Tomb of Zeus (Atlantis) (26 page)

“Roger that,” the pilot shot back.

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

By the end of their fourteen hour shift, and with no more obvious targets left to inspect, aircraft One headed back to camp.

As they flew in quiet disappointment, Jack tapped Helena’s hand and pointed out her window. Far in the distance, the second helicopter was paralleling their course.

“I
had hoped they would’ve had better luck than we did,” he said with slight sadness to his tone.

“I had hoped they would’ve found something by now too. I guess we
’ll move onto the standard grid-patterned search tomorrow,” Helena sympathized.

“Man, if you thought this was boring, wait until you spend days watching nothing but featureless land, waiting for that one promising blip to show up on the radar screen,” he said.

“You sure know how to encourage the troops, Jack,” she teased. “To be honest, I’d easily spend a whole month’s worth of boredom for that one moment of excitement.”

“You may get your wish,”
he joked.

With the day’s mission over, the two helicopters now flew high and fast. Crossing over the ice sheet and heading for Camp Zeus on the lower plateau, Jack watched a tiny flash of light cross the very corner of his computer screen. He stared at it a moment, then called to Helena.

“What do you think?” he asked.

She studied the passing blip as it moved quickly off screen.

“Wrong area and too small for anything significant,” she replied. “Probably another deposit of ore.”

Exhausted from the day’s activity, he accepted her answer without question.

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

Later that evening…

Inside the utility trailer, the four sat around a small table and dined on fish and potatoes, prepared by the camp cook. Although the foods were either previously frozen or canned, the flavor and nutritional value were more than satisfactory.

“What kind of fish is this?” Duni asked, eagerly taking another mouthful.

“I think it’s halibut,” Jack responded.

“I must say, if they continue to serve foods this good, I might consider staying a while,” Javi joked.

Helena ignored the small talk and got straight to business.

“So how’d you guys do today? We had a couple of hits on the metal detection radar, but they all turned out to be false alarms. I’m guessing by the size and depth of the images, the hits were probably just some kind of ore deposits down there,” she said.

“We had the same results. Either we found nothing, or the radar activity turned out to be something other than an obvious golden pyramid. If I had to guess, I’d have to say you’re correct, Helena: just a bunch of ore down there in a couple of places,” Javi responded, his tone sounding disappointed.

“I wonder what kind of ore it is,” Duni speculated. “Imagine if it was gold. Every man with a shovel and a dream would show here overnight, seeking his fortune,” he joked.

“This is a national park. Greenland would never let that happen,” Javi responded, confidently.

Duni nodded.

“So tomorrow we start the grid search, right?” Helena asked more for the benefit of “those” listening, than out of her own curiosity.

Seated on the opposite side of the room, Ron and Adam quietly huddled around a single computer and reviewed the status of various camp activities and requirement, ensuring the services were running efficiently. As Helena spoke, they quickly jotted down the information.

“Yes Helena,” Javi responded. “Just like today, you and Jack will by flying the northern region of the grid and Dunixi and I will be flying the southern region. If my guess is correct, it should take us an entire month.”

For the next half hour, the four continued to discuss the details of their mission. As they finished their meal, they realized the late hour and headed off to bed.

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

The following morning…

The four rose early and prepared for the day’s search. By 7:30am, they waited in the utility trailers as the two helicopters prepared to land. Within a half hour, they once again were strapped in and headed off to the upper ice sheet. Flying in Zeus One, Jack and Helena flew to the northern edge of the search grid, while Javi and Duni flew to the southern edge in Zeus Two.

Minutes after departure, the pilot of Zeus One positioned the helicopter over the first grid line and announced their readiness.

“Ok Sir, we’re in position. Ready to proceed,” he said in formal tone.

“We’re all set here too,” Jack responded, far less formal.

The aircraft began its slow easterly track over the ground. Flying at just fifty feet above the ice pack, the radar sensors began to send back images to the laptops. Helena watched closely, studying the gray and white tones of the readout. Jack did the same. Moving slowly along their path, both sets of eyes watched the stark, featureless land pass under them. Although there were variations in color tones on their computer screens, the reality of their search quickly became apparent: they’d be spending long hour staring at nothing.

A half hour after they started, Zeus One had flown the first leg of the search grid. The pilot turned back around and
entered the path of the second line in the pattern. As he called out their new position, Jack and Helena watched their laptops intently.

Hour after hour, the same east-west searches continued. By the end of the day, nothing of consequence had been found. After nearly fourteen hours of tedium, the two teams headed back to Camp Zeus.

Later that night, the four sat quietly and ate their food. Very few words were spoken as disappointment filled their minds.

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

For the next three weeks, the two teams flew the same missions day in and day out. Each evening, they returned with nothing to show for their work. Although there were minor inflections on their computer display that called for further inspection, their findings revealed nothing more than ore deposits or anomalies that proved to be nothing.

With moral waning, a weather front moved into the area, prohibiting further flights for nearly a week. As the four sat around for hours whiling away the time, extreme boredom set it. With little to do and falling behind schedule, Jack elected to continue the search for the pyramid by snowmobile.

Mounting a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to the snowmobile’s body, as well as GPS for navigation, he felt he could search several grid lines each day until the weather improved.

Standing around the modified machine, Javi, Jack, Duni and Helena, as well as Ron and Adam, admired Jack’s handiwork.

