The Secret of Atlantis

CHAPTER FIVE

The small group of men and women sat around the large conference table in tense silence while they waited for their leader to arrive. When he did, they stumbled to their feet out of respect for him until he waved a hand and indicated they may sit again.

The Oracle looked upon them with something approaching disdain. Here, in this room where he had on so many occasions been attended by various kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers, secretaries of state and leading men of the world’s militaries and churches, he was now faced with the ashen faces of his closest advisors. They all swore their loyalty to him, but to the Oracle they were only as worthy as their last act of devotion to the sacred cause.

“Update,” he said.

“No sign of the Mexicans.”

“Did I hear that right?” he asked quietly. “Did you just tell me that all of our resources have failed to find the thief of Mictlan and his accomplice?”

The synchronized nodding heads gave him the answer he desired, but he had grown weary of their terrified, sycophantic faces so he swivelled in his seat to face out the window instead. Out there, across the raging sea that he knew so well, were so many of the answers that his enemies sought, and even a few they had no idea even existed.

But…

Not even he knew all the answers. He too was searching for something — something more ancient and profound than any ECHO team member could begin to comprehend, and his greatest fear was that those fools would stumble upon it like a drunk tripping over a kerb… like a child discovering a loaded shotgun…

And what then?

What then, if little people like that were to learn the truth? They would be shaken and scared, but that meant nothing to him. His concerns trampled over his mind like wild horses, especially at night. There was a power there, he knew it… they had concealed a great power from him and his kind but now it was his to find. It couldn’t ever fall into the hands of someone like Richard Eden, even less so Joe Hawke or Lea Donovan. The very idea was absurd. ECHO…

“And ECHO?” he asked, the words barely a whisper.

“Most of them are on the island as far as we can tell — all except the Frenchman.”

He clenched his fists and cursed under his breath. He had too many wars to fight with powers that made ECHO look like a basket of kittens, and yet their persistence was driving him insane. He took a slow, deep breath to reduce the tension in his shoulders and then stretched his head to the side to get a crick out of his neck.

He rose from the chair and strolled across the carpet to the tinted window, never once taking his eyes off the waves as they formed into white horses and then smashed down into the dark gray of the sea. Without the document he had found in the secret society’s vault, he would never have been able to bring himself to believe any of this, but there it was in black and white. Undeniable, exhilarating and yet… terrifying.

It was time to move his fight with them to the next level, and that meant eradicating their precious island. He relished the prospect, and considered the job no more than pouring boiling water into an ants’ nest. Yes, he nodded in agreement with his own thoughts — it was time to destroy Elysium and he knew just the man for the job.

With Zurich only a few minutes away, Lea pushed her seat back to the upright position and walked to the galley to get a glass of water. Toward the front of the plane, Lexi and Scarlet were playing poker. Hawke had fallen asleep just after the flight and was only just beginning to stir. Ryan too had fallen asleep, and was now sprawled out in his chair with his laptop by his side. Maria was beside him, and also asleep with her head on his shoulder. She had to admit that despite her doubts about their relationship, they had proved everyone wrong and stayed together longer than anyone expected.

She finished the water and after dropping the paper cup in the trash she made her way back to her seat, stopping on the way to wake Ryan and Maria. Glancing out the window she guessed they were no more than five thousand feet and touchdown was imminent so she strapped herself in and watched Zurich rush up to greet her.

As their jet descended through the cold sky above Switzerland, she thought once again about what Eden had said in his briefing. They all wanted the Mictlan idol — they had the Valhalla one after all, and they had presumed it was theirs for the taking, but that was wrong. They weren’t thieves — they were the good guys, and if the Mexican authorities had already promised the sale of the idol to Wolff there was nothing they could do about it. The only play they had left was to retrieve the idol for him but ensure they had enough time to study it before handing it over.

Outside the tires screeched on the tarmac and the roar of the reverse thrusters brought her back to life. Moments later they were disembarking and once they had cleared customs they found Jack Camacho waiting for them in the arrivals area. He had flown in on an American Government plane from DC and arrived an hour before them. He gave everyone a solemn handshake except Scarlet, who Lea noticed got a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

In the car park they followed the American to a battered Land Rover Discovery with French licence plates. Lea leaned inside to see Vincent Reno at the wheel. “Bonsoir,” he said with a wide grin and a friendly nod of his head.

“Monsieur Reaper here drove across from his place in Provence,” Camacho said.

“Only six hours for ordinary people,” the Frenchman said. “Or five hours if you drive like me.” He patted the steering wheel affectionately. “I drive her hard.”

“I’m not saying a thing,” Scarlet said.

“Makes a change.”

“At least I don’t look like Hulk Hogan!” she said.

“Who the hell is Ulk Ogan?” Reaper said.

“This is almost as much fun as when we went to the Arctic!” Lea said.

“The Arctic Circle?” Reaper said.

“She means Valhalla,” Scarlet said with a grin. “You wouldn’t know about that Vincent because you were lazing around in a Swedish hospital bed.”

Reaper gave a Gallic shrug. “And I cannot deny it.”

“Just drive!”

And with that they were gone, racing out of the car park and making their way from the airport to Liechtenstein.