Eye in the Sky Bk 02: Artifact Ch. 04

Thanks to my team. Harddaysknight is my mentor and gives me critical review. SBrooks103x also gives me a pre-post read. My editors are Girlinthemoon, Hale1 and GeorgeAnderson.

They wound up spending three more days in St. Thomas before Dr. Knowles was satisfied with her work. They left numbers so the University could reach them. They took the buckle and the statue and flew home.

As promised, Ben took Bannon to see the iguanas. They drove ATV's along the beach to a rocky area and Ben signaled to her that they should stop. They held hands and walked carefully along the rocks. They soon came upon a particularly large specimen. It was nearly six feet long and must have weighed more than 20 pounds. They examined it through binoculars. It was a grey and black beast with a jagged frill along its back and a large, loose flap of skin hanging under its chin. It kept a wary eye on them and when they approached too closely it ran swiftly away into the trees.

"Yeet! It looked like a small dinosaur," Bannon marveled. "That thing was huge."

"It was a big one," he agreed. "They have very sharp teeth and long claws. I don't want to get too close to one. If they thought they were trapped they might be dangerous. Dad doesn't care if we watch them but he doesn't want us to disturb them much. They're pretty rare these days in the wild. I hear that they've escaped and are living in Florida and Hawaii. I hope they do okay. I think they're sick nasty."

They went back to the house for lunch and decided to ride the Jet Ski's around the island in the afternoon. Oliver was working on his new book and Kane had work to do, as well. She spent most of the afternoon on the phone or on her computer. She discovered that she loved OSX and became very comfortable with it. She noticed that the sound of Oliver's keyboard had stopped. She felt eyes on her and turned to look across the library at him.

He had leaned back in his chair and was watching her work.

"Stop perving out over there," she told him.

He laughed. "I can't help it. I love to watch you, Kane. Everything about you is perfect. That little frown you get when you're concentrating is adorable. When you flip your hair back I think it's the most incredibly sexy movement I've ever seen. I'm thirsty, you want something to drink?"

"Are you going to ply me with wine and song?"

"It's a little early for wine, but I'll sing if you want me to."

"Please, no, I can't take it," she laughed.

She stood up and went to take him by the hand. They went to the kitchen and he poured two tall glasses of her favorite soursop and mango juice. They carried it up to the balcony and sat together on a lounge chair and drank their juice. He pulled her close and they listened to the sounds of the surf while the sea breeze cooled them.

"This is the most incredibly romantic place in the whole world," she told him.

"I know. Are you feeling romantic?"

"Maybe a little. If I played some music would you dance with me?"

"Well, you know I have two left feet, but if you don't mind, I don't."

She went inside and he soon heard the sounds of Frank Sinatra playing. She came back through the curtains and stood in front of the chair and held out her hand. He took it but instead of getting up he pulled her down on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. She smelled wonderful. She reached up and pulled her hair loose and he was surrounded by waves of white gold. When loose it reached to mid-thigh, and he thought it was glorious.

"You have the most beautiful hair I've ever seen," he told her.

He began to nibble her ear and worked his way down her neck to the hollow above her collarbone. She shivered and moved one of his hands to a breast and he allowed the fullness to overflow his hand.

He moved his hands down her side to the hem of her little t-shirt and lifted it over her head. Her lacy white bra was barely coping with the weight of her breasts and when he reached behind her and released, it her breasts sprang free.

"I'm ready for that dance now," he whispered.

She took his hands and they both stood. She melted against him and they were surrounded by the veil of her hair as they swayed to the music. They danced through two songs and he dipped her backwards.

Her hair swept the floor and her big breasts thrust forward as she arched her back. He captured one erect nipple with his lips and pulled on it while she gasped. He held her there for a moment with his face buried in the firm flesh, then lifted her back up. She immediately clung to him and offered him her lips.

He swept her up in his arms and carried her inside and to his bed, lips locked together. He laid her down on the big bed and eased in beside her, running his hand over the slopes and planes of her silky skin. She shook and shuddered as his hand moved across her flat belly and rested at the top of her shorts.

