The Mahogany Ship (Sam Reilly Book 2) (11 page)

“That’s great. Do you have any idea what those words say?”

She pressed enter, and the screen started to flick through
the images, comparing it to all previous known texts by the Master Builders,
before stopping. “Got it.”

“What did it say?”

She turned the laptop so he could see it.

Ajtzak waits for his lost twin in the final revelation.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Ajtzak was the name of the king who’s buried here,” Billie
mused, “By the sounds of things, he was a twin. But he lost his brother before
he died? I don’t know how, where, or why.”

“That’s great, so he lost his twin brother, but that doesn’t
bring us any closer to understanding who they were, where they achieved their
knowledge and most importantly, why they disappeared.”

“No, but the fact it was written in the ancient language
shows that this man was a Master Builder, and so was his twin brother. Wherever
the hell he is.” She looked up at the walls, and then said, “I’m just hoping to
find those answer somewhere within these walls before the NSA removes them.”

“What do you mean, removes them?”

“Every time we find a clue to the puzzle, they destroy it.”

“Then we’d better make sure we get the answer quick this
time,” Tom said, still wondering how he was going to get her handgun.

Over the next two weeks Sam made extensive developments on
his expedition, but little to suggest the Mahogany Ship ever entered the
waterway. His silt samples now numbered more than a hundred, and with the
exception of some signs of iron ore, nothing indicated the fabled ship had even
passed through the water system. And that could have easily been explained by
the natural formation of iron oxide within the natural rocks further upstream.

Sam and Frank split the tunnels into three separate sections,
dividing them so that each person could cover more ground. Each of them would
explore two small tunnels for a distance of two miles or until the tunnel
became too difficult to dive. Afterwards, both of them would dive the fifth and
largest of the five tunnels. Michael Rodriguez had left to attend to company
business for a few days. He had made it clear that if any discoveries were
made, they were to wait for him, because he wanted to be there when the
Mahogany Ship finally revealed herself. Byron, the only one who appeared
positively out of place below ground, remained at the Mahogany Cavern to
maintain communications, and make projections based on the data being brought
in.

None of the four smaller tunnels returned anything
substantial. Not so much as a nail was found. It was time to search the final
tunnel and live with the results, whatever they may be.

On the fifteenth day, Sam discovered something that sparkled.

Nearly a mile upstream in the largest of the five tunnels,
he spotted it. His flashlight carefully filtering the area from right to left,
it was so faint, for a moment he thought his mind was playing a trick on him.

The he saw it again.

Just the tip was sticking out of the sand. Sam swam towards
it, his pulse quickening.

His hand reached in and pulled it from the sand. When he
turned it over in the water, the sand disappeared, revealing the head of the
king of Spain, Charles V.

Behind his facemask, his grin returned.
It was here. The
Mahogany Ship must be somewhere nearby!
Sam turned to the metal detector
again. If the water flowed in such a way as to capture the heavy gold coin in
its sediment at this exact location, there was a good chance there would be
more.  

Instantly, two more sources pinged.

Following the increasing pings, he found two more Spanish
coins. He inspected each carefully. All three were identical to which Rodriguez
had initially introduced him. Sam was ecstatic with his find. He would finally
prove the existence of the Mahogany Ship. At the back of his mind, he was
surprised by the condition of the coins – the water made them look like they
had just been minted.

He dismissed the thought and pocketed all three of the gold
coins.  

Securing one surreptitiously in a double zipped pocket,
which would beat any scrutiny if required, Sam felt guilty at the thought of
stealing from Rodriguez. But he needed to be certain, and this was the only way
he could think of doing so.

Sam marked the spot on the sonar map, and then said, “Frank,
we have a hit.”

He could hear the excitement in Frank’s voice. “That’s
great! What have you got, Sam?”

“A gold coin! Two of them, actually.”

“That’s great news. Stay where you are, and I’ll return to
your location. I’m a few hundred feet ahead of you.”

“Copy that.”

