Atlantis Stolen (Sam Reilly Book 3)

by Christopher Cartwright

  The bank manager nodded his head. And he did know, too. The DROC was synonymous with the best quality diamonds in the world as well as corruption. One look at Zanzibe, and he instantly would have imagined a tribal man who’d found the ultimate blood diamond. “Of course, right this way, gentlemen.”

  The valet disappeared with Edward’s Audi, and then the three men entered the elevator. It went up to the 18th floor. There, the pygmy had the retinas of his eyes and his fingertips scanned, followed by a DNA sample. He chose a password involving a combination of 42 letters, numbers and accented characters.

  Zanzibe was given his safe deposit box number. The two men then stepped into the elevator and began their descent into one of the most protected vaults on earth.

  Edward said, “Now, they advised me that the last occupants down here left thirty minutes ago. But for that to be true, it would mean that Andrew had already won.”

  “Perhaps, my friend, he has?” Zanzibe replied.

  “No, that’s not possible. Because if he had, none of this would still be here. It’s more likely that he had someone else sign him out of the vault. You might want to prepare yourself, in case we have company when this elevator comes to a stop.”

  “I will be prepared.”

  Edward looked next to him, where Zanzibe had already put together his two Uzis. His sharpened teeth glistened like a banshee. And then the elevator doors opened.

  Chapter Seventy-Nine

  Billie studied the first of the three challenges with intensity. She already knew the answers to all three, but now had a much greater contest to overcome. Inside Poseidon’s temple, the Sphere of Atlantis waited eagerly to release its evil power of destruction. The time was narrowing, and soon she must act to overpower her captor.

  It was always a game, but now the price of the challenges was no longer merely her life. Now, failure meant the end of the human race. She considered simply refusing to beat the challenges at all, but with the Sphere of Atlantis already poised, Billie had to reach it with the code if she wanted to stop it.

  No, she would have to reach the inner sanctum. But somewhere along the way, Andrew Brandt must die.

  The first room involved the challenge of Strength, with its long tunnel and descending roofline, filled with spikes, Billie quickly wondered if Andrew would be naive enough to wish to go through first. She watched as Andrew studied the mechanism that lifted the roof by maneuvering the cantilever. He lifted it up so that the roof levelled, revealing the half opened exit at the end of the long tunnel, and then slowly lowered it again.

  The spikes dropped like a machete.

  He grinned at her wickedly. “I guess I better let you through first. Then you can open up for me?”

  “Why, don’t you think you’re strong enough to work it out on your own?”

  “Of course not, that’s why I went to great lengths to bring you here, Dr. Swan. Now, in case you get the urge to keep running once you’re on the other side, may I remind you that only I hold the code to Atlantis.”

  Andrew stared at her.

  His piercing gray eyes tormented her indecision.

  When she didn’t respond, he said, “And that means that this building and everything within it is going to be levelled within the next two hours.”

  “And if I help you get through. Then what?”

  “Then I win, and you lose.”

  “But we all die anyway?”

  “No, you die, everyone else dies, but I have all the power that comes with the Sphere of Atlantis and its access code.”

  “Doesn’t sound very fair to me,” Billie pointed out.

  He sighed. “No, I dare say it’s not very fair. But hey, so long as you and I are together, perhaps you’ll find your chance to win. I doubt it, but it’s the best hope you’ve got, isn’t it?”

  She turned to show him her hands were still bound behind her back.

  “I’m going to need these off if you want me to make it through the challenge.”

  “I’d really rather I didn’t.”

  “Then I guess we may as well both lie down here and die. You see, halfway up the tunnel, a lever needs to be pulled to open the final exit. If I can’t reach it, I can hardly help you reach your all powerful sphere.”

  He grabbed her forcefully. Placing his knee into the nape of her neck, he removed the handcuffs that bound her. She quickly stretched her arms and moved them to her front. A second later, Andrew clipped them again.

  “There. Now you should be able to reach the lever, but still less likely to pick up a rock and beat my skull in.”

  She smiled with a meekness that she would never truly feel. “Okay, let’s see how strong you are then.”

  Within minutes, Billie passed the first challenge and having reset the lever so that Andrew could follow her, was now studying the second one. This one involved choosing the correct weight to place on the pedestal. Instead of the gold ingots of the Congo temple, this one had bars of solid orichalchum. Each one glowed red in response to their dim flashlights, sending shards of red into the dark chasm blocking their progression.

  She stood there considering how to overcome the challenge and get her captor killed in the process. And then Andrew began picking up the ingots and the weights and piling them on the ancient balancing scales. Within two to three minutes, he laughed and carried several of the bars of orichalchum over to the pedestal.

  Without asking her if he had chosen correctly, Andrew dropped them.

  The pedestal glowed red, and seconds later the hidden bridge swung into position.

  “That was lucky, wasn’t it? I guess I might not have needed you after all?”

  Chapter Eighty

  Sam Reilly arrived at the entrance to the Bank of America on the corner of Wall Street and Water. The building by this stage was swarming with police officers. He stepped out of the car, armed with an M16 machine gun in his hands and a Glock strapped to his left thigh. Tom followed behind with similar armament. In the foyer, the night manager of the vault stood arguing with the senior police officer on scene.

