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  “My employer understands the value of loyalty,” Tate replied smoothly. He grabbed his leather jacket off the table and put it on. Wiping the beaded water from his bald head, he flicked the remaining drops towards the colonel and grunt.

  “Time to go, Mr. Tate,” the lawyer said, and he grabbed Tate’s sleeve, dragging him out of the room.

  Colonel Ash stood and watched him go, all while Tate was grinning like an idiot at the man who would have had him in a dark prison cell for the next twenty years.

  The door to the interrogation room slammed shut behind them. They walked out of the police station towards the front door.

  “What took you so long?” Tate asked.

  The lawyer ignored Tate as he escorted him wordlessly through the station. Once he was outside, Tate paused to smell the clean desert air. The lawyer tugged at Tate’s jacket and pointed him towards a limo patiently waiting at the curb. Tate stepped in quickly.

  He found his employer, Rupert Kline, inside, drinking a glass of champagne and absentmindedly stroking the red stone located in his ring, the stone that gave him his terrible strength.

  “Mr. Kline I…” Tate began, but Kline cut him off before he could finish.

  “Plenty of time to discuss your failures later, Mr. Tate,” Kline said. He keyed the intercom, “We can leave now.”

  The limo pulled forward into traffic. Tate wondered just how much longer he had left to live.

  Chapter Eight

  Professor Collier took out his passport and looked at the long line for customs. Rachel leaned back against the glass wall beside him, her backpack hanging haphazardly off her shoulder, exhausted by the redeye flight they had taken from Peru.

  They had been traveling for the better part of the last fourteen hours and were just now arriving in the United States at six in the morning. Luckily, their connections had worked out, and they were able to find a direct flight from Peru to San Diego.

  Rachel had not asked very many questions of the professor after he told her they were heading home without Kevin. Collier told the young woman that while waiting for Kevin to drill, he had made a significant discovery that would rock the university – nay, the whole field of study — to its core.

  He told her that Kevin was staying behind to ensure their discovery stayed safe, and they were heading back to present his findings to the regents. Then they would resupply and bring back more help and funding than they had ever dared to dream about.

  Beyond everything else, Collier wanted the full weight of the university behind him before he set about learning more about the artifact he discovered. The accident with the laser drill and strange encounter inside the crystal chamber pointed towards a vast power, one he knew he should not face alone again. He had questions burning in his mind regarding the stone, taunting him with the abilities it granted him. He needed to know more. Where did the stone come from? What is its history? Is there anyone else in the world who knows anything about the stone’s ability to control fire?

  “Passport, please,” the gruff customs official said.

  Professor Collier stepped up and presented his passport to the fat agent, who barely looked up at him through the glass. He dusted donut crumbs from his cheap tie, then leaned forward to scan Collier’s passport under the UV light.

  “Anything to declare?” the man asked. Professor Collier’s mind flickered quickly to the stone he had discovered. He was fairly sure mysterious artifacts would probably be high on the list of things customs officials were looking for, and decided to keep his prize a secret until he could meet with the chair of his department.

  “Nothing besides more duty-free booze than a man should reasonably be able to drink,” Professor Collier replied, attempting to inject a little humor into the man’s day. The agent politely chuckled and stamped his passport, allowing Collier to reenter the United States.

  Having moved quickly through customs, Professor Collier waited by the exit for Rachel to finish up. They had not packed much for their trip, leaving most of their baggage back in Peru since the professor had promised a quick turnaround.

  “Professor?” Rachel called out behind him. “What time tomorrow would you like me to meet you at the university?”

  Collier looked at her disapprovingly. “Tomorrow? By God, girl, what on Earth do you think this trip is? This isn’t a vacation; it’s work. We’re heading for the university right now. I have a meeting with the regents in four hours.”

  Rachel sagged down with a sigh. Collier narrowed his eyes and felt a cold fury swell up inside him. He had had enough of her attitude. This fickle redhead was dead weight, and archeology stars like himself did not need anyone else holding them back.

  “Is there a problem?” Collier asked dangerously.

  “I told my boyfriend that…” she began, then saw the look in the Professor’s eyes. Her voice wavered. “I said we’d be in town today, and we made plans for lunch.”

  “Lunch?” the professor thundered. Several bystanders glanced over at the dramatic professor screaming at his grad student. “This is the biggest moment of my professional life, and all you can think about is getting laid?”

  Tears welled up in Rachel’s eyes. It might have been the stress of the all night travel, or that this latest rebuke was just the final straw. Whatever it was, she knew she had had enough. No career was worth this kind of harassment from a man who was supposed to be teaching her.

  “You know what, Professor? I don’t give a shit anymore. This isn’t even really what I want to do with my life,” she fumed. “I wanted to teach history!”

  “Then go teach it, you little worm!” Collier roared. He felt his temper escape once again, and instead of counting to ten, he leaned into the rage. Everything was this woman’s fault. If it had not been for her, Kevin would still be alive. Collier decided it was her fault the drill had exploded. If she had been there, she might have been able to help Kevin keep the drill under control. He felt the stone in his pocket grow warm as the energy infused into him.

