Inca Gold Pt. 02

Interested?

Then contact'Jim' on the number below to arrange an interview.

07123 456789

(not the actual number - obviously)

Disclaimer:

All applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are over the age of eighteen years at the time of their interview. In addition, all applicants must hold a valid passport, as overseas travel is included in the project.

Photo ID will be required.

Any of the following will be acceptable:

a) A current valid passport.

b) A current driving license.

c) A government ID card.

d) A student ID card.

Any ID presented must clearly show the applicant's Name and Date of Birth, including a current photograph.

To avoid disappointment, applications must be submitted by the closing date of 30th June 2000 at the latest, to allow sufficient time to schedule interviews.

Acceptance to the project is at the sole discretion of the organisers, and the organisers' decision is final.

(c) JMS Enterprises 2000

Beyond the information section, the lower quarter of the page was split into 20 tear-off strips, each with the word'Jim', and the same mobile phone number printed on it.

----- End of Poster -----

"Very nice," Simon complimented at last, smiling broadly, "and very well thought out, but... who are JMS Enterprises?" he asked.

"We are," Jason replied.

"Jason, Marika, and Simon," Marika explained, with a grin.

"Hmmm. Shouldn't that be SMJ?" Simon reverted.

"Huh! Is that your only issue?" Jason replied. "OK. Yeah. SMJ it is then," he added, smirking.

"No, no, no," Simon laughed, shaking his head. "Second thoughts, probably best as it was.JMS rolls off the tongue much better... and if it all goes pear shaped, then I can just claim to be a junior partner," he laughed. "Anyway... Who is Jim?" Simon added.

"No-one," Marika replied. "That's my mobile," she told him, "but I'm not putting my own name on something like this," she smiled. "Anyone could get hold of this. I don't want to get some degenerate stalking me," she grinned. "Bad enough that we three degenerates will be targeting all the pretty young students," she laughed.

"So, tomorrow is Monday," Jason said. "We have just three weeks, until the current term ends."

"That should give us plenty of time to recruit a few likely victims... Oops," Marika smiled. "Candidates," she corrected herself. "I mean candidates of course," she grinned. "I'll post the notices in the University tomorrow morning," she told them.

"Err... I'm not too sure that this is entirely moral," Simon pointed out.

"Moral, it most definitelyis not," Jason agreed, "but without it, ours is likely to be a very boring expedition," he replied pointedly. "Best just go with it Simon," he told his friend, "or you could find yourself being very lonely here while we're all away," he smiled kindly, raising his eyebrows.

There again, was the clear threat that the project could be taken out of his hands. Simon shrugged, and said with a sigh, "Ahh well. I suppose there's no harm if everyone is in agreement," he conceded.

"We are," they both replied in chorus.

----------Interviews ----------

-----1st Monday -----

"Jason!" Marika called as the door slammed behind her. "Great news. We have our first candidates to interview."

"Candidates?" Jason queried. "Plural?"

"Two girls," Marika grinned, excitedly.

"When?"

"I've invited them to call for an interview this afternoon. They should be here in about an hour."

"Hmmm. We'd best get the room ready then," he smiled.

Bang on time the doorbell rang. Marika almost ran to the door in her excitement, opening it to find two attractive dark skinned young women smiling up at her.

"Hello," the slightly bigger of the two girls greeted her. "Are you Miss Harris?"

"The very same," the lightly tanned, statuesque woman smiled back, "but you must call me Marika. You'd better come in," she told them, with a broad smile and a majestic wave of her arm, inviting the pair toward her waiting partner in the hallway.

As the two young women entered the flat (that's Condo if you're American), the taller, more buxom of the two led the way. She was about five feet four tall, and nicely covered. Not fat, nor plump even, but slightly morefleshy than your average lithe model female, with a rounded face and the most attractive long chestnut coloured hair.

She was wearing a smart looking, clean white blouse, the top few buttons of which were open, revealing a very attractive, chocolate brown cleavage. Her skirt was a tight, bum-hugging elasticised piece that came half way up her sturdy looking dark thighs, and as she walked, Jason could almost taste the sexual aurora that emanated from her.

She seemed to strut more confidently than her partner, and Jason couldn't help noticing her firm, full bust that seemed to bounce gently as she walked along.

