

THE INHERITANCE!
Part Two

Book Six of the Luke Mitchner Series

by Michael M. Tickenoff

DEDICATED TO MY WIFE NADIA

and our family

Copyright © 2017 Michael M. Tickenoff

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author or his family.

# Introduction to Part Two

of The Inheritance!

Luke and his adventurous friends are finally on their way. They've battled beach bullies for surfing friends, and fought a drug cartel threatening to kick out old friends from a California marina.

And the team is off in the freighter, named The Inheritance, newly remodeled for comfort, for high tech surveillance and secretly super armed, just in case it needs to be.

They will run into more troubles (of course!). They find a Peruvian ancient treasure to rescue on the way to helping set-up his grandparents projects to help people in need around the world. Most of all, Luke learns about the responsibility of inheriting a fortune and putting it to good use. Luke and Theo find lasting romance and enduring friendship forged in the furnace of trouble and tribulation.

Read on...

The Inheritance! Part 2

# Chapter 1

# Inspection And Test!

Invest your days in accomplishments

and solid rewards will never be far from your life!

All was proceeding on time. Jessie and his brother Hudson had begun to load up the bunker treasure into the amunition boxes for storage and transfer. Our newly hired investigators Taylor and Owen would oversee the transfer itself. We were dealing with maybe a ton of treasure in coins and precious metals and as of yet, we had no idea of its value; but it was more than we knew. Meanwhile, our team had finally assembled itself onto The Inheritance. Jocko was there with his official Captain's papers. Even Wally, JJ and the entire Kaamin family came to see. Benjamin and his two sons Elmo and Ollie from the Stone Harbor Iron and Ship Works sat down with us and went over the blueprints and explained all the upgrades and changes that they had made and that we had requested.

The girls were more than impressed with the interior layout. The color schemes were pleasant to the eye. Sea green carpeting covered all the open floors, so there would be no slips or falls. All the furniture was not only comfortable but practical in color and usefulness. The individual cabins or small apartments were nice and everything was shipshape.

But it was the upper observation lounge that won the day, a real eye opener. Ceiling to floor, full tinted and bullet proof round-the-room glass windows allowed a 180 degree view from the upper deck. A wide stairway led up to the pilot and control center and navigation room which became the mind of The Inheritance, while the engine room became the heart. However, the kitchen became the ships belly, and it was more than inviting.

The general control center set into the top bridge level looked like something out of a space movie. Full wrap around councils with full inset screens and every kind of instrument imaginable. This was a man's greatest dream come true and Jocko was like a man who just became king.

In great excitement we walked through each deck, checking out the cabins and heads. No doubt, this newly renovated freighter was way more than what we expected. It was like a high class cruise ship inside, but yet a cargo ship, and a floating laboratory, with enough rooms and space to easily house 50 adults. There was a conference room, several classrooms and a library, with all the computer power we would ever need. A movie theater, a gymnasium, a hobby and work shop with lasers and every kind of tool imaginable.

The girls had gone out to every bookstore in Vancouver and bought several thousand books fit for great minds and had the library shelves already stocked. Astronomy, History, Science, Math, Literature, Environments, Politics, Mysteries, Adventures, Computer, Health, Diet and Cooking categories were only a few. We had to laugh at one category we saw, Parenting and Children.

There were two coffee shops, one on the passenger deck and a larger one on the main deck. The kitchen and eating areas were nothing less than fantastic. Huge walk-in refrigerators, stainless steel counters, an endless supply of brewing coffee and hot water. Freezers and storage spaces—enough for six months easily. There was even a kosher kitchen attached and set back into a cabinet area with a walk-in wine cellar.

A full communication system went throughout the entire ship. Each room had its own phone system and computer terminal connections. There was an impressive medical emergency room with a ten-bed recovery room. X-ray and MIR machines were set back into the cabinet areas. A total desalination plant existed, driven by solar power for potable water. Air conditioning ran throughout the entire ship and could be shut down in spaces that were not being used. A full walk or jogging around walkway ran alongside the outer edge of the main deck. The diving boat and launch were neatly hidden away in the lower mid-deck areas, with an auto ramp that would allow these smaller crafts to enter into or exit the ship. This area was accompanied with a diving chamber and a full accompaniment of the latest diving equipment.

One room far below brought a silence to everyone and took away any excitement that had been flowing along with us. It was a morgue! Nothing big or fancy but it was there, and that brought all of us back to reality—a real morgue.

It was JJ again, "Cool place, no pun intended, but do you think I might store my surfboards in there until we need it?"

This kid was ridiculous and unrelenting with his off-the-wall statements, but in reality, it was a valid request. It was Gretchen who answered him, "Listen JJ, when you get beheaded over in Indonesia for disturbing their surf gods, we'll strap you onto one of your boards and put you right over there," she pointed to a stainless steel slab. "And if we are fortunate enough to recover your head, we'll put it up on that shelf. Does that meet your approval?"

We didn't know if we should laugh, or gulp about what could really happen. JJ, was left in a serious stupor, but quickly revived, "It's a deal; so this is my personal storage room—right?"

Brookstone interjected, "We might be hanging several beef halves down here in the meantime. Think you and your dates can handle that?"

"What dates?" JJ fired back.

"JJ, you are so transparent. Your plots and plans radiate out of you like a giant laser lighted sign on a Vegas casino from 20 miles away." It was Crystal this time and JJ just shrugged his shoulders, knowing they were right.

