by SJ Hailey
Within ten minutes he was back at Benito’s warehouse, the downpour that arrived concealing the sound of the motorbike’s engine being thrashed down the tarmac. The red-hot engine steamed from its rampage across the Old Gamboa Road. He pulled up to the warehouse door, security letting him in without hesitation this time. He wheeled the bike inside, returned the rifle to Benito. The water running off his head, clothes soaked from his rapid rainstorm transit, ‘My friend, one rifle unfired, still pristine, however the HK, I keep?’
‘Yeah you can, you seem worried. What’s the matter?’
‘I need to get to Ecuador, now, and avoid customs?’
‘Well for a drink and a meal, I can help.’
Benito waddled back to his office, and after a few phone calls returned to Archer who was sipping on a fresh bottle of water.
‘Okay I have a friend who can get you off the coast in a seaplane, but getting onshore is your business.’
‘That’s great my father has a ship offshore, I can get to that.’
‘My friend will not take you to the boat, far too suspicious, you will have to drop and swim my friend.’
‘Well don’t suppose you have a wetsuit?’
‘From the look of you getting wet is a pastime. By the time you finish my mother’s excellent meal, I will have everything you need sorted out, now come, eat.’
At the Canopy Tower Mastasson was furious, since their visitor had obviously escaped, he was attempting to limit damage. Enzi had remained outside on the deck, and one of The General’s team approached, whispering something in his ear.
‘Enzi, you told me that Archer Mathias had escaped, and that Mr Jones had seen him in Miami Airport, and lost him again, correct?’
‘Yes that is correct, like I told you.’
‘And you had no idea of his intended destination from Miami?’
‘No why would I?’
The General drew the handgun from his associate’s holster, grabbed Enzi by the throat in one fluid movement, pinning him against the wall. He levelled the gun just in front of Enzi’s deep brown left eye.
‘He is here, you incompetent fool! He was the one listening!’
Enzi closed his eyelid instinctively as The General rested the barrel against it.
‘I was monitoring the nearest cell phone tower for activity, before we started jamming, any phones being used or turned on, and guess what!’
Enzi knew better than to answer, the look blazing across The General’s eyes clearing conveying his intent.
‘We detected a US registered burn phone turned on within a few metres of here, and it is your fault he even knew where to look!’
Enzi was expecting to die, and even though he did not realise, was experiencing what so many of his victims had endured. The General lowered the weapon, loosened his firm grip from Enzi’s throat, and stepped back, Enzi did not move. ‘We will have to alter our plans, instead of the artefacts being brought to us, you will have to retrieve them!’
‘But why do I?’
‘Because I am telling you to!’ The General’s rage was even beginning to worry his security team, they watched Enzi’s men, hands over holsters.
‘Just get a team together, hire two powerboats and you can use that helicopter, and get those artefacts before Jacob Mathias and Archer Mathias meet up!’
‘How do you know Archer is going to meet his father?’
‘Because I worked with Jacob for years, and I know Archer. He will try and warn him, and repel any of our attempts to remove the artefacts by force.’
‘So we act before he can travel there?’
‘Exactly, he is one man with no resources, and will have to travel by conventional means, so I will watch the airports, while you obtain what we need.’
‘And the archaeologists and people working there?’
‘Kill whoever you need to.’
Enzi left the tower visibly shaken, within twenty minutes he was in the air heading for the airport.
SEVENTEEN
Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre, Quito. Ecuador.
Jacob landed after an uneventful four hour flight. The transition from Miami to one of the highest airports in the world, two point eight kilometres above sea level, was dramatic. He noticed the altitude within minutes of stepping off the plane. He was expecting the thinner air, but Andy Huang was not, a little breathless and unsteady to begin with. The airport was in the northern part of the city, the Chaupicruz parish. He showed Andy the view of the surrounding mountains on the way in, flying over residential areas, bordering the edge of the airport. Jacob had arranged for someone to collect them by helicopter from Quito, and take them direct to the Arcadia a hundred miles off the coast. After passing through customs and using the paperwork provided by Paul to get the amulet into the country, which was not as straight forward as expected, they proceeded by the helicopter in the north.