He looked a question at her and she nodded. He pushed them downward and she lifted her hips as he slid her shorts and panties over her smooth brown legs. She kicked one little foot and the garments flew to the floor.

She rolled on top of him and pulled at his shirt. He sat up so she could remove it and she tossed it on top of her panties. She reached into his shorts and found him, her fingers firm yet soft. She grew impatient with the restraint of his clothing and pulled his shorts and underwear off and they joined the growing pile of clothes on the floor. She tested his firmness with her lips and moved back up his belly leaving a trail of wet kisses up his body to his mouth. She moved up and kissed him fiercely. He could feel her moisture against his maleness and she moved downward.

"Are you sure, baby?" he pulled away for a moment.

"No, I'm scared to death," she told him. "I think I love you, Oliver. I've never felt like this about a man. I'm giving myself to you. Please don't hurt me, Oliver."

"Never; I'll never hurt you. You'll never be sorry Kane. I know I love you. I never thought I could feel like this again. It's like I'm 16 again and you're my first kiss. God you're sexy, Kane."

She moved downward again and he was enveloped in her heat and moisture. She gasped as she claimed him and rested for a moment. He didn't move. Every fiber in his body wanted to ravish this gorgeous girl, but the tenderness of his heart waited. She continued to move downward, each movement with a gasp until he was fully hers.

"My God, Oliver, I never knew it would be so difficult or so beautiful." She began tiny movements that grew in strength until he rolled on top of her and took her for his own. She came easily and often, and her groans filled the air until he exploded inside her. She shuddered and quaked as they slowed and came to a rest, totally spent.

He rolled, pulling her back on top and they remained joined as she laid her head on his chest, the fine white gold hair covering them like a blanket. He stroked her back and buttocks, reveling in the pliant fullness of her body until she began to move on him again.

She lost count of her explosions of joy, her hair flying as she swung her head back and swept it over him, his hands full of her glorious breasts until he crested again and she collapsed on him. They slept as he slowly deflated and slipped from her.

When she awoke she was still lying half over him and he was playing with one little nipple absently.

He noticed her eyes were half open and kissed her full lips. "Will you sleep here from now on?" he asked.

"No, I don't think so," she told him. "I'll sleep here often, but I want my own space for now."

He was obviously disappointed and she punched him in the arm. "Don't you dare look like that. I just told you I'd sleep with you often. I hope you'll make love to me very often, but if you want me here all the time you'll have to marry me."

"Would you, marry me, I mean?"

"Maybe, I won't right now. Give me a year, then I'll decide. I'm 23 years old, Oliver. I'm just getting comfortable with myself. I'm just getting confident and I need time to grow up. I'll be your mistress, but you'll have to wait for anything else."

"My mistress; God, that's sexy, Kane. How will I know when you're ready for more?"

"I'll ask you."

He pulled her further up so he could kiss her lips. He began to stroke her again, his excitement rising and she resisted.

"No, Oliver, if you want to cuddle that's okay and you can touch me, but you've worn me out. That was my first time and I need to rest. Maybe in a couple of days."

He pulled her close. "I'll cuddle you any time you let me," he told her. "I love you here in my arms, in my bed. I'll never get enough of just holding you."

They cuddled the afternoon away, exploring and growing comfortable in their familiarity. Ben and Bannon came in and found them curled up in Oliver's bed.

They smiled at one another and linked hands as they made their way to Ben's bedroom. They got their laptops and played games until dinner time, lying next to each other on his big bed.

When they went to bed Kane came padding down the stairs to Oliver's room after her shower, dropped her towel and climbed in next to him. He held her naked body close through the night and woke her up in the morning, taking her again. She was still sore, but the pleasure overcame her reluctance and she surrendered to her need again and again.

She spent the day on the balcony sunbathing and thinking about her feelings for Oliver. She was hopelessly in love with him, she realized. Nothing in her life had prepared her for the depth of her emotion when she thought of him. She saw the ropes of muscle playing across his arms in her mind and she grew moist at the thought. His crooked smile and the tenderness in his eyes when he watched her melted her heart. The way his curly dark hair fell on his forehead and his incredible kindness were too much for her to resist.

