The Minoan Cipher (A Matinicus “Matt” Hawkins Adventure Book 2)

by Paul Kemprecos

  “What happened after the battle?” Kalliste asked.

  “The priestess, her brother and a handful of followers made their way to a Minoan mining colony. They took control and prospered. The king’s people vanished. They hid their tracks well. Search parties went out from the mining colony, but with no success. There were no DNA footprints to follow in those days.”

  “What’s DNA got to do with it?”

  “In this case, everything. I borrowed some hairs from your pillow and had them analyzed.”

  “You broke into my apartment to find some hairs?”

  “Not me, but those under my command.”

  The intrusion on her private property seemed trivial after having been kidnapped, but Kalliste was furious.

  “I liked you much better when you were a TV producer. Too bad you went through all this breaking and entering and stealing for nothing.”

  “No trouble at all, considering what I learned from the DNA tests. That your genetic line goes back to King Minos.”

  “Oh, stop it, Lily. That’s ridiculous.”

  “The DNA doesn’t lie. You are a direct descendent of King Minos’s daughter.”

  “Fascinating. I always wanted to be a princess. You still haven’t told me what we’re doing in this place, and why we’re dressed in these foolish costumes.”

  “I understand why you’re angry, but you will feel better after I put things in perspective.”

  “I doubt it, but go ahead.” Kalliste’s curiosity overshadowed her anger.

  “I told you how the priestess and her people entrenched themselves in the mining colony. The priestess remained pure so she could conduct the old rituals, but her brother and the other men intermarried with local women. As their line grew, they expanded their wealth and power throughout Spain and into other parts of Europe. They went into the highest levels of government and business. No matter where they were, they kept to the old traditions and rituals.”

  “They practiced the Minoan religion?”

  “It was modified to adapt to changing circumstances, but it endured in its basic form through the centuries.”

  “You’re saying there are people alive in the world today who belong to a cult that worships the Snake Goddess?”

  “The Way of the Axe is much more than a cult. It took an organization with power and wealth to build this replica of the original maze where they could practice their religion and be reminded of their ancient roots.”

  “Does that religion include the bull dancers?”

  “The farms around here bred the Auroch bulls for centuries and young men and women were trained in the ritual. It became more difficult to maintain the breed and train the dancers while keeping our existence a secret. We had to make other arrangements.”

  “It’s hard for me to believe an ‘organization’ like the one you describe could operate in secret for so long without being discovered.”

  “Oh, their secret was uncovered from time to time, but those revelations were quickly reburied. Important communications were transmitted using the ancient script, Linear A. I believe you’re familiar with it.”

  “Of course. Linear A is one of the world’s great mysteries.”

  “Apparently, it is a mystery no more. The translating device you and Hawkins brought up from the ship is similar to those used to keep the old language alive. We use computer programs now, not unlike the one you hoped the Hidden History channel would finance. Within minutes, we can decipher the scroll that gave you so much trouble. Simply figuring out the author’s name was an amazing accomplishment on your part, though.”

  I have a big, fat Greek mouth, Kalliste thought. She had told Lily everything about the device and the scroll when she called from Santorini to ask Hidden History to fund a computer-aided translation.

  Attempting to divert Lily, she said, “Thank you, but all I learned was that the author’s name was Minotaur.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short. The Minotaur was the nickname of King Minos’s second-in-command. He was the guardian of your ancestor, the king’s daughter.”

  “Now I understand. You were behind the attack on my expedition and the destruction of the ancient ship,” Kalliste said.

  “We couldn’t let the translator get into the wrong hands. Our prime directive is that Linear A be kept a secret. Once the script is deciphered, all our secrets, going back centuries, would become public.”

  “As you can see, I don’t have it. So, maybe you can arrange transportation from this lovely place.”

  “You can leave any time you want to,” Lily said. “Just press on the octopus image on the fresco to the right of the door.”

  Kalliste was suspicious. This was too easy. She got up and went to the door. When she placed her palm on the octopus, the door slid open. She glanced back at Lily, who was still in her chair, and stepped out into a long passageway lit by electric wall sconces.

