The Sword of Jerusalem and the hand of God, along with a Native American Indian, have led Jack Gunn and his blessed step-grandson, Keeper of the sword, to a secret cave.
As we walked into the cavern, I had a plan. I said, “Adam, when we’re in front of the glowing pedestal, draw the sword and point it in the air.”
“What do you think will happen?”
“I don’t know for sure. Maybe the Ark and treasure will be revealed to us, or maybe not. We might even meet God or he could speak to us. The worst that could happen is God kills us, like the others.”
“Why would he kill us? We believe in him.”
“Like I said before, God works in mysterious ways.”
We were almost at the large pedestal. It was still glowing with the dim yellow light, as were the walls. Stopping in front of the four foot high plainly craved large block of stone, I took hold of Adam’s left hand, squeezing it slightly.
I asked him, “Are you ready?”
“Yes Sir, I am ready.” He slowly started to draw the sword out.
It is a known fact that King Solomon’s treasure and the Ark disappeared when Nebuchadnezzar II invaded Jerusalem in 586 BC. There are no records of any great treasure or of the Ark being taken by the Babylonians. If they took it they would have made it well known. It would have been written in the history books for all to see. So how did the treasure and the Ark disappear into thin air?
In 1909, the Phoenix Gazette published a story about a man named Kincaid who found a cave in the Grand Canyon. In the story, Kincaid claims that he found mummies, statues, and gold artifacts that were Oriental or Egyptian in appearance. Kincaid advised he worked for the Smithsonian and sent some of the artifacts to them. He also claims that the Smithsonian mounted an expedition to the Grand Canyon to conduct further research.
Kincaid disappeared and no one has ever found the cave. The Smithsonian claims he didn’t work for them and they have no knowledge about any cave in the Grand Canyon containing artifacts.
PERSONA OF JACK GUNN
I am the eldest of three Brothers. We grew up fighting bullies and gang members in a tough neighborhood in South Chicago. My Dad, one of the most honest men I have known, always stressed, “Tell the truth, and help each other. Never ever be a bully, never steal, and try to protect those who cannot protect themselves.” I have always stood up for the people who could not defend themselves. I hate liars and bullies.
Standing six feet tall at 180 pounds, I am in great shape for my age, and my body is honed by years of physical training. I shave my head two times a week as it is cooler with no hair in the hot south. I sport a gray mustache and goatee that I keep well-trimmed and short. There is a two-inch scar on my forehead from a knife fight years ago.
I spent four years in the Army as a Military Policeman and became an expert in the use of handguns, rifles, shotguns, and in hand-to-hand combat. My legs have skin grafts from burns due to an explosion when I worked for the DOD (Department of Defense) doing security details for seven years.
I love our country, freedom, my family, and friends. If anyone messes with my family or friends, justice will be swift and painful. I have no use for anyone who breaks the law, cheats, or steals. For the most part, I follow the Ten Commandments, but also believe in The Code of Hammurabi, which is an Eye for an Eye. If you take an eye, I’ll take your whole head. I fight to keep our Bill of Rights under the United States Constitution.
I’ve been shot two times, burned from explosions, and stabbed multiple times by the forces of evil. It’s a wonder that I am still alive. But I keep on fighting because there is no other choice. It’s fight or die in this screwed up world.
I have killed a lot of men in my lifetime. Killing always came easy for me. Some I killed in cold blood, but I never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it, so I feel no remorse or guilt.
That is me, Jack Gunn, and these are my chronicles.
INTRODUCTION
Yesterday Adam went missing along with White Feather in the Petrified Forest while searching for petroglyphs that could prove the Knights Templar had been to this God-forbidden part of the country seven-hundred years ago.
We tracked them to a dirt road using our dogs, but lost the trail. It appeared that they were abducted by four men in a vehicle. Judging by the tire tracks it was some type off-road truck or jeep.
Since we were on foot and darkness had set in, we returned back to the bivouac area, which was the visitor center building located at Puerco Pueblo Ruins. We needed to review the park map to determine where the dirt road led to. We would pick up the trail in the morning and continue our search.
I was really concerned for Adam’s safety. Why would White Feather take Adam and leave with some strangers? Maybe they were not strangers. Maybe White Feather wanted Adam to tell him the secrets of the sword to find the treasure.
As everyone was getting ready to bed-down for the night, Maggie tried to console me. “Don’t worry, Jack. We’ll find him tomorrow. Try to get some sleep.” She patted me on the back and walked away, leaving me alone to think.
I started to clean my M4, getting ready to do battle. Popping the rear takedown pin out and removing the bolt carrier, I paid special attention, cleaning every surface. Satisfied my M4 was ultraclean, I pulled out my Black Bear knife. Slowly I ran the edge of the blade back and forth over the honing stone. After an hour, I tested the sharpness by shaving the hair off my arm. It was razor sharp, ready to draw blood.
I couldn’t sleep because I was already plotting what to do to the men who kidnapped my Grandson. When I find these dirtbags they will suffer. If they hurt Adam in any manner, then they will die. Maybe I’ll kill them just for taking Adam. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.
