The Forbidden Script

by Richard Brockwell

  Both Jason and Danny took a quick look at the file. Danny gave Jason a confused look.

  “Where exactly is this place, Osario? I’ve never heard of it before. Is it in some remote spot in the Yucatan jungle?”

  Jason spoke before Matt could answer.

  “It’s somewhere near the Mayan temples of Chichen Itza.”

  Matt closed the file.

  “Don’t worry. The local police force will be providing you with a guide who will be taking you to the site,” said Matt.

  Jason stood up to leave, eager to get started, eager for some action.

  “So when do we leave?” He asked.

  “You leave tomorrow. So make sure you take what you need,” said Matt.

  Danny also stood up to leave. He took the files from the desk before leaving Matt’s office.

  “Watch your backs over there!” said Matt.

  Jason saluted, then closed the door behind him.

  “Hey Danny! You are finally going to see the Mayan city of Chichen Itza. Maybe we should book a tour while we’re there.”

  Danny said. “I’m going home to pack some things, and tell Patricia. She is not gonna be pleased when I tell her.”

  Jason lit up another smoke right under a NO SMOKING sign.

  “Yeah, and I’m going to break Sally’s heart when I tell her where we’re going. She’s going to beg me to take her with us, and has been asking me for some time now to take her to visit the Mayan sites.”

  Danny and Jason went their separate ways. Both not too pleased about leaving on such short notice. But they were also eager to start a new assignment.

  Back at the office, Matt received a call from one of his superiors. He knew beforehand what it would be about before the conversation began. His Superior David Hewitt has always had a thing against Jason. The bar incident gave him an excuse to complain and downgrade agent Mallock even more. Matt knows Jason can be a handful at times. But he also knows he is a good agent, who shows results in far less time than any other agent on the force. Jason uses different techniques in solving a case that were not taught to him at the FBI academy. It was Matt who convinced Danny to become partners with Jason. Other agents who were assigned to a case with him rarely made it through the week. Danny is the only agent who has some control over Jason and has begun to understand how his mind works. Danny does admit that Jason can be a selfish son of a bitch at times, but he knows Jason is the person you can trust to cover your back in a tight situation.

  Matt answers the phone. “They will be leaving tomorrow morning, and yes, I warned agent Mallock about the bar incident. He assures me it will not happen again. I will keep you updated on their new assignment. Goodbye.” Matt slammed the phone down and went to get a coffee.

  Danny arrived home to find Patricia preparing a small snack for herself. The couple lived in a three-bedroomed apartment in a quiet part of Miami. Danny and Patricia though not married have been living together for the past year now. He liked his lifestyle and went out many a times with friends for drinks.

  He and Patricia always made sure at least once a week they went out for a romantic dinner. The couple met at the local pub. Patricia was with friends celebrating a birthday when she noticed Danny looking at her from near the bar, trying to catch her eye, but when she made eye contact, he quickly looked the other way. She was surprised that this well built; muscular person was so shy. She made the first move and has never regretted it.

  “Hey, you okay? You’re home early.”

  Danny went over to kiss her on the cheek.

  “Good news! We’ve been assigned to a new case. Bad news is we will be leaving for Mexico.”

  Patricia knew what she was getting into when she started dating Danny. She always asked him to be honest with her, and come straight to the point, as she didn’t like surprises.

  She said, “that’s great! When will you be leaving?”

  Pat knew when Danny comes home early from work it means he has to pack some luggage and prepare to leave that night or early next morning. He came up from behind holding her around the waist, slowly kissing her neck, making her giggle with the soft touch of his lips.

  “Tomorrow morning honey. So let’s make the most of it tonight shall we?” he said, with a sparkle in his eye.

  As for Jason, he went to get a quick bite at the burger joint, which is one of his favorite foods. Even though, he eats up to three burgers a week, he never seems to gain any extra weight. Arriving home, he prepares a quick change of clothes for the trip and packs his passport along with the file that Matt gave them. Next he goes down to the garage, shuts the door behind him securely locking it. He then opens a tool cabinet, which has a hidden compartment at the back, loaded with all sorts of ammunition for his choice of firearms. At the bottom of the locker, he takes out a wooden box. Now this is one of his favorite handguns a Colt Anaconda. A very powerful weapon, having the force to blow your arm right off. One shot is enough to down even a giant of a man. Jason closes the locker and conceals the gun in the back of his jeans. He heads back upstairs and places it in his hand luggage. Jason lays down on his bed and takes out the case file which Matt gave him. The first page has a passport photo of the archaeologist who discovered the ancient ruins. He looks closely at the photograph of Helen Shireberg. A pretty woman, with short Blond hair and blue eyes, somewhere in her late thirties. He takes a look at the other pictures of a stolen gold figurine and a solid tablet slate. He wondered who would kill two innocent people for these two pieces of ancient history. Jason closes the file cover and slowly drifts off into a light sleep.

  A couple of hours pass when he is awakened by the sound of a door closing downstairs. He makes his way into the kitchen where his daughter Sally is unpacking her school bag on the table. Slowly creeping up on her, he touches her left shoulder. In an instant, she swings around with her fist flying, missing Jason’s chin by half an inch. Jason was prepared for the strike and quickly stepped back.

