by SJ Hailey
‘This is an MGL Mark 1S grenade launcher!’
‘Well I did say they were pirates! They had lots so they gave me two.’
Debra pitched in, ‘Archer don’t be a prude, Teddy has all the best kit!’
The hovercraft continued its rampage downriver; they were two miles behind Enzi now.
TWENTY THREE
The Complex 3 hours ago.
Kevin was not the bravest person in the group, and Jacob did not want him embarrassed so he stepped forward to speak to Osvaldo Rodrigo, ‘Before we go anywhere, let’s work out what happened. The roof collapsed and we appear to not have Laurent, or your young friend Luis Alfredo, so we can presume that rock fall was no accident.’
‘Agreed Jacob, we have some time before we can leave here. Luis Alfredo has not been confident in my leadership for some time, he is young, wanted to change our ways, and could be easily persuaded by the right person.’
‘Oh believe me Osvaldo Rodrigo, Laurent can be very persuasive, he promised your man something.’
‘So they think we are dead?’
‘Probably, they got what they wanted, but I still have my artefact.’
Jacob searched his rucksack, but the artefact and its holder were gone, as was his radio. ‘He took it! He took the other artefact!’
‘Jacob, do you mean like this?’ Osvaldo Rodrigo pulled out an identical artefact, looped onto a leather strap and wrapped in the same fabric, it was glowing brightly.
‘How many of those are there?’
‘There are just four like this, you had two of them, and we had two.’
‘We? You mean you?’
‘No, La gente de la luz azul. Luis Alfredo had one and me.’
‘Which means that Laurent probably has his as well?’
‘Probably, but they need all of them to operate the device.’
‘Sorry device? What device?’
‘My dear Jacob, if you follow me, I will share with you a secret that has been passed down for thousands of years.’
’You said we had to wait before leaving here?’
‘Yes and it is time.’ Osvaldo Rodrigo clambered into the stone trough, a trickle of water still moving down it, the light shining brightly through the hole in the inner wall. He pushed off and slid down it, like a water park slide. The slight incline increased his speed, he lay flat just as he passed through the hole in the wall and disappeared from sight. Jacob looked around at the people in the cave, ‘Fine I will go next, last one turn out the light!’
Jacob slid rapidly down the slick stone trough and shot through into bright light, temporarily blinding him. He accelerated down and just as his eyes recovered he slid onto something cold and wet, coming to a stop some thirty feet from the bottom of the trough. He stood up seeing Osvaldo Rodrigo waiting for him. What he was expecting was to be standing in the lake that should be there. Looking back he could see the stone trough coming out of the crater wall, running neatly down the side of it to the floor of the crater some fifty feet below. Then he realised this was no crater he was standing on something silver, metallic, he bent down to touch it expecting the cold familiar sensation of metal, but it was warm. Kevin shot down the trough, a scream of joy preceding his appearance; he skidded to a stop near Jacob. ‘Osvaldo Rodrigo you were right, best ride in the park!’
Osvaldo Rodrigo smiled, walking over to Jacob as Kevin awaited the next joy rider, ‘My friend, you are in the crater, well, complex.’
‘What is this place? Who built it?’
‘Let your friends arrive, and then I can tell you all, okay?’
Jacob removed an insulated water bottle from his bag, offered a second to Osvaldo Rodrigo. They sipped on the cool water, Jacob taking in their surroundings. The crater wall as they had incorrectly called it encircled them; about one mile away was the far wall, the rest slightly overgrown but not as much as outside. Within the complex a watermark left by the lake was about twenty feet above them. The walls covered with algae from its presence but the lakebed should have been full of silt and sediment, instead it was shining silver the metal clear of all debris.
The rest of the group had arrived and Osvaldo Rodrigo invited them to all sit down, eat if they had food and drink. Jacob whispered to Osvaldo Rodrigo before he addressed the group, ‘Why me? Why did you pick me to come here?’
