The Atlantis Cipher (The Relic Hunters Book 2)

by David Leadbeater

  Bodie mouthed “So do we.” Cross exhaled and scratched his head. “I gotta say, we’re close to moving on this op. Coupla hours is all we need.”

  “You don’t have Pantera yet?” Heidi sounded appalled.

  “Flawless jobs take meticulous planning. They don’t just happen.”

  “It doesn’t matter. This new job eclipses everything. Forget Pantera and get back here now. I can’t tell you how important this is.”

  “It can’t wait until morning?”

  “It can’t wait until you get back. Time is an issue. Listen, there’s new, strong evidence that Atlantis actually existed. We have to get on top of it before anyone else does. I need you . . . right now.”

  The team members stared at each other and then straight at Bodie. This was his call. It occurred to him that if ever there was a time to make a stand against the CIA, to lay down the ground rules, this was it. Blackmail or not, they weren’t broken enough that they would roll over at every command.

  But Atlantis? That was huge. Yet he couldn’t let it take his attention away from Pantera.

  He took the phone from Cross. “This is Bodie. We’re finishing here first, Agent, then we’ll head in.”

  A long silence spoke of Heidi reining in the anger and calming herself down. “One more time . . . this is bigger than the last job. Do you get that? The Illuminati . . . they were a secret organization. This is a lost continent filled with potentially explosive knowledge. It’s top priority. I need the team.”

  Bodie studied the middle distance. “You’ll get the team. Tomorrow.”

  He hung up.

  Cassidy whistled. “Phewee, I bet the air’s a bit blue around DC right now.”

  Bodie didn’t smile. “I feel like a jerk,” he said. “We work for her. This will look bad on her. But . . . then there’s Pantera.”

  The phone rang again. Bodie answered immediately. “I only need tonight.”

  “Send someone. You gotta let me have someone. Jemma or Eli. Even Gunn.”

  Bodie studied the team, seeing the compromise and wishing he’d thought of it before. “Actually,” he said, “you can have all three. I only need Cassidy.”

  Cross tried not to look hurt. “Hey, I wanna see what this asshole has to say. Don’t you need me too?”

  Bodie nodded, feeling guilt at having to send his best friend away. “I’m trying to be diplomatic here. I don’t trust Heidi. I don’t trust Jack. It works better if I have my team in both places. And I value your opinion on Heidi’s new job, Eli.”

  “You don’t trust anyone,” Heidi complained.

  Bodie ignored it, thinking, Duh.

  No one liked it, but the decision had been made. Bodie and Cassidy would deal with Pantera while the rest of the team headed north to hook up with the CIA. The goodbyes were short, perfunctory. Tension was rising.

  Bodie saw nothing but conflict ahead.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Heidi Moneymaker sat in the middle of the highest tier of shallow steps that led up to the Lincoln Memorial at the western end of the National Mall, staring without seeing along the length of the Reflecting Pool. She didn’t realize she was shivering. The view, enhanced by spotlights and with the black vault above, was tremendous, the vastness awe-inspiring, but her heart was heavy.

  Torn between her duty as a CIA agent and her life as a mother, she fought hard to tackle them both, but she was fighting a losing battle. First, she had been career-motivated all her life. She loved her job and the satisfaction of bringing hardened criminals to justice. Second, the harsh demands of her job had all but alienated her from the husband she was now trying to reconcile with after he left her. Thirty minutes ago, she’d managed to get through to Jessica.

  “Hey, honey.”

  “Hey.”

  “How are you?”

  Silence.

  “What you up to?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I miss you so much.”

  Silence.

  Heidi felt the tears spring into her eyes, fought to keep control of her voice. “So, what’s new with you?”

  “You don’t have to do this, Mom.”

  “Do what?” She wondered if Jessica believed that this was a call borne out of duty.

  “Keep in touch. You’re where you want to be and that’s not here. With us. Look, I have to go.”

