A Dubious Artifact (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 6)

by Gerald J Kubicki

  “Do you want one of us to approach him? Any of us would gladly do it for you,” Previne asked. “Maybe if we got him interested in us, he would agree.”

  “Let me think about it, okay,” Loni begged them as she attempted to change the subject.

  “Think about what?” Banyon said as he came through the sliding door. All four women suddenly blushed.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  “Oh…,” a startled Loni uttered. She then fumbled with her cup and took a sip of her coffee as if to give herself time to think.

  “Think about what?” He asked for the second time.

  “The elixir…, yes, the elixir,” an animated Previne threw out.

  “What about the elixir?” Banyon pressed her.

  “We were talking about the elixir and the effect it has on men.” She nervously pointed to the artifact sitting in the center of the breakfast bar.

  Sure you were, though Banyon. “Previne, you look very happy and satisfied this morning,” he subtly said.

  “Oh, I’m quite satisfied,” she winked at him.

  “Colt, do you know that the elixir adds many years to your life, but it also will restore virility?” Pramilla told him.

  He didn’t say anything for a couple of seconds. “We don’t even know if the damn thing works,” he shot back at her. There was anger in his voice. Something was up and he wasn’t happy about it. “It’s all theory at this point. That artifact could be a hoax,” he added as he pointed to it. “We might not be able to recover the formulas and, by the way, it might be just an old ashtray that my father bought at a garage sale or someplace.” He was red in the face and upset.

  “Yes, of course, I do need to exam it,” an embarrassed Previne said. “I’m going to do that right now,” she said as she grabbed it and attempted to leave.

  “Colt, are you somehow mad at us for something we did?” Loni said in her little girl voice.

  He turned at her. “I haven’t lost my virility,” he stated indignantly. “I’m just a little annoyed that anyone actually thinks it and would talk about it.” His eyes were hard as he looked from woman to woman.

  All four women shook their heads like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. “No, I don’t think that,” Loni quickly replied and rushed to give him a big hug.

  “Never crossed my mind,” Previne said as she studied her nails.

  “If we had time, I’d jump you right here,” Maya said seductively.

  “Me first,” Pramilla added as she nodded yes.

  “Want to go and test your virility right now?” Loni pleaded. She tried to pull his arm towards the stairs.

  He was suddenly a little embarrassed. The women were making a fuss over him and he was angry about it. “Let’s concentrate on the artifact for now, okay,” he said as he tried to turn their attention away from him.

  “Yes, the artifact is very important,” Previne stated and shook her head.

  “You know, Loni has quite a story about the origin of the artifact and how it got into my hands. It involves her mother. Loni you should tell them right now.”

  “Her mother,” Maya repeated with surprise. “I’ve got to hear this. Loni tells us all about it.”

  Loni looked at Banyon like he had stolen money from her. He just smiled. “Let’s go sit at the table and I will tell you the whole story,” Loni offered.

  Banyon stood by the table as Loni started her story. The women were completely engrossed and asked many questions. Banyon soon became bored by the constant chattering and commenting. He headed back into the kitchen to get something to eat. The refrigerator was completely stocked with food. He pulled out a twenty-four pack of eggs, a green pepper, and onion and some sliced ham. He decided to make himself a Denver omelet and began to cut and dice enough vegetables for his meal. He had just finished dicing the ham and had the vegetables simmering in a pan when he sensed that someone else was in the room. The sizzling from the pan had masked their entry.

  Before he looked up, he heard, “That smells delicious, where is mine?” Loni pouted. The three Patel sisters were right behind her. Eric and Tom suddenly came through the outside sliding door.

  “Ah, the chef has arrived,” Eric said as he rubbed his hands and then his stomach. “I love Denver omelets.”

  “You’re going to need a bigger pan to feed all of us,” Agent Gamble said as he came in from the living room.

