Codex

by Bill Craig

  “Coming, Captain. What’s up?” Rogers asked, as he drew up to them.

  “I saw something moving on the ledge ahead of us. I want to know what it is before we go any farther. Stay here with Glory while I go ahead to check it out,” Fortune told him.

  “Jake, no!” Glory exclaimed.

  “Stay here, Glory,” Jake told her, giving Rogers a look. Rogers nodded affirmation and then Jake Fortune raised his torch as he moved forward. Glory gasped as she saw him draw his revolver from the holster at his waist as he moved away from them . . .

  New York City.

  Jacobs fired, the roar of the .45 a booming explosion of sound. A suit of armor near the door flew apart when the round hit it. An answering gunshot responded, the bullet snapping past him. Jacobs fired again and saw the man in black scrambling out of the doorway and into the hall. Jacobs fired again, this time sending a shower of splinters into the hallway when his bullet smacked into the edge of the door, knocking it open. He heard a shouted curse over the ringing in his ears.

  Good. That meant he had scared the bastard. Jacobs started moving slowly towards the door, his pistol held at the ready. By the time he reached the door, the man was gone and he could see a number of policemen entering the doors below. Jacobs turned and headed back to where he had left Saleem.

  The young Egyptian was still cowering fearfully behind the suit of armor. He looked up at Jacobs, his face pale. “Maybe this was not such a good idea,” he said. Jacobs couldn’t help it. He started to laugh.

  When the police reached them, Jacobs flashed credentials identifying him as a U.S. Federal Agent. They gave a statement to the police and though it rankled the investigating officer, they were allowed to leave.

  Day had moved into late afternoon and the shadows in the concrete canyons were deepening. Cars were turning on their headlights as they moved about the city. Thunder rumbled overhead and raindrops began to fall from the sky, as Jacobs hailed a taxi. They climbed in and Jacobs gave the name of their hotel. The taxi pulled out into traffic. The dark colored sedan pulled out into traffic as well, following along behind them, waiting for the opportunity to strike!

  The Yucatán.

  Jake glanced behind him. He could barely see the torches from the group. He turned forward again. Part of the roof had crumbled and a large tree had crashed down into the cave, displacing large chunks of the limestone ceiling. That was probably what had caused the loud splash they had heard. Fortune breathed a sigh of relief. He was just starting to turn to yell for the others to join him when he heard a low growl behind him. Jake Fortune turned around slowly. Yellow eyes reflected back at him from the far boundaries of the torchlight.

  “Oh Shit!” he muttered, as the jaguar came out of the darkness. The animal didn’t look happy to suddenly find itself in a dark cavern after only moments ago being above ground in a large tree. Jake thumbed back the hammer of his revolver. The click sounded loud in his ears, despite the sound of the rushing water below the ledge.

  The jaguar licked its lips, the pink tongue moved around its mouth revealing a maw filled with sharp teeth. Its eyes never left Jake, as it came closer. Jake holstered the gun. Instead, his hand found the handle of his Bowie knife. It meant that he would have to let the big cat get close, a lot closer than he wanted to. But there was no better choice. The animal was huge, a good six feet in length not including its tail which was easily another four feet.

  Jake stabbed the torch towards its face, eliciting another growl, this one far more dangerous sounding. The damn cat was getting pissed at him. He could see its muscles bunching and then it leaped at him, razor sharp claws leading the way. Jake slammed the torch into its face, eliciting a howl of agony, as the cat fell back away from it.

  He drove his knife blade into its side, just behind the left foreleg, the long blade driving deep towards its heart and finally piercing it. The animal jerked as the blade cut through to its heart.

  They hit the ground at the same time, as Fortune stabbed a second time, this time cutting deeply into the heart while the jaguar clawed at him. The animal shuddered once and died. Jake shoved at the body rolling it off of him. He heard footsteps running towards him and then Glory was there, her arms wrapped around him, her lips pressing against his. Jake kissed her back.

  New York City.

  The taxi pulled to the curb at the Plaza and Jacobs and Saleem climbed out. The doorman offered a cheerful greeting as they entered the lobby. Saleem looked more relaxed, as they headed for the large doors.

  Just then a dark-colored sedan slid to the curb and a rear door flew open. A man stepped out, a 1918 Thompson submachine gun in his hands. He opened fire. Jacobs dove to the ground, snatching his Colt pistol from under his arm. Saleem twitched, erratically, as the bullets ripped through his body, blood oozing out on to the marble floor of the fancy hotel.

  Jacobs fired and his bullets ripped into the machine gunner and drove him back against the sedan. The car shot out into traffic, crumpling a fender or two as it sped away. Jacobs ran to Saleem, but he realized it was too late for the young Egyptian. The handsome young man was dead, killed in a bloody violent spray of bullets. He uttered a string of curses, as he holstered his weapon. He stepped inside to a phone booth and fed coins in, instructing the operator to dial a Washington, D.C., number. When it was picked up on the other end, he gave a full report of what had happened, both at the museum and at the The Plaza lobby. Once that was done, Jacobs went back outside to wait for the police to arrive . . .

  The Yucatán.

