CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

October 6, 10:00 A.M.

Pucallpa, Peru

THEIR TRIP TO Pucallpa was brief and emotional. They visited Kayanakú. The Asháninka woman appeared well and the sister who found her in the park assured them Kayanakú and her baby would be taken care of for as long as the young woman wished to remain under the protection of the church.

Cash, Diane, Pete, Marjorie, and Olivia trekked into the jungle. The sight of the charred remains of Kayanakú’s village left them stunned and shaken. The photographs had been horrific, but paled in comparison to the reality of the scene.

They located the fresh mound where the authorities had dug a mass grave for the villagers. The practice seemed so impersonal, but the magnitude of the slaughter made individual graves unrealistic. They held hands, forming a semi-circle around the disturbed earth, and mourned the loss of the brave fighters and innocent victims of Zara’s insane quest for power.

Marjorie took out her world map, crossed with red lines and longitude and latitude coordinates. She cut the thick paper map into pieces and handed one section to Pete. The group followed the scientist, focusing on his GPS unit, into the jungle. The spot they chose appeared random, though it fell along one axis drawn on the map. Under the branches of a horóva tree, Cash dug a deep hole and stepped back as Diane set the locked box into the ground and sprinkled the small chest with dirt.

October 7, 2:00 p.m

Buenos Aires, Argentina

MARJORIE ENTERED DIEGO’S hospital room. Her hair was still damp from being bleached back to its natural blonde by a young girl at a local salon. Dressed and sitting on the edge of his bed, Diego smiled up at her the moment she crossed the threshold. The sight of him, healthy and as handsome as she remembered, nearly took her breath away.

“Ready to go?” she asked.

“I’ve just been waiting for you to come for me.”

He stood and wrapped his arms around her. At first she feared that if she gripped him too tight, she might hurt his healing wounds, but as Marjorie listened to the steady beat of his heart, she held on, never wanting to ever let go.

Diego eased her back and his eyes came to rest on the brightly colored hand-woven Peruvian bag slung over her shoulder. “Did you bring me a souvenir from Peru?”

“No. I didn’t have a lot of time to shop, though you were always on my mind.”

He placed his hands on her cheeks and touched his lips gently to hers. “So, where do we go from here?”

“I hoped you would be feeling well enough for a road trip? I took something from Argentina that must be returned. Besides, I’d love to revisit Salta, but this time for pleasure. The city has an amazing mixture of colonial and modern architecture and is one of the more interesting places I’ve ever seen.”

Diego put his arm around her waist and headed out of the room. “Lead the way, my angel. I would follow you anywhere.”

October 7, 4:30 P.M.

Mexico City, Mexico

DIANE COULDN’T HELP but laugh as she drove her beat up 1980s coup out of Mexico City. She would never confess to Cash that she had gotten stuck again with a hunk of junk. She certainly had no intention of ever admitting she was okay with him dating her sister. He had changed. She wondered whether the catalyst was the mission or Olivia, but whatever the reason, he finally seemed at peace.

As she left the pollution and noise of the city behind, she enjoyed an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and optimism for her future. On her first big assignment, she had done well. Cash had ensured her promotion to the field was made permanent, and she could tell he was proud of the way she had kept her cool, covered their backs, and found the stolen relics, rather than reacting with her emotions and foolishly trying to rescue Olivia on her own.

The sun set as Diane pulled off the road and checked her small piece of the map again. She located the route closest to the axis which she needed to find. Diane didn’t have an exact location in mind, but felt certain she would know it when she came across an ideal resting place. She just had to identify some spot along an imaginary line to bury a box whose location would remain secret to the world until she selected a worthy and reliable successor to hand down the vital information.

Diane hoped they were doing the right thing, but after seeing all the devastation which had occurred over the relics, she had to believe they were. The museum artifacts, along with the one Marjorie found in Egypt, had been returned. They denied finding any of the other crystals. They planned to scatter those still in their possession as their ancient ancestors had done. By splitting up to accomplish the task, no one person would ever know the exact location of all the artifacts.

Diane rolled down the window and turned up the volume on the car radio. Her Spanish was a little rusty, but returning quickly enough to enable her to sing along and enjoy the cool evening air and upbeat music. The sun would rise before she found the perfect place. She didn’t care how long it took, only that she succeeded in protecting the relics from the next insane fanatic bent on destruction, riches, or power.

She thought about Cash. Diane had always loved him like a brother and worried their relationship might change if he ever became her brother-in-law. But, she could think of no one she trusted more with her sister than him, despite his past record with women.

She wondered how Pete was managing in the Caribbean. Stilts had surprised her. He had done well and pride swelled in her chest as she considered herself one of his mentors.