THE SEARCH
MAY 26, 2026
Finally, I dozed off and managed to grab a few hours of sleep. Waking up before sunrise, I went out for a smoke. Captain Baldwin, commander of the Templar Warriors, was already outside with a few of his men getting the trucks and weapons ready for our search mission.
Captain George Baldwin and I had grown to become really close friends. No, not close friends, best friends. He is a trustworthy man who believes in God and isn’t afraid of anything. He’s the type of man who would give his life to protect his troops and friends. George is not afraid of dying. He once told me, ‘If you think about dying, that’s bad juju. When your time is up, you can’t do anything about it.’
Since George is our battle field commander, I defer most combat situations to him because of his experience. I said, “Morning George. What’s the plan to rescue Adam?”
George turned around, stopping what he was doing. He put his hand on my shoulder and asked, “Did you get any sleep?”
“Yeah, a couple of hours.”
“Good let’s get some chow, and then we’ll go over the plan. I already have Pete and Jeff doing recon, while it’s still dark. Hopefully they’ll find some clues.”
We walked back into the visitor center. George yelled, “Everyone up! It’s time to rock and roll!” His men, along with Maggie, crawled out of their sleeping bags. Freda and Adolf, our Shepherd guard dogs, jumped up to attention.
We heated up some coffee and five MREs, giving one to Maggie and one to each dog. They ate what we did simply because there was no dog chow. Besides, the MREs are good healthy food. After eating, Maggie took the dogs outside for their morning walk.
Freda and Adolf were trained by Klaus Tummel in Florida. He was a famous guard dog trainer. Klaus was killed by a Free Roamer in Gulf Port, Florida. We went to his home to purchase trained guards dogs for use on Tocabaga Island. While there, we found his dogs running loose purely by accident. After we buried Klaus the dogs came with us to Tocabaga. They are well trained smart canines who took a liking to us right away. They follow every order, and I think they can sense who is evil and who is not. I swear they can understand every word you say.
I was sipping some coffee while looking at the satellite map. George commented, “This park
is pretty big. There are a lot of dirt roads that run out into the middle of desert. Who knows where they go? We’re gonna split up to expedite the search.”
Nodding, I looked at George. “Yeah, I agree with that idea.”
As George pointed at the map, he replied, “The tactical Hummers will take the lead. I want one Hummer to run all the way to the park HQ, located here,” as his finger followed the road to the park’s headquarters. “In the meantime, two will follow behind and search the Painted Desert Lodge.”
“There’s a lodge here?”
“Yeah, we don’t know how big it is or if anyone lives there, but we’ll find out.”
I observed the map and noted that six dirt roads spun off of the Petrified Park Highway. Each one would have to be checked for tracks.
Baldwin continued, “The rest of the convoy will check out the six dirt roads. Any comments?”
“Are you taking the lead truck to the park headquarters?”
“Yeah. You know I always lead the way.”
“I wanna ride with you.”
“Ok. You’ll be with me. We need one more man.”
“I suggest Maggie and the dogs ride with us.”
“Alright, that sounds good. I’ll give the assignments to my men. Be ready to roll out in one hour.”
As I was packing up my gear, Maggie walked in with the dogs. I informed her of the plan and told her to get ready to move out.
While we were waiting the radio hissed. It was a message from Pete who was doing recon. “Based on the tracks coming off the dirt, it appears they headed north on the main road.” Baldwin acknowledged the message and told him to stay there until we arrived.
As the sun was breaking the horizon, our Hummer took the lead. We reached a blazing speed of 45 mph. That’s the top speed of the combat Humvee due to the weight of the armor. The other units followed behind us. Baldwin’s idea was to move in fast on the park HQ and the lodge. If anyone was there, he wanted to surprise them. Catch them off guard so to speak. I was driving; George sat in the machine gun turret with Maggie as back-up and ammo feeder.
The paved road went over the Burlington Northern railroad tracks and then over Interstate 40. From I-40 it was only a few miles to the park HQ. As we passed over I-40, we didn’t spot any other vehicles moving on the Interstate. Because the park was closed to the public, there was no traffic inside the park.
The main park road runs directly north from Route 180 passing over the railroad and I-40. Then it continues north for five miles until it loops back south to the main entrance, where the main Visitor Center and Headquarters are located. The road is shaped like a reversed question mark when observing it on a map. It’s about 25 miles long.
Rounding some sharp curves the road wound around the foot of some high cliffs, before turning south again. The scenery of the Painted Desert was awesome.
The Painted Desert is a spectacular colorful sight, for a desert. It is a bleak but colorful landscape due to the iron and manganese compounds in the dirt, which causes the soil to have various colors such as pink, blue, and white. It looks like someone painted it, hence the name. It is also known as the Badlands of Arizona.
We passed by the Desert Inn on the left side of the road. Looking in my mirror, I observed Pete’s Humvee and another one pull into the parking lot. A few minutes, later we pulled up to the Park Headquarters.
I was surprised, as was Baldwin, at how large the HQ complex was. “Damn, this place is huge.”
Baldwin replied, “Yeah. I think we need some help to search this place.” He got on the radio and asked for another Hummer to come help us out when they were done searching the Inn.
