Andrew looked out the window, temporarily distracted by the conversation, and then said, “The buyer’s not going to be happy.”
“There’s something else that you might want to know, too…”
“What?”
“She had new information about Atlantis.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. HE was after Atlantis?” Andrew looked at a cat running across the road. He accelerated carelessly, seeing if he could hit the creature.
“It appears so.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“We stole her laptop from the trunk of her car. It was riddled with images of the Arcane Stone and what she had to do to use it.”
“Really?” Andrew grinned with the surprising new development. “Okay, send the message out, call in all sleeper cells around the world. The Phoenix Resistance are going to have their first meeting for the millennium.”
It wasn’t every day that two of his projects collided.
Chapter Seven
Tom Bower burst into Sam’s hotel room.
It had taken him less than twelve hours to catch a flight across the Atlantic as soon as he’d found out about Billie.
“How the hell did you let them do this to her?”
“It wasn’t my fault. I was following up another lead while she was being targeted.”
“But by who?”
“I have no idea. If she’d discovered a new fact about the Master Builders I might have been worried THEY had got a hold of her. But this is about Atlantis. No, whoever got her knows she’d discovered Atlantis.”
“Seeing as Atlantis is more renowned for its enormous wealth, we can hope that whoever we’re dealing with are willing to negotiate on financial terms.”
“You mean ransom?”
“Sure. Your father’s rich enough to pay anyone off. You will buy her life, won’t you?”
“Hold on Tom. I know you’re smitten with her, but let’s not jump the gun here. No one has even asked for a ransom yet. We might just solve this problem ourselves. Alternatively, I’m sure you can agree that Billie can be… how do I say this? A little rough around the edges. We might just get lucky and have them decide she’s not worth it and send her back?”
Tom looked at Sam. The man was making a joke, but even so, it was the wrong one. He fought himself not to take the bait.
“Okay, what about your lead. What did you find?”
“Nothing. A dead end.”
“So what exactly do we know happened to Billie?”
“She was on her way back from the National Archives Center when she called me to tell me that some people had been following her. I told her to stay on the main roads and that I would come and get her.”
“So what happened? Why didn’t you protect her?”
“By the time I reached her, they had already got to her. It appears that someone intentionally drove into her to send her off the bridge and into the bay below. By the time I entered the car, one of the windows on the driver’s side had been broken — from the outside in — and the rear back door was still wide open.”
“Okay, so someone took her while the car was sinking. That’s promising. At least they didn’t intend for her to drown. Did you retrieve anything from her car?”
Sam looked guilty.
“When I dived down the trunk was open and there was nothing inside.”
“Oh shit! Don’t tell me…”
“She should have had her laptop with her today.”
Tom shook his head. “Do you have a backup hard drive?”
“Sure, but now they know what we do. Which means we’re in trouble.”
Tom grinned. “That’s great news…”
“What the hell makes you say that?”
“Because if Billie’s as smart as we both know she is, she’ll work out the next stage of the map and leave a clue for us.”
“That’s great, but you’re forgetting one thing.”
“What?”
“We have to work out the next step of the map.”
“But we know that she was on to something at the National Archives. She found it, didn’t she?”
“Yes, the Arcane Stone.”
“That sounds like something out of Harry Potter. What is it?”
“Legend is, the Arcane Stone, when placed correctly, will guide the viewer to the opening of the Atlantis Archives — a secret library built during the reign of the Atlantean people, in order to document their history.”
“So, she has it?”
“No she made digital copies. Said the security was too tight to steal it, or she would have.”
“Do we know where to use it?”
“No, but Billie definitely did. And I’m hopeful we can work it out.”
Chapter Eight
Andrew entered the National Archives building.
After watching the two men walk up the stairs, he followed them, walking up the first two sets of stairs and heading directly toward the last three rows of archives, in a section dated 1630 to 1650. There, the two men had stopped to examine the dates. One appeared average in height, while the other looked like a giant. Both men, he noticed, had arms and shoulders as big as professional boxers. There was also something about their posture that suggested they were both confident and focused at the same time.
The taller of the two had dark curly hair and hazel eyes. His face portrayed a certain intensity that Andrew couldn’t quite put his finger on immediately. He carefully examined the man’s features until it registered, as he knew it would — this man has a relationship with Dr. Swan which is strictly non-professional. Whereas the shorter one, who was still at least six feet tall, had dark blue eyes, tousled brown hair that looked like he’d just come out of the surf, and a grin that made him appear more interested in the antiquity he was admiring than whether or not he was able to rescue Dr. Swan.
He guessed they had both served in the military at some stage, and would be quick and capable at defending themselves if the need were to arise. Not that Andrew envisaged any reason for that today. After all, he wanted them to succeed as much as they did. It was only through them he could discover where Dr. Billie Swan had been taken.
To reach Atlantis, he was going to need her help, and he would have it — whether she wanted to give it, or not.
He had no reason to hide. He’d never met or even seen either man before. He’d heard about Sam Reilly, and had previously been approached by his rich father with business, but there was no way the two men could place him with any connection to Billie’s abduction.
Especially, since, in the end, someone else got to her first.
The two men in front of him opened several books, appearing to check serial numbers and dates. After making notes, he heard the shorter of the two men say, “Okay, let’s go get it.”
Andrew opened up a book called Reclaiming Land from the Sea and pretended to read it as he watched the two men enter another room labeled Historical Artifacts.
The shorter of the two handed the librarian a piece of paper, presumably with the item’s serial number. Both men were asked to provide photo identification and then directed to sit down.
Andrew put his book back and walked closer toward where Sam and Tom were now patiently sitting, waiting for the librarian to bring out whatever it was they were after. The second she returned and placed it on the table in front of them, the lights above made it shine like an orange sun. He was stunned at its appearance. He recognized the artifact immediately.
The Arcane Stone
Confused, he recalled that the Arcane Stone had been lost for centuries.
He watched the two men quickly examine the stone. Then, after a quick exchange of words that he couldn’t quite make out, the taller of the two placed the artifact in his pocket and stood up.