The upper main deck had a landing pad for helicopters, if we were to get one. The pad itself was a huge hatch plate which when rolled back gave access to the ship's sea containers storage areas. Large cranes could be erected and used to set the sea van containers down into the lower hull.

Besides all the niceties of the floating palace, as the girls were calling it, Brookstone's request for hidden openings and pull back decking for quick access to armaments, and his hidden toys, were there. But it took Benjamin to point them out, for they were built into the storage tanks and side walls and hidden into the decking. Super clever, I had to admit.

In other words, this innocent looking passenger freighter or research vessel was also a floating lethal weapon if need be; armed to the teeth for self defense. We thought it a little too much, but Brookstone was almost dancing like a kid, as he expressed his delight in these incredible accomplishments. We kept on forgetting that his views were from a security and operations point, while ours was more for research and simple enjoyment. This difference prevented us from knowing about every last 'thing' he actually brought aboard. It was maybe better we didn't know, but events would most likely reveal these, well, weapons.

Wally was curious and asked what the tube was that ran the length of the ship on both port and starboard side. Brookstone hesitated, but with a huge grin he thought he'd show off one of his inventions. "It is our pirate prevention device. With a press of a button the tube folds open and a compressed fisherman's net is fired up and out. It will reach all the way down into the water and sink with attached weights. Anyone or anything that is caught in it will immediately be entangled in its special hard-to-cut fibers. We can then move forward and dragnet all those caught in the netting. We can also haul them up one step at a time and do whatever we see fit to do with them. When the net is finished doing its job, a push of the button rolls it back up into the tube."

Wally just shook his head in amazement. But it was JJ that asked, "Do you think we might run into real pirates?"

"We have before. And if you ever saw thirty or forty wildly screaming madmen climbing up the side of your boat, you either crap your pants and die, or fight for your life. This little device insures that no murdering bandits get aboard."

"Is that why the captain and all the officers change into brown pants before going into battle?" JJ asked with sly innocence.

We all smirked but were curious at the same time. Brookstone just shook his head, "Well JJ, I believe that you're gonna keep this entire crew from moving up the evolution ladder."

"All this is amazing, way more than we ever dreamed. In fact we thought we were going to get some greasy grey hulk decorated with rusty bolts. But this, this is really nice Benjamin," Theo admitted.

It was Crystal, the bold one, asking, "What kind of a fortune is this costing us?"

Benjamin looked over at me and Brookstone for approval to say. We shrugged our shoulders, considering that we were all part of the MAVIN Group and the price for remodeling had already been mentioned.

"The initial price for the basic work was three and a half mil. But with all the additions and changes and extra fittings and secret systems, that will add another three to five mil to the job. Heck, the emergency room X-Ray and MIR machines were a half million alone. You said you wanted to go first class, and so we did. Your wine cellar has about $25,000 worth of wines stored and it isn't even top of the line wine. The diving chamber we bought from the Navy, and that was another $50,000. Don't forget, each of your cabins has an independent air system, each has it own safe and is a lock down security vault itself. This means that you can hit a button and your room becomes a sealed chamber where you can sit and wait, watch, and exchange messages. There are a few other things that we installed, but Brookstone has asked us to keep them under our belts for now."

The first test run would begin with Benjamin as Captain, Jocko as first mate, Jay as second mate apprentice. Wally, having been in the Navy, became our navigator, Benjamin's two sons Elmo and Ollie would become the engineers and watch over the great engines and operating systems. Theo and myself would become the quarter masters, seeing to all the distribution of supplies and general outfitting of The Inheritance, with the girls being the research and data team. We asked Auggie and his wife to join us but they decided that since this was a test run, better they stay behind. But they sent four of the ranch maids and kitchen helpers along for the first test. We took Faye Leung, Tan Yu and two other maids from the main kitchen help. The Kaamin brothers would set up the security and computer rooms. This included all cameras and surveillance systems along with our satellite links and on-board communications. So much for a fun run. It was looking like a three to seven day marathoner instead.

Benjamin had also brought a group of his personal company workers along to oversee and to test every detail. Now this is where our security team, Brookstone and his brothers, went into action. Every person allowed aboard was interviewed, and a background check was done on each of them. Brookstone insisted on making sure The Inheritance and the MAVIN Group was kept safe and sound. Benjamin put up a little fuss but he soon relented, because he had done work with Israel and Saudi Arabia families and understood security issues. In time we too would learn and be thankful for such diligence in our behalves.

In time we would learn that Benjamin and the Stone Harbor Iron & Ship Works Company was slowly going out of business. Good old Ben was trying to place his faithful old time workers into suitable jobs, which turned out well because those we took aboard eventually became a permanent part of The Inheritance crew. Most were old timer sea dogs, rough and loyal. Oliver Bossinova became our ships system engineer. Wally and Gretchen became overseers for now, learning all the functions of the freighter. Bond Squallie and Hammton Peppertone became our two main electronic engineers and external system managers, including radar and satellite communications. Mike Tregubov would become the ship's temporary doctor. Clarence Ripson in time would become the safety officer. Simonettie would become the ship's main steward and quarter master. Hillary Crushbone and Melody Ironwak were hired for this first test run, managing the kitchen and coffee shops. Joseph Sting became the general mechanic and plumber. Clancy Dancer, believe it or not, became the ships entertainment-travel master and weather forecaster. Mohamed Americo would become the main cargo and crane master. There were others to be hired on, but that was the crew we were given to begin our first trial run with.