  “Good evening, sir.” Sam shook the man’s hand. “My name is Sam Reilly, and this is one of my associates, Tom Bower. Have you been briefed on the situation?”

  “My name is Mitchel Sawyer. I’m the night manager of the vault, and no one gets in or out unless they are a current customer of the bank. And I’m afraid none of you are on the list.’

  Sam gritted his teeth before he spoke. “Mr. Sawyer, in under an hour, you and just about every other living being on this planet are going to have a really bad fucking ending to their day, unless we stop a madman from committing the ultimate act of terrorism.”

  “I’m most sorry to hear that sir, but I’m afraid the vault has very specific rules. In fact, it’s protected by a number of laws, expressly prohibiting you from barging in here like this.”

  Sam pulled out his phone and handed it to the man. “I hope this man can talk some semblance of sanity into you before I have to kill someone.”

  The man straightened up at the threat, and then took the cell phone.

  “Who is it?”

  “Just pick up the phone, and you will see.”

  The night manager spoke into the cell. “Hello?”

  He nodded his head.

  Then began trying to explain the system again, before suddenly handing the phone back. Sam took the cell and said, “Mr. President.”

  He grinned.

  “Of course, Mr. President. I’ll do that.”

  The bank manager began to protest again that he really didn’t want to go against the President of the United States of America, but his first duty was to his customers.

  Sam stuffed the nozzle of his Glock into the man’s throat.

  “I’m sorry Mr. Sawyer. You must have misunderstood me. I said, we need to get into the vault – right now!”

  Within ten minutes Sam and Tom were descending the elevator into the vault – alone. Both men removed the safeties from their M16 machine gun
s.

  “From what we know about this guy, he’ll have the entrance to this thing well-guarded.”

  Tom rested his finger on the trigger.

  And the elevator door opened.

  Sam grinned as he saw the vault, where at least ten people lay dead. Each had been massacred by heavy machine gun fire. “On second thoughts, we might not be the only ones interested in this guy.”

  “No Sam, it appears you’re going to have to wait in line.” Tom scanned the room, which was now covered in blood. “Whoever beat us here came well prepared and heavily armed. But the question remains, where did they go?”

  “That part’s easy.”

  “Really? Where?”

  Sam walked up to the incinerator and said, “Right here.” It was shaped like the head of a giant crocodile. Like all good storage places of valuable secrets, the vault housed a large incinerator, which its clients could use to remove the evidence of any unwanted truths. The red metal of orichalcum shined like the devil.

  “How did you know?” Tom asked.

  “Billie once brought me here. Many years ago. She told me that her grandfather, who was searching for an ancient civilization, used this vault to store all his information on it. The image of the incinerator was so unique that although I didn’t know where to place it, I recognized it inside Poseidon’s temple.”

  Tom poked his head inside the incinerator. It still smelled like burnt residue. “A nice place to hide the entrance to an ancient city. After all, who would want to willingly enter an incinerator?”

  Chapter Eighty-One

  Billie followed Andrew as he casually walked across the bridge. It swung gently as they traversed it, but nowhere near enough for her to get the advantage required to somehow throw him off. On the other side they crawled through yet another tunnel, which opened up to the third and final challenge – the test of bravery.

  Nearly forty stone pillars stood precariously above a deep ravine. Below which, one could see nothing but darkness. At first glance it would be impossible to jump from each stone to the next all the way across the chasm.

  Billie stood there, watching, but refusing to show the way.

  “My dear Dr. Swan. I’d like to say that we can wait all day, but to tell you the truth…” Andrew glanced at his watch, “we have just under twenty minutes.”

  “All right. See those three white stone pillars?” she asked.

  “I see them.”

  “Good, the long gap between the second and third are merely illusions. The dark ground below is the best disguise.”

  Andrew grinned at her. “You first, Doctor.”

  “Okay, but I need my hands untied. You have a gun, and you’re at least twice my size, so what are you worried about?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Why do you need your hands to jump across some rocks?”

  “Because I need a run off to do so, and I’ll never make it without the full swing of my hands.”

  “I don’t care if you don’t make it.”

  “Sure, suit yourself. I’ll just wait here and watch you try and jump it.”

  Andrew studied the gap. The optical illusion was nearly perfect. Then he stepped up to her with a knife in his hand and shoved it inside the handcuff’s locking mechanism. The cheap lock cracked under the pressure.

  Billie lifted her hands slowly. “Thanks.”

  He nodded to her, pointing his gun. “Now it’s your turn. Go!”

  She turned and ran into the chasm, stepping from one stone to the next until she came to a complete stop. There she stared down at the dark ravine. She picked up a pile of white sand and threw it out into the black expanse.

  Instantly, a hidden path, no wider than a person’s foot, could be seen wandering across the remaining 11 or more feet to the other side. Instead of being a straight beam, the secret path snaked around the room, so that no one could simply guess it was there. It was made from an alloy. Unlike the Atlantean’s unique alloy orichalcum which reflected light majestically, whatever material they had built the secret path with absorbed all light. She carefully stepped foot in front of foot until she reached the other side.

