Atlantis Vortex
Page 43
“I can not imagine you being afraid of anything,� Harold told his brazen offspring with an ironic grin.
“Xerxes opened an expensive bottle of wine. When he handed me a glass in an ancient golden crystal goblet, he had to cover my hand to keep me from spilling or dropping it, I was shaking so badly. I believe Xerxes realized I had never…well up until then, I think he was under the impression upper-world women were more experienced.�
“Not my daughter!� Maureen, who had been listening, interjected. “You were always more interested in science and sports,� she smiled a little. “I think though, you were already in love with him.�
Jessica’s look became soft and despite her fever, she smiled the smile of a new happy bride. “Xerxes was, well, I could not ask for a more memorable wedding night. Xerxes is extremely loving, intensely gentle, and very understanding.â€� Jessica sighed. “That was my second night in Atlantis, the first night we slept together but he didn’t touch me other than to hold me while I slept. I was exhausted and terrified. Xerxes told me I needed to sleep.â€�
Harold laughed, as he knew his daughter had waited until the right man had come into her life. He was also gratified to have his impressions about Xerxes confirmed. The young man must have willpower of steel. �Wow, you two are a real pair. I shall have to have a long talk with this young man.�
“Good luck Dad - he is the ruler of Atlantis, he does what he wishes.�
“Not with my daughter he doesn’t,â€� he laughed. “And here you are. I can see you do as you’re told, like always.â€� Jessica bumped her Dad’s shoulder, hard. Then leaned her head against him he put his arm around her shoulder. Harold could feel his daughter’s temperature through his clothing. He patted her back like he did when she was little and sick, “He’ll come, honey, I know he will.â€�
“Yeah, Dad,� she sighed and quite suddenly fell asleep.
Harold could see Jessica loved Xerxes but she was doubtful of his love. Harold hoped he wasn’t too late when he did come, Jessica was close to the point of no return and Harold knew it. Medical science could only do so much and, although he suspected Atlantian medicine was far advanced, he wasn’t sure it was far enough
*
Meredith Simon sat the in back seat of a Navy F-14 Tom Cat fighter jet General Grill had secured her a ride in to Hawaii. What an experience! She thought, but nagging her mind and dulling the exhilaration of the experience was the feeling she seemed to be going fast, but always just behind the action. Somewhere out on the deep blue Pacific Ocean Jessica Carter and Bruce Lance were in serious trouble along with a State of Florida official. He might be in collusion with the lunatic that had kidnapped them and she didn’t have a name to put with the picture of the mysterious lunatic.
“Ms. Simon.� The pilot of the jet said over the intercom system.
“Yes,� Meredith responded in a very un-military way.
“We’ll be landing at Pearl Harbor in five minutes. General Grill has arranged a car to meet you.â€�
“Thank you, Lieutenant,� Ms. Simon said and prepared her stomach for the mach four landing the pilot had already told her to be ready for.
Ms. Simon thoroughly enjoyed their flight and was rather sad it was over but she was happy to be back on the ground too. She was picked up as expected, taken to a nice hotel where she checked in, changed into working clothes and promptly started to track down Mr. Lance’s movements. It didn’t take her long to find the island where he had set his plane down. With it, she found evidence of a gun battle, similar to the one where the Aztecs had tried to kill Jessica Carter but no bodies this time. She arranged to have the plane Bruce Lance rented returned to its owner then returned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office in Hawaii. Meredith reviewed the report from the airport about the man who had picked-up Jessica’s luggage only to end up with a dead end on that lead too. Jessica’s luggage was at the hotel, awaiting her arrival, the man who had picked it up had disappeared. No more leads. Ms. Simon was a very frustrated woman.
