Sunken Treasure Lost Worlds

by Hep Aldridge

  Doc spoke up and said, “It has quite a bit of cargo space, and its four-wheel drive.”

  Joe interjected, “Maybe once, but I wouldn’t be too sure about that now.”

  I looked at them and said, “So, what you’re saying is that we would be buying a frame and body, and that’s about it.” They nodded in agreement.

  I turned to Sean, and he grinned again and said, “They’re right, but I can say the four-wheel drive is working.” About then, one of the younger kids working in the shop came up and asked Sean a question about the fuel pump he was holding. Sean, in fluent Spanish, answered; the boy nodded and headed back to his project. Sean turned back to us and said, “Kids pick up on stuff pretty quick, but they still need a little guidance now and then.”

  “I saw a lot of young kids and teenagers working in the shop,” I said.

  “Yeah, most of them are street kids I’ve taken in and started teaching them basic auto mechanics to give them a trade they can use when they get older.”

  "Really?" I said as I looked between him and Doug.

  Doug laughed and said, "Yeah he’s like the Pied Piper; he helped one or two, and next thing you know, he has a whole flock of them wanting to learn. He even lets them live upstairs."

  "We’ve turned it into two dormitories-girls and guys, got a kitchen, and everything."

  I looked at Sean, "So, do you pay them?"

  "Some of the older ones, I try to pay a little. The younger ones come here and have a place to sleep and food to eat instead of stealing or prostituting themselves and living on the streets. For them, that’s more than they had. Plus, I have two older full-time mechanics and a business manager that help with the training part while they are doing repairs for customers. Doug helps with the food through Diego's when he can.”

  “I live upstairs and kind of keep an eye on things. One of my mechanics lives there too with his wife; she handles the cooking and stuff and watches over the girls." I was totally blown away as were the rest of my team at what we had just heard. These two Americans, living in Ecuador, one running a thriving business and helping his best friend who is running an automotive trade school for street kids, amazing. Teaching them a trade they can use wherever they go and on top of that, giving them a place to live while doing it.

  I was impressed, very impressed, and knew I wanted to help them. But I had partners to consider too, so I asked Sean and Doug if we could have the night to think about it and get back with them tomorrow with our decision. They said that would be fine; we all shook hands and left Sean’s automotive training facility and home for wayward kids.

  We dropped Doug off and headed for the hotel. It was quiet for a bit and then Joe said, “We are going to buy it, aren’t we?”

  I said nothing, and Dimitri said, “We can fix it up.”

  It was Doc’s turn next, “You know, we really need to help Sean if we can, and if purchasing that Beast will help, I’m all for it. I have never seen someone so selfless giving back to the community the way he is.” I guess they took my silence for indecision on the purchase because they all started coming at me with reasons for buying the vehicle.

  As we pulled up to the hotel, I held up my hand to stop the chattering and said, “Enough already, of course, we’re buying the vehicle, and when we get with O’Reilly, I want to discuss some additional ideas I have about the larger situation.”

  We met up with O’Reilly in the patio restaurant at the hotel. She had been following up on a few leads we had gotten on the suspected location of the library in the Tayos region, all of which turned out to amount to hearsay and speculation, nothing of any consequence. We filled her in on the vehicle inspection and told her of the plan to purchase it.

  "You’re going to do what?" she exclaimed, choking on her beer.

  I calmly said, "We are going to buy the Suburban."

  "But it’s a piece of junk; you all said so."

  I leaned back in my chair and took a long pull on the cold bottle of beer and then said, "I prefer to think of it as a diamond in the rough." Before she could offer any further protests, I said, "Let me explain. The Suburban is structurally sound, therefore giving us a good foundation to build on." I saw Joe and Dimitri smile as they figured out where I was going with this. I said "First we need to make a shopping list and get it to Fitz as soon as possible, so he can start gathering the things we need. I suggest we buy the vehicle and then get Sean and his crew to refurbish it for us. We will fly in all the parts necessary and then pay him to put the Beast together."

