Atlantis Stolen (Sam Reilly Book 3) by Christopher Cartwright Read Free Book Online

that
some people had been following her. I told her to stay on the main roads and
that I would come and get her.”
    “So what
happened? Why didn’t you protect her?”
    “By the time I
reached her, they had already got to her. It appears that someone intentionally
drove into her to send her off the bridge and into the bay below. By the time I
entered the car, one of the windows on the driver’s side had been broken – from
the outside in – and the rear back door was still wide open.”
    “Okay, so someone
took her while the car was sinking. That’s promising. At least they didn’t
intend for her to drown. Did you retrieve anything from her car?”
    Sam looked
guilty.
    “When I dived
down the trunk was open and there was nothing inside.”
    “Oh shit! Don’t
tell me…”
    “She should have had
her laptop with her today.”
    Tom shook his
head. “Do you have a backup hard drive?”
    “Sure, but now
they know what we do. Which means we’re in trouble.”
    Tom grinned. “That’s
great news…”
    “What the hell
makes you say that?”
    “Because if
Billie’s as smart as we both know she is, she’ll work out the next stage of the
map and leave a clue for us.”
    “That’s great,
but you’re forgetting one thing.”
    “What?”
    “We have to work
out the next step of the map.”
    “But we know that
she was on to something at the National Archives. She found it, didn’t she?”
    “Yes, the Arcane
Stone.”
    “That sounds like
something out of Harry Potter. What is it?”
    “Legend is, the
Arcane Stone, when placed correctly, will guide the viewer to the opening of
the Atlantis Archives – a secret library built during the reign of the
Atlantean people, in order to document their history.”
    “So, she has it?”
    “No she made
digital copies. Said the security was too tight to steal it, or she would have.”
    “Do we know where
to use it?”
    “No, but Billie
definitely did. And I’m hopeful we can work it out.”

Chapter Eight
    Andrew entered
the National Archives building.
    After watching
the two men walk up the stairs, he followed them, walking up the first two sets
of stairs and heading directly toward the last three rows of archives, in a section
dated 1630 to 1650. There, the two men had stopped to examine the dates. One
appeared average in height, while the other looked like a giant. Both men, he
noticed, had arms and shoulders as big as professional boxers. There was also
something about their posture that suggested they were both confident and
focused at the same time.
    The taller of the
two had dark curly hair and hazel eyes. His face portrayed a certain intensity
that Andrew couldn’t quite put his finger on immediately. He carefully examined
the man’s features until it registered, as he knew it would – this man has a
relationship with Dr. Swan which is strictly non-professional. Whereas the
shorter one, who was still at least six feet tall, had dark blue eyes, tousled
brown hair that looked like he’d just come out of the surf, and a grin that
made him appear more interested in the antiquity he was admiring than whether
or not he was able to rescue Dr. Swan.
    He guessed they
had both served in the military at some stage, and would be quick and capable
at defending themselves if the need were to arise. Not that Andrew envisaged
any reason for that today. After all, he wanted them to succeed as much as they
did. It was only through them he could discover where Dr. Billie Swan had been
taken.
    To reach
Atlantis, he was going to need her help, and he would have it – whether she
wanted to give it, or not.
    He had no reason
to hide. He’d never met or even seen either man before. He’d heard about Sam
Reilly, and had previously been approached by his rich father with business,
but there was no way the two men could place him with any connection to
Billie’s abduction.
    Especially,
since, in the end, someone else got to her first.
    The two men in
front of him opened several