Her friend was a good two inches shorter with long, much darker hair. She was also significantly slimmer, with a far less generous figure. Although she was still extremely attractive (the shape of her pert young breasts clearly visible and bouncing gently within the loose fitting tee-shirt that she wore) she didn't seem to have quite the same alluring physical appeal as her companion - at least, not as far as Jason was concerned. She had a long elegant neck and her face was slightly triangular in shape, with high cheek bones, big doe eyes, a small mouth, cute little ears and a tiny button nose.

She too wore a black skirt, although hers was a little longer, the hem almost reaching her knees, with a loose, pleated fit.

Marika led the girls into a specially equipped lounge, furnished with a couple of straight backed chairs behind a desk. Facing the desk was a wide, low sofa that would easily have been large enough for four people to sit comfortably. The pair were invited to sit side by side on the sofa facing the desk in the makeshift office, where they perched on the edge looking slightly worried, and the bigger of the pair reached out to her friend to give the smaller girl's hand a comforting squeeze.

"Please don't be nervous," Marika began reassuringly, as she tried to put the girls at ease. "We won't eat you," she laughed, kindly.

Jason scribbled something on a notepad and passed it to Marika to read. It simply said, 'I will'.

She scribbled her reply - 'Me too', then continued, straight faced. "We just have a few questions we need to ask... to find out exactly why you are interested in taking part in our expedition," she smiled, "and what experience you have, if any."

The two girls smiled slightly nervously, and nodded politely.

"So... first I think we should start with your names?"

The bigger girl introduced herself as Simone, "and this is my friend Maya," she added.

"And... is Maya able to speak English?" Marika asked.

The pair looked at one another, clearly puzzled. "Err... Yes, of course," Simone replied, as Maya nodded her agreement.

"Well then, I suggest we let Maya answer for herself, should we?" Marika told the girl, with an acerbic smile.

"Oh. Oh yes. Of course," Simone replied, looking slightly offended.

"It's just that... we need to be sure that everyone is in agreement," Marika smiled, looking more supportive. "We don't want to risk anyone being coerced into something that they're not completely happy with... do we," she said.

The pair sat silently.

"So. What are you both studying?" Marika asked.

"Archaeology," they answered together, in chorus.

"Oh," Jason smiled. "Hence the interest in our little expedition," he added.

"We thought it would give us an opportunity to improve our knowledge of the ancient peoples of South America," Simone explained, by way of supporting their application.

"And we're both keen to have an adventure," Maya added.

"Well, we can certainly promise you that," Marika smiled, giving Jason a discreet wink.

"OK. Well, let's go over some details, shall we?" she suggested, "and if you're both happy, we'll get you to sign some forms," she smiled. "It's just a formality," she explained.

With Jason's assistance, Marika went through a brief explanation of the purpose of the expedition, and she asked both girls a series of questions as she and Jason filled in the application forms for each of them, taking down details such as, Name. DOB. Nationality. Next of Kin. Etc.

As Marika looked over the driving licenses that the girls had given as ID, she said to Simone, "So. According to this your birthday is February 18th. Is that right?"

"Yes Ma'am," the girl replied.

"So that makes you... nineteen years of age?"

"Nineteen and a half. Yes Ma'am," Simone affirmed.

"And Maya, "she said, looking at the other card. "Your birthday is in September?"

"Yes Ma'am," the girl responded.

"So you are eighteen now. That's right, is it?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"And you'll be nineteen on September 9th?" she smiled.

"Yes Ma'am," the girl smiled.

'Just over three months time,' Marika thought to herself. "Perfect," she smiled, eyeing the girl lustly, while licking her lips.

Both girls gave their nationality asAfrican American.

"Why not simply American?" Marika queried.

"We are both keen to keep our national heritage alive," Simone smiled. "That's not a problem, is it?" she asked politely.

"No. Not in the slightest," Marika confirmed with a slight laugh. "Quite the contrary in fact," she told them. "It's so refreshing to hear of young people who are proud of their background," she assured them. "I myself am from The Philippines... Well, at least, half of me is," she joked.

"Why do you need our Next of Kin?" Maya asked.

