Daedalus watched Hunt’s hands carefully as he unzipped the pack and pulled from it a statuette wrapped in cloth. Daedalus extended his hands and Hunt passed him the object. All three men were silent as Daedalus unwrapped the item, its golden splendor soon peeking through the folds of the fabric.
“It does seem to have the proper weight, at least,” Daedalus said as he unwrapped the figurine the rest of the way.
“Take it or leave it, Daedalus. We found what we found, okay? You said you wanted it, here it is. Now let Maddy go!”
Hunt expected some kind of acerbic retort, but instead, as the figure came free of its wraps, Daedalus was transfixed while he inspected it. He turned it over slowly in his hands, eyeing it reverently before holding it upside-down and looking at the bottom of the feet.
“So here is the chip from where you took the sample.”
“Right,” Hunt confirmed.
“Do you have it?”
“Have what? The little chip that came out?”
Daedalus looked up from the statue to make eye contact with Hunt. “Yes, the piece you gouged out — do you still have it? It can be used for chemical analysis of the material, and It could perhaps be reattached, making the piece whole again.”
Hunt shook his head before looking to Jayden. “You didn’t save that little piece, did you?”
“You kidding? I’m lucky if I can hold onto my wallet when I go on vacation, I’m not going to keep track of a little pebble. We might have used it as a paperweight to hold down the receipt on our table at that café in the Azores.”
Daedalus pursed his lips for a second but then shrugged. Another group of people ambled up to the Poseidon display, and one of them politely asked Daedalus if he could move out of the way while they took a picture. Hunt did his best not to let his pleasure show while Daedalus stepped aside and sidled up to Hunt.
“Overall, good work, Mr. Hunt. Your artifact recovery skills are surprising even to me. If you — both of you,” he added, also looking at Jayden, “would like a position in my organization as professional treasure hunters, do let me know.” Hunt and Jayden scoffed at the sarcasm Daedalus injected into the word “professional.” But the Treasure, Inc. founder was looking over to the table where Maddy sat with his two henchmen at the tiki bar. He raised a hand in the air and nodded.
“In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay on this beautiful island with your female friend. I do hope we meet again.”
“That makes one of us,” Jayden quipped. Daedalus glared at him ever so briefly before walking toward the bar.
“Come on!” Hunt saw Maddy step down from the bar stool and begin to walk away from the tiki area. She passed Daedalus on her way toward Hunt and Jayden. Hunt could see that Daedalus said something to her, and that she shot him a look to kill in response. Then she was running to Hunt, hugging him and then Jayden, tears brimming in her eyes.
“Maddy, are you okay — have you been hurt?”
She stared into Hunt’s eyes. “I’m shaken up, but no, they didn’t actually hurt me. Thank you so much, though — both of you. If it wasn’t for you offering that Anubis artifact, I don’t know what would have happened.”
At the mention of Anubis, Hunt’s expression became grim. “Speaking of that, we better get a move on before Daedalus gets a closer look at it.”
Maddy’s eyes widened. “You mean…it’s not genuine? You found a fake?”
Hunt lowered his voice even more. “Let’s just say that we found a genuine article, but what we gave Daedalus just now was not so genuine.”
Jayden tapped both of them on the shoulder. “C’mon, we better make like a tree and leave.”
The trio began to walk toward an exit door, a large archway overhung with vines with a sign above it reading, TO MYSTERIOUS GROTTO. As they were about to pass under the exit, Daedalus’ enraged voice carried after them: This is fake! Mr. Hunt, wait right there!”
But Hunt had no intention of waiting. “Let’s move!” As he ushered Maddy through the massive archway, with Jayden plowing on ahead of them, gunfire rang out behind them. Puffs of plaster dust billowed from the walls, and screams of terrified tourists erupted around them as the three of them ran outside of the building.
Chapter 15
The trio ran through an upward sloping tunnel with fake rock walls, irregularly shaped, dimly lit with concealed blue LEDs. Strategically placed ferns were implanted here and there into the walls and ground. Other people occupied the tunnel, some going toward the fleeing trio, some with them, but only Hunt, Jayden and Maddy ran, until the gunshots reached the entrance to the grotto tunnel.
Mass panic ensued, with everyone in the tunnel scattering in different directions, some simply dropping to the ground and covering their heads in blinding, deer-in-headlights fear.
Hunt, Jayden and Maddy kept moving fast, each of them pausing occasionally to help someone up or to offer words of encouragement. Then they saw daylight up ahead; the tunnel widened as it became steeper, until it transitioned into a stone stairway for the last few feet. Jayden marveled aloud at how much vertical distance they were travelling.
At the top of the stairs the tunnel opened up onto an outdoor area that was lushly landscaped to look like a tropical grotto. A series of pools with black bottoms and waterfalls draining from one to the next sprawled in every direction. Not sure of which way to go, Hunt knew they had to keep moving, so he pointed straight ahead to the largest pool.
Only a couple of feet deep and occupied by a dozen or so people lounging about, most with drinks in their hands, the artificial pond had a large waterfall draining into one end, on their right, and another spilling out of it at the other, to their left. The screams of those still in the tunnel leading out to the grotto echoed behind them as they waded out into the pool. Hunt glanced up ahead of them at a fake rock wall festooned with wet plants. It might be climbable, but it wouldn’t be fast and they would be sitting ducks on the wall.
Hunt told them they needed to keep moving. “They’re almost on us, keep going. Blend in with the crowd as much as you can.” As if to demonstrate this point, he picked up a floating straw sun hat someone had lost, and put it on. Then he quickly realized it looked funny to be standing around in a pool with clothes on, so he took off his shirt before replacing the hat. Jayden also removed his shirt, then suggested to Maddy that she do the same.
“I’d be topless if I did that!”
He grinned at her mischievously. “They’ll recognize that bikini top for sure.”
“Here, put this on over your top.’ Hunt handed her the T-shirt he’d just taken off. It was new, purchased in Nassau and read, “Visit the Bahamas and Forget the Dramas.” Maddy quickly slipped into it, got it wet and then rolled it up and tied it off so that it exposed her midriff, appearing like a stylistic choice rather than a hurriedly donned last resort. Maddy was silent, but Hunt knew she had to be petrified.
They heard shouts of terrified bystanders over near the grotto entrance and knew the Treasure, Inc. team must be getting close. “Let’s move, come on this way!” Hunt led them toward the left side of the pool. He wasn’t sure why, just that it was farther away from where their pursuers would be emerging any second now. But as they threaded their way past the few remaining people at that end of the pool, he realized his mistake.
“We’re really going to stand out here, two men and a woman, even with the change-up in outfits,” Jayden pointed out.
Hunt looked around and realized he was right. All Daedalus and his goons would have to do is glance over this way and they would be outed. But moving back to the right seemed suicidal, to head right toward them like that. And again, glancing up at the vertical rock wall of the grotto pool, it would be a tough climb and only make them stick out like sore thumbs. Behind them was a planter area abutting the side of a building, but it didn’t have enough ground cover to really conceal them. Looking in the only way remaining, to the left, Hunt cursed softly while shaking his head.