by David Wood
“Let’s assume that’s the case.” Maddock chewed his lip, turning the details over in his mind. “We’ve got a group associated with the Dominion hiding out on the upper floor of their church, waiting for a tsunami to hit. While their own people are safe from the disaster, they send out killers to take out any undesirables who might have lived through the flood.”
“We’re still left with the question of how they knew the tsunami was coming when no one had any warning,” Avery cut in.
“We think we know how it happened.” Tam grimaced and looked away for a moment.
“Spit it out. We’ve seen all kinds of craziness in our lives. Can’t be any worse.” Maddock propped his feet on the table, folded his arms, and waited.
Tam took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “We think the Dominion has found Atlantis.”
Chapter 9
“You have got to be kidding.” Kasey stared at Tam in disbelief.
“It’s not as crazy as it sounds,” Bones said. “Stick with us and you’ll see all kinds of things you never thought were possible.”
“So what’s the story?” Maddock knew Tam would not share this with the team unless she was reasonably certain that the information was correct.
“As to that, I have someone I’d like you all to meet.” She opened the side door and escorted a young woman inside. “This is Doctor Sofia Perez. She has a story I think you all need to hear.”
Sofia Perez was an attractive Latina woman in her early thirties. Her soft brown hair hung just below shoulder length, and her brown eyes were big and round. Her skin was bronzed by the sun and she had about her an air of youthful vigor. She settled into the last empty seat, while Tam remained standing, and looked around, giving everyone a tight-lipped smile.
“Doctor Perez,” Tam began, “why don’t you begin by telling everyone about your most recent project?”
“Please, call me Sofia.” She shifted in her seat, took a deep breath, and began. “I’m an archaeologist and one of my areas of interest is Atlantis. It’s something I’ve mostly kept private for obvious reasons.”
Maddock nodded. Professional archaeologists frowned upon colleagues who treated seriously what they considered far-fetched legends. Publicly declaring belief in something like Atlantis could derail a career, and someone like Sofia would be especially vulnerable, being both young and female.
“I spent a number of years researching Atlantis and made what I believed was a major breakthrough—a site in southern Spain that, I believed, fit Plato’s description. But I lacked the resources and connections to excavate. About a year ago, a man, known to me as Mister Bishop, contacted me. He had somehow found out about my work and wanted to fund my research. I was suspicious at first, but when the first check didn’t bounce, I stopped worrying about it.”
Joel cleared his throat. “I have to confess my ignorance of the Atlantis story. Forgive me, but I always considered it nothing more than a myth, and an absurd one at that.”
“Believe me, I understand.” Sofia smiled at him.
“Why don’t you give us a quick summary of the Atlantis story?” Tam asked. “Other than Bones, I suspect even those of us familiar with the story are fuzzy on the details.”
“All right.” Sofia rose from her chair and smiled. Clearly, she loved her subject.
“The story is told in Plato’s dialogues: the “Timaeus” and the “Critias.” He claimed to have learned the story from the writings of Solon, a Greek legislator and poet who heard the story from Egyptian priests during his travels in Egypt around 500 B.C.E—about one hundred fifty years before Plato.
“According to Plato, Atlantis was a utopian civilization and a great power. They worshiped Poseidon, and their residents were half-human, half-god. Their great navy permitted them to travel the world, and they mined precious metals and kept exotic animals. The city was located somewhere in the vicinity of, or beyond, the Straits of Gibraltar. The story is vague in that respect. Their home city was made up of a series of concentric islands separated by canals, with a great temple in the center. Atlas ruled as their high king, though sources name multiple kings of Atlantis and indicate there were as many as ten Atlantean cities, with Plato’s being the motherland.
“I could go on all day, but for brevity’s sake, I’ll fast-forward to the end. Plato said the Atlanteans fell into moral decay and were eventually destroyed by a great deluge as their city sank into the sea in a single night. Virtually every scholar considers it a cautionary tale, but I believed that, even if Plato’s story wasn’t accurate in every detail, there was a true story there somewhere. So, I dedicated years to digging into the myths, legends, and theories. Finally, my work led me to Spain.”
