“How did you do that?” a surprised Banyon asked.
“I’m an illusionist remember,” Bart replied.
“Bart, where have you been?” Banyon uttered with concern. “Everybody has been concerned.”
“Actually, I’ve been building a house in New Orleans,” Bart explained. “I needed a little vacation time to think.”
“What? Do you mean as a builder or a financier?”
“With my hands,” he said. “I’ve been working on a volunteer government program to put up housing for the poor in New Orleans.”
“You’ve been working as a volunteer?” Banyon cried out in disbelief. In all the years that Banyon had known Bart he had never seen him give anything away, especially his time. He began to wonder if Bart was sick.
“I know it is hard to believe, but the last few months have changed me. I want to give something back to people like you do,” Bart admitted. “I admire how you treat people. I’ve found that people can actually like me too — I want more of that.”
“What are you telling me Bart?” Banyon asked as alarms went off in his head.
“It’s like this,” the lawyer started. “I’ve made more money than I could ever spend here. The President’s term will end in six months. I think I’ve had enough of this position. I want out,” he explained.
“But what will happen to the firm?” Banyon found himself asking.
“I’ll sell it to you, Colt. I’m only looking for twenty million,”
“Bart, I don’t know what to say,” Banyon said.
“Say you’ll buy it. I want it to be in good hands,” Bart said.
“I don’t have that kind of money,” Banyon replied.
“Get it,” Bart said like an order. “I know you have wealthy friends, especially the Patel clan.”
“Let me make a few phone calls,” Banyon replied.
Author’s Notes
This book is completely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is pure coincidence. None of the characters are real, but are a figment of my imagination. It has not been my intention to depict any race, culture, or group in a bad light. The book is a simple story. Some of the characters in this book are named after friends of mine. They have agreed to let me use their names in the story.
Little is actually know about the Phoenicians because they did use papyrus rather than stones to record their history. They did in fact develop the first alphabet to use for their ledgers. Almost everything we know about them comes from cultures that traded with them, mainly the Greeks, the Romans and the Egyptians. We do know that they were a collection of many peoples who had one thing in common, trading. They established outposts everywhere they traveled and were truly the first world explorers because they mastered the art of navigation and shipbuilding before other cultures. So it is quite possible that they found America well before anyone else. They were not an actual race however, but a mixture of many people and are therefore a dubious race.
The Isle Royal is real. Someone mined the abundant copper on the island more than three thousand years ago. The question has always been this, who did it, and where did the huge amount of the metal wind up? In my book it was sent to the Mediterranean. The artifacts mentioned in the book are also well documented, but have been discredited time and again, sometimes by the Smithsonian Institute.
The town of Portage, Wisconsin actually got its name from ancient peoples who dragged their boats between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. It fit nicely into the plot. It could have easily been the Phoenicians who were the first to do it.
The Cherokees could also have originally been the Phoenicians. They were known to look like Europeans, have ancient phrases in their language and many Cherokee gravesites were filled with copper and copper armor, something that native Indians didn’t employ. In the last few years, there has been testing for DNA matches to people of the Mediterranean part of the world. While the sample is so far too small, the results indicate a match.
The information about rare earths is also true. The elements are now essential to our daily lives and a rare earth gold rush is currently taking place all over the world.
The two devices, the sounder and the grounder are items that are already in use. The sounder has been installed on several ships to repel pirates. I have jacked up the volume of the devices in my books.
Finally, we come to Vril and the map to Atlantis. Vril comes from a book written in 1872. It is supposed to be the ultimate energy source and was actually sought by the Nazi before World War II. The map is pure fiction.
Acknowledgements
I want to thank several people for helping me write this book. Even the most creative writers need input.
My son and co-author Kristopher Kubicki keeps coming up with new ideas and characters to continue to make the books fun and light.
I also want to thank my friends for working with a book that was sometimes so complicated to write that I actually kept notes on my desk while I was writing to keep track of the characters and plot.
Karen and Joe Gersch read my books in advance and help me struggle through my sometimes awkward sentence structure and grammar. They shoot holes in my manuscripts that I then can correct.
I also want to thank Clarissa Yeo for her work on the covers of my books. Book covers are art.
We also had several Beta readers for this book.
Finally, as always, I want to thank my longtime companion Kathy Mayeda for reading and commenting on my work. She always makes my work better.
Special Author’s Note
I started writing as a hobby and it has turned into a passion over the last several years. I hope that you enjoyed this current novel. Colton Banyon Mysteries has turned into a long-term series with much more to tell and many mysteries to solve.