The morning tide was full when we were floated out of the dry docks and entered into the water ways of the great Frazier River channel. A pilot escort towed us into the main stream, and soon the great 3000 HP Caterpillar diesels were purring as smooth as pistons moving through thick oil. Everyone was in their places, watching and observing just how things were done. Dustin and his wife could not be there, but Theo was filming everything for them. Jocko and Jay were standing with Benjamin Highmanner while Wally and Gretchen were sitting with the navigator. The engineers were reporting on every piece of equipment in the engine room. Every system was on line and being monitored by someone. The Inheritance blew its whistle several times in its response to other passing vessels. We slowly moved into the inner straight between Vancouver Island and the Canadian mainland. The sun rose up over the eastern mountains and the day broke blue and clear.

The announcement for our first breakfast came over the speaker systems. We would go in two shifts as our new Inheritance got on its way. There was much to learn and we were all put to the lessons at hand. We not only learned our own tasks but had to cross over and learn those of others in case it became necessary to take over or help others. The inner passage was smooth, and one of the most beautiful ocean passages we could imagine. There was several meetings scheduled for the main conference room during the day. They were concerning the different operations of the ship, the various systems and the nautical terms. Environmental concerns were expressed and a question and answer time was allotted. Everyone joined in, as much information was exchanged. We also had to watch safety films and everyone had to go through a life boat drill. We learned how to fight fires, how to prevent falls, and what to do in case of emergencies; all together we were being trained as full-on sailors or merchant marines. Before we knew it, we had traveled the 300 miles up the Island and were near Cole Harbor on the tip of Vancouver Island headed northwest. The sea was rougher out this way and our sea legs were beginning to develop. There were special times when we would gather in the observation center and watch incredible sunsets. Not like roughing it at sea on the New Song, but in total warmth, with hot coffee and soft music playing in the background.

The engineers made several adjustments and made suggestions to upgrade certain pieces of equipment. We would stop and enter small coves and turn the ship about in practice drills. All the backup systems and machinery were tested separately. The water purification systems were tested along with the lock down systems. We attended classes in the evening on how to navigate by the stars. We were taught how to survive at sea if ever the need came about. We were taught the international signaling and buoy codes. I never knew there was so much more to learn and the lessons were just beginning. It was a full time school for all of us with little time left for fun and games. There slowly arose a unity among us; the MAVIN Group began to develop pride in our ship, The Inheritance.

One incredible feature aboard were massive high powered spotlights. There were several of them set into hidden enclosures around the ship. One was at the front top area and could be rotated 360 degrees. It could be rotated or pulsated at different speeds and moved around by a mouse-like device from within the main observation salon. These lights were as bright as night sky beam lights used for advertisement. The beam of light could easily reach a mile or two. We would be sailing along and turn that thing on and scan the mountains, the bays, and the shore. We had great fun with these massive spot lights. It was rather spectacular when we turned all five of them on and changed their colors while putting them on pulse, or wide lenses and chased each others lights around. Nothing could hide or escape their intense beams. These had been purchased from the Navy by Brookstone. He said that the lights would serve their purpose when we needed to see something beyond our normal vision. We would aim the side lights down into the depths at night. This was fantastic. The light would shine down into the deep waters and we could see what might be under us. Once in a while the lights would attract large sharks, seals, schools of fish and even whales.

Seven days later we were back in port. The ship was dry docked, with the hull being inspected, and a special final dark blue coating applied. All alterations and suggestions were taken care of while we were back at the Mitchner Ranch.

Our two new investigators, Taylor and Owen, had done a month of intense investigations on my grandparents crashed plane and tried to dig up any clues on what might have happened. Their report was that the Claremont Mining Alliance operations were the only real benefactors from Steward and Gladys's deaths. For soon after their crash, the mining company managed to work their way through the courts and jump over the environmental laws. They were allowed to build their dam and divert two main streams away from the planned mining pit. The lake would collect the pollutants, and from there, no one knew what would happen when the mining pollutants overflowed or escaped. The great concern was that the lake would become a toxic waste dump. The Mitchner Ranch and the surrounding ranchers and farmers legal restraints were rejected after the Mitchners' death. There was no way of proving that the mining company had anything to do with the sabotage of the plane. Taylor suggested that a reward be offered for any evidence of wrong doing, and maybe in time someone might come forth. So we offered a $10,000 reward for information.

The bunker treasure became mind boggling. As we began to inventory the various sections, we would find safety deposit boxes, completely full of gold nuggets. They were just piled into the boxes. Some of them were the size of peas, going up to the size of walnuts. This treasure would exceed the Palmyra treasure in gold and in physical value. We decided not to remove the drawers but to undo the different sections and load them onto palates, then into the truck. We drove down to the shipping docks and using the cranes, we loaded the palates into the container areas. From there, our own crews would move the frames and boxes into the lower vaults. This took up the entire day. It was difficult to be nonchalant about moving a priceless treasure and keep everyone from knowing where it was headed. We did deliver at least 25 boxes containing rolled coins, one box with nuggets, another with stamps, and then one with jewels, to the ranch vault in the cellar. We wanted Auggie to have more than enough for himself and the ranch. If he wanted to give things away or keep them for the future, this was up to him.