“So, did you find it?” Bones grinned at Sofia. Here were two of his favorite things: a crackpot theory and a beautiful woman. Avery shot a dark glance in his direction but kept silent.
“Yes.” Sofia beamed and her smile seemed to brighten the room. “Near Cadiz, we found the remains of an ancient city. Its architecture bore resemblance to that of ancient Greece with elements of Egyptian architecture as well, as did its writings. The city itself was laid out in accordance with the Atlantean legend. We found a series of circular canals and, at the center, the temple of Poseidon.” She glanced at Tam. “Do you want to show them the pictures?”
Tam clicked the remote and a snapshot of an ancient temple, half-buried, appeared on the screen. The architecture was striking, the details fascinating. The room fell silent as image after image flashed before them: an ancient temple, a statue of Poseidon, an altar reminiscent of Stonehenge, a pyramid-shaped structure. It was overwhelming. When Tam stopped on an overhead shot of the dig site, showing the concentric circles that surrounded the temple, no one spoke.
Sofia looked up and down the table, her eyes narrowed as if she feared they would scoff.
“Why haven’t we heard anything about this?” Kasey asked. “If you discovered Atlantis, your find would be one for the history books.”
Sofia took a deep breath. “Shortly after we opened up the temple, Mister Bishop showed up. He brought armed men with him and they killed everyone. Well, almost everyone. I escaped, obviously.”
“I’m not seeing the connection to our situation,” Maddock said.
“What if I told you that, after this Mister Bishop slaughtered Sofia’s team, a freak tsunami flooded the dig site, destroying everything?” Tam raised an eyebrow. “But it was no ordinary tsunami. It struck the area of the dig site and left the areas on either side unaffected.”
“Sounds familiar to me,” Willis said.
“But our business is the Dominion,” Bones said. “Where’s the missing link?”
“Mister Bishop…” Maddock said. “Do you mean Bishop Hadel?” Bishop Frederick Hadel was the leader of the Kingdom Church in Utah, and purported to be the leader of the American branch of the Dominion.
“I don’t know anything about this Dominion, or about Bishop Hadel,” Sofia said, “but when I saw what happened to Key West, I immediately recognized the similarities to what happened at my dig.”
“Sofia told her story to the people at the US Embassy. That’s when I became aware of her,” Tam explained. “I get pinged when certain words or phrases come up in government communication. We know the Dominion is interested in archaeology as it relates to ancient mysteries. That combination, along with the name Bishop, was enough to bring her to my attention. Her description of him matches Hadel to a T.”
“Odd, isn’t it? The Dominion usually takes an interest in items of religious significance. How does Atlantis fit in?” Maddock asked.
“I think they wanted the machine.” Sofia bit her lip. “We found something strange in the center of the temple.”
Tam clicked the remote again, and a bizarre, silver contraption appeared on screen.
“You think they used this machine to cause the tsunami?” Maddock ran a hand through his hair. This was a great deal to take in.
“Yes. I also found a
codex. The translation is incomplete, but what I found indicates the Atlanteans possessed machines that were capable of such things. I believe the Dominion used it to destroy both my dig site and much of Key West. I also believe a machine like this was used to destroy Atlantis, or at least the city I excavated.”
“Hold on a second.” Maddock raised a hand. “If you found Atlantis, and this machine was still in the city, then who was responsible for the attack?”
“As I said, my translation of the codex is incomplete, but it seems that Atlantis was, in fact, made up of more than one city. A conflict arose, maybe a civil war. According to the codex, the city I excavated was unable to defend itself due to a lack of crystals, whatever that means.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Maddock saw Bones sit up straighter.
“If you’re correct, the Dominion can use this machine to attack any coastal city it chooses, with no one the wiser.” Greg’s brown eyes bored into the image on the screen.
