Relics

by K. T. Tomb

  “What do we do now?” Ishi asked.

  “I’m not sure,” I answered. “Let’s just sit tight a minute and see what’s going on.”

  I strained my ears to try to pick up any sound of a person creeping up on us. In that dense brush, there was little chance that a person could move without making some sound. After a few minutes, I decided that we were alone, at least for the moment.

  “They’ll be waiting for us at the airport,” Ishi pointed out. “They’ll keep hunting us. They’ll probably call in reinforcements too. We’re going to die on this island.”

  I took the sat-phone out and stared at it. I wasn’t looking forward to making a call to Spence, but what option did I really have? He was supposed to call us with instructions, but we might not survive that long. I had to make the call.

  “You going to call the boss, Boss?” Ishi asked.

  “I really don’t want to,” I answered. “It might be our only chance to get out of here alive, though.”

  “You could call Jacobs instead,” he suggested.

  “You’re brilliant, Ishi,” I beamed. Spence was going to find out sooner or later, but later, in my mind, was better. Given the circumstances, Spence might just leave us to our fate. Besides, Jacobs was indebted to us for rescuing his girlfriend and her family out of Ecuador; he was sure to deal with us in a more pleasant manner. I pulled out my regular cell phone, found the number for Agent Jacobs and dialed it on my sat-phone.

  “Hey, Nick, what’s going on?” Jacobs answered like he was lounging around in a coffee shop sipping a cappuccino.

  “We have a problem,” I said. “We’re being chased and we have no idea where we are. The best I can tell you is that they’re agents of the U.S. government and they don’t really mind making us dead. We need some of that support that we were promised.”

  “Spence is right here; let me let you talk to him,” he replied.

  “Can we not invol—” I cut off the sentence the moment I heard Spence’s voice on the line.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “We’re stuck in some thick brush on the edge of a beach and there are some government agents chasing us.” Please don’t ask about the map. Please don’t ask about the map.

  “Okay, let me get our guy to do some tracking of your position.”

  There was a long pause and Spence came back on the line.

  “Okay, Nick, we’re tracking you now. To your left, about a mile through the jungle, you’ll come to a road. Take that road down to the pier. Get on a boat for Providencia. We’ll send the jet to pick you up there. Turn off your sat-phones until you are on the jet. We’re not the only ones who have the ability to track you and you won’t want to arrive to a surprise. I’ll call you with further instructions at that time.”

  He disconnected the call and I immediately turned off the sat-phone. “Turn off your sat-phone,” I told Ishi, “and let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  It was good to see Agent Jacobs when we got off of the jet in Washington, D.C. He was dressed in a dark suit and fully geared out with Ray Bans and heat under his left shoulder. He was also on edge, which didn’t make me feel any better about what was going down.

  Since we had been taken back to D.C. instead of being diverted to some remote place for some more cloak and dagger games, I knew that Spence had already figured out that we no longer had the map. How he knew was beyond me, but since he wasn’t arranging a secret meeting, then that could be the only explanation for simply bringing us home.

  I slipped into the front seat beside Jacobs and Ishi slipped into the back. “I take it, by your demeanor, that we’re in some deep shit.”

  “Actually, no, you’re not, but our entire agency is on high alert at the moment. We were already planning for this when we started out to get the map, so it really has nothing to do with you guys.”

  “Well, I guess that’s some good news then,” I smiled.

  “Not really,” Jacobs answered. “As long as we have the map or know its whereabouts, we will be targets.”

  “I might as well tell you this now,” I began, glancing over my shoulder at Ishi. I’d hoped for the opportunity to confess to Jacobs about losing the map and letting him be a buffer between us and Spence. Ishi and I had even discussed the idea on the long boat ride between San Andrés and Providencia. “We don’t have the map.”

  “I know,” Jacobs replied.

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “I’ll let Spence explain that to you.”

  “So, Spence already knows?”

  “Who do you think told me?”

  “So, he knows, but we’re not in trouble?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Jacobs replied. “What I said was that you and Ishima are not the cause of my demeanor, which is a result of our high alert and not a result of your being in trouble.”

  It took a second for my brain to unravel that. In essence, we were in trouble, but Jacobs wasn’t angry at us for getting him in trouble. “So, we’re just going back to the office to get our asses chewed on, huh?”

  “We’re not going to the office,” he replied.

  As we kept driving, we left D.C. behind and continued on out of the city. It was when I started seeing cows that I decided to ask where we were going.

  “So, where are we going?”

  “To meet with Spence.”

  “But we don’t have the map. We don’t need to keep up this cloak and dagger shit.”

  “We’re going to a safe house,” he replied and then added, “It’s not for your safety.”

  Even after seeing the sign that said, “Welcome to Wild and Wonderful, West Virginia,” we continued along a state highway that tracked alongside the New River before we turned onto a gravel road that led into heavily forested mountains. The thought started to cross my mind that we were being brought out there to be gotten rid of and I turned around in my seat to look back at Ishi, who hadn’t made a sound since we got off of the jet.

  “You okay back there?”