Once again, we said our goodbyes. The Inheritance was ready and our crew had been picked and organized. Jocko had called up a few of his old shipmates and asked them if they wanted an incredible job. We hired two more mechanical engineers to run the engine rooms and deal with the high powered electrical systems. We were fueled, watered up, storerooms filled to overflowing, and things were ready. All necessary pharmaceutical supplies were full, everything was double checked and we were ready to go. Benjamin and his wife Leda and his two sons would sail with us to Newport and return from there. They wanted to make sure we had all things under control and everything was performing to its highest mark. We were thankful for this, and finally said our goodbyes to our friends on the Mitchner Ranch. We suggested that Auggie consider arranging a cruise for the entire Mitchner Ranch families. He said he would think this over, but wondered how it would be to have a bunch of sea-sick cowboys out to sea.

No one could accuse The Inheritance of being racist, our extraordinary crew easily disproved this. Nigel Corbon, a tall lanky negro, came from Liberia, along with his much shorter brother, Imogene—and I mean shorter, like a midget. This had to be one of the oddest combination of humans we ever did see, who became two of our top engine room technicians. They had been with Highmanner for many years and came highly recommended. The care and expertise they gave our power systems was phenomenal. I personally expected grease-covered pipe and oil-slick floors, but no way, it was kept as clean as our kitchen. Every detail was noted, recorded and reported. Along with their engineering talents, they brought their talent to play the guitar and sing the blues. They got Geordy to learn the harmonica, and we talked them into putting on a few on-deck concerts.

This tall and short combination is what helped them become so efficient in the engine room. Nigel would handle everything above, while Imogene took care of everything below.

The only problem we ran into was with Jones and Smith. Apparently their prejudices would not tolerate the darker races. One night, Smith made a sly and uncalled-for remark while listening to them do their thing. It was Jasper, of the Hearst Castle security Kaamin family, who confronted Jones. The only thing we saw was that they stepped into the gymnasium, where there arose a rumble and a banging. This went on for a few minutes, then Jasper walked out and simply nodded as he took his place. We didn't see Smith for a few days after this meeting with the Third Kind, as the crew had named the Kaamin brothers. The aboard-ship life brought different types and different colors of people together. We automatically carried on the Mitchner tradition of skills, talents and attitude first—this will get you the job and keep it for you.

It was Theo, Luke and the girls who discovered that Nigel Corbon and Imogene had incredible backgrounds. They had been caught in one of many African tribal wars there, lost their families and fled to a river port town. They were in constant danger: no money, no papers, no connections and no direction. They learned to work together in order to survive. Nigel became a juggler and gathered a crowd to observe his flipping of knives and torches. While the audience stood around amazed, little Imogene moved among the crowd and did his thing, picking pockets. Their teamwork provided a nice kitty for them, but all good things must come to an end, and they were caught. Late that night Nigel acquired a tiny raft and they paddled out to a tramp steamer where in the darkest of the night, they hid away. It wasn't until a few days out to sea that they were caught stealing food. They were enslaved down in the engine rooms shoveling coal. They lived aboard that tramp steamer for five years. Yet in the meantime, they taught themselves everything to know about those engines. They became trusted with all the ship's power systems. The freighter was eventually hi-jacked by a Malaccan gang of Asian pirates and there they lived under the worst conditions for five years, until a UN Navy ship recaptured the freighter and brought it to the Highmanner docks for rehabilitation, where they were introduced to old man Benjamin himself. He saw their potential and hired them on. They had now been with Highmanner for 8 years. These two were like walking encyclopedias in African politics and keeping tramp steamers afloat.

It was Brookstone who became their mentors. He also extracted enough names and data on the pirates, the African life styles and the tribal wars to write his own book of names and unknown facts. Brookstone saw way beyond their engineering abilities and soon had them teaching their pickpocket skills to the MAVIN team. Now what was interesting and sounds crazy, was these two brothers had started a pickpocketing school in Panama. The criminal element came from everywhere and paid good money to develop their skills. The course ran about three months, and you did not graduate until you were able to pick the dummy clean, as they called it. It was a man sized dummy, with bells and alarms in every pocket. In order to graduate, the student had to pick the pockets of this dummy without ringing a bell or setting off an alarm—the student had to do this ten times in a row before he could be qualified. The pickpockets became experts in every possible area. They would study time schedules, holidays and events in every major city. They knew their seasons, the reasons, and their crowds.

It was the Kaamin brothers who caught on first. Then JJ was a quick learner, followed by Crystal and Theo and myself. I wanted to know how all this worked, so I could use it in one of my future articles. It felt strange being introduced into the criminal element. However, Brookstone assured us that any and every type of skill might be used to save one's life in the future. Look at it as a skill for good, not for evil, and you'll never be picked clean!

# Chapter 2

# The Stop Over!

Out of all time, only certain moments were destined for greatness. So too in a human life—

make those moments count—for you.

