Her eyes dropped much lower, and saw that Tom was staring at her, breathing deeply, and still gripping the hammer — ready to kill an intruder. He then noticed what she was looking at, and said, “Is that what I think it is?”
“The Mahogany Ship.”
“Which means…” Realization crossed his face, and he said, “Sam Reilly was here a couple weeks ago and he must have seen it. Why else would he have left, unless he thought that the last real Master Builder was on that ship?”
Billie nodded her head.
“There’s something else you need to know, Tom.”
“What’s that?”
“You and Sam weren’t the first people to lay eyes on this place in the past 1000 years.” She looked up at him with expectation in her eyes, “Who else do you know that has gone looking for the Mahogany Ship?”
“Michael Rodriguez!” Tom answered instantly. “Of course he knew about the pyramid. He’s mining just below it. He must have any number of geologists who have investigated the area. No wonder he explored it before us, and left it alone — upon discovering no real value inside, he didn’t want to lose money by identifying an archeological site right above his largest mine shaft!”
“That’s right, but something about this picture made him want to bring Sam Reilly into the equation.”
“What makes you so certain that Rodriguez did see this picture before us?”
“Because the likelihood of an oceanic disaster drawing one of five known people in the world who have even heard of the Master Builders, and the only one who’d realized that the Mahogany Ship was connected, is infinitely small. But then to have Rodriguez turn up just after you and Sam dived the site, and ask Sam to help him with a brand new lead on the Mahogany Ship, is just plain impossible.”
“You’re right. But for what purpose could a man like Rodriguez have to con Sam into exploring a Mayan tomb? I mean, the man’s already rich, so what could drive him to such a ruse?”
“He must have needed the credibility that only Sam could provide to his discovery of the Mahogany Ship?”
“But even that doesn’t make sense. What could possibly be so valuable to him that he would need such an elaborate hoax to drag Sam into it?”
“No, not money — he has that. Something infinitely more important to him…”
“What’s more important than money to a rich man?”
“Power.”
“Oh, shit!”
“What?”
“I just remembered where I’ve seen Rodriguez previously… I know exactly why he needed him… Sam’s walking into a trap! Come on, we have to get back to the dive bell so we can get a message through to Sam!”
Sam left the cavern, alone in the middle of the night.
Leaving without anyone noticing, he slid into the water. He allowed the diving scooter to submerge below the surface, silently, until he was 300 feet along the tunnel before switching on the electrical motor.
He followed the tunnel for more than an hour before he reached it.
Looking upon the hull of the Mahogany Ship, he smiled. They had done an exceptional job at making the fake exceedingly realistic, but they’d forgot about one simple thing.
Science.
The dead barnacles would give them away. Sam chiseled at the wooden hull, catching fragments of the dead organic matter in a glass container. He then moved inside and repeated the process. It wasn’t until he dug away at the sand burying the middle of the ship that he found immediate proof.
After digging through six feet of soft, dry, sand, Sam struck something hard. He cleared away more sand, until he started to get an idea of what he had run into. It took almost an hour before he could see it clearly, and when he did, he knew he was in trouble.
Concrete.
The entire ship was bolted onto enormous concrete blocks, confirming that his entire search had been for nothing, or worse — for Michael Rodriguez’s gain. But for what gain?
It was then that he noticed that he was being watched.
“Rodriguez…” Sam turned to face him.
The man ran. With his dive mask and SCUBA equipment still fully attached, he was able to dive straight through the hole in the hull.
Sam chased after him, grabbing his dive mask only and trying to free dive the thirty-odd feet to where both their Seadoos rested on the sand.
Ahead of him, the whirl of the unknown man’s propulsion system stirred up the water with silt from the river’s bed.
Sam could have returned to the fake Mahogany Ship and grabbed the rest of his equipment, but it would take too much time. Instead, he attached the Seadoo’s air tube, placed it directly in his mouth to breathe from, and kept going.
The masked man had already gained a couple minutes head start on him.
He tried his best to cut the corners of the tunnel, but so did the other man. By the time he reached the dive platform at the Mahogany Cavern, Sam could see the man already climbing onto the mine shaft elevator.
Shit, I’m too late.
Sam slowly climbed the ladder and stood on the dive platform. Thirty-odd feet above him, he could now clearly see Michael Rodriguez aboard the elevator.
Michael stopped the elevator. “Sorry, Sam. You’re one hell of a guy, but you just wouldn’t let it go, would you? I mean, I was keen for you to get all the rewards and accolades associated with this discovery. Hell you could have kept the Spanish treasure. No one would have ever realized that I planted it all here. Do you know how much eight hundred 15th century Spanish gold coins are worth? But no, you fucked it up by discovering the truth, didn’t you?”
“And what is the truth? I don’t understand — as you said, the cost of the old Spanish treasure must outweigh any possible benefit of being acclaimed as the discoverer of the Mahogany Ship?” Sam already knew his fate — he was going to die here, but he needed to know why. And for every minute he kept his new-found psychopath talking, he would have a chance of finding a solution.
“Now… now… you’ve been watching too many James Bond movies… this isn’t the part where the villain tells Bond his evil plans just before leaving him to die.”
“But that’s what you’re going to do to me, isn’t it?”
“Here? Yes… you’re going to have to die here.”
“Then why not tell me? Let me know what I’m dying for.”
“I like you Sam. I was honest when I told you that we could be great friends — so I’ll let you in on a secret. Let’s just say that by proving the Mahogany Ship came from Spain, I can prove my birthright to something far more valuable than the richest mine in the world. Good day, Mr. Reilly.”
With that said, Michael pressed the green elevator button and disappeared above him, leaving Sam alone in the vast cavern.
Chapter Fifteen
Bendigo airport had one runway, and even it was comprised entirely of dirt. At the end of the runway, as the small Regional Express plane took off, a single woman remained on her own. Wearing hiking boots, she appeared tall — six feet at least, with blonde hair and a slim figure.
Aliana fretted.
It was not like her, but something in her gut told her that Sam was in trouble.
Left alone at the end of the dirt runway of the outback country airport, Aliana wondered if she’d made the right decision when she decided not to bring her private jet. No, it’s never a good idea to show your hand to an enemy. She’d prudently taken a regional carrier’s flight out to the small country town.