The 5th Amulet

by SJ Hailey

  Archer didn’t move; the voice behind him a whisper, barely audible over the rain, American. ‘Point your weapon at the ground, hold it by the front grip only. Slowly release your right hand.’

  Archer complied but the rifle in his neck remained, he wanted to spin, but was unsure if he was alone. Another voice came at him from his left, ‘Hello Archer, I remember you.’

  Thorpe was next to him, also training his weapon, ‘You probably don’t remember me, Thorpe.’

  ‘I do, you are quite a good shot on the ranges if I remember.’

  ‘Yes, so keep still, and don’t be stupid, you aren’t my mission.’

  ‘Who is?’

  As Thorpe was about to answer, another voice came out from a few yards away, a Spanish voice, followed by gunfire. The bullets slammed into the body armour of the man behind Archer. Archer turned and hit the ground, taking Thorpe with him.

  ‘It would appear that we have company, now give me my weapon back.’

  Thorpe refused, assessed the threat and returned fire himself. Their position was not given away, but they moved to check for other gunmen, the second man was taken out by one of Thorpe’s team. Archer took the opportunity and drew his handgun, pointing it at Thorpe’s head. Thorpe levelled his Sig Sauer at Archer, and both men stood motionless, concealed in the dark saturated jungle undergrowth.

  Thorpe signalled to his men not to take any action and secure the area, while Archer stood deadlocked in front of him.

  Enzi could not see his two men drop just yards away, the darkness of the storm and accuracy meant they did not scream. The headshots stopped the message before it left their brains. He and his two remaining men waited, he decided that he must retreat to the boats alone. He slipped down the wall, leaving his remaining hired guns to their fate. The wall was slippery from the rain, he half fell, half climbed down to the bottom of the wall. He began to walk towards the river, the rain-washed the blood soaked dressing, he left a trail of diluted red behind him.

  Thorpe’s team took out the remaining two henchmen with lethal efficiency, not even a shot in retaliation. They checked the area, but Enzi was not to be found. Thorpe did not relax, but informed Archer of his mission, ‘I am here to ensure Enzi and his team do not leave here.’

  ‘Then we have something in common, but I want Enzi if possible, agreed?’

  ‘You have some history?’

  ‘You could say that, you see these bruises?’

  ‘But if he is a threat to anyone I will shoot.’

  Archer nodded in agreement, the two men lowered their weapons and relaxed, Thorpe using his throat mike to contact his advance team, ‘Enzi is gone.’

  ‘The boat, he’s going for the boat.’

  ‘I thought your people took them?’

  ‘No, only one, they left the other for me.’

  Thorpe informed his team of the target location and Archer moved off with them across the top of the wall.

  FORTY ONE

  Katherine smashed Mastasson in the face with the handgun that Jacob had discretely slipped her when she slapped him minutes before. She knew Jacob would never harm her or her family, and had used the anger to regain the advantage over Mastasson. She knew the necklaces would protect against projectiles, but not brute force. He stumbled back stunned, falling back against the wall, dropping his knife. She kicked it away and stepped back, towards Jacob. Mastasson wiped the blood from above his eye and nose on the back of his hand, smearing it, ‘So I see you are still close with Father Jacob.’

  ‘He has always had my back, for most of my life, I never doubted him.’

  Jacob stepped in front of Katherine, between her and Mastasson, ‘Give it up Vincent, there is no point in this.’

  ‘Oh but there is, I have worked hard to obtain those amulets, and I want the power that they give.’

  ‘Why? It is of no benefit to anyone.’

  ‘You are mistaken Jacob, with this power, I can control and manipulate the policies and directions of countries. No one will dare oppose me! I will no longer be taking orders, from anyone!’

  ‘But you don’t know the purpose of this place.’

  ‘I have read enough, the Bow of Yi, and the Ten Suns.’

  ‘What do you know about that?’

  ‘Enzi discovered a manuscript describing the Legend of the Ten Suns, and where it originated. He also found reference to this place.’

  ‘All references to this place are verbal there are no written records of it.’