  Heidi tried to speak but her throat was too constricted. The call ended with nothing further said and a hole the size of a football where her heart should be. Is it time to give it all up? Priorities, right? That’s what it’s about, or so they say. Damn, but what if every man and woman who upheld the law and fought for the rights of decent civilians decided to do the same? What then?

  She gripped her knees tightly, wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked up, straight into dark skies illuminated by a silver moon. No help up there. The conflict of career and family was very real for her. Both were incredibly important, but if either one didn’t exist then she would become a more shallow person. She needed both to function.

  Movement came from the left and she checked her gun before turning to see Eli Cross. Gunn and Jemma were walking along behind him.

  “Been a long, bumpy trip,” Cross grumbled as the newcomers all sat beside her. “It better be worth it, Agent.”

  Heidi swallowed the pain and nodded, showing her game face. “I’ll say thanks for coming to the few who came. No doubt Bodie and Coleman will be able to catch us in the field. I’ll give you a quick briefing and then we’re off. Got it?”

  “Why the clandestine meet?” Gunn asked.

  Heidi stared at him. “We’re the CIA, dude.”

  “Ahh, sorry.”

  “Briefly . . . five statues were recently unearthed in South America that match precisely to four others that were found on the Azores a decade ago. I hope I don’t have to clarify the significance of that, considering what’s between both places.”

  Gunn shook his head dubiously. “You mean the ocean? Nope. Bodie and Cassidy are the ones that will need the full documentary. But that’s a big presumption, Agent.”

  “Understood. But the idiots who made this find announced it to the world several days ago. By now we’ll have every crackpot and his pet alligator on the way to Brazil.”

  “Brazil?”

  “The statues have been taken to the National History Museum in Rio de Janeiro for examination.”

  Gunn’s mouth fell open. “Rio? Now that’s pure bucket list. I do like the sound of that.”

  “Yeah, Rio. But don’t get sidetracked. I meant it when I said it’s attracted an awful lot of international attention. And an entire pigpen of unsavory characters.”

  Cross grunted. “Always the same. Why did they announce it so publicly?”

  Heidi blew her cheeks out. “I have no sane answer to that question.”

  “And why are you in such a rush?” Gunn asked. “I mean—so what? Atlantis has been there a bloody long time, Agent. It’ll be claimed by Morocco or some other nation. And it’s not like they’re gonna dredge it up very quickly.”

  Heidi sighed. “Are you kidding me? The stakes are huge. First, it’s international waters. Second, Atlantis was an advanced civilization. There could be devices, engineering, ideas, and medicines that could change our planet. We want a new frontier, a big step forward. The world is ready for it now more than ever. And guess what . . . Uncle Sam wants it first.”

  “Naturally,” Cross said, nodding.

  “These original Azores statues,” Gunn said. “I’m guessing they had Phoenician origins?”

  “You’d be right. The Phoenicians were an ancient civilization who spread across Lebanon, Turkey, Gaza, and even to the Atlantic Ocean. It has been suggested that they were the remnants of Atlantis, all that remained after the great cataclysm.”

  Jemma made a noise. “They were also supposed to originate from Bahrain. Another classic history quarrel. I remember that much.”

  “And this is why I’m looking to enlist the services of
a history expert,” Heidi admitted. “For this mission, at least.”

  Gunn shuffled on the cold concrete. “Not a bad idea. Look, is there a reason we’re sitting around like this? It’s bloody freezing up here.”

  “I like it,” Heidi said. “It helps me think about . . . things.”

  Cross might have seen something in her eyes, for he spoke quickly. “You want to go to this museum and get a look at the new statues?”

  “Yeah, to make a definitive ID.”

  “How long have they been on display?” Gunn asked.

  Heidi shook her head. “Stop being so naive. They’re not on display. There are no good photos. Why do you think I called the relic hunters? The press conference was a few days ago, and the statues have since been transported to the museum—”

  “For examination?” Jemma asked.

  Heidi raised a brow. “Yeah, for investigation.”

  Gunn finally understood. “My bottomless computer skills are at your service.”

