The Grecian Manifesto (26 page)

“Good call,” Tommy agreed.

The two got moving again,
checking the ground with every step they took to find any signs of a Roman or
Greek presence on the little piece of land. For the next forty-five minutes,
Tommy and Sean crept along the south side of the island. After they reached the
western edge, they moved twenty feet into the middle and backtracked the way
they’d come. They repeated this process until they had finally come back to the
point where they could make out the top of the giant yacht in the harbor. The
sun sat high in the sky, shining warm rays of light down onto the island.

Tommy stood with his hands on
his hips as he glanced up at the almost cloudless sky. “What do we do now?” he
asked. Both of them had been on searches like this a dozen times before with
the IAA. They knew that patience was an essential part of any good
archaeologist’s repertoire. At the moment, however, time wasn’t on their side.

“This side of the island is in
plain view of the other boat,” Sean said, waving his hand to the area in
question. “If we go looking around over there, whoever is on the boat will see
us.”

“So what do we do?”

Sean thought about it for a
moment, and then shook his head. “We aren’t going to find anything up here.”

“What do you mean?” Tommy
asked, puzzled by his friend’s sudden willingness to give up.

Sean frowned as he surveyed the
terrain. “Caesar’s clue was whatever place held the Eye of Zeus was under this
island. If we are looking for a way in, it won’t be up here. And I doubt there
would be an arrow or anything pointing the way in plain sight.”

“Okay then. So we get back in
the water and swim around the back side of the island and see what we can
find.”

“It’s our only option.”

Tommy didn’t like the idea.
He’d forgotten about the sharks while they were walking around on land, but now
the irrational fear began to creep its way back into his head. “You’re sure
that’s the only thing we can do?”

Sean rolled his eyes. “Tommy,
enough with the sharks already. I’m telling you, you’re not in a
Jaws
movie here. These species almost
never attack people.”

“Almost,” Tommy countered.

“Fine, they never attack
people.”

“You said almost. That means it
happens every now and then. I don’t want to be the one that accounts for the
almost.” He was being defiant, but he knew there was no other choice. They were
going to have to swim around the island. “Let’s make it quick.”

Sean smiled. “Don’t worry, if a
shark comes near I’ll punch him in the nose.”

His words comforted Tommy for a
second, then, “Aw, crap!”

“What’s the problem now?”

Tommy’s face was forlorn. “We
left our flippers on the beach. No way can we get them without being seen.”

Sean let out a sigh. “I guess
that means we’ll have to do it the hard way.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say
that.”

Chapter 46

Northwestern Greece

Bourdon stepped into the
enormous living room on the main floor of Gikas’s yacht. Four men with thick
muscles stood guard, one in every corner. Gikas sat alone on a plush suede
couch, watching a flatscreen, high definition television on the wall opposite.
A beautiful brunette reporter in a blue dress sat behind a desk talking about
the escalating problems in Greece.

“More than three thousand
people gathered outside the Hellenic Parliament building to protest the
government’s inability to address the food shortages,” she reported. “It is
expected that the number of protesters will continue to grow as the state of
civil unrest nears boiling point. It was announced just yesterday that food
production in the entire country is going to be only half the national average.
The report stimulated a severe escalation in food prices all over the country.

“In Athens, police were called
in to put down a few riots at local markets and grocers. Thessaloniki also
experienced similar, minor criminal outbreaks. While the incidents have been
small thus far, local authorities are concerned that unless something is done
soon, hunger will drive people to do irrational and dangerous things.”

The screen switched and
displayed a balding man with a thick mustache. The remnants of hair on his head
and the facial hair were streaked with gray. “I implore the people of Greece to
please be civil and patient. We are still investigating the report that was
released concerning our food supply, and while our fears may be true there are
contingency plans in place for this sort of thing. We must remain united as a
country and a people.”

