Sean took the lead and headed in the direction of the far corner of the plateau above where he’d been looking around the corner just a few minutes before. His reasoning being that searching the part of the island that was out of sight first would be their best strategy. If they found anything out of the ordinary, then they could set about trying to sneak back onto their boat.
The two made their way along the far ledge, scouring the surface for any clues as to where the relic might be hidden. Minutes passed as the Americans inched their way around the edge of the plateau. Sean was especially cautious as he leaned over the ledge to examine the water below. His fear of heights was something he’d battled since he was a young boy. He never really knew why high places terrified him so much, and his parents were equally as baffled. In the current situation, he wasn’t as fearful as he would be on a tall building or some other man-made structure, but it was still uncomfortable. The fact that there was water at the bottom of the cliff might have made things a little better, except that Sean had experienced a terrifying moment when he was cliff jumping with some friends in high school.
The cliff had not been quite as high as the one he stood on now, and when he jumped, he plunged deep into the water, all the way to the bottom. When his feet hit the lake’s floor, he pushed hard and paddled toward the surface. He hadn’t realized how deep the water would be or how far down his momentum would carry him. He’d taken a long breath just before hitting the liquid surface, but it very nearly wasn’t enough. Sean was so close to daylight, but his lungs screamed out for air as he kicked harder and faster with his feet. Finally, after almost giving in to the urge to open his mouth and inhale, his hand broke through to open air. He took in oxygen in huge gasps as he dog paddled in the water for a minute. Relief had washed over him, and he took a moment just to feel grateful he was still alive.
Over on the boat, his friends hadn’t even noticed. They were busy laughing, joking around, and getting ready to climb back up to the top of the cliff for another round of jumping. Sean swam back to the boat and struggled up the ladder. He sat on one of the cushioned benches for a minute, contemplating how close he’d come to death. He never jumped off a cliff again.
Remembering that experience, Sean hoped he wouldn’t have to take the leap off the cliff he was now peering over. He would if he had to, but his preference would be an easy entry into the water from the shore.
The two friends gazed into the deep water below, noting the stark contrast between the light-blue shallow water and the darker, almost foreboding depths..
“You were right about it getting much deeper down there,” Tommy said, pointing a finger at the area in question. “What do you think that gets to, twenty to thirty feet deep?”
“At least,” Sean nodded. “You can see the bottom easily over there at the corner, but in a matter of ten feet it just drops off.”
They examined the area for another few seconds before Sean spoke up again. “Come on, we need to keep searching. Even if those people are just touring around on their yacht, I don’t feel like dealing with their questions about who we are and what we’re doing here.”
“Good call,” Tommy agreed.
The two got moving again, checking the ground with every step they took to find any signs of a Roman or Greek presence on the little piece of land. For the next forty-five minutes, Tommy and Sean crept along the south side of the island. After they reached the western edge, they moved twenty feet into the middle and backtracked the way they’d come. They repeated this process until they had finally come back to the point where they could make out the top of the giant yacht in the harbor. The sun sat high in the sky, shining warm rays of light down onto the island.
Tommy stood with his hands on his hips as he glanced up at the almost cloudless sky. “What do we do now?” he asked. Both of them had been on searches like this a dozen times before with the IAA. They knew that patience was an essential part of any good archaeologist’s repertoire. At the moment, however, time wasn’t on their side.
“This side of the island is in plain view of the other boat,” Sean said, waving his hand to the area in question. “If we go looking around over there, whoever is on the boat will see us.”
“So what do we do?”
Sean thought about it for a moment, and then shook his head. “We aren’t going to find anything up here.”
“What do you mean?” Tommy asked, puzzled by his friend’s sudden willingness to give up.
Sean frowned as he surveyed the terrain. “Caesar’s clue was whatever place held the Eye of Zeus was under this island. If we are looking for a way in, it won’t be up here. And I doubt there would be an arrow or anything pointing the way in plain sight.”
“Okay then. So we get back in the water and swim around the back side of the island and see what we can find.”
“It’s our only option.”
Tommy didn’t like the idea. He’d forgotten about the sharks while they were walking around on land, but now the irrational fear began to creep its way back into his head. “You’re sure that’s the only thing we can do?”
Sean rolled his eyes. “Tommy, enough with the sharks already. I’m telling you, you’re not in a Jaws movie here. These species almost never attack people.”
“Almost,” Tommy countered.
“Fine, they never attack people.”
“You said almost. That means it happens every now and then. I don’t want to be the one that accounts for the almost.” He was being defiant, but he knew there was no other choice. They were going to have to swim around the island. “Let’s make it quick.”
Sean smiled. “Don’t worry, if a shark comes near I’ll punch him in the nose.”
His words comforted Tommy for a second, then, “Aw, crap!”
“What’s the problem now?”
Tommy’s face was forlorn. “We left our flippers on the beach. No way can we get them without being seen.”
Sean let out a sigh. “I guess that means we’ll have to do it the hard way.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
Chapter 46
Bourdon stepped into the enormous living room on the main floor of Gikas’s yacht. Four men with thick muscles stood guard, one in every corner. Gikas sat alone on a plush suede couch, watching a flatscreen, high definition television on the wall opposite. A beautiful brunette reporter in a blue dress sat behind a desk talking about the escalating problems in Greece.
“More than three thousand people gathered outside the Hellenic Parliament building to protest the government’s inability to address the food shortages,” she reported. “It is expected that the number of protesters will continue to grow as the state of civil unrest nears boiling point. It was announced just yesterday that food production in the entire country is going to be only half the national average. The report stimulated a severe escalation in food prices all over the country.
“In Athens, police were called in to put down a few riots at local markets and grocers. Thessaloniki also experienced similar, minor criminal outbreaks. While the incidents have been small thus far, local authorities are concerned that unless something is done soon, hunger will drive people to do irrational and dangerous things.”