“And how are you, too? I’m glad you appreciate me saving your lives. Although why I bother I don’t know. After all, between the two of you, I’m certain you’re both more interested in throwing them away.”
“I’m sorry Elise. We’re in some trouble – again. I need you to locate something for me.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“It’s called the Arcane Stone and at the time was believed to be made of brass, but archeologists have long thought that it might have been made of orichalcum. According to Billie’s notes, it’s a key to an ancient archive for the people of Atlantis.”
“That’s if they existed, at all?”
“They existed Elise. Find me that artifact, and I’ll prove it to you.”
“Very good. Give me a few minutes and I’ll let you know what I’ve found. Where are you headed?”
“Nepal.”
“Really? You believe all that crap that the Nazis propaganda machine put out about the lost civilization of Atlantis being in the Himalayas?”
“No. But I believe their archives have been recorded there for the past 11,000 years.”
“And the Arcane Stone is going to show you the way?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Hang on a second Sam. I think I’ve got something, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Why not?”
“The Arcane Stone is currently owned by the Le Milieu Corso-Marseillais. They’re a secret society that has close links with just about every form of organized crime, from drugs, human trafficking –right through to the provisioning of private mercenary armies.”
Sam sighed. “That’s fine. Are they willing to sell it?”
“Sure are. Terrorism doesn’t come cheap these days. They currently have it listed on the Dark Net for 10 million Euros, with a note that it holds the key to locating Atlantis and other unknown riches. It’s probably a fake anyway.”
Tom interrupted. “Hey, Elise. Sorry to interrupt. What the hell’s the Dark Net?”
“Hi Tom. You know how most things we do on the internet is clearly visible to everyone. We make things available to search engines like Google. The dark net is the rest of the internet, where general users have no means of accessing information without knowing the precise URL to begin with. It’s used for secrecy, and as well as the latest conspiracy theorist, organized crime seem to like it for its obvious benefits.”
The cab pulled into the Schiphol Amsterdam Airport.
“Enough of the computer science lesson, Elise. Billie’s in trouble. Tell them the price is fine. Buy it for me and send it where I’m headed in Nepal. I’ll send you the address in a second.”
“But you’re not going to Nepal.”
“I’m not?”
“No, Le Milieu Corso-Marseillais don’t sell through Ebay or anything like that. You’re going to need to actually meet them. They won’t have a thing to do with you or your absurd amounts of money without seeing you in person.”
“All right, all right. Where are we headed?”
“The French Riviera.”
“That sounds all right. By the way you were speaking, I thought you were going to send me off to Iran or something difficult.”
“No, but don’t let the lovely location or the romantic lights fool you. These people maintain one of the cruelest and most ruthless organizations in the world. Just because you’re a potential buyer doesn’t make you their friend or in any less danger. You’re going to want to be careful.”
“Okay, arrange a meeting for me Elise.”
“Will do, and be careful.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll bring Tom along for a show of muscle.”
Chapter Fourteen
Billie woke up to the throbbing pain in her head.
Whatever sedative she’d been given, it had left a terrible aftereffect of amnesia, disorientation and pain. She could do nothing about the pain, but she would immediately work to rectify the other two problems.
How the fuck did I get here? Billie thought about it for a minute. She’d been driving in Amsterdam. Something had frightened her. But what? She felt the itch above her forehead and went to scratch. It was swollen and there were several surgical stiches under her hair line. That’s new.
Instantly, Billie returned to the events of earlier today, or yesterday – or however much time had passed and she’d been unconscious since the accident. Someone had learned what she knew and had come for her. She’d contacted Sam Reilly, and he’d said he would come for her, but something happened and he never reached her.
They had knocked her car into the water! She had tried to escape the sinking car, only to find that a diver had given her something, and taken her…
Billie looked around, trying to orient herself.
The room was mostly dark, with the dull ambient fluorescent lights outside barely providing enough light to see. There was no door, and she wondered if she could leave if she tried to. Her hand touched the metal wall next to the bed she’d woken up in. It vibrated, just slightly. And an image of a turbine spinning matched the constant drum she’d heard since waking.
They have me on a ship?
The realization hit her with surprise. She stood up and looked at the floor below her. It was metal. More like a steel grate on a working ship. Although she’d only just clambered out of the bed, her feet felt stable.
No, there’s no swell or movement of the waves. Even in a flat sea, she knew there was a certain amount of movement.
She looked around the room.
It looked like a bedroom, with a slightly smaller than normal single bed. There were no windows, or anything else to be seen inside the room. The walls were dark.
I’m in a submarine?
With an air of fatalism, she stepped out of the room and down the dark passageway. Looking for anything that wasn’t bolted to the walls that could be used as a weapon, Billie found that she was completely vulnerable.
Up ahead she thought she could hear something other than the sound of turbines. It creaked and cracked, as an open fire would. Slowly she progressed, walking ten or so feet and then stopping to listen. Her ears sensitive to the slightest change in sound, and expecting to hear someone come out to grab her at any moment, Billie clenched her fists.
