Curse of Atlantis (7 page)

Quietly, softly, Jack slipped his hand across the seat and their fingers tightly locked.

Moments later, their gentle touch was interrupted by their destination.

Pulling up in front of the bank, Jack reached into the back seat and grabbed his duffel bag.
As he pulled
the bag between them, they momentarily turned and faced one another
. Staring
into each other’s eyes, their hearts raced. Serena smiled warmly and Jack melted. So close to each other, their desires seemed unbearable.

On impulse
,
Serena leaned in and lightly kissed Jack.
As h
er
warm sensual lips touched his, his mind whirled in a torrent of emotion. His heart pounded frantically
and his body trembled
.

Instantly, Serena pulled away.

“I’m sorry
, I shouldn’t have done that
,” she said
, feeling a little embarrassed by her advance.

Jack stared longingly into her eyes and said simply, “That was amazing.”

She smiled with relief
,
knowing their feelings were mutual.

Interrupting their private moment, a car pulled up next to them and a well-dressed older man stepped out. As he locked his door, Serena sat back in her seat.

Looking to Jack, she said softly, “You better go.”

He t
ouch
ed
her hand lightly
and
said, "I'll be right back."

"Be careful Jack," Serena said, her expr
ession now changing
to concerned as she remembered their purpose.

"It's a bank. No
one’s
going to try something here," he replied confidently.

"Just be careful," she reiterated.

With a cordial smile, he close
d
the door and
walked to
the bank.

Serena sat patiently in the car and waited. Every minute or so, she checked her mirrors for anything suspicious. Satisfied all was safe, she turned the key and listened to music. Moments later, Jack exited the bank and headed for the car.

Suddenly, Jack heard a voice from behind him. He froze. Sitting in the car, Serena watched Jacks face as he stopped. Fear raced through her as she watched Jack slowly turn around.

"Excuse me," the voice called out to Jack.

Walking toward him, a tall man in a dark suit hurried his pace. Jack thought of running, but resisted the urge. He knew a bullet could travel faster than his legs.

"Excuse me," the voice called out once more.

Serena grabbed her pocket book and frantically search
ed
for her cell phone. Pulling i
t
from a side compartment, she switched it on. As she readied to dial "911", she looked up to see Jack pointing. She noticed h
e
was now smiling. Moments later, the man crossed the street as Jack made his way to the car.

"What the HELL was THAT all about?" Serena cried out as Jack got in.

"Directions... can you believe it? I nearly shit myself," Jack replied, his face still white from fear.

"Honestly, I thought you were a goner. I was about to dial
'
911,
'
" Serena said, still holding the phone in her hand.

"Well, that was still good thinking. Way to keep on your toes," Jack encouraged. "Now let's just get to the computer shop and go home."

"I'll feel better when we're in
Greece
," she said, feeling a small amount of relief.

"Me too."

Five minutes up the road, Serena pulled into a parking spot on the main street in front of an old computer and electronics store.

Grabbing the duffel bag, Jack said, "Ok, let's do this again... I'll go in and be out in minutes. Just keep a watchful eye out for anything suspicious."

"Ok, hurry. I hate sitting here," Serena said.

