The nocturnal sound of a whippoorwill’s song resonated from the darkness in a tree outside the kitchen window. As the hours plodded on, every little noise had become a distraction. Thoughts of sleep entered Tommy’s mind and muddled his progress. His eyes kept begging to close as the drowsiness seeped into his brain. Again, the bird whistled its melody, communicating to another bird in some unseen tree in the woods. He let his eyes turn from the LCD screen to the glass and beyond. Outside, the night sky was clear and the stars sparkled brightly against the black canvas. He found himself standing again, this time with his face pressed close against the smooth, clear surface. Flat top had a forlorn look on his face as the other security guy had come back for his shift. For the first time since arriving at this place, Tommy heard one of the men speak.
“What is the meaning of this?” A thick accent sounding like Russian made the words sound sharp and accusing.
The other guard didn’t say anything. He just stood sheepishly to the side, eyes averted.
Looking back to the man who’d just spoken, Tommy said, “He was just letting me stretch my legs. I’ve been in here working all night.”
“You sit down.” Blunt and to the point, this guy had a severe lack of social skills. He turned his angry gaze at the, apparently, submissive sentry who had not done his job properly. Whatever was said between the two was in another language. Tommy was certain it was Russian. The exchange was brief and ended with the previous guard nodding in agreement, a defeated look on his face.
“Look, man. I’m not trying anything funny. My legs were going numb and I just needed to stretch for a second.”
“Get back to work and be quiet. Mr. Ulrich will be returning soon, and if he finds you standing around not working, it will not be good.”
For a second, Tommy contemplated the big man’s words. He looked out the window again at the sky then said, “Can we please just go outside for thirty seconds? I’m getting sleepy, and I need some fresh air. I can‘t work like this forever.”
The sentinel looked at the one who’d been standing watch for the last few hours, still sheepish in the corner of the breakfast nook. Stubbornly, he shook his head again as he would to a child reaching for a forbidden cookie.
“Listen man,” Tommy pleaded, “I’m not trying to get away here. And if I was, where would I go? If you guys want me to figure this riddle out, you gotta give me a little leeway here. I will work much better if I can get the blood flowing again.”
Contemplating the circumstances, the guard finally caved, apparently seeing no harm in letting their captive go outside for a minute or two. “We give you one minute outside. But if you try anything, I shoot you in the knee.” The humorless look on the man’s face told Schultz he would do it without even thinking.
“Thank you,” Tommy said with a grateful half-smile.
The three of them left the laptop on the bistro table and made their way through a picture-laden hallway. All of them were photographs of places from around the world, some famous and some not: Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, the façade at the temple of Edfu in Egypt, a Grecian temple whose name he could not recall, but certainly seemed familiar. Turning left out of the corridor, the group entered a large ante-chamber. Even in the dark, Tommy could tell the room was elaborately furnished. The tapestries descended from windows that reached almost ten feet. In the center of the room were two high-backed leather smoking chairs placed in such a way that the sitters could enjoy the view of the hills below while discussing the ups and downs of the global financial markets.
The submissive guard stepped quickly to the French doors that led out onto a patio. The cool, autumn air felt refreshing as they strode across the threshold and into the night.
“You stop here,” the larger guard crossed his arms forebodingly.
Tommy did as told, stopping at the railing of the large wooden deck they’d come to. Again, he stretched his arms and legs, letting the circulation get back into his extremities. Taking several large breaths helped too, filling his lungs with the invigorating night air.
The bird he’d heard before must have found a friend because now there were two of them chirping happily in the dark silhouettes of trees. Tommy’s eyes drifted higher, beyond the treetops, into the dark sky. Seeing so many stars always gave him a sort of odd peace. With such a huge universe out there, he couldn’t help but feel small and yet, in his heart he knew that the role he played in life was a significant part of some grander scheme.
He considered where his friend might be at the moment, hoping that Sean was looking for him. They had been through so much together…of course Wyatt was searching. Tommy would do the same for his friend if the circumstances were reversed. All of these things played through his mind while he continued to scan the diamond speckled canvas above.
Suddenly, a shooting star crossed the face of the deep beyond, streaking quickly for only a second before disintegrating into invisibility. Turning to the two guards Tommy said sarcastically, “Make a wish boys.”
They looked at each other with confusion, obviously not having seen the flashing meteor. The bigger guard simply said, “Time is up. You get back to work now.”
Tommy started to turn around and follow the two hulking men back into the house when it hit him. He stopped his steps and turned his head back to the sky. “I’ve got it!” His excitement surprised even himself.
“What is it?” The smaller guard asked, again receiving a chastising look from his superior.
“The chariots of heaven! Did you guys see that shooting star?” Tommy’s exhilaration overpowered his fatigue causing him to sound like a raving madman.
This time, the larger man grabbed Tommy by the arm and yanked him back to the house. Even though the guy was a mountain, he’d underestimated the strength the guard possessed.
As they forced the hostage back through the double doors, he took one last look up in the sky. Another space rock appeared, burning brightly as it soared through the blackness, then disappeared. Being dragged backward by his arms, Schultz didn’t struggle. Instead, he started laughing.
The whole time that he had spent searching for the chambers, Tommy believed that the ancient rooms might be located somewhere else in the world, that he’d been wrong to hope the magnificent find was near. Sure, there were a few clues scattered throughout Georgia, but surely a treasure of such amazing significance couldn’t be there. Yet he and others, like DeSoto and Ponce de Leon, were convinced that the entire chambers were located somewhere in the southern United States. Now, after searching for so many years, the riddle was starting to come together. And Tommy started thinking that maybe, just maybe, DeSoto was right all along.
There was only one place that he could think of anywhere that could contain the description in the riddle. He just hoped that Sean would come to the same conclusion.
Chapter 23
After serving the coffee, Joe had left his guests alone in the living room for a few minutes, not explaining where he was going. When he returned, he had a somber look on his face and was gripping something in his worn fingers. He opened his hand, revealing something that astonished both of the visitors.
“Is that what I think it is?” Sean couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“It is.”
“But how did you get it?”
“I received a package from Frank earlier today. This stone was inside.” Joe carefully handed the disc to Sean.