  “You’re fucking fired,” Collier said disdainfully. “You’ve wasted enough of my time.”

  He moved through the airport doors and hailed a taxi, leaving her staring after him with her jaw on the ground.

  He did not care; he was back in San Diego, about to achieve everything he had ever wanted. He had no need of someone like her.

  The cabbie opened the trunk, and Collier waved him off, indicating that all he had was his backpack. The cabbie nodded and jumped back into the driver’s seat.

  “Take me to the nearest hotel,” Collier ordered. He sat back as the cabbie accelerated away from Lindbergh field. Visions of fame, fortune and all that it meant danced in his head.

  Chapter Nine

  “Five!”

  “Four!”

  “Three!”

  “Two!”

  “One!”

  The explosion resounded through the valley as several hundred pounds of strategically-placed TNT detonated in sequence, shaking the ground beneath Ododa’s feet.

  Cheers came up from the crowd of workers, but Ododa didn’t allow himself a moment of celebration. This was still the most dangerous part of the operation. They still had a lot of work to do before they declared the excavation complete.

  Dust began to settle around the entrance to the mine. Protocol demanded that they wait at least twelve hours until they started moving in the heavy equipment to start taking out the ore, but Ododa was on a deadline. They needed to get the new annex working so they could start meeting the ever-increasing quotas his employers were demanding.

  “She sounded clean,” Mbasi said with a wide smile on his face. His dark skin was flush with excitement. “Is it safe enough for our people go in and clear a road in?”

  Ododa looked down at the mine entrance and shook his head. He hated the time constraints the uncaring home office put on him, but his workers were good at what they did and unlikely to have any problems. Fortunately, structural engineering had been his specialty in
school, so he could lead a team in and make a preliminary examination of the new annex for himself. That way, he could see what sort of reinforcements they’d need to make before he allowed full-time work to begin.

  “I’ll go in with a team,” Ododa said finally. “We’ll examine what needs to be done and have the mine up and running within a day.”

  “That ought to satisfy the home office for our bonus time. And after all our premium work, we still get shit pay,” Mbasi grumbled. Ododa knew his boss was counting on the bonus he might earn. The quicker they got the mine working, the sooner he’d see his money.

  “They pay us well enough,” Ododa gently reminded him.

  “They pay us what they think they can get away with,” Mbasi said disdainfully, spitting on the ground.

  Ododa didn’t disagree with the man’s sentiment, but he liked having a job, and so he wasn’t much for griping against the company that helped clothe his family. He readjusted the helmet and moved towards the entrance, whistling towards the people he would take inside.

  “Ododa,” Mbasi began, “may I join you?”

  Ododa cocked his head. Mbasi explained, “It is the last aspect of our mine’s operations that I do not have a working knowledge of. I’m well aware of your plans to retire…”

  Ododa began to protest, but Mbasi waved him off. “You and I both know you will not be part of this operation forever. If I want to keep this place as safe as you have made it, then I have to understand all aspects of your job.”

  Ododa smiled at the younger man’s ambition. “You may come along. However, I must ask that you do exactly as I say.”

  “As you wish,” Mbasi agreed. He grabbed a hard hat from the table next to them, and they headed for the entrance to the copper mine. They also grabbed a respirator; the air inside the cavern would remain foul for several days and would be unbreathable without one.

  The rest of the crew was spraying water into the newly formed depression, hoping to douse whatever fires remained inside and settle the dust. Ododa picked out two more of his men who had done this sort of thing before.

  They approached the entrance cautiously and moved towards the new shaft. Ododa shined his light down the shaft, but could only make out swirling smoke. He signaled Mbasi and his men to follow him, and they did so obediently, sticking close to their boss.

  The trail down the open pit was full of rocks and dirt shaken loose from the blasts above. There was a strange heaviness to the air, as if the entire weight of the mine was sitting on their shoulders. Ododa did his best to ignore the feeling of impending doom.

  He examined the trail the explosives had cut into the mountain and nodded thoughtfully. Even a cursory glance at the ore surrounding them demonstrated that they were on the right track to uncovering one of the richest veins of copper ore Zambia had ever seen.

  “Ododa?” Mbasi called out to him over the radio.

  “What is it?”

  “I think you need to take a look at this.”

  Ododa shined his flashlight towards the point where Mbasi and two other men were standing. He saw them examining a white crystalline wall. Mbasi reached forward, extending his hand out to the cool surface.

  Ododa grabbed his hand inches before it touched the crystal.

  “You don’t know what that is,” Ododa warned. There weren’t many things that could kill a man underground (besides the low oxygen, dangerous rock falls, or a thousand different other types of industrial accidents), so there was no reason for Mbasi to risk it.

  Ododa took out his kit and scraped at the wall, hoping to shave off a bit of the crystal for later study. Strangely, his tools slid off the wall without leaving a mark.

  Frowning, he braced his foot against the wall next to him as he scraped at the crystal structure harder.

