by Martha Carr
“Help me with this, Peyton,” she said, grabbing one of two small boxes filled with electronics. “They aren’t heavy. I just don’t have enough hands.”
Peyton moved behind the car to pick up the other box. He narrowed his eyes. “This is a quantum decrypter, isn’t it?”
“Give the boy a gold star. Yeah, it’s a quantum decrypter.”
“That means you’re trying to break through some pretty high-grade encryption.”
“Well, I didn’t bring it here to microwave my burritos, that’s for sure.” Shay moved over to the bench and set her box down. “And I have a router here that’ll let me interface with the signal receiving drone I’ve got outside.”
Despite the fancy name, the quantum decrypter in the end just looked like a small black box with a few ports. Something about that irritated Shay. She wanted her gadgets to look complicated. Hell, they cost enough.
She connected the decrypter to the small five-antenna gray router and pulled out her phone and started tapping away.
“What’s the point of the quantum decrypter?” Peyton said. “What is it that you’re trying to get access to? Something in town? A satellite?”
“Aww. You’re not just a pretty face.” Shay grinned. “Someone almost as clever as you’re supposed to be helped me with this equipment. We’re going to borrow a little microwave remote-sensing data from a satellite that happens to be going over an area I’m very interested in.”
Peyton nodded. “Okay. That makes sense. The quantum decrypter means heavier security. Military? CIA? NSA? GRU? MSS?”
Shay snorted. “Fuck no. Part of keeping a low-profile includes trying not to encourage the government to come after me. It’s just some private satellite owned by some rich douchebags who own a shipping company. Almost the same quality without risking a bunch of FBI or military kicking down my doors, let alone Russian or Chinese spy assholes.”
“Okay, so now I get what you’re doing, but what specifically are you looking for with this satellite?”
“Ever hear of Lake Toplitz?”
“That was the lake mentioned in your alert earlier. At least it was when I checked the computer. Something about an earthquake in the area?”
“The Nazis used it as a naval testing facility. Lot of people believe there’s hidden gold there, too. The assholes dumped a lot of shit into the lake toward the end of the war.”
Peyton crossed his arms and nodded. “That’s what you’re looking for… gold?”
“Nope. When I do these jobs, I need to get in and out. It’s not exactly like a single woman working by herself is going to be able to easily transport a lot of gold. That shit is heavy, and there’s only so much equipment I can get to the lake quickly by myself.”
“Okay. No gold, then.”
“No gold. Most of the jobs I’m looking into involve things that are a little more portable. No one’s even sure there is gold there. The only thing we know for sure is that the Nazis sank lockboxes into the lake for a few different reasons.” Shay brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. “Besides, if I’m gonna build a solid rep, I need to find the kind of treasures that not just any random tomb raider can find, and that means magic. Not that I’d pass up a nice jewel or something, but my business model is centered around finding magical items.” She grinned. “Though I’ve heard there might be more than a few jewels at the bottom of the lake, too.”
“What are you looking for, if it’s not gold and not jewels, at least not as the main target?”
Shay smiled down at her phone.
LINK DECRYPTION 45% COMPLETE.
“The Nazis were really into the occult,” she said. “Some people believe they had the Spear of Longinus at the beginning of the war, and that’s why they were so successful at first.”
“As in the spear a Roman stabbed Jesus with while he was on the cross?”
Shay nodded. “The very same. The higher-ups in the Nazi regime, especially Hitler, were really into occult and dark magic shit. They collected a lot of artifacts with alleged powers.”
“Like they knew about Oriceran.” Peyton’s eyes widened.
“At least heard the stories. Too bad it was a crowd of sociopaths. Before the truth about Oriceran came out, everyone smart assumed the stories about the Nazis and dark magic were all crap, but now it’s hard to act like those assholes didn’t have access to some magic.”
“Like the Ark?”
“That was just an old movie. And the Ark melted the Nazis at the end.” Shay furrowed her brow. “Well, I think it was just a movie. Who the hell knows anymore? Maybe Spielberg was telling people the truth the entire time.”
“Maybe Spielberg is an Elf or a Gnome.”
She shrugged, crossing her arms, cradling the phone in the crook of her elbow. “Stay on point, Peyton. Focus. I’ve found some information to suggest that there could be a magical artifact, an enchanted golden eagle pin that when activated with the right kind of magic can make a person super-persuasive.”
Peyton winced. “Yeah, I could see how a Nazi leader might find that useful.”
Shay walked over to the large tables that served as a desk and were quickly becoming covered with Peyton’s computer equipment. “I’ve found more than a few pictures in historical archives that show Hitler wearing something like that.”
“It could be bullshit. Nazis used a lot of eagle symbolism. He’s probably just wearing a pin.”
Shay glanced down at her phone again.
DECRYPTION 90% COMPLETE.
“Yeah, it could be, but my gut is telling me there is a good chance I can find that pin.”
Peyton stared at her. “Your gut? That’s why you’re hacking a satellite right now?”