But no one came for her.
She continued walking through the passageway. It was long. Much longer than any submarine she’d ever been on, not that she’d been on many. Still she expected that whatever type of submersible she was aboard, required hundreds of people to sail – but despite walking for several minutes now, she’d seen no evidence of anyone.
I’m on a deserted ghost ship?
Billie wasn’t immediately certain that she preferred that any more than discovering it was swarming with submariners. At least then, she’d have answers. Besides, if they didn’t let her die in the first place, that meant they needed her alive.
Determined to take control of the only thing left to her, she decided not to continue slinking around quietly like a cat in an alley.
She whistled loudly.
The sound echoed through the empty hull.
“I’m awake! You may as well come out. I know you don’t want to kill me, or else you wouldn’t have dressed my wounds. So come out!”
There was no response.
A thousand tiny prickles teased the nerve endings of her skin. Perhaps she really was on a ghost ship. But why? Why go through the trouble of abducting her – healing her – only to abandon her below the surface of the ocean?
No, someone will come.
But they didn’t, so she continued walking through the passageway. Although narrow, it had nearly six feet of head room above. That meant she was most likely on an American sub – after all, no other navy in the world believed in such luxuries for its sailors.
At the end of the room, she saw an old man who most likely was nearing his early eighties. He was sitting and reading a book in a recliner chair. Next to him was a large heat light, built to look like a fire.
It crackled, like a real fire.
The man smiled warmly, but did not stand up as she approached.
“Hello Dr. Swan. I was hoping you’d wake up soon. We have a lot of work to do and it’s time we get started.”
Billie looked at the old man. “Started? What are we doing?”
He carefully placed a bookmark in the old leather-bound book he’d been reading and then closed it. With an omniscient grin, he replied, “Why, saving Atlantis, of course.”
Chapter Fifteen
“So, that’s what this is about.” Billie looked at the old man, her fear replaced with curiosity, as confidence dawned on her that she could probably kill him with her bare hands. “You heard that I had a new lead and decided that you could reap the rewards?”
“Reap the rewards?” he asked, a curious look on his face.
“The golden city. Or, city covered in the gold rich alloy, Orichalcum.”
Laughing, the man sat up and said, “So you don’t know then, do you?”
“Know what?”
“Atlantis, my dear, for the most part, was stolen nearly 150 years ago.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“I should know. After all, it was my grandfather who did the stealing.”
“So, if you didn’t kidnap me to find the treasures hidden inside Atlantis, why am I here?”
“First of all, I never kidnapped you. I protected you from them. And I would have thought you’d be more grateful for it, on that matter.”
“Then can I leave…” she began to protest, but he stopped her.
“Second. We need to find Atlantis, before they do, and stop the countdown, which we both know you started.”
Billie already knew the precise location of Atlantis. She’d been there only just last week. But instead of finding answers, she had found more questions and discovered that she had inadvertently restarted a timer that should have been permanently stopped.
But there was no way she was going to let this man know.
“Who are they?”
“They…” the man coughed. A deep throaty cough. “They call themselves the Phoenix Resistance. And have served a useful purpose for nearly 11,000 years, too. They protected the secret of Atlantis. But, like all brotherhoods, they are run by people. And people, well – let’s face it, people are corruptible, ignorant, and most of all, stupid.”
Billie examined the man’s appearance and decided that he could be dying. Maybe lung cancer or something. Hell what did she care? The man had kidnapped her.
“What happened to them?”
“Over the course of that time, the Phoenix Resistance, in the process of trying to maintain the secret of Atlantis, managed to lose it altogether on three separate occasions. The most recent, of course, being nearly 200 years ago, when their plan to bury it ended in its disappearance entirely.”
She repeated the words “Phoenix Resistance.” She’d never heard of them.
“For the most part, they carry on, biding their time, until evidence of its reemergence comes into light. As it did with your recent discovery of the looking glass and the existence of Atlantis.”
“How could you possibly know of that?”
“Let’s just say that money’s not a problem for me. And, I keep tabs on a number of leading archeologists around the world, just on the off chance that such an event occurs, sending into motion a dangerous set of events.”
“What events?”
“Why, the end of the world of course.”
Billie couldn’t hide her response. “So, it’s true then.”
“Yes, and given that you entered all but the inner sanctum last week – that means that we now have a little under five weeks remaining to save the world.”
“Who are you?” she asked.
“My name’s Edward Worthington, and my grandfather, Hank Worthington, stole the great wealth of Atlantis, before he too discovered its secret. He decided to bury its very existence, so that no others should fall into the trap.”
Billie sat down.
“Okay, Mr. Worthington, if what you say is true, why didn’t you simply contact me? Why did you go through the effort of nearly getting me killed?”
“Ah, that I’m afraid I brought upon you, but had no idea I was doing so until it was too late.”
