Tomb of Zeus (Atlantis) (9 page)

“Yes.”

Helena felt
outraged. Although she really didn’t have a problem with the society’s request, it was their insulting image of her that pained her the most. There was no question now of their opinion of her. With Christian watching her, she forced an unaffected expression across her face and stared back.

“No problem,” she said simply.

Christian nodded.

“Good. Get to work, then. Tomorrow night we’ll be expecting our first update. Call me at this number.”

He slid his business card across the table. She picked it up and read it. Suddenly, a look of understanding crossed her face.

“Christian Laikos, Director, Department of Tourism,” she said aloud. “Now I know why you seem so familiar. I’ve seen you on TV. You’re the big man at the D.O.T., aren’t you? How convenient.”

He stared back coldly and responded:

“Nothing we do at the Society is by chance or coincidence. Everything is by design. That’s what makes us superior.”

Helena only nodded. She glanced over her shoulder at the great pyramid, far west of her position. She felt eager to get started.

“You know, I was thinking. Why don’t I just start today? I’m here. Why wait?”

“Let’s just say, your position is currently filled.” His eyes suddenly turned cold and he continued, “but tomorrow, it’ll be open.”

Helena swallowed hard
at the reality of the statement

Helena looked at herself in the full length mirror and nodded approvingly. Although her form-fitting khaki pants and polo shirt accentuated her shapely five foot six figure, the style of clothing produced the right amount of p
rofessionalism. Grabbing a hair-tie from the dresser, she pulled her wavy black hair into a tight pony tail and secured it with the colored elastic.

She checked her watch: 9:15am.

“Ok, they should be settled in for the day’s routine by now. Time to pay ole Jack a visit,” she said confidently.

Inside her rented cottage, she stared at the photos of both Javi and Jack one last time, insuring she was familiar with their faces and backgrounds.

“Ok Jack, let’s just see if we can’t fix that broken heart of yours, eh?” she joked aloud, then added, “This should be easy.”

She checked her look one more time in the mirror, then headed out to her car.

Thirty minutes later, she pulled into the great pyramid’s utility parking area. With three utility trailers to choose from, she picked the middle trailer and parked. In the passenger seat next to her, she grabbed her backpack filled with necessary paperwork and equipment, her fake I.D. and her cell phone and stepped from the car. She spotted a man leaving the trailer in front of her.

“Excuse me. I’m looking for Javier Arista and Jack Roberts. Do you know wh
ere I can find them?” she asked in a very businesslike tone.

Dunixi Kanelos stopped and stared for a moment, caught off guard by the woman’s beauty. He realized his behavior and quickly acted nonchalant.

“They’re both around here somewhere. Follow me. I’ll help you find them,” he said now going out of his way to help her.

“I’m Dunix
i Kanelos, by the way,” he said stopping and extending his hand.

Helena shook it firmly and responded, “Helena Galanos.”

Duni spotted her badge.

“The D.O.T, huh? You’re not shutting us down are you?” he asked in flirtatious tone.

“I have to follow certain protocols. If I find activities or procedures out of place, I’ll be left with no choice
but
to shut things down,” she replied bluntly.

A nervous expression crossed his face. Any idea he
had about casual friendliness quickly vanished upon realizing Helena was all business.

“I think Javi and Jack a
re in the far trailer,” he said, now also adopting a businesslike personality.

They both walked silently across the parking lot. Reaching the trailer, he opened the door and went inside with Helena following close behind.

“Ah Dunixi, just in time. I was just reviewing…” Javi stopped himself in midsentence at the sight of the stranger standing behind Duni.

“
And who might this be?” he said, smiling as he walked to greet her.

Moving passed Dunixi,
she extended her hand and introduced herself.

“I’m Helena Galanosa, Inspector for the Department of Tourism. I’m here to discuss your applications f
or future excavations.”

“The D.O.T? My God that was fast. I only made that broadcast a couple of days ago. To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to hear from you guys for months. I’m really impressed,” Javi responded while shaking her hand. He stopped shaking it for a moment and added, “You
are
here because of my broadcast, aren’t you?”

Helena smiled.

“Yes, Mr. Arista, your request for help was indeed effective… but only to a certain degree,” she said, cryptically.

Hearing voices, Jack stood up from a small cubicle at the far end of the trailer. He spotted Helena and immediately made his way toward her.

Helena watched as Jack approached. He looked taller and brawnier than the photos revealed. In her mind, she found him somewhat attractive.

“Hi, I’m Jack Roberts. Did I hear something about the D.O.T?” he asked, with a cordial smile.

“Hi Jack, I’m Helena Galanos… and yes, you did hear something about the D.O.T. I’m an inspector for them,” she replied, now producing a wide smile.

Jack noticed her perfect white teeth and the softness of her hand as
they shook and he was suddenly reminded of Selena Arista. He felt a bit guilty that he found her attractive.

“So Helena, what exactly d
id you mean when you said my news spot was only effective to a certain degree?”

She let go of Jack’s hand and answered the question: “Well, Mr. Arista, as you probably know, there’s only so many permits we’re allowed to give out. Unfortunately, there aren’t any more permits we can approve for this year.”

Javi’s face sank with disappointment.

“Bummer, I guess I thought you were here to give us approval,” Jack said, saying the words that Javi was thinking.

“Fortunately, we’ve developed a workaround. As long as everything checks out and all the protocols are met, I’m authorized to approve temporary permits.”