Except for Ian, who she would never forget, they had all survived and were hopefully turning back the clock enough to right a terrible wrong. Maybe someday society could handle the power, but for now, some things were best left shrouded in secrets.

October 8, 5:00 P.M.

Bimini, Bahamas

PETE KNEW HE had to be creative. The Bimini Road had been, and would continue to be, extensively explored. The tunnel from the new Healing Hole he had discovered was now common knowledge, and the markings on the wall were currently being studied by archeologists from all over the world. He wanted the crystal to reside in Bimini, but ensuring the object remained lost until the human race evolved enough morally to handle the collective power continued to be his main priority. The relic needed a permanent hiding place, since he doubted humans would ever possess the restraint to use the crystals for the good of mankind rather than its destruction, assuming the relics actually possessed the incalculable force of legend.

Bimini had been the artifact’s home for hundreds, possibly thousands of years, and he was starting to believe the island might be a remnant of the lost continent of Atlantis. If the theory gained support, he doubted a safe place could exist on the small landmass or on any of the islands of the Bahamas.

He studied the piece of the map cut from the larger one Marjorie had marked up. As his mind wandered over the events of the past few weeks, the dangers he survived amazed him. He overcame his fears and the experience had changed him. He probably should crawl back to his lab at Langley, pick up where he left off with the nice girl he had just started dating before he went out in the field, think about settling down in a safe little suburban neighborhood, and pretend this whole thing never happened. But he wasn’t sure he could. Working with Cash, Diane, and Ian had altered the way he looked at his life and his place in the world.

He studied the map harder. Other islands existed that might work, even Cuba was a possibility.

Cuba. Now that’s a thought. The mission would have to be executed covertly to avoid generating any suspicions. If I rented a boat under an alias, tapped into the Coast Guard’s patrol schedule, calculated the best time and date, watched the weather, then with a little luck…

October 8, 9:00 A.M.

Navajo Nation, Arizona

JUST LOOKING AT the mule made Cash’s butt hurt. Once they got rid of the relic nestled in his saddlebag, he’d stick to horses. After his last trek into the Navajo Nation on the back of the animal, he had vowed to never subject himself to such agony ever again, but here he was, trying to sweet talk Gertrude into taking it easy on him.

“I’m jealous. You’ve never whispered in my ear so passionately,” Olivia said as she rode up next to him.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t had to beg you to be gentle with me, though I have fantasized about it.”

Olivia’s head fell back as she laughed, captivating Cash with her shimmering dark hair cascading gracefully down to her waist, how the light in her eyes danced with excitement, and the way her smile made him feel invincible, yet vulnerable.

“Well, maybe tonight’s your lucky night,” she said as she beamed playfully at him over her shoulder.

“I certainly hope so, though I want more than a night.”

Olivia pulled up on the reins and brought her mule to a stop as Cash halted alongside. She couldn’t see his eyes behind the dark glasses, but the tone of his voice touched her, and she knew he was serious. “What do you want, Cash?”

He reached over and took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know we all vowed to never mention Zara again, but she was right. I do want to grow old with you, not necessarily in a nice little suburban neighborhood, but somewhere, anywhere, as long as we’re together.”

“What about your job?”

“She was right about that, too. I’ve lost my edge. I’m tired of the killing, and I’m tired of regrets. If I let you go, I’ll have to live the rest of my life with the biggest regret of them all. I had convinced myself somewhere along the line that I’d lost the ability to love and didn’t want or deserve a normal life. Then I met you.”

Olivia had to force back the tears. Diane insisted that wanting a future with Cash was pointless and foolish, since he would never settle down. “I can’t ask you to give up your career for me. You’re too good at what you do, and you’re needed.”

“You’re not asking, I’m offering, if you’ll have me. Besides, I’ve taught Diane and Pete all I know, and I have faith they’ll carry on the wicked fight for justice.”

Olivia smiled at the mention of her sister’s name. They were now closer than ever, and she had Cash to thank for mending their relationship. “I do love you, but I’m a forever kind of girl. So I hope you mean I’ll have a ring on my finger to wave in her face and issue childish taunts about how I was right and she was wrong, and you can settle down and pledge your love to one woman?”

“The sooner the better,” he replied with a grin as he leaned over and kissed her. “Just warn me ahead of time, so I can be out of her swing zone when you tell her I’ll be family.”

Olivia giggled as she nudged her mule into a slow walk. “Let’s get this over with. I can’t wait to call Diane.”

“I think there are more pressing matters needing to be addressed than tormenting your sister,” he said as he caught up.

“Like what?”

“I seem to remember something about my luck changing tonight.”

Olivia couldn’t help but laugh. Life with Cash was destined to be interesting, and she looked forward to every moment together.