Sam and Frank used up the remainder of their air supplies
searching the area, with no other discoveries that day. When Sam finally
climbed out of the water and onto the work station in the Mahogany Cave, he was
met by Byron, who’d already brought out three bottles of bubbly.

“Congratulations,” Byron said, handing him a full glass of
champagne.

“Thank you. There’s our proof that the ship once entered
this water system. Now it’s only a matter of time before we find the Mahogany
Ship,” Sam said taking the glass. “Does Michael know, yet?”

“Yes, I’ve contacted him. He’s in Spain, but says that he
will be back in a few days. He also wanted me to remind you not to enter the
Mahogany Ship before he returns.”

“I still have to find it first, but you can reassure him
that I won’t enter it without him.”

 Frank climbed the ladder behind him. “I think we just did
it Sam. We now know that she sailed somewhere upstream of that tunnel. Now, all
we have to do is follow it.”

“Like I said to Byron, now that we know where to look, it’s
a matter of when we find it, no longer if,” Sam replied, shaking Frank’s solid
hand.

“Do you want to come into town to celebrate? I know a great
pub that does fantastic food and locally brewed beer,” Frank said.

“Sure, sounds good. I have to contact my skipper and see how
my project’s going in the Gulf of Mexico, but I’ll come into town after that.”

Taking one of Rodriguez’s Mercedes six-wheel drives, Sam
drove into town.

He found a small post office at the end of Main Street, and
walked in.

“Hello,” he said to the little old lady who operated the
store, which appeared to rent movies and act as a general store as well.

“Hi dear. May I help you?”

Sam pulled out a novelty birthday card. At its center was
the image of a sun and a slogan saying ‘Happy birthday, I hope this brings you
plenty of luck and sunshine for your special day.’ He smiled deceitfully, and
said, “It’s my daughter’s birthday tomorrow. Any chance, I can send her this
card, to this address by then?”

She looked at the address, and said, “Portland, Oregon?
That’s a long way from here. I suppose you’re with those mining fellows?” Sam
nodded his head, as if to acknowledge her intuition was correct, causing her to
smile. “It will be close, but as luck would have it, this week’s postal flight
is due to take off in another hour. You might just be in luck.”

“Thank you,” Sam said, as he started to write in the card.

Dear Elise,

Happy Second Birthday, I hope it’s a great one, and I’ll see
you in a few weeks. He followed the note with a number of XX and OOs. Tell
mummy I’d like to know what treasures you found for your birthday. She can
contact me through the normal system.

He then sealed it in an express post and handed it to the
lady. 

If only they knew they were handling a 2 million dollar
coin.

*

The next morning, Sam entered the tunnel feeling pumped. Greeting
Frank, he said, “You ready to find this ship today?” Somehow, he could sense
the Mahogany Ship was getting near.

Over the course of the next four days, the two men searched
more than 15 miles of the tunnel, with no sign of the ship. No sign of more
Spanish coins, or parts of the ship.

By the end of the week, Sam walked into the tent in which
Frank and Byron were eating breakfast and said, “It’s not here.”

“What have you lost?” Frank replied casually.

“Not just lost, not here.”

“Come again?”

“The Mahogany Ship, she’s not down there,” Sam said.

“Not down there?” Frank cut another large piece of meat off
the steak, and continued eating as he said, “Then where’d the Spanish coins
come from?”

“I’ve no idea, but a ship that large would have displaced
something visible by now. If the coins were brought there by a ship, then some
other remnants of that ship must be too.”

“So, you’re done then?” Frank stuffed another bite of meat
into his mouth.

“Not done yet. Just haven’t worked out our next move and far
less convinced that the Mahogany Ship was ever here.” Sam leaned up against the
Mercedes six-wheeler. “Can Rodriguez get me access to a helicopter?”

Frank stopped chewing for a moment, then replied, “Yeah, but
it will take a few days. He can bring it in on his A380 when he arrives in
another three days. Will that do?”