The man disappeared as the
camera shot changed to one of the protesters. Their voice was translated to
English by a female voice. “This government has done nothing to help its
people. The economy here has been bad for years. The jobless rate is too high.
And now they are telling us that our farmers and production facilities couldn’t
get enough food for everyone? It is time for a change. We need new leadership.”

Gikas chuckled as he leaned
back in the soft couch, his arms splayed out to both sides. He turned the hand holding
the remote toward the television and hit a button. The screen went black, and
he set the remote down on the cushion next to him.

“So, Teo, what do you have for
me?” he asked, turning his attention to his new head of security.

 
Bourdon walked around the edge of a matching suede chair and
helped himself to a seat. “I took care of Paulino. No loose ends there, just
like you requested.”

“Good,” Gikas nodded. “I always
prefer to keep things as simple as possible.”

“Of course. I do as well.”

“What of Wyatt and Schultz? I
noticed we have already slowed down.”

Bourdon nodded. “They made
anchor in a cove not far from the island.”

“Any sign of them?”

“No,” Bourdon shook his head.
“There has been no movement on the boat, and I’m pretty sure I saw someone
moving in the grass on the upper part of the island. I’m certain they are
wandering around, probably searching for the artifact.”

Gikas’s eyebrows lifted.
“Aren’t you going to stop them?” He seemed surprised that his new apprentice
would be so lackadaisical.

Bourdon crossed his arms and
smiled. “I thought you had more faith in me than that. I sent three men over to
their boat. They swam over to the near side of their craft as I was out on the
deck. If Wyatt and his friend were watching me, it was unlikely they saw the
three men as they approached Wyatt’s craft. They waited, shielded from sight by
the boat’s hull until I came inside. Whoever may have been watching would have
lost interest within a minute or two. Our men are climbing aboard Wyatt’s
vessel as we speak, and when the Americans return with the relic they will be
shot on sight and the object will be yours.” He leaned back proudly as he
finished the description of his plan.

Gikas was impressed, but there
was still something bothering him. “What if they don’t have the Eye of Zeus in
their possession?”

“My men were instructed to kill
Wyatt and his friend only if they had the device with them. If there is no sign
of it, the men are to bring the Americans back to this ship where we can
interrogate them ourselves.”

Silence pervaded the room after
Bourdon finished his explanation. A few moments later, Gikas began clapping.
The four guards in the room eyed each other suspiciously, unaccustomed to
seeing their employer express himself in such a manner. “Impressive, Teo,” he
said after ending his applause. “An excellent plan. So, all we have to do is
sit and wait for Wyatt and his friend to fall right into our trap.”

“Precisely. Have your ship’s
captain steer us out of the cove and out to open water. It will appear that we
are simply out for a leisurely boat tour and have continued on our way. When
our men have commandeered their boat and taken them prisoner, they will radio
us, and we will meet them back at this spot.”

“I like it,” Gikas said as he
crossed his arms. “Mikel,” he called to one of the other guards in the room.
“Have Serge take us out of this little bay and back out to the open sea between
the islands. Have him sit there and wait for further instructions.”

The guard stepped forward and
gave a quick nod before striding over to a door at the other end of the cabin
and disappearing through it.

Gikas stood up and made his way
over to a bar in the corner near the television. He picked up a decanter
half-full of clear liquid and removed the crystal cap. He glanced back at
Bourdon and motioned with the bottle, “Would you like a drink?”

“No, thank you,” Bourdon said.
“I never drink when I’m working. And I am almost always working. I find that in
my line of employment, it is essential to keep one’s wits as sharp as
possible.”

Gikas flicked his eyebrows and
gave a nod. “I can appreciate that. And I agree. You should most certainly keep
your wits about you.” He poured a few ounces of the alcohol into a tumbler and
set the decanter down, replacing the lid as he did so. He lifted the glass and
sniffed the drink with a long inhalation. “You know, most Greeks prefer ouzo.
It’s the drink of our homeland.”

