Tomb of Zeus (Atlantis) (15 page)

“Helena, even if we finish today, we still have to examine the room with the ROV, then do the physical walkthrough. We’re talking another three days at least. I believe the crystal will get her right on time,” he said encouragingly.

Helena only nodded.

----- ----- ----- -----

Four days later…

For the previous three days, the four did exactly as Javi had predicted. Every inch of the corridor and chamber were cleared of traps. No crack, no tile, no seam
, was left unchecked. Feeling confident, the only thing left for them to do was to wait for the crystal.

As the morning broke and the sunshine
filtered in through the blinds, Helena was already up and pacing nervously. Every few minutes, she checked her watch. At 8am, she couldn’t stand the wait any longer. She reached for her cell phone and dialed Jack’s number.

“What took you so long?” Jack answered.

“Huh?” Helena responded, caught off guard by Jack’s greeting.

“What took you so long to call? I really figured you would’ve started calling me at 4am. Kind of late, aren’t ya,”
he teased.

“Ha… very funny. Now get your butt up and let’s get going. That crystal should be here in two hours,” she demanded.

“Don’t worry. We’ve got plenty of time. Javi’s picking it up from the local DHL office, so we have a couple of hours to relax.”

“Well, just the same, I think we should get over to the chamber and prepare for when Javi arrives.”

“It’s all done. We’ve cleared the area for traps and I know just how to operate the crystal to get the door open to the main chamber. Piece of cake,” Jack responded nonchalantly.

“Well, I’m not waiting around in this little shanty when I could be inside the pyramid, enjoying history. I heading over there now,” Helena said, feeling frustrated by Jack’s lazy attitude.

“Ok, ok… I’m getting up. Man, you’re such a slave driver,” he teased.

“I’ll see you over there,” she shot back.

As she hung up her phone, it immediately rang back again.

“Now what?” she blurted
into the speaker, trying to control her anger.

“Your lack of respect is, quite frankly, very disturbing,” Karl
Sita, the high priest of Arae said coldly.

“Oh my God, Sir. I had no idea it was you. I thought it was someone else. Please forgive me,” Helena begged.

“Hmm, I suppose it could happen,” he responded gruffly, then moved onto his point. “We’ve been listening in on Mr. Arista and Mr. Roberts. Their progress has been slower than we would’ve liked, but having heard all the reasons behind the delays, we feel the lack of progress is understandable.”

Helena breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m so glad I could help in this matter and was hoping that when you finally take control, I might be rewarded with some position of power,” she suggested.

“You
hope for too much,” he replied bluntly.

“But Sir, I’m doing all you’ve asked. I’m in sending daily reports. I’ve planted bugs for you to listen in on. I’ve pushed these men to insure no time
was wasted. I’ve even slept with Jack in order to gain his confidence, insuring he includes me in on every detail. Surely that has to account for something?”

“You must be joking,” he countered. “I’ve got men and women alike, staged at levels far greater than anything you
could possibly imagine… and still they won’t be given positions of authority. Be grateful you’re part of this great race and not one of those sub-humans. Your reward, simply, is status.”

Helena pulled the phone from her ear and mouthed obscenities at the high priest. Enraged,
she pounded her fist into the side of a chair, knocking it over. The loud crash caught Karl’s attention.

“What was that?” he asked, h
is voice sounding annoyed.

“Nothing… just book
s falling off my dresser,” she responded coldly.

“Let’s get to the point of my call,” he continued. “We know you’ll be picking up the crystal globe sometime around 10am. Assuming an hour to get back to the pyramid, then another hour to set it up inside the chamber, we figure Mr. Arista will have Zeus’ chamber open by sometime around noon. Although timing isn’t that critical, I don’t want my men to show
up too early and have Arista and Roberts refuse to open the chamber or too late for that matter, and miss our opportunity to take possession of the scepter cleanly.”

Karl paused a moment to gather his next thoughts, then continued:

“After discussing this with Christian Laikos, we think the best course would be for you to signal us when you see the scepter. There’s a bug on your phone so just make sure you have it in one of your pockets when you get inside the chamber so we can hear.”

“You bugged my phone?” Helena asked, insulted.

“Is that a problem?”

“No Sir,” Helena shot back, trying to control her anger once more.

Thinking about her role in the scene, she asked, “So what should I say to signal you? I could say something like ‘orange scepter’ or ‘the birds in the nest’.

Helena heard Karl chuckle to himself. It felt condescending.

“This is why there will be no advancement for you. You don’t have to use some silly code word, just announce loudly that the men have the scepter. At that point, my men will rush in and take it from them,” he explained.

“An
d what about the men: Jack, Javi and Duni?”

“They
’ll all die inside the chamber. I’m sure it’ll be a while before the police discover them.”

“Please Sir, they don’t have to die. They’re good men. Honest and decent. I’m certain they won’t give you any trouble,” Helena pleaded.

Helena heard silence on the other end of the line. It seemed to last an eternity.

“These matters don’t concern you. Y
ou’d better get going,” he said coldly.

----- ----- ----- -----

The Great Pyramid

11am…

Javi pulled in front of the pyramid and parked. Even before he shut off his engine, Jack, Helena and Duni hurried to greet him.

“Any trouble picking up the bowling ball?” Jack joked.

“Piece of cake. Here it is, still packaged,” Javi said, pointing to the passenger seat.

“Helena, you want to do the honors?” Jack asked.