  “Now your turn,” she said.

  Andrew carefully stepped from one stone tower to the next. As with everything she’d seen him do, he appeared confident and surefooted. By the time he’d reached the precipice just before the secret path, she felt the soft ground below her sink. It was dark, and despite shining her flashlight directly on it, the ground seemed to disappear.

  She watched as Andrew took his first couple steps onto the hidden path. And then she reached down and picked up a handful of the dirt, throwing it directly at him. The dust blackened the entire secret path, along with the stepping stones leading onto it, leaving Andrew to remain floating high above the chasm.

  “My dear Dr. Swan, are you not forgetting that only I am carrying the code to Atlantis?”

  Billie forced herself to smile. “I was thinking of a trade. Throw me your bag, and I’ll throw some more white sand.”

  “I have a better idea. How about I just retrace your steps.” Andrew then slowly stepped forward, into oblivion.

  Billie looked around the room for anything to use as a weapon, but with the exception of the Sphere, the place was barren.

  Andrew laughed at her concern. “Did I not mention that I have the good fortune of a photographic memory?” To prove his point, he then skipped along the wandering secret path.

  He then walked toward the Sphere of Atlantis. It glowed blue in anticipation. Andrew expertly touched and rearranged several of its ancient symbols, changing them from blue to red. He worked quickly, and like a man who had been born to work on such a machine. Unlike Billie and Edward, who had only ever been merely guessing at the purpose of the ancient and complex machine, Andrew appeared to intrinsically know what it wanted. As though it were alive, and it was waiting for him.

  Billie approached slowly. “What are you doing, Andrew?”

  “That’s close enough, Dr. Swan,” he said, raising his handgun toward her. “If you must know, I’m changing the course of history for humanity.”

  Chapter Eighty-Two

  Andrew looked down at the sudden pain in his arm.

  He didn’t even see the ancient knife. He could only guess that she’d picked it up from where it had been buried inside the mysterious darkening alloy. Taking a deep breath, the adrenaline sent him into a frenzy of rage. Before he could come to any real understanding of what had just happened, Dr. Swan had charged at his gun with a force that did her lithe frame injustice.

  The gun went flying from his hand, landing on the floor. In an instant, he ducked to grab it and Dr. Swan brought her knee up to his jaw. Dazed, his fingers gripped the weapon. He pulled it up to shoot her, but before his hand could move, she’d kicked it so hard that it broke a number of his fingers and sent the weapon flying.

  He turned to race for it. Already, she had begun pressing several of the symbols on the sphere. It glowed black with disapproval.

  “You fucking bitch!” Andrew swore. “What have you done?” He then elbowed her hard in her face. She dropped to the floor, barely conscious.

  Edward stepped into the massive cavern, quickly and with growing confidence he moved in, to pick up the Glock. Without saying a word, he pulled the trigger.

  Andrew heard the two shots fire.

  Then he felt the burning sensation in his chest.

  Taking a deep breath, he heard the gurgle of blood in his lungs. He slid to the floor, an aghast look of despair on his face. His confidence now changed to sorrow and loss. He wasn’t worried, just disappointed.

  Dr. Swan was quick to retrieve her knife and hold it close on his throat. The thought made him want to laugh.

  Didn’t she realize he was mortally wounded?

  Andrew tried to speak, but the knife made it difficult. Still, he tried. She had to know the truth.

  Edward started to enter symbols on the sphere. “Quick Dr. Swan – the code! Tell me you ha
ve the code to Atlantis!”

  “Yes. Here.”

  Andrew tried to move, but she withdrew her tablet and tossed it toward Edward.

  “It’s all on there,” Dr. Swan said.

  “Good work. I knew I could trust you!”

  Dr. Swan yelled. “Edward, I can’t believe you’re alive! How did you survive?”

  “It’s a long story, but for now, I need to enter the code.”

  The blue sphere glowed radiantly as Edward began quickly inputting the code. When the final image was inputted, the sphere began to rotate on its axis. A shining blue light reaching toward the ceiling.

  “What the hell have you done?” It was the pygmy who spoke with vitriolic rage. “You were supposed to bury Atlantis properly, not activate it!”

  Edward smiled, pulled the pistol out again and shot the pygmy dead with a bullet straight to his head. “Sorry little king. I lied.”

  “What the fuck have you done?” Billie cursed.

  “Indeed, I am very sorry,” Edward said. “I neglected to mention that I’m part of the Phoenix Resistance. All I’m doing is making the world right again. Andrew, you were supposed to activate it! I knew that your lavish lifestyle would make you weak. Greedy, you were most likely trying to determine where if you could reprogram it to destroy parts of Manhattan only – making my investment in high altitude real estate worth a fortune to you.”

  Andrew tried to reply, but couldn’t.

  Billie looked up at him. “But it was already activated. The code was supposed to deactivate it!”

  “Yes, well you were very gullible, weren’t you? What did you think was happening? That you had walked in here, touched some things and triggered a cataclysmic event? No, I’ve tried for nearly fifty years to get my hands on the code to Atlantis, and only you have been able to give it to me. So thank you. It’s a real shame that we’re all going to die.”