  “Can I have three eggs over easy?” Dr. Barbara Behl inquired as she trailed Agent Gamble into the room. She no longer was cuffed and the duct tape had been removed from her mouth. She seemed satisfied to be part of the group.

  Banyon realized that he had been duped. Everyone waited until he started to cook, then they pounced. “Alright, I’ll cook,” he said in surrender. “But you have to get out of my kitchen before I start throwing knives,” he joked.

  “Do you need some help?” Previne quickly asked.

  Without hesitating Banyon replied. “You,” he pointed his big knife at Eric. “You make toast. Greg you make more coffee. You,” he said to Tom, “set the table and pour juice for everybody.”

  “What about us?” Previne asked.

  “The men will make breakfast,” Chef Banyon replied. “You girls go back to chattering and let me create.” He threw open his arms like he was on television. “When we are done, you get to cleanup,” he added.

  ***

  Just before Banyon was ready to serve breakfast, Previne glided into the kitchen. She placed a delicate finger on his arm to get his attention.

  “Wow, that is some story about Loni’s mother,” she said.

  “Pretty unbelievable,” he quickly answered. Banyon believed that Previne was there to sexually provoke him. He needed her to go away. She gave him the opening without her knowing it.

  “I’m glad that my grandmother never got to meet your father. It would have made things awkward for you and me,” she continued. Banyon wondered why she worded her comment that way. He suspected she had planned the words carefully.

  “But Previne, maybe they did,” he said to throw her off.

  “What do mean?”

  “My father was stationed in Eastern India for some time before they trekked into the jungles of Burma. Maybe they met then?”

  Her eyes suddenly got very big. “She was a nurse.”

  “Didn’t you tell me that your mother was born in the summer of 1945? That’s about nine months after my father left Burma and returned to India, isn’t it?”

  “But…” Previne sputtered.

  “My father spent months recovering in hospitals in India before he came back to America. He would have been there from the fall of 1944 until early 1945.” Banyon added to her panic.

  “Do you think they could possibly have met each other,” Previne said in a panicked voice.

  “He used to tell me about how beautiful the Indian nurses were in the hospital,” Banyon pressed. “Maybe they had an affair?” he speculated.

  “She would never…,” but quickly shut her mouth. Her grandmother was known to have had affairs. Previne had read about them in her diaries.

  “For all we know, You, Pramilla and Maya and I could be related,” Banyon dropped the bomb.

  “Oh, my God. I’d better go read her diaries again. She whirled and quickly left the kitchen. Banyon had a smile on his face.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Tom Cruickskank and Greg Gamble were seated on a couch when Banyon finished cleaning up the kitchen and entered the living room. Eric reclined on a chair not far away. Across from them sat Dr. Barbara Behl.

  Eric looked up and said, “Colt, do you want this chair? I’m going on patrol with one of the sniper guys. He is due here any second.”

  “What is there to patrol?” Banyon asked as he looked out the large window in the front of the house.

  “He is going to show me one of the sniper boxes,” Eric told him. “I’ve always wanted to be in a sniper box.”

  “Alright, I’ll take the chair, but only if you
’re not going to use it,” Banyon said. Eric bounced out of the chair just as the FBI sniper entered the room. He was all decked out in combat black gear and helmet. Banyon could see many pockets and things attached to his web jacket. He also carried a big rifle on his back.

  “My name is Steve,” he offered and reached out his hand for Banyon. They shook and Banyon sat down.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Banyon told him.

  “Agent Gamble, I’m going to check the parameter and am taking Eric here with me. With your permission, of course,” the sniper stated.

  Agent Gamble looked up from his notes and quickly said. “You’ll find that Eric is quite capable. Good luck.”

  “Then let’s do it,” the sniper cheerfully told Eric and punched him in the arm. They left by the front door.

  ***

  “How far is it to the box?” Eric asked.