General Grill phoned her from Florida and gave her a full report of a strange encounter the Navy had with a fishing boat in the Pacific not far from Maui. They reported seeing a woman who fit the description of Jessica Carter and a man who looked like Anthony Sutherland. Middle Eastern terrorists were implicated and this other man who they did not know the name of. Ms. Simon now knew her targets were out on the Pacific and in danger. She called the Coast Guard and they expanded their search, but she knew if the Navy couldn’t find them the Coast Guard stood less of a chance and by now her targets were well out of their range. Again, the trail was cold. A feeling of inadequacy didn’t begin to describe how she felt.
Two Hawaiian police officers appeared in the outer office escorting two handcuffed men. It turned out that these two men were the pilots of the stolen Gulf Stream jet from West Palm Beach. Ms. Simon questioned both men separately and neither one knew a great amount. Both confirmed they had flown an injured woman and another man to a small island off the coast. The man who hired them said he was a Chilean Professor named Marcus Trident and had paid them in advance in cash. They swore the professor provided papers proving ownership. As required, they had copies of the papers in their flight plan log documents that exonerated them.
When the Navy had ordered them to land, the man who had hired them pulled a gun on them. They could not land as they ordered to. Both claimed Marcus Trident hijacked them. Their story seemed too neatly sewn up, making it impossible for Meredith to prove they were lying. Marcus Trident had paid for their fuel in cash as well and the receipt for that was in their documents. Meredith’s only consolation was she now had a name to attach to the picture of their suspect, Marcus Trident. When they ran his name through all of their known felons, nothing came up from their databases. As their protocols required, his name and his picture became a part of their database then transmitted to all their offices and all other international police agencies around the world.
The jet’s real owners - ‘Kallias Enterprises’ - based in West Palm Beach were relieved to get their jet back unharmed, and under the circumstances, waived charges against the two pilots. Meredith, with no other alternative, detained the pilots for questioning and then released them. Afterwards, she phoned the C.E.O. of Kallias Enterprises.
“Mr. Kallias,� Meredith said firmly, “We need you to press charges against these two. It may convince them to be more forthcoming about the man who hired them - his name is Marcus Trident. We suspect he has connections to a group of terrorists.�
“Ms. Simon,â€� Xerxes said, working hard to keep both irritation and amusement out of his accented voice, “We have our aircraft back, undamaged. From what you have told me, they know very little. Kallias Enterprises doesn’t need this type of publicity. I am sure if you wish to detain the two you will find some other charge you can make stick. Good day, Ms. Simon.â€� Xerxes hung up the phone. He had other, more important and pressing problems. Finding Jessica before…. He wouldn’t allow his mind to finish the thought.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Xerxes was beside himself with worry. Nothing Ainu could do would calm him. Knowing Atlantis was safe freed Xerxes to actively search for his wife and her family, but they had little intelligence on their whereabouts. Also, now that Xerxes knew what he did about Marcus, he was in near panic for Jessica’s very life.
Ainu’s extra security arrived moments after Marcus had forcibly extracted Jessica’s parents from the island. The security team returned with three badly injured men and one upper-worlder who they found hiding in the bush from Marcus’ thugs. His name was Bruce Lance and to the security team’s consternation, he seemed to know Xerxes. With great reluctance, they brought him back rather than leave him in possible danger on the island. Xerxes was actually happy to see him.
“Mr. Lance,�
�€� Xerxes shook his hand, “What brings you to Hawaii and how did you come to be on that island?â€�
“Call me Bruce, remember, Lord Xerxes,â€� Bruce told him with a smile. “I couldn’t stay in Florida with Jessica in such danger. She is my best friend. I know she is your wife, I know you are worried about her too and will do all you can to find her, but I just had to come, sir. If I could have done something to stop those hoodlums, I would have. I would have taken her parents from the island, but my plane had water in the fuel so I was stranded myself.â€� His frustration was loud in his tightly controlled voice.