The California weather was performing great for us. The Inheritance had made a nice passage down from Vancouver and anchored off the Hearst Castle Ranch property, right off shore, outside the Smugglers Cove, as we had named it. We took the dive boat in shore where Brookstone would be bringing out his personal supplies. Even though he would not tell us everything, we suspected that his band of mercenaries were going to arm The Inheritance, or at least store some self-defense weaponry. Brookstone had the Stone Harbor Iron & Ship Works gang build in several special air tight and impregnable storage rooms, just for these armaments. What they were, we would not learn until later. Yet we did learn from Brookstone's sisters, the twins Amber and Crystal, that there was an underground bunker on the HC Security Ranch that housed enough armaments, used in their recovery operations, to start a war.

While Brookstone and his family were arranging this transfer of specialty items, Theo and I went to visit one of our old friends, Thortin Mayhurst, editor of the San Luis Obispo Tribune News. The town was buzzing with the latest story: a local fisherman, Carl Stine, was attacked just a month or so back and killed by a great white shark, off the shore where Thortin lived and a few miles from where The Inheritance was anchored. Thortin was upset at this tragic tale. It would keep the needed tourist life-blood low this summer; a white shark killing was nothing to take lightly, but it did make for incredible news.

Thortin was at home with a house full of guest reporters, so he made arrangements for us to stay nearby at a bed and breakfast in a three story turn-of-the-century home designed by a famous eccentric architect, Grizwald Wolfman. The Stines owned the B&B where we were going to stay and Thortin was friends with the family. Carl Stine was the fisherman devoured by the great white. With some misgivings we ended up staying three nights. How we get ourselves involved into these situations has become a mystery to us, in and of itself. I think Thortin arranged our stay there so we might extract inside information on the widow and her son, and how they were handling the terrible death of her husband Carl.

To begin with we were surprised by the widow, Esther Stine herself. She was a wheelchair bound woman carrying around more sorrows than her wheelchair could handle. The rooms were nice, the views were great, especially the view out the bay windows which looked over the exact place where the shark attack had occurred. Then there was her 13 year old adopted son Geordy, a light-skinned part-negro boy, a nice kid, shy, but most respectful with a strong stutter. At first, we were disturbed at having to stay here, but the visit proved itself to be interesting. Esther, even though handicapped, was more than capable of running the bed and breakfast. However, we soon learned that with the death of her husband, the home, which was her only source of income could soon be taken over by the bank. Her son, who had been scheduled to enter a special high school, would be unable to attend due to lack of funding. The entire picture was a scene out of a sad movie with a bad ending, but she did not seem to be overly burdened about it.

Besides all the negatives, this mid-aged woman was vibrant and intelligent. She appeared to be a mystic philosopher with extraordinary insights to life, and we were intrigued. Her late husband Carl had installed a lift that would take her up to the third floor. There she would clean the rooms, fix the beds, and was a very capable cook, making delicious dinners. Besides all this, she had a history that awed us. Her story telling abilities kept us in stitches and held us over the edge constantly. We were impressed with her insights. She might have been handicapped physically, but in no way was she disabled in spirit or in mind.

The first night we got into a discussion of wealth and its powers. She really got me to think when she shared one story. In fact, I often wonder if somehow I was receiving a message to consider. But how would she know...?

"A fairly rich, but extremely stingy man, once came to the village elder to ask for yet another blessing upon his life. The honest elder kindly greeted the rich man with hot tea and sweet raisin cakes. The honest and wise elder slowly grew in irritation over the rich man's self concerns and personal affections. They arose after they had finished drinking tea and the elder took his guest by the arm and led him to the window which looked out on the street.

"Tell me, what do you see?" asked the elder.

"I see villagers, neighbors, and people going about their chores," answered the puzzled rich man.

Then the elder drew him before a mirror. "What do you see now?" he asked him again.

"I see the image of myself," answered the man, in a bewildered tone.

"Now, my friend, let me explain to you the meaning of these two questions. The window is made of simple glass as is also the mirror, only the glass of the mirror has a coating of silver on its surface. When you look through plain glass you see the common people, your friends, relatives and neighbors in need, but no sooner do you cover it with "SILVER" when you stop seeing others and begin to see only yourself!"

As Mrs. Stine told this story, she pointed to a large mirror hanging on the wall to my left. I had noticed it but paid no attention to it, and when I looked as she pointed to the mirror, I saw myself staring back.

"The rich and stingy man left the elder's home with a much different perspective than he had anticipated. A lesson of self examination and a new perspective!"

I just stared at her, and shot a quick look over to Theo, knowing that we had been carrying on this very thought over the last few days. She concluded the story, "There's no doubt or argument that wealth, riches, and abundance can change one's outlook towards others and towards life itself. For money and wealth are powers in and of themselves, and when you touch them, they touch you back."

By the second day, we had learned so much about the area and the Hearst family it was hard to retain everything. I was not sure how, but we formulated an idea for this woman and her plight. One afternoon on a long walk, Theo brought it up, "You know Luke, The Inheritance needs a backup chef, I'm wondering if somehow we might be able to hire Esther for that position."

"You know Theo, that idea crossed my mind too. The only thing is, what would we do with her son Geordie?"

"We could hire her with a better than average pay, so she might be able to keep him in that special school, or let her bring him along as a kitchen helper."

"How do you think she would fair aboard The Inheritance with a wheel chair?"

"She seems to get around even with her limitations. Plus The Inheritance is set up well, there are several small rooms just off the kitchen area for the chef and helpers. We also have elevators that can get her anywhere on the ship. Heck, she is confined to that house now, the ship would be a walk in the city for her."