  Sally shouts out, “dad! Next time I won’t miss and will knock you half way across the kitchen floor.”

  She ran to her father hugging him, and asked, “how come your home at this time of the day?”

  Jason kissed her on the forehead.

  “I came to prepare a few things for tomorrow morning. Danny and I have a new case and have to leave for Mexico.”

  As soon as he finished the word Mexico her eyes lit up.

  “No way! You’re going to the Mayan site aren’t?”

  He wraps an arm around her.

  “Yes for a few days, that’s all. Now don’t go all hysterical. I promised one day I would take you there. But I will be on a case, and besides you have your studies and it’s not a safe place right now.”

  Sally knew better than to question her father about the case. She gave him a smile and hugged him again.

  “Okay, old man. You haven’t broken a promise to me yet.”

  They spent the rest of the day looking at pictures of ancient sites, and searching the INTERNET about Chichen Itza and the Mayan civilization.

  “Hey dad! Don’t forget to bring me a souvenir.”

  She kissed her father Goodnight and headed up to her bedroom.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Doctor Tony Barrette, an anesthesiologist, was busy at work in the basement of his large old house. He has just collected two priceless artifacts which had cost him a very hefty sum. The heist was planned well by the thirty-seven-year-old anesthesiologist. The Mexican authority’s would never know an American citizen had been involved in the stolen Mayan artifacts. The only thing bothering him was the two unexpected killings of two American workers. The men he hired for the job must have run into some trouble, giving them no choice but to eliminate them. They were very well paid for the job, no questions asked.

  Tony thoroughly examined the Priceless goods, going over each item with intense precision. The first item was a golden statue of an underworld god. Only about five inches in height, the statue was sculptured out of solid granite
and then dipped in pure liquefied gold. The face features were still remarkably visible, and the details were incredibly precise.

  The other item was a solid bronze plaque measuring ten inches by six inches. Mayan hieroglyphs were visible in very small detail all over the plaque. He was quite familiar with Mayan history and had done some deep research on how to decipher hieroglyphs. Tony managed to translate the whole plaque from beginning to end. But the last line stops abruptly as if part of the writing was missing.

  Frustrated with not being able to continue this amazing long-lost information which gave exact details on how the ancient Mayans summoned the underworld spirits, and how they communicated with them. He stood up in anger and accidentally dropped the bronze plaque on the floor.

  On impact, the plaque seemed to split into two pieces. Both the top and bottom ends came apart, revealing another smaller plaque hidden inside. He carefully picked it up and placed it on the table. Under the lens of his magnifying glass, he could see very tiny weird looking hieroglyphs. They were like nothing he had ever seen before, and could not decipher a single word. One thing he did know was if he could translate what is written, it would reveal the Mayans secret on how they not only summoned the spirits. But how they entered the underworld, opening a passageway into the realm of the dead. The dark land of fright, or in Mayan tongue Xibalba.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jason woke early that morning to prepare a big breakfast for Sally. She loved scrambled eggs on toast, topped up with slices of bacon. He made himself a mug of strong coffee and poured Sally a glass of fresh orange juice.

  Breakfast all set. He went upstairs to wake his daughter. Sally was a deep sleeper and could sleep through the worst of thunderstorms. As for Jason, a fly passing overhead was enough to wake him in an instant.

  First, he knocked gently on her door. No answer. He tried again, and still no answer. He called out to her and was about to open the door when she stepped out from the bathroom just two doors down the hall.

  Jason said. “You’re awake! That’s a first! I made you some breakfast before I leave.”

  “Well, that’s what woke me…. The smell of bacon.”

  She rushed passed him and ran downstairs to the kitchen.

  They ate breakfast together and talked some more about Chichen Itza. After breakfast Jason gave her the usual parental lecture. His flight was scheduled to leave just before noon. Sally prepared herself for school. She kissed her father goodbye and hugged him as hard as she could.

  Jason then loaded his luggage and drove to the office, where he was to meet up with Danny before leaving for the airport.

  Danny was already there when he arrived. They checked out with chief Berks and took Danny’s car to the airport. Their flight was on time, and they went through security with a flash of their badges. The airport officials gave both of them weird expressions, as it seemed Danny was escorting some criminal. Jason noticed their looks, winking at them as he passed them by.

  After a few hours in the air they landed in Cancun, the closest airport to Chichen Itza. On their arrival, they were met by a local guide, just as Matt had told them. Their guide was a short, skinny man going by the name of Andreas. Their guide escorted them to a Toyota pickup and began the long journey to the campsite near Osario.

  The weather was quite hot but had a cool breeze blowing in from the west. Jason rode in front, feet on the dashboard, and with his Colt on his lap. Andreas kept his eye on the road and at the same time was also nervously keeping an eye on Jason and the gun he had. Danny saw the tension in Andreas face, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

  Danny said, “it’s okay Andreas. Agent Mallock here is the person you would want with you if trouble arises. Don’t be taken back by his looks and behavior.”

