by A D Davies
The puck was the radar-like node that emitted a signal, penetrated the earth below, and read the data as it bounced back, transforming into images on her bespoke computer. It was similar to the Li-Dar tech used in aerial archaeology which had led institutions around the world to discover the walls of Biblical cities buried under centuries of sand, massive constructions eaten and supplanted by jungles, and pre-historic burial sites beneath fields where no one would have thought to dig. Charlie, though, aimed for smaller variations, and had redesigned them for lightweight drones—something that helped bypass troublesome questions in airspace laws, and matched LORI’s current budget.
Jules sensed the others nearby.
All but Dan and Tane crowded behind, the two tactical guys now sentries should anyone approach, which seemed unlikely since the view swept around almost uninterrupted for dozens of miles.
“Hey,” Jules said. “How’s it going?”
Toby attempted to draw a smile his way, still eager to please, eager to keep Jules on side. “Charlie found a wrinkle she needs to concentrate on. It might lead to something not on any official survey.”
“Yes, yes, it’s wonderful news,” Garcia said.
Jules watched the pictures on the screen. Charlie squinted as she pulled the drone into a slow descent, zooming in on a particular point.
Harpal sidestepped for a better view. “What’s the betting it isn’t another pyramid disguised as a hill?”
“A what?” Garcia said. “Are you mad, young man?”
“Let’s hope this one don’t collapse on us.” Jules couldn’t stop his mouth pulling into a smile. “Gets kinda old kinda fast.”
Garcia switched her gaze to Toby. “Are they making fun of me? Because I really don’t appreciate the past twenty-four hours. Guns. Stuffed in the trunk of a car. Dragged across the country. Barely five hours sleep. The university was terribly worried about me, and they don’t even know where I am. And here you are making jokes about pyramids in America.”
Jules sniffed and checked on the imagery. “Ain’t a joke.”
“Won’t be a pyramid,” Charlie said. “Or an ancient temple in disguise.” Through her jibe, Charlie’s attention remained locked on her work, hands forming claws frozen in midair, her thumbs twitching to adjust the angle. “Seriously, though, the earth is too dense. Too rocky. If it’s a small chamber quarried out, I’d say they sealed it up. If it was ever there.”
“Nothing?” Toby said.
“Something. But might be nothing. Okay, battery’s low, I’m bringing it home.” Charlie performed some high-tech tai-chi, and the camera banked away from its target.
“So, it might be there?” Harpal asked.
Charlie blew out her cheeks. “Could be a cave formation. But it matches what Sally said to look for.”
Jules glanced at Harpal, who had often come across as the most sensible of this bunch.
In this case, Harpal gave an exasperated shrug and nodded toward Toby. “He says the prof knows her stuff. And it’s all in her head, not on something Charlie can access.”
“Access,” Professor Garcia scoffed. “You mean steal. Spy on. Invade my privacy. No. You can’t steal it using the cloud or internet tricks.”
“Right,” Jules said. “You’re kooky. I get it. Wanna tell us what this shield is, then? Why some hostile country’s interested in it?”
Garcia tramped a half circle back to where she was standing when Jules arrived. “Who truly knows? The tribes who remained in this part of Alabama lived alongside the landowners for decades. Even during the civil war, both sides avoided it. Before then it was a vital stop-off point on the railroad getting escaped slaves to the north.”
Bridget stepped forward, having been uncharacteristically quiet. “You think they were stationed here while Jacob Carr smuggled supplies and food?”
The professor snagged on something in the sky, the drone most likely, and tracked its progress. “I was mapping other routes when I learned about the railroad and Jacob Carr.”
“Other routes?” Toby said, perking up as he did whenever additional information came about. “Like what?”
“Like…” Sally Garcia faced them and wiped her brow, leaning against the fence delineating the Willises’ boundary. She sounded weary, as if an interrogation had broken her resistance. “Like, there are tribes of people who we deny existed.”
Tane Wiremu apparently possessed the hearing of a bat, wandering closer to listen in. Dan kept his distance.