Debra saw Jacob from across the field, and waved her toned tanned arms in the air, she saw a shorter man besides him, but at over six feet four Jacob was larger than most. The shorter man was Asian and was trying to carry a rucksack, carrier bag and laptop, he struggled slightly. His clothes casual but practical, hung off his light frame, Debra stepped forward, ‘Let me help you with that.’ Andy gratefully handed over his carrier bag, but clung onto his laptop. ‘Hi I’m Debra or Debs if you prefer.’ She glared at Jacob, who failed to introduce her.
‘Sorry, Debs this is Andy Huang, Chinese translator and historian. Andy this is the one, and only, Debra Sharpe.’ The sarcasm clearly showing, Debs nudged him in the arm, extended her hand to Andy, who hesitantly shook it. Jacob smiled at his reaction, ‘Don’t worry Andy, her bark is worse than her bite.’
‘And do I not get any help or introduction?’ Kevin feigning hurt feelings.
‘No you don’t Kevin, because, well you remember the snake in my bed?’
Kevin was unresponsive, looking at Jacob who was trying not to laugh, knowing about Debra’s Ophidiophobia. They climbed aboard the Bell 214, a rental from the Transporte Aérea Militar Ecuatoriana (TAME) the commercial part of the Ecuador military air force. Andy strapped himself in, Jacob stored their gear in a net at the back, and left the side door open. Debra started up the twin Pratt and Whitney Canada engines, the four blades increased rotation, Andy appeared nervous.
‘Problem Andy?’
‘No Debs, just I prefer airliners, to, this.’
‘Believe me, once you have flown in a helicopter, nothing else matches it, proper flying. Hang on.’
Debra hauled the Bell off the tarmac, swung the tail and tipped the nose forward, climbing rapidly. She looked back and saw Andy gripping with white knuckled fingers.
‘Best ride in the park Andy!’
Andy did not reply he could see Quito spread below. The ancient city nestled amongst the volcanoes overlooking it, all the detail just a thousand feet below. The wind blew his jet-black hair but he didn’t notice, he just took in the spectacle. Never realising he had released his vice grip on the chair. Jacob smiled, and thought not to interrupt Andy’s newly discovered wonder; he had seen Quito like this before, but chose to drink in the wonder of this city in the clouds. The buildings clinging to the contours of the basin like someone had spilled them, and they just drifted naturally into the space created by geological events.
The Arcadia was about one hundred miles north-west, off the coast of Esmeraldas the northern province, near the Isla Santa Rosa. Debra chose the most spectacular route, climbing up over the mountains and volcanoes overlooking Quito. Then down over the lush green valleys of rainforest, small clusters of low-lying clouds blowing past the helicopter door. An occasional cold snap of moisture caught the faces of the passengers. The wisps of vapour coming up as the jungle warmed in the morning sun, creating finger clouds reaching up to their cousins high above.
The coast was in view from this altitude, the Pacific glinting deep blue, reflecting the clear sky above. Below the various rivers and tributaries made serpentine sweeps
onwards towards the sea. The Colombian border was just a few miles to the North, and Debs was careful on her position, the heavy radar monitoring of flights could invoke a military response if she strayed too far. She steered for La Tola, a small town on the banks of a river estuary. Jacob distributed some of his knowledge, ’Below us to the right is the Isla de la Tola once contained the La Tolita, an ancient race from before the Inca’s, who were fine metal workers. They made ceramics, silver, platinum, copper and of course gold, in fact they were the first goldsmiths in the world to work in platinum. It was once one of the prime religious and trading centres on the South American coast two thousand years ago.’
As Jacob was explaining the history of the area, Debra came over the headsets of her three passengers ‘Sorry to interrupt Jacob’s lesson, but we are flying over the area where we found the crater wall, if you look carefully you can see the silver circle of the lake.’