“Well Bruce, you know it all now, so stick around I’m sure we can find something for you to help with,â€� Xerxes told him. “I hope I can count on your prudence on these matters?â€�
“Jessica wouldn’t tell me much, so I really don’t know as much as I would like to. However, yes, you can count on my discretion. Jessica chooses her friends well.â€�
“Thank you, Bruce.� Xerxes turned to Ainu, “This is my brother, the Lord of Pacifica, Ainu.�
“So happy to meet you, sir,â€� Bruce said. “I must say I have of course heard of Atlantis in fiction, I have always suspected there were others. I could make a life’s work out of studying these two. Where are the others, or maybe I shouldn’t ask?â€�
“We can leave that for later conversations.� Xerxes told him cryptically.
“Of course. What can I do to help find Jessica?� Bruce asked, certainly more interested in finding Jessica anyway.
“We have several teams assembling now,â€� Xerxes told him. “And a couple of firm leads. We know where the boat they are on is heading.”
Xerxes had given Maureen Jessica’s ankle bracelet after attaching a tracking device by carefully fused it to the ancient metal. It had only recently started to transmit after coming in contact with Jessica’s skin. It was showing Pisces’ boat moving toward Antarctica and Pacifica’s trackers were not sure it was giving accurate directions. However, it would take three days to reach that destination and the boat would have to refuel. They had, within the last hour received a report from a group of dolphins who sighted the boat in question. The dolphins, relaying their message by telepathic communications, had seen Jessica and her mother. Jessica’s leg was bandaged, and bleeding. Shortly afterward, the men on the Pacifica boat had taken shots at the dolphins - luckily, none had been hit. With their tracking device now proving accurate, they could begin to make plans. Now with good intelligence about Jessica and her family’s location, a rescue strategy was in the planning stages.
Xerxes knew it would take several hours to make their plan operational. Barrous had already volunteered to help and they would need his help. Xerxes tried to rest but couldn’t. Ainu’s doctor insisted Xerxes take a sleeping pill and he managed to sleep for six hours. It took another two hours of exercise to get the effects out of his system. Both teams enjoyed a high carbohydrate meal to prepare them for the long hours of physical activity ahead although it was a quiet and somber affair, each member mentally preparing for the dangerous task ahead. Bruce insisted on going and Xerxes knew him to be equal to the task. He was acquainted with Pericles and his team and they shared a close rapport from working at the dig together.
The teams all suited up in their various gear styles. The extraction team wore dry suits with full scuba gear and spare regulators should the need arise. Jessica and her parents knew how to dive if it became necessary for them to use the regulators. Xerxes and Pericles would be with the sub to assist them. Xerxes’ only fear was that Jessica would be unconscious and unable to use the regulator should she need it.
Ainu’s team would be up top since the fishing boat was by Pacifica law, his jurisdiction. His team wore dry suits also but full Pacifica battle gear, similar to that of Atlantian gear, complete with the laser rifles that had Ms. Simon so stumped.
Pericles and his squad had been the only choice for the extraction team since Pericles would be in the sub and Jessica knew them. This left the above-water distraction team Ainu would lead. This team would try to capture Marcus. Both Xerxes and Ainu hoped to take Marcus alive to stand trial for treason and murder. Xerxes felt he could prove that Marcus had murdered their parents, but wondered if he could contain himself and refrain from strangling Marcus with his bare hands once he set eyes on him. He worried more about Jessica and her condition. He knew she had lost a great deal of blood from the gunshot and he was concerned about other complications. Somewhat psychic, he felt in his soul that she was much worse and time was running out. In the few quiet times, he had allowed himself, he could hear her calling to him and her voice was growing weaker.
Ainu had chosen a team made up of a mix of volunteers, two of which were Anke and Nuba, Marcus’ nephews, both anxious to prove their loyalties. Anke, recovered from the minor gunshot wound in the battle with the Aztecs, was fit enough to join in the raid.
Pericles’ squad had been Xerxes only choice to carry out the extraction from the sub. The squad all felt especially close to Jessica almost like her brothers they had shared so much on the excavation. This would be the less risky venture but the main goal of their objective.
With their plan set and their gear loaded on Barrous’ ship, the timetable would begin with the sub slipping silently and undetected from the alien vessel beneath the darkened waters of the Pacific Ocean. The interception point was set to take place after moonset.