"You got a good idea Theo, and one other thing. How about we also make her The Inheritance's librarian? She probably knows more about books, authors and history than us put together. I think it might work. At least we might present her with the idea and give her a chance on the run to Hawaii. If she doesn't like it, it will be another experience she can tell stories about."

That evening after a fine leg of lamb served with sliced roasted sweet potatoes, freshly baked butter rolls and a salad that a good restaurant couldn't duplicate, we presented our proposal to Esther. She listened carefully; without great preponderance, the only question she had was what would she do with this bed and breakfast operation. We tossed that around and asked if she had any relatives or friends who might want to take it over and run it for her. It was a turn key operation. Someone could step in and take over tomorrow.

She poured more coffee for us and loaded our plates up with cinnamon-walnut rolls that one might die for. "You know, I have one middle aged volunteer couple, Wayne and Sibble Willowstone, that come in once a week and do a lot of the little things. They are honest and have no children, and I know that their rent is almost out of reach. They might just be the perfect answer to this quandary."

"So then, you might be considering our proposal?"

"You bet. My mind is already programming a month of meals for you and your crew. Without ambition life's dreams are just painful memories!"

We smiled at her ambitiousness, "Well then Esther, you might make arrangements for Geordy, unless you want to bring him along. And have this couple over tomorrow and present them your offer. You can set it up on a percentage, where a certain amount of the monthly income goes into your account to pay the bank, and they will handle the rest, paying the bills while having a great place to live."

There is just one drawback. They might be a little hesitant. For with all the publicity we have gotten lately with the death of my Carl, people are bringing up the old tale that this house is haunted."

Theo shot me a look, knowing that these type of tales had more superstition to them than substance, "Well Esther, what do you say, is there a ghost that lives here?"

"Well..." she dragged this word out as she looked around as if to see if anyone might be listening. "My great grandfather, the eccentric architect Grizwald Wolfman, the designer and builder of this home, had several long running feuds with old man William Randolph Hearst and ended up dying here under strange circumstances. Some say that Hearst had him eliminated and that his ghost now roams between here and the Hearst Castle trying to even the score!"

"That is really a good story, Esther," Theo said with an ambivalent tone. But the first thing that came to my mind, was how Brookstone was going to take this ancient feud and curse thing, especially when she became one of our chefs aboard.

I looked at Theo as he finished and asked Esther, "How do you feel about this ghost rumored story?"

"To tell you the truth, I think there is something to it. Carl my husband has found hide-away places and secret rooms throughout this house. He felt that there was something to the tale, and often, we would find things moved or hear odd noises in the night."

"You could use this as a part of your advertisement to bring in more tourists. Imagine, a ghost that fought with William Randolph Hearst and lost. Hey, I would pay to stay at a place like that for at least one night."

Theo shot me a quizzical look, "Hey Mitchner, you is staying here now, and for two nights so far."

Esther burst out laughing, then said, "By the way, I don't know if you are related but the famous James A. Mitchner stayed in the very room you two are staying in now."

My mouth fell open as she went on. "There have been some famous people that have stayed here—like Steinbeck, Wallace Berry, and John Wayne. The movie people would stay here. They liked to be near the ocean when they were shooting movies here in the area. My grandparents, the Stines, use to host all kinds of movie and author types. But I think the most famous visitor was Einstein. He was visiting a fellow scientist near here. They were studying the phenomena of earthquakes when they stopped in to see my grand father."

Theo was looking around as if to catch a glimpse of one of these famous men, while this last statement silenced both of us. This was something that Thortin didn't tell us—maybe he didn't know, but we now had a ghost tossed in for real.

We were definitely captivated, it was great to get into a different line of conversation, even about great white sharks, but it was running late. This unusual subject had gobbled up several hours and we still had a few things to do. "Listen Esther, if it is a go for you, you only have two days to put it together. Our ship, The Inheritance is anchored off the Smugglers Cove while Brookstone is bringing out supplies, then we'll be headed for San Pedro for a few days. Then we are off to Hawaii."

"Hawaii!" Esther clapped her hands and yelled out "Wanamakapoyou. And just in case you don't understand Hawaiian, I'm saying, I want to make some Hawaiian food for you!"

We smiled at her humorous declarations. This woman was going to be a nice addition to our already strange crew.

She said that she had to get going and make some arrangements, so we arose and offered some help with the clean up, but she would not allow this. Then she turned to us as if she had forgotten something and asked, "Are you talking about Brookstone Kaamin, the security expert over at the castle?"

"Yes. Do you know him?" I said.

"Sure thing, he once helped out my Carl on a boat deal."

"Can we help in any other way?" I asked.

"Not for now. I'll do most of my work on the computer and contact Wayne and Sibble Willowstone this very evening to set up my banking for them."

"Oh, so you know computer things," Theo inquired.

"Certainly, I am more than skilled. Carl and I once ran a security firm. And if I might say, we were spies before the spy rage came into existence. I also run an extensive website for the B&B."

Theo and I could only shake our heads; this woman was turning out to be a full-fledged college of skills. Theo lowered his voice and sincerely asked, "Esther, this might be out of place, but how were you injured?"

She sighed with a long-gone look in her eyes and simply said, "It's a long story, but to keep it simple—I was on an Olympic Ski team, and I flipped off a cliff and damaged my lower back."

"That is a sad one to hear. Is there anything that can be done?"