  I received nods and smiles from everyone except O’Reilly. "Are you sure about this?” she asked.

  "Absolutely," Doc replied before I could. "Not only will we get a vehicle built to our specifications, but our payment for his work will help his business and all those kids." There was a good vibe going around the table as we grabbed a napkin and started making our list. Since price was no object, we decided to do it up right and resurrect the Beast in style. Full suspension upgrade, four-inch lift kit, which would give us about a foot of suspension travel, 30-inch wheels and off-road tires, new rock crusher transmission and transfer case, new rear end with larger axels, a 454 big block crate motor, which we would have modified for more torque and horsepower without sacrificing long term reliability. New off-road bumper/brush guards which would hold a Warn 25,000 lb. pull winch on the front and a 20,000 lb. pull winch on the heavy-duty rear bumper. Heavy-duty electrical system with multiple gel cell batteries, new lighting all around with the latest LED high-powered driving lights, a computerized satellite communication/navigation system, and Dimitri added "A kick ass stereo system."

  It took us a couple of hours to talk through the details, come up with a solid plan, and complete our list, which we would send to Fitz right away. We all adjourned to our rooms planning to meet at 5:00 in the lobby and head over to Diego’s for dinner. Walking to the elevator, I was feeling good about what we had decided to do and how we planned to accomplish it. The mood was jovial, and Joe and Dimitri were discussing watts, speaker size, and in what format we would access music; Doc was smiling, and O’Reilly’s expression was unreadable.

  As we got on the elevator, I heard her mumble “Boys and their toys” under her breath. All I could think was what a great vehicle we would have and what a good start to building some good karma for us in Ecuador.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Joe, Dimitri, and I met up with Doug at his place the next morning, and from there, headed to Sean’s garage. Upon arriving we found a scene similar to yesterday's except Sean was moving among the workers, providing instruction and encouragement to his staff of young mechanics to be, smiling and laughing as he went.

  When he spotted us, he left his rounds and came over grinning and greeted us with a hearty handshake and smile. “Well,” he said, “did you decide on the Beast?”

  I turned to Doug and said, “How much you want for it?”

  He looked at Sean and then said, “We’d like to get 500 dollars U.S. if we could.”

  I saw Sean cringe slightly as he said in a low voice, “Doug, don’t you think that’s a little high? I mean she’s pretty much just a shell.”

  Doug turned to him and in a friendly exasperated way said, “Dude, we can always come down, but once we’ve set a price, it’s hard to raise it, man!”

  I spoke up, “Obviously, it needs a lot of work,” and Joe said, “Obviously.” “But we talked it over, and the deal hinges on your mechanical abilities, Sean.”

  He looked a little shocked, and hesitatingly said, “Well, with enough time and money for parts I think I could get her running again, but it wouldn’t be easy.”

  I laughed along with my two guys and said, “That’s an understatement, but if you’re as good a mechanic as I think you are…” and let the sentence trail off.

  Sean jumped in, “Hey, I’m that good, ASE certified, got quite a few years’ experience, and I would love to see the Beast back on the road again as much as anyone.”

  I smi
led, “That’s good to hear. However, we have some specific accommodations and alterations that would have to be made to it to meet our needs.”

  Now, Doug jumped in, “Sean is good, but you have to realize, we are somewhat limited in our ability to get specialty parts down here.” Sean nodded in agreement.

  I continued smiling and said, “That may be true, but we’re not!”

  “First,” I said, “I will not pay one penny over two thousand dollars for your vehicle.” They both gaped at us as I pulled the now typed list out of my pocket that we put together last evening. It listed all the modifications and parts we wanted, and I handed it to Sean. He took it and read it with Doug looking over his shoulder. I almost laughed out loud as their eyes got bigger and bigger the further down our list they got.

  They finally looked up at us like we were six-headed monsters and Sean said, “Is this some kind of joke…?”

