The Fourth Prophecy

by Ernest Dempsey

  “Have either of you ever heard of the fourth Mayan prophecy?”

  Tommy and Sean looked at each other and then shook their heads.

  “Is that the one—” Tommy started to ask.

  “No. The fourth prophecy has nothing to do with the end-of-days prophecy that had everyone on the planet freaking out in 2012. And, as we all know, the world didn’t come to an end.”

  Tommy shut up, feeling a little stupid for bringing it up.

  “The fourth prophecy is one of seven the Mayans recorded during the height of their civilization. These prophecies have different meanings, different calculations worked into each one. The fourth prophecy is directly related to the lost temple.”

  “How so?”

  “It was discovered more than a hundred years ago, written on a stone pillar outside one of their temples.”

  Thunder boomed as the storm drew closer. The first drops of rain spattered around the men.

  “Written on a pillar?” Sean asked. “I never knew anything about that.”

  “The pillar was removed shortly after so that no one could read it and interpret its meaning. It was there as a warning to any who dared to search for the temple. My predecessors believed the warning would make more people aware of the lost ruins. That’s why we destroyed the pillar. The temple entrance hasn’t been seen since the time Alvarado and his men visited there. His second in command had the place covered so no one could find it.”

  “Yeah, I think we were already told that part.”

  “No one must be allowed to unearth it. I am one of the last of my order. When I die, I will pass on my knowledge to another who will watch over the secrets of the lost temple, as was done for me when my mentor died.”

  Something had been on Sean’s mind during the entire conversation, and when Pablo stopped talking he decided to bring it up. “You said you’ve never been to the temple before. Is that true, or were you just telling us that so we wouldn’t force you to take us there against your will?”

  Pablo nodded. “You’re right to question that. No, I have never been there. There is no one on earth who knows the way to the lost temple. It is not visible from the sky or from the ground. It has been covered for hundreds of years.”

  “You say covered,” Tommy said. “What do you mean, covered?”

  “I honestly don’t know. When Alvarado’s second in command issued the order, he left no record behind.”

  Sean felt the phone in his pocket, knowing what it contained in its memory. The pictures within would—hopefully—help them unlock the location of the lost temple.

  “We have to try to find it, Pablo,” Sean said. “You can’t simply tell us that there’s a lost temple somewhere in the Yucatan and that it holds an ancient magical power, then expect us to just walk away.”

  “He’s right,” Tommy said. “That’s not how we operate. Finding ancient stuff that may or may not be dangerous is kind of our thing.”

  “Then you will both die,” Pablo said. “I have sworn to protect the temple.”

  “You don’t even know what or where it is. Shouldn’t your concern be protecting the people of Earth? Because it feels a little like you’re getting the mission confused.”

  Pablo’s eyebrows pinched together. “They are one and the same.” He didn’t sound convinced.

  “Are they?” Sean asked. “It’s possible that whatever is down there in the belly of that temple could kill us. But what if it’s something that could help the world? What if it could help heal diseases, give free energy to people who had none? We can make a difference. Don’t you want to be a part of that? Isn’t that the real purpose behind what you do? Whatever that is.”

  Pablo thought long and hard. The two Americans made a good argument. If he’d been honest with them, he’d have said there’d always been a deep curiosity buried inside him that wondered what the temple really was, what it could do. But he’d never admit that to Sean and Tommy.

  And, he thought, now was his chance. If he helped them and it turned out to be a good thing, no harm. On the other hand, if it turned out to be some kind of cataclysmic engine that brought about the end of the world, would he really want to be the one responsible? Perhaps there was a way to satisfy both his curiosity and his sense of duty.

  “Very well,” he said after weighing the variables. “I will not get in your way. If we find the lost temple and something starts going wrong, we bury it and never go back.”

  Sean and Tommy were skeptical. Their new associate had changed his mind fairly fast.

  “Why the sudden change of heart?” Sean asked.

  “I’ve protected the symbols for many years,” Pablo said. “I’ve spent so much time watching for those who would try to find the location of the temple that…I guess I just…I want to see. I want to know what’s there, what’s been hiding in the jungle all this time. Plus, I figure if there really is something horrible deep down under that temple, you two might need a little help shutting it off…you know, in case you activate some kind of doomsday device.”

  Sean and Tommy glanced at each other and then grinned.

  “Glad to have you on the team, Pabs,” Sean said.

  Pablo nodded. “Perhaps you can give me one of those guns now since we’re in dangerous territory.” He motioned to one of the rifles Tommy had slung over his shoulder.

  “Don’t push your luck,” Tommy said with a wary eye.

  “Was worth a shot.”

  “We need to get moving, guys,” Sean interrupted. “It doesn’t look like this storm is going to let up anytime soon. The quicker we can get somewhere to figure out this next part of the riddle, the better.”

  “Yeah,” Tommy said with a hint of trepidation in his voice. “The only problem is; how do we find our ride? We left the cartel camp in a different direction than we took going in. Without our map, we’re lost.”

  Sean’s shoulders sagged. He scratched his head and looked out over the landscape, trying to recall the path they took the day before.

