by Nick Thacker
“All that talk of being philanthropic; of ‘the good of society;’ it’s a charade. But I’ll change that. Everything we’ve discovered here, and everything you’ve done — good and bad — will be revealed.”
It was Whittenfield’s turn to laugh. “Really? Taking it? How do you think you’re going to take an entire company from me?” he asked. His hand wavered, and in the split second it dropped Bryce lashed out and caught Whittenfield’s arm. The gun tumbled away, landing under the helicopter. Bryce winced at the pain the movement had caused him, but he recovered quickly and looked back up at Whittenfield.
“Glad you asked.” He nodded at Wayne, and a gunshot flashed from the large man’s hand. Whittenfield’s body lifted completely off the ground and he flew backwards onto the tarmac. The gunshot hit him in the chest, but he was protected by a bulletproof vest.
Bryce stepped forward and stood over Whittenfield. “We’re leaving you here. Your crystal is going to break down completely at any moment, and I don’t want to be on this island — or anywhere near it — when that happens.” He reached out with his arm and caught the edge of the hovering helicopter’s landing rail. The three passengers inside the chopper stepped out and grabbed Bryce, pulling him safely inside the cabin.
Whittenfield found the pistol that had been knocked out of his hand and started shooting upwards at the helicopter. Bryce turned from the gunshots and listened to them bounce harmlessly off the helicopter’s belly.
A flash of blue light caught his attention. Cole stood next to him at the edge of the helicopter’s door. His skin was glowing with the blue hue, and in his outstretched arms they could see a growing, pulsating orb — like the one they’d seen in the temple library.
“Cole? How — how are you doing that?” Corinne asked.
Bryce stepped to the side. The pilot was ascending slowly, now fifteen feet off the ground, while bullets still pinged the bottom of the craft.
Cole squinted in anger and turned his hands.
The small orb dropped from the helicopter, straight down — onto Whittenfield.
The older man was stunned, unsure of what was falling from above. He stared at it, forgetting about the fleeing helicopter, as the orb made contact with his face.
The reaction was as instantaneous as it had been with the Israeli, though this time Bryce felt no obligation to put the man out his misery. They watched in solemn silence as the shock of the mysterious crystal properties reacted with Whittenfield’s body, causing a slow internal burn that slowly killed him.
Whittenfield fell back to the ground, writhing in agony, and the helicopter tilted away from the scene below.
As the doors shut, Bryce shouted over the noise to Cole. “Ok, what was that? How did you do that?”
“Just like before — in the presence of the crystal, I’m able to, like, summon it or something.” He replied.
“But there’s no — “ Bryce stopped as he saw Wayne’s ear-to-ear grin.
“Sorry boss — I forgot to mention that. Back in the volcano, I was reaching for Vilocek’s gun. I also found this —“ he reached into his pocket and pulled out the object. “And I guess it’s strong enough to let Cole do his thing,” he finished, handing the small sliver to Bryce.
Bryce looked at the tiny sliver, glowing blue with a shimmering light. So we will be able to finish their research, he thought. He closed his eyes and thought through the last 72 hours. There were holes to fill, for sure, but he had a pretty good idea of what was left to unravel with the crystal. And he had some friends from his college days who would be grateful at the opportunity to work on such an esteemed research project.
Corinne approached him from the opposite side of the cabin. “Bryce, I couldn’t hear everything you were saying out there, but I don’t understand something. You told Whittenfield you were ‘taking everything?’ What did you mean by that?”
Wayne looked up at the pair as well. “Yeah. Whittenfield Research isn’t a public company.”
“Right — but what he didn’t realize was that when he gave me the advance after we first met, it effectively made me the highest-paid executive officer of his organization, after Whittenfield himself.”
“Who’s now, I guess, out of the picture?”
“Exactly. As such, I now have the responsibility to hire a replacement. I’m not allowed to advance to the role myself, but I can appoint someone else — someone who would be able to carry on the research arm of the company.” He winked at Corinne as he said this.
Corinne thought about this a moment, then her eyes widened in understanding. Cole also nodded his approval.