“Not just any satellite. Needed one with the newer technology that can detect difference in density between water, wood and metals.” Shay looked up at Peyton. “The lake is a mile long, over 300 feet deep, and over a 1000-feet wide, and there’s always a chance someone else might be on their way. I need to really narrow down my search area. The scans should give me a better chance of figuring out where something interesting might actually be buried once I cross-reference it with my other info.”
DECRYPTION 100% COMPLETE.
Peyton opened his mouth to speak, but Shay cut him off with a raised hand and concentrated on quickly downloading the image feed. Silence reigned for thirty seconds.
FREQUENCY CHANGED. LINK LOST.
“Damn. They caught on quicker than I planned.” Shay blew out a breath. “Okay, I think I still got what I need.” She pinched and tapped on the screen to magnify some of the images. “There’s a lot of shit in the lake from previous expeditions. They were looking for the gold, but I’ve got a rundown of where they all were looking, so I can exclude them if they came up dry.”
“If it was just about using a satellite to image the lake, why hasn’t anyone done it before?”
“You already mentioned why. It was what tripped the alert.”
Peyton’s face scrunched up in concentration for a moment. The answer came to him as his eyes widened. “The earthquake?”
“Give the boy yet another gold star.”
“That’s getting really fucking annoying, you know.”
Shay smirked. “The earthquake shifted the sediment and sunken logs at the bottom of the lake, which affected the density of the bottom of the lake layers. The particulars aren’t that important. The point is the earthquake may have unearthed shit that was buried too deeply for detection until now.” The tomb raider nodded slowly. “Lots of good possibilities, but I have to make my move immediately.”
Peyton frowned, shifting his weight making the flamingos look as if they were walking across his pants. “You’re going to fly all the way to Germany on that little bit of information?”
“Austria.”
“Huh?”
“Lake Toplitz is in Austria.”
Peyton threw his hands in the air. “Okay, you’re going to fly all the way to Austria and go diving in som
e deep lake based off a few blobs in some satellite images and your gut?”
Shay leaned over one of the computers, typing. “Yeah, sounds about right. Well, and a shit load of background research I’ve done. Did you think I wouldn’t do my homework? Why the big protest?”
“Look, there’s a much better business model…”
“I don’t have time to debate this right now. Like I said, other people might have this information, so it’s time sensitive. I have to go. Now.” Shay spun on her Manolo heel and hurried toward the Spider.
“You should just listen to me. This is stupid, Shay.”
“Says the guy who was going to get his head blown off without my help.” She raised her hand and waved without turning around.
Peyton groaned as he called after her across the wide-open warehouse. “I’m only telling you it doesn’t have to be so hard. You don’t have to jet across the world on a few satellite images and hunches. You can work smarter, not harder.”
Shay opened up her car door and slid into the driver’s seat. “You’re good at getting information online. That doesn’t mean shit about tomb raiding. Yeah, research’s a big part of it, but so are instincts. I’m the professional here, not you.” She slammed the door and started up her car.
Don’t get killed while I’m gone, Man-Boy.
Shay’s first stop wasn’t the airport, but Warehouse Three. She pulled the car inside and waited as the metal loading door closed. She stepped out of the sports car and eyed the far less impressive brown van that sat parked near the door. As much as she loved her Spider, it couldn’t exactly hold a lot, and she still needed to get a decent amount of equipment to the airport.
Shay walked toward metal shelves lining the wall, eyeing the high-pressure SCUBA gear and thought over what else she would need.
Submersible drones. Definitely need a couple.
The woman stood with one hip cocked to the side, her muscular legs exposed in the short skirt, standing easily in the tall high heeled shoes. Her mind was focused on the details as she ran her hands along the yard-long finned craft. She’d need one to act as a signal relay, and one for her initial scouting. Despite what Peyton seemed to think, it wasn’t like she planned to jump in the lake without taking a few precautions.
More than a few divers had gone missing throughout the decades searching the lake. Some of them buried forever under the constantly shifting and dangerous logs. For all she knew, there could also be some sort of creature in there that was awakened as magic returned in the world. She didn’t want to have an underwater fight with some angry lake monster hungering for human flesh.
What else do I need? Waterproof-augmented reality goggles.
“Shit,” Shay muttered, picking up some goggles. She sighed and shook her head. Great AR goggles, just not waterproof, meaning all their scanning functionality would amount to exactly jack and shit except at the surface of the lake.
She didn’t have time to get new equipment. I gotta go with what I have. Any delay might end up with any decent treasure gone by the time she arrived.
I’ll just have to get something better when I get back. I can still scout with the drones before I hit the lake.
Shay marched over to another shelf and grabbed an amphibious needlegun and a box of magazines. She loved the weapon, even if she didn’t have much occasion to use it. Something about the flechette ammo amused her. It was like a semi-automatic gun spewing little metal arrows. Classy in a way her other guns weren’t.
I knew I bought this baby for a good reason.
Shay didn’t plan on getting in a gun battle under water, but at least with the needlegun she could kill someone more than a few feet way. Early on in her career as a professional killer, she’d hit upon the clever idea of ambushing a man in a pool. She’d learned the hard way just how ineffective normal guns were in water, and the little incident had almost ended with a knife in her chest.