  “It’s one hundred yards that way.” The sniper pointed in the direction and they began to stride quickly to the location. When they reached the sniper box, Eric was surprised. It looked like a square cement box floating in the sky. It was coated in camouflage paint, but was easy to see. There were two huge pine trees on two sides that did cover the top and some of the open concrete, however, in the morning light it was easy to spot.

  “But I can see it,” Eric said with disappointment. He had expected a tree house that was invisible to the naked eye.

  The sniper grinned and said, “At night it is nearly invisible. Not many attacks come during the daylight, anyway.”

  “How do we get up there?” Eric noticed that the box was supported by a telephone pole like piece of wood. There were spiked rungs running up, just like a telephone pole. But about ten feet from the top the rungs ended.

  “Watch this,” the sniper said. He pulled an electronic device from his pocket and pressed it. Suddenly, metal rungs slid out from the pole. “Pretty slick huh?”

  “So, when you are up there, you just press the button again and no one can sneak up on you, right?” Eric’s grin was as wide as his face.

  “The first rule in sniping is don’t let anyone sneak up on you.”

  “Can we go up and take a look?”

  “Okay, but be careful. It’s twenty feet to the ground if you fall.” The sniper jumped up and grabbed the first rung and soon was halfway up the pole. Eric followed three rungs behind him.

  The sniper turned the handle of a circular door and pushed it open. Soon both men were inside the box.

  Eric glanced around the inside. It was only about three feet high and maybe eight feet long. He realized that anyone inside have to crawl to maneuver around it. There were six one inch by one foot slits in all of the walls for the sniper to scout and shoot out. There were also two small cabinets in opposite corners and a plugin hot stove on top of one cabinet.

  “Food and ammunition,” the sniper said before Eric asked. We also have electricity that comes from the house and a telephone system as well.” The sniper pointed to the device on the far wall.

  “This is so cool,” Eric announced as he crawled to the front and looked out the front slit. It was a view of the driveway.

  “Yup, it would take a tank or maybe a good-sized cannon shell to takeout this bunker. And if someone tries to climb up, well, I can just piss on him.”

  “Wait, Steve, I see someone sneaking up the driveway,” Eric said as he turned to look at him.

  “Let me see,” Steve ordered as he pushed Eric aside. “Hmm…he is definitely sneaking and he’s definitely Asian.”

  Steve grabbed the phone from the wall. “We got an intruder coming up the driveway. Do you want me to intercept?” After a few seconds, Eric heard him say, “roger that.” Steve took one more look and turned to leave.

  “You stay here,” Steve ordered and rushed down the hole. Eric waited a heartbeat and followed.

  Steve moved with amazing quickness and stealth towards the Asian. He popped out of the trees with his gun drawn. “Halt. Put up your hands,” he ordered.

  The man acted like he was lost and didn’t speak any English. Steve told him to lay down on the road with his hands behind his back. The man didn’t move, but Steve could see anger building behind the man’s eyes. Suddenly, the Asian went for his knife and was about to throw it when a fist knocked him out. Eric had come around and snuck up on the spy. The knife rattled to the ground and Steve was on him immediately.

  “Nice job, it saved me the hassle of taking the knife away from him,” Steve said.

  “I’ve had the experience before,” Eric replied.

  “Where?”

  “SEALS.”

  “I’m impressed. Now, can you watch over him while I check and make sure that there aren’t any others?” Steve asked.

  “I’ll frisk him while you are gone.”

  While Steve was gone, Eric emptied the man’s pockets and found some money and a cellphone. He already had the knife. He heard someone running and looked up and found Steve heading his way.

  “Found his car. No registration in the glove compartment. The engine was cold, so he has been here a while,” Steve reported.

  “We need to question him,” Eric said to Steve.

  “Let’s get him up to the house first. Sometimes these guys are just lost and get a little frightened when they see me. We get about ten intruders a year.”

  “Steve, we ran into a mess of Chinese last night. Do you think that he followed us?” Eric was becoming very concerned.

  “We’ll need to question him,” Steve agreed.

  “But I don’t think that he speaks English,” Eric reasoned.

