“Catherine, it’s not the way it appears, I didn’t― I haven’t―”
“I’ve got to go to work Richard; we’ll have to discuss it another time.”
No one said a word while driving to the music school. Catherine, with tears in her eyes said a quick good bye and was clearly distressed. I was beginning to wonder what was really going on myself as Ara and I went to find the two trackers.
“Father still has to be somewhere here in London. We’ll have to go to the location he last traveled and ask around. There must be someone where he worked that might have a clue as to what became of him and I’m going to find out.”
She was quite attractive looking when she had a determined look on her face, but there I went again. What was I doing, allowing myself to be lured by another woman so easily? I was beginning to doubt the integrity I thought I had; the trustworthiness and loyalty, was it all now shot to hell? If I was that impulsive it was best I found out now rather than too far down the road with Catherine.
We found the room where we stored the two trackers keeping in mind there was an element of risk involved with jumping back to the conduit. Anders and Paxton could still be there at that moment waiting to eliminate us the minute we appeared. We both dragged the trackers out in the middle of the room. It was still strange to me that merely sitting in these chairs would take us immediately to wherever the chair was. Whatever it was enabling this to occur was truly miraculous and using it in the right way could change travel in a most profound way.
I held her back from sitting down just yet. “Maybe I should go first just to ensure that everything is safe.”
“Richard, not so fast, if one of us goes first it should be me.”
“Alright, we both go at the same time. Keep your weapon ready, if they’re there, they’ll have the advantage over us while we’re becoming visible. As soon as we’re sure of arriving wherever it is, get down on the floor as quick as you can!”
“You’ve got that right!”
Both of us stood in front of the trackers and sat down together. We had to take that chance of appearing wherever the chair had recently traveled which hopefully was still the conduit. The seconds were long and agonizing, but I finally came to and began to see something materializing before me. Was it the conduit or would we be somewhere far away. I clutched my weapon tightly and prepared for the worst. I knew Ara was doing the same as our surroundings were becoming visible. Our location finally became visibly solid and it was immediately apparent we were certainly not at the conduit. Either Anders or Paxton had traveled to another location and we were about to find out where.
We stood up keeping our weapons at the ready looking around at the stone block cathedral we were now in. Wooden seats were in the center floor surrounded by massive stone columns rising up to meet huge stone arches supporting a huge barrel shaped ceiling of stone. A marble stand supported by two small miniature marble columns stood at the front with a candlestick and a metal cross sitting on its top. Light was streaming through the upper stone arches. It was magnificent, but where had we traveled, and where was the chair?
We quickly found a side room, dragged the trackers inside and left our weapons to keep everything out of sight. Ara walked up a long stone stairway and looked out through one of the arches. “What is this place? There are soldiers with funny looking hats walking around a huge courtyard with groups of people all around.”
“I think I know! I’ve been here before; I remember stopping in here when I made a field trip visiting the Tower of London. If that is indeed where we are and I remember correctly, it has to be the medieval chapel of St. Peter or St. John.”
As she gradually walked back down she began to question their motives. “But what would Anders or Paxton be traveling here for? What could possibly interest them at the Tower of London?
I smiled and quipped, “Maybe they’re here to steal the crown jewels Ha, ha.”
We both looked at each other soberly. It wasn’t funny after all. They could well be after them.
The jewels were certain to be heavily guarded but the chair could easily materialize within the jewel house where they have been under guard and they could, quite possibly, break into one of many containers holding them.
“They couldn’t possibly take the crown jewels back in the chair; it would be much too heavy and cumbersome!”
“No, they wouldn’t have to; they could take just one of the most valuable items there, which would fit perfectly in someone’s pocket.”
Ara came over, held my arm with both hands and looked at me smiling in her most alluring fashion. “What could that possibly be Richard?”
“Have you heard of the Star of Africa?”
“Star of Africa?”
“Just one of the largest, if not the largest diamond in the world. It’s a part of Queen Elizabeth the Second’s scepter and worth a fortune in itself!”
“And what would they do with a diamond that size?”
“Fence it, I mean sell it to the highest bidder which, using the chair, could be anywhere in the world.”
Ara stretched her arms out in thought and then began walking up the long staircase to look around once again and I started pacing the floor of the chapel trying to piece it together. “But what I don’t fully understand is why? What’s to be gained for them with all that money? Are they planning to live it up in a vacation spot somewhere?”
Ara quickly seemed to recognize just exactly what. “I have a sneaking suspicion they are up to an insurrection and takeover of our island of some sort. First thing they would do is buy equipment and arms.”
“That is something to consider. If they had the power there they could rule the island any way they chose. Anders suggested that very thing to me, in his unique style, saying the islanders were being suppressed against their will.”
“That’s just not true! Everyone is perfectly happy there and thriving in their own communities. We all decided no one really wanted to leave or change the peacefulness of the island.”