With the boat three days from Antarctica, the water would be extremely cold. It was summer in Northern Hemisphere, but winter in the Southern Hemisphere of earth. Xerxes knew from information obtained from the dolphins’ sonar, Jessica and her family were held in the hold of the boat. He knew it would be cold in there and he prayed Jessica could hold on until they could get there. Several times, when he was alone he had spoken to her and told her to hold on hoping she would hear his thoughts.
Bruce had insisted on accompanying them and he suited up in similar gear to the surface team, so the sub was tight on space. The surface force was wearing dry suits, as a precaution should one of them go overboard in the frigid waters. They carried advanced Atlantian weapons to siege the boat with, not bothering with the upper-world’s weaponry that was more conventional. Distracting the crew away from Pericles’ team while they carried out the rescue of the captives was their main objective. Capturing Marcus alive was a secondary objective, if they had to; their instructions were not to hesitate to kill him. Pericles’ unit too carried weapons, but less firepower to conserve space. Their main mission was to extract Jessica, her parents and Anthony.
Xerxes had convinced Bruce to stay onboard Barrous’ ship after a last minute reflection. He didn’t doubt his bravery or skill, but Xerxes didn’t want to explain to his wife, should Bruce be injured or killed, Ainu would not be so convinced. As Lord of Pacifica, the operation was in his sphere of jurisdiction and he wanted to supervise the surface action. Xerxes was worried about his brother, he knew Marcus hated Ainu and would not hesitate to kill him.
Ambassador Barrous had supervised the loading of equipment and the team’s placements. He was a wonder of organization and Xerxes sent a transmission of High Praise to the ruler of Alpha-Centauri commending Barrous’ and his crew’s unselfish efforts. Barrous was the ruler’s younger brother. The esteemed ruler’s return message offered an invitation to Xerxes to visit with his new wife once all this unpleasantness concluded.
Bruce, for his part, tried to stay in the background and out of the way. He watched in constant amazement at the advanced technology around him hoping Jessica would convince Xerxes to allow him to remain in Atlantis and possibly accompany them to Alpha-Centauri, if they really went. Beneath it all, he was terribly worried about Jessica. He just would not allow himself to believe Jessica and her parents; his family really wouldn’t be rescued.
Once onboard Barrous’ ship, the flight would only take thirty minutes to cover the one thousand
miles between Pacifica and the fishing vessel.
Well out of sight of the fishing boat, Barrous dropped the sub and a high speed, armored surface boat into the cold Pacific water, then stayed just out of sight to coordinate communications and rescue recon if needed.
*
Harold, Maureen, and Skip were increasingly concerned about Jessica’s leg. It had become progressively worse. Captain Pisces in the last hour had twice checked on her and though Jessica objected, given her a shot for pain and more of the antibiotic. Although not strong enough to overcome the infection, the antibiotic kept the infection somewhat at bay. To weak to stop the infection, they slowed the inevitable. Marcus had laughed at the Captain the last time and the Captain had popped him in the jaw for it knocking Marcus on his butt.
“Marcus I would have turned you over to Lord Ainu,â€� he told him, “if I weren’t afraid of being tried for treason myself. And Marcus,” Pisces got right up in Marcus’ face, “You know what that penalty is.â€� Pisces had walked off. The penalty for treason was death.
Harold had thanked the Captain and told him if things worked out for the better, he would put in a good word for him. Pisces had just apologized for the situation and walked away, a sad and sick look on his face.
Jessica had asked for Xerxes several times in her fever, and spoken to him as if he were there. She was on the verge of being delirious. Maureen was close to tears, only her strong will kept her functional. Harold and Anthony were desperately trying to formulate an attack plan. On Pisces’ last visit, he brought down a hot meal and a bottle of wine. They figured it was their last meal. It had gotten dark topside. The prisoners huddled together around Jessica in the freezing cold hold. A depressed and dark silence reigned.