The Atlantis Stone

CHAPTER 56

That night Nick and Selena lay in bed, resting after making love. It was a pleasant evening in Washington, the humidity low, the temperature hovering in the 70s. A breeze brought the smell of the Potomac through the open windows of the loft, cooling their overheated bodies. Somewhere on the river a boat horn sounded.

"I wish those ruins were still there to be explored," Selena said.

"At least we have pictures."

"It's not the same. Pictures will never be enough proof for people who don't want to believe Atlantis ever existed. All they have to do is claim they were faked."

"The French have that tablet. That should be enough to make people want to follow up."

"Everyone thinks that tablet is a hoax."

"How do they explain the fact that it weighs a lot less than it should?"

"They haven't, yet. I suppose they'll analyze it and come up with something. But with nothing to back it up it will end up being dismissed as an oddity. Like I said, a hoax."

"What about the Egyptians?" Nick asked. "There could be something left in that room. Fragments of the stone. Something that could be studied, analyzed."

"They'll never look for it," Selena said. "Even if there is something there, it's crushed under tons of rock. Besides, they don't want to find anything that threatens their interpretation of history. No one will ever be able to prove Atlantis was real."

"We know it was real. I guess that has to be enough. Why don't you blow up one of those pictures and frame it? Put it on the wall. Maybe that stone face. Or that picture you took in Paris of the tablet."

"Like another piece of art?"

"Why not?"

"One thing that bothers me is that no one is taking the language on that tablet seriously. It's a precursor of Linear A. It should be studied."

"Write a paper about it."

"It won't do any good. Once something is identified as a hoax, everything about it is dismissed."

"Even with your credentials?"

She was silent.

After a few minutes Nick said, "Are you still thinking about that tablet?"

"I was thinking about Valentina. I wonder how she's doing."

"Oh."

"What am I supposed to do about her?"

"There isn't anything to do. She's loyal to her country. She's a lot like you, really."

"You think so?"

"I do. You even look sort of the same. Something in the way you both move. The way you do the same things sometimes."

"Like what?"

"Haven't you seen her brush her hair away from her forehead? Just like you do."

"Now that you mention it. I wonder how she really feels about me?"

"She tried to get her gun to you. That tells you something."

"I wonder if I'll see her again."

"You keep crossing paths," Nick said.

"We can't seem to get the Russians out of our lives."

"We won't, as long as we're working for Harker."

"That's another thing. I've thought a lot about quitting. But I can't do it now, not when Elizabeth is under attack. It wouldn't be right. Besides, if I quit I'll never see Valentina again."

"We'll both know when it's time."

"Would you quit if I did?"

"I don't know."

"At least you're honest about it."

"I'd be lying if I said I never think about it."

"Every time we go out on a mission, I'm not sure we're coming back. I feel like we're tempting fate."

"Nobody lives forever," Nick said.