“No, I don’t want to wait that long. I noticed a little
Robinson 22 parked at the airport. Any chance we could borrow her?”

“I’m sure you could hire it. It’s probably used for cattle
mustering. I’m not sure about a pilot though.”

“That’s fine, I can fly it.”

“Okay, where do you want to go?”

“I need to clear my head,” Sam said. “But more importantly,
we’ve run out of ideas inside this tunnel. Now I want to see the land from
above. Get an idea of where the Mahogany Ship might have once been. Those coins
didn’t get there by magic. Something’s taken them there, which means that a
real river must feed into these tunnels.”

“And you want to find that river?”

“That’s the plan.”

Byron stood up, looked at his phone and then started to talk
to someone. Five minutes later, he returned to the conversation. “Brent Higgins
is the owner of that helicopter. As expected, he owns nearly 20,000 head of
cattle around these parts, and uses her to muster them. I’ve just hired it on
your behalf for the rest of the month. If you head that way after breakfast, he
said he’ll have one of his mechanics fill her up.”

“Thanks Byron. I think I’ll skip breakfast and wander over
there now.”

“Suit yourself, and be sure you take care on that machine.
Mr. Rodriguez told me under no uncertain terms that I’m to ensure your safety.
He believes you alone can lead him to the Mahogany Ship.”

Sam laughed at that and then replied, “We’re still yet to
see if he’s right.”

By ten a.m., Sam had traded his trusty Mercedes for a Robinson
22, and was in the air. It provided a unique view of the landscape, and he
hoped that the solution to his problem would present itself when it was ready.
He spent nearly six hours flying and refueled three times before he found what
he was after – a river more than forty miles upstream, which fed into an
underground cave. The entrance was by far too small for a ship to enter, but
that didn’t mean that two hundred years ago it wasn’t large enough to fit the
Mahogany Ship.

Sam landed next to it.

Looking at the steadily moving water, he threw more than a
hundred plastic floating devices, no larger than a marble, into the river
below. Each contained a small camera, transmitter, and were electronically
numbered to match the name of the river. He continued this process until he
reached another four rivers.

Back at the Mahogany Cavern, a wireless receiver waited for the
information. It might take days, but he would have his answers.  

Sam reached the entrance to the mine shaft by the early
afternoon, landing right next to their sleeping tents. He switched off the
mains, letting the rotary blades settle, and then stepped out of the
helicopter.

Frank walked towards him, and asked, “How did you go?”

“Good,” Sam said as he grinned like the owner of a winning
hand at cards. “And, I’m pretty certain I know where we’re going to find the
Mahogany Ship.”

*

“What’s taking so long, Frank?” The pitch of his voice
betrayed Rodriguez’s impatience. “This was supposed to be over two weeks ago –
we have a timeline to keep!”

“There’s a lot of tunnels to explore, it’s going to take
time, sir.”

“Yes, but couldn’t you give him a hint?”

“And risk him catching on? No way – he’s a bright man. He
could ruin this whole thing if we try and rush him.” Frank coughed. Years of
smoking left him with a perpetual chest infection. “He thinks he knows where
she is.”

“Really, and is he right?”

“Yes, but it beats the hell out of me how he came up with
it, after spending the day in the air, sightseeing in a helicopter.”

“Did he now? That’s interesting. Keep me informed.”

“I will Mr. Rodriguez.”

Billie looked at the collection of images on her second
laptop, unable to find exactly what she was after, swiped the screen to the
left and began her search again. By the eighth one of these, she heard Tom’s
annoyingly cheerful voice.

“You seemed pissed off about something,” he said.

“No, just unable to find what I’m looking for. For the most
part, this tomb is precisely how I’d imagine it. But then, when I look closely,
I discovered that something’s wrong.”

“Like the presence of the Master Builders?”

“Yes, but it’s more than that,” Billie said, enlarging an
image of the room, taken from the floor. “Look at the picture. What do you
see?”

Tom laughed, “I’m a helicopter pilot by trade, and an expert
cave diver, but art was never one of my specialties.”