‘What crater wall?’ Kevin was more inclined to ask the immediate question than Andy.
‘Sorry Kevin, Katherine found a one mile wide circular wall, supposed it was an impact crater, but it is man-made. Laurent went up there a few days ago, but said it was nothing.’
‘How far into the jungle is it?’
‘About sixty clicks as the crow flies, past San Miguel on the Rio Santiago, but by canoe it is more like eighty.’
‘Can we fly in?’
‘No too much cover from the canopy, only place you could do it is hover over the lake, and drop into it, but that is if there are no occupants already?’
Kevin looked puzzled, until Jacob enlightened him, ‘Cayman crocodiles, local residents, they would be just under the surface, if you dropped in, you may never reach the shore.’
They flew lower over the jungle, after clearing the mountains, just a few thousand feet above the green expanse spreading around them. Kevin thought it looked like a large garden when you put your face at eye level and looked up, the scale of it completely changed, magnified. The few settlements nestled within the rainforest were hidden and secluded by the canopy, a tin roof winking briefly through the plant life, before being swallowed by the green again.
The river was widening, easily visible, the horizon had changed from green to deep blue as the Pacific approached. The town of Borbon below would be their last stop for supplies when they headed upriver, should they choose to explore the crater wall that Laurent had dismissed. The river merged with the Rio Cayapas and meandered out to sea, over a mile wide the large silt deposits from the forest and drawback of the tsunami evident. The waterway was normally navigable but the masses of silt had caused only two areas to be safe for boats, the water flowing was much faster than normal. The Arcadia had been working with the local people in the coastal town of La Tola to dredge and clear some of the river. They had no conventional equipment, so were having to improvise with pulleys and water jets, dragging the silt to the centre of the river, the water carrying away the surplus. As Debra circled the ship Jacob got his first look in seven months at his beloved vessel. Her bright blue hull with the Elements Institute name and logo emblazoned on the side in bold white letters illuminated in the mid-morning sun. He was refuelled with pride at seeing her again.
‘That gentlemen is the Arcadia, the first ship I bought from the US Navy. She was a Charleston class amphibious cargo ship, designed to transport boats, tanks and just about anything into a combat zone. She can lift all of our equipment, those trident looking structures on the bow and amidships are seventy ton lifting cranes, can pick up tanks. She could carry over three hundred and seventy five men, all their kit and support vehicles.’
‘So why did the navy let you have it?’
‘Well Kevin, she was decommissioned in 1994 and was sitting in Pearl Harbor, and I just had the cheek to ask if I could buy her, and after some legal wrangling they said yes.’
They banked around, the large helipad on the stern of the ship looming up at them, Debra hovering just a few metres above and then gently lowering onto the undulating vessel, ‘Gentlemen welcome home.’
The three men collected their gear from the storage net, Jacob striding off, clearly knowing where he was going. Andy and Kevin followed. Jacob went down the port side of the ship heading for the structure in the centre containing the bridge and operations rooms. They passed stowed submersibles, ROV‘s, boats and something under a large green tarpaulin, before coming to stairs, the seven flights leading to the bridge. Jacob had scaled these and was taking in the view by the time a puffing and panting Andy Huang joined him. Kevin wished he had gone first rather than lagging behind the unfit translator.
‘Andy, Kevin, this is the bridge, below is the communications room, galley and operations room, accommodation is aft as well as limited guest rooms here.’
‘And the Captain’s cabin is taken before you ask!’ A gruff booming voice echoed down from above them, the owner was leaning over the side from the flying bridge above. Jacob beaming shouted back ‘And it can be kept by the part timer who lives here!’
Dumping his gear and striding up the small stairway to the flying bridge, Jacob clamped a hearty handshake with his friend. ’Teddy you old sod, how are you, and what have you been doing with my ship?’