“While Bones and I were trying out the submarine, we experienced a brief power outage just before the tsunami hit,” Maddock said. “It didn’t last more than a moment. Perhaps this machine creates a wave of energy of some sort.”
“So they could strike anywhere,” Greg said.
“I don’t think so.” Bones rocked back in his chair and propped his feet on the table.
“What makes you say that?” Tam asked sharply.
“I don’t think they have any more crystals. You guys probably wouldn’t know anything about this, since most people don’t exactly share my taste in reading material, but there’s been a rash of crystal skull thefts in museums around the world.” Bones’ love of legends, conspiracy theories, and cryptids was well known to his friends.
“Crystal skulls?” Avery didn’t bother to hide her skepticism.
“Seriously? You can say that to me after what we’ve been through? After what you’ve been through?”
“Be professional, you two,” Tam snapped. “Go ahead, Bones.”
“There are four well-known crystal skulls: the Mitchell-Hedges skull, the Paris skull, the British Museum skull, and the Smithsonian skull. Over the course of the last few months, three of the four have been stolen, plus a bunch of other skulls that everyone knows are fake. The Paris skull is the only one that hasn’t been taken.” He looked at Sofia. “Does that more or less coincide with the timeline of your dig?” Sofia nodded. “Sounds to me like, once Bishop knew Sofia was on to something, he gave the order to acquire the skulls.”
“But how would he know he needed the crystal skulls unless he had a copy of the codex?” Greg asked.
“Who can say for sure? Maybe he has information we don’t. Or it might be a hunch. The crystal skulls have been associated with Atlantis myths for a long time; maybe he was hedging his bets.” Bones shrugged.
“It’s too big a coincidence to ignore.” Tam turned to Greg. “I want you and Kasey in Paris tonight. Take Bones along.” She ignored Kasey’s exasperated sigh. “Keep an eye out for anybody trying to take that skull. Hell, steal it if you can.” Greg nodded. “Anything else for us, Sofia?”
“I’ve got copies of the codex for everyone, along with what I’ve translated so far.” She took out a plain manila folder and passed it around. Inside were several sets of stapled sheets, each with an enlarged photograph of a clay tablet etched with glyphs. Sofia had jotted her translation in the margins.
“Where are the originals?” Joel asked.
Sofia’s face fell. “I was betrayed by the man who was helping me translate it. We went back a long way and I thought I could trust him, but he tried to sell it to black-market antiquities dealers. They killed him.”
“Any chance these dealers were connected to the Dominion?” Maddock asked.
Tam nodded. “Let’s assume so, just to be on the safe side.”
“There’s something I really don’t get,” Matt said. “Why Key West? We’re not important in the big picture. Washington, New York City, those I could see, but Key West? It doesn’t make sense.”
“I bet we were a practice run.” Willis scowled down at the translation of the codex in his hands. “Just to make sure they have their act together when the real fun starts.”
“So they chose some place vulnerable,” Kasey said, “a tourist town where they weren’t likely to be caught.”
“I’m sure they didn’t mind that we’re an inclusive town with a significant gay population here,” Willis added. “They made sure their people were safe, and then they went around killing off anybody they could find who didn’t fit their mold. Imagine if they can plot something like this on a large scale.”
“The Coast Guard needs to be on alert. Have you notified anyone?” Greg asked Tam.
“I’ve shared my suspicions as much as I can, but we’re still talking about the government here. If I go to the wrong person with a story about Christian terrorists using Atlantean weapons to run their own little genocide, we’ll find ourselves pushing pencils on the bottom rung of the CIA. We need proof.” She clapped her hands once. “We need to think like the Dominion. What are they up to?”