“Ms. Banks, you’ve been through a few pretty traumatic days. Why don’t you take a week or so to tie up any loose ends at the university, then give me a call. I think I might have a job opening very soon,” Bryce said.
She jumped forward to hug Bryce, but stopped short as she remembered his wound. “Thank you, thank you! Yes, I accept!” she said, elated.
“Besides,” he said. “I think the four of us are the only people left who know about a certain massive treasure sitting below the Treasury at Petra. Even if we only get a finder’s fee, I’d bet it would be enough to fund a few excursions.”
They laughed, and Bryce went over the rest of the plans with the group — Cole would gladly help out with the non-invasive experimentation, things like studying the ability to weaponize the crystal’s energy and help with the mental and physical attributes that he possessed. They’d take a few weeks off first, and then hit the ground running on the project.
He opened his eyes. In the distance, he could see the volcano spilling smoke from its top, slowly awakening from its long-time slumber. Bryce turned to the others in the cabin.
Wayne held the watch his brother Jeff had given him three years ago; tears welling up in his eyes.
Cole had his arm over Corinne, her head on his shoulder. Cole was looking out the other window while he played with a lock of Corinne’s hair.
Finally, Bryce looked down to the sliver of crystal in his hand. They could make so much money from this object — the possibilities were virtually endless. What Vilocek — and eventually Whittenfield — had seen in it was all true. It was capable of so much; such a powerful piece of science.
But the world wasn’t ready for this.
Bryce knew how easily one could be swayed; blinded. He had seen it firsthand, and he knew that not even he could prevent it from eventually corrupting someone else. They had the research; the methodologies. They had the resources and the minds to create and learn — they didn’t need this crystal.
He opened the bay door and dropped the crystal out.
It sank through the air, disappearing as it blended into the pure blue of the sea below.
He had just saved the world — for a while, at least.
Afterword
If you liked this book (or even if you hated it…) write a review or rate it. You might not think it makes a difference, but it does.
Besides actual currency (money), the currency of today’s writing world is reviews. Reviews, good or bad, tell other people that an author is worth reading.
As an “indie” author, I need all the help I can get. I’m hoping that since you made it this far into my book, you have some sort of opinion on it.
Would you mind sharing that opinion? It only takes a second.
Nick Thacker
Colorado Springs, CO
Also by Nick Thacker
Mason Dixon Thrillers
Mark for Blood (Mason Dixon Thrillers, Book 1)
Harvey Bennett Thrillers
The Enigma Strain (Harvey Bennett Thrillers, Book 1)
The Amazon Code (Harvey Bennett Thrillers, Book 2)
The Ice Chasm (Harvey Bennett Thrillers, Book 3)
The Jefferson Legacy (Harvey Bennett Thrillers, Book 4)
Harvey Bennett Thrillers - Books 1-3
Relics
Relics: One
Relics: Two
Relics: Three
Relics: Omnibus
The Lucid
The Lucid: Episode One (written with Kevin Tumlinson)
The Lucid: Episode Two (written with Kevin Tumlinson)
The Lucid: Episode Three (written with Kevin Tumlinson
Standalone Thrillers
The Atlantis Stone (previously published as The Golden Crystal)
The Depths
The Atlantis Deception (A.G. Riddle’s The Origins Mystery series)
Killer Thrillers (3-Book Box Set)
Short Stories
I, Sergeant
Instinct
The Gray Picture of Dorian
Uncanny Divide
Nonfiction:
Welcome Home: The Author's Guide to Building A Marketing Home Base
Expert Blogging: Building A Blog for Readers
The Dead-Simple Guide to Guest Posts
The Dead-Simple Guide to Amazing Headlines
The Dead-Simple Guide to Pillar Content
About the Author
Nick Thacker is an author from Texas who lives in a cabin on a mountain in Colorado, because Colorado has mountains, microbreweries, and fantastic weather. In his free time, he enjoys reading, brewing beer (and whisky), skiing, golfing, and hanging out with his beautiful wife, tortoise, two dogs, and two daughters.
In addition to his fiction work, Nick is the author of several nonfiction books on marketing, publishing, writing, and building online platforms. Find out more at www.WriteHacked.com.
For more information, visit Nick online:
www.nickthacker.com
[email protected]
