Tomb of Zeus (Atlantis) (12 page)

“All the
bugs are in place,” Helena said matter-of-factly.

“Good work. How close are we?”

“Getting closer, but we had a slight setback today,” she said, her voice showing little concern.

“A setback?” he asked, his voice sounding annoyed.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. It’s nothing serious,” she responded casually. “I’m sure we’ll be back on track tomorrow morning.”

“Good. We’ll be listening on this end, but keep us posted anyway.”

“Understood,” Helena responded, ending the call.

She stood and looked around the utility trailer. She felt her stomach suddenly growl. Picking up her phone, she nodded approvingly, then smiled as her fingers dialed a familiar number.

“Hi, I’d like to place an order: I’d like the Moussaka and an order of Tiropites…”

----- ----- ----- -----

The following day…

Inside the utility trailer, Helena sat and sipped her coffee. As she listened to Javi and Jack discuss Duni’s condition, she added her own words of sympathy.

“I’m just glad he’s alright. I’ve been was so worried, I haven’t eaten a thing,” she said, her voice warm and filled with compassion.

“It was a rough night last night, to be sure. Fortunately, the doctors think he’ll be up and back to his old self inside of a week or so,” Javi responded. “I won’t lie, I really thought we were going to lose him.”

“That was so scary and it just underscores the need to proceed w
ith extreme caution,” Jack said resolutely.

Javi chuckled a bit, then said, “That’s rich… coming from the man who practically danced through Poseidon’s chamber even after seeing his old friend nearly killed in a pitfall.”

“I was young and stupid then,” Jack defended. “I’m older and wiser now.”

Javi winked at Helena, then responded, “Yeah, you’re an old man, Jack.”

“Who’s the old friend that nearly died in the pitfall?” Helena asked, now sensing an interesting story.

“That old friend would be me. When we were first exploring the hallways while looking for Poseidon’s burial chamber, I stepped on a tile that just so happened to be a trigger for a pitfall that filled with sand. As I was struggling to stay on top of it, I was finally overcome by the sheer volume that pour
ed in on top of me. Jack eventually jumped in and saved me. I almost died in that one. I was really lucky that day. One of the workers wasn’t so lucky though,” he said, his voice now turning grim.

“Wow, scary,” Helena replied, simply.

Jack looked at his watch. It was nearly 2pm.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving. Anyone for Greek cheeseburger
s?” he joked.

“What’s a Greek cheeseburger,” Javi asked.

“It’s just a cheeseburger made with extra grease… get it? Grease versus Greece?” he said, pointing to the small Grecian flag on his desk.

Javi rolled his eyes to Helena and shot her a look of disgust. He turned back toward Jack.

“Jack, I really think you should stick to engineering and leave the humor to the professionals,” he responded, now grinning.

“Wow, that hurt, Javi. Really,” he retorted, feigning insult.

“Well, I thought the joke was cute,” Helena cut in. She shot Jack a friendly glance, then added, “and I could go for some lunch too, although a greasy cheeseburger doesn’t really sound that appetizing.”

“What do you recommend?” Jack asked.

“I know this nice little café overlooking the bay. It has great food.”

Javi smiled at Jack, then said, “I’ve got a lot of work to do. Why don’t you two go on without me.”

Jack thought Javi’s smile a bit odd, but ignored it.

“Ok, I guess it’s just you and me,” he said to Helena.

As the two left, Javi made a passing comment to Jack: “Have fun.”

Jack shot Javi a confused look, then headed out the door.

----- ----- ----- -----

The Papyrus Café

Jack and Helena sat at a private table overlooking the water. The spot was quiet and romantic, far away from the patrons seated inside. As the two sipped their glasses of wine and dined, their conversation jumped from topic to topic, effortlessly flowing like two gentle streams becoming one.

As the minutes became two hours, Helena began to touch Jack’s hand in casual conversation. With each gentle stroke, she could see him grow slightly nervous, his face redden, and his focus become distracted. As they both began to feel the effects of alcohol, she now began to flirt.

“So Jack, do yo
u have a girlfriend?” she asked bluntly.

“Well, not really. Believe it or not, I used to date Javi’s daughter, but we broke it off about a year ago. Serena is her name,” he responded.

“Hmm, nice name. What’d she look like?”

“Well, she was tall, athletic build, dark hair and brown eyes,” he said, still feeling the pain of his lost love.

“Oh, sort of like me I guess, right?”

“Well, yeah… except for that fact that she looks completely different,” Jack joked. “Actually though, she was of Latin descent, so her features are kind of like yours, at least to a certain degree.”

“How so?” she asked, hoping to draw attention to her own features.

“Well, you bot
h have similar lips,” Jack said reluctantly.

“I’ve been told mine are full and pouty. What do you think, Jack?”

Helena pressed her lips together and pretended to kiss. Jack stared at them for a moment and swallowed hard.

“Well, ye
ah… I’d have to agree,” he said nervously.

“What else?” she persisted.

“I’d say your eyes are similar too.”

Helena stared into Jack
’s eyes and smiled seductively.

“So you like my eyes, Jack?”

He took a long sip of his wine while staring at her nervously out of the corner of his eyes. He placed the near empty glass on the table top and wiped away the excess moisture with his hand. Helena picked up her napkin, reached across the tabled and softly stroked his lips to dry them. Still staring into his eyes, she could tell he was feeling attracted to her.

“Jack, how about my eyes? You never gave me an answer.”

He cleared his throat and blurted spontaneously, “They’re beautiful.”

