The Lost Continent (11 page)

Maxwell Finch slowly looked up at Elisa. One of his eyes was swollen shut, he had bruises over his face, his normally pristine suit covered in sweat, and his open eye was bloodshot.

“You monster!” spat Elisa. “I'll kill you for this!”

“I expected that reaction.” Wade knelt by the door and picked up a straw hat. “I'll leave the two of you to talk. Fifteen minutes, then I'll be back and if you haven't reached a decision, you get to watch my friend here torture Professor Finch to death.”

He looked at the masked man and gestured to the door with his hat. The guard left and Wade put the hat on before following him, closing the door behind him. Elisa heard it bolted from the outside.

“Max,” she said. “Max, are you okay?”

“I think...I've seen better days,” he said. “I could really use a scotch right about now.”

“You and me both, buddy,” said Elisa. “Max, what happened? How did you get here? How did the Order get their hands on you?”

“I heard...Jackson disappeared,” said Max. “And when I found out Stubby's shop burnt down, I had a feeling they were connected to you. I was about to board a flight to Mumbai when security pulled me aside. It was the Order.”

“Well you were right, King and Stubby are connected,” said Elisa. “Seth's involved now.”

Max's face snapped to attention. “Seth? How is he involved?”

“I saw him in the temple. Said he wanted to play a game, wants me to meet him at the Gateway to Lemuria.”

“So you know where it is? You found the tablets?”

Elisa shook her head. “Yes and no. I found the tablets but I didn't have a chance to examine or even photograph them. Seth blindsided me and then I woke up here. With the Order. Max, Seth has King.”

“Then he can force Jackson to translate the tablets. He knows where to find the gateway.”

“And the Order wants me to go after him on their behalf. They want me to do their dirty work for them.”

“You can't,” said Max.

“I told them to shove it,” she said. “That's when they brought you in.”

“Elisa, the secrets of the Naa'cal are too important. If the Order gets their hands on them...”

“I know the score.”

“Then you also know my life doesn't matter.”

“Yes it does.”

He shook his head. “No, not in comparison to this.”

“But your life's work...my parents...”

“I'd rather see Lemuria purged from all record than risk the Order getting their hands on those secrets.”

“Max, I love you but this isn't your choice to make.”

“Elisa, no,” he said. “You can't let the Order discover those secrets.”

“I won't,” said Elisa. “It's a game, just like Seth said. And it's one I intend to win, leaving both Seth and the Order sitting in the dust.”

“You're playing a dangerous game and if you lose—”

“I
won't.
”

There was a knock at the door followed by the sound of it being unlocked. Wade and his masked bodyguard reentered and the portly man held his arms out with a smile.

“Well, what's the verdict?” he asked. “Are we in business or not?”

“First, I have to know—can you translate the tablets?” asked Elisa.

“We already have,” said Wade. “We know where the gateway is. You can't find it without us.”

“Then why do you need me at all?” she asked. “Send Davalos.”

“I told you already, Davalos was just a pawn. He doesn't have the same skills as you and Seth nearly killed him.”

“What do you mean?” asked Elisa.

“Lucas had the Keystone on him when he was attacked in the temple.”

“So Seth has both the Keystone
and
the location?” asked Max.

“That's right, Professor,” said Wade. “We also received a message from him—if anyone other than Elisa shows, he destroys the Keystone and Lemuria stays buried.”

“And where do I meet him? At the gateway?”

“No, nearby. We've got all the information but you don't get it until we've settled our own arrangements.”

“Fine, but I have some stipulations.”

“I thought you might.” Wade leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Go ahead, enlighten me.”

“Laki goes free, no questions asked,” said Elisa. “She's not a part of this.”

“We have no interest in her.”

“And Asami stays with me.”

“Asami?” asked Max.

“That I can't do,” said Wade.
 

“Why not?” asked Elisa.

“Because she's gone missing.”

“I need some back-up with me.”

“We'll send someone.”

“Davalos,” said Elisa.

“Not who I had in mind.”

“Doesn't matter, he's who I have in mind.”

“I was under the impression there wasn't any lost love between you two,” said Wade.