“That’s fine. All the more this will make sense to you. So,
what do you see?”

“I see a turtle floating in an ocean, surrounded by
thousands of stars, and a giant tree strangling the entire universe.”

It was Billie’s turn to laugh. “All right, an interesting
interpretation. I see what you mean about art not being your strong point. All
the same, you spotted what basically appears to be a number of Mayan
depictions.”

“Really. Were they on drugs at the time?”

“No. The Mayan people pictured a universe consisting of
heavens above and underworlds below, with the human world sandwiched between.”
Billie enlarged a simplified diagram of the Mayan world. “The heavens consisted
of 13 layers, stacked above the earth, and the earth resting on the back of a
turtle, floating in the ocean. Four brothers called the Bacabs, possibly the
sons of Itzamná, supported the heavens. Below the earth lay a realm called
Xibalba, an underworld in nine layers. Linking the three realms was a giant
tree whose roots reached into the underworld and branches stretched to heaven.
The gods and the souls of the dead traveled between worlds along this tree.”

“And the king was at the top of the 13 layers of the
heavens?”

“No, this room depicts the king at the bottom, having just
left the lowest rung of the earth based ladder.”

“You look like you know a lot about this stuff.”

“I’ve read a little. I’m no expert on the Mayan belief
system, but for the most part, this seems to be in keeping with Sam’s original
theory that this was a Mayan tomb. There’s just one thing I don’t understand.”

“What’s that?”

“There’s a lot of references to non-Mayan symbolism.”

“Could they have been drawn from the Master Builders?” Tom
suggested.

“It’s unlikely. If the Master Builders did exist, they have
never mixed more than one culture in their projects. The only image that
carried across from the African relics, Egyptian pyramids, and other ancient
sites is that of the Master Builders themselves. In this case, it almost
appears as though the Mayans, themselves, have collected the information.”

“Could the Mayans have traveled that far?”

“Around the world?” Billie drew back from her monitor, and
paused for a millisecond. “Anything’s possible, but highly unlikely. Such a
statement would be akin to saying that the Vikings were the first to sail
around the world.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I need to get some more pictures. Actually, I’m going to
need hundreds of them. If I can feed them into my computer system, I have a
deciphering program that may be able to come up with an explanation.”

“Do you have any ideas?” Tom asked.

“Yes, but none of them are possible.”

“Why not?”

“Because it suggests that the Mayan people once had something
more powerful than we have today.”

“And what’s that?”

Billie grimaced, like she was about to say something
ridiculous. “The ability to actually travel between their realms of life,
death, and the heavens. Some of these images show cultures that weren’t even
developed a thousand years ago.”

“That is crazy.”

“Yes, it is. I just don’t have a more plausible answer –
yet.”

*

In front of her, Billie’s computer hummed as it tried to
crunch some very complex algorithms. Despite being one of the most advanced
laptop computers in existence, it was having trouble resolving the data that
she had input. Billie had taken more than three hundred pictures of the
pictographs and hieroglyphics inside the King’s Chamber. Having charted the
information on her laptop, she now tried to decipher what it all meant.

And this meant differentiating between the Mayan texts,
Egyptian symbols and Master Builder markings.

She had remained at the original site, gathering as much
information as she could, before word of its discovery reached them. Billie
knew what would occur when that happened, and if she was going to get any
further in her search, she would have to have it all mapped out before they
came. 

A pinging sound could be heard coming from her computer.

That was quick.

Billie sat down and looked at her computer screen. Its
advanced program, designed specifically to develop answers about the theoretical
race known as the Master Builders, had discovered something about the room, but
what, she had no idea.

Do you wish to read the report now? Y/N?

She clicked yes, and instantly several pictures of the roof
of the chamber began filling the screen. The emphasis of each image appeared to
be the blue glowing light at the center. It resonated from a ball, small enough
to fit in the palm of your hand, but capable of resonating enough light to
allow them to see throughout the entire pyramid. The same unexplained light
source radiated down from the inside of what must have been the pyramid’s
capstone, and then passed the missing scepter on the king’s sarcophagus, and
then through the narrow shaft that extended eight levels below, to the bottom
of the pyramid.

