Carrol shifted uneasily in his chair while Mornay spoke to the Imperator.
“We have to let them lead the way, Albert,” he said the name with disdain. “They have no idea what they are really looking for. And with the fools from the IAA running the show, things will happen much faster.”
“Yes but what happens when they figure it out? It’s only a matter of time, Alex. If they’re smart enough to figure out a way to solve the riddles then they will eventually learn the truth about the golden chambers.”
Mornay was right, as much as it annoyed him. But it was true. Eventually, Wyatt and his friends would learn of the true nature of their search.
“I don’t believe we have a choice,” he paused, selling the line of thought. “We must let them lead us to the chamber. Then, we will kill them all.” The serious tone of the statement left an ominous energy hanging in the room.
In the shadows of one of the room’s alcoves, a figure stood in hidden in the dark, listening as he’d been instructed to do. Lindsey spoke as if the man wasn’t there. The other two could not know of his presence or what he was about to do. They had to be led to believe that the only course of action was to allow the fools from IAA to lead them to the destination. The man in the shadows, though, was the ace up his sleeve. And the game was about to change.
“A map?” Sean was intrigued by what Joe was insinuating.
“Maybe. I’m not really sure what it is,” Joe explained. “See, Crespi was extremely fond of Archaeology. As I mentioned, he spent a lot of hours reading and researching ancient civilizations and cultures. That was one of the reasons the people brought him so many of those pieces. And while he was grateful for the gifts, he longed to know exactly where they had come from. If I had to guess, I’d say that Padre Crespi recognized that most of the artifacts brought to him could not have been found in the western hemisphere. So, he searched for the location. And I believe he discovered it.
“The Vatican had been pestering him for years about the items in his vault. Not only was it financially valuable, the collection may have had some kind of historical significance. The priest knew the Vatican would like to get their hands on his relics for a number of reasons. That’s why he arranged for every single piece to be returned to its origin. But he was a crafty fella’. He’d found the way to the secret caves by following an ancient set of clues. Crespi felt it only proper to leave the clues the way he found them but with one addition: his map.”
“So, where is this map?” Sean asked, fearful he already knew the answer.
Joe and Tommy both smiled at him.
“Well, old buddy,” Joe said, “where do you think? It’s in Cuenca.” He laughed as he said it.
“You couldn’t bring it here first?” Sean asked sarcastically.
McElroy shook his head as he leaned over and smacked Wyatt on the back. “Nope. Heck, I don’t even know what the thing looks like. You’re going to have to go to Crespi’s church to see for yourselves.”
“The plane will be ready to head out to Ecuador tomorrow morning around ten,” Tommy announced.
“I guess we better get some rest then,” Sean stated. “I’ll call Mauricio and let him know we’re coming. That’s his neck of the woods.”
Emily stood, ready to leave. “You guys have fun. I have to get back to the office. While I’m there I’ll try do see what else I can dig up about our new friends from Golden Dawn.”
“That’s probably a good idea. Dangerous bunch, those,” Joe warned. “Secret groups the public knows about aren’t the ones that scare me. It’s the ones that are still a secret that I’m concerned about.”
Adriana spoke up, “I’m coming with you, Sean.”
He smiled. There was something about that woman that he liked. Maybe there were a lot of things. She was certainly beautiful, even after the events of the day and the night before, she had managed to look stunning. But there was something adventurous about her that kept his curiosity piqued.
“You can stay at my house,” he said. Then added, “I have plenty of guest space.”
“I’ll see you two at the plane in the morning,” Tommy interrupted. “Mac, I guess you won’t be coming with us on this one.”
“Sorry fellas. I gotta sit this one out. I’m still in the dog house back home and with my arm still in this contraption I’m pretty sure I’d be more hindrance than help.” He raised the sling up slightly to emphasize his point. “I’m always here to help, though. All you gotta do is call.” Mac gave a huge grin, which made his eyes squint.
“What’s the story on the golden leaves?” Sean asked.
“I’m not sure,” Tommy answered. Mac and I have a theory but it’s pretty far fetched. We doubt it’s a viable explanation at this point. Mac, you want to tell them?
Mac nodded. When he spoke, it was a different, more serious tone than he’d been using the last few minutes. “I don’t think it’s something we should even really consider at this point, but it is possible, given who seems to be chasing after the same prize.”
Tommy accented Mac’s thought. “There’s a book written by a man named Adam Clark. He wrote it in the late 1700s. Clark was a very pious man and moved to the colonies to help start up a new religious order, one of purity and righteous values, much like many others did during that time. His book was meant to be a guide or concordance that could help church followers through the Bible in a way they could understand.
“He tells the story of how Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden and that God put an angel with a flaming sword at the gates of the garden so that humans could not enter it. Specifically, the angel was put there to guard the way to the tree of life so that man could not eat of it and live perpetually in sin.”
Joe nodded and continued for Shultz, “Clark’s book then, oddly, warns anyone reading the book not to search for the Tree of Life for it could not be found and had been hidden by God Himself. He goes on to say that eternal life can only come through the grace of Jesus Christ.”
Sean was intrigued. “So you’re saying that these Golden Dawn guys are looking for the tree of life?”
“Yeah,” Mac confirmed, “but like we said, probably not viable.”
Sean unwrapped one of the objects and picked it up. He looked over it reverently. When he spoke, it was mostly to himself. The Tree of life. Now that’s a very interesting theory.”
Chapter 40
“What happened in the lab?” The man’s voice sounded oblivious.
“What do you mean? The part where you didn’t show up or the part where someone started shooting at me? I’m assuming that wasn’t you.” Will was irritated
“I couldn’t find anything, so I got out of there.”
“You obviously didn’t look hard enough,” Will walked down the hall that led to his apartment. He lowered his voice out of habit.
Will was playing a very dangerous game. He’d hired the man on the phone without Lindsey’s consent. At first, it had seemed like a good idea. Having an extra pair of eyes and ears could always help. But the guy had been sloppy. He was supposed to have taken care of the Georgia Tech professor and retrieved the information. Instead, he’d fouled up, which required that Will take Tommy to the scene.
Alexander Lindsey was paying Will a great deal of money to make sure Tommy Schultz discovered the four golden chambers. The archaeologist was not to be harmed until the final chamber had been discovered. At which point, he was to be disposed. The Prophet had promised an enormous reward for the completion of the mission, more than half of the treasure. And after seeing the first golden chamber in Georgia, Will was convinced. He just had to make sure that nothing else got in his way.