“We've had our issues but I know I can rely on him if push comes to shove.”

“Very well.”

“And no more harm comes to Max,” said Elisa. “I want you to treat him like royalty, understood?”

“Done. Now I have some stipulations of my own,” said Wade. “Do what you will with Seth and King, but anything you find in Lemuria belongs to us and Davalos will see to it we get what's ours, agreed?”

“Don't have much of a choice, do I?”

“Not if you want you and your friends to get out of this alive,” said Wade.

“Then we've got a deal, Wade,” said Elisa. “Now cut me loose.”
 

“You're crazy!”

“So I'm told,” said Elisa.

“Elisa, you can't do this alone,” said Laki. “It's too dangerous, especially now that Asami has run off.”

“I don't have a choice, I either do this or the Order kills you and Max and Seth kills King. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here.”

“But going on your own? I should be there with you,” said Laki.

“No, you've done enough, you led me further than I could have gotten on my own,” said Elisa. “This next part I have to do alone and I can't risk your safety. You're not trained for something like this. Not when it comes to Seth.”

“But who's going to watch your back?”

Elisa sighed. “Lucas.”

“As in Davalos, the man who's been working with the Order since this all started?” asked Laki. “I'm sorry, I know you two have a past but he can't be trusted.”

“No one knows how dangerous Lucas is more than me, you can bet on that,” said Elisa. “But the Order would never have let you come along in the first place. If I didn't say I want you sent home undamaged, they would have kept you here with Max.”

“So it's okay for them to keep an old man chained up?”

“Max may not be as young as he used to be, but he's been in worse scrapes,” said Elisa. “In his day, he was the best myth hunter around. The Order would love to get access to the information in his head but as long as they need me, they won't touch him. That buys me some time to make everything right. But I'll be able to do this job a lot easier if I'm not worrying about the both of you.”

Laki folded her arms. “I don't like this.”

Elisa sighed. “Listen, when this is all over, I'll come back through Mumbai to celebrate, okay? And drinks are on me, we'll have a girls' night out.”

“Watch your back, okay? I don't trust Lucas.”

“That's funny,” said Elisa with a smirk.

“What is?”

“I actually warned him to stay away from you—was worried you may be falling victim to his charms.”

Laki laughed. “I may not be as worldly as you, but I'm also not naïve. It'll take more than rogue charm to win me over.”

“Good, then I can rest even easier,” said Elisa. “The Order will escort you back to your apartment. Once they do, I want you to pack a bag and get on a bus or a plane bound for anywhere. Take a little vacation.”

Elisa drew an envelope from her jacket pocket and handed it over. Laki opened it and looked back up at her friend in surprise. “There's a few thousand dollars in here!”

“Should be enough to lie on some remote beach resort for a few days,” said Elisa. “It's better for you to disappear, at least for a little bit. I don't want the Order realizing they might need you again before this is all over.”

“Thank you,” said Laki.

“For what, nearly getting you killed?” asked Elisa. “Don't mention it, just what I do.”

***

Lucas Davalos spread out a map of southern Japan on the long table. Elisa stood by his side as he went over what the Order had uncovered for them.
 

“Okay, from what Wade tells me, the tablets say the gateway is located in the area of Japan's Ryukyu Islands.” The spot he pointed to was in the water.

“Wait, you mean it's
not
on land?” asked Elisa.

“Not from what they've been able to decipher from the tablets,” said Lucas. He pointed at the nearest island to the supposed location of the gateway. “This is Yonaguni Island, maybe seventy miles off the coast of Taiwan. Now normally, this wouldn't seem important, but...”

He took a clear cell and placed it over the map, which included a potential land mass that filled a block connecting the Marianas, Easter Island, Hawaii and Mangaia.
 

“Okay, now according to Churchward's accounts, this is where Lemuria was located before its destruction,” he said. “Now after its destruction, we've been able to find just about no trace of it, but that's not entirely accurate, at least not as of maybe twenty years ago.”

“The Yonaguni Monument,” said Elisa. “I remember when it was discovered, my parents were sure it was the remains of Lemuria.”

