, he hoped to distract him with work.

“Well, I’d say that went really well. We finished the scans in record time. Everything’s just about packed away and ready for
the
hike back down. Have you assembled the data yet? As if I didn’t already
know the answer,” Jack said, his
voice sounding bright and positive.

Javier smiled slightly, then said, “The computer’s crunching the numbers now. It shouldn’t
be long. I’m hesitating on making
any concrete statements until the final word is in.”

“I wonder how Burt’s doing with the Greeks,” Jack said, checking the time on his watch. “Boy, I’d love to be a fly on the wall during that conversation.”

“I’m sure it’ll
be very uncomfortable. S
omething I’m sure Burt isn’t looking forward to,” Javier responded.

“Well, whatever he’s using as persuasion, I just hope it’s enough to do the job.”

Javier was about to respond when he heard a single beep sound from his computer. Rushing over to a small pile of rocks used as a makeshift table, he sat down on the ground in front of them and adjusted the screen to his laptop.

“Ok, let’s see what we have,” he said, his voice showing anticipation.

Jack knelt down beside him as he worked the display. Using the onboard mouse, Javier slid his finger over the tiny pad and watched the three-dimensional image rotate on
the
screen. As the picture changed, it began to show crude representations of the features buried deep beneath them. Suddenly, Javier stopped rotating the image. Both he and Jack stared at the screen, mesmerized by its display.

“Oh my God,” Jack blurted out.

“I know, I can’t believe it either,” Javier said, his voice now growing in excitement.

“Are you sure that’s accurate?”

“Within a few feet, yes,” Javier replied.

“Wow, I had no idea it was going to look like that
.
”

“And this is just a 3-D image: crude, featureless. I shudder to think of what the real thing will look like,” Javier responded.

Jack looked over to Darrien who was attaching some tools to his pack for the hike down. Shouting, he called to him, “Hey
,
Darrien. You’ve got to see this. Come here, quick.”

Darrien dropped his pack and hurried over. He knelt down behind the two and stared over their shoulders. Squinting in the hot sun, his eyes were mesmerized by the display.

“What’s that?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“That, my friend, is the graphical image of this mountain,” Javier said. Pointing to the various features,
he continued. “And those lines
I believe, are a series of tunnels or corridors that connect to…”

“The burial chamber!” Jack blurted out, cutting off Javier before he finished.

“No way!” Darrien said, now visibly excited. “That is spectacular.”

“So the tidal wave really did reach levels this high. I have to tell you, I had my doubts,” Jack confessed.

“Yeah, I know what you mean, Jack, but this proves it. What we’re standing on is in fact, a pyramid covered in debris from a massive tsunami,” Javier said, his voice rising with excitement. Looking out over the valley toward the ocean, he continued, “Seven thousand years ago, as far as the eyes c
ould
see, this all must have been the city of
Atlantis
. The wave that rolled in was hundreds of feet high. I don’t know how far inland it traveled but it was certainly far enough to pick up a massive amounts of debris and fill in the valleys and cover mountains, as well as this pyramid.”

“Wow, they never had a chance,” Jack said, his tone now sympathetic.

“What strikes me as peculiar is how this pyramid wasn’t washed away. The force of a wall of water hundreds of feet h
igh
is incalculable. It should have decimated it in seconds, yet here it stands, intact,” Javier said, puzzled by the new revelation.

“Maybe it’s not intact. Maybe most of the blocks got washed away and left just the interior blocks,” Jack responded.

“Then how could we see the chamber? It had to have been flooded and covered in mud and debris,” Javier continued.

“Maybe it somehow never flooded,” Darrien said.

“I’m sure it must have,” Javier returned.

“Well, whatever happened down there seven thousand years ago, it left the chamber empty, otherwise it would have shown up dramatically different on our display,” Jack responded.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I think it’s kind of eerie that there’s someone buried beneath us right now.”

“Holy Crap! I never thought about that, Darrien, but you’re right. Somewhere down there is the body of the King of Atlantis,” Jack responded, his own words sending chills throughout his body.

“Not just somewhere, Jack. My guess is he’s about twenty feet in front of us and two hundred and thirty feet below,” Javier said, pointing to a spot just ahead of them.

“Can you see him on your computer?” Darrien asked, now anxious for more information.

“To be honest, Darrien, I really don’t know. See all these shaded images?” Javier asked both men.

Jack and Darrien both nodded simultaneously.

“Well, my guess is they are metallic. And if I had to guess further, I’d say they are probably gold,” Javier speculated.

“
GOLD
?! All those images?” Jack exclaimed loudly. “Wow, that’s incredible.”

“Yeah, and if I had to make an even greater guess, I’d even venture to say one of those objects could quite possibly be a sarcophagus.”