Chapter 1 #2
“Not if we use this.” Dathan pulled a grappler off his belt and smiled.
He aimed it, fired, and the line released.
The pointed head whizzed across the expanse and hit the side of the platform.
Small hooks exploded out of the head, embedding into the rock.
Dathan tested the line, then he set the end he was holding on the floor.
More metal hooks sprang out, digging into the floor.
“You going to show off your tightrope skills?” Zayn asked.
“Hell, no.” Dathan grabbed the line, then swung underneath. He started making his way across, keeping his gloved hands and crossed ankles on the slim metal line.
Once he was on the platform, he waved them over.
Nik went next. They all kept in good shape.
He might like poring over books and e-records, but he worked out diligently.
Treasure hunting wasn’t for someone who kept in shape with an annual sculpting appointment at the salon.
You needed real muscles to climb, leap, and run.
He reached the platform and grasped Dathan’s hand to climb up. Zayn started over.
Soon, the three of them stood on the platform that measured about ten meters by ten meters. Nik crouched, running his fingers over the engravings. These ones were much clearer.
“This looks promising.” Dathan stalked to the middle, his gaze on a circular pedestal set into the center of the platform.
Nik looked at the images under his fingertips and saw an engraved square. In a flash, he registered what the image meant. “Wait, Dath! Don’t touch—”
Dathan had already reached out, his fingers touching the stone pedestal.
There was a grinding sound—rock on rock.
Then the platform tilted.
“Shit!” Zayn leaped away from the edge. As he moved, the platform changed direction, tilting to the other side. Now Dathan cursed, windmilling his arms to keep his balance.
Nik stepped cautiously toward the center, fighting to keep upright. “We need to balance it. Spread out evenly and then stand still.”
The other two did as he asked, and soon they had the platform mostly level. Nik bent his knees, trying to keep the thing steady. He felt like he was surfing.
“So, now what?” Dathan asked.
It was a good question. As soon as one of them moved, the platform would tilt. Nik craned his neck and looked down. Black darkness loomed below them.
Another grinding sound.
Dathan groaned. “What now?”
The stone pedestal in the center sank downward, then a moment later, it rose up again.
The shaft of light from above glinted off the gold idol that now sat in the center of the pedestal.
Dathan swore. Zayn whistled. Nik just stared. The damn thing certainly looked like it was made of gold.
His pulse began to race. The idol was the image of a squat man with an elaborate headdress. His pulse raced. He’d seen this before. In historical records. “It can’t be.”
“What?” Dathan demanded.
“It looks Incan.” One of Nik’s areas of expertise. He took a step closer and the platform rocked again. He stilled. “The Inca were skilled metalworkers, especially in gold. And see the green-blue inlays? That looks like turquoise. If I’m not mistaken, this is a statue of the Inca sun god, Inti.”
“Inca,” Dathan said reverently. “Highly valuable and collectable. Private collectors go nuts for Inca artifacts.”
“Dathan? I think we have trouble.” The female voice came through their earpieces.
“Babe, now isn’t a great time,” Dathan responded to his wife.
“I know you’re in the middle of the hunt,” Dr. Eos Rai-Phoenix said dryly. “But a ship has just entered orbit around Mazona V. And they’re being stealthy about it.”
“They spot you?”
“No. The Infinitas is safely tucked behind Mazona’s moon.”
“Is it Darc?” Nik asked. But even as he asked the question, he knew that if their rival, Nera Darc, was here, they’d never see her coming.
“No,” Eos answered.
“Must be treasure hunters after our find,” Zayn said with a frown.
“Wrong again,” Eos replied. “I ran a search. The ship’s coming up as Institute.”
The Institute of Historical Preservation was here? Nik frowned. Jesus, he would have preferred rival treasure hunters. They’d be more trustworthy. “What the hell do they want?”
“I suggest we don’t hang around long enough to find out,” Dathan said.
“They’ve just launched a shuttle, so be quick. See you when you get back,” Eos signed off.
Nik studied the idol and the platform.
“Now what?” Zayn asked.
“Let’s all run to the middle at the same time. That should, hopefully, keep the platform steady,” Nik said.
“And after that?” Zayn peered over the side. “It’s a long way down.”
Dathan’s gaze narrowed. “Let’s grab the idol, then all three of us need to run back to the grappler line at the same time.”
“The platform will tip,” Nik said.
“Yeah, but if we hold onto the line, we can use it to swing back to the other side.”
If the damn thing held carrying the weight of three fully-grown men. Nik took a deep breath. “Not many other options. Ready?”
His brothers nodded.
“Go!”
They sprinted for the pedestal. The platform wobbled beneath them, but stayed reasonably stable.
Nik lifted the golden idol off the platform.
His heart thudded. It was in excellent condition.
He couldn’t wait to get it under a scanner and study it.
So many old Earth records were lost, but he might be able to track down something on it.
“All right.” Dathan was looking at the grappler line. “Ready for phase two?”
“Not really.” Nik tucked the idol into his backpack.
“I’m ready.” Zayn looked just a little too excited about this bit. He’d always been the daredevil.
“On three. One.” Dathan tensed. “Two. Three!”
Together, they raced for the line.