  Cross looked out toward the distant Washington Monument spearing up at the scudding darkness. “You want to use us as deniable assets,” he said. “Again. But that won’t happen. We should be able to form a plan by the time we arrive in Rio.”

  Heidi nodded gratefully at him. “Perfect. We can let Bodie run his eyes over it.” She paused. “I’m assuming he meant what he said?”

  Cross shrugged. “All being well, they should have no problem taking Pantera tonight.”

  Heidi took a moment to remain completely still and consider what she was doing right now. Twenty minutes after losing it over the conversation with her daughter, she was once again traveling farther afield. The hurt deepened, but the quandary didn’t have the decency to unravel itself. She still felt drawn, driven. The search for Atlantis or any ancient myth may take a back seat to current affairs—it also had to remain under the radar—but it was no less important. It all went back to the excitement about everything that might be discovered. Imagine the concerns that may arise if an enemy state found it and the secrets contained therein.

  She rose and joined Cross, staring toward the Mall. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “It evokes a sense of internal contemplation, yeah.”

  “We touch so many lives, help so many people, and yet we can’t do a damn thing about our own.”

  Cross nodded carefully, saying nothing.

  Heidi knew the choice was to quit then and there or to compartmentalize her daughter for a while. The trouble was, at the moment, she could do neither. Every time she went away, she made it worse. The odds of a reconciliation diminished. She sensed right now that it was at a tipping point. Yes, she was a good agent, one who could put personal issues aside for the job. But the more she did that, the closer she came to losing one of the reasons she was so good at her job. Without one, there could not be the other.

  To be good at this job, you not only had to be driven—you had to be obstinate. Headstrong. The rule book couldn’t tell her what to do. The head and the heart were always at war.

  Feeling a further upwelling of emotion, she turned away and faced the cold concrete steps where her team waited.

  “So, what the hell are you guys still standing there for? Plane’s waiting, c’mon.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Bodie narrowed his eyes. The bastard was right there, looking out of the window, staring practically straight down the hidden camera’s lens. Jack Pantera was bald and distinguished, and always cut a dashing figure, which some might have believed would make his trade even harder. It was quite the opposite. Jack could tape on a wig, slide a pair of sunglasses over his nose, and blend in to any scene, anywhere. He had always been a privileged son of a bitch too, Bodie reflected. Born into wealth, he had chosen his own path with the time and ease to do it. No worrying over security and bills for Jack.

  So why choose to be a thief?

  Bodie remembered the conversation well. Pantera had never been closed with him, never lied . . .

  You’re joking, right?

  Bodie set the prison events aside for the moment. Pantera had never lied, never covered anything up. Every risk, every occurrence, was laid out for Bodie in black and white. Jack watched his young protégé come to his own conclusion that, in the end, usually matched Jack’s.

  He’d taken up thieving for the classic reason—to rebel. Jack had chosen to go against the grain, taking what he could easily afford, making a name for himself on the dark side of the law. But even that decision had good connotations. He didn’t need the money, so everything he took from the rich he gave back to the poor.

  “What are you thinking?” Cassidy’s whispered question snapped Bodie out of his reverie.

  “Just dwelling on old stuff.” Bodie sifted the significant memories from the trivial, trying to find something that would explain Pantera’s actions. With every job Bodie pulled, he preferred to go in with all the answers, every scrap of information. Here they were, ready to go, and he knew nothing.

  “He once told me why he became a thief,” Bodie said quietly. “His words were: ‘Because I like the ideal of Robin Hood.’ Jack liked to take from the rich and give to the poor. That’s how it all started out. Of course, even in that game, you soon learn there are rules you can’t break. By the time Jack realized, he was already in too deep.” Bodie shrugged. “So, he evolved. Got better at it. Became the best.”

  “I never knew that about his past,” Cassidy said. “We talked, sure, for hours, but never about how he got started.”

  “You didn’t work for him long enough. He kept that stuff for his closest confidantes.”

  “I barely worked for him at all, but he never seemed the one to betray his best friends.”