"Well, there might be. I heard of a new type of operation they are doing in Europe but it is way beyond our means. With the remodeling of this house, with Geordy and his special schooling, Carl and I were saving, but just could not afford even looking into it." With this, she saw Geordy come into the room and told him to help out, she had great news for him. He used sign language to answer. We figured that his stuttering might have been embarrassing so he used sign language instead of speech.

We made a call to The Inheritance to talk with Jay, to see how things were going. Jay was one of those kind that could not sit back and enjoy peace and quiet. Since he was the First Mate or sub Captain, his time was measured out carefully. However, leave it to this treasure hunter—he had taken the launch, using the excuse that it had to be tested. He took Gretchen and left Wally in his place. Using the latest sonar scanner sled, he began scanning the area for a few miles. He discovered that there was a drop-off canyon about a half mile off shore. The thing he was looking for was the old Hearst freighter, the San Bella, that was rumored to have gone down in the 1930s. Our research had indicated that only a small part of the Hearst treasure had been off-loaded because of a great storm that had hit the coast. The San Bella freighter had disappeared during that storm. We were only speculating, but it could have been that the freighter was unloading its wealth into the cove when the big storm hit. It managed to pull out but was never heard from again. The records showed that it did reach the San Simeon coast line, but was lost during the storm. We had thought to do some sonar scanning once we got set up, and now Jay was getting a head start on this future project.

We ended up at Thortin's house, and it was the big white shark attack, or in this case, a killing that dominated the evening. Surprisingly enough, most of Thortin's guest reporters had come to know my by-line and I found myself the center of questions. I felt like a celebrity under the hot lights.

One of the main questions was about Etroid, the eco-environmental terrorist, probably my best all time story. He, along with his followers, attempted to destroy the famous Triple International Moon Launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida. After his attempt to spread chemical and bio destruction with a hoard of small drones and had failed, he and his female companion escaped. The FBI has them on their most wanted list but so far—no can find. They asked me if I thought he would surface again. I told them that I thought he has already done so.

"Really, where?" several of them asked in excited tones.

"I think he had some serious plastic surgery done, changed his name and occupation and won the California governorship and is now the head of this State!"

There was a great roar of laughter and the night wore on.

The next day we helped Esther with arrangements and got hold of the twins to see how they were fairing. They had to hand over the office work to one of the HC Security people and pack up whatever they might need for the next few months. We had decided to sail south first, then we were going to make our first official trip to Hawaii on The Inheritance. We would load up our RV van, the Tripper and decide what to do from there. We were getting calls from several of the Mitchner Foundations charities that needed supplies and personnel transfers. What this was we were not sure of, but had Wally looking into it.

One more day and we would be on our way!

Chapter 3

The Inheritance On Its Way!

No matter how much the world pollutes the river of life,

good deeds will always be a welcomed bridge over the troubled waters!

I can hardly express the excitement which was manifesting aboard the Inheritance. We had left Canadian waters, moved south along the California coast and stopped at the Hearst Castle Smugglers Cove for a few days and went on to San Pedro and then onto Newport, California. We would decide on our next move once we made our final move onto The Inheritance.

Benjamin Highmanner along with his wife Lida and his sons were still with us. Even though Jocko and Jay were handling the ship, Benjamin wanted to give them their last check-out credentials. Besides the Mitchner Ranch kitchen help, we brought Auggie and Flower along with six other ranch hands. They came not only for the fun of the journey, but to help put everything into order and double check each system.

Our communications systems were up and running. On the list of charitable establishments which were scattered throughout the world, the concern for help began to reach The Inheritance and the Mitchner headquarters. Several medical facilities along with their doctors and nurses (Doctors For Nations) were nearly out of medical supplies and our main concerns were about two distant medical outpost facilities in Western Samoa and in Java which were now under strain and threat by anti-government malcontents. Their medical supplies had been hi-jacked and they felt threatened; events did not look good.

The Mitchner coordinator and our facilitators Amber and Crystal were in touch with these small, out of the way, medical facilities by radio and we were tied into that network. We had authorized two shipments of supplies to the Pacific outpost but both had been waylaid and sold on the black market; so we thought. We were now receiving messages that the actual facility was under threat. It had not yet been attacked but demands were being made against them in order to stay up and running.

The volunteer doctors and nurses knew that their time in that outpost was soon to be over and asked us to help them begin an extraction from this developing hazard. The last few messages we did receive was that the entire hospital was under observation, and it could become a terrorist outpost, where the doctors and nurses had to carry on.

We would dock into the San Pedro harbor outside of Los Angeles where we fueled and supplied The Inheritance for a long term live-aboard trip. We also loaded up two smaller sea vans with medical supplies for delivery, if we ended up having to make the trip ourselves. Things were busy and everything was buzzing; within a week the Trans-Pacific Yacht Race was to start from here. We would be right in the middle of these incredible sailing crafts, crossing the 2225 mile Honolulu run.

This was a famous cross-Pacific race going back to 1906. Beauty in the wind could hardly describe one of these sleek yachts full sailed, flying full spinnaker blowing back white spray, down deck. It was exciting to see, but for those crews it was near heart stopping. New records and prestige trophies along with honor for the boat itself were waiting.