  “I wouldn’t mind a sandwich,” he replied. The casual response didn’t match the terrified look in his eyes.

  “I wish I could have stopped and got you guys something to eat, but I was under strict orders to not make any stops. Sorry,” Jacobs replied, looking up into the mirror.

  “A sandwich really wouldn’t do for a last meal anyway,” I told Ishi.

  “You’re being overly dramatic, Nick,” Jacobs laughed.

  I wasn’t sure whether that laugh was comforting or not. Sometimes people who liked to kill laughed before and after they did it.

  “Look. I screwed up. I know I screwed up. I shouldn’t have trusted her.” I started in with the confession that I’d been rehearsing since the boat ride to Providencia. It seemed easier to tell Jacobs, so I was ready to let it all go.

  “Would you relax?” Jacobs said, cutting into my confession before I got halfway through it.

  We pulled off of the road at a wide spot among the trees and into what looked like a parking space that was hardly ever used.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  “This is where we get out and walk to the cabin.”

  Though my mind was still considering the possibility that Jacobs was going to make Ishi and me disappear, it wasn’t long before I saw a cabin through the trees. Jacobs led us to the cabin, up onto the porch, pulled open the screen door and waved us in.

  The cabin had one large room in front and closed doors that led into three rooms behind. Lounging by the fireplace at one end of the large room was William Spence, dressed in denim, plaid and boots; not something we were used to seeing him in.

  “Come in, Nick, Ishi. Sit down.” His welcome was a little bit too warm for me and I was instantly suspicious.

  Ishi and I moved to the leather sofa that was directly across a wide, rough-cut wooden coffee table from the one where Spence was sitting. We sat down without speaking.

  “You guys look like hell,” he chuckled. �
�But you’re alive, so who’s complaining?”

  I wasn’t sure why Spence seemed so cheerful. It was making me damned nervous. I decided to go ahead with my confession and get it over with.

  “Sir, we don’t have the map,” I started.

  “I know,” he said.

  “But…”

  “Relax. It’s already been taken care of.”

  “We were supposed to deliver it to you. You know, so we could meet our end of the deal that we made.”

  “Yeah, about that.” He frowned. “I had to change things up a little bit, so that sort of messed up our deal.”

  “So, we don’t get our contract torn up.”

  “You guys did a great job, so I’ll have to think about it, but before I do that, I want to brief you on a really easy job that I have planned for you. This one is in Mongolia. That will help you two disappear for a while, so it really works out well for all concerned. It’ll be an in and out sort of thing. You’ll leave from here with your two guides. Agents Galvan and Galvan.” He paused and called out over his shoulder. “Ladies!”

  One of the three doors opened and two ladies, almost identical, stepped through it and into the big room. I immediately recognized one of them.

  “Cat?” I whispered. I knew, in an instant, how Spence had found out about us not having the Map of the Masons. His other plan had been to have her bring it to him.

  “I’m sorry, Nick,” she said, pushing out her bottom lip into a pout.

  To be honest, in that moment, I wasn’t quite sure how to feel.

  Epilogue

  “Captain Henry Morgan’s pirates began the march back to Chagre on February 24, laden with pack animals carrying their loot and over 600 prisoners. When they arrived, Morgan ordered what was left of Panama and its fortifications to be demolished and while his men were busy doing as he had commanded, Morgan took his ship and sailed out of Chagre with most of the loot, leaving his former crew on shore and at the mercy of the remaining Spaniards.

  “Henry Morgan returned to Jamaica and found that the place was much changed from when he had left. England had agreed to suppress piracy in return for Spanish recognition of its sovereignty in Jamaica and the two countries had signed to this in the Treaty of Madrid, in 1670. Morgan was not overly perplexed by the situation. As a pirate, he knew that governments in the colonies always eventually made the rule into something more suitable to their environs.

  “He waited in Port Royal patiently but in 1672, Morgan was arrested and transported to England to be tried for piracy. On his arrival, however, he received a much different reception than was expected; treated more as a romantic hero than as a vicious criminal. Relations between England and Spain eventually deteriorated again, and with nothing to lose, the crown made Henry Morgan a baronet in 1674. He returned to Jamaica as Lieutenant Governor Sir Henry Morgan later that year and from 1680 to 1682, he served as acting governor. Henry Morgan died in 1688. When he passed away, he was rich, respected and powerful. He died an eternal contradiction to the old saying that crime does not pay.”

  ***

  A week later, lying in a hammock in Negril, Jamaica, I knew exactly how I’d felt towards Cat.

  I’d felt like my opportunity to make the hard decision had been stolen from me. Every time in the past when I’d made the wrong decision about a woman, it had been completely by my own choice, but Agent Galvan had robbed me of that. Her blatant displays of interest and the subsequent intimacy had thrown me off and at no point had I felt the need to be wary of her.

  I’d ended up like Morgan’s crew, instead of being the captain.

  Ishi was sitting close to where my hammock swayed in the breeze. He was sipping a cold Red Stripe beer and chatting animatedly with a couple of pretty girls with café au lait colored skin and windblown, curly hair. They were from Kingston and happy to spend their vacation time chatting up a tourist with interesting stories like his. When they had excused themselves for the evening, Ishi came to check on me.