  Suddenly, he fell straight into – through – the crystal, and found himself trapped in darkness. Ododa cried out and fumbled for his flashlight, which fell to the ground. In growing fright, he removed his respirator and searched frantically for the dropped light.

  He heard his men scream in terror, presumably as they watched him melt into the wall, and then the screams faded. Ododa shook himself and stood, uncertain of which direction he was facing. Tumbling to his knees had turned him all around.

  “Help!” Ododa cried out. And suddenly, the chamber was flooded with light. It was bright, brighter than anything he’d ever seen before.

  “Twelve Stones were laid upon your planet…” the chamber began. Ododa looked up and around him, looking for the source of the light and voice – but strangely enough, both seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. “…for your people to use.”

  “Who are you?” Ododa called out in wonder to the chamber around him.

  “We are the Patrons, who have sent the Twelve Stones to fight the cancer that has attached itself to your people.”

  “Cancer?” Ododa questioned, “What cancer?”

  “Fear,” the chamber said ominously. A pedestal appeared in the middle of the room, completely lit by the mysterious light source. “The Twelve Stones are yours to do with as you will, but it is your choice that will help determine the future of humanity and our people.”

  “I don’t understand,” Ododa cried out. “What are you?”

  “We are as we appear,” the chamber said simply.

  Ododa approached the pedestal and examined the artifact laying on top of it. “And I take this?”

  “Yes.”

  “To use for what?”

  “You must choose,” the chamber answered.

  The lights went out, and Ododa found himself in darkness once again. He finally found his flashlight, flipped it on, and aimed it at the artifact.

  It was indeed a stone, yellow with blue flecks scattered through it. He felt the weight in his hand, not much more than a few ounces. It felt like a live wire. He slid the stone into his pocket and aimed the flashlight at the wall around him, searching for the door that had led him in.

  Finding it, he moved towards the wall, melting back into it and falling back out into the dusty mine.

  Three of his men were frantically pounding away at the crystalline structure. Apparently they had been unable to follow him through it.

  “Otienu!” Mbasi cried out as he backed away in surprise. “You survived!”

  “So it would seem,” Ododa replied dryly. He leaned against the nearest cave wall, exhausted by the ordeal. Mbasi saw his condition and instructed the men to help him make his way back to the office.

  Despite insisting several times that he felt fine, Ododa was ushered back to his office chair while several of his men hovered over him. They were all wondering the same thing; what had actually happened to the man who mysteriously disappeared right before their very eyes?

  “Go, get back to work!” Mbasi scolded the workers, who continued to badger Ododa for answers he did not have. “You have more important things to worry about than Mr. Ododa’s condition.”

  They grumbled, but slowly filed out of the office trailer. After the room was clear, Ododa leaned over to the filing cabinet intent on looking for an incident report to fill out. He might as well get started on the paperwork about the mysterious crystal chamber he found, he thought. The only problem was that he wasn’t sure what to write without coming off like a lunatic.

  “What happened in there?” Mbasi asked him, his expression unusually curious and sincere.

  “I don’t even know where to begin,” Ododa said helplessly as he thought about the strange encounter in the crystal chamber. “It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.”

  “You have no idea,” Mbasi said softly.

  Ododa didn’t quite hear what his boss said, “I’m sorry?”

  “The home office will want to be notified of the incident,” Mbasi said lightly. “Do you have anything further to report? You should go home and recover properly. I will take care of the paperwork for now and include any supplement you may want to add in later.”

  Ododa felt a p
ounding headache come on hard as he thought about the stack of reports he’d need to get through. He sighed and nodded appreciatively at Mbasi.

  “I believe that is precisely what I shall do,” Ododa said. He placed the incident report back down on his desk and stood, grabbing his jacket off his chair.

  “I recommend that you stop by the medic on your way out, just so we can ensure you did not receive any injuries from your fall,” Mbasi said smoothly.

  “A good idea, Mr. Mbasi.” Ododa moved towards the door, then hesitated and turned back around. “Thank you.”

  “Rest well, Mr. Ododa,” Mbasi called out after his number two.

  Ododa left his office and hoped that he might make it home in time for his wife to make him lunch. Perhaps a bit of home cooking would help settle his headache.

  Mbasi watched Ododa leave the office. The moment he left, Mbasi withdrew a satellite phone from inside his jumpsuit. He looked at the display and punched in a number.

  “Mr. Kline, I believe we have found what you are looking for.”

  Chapter Ten

  The best bacon and eggs in town were found just off Ruffin Road and the 15 freeway. There, a kitschy 50’s-style diner had fed the cast and crew of every major motion picture filmed in San Diego for the last fifty years.

  Alex, Emily, Scott and Christina settled into a booth towards the back of the restaurant, far from any prying ears. The waitress, after taking their order, got the hint that this was a private meeting and left a carafe of coffee on the table so she wouldn’t have to come back and interrupt.

  “So…” Emily said once the waitress had delivered their breakfast, “just how much money were we looking at back there?”

  Alex bobbed his head back and forth. “Well, it wasn’t exactly like I counted it…”

  “Bullshit,” Scott said with a firm look. “You know exactly how much is in that storage locker of yours.”