  Bodie stared into the eyes behind the camera’s lens. Cassidy was right. It was time to find out what drove a man to betray his friends.

  Bodie led the way. Cassidy wasn’t his equal in covert infiltration, the same as he wasn’t hers in combat. They each had their strengths. From their vantage point to the rear of the gated community, over a high wall and into somebody’s backyard they went, a silent step at a time. Every parameter had been accounted for. They chose the houses without dogs, and one particularly large yard that was empty, to regroup and assess. They chose a circuitous route and a time when the guards were at their most lethargic. They chose Pantera’s habitual heavy sleeping time. They watched their path carefully through the magic of mini surveillance cameras and Bluetooth. They moved easily, slowly, and with infinite care. The night hummed around them, populated by small creatures. The skies were dotted with stars, the great vault otherwise pitch black. A barely noticeable breeze stirred trees and bushes, chilling the sweat on their faces.

  Bodie halted finally at the foot of the hedge that bordered the rear of Pantera’s property.

  “We good?”

  Cassidy nodded. “Ready when you are.”

  “You have the restraints ready?”

  “Always.”

  Bodie concentrated on the hedge. It was in poor repair, being out of sight of the main internal road. He found a way through quite easily. Pantera’s house lay a quick sprint across well-tended lawns, which Bodie now made, Cassidy at his back. They checked all the cameras one last time.

  Nothing. No sign that they’d been compromised by security, neighbors, or Pantera himself, although several houses and many windows overlooked Jack’s property. Bodie wondered if, for the sake of blending in, Jack had been forced to temper his cunning. The old Pantera would employ a warning device of some sort at the very least.

  The rear double glass doors were secured by a high-end device, Bodie noticed. They would have to make a lot of noise going in that way. Most people fitted advanced security to the ground level of their houses and tended to neglect the upper floors. Pantera should be different, but here, Bodie betted that he wouldn’t be. They scaled a rear porch and inched along a conservatory roof, glass to both sides of the half-meter ledge. Exposed, they took just seconds to reach the end and duck d
own beside a second-floor window. Bodie quickly examined the lock, and knew it could be forced inward with minimal noise. That fact in itself made him wary. The Jack Pantera that Bodie knew wouldn’t use a lock like this for anything other than a setup.

  “This is it,” he murmured. “Looking at the state of this lock, Jack should be ready for us inside. It’s an easy in, so burglars will be drawn here. Make sure you’re close.”

  “I’ll be so close to your ass you’ll be issuing a restraining order.”

  Bodie shook his head, then broke the lock. Instantly, he forced the window open and levered his body through, dropped to the carpeted floor, and moved aside to give Cassidy room to cover his back. He expected light, he expected sound, maybe even a flare of some kind to debilitate the senses—but he didn’t expect what happened next.

  Pantera stumbled into the room, looking worn and tired, a bed sheet wrapped around his frame. He jabbed at a lamp, illuminating the room with a low light, face stretched with agony as he recognized who stood before him.

  “No, no, no, Bodie. What the hell have you done?” Panic tautened the vocal cords and made Jack’s face as white as the sheet that covered him.

  Bodie recovered quickly. “You’d better explain yourself fast, Jack.”

  Pantera clutched the sheet in fear. “Did they see you?”

  Bodie glanced at Cassidy, who shrugged eloquently.

  “Who?” she asked sweetly.

  Pantera lurched, fear sending his eyes huge. His feet tangled in the sheet, ripping it away from his body.

  Cassidy made a show of covering her eyes. “Whoa, I never bargained for that. You put that bad boy away, Jack.”

  “You don’t understand.” Pantera came forward, holding a hand out to Bodie.

  “Right. Well, until I do, let’s get out of this room and go somewhere dark. And for God’s sake put some bloody pants on.”

  Pantera tried visibly to get a grip on himself, picking up the sheet and tying it properly. Then he did something else Bodie would never have expected. He walked over to the darkest corner of the room and threw himself down on the floor, sitting with his back to the wall.