  “So when do you think we should be leaving for Asia?”

  “I told you already, Ishi, I’m not giving a damn when until that phone rings and Spence is properly pissed off that we're still on R&R.”

  “Got ya!”

  “I want to do one more thing before we leave too.”

  “What’s that, boss?”

  “Our flight should be leaving from Kingston, yes?”

  “That’s where Spence said we should be when the call comes.”

  “Good,” I replied, looking out at the enormous sunset. “I want to see Port Royal.”

  “Port Royal?” Ishi asked.

  “Yes, Ishi. Port Royal. Home of the most notorious pirates that ever sailed the Caribbean. Once called the wickedest city in the world.”

  The End

  Nick Caine returns in:

  Mountains of the Moon

  Return to the Table of Contents

  PANDORA’S BOX

  A novel by

  K.T. TOMB

  Pandora’s Box

  Published by K.T. Tomb

  Copyright © 2018 by K.T. Tomb

  All rights reserved.

  Pandora’s Box

  Prologue

  When mankind first stepped forth from paradise to inhabit the earth, there were non-demonic, evil spirits who were already scattered to the four winds.

  Many believed that those spirits were Jinn or some other form of extra-dimensional species. Those spirits were particularly adept at avoiding Zeus and the other gods, so Zeus laid out a plan for capturing them.

  Pandora was a demigod, full of innocence and an appearance like a human. In order to prove her worth to the gods, they gave a special task to her. She was given a magical box by Zeus. Its mystical powers were such that when the box was opened those evil spirits would be captured by it and be trapped inside, much like a genie is trapped by a magic lamp.

  As Pandora wandered the earth, evil spirits would come upon her in the hope of taking possession of her, but Pandora would only smile as they swirled around her and then open up her box. With a flash of light that blinded them and the power of an attractive metaphysical force, those evil spirits were sucked up into the box where they were to be trapped for eternity.

  That attractive metaphysical force was known as Elpis, an angel who had fallen from grace. In order to redeem herself in the eyes of heaven’s host, she had agreed to remain inside the magical box in order to draw in the evil spirits and keep them trapped inside. It is the energy of this Spirit of Hope that keeps the box perpetually charged.

  As the guardian of the box, Pandora was said to be the only one who could open it and on one particular occasion, she did. She had captured many spirits during her travels around the world and wondered just how many there might be.

  From that innocent act, the demigod released the worst of the box’s contents into the world again, evil spirits that have brought about the calamities mankind has endured throughout the ages.

  Though Pandora opened it out of curiosity, there are those who intend to have the box for evil purposes in the hope of accessing the forces of the damned. For that reason, the box is often stolen. Because it is often stolen, many duplicates have been made in the hope of causing confusion and thwarting those who have less than innocent designs upon its use.

  It is said that if the box is opened by a mortal that many more of those evil spirits will be set free, though the Spirit of Hope will prevent them all from escaping. But, what would happen if someone learned how to open the box and release its entire contents?

  Chapter One

  “So, what do you say? You want to come with me?” Danna’s large, dark eyes were completely irresistible.

  “I fear that I would be more of a hindrance than a help,” Edwin responded. “What do I know about archaeology or artifacts?”

  “You don’t need to know anything about those things,” Danna laughed. “You’re just coming along for the fun of it.”

  It was hard for Edwin to argue agains
t that prospect. Up until he’d met Danna Sharma, Edwin Douglas’ life had been greatly lacking where fun was concerned. In fact, one might argue that until she came into his life, he’d had no fun at all.

  “For the fun of what?” Percival Winston asked, bursting into the room unannounced and butting into their conversation. It was a regular habit of his and one which, up until the addition of Danna to Edwin’s existence, had been tolerated.

  “I don’t believe that’s any of your business,” Danna responded. Danna made no attempt at hiding her dislike of the irritating habits Edwin’s roommate possessed.

  An accountant, just like Edwin, Percival—who insisted that everyone call him Perk instead of the usual Percy—was particularly possessive of his roommate and had a mutual disdain for Danna Sharma. He glared at her but held his tongue.

  “Though it’s really not any business of yours,” Edwin began in a casual tone. “Danna has invited me to go with her to Greece for her next archaeological project.”

  That was all the opening Perk needed in order to jump right into the conversation. Danna sighed heavily, realizing that all hope of the two of them having a private discussion on the matter was lost. Though she’d fallen for the quiet accountant, she wished that he wasn’t quite so amiable to everyone around him; especially Perk.

  Whether by accident or fate, the Indian-born beauty, Danna, had met Edwin in Dubai when Edwin’s firm had sent him there to tend to a particularly affluent client. Had the two seen each other’s profiles on an internet dating site, they would have certainly moved on to the next profile without a moment of consideration. The two had struck up a conversation, however, while Edwin was drinking some of Colombia’s finest brew and over-indulging in ma’amouls; a Spill the Bean specialty.