  She set her jaw and began to follow the passageway toward another door. She had made it almost to the end when the door slid open on its own. Beyond the portal was darkness, except for two pairs of blazing red orbs at eye level. She thought they were some sort of lights until they moved in her direction. She turned and ran. The patter of paws was right behind her.

  Lily was waiting in the doorway to the apartment. She stepped aside, then followed Kalliste into the room and closed the door.

  “Are you done playing with our pets?” she said.

  “What are those awful things?” She could barely speak.

  “They’re called the Daemons. They’re a hybrid of dog and wolf, developed through the years to resemble the griffins on the wall drawings. You were never in any danger. The medallion around your neck protected you.”

  Kalliste’s trembling hand reached to her throat and her fingers felt the metal pendant shaped like a double-headed axe.

  “I don’t understand,” she said.

  “The medallion emits a signal that tells the Daemons that you’re not prey.”

  She reached out and hit the wall switch that slid the door back. Sitting on their haunches, tongues hanging out over their formidable teeth, were the supposed hounds that had chased her. They made no move to come into the room but, in fact, got to their feet and moved aside to make way for Lily.

  “Come,” she said. “I’ll show you the Maze.”

  Keeping a wary eye on the dogs, Kalliste closely followed on Lily’s heels, trying to ignore the patter of paws behind her once again.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  Hawkins drove his rental car to a private aircraft hangar at the Cadiz Airport and pulled up next to a helicopter emblazoned with yellow suns. The word HelioTours was printed in large letters on the red fuselage. He checked the instructions Abby had given him, and said, “This is it.”

  “You gotta be kidding,” Chad said.

  “This was the only chopper available on short notice,” Hawkins said. “Belonged to a tour company that went bankrupt. It’s been maintained pending sale. Let’s take a look.”

  They got out of the car and walked around the helicopter.

  “It’s an Astar model,” Calvin said. “Good machine. They fly these babies in the U.S. tourist trade.”

  Chad had a doubtful expression on his face. “Guess the SEALs did things different. Special Ops choppers were painted in camouflage. Maybe you guys can explain what’s smart about using a flying billboard for a recon mission.”

  “Calvin, please explain SEAL tactics to our Army friend,” Hawkins said.

  “Glad to, Hawk.” Turning to Chad, he said, “This is camouflage. We’re doing a daytime recon. No way to sneak in without someone spotting you. With this paint job anyone who sees us peeking in their windows will think we’re tourists.”

  Chad thought about it. “Might work.” His lips tightened in a smirk. “Then again, it might not.”

  “That’s a fifty-fifty chance of success,” Hawkins said. “Better odds than pumping the slots at Vegas, right Cal?”

  “Tell you a
fter I check this baby out.”

  Calvin squatted to inspect the underside and pronounced the fuselage in good shape. Then he climbed into the pilot’s seat and fiddled around with the instrument panel. Satisfied, he gave the others a thumb’s up.

  Hawkins got in beside his friend. Chad climbed in the back and set his duffel bag on the bench seat. They tested their headsets. Cal started the engine, the whirling rotors picked up speed and the helicopter lifted off the tarmac. Quickly clearing Cadiz, they headed inland at a speed of one-hundred-thirty-five-miles per hour. The sprawling suburbs thinned out and were replaced by farmland.

  “Here’s the mission plan,” Hawkins said, speaking over the cabin communication system. “Calvin keeps us in the air. I’ll act as primary spotter. Chad will shoot photos of stuff I point out or anything that looks significant. We’ll keep our survey short, stay at a distance and avoid engagement.”

  Flying at an altitude of around a thousand feet, the helicopter cruised over cultivated fields. The farms and villages grew fewer in number and further apart. The countryside became a wild-looking expanse of dark, tangled woods and stretches of uninhabited flatland. The overcast sky intensified the gloominess of the landscape. Hawkins could understand why Don Quixote thought he encountered monsters roaming the desolate plains of La Mancha.