She had begun raising her voice and the echoes began resounding off the stone walls and as a result, we soon heard footsteps and men’s voices coming rapidly in our direction. It had to be the “beefeaters,” guards of the tower!”
CHAPTER
EIGHT
The yeoman warders, “beefeaters” they were called, London’s finest, were there in an instant with all of the pomp and circumstance. They got their nickname from collecting their wages in beef long ago, except today things had changed a bit; they were now bona fide trained soldiers and I didn’t think beef would do for their payment.
Ara was up above and unseen, but of course, I was right out in the open between the wooden chairs of the chapel. There were four of them dressed in the old Tudor style attire, hats and all, but their weapons were certainly not sixteenth century; they were automatic rifles pointed straight at me.
I held my hands high and smiled. For them I needed to appear as a lowly lost tourist.
“I’m not here to harm anything, really.”
After looking me over and determining that I wasn’t a threat, the guards put their weapons down.
“What are you up to and how did you get in the chapel? This area is out of bounds with signs posted all around, didn’t you see them?”
“I’m sorry, I guess I wandered off from the rest of the tourists; this gothic chapel has always intrigued me.”
Three of the guards walked off in another direction and I was left talking to only one who began escorting me out of the chapel.
I tried explaining that it would be to their advantage to look in on the crown jewels but that I couldn’t say more. He asked why I thought they should. When I wouldn’t give any more information than a warning, he decided I should to be brought to the security office and kept there for further questioning.
Ara had followed me out of the chapel area unseen in the courtyard, through the many tourists and to the main security office where she stayed close, walking around with t
he crowd.
I was finally released with a warning not to bother the guards further with warnings of crown jewel security which was already well taken care of.
Ara met me in the courtyard, and we slowly walked toward the white tower and chapel again. If we couldn’t find the chair, which was almost impossible to find due to the enormity of the tower grounds, we had to jump back to the conduit.
It was time to find our way back into the chapel of St. John unseen and get to the trackers. If Anders or Paxton were here, we knew it wasn’t for a tour. They were here to grab something and the crown jewels were number one on the list of probabilities.
“I need to get that chair back and trace my father’s movements! He must be somewhere close by his work, or someone there might happen to know something about his whereabouts.”
We barely made it back inside the chapel without being seen, but it would only be a matter of time till we were caught and we had to hurry.
Before jumping to the conduit, I took Ara gently by the arm looking at her. “We are going to find your father, I promise so don’t worry.”
She looked at me in a weak moment, lightly placed her hands on each side of my face, and kissed me. I couldn’t help myself returning her kiss; we both embraced each other tightly and in that moment, I knew I had somehow fallen for her.
How this could have happened so quickly for me I don’t have the foggiest notion but it was certain. At first I felt ashamed thinking of Catherine, but then again I was never formally engaged to her; we had only talked over the years the possibility of marriage and how many children we might like to have; but a turn around on my part would be more than hard to explain to her now.
As we were securing our weapons we heard voices fast approaching the chapel. One of them anxiously shouted. “I saw them coming through here! I think it was that same chap we took to security only he was with a woman.”
“No one here! Check the side rooms!”
Their shadows were quickly approaching the doorway and we instantly sat down in the trackers which were hidden in the darkest corner of the room. I suspect they never had a chance to see us as the whole chapel began to dissolve out of our sight.
We both blacked out and when the darkness began to dissipate once again the familiar conduit began to materialize before us. We had both returned from the Tower of London. Leaving the trackers, we both went to the map window showing the target recticle directly over the jewel house on the ground floor of the Waterloo barracks! They were indeed most likely after the Crown Jewels.
We were using both of the trackers so either Anders or Paxton, using the chair, went to the Tower of London, leaving the other still here on the island in hiding no doubt.
“It’s probably Anders that went. Paxton should have been caught by my security team at some point and probably thrown in the tank by now.”
“We had better stow the trackers somewhere or they’ll be taken. There is a perfect room no one knows about.” Walking over to the opposite wall Ara reached down to the floor and touched something. A hidden door on the wall slid open revealing a very small room to which we dragged the trackers inside and closed it.
Stepping out into the cavern, we walked toward the tunnel entrance. The air was crisp and the waves were crashing along the shore. We walked out on the beach and to the waters edge where we got a good look at the rising cliffs of the island; as large as they were, it was hard to imagine this island was just a tiny speck in the ocean. It occurred to me that from out at sea no one would really be able to determine if there were any inhabitants inside the perimeter of cliff-like structures rising high above the water. There were no structures built on the perimeter of the island and after conversing with Ara I found out that the leaders deliberately intended for the buildings and inhabitants to remain unseen.
As we began walking back to the conduit we heard the voices of a group headed down the opposite side of the tunnel and we both recognized Paxton’s voice. Ara put her hand up signaling to stop and we stayed along the wall in a crouched position.