“What do you mean, honors?”

“Do you want to carry it into the chamber?” he explained.

“How much does it weigh?”

“A few pounds,” Jack replied.

“I guess,” she answered
, sounding only mildly interested.

“You guess? I thought yo
u wanted to get into the pyramid’s history. Well, this is definitely part of it,” he said now puzzled.

“J
ack, I said yes,” she countered abruptly.

He thought about her strange response, but chose to let it go. He handed her the one foot by one foot by one foot package. She smiled cordially, and headed for the pyramid’s entrance.

“I guess were heading in,” Jack said to the others, sarcastically.

“I
guess we are,” Javi concurred, understanding the bizarre exchange.

A half hour later…

Jack stood behind the altar and prepared the crystal. Standing four feet high and three feet by five feet in rectangular shape, the altar was delicately etched on each side with hieroglyphics. At its center, a round column extended up from the top by a foot. The round column measured a foot in diameter and had a concave top that acted as a bowl that would cradle the crystal globe. On each side, small bowl-shaped depressions were carved into the top of the altar that at one time, were filled with special oils and set afire, illuminating the altar’s upper surface.

With the cryst
al globe still packed inside its box, Jack now tore open the top and pulled the glass ball from its packaging. The ten inch diameter globe was magnificent. The outside surface was etched in the form of an ancient map of the surrounding area of Atlantis. Inside, at its center, a small golden pyramid shined brightly. He rotated the crystal and found a tiny gold trident, embedded in its surface.

“I’ve forgotten how beautiful it is,” Javi said in a low reverent tone.

“Just amazing,” Duni said, standing on the opposite side of Jack.

Helena looked on with interest, but her eyes showed troubled distraction.

“Ok, all I need to do is place this crystal on the altar. That door across from us should open. But if you were to go into it, the ceiling would probably squish you like a pancake. Before we enter, I’ll need to shine a light behind the crystal. A small beam of light should reflect off the pyramid inside it and shine on the wall. The point where it shines will point out the lock to the door. After that, it’s just a matter of activating the unlock mechanism and voilà, the chamber should be safe to enter.”

For a moment, everyone stared at the large stone door across the room. Each person envisioned their own idea of Zeus, lying in a crystal coffin, similar to
the way his brother Poseidon was found in the chamber two hundred feet above.

Jack returned his focus to the crystal. He smiled at the others.

“Ok guys, this is it. Ready?”

“Ready,” everyone shouted in unison.

Looking down at the concave shape of the pedestal, Jack paused a moment. He studied the size of the bowl-shaped surface, then the size of the crystal.

He shrugged and lowered the crystal onto
the top of the pedestal. Instantly, it began to lower. A hissing sound could be heard throughout the walls, then a low rumble as mechanisms were being activated. Slowly, the great door began to slide open. All eyes were glued to the interior.

“It’s empty!
” Helena shouted in horror.

“That’s the trap, Helena,” Jack quickly responded. “If you were to go in there now, the ceiling would fall and crush you.”

She nodded in fearful understanding.

As the crystal hovered at a steady height, Jack took out his
flashlight. He shined it behind the globe, creating a dim beam of light that stretched across the room. He noted the location and darted over to it. With his flashlight in hand, he shined it on the area.

“Huh, now that’s weird. There should be a round tile on the wall. It
should be right here,” he said with growing concern. Turning to the others, he said, “Maybe I just sighted the location wrong. Javi, can you shine a flashlight behind the crystal? Yours is more powerful. Maybe it just needs higher intensity.”

“Absolutely,” he replie
d enthusiastically.

He positioned his flashlight behind the crystal. Instantly, a bean shined just to the left of Jack.

“Dammit! I was afraid of this,” he blurted in disappointment.

“What… afraid of what,” Helena asked, her tone now growing frantic.

“The crystal is the wrong one.”

“What do you mean, the wrong one?” Javi shouted, now equally puzzled.

“Just what I said. That crystal is the wrong crystal for this room. The pedestal is designed for a smaller crystal,” Jack said, now walking back to the altar.

He picked up the crystal slightly, showing the others the irregular fit in the pedestal.

“Look at the size of the bowl the crystal sits in. It’s smaller in diameter than this crystal.”

Javi looked close and nodded.

“Yeah, I think you’re right, Jack. That crystal just doesn’t fit.”

“I know I’m right,” he responded, now openly disappointed. “Dammit, this really sucks,” he shouted in anger.

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Helena pleaded in desperation.

Jack walked over to the doorway of the newly opened chamber. He pe
eked his head inside, taking care not to step in. He looked at the tiling on the floor and the telltale lines on the ceiling that indicated a trap.

“Jack, don’t do it. You’ll be killed,” Javi shouted.

He turned around and stared at the three, his mind racing for a solution.

“So that’s it? We’re done? All this is for nothing?” Duni stated, his tone filled with disgust.

“No Duni. We’re not all done. We’re just starting,” Jack replied, his voice controlled and resolute.

“You have a
solution, Jack?” Helena asked with anticipation.

He nodded simply.

Looking to Javi, he said, “Remember where I found that crystal?”

Javi
nodded suddenly in understanding.

Jack turned to Duni and Helena and explained.

“I found that crystal in the ocean off Caicos Island. It was part of an ancient ship wreck. If this one was found there, there’s got to be another.”

Jack looked back at Javi, his face was filled with dread.

“I guess it’s time to go for another dive.”