  “It’s okay, amigos,” Pablo said. “I know where your car is.”

  The man stood up and started walking down the slope away from the valley where the guerrillas were camped.

  Sean and Tommy looked at each other with puzzlement in their eyes.

  “Why didn’t you tell us that before?” Tommy asked.

  Pablo looked back over his shoulder with a smirk on his face. “You didn’t ask.”

  Chapter 25

  Atlanta

  Emily strode through the IAA main entrance and flashed her badge to a cop who was standing just inside the lobby, blocking the way in. He waved her through and resumed what she figured had to be one of the most boring jobs in the world.

  Detectives were scouring the place for clues as to who the thief had been that broke through IAA security.

  She walked through the lobby and over to a pair of double doors where a second cop was standing guard. She flashed her badge again, and after a short glance at it, the man waved her through just as the other had done.

  Emily passed through the double doors and continued down the hall until she reached another pair of doors, this one with windows built in. She pressed her nose to the glass and peered inside. The lab was full of all kinds of research equipment: tubes, vials, and tech gadgets.

  There was movement along the far wall in the corner. Tara, wearing goggles and a mask, was clearly deep in work. Emily pulled open the door and stepped inside. She cleared her throat when the door closed.

  Tara spun around, startled, then relieved to see Emily.

  “Oh hey, Emily,” Tara said, excited. “Give me one second, and I’ll be right there.”

  “No problem.” Emily gazed around at all the stuff. “Alex here?”

  “He should be back any second. Went to get coffee. Did you want some?”

  “No, thank you. I had some earlier.”

  Tara flipped a switch and a machine started whining softly. She removed the goggles and set them on the table next to
her white lab coat.

  “What are you working on?” Emily asked as Tara walked across the room, meeting her guest at the door.

  “Nothing major, just analyzing the compounds from an artifact the boys brought in. It demonstrates some strange properties, so we thought we’d check it out.”

  “Strange properties?”

  “Yeah, you know, stuff that isn’t easily explained by science. That particular item has the tendency to spontaneously set things on fire.”

  Emily suddenly looked concerned. “Really?”

  Tara chuckled. “No. I’m kidding. But it does have some strange properties. What can I do for you?”

  Emily was relieved to hear the building wasn’t going to burn down, at least not from whatever Tara was analyzing in the corner. “The security guard,” Emily said. “You know, the one who saw the thief get away. I’m here to speak with him.”

  “Oh right. Silly me. I’ve been so busy I completely forgot. Come on,” she said with the wave of a hand. “Follow me. He should be in the back.”

  Tara led the way out the lab door and down the hall. The two made a sequence of turns that made Emily’s head spin. Her office at Axis headquarters was confusing the first time she arrived in the building, but she’d grown accustomed to it quickly. She doubted she’d ever get used to the labyrinthine IAA layout.

  “Security office is just down here,” Tara said with a cheerful smile. For someone that kept long hours and slept very little, Tara acted like she had enough energy to power the entire continent.

  Just being around her was kind of exhausting.

  They reached a white door at the end of a long corridor. A black sign with white lettering read, Security.

  Tara rapped on the door a few times and then stepped back to wait. It didn’t take long to swing open.

  “Oh hey, Tara,” a middle-aged man in a uniform said with a smirk. “How are you?”

  “Hey, Cliff,” Tara said. “This is the lady I told you about, Director Starks. She’s the one who wanted to ask you a few questions about the break-in.”

  Cliff was a big fellow with a bulging belly that belied too many beer and burger joints he’d visited in the past. His thinning hair was cut close to the scalp so the receding line blended more naturally. He had a round, chubby face atop a fleshy neck. The security uniform looked like it was stretched to its maximum capacity. For a moment, Emily wondered how the guy ever stopped anyone. Then she reminded herself not to read a book by its cover.

  “Cliff, Emily Starks. Pleasure to meet you.” Emily extended a hand and shook Cliff’s vigorously.

  He gave a curt nod. “Nice to meet you, too, Director. Please, come on in.”

  He spoke with an accent that suggested he was from somewhere in New York City, though Emily couldn’t pinpoint which borough.

  The inside of the security office wasn’t quite what Emily expected. In truth, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She half figured it would be a plain white room with a coffee machine, soda machine, and a giant box of donuts sitting on a counter in a compact kitchenette.

  A quick look to the right told her she’d not been wrong about the donuts and the coffee machine. Both were sitting out on a counter next to a stainless steel refrigerator. Two out of three, she thought.

  The wall opposite the doorway was covered in flatscreens, each showing a different angle of dozens of areas inside and outside the building. Another security guard, this one much more diminutive and slender than Cliff, was watching the screens with close attention.

  Cliff led the two women over to a small white table in the corner and offered them a seat. He helped himself to one and eased into it. The legs creaked, straining under the weight, but the chair held strong.

  When the two women were seated, he folded his hands on the table and gazed expectantly at Emily. “How can I help you today? Tara said something about you wanting to ask me some questions about the burglary?”

  “Yes,” Emily said with a nod. “And thank you for taking time out of your day to see me. I really appreciate it.”