  “Nope,” I said, “but there’s a catch. How long would it take you to do the job?”

  Sean scratched his curly blond hair and said, “Well, if, and that’s a huge if, I could get the parts, that would take the better part of a month and a half and then everything you have on this list at least another month or more to get it done!”

  I put on my best disdainful look and said “I thought you were a good mechanic…” Now Sean turned red.

  “Do you have any idea how expensive and hard it would be to get some of these things on this list? Even if I went to Quito, my suppliers wouldn’t have half this stuff in stock, and they sure wouldn’t order it without payment up front, and it would have to come from the States, and that would take…”

  I held up my hand to stop him. I said calmly, “Sean, here’s the deal, today is Tuesday, by next Monday I can have everything on that list sitting on this shop floor ready for you to go to work. I will need that vehicle done to the specs we have given you within two weeks from that day and, when delivered I will pay you thirty thousand U.S. dollars in cash or bank transfer, your choice. Additionally, if you run into the situation where you need something we’ve missed on our list or if during this week you determine you need anything here in the shop to complete the job, let me know and I will make sure you have it within 24 hours at no cost to you. Miss the deadline and the deal is off.”

  “So, Sean, can you do it?” I asked. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a ghost, but these two guys had turned a ghostly white, if there is such a thing as the blood drained from their faces. I stood there with crossed arms and waited. Sean, walking like a man in a dream, pulled up an old wooden chair and sat down, staring at the list. Doug just stood there, arms at his side.

  Finally, Sean looked up and said in a halting voice, “You’re serious, aren’t you…?”

  “Yes, I am,” I replied, “and no matter what you decide, here’s the two thousand dollars for the Suburban,” and handed him an envelope.

  He stared at it for a minute and then said, “Even if I say no?”

  “Yep even if you say no,” I replied.

  He slowly reached out and took it. “You’re not shitting me?”

  “No, Sean, I’m not.”

  I could see it was sinking in as he sat up a little straighter in the chair and in a loud voice called, “Fernando” over his shoulder. Moments later, one of the men he had working for him came running up and, after a few minutes of animated discussion, Fernando called out and another man and teenage boy showed up and began an earnest discussion with Fernando.

  A couple of minutes later, with all of them staring at the list and us, Fernando walked up to Sean, still seated, and with a determined look on his face and a strong voice said, “Si, Senor Sean!”

  With that, Sean slowly stood, took a step toward me, and said, “By next Monday, here in the garage, all the parts?”

  I said, “Yes, no later than next Monday.”

  “Make it two-and-a-half weeks,” he said.

  I paused for a moment, then said, “Done, two-and-a-half weeks.”

  With that, he stuck out his hand and said, “Well, then, Dr. Burnett, I guess you’ve got yourself a deal!”

  As I shook his hand, all the helpers grinned from ear to ear and Doug, under his breath, said, “Holy Shit!”

  I said, “Sean, its Colten.” I handed him a card with our hotel contact information on it and said, “Stay in touch.”

  “Oh, I will,” he said, “you better believe I will!”

  “One more thing,” I said, “this build and this vehicle is between us. It’s private business. I don’t want word of it getting out to every gear-head or the general population until I’m ready, understand?”

  He furrowed his brow and said, “Not really, but okay by me. What we do here is nobody’s business but our own, and I can vouch for my people. It will be our secret.” I smiled nodded and, with that, we headed back to Doug’s place to drop him off. He was still shaking his head as we waved good-bye with promises of seeing him later and headed back to our hotel.

  On the way, Dimitri asked, “What if he had said no?”

  “He wouldn’t have,” I replied.

  “But what if he did? We already ordered all the stuff on the list from Fitz last night, and it will be here on Friday, not Monday!”

  “That will give him a few extra days to get the project done,” I replied. Again, the question, “But what if he said no?”

  “Then I guess we would have had one hell of a garage sale!”

  Joe chuckled, and Dimitri said, “That was a hell of a risk, you know.”

  “I know,” I said, “but I also know people, and this will work.”