“What do you mean? You didn’t realize you ordered one of your goons to try and kill me?”
“No, you see, I paid a man who specialized in rare and often unattainable products. I sought his assistance when I discovered that you were on the close tail of finding Atlantis. Unfortunately, I had no idea that the very man I employed just so happened to be a sleeper cell for the head of the Phoenix Resistance. I fear something you did while you were in Amsterdam triggered something that made him realize who you were, and why I was after you.”
“Who was after me?”
Mr. Worthington brought up a picture on a hologram in front of them. The man was in a blue suit, clean shaven, and carrying a suitcase. He appeared quite handsome, had he not been trying to kill her or at least abduct her only yesterday.
“His name is Andrew Brandt. This was him three days ago when I paid him 5 million dollars as a down payment to bring you to me.”
Her eyes looked at the man for a second and then realized she’s seem him before. “The man with blond hair in a red baseball cap!”
“Excuse me?”
“He was at the National Archives center in Amsterdam!”
“That’s possible.”
“But now we need to find Atlantis, before they do. And the clock is ticking.”
“If I contact the other two members of my team, we will have a better chance of finding it.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because, the Phoenix Resistance are after you. If they find you, and therefore beat us to Atlantis, all is lost.”
“Why? What is so important about Atlantis?”
“I think you know, as well as I do.”
Billie did know, but she certainly wasn’t going to let him hold all the cards. She nodded her head in acceptance.
Edward then said, “No, its best that you and I go searching for Atlantis, while Sam and Tom lead them away. If they think you’re dead, they will go after the next best lead they have, and that means Sam and Tom.”
A man approached. He had a solid build, pale skin, and brown hair cut in a short military style. “Dr. Swan, this is Mark.”
The man shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you again Dr. Swan. I’m afraid the last time we might have gotten off on the wrong foot, although it was in your best interests. May I please welcome you to this submarine and apologize for how you came to be aboard.”
She took his hand and replied, “Nice to meet you Mark. I don’t blame you for nearly getting me killed. For that, we have Edward.”
Billy looked at the man’s eyes. They were an intense blue, and a pleasant enough smile. But, although she didn’t say so, there was something about him that gave her the creeps.
Edward looked at her. As though he’d read her mind, Edward said, “Mark has worked for me for the past twenty years and is exceedingly loyal – to those who pay him well. He will be your bodyguard.”
Chapter Sixteen
Billie stood warming her hands by the fire. “All right. If your grandfather buried it, why don’t you know where it is?”
Edward ignored her question, as he had so many others. “Let me tell you what I know from my sources so that you can clear up any of my confusions – and I have so many these days.”
He didn’t wait for her to acknowledge her acquiescence, and instead continued. “You found a series of pictographs on a sarcophagus inside an ancient pyramid. All of which represented a known place of historical significance. The only one that had not been officially discovered, was Atlantis. Then you found a looking glass, which somehow allowed you to see the image of each of the archeological sites.”
She
nodded her head, not wanting to give away more than she had to.
“I’ve read your notes, and see that you could calculate the exact distance between the location of the pyramid and each of the sites by measuring the distance between the center of the map and each of the pictographs. And you were able to work out that of the 13 sites displayed on the seeing tube, or looking glass as you called it, six were above the equator, while six were below it and the thirteenth, or looking-glass was directly along the equator.”
He paused long enough for her to add anything if she felt like, which she didn’t.
He then continued. “What I don’t understand is how you derived a need to visit Amsterdam?”
“We calculated three separate known cities which roughly matched the distance that we calculated from the main site. These were, Amsterdam, Nice and New York.”
“And you chose Amsterdam first, because...”
“The pictograph that represented what we believe to be Atlantis, depicted a circular city, with dozens of canals, protected via dikes. When I looked at the three cities, and the image of Atlantis, I thought, ‘Which one most closely resembles the original city?’ Thus, I came up with Amsterdam, which luckily happened to be the big break.”
“That’s very good, Dr. Swan. A fanciful story at best. I think if I were to sit down here with a map and calculate the exact distance from the Gulf of Mexico and those three cities, I would most likely find three very different answers.”
Billie felt a warm flush of blood flow to her cheeks. He’d caught her in a lie. Even if she had no reason to be honest with him, it made her feel guilty.
She didn’t even try to deny it, and Edward continued. “In Atlantis you realized that you needed a code – Let’s call it the code to Atlantis. Without it, you have no ability to access any further information from its inner sanctum, and nor do you have any control over the timer that you’ve begun.”
Billie kept her thoughts to herself on the matter, but inwardly, she was writhing with curiosity.
“It was here that you realized that the ancient Atlantean people had built a second temple – not too dissimilar to their original one. The purpose of which, was not to house the great wealth and even greater power that Atlantis was built on. Instead, it was a great vault. An ancient set of archives, which tells of the history of earth.”
Atlantis Stolen (Sam Reilly Book 3) Page 6