  “Not a problem, ma’am. Not much for us to do right now, what with all the cops and detectives hovering around. No one would dare try to break in here again. Not to mention we’re overhauling our security measures to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t get repeated.”

  Emily hated chitchat or small talk. That’s what she felt like they were doing, like two old friends catching up after not seeing each other for a decade. She knew the social convention required it, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

  “Good idea,” she said, hoping it wouldn’t lead to more idle chatter. Fortunately, he simply nodded and took a sip of water.

  Before he or Tara could start off on a new tangent, Emily went ahead with the reason she was there.

  She set a file on the table, pulled back the metal tab keeping it shut, flipped open the cover, and pulled out a black-and-white picture. She slid it across the table to Cliff.

  He scratched the side of his head and looked down at the image, grasping it with a finger and thumb. The image resolution wasn’t great.

  “This taken by a traffic cam?” he asked, looking up from the picture for a moment.

  “Yes,” Emily confirmed. “Unfortunately, those cameras aren’t always the best for clarity.”

  “Yeah, but you can definitely tell it’s a woman.”

  “Do you think it’s the same woman who broke into this building the other night?”

  “It’s hard to say, but yeah, if I had to guess I would say that’s the same girl…er, woman.” He tried to correct himself so as not to offend.

  Tara waved it off. “We’re all just girls and boys, Cliff. It’s fine.”

  “But you think that’s her?” Emily asked again, seeking certainty.

  “Yep. Looks like her. Same hat and face mask. Body type looks the same, too. The burglar even had on the same kinds of clothes. If I had a million bucks to stake on it, I’d say they’re the same person.” A curious expression washed over him. “What did the woman in the picture do?”

  Emily frowned and sighed. She wasn’t allowed to say exactly what, although it wasn’t like it was a huge secret. Half the country knew Lilian Pike had been attacked.

  “I’m working on a murder investigation. We think the woman in this picture is the killer. Apparently, she’s moved on from assassination to stealing priceless artifacts.”

  Cliff frowned. “I’m no investigator, but that seems like an odd jump.”

  “You’re right, Cliff. It is an odd jump, but if you say the woman in this picture is the one from the other night, then there must be a connection.” Emily stared down at the image, tapping her finger on the surface. “There has to be a connection,” she said. “We just have to figure out what it is.”

  “If this woman stole the amulet,” Tara chimed in, “it’s possible that she needs it for…some kind of disease or something.”

  Emily and Cliff turned their heads to face Tara.

  “Since that amulet seems to be able to cure diseases and heal severe injuries,” she went on, “maybe she wants it for personal reasons. Of course, it could be that she wants it because she thinks it will make her immortal. That rumor was going around for a while.”

  The room dipped into a deep silence.

  “It can’t, though, right?” Emily asked.

  “No, we don’t think so. Hard to know for sure. We’ve only had one test subject so far. That was Sean, and it was hardly done in a controlled environment. Although we have seen some pretty interesting results with lab mice.”

  “Interesting?”

  “Yes,” Tara said with a nod. “They have demonstrated longer-than-average lifespans since being exposed to the amulet.”

  “Exposed?” Emily asked.

  “All that is required is touching the amulet. The longer you touch it, the faster the effects take place. It’s all been extremely fascinating to observe.”

  “What would a murderer want with something like that?”
Emily asked out loud, intending to keep the thought to herself. Then another idea came to her. “This woman is working for someone else.”

  “What?” Tara asked.

  Emily shook her head. “Sorry, was thinking out loud. The woman in the picture; we think she is working for someone else.”

  “So she’s a hitman…er, woman?” Cliff asked.

  “We believe so, yes. That means if she’s working for someone, it’s possible that she stole this amulet for that person as well. The question is; who has the kind of money to throw around on a high-end assassin/thief that may also be suffering from a chronic illness?”

  The other two stared blankly at her. Nothing came to mind.

  It wasn’t the definitive answer Emily was looking for, but it was a piece to the puzzle she previously didn’t have. There had to be a connection.

  Her phone started vibrating in her pocket, and she pulled it out to check who was calling. It was Detective Smalley.

  “Please excuse me,” Emily said, standing up and stepping away from the table. “I’ll be right back.”

  “No problem,” Tara said cheerfully.

  Emily put the phone to her ear. “What’s up?”

  “So, I was doing a little research on the victims.”

  “And?”

  “I went back through our list of common enemies because I thought it was weird there weren’t any real connections.”

  “Okay?”

  “I started wondering if we needed to go through old footage. It took a while; I’m talking hundreds of man hours.”

  “Get to the point, Detective.”

  “We missed something before,” he said plainly. “There’s no way we could have found it without going through old tapes from the Capitol. Lilian Pike.”

  He let the name dangle for a few seconds.

  “What about her? She was attacked last week.”

  “Yeah, that threw me for a loop, too, Director. But something about that whole hit bothered me. I thought it was strange that the murderer had been able to take out the other three with such precision, such perfection; why would they suddenly screw up with Pike? The bodyguard was killed with ease. Doesn’t seem like the type to let a target simply run away with nothing more than a flesh wound.”