‘Great so now we have African gunmen, with US military hardware in the South American jungle, stealing Chinese relics?’
‘Debra when you put it like that, it sounds complicated.’ Debra joined in Archer’s laughter as Teddy turned the hovercraft towards the water. ‘Archer go into that locker at the back got some toys you might find handy.’
The hovercraft was already a mile downriver when Archer opened the chest in the back, he was surprised by the contents.
‘Teddy, where did you get this?’
‘Got hijacked by pirates in South China Sea last year; talked my way out of it by fixing their engine. They gave me that as a thank you, nice guys really.’
‘This is an MGL Mark 1S grenade launcher!’
‘Well I did say they were pirates! They had lots so they gave me two.’
Debra pitched in, ‘Archer don’t be a prude, Teddy has all the best kit!’
The hovercraft continued its rampage downriver; they were two miles behind Enzi now.
TWENTY THREE
Kevin was not the bravest person in the group, and Jacob did not want him embarrassed so he stepped forward to speak to Osvaldo Rodrigo, ‘Before we go anywhere, let’s work out what happened. The roof collapsed and we appear to not have Laurent, or your young friend Luis Alfredo, so we can presume that rock fall was no accident.’
‘Agreed Jacob, we have some time before we can leave here. Luis Alfredo has not been confident in my leadership for some time, he is young, wanted to change our ways, and could be easily persuaded by the right person.’
‘Oh believe me Osvaldo Rodrigo, Laurent can be very persuasive, he promised your man something.’
‘So they think we are dead?’
‘Probably, they got what they wanted, but I still have my artefact.’
Jacob searched his rucksack, but the artefact and its holder were gone, as was his radio. ‘He took it! He took the other artefact!’
‘Jacob, do you mean like this?’ Osvaldo Rodrigo pulled out an identical artefact, looped onto a leather strap and wrapped in the same fabric, it was glowing brightly.
‘How many of those are there?’
‘There are just four like this, you had two of them, and we had two.’
‘We? You mean you?’
‘No, La gente de la luz azul. Luis Alfredo had one and me.’
‘Which means that Laurent probably has his as well?’
‘Probably, but they need all of them to operate the device.’
‘Sorry device? What device?’
‘My dear Jacob, if you follow me, I will share with you a secret that has been passed down for thousands of years.’
’You said we had to wait before leaving here?’
‘Yes and it is time.’ Osvaldo Rodrigo clambered into the stone trough, a trickle of water still moving down it, the light shining brightly through the hole in the inner wall. He pushed off and slid down it, like a water park slide. The slight incline increased his speed, he lay flat just as he passed through the hole in the wall and disappeared from sight. Jacob looked around at the people in the cave, ‘Fine I will go next, last one turn out the light!’
Jacob slid rapidly down the slick stone trough and shot through into bright light, temporarily blinding him. He accelerated down and just as his eyes recovered he slid onto something cold and wet, coming to a stop some thirty feet from the bottom of the trough. He stood up seeing Osvaldo Rodrigo waiting for him. What he was expecting was to be standing in the lake that should be there. Looking back he could see the stone trough coming out of the crater wall, running neatly down the side of it to the floor of the crater some fifty feet below. Then he realised this was no crater he was standing on something silver, metallic, he bent down to touch it expecting the cold familiar sensation of metal, but it was warm. Kevin shot down the trough, a scream of joy preceding his appearance; he skidded to a stop near Jacob. ‘Osvaldo Rodrigo you were right, best ride in the park!’
Osvaldo Rodrigo smiled, walking over to Jacob as Kevin awaited the next joy rider, ‘My friend, you are in the crater, well, complex.’
‘What is this place? Who built it?’
‘Let your friends arrive, and then I can tell you all, okay?’
Jacob removed an insulated water bottle from his bag, offered a second to Osvaldo Rodrigo. They sipped on the cool water, Jacob taking in their surroundings. The crater wall as they had incorrectly called it encircled them; about one mile away was the far wall, the rest slightly overgrown but not as much as outside. Within the complex a watermark left by the lake was about twenty feet above them. The walls covered with algae from its presence but the lakebed should have been full of silt and sediment, instead it was shining silver the metal clear of all debris.
The rest of the group had arrived and Osvaldo Rodrigo invited them to all sit down, eat if they had food and drink. Jacob whispered to Osvaldo Rodrigo before he addressed the group, ‘Why me? Why did you pick me to come here?’
‘Because of your work at La Tolita, and I know wherever you travel you have respect for the people and heritage of the country you are in. That is a rare quality and much valued by me.’ Osvaldo Rodrigo stood up, adjusting his appearance, and addressing the group. ‘Right friends, you are in the complex, it is not as you presumed a crater, or an old city. The wall was built to protect and hide what you are sitting on.’
‘Which is what?’
‘Good question Kevin as always, I will explain from the beginning.’
‘This complex is over five thousand years old, and my people were the Caras, who lived in the hills, the La Tola who lived on the coast. They were both approached by the builders of this place, and between them they formed La gente de la luz azul, the blue light people who protect this sacred place.’
‘But there are no written records of this? I found nothing in my exploration of La Tolita?’
‘That is correct Jacob, but the Caras had no written language, all information passed verbally. They encouraged the people from La Tola to replicate that trend. I am sure had we had any written material it would have been destroyed in the Spanish conquest as much of Maya and Inca information was. If it had been stolen and sold it may have betrayed the existence of this place.’
‘So what do La gente de la luz azul do?’
‘You see this amulet I have in my bag; that is one of four that control the device beneath us. Would you like to see how? It may make understanding the purpose of this place clearer?’
The group nodded in agreement as Osvaldo Rodrigo walked off towards the right of the complex, the group followed like excited schoolchildren.
‘One question why does the silt not settle on the lakebed, in fact why is there a lake at all?’
‘Jacob you have looked at satellite maps yes? And would a large metal object in the centre of the jungle stand out?’
‘I see your point, so the lake is camouflage. When was it built?’
‘About two thousand years ago, and maintained for centuries after that by my people.’
‘Hang on, satellites are recent, why hide it that early?’
‘I did not say they were our satellites did I?’
Jacob paused attempting to take in that statement, ‘and the non-stick surface?’
‘Like a non-stick pan, it covers the metal and stops anything settling. There is a gutter which runs around the complex between the metal dome and the wall.’
‘Dome?’ As Jacob bent down he could see the surface was slightly convex, causing the water to run off to the sides like the camber of a road.
‘There is a hole for this to drain from?’
‘Yes, lower down than the one we entered in, another stone trough allows the water to flow out to the river on the other side, so fresh water is always flowing. The Caymans on the other side love it as the fish that are swept in on the inflow, are concentrated at the outflow.’