"It's just a formality," Marika explained. "We are required by law to file records of all participants in case anything unforeseen were to happen," she told them. Jason looked at her, clearly impressed. The statement suddenly gave the entire operation far more credibility.

"What sort of unforeseen things?" Maya asked.

"We were coming to that, Marika replied. We are required by law to make sure you are aware... there are lots of dangerous creatures in the Amazon jungle, so..."

"What sort of dangerous creatures?" Simone asked, suddenly sounding worried.

"Well, you really don't need to be too concerned, but to list them all, there are Piranha, Tarantula, Snakes, Jaguar, Poisonous Ants, Caiman... they are like small Alligators. But as I said, don't worry. We'll all be well protected. Nothing is going to go wrong," Marika assured them both with a confident smile.

Both girls still had a worried look on their faces as she added, "Anyway. Moving swiftly on..." she paused for effect, "youare both fully aware of what this expedition is all about, aren't you?"

They nodded their agreement.

"Good. Because, I need you both to understand..." she began, with a stony faced expression, "we must insist on complete confidentiality," she explained. "You have to accept that you can't discuss this with anyone."

"No-one?" Maya queried.

"Why not?" Simone asked.

"What we are about to tell you is highly privileged information. You can't reveal anything of what you learn here, to anyone else," she told them, looking deadly serious. "Not even to close family. It could put the entire operation in jeopardy," she added. "So... No mums or dads. No brothers or sisters. Not even the cat. OK?"

"Ohhh-Kaaay." Simone replied, cautiously.

"I think I already explained, but this is a race to a treasure. We are privy to some quite exclusive information here, and... well... if it fell into the wrong hands, it could easily jeopardise the entire project," she told them. "So, to ensure that you are both really serious about being involved in the expedition, we need you to demonstrate your commitment to the project."

The two girls looked at one another, clearly perplexed.

"What do you need us to do?" Simone asked, sounding unsure.

Marika hesitated for a moment before telling them, "Well, you need to understand, there's a registration fee. It's a sort ofenrolment fee... to join the project."

There were a couple of seconds delay as the two girls looked at one another before Simone asked, "How much is it?"

"The fee is $200 per person," Jason replied for her, producing a gasp from their prospective candidates, "but there will be a significant share of profits for each explorer on our return," he added with a confident smile.

"How significant?" Maya asked, sounding sceptical.

"At least $5,000 each..." Jason replied, "or you can opt for a percentage of the total haul," he said, "which is likely to be considerably more than that," he added.

"The total value could be as much as..." Marika began, but Jason interrupted her.

"Let's not go intotoo much detail just yet," he told her. "The ladies haven't even agreed to sign up yet," he smiled.

"Tell us!" Simone retorted. "We have a right to know what we're agreeing to," she replied insistently.

Jason paused before telling them, "We've estimated the total haul could be anything up to $20 million in value," he told them.

There was another gasp from the pair. "But... there was no mention of any fee on the poster," Simone pointed out, sounding suspicious.

"There is also no mention of atreasure," Jason added with a smile.

"If we had advertised the fee up front, would you even be here?" Marika asked.

The girls considered the matter. "I guess not," Simone replied for them both.

"Anyway, we didn't want to attract the wrong sort of applicants," Jason added. "We don't want people who are just in it for the money," he explained.

"Why do you need so much, just for a registration fee?" Simone asked.

"It's not simply for registration," Jason replied. "Do you have any idea how much it will cost to set up an expedition like this?" he countered.

The two girls looked blankly at one another, shaking their heads.

"This project is going to cost several hundred thousands of dollars," he told them coolly, wildly exaggerating the cost. "We simply have to be sure we're not wasting our money," he smiled. "We will need to buy clothing and equipment for everyone," he told them. "It's unlikely that you'll already have everything that you will need," he smiled. "$200 seemed a reasonable figure, to ensure that people don't come along and simply waste our time."

"We don't have that sort of money," Maya told them, dolefully.

"Why is it so costly?" Simone interjected.

"Well, we have to charter a plane to take us to a private airstrip between Paraguay and the southern border of Chile," he told them. "And we have to buy simply masses of equipment," he said.

"Aren't you giving them a bit too much information?" Marika asked.