Garcia said, “Pretty much every single culture in existence talks about giants.”
“Are we back onto the notion of literal giants?” Bridget asked.
“Always literal.” The professor’s face flashed with the sort of enthusiasm Jules was used to from Toby and Bridget. “Otherwise, where’s the fun?”
Jules groaned internally. Not out loud. He’d learned that set folk on the defensive, especially in this world, where exacting science was performed in reverse—state a theory and challenge people to prove it wasn’t true instead of offering evidence that it was. Still, he’d also come to understand there was sometimes a kernel of truth wrapped deep in the shell of a myth.
“From Native Americans to the indigenous people of New Zealand,” Garcia went on. “Europeans have their own legends, too, not to mention Africans, the Middle East. Giants. Colossus. Kings of men.”
“I haven’t heard ‘kings of men’ before,” Harpal said. “Is that new?”
“Old. Probably older than David and Goliath. Oh! Goliath. That’s another noun used frequently today.”
“My grandparents told me stories about them,” Tane said. “I always like Kiharoa.”
Garcia nodded along. “Of the Ngati-Raukawa and Ngati-Whakatere tribes in the Tokanui Pa region.”
Tane closed his mouth and arched an eyebrow. Dipped his chin to tell Garcia to carry on.
“As for mainland USA, the Apache had Big Owl Man, the Ice Giants came from the Algonquian, and in this region the Cherokee passed down stories of Stoneclad.”
“Stoneclad,” Charlie said. “Sounds like the ground all around here.”
Garcia again watched the drone coming in, the hum becoming a buzz as the six-foot-wing-spanned device swooped in on the makeshift runway that made up the dirt road. Jules was surprised; he’d been expecting a quadcopter, as LORI normally used. This looked more expensive, although still below military grade. Charlie began unhooking herself from the haptic gloves.
Garcia said, “Versions of the Stoneclad folklore vary. Some say it’s one creature. Others that it’s an entire race. In others still, Stoneclad is the size of a man but can turn himself into an invulnerable… superhero, I guess. Or demon if that’s your thing. But the ones I’ve found that gel best with the notions you’ve given me—of this band of warriors guarding the downtrodden—Stoneclad becomes a giant humanoid with rocklike plates of armor that fend off fire and ice and weapons of all kinds. He could be defeated only through sapping his magical powers, destroying his symbols, or… and you’ll like this… exposing him to a menstruating woman.”
Toby, Harpal, and Tane looked aghast, while Jules predicted a quip from Bridget or Charlie. As it happened, Charlie spoke first.
“Okay, sounds like a good time to compare wild and crazy theories. Before the men lock us womenfolk in a shed for a few days.”
Jules caught Garcia’s grin and that Bridget was about to speak, but he referred to Charlie’s screen. “The darker greens?”
“Irregular. Fairly deep. But there are these stringy bits too.” She used the mouse as a pointer on the screen, Sally Garcia at the head of the group observing. “I think they’re tunnels. Manmade or formed through water run-off, I can’t say from this.”
“Sounds about right.” Professor Garcia made an earnest face, taking in everyone who was paying attention. “The races we’re talking about were nature’s children. They would know how to use the caves and natural contours. If they are one and the same as your Guardians, they’d need to be close to
supply routes. It makes sense that this would be the staging post.”
“It’s two kilometers in that direction.” Charlie chopped her hand through the air. “Give or take.”
Sally straightened and faced Toby. “While you work out the specifics, I have to call the university and update them on my safety. May I?”
Toby thought about it and nodded. Harpal gave her a blocky phone—an encrypted satellite device. While Garcia returned to the 4x4 for privacy, Toby called Dan over to consult.
“She never answered the question,” Jules pointed out. “What is this shield?”
Dan grunted. “I’m more interested in why a hostile nation wants it. Sounds like they know more than us. I’m guessing it isn’t entirely a defensive thing.”