  “Jake are you, all right?” Glory asked, as she slid to her knees beside him. She looked at the great beast he had just bested and a shiver went down her spine.

  “I’m a little tattered, but other than that, I’m okay,” Jake smiled at her, as he climbed to his feet.

  “Don’t blame Mike for letting me come to you. I kicked him in the nuts,” Glory told him.

  “Don’t apologize to me, apologize to him,” Jake grinned at her.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  New York City.

  Jacobs spoke to a police detective that, while not pleased about a shooting in his city, was glad that Jacobs had put the guy down. It didn’t take long for the officer to clear him and for them to haul off both bodies. Then, Jacobs returned to his room.

  When he stepped inside, it was obvious that the place had been searched. Locking the door behind him and checking that the windows were secure and nobody was lurking inside, he then went to the hiding place where he had hidden Saleem’s notes.

  Things were getting really dangerous now. He took an envelope from the desk and addressed it, and then stuffed Saleem’s note along with a letter that he had authored explaining things. He added four stamps to make sure it had adequate postage and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

  Jacobs took the precaution of reloading his gun and the empty magazines before heading back out. Half a block from the hotel was a stand of mailboxes. Jacobs dropped the letter inside one and continued past, walking twice around the block before returning to his room. With luck, the letter would reach Peabody Griffin and the old man would understand what had to be done!

  The Yucatán.

  Getting everyone over the large tree had taken extra time, but they had managed it. They had been walking about four hours when Fortune called for a rest. Everybody, including Jake, was glad for the opportunity to rest for a few minutes. They broke out some of the cornmeal cakes that the Mayans had given them. They tasted pretty good.

  The corn bread gave them energy that was much needed by everyone. The past few days had been grueling on them all. The attack by the bandits, the kidnapping by natives and the Nazis, the battle to keep the Nazis out of the legendary lost city. The volcano erupting, the trip through the swamp, and now this journey through the cave along the underground river. All of it had taken a toll on them.

  Jake’s shirt was in tatters and he had bandages wrapped around his torso from where the jaguar had caught him with its claws. Glory
had supervised, as Mary Beth had treated the wounds. Jake looked up as Glory dropped down beside him.

  “How are you feeling, Ace?” she asked.

  “I’m sore, but that goes along with it. I’ll get us out of this, Kid,” Jake smiled at her.

  “I know you will,” Glory smiled at him.

  “I feel bad about this, Kid. I never had any idea this would happen,” Jake told her.

  “I didn’t either. I really thought that this would be a very straightforward expedition to the ancient city. I never dreamed it would be full of living Mayans and statues that came to life. Or that we would be fighting Nazis for what could be found. Uncle Peabody never gave me a clue about that.”

  “I suppose not. If we get back, I’m gonna ask for a bonus.”

  “If we get back, I’ll make sure you get it.”

  “What about us? After we get back? Will we continue?”

  “I hope we will. Is that what you want?”

  “It is. I want to know you better, Glory.”

  “I feel the same way. How much longer do you think it will be before we are out of this damn cave?” she asked.

  “Maybe another three or four hours, if what King Tikal told us was accurate,” Fortune replied.

  “So how much longer are you going to let us rest?”

  “Another half an hour, and then we will be on the move again.”

  Mexico City, Mexico.

  Tito Cabronne frowned as he looked at Francesco Silva. “What do you mean that you don’t have enough men?”

  “Exactly what I said. The last men you sent after this crazy expedition consumed most of the people that I normally use. None of them have returned,” Silva explained.

  “That is very troubling,” Cabronne admitted.

  “It is. I want a bigger cut, if I bring in other people.”

  “That is non-negotiable.”

  “Screw you then. My people are out,” Silva replied.

  “Are you sure you want to do this, Francesco?”

  “I am very sure,” Silva said, as he pulled out a revolver and aimed it at Cabronne’s head. He thumbed back the hammer.

  The Yucatán.

  Jake had rallied the troops and they were moving forward along the ledge. He had taken the lead because it was the right thing to do. If trouble arose, it was his job to confront it. He hadn’t told Glory that he felt responsible for the group, but he was pretty sure that she already knew it.

  It was raining outside again, that was evident from the amount of water falling into the cavern from the holes in the roof. They could hear the occasional rumble of thunder from above, even in the depths of the cavern.

  The sound of the river was growing louder. Jake Fortune wondered why. He carried his torch and walked ahead. It wasn’t long before he found where the ledge ran out and the underground river turned into a waterfall. He pulled the rope from his pack and tied it around a stalagmite. He tossed the rope over the ledge. He looked at the others before he dropped out of sight.

  “Jake!” Glory cried out in horror, as she watched him disappear over the ledge. Mike Rogers grabbed her arms, holding her back as she struggled violently.

  “He knows what he’s doing,” Mike said, trying to calm her down.

  “I found the way out!” Fortune’s voice rang out from below. Glory sagged in Mike’s hands and he now had to hold her upright while she recovered both strength and composure. The others behind them began chattering excitedly. They were about to be free of the oppressive cave and underground river and back out in open air.

  Jake Fortune would stay below and anchor the rope as each member of the party descended. Glory was the first one down and she immediately wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t ever scare me like that again!” she told him. Jake kissed her forehead.

