Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Rebecca woke in a bed, in a strange place with no idea how she got there. Last she recalled, armed men surrounded her and Scorpio at the glacier and the ruins they’d escaped.
Company men! Who stole what she and Scorpio found and planned to kidnap or shoot them if they didn’t cooperate.
Then Scorpio hugged her tight and after…
Nothing. No memory at all. Had the kidnapping succeeded?
She definitely wasn’t in the Antarctic anymore.
She rose and glanced around the luxurious suite.
Plastered walls, tiled floors, heavy wooden furniture.
A lovely space but it didn’t excuse abducting her.
A wide window drew her with its bright sunshine, and she gaped at the vista.
Sand and rock and definitely not snow or ice.
Where was she?
As she wandered from the bedroom into the living area, again replete with furniture and even electronics, she had to wonder what had happened after she passed out. Heck, what about before?
How had the company that hired her known she’d find the artifact?
The team had obviously been ready to snag them the moment they emerged, indicating some devious plotting.
After all, they’d been inside the glacier for only, what?
An hour or two at most. She’d not had time to tell anyone of her discovery of the ruin, yet those armed men had been waiting when they exited.
Known of the sphere. Known who Scorpio was.
Hearing a noise, she glanced at the door, and as it swung open, instinct kicked in and she grabbed the nearest item. A game system controller.
She flung it at the person entering.
Scorpio caught it one-handed and arched a brow. “Did you get ambushed by kids playing Call of Duty too?”
“It’s you.” Relief filled her.
“Expecting someone else?”
“Last thing I remember is armed thugs and a helicopter. Were we kidnapped?”
“No. We escaped.”
“How?” Because the odds at the time made that scenario unlikely.
“Since we were outside, I starbeamed our asses out of there.”
She blinked. “Meaning?”
“You know how in Star Trek they would beam people from the ship to planets and stuff? Well, instead of a transponder, I’ve got a tattoo that lets me do the same, only it always takes me home.”
It took her a moment to process before she blurted out, “You’re saying my body was dematerialized into tiny atoms and reassembled halfway across the world.” Because, no matter where they were, no denying they were miles and miles and miles from the Antarctic.
“Yes.”
It led to her jumping to her feet and slapping her body. A body still clad in her winter gear.
“What are you doing?” he asked with curiosity.
“Checking everything is there,” she muttered, unzipping her jacket and shedding it.
Two boobs. Arms. Belly. She lifted her shirt and confirmed the presence of her belly button. Below? Two legs ending in booted feet. She kicked them off and wiggled her toes.
“You’re all there, Doc. No need to panic.”
“Says you,” she grumbled.
“I’m sorry. Would you rather I’d let those mercenaries kidnap you?”
“No. However, when you say you brought us home, exactly where are we?”
“Babel Tower, which, before you ask, is located in Iraq.”
“Impossible. The history books claim Babel Tower was destroyed ages ago, if it even existed.”
“That’s what the world thinks. The tower has long been hidden from electronic and human eyes.”
“More magic.” More impossible things science couldn’t explain. It hurt her poor brain, and she collapsed onto the couch, which made it easier to shed her snowpants.
“Some call it magic, but in reality, it’s star power.”
“Either way, it’s insane,” she groused. “Everything I know has been completely messed up since I met you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Welcome for making me realize I don’t know anything?”
“For expanding your worldview.”
“My worldview didn’t need to be threatened by armed men. Which leads me to wonder, why they were even there?”
“They wanted the artifact.”
“Obviously, but how did they know I’d find it? I had no clue I’d find a ruin. I was supposed to be collecting ice samples.”
“According to Sage, they were ready because they have a seer of their own.”
She stared at him. “Exactly how many people can see the future?”
“Apparently two now, at least. I’m as surprised as you. I thought Sage was the only one.”
Rebecca rubbed her face. “This is all so crazy. Space power—”
“Star,” he corrected.
“Secret ruins, booby traps, artifacts that are stolen by men with guns. What’s happened to my life?” Her quiet, predictable life.
“Hungry?”
The change of subject had her narrowing her gaze on him. “No, I’m not hungry. I want to know what’s going on.”
“Simple. Cetus knew in advance that you would find the artifact. They even had knowledge of when. So they hired you, put some people in position ahead of time so, when you finally did locate it, they were there to snag it.”
