Alexander liked to be in total control. He liked to have all the strings attached to his fingers so that everything went according to plan. Clearly, the people they were dealing with were dangerous. He had to press on, though. Finding the last chamber of Akhanan was all that mattered. Once he found that, nothing could stop him.
Perhaps it was time to cultivate a new relationship within the Justice Department. Then there was the little clandestine problem. Emily Starks had been an irritation, as had Sam Townsend. So when Eric Jennings came up with the plan to eliminate both, Lindsey had been more than willing to provide him with a sacrificial lamb, an operative that had gone rogue a few times and had a problem with drinking. The problem being that when he drank, he talked too much.
Jennings’ call about twenty minutes after Weaver’s had been somewhat of a consolation. Starks and Townsend were both dead, effectively eliminating government interference from Axis or internal investigations. He smiled at the thought and sipped a cup of the hot coffee, trying to remind himself that everything was going according to plan. It was God’s plan, after all.
Chapter 61
It had been a long night for Tommy and Will. They had been unable to sleep save for a few minutes of dozing off here and there. Each time their heads lowered in sleep, they woke to the tightening of the rope around their chests as their body weight pressed against it. The man who’d taken them had also slept lightly, if any. It seemed every time Tommy looked over at him, his cold, alert eyes were staring at he and Will. Tommy wondered if their captor slept with his eyes open.
The early morning dew had been an annoyance, virtually soaking their clothes as they sat on the ground, tied to a small tree. It was doubtful the stranger had that problem since he slept in the back of the SUV with the rear door open so he could watch his two prisoners throughout the night.
Schultz saw the man rouse from his vague slumber and walk over to where he sat upright on the ground. He carried his gun in hand for both men to see.
“Time to go,” he stated simply.
“Where are we going?” Tommy asked, unable to move against the tight ropes.
“There’s a village not far from here. We’ll drive there and ask the locals about the place on this map.”
“I’ve been thinking about those lines,” he offered. “My guess is that either they are trails or rivers. I doubt they’re roads. If they are rivers, one of the locals might be able to point us in the exact direction we need to go.”
Their captor seemed happy with the notion for a moment. Then, his face took on a sinister look. “You, I need,” he said to Tommy. “But him,” he paused, “I don’t.” Carlson raised his weapon and pointed it at Will.
Will just stared up at him, not an ounce of fear anywhere on his face. Anger was there though. A rage filled his eyes like a hurricane.
“Wait!” Tommy pleaded. “If you need me then you have to take both of us. You kill him and I won’t tell you anything else.”
“Maybe I don’t need either of you,” the stranger said coldly.
Schultz stared through him. “You know that isn’t true. Even if you find the location on this map you won’t be able to find the treasure without the information I have.”
“What information?” Carlson asked, skeptical.
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Tommy narrowed his eyes.
The stranger lowered his gun. “I’m pretty sure you’re bluffing. But I’d rather be safe than sorry.” He waved the gun towards the car. “I’m going to untie you both but once you’re free, tie him up again in the back of the car.”
Tommy nodded while Will just continued to stare.
Ten minutes later, they were back on the road heading southeast. Tommy had tied Will in the back as he was told. He had his cell phone in his pocket but wasn’t sure if the battery still had any power left in it or not.
Schultz hadn’t been bluffing when he told the stranger that there was something he knew. The problem was, Tommy didn’t have access to what he needed either. The golden leaves they’d found before were certainly a necessary part of the puzzle. Even if they found the location of the next chamber, he doubted they would be able to get to it. At the moment, he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was anybody’s guess how this wildcard would react to a situation like that.
Adriana was already awake when the sun peeked over the mountains to the east. She’d been up for a while, wrestling with a problem in her mind. After some consideration, she’d picked up the phone and made a call. The conversation had been brief but maybe it helped their situation.
She made her way over to Wyatt’s room and found the door propped open with the little locking bar near the top. After politely knocking, she heard Sean tell her to come in. She wasn’t the only one up early. She figured that everyone probably had the same anxiety she had, if not more. She noticed that he looked as if he hadn’t slept all night, his weary eyes scanned the computer screen, looking for something. Mauricio was on the phone again, busily talking to someone in Spanish. She observed that Mauricio was on the phone, talking to someone in Spanish, saying something about a stolen vehicle.
“How did you sleep?” Sean asked her while he typed on the computer. He didn’t even look up.
She forced a smile. “I slept okay. Maybe a few hours.”
He didn’t respond. His exhausted eyes just continued scanning the screen.
“Did you find anything?” she continued.
Finally, he looked up. A serious look covered his face. “Unfortunately, no. But we are still checking some resources.”
“What are you looking at?” she asked as she stepped around the corner of the desk and tilted her head to see what he was doing.
He pointed at the screen. “Just this Bible text again. I’m trying to figure out what it means.”
She read the text on the monitor silently. When she was finished, she thought for a moment. “What is so special about the Jordan River?” she wondered out loud.
“In ancient Israel, it was a very important river to the Hebrews. Almost sacred. In this particular story, a general for a foreign army is stricken with leprosy and is desperate so he goes to see one of Israel’s prophets, Elisha. The prophet doesn’t even come out to greet him but instead sends his assistant who tells the general to go wash in the Jordan River seven times and he will be healed.
Adriana looked skeptical. “So why that river?”
Sean grinned out of the corner of his mouth. “That’s exactly what the general said. He was furious that Elisha wouldn’t meet with him personally and also at the fact that he’d told him to go wash in a dirty river. The general wondered why he couldn’t just go back to his homeland and wash in one of their own rivers.”
Realization washed over Adriana’s face. “Wait a minute,” she thought for a second before continuing. “Dirty river! That must be it!”
Sean looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“I think I know which way they were headed,” she blurted out.
Mauricio stopped his conversation on the phone, excusing himself and telling whomever he was talking to that he’d call back.
She continued. “I spoke with a friend a little earlier today. Let’s just say they are in the surveillance business. They told me that he had video of your truck heading east last night at the same time that we were coming here.”
A flicker of hope came into Sean’s eyes along with skepticism. “Can you trust them?”