“Yeah, and they weren't the only ones,” said Lucas. “It's located off the coast of Yonaguni and there's some debate over whether or not it's man-made or a natural formation. A scientist named Kimura claims he's identified at least fifteen other formations around Yonaguni, including a castle. Kimura believes that the structures in this area were created or at least changed by humans between six and ten thousand years ago.”

“That would sync up with the time frame posited by the Lemurian legends,” said Elisa. “So this is where Seth is headed, then.”

“Right and it won't be hard to find him, the island's only about twelve miles all around,” said Lucas. “They've got a small airstrip there, so we get in via private plane courtesy of the Order.”

“We'll still need the Keystone, so we arrange for a meeting with Seth, charter a boat, and then we dive to the gateway,” said Elisa.

“There's just one problem—these ruins haven't exactly been ignored, they've been examined by lots of people since their discovery. And if Kimura claims he's found other structures that no one knows about, how do we know the gateway isn't in one of those locations?”

“We don't,” said Elisa. “But you're forgetting that the gateway is useless without the Keystone. So even if divers have found the gateway, they'd have no way of knowing what it really was.”

Lucas looked at her. “So this is it, eh? You think we've found the gateway?”

Elisa nodded. “I'm just not comfortable with
how
I had to find it—risking the lives of my friends and working with my enemies in order to play some twisted game thought up by a sociopath.”

Lucas let a chuckle slip.

“Something funny?” she asked.

“I just think it's a little amusing how you turned on the Order and now you find yourself working for them again. More than that, you're doing it so you can finish what your parents started.”

“Guess life really likes to stick it to you sometimes,” said Elisa. “Speaking of which, Wade said you dealt with Seth, too?”

“Yeah, right before your foxy friend decided to pull a vanishing act,” said Lucas. “We thought you were dead, so we kept moving on. The next room was pitch-black and that's when Seth attacked us. He toyed with me at first, just poking and prodding here and there, making me use most of my bullets on empty space. But then the lights came on and that's when I first knew he was involved. And Asami was gone.”

“And you had the Keystone on you.”

Lucas closed his eyes to try and hide the embarrassment. “I thought I might need it in the temple. I didn't know what the hell I was thinking. Seth knew I had it, too.”

“He didn't touch Laki, though,” said Elisa. “She didn't mention anything and she looked just fine.”

“Nah, he didn't go after her at all, he just wanted the Keystone so he went right for me.”

Elisa looked up at Lucas. “You protected her.”

He scoffed. “What are you trying to do, Elsie? Ruin my reputation? We both know I don't go in for any of that Errol Flynn, saving the damsel bull. Nah, Laki didn't have anything happen to her because Seth didn't care about her, simple as that. He's only interested in this game he's playing with you, said something about it being a challenge.”

“Well if Seth tries to stab me again, I'll give him an even bigger scar than last time,” said Elisa.
 

“Knock, knock.” The door opened and Wade waddled into the room followed by his bodyguard who carried a duffle bag slung over his shoulders. He dropped it on the ground and Wade motioned to the bag while looking at Elisa.

“Thought you might like your effects back,” he said.

Elisa knelt down and zipped open the bag. First thing she did was holster her kukri daggers in the sheaths behind her back. She drew the sheng bao out next and unlatched a loop on her belt to hold it from. The khopesh and kampilan swords both affixed to straps that she slung over her chest so the swords rested on her back. For the hunga munga, she hung that from a strap affixed to her belt. There were two more weapons in the case and Elisa drew them out, looking at them.

“Those were with you in the temple when we found you,” said Wade. “Thought they might be yours.”

“They're not,” said Elisa as she strapped a katara dagger to each thigh. “But thank you, they'll definitely come in handy.”

Lucas smiled as he lit a cigarillo. “See? Now that's hot.”

“We've got the plane fueled and ready for takeoff as soon as you get there,” said Wade. “Just remember, the longer you wait, the less time Finch and King have.”

“I remember, I don't need you to remind me,” said Elisa. “Now get the hell out of here.”

“Fair enough,” said Wade. “Oh and Lucas? I'd like a word with you outside.”