"Well... I was under the impression that the ladies were on board with us," he smiled, encouragingly. "Am I right?"

"Yes," they both replied, nodding their agreement.

"Everything will be new," Marika told them. "Tents, pots and pans. Even the clothing," she smiled. "We'll provide everything for you. You won't need to bring anything at all," she smiled encouragingly. "Just yourselves."

"But... we have to do this all in secret," Jason explained. "If word got out to the wrong people, we'd find ourselves in a race, and that would seriously impact on our chances of success," he told them, looking serious. "At the moment, no-one else knows where to start searching, and we're not about to reveal that to anyone... not even the pilot," he smiled.

"So... What if someone elsedoes get there first?" Simone asked.

"It would be a disaster for us," Jason replied.

"But that would only be possible if someone blabs about our plans," Marika added, sternly, "and no-one in their right mind is going to do that. Not if they want to reap the benefits when we succeed," she smiled.

"And..." Jason continued for her, "if we don't succeed, there's no payoff," he said simply, "so there's no sense in telling anyone, is there," he added.

"Of course, you could opt for the $5,000," Marika added. "Then if we did come back empty handed, at least you're guaranteed some sort of payoff. But wouldn't something closer to a million be more worthwhile? Hmmm? I mean... you'd never have to work again," she smiled.

There was an uneasy silence until Simone shared her thoughts, "This all sounds like it could be an elaborate con."

"This is no con my dear, I can assure you," Jason retorted, almost angrily at the suggestion. "The treasure is still there... we know it."

"How do you know?"

"I'm afraid I can't divulge that information to you, but itis definitely still there," he told them, "and you both stand to come away with a very healthy nest-egg,if you decide to join us."

"But... we're just students. We just can't raise that amount of cash up front. Not on our allowance."

"There will be a lot of expense to set this up," Marika explained. "We can't fund it all on our own," she reasoned.

"Well..." Simone offered, "we could probably raise about a hundred between us... but that would be it."

"No," Jason insisted, shaking his head. "Not enough. We need at least four times that to accept the two of you."

"Therecould be another way," Marika suggested, smiling at the smaller of the two girls.

"No Mari," Jason replied. He already knew what she was about to say. They had discussed how to lead into this in some detail. "I know what you're thinking. We can't afford it," he insisted.

"Whatsort of other way?" Maya asked.

"No Marika. I don't like it. It would deplete all of our funds."

"I was just going to suggest," she began, looking sideways at Jason, "I simply thought... maybe, we could advance you enough to enroll?" Marika suggested, appearing to go against Jason's wishes.

"We can't Marika. We'd be setting a precedent. We can't afford to do it for everyone, so we shouldn't do it at all."

"We could... if they promise not tell anyone," Marika reasoned, a pleading tone in her voice. It seemed she was really keen to have these girls join the project. "I'd like them with us," she added, smiling kindly.

"Would you?" Maya asked.

"Marika. I don't like it," Jason repeated.

"But... we'd need to be absolutely certain that you are both truly sincere," Marika added. "You would have to convince us of your commitment," she smiled, staring lustily at the shapely young breasts of the smaller girl.

"And, how would we go about doing that?" Simone probed.

"I thinkI can guess," Maya replied, noticing the way that their hosts had been ogling them both.

"If you can't afford the fee..." Marika paused, looking the two girls up and down, "you could always demonstrate your sincerity in some other way?"

"How?" Simone asked.

Maya sighed. "Isn't it obvious?" she whispered aloud to her friend, making sure that their hosts could hear.

"Well... we would be happy to advance you the submission fee," Marika suggested, if you would care to agree to certain... conditions," she smiled lustily at the smaller girl.

"What sort of conditions?" Simone asked. Clearly, for all her domineering manner, she was none too bright.

Marika sighed, then said, "We need to know how suitable you both are for the expedition."

"What do you mean, suitable?" Simone pressed the point.

"Oh my goodness," Jason sighed.

"This will be a long trip," Marika started to explain, "and the nights can sometimes get... shall we say, lonely... especially when surrounded by attractive young women."

"What do you want us to do?" Simone asked.

"Just a little something to convince us that we're not wasting our time... and money," Marika smiled, giving the smaller girl a longing look.