Curse of Atlantis (33 page)

“I’m Ok,” Javier responded immediately.

“Me too,” Burt replied.

Jack looked over and saw the lead police officer,
lying
in a pool of blood. His head lay on his arm and he appeared to be sleeping. He shook his head in sadness.

“Awful,” Jack said aloud.

Two men ran to the lead’s aide. One man rolled him on his side as the other checked his pulse.

“He’s still alive!” he shouted
anxiously. “Quick
, call an ambulance.”

Jack looked back over to the four fallen Russians. Several men now encircled them, searching their bodies for weapons and checking their vitals for signs of life. One by one, each man was pronounced dead.

Javier jumped to his feet. His face was white and fearful.

“I can’t believe this
.
What the hell just happened?” he cried out in anguish. “It was supposed to be a simple exchange.”

Jack immediately realized
the
magnitude of his words.

“Oh my God, Serena,” he concurred.

“Jack, what are we going to do? The Russians are dead. The deal is blown,” Javier said, tears now welling in his eyes.

Jack tried to think of some words to console Javier, but nothing seemed appropriate.

“I’m sorry, Javi,” he said simply, the sound of his own words now sickening him

“Jack, my baby’s gone forever… forever… forever,” Javier said, repeating the word over and over.

He laid his head in his hands and began to cry. As the tears dripped through his fingers, Jack and Burt tried to comfort their friend, but his was inconsolable. The loss of his child left him a broken man.

“Over here. Here’s another one wounded,” a voice shouted from behind the three.

Burt looked up and fear crossed his face. Jack spun around and stood motionless, his brain not ready to accept reality.

“Oh my God, Darrien,” Burt blurted out.

Javier lifted his head from his hands. There lay Darrien, his eyes closed, clutching his stomach.

“Oh no,”
Javier
exclaimed.

Instantly, he pushed his way around Jack and Burt and rushed to Darrien’s side. Two police were already attending him as he knelt down.

“Is he going to make it?” Javier asked, his voice soft, yet intense.

“I don’t know. I’m not a doctor,” the policeman said. “His pulse is strong though, so if we can get him to the hospital, I think he has a chance.”

Jack and Burt joined Javier. They looked on in sadness at the young man who had given so much.

“He didn’t even have to be here,” Javier said in disgust.

“He wanted to be here, he told me. He didn’t want to abandon you,” Jack said solemnly.

“Senseless. We should have forced him to stay home,” Burt added.

Watching over him, they heard the distant sound of sirens. Within minutes, ambulances arrived on the scene. Instantly, the
y
poured out of the vehicles and attended to the wounded.

Jack, Javier and Burt, paced the area as they hoped for any signs of life. The
EMT
’s worked on Darrien briefly, then loaded him on a gurney.

“Is he going to make it?” Jack asked,
his
voice anxious and fearful.

“If we can get him there in time, yes,” came the reply.

Moments later, the ambulance roared from the area, a cloud of dust trailing in its wake.

“Javier Arista?” a deep voice called from behind the three men.

The three men spun around and faced a tall man with graying hair. With his plain clothes, he had blended in with the other workers.

“I’m Inspector DiApopolus. Do you have a minute?”

“What the HELL happened here? You guys weren’t supposed to show until my daughter was released,” Javier shouted, now enraged. “You’ve killed my daughter, you son of a bitch.”

“I’m very sorry, Mr Arista. We waited as long as we could, but as soon as that Russian pointed his gun in your face, it changed the game. We need
ed
to act to save your lives,” Inspector DiApopolus responded.

“Bullshit! We were negotiating with them. We could have worked it out,” Javier replied, his emotional state now unraveling.

“Sir, please understand. This was a test by the Russians. They sent in some low-level men to test for a double cross. They must have suspected it all along.”

“So what now?” Jack asked, cutting in before Javier
did
.

“I’m sorry. Cases like these don’t end well. We’ll do our best to find them, but once kidnappers know the police are onto them, the
y
us
ually disappear without a trace.
I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Sorry? Sorry won’t bring my daughter back. She’s gone forever.
What will I tell my wife?
”

Javier turned and headed toward the pyramid. Once again, he placed his head in his hands and wept for his lost child.

“I’m sorry,” Inspector DiApopolus said, his voice solemn and sincere.

Jack and Burt nodded simply, then ran to console their friend.

~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~

With the dead removed and the wounded rushed to the hospital, the police gathered information and evidence, finally wrapping up their investigation later in the day. Jack, Javier and Burt remained on site at the request of the police until the investigation was complete. With the police now gone and all but a few workers finishing for the day, the three sat quietly and processed the tragedy
.

Suddenly, a loud ringing broke the silence.

“Javi, I think that’s your phone,” Burt said.

Staring off into space, inconsolable from his loss, Javier tuned out the world.

“Javi, maybe you should answer that,” Jack suggested.

Javier flinched, then snapped from his stare. Without a word, he reached in and pulled out his phone. Checking the number, his expression suddenly changed.

“Berta?” Jack asked, sympathetically.

With a quick look between his two frien
ds, he toggled the speaker
on his cell phone.

“I don’t know if I can handle this alone,” he said quietly to the two, then said out loud, “This Javier Arista.”

“We had an arrangement… no police. You broke the deal,” Nicolae said, c
almly
stating his fact.