  “I’ll try not to.” Then Mary Beth was the next one down. So, it went until everybody stood on a wide ledge that emerged out into a rocky cove and a waterfall that dropped nearly a hundred feet below to a pool and then the river ran down to the swamp.

  It was still storming when they emerged, the rain falling in sheets. A tropical monsoon had apparently settled in over the area. Jake took a compass reading and started walking, the rest of the group trudged along behind him.

  The rain actually helped on the downhill portion of the trip when they reached the path that they had followed up into the mountains days before with the king. Soon, they were slipping and sliding their way down it, looking for all the world like a bunch of kids playing in the mud. The good part was the rain that washed most of it off of their exposed skins.

  They had been walking for two hours when Fortune called a halt. He had seen something unexpected and he wanted to get a closer look. “Mike, keep everybody here. I may have just found us a way home that doesn’t involve floating across that godforsaken swamp.”

  “I’m all for that, Cap. That swamp gave me a bad case of the heebie jeebies when we come across it the first time.”

  “Jake,” Glory started but he cut her off.

  “Stay with Mike, Kid. I’m just going to take a little walk and check things out. I won’t make a move without you. I promise.” And then, Fortune was moving down the trail and slipped sideways into the jungle and was lost from sight.

  “Come back to me, Jake,” Glory whispered, as she watched him vanish into the jungle.

  “He’ll come back, Professor. He cares too much about you not to,” Mike reassured her. Glory hoped that he was right.

  The German crew of the Zeppelin huddled beneath the great airship, staying out of the worst of the driving rain. They were still wet and miserable. Only the Captain had gone back up into the relative comfort of the airship, though how he could be comfortable with the driving wind and lightning flashing across the sky was something none of them could fathom.

  They had managed to get a couple of fires going which gave a degree of warmth in the storm, and at least dried whatever part of their clothing that was facing the fire. Most of them were looking into the flames, totally destroying their night vision. Nobody was standing guard.

  None of them had any idea that they were being watched, which was just the way Jake liked it. Some of the scientific members of the expedition had fought in the Great War. If he could secure his men weapons, then he was pretty sure his group would be able to take the Germans and take over the airship and use it to get back to civilization.

  Jake smiled to himself, as he faded back into the jungle. He had not strayed far from the trail and quickly made his way back to the others. Glory jumped when he reappeared out of the near darkness. “Oh, Jake!” she cried out and rushed over, throwing her arms around him. Jake hugged her back and then set her aside.

  “I have a plan,” Jake said. He called together his remaining men and the members of the expedition with combat experience and outlined what they would do. Glory listened with interest, as well. She was no shrinking violet, but she too, understood that this would be up to the men. Her job would be to keep the others together and quiet while the men took the fight to the crew of the German airship.

  New York City.

  Agent Jacobs had quickly packed and left the hotel, flagging a taxi at the front doors. He ordered the driver to head for the airport. He figured the best thing he could do now was get out of town and hope that the Nazi spies followed him. If they did that, it would improve the chances for the letter to reach Mr. Griffin. He just hoped that the man would know what to do with the pages that he had sent him.

  He had telephoned his superiors in Washington, D.C. and outlined the course of action that he planned to take and it had been approved. There would be friends awaiting him in D.C., if he managed to make it that far. If not, well he had the pill in the false molar should he be captured.

  The Yucatán.

  The attackers waited in the shadows of the jungle. Fortune slid forward, finding a single outlier that was armed. Jake took him from behind, driving his knife into a kidney, as his hand clamped over the mouth to sile
nce any possible cry. He took the man’s weapons and left the body where it lay.

  Fortune handed the weapons off to one of the others and went in search of another stray. Rogers, Franklin, and Shaw were doing the same. It was only a matter of time before the dead would be discovered, but by that time, he hoped to have enough of his own men armed to make a difference.

  The storm was finally starting to die down when Fortune and his men made their move. It was full blown night and they quickly overpowered the remaining crew. Jake started up the rope ladder that dangled down from the airship, Mike Rogers was right behind him. Above them was the commander of the airship, and Jake Fortune planned to take him down quickly!

  The hatch was open and Fortune scrambled in. Rogers was right behind him. Jake put a finger to his lips, calling for quiet as he began to search for the airship commander.

  Rupert Meijer noticed the movement of the ship. People were climbing the ladder, though he had not given his men an all clear to return to the ship. So, who was it? He rolled off of his bed and picked up the Lugar 9mm from the nightstand next to his bed.

  Intruders had boarded his ship! He had to do something about that. Meijer scrambled to his feet. He pulled on his boots and then headed for the control room.

  Jake Fortune moved through the cabins, a pistol clenched in his fist. He would find the captain of the airship and he would make him take them out of the jungle and back to civilization. And if he wouldn’t, one of the others would!

  Chapter Thirty

  The intensity of the storm was lessening as Fortune prowled through the gondola of the zeppelin, searching for the captain of the airship. His men and the others had captured and taken control of the crew, but the captain remained at large. He had left Mike Rogers in the control room to guard against the ship’s captain taking control of the vessel.