Tomb of Zeus (Atlantis) by Christopher David Petersen Read Free Book Online Page B

Although for centuries the city’s name had been named Palaiopoli, once the discovery was made that their city was the original site of Atlantis, the inhabitants proudly adopted the new name.
    Standing on the rear patio to the cottage, Jack stared at the great three hundred foot pyramid of Atlantis, carved from a mountain of limestone. He recalled their frantic search to find it and of the evil Russian thugs that met their demise while holding Serena Arista hostage. He smiled as he reflected on their discovery of Poseidon’s tomb, found high up inside the pyramid’s top and especially of finding Poseidon himself, perfectly preserved in his sealed crystal coffin.
    As he looked around, the once quiet city he remembered before their discovery, had now transformed into a bustling tourist destination.
    Javi walked up beside him and stared at the pyramid. His stomach churned with anticipation.
    “Just like old times, eh?” he said excitedly.
    “Not quite. This time we don’t have the Russian mafia breathing down our necks. Kinda takes the pressure off, doesn’t it?” he replied.
    “Ugh… don’t remind me. Those were the worst moments of my life,” Javi responded. “Honestly Jack, if it weren’t for you, Serena probably wouldn’t be alive today.”
    “I know. Staring at the pyramid, I was just remembering all of that. Glad we outsmarted them.”
    “ YOU outsmarted them, Jack,” Javi replied proudly.
    “I did , didn’t I? Put the old smack down on their evil asses, huh?” he joked.
    “More like the squash down, if you ask me. I think the cleanup crew ended u p scooping them up with shovels after they lifted that ceiling off them.”
    “Couldn’t have happened to a mor e deserving bunch of scum bags,” Jack shot back.
    The two smiled agreeably.
    “Well, you ready to get this show started?” Javi asked.
    “No time like the present,” Jack responded, smiling with anticipation.
    As they walked toward Javi’s jeep, Jack asked another question.
    “So, what’s Serena’s roll in all of this? Is she at the pyramid now?”
    Javi hesitated a moment, the n responded.
    “I’m not quite sure. She was pretty vague about her visit… but I’m sure she’ll be here at some point.”
    Jack stopped and stared at Javi. He sensed something unusual about his response.
    “Javi, she is coming, isn’t she?”
    Javi glance over nervously at Jack and nodded.
    “As far as I can tell, she is.”
    Jack felt uneasy about Javi’s response, but chose to let it go.
     
    ----- ----- ----- -----
     
    One hour later…
     
    The drive to the great limestone pyramid took nearly an hour as the road snaked through the hillside, gaining elevation with each hairpin turn they took. As the two pulled into a large parking area, far away from the tourist entrance, Jack noticed an extensive amount of activity since the last time he was there, more than a year ago. Heavy equipment, from a bulldozer and dump truck, to utility trailers and loose buildi ng supplies, were spread out across a newly leveled work area.
    “What a difference a year can make,” he noted aloud.
    “This is all just recent activity. If you recall a year ago, we had to share the same parking lot with the tourists. Kind of made working up here difficult. Once I determined that Zeus’ chamber was a probability, the Department of Tourism granted me the permits to expand the area on the opposite side in order to work.”
    “Wow, they gave up the permits that fast? Had to pull a few more strings, I’m guessing, huh?” Jack teased.
    “You have no idea. I had to fabricate a report indicating that tourists would be in grave danger when the time came to explore the corridor and chamber. Once they heard about the possibility of lost revenue due to tourist deaths, the Department rubber-stamped my requests ASAP.”
    “Javi, aren’t you taking this a bit too lightly?” Jack questioned with serious concern.
    “What do you mean?” Javi responded slightly puzzled.
    “You