Jules, again, needed no reminding of the report he’d read, how Ah Dae-Sung was a dedicated veteran, privately employed by a state-approved computing firm which both British and New Zealand intelligence suspected of being a front for various espionage projects. “I want to know how we handle the artifact. That’s if it turns out to be literal and not some symbolic myth that got mangled over the years.”
“We secure it,” Toby said. “We ensure it is safe from other parties and reveal to the owners that we have it.”
“And we’ll be givin’ it back?”
“Of course. Once we understand what it is.”
Bridget must have picked up on Jules’s discomfort. “We’re here for a reason. The truth. That’s all. And we could’ve walked away before Toby and Charlie and Harpal got attacked. But we’re on their radar now. They know about the shield, and if they tracked Sally and the others, they probably know about you and Dan coming here.”
Jules met their eyes one by one. Toby wanted more.
“What is it?” Jules asked.
“I’ll authenticate it,” Toby said. “At the bare minimum. I can’t let Alfonse down again. I need to verify its existence, its provenance, and document it. Give me that, at least.”
Jules replayed the previous day’s interaction with Andre and Telah Willis, how the elderly couple espoused such determination to carry out their duty. It mixed badly with LORI’s current position. About to prove to them their mission, noble as it was, could be doomed by the right—or wrong—people learning it existed.
“We drew these guys in,” Dan said. “We have to be the ones to end it. If giving Alfonse what he wants helps keep it out of the bad guys’ hands, isn’t that worth it?”
Jules had already reached the same conclusion. But there was one more factor Jules could not account for. “Tane Wiremu. Where do you come in? Why’re you even here? Ain’t to keep things a secret, that’s for sure.”
“They were willing to kill to get hold of the prof,” Tane said. “I’m not. I hoped she’d give us what she knew in exchange for protection. Because we’ll look after the secret better than the Americans would. And we can’t let Ah Dae-Sung or his people have it either.”
“You screw us,” Jules said. “I’ll come find it. I’ll take it back and make you pay. I’m good at that kinda thing.”
Tane didn’t quite smirk but wasn’t far from it. “Okay, deal. But I thought you were a cop.”
“I am. And just because I’m outta my jurisdiction, don’t think I won’t bust your ass if you don’t keep your word. I bet it don’t say NZSIS officer on your student visa, meaning you’re here illegally.” Jules indicated the British contingent too. “So are you folks if you’re able to travel freely after that shooting yesterday. That makes you mine.”
“Understood,” Toby said. “You have my word.”
Sally Garcia closed the door and trotted toward them, carrying a motorcycle helmet, and cleaning her glasses. “Okay, everyone, good news. They’ve given the students and faculty a few days off to recover from the traumatic events.” She put her glasses on, followed by the helmet. “Okay, I’m ready. Who am I riding with?”
Jules hurtled over the fields on one of the ATVs that Bridget’s parents arranged—those “unlimited resources” she’d negotiated—following the directions from Charlie’s drone mapping. Their target was a gentle rise in the topography, barely worthy of the word hill, hoping to locate one tentacle the ground-penetrating radar had detected.
They’d doubled up on the vehicles, Jules riding with Bridget behind, Charlie piloting Toby’s transport, and Tane leading Sally Garcia. That had left Dan and Harpal to argue over who got to be the alpha up front and who “spooned.” Charlie had been the one to crack their heads together, saying Dan should ride out and Harpal could lead them back. Neither seemed pleased with the outcome, but at such a childish stalemate there wasn’t much choice.
It took less than five minutes to start ascending and then another five to circle around to the first potential entry point, where they stopped for water and to assess whether it was a viable spot. The ground was predominantly scrubland, dry grass with cracked dirt serving as its bed. It was rocky, inhospitable, nothing of note would grow here. Even the trees were mostly gnarled and old. It was definitely not land that human hands had tended.
They stopped at the point Charlie directed, but what they had expected to be a small cave entrance was little more than a sewer hole-sized depression between stony plateaus. Then when Harpal and Dan probed closer, hoping for a weak spot, they retreated with the speed of someone fleeing an avalanche.