“What else?” She tapped her lips with all the casualness of someone at Ralph’s buying groceries. “Oh, underwater flares. Maybe some grenades. Just in case. Never can be sure when you need to blow someone up.”
A grin split her face. This was going to be fun.
Assuming someone doesn’t get there first and try and kill me. Then again, that could be fun, too.
The black rental Volkswagen Canyon truck rolled along at a good clip. Forests of spruce and pine surrounded her on both sides, broken by the occasional village or small home. The hills feeding into the peaks in the distance dominated her attention on one side.
Shay took a private plane into Austria, her equipment stored in the belly of the plane and a hefty bonus paid to the pilot. See something, don’t say a damn thing.
She was already changed into her work clothes – all black and a snug fit, with her long hair tied back.
“Damn, the roads really are a lot nicer over here,” Shay muttered, enjoying the smooth ride. “And the drivers are better.”
Being better than a driver in L.A. or NYC is a pretty low bar to clear. Don’t know how much I should be impressed. Plus, it wasn’t exactly rush-hour on the mountain road.
Nah, still better. If I were in L.A., someone would have already honked at me just to be a dick.
It was a small irony that despite her speech to Peyton, Shay had ended up flying into Germany… Munich specifically. Time wasn’t her ally, which necessitated a supersonic flight. The two closest airports to the lake that could handle a supersonic flight were in Munich and Vienna. The German city was actually closer to the lake, though she’d long since passed into Austria.
Not gonna tell Peyton that. Don’t want him getting too smug.
Shay glanced in her rearview mirror. She’d spotted nothing but the occasional garden-variety truck or car. Every once in a while, she saw a cargo drone going in the opposite direction, but the farther she drove toward the lake, the less common they became.
Guess there can’t always be killer mercenaries waiting to steal your artifacts.
She chuckled to herself, wondering if the job would be too boring without a gunfight or two. Natalie hadn’t been totally wrong. There was an excitement that came with gambling with your life.
Whatever. It’s not like I became an accountant. I’m about to dive into some murky-ass lake to look for some Nazi artifact. That’s plenty dangerous.
Her stomach rumbled. She’d been in such a hurry that she’d skipped out on eating in any of the larger cities she’d passed through. Spending hours searching underwater on an empty stomach sounded like a terrible idea.
A review of her map app suggested the village of Grundlsee would be a good place to stop for a bite to eat. Her German might not be as good as her Spanish, but it was passable enough. Plus, she had to assume a bunch of drunk-ass foreign tourists infested the area at times, raising the chance of people having English proficiency.
Shay looked over her shoulder out the back window at the blue tarp covering all her equipment. The locals might get suspicious, or they might just assume she was there for Nazi gold in the lake like so many others and laugh in her face, just like the border guards in Salzburg when they’d asked to inspect her truck.
She’d hidden everything dangerous beneath false panels, leaving nothing more than totally legal, if conspicuous equipment. The border guards took one look at the way she was dressed and immediately realized the implications of her cargo. Their only real response was to mock her as Fräulein Schatzjäger, Miss Treasure Hunter.
Shay didn’t give a shit about border guards mocking her. The one useful thing from the border crossing was the guards letting slip that she was the first treasure hunter they’d seen in several months. That at least suggested a lower chance of anyone getting there ahead of her, but she still couldn’t discount they might have come through Vienna.
Fräulein Schatzjäger still needed to keep a low profile until she was sure. She’d run into mercenaries during her first major tomb raiding job, and she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t run into someone equally
dangerous. The information that had brought her here was accessible to others if they knew what they were looking for and could put the pieces together to fit the right picture.
Shay frowned as she pressed down on the gas, happy for the higher speed limits. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure there was nothing in her blind spot as she changed lanes, picking up speed.
Peyton had gone off about a better business model several times. She couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by that.
What the fuck does Man-Boy know about any of this? Tomb raiding isn’t the same thing as what he does. There’s a different kind of research involved. This is a good business model, one that doesn’t end with hits being placed on either of us.
“I know what I’m doing,” she said, tightening her hands around the wheel. “I’m building a rep so I will attract major players to the buys.”
Shay squinted at the road as she pulled out her phone, looking for cell service. She’d passed enough small houses and villages on either side of the road to hope at least.
Not great bars, but she at least I have some.
She dialed Peyton’s phone.
He answered after one ring. “Shay?”
She could barely hear him, but it was clearly him. “You’re not dead, yet.”
Peyton laughed. “I think I can survive a day or two without you. Hey. Wait. Were you seriously worried?”
Shay snorted. “If you get killed, that means someone’s been in one of my warehouse, which means my security’s been compromised. You being alive means I’m safer. That’s all.”
“You’re just a bundle of rainbows and unicorns pouring out my ass, aren’t you?”
“Fuck yeah. I’m almost to the lake. I probably won’t contact you again until I’m on my way back.”
“Is there some sort of protocol if you don’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if you die out there?”
Shay laughed. “Then get my body, put it on a wooden raft, and give me a Viking funeral, along with some of the same kind of flowers from my first funeral.”