  Hawkins scanned the horizon through binoculars and saw the spikes of the castle’s towers jutting from a low hill into the slag-gray sky. He handed the binoculars to Calvin.

  “Looks like we made a wrong turn and ended up in Transylvania.”

  Calvin peered through the lenses.

  “Either that, or it’s Disney channeling Dracula’s castle.”

  Passing the binoculars back to Chad, he peered at the high walls of dark stone and the looming towers and let out a low whistle. “Getting into that pile of rocks is going to be a challenge.”

  “Every defensive position has its weak spots. Get your camera ready,” Hawkins said. “Calvin, move us about a quarter of a mile closer, then put the chopper in a wide clockwise circle.”

  They passed over a river and Calvin brought the helicopter down to around five hundred feet. He cut speed by half, steered left of the castle and banked to the right, drifting the helicopter into a wide circle that gave Hawkins a clear view out his side window. As the helicopter passed the corner of the crenelated wall, Hawkins saw a number of masts sprouting from the tower.

  “Get some shots of those communication antennae, Chad. Might help us figure out their electronic defense perimeter.”

  The chopper rounded the castle and came back to where it started. Calvin put it into a hover with the nose pointing toward the castle.

  Hawkins wasn’t sure how long the tourist helicopter disguise would hold, and he didn’t want to press his luck. The castle was a magnificent example of architecture, and it wouldn’t be unusual for it to be the focus of attention. But there was a fine line between curiosity and nosiness.

  The recon had yielded little information of value. Yes, there was a big building on a hill, but Hawk wanted to know what was on the other side of the high walls.

  “We’ll have to fly directly over the castle,” he said.

  “Risky move,” Calvin warned. “They could hit us with a rock thrown from the top of the walls.”

  “If we only make one quick pass we might catch them off-guard. What do you think, Chad?”

  “I’m game. We’d better make a move soon, though. We look suspicious just sitting out here.”

  Hawkins said, “Set your camera on video so we won’t miss anything. Any time, Cal.”

  Calvin tilted the helicopter’s nose down and accelerated, flying directly toward the main gate. The helicopter passed a hundred feet above the top of the wall, then over a second line of lower fortifications that hadn’t been visible before. Hawkins only saw a blur before the chopper swept over the outer walls, did a quick turn-around and flew back over the castle.

  “Anyone see what was beyond that secondary wall?” Hawkins said as the helicopter came to a hover.

  “We were going too fast,” Calvin said. “Feel like risking a slower pass?”

  “Why not?” Hawkins said. “Looks like nobody’s home.”

  Chad said, “I think I got some good video, but it doesn’t hurt to have an insurance shot.”

  Hawkins gave Calvin the thumb’s-up. The helicopter started toward the castle again, gaining speed. It was within seconds of passing over the wall when an object that looked like a large black bug rose from the other side and stopped to hover directly in the way.

  “Drone!” Calvin warned. “Hold on.”

  He steered the helicopter sharply off to the right to go around the remotely piloted aircraft, which mirrored Calvin’s tactic. He brought the helicopter to a sliding hover, and moved to the left. The drone mimicked the move. Both aircraft stopped and hovered nose-to-nose, a hundred feet apart, in an aerial Mexican standoff.

  The blunt-nosed aircraft of gleaming black metal was roughly six feet long. It had a tail propeller for forward motion and twin rotors for vertical movement. The configuration gave the aircraft high maneuverability. Hawkins stared at the undersides of the tubby, square-tip wings jutting out from each side and a chill ran down his spine.

  Speaking in a level tone, Hawkins said, “Calvin. Don’t make a move.”

  Calvin had his eyes fixed on the drone. “Yeah, I get you. What do you want me to do?”

  “Wait.”

  “Wait for what?” he said.

  “Wait until we figure things out.”

  Calvin maintained the helicopter in its face-off hover. As they hung in the air as if suspended by an invisible cable, Hawkins heard the sound of the duffel bag being unzipped in the back seat. He turned around and saw Chad extract a machine rifle from the bag, snap the folding stock into place and slide the window open.