“I can’t believe it! That’s Paxton casually talking to the security guards! They’re all armed to the teeth and headed for the conduit.” She quickly drew her weapon, kneeling down.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my sleeve. “What would she be doing with Ara’s security team? Shouldn’t they be walking the opposite way and taking Paxton to the tank!”
Ara quickly answered. “That’s exactly what they should be doing, but they’re not; what exactly is going on here?”
The sound of the waves pounding the beach were echoing through the tunnel making it difficult to hear, so we slowly crept up to the doorway close enough to listen in on their conversation.
“Why don’t you all just shut up and listen eh? You guys would still be under the supervision of your “would be” queen Ara, which I just made a total fool of in London!”
“Alright, alright Paxton,” one of them shouted out. “Just lay out the plan; where’s all this money supposed to come from?”
“Anders and me are working on it right now and you’ll all have your money, don’t you worry. We have a few more stops to make. Right now though, you do your part and get me those two losers’, Ara and her new boyfriend, they’ll be back here sooner or later believe me and when they do, I’ve got something planned for them they both deserve.”
Ara looked at me and I looked back at her. It was obvious that some if not all of her security force had turned mercenary, siding now with Paxton and Anders; this was going to make our task much more complicated.
I’ve always wondered why sometimes things had to go from bad to worse. I think it must be something like gravity; you drop something and it’s sure to go straight down. Their conversation went on.
“So what do we do with the dissenters to our cause?”
Paxton stood up on the desk. “Keep ‘em in the tank for now. They don’t want any part of us or the money, so they can take part in what I have in store Ara and her new boyfriend.
“And you Eric, have been on the fence about this ever since we started, are you with us or not? Seems to me you fancied little miss princess Ara for a time and what did you get out of it, nothing! She rejected you because you’re below her; just another admirer she could take or leave. She’s found someone else now, and you’re only a piece of history!”
Eric stood up, his expression tense, “Shut-up Paxton! She’s history with me anyway; I’m in with you and Anders.”
“Alright then, you’ll be on the payroll as soon as we take care a business!”
Just then the room began to tremble slightly with that familiar weird whirring sound. As we peered around the corner of the doorway, everyone was moving away from the large center platform.
Anders was back.
CHAPTER
NINE
Each person had their eyes on the large center compass platform which was beginning to become a blur as the space above it began forming the distinct image of a chair and its passenger. Atoms were turning to molecules and molecules into cells before our eyes; it truly was an astounding though frightening sight observing the shapes of both the chair and a human reforming and becoming visible. Just the thought that I had gone through the same extraordinary process being pulled apart and put back together, suddenly gave me the creeps.
The chair with Anders in it finally solidified on the platform and he sat there for a moment gazing at the security people that had now joined him.
A smile formed on his face as he stood up holding a rather large canvass bag in one hand and a weapon in the other. Standing up he raised the bag high over his head with a prideful look.
“This is the first step of our goal and very soon we will be in charge of this island!”
“What’s in that bag Anders?” A voice from among them shouted.
“Has anyone here ever read of the Crown Jewels in any of the hundreds of London Times newspapers that Gratten brought us back to the island over the years?”
>
Ara and I looked at each other acknowledging that what we had earlier surmised was indeed what happened.
Anders reached into the bag and slowly pulled out a solid gold, jewel encrusted crown holding it up in front of everyone. “The crown of King George the Xll.”
“Man, that is the real thing isn’t it?” someone shouted.
“Must be worth millions!” another one cried out.
Anders quickly snapped back, “It’s priceless!” He reached back into the bag and slowly brought out the foremost article of the heist.
“Anyone know the location of the world’s largest cut diamond? It’s right here in my hand, the Star of Africa!”
Everyone gasped and stood closer; as he held it high in the light; it was dazzling in luster.
“Believe me, there are those that would pay a kings ransom for these items and that is just what I’m going to get!”
Paxton walked up to Anders, giving him a hug and turned around shouting out “Now, who’s with us?”
They all shouted, “We are!”
Anders then warned. “Keep your eyes peeled for Ara and her new boyfriend. When they return, and they will, we want them and the trackers. Whoever delivers them to me will get a little extra bonus I’ve got in this bag. I want guards posted around this chair till I get back here tomorrow morning. You know what to do if you see those two. The rest of you stay close by till tomorrow morning.
“There is another place on my list to visit; an interesting person I’ve been reading about lately in the paper; someone with a cause who will be willing to pay us handsomely for these.”
I grabbed Ara’s hand pulling her away from the doorway and we quickly walked back down toward the mouth of the cave. Now being out numbered, we needed to bide our time till we could get to the chair. I also noticed some of them had heavier arms with strange looking rifles I had never seen before. Professor Gratten must have made quite a few recent trips in order to acquire some of these newer concept articles that I had noticed on the island including their handguns and that rifle.
The Chair Page 5