“Rattlesnake nest,” Dan reported as they slowed. “Diamondbacks.”
Harpal was breathing heavily, likely from the adrenaline more than the dash away from danger. “It was just there, shaking its tail.”
“More than one nest.” Dan ran his hand over his close-cropped hair. “Pretty hairy, if you ask me.”
“Bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?” Toby said. “The entrance to a supposed cave? Somewhere a pair of Guardians have sworn to protect? But without high-tech resources?”
“Oh, my, you might be right.” Sally Garcia opened her arms towards the danger zone. “Rattlesnakes are not native to this part of Alabama.”
“How do you know about rattlesnakes?” Tane asked.
“I’m very careful about where I put my feet. After being bitten for the third time, I thought maybe I should bone up on the local wildlife wherever I head out on my explorations. It’d save a fortune in antivenin, at the very least. The only way you would get that species out here would be to introduce it and feed it for a while, then let it colonize.”
Like Garcia, Jules had never liked the idea of heading into the wild unprepared, so he’d made a point of reading all he could get his hands on about snakes, spiders, scorpions, and other venomous creatures. Since he was virtually incapable of forgetting anything, he concurred.
“The prof ain’t wrong,” he said. “And if those are tunnels up there, you can bet there’ll be more wildlife to play with.”
“We can expect all the entrances to have a similar welcome,” Toby said.
“Not necessarily.” Charlie swung her legs over the ATV and slipped the laptop out of a saddlebag. She opened it and the screen lit up, a magnification of the faint rise they were on. “Several of those fractures branching out like tunnels don’t make it to the surface. Rather than waste time wrangling the snakes, we should try blasting a new door.”
Jules didn’t need to look. He remembered many of the vein-like cracks stopped short of the membrane of dried earth.
Tane said, “Won’t explosions alert people?”
“We’re at least ten klicks away from that museum,” Dan answered.
“Sound travels,” Bridget corrected him. “I’ve heard blasting going on from over ten miles away before. Open land. They’ll hear.”
“Then we’d better move quickly.” Toby saddled himself up on the ATV again, leaving room for Charlie. “This is the closest we’ve been.”
Harpal said, “I thought we wanted to get it out covertly.”
“We just need to prove it exists,” Jules replied. “When the genie’s outta the bottle, we politely explain why it needs to be s
ecured someplace else.”
Toby looked dejected at this, then perked right up. “Right. The point remains. Time is wasting.”
They gave the rattlesnake nest a wide berth, coming back in at an angle towards the eastern side of the rough rise in the land, which was steeper down the far side than the original approach suggested, before parking up and giving the area a thorough sweep for anything that might slither or sting.
Charlie pinpointed the location to within a few feet and called over to Dan, “You’re up.”
Dan hustled over with his pack and removed several chunks of packing foam, each one swaddling a brick of plastic explosive. He did not source this through the Carsons, for obvious reasons, but through his own black-market contacts. Jules didn’t ask how it arrived in the locker at the bus station where they stopped on the way, and he doubted Dan would have told him, anyway.
Harpal offered to help, but Dan said no, instead waiting for Charlie to double-check the coordinates.
Jules loitered nearby in case Dan needed a hand, since setting explosives was labor intensive and required meticulous attention to detail. It left Sally Garcia, Bridget, and Toby to hypothesize about further security measures, and for Tane to scan the horizon using binoculars. Jules considered approaching Tane and making nice, but he didn’t expect the New Zealander to remain long enough for any friendship to be worth either of their time.
The target for Dan’s explosives was a grass-free section of hard-packed mud, only a couple of surface pebbles on top. He used a small pick to break the surface, then caught Jules’s eye and tossed him a folding spade. Jules said nothing and went to work, digging out three feet of earth. Soft earth. Softer than the surrounding strata.
“That’s enough, I think,” Dan said.
He sliced off six inches of plastic, inserted a detonator, and retreated a suitable distance. He then returned and packed the earth around the half-brick and advised everyone to get as far back as the ATVs, best if they ducked down behind them. They all obeyed.