Sean put the object back in the front pouch of his book bag and zipped it closed. “It sounds like a warning to me. But to someone with an evil mind and even darker aspirations, it could be exactly what they’re looking for.”
“Gikas?”
“Bingo. And if he gets his hands on the Eye of Zeus, it could potentially be catastrophic.” Sean let the words hang in the air.
Their car approached another car in the right lane, driving much too slowly. Tommy steered into the left lane and passed the slow moving minivan. When they were clear of the other vehicle, he returned their car back over to the right. They hadn’t seen many cars on the lonely highway, which was most likely because they were out in the middle of nowhere between Rome and the mountains.
Tommy had another thought. “What if this Eye of Zeus doesn’t do anything? What if it’s just an ancient artifact used to navigate the seas?”
“Well,” Sean shrugged, “I don’t know what to believe about the device. What I do know is that the guy who wants it is also the guy holding Adriana against her will. I could take or leave the ancient relic, but if finding it means finding her and getting her to safety, then I will do everything in my power to do that.”
The mood shifted for a moment. Tommy guided the conversation back to the issue of the warning on the stone tube. “I mean, is it really possible that the ancient Greeks found a way to tap into quantum fields around us?”
An exit sign passed by. Just beyond it, another sign told them how many kilometers until they reached Rome.
“History never fails to surprise me,” Sean answered the question after a minute of thought. “Just when we think we’ve got it all figured out, there’s a new discovery that changes our perceptions of the ancient world. We still don’t know how the people of the past created the pyramids, Machu Picchu, moved the giant stones in Cuzco, or any number of other things we can’t seem to explain.”
He stopped for a moment, thinking quietly to himself. “Anything is possible. That’s one thing the quantum universe has taught us. Literally, anything could be possible. So can I rule out the notion that an ancient computer made from brass is capable of telling the future? No, even though it sounds a little hokey.”
The mood settled into the silent whine of the engine and the constant swoosh of the wind passing over the side mirrors. Off in the distance, the faint glow of the city on seven hills arose from the darkness.
“I guess after all we’ve seen I can pretty much believe anything,” Tommy said, voluntarily breaking the silence.
“When we find it, we’ll see what it’s all about,” Sean said wearily. He yawned after speaking.
“Almost home, buddy. We’ll get a good night’s rest and figure out what’s inside that thing in the morning.”
Sean was thinking differently. “There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep tonight if we don’t open this first. I have to know what’s inside it.”
Tommy glanced at him out of the corner of his eye again. “Are you sure? I mean, we’ve been at it all day. We need to get some shut-eye.”
“What if there’s nothing inside it? I have to know.” He stared straight ahead at the long stretch of highway.
“Okay. We can do that. But once we’ve opened it, we are going to get some sleep. Okay?”
Sean twisted his head to the side and smirked at his friend. “Of course.”
Something about Sean’s mischievous tone didn’t do much to convince Tommy, but it was all he would get for now.
Chapter 36
The javelin zipped through the air in a perfect line, arching high through the sky and striking the target almost dead center. Dimitris stood in a field of tall, golden grass. The coastal breeze waved the blades back and forth in constant motion. The effect the wind had on Gikas’s throw was minimal.
He’d taken to throwing javelins two decades before. While he didn’t have the strength to compete at an international level, his accuracy was second to none. The target, a hay bale with a four-foot diameter, was nearly thirty yards away, a distance that would challenge the accuracy of the best of throwers.
“Do you know why I enjoy the javelin?” Gikas asked, turning to Thanos.
“No,” his trusted assistant said. He didn’t seem to care what the answer was. The sun had only been up for half an hour. For as long as he’d worked for Gikas, he never did understand the man’s early morning rituals. Today was the first time he’d witnessed the javelin target practice.
Thanos and his men had been called back to Corfu upon giving Gikas the news that the map leading them to Ostia had been a ruse. They had returned to the home of Vincenzo Cagliari, but the place was swarming with police. Why, Thanos couldn’t be certain, but there was no way they could get inside. Had the old man contacted the authorities? Didn’t matter. There wasn’t time to sit around and lay siege to the retired professor’s home, waiting for the police to leave. Instead, they’d taken Gikas’s plane back to Greece that night.
Gikas strode back to a rack where several other javelins hung in place. “I love the javelin throw for a few reasons. One, it is a direct lineage to my country’s heritage. We invented the sport. It’s been a part of the Olympic Games since they began.”
“The other?” Thanos asked with an air of disinterest.
“It’s precise. Granted, in the Olympics, you are trying for distance over hitting a target, like the one out there,” he said, pointing to the bale of hay. “But even with the distance event, the thrower must be perfectly balanced. They must keep the shaft of the javelin at just the right angle. Their approach must be light, yet swift. The body becomes a symphony in motion before launching the spear into flight.”
“I suppose so.”
Gikas turned to one of Thanos’s men, named Teo Bourdon. “What about you, Teo? Have you ever tried javelin?”
Bourdon had been a soldier in Bosnia during the war that had ravaged the Balkans after the fall of communism. When the war ended, his exploits and reputation had travelled far. When Thanos had heard about him, he knew Bourdon would make an excellent addition to his unit under the service of Dimitris.
Teo had made more money than he could have hoped to in the mercenary free market, which was a considerable amount. Warriors like him went for a premium, often serving private security companies in hostile areas. The Middle East bloomed with such killers. He’d decided to join up with Thanos, having heard of the bald man’s seedy reputation from a few odd jobs he picked up along the way. One thing Teo had always appreciated was knowing a situation before going into it. With the current arrangement, he knew he most definitely could not trust a single person who worked for Dimitris, including Gikas himself. That fact gave Bourdon a little comfort in that it kept him constantly focused, ever aware that one of the people nearest him could turn their back on him without provocation. Even now he watched Gikas closely as his primary employer circled the rack of javelins like a hawk circling an unsuspecting rabbit.
“No, sir,” Bourdon answered. “I have not, but I am always willing to learn new things.”
Gikas stared at him for a moment, impressed with the man’s demeanor and level of respect. “I like that answer. We are constantly learning new things in this world. Those who are unwilling to adapt and change will be left in the dust, crushed by the whims of fate.”
“Indeed.”
He motioned for Bourdon to follow him. “May I have a moment with your assistant?” Gikas asked Thanos.
“He works for you.”
Gikas gave a quick nod and a smile. “Come, Teo. You would be surprised at how far the javelin penetrates into the target,” he said as the two walked away from the throwing area. “The tip is very sharp, and when thrown properly carries a great deal of force with it.”