  I stopped in to speak with Sean on Thursday and was pleasantly surprised to see the Beast taken apart. The body was sitting on one lift, and the chassis they had separated from it was being high-pressure cleaned out back by three of the younger workers, including two of the girls I had seen on our first visit. The engine and transmission had been removed and the interior gutted from the cab. There were two more workers cleaning it out, each group under the supervision of the older men I had seen working there.

  The place was still a beehive of activity, but a large space had been cleared near the back of the building for the Beast to be worked on. I found Sean back there talking to Fernando about some aspect of the build. When he saw me, he grinned and said, “Well, what do you think?”

  “Looks good,” I said, “and good thing too.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, and I told him about the early arrival date of some if not all the parts.

  “That doesn’t cut my build time, does it?”

  “No, you still have two-and-a-half weeks from Monday.”

  “Then, that’s good news. Now, I have a couple of additional days.” I could tell he was happy with the news.

  “Yep,” I said, “and I’m sure you can use them.”

  “Damn right,” he said with a grin. About then, a young boy around 14 or 15 came up and stood quietly, waiting to speak to Sean.

  He turned to him and said, “What is it, Eduardo?”

  The boy spoke in English, “We have finished cleaning the chassis and are ready to take the body out back and clean it.”

  “Good,” replied Sean, “Get your guys and lower the body onto the body dollies and move it out once the frame is out of the way.”

  “Si, Jefe,” he said and turned, running and shouting orders to the other young workers as he went.

  Sean chuckled as he turned, “He’s one of my best mechanics and has really taken an interest in this project.”

  “Doesn’t sound like he’s afraid to step up and be a leader either,” I said.

  “Not at all,” Sean replied. “The other workers respect his knowledge and expertise and follow him willingly. He’s also a good teacher and takes time with the younger ones to help them learn.”

  Fernando chimed in, “He is a very good boy, Senor, and will make a fine mechanic one day; I have no doubt.”

  “Very commendable,” I said, then I told Sean to let me know
when the parts arrived and if he needed anything more and headed back to the hotel.

  Since we had some downtime, we used it doing local research on the library, the Shuar Indians and the mountainous area we had kind of identified as our starting point, gathering information as we moved eastward. Taking this tack, we thought we would have a better chance of finding “something” rather than just sticking our heads in every cave we might find. We had been staying in touch with Fitz and the galleon crew with no new developments on either front.

  Our permits had come in, and Gus and his crew had started doing side scan sonar runs over our search area using the Neptune information from Fitz to help guide them, nothing so far. Tony was still watch-dogging our permit search area with his satellite hacks, but he had spotted no unusual activity. We were all getting a little frustrated at the lack of progress on either front, so we were thrilled to get the call from Sean that the Beast was done.

  The two and a half weeks had gone by quickly, and the build had gone well. Sean had beaten his deadline by almost a full day, and the vehicle turned out exactly as I had hoped. One of the hardest parts was keeping Sean from putting a fancy paint job on it. He couldn’t believe I wanted it left in is original faded and chipped greenish brown with sanded and primer spots on it.

  My only other paint stipulation was a matte clear coat over the entire vehicle, which he was happy to do. He had been curious as to the need for somewhat hidden storage areas within the vehicle’s sides, floors, doors, and dash, until I turned Joe loose in his shop installing the batch of GPS, satellite communications gear, and other toys we had received from Fitz, and, yes, it included a kick-ass stereo as Dimitri had requested. Eduardo, with the excellent upholstery skills of some of the girls, had insisted on helping Joe and had overseen the installation of the interior and a number of other aspects of the build, according to Sean, and had done a super job.

  Sean and I went to the bank, and I made the transfer of ten thousand dollars into his shop account for the vehicle purchase, and he asked for the rest in cash, which I provided. He said putting that much money in his account might draw unwanted attention to us, our project, and its ties with his shop. I thought this to be a prudent suggestion and was happy to oblige.