‘Your ship? Well if anyone is part time, you are swanning off to the Arctic and conferences for months at a time!’
‘True my friend, unfortunately true, but someone has to keep the money men happy.’
‘That is Stoney’s job, not yours, but if they need a face for the Institute, I thought they could have picked a better looking one!’
Andy and Kevin were now standing behind Jacob, Teddy noticed them glancing up and down ’And who are the puppies following you around then?’
‘Sorry Teddy, this is Kevin Shotbolt and Andy Huang, gentlemen this is the ’Captain’ of the Arcadia, Edward “Teddy” Steenberger.’
Kevin was dwarfed by the ship’s captain. Teddy was as tall as Jacob but much broader, his arms were the size of most people’s thighs, not able to fall to his side when at rest. He was tanned all over and with many faded tattoos on his arms and calves. His long grey plaited beard covered most of his lower face, his head was completely bald and brown, the sun glaring off his polished skull.
‘Kevin, you grew up fast. I am definitely getting too old, too fast. So boys, I will let Debra give you the grand tour, while I show Jacob our latest acquisition.’
Debra was shouted over the ships intercom system, while Teddy squeezed down the staircase and took Jacob to the rear of the ship. Andy and Kevin met Debra back on the port side, they were subdued and she noticed, ‘So intimidated by Teddy then?’
‘That man is enormous, he would scare anyone.’
Debra laughed at Andy’s reaction, ‘Listen, Teddy is soft really, hence the name Teddy, and he can fix anything, mechanically intuitive he calls it. He has known Jacob forever, and if Jacob trusts him, you know you can.’
Laurent had come to the bridge to meet Jacob, a pre-emptive strike before he could speak to Katherine, but did not find him, he heard Teddy’s laugh and realised they were aft, he moved quickly pursuing them.
Teddy had arrived at the large green tarpaulin and was pulling it off with ease, arms swelling with the effort. ‘Jacob may I present to you ‘The Wasp’’
Jacob couldn’t believe it; in front of him was a forty-foot long black and yellow stripped hovercraft, a single large fan at the rear. ‘Teddy you bought a hovercraft?’
‘Well after getting stuck in that river in Africa I knew we needed a better supply boat, more versatile so I found this.’
‘From where? You don’t just go onto eBay?’
‘This is a Griffin 2000 was used by the Royal Marines, but they replaced two with the 3000 and I bought this one, she’s a beauty.’
‘And who is footing the bill?’
‘Paul knows all about it, you should read your email.’
‘Yeah right, until two years ago you could not even send an email!’
The two fr
iends were still laughing and joking, exploring Teddy’s new toy when Laurent arrived.
‘Jacob can I talk with you?’
Jacob stopped laughing and poked his head out from the hatch in the top of the pilots section turning to face the Frenchman. ‘What can I do for you Christophe?’
‘I need to discuss with you my status on this dig.’
‘Very well, stay there.’ Jacob clambered out of the hovercraft, jumping onto the deck just in front of Christophe ‘so what is your, I mean the problem?’
Teddy laughed from inside the hovercraft, Christophe tried to ignore it, ‘can we talk in my cabin?’
‘To be honest Christophe this will do, no one around, so out with it man!’
‘Well I am concerned that you are undermining my authority!’
‘Really and what makes you think that, I am just visiting, or are you referring to Katherine’s issues with you, or should I say her discoveries?’
‘How did you know about that?’
‘I have my sources, and no, Katherine did not tell me, but that does not matter.’
‘It matters to me, having people talking behind my back, it is disrespectful!’
‘Well perhaps you should respect them more and it would not happen!’
‘So you think I don’t respect my people eh?’
‘I know you don’t, you only respect money and recognition!’
‘You arrogant pig, how dare you!’
‘Truth hurts doesn’t it!’
At this point Teddy intervened, his imposing physique stopping both men from coming to blows. ‘Listen you two idiots, I thought science and discovery was about collaboration? And you are fighting like school children.’