I greatly appreciate the feedback and comments that I have gathered about my plots and characters. Anyone who has followed my writings has noticed changes in the characters based upon your feedback along this journey. I encourage you to continue to provide your input. There are two ways to do that. The first is to send your comments to me at my website, www.geraldjkubickibooks.com. I always respond to any email. The second and the most important way is to post a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble. To an independent writer like me, the comments are like gold.
Bonus Reading from My next book
The Society of Orion
The Orion Codex #4
Chapter One
“Lock down the building,” Colton Banyon screamed into his Bluetooth headset as he stepped out onto the small curved balcony outside his second story office. It overlooked the large reception area inside the Dewey & Beatem Law office building in Chicago. He heard an audible click just as he reached the railing. It indicated the lockdown was in progress. He looked down to see if anyone was attempting to leave the building by the front entrance. No one was there.
“It’s done,” the voice of Steve, the head of security, replied. “What’s up?”
“We’ve got two intruders inside the building. We don’t know what they want or if they are armed,” Banyon informed everyone who was listening on their ear phones connected to the communications system. The employees working at the firm were required to be connected to their Bluetooth devices while in the building. “I want two suppression teams to find them and detain them,” Banyon ordered.
“I’m on it,” Steve responded.
“Go to red protocol,” Banyon now said. It meant that anyone near an open door was to close and lock it immediately. This prevented any intruders from finding places to hide.
“I have them on my screen,” Steve chirped in after a few seconds “They are headed for the front door.” For the first time, Banyon was pleased that Bart, his former partner, had installed a very sophisticated security system in the building. The irony was that the constant surveillance by Bart had driven Banyon and his partner apart.
“Mandy, get away from the reception area,” Banyon now screamed into the Blu
etooth. “They’re headed your way.”
“Leaving now,” a young voice yelled back into his Bluetooth.
“Loni lock my office door,” he additionally ordered as he looked back into his office where Loni Chen and Maya Patel stood over his computer screen with stunned looks on their faces. Timmy, the office geek, was seated at Banyon’s desk. A look of confusion surrounded him as well.
Banyon was just turning back to the front when he heard, “Oops.” He recognized the flash of naked thighs as Mandy slammed into him with her skirt hiked up immodestly. They both fell to the ground with Mandy straddling his bigger body. Mandy was twenty-two and Banyon was sixty-two. The collision hurt him more than it hurt her.
“I’m so sorry,” the young girl proclaimed. “I didn’t expect you to be waiting to greet me.”
“I wasn’t,” Banyon replied as he grunted and tried to push the tiny woman off of him. Mandy was very athletic and sometimes just leaped up onto the baloney from the reception desk rather that use the long hallways of the building. He had watched her many times as she gracefully high-hurdled the four-foot railing, but he had never been in front of her before.
“Oh, no,” Mandy wailed, “now Loni is going to kill me.” She quickly jumped to her feet and put her fist to her mouth in horror.
Loni Chen was Banyon’s long-term companion and was insanely jealous of any woman touching or flirting with Colton Banyon, especially the perky Mandy, whom she saw as a younger version of herself. She had threatened Mandy with bodily harm and the loss of her job if she caught her tempting Banyon again. That had been only a few months earlier when they were working on a case in Warsaw. Mandy had promised to change and had begun to grow her blond hair and wear adult non-seductive clothes. To Banyon she still looked fourteen.
“Quickly,” Banyon uttered. “Help me up.” He extended his arm and Mandy pulled him to his feet. They ran inside before Loni returned from locking the office door. Both Banyon and Mandy were grateful that no one had noticed their encounter.
“The intruders have locked themselves in the main conference room on the first floor,” Steve announced into everyone’s ear piece. “We managed to lock the front door before they got out.”
“Is there another way out of the conference room?” Banyon asked.
“Not unless they can cut through bullet-proof glass,” the security expert replied.
“Draw some guns from the armory and have guards posted at the door until I get there,” Banyon said.
“We’re on our way,” Steve replied.
“The rest of you stay in your offices until further notice,” Banyon broadcasted to the other employees.
Maya grabbed Banyon by his arm. “What’s going on?” Maya and Loni did not have Bluetooth devices.
“I’m not sure yet,” Banyon responded. “All we know so far is that Edgar let two people into the secure area of the building.”
“The ferret!” Loni exclaimed.
“Yes,” Banyon responded. “And the email came from his office.”
“He tried to hide the source by bouncing it off several satellites,” Timmy the resident geek said. “But I found it. I’m the world’s best hacker, you know.” Timmy had been called up from the bowels of the building to trace the source of the email on Banyon’s computer. He was the only one in the room who was not a member of Banyon’s unique team, but he often helped.