‘Because of your work at La Tolita, and I know wherever you travel you have respect for the people and heritage of the country you are in. That is a rare quality and much valued by me.’ Osvaldo Rodrigo stood up, adjusting his appearance, and addressing the group. ‘Right friends, you are in the complex, it is not as you presumed a crater, or an old city. The wall was built to protect and hide what you are sitting on.’
‘Which is what?’
‘Good question Kevin as always, I will explain from the beginning.’
‘This complex is over five thousand years old, and my people were the Caras, who lived in the hills, the La Tola who lived on the coast. They were both approached by the builders of this place, and between them they formed La gente de la luz azul, the blue light people who protect this sacred place.’
‘But there are no written records of this? I found nothing in my exploration of La Tolita?’
‘That is correct Jacob, but the Caras had no written language, all information passed verbally. They encouraged the people from La Tola to replicate that trend. I am sure had we had any written material it would have been destroyed in the Spanish conquest as much of Maya and Inca information was. If it had been stolen and sold it may have betrayed the existence of this place.’
‘So what do La gente de la luz azul do?’
‘You see this amulet I have in my bag; that is one of four that control the device beneath us. Would you like to see how? It may make understanding the purpose of this place clearer?’
The group nodded in agreement as Osvaldo Rodrigo walked off towards the right of the complex, the group followed like excited schoolchildren.
‘One question why does the silt not settle on the lakebed, in fact why is there a lake at all?’
‘Jacob you have looked at satellite maps yes? And would a large metal object in the centre of the jungle stand out?’
‘I see your point, so the lake is camouflage. When was it built?’
‘About two thousand years ago, and maintained for centuries after that by my people.’
‘Hang on, satellites are recent, why hide it that early?’
‘I did not say they were our satellites did I?’
Jacob paused attempting to take in that statement, ‘and the non-stick surface?’
‘Like a non-stick pan, it covers the metal and stops anything settling. There is a gutter which runs around the complex between the metal dome and the wall.’
‘Dome?’ As Jacob bent down he could see the surface was slightly convex, causing the water to run off to the sides like the camber of a road.
‘There is a hole for this to drain from?’
‘Yes, lower down than the one we entered in, another stone trough allows the water to flow out to the river on the other side, so fresh water is always flowing. The Caymans on the other side love it as the fish that are swept in on the inflow, are concentrated at the outflow.’
‘Not just me who likes Sushi then?’
Osvaldo Rodrigo had moved across the dome and stopped by a square section of the complex floor. He bent down and rested his hand upon it. A rectangle around his hand glowed blue like the amulet and necklace; a line appeared by his wrist moving around his hand and back to the other side. Then after a short pause a rectangular hatch began to open.
‘Nice trick. Can anyone try?’
‘No Jacob, it checks my DNA and will only allow someone of La gente de la luz azul heritage to enter, anyone else will just sit out here.’
‘So what is stopping someone using you to get in and then following?’
Osvaldo Rodrigo was already reaching into his backpack and removing a handful of necklaces like Katheri
ne’s. He passed them out to Jacob and his six friends, ‘Put those around your necks and follow me, they will protect you.’
‘Protect us from what?’
‘Kevin as brave as always.’
‘From the defences inside the hatch, if you were not wearing one you would be dead by the time you reach the bottom of the first staircase.’
‘Great, so glad I asked!’ Kevin placed his necklace over his head, not seeing the laughter cascading over Katherine’s face as she followed him.
Laurent returned to the riverbank with Luis Alfredo, the dust from the explosion had cleared, and they had casually descended the stone wall, expecting to see the waiting canoes, but they had vanished. He sat down, the young Luis Alfredo appearing puzzled, ‘Where are your friends?’
‘They will be along, now tell me about that necklace you have?’
‘It is the protector of La gente de la luz azul, allows us to enter the complex.’
‘What complex?’