Yes, I already know there’s no logical explanation for
the light.

Billie flicked through the slideshow. Slowly at first, and
then faster, before she spotted it. Something was changing in each slide, but
it wasn’t until she had clicked through more than a dozen that she realized
what it was.

Holy fuck – somebody’s been watching us.

At the center was the source of the blue light, and where the
perfectly round, blue crystal sparkled like a diamond, stood a shadow. The
shadow formed and then moved throughout a number of slides, as though someone –
or some
thing
– had been watching them.

“Tom, we’ve got trouble.” She shouted the words without
thinking about who was listening.

Tom walked across the room, his camera still in his hand,
and replied, “What have you found?”

“Just look at these pictures.”

She watched him flick through four or five images, and then
stop. Pointing at one of the little shadows over the stone of light, he asked,
“Does that look like something inside keeps moving?”

“Yes.  Someone’s been watching us while we work!”

*

Opening the black bag strewn on the floor next to the
laptop, Tom withdrew a chisel and hammer. Climbing on top of the enormous
sarcophagus, he said, “Whoever they are, their camera’s going to be destroyed
in a second.”

“Wait!” Billie said.

“What?”

“Is that wise? I mean, won’t they know that we know they’ve
been watching us?”

“Maybe. Or maybe they’ll just see that the lens has been
destroyed. Either way, I’d rather them not follow what we’re doing here.”

“What if they come for us?” she asked in no more than a
whisper.

“Come for us? We’re nearly 300 feet deep. We have our own
dive team manning the diving pod at the entrance of the pyramid. They’re going
to notice if someone comes down here.”

“Sure, but what if they’re already here?”

“No way. Did you see any secret hiding places? I mean, we’ve
just spent the last two weeks studying this place. It’s all granite. The only
way in here is from below the pyramid, the way we came. If someone comes, we’re
going to have the upper hand.”

She nodded her head and then said, “You’re right – get rid
of it.”

Tom examined the round blue ball, which, now that he really
looked at it, appeared similar to the lens of a camera. Without studying it
further, he took the hammer and chisel, and struck the corner hard.

Nothing happened.

Tom studied the object again, before striking it with the
hammer alone. Nothing, not even a crack. “I’ve got no idea what they made this
thing out of, but it’s strong as a rock.”

“Try the masonry behind it. Whoever put it there, probably
used a protective cover,” Billie suggested.

He struck it again, but even the masonry seemed firm.

By the fifth attempt, Tom stepped down.

“Here, try this. It’s a diamond tipped chisel. Should slice
straight through whatever that is.”

“Thanks,” Tom said, as he picked it up, angled it right at
the crystal ball, and struck it with the hammer.

Again, nothing happened.

Tom placed his eye right up to the lens of the crystal. Not
even a scratch could be found. Staring at it, despite the light that the ball
was emitting, he noticed that it appeared dark inside, giving him the slightest
doubt that it even was a camera lens.

“Come on up here. See if you can get a better look at this
thing, will you?”

Billie laughed. “Sure. You want me to show you how to break
it?”

“I’m not sure you’re going to want to, once you’ve examined
it. I mean, the thing looks pretty old. I don’t see it being a camera so much
as a looking glass.”

Below him, Billie, started to climb up the sarcophagus.
“Whatever it is, there are few materials in existence that can withstand the
tip of that chisel.”

Tom stared at the glass again, and then said, “Whoa!” nearly
falling backwards off the sarcophagus. “What did you just touch?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“It wasn’t nothing. And it just changed the view inside the
ball!”

“What the fuck do you mean, changed the view inside the ball?”
Billie said, her nostrils flaring as she tried and failed to climb up to see
it.

“I mean, someone’s been watching this place, all right – and
for a very long time!”