Helena knew the moment was right. Jack was drunk and feeling aroused. She reached across the table and held his hands. Staring into his eyes, she once again smiled seductively.

“You know Jack, I don’t know if it’s the alcohol or just this romantic setting that’s getting to me, but I’m finding you almost irresistible. You have a certain masculinity that really turns me on,” she said in a soft flirtatious voice. “Do you find me attractive?”

Jack was nearly mesmerized by her words. He felt his blood surging and his heart beating wildly. Any thoughts of Serena Arista had vanished. Helena was now the focus of his attention. He wanted to say something profound and romantic, but his thoughts, his feelings
, caused him to blurt the first words that came to his mind:

“I think you’re incredibly freaking hot.”

Although Jacks crude response wasn’t what she was expecting, the sentiment behind it was. She leaned far forward while pulling him close. She stared into his eyes for greater effect, then pressed her lips to his.

Jack’s heart and
mind raced, then slipped effortlessly into oblivion. For that moment in time, nothing else seemed to matter. He kissed her back with equal passion. Moments later, their romantic affair was interrupted by an intruding waitress.

As Jack and Helena sat back in their seats, she refilled their water glasses, then asked if they’d like more wine.

At the very moment Jack said ‘no’, Helena responded with ‘yes’. The waitress smiled and promised to return with two more glasses.

“You know, Jack, one more glass of wine and you might be able to take advantage of me,” she said, proud of her ability to control the situation.

“But then I’d feel so cheap in the morning. I just don’t know if I could live with myself after that,” he joked.

“Are you saying you don’t want to sleep with me tonight?” she asked directly.

Jack’s eyes sprung wide in surprise, then narrowed once more. He stared at her longingly. Standing up, he grabbed her hand and pulled her close. He kissed her passionately, then stepped back.

“The hell with the wine or waiting on the check. We’ll pay on the way out,” he said, now pulling her along as he hurried to leave.

Helena smiled with pride. Half her battle was nearly won. With Jack in her pocket, only the scepter was left to conquer.

----- ----- ----- -----

The next morning, Jack and Helena arrived at nearly the same time: 8:05am. As they stepped from their cars, they approached each other and smiled knowingly.

“I hope this doesn’t interfere with our working relationship,” Helena asked in a seductive voice.

“Are you kidding? I hope it does interfere. Last night was amazing. I wouldn’t mind spreading some of that amazingness around during the day, too,” he joked.

“I still have my job to think about, so how about we focus on the excavation during the day and everything else afterwards, ok?” Helena responded, delicately insuring her objective would be met.

“Your wish is my command,” he said simply.

As the two entered the utility trailer, Javi greeted them with a great smile.

“I trust lunch went well?” he asked.

Jack stopped in his footsteps and stared.

“What do you mean, Javi?” he asked, now wondering if he suspected something.

“You guys never came back to work. I just assumed you had a nice lunch,” he responded cryptically.

Jack knew Javi wasn’t that naive. Suddenly, he felt anxious. With his romantic interlude with Helena, he realized he now had a complication: Serena Arista. She would be arriving at some point soon. The situation would be awkward. Even worse would be the possibility of a strain between Javi and him over the matter.

From an early age, Jack was taught to be honest, no matter what the consequence and he wasn’t about to change that view now.

“Javi, can I speak to you outside a moment?” Jack asked.

Javi nodded politely.

Outside the trailer, Jack began his confession:

“Javi, what I’m about to say is a little awkward and I feel just awful about it.”

“My God Jack, what did you do, rob a bank or something?” Javi joked.

“No nothing like that. We’ve been friends for
quite a while and because of that, I didn’t want you to find out the wrong way, so I’m just going to tell you straight out: I think I have a “thing” going with Helena now. I know you said Selena will be here at some point, so I thought it best to let you know now before things get very uncomfortable. I’m really sorry about this. I didn’t plan it. It just happened.”

Javi exhaled a deep sigh of relief, then smiled.

“
Phewww
Jack, I’m so glad to hear that. To be honest, Selena never really was coming here.”

Jack stared at Javi. His mind registered confusion and Javi could clearly see it.

“The fact is Jack, when I called you, I knew you were suffering. I knew I had to do something to break you out of that awful spell you were under. So, I devised a little scheme to get you out of your house and back in the saddle, so to speak.”

“You trick me?” Jack responded in surprise.

“I’m sorry, Jack. It was the only thing I could think of to do to help you. I figured getting you here, involved with another adventure, would help you to overcome your grief. I’ve been meaning to tell you the truth, but just couldn’t find the right time.”

“So that’s why you were so eager for me to get together with Helena. You figured if I did, you’d be off the hook, right?”

“Sort of,” Javi responded in embarrassed tone.

Jack stared at Javi with menacing eyes.

“You sly son-of-a-bitch,” he blurted, now grinning ear to ear.

Javi breathed another sigh of relief.

“So you’re ok with it?” he asked.

“Of course. You’re intentions were honorable. And why wouldn’t I, especially after I did in fact, meet someone out here to help take my mind off Selena.”

“Yeah, that was convenient, wasn’t it,” he joked.

“Yes, very. Had I not met her, I think I might have taken this news a little differently,” Jack teased.

“Well, alls well that ends well, they say,” Javi joked.

“Yes, especially in this case.”

The two smiled, ending the exchange. As they went back inside the trailer, Helena stood up, ready to get to work.

“Ok you guys, there’s a chamber out there with our names written all o
ver it. What are we waiting for?” she said, only half joking.