“Temporary… what ex
actly is temporary?” Jack asked suspiciously.

“Basically, I can write you temporary permits lasting for three months at a time. Upon their expiration, you can apply for new permits and as long as you convince me that good progress is being made
; that future work will maintain proper excavation protocols and that everything is fully documented; I will consider approving the new temporary permits.”

“You’ll consider?” Javi responded in surprise. “That’s kind of disappointing. I was hoping for something more certain, more defined than vague and improbable.”

“You must remember, these temporary permits are highly unusual. This typically isn’t done, even for projects such as these. There are those at the D.O.T that are sticklers for procedure and would just as soon prohibit any further permits, if they thought they weren’t necessary.”

“So what defines “necessary” in these matters?” Javi asked.

“Very simply… results. Without good results, I’m afraid your case will weaken and quite possibly be cancelled.”

“Miss Galanos, what exactly is your background… what I mean to say is, has your tenure at the Department been only administrative or do
you have field experience too,” Javi asked.

“Administrative only,” Helena responded, becoming slightly defensive.

“With all due respect, I hope you understand that excavating finds like these could take years. It’s doubtful we’ll see much results in three months. In fact, the Poseidon search has been ongoing for years and we’re still finding new and exciting breakthroughs. To limit us to three month searches, contingent upon finding important discoveries, seems awfully absurd don’t you think?” Javi retorted, now growing visibly anxious.

“Mr. Arista, I can appreciate your position and your passion to change
my mind, but my hands are tied. More powerful people than me will be reviewing your progress in three months. Even if I approve you for another three-month permit, they could easily overrule me and cancel the project.”

“So that’s it then. You’re basically saying we either produce something or
we’re fired, right?” Jack asked bluntly.

“I’m sorry Jack, but
that’s just the way this works,” she responded sympathetically.

Javier glanced at his watch.

“Well, I guess we better get started then,” he said in resignation.

“Yes, we better,” Helena quickly responded.

Duni looked at both Jack and Javi. He saw the same expression on each of their faces.

“Wh
at do you mean, ‘we’?” he asked suspiciously.

“My job requires me to monitor your progress, so I’ll be joining you during the excavation,” she replied. “Don’t look at this as a negative. Think of it as a positive: you gained another archeologist free of charge.”

“I guess we could always use someone to get us coffee,” Jack joked, elbowing Javi for greater effect.

Helena glared at both Jack and Javi. She felt insulted, much the same way Karl Sita and Christian Laikos made her feel. She considered verbally accosting them, but picked a more effective method
to make her point. She took a deep breath and exhaled aloud.

“Hmm, I’m glad this assignment will be cancelled in three months. It’ll be nice to move onto something more challenging.”

Her comment was subtle, yet pointed. All three men understood its meaning explicitly.

“Miss Galanos, Jack was only joking. Of course we’ll put your skills to good use, isn’t that right Jack?” Javi said, now glaring in his direction.

“Of course,” Jack replied simply, taking the not-so-subtle hint.

“Well then, now that we have an understanding,
now
we can get to work,” she shot back.

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

Two hours later…

The entrance to the pyramid held a large corridor that lead inside toward its center. Thirty feet in, the floor rose in elevation, then leveled out to a flat landing guarded by two bronze statues formed in the likeness of ancient Atlantean warriors. On the right side of the landing, a narrower corridor continued on in a maze of inclines and turns that eventually led to Poseidon’s burial chamber higher up inside the pyramid. On the left side of the landing, an imposing wall stood menacingly as a warning to all that entered…

Jack, Javi, Duni and Helena stood on the landing thirty feet inside the pyramid and read the inscriptions on the wall. Written in ancient hieroglyphics, Javi used a small handbook with the symbol’s translations to decipher the message.

“Cursed is he that enters,” he read aloud.

“Are you sure it’s safe to be in here?” Helena asked.

“In this spot, yes,” Jack reassured. “We’ve already cleared away all the booby traps a couple years ago.”

“So where
does it get unsafe?” she asked nervously.

Javi
pointed to the wall as if pointing through it.

“This massive wall is actually a door. Although it’s nearly undetectable, using various instruments, we were able to determine that another corridor exits just beyond it, similar to the one behind us. These messages cursing all who enter are directed at
anyone who finds a way past it,” he informed.

“In other words, beyond this door, things get scary,” Jack added.

“So, how do we get past the door? I don’t see any handles or levers,” she asked.

“The Atlanteans were a race far beyond their time,” Javi started.

“Yeah, I know,” Helena cut in cryptically.

“They were masters at leverage and mechanisms,” Javi continued. “All throughout this pyramid, the methods for operating the doors and walls have been quite genius. With each barrier we’ve encountered, the panel or tile to move the obstruction was always hidden in plain sight.”

“So what you’re saying is, we’re staring at the lock right now?” Helena asked.

“Absolutely,” Javi replied. Pointing to the wall, he said, “See if you can find the mechanism that opens the door.”

With bright lights shining on the wall, she studied it closely. Moments later, she scowled in defeat
“I don’t see anything that looks suspicious. Just a bunch of hieroglyphics,” she said in frustration.

“What’s funny is even if you understood what those symbols mean, you’d still probably not be able to figure it out,” Jack added.

Javi stepped forward and pointed to a round symbol with intricate engravings inside it.