  ‘You are wrong Jacob, the Chinese visited here, took drawings and descriptions back to China.’

  ‘So all written records of the Treasure fleets were not destroyed by the Mandarins centuries ago?’

  ‘Not all, some were smuggled out, or hidden away, and over the centuries those documents have been dispersed around the world, private collections, hidden museum catalogues.’

  ‘So what did they tell you?’

  ‘That the weapon is capable of destroying stars falling from the sky. The legend is based on a meteor storm which devastated South Asia thousands of years ago. They stopped some of the objects, but not all and the fragments started fires over an enormous area. It shows me that one man can control and unleash the power.’

  Osvaldo Roderigo looked at Jacob and nodded in agreement.

  Jacob turned back to Mastasson, ‘So you want to be the one to control this weapon?’

  ‘Of course, I am worthy, you are not.’

  ‘Sorry Vincent, I cannot let you control this.’

  ‘I thought you would say that, so I brought some insurance.’

  Mastasson, pulled his bag around his body, and removed a device, ‘you recognise this Jacob? Why don’t you tell your friend what it is?’

  Jacob took a brief glance at the package, that Mastasson had removed, ‘Osvaldo Roderigo, he has M112 Demolition blocks, with a dead-man’s trigger. There is enough explosive to destroy this room, and collapse the room above, if he lets go of it.’

  ‘Very good Jacob; and it is armed, so if Katherine was considering shooting me in the head, it would not stop the possibility of it falling from my hands.’

  ‘Basically if he drops that, everything is destroyed.’

  ‘See I told you I always have insurance. Now give me the fifth amulet!’

  Augusta Fabiola was monitoring the power build up in the conduits underneath the complex and surrounding jungle. Her display did not show a measurement in giga joules or giga volts, as these were created long after the complex was built. Her display showed the level below maximum that energy had attained, she had some room for overload, but if that occurred the energy would discharge without warning and without control. She had never been witness to a firing of the complex, but she had been told by her father of the power. She had recounted the tale to Jacob during their trip upriver.

  ‘In 1908 my grandfather was called to the complex his necklace glowing, my grandmother stayed in the house to watch my mother who was still young. He entered the complex as we did and he had the same role as I do now, monitoring the energy levels. He said they had only fired it once during his lifetime, but now it was vital. He learned afterwards that a fragment of a comet was due to hit the Asia, so they charged up the complex to stop it.

  However the fifth amulet holder hesitated, and that delay caused the power to reach very high levels, far in excess of what was required. If the fifth amulet had been engaged a few minutes later, the discharge would have missed the object completely.’

  Jacob listened intently, not interrupting as the hovercraft continued its upriver journey.

  ‘Fortunately the complex discharged and we hit the object.’

  ‘When was this Augusta Fabiola?’

  ‘The night of 29 June 1908, he said he never forgot that day.’

  ‘You know what they hit that day?’

  ‘Yes, some people call it The Tunguska Event.’

  ‘Which happened on 30th June 1908, but the difference in time zones meant you did it on the 29th?’
/>
  ‘Yes although there were no time zones like now, but yes we stopped it. You know that if we had hit it four minutes and forty seven seconds later, it would have been over St Petersburg when it exploded.’

  ‘Did they know about the devastation caused on the ground?’

  ‘No, they did not, even in Russia no one explored the area until 1921.’

  ‘There have always been rumours that a blue light went up and not down as eye witnesses stated.’

  ‘That would be correct blue lights hit it, and then it exploded high in the atmosphere.’

  Jacob was astonished at Augusta Fabiola’s revelation, an event that had puzzled and enthralled many people for decades, was revealed as caused by a small group of people deep in the Ecuador rainforest.

  Augusta Fabiola knew from her Grandfather that the power of the complex must be managed very carefully, to avoid such an event occurring over a more populated area. If they missed their firing window it could have drastic consequences, the object they were aiming for was manmade, and smaller than the complex was designed for, but just as vital to hit.

  Below, unseen to La gente de la luz azul, Mastasson was holding the chamber to ransom, ‘Give me the amulet, I know you have it.’