“If Sofia is right,” Maddock began, “there are more Atlantean cities to be discovered, and more weapons. If I were them, I would assemble an entire arsenal so I could hit all the major coastal cities at once. A freak tsunami here and there would cause problems, but would also raise suspicions and put the country on alert. But if I could knock out all the big cities, the major ports, offshore mining operations all at once, I don’t think America could cope with the disaster. Considering the shape our economy’s in and the tendency of so many people to believe any wacko conspiracy about the government, no offense, Bones, the government could collapse.”
“Especially if the disaster is accompanied by genocide.” Kasey grimaced. “They could destroy the economy and the social order.”
“So, we need to find these other Atlantean cities first.” Bones rubbed his hands together. “Screw the crystal skulls. Who’s with me?”
“Hold your horses,” Tam said.
“Is that supposed to be some slur against Native Americans?”
“No, I would’ve said, ‘Hold your fire water.’ Corey, whenever Maddock doesn’t need you, you’re going to work on translating the rest of the codex. Sofia will get you started.” Corey nodded. “You too, Avery. And you can dig into possible Atlantean locations. Sofia will point you in the right direction. Bones, if you have any suggestions, pass them along. Sofia, do you have any ideas on where we should look first?”
“The author of the codex, a man named Paisden, gives what I think are clues to the locations of Atlantean cities. I think he hoped someone might gather the weapons stored there and fight back. Combining what I’ve translated so far with what I know of potential Atlantean settlements, there is one place in particular that I think is worth investigating right away.”
“Fine. Give Maddock and Willis a full report.” She turned to Maddock. “This should be right up you dummies’ alley. Tell me what you need and get a move on.”
“Avengers assemble!” Bones raised a fist.
“What about us?” Joel inclined his head toward Matt.
“You two just found religion.” Tam smiled at their puzzled expressions. “I want you to infiltrate our favorite local church.”
“I’m an atheist,” Joel objected.
“You’re also an actor. Make it happen. Do it however you see fit, but I have a feeling Matt can pull off the role of a disgruntled ex-soldier with a grudge against the government. You’ll have to be more creative.” Joel smiled and nodded.
“What if I’m recognized?” Matt asked.
“I don’t think there’s much chance of that. The only men who got a look at you are dead, but shave that crap off your face, and put on some nice clothes, just to be safe. If somebody does recognize you and tries anything, take him down and bring him to me for interrogation.”
“Shave my beard?” Matt raised a hand to his cheek. “But it’s just
now filling out.”
“Shave it,” Bones said. “It looks redneckish.”
“I like it,” Kasey said. “It makes you look tough.” She shot a defiant glance in Bones’ direction.
“All right people,” Tam said, “let’s do this. And don’t forget, we might not have much time.”
Chapter 10
Key West Church of the Kingdom was a rectangular brick building with white columns at the entrance and a tall steeple that loomed high above the other buildings in the area. The morning sun shone on the stained glass windows and the golden cross atop the steeple. Matt thought it was an oddly happy image for a place suspected of such dark deeds.
Since the water had damaged the sanctuary, the worship service took place in a large, crowded room on the second floor. Organ music wafted through the stairwell, guiding Matt and Joel upward. They entered just before the service began and settled into folding chairs in the back row. Joel, who seemed to know a lot about church for an atheist, explained that church visitors usually liked to remain inconspicuous on their first visit. That way, if the church wasn’t a good fit for them, they wouldn’t have to deal with awkward visits from the pastor or church members. Matt was happy to remain inconspicuous. He ran a hand across his smooth cheeks. He had gotten used to his facial hair, and now he felt naked without it.
Everything about the service was ordinary: hymns, prayers, and a sermon about repentance, followed by an altar call. By the closing hymn, he wondered if they were in the right place. He glanced at Joel, who nodded. Apparently he wasn't concerned. After the benediction, they took their time leaving. A few people sitting nearby greeted them and shook hands, but most stared at them with varying degrees of suspicion.
After a few minutes, they joined the crowd making its slow way downstairs and out onto the street. When they reach the front steps, a sandy-haired, middle-aged man in a three-piece suit greeted them.