“I know what happened,” she snapped. “I was there. I want the answer to why? What the hell is that thing we found? Why does everyone want it so badly?”
He shrugged. “Dunno.”
“Well, it must be darned important if so many people are going to all that trouble.”
“Agreed, which is why we need to get it back.”
She stared at him. “We?”
“Well, yeah. That asshole who stole it from us can’t keep it. You found it. Not them.”
“Anything I discover on company time technically belongs to them.”
The statement pursed his lips. “I am pretty sure they have no claim to it.”
“Neither do you, or anyone alive for that matter.”
“It belongs to the Zodiacs,” he stated.
“How can you say that when you don’t even know what it is?”
“You saw the symbols in that ruin.”
“Yeah. And so what? For all we know, some really old Zodiac folks put that object in there to keep it from someone else, meaning it might not have been theirs either.”
“Sage says the fate of the world depends on us finding the missing artifact.”
“We did find it. So, technically, we did our part.”
His turn to sigh. “Don’t you care they stole it? It was your discovery.”
“I do care, but I’m less pissed about the theft than the way the company used me.
Not to mention their bullying tactics were uncalled for.
Why not tell me they sought a ruin in the glacier?
Why did they threaten to shoot me? Why the attempt to abduct me?
They didn’t have to be so extreme. I would have told them about the ruin in my next report. ”
“And given them the sphere?” he asked.
She pinched her lips.
“Well?”
“I would have told them about it and, yes, most likely handed it over. But”—she hastened to add—“I would have first documented everything I could and relayed that information to some people who would have made sure Cetus couldn’t hide it or keep it. A discovery like that belongs to the world.”
“Why does it sound like you’re not going to help me retrieve it?”
“Because I’m not. I have no legal right to the orb. My contract with them has a clause that states, in simple terms, that finders-keepers doesn’t apply.” Which she’d not thought much of because she’d assumed they meant fossilized remains.
“Sage said—”
“I really don’t care what Sage says. What I do want is to leave and get back to my life.”
“Do you really think the company will allow that?”
She opened and shut her mouth. “Why wouldn’t they? They got what they wanted.”
“Not entirely. They also wanted you and me.”
“Surely now that they’ve got the sphere, they’ll leave me alone.”
“You’re being na?ve,” his harsh rebuke, and while it stung, a part of her understood he probably wasn’t wrong. A company willing to shoot and kidnap wouldn’t just let her walk away.
“You make it sound like my life is over,” she muttered with a sulking lower lip.
“No, but it has changed.”
“Because of you,” she accused. “If you hadn’t shown up—”
“You would have still found the cave. However, would you have survived it?” he countered.
Thinking of that first trap, probably not.
“Now what? If I can’t go back to my camp in the Antarctic or return home, then where am I supposed to go?”
“Nowhere. You’ll stay here for now.”
She glanced around. “In your room?”
“Yes.”
“You have a spare bed?”
“No.”
She pursed her lips. “I am not sharing one with you.”
“Afraid you won’t be able to control yourself?”
She snorted. “You’re hot, but not that hot. I need more than a pretty face to stimulate me.”
“Did you call me dumb?”
“I’m not sure how you rate, intelligence-wise, because we barely know each other. We met only a day ago.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Nothing, because we’re not dating. We’re not even friends.”
“Now I’m hurt. I saved your life.”
“And I saved yours at that door,” she reminded.
“You can’t deny we have chemistry,” he argued, referring to the kiss.
“I already said you’re hot, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to shag you.”
“Shag?” He laughed.
She blushed. It did sound kind of juvenile. Blame her love of the Austin Powers movies. “This arguing is getting us nowhere. I guess I’ll sleep on the couch until we figure something out.”
He heaved out a breath. “The stars save me from stubborn women.”
“Excuse me, it’s called self-respect. Just because you’re used to getting your way doesn’t mean you get to call me stubborn.”
“I’m going to find some food,” he growled.
“Great. I’m coming with you. I’d like a look at this tower place you’ve got me stuck in.”
It proved much larger than she would have expected and lacking in elevators. As they went down several flights, she asked, “How many stories is this place?”
“No one knows for sure, but my understanding is it’s more than three hundred.”
She almost fell in shock. “You can’t be serious. That’s gravitationally impossible.”
“Tell that to its builder. It’s been here for millennia without issue.”
“Who the heck lives on the three hundredth floor? That’s got to be like a million steps.”
“Around seven thousand actually.”