With a quick nod, Jack took off, up the step
s
and into the building.

~~~~~  ~~~~~  ~~~~~

"Wow, that's perfect. I mean it... this is like a work of art," Jack said.

"
Molding
the two
halves
was the easy part. Finding the electronics you spec'd out was the hard part, man. I have to say, your design is quite
ingenious
, bro," the owner said.

"How fast can you assemble this?" Jack
asked
, nervously peering out the window to the street.

"Less than five, man. All I need to do is attach the circuit board, bolt the two halves together, and plug in the wires and you'll be set to go," the owner said, proud of his work.

"Do it in less than three minutes and I'll
throw
in another hundred," Jack said, his face now serious.

"For another hundred, I'll have it done in less than two, mate," the owner
replied enthusiastically
.

Jack put his hand into his pocket and p
ulled out a hundred dollar bill
. Slapping it down on the counter for effect, he said, "I'm timing you."

The shop owner’s hands moved like lightening, attaching the pre-wired circuitry first, then
used
a
pneumatic
sock
et
wrench to fasten the two halves of the bowls together with nuts and bolts. When he was done, he bolted on a handle and plugged in several wires. Placing his tools on the bench next to him, he said, "Done... what time you have
?"

"Just over two minutes. That's gotta be some kind of record. You earned ever
y
bit of that hundred," Jack said.

"I have to say, mate... that's a sweet looking radar platform. Hope it works as planned," the shop owner said with a toothy smile.

Picking up the unit by the handle, Jack inspected his new acquisition. With
the
two
molded
bowls bolted together, it formed a large, white plastic ball.

"The ball is supposed to give me three hundred and sixty degrees of coverage," Jack announced proudly.

"Yeah, whatever
,
mate. Just be careful with that, if you know what I mean," the shop owner ominously.

"I hear ya," Jack replied simply.

With a quick shake, Jack slung the duffel bag over his shoulder and carried the radar platform in his hand. He turned and walked toward the front of the building. Opening the door, he stepped outside and stopped in his tracks. Jack's heart skipped a beat.
"No," he said to himself.

"
Yes
, keep walking this way and no sudden moves. I have a gun on her and you,"
Dimitri
said in a low, commanding voice.

Jack saw the fear in Serena's face. He eyed the two dark
-
suited Russians with contempt. Slowly, deliberately, he walked toward them.

"Is it still in the bag?"
Dimitri
asked. "Hurry up. Open it. Let me see the crystal."

Jack place
d
the radar platform on the ground and took the duffel bag off his should
er
. Suddenly, the radar platform began to roll. Jack move
d
to grab it but
Dimitri
showed him his pistol.

"Leave it," he ordered. "Show me the crystal...now."

"Yes
,
sir," Jack said, obediently.

Jack unzipped the bag half way and opened it.
Dimitri
stared at the crystal for a moment, then smiled. He reached out and grabbed the strap from Jack's shoulder.

"No
,
Jack, don't let him have it," Serena yelled.

"It's alright. It's not worth our lives," Jack shot back quickly.

"
Yes
, young Jack is correct. It
’s
not worth your lives,"
Dimitri
said, sternly.

"You can't take it. That pyramid is ours," Serena spat out angrily.

"Serena, don't worry about it. Let them have it. Trust me, it'll be ok," Jack pleaded.

"Stupid foolish girl. I have the gun and now I have the crystal. I'd say that makes it ours,"
Dimitri
responded.

"You're the one who's stupid.
You'll never find the pyramid. That crystal is useless without the scrolls," Serena said angrily.

"Dammit
,
Serena, would you shut up," Jack shouted, now realizing the theft of the crystal was growing into something more.

Dimitri
thought about Serena's words. He looked at the crystal in the bag, then back at Serena.

"You... your father is the famous archeologist, Arista, is he not?"
Dimitri
asked, his voice now cold and calculating.

"Yeah, so what?" Serena said, acidly.

"He is translates the scrolls and the crystal?"
Dimitri
asked, again cold and calculating.

"NO!" Jack blurted out. "The man you're looking for is Dr Burt Samuelson. He's the one you want. Javier Arista
didn't translate the scrolls, Burt
did."

Too late,
Dimitri
had made up his mind. In Russian, he spoke a few words to other man.

"Well
,
well, it appears we'll be taking more than just the crystal,"
Dimitri
said, now speaking directly to Jack. "I could easily just trade the girl for the scrolls, a trade I'm sure her father would be most eager to make, but then we would be stuck
with a bunch of artifacts we couldn’t
translate... and what good would that be
to
us
?
No, I think the better solution would be
for us to hold the girl
until her father finds us the pyramid. What do you say Jack? Does this arrangement sound agreeable?"

"No
,
you bastards. I'm not going anywhere. Jack
,
call the police," Serena shouted.

Dimitri
laughed and said, "A call to the police would end her life abruptly. Do we have an understanding?"

Jack nodded reluctantly. It was all he could do.

"Good. We know where you live. We'll be in touch shortly,"
Dimitri
said, now giving Jack a cordial smile.

With a few more words in Russian, the two backed away with Serena. Struggling against her kidnappers,
Dimitri
whispered something in her ear. Seconds later, she turned and walked back to their car and got in the back seat.
Dimitri
came around to the
driver’s
door, then stopped.

"Tell archeologist Arista to stay by the phone," he shouted.

He opened the door, got in and drove off. Jack watched helplessly as Serena returned his stare.

"It'll be ok!
" Jack shouted
loudly, hoping she could hear as
the car sped off.

Standing alone on the sidewalk, his heart and soul were in the depths of despair. He could still see Serena's tormented eyes just before she got into the car. With his mind spinning, he tried to make sense of it all. Forcing himself to think, he knew only one thing mattered
now
.

"I need to find that pyramid," Jack said resolutely.

Grabbing his radar platform off the street, he jumped into Serena's car and made his way to Javier's.

Chapter 6

Office of Javier Arista:

Jack roared into the parking lot and slammed on the brakes, the car com
ing to a screeching stop in front
of Javier’s office. Running into the building, he burst through the front door and shouted frantically for Javier. Without an answer, he ran down the hallway
to the laboratory and flung
open the door.

“Javi, they got her!” Jack yelled loudly.

Javier spun around from the desk he was working at, nearly falling off his chair from Jack’s abrupt entrance.

“What do you mean, they got her? Who’s got her?” Javier shot back, immediately understanding Jack’s vague announcement.

“The freaking Russians. They took her… and the crystal. They said if we don’t find the pyramid, they’ll kill her,” Jack blurted out in quick succession.

“Noo… my baby,” Javier cried out, stumbling backward in shock.