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The flight back to Cuzco was uneventful. A Land Rover arranged by Elizabeth was waiting for them at the airport. They drove to the villa overlooking the Sacred Valley.
"I can't wait to get under a shower," Selena said.
"We're all pretty ripe," Nick said.
They pulled up in front of the Villa.
"Man, that's a sight for sore eyes," Lamont said.
"Let's meet on the porch after we get cleaned up," Nick said.
By the time they gathered on the porch, it was late in the day. Looking down from the villa, it was a peaceful, tranquil scene. Far below, the river gleamed with golden light. Shadows lengthened over the valley as the sun slipped behind the mountains. It occurred to Nick that it had probably looked a lot like this in the days of the Incas.
They had the villa to themselves. Lamont had found cold beers in the kitchen. Ronnie was drinking a soda. He'd found a guitar in one of the rooms and was plucking out an old cowboy tune.
"Listen up," Nick said. "We have to find Alvarez before he gets out of the country. Harker is working on getting his location pinned down. Until then, there's not much we can do. So let's use this time to rest up. Once we know where he is, things are going to get busy."
"What about weapons?" Ronnie asked.
"I checked out the toy box Harker sent. She had to improvise on short notice. We've got pistols and ammo, a sat phone."
"That's it?"
"Yep. It would've been nice to have something with a little more punch."
"Better than nothing," Lamont said.
"We also have the Land Rover. Wherever Alvarez is, he can't be too far away. As soon as Harker finds out where he's hiding, we're out of here. Until then, we take it easy."
Lamont lifted a beer. "Might as well enjoy this while we can."
"Don't overdo it. She could call any moment."
"Anyone hungry?" Selena said.
"Are you kidding?" Lamont said. "I could eat one of those llamas we saw driving over here."
Selena and Valentina went into the kitchen. They rummaged through the cabinets and refrigerator, finding things for a meal. Valentina took charge. They cooked up a stew from a mixture of frozen vegetables, beef and seasonings, enough to feed them all. Soon they were all sitting around the table.
"Hey, this is pretty good," Lamont said.
"Is Russian dish," Valentina said. "Is very popular in Russia."
"What do you call it?"
"Zharkoye."
"I thought Russians ate mostly beets and potatoes."
"You are making, what you call, stereotype," Valentina said. "Russians eat these things, but we have many dishes. Russian food is good."
"I believe you. The stew is great, thanks."
By the time they were done and things were cleaned up, it was full dark.
"I'm beat," Nick said. "I'm going to hit the rack."
Ronnie yawned.
"Sounds good to me."
"Me too," Lamont said.
Upstairs in their room, Nick and Selena got ready for bed.
"What a day," Nick said.
"I am so glad to be out of that jungle," Selena said.
"That makes two of us. I wonder how Llapa thinks he's going to get the gold out of the pyramid? There's no way anyone can move the stones blocking the shaft."
"There must be another way into that room. A secret entrance accessed from outside the pyramid."
"I'll never understand how people without technology built that. You saw how those stones were fitted together. I don't think you could slip a piece of paper between them. They didn't even use mortar. Even if you can figure that out, how did they move them? Even the smallest ones we saw weigh tons."
"That's one of the things that puzzles archaeologists. They come up with lots of theories, but that's all they are, theories. None of them really work. There are ruins all over the world with huge stones fitted together perfectly, cut with laser precision. There's no way to explain that."
"Maybe their gods helped them build it," Nick said.
Selena laughed. "That's one of the theories. Except people think the gods could have been aliens."
"After what happened out there, I can believe almost anything."
Selena reached up and touched his face.
"I'm worried about you," she said.
"Why?"
"Ever since you smoked whatever was in that pipe, you've been different."
"How, different?"
"It's as if you're only partly here. Sometimes I catch you just looking at nothing. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. I know what you mean, about being partly here. Sometimes it feels like I'm not really here. I get spacey. It's not a good feeling, like I'm being stretched. I think it's from the drug, whatever it was."
"I think what Llapa gave you was from a toad."
"A toad?"
"There are toads that secrete a venom to ward off predators. It can be collected and dried into a paste. It produces an extremely powerful high when it's smoked."
"I didn't get high. I got sent to have a little talk with an Inca demon god."
"It reminds me of what some people say when they talk about taking drugs like LSD. Like a 'bad trip.'"
"It was definitely that," Nick said.
"All those drugs affect the brain. They mess with your head, literally."
"It would explain a lot. Of course, it was kind of messed up before."
He smiled at her.
"Very funny. The next time you start feeling spacey, remember that it's probably the drug working its way out of your system."
"I know that while we're sitting here talking. When it happens, I don't think about it. I get caught up in the feeling."
"It will pass."
"Yeah, I know."
Something in him didn't believe it, but he didn't tell her that. He couldn't get past the idea something was going to happen, something over which he had no control.
That night, sleep eluded him. He tossed and turned in the half world between waking and sleep. Images appeared and vanished in his mind before he could make sense of them. After several hours, Nick fell into a fitful sleep. In the morning, he woke exhausted.