“Well, it ain’t pretty, but it
will
get the job done,” Duni said, nodding in approval.

“Thanks Duni. I can rig one up for you if you’d like?” Jack teased.

“No thanks. Enduring polar bears and hours of zero degree temperatures, isn’t really my thing,” he replied dryly.

Javi stared at the snow machine and shook his head.

“Are you sure you want to do this? I’m certain the weather will lift in a couple of days,” he said.

“We’ll be fine. It’s not as if I’ll be driving like a lunatic out there. Anything above fifteen miles an hour and the radar becomes unreliable,” Jack responded. “Our only real danger is running into a polar bear, which is pretty unlikely seeing we won’t be stopping at any time.”

“Don’t worry, Javi,” Helena said. “Ron loaned me his Beretta 92 handgun. If we run into any trouble, he assures me a nine millimeter slug will take ‘em down in one shot,” she added, lifting her heavy arctic parka and showing the side holstered weapon.

“But if you need more than one shot, it holds a thirteen-round magazine,” Ron announced matter-of-factly.

“Hmm, I guess thirteen rounds might do it,” Javi said sarcastically. “You sure you know how to shoot that thing?” he pressed further.

Helena nodded proudly.

“Of course. We all had firearms training before we left… and Ron showed me again this morning,” she said.

“Well, just the same, you be extra vigilant out there,” Javi warned, now sounding like a concerned parent. “And watch out for crevasses. With this recent snow, they might be harder to see,” he
added.

As Jack hopped on the snowmobile, Helena moved in behind him. He handed her the radar’s handheld display and she switched it on. As she checked the readout, Jack started the engine.

“Hey, I think I’m getting something,” she teased.

Javi glared at her. He was in no joking mood.

With a wave good bye, Jack hit the accelerator and sped off up the incline toward the upper ice sheet.

Although the temperatures hovered around zero degrees Fahrenheit, both Jack and Helena wore arctic pants and jackets. They figured as long as they stayed ducked behind the snowmobile’s oversized windscreen, it would be enough protection from the artic winds.

The two climbed the slope from the lower plateau and crossed onto the upper ice sheet. Following the GPS, Jack steered in a southerly direction toward their first grid line of the day. Although the clouds hung heavy above them, the snows from the night before had ceased. Fifteen minutes later, Jack changed their direction and now steered to their first grid line, heading east. He slowed a bit, then announced the mark.

“Ok, this is it. We’re on grid,” he shouted.

“I’m watching. Keep it steady,” she shot back.

As he focused on the path in front of him, he watched for obstructions. Smaller dips in
the snow-covered ice, he slowed slightly and drove over them. Larger dips, he steered to avoid them, hoping to keep the ride stable for Helena’s readout.

“How’s it going back there,” he shouted.

“Fine, I found three pyramids and an old Mercedes,” she joked.

Jack smiled simply and continued to monitor the GPS.

Nearly two hours later, thirty miles out, he slowed to a stop. He shut the engine down for a moment of quiet.

“What do you think? Is this worth it? Do you think we’re getting good readings on that thing?” he asked in quick succession.

“Aside from freezing my ass off, I think it’s working great. I picked up a couple of anomalies, the same as we did on the helicopter, so I think this actually confirms our flight data,” she responded. “I’m pretty happy we’re doing this. At least it’s not a waist.”

“Awesome,” he responded simply, now checking the area for any signs of bears.

“I think we better keep moving. If there’re any bears nearby, the sound of the engine and our voices could be like ringing a dinner bell,” he warned.

“That’s too bad. I was just starting to warm up,” she complained mildly.

Jack hopped back onto his seat and started the engine. He headed a hundred feet south, then turn west, back toward Camp Zeus, now following the next grid line in the search area. Like before, he kept a steady course while Helena monitored the radar display.

Forty-five minutes later, Helena shouted from behind.

“Whoa Jack, I think we have something,” she shouted.

Instantly he let up off the gas and hit the brake. As he slowed to a stop, he leaped off his seat and watched the display over her shoulder.

“Wow, looks big… and deep,” he said.

He looked far ahead, trying to visualize the ocean.

“Seems kind of far away, doesn’t it?” he asked.

“It’s within our search area,” Helena responded.

“I know, but after spending a couple of weeks here, I’m just not convinced we should be looking this far out. These guys were seafarers. It seems they would’ve picked a location closer to the sea, sort of like they did in Atlantis. If they picked this location, they would’ve hiked a long way in just to build a pyramid,” he speculated.

“Maybe the ground was more stable here,” she countered.

“I suppose it could be,” he said.

“Well, so far, the object is at least forty feet long. Let’s just mark off the area and see how big it really is. If it’s not at least a hundred feet square, we can definitely rule this location out,” she suggested.

“Good call,” he concurred, now hopping back on and restarting the engine.

Minutes later, as they made general passes back and forth over the area, Helena marked out the edges of the target on a map. She tapped Jack on the shoulder, signaling him to stop.

“Not looking good, is it?” he said, his tone now foretelling the results.

Helena shook her head.

“I’m afraid not. Whatever’s down there is roughly twenty by fifty feet and no more than forty feet deep... the depth simply being a function of the ice,” she said.

“Hmm, that sucks,” he said bluntly.

“I know. For a moment there, I thought we had something,” she added.

Jack shrugged his shoulders in resignation.