Rob Jones
The Vault of Poseidon
Other books by Rob Jones
The Vault of Poseidon (Joe Hawke #1)
Thunder God (Joe Hawke #2)
The Tomb of Eternity (Joe Hawke #3)
The Curse of Medusa (Joe Hawke #4)
Valhalla Gold (Joe Hawke #5)
The Aztec Prophecy (Joe Hawke #6)
This novel is an action-adventure thriller and includes archaeological, military and mystery themes. I welcome constructive comments and I’m always happy to get your feedback.
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DEDICATION
To the first step
PROLOGUE
Gottardo Ricci scrambled along the crumbling shaft of the island’s largest marble mine. The bright Mediterranean sunlight spilled in at the entrance and stung the eyes of the elderly Italian archaeologist as he clawed himself forward through the filthy grit and sand. Checking that the bag was still over his shoulder, he made one final attempt to free himself from the terror behind him.
Then his worst fear came true — a second gunshot thundered through the cavern almost deafening him and sending a burning, searing pain racing through his leg. He had been shot a second time, and now both legs were wounded and bleeding heavily.
He heard the man’s voice once again.
“You have something that belongs to the Reich, Dr Ricci.”
The voice was cold, emotionless.
Ricci twisted in agony to see the man approaching him from behind. He thought he had gotten further away from him than this. He was wrong.
Now, just a few yards away, walking calmly along the dimly lit mineshaft was SS-Sturmbannführer Otto Zaugg of the 4th Schutzstaffel Polizei Panzergrenadier Division. He was tall and powerfully-built, with blond hair and ashen white skin.
The Nazi officer raised his pistol to Ricci’s head and smiled grimly. “You hand the document over to me now, and perhaps I will let you live. I have studied you for many months, Herr Doktor, and I know you have a beautiful wife and two sons. You do not want to die, and yet now both your legs are wounded. You will never walk again, but if the bleeding is stopped, you never know… perhaps you will live to see your children.”
“You are just a Nazi,” screamed Ricci, the sweat running off his forehead and into his eyes. “All you know is murder!”
The archaeologist glanced forward — the end of the tunnel was so close. He thought about screaming for help, but the entrance to the mine was on an isolated stretch of the coast. There was no one out there to hear his screams.
“Give me what I want, Herr Doktor!”
“Never. You can take this back to Himmler and tell him I hope it kills him!”
Zaugg laughed. “Who says I am going to give anything to Himmler? Perhaps I want it just for me.”
“You’re insane.”
“And you’re bleeding to death. Don’t make me kill you for it — just hand it over and you will live. I can have army medics in here in minutes.”
“You can take this document from me, Zaugg, but you can never have what’s here.” Ricci tapped the side of his head.
“And is that really worth dying for?” Zaugg said.
“You really have to ask if stopping the Nazis from annihilating the entire planet is worth the life of one fading archaeologist? Of course it is, you fool! You are a Nazi. You will always be ignorant, with or without my discovery! Without my knowledge the clue trail will be lost to history.”
“You give us less credit than we deserve, Herr Ricci. Now you have proved the existence of the Ionian Texts, all that remains is to start the search for the greatest treasure in history.”
“You have no idea what you’re fooling with,” Ricci said, a look of concern now appearing on his thin face. “We’re talking about the greatest discovery in human history. Older than time itself.”
“We’re talking about gold,” Otto Zaugg replied, laughing. “We’re talking about wealth and power.”
Ricci tried to laugh, but the pain stopped him. “Gold? You mean the Ahnenerbe didn’t tell you? Perhaps they thought a simple Panzer officer wasn’t capable of understanding. This is about more than simple gold, Major. This is about the greatest secret in the world, and without my knowledge and research you and your army of ignorant, racist apes will never uncover the truth. Your Ahnenerbe will never find what they seek so desperately.”
“You lie!” screamed Zaugg. He aimed the pistol once again at Ricci’s head, his hand trembling with renewed rage. “You’re simply playing for time. Trying to save your own wretched skin.”
This time, Ricci managed to laugh through the searing pain in his ruined legs, but once again he was sobered by the sight of the dark blood pouring out of his thighs into the dirt of the mine. It slowly congealed in grisly pools around him.
“I’m too old for games, Major.”
“In all the months we’ve had you under surveillance, Dr Ricci, I never took you for a fool, but now I begin to wonder.”
“You are the fool if you think you can control this power.”
The pistol thundered in the silence of the shaft, and Ricci felt the third bullet tear into his stomach. He doubled over in agony. The pain rose like a burning tide of fire which enveloped him until it was all there was in his life.
He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to stifle his screams. He saw his children playing on the beach, his wife opening a bottle of wine. Memories of long ago flashed before his eyes.
Then his mind raced with the unfolding horror of the moment. After all these years of research, it had all been for nothing. All these years of hunting for the evidence he so desperately wanted and finding it buried deep in the mines, just as he always knew it would be. But now it was going to end like this — with his death and the Nazis getting their hands on such unbridled power.
And worst of all was the knowledge that it was all his fault. It was his years of diligent research, of trawling through the artifacts, poring over the texts, believing in the legends when all those around him mocked and ridiculed him, that had led to this discovery. And it was his own foolishness that had allowed the Nazis to follow him and take his discovery away.
It pained him even to think about it.
The SS officer walked over to Ricci and put his boot on the dying man’s shoulder to hold down his body while he wrenched the sack away from him. He jerked at it, pulling with such force he snapped the strap.
Ricci looked up at the Nazi once again, perhaps for the final time. Outside, he now heard the familiar cry of the kestrel he had watched just that morning, gliding in the thermals above the cliffs in the sunrise. He thought about what would happen if the Nazis found what they were looking for — what they had used Major Zaugg to find.
Zaugg opened the sack and looked at the piece of ancient, crumbling text inside and his smile faded. Ricci saw the Nazi’s face change expression instantly.
The archaeologist spoke through dry, cracked lips. “Now the truth dawns! The Ahnernerbe lied to you. What you are looking at is evidence of something a thousand times more powerful than mere gold. What you are looking at would give you the ultimate power over mankind — but only I can find it!”
Zaugg looked down at Ricci, a greedy smile crossing his lean, unshaven face.