“Not you, though, eh?”

Gikas shook his head. “No, I
have always had a preference for good vodka. And this is the best money can buy.
Perhaps when this little matter regarding Wyatt and Schultz is done, you will
have one with me.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

The boat’s engines grumbled
deep from the aft of the yacht, and the huge vessel began to move again. Its
weight and size made the interior of the boat extremely stable, and its
occupants barely had to brace themselves as the ship’s captain steered the
yacht out of the cove and back into open waters.

Gikas took a sip of the vodka
and clicked his tongue, then let out a sigh as the warm sensation trickled down
his throat. “Go downstairs with two of the men and bring up the woman. I want
her on deck when we apprehend Wyatt and his friend. If he won’t tell us what we
want to know, maybe the sight of her in pain will change his mind a little.”

“Of course,” Bourdon nodded. He
motioned for the two closest guards to follow him. Then he walked to the front
of the cabin and descended the stairs to retrieve Adriana.

A smile eased onto Gikas’s
face. Everything was going according to plan. Wyatt had led him straight to
what he wanted.

Chapter 47

Northwestern Greece

Swimming without the aid of
fins made for a much more difficult task than Sean had anticipated when he made
the suggestion. The water fought against their progress with every stroke and
kick. For a moment, Sean wished they had gone back to the beach and risked
being seen in order to get the flippers, but he knew their current plan was the
only way. It gave them an element of surprise and might just get them the upper
hand in whatever showdown was about to occur.

Tommy breathed heavily as he
chopped wildly through the water. He tried desperately to keep up with Sean,
but didn’t have nearly as much experience swimming in the sea. Sean wondered if
his friend had much swimming experience at all, based on the unorthodox
technique Tommy was using. He looked more like an octopus flailing arms and
legs around everywhere as he fought to keep going forward. It would have been
worse had they been farther out from the island. Fortunately, where they were,
the water wasn’t as rough as it would be fifty yards away.

Sean took a second to dog
paddle and look back at where they’d started. He frowned. They’d only gone
thirty yards, and already his friend was gasping for breath. He continued to
hover in place to let Tommy take a minute to rest.

“I’m…not used to…swimming in
this kind…of water,” Tommy said, stopping his reckless movement, taking a
moment to rest like Sean was doing.

“Yeah, it’s a lot different
than swimming in a pool.”

“I don’t understand how you do
it,” Tommy said, spitting out a little water through his lips. “You make it
seem so easy.”

Sean kept his hands out wide,
maintaining his position. “Just used to it, I guess.” He turned his attention
from his friend back to the rocky face of the island.

The stone cliff rose high above
them to the plateau where they’d been just a few minutes before.
 
Sean had noticed how much deeper the
water was where they now floated from his view up on the island. Swimming in it
now, he was intrigued by the odd drop on the sea floor. Usually, the area
surrounding an island had a more gradual decline until it reached an underwater
shelf, which would dramatically fall into the depths of the sea. Sean surveyed
the jagged rock, searching it for a telling sign of what they had come to find.

“I’m going to get a little
closer,” he said and took a few strokes toward the island.

“That’s fine,” Tommy said,
still trying to catch his breath. “I’ll just wait here for the heart attack to
kick in.”

“If you didn’t struggle so much
and relaxed your swimming strokes, you would spend less energy and go a lot
faster.”

Sean stopped about ten feet
short of the rocks. His eyes scanned the surface again, studying it carefully.
This had to be the place. He knew it. He just needed some kind of confirmation.
Suddenly, his gaze froze on something that seemed out of place on such a rugged
facade. He’d not noticed it before, but now that he was closer he could see it
plain as day. The lettering had been carved into the stone to appear almost
invisible, as if it were part of the natural formation of the island. Seeing it
now, he realized how the word had been camouflaged. It couldn’t be seen from a
distance much greater than twenty feet. He let out a grin as he stared at the
word.