Luis Alfredo was hesitant to answer, ‘I thought you wanted just information and to show the amulets to the world, stop the secrecy?’
‘I do, but to do that you must tell me more about them, these amulets like the one around your neck.’
‘You misunderstand, this is just a shield necklace, this is an amulet.’ The young man withdrew the amulet from its cloth cover, the blue crystal glowing, silver top shining in the sun. Laurent recognised it immediately. It was the same as the two he had in his bag, something he failed to mention to Luis Alfredo.
‘You are a very wise young man, I can see why you want to lead La gente de la luz azul.’
‘Really? Can you?’
‘Oh yes, your vision is so much clearer than Osvaldo Rodrigo, you are the future.’
‘I wish Osvaldo Rodrigo and the others would see what you do, I just want us to share this with the world.’
‘And you will Luis Alfredo, you will.’
‘Thank you for helping me Mr Laurent.’
‘You are very welcome, and it is Christophe, please.’
Laurent’s relentless consistent charm was working as expected. ‘And what does this one amulet do? It controls something or unlocks something?’ his apparent ignorance leading the naive young man.
‘Not just one, four amulets control the device in the complex, the keystone.’
‘Four amulets, and three will not do, it must be four?’
‘Yes just four.’
‘And this complex and keystone, what are they for?’
‘I will tell you more when we are away from here.’ The young man said nothing more turning back towards the river, causing Laurent to wait frustrated for Enzi’s men to arrive.
Osvaldo Rodrigo led Jacob’s group, the hatch was above their heads now, the humid jungle air replaced with cool damp, the stone steps under their feet leading down a shaft. The staircase was a metre wide; the outer edges supported by silver pillars, each a half metre wide, two steps atop each one. Katherine had entered first, following Osvaldo Rodrigo, Jacob was last his necklace glowing in unison with his companions. As his head cleared the entrance to the hatch it began to close. There was no noise, he expected it to scrape or rub but only silence prevailed, he was only aware of the closure when the jungle noise suddenly abated.
Even without the sun, light persisted from the blue crystals embedded in the black stone walls. The group progressed down the seven flights of stairs into the bowels of the complex. When Jacob reached the bottom of the stairs the group were in front. The black stone roof led up and away from him at a steep angle, to a circular hatch in the ceiling. It should have been pitch black but the space was being illuminated throughout. Jacob could not determine the source.
The room was symmetrical with another doorway opposite; the roof sloped back down from the hatch to meet it. The cavern they were in was not silver as he expected. The jet black stone did not reflect any light, making it difficult to judge the distance to the walls. Jacob was so busy looking he almost lost his footing, Katherine grabbing his arm, ‘Jacob look down!’
The edge he was on was lined with blue which glowed, defining the limit of the walkway which Katherine had just stopped him from stepping off; he could not see the bottom.
‘Thanks Katherine, just overcome by the place.’
‘That’s okay Jacob. Do you think my mother ever stood here?’
‘Don’t know, she only told me to give you that necklace, nothing else.’
‘Nothing at all? No letters?’
‘I am sure she would have told you, but the accident.’
Jacob gave Katherine a hug on the shoulder, ‘No one’s looking.’
She laughed, stifling her emotions and moving off to join the group.
Osvaldo Rodrigo had gathered everyone in the centre of the room, standing inside three concentric circles, the outside one was three metres in diameter, the next two metres and the inner one metre. These three circles sat within a larger square, and at each corner of this square was a small black pyramid one metre square with a hole in the top of it. The whole area they were standing on was made of silver metal, in contrast to the black stone of the walls and ceiling. Within the metal were blue glyphs, similar to those Jacob had seen on the black artefact stolen from Washington. These glyphs lined the outer edge of the square, linking the four smaller pyramids.
The circles they were standing on had a deep V cut between them, perfectly formed, no gaps or faults, as if they had been machined from one solid slab. Jacob wondered about the origins of this place, knowing that the skills of the Caras and La Tola, although advanced for the time, were far beyond manufacturing on this scale.