She took catnaps and listened to the sounds of Bannon and Ben arguing over a board game. This was the family she had missed since her parents died. She felt warm and secure and she smiled as she listened to Oliver scolding them for arguing.

"But he cheated," Bannon objected. "The rules say that when you attack a fortified castle. . ."

"I'm sure they do," he cut her off. "He probably is cheating. Are you telling me that you never cheat?"

"Of course not, well, maybe sometimes, but I wasn't this time."

"Stop cheating, Ben. Cheating means you're a loser and you can't take it. It's better to lose gracefully than to win cheating. I thought you loved Bannon. You don't cheat with people you love. When you love someone it makes you happy for them to win, even if it means you lose."

"Sorry, dad. I'm sorry Bannon, I do love you and I wasn't thinking. You know, "if you're not cheating you're not trying." Let's start over. I cheated a couple of times."

She laughed. "Well, cheat with someone else. I don't care about that, but play fair with me, okay?"

Kane laughed to herself. It was all just so domestic. She stretched and felt a slight twinge. She got up and went inside. She went to Ben and Bannon and hugged them both.

"What was that for?" Bannon wanted to know.

"Because I love you guys," she told them. "Can't I hug you without having a reason?"

"You can hug us any time you want," Ben said. "There doesn't have to be a reason."

Bannon nodded and threw her arms around her sister. "Sometimes you just need a hug because it makes you happy."

"And sometimes you hug because you are happy," Kane told her. "Are you happy here, Bannon?"

"Deliriously happy. I love it here. I am wondering about school though. What are we going to do about school? I don't want to go off somewhere that I don't know anyone."

"How would you feel about a online classes?" Oliver asked her. "I need to do something about both of you kids. Would you work hard and do the work without much supervision?"

"Yes I would. What do you mean, 'without much supervision?'"

"Well, if I get you in online classes, it would be up to you how you keep up and far you go. The harder you work the more you learn, but you'd have to be motivated to do quite a bit on your own."

"We'd work very hard, right, Ben? I want to graduate in three years. I want to go to medical school, then, and become a pediatrician. Would you and Kane help us when we need help? If do online, we'll need help."

"Of course we would help you. But if we get a good program they will be usually have professors who will answer most of your questions. I'll tell my executive assistant to get on it right away."

Kane rolled her eyes. "Why can't you take care of it? All you do is work out and get huge and type. Why can't you do it?"

"Because I'm professionally decadent," he told her.

*****

Dr. Adams was growing more and more excited every day. He was 20 pages into the book and it had stood up to all the tests he had thrown at it. The paper was Italian, late 1400's. The ink was period correct and it appeared to be the shipboard journal of Rodrigo de Jerez, one of Columbus' right-hand men. It detailed their journey from Spain to the New World. The really intriguing part was the details of a box they had received from France. They were to carry it on their voyage and hide it beyond the reach of King and Pope. Whatever was inside was a deep secret, and Columbus so feared it falling into enemy hands that only his two most trusted friends knew of its existence.

According to Jerez, when the crew became mutinous Columbus had called on the power of the artifact to quell the mutiny. The crew had become calm and confident and a propitious wind had sprung up, releasing them from the doldrums and speeding them in the right direction. He had not yet found any details about what the chest contained in the book, but he thought he knew already.

He consulted with Dr. Knowles and discovered that she was as excited as he. She believed the head of the statue was ancient, perhaps predating historical records. The body was the work of a Templar artificer in Acre in the Holy Lands, and was dated somewhere around 1200. She had begun to extend lines of inquiry to England and France trying to discover as much as she could about Baphomet. Much of the information available was later and fraudulent. Various late cults had sprung up and adopted Templar names and rites, but they were uniformly posers. They began their article and Dr. Adams worked long hours on the book. His entire staff was now working single-mindedly on the project.