  ‘I do not have it, Osvaldo Roderigo is the keystone guardian.’

  ‘How very quaint. Pass it to me guardian.’

  ‘You do not want this power my friend.’

  ‘Firstly I am no friend of yours, or anyone else here; second what I want is not your concern, what I will do if I do not get that amulet, is.’

  He held up his hand gripping the trigger firmly, his knuckles white with the force, to emphasise his point. Osvaldo Roderigo stepped forward, removed the amulet slowly from his bag, and unwrapped it. Jacob stepped forward to stop him, ‘you cannot give that to him, we cannot allow him to have the power.’

  ‘Jacob, I took a vow to protect this place, and if that means giving him the fifth amulet to save it, then so be it.’

  Osvaldo Roderigo stepped around Jacob, and lay the amulet on the ground in front of Mastasson.

  ‘Thank you Osvaldo, now all step back please.’

  Jacob, Osvaldo Roderigo and Katherine stepped to the side of the dome in the floor, all watching Mastasson intently.

  The devious General moved forward, reaching with his free hand to collect the amulet, never lowering his gaze from his three hostages.

  ‘Now Osvaldo, tell me what I need to do.’

  ‘I am reluctant to do so, but I feel you have left me no choice, but you must let these two go.’

  ‘Oh I am sorry Osvaldo, but you don’t get to make demands, they stay, you stay!’

  Augusta Fabiola knew that in less than three minutes they must fire the device, or miss their opportunity, but her display and that of her colleagues showed that the fifth amulet was not in place. She could not see her associates but knew they would be just as concerned as her, she could not leave the obelisk to check, the blue shield would remain in place until they had fired, only then would it dissipate.

  The keystone was being adjusted by Dalia Maria and Lucio Andres, setting the co-ordinates to intercept and strike the object at the ideal angle. The hatch in the roof of the dome opened, dilating as the multiple sections of it opened and disappeared like the delicate movement of an iris. Some water pouring in from the storm above, the majority ran off down gutters and away, none but a few drops of it falling through into the chamber.

  Once the hatch was completely open, the keystone began to ascend again, separating into three distinct pieces as it did so. It moved outside into the empty space, shining amongst the violent storm blackened sky. The co-ordinates were all entered and monitored from the obelisks below, and the keystone remained in place despite the raging storm affecting the countryside around it.

  Osvaldo Roderigo gestured for Mastasson to join him by the dome in the centre of the room, ‘Please step over here.’

  Mastasson obliged, and Jacob and Katherine moved to one side, allowing him to pass out of arm’s length.

  ‘Mr Mastasson, you must place the fifth amulet into that hole on the cylinder above the dome.’

  ‘And what will that do?’

  ‘It will release the final sequence and allow you to unleash the power of this complex.’

  ‘And only I can do this?’

  ‘Well normally it would be me, and I am sure Jacob would undertake the honour.’

  ‘That was before you brought explosives into the equation Vincent.’

  ‘You know me Jacob, C4 don’t leave home without it.’

  Mastasson moved onto the dome’s walkway, looking to the obelisks above him, and then to the keystone glowing against the darkened sky of the jungle far above.

  ‘This is my destiny.’

  As instructed by Osvaldo Roderigo, Mastasson had placed his hand inside the amulet, holding the bar that was across the inside. The black stone object now appeared like a swollen fist on the end of his arm. The glyphs on the object glowed but he did not understand or care of their inscription.

  He pushed the fifth amulet home, sliding it into the cylinder, a perfect fit. He looked back at Jacob with a sensation of triumph, but Jacob did not look beaten at all, neither did Osvaldo Roderigo. Mastasson went to remove his hand from the amulet but it was clamped around his wrist.

  ‘What is happening? Why can I not remove my hand? My job is done.’

  ‘No Vincent, your task is just beginning.’

  Without warning a pin fired into Mastasson’s body, piercing above his wrist and between his ulna and radius bones in his forearm. He screamed from the intense burning sensation and attempted to pull his hand out by force, but the pin was between all his bones, foiling his attempts at freedom.