“We were afraid you’re going to double cross us… and we were right: you did. You sent in a few thugs to take the artifacts.”

“You fool. Did you not think we’d come prepared? Those men were sent in as decoys only, to test for police. Had there been no police, they would have sent us a signal and our deal would have been completed with no harm to you
or
anyone else. As it is, four of my men are now dead… and for that, you shall never see your daughter again!” Nicolae growled.

“Nooo!” Javier cried out in anguish. “We can work this out. There’s still time. Please don’t let it end this way,” he pleaded.

“No, it’s too risky now. We’re cutting our losses.”

Jack heard
Nicolae’s words. He knew this was his final statement. Desperation raced through him as he searched for the right words to say.

“Listen
.
Comrade, you run now and you’ll lose everything,” Jack blurted out angrily.

“Jack, what are you doing?” Burt responded, leaning out of earshot of the speaker.

“Trust me,” Jack replied confidently.

Nicolae’s voice roared over the cell phone speaker.

“Who is this? What do you mean
'
lose everything
'
?”

“This is Jack Roberts… and that crystal you love so much? It’s a fake!” Jack shouted into the receiver.

“Preposterous,” Nicolae shot back simply, trying to buy himself time while he tried to ga
u
ge the truth of Jack’s statement.

“Yeah, that’s right
,
comrade, it’s a fake. I had it made special after your goons tried to steal it from us that first time,” Jack said in antagonistic tone, hoping to keep Nicolae’s attention through defiance. “And those other artifacts you have? Those are fakes too. You possess no Atlantean artifact
s at all. None. And if you walk now, you never will
.”

Javier and Burt shot Jack a surprised stare. They didn’t know whether he was bluffing or if
his story was real
.

“If this is true, you will surely die for this insolence,” Nicolae spat angrily.

“It is true and if I die, you’ll never see that crystal again,” Jack responded smugly, then added, “Look, we’re not looking for trouble. All we want is the girl. You give us Serena and you can have everything: the crystal and the artifacts in the tomb... hell, we’ll even load them into your car for you.”

Silence from the phone speaker drew intense stares as the three men waited anxiously for Nicolae’s next reply.

“YOU’RE DEAD, YOU’RE
ALL
DEAD,” Nicolae’s voice shouted from the speaker.

A moment later, they listened to the dreadful sound of a dial tone. Jack’s bluff had failed and now all their lives were in jeopardy.

Javier shot Jack a nervous glance, then looked around for signs of trouble.

Seconds later, the cell phone rang out once more. All three glanced at the number. Jack gave Javier a simple nod.

“This is Javier Arista.”

“We make the trade now,” Nicolae said, his voice sounding softer over the speaker.

“We’ll be waiting,” Jack responded resolutely.

“You won’t be waiting long,” Nicolae said.

As the phone disconnected, the three men scanned the area around them. Off in the distance, several workers put down
their
tools and began to walk toward the pyramid. As the
y
neared, Jack began to recognize the
tallest
of the four men.

“They’ve been here all along,” Burt said, in surprised tone.

“But where’s Serena?” Javier said, now frantically searching.

Jack scanned the tree line two hundred yards away.

“THERE… there she is!” he shouted excitedly, pointing to the trees.

Javier squinted and saw the silhouette of a woman being led by a taller man.

“Oh my God! My baby,” he cried out, his heart now racing.

“Steady guys, this isn’t over yet,” Burt warned.

The four Russian men assembled around Jack, Javier
,
and Burt and waited for Serena and the other man to arrive. Shifting his weight from side to side, he eagerly tried to catch a glimpse of his daughter.

As Serena neared, she immediately recognized Jack and Burt, but had trouble identifying the short, thin man. Suddenly he smiled and her heart melted.

A moment later, Serena and her captor stopped several feet from the group of men. Her appearance was suddenly realized. Dirty, disheveled
,
and thinner, it was apparent she had not been well taken care of. Although, duct tape prevented her from speaking, her tears conveyed her momentary relief.

“Serena, you ok?” Javier asked, sympathetically.

He stepped forward and Nicolae immediately stuck his arm across Javier’s chest, preventing him from moving further.

“Not until we see the crystal. Where is it?”

“It’s in the last chamber inside the pyramid,” Jack replied.

“Let’s go. Anything goes wrong and the girl dies. Your fault, my fault, doesn’t matter. You understand?” Nicolae said bluntly.

They all nodded warily in return.

“Let’s move. You three lead the way.”

~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~

Moving through the narrow corridors, the nine worked their way toward the pentagon chamber. Guided by the light of flashlights, Jack, Javier
,
and Burt led the way, while Nicolae and Serena brought
up
the rear.

Excited and energized by such beauty, Nicolae stopped to view the etchings on the walls and floors. He stood momentarily and closed his eyes, immersing himself in the ancient wonders, picturing in his mind, the sights and sound
s
of seven thousand years ago.

“Magnificent,” he said under his breath.

“Nicolae,”
Dimitri
shouted from far ahead.

Nicolae’s eyes snapped open. Realizing his men were quickly fading out of sight, he hurried to catch up. Passing by the two stone warriors standing on guard, he rubbed his hand over them as he walked past.

“Amazing,” he said under his breath once more.

Minutes later, they came to the site of the collapsed trap. As Jack, Javier and Burt stepped across the sandy pit and onto the stone floor on the other side, the Russians view
ed
it with suspicion.