  “I’ve already got things figured out,” he said. “Swing this chopper around and I’ll fill the little birdy full of buck shot.”

  Hawkins grabbed the barrel of the gun before Chad could stick it out the open window.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Chad said.

  “That pop gun is going to get us killed,” Hawkins yelled. “Take a look under those wings.”

  He moved his body to one side to allow an unimpeded view of the missiles under each wing of the drone. Chad swallowed hard, lowered the gun, and carefully folded the machine rifle back into its bag.

  “Your call.” He sounded as if he had swallowed a mouthful of sand.

  Keeping his eye fixed on the hovering drone, Hawkins stretched his lips so wide it hurt. “The camera’s probably picking up our faces, Cal. Give it big smile. You too, Chad boy. Look like a toothpaste commercial.”

  Calvin and Chad forced toothy grins.

  “That’s more fiendish than friendly,” Hawkins said.

  “That’s the best I’ve got, Hawk. What next?”

  Speaking through half-clenched teeth, Hawkins raised his hand. “Give our little friend a wave. Pray that our HelioTours cover does what it is supposed to do. Count to thirty, and if we haven’t been blown out of the sky, slowly start to back up.”

  Hawkins mentally kept count. Calvin moved the chopper with the caution of a new driver backing a car out of a garage. The drone made no move to follow. When they had a couple of hundred yards of air between them, he instructed Calvin to keep on going.

  They were still fair game. The drone could pick them off at any second. Which is why he almost shouted for joy when the drone did a pivot and headed back to the castle like a dog who had successfully chased away a trespasser. Hawkins let out the breath he’d been holding and told Calvin to take them back to Cadiz.

  He called Abby to let her know they were safe. She sounded relieved and said she would meet them at the airport. The helicopter touched down less than an hour later. Abby was waiting by the hangar. She gave Hawkins and Calvin big hugs. Chad, who’d been standing off at a distance watching their reunion, came over and sa
id, “I’ve been thinking maybe I don’t want this gig.”

  “You pulling out?” Calvin said.

  Chad nodded. “I know when I’m outmatched. Salazar’s too big to take on.”

  “I thought you wanted a shot at Salazar because of your girlfriend,” Hawkins said.

  “I don’t want to die trying. Besides, she was only a prostitute.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Dunno. I’ll figure it out later. In the meantime, I’d appreciate it if you’d drop me off at a taxi stand.”

  Hawkins decided there was no use arguing. He was of two minds. Chad offered additional needed firepower, but Hawkins didn’t trust him in a pinch. Chad had been too eager to shoot at the drone without sizing up its overwhelming fire power. They gave him a ride to the main airport terminal where he got out, handed Hawkins the camera, and said it was a pleasure meeting them. Then he walked off to hail a taxi.

  Abby watched him go and said, “He’s lying. He’s still in love with that girl Salazar killed. He’s up to something.”

  “I’ve got a feeling that not a minute goes by when Chad isn’t up to something,” Hawkins said.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  The explosion that had melted Chad’s handsome features into a mass of scars had cauterized the emotional center of his brain. But he had been touched by Hawkins’ reaction to his disfigurement. Hawkins hadn’t been revolted, nor did he show pity. He had been scarred as well; the only difference being that his wounds weren’t visible.

  Hawkins had said little on the flight back to Cadiz. Chad figured he was analyzing the recon. The news wasn’t good. The unseen castle defenders were alert and ready to deal with any intrusion. Even if infiltrators made it past the double defensive walls, they would be operating blindly. If Salazar had Kalliste prisoner there, she was dead meat.

  Back in his hotel room, he liberated a bottle of single-malt whiskey from the courtesy refrigerator, poured a glass straight up and settled into a chair. He took a few sips of whiskey, enjoying the smooth burn of the liquid trickling down his throat, then punched a number on his phone. The call was patched through a series of connections to the top floor of the Auroch Industries building. An unmistakable voice came on the line.