She turned a few pages.
Many are the truths and great are the achievements of the Greeks. But there is one that stands out above all the rest. It is in our history that a long time ago our state stopped a mighty host which started from a distant point in a distant ocean and came to attack the whole of Europe and Asia. For the ocean in that long ago day was navigable outside of what we call the Pillars of Hercules — there, there was an island which was larger than North Africa and Asia Minor put together and it was possible for travelers to cross from it to our land.
Slater looked up from the book. “There are many who believe Plato is referring to North and South America, but then those people run into the same problem that Jorgenson has. The technology of the day rules out an ocean voyage across the Atlantic, so whatever Plato is referring to, if it is real, had to be closer to Europe. Of course, Plato is also saying something that goes against conventional thought: that the ocean outside the Pillars of Hercules, the Strait of Gibraltar, was navigable to people at that time.”
She turned another page.
On this island of Atlantis there was a confederation of very powerful kings who ruled the island and many other islands and lands. Here, through the Pillars of Hercules, they ruled North Africa as far as Egypt and over Europe as far as Tuscany. The kings of Atlantis at one time tried to enslave both the people of Greece and Egypt, but the Greeks, in a noble fight, stopped the invaders.
At a later time there occurred earthquakes and floods, and on one grievous day the entire island of Atlantis was swallowed up by the sea and disappeared.
“And now for an especially interesting detail,” Slater said.
Atlantis disappeared and the ocean at that spot has now been made impassable, being blocked up by mud which the island made as it settled into the ocean.
Slater smiled. “You know, of course, about the Sargasso Sea to the east of here. And the water around the islands here is relatively shallow in many places. If the ocean level were a bit lower, it would be almost impassable to most ships.”
“So you believe you are sitting on the site of Atlantis?” Nabinger asked.
“I don’t know,” Slater said candidly. She pulled a volume off her bookshelf. “Take this with you, along with photographs of the runes. It has more about the legend of Atlantis that you might want to look at. I hope I have given you the information you wanted.”
“That and more,” Nabinger assured her, although there was little she had told him that he didn’t know and he already had most of the high rune images on file. He had just enough time to get to the airport and catch the hop back to Miami and continue with his trip. He hoped Von Seeckt had more.
“One thing,” Slater said as they walked to the door. “What do you think was in the black box that was taken out of the pyramid?”
Nabinger paused. “I don’t have a clue.”
Slater nodded. “My reference earlier to the use of data from the concentration camps: I did not make that idly. This man you are after, this German, Von Seeckt. If he is part of what I think he is part of, then you might be getting into something that you need to be very careful of.”
“And that is?” Nabinger felt the minutes to his flight tick down.
“Ask him when you see him,” Slater said. “If he evades answering, ask him specifically about Operation Paperclip.”
“What was that?”
“Something I heard whispers about when I worked in Washington.” Slater stepped back toward her house.
“Is there anything else I should know?” Nabinger asked, poised at her gate.
“I know you were humoring me,” Slater said. “You knew nearly everything I told you, but you stopped by anyway. Why?”
“It was on the way,” Nabinger answered honestly. “But also, I hoped you might have some new information, since you keep up with this area of research. Your information on Von Seeckt might prove helpful.”
Slater was standing in the shadow cast by the peaked roof of the house. “They found something unusual at the Jamiltepec site in Mexico about eight months ago.”
That was news to Nabinger. “What did Jorgenson find?”
“Jorgenson didn’t find it,” Slater said. “I have only heard rumors. Jorgenson was away lecturing. His people were deep under the main pyramid when they found a passageway leading down. They were getting ready to open it when they were shut down. The Mexican army came in claiming that it was an historical site, but anyone with enough cash could have had them do that.”
“What happened?” Nabinger asked.
“From the whispers I’ve heard, it appears that Jorgenson’s team had been infiltrated. Some say by the Mexican government, since it was their army that shut the dig down; others say it was the CIA. That’s because there are rumors that Americans were seen working the site after Jorgenson’s people had to clear out. He made a stink, but once the Mexican government pulled his authorization there was little he could do.”
“Any idea what was down there?”
“Not a clue, my son. Not a clue. But you might want to ask Von Seeckt.”
CHAPTER 15
Turcotte drove, Kelly navigated, and Von Seeckt sat in the backseat, watching the countryside. They were in Kelly’s rent-a-car heading southwest out of Las Vegas in the approximate direction of Dulce, New Mexico, via Phoenix.
Since there was only one road that went in that direction out of Las Vegas — Highway 93 to Kingman Arizona — Kelly’s mind was not much preoccupied with the map on her lap. It was over eighty miles to Kingman with no turns in between. “You told me they found the mothership in its hangar, but you never said if they found the bouncers there too,” she said, turning in the seat and glancing back at Von Seeckt.
“Ah, the bouncers,” Von Seeckt said. “Yes, the mothership was the first find the Americans made. There were also two bouncers found near the mothership in the same chamber.”
“And the other bouncers?” Kelly asked.
“They were not found there,” Von Seeckt said. “They were recovered and transported to Area 51.”
“Recovered from where?” Kelly asked.
“From another location.” Von Seeckt’s attention was on the desert flowing by. Kelly met Turcotte’s glance across the front seat, then returned to the backseat. “Another location? Where is that? Remember, you hired me, and my currency for payment is information.”
Von Seeckt finally turned his attention inside the car. “I thought your payment was finding your friend.”
“Johnny Simmons is not here in this car,” Kelly said. “I hope and pray that we find Johnny at Dulce and can get him out safely. But you are here in this car and the more information we have, the better our chances are of getting Johnny out of there.”
“The bouncers are back in Area 51,” Von Seeckt countered. “Why are you concerned with their history?”
“You said we’re going to Dulce to find tablets that related to them,” Kelly argued.
Kelly was startled when Turcotte slammed a fist on the steering wheel. “Listen, Von Seeckt, I don’t want to be here. I didn’t want this damn assignment from the start. But I’m here and I’m helping you people. So you help back. Clear?”
“Your assignment?” Kelly asked, her reporter instincts still working. The two men ignored her question.