The Lost Ark by J.R. Rain Read Free Book Online

spoken. “I am here for two reasons. First, I’ve come to ask you a question.” From his robe, the emir removed a thick envelope and set it on the counter before me. I glanced inside. Lots of hard currency.
    “You didn’t have to rob a bank just for me, emir.”
    “Your expertise could prove invaluable.”
    I motioned toward one of the round tables. “I can hardly wait to see what I know.”
    Using a silent command, perhaps a dog whistle, his bodyguard moved forward from the shadows and pulled a wooden chair from the table. The emir sat slowly and (like any good date) the bodyguard pushed him back in. I sat opposite the emir. Farid moved back into the shadows.
    “What do you know of Jans Struys?” asked Omar.
    I drank my beer, and wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. A baboonish gesture. The emir watched me curiously as if I were an exhibit at the zoo. Finally, I said, “Struys was a Seventeenth Century adventurer and soldier and part-time surgeon. He would have disappeared into obscurity if not for his association with Noah’s ark.” I paused, getting my facts straight. And for dramatic reasons, of course. “Struys claimed to have seen and touched Noah’s ark.”
    The emir shrugged. “There are many such eyewitnesses.”
    “True. However, most eyewitnesses put the ark within a glacier or perched somewhere within an ice cliff. Jans Struys, however, has a different story.”
    Emir Omar sat forward and put his weight on his elbows. Obviously, he was unable to contain his excitement. “Please continue, Mr. Ward.”
    “After Struys cured an Armenian shepherd of what must have been a world-class hernia, the thankful shepherd, who lived on Mount Ararat, showed Struys a secret route to Noah’s ark. The route involved a series of tunnels within the mountain. According to legend, the tunnels lead to a massive cavern of ice, and within the cavern is the ark.” I grinned and drank some warm beer. “That’s Struys’s story. Even in ark lore, it’s pretty wild.”
    “Has anyone ever come across these tunnels?” asked Omar.
    I shook my head. “Many have looked. Although Ararat is riddled with caves and tunnels, no one has ever found an extensive network of them. Which is why Struys’s story is considered nothing more than fantasy.”
    The emir studied his thick, perfectly manicured fingernails. Perhaps the only thick and healthy thing on his body. He rubbed his mustache with his thumb and forefinger, hand shaking terribly. “Did Struys mention something that would indicate the secret tunnel? A marker perhaps?”
    I nodded. “The marker is a narrow protrusion of rock which Struys describes as an arthritic finger, gnarled at the joints. The marker would indicate the secret tunnel.” I paused and looked Omar in the eye. “When did you discover the marker, emir?”
    He was quiet, then shrugged as if he had nothing to lose. “Perhaps a month ago, or more. But the tunnel is blocked by a cave-in. We have men clearing it now, but there is little headway due to the extent of the cave-in. Your comments have satisfied my curiosity, Mr. Ward, for I have been relying on the questionable advice of others.”
    “Is that what this is all about?” I asked, exasperated. “Is that why the whole mountain is closed? Because of the goddamn marker, which in fact could be a fluke?”
    Omar’s skull grinned. “No, Mr. Ward. There is much more going on here than a marker, more than you may ever know. The secret tunnel just happens to be a bonus, more for my archaeologist than me, of course, as I care little for what he may or may not find in the tunnel.”
    “What do you want then, emir? Why are you here?”
    He seemed about to speak, but then paused. Farid, the stone-faced bodyguard, appeared suddenly interested in the conversation, but then that could have been just gas. Omar looked at me, “I’m here for revenge, Sam.”
    “What does that mean?”
    He simply sighed and shook his head. He was done talking.
    As he stood,