Maggie said, “The government sure knows how to waste money. This place must house thirty people.”
I said, “All this to take care of a desert and some petrified trees. What a waste of money. No wonder the country went bankrupt.”
“These guys were living high on the hog for sure, until the government ran out of money,” Baldwin commented. “We never had it this good in the military.”
We sat in the Humvee waiting for reinforcements to come. From this position on the road I counted: five condominium one story type buildings, two main buildings, which were the visitor center, and one garage with gas pumps.
I asked, “George, where do you want to start searching at?”
“I’m not sure. Pull around back, let’s see what’s there.”
Pulling around back behind the main buildings, on the service drive, we counted three big double-wide trailers which appeared to be living quarters, four actual adobe type houses, and three garages which contained fire trucks.
George commented, “It may take a while before Pete comes to help us, so here’s what we’ll do. Jack and I will clear each building along with the dogs, starting with these trailers. We’ll sweep all the buildings heading west until we get to the visitor center. Maggie, you take the truck and park on the main road. Man the M2, and keep your eyes peeled for anyone. Shoot first, ask questions later.”
Maggie nodded ok, and pulled away after we dismounted with the dogs and our weapons.
Baldwin’s plan was a good one. We would open the door on each building or trailer and let the dogs search for people inside. No one could escape or hide from Adolf and Freda. After the dogs did the initial clearing we could go in and take a look-see.
We proceeded with Captain Baldwin’s plan. Most of the building doors were unlocked, but a few we had to bust in. After a fruitless search of all the buildings and trailers, we arrived at the main building which contained the HQ and Visitors Center.
The doors were locked so we popped open a window to gain entrance. That set off an alarm bell that was louder than hell. Baldwin quickly found the alarm control box and cut the wires, disabling it. I let the dogs search the building, and after checking all the rooms, we determined no one was inside. I radioed Maggie it was all clear, advising her come in.
The radio buzzed, it was Pete. “We didn’t find anyone at the lodge. We’re on our way over to you now.”
I replied, “Take your time, this place is empty.”
Baldwin shouted, “Jack, come here and look at this!”
“Where you at?”
“In the main office.”
After roaming around the 30,000 square foot building for a while, Maggie and I found the main office far in the back of the building. Walking in the door, Baldwin was sitting at a control panel with computer monitors mounted on the wall.
Maggie asked, “What are those for?”
“These are security monitors. My guess is there must be eight cameras mounted out in the park since there are eight screens here,” Baldwin replied.
“Can we turn them on?” I asked.
“Yeah, we got electric power. I’m gonna check the disk from yesterday for each camera. Maybe we can spot Adam and the guys who took him.”
I lit up a smoke and watched George work on it. One by one the monitors came on. It was showing us real-time displays of what was going on in the park. While pointing at a monitor, Baldwin said, “Look, our convoy is coming this way.”
“Can you run yesterday’s recording?”
“I’m trying to figure it out now.”
Just then, Pete came in the door. “What you guys got here?” he asked.
Baldwin moved out of the way. “Pete, you’re good at this computer crap. Figure out how to run the camera recording from yesterday.”
Pete sat down and in about five minutes figured it out. “There’s eight cameras and each one has its own memory. That means there are eight screens to watch.”
We were watching the monitors, trying to get a view of Adam or the men that took him and White Feather. Pete put the re-play on fast forward to speed up the process, so we wouldn’t be there all day. The picture was in black and white.
Pete said, “Look, monitor five shows a truck moving near the Puerco Pueblo Ruins on a dirt road. My guess is it will show up on monitor four next. I think monitor one is
located here, at the HQ.”
Sure enough monitor four showed the truck on the main road. The problem was we couldn’t make out who was in the vehicle. I could see that it was a dark-colored truck that appeared to be shaped like an old Ford, but it was hard to tell.
Monitor three showed the truck pull up to the Desert Inn. Everyone got out and I saw Adam with White Feather, along with four armed men. White Feather wasn’t carrying his rifle. The men pushed them to the entrance of the lodge. The picture was dark because it was taken at night, so I couldn’t clearly make out their faces. I could however, make out that the weapons which appeared to be M16 rifles and AK47s. I also observed three other trucks parked in the hotel lot. The video didn’t have any sound.
I said, “Well, at least they’re alive.”
Baldwin said, “Yesterday they were alive.”
We continued to watch the video as it turned to daylight, which would be this morning. We saw everyone get in the trucks and leave. Adam was with them but White Feather wasn’t. We counted a total of ten men, two in each truck and four in the truck with Adam. They headed toward the park HQ.
Monitors one and two picked them up very clearly, but since they didn’t stop and get out of the trucks, their faces were not defined. I did see the driver of the truck Adam was in. He had an eye patch over his left eye and a bandana on his head, but that was all I could make out. Watching the monitor, we noted they left the park, and headed west on Interstate 40. The time was 7 am.
I checked my watch, it was 9:50 am. That meant they had a two hour and fifty-minute lead on us. Maggie said, “At least we know which way they went. Let’s go get them.”
Templars Quest Trilogy: The Lost Ark (Books 1-3 The Templars Quest Chronicles) Page 21