“I never trusted him since Poland,” Maya shouted out hotly.
“He always sided with Bart,” Loni said. “Maybe he’s deliberately trying to sabotage us.”
“We don’t know how he is involved yet,” Banyon warned his companion. “I need to go find him and find out what he knows before we pass judgment.”
“But the email is a big threat to all of us,” Loni argued. “I want to go with you Colt.”
“You’re staying here for now,” he responded strongly. “At least until we find out what’s going on here. You know the ferret is afraid of you. You may have to question him later.”
“Okay,” she replied weakly.
“Steve I want two guards at my door now,” Banyon yelled into his communication device. “We will be looking for the ferret.”
“The ferret? Why?” Steve asked over his Bluetooth.
“Just do it,” Banyon ordered.
“He’s in his office,” Steve replied after a few seconds.
Mandy’s head was on a swivel as she turned from person to person. She had no idea what they were talking about. “What email?” she asked timidly.
“This is a big mess,” Maya uttered. “And this is just our first day as owners of the firm. What else could go wrong?”
Chapter Two
The day had started with much hope and promise. Colton Banyon, Loni Chen, Maya Patel, Mandy Randall, Heather Vance and Steve Pellegrino had all gone to another law office in downtown Chicago. There they had met Bart Longwood and signed all the papers to transfer ownership of Dewey & Beatem & Associates to a new company. The new company was named Forever Ours, LLC and was owned by all of them and the rest of the Patel clan, Previne Patel, Pramilla Patel and Eric Grey. Maya had brought their powers of attorney from India.
The nine owners were all the members of Banyon’s team and held various amounts of the ownership. But Colton Banyon was the majority shareholder.
They then held a meeting. Colton Banyon was elected the Chairman of the Board. Heather Vance, who was the office manager, was named the President — Banyon wanted nothing to do with the daily tasks of running a business. Steve was made executive vice president.
At the meeting, they all agreed to consolidate the business. The law offices in Chicago and Las Vegas would stay, but the offices in Washington D.C., Dallas and Miami would be closed. Heather was charged with transferring people and closing the offices. She left directly from the meeting to begin the task. The group then went to the Chicago office to inform the employees.
Banyon told everyone that their future was bright. They had several large clients and would still do black-ops work for the government. The President had assured him of that. They then had a catered luncheon to get to know each other better.
***
After the luncheon, Loni wanted to see her new office. “Colt, where is my office?” she asked.
“Oh,” Banyon responded. “It’s right down the hallway from mine. You and the Patel clan will share Bart’s old office.”
“Do I have a balcony too?”
“Of course, I’ll show it to you,” he replied with a smile. “But first I need to check some emails in my office.”
Maya had never been to the offices before and gushed at the plush furnishings. She was impressed with Colton Banyon’s décor and went around the room touching the pictures and accents. A smile covered her attractive mocha-colored face.
“My sisters will want to move in here when we get back from India,” she announced. The Patel clan was currently living in an old Palace in Northern India that was left to them by an aunt. They had to live there for three months before the terms of the will transferred it to them.
“Oh my God,” Banyon suddenly shouted out. He was sitting at his desk going through his emails.
“What is it Colt?” Loni quickly asked.
“I can’t believe it,” Banyon screamed.
Loni and Maya ran around the desk to see what he was complaining about. “Is it from a client?” Maya asked.
“This could change everything,” Banyon moaned. “Read this email.”
The two women leaned in close to see what was on the screen. The message said:
I know who you are. I am not your friend. I am your competitor. You must reach Cuenca, Ecuador in two days. I will tell you about the Orion Codex. Father Pedro
“Is this about The Society of Orion?” Maya asked.
“I’m afraid our hunt for weapons is not over,” Banyon replied.
About the Author
Gerald J Kubicki currently has 12 dubious books in print. The books follow the continued a
dventures of Colton Banyon and his team of unique characters.
Gerald started writing fiction novels after a long career as a successful businessman. He has traveled the world and is an avid history buff. His writings contain large amounts of actual historical events and real places woven into the plots.
He currently resides in Las Vegas.
You can find out more about this author by visiting his website.
www.geraldjkubickibooks.com
Kristopher Kubicki has joined his father in writing the Colton Banyon series.
Kristopher has been writing articles for major magazines and trade publications since entering college. He currently is an executive at a company that does research on the internet, but has collaborated with his father on several books.
He currently resides in Chicago.
You can find out more about this author by visiting him on his father’s website:
www.geraldjkubickibooks.com
A Dubious Race: The Phoenician Stones (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 14) Page 31