It took great care to handle the fragile pages and it didn't help that he didn't speak Italian. He was unsure why the Spanish explorer wrote in Italian, but he discovered that Jerez had been writing at the direction of Columbus. That was the language the Captain was most familiar with, and the reason became clear. He sent away the facsimiles as soon as they were completed to a translator in Washington DC, and the story unfolded. They hid the artifact on an unnamed island, planning to return for it later. The ships had been separated and the Santa Maria was lost. Columbus planned to leave a group of those who had crewed the ship to the unnamed island and return to Spain. He took command of the Pinta when it finally joined the Nina, and Jerez had buried the book along with the chest, planning to return on a later voyage and check on the hiding place from time to time. The book ended with sailing of the explorers for Spain.

There was no doubt in the mind of either Doctor. This was a genuine account of Columbus' first voyage. A strange contrast between a voyage of discovery on the one hand and obfuscation on the other hand made a dramatic story.

They completed their evaluations and finished the article. Dr. Knowles was surprised to receive a call from the Dean of Instruction requesting a meeting. She was not part of the faculty, but a research fellow and she had very little contact with the Dean. Dr. Knowles knew who she was and was slightly acquainted, but she agreed to a time and met with the dean.

There were two men dressed in dark suits, obviously not locals from the way they were sweating, waiting in the Dean's office. She introduced them as Agents Johnson and Brown, from DARPA in the United States.

Dr. Knowles had never heard of DARPA and asked what that was.

"DARPA stands for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency," agent Brown told her. "We are an agency of the United States Department of Defense. We understand that you are working on a project with Dr. Adams concerning the discovery of an ancient artifact."

"How could you possibly know that?" she asked. "No one outside our University is aware of our project."

"I'm afraid that isn't strictly true," agent Johnson told her. "As a matter of fact, the electronic communication between a translation group in Washington and Dr. Adams tripped a red flag at the National Security Agency and we were called in to investigate."

"I don't understand. What gives you the right to read people's electronic communications?"

"It's national security, Dr. Knowles. The US congress has approved the interception of communications originating overseas. By a Presidential order we are authorized to intercept such traffic."

"I read the news you know Agents. I know about what you've been doing. I also know that your country is taking a lot of heat for spying on your allies. As I recall, your president was nearly impeached over this recently. It looks like you're up to your same old tricks. I don't think I care to speak to you anymore. Good day, gentlemen."

She turned to leave and the Dean spoke up. "Dr. Knowles, I'm afraid I really must insist. The board of trustees has authorized them to speak to you."

"I don't work for you or the board of trustees. You can't insist on anything."

"I'm afraid you don't understand the situation. You walk out that door and I'll see to it that you never work again."

"Listen bitch," Adams became forceful. "I work for a private research firm, where I also happen to sit on the board. Threaten me again and I'll slap that condescending smile off your face. You're just a flunky around here. You don't have enough clout to throw your weight around. Good day."

She opened the door and walked out. She went directly to Dr. Adams' office. She chased his intern away and closed the door.

"Bertrand, we've got problems," she told him. "Some goons from some alphabet agency in Washington DC just tried to strong-arm me about the book and the statue. They've been intercepting your e-mails to the translators and they mean business. I think there's something to this head legend and they want it. Brennan was smart not to leave it here. I think we're in trouble, Bertrand, and we need to collect our research and leave now. I hope Brennan has a place ready for that book because if we don't take it and get out of here they're going to take it away from us."

"Good Lord, Molly, this is terrible. What do you want to do?"

"I want to be on a plane to Nassau in 30 minutes. You, the book, all our notes and me. I'm going to delete all my files, pack a bag and get on that plane. If you have the sense I think you do, you'll call Brennan and arrange for him to pick us up in Nassau. Then you'll be on that plane with me."

"I'll get started right away," he told her. "I've always wanted to fly away with you anyway, Molly."

"Now stop that, you old goat, and get moving," she laughed. "I'll pick you up at your place as soon as I'm ready. Get moving."

They weren't on the plane in a half-hour, but they were in an hour and a half. Adams had gotten in touch with Oliver and he had agreed to pick them up at the airport. Adams hadn't thought it wise to mention their business, but had just told Oliver that they had completed their research and wanted to return the book and discuss where to go from here.