Osvaldo Rodrigo addressed the group, ‘I feel like a tour guide!’ the laughter from the group echoed around coming back at them from all directions.
‘This is the complex, it has no other name, the necklaces you wear protect you, and allow the lights to illuminate for you, it is an intelligent structure.’
Sara one of the quieter members of the group ventured her first comment, ‘like office when the lights go on and off as you move around?’
‘Yes exactly, but the builders of this place got a little more creative, as you will see.’
Osvaldo Rodrigo walked over to Katherine and handed her his amulet, the crystal glowing with increased intensity. He beckoned her over to one of the small black pyramids on the floor, the group remained in the circles, observing.
‘Place you hand here on the side of the pyramid.’
Katherine followed Osvaldo Rodrigo’s instructions, placing her palm onto the black stone. A familiar blue line travelled around her hand, just like by the outer hatch. The outline disappeared and she withdrew her hand.
‘Now place the amulet in that hole, the metal end first.’
Katherine took off the leather strap that was looped around the silver metal, crouched down, gripped the crystal shaft and tentatively lowered the amulet into the hole. It slid halfway down, and then stopped, after a short pause it descended into the pyramid, only the blue tip showing completing the shape. Below her feet she felt a mild vibration, and the black pyramids surface illuminated with glyphs previously unseen. Each glyph was a pair of circles with different symbols in the inner and outer ones, a different large glyph on each side of the pyramid. The illuminated object began to rise up from the floor. Katherine stepped back with surprise knocking into Osvaldo behind her. The black stone pyramid continued to rise becoming a four metre high square obelisk, black stone with many illuminated glyphs upon it. On one side was an opening, about two point five metres high and wide enough for someone to step through.
‘Now what, does it take off?’
Osvaldo Rodrigo laughed, ‘No, although I can see why you would think that.’
‘Well if it flies I don’t mind, that I can handle.’
The group sat motionless, the obelisk taking all their attention, Jacob however was distracted, ‘Osvaldo Rodrigo what is that?’
He was pointing to rectangular lin
e in the floor, halfway between the entrance and the square of pyramids.
‘That is the entrance to the fifth amulet holder.’
‘Fifth amulet? I thought you said there were only four needed to control the device?’
‘I did, but the fifth has a different purpose, come let me show you, it is my privilege as keystone protector.’
As Osvaldo Rodrigo opened the second hatch, Jacob instructed the team to go back up to the surface and wait by the edge of the hatch, Katherine was to wait by the obelisk for him to return. The group obliged exiting the same way they had entered, Osvaldo informing them the hatch would open for them, but not to remove their necklaces until he joined them.
Katherine waited by the obelisk, walking around it, taking in and trying to decipher the glyphs. She sat down on the centre circle, awaiting Jacob’s return, looking up at the roof, realising that the black stone was deceptive and the roof was a giant dome. The surface appeared flat, but actually curved up towards the circular hatch at its peak, perhaps fifteen metres above them. So engrossed with her mental estimates of the cavern, she was unaware of Jacob and Osvaldo Rodrigo’s return, startled at their reappearance.
‘So was it interesting? Care to share?’
‘Another time Katherine, another time.’
‘I see as discreet and secretive as always, can’t teach old dogs new trick?’
Osvaldo Rodrigo was puzzled, ‘Old tricks?’
‘I will explain as we climb.’ Jacob patted Katherine on the back.
‘What about the amulet in the obelisk?’
‘That can remain here, at present it is safer here than outside, and it has a task to perform.’
Laurent wanted more information to give him an advantage, but Enzi’s men were coming up the river, their roaring powerboat devastating the banks as it progressed towards them. Jones was aboard the ship, Laurent realising that Enzi did not trust anyone but a few. The henchman gestured for Laurent to climb onto the boat, ‘who is this, I thought we were only collecting you and the artefacts?’