  Jason turned around. “Hey! What’s wrong with my looks and behavior?”

  They drove for another hour, when Andreas took a left turn into the jungle. He slowly drove for another half hour over a bumpy road when finally he stopped, not able to go any further.

  All three men stepped out of the vehicle and stretched their legs. Andreas went to the rear of the pick-up and put on a backpack he had brought with him. The sun was slowly disappearing and would be dark soon. In the other hand, he held a large flashlight, ready to use as soon as it got dark.

  “The trail ends here. We continue on foot now,” he said.

  Danny and Jason collected their gear and asked.

  “How far is the campsite?”

  The guide smiled.

  “Oh…. maybe two miles or so,” he said, pointing his flashlight in the direction they will be heading.

  Danny turned to Jason.

  “I should have come in my damn hiking gear instead of this three hundred dollar suit.”

  “Why do you think I never wear one? We’re mostly out in the field, not in an office behind a desk,” said Jason.

  They caught up with Andreas, who was nearly out of sight. The jungle around them was thick with trees and bush. Andreas stopped, waiting for them to catch up, knowing the jungle was not a safe place to be after the sun went down.

  Danny almost lost his footing a few times. But Jason kept a strong pace, only a few feet behind the guide. They had been walking for nearly forty minutes, when up ahead they could see the campsite fire flickering beyond the trees. Not wanting to startle the people at the site, Andreas called out to them from twenty yards away. Immediately two local workers came rushing in their direction with loaded shotguns. One of them fired a warning shot into the air. Jason was the first to react. He had his Colt aimed directly at one of the oncoming men. Jason was ready to shoot if they fired a shot in his direction. Even in darkness, Jason rarely misses his target. Some people swear he has the ability to see in total darkness.

  Andreas frantically waves his arms, shouting out to the two men in their native tongue. Recognizing his voice, the two armed men wave them on in. Danny was relieved to see Andreas shaking hands with the two men. The guide then waved Danny and Jason to come forward and introduced them to his friends. Jason stepped forward and shook the hand of the person who fired the warning shot. He tightened his grip, forcing the man to his knees.

  Towering over him, he said, “not many people tend to make it out alive after they fire a shot in my direction! Lucky you shot the other way.”

  Danny intervened, calming Jason down, loosening his grip.

  “Hey! Take it easy Jason. They’re just protecting the camp site.”

  Jason pulled the man to his feet, then let go of his hand.

  Andreas stepped forward.

  “Come, I take you to Miss Helen now.”

  They followed him another forty yards to one of the larger tents which were lit up from inside. They could clearly see the movement of someone inside. Jason and Danny could hear loud music coming from within the tent. Andreas asked them to wait where they were while he went inside to call Helen.

  As she stepped out from the tent, Jason’s eyes opened wide.

  “Wow! She’s prettier than I thought,” he said.

  Helen went over to Danny and shook his hand.

  “You must be agent Langley. Welcome to my camp site. I’m so glad you arrived. This place is not safe since the discovery. Looters will do anything to get their hands on something valuable. Where is agent Mallock?” She said, looking straight past Jason as he cleared his throat.

  “Oh my god! I’m so sorry. I thought all FBI personnel wore a suit. Please forgive me,” said Helen, shaking Jason’s hand.

  She offered them refreshments and invited them inside her tent, where all her equipment was set up. Jason held back for a while, observing the darkness of the jungle around the camp site. The place was rather large, having a total of seven tents. Helen’s tent was positioned about forty yards away from the others, which were all set up in a line. The camp fire was crackling away, and he could see the local workers gathered around, drinking and eating.

  Jason counted four local workers and Andreas their gu
ide. He ventured to the outer perimeter of the camp, wondering where the entrance to the newly discovered Mayan site was. It’s been quite a while since he has been inside an archaeological site. His memories went back to Egypt, where he first started out as an archaeologist. Maybe one day he and his daughter Sally would go abroad to Egypt to visit the pyramids. He smiled at the thought of her all excited, taking pictures of this and that.

  Suddenly the sound of a twig cracking from beyond the trees brought him back from his thoughts. On instinct, he automatically drew his firearm peering into the dark jungle. He held firm, looking around, but could see no movement. After a few minutes, he relaxed.

  Danny and professor Shireberg were heard talking in the background. He went back to the tent, tucking his gun inside his jeans. Jason interrupted their conversation.

  “Miss Shireberg. One question, please. There is a total of seven tents, but I can only see four of your help force.”

  Helen explained to Jason. “Well, after the killings of my two colleagues. Half of them left, afraid they will be next. They are very superstitious people. Some of them think it’s the doing of the gods. They think it’s their fault for disturbing their domain.”

  “You okay, Jason? You look spooked!” asked Danny.

  Jason looked back into the trees. “Thought I heard something beyond the trees,” he said.

  Helen seemed to look worried.

  “It’s most probably an animal. Most of the wildlife venture out at night looking for food,” said Helen. “Danny tells me your also an archaeologist. What made you change your career?” She looked up at Jason waiting for an answer, when she suddenly realized how good looking he is.