  “I don’t suppose that you learned the language in the SEALS?”

  “No, but Loni speaks Chinese,” Eric told him as they dragged the unconscious man up the driveway.

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Banyon glanced at his watch and realized the morning was fast disappearing, It read nine forty-five. The women were still gathered around the dining room table trying to uncover the mysteries of the artifact, but not working at it too hard, as he could hear giggling and hushed words. Agent Gamble and Tom were finally getting down to business with Barbara Behl. To him, she seemed different today.

  “Before you start asking me questions,” she said. “I want you to know that I will cooperate fully. Since last night, I have come to understand the Effort people intended to kill me and take my grandfather’s money. The cause is evil, it corrupts everyone associated with it and I want out.”

  “We know they are powerful and have many people buried in the government, so when we are done, we are going to put you in the witness protection run by the U.S.Marshals,” Agent Gambled offered.

  Dr. Behl laughed. “Please don’t do that. That is a sure way to get me killed.”

  “Does the Effort have people in the service?” Agent Gamble quickly asked in shock. He had a note pad on his lap, but also knew the entire conversation was being video recorded by an FBI agent named Joe Gersch. He was located in a small room off of the kitchen. The room was packed with electronic equipment. It included monitors for the many sensors around the property, surveillance and recording equipment, and was the nerve center for the property. It was where the phone call from Steve in the bunker had been answered.

  Dr. Behl took a deep breath. She knew she was now going to betray the Effort. “His name Jeffrey Green and he is a top administrator for the U.S. Marshall program. He can access anyone’s file without leaving a trace. He would find me in minutes. The witness protection program won’t work for me.”

  “Well we are going to take him out of the equation,” Agent Gamble said with anger, “As soon as we are done here.”

  “When we are done, just let me go. I intend to lose over a hundred pounds, grow my hair and have some plastic surgery done. No one will recognize me when I’m finished. I also have several aliases to keep anyone off my trail. Once I maneuver my money out of the Caymans, Dr. Barbara Behl will no longer exist.”

  “Can’t Homeland Security track mon
ey in any Cayman accounts?” Agent Gamble suddenly asked.

  “Are you kidding? Too many people there have accounts in the Caymans themselves. They don’t want their money tracked,” Dr. Behl retorted with a snort. Agent Gamble didn’t tell her that he knew people that could.

  “Perhaps we should arrange for you to die?” Tom, the agent from the OIG, tossed out. “That way you can still help me at Homeland Security and stay hidden.”

  “I never suspected you, by the way,” Dr. Behl told him. “That could work,” she added brightly.

  “I already know that David Heller is an Effort member and an assistant director at Homeland Security, but who can we grab that will give him up?” Tom asked her.

  “Yes, I was in his cell at Homeland Security. There is more than one cell there and we were kept separate. I don’t know everyone.

  “Can you can help us with Heller?” Tom hoped.

  “That’s easy,” Dr. Behl waved her hand. “His mistress is the head of human resources. Her name is Donna Davis. I already have the goods on her hidden on a website on the internet. He has often discussed his plans with her on tape. I’d be happy to supply the information. I hate that guy.” She then proceeded to give Tom the website and the passwords to access the damaging information.

  “We are going to check out this information right now. If, what you say is correct, then you will be free to roam the compound until we finish debriefing you. Is that acceptable?” Agent Gamble said.

  “I want you to go after the inner circle of the Effort as well,” she exclaimed. “They all must be stopped.”

  “Just how did you get mixed up with these people?” Tom inquired.

  Dr. Behl took a second to collect her thoughts. “Basically, I was born into it. Both my parents were Effort members and my Grandfather was a founding member. I really didn’t have a choice, but now I do.”

  ***

  Agent Gamble left to talk to Joe and get things started with taking down the Effort man in the Marshals office. Tom went outside to make a call to get his wife to look up the website and start pulling down data. Banyon was left with Dr. Behl.