Now in his second year as president, Dawkins had already had a successful term by any standard. His leadership had resulted in a prosperous run for the country. His approval ratings were higher than that of any other president in history. No one wanted to run against him in the next election. They knew it would be fruitless.
Sean Wyatt stood silently as President Dawkins finished signing the last of several forms at the dark-brown table. Dawkins laid down the pen and removed the reading glasses from his sharp nose. His light-brown hair was still thick and cropped neatly atop a young, boyish face. A few lines creased his skin around his eyes, the only clues to the president’s age. What Sean hadn’t expected was to see the man in a pair of board shorts and an old T-shirt.
Dawkins set the glasses down on the table and stood to greet Sean. The man was an inch taller than Sean, who was a six-footer himself. The president crossed the room in two strides and extended his hand.
“Sean Wyatt? I’m John Dawkins. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The president said it with a smile, but his voice told Sean that something troubled him. It had a sense of urgency to it.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. President,” Sean said humbly.
Dawkins motioned to an empty chair across from where he’d been sitting at the table. “Please, have a seat. Can I get you anything? A bottle of water? A Coke?”
“No thank you, sir.” Sean shook his head. “I’m fine.”
He sat down in the proffered seat as Dawkins returned to his. Sitting closer to the patio door, Sean could see there were two agents standing just beyond the glass, keeping watch.
“I hope you don’t mind my casual dress,” Dawkins commented as he crossed one leg over the other knee. “I just came back from the beach.”
Sean smiled weakly. “Yeah, I’ve never pictured the president in board shorts and a T-shirt before. Not going to lie, it’s good to see you’re human. Though I always thought you were.” He chuckled as he said it and got the same reaction from Dawkins.
“I’m definitely human,” he agreed. Dawkins thought for a moment before continuing. “Sean, if you know anything about me, you know that I don’t beat around the bush very much. I like to be direct, and I prefer to put things out there as quickly as possible so that solutions can be found and the job can be done. I look at everything that way.”
Sean nodded. He knew that about the man. It was another endearing quality Sean appreciated.
The president swallowed hard and folded his hands. “When was the last time you heard from Adriana Villa?”
Sean’s eyes narrowed. The question of how the president knew who she was flashed in his brain. The leader of the free world could likely get any information he needed or wanted in a matter of minutes. Sean had a bad feeling about where this line of questioning was headed.
“I don’t know. A couple of days ago?” He answered with a hint of uncertainty. “She’s investigating an ancient artifact she believes is located somewhere in Greece. We talked on the phone a few days ago, but I haven’t heard anything from her since.” Saying it out loud, Sean realized how long it had been. He hadn’t been worried about her. Adriana knew how to take care of herself. She’d saved his life more than once. The fact that the president was asking about it, however, did present cause for concern. “What’s going on with her?”
Dawkins took a deep breath and continued. When he spoke, his Southern tenor voice commanded the room. “I’ll come back to that, but first, I need to ask you another question. Have you ever heard of a relic known as the Eye of Zeus?”
Sean bit his lower lip and shook his head. It didn’t ring a bell. He thought for a few seconds, but couldn’t recall ever hearing about such an artifact. “No,” he said finally. “I don’t think I have. What is it, and what does it have to do with Adriana?”
The president reached over to the far side of the table and picked up a manila folder. He passed it over to Sean and sat back. On the cover was a white label with a word Sean did recognize.
Antikythera.
Dawkins knew Sean recognized the name immediately. He pointed at the folder. “That’s what most historians call the Eye of Zeus,” he said matter-of-factly. “Ms. Villa was looking for the antikythera, correct?”
Sean nodded slowly, beginning to connect the dots in his mind, dots he didn’t want to bring together. There still wasn’t enough information, but he had a feeling that was what the president was about to tell him.
Dawkins sat up straight, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair. “This needs a little backstory, so I may as well share that with you. The Greek economy has been in a nosedive for the better part of the decade. Their gross national product brings in less than what they import, jobless rates are soaring, and crime is beginning to rise.”
Sean knew about all that. He didn’t watch the news often, but he kept up with it enough to be aware of the current events going on in the world around him. He kept that to himself and simply nodded, listening intently to the president.
“The European Union is kicking them to the curb. Their government could collapse at any point, and when it does there will be a mad dash for the seat of power.”
“That’s the way it usually goes,” Sean interjected.
“Yep. As far as we can tell, there are three major players in line to take over. One of them is a guy named Dimitris Gikas. He’s a wealthy businessman living near Corfu, one of the Ionian Islands near Albania. Gikas made most of his money in real estate and land development, but he has investments in everything. About six years ago, he started buying up tech companies and vineyards, and even owns a significant amount of stock in American and Japanese companies. His net worth is well over four billion dollars.”
“Sounds like a guy that might be able to straighten out their economy,” Sean quipped.
Dawkins snorted a quick laugh. “He would be, if it weren’t for the fact that he’s one of the most ruthless men in Europe. Some of the businesses he purchased weren’t for sale. Let’s just say he made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. And if they did refuse, the owners met an unfortunate end.”
“Of course, the authorities won’t do anything to a guy like that. Sounds like a modern-day Capone.”
“Exactly. Everyone’s on the take. Gikas is planning something big, we just aren’t sure what it is or when it will happen.” The president folded his hands and leaned back.
Sean opened the folder and removed the contents. There were a few pictures of the antikythera that resides in a museum in Greece. It was the only one known to be found. Adriana believed that there could be another one in existence and had taken it upon herself to find it. There was a small description of the device in the folder, explaining what historians believed it was used for. Sean had seen that stuff before.
He scanned the text, and then put all the contents back in the packet before handing it over to Dawkins. “I’ve read all that stuff before, Mr. President. I don’t mean to be rude, but what does any of this have to do with me? I’ve been out of the espionage business for more than a few years now. If you need someone to go in and find out what this Gikas guy is doing, it isn’t me.”