Inferus
.

“Hey, Tommy,” he shouted back
at his friend. “I think we found it.”

“What?” Tommy’s face curled into
a frown as he desperately tried to stay afloat. “What do you mean we found it?”

Sean pointed up at the word
chiseled into the stone. “This is the spot.” He looked down into the water
where his feet were kicking at a smooth, constant pace. “I knew there was
something funny about this spot. It has to be an underwater entrance cut into
the base of the island.”

“Great!” Tommy said in mocking
excitement. “Tell you what. Why don’t you go down and check it out, and I’ll
stay here and wait.”

“Okay,” Sean said. He
somersaulted over and disappeared head first, diving into the water.

When his feet disappeared,
Tommy shook his head. “I was kidding,” he said to himself.

Thirty seconds went by, and he
started to worry about Sean being down for so long. He watched as his friend
maneuvered through the clear water, but it was difficult to see with the constant
ripple of the sea. All he could make out was his friend’s blurry image below.

Ten seconds later, Sean
reappeared on the surface and took in a huge gasp of air. He wiped away the
water from his head and eyes and allowed a smile to pass over his face. “There’s
a cave entrance down there,” he said proudly. “And the symbol of Julius Caesar
is carved over top of it.”

“Are you serious?” Tommy asked
excitedly. He’d forgotten his exhaustion and replaced it with enthusiasm. “I
really wasn’t sure we would find anything.”

Sean cast a disappointed glance
at his friend. “Haven’t you learned never to doubt me?”

“Not yet,” Tommy winked.

A low rumble from around the
edge of the island caught their attention. They both shared a moment of
concern. Sean paddled a few strokes out away from the island to get a better
view of what was happening. The white yacht was trolling away from the small
land mass. “Looks like whoever is in that yacht has seen enough. They’re
leaving.”

“Probably just out for a little
midday tour of the islands,” Tommy added.

“The good news for you is that
we don’t have to go all the way around the island without our fins. Now we can
go back and get them.”

Tommy squinted his eyes
disapprovingly at Sean’s little barb. “You know what? That is good news. And if
you don’t mind, I’m going to head back that way right now. You just hang out
here with the sharks while I go back to the beach.” He started his wild
flailing again as soon as he finished the sentence.

Sean laughed, though he wasn’t
sure which was funnier, the sight of his friend swimming or the fact that he
knew he was terrible at it. Not wanting to make Tommy feel worse about his
technique than he already did, Sean waited for a few minutes before swimming
toward the shore.

Several minutes later, the two
had their fins attached and were stepping back into the water of the cove,
heading for their boat.

“Will we be able to get into
the cave with our scuba gear on?” Tommy asked, wading into the water with his
fins.

“Yeah,” Sean nodded, walking
awkwardly beside him. “It looks plenty big enough. We shouldn’t have any
problems.”

Once they were in deep enough
water, the two began paddling back in the direction of their boat, which was
anchored in the peaceful waters of the cove. Tommy moved much faster now that
he had his flippers on, letting his legs do most of the work. The two arrived
at the back of their craft and pulled themselves up onto the back landing.

Sean removed the flippers and
twisted his head to see where the yacht had gone. It had disappeared from view,
leaving them alone in the cove, which was exactly what he preferred. The fewer
eyes watching what they were doing, the better.

“I’ll pull up the anchor, and
we can take the boat around to the other side. We can park it there and get our
dive gear ready.”

Tommy finished taking off his
watery footwear and stood up. “Good. I’m tired of all this swimming,” he said
and then froze in place as if he’d seen a snake. He slowly raised his hands to
shoulder height.

“What is it?” Sean asked, as he
dropped his fins onto the aft deck. He didn’t need his friend to answer. His
eyes followed Tommy’s to the cabin of the boat where three men had appeared
from inside. Each one held a gun, aiming straight in the two Americans’
direction. “Or we could just do whatever these guys want.”