  ‘What have you done to me?’

  ‘That Mr Mastasson is part of the duty of the fifth amulet holder; you cannot leave the grip of the amulet, until your task is completed.’

  ‘What if I cut off my arm?’

  ‘You do not have time, or a knife.’

  Mastasson had forgot to pick up the knife that Katherine was now waving in her hand.

  ‘Give me the knife bitch!’

  ‘Now that is harsh.’

  ‘I will let this bomb go off.’

  ‘If you do Vincent, you will never see what power you can have. Leave the bomb, disarm it.’

  ‘And you will tell me how to free myself.’

  ‘Of course.’

  Mastasson reluctantly switched off the trigger, and lowered the bag to the waiting arms of Jacob.

  ‘Now tell me what to do next.’

  ‘Just hang on Vincent.’

  The cylinder that the amulet was embedded in began to ascend, pulling Vincent clear of the walkway and into the air. The blood now running down his arm from the hole in his forearm, the pain increasing in magnitude as all his body weight was held by his damaged limb.

  ‘What happens Mathias?’

  ‘Now Vincent, you see the true power of the complex!’

  FORTY TWO

  Thorpe and Archer were striding through the jungle terrain, the wind and rain from the vicious storm lashed their camouflaged faces. Thorpe’s other men were going towards the river to secure transport, get ahead of Enzi, who had become disorientated by the environment and the weather. The darkness was now smothering the jungle. Thorpe allowed Archer to take point, and they were soon within sight of Enzi.

  Archer levelled his gun at Enzi, but even with all the provocation he had, he could not shoot him in the back.

  ‘Chui Enzi, this is Archer Mathias!’

  Enzi stopped and turned, firing his handgun wildly in the direction of the voice. Archer had his answer, and fired shots into Enzi’s left leg and right arm, disarming him and reducing his mobility. He walked over to the former security chief, now blooded and lying on the dank floor holding his damaged thigh, rain diluting his blood.

  ‘I see you do bleed after all.’

  ‘Why do you not kill me Archer? Why
did you shout a warning?’

  ‘I could not shoot you in the back, I am not like you.’

  ‘And that will be your undoing.’

  ‘Get up Enzi. You have questions to answer, back in Mabalia.’

  Enzi may have lost his gun, but he still had a knife, which he plunged into Archer’s thigh. The short blade penetrated his flesh. Enzi sadistically twisted it in up to the hilt. Archer cried out, and instinctively hit Enzi in the chest with his rifle butt. Thorpe had heard the scream, he was just behind Archer, but did not fire; instead he pulled Archer by the webbing of his kit, backing away from Enzi rapidly.

  Enzi shouted back, his sarcastic tones overcoming the downpour, ‘You see Mathias, you fear the leopard! Everyone fears the leopard!’

  Enzi was mistaken, Thorpe had seen a threat, and knew with Archer’s leg injury, he could not afford to linger. Behind Enzi, attracted by the movement and smell of blood was a group of Cayman crocodiles, the same species Enzi had laughed at as his boat struck their bodies on the way upriver.

  He heard the hiss too late, and turned to see the first adult strike him, grabbing the arm he attempted to hit it with. The teeth sank into his flesh, grip unrelenting; a second crocodile bit his midsection and began to pull him back towards a pool of water. He screamed for help, but no one responded. Archer and Thorpe watched from a safe distance as the two other crocodiles joined their colleagues, dragging their meal back into the darkness of the voracious jungle. Enzi hit the animals with his other arm, striking blows onto their armoured heads, attempting to hit their eyes, anything to release their grip.

  He was trying to fight two hundred million years of evolution; these animals could not be beaten in their own territory. His body had flooded with adrenalin and endorphins, in a vain attempt to let him function with the level of pain being registered in his brain. His left arm was almost torn off, as he resisted the dragging, and his midsection was badly gashed as the other crocodiles released and renewed their jaws to achieve better purchase. He looked down, and could see his own intestines among the bloody mess, and wanted to pass out, but his chemical cocktail would not let him.