Jack found the entrance to the tunnels pretty quickly. Near Callous’s truck was a sign sticking out of the dirt with the words KEEP OUT! On the ground next to it was a wooden panel with a handle. When Jack pulled the handle, he found himself staring down a hole in the ground.
Leading downward was a flight of steps. Holding the panel over his head open as long as he could, Jack headed into the depths. When he couldn’t keep it open any longer, Jack let the wooden door close. At that moment, everything went dark.
Jack couldn’t use his Everglo light, and he’d lost his Watch Phone in the forest. Instead, he used his hands to feel his way around. Counting the steps, Jack noticed there were twenty steps until he hit flat ground again. This must be the beginning of the tunnel, he thought, as he continued to move forward, trying to keep track of whether he was turning left or right. Eventually, up ahead, he could see a faint light. Figuring it was the treasure hunters, Jack made his way toward it.
As the light grew brighter, Jack could see what was up ahead. He was still in a long corridor, but the tunnel was opening into a large room. This room led to another, and so on and so on, until there was only one room left in the cavern.
It was in this last room that Jack found Callous and his band of thieves. They were staring at a painting on the back wall. The only light in the room was from an electric lantern, which was in the middle of the floor. Jack kept himself hidden in the doorway, so that he didn’t announce his presence too soon.
The painting was of a man dressed in feathers. Recognizing the image immediately, Jack shuddered. It was of Quetzalcoatl—the feathered serpent—one of the most feared gods of the Aztec people.
But there was something odd about the figure. Whoever had painted it had left small round holes for the god’s eyes. Seeing this made Jack think about the stones Callous had collected from the cave and the temple on the mountain. They looked to be the same size and shape as the eyes on the Aztec god.
Maybe, Jack reasoned, the first two clues on the map were about collecting the jewels. The third was about the place where you had to use them. Perhaps, Jack thought, if you placed the stones in the feathered serpent’s eyes, it would reveal the location of the buried treasure.
Callous must have had the same thought too, because at that very moment he took the small bag from his hip. He reached inside and pulled out the blue stone. Lifting it to the wall, Callous stuck the jewel into one of the eyes. When he did, the wall swung forward a bit, revealing a secret chamber behind. From where Jack was standing, he could see something gold inside, sparkling in the light.
“The treasure’s ours!” shouted Callous.
“Yahoo!” screamed the men, who were drooling and rubbing their hands.
Callous lifted the bag again. He was going to place the last stone in the wall when Jack decided to make a move.
Swooping in, Jack kicked the lantern across the floor, breaking it into pieces. Everything went completely black.
“What’s happening?” screamed Callous Carl. “What the heck happened to our light?”
Remembering where Callous was standing, Jack snatched the bag containing the red stone out of his hands. He turned and ran out of the room and into the tunnel.
“Somebody’s stolen the bag!” yelled Callous. “Go after it!” he ordered his men.
Jack could hear the men fumbling around in the dark. Swiping his hands against the tunnel wall as he ran, Jack made sure he didn’t crash into anything.
“Get him!” yelled Callous. “Turn another light on!” he screamed.
Jack kept racing toward the exit. He had to lure Callous’s men out of the cave.
A light turned on behind Jack, but it wasn’t soon enough. His foot jammed into the first step of the stairway and the bag flew out of his hands. Scurrying around, he found it again and started climbing the steps two at a time. The men were now entering the first room.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Jack flung the door open. Light poured into the cave. He dashed out and onto the ground. Jack looked around. But nobody was there.
Jack yelled out in frustration. He could hear Callous’s goons stomping up the steps. In the distance, he noticed a small town. His only choice was to lead them there.
Sprinting as fast as he could, Jack headed onto the open plains. The men behind him were shouting vicious threats. They were slowly catching up to Jack.
In front of Jack was a prickly bush. Throwing his body over it, his feet came crashing to the ground. The men did the same. Jack could hear them grunt as they landed.
The next thing he knew, he heard the wheels of a car to his side. It sounded like it was churning up dirt. Thinking help had arrived, Jack was horrified to see that it was Callous driving the truck, with his gang of thieves just behind.
Then, out of nowhere, Jack tripped. He fell forward to the ground, crashing onto his hands. Jack couldn’t help but remember his nightmare. The events of it were exactly what was happening now.
The shadows of the men were closing in on Jack. As they reached for him, Jack screamed “No!”
Just then, Jack heard a horrible screeching sound. He wondered if Callous’s car was out of control and headed for him. Jack looked toward the noise.
Speeding toward Jack were ten Mexican police cars, their sirens blaring loudly.
As soon as they saw the police, the men backed away from Jack. They started to run toward Callous and his truck, trying to flee the scene before being captured.
Callous slowed down to let the men climb in, but in doing so lost valuable time. Nine of the police cars circled around the truck and surrounded the men. There was no way they could escape now.
The last car made its way over to Jack. It braked hard, sending dust spiraling into Jack’s face. A Mexican officer hopped out. Knowing Jack was English, he spoke to him in his own language.
“Jack,” he said, “I’m sorry we were late. I’d like to blame it on traffic,” he added, smiling sheepishly, “but it’s siesta time and I had a hard time waking my guys.”
Jack shook his head. He didn’t know whether to laugh or be angry.
“That’s okay,” said Jack. “In the end, you saved the day.”
“No,” said the officer. “It looks like you did. Callous Carl has been on the Most Wanted list for years. He’s been terrorizing people and stealing treasure for as long as anybody can remember. With him locked up,” he added, “Mexico will be a safer place.”
Jack stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. He handed the bag with the remaining stone to the officer.
“This needs to be protected,” he said. “If you keep it safe, nobody will be able to steal Montezuma’s gold.”
“I’ll hand it over to the proper authorities in Mexico City.” said the officer.
“You’ll also need to seal the site,” said Jack, “to make sure nobody else tries to take anything from there.”
“Already done,” said the officer, “I’ve sent some of my best men over to cover it.”
“Two more things,” said Jack. “When you search Callous, you’ll find a map. When you do,” he explained, “you need to return it to Mr. Garcia. This is his address.” Jack wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to the man. “Tell him he needs to put it in a safer place from now on.” Jack smiled.
Jack could tell the officer didn’t completely understand, but he would probably do as Jack asked.
“Did you run a check on Maria, Mr. Garcia’s cleaner?” asked Jack.
“Sure did,” said the officer. “That was a good hunch you had. One of Callous’s men is related to her, which is how they knew about the map. We’re sending officers to her house right now,” he explained, “to pick her up and bring her in for questioning.”
“Great,” said Jack, who was pleased with how things were turning out.
As he looked over at Callous Carl, he couldn’t help but smile. He was being dragged out of the truck, tossed to the ground and cuffed alongside his thugs. When the officers yanked Carl to his feet, the treasure hunter glared in Jack’s direction.
“I’m going to get you,” he mouthed to him.
“No, you won’t,” Jack mouthed back.
Carl growled, and then the officers shoved him and his goons into the back of one of the squad cars. As the car drove away, Jack waved. It would be a long time before anyone saw Callous Carl again.
