They made small talk for the remainder of the drive, lapsing into silence when Professor parked the car in front of a small cottage.
“Home, sweet home.” Professor cut the engine. “There are just the two bedrooms, so I’m afraid you two will be bunking on the floor.”
Dane’s reply froze on his lips. Jade stood in the doorway, hands on hips, her expression hard.
She was as beautiful as ever. She wore her lustrous black hair in a thick braid slung over one shoulder, and her shorts and tank top accentuating her trim, athletic figure. She was half Japanese, but in this setting, she looked like a native.
Jade maintained her blank stare a few seconds longer, then smiled and hurried forward, arms extended. Dane stepped forward to meet her, but she brushed past him as if he weren’t there.
“Bones!” she cried. “It’s so good to see you again.” She caught the big Cherokee in a tight embrace which Bones, surprised but clearly pleased, returned. “Come on inside. I need to bring you up to speed so we can get started. You aren’t too tired from your flight to do a little diving, are you?”
“Never,” Bones assured her.
She led the way inside, once again pretending Dane wasn’t there.
“Brrr!” Bones shivered and rubbed his arms. “Good thing I brought my jacket.”
Professor whistled between his teeth. “Not fun when she gets like this. She’ll warm up. Just give here a few minutes to get used to seeing Maddock again.”
“A few minutes?” Dane smirked. “You don’t know Jade like I do.” For all her good qualities, and there were many, Jade had always been short-tempered and could hold a grudge like few people Maddock had ever known.
Inside, Jade had hooked her laptop to an HD television set. The screen now displayed a three-dimensional rendering of what looked like a series of staircases, terraces, and block-shaped structures atop a rectangular mound. When everyone was seated, she launched into a description of the Yonaguni site.
“The Yonaguni Monument was discovered in 1986. It lies about five meters below the surface. As you can see, it has several distinctive features, including steps, terraces, roads, and odd-shaped stones. Theories abound in regard to its nature. Some connect it with Lemuria, others say it’s a civilization destroyed by Noah’s flood. There’s never been a serious scientific study, but it’s a fascinating place.”
“I did a bit of reading about it on the way here. Some say it’s nothing more than fractured sandstone, sections of which just happen to look man-made,” Dane said.
Jade didn’t even look at him, but instead glanced at Professor.
“That’s certainly at play here, but we believe human hands have worked many spots here. Check out this staircase.” He tapped the touch pad and an image of a narrow staircase, with walls on either side, filled the screen. “What are the odds that this happened due to fracturing?”
“It’s too perfect.” Bones rested his chin on his fist and stared thoughtfully at the screen. “I’ve seen fracture patterns that sort of looked like steps, but for a staircase-shaped section to pop out of the middle of a huge block of stone, with the sides still intact? That’s a heck of a coincidence.”
“We think so too.” Jade took up the discussion again. “There are also engravings that seem to be wrought by human hands. These glyphs, for example.” She clicked over to a close-up picture of a wall covered in what looked like writing. “The photos available online leave much to be desired, so we’ll want to try and get some high-resolution images while we’re down. Professor will take care of that.”
Dane tried again to engage her in conversation. “Do you think there’s a connection between these glyphs and the Atlantean writing Sofia Perez is working on translating.”
Again, Jade ignored him. After an uncomfortable pause, Professor jumped in.
“Possibly. Some of the images are similar to Kaida script, an old writing system found only in this part of the world, but others resemble Atlantean.”
“If Yonaguni were an Atlantean city, the writing could have evolved over time,” Bones said.
“That’s what we’re thinking.” Pete glanced at Jade.
“This place looks like it’s made of solid rock,” Bones said, “but we’re searching for something that could hide a weapon — an underground chamber or something. Has anyone ever found something like that?”
“No one’s ever looked for it. Very few people take Yonaguni seriously as a site of historical interest. We’re hoping the clues from the codex will lead us to just such a place.”
Dane struggled to keep his annoyance in check. Jade couldn’t ignore him forever. They had to work together. “Even if the Dominion hasn’t deciphered this section of the codex, we have to assume they’re keeping an eye on any site that’s reportedly Atlantis-related.”
Jade turned to Professor. “You finish up with Bones. I need to get some things ready. We leave in an hour.” Still refusing to meet Dane’s eye, she stalked out of the room.
Dane rose from his seat and made to follow her.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Bones asked.
“Definitely.” He strode out into the warm sun to find Jade standing alone, staring out toward the sea.
“You’re going to have to talk to me sooner or later. You know that, don’t you?”
“I don’t have to do anything.” Jade’s cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink, clearly annoyed that Dane had gotten her to break her silence.
“So you do know how to talk. I mean, to someone other than Bones.”
Jade turned her back on him, fists clenched.
“You knew when you agreed to this job that you’d be working with me. Why don’t you stop being a child and…”
Jade’s full armed slap cut him off in mid-sentence. She’d caught him right across the ear, the loud pop setting off a ringing that it nearly drowned all other sound.
Jade’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth. “Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You’re right. Of course, it didn’t feel as good as I’d hoped it would.”
“I’m just glad you went with the open hand.”
“I’d planned on a roundhouse, but I was afraid I’d fracture a toe on your thick skull.” Amusement flickered in her eyes, but died again just as quickly. “I never wanted to see you again, Maddock.”
“Then why did you take the job?”
“Because I hate the Dominion even more than I hate you.”
That stung. He knew she was angry with him, even furious, but what had he done to earn her hate?
“Jade, I never cheated on you. You and I weren’t even seeing each other when Angel and I got together.” Jade didn’t say anything, so he went on. “Let’s face it. It seemed like you and I could never keep things going for more than a few months at a time. You started working in China, and then Japan, and we never saw each other.”
“Why do you think I went to China in the first place?” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I wanted you to come and get me.”
“What?” This was the last thing he’d expected her to say. If there had been one thing in their relationship he thought he could count on, it was that Jade didn’t play games. Yes, she was jealous and short-tempered, but she also told him exactly what was on her mind.
“I thought if I was on the other side of the world, you’d realize you needed me and would ask me to come back.” Jade forced a laugh. “The first and last time I played a head game like that.”
“I didn’t know,” Dane said. “I didn’t want to be one of those boyfriends who tried to hold you back. After a while, I just figured I wasn’t that important to you.”
Now Jade looked him in the eye for the first time since he’d arrived. “Listen to us talking like a couple of lovesick teenagers. This is stupid. I’m not going to waste my time with someone who didn’t feel for me what I felt for him.” She glanced at her watch. “Let’s go. We’ve got work to do.”