We were not sure yet how we would assist the Pacific native hospitals but we did know we were going to arrange our businesses in Newport and head onto Hawaii from there. We notified York and Fanny that we would be anchoring in the Balboa channel and motoring into the bay to say our goodbyes. Of course, without us knowing it, the entire Balboa yacht Association prepared a grand send off dinner and party for us at the Bay Front Retirement Home.

For a bunch of old folks, these people really knew how to put on a shindig. The banquet room was set up for a hundred people, with a twelve course feast, four of them being specialty wine tasting. Fanny brought in a six piece orchestra along with an exclusive catering service.

Jonathan was going with us, at least to Hawaii. We needed his expertise in inventorying the bunker treasure of coins and stamps. This trip would be a perfect time for this work to begin. Then the James family came to see us off. Tanya and Abby were going with us. They had made arrangements with Jay to sail back on The New Song. Everyone wanted to see The Inheritance, so after dinner we began shuttling twenty people at a time out to the ship and giving everyone the grand tour. The party continued out on the ship until the wee hours of the morning.

We finally got a few hours sleep before good old Jay had everyone up at the crack of dawn. With the sun just rising at our backs, The Inheritance moved out into the Pacific bound for Hawaii. The MAVIN flag which had been especially made for us by the Stone Harbor Iron & Ship Works, was billowing in the on-shore breeze. The group itself was sitting in the observation center sipping morning brew and watching the California coast recede into the distant horizon. The passage to the Islands would take about seven days. The Inheritance would cruise about 16 knots but could hit up to 20. Amber and Crystal handed out schedules for our time at sea. The conference room was set up with all electronics and aids and would be used as a classroom for shipboard lessons and for general meetings.

Within a short time we saw the Island of Catalina fade behind us while the sea breezes blew stiff. With the strong winds, the first few days we were getting our sea legs. The annual Trans-Pacific Yacht race from San Pedro to Hawaii was starting. We would be seeing a lot of fantastic yachts sailing by in the next few days.

It was the second day out that our first surprise came. One of our house-keeping or should I say boat-keeping maids reported that someone had been using one of the smaller passenger cabins, and there was no record of that room being assigned to anyone. Amber was asked to look into this. After all, we didn't want any strange goings on with our passengers. Amber came back rather puzzled, "We either have a ghost aboard or someone is hiding out in that room."

"Come on now, not another ghost story, I hope," Theo laughed.

"I don't know. Someone for sure has been using the room, but I cannot figure out who it is. But I'm pretty sure it is a woman."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Perfume—it smells like a woman's perfume."

"Keep an eye on the room and the area and maybe something will reveal itself." We left it at that.

That evening I was called to the conference room. It was an odd hour to be called off my watch. When I entered the conference room, I immediately knew the reason for being called, "How did you find her?"

"Mica was monitoring the communication systems and someone has been sending out email notes from one of the rooms using their own PDA. He thought this was odd and told me about it. I waited in the cabin next door and when I heard noises I entered through the connecting door and found this," Crystal gestured to a woman standing there.

She had her back to me, but finally turned to face me and there stood—Julie!

"What the heck are you doing here? And the bigger question is how the heck did you get here?"

Crystal spoke up, for Julie seemed upset and too freaked out to say much at the moment. "She told us that she came aboard during one of our tours with the party groups, that last night."

"What do you have to say for yourself? Why did you do this?"

We waited for her to speak, and finally she turned towards me, "I heard about The Inheritance and you guys going to Hawaii for The New Song. I just wanted to go."

"That is it?" Theo asked indignantly.

Julie seemed to regain some fortitude, "Like I said, I really want back into the group. I'll work for my passage and prove myself to all of you, if this is what you want from me."

"To tell you the truth, we don't want anything from you. Do you realize that you have warrants out for your arrest in Hawaii?" I answered.

"Yes, but if you don't say anything, I could sail back on The New Song and no one would ever know I was there." A smirk shown on her face for a moment as she looked around, "I don't think you'll turn me in. I know too much about the treasure. If the authorities got wind of it, you folks could be in big trouble."

Here was her threat again. No doubt, she could easily cost us the treasure and maybe months of court fights. However, she would also be putting herself into the legal system with the warrants activated. So we were at a stalemate until we figured out what to do with this ex-partner.

"You do know that Timm is really perturbed at you and Thomas. He is the one that got hurt when you plundered his bank accounts. That alone could lock you up for at least five years."

"That was Thomas, not me!"

"Come on. Tell that to Timm, he was hurt by you two. Plus, you went with Thomas in flights to Europe and traveled with him. Your signature is all over the checks and receipts, and even on several credit card receipts," Theo pointed out.

With irritation in my voice, I said, "It's late, we cannot turn back now. Let's get some sleep and deal with this tomorrow. In the meantime, Julie, you are restricted to that room; we'll bring your meals to you. You are not to leave it, until we decide what to do with you."

"By the way Luke, here are the copies of the emails she has been sending out." Amber handed over a sheet of paper with a few short messages printed out. The address was a g-mail account to a clinic. Mica had traced the address, but the account was just a simple clinic name; no other names were on the account. The main message was simple enough, "Bird is on its way." Then another said, "Doing well, headed for golden days in the sun."

"Who were you emailing?" I inquired.

"Just letting my father know that I was okay and on my way."

"Your father is in a clinic?" Theo asked.

"He volunteers a few days a week in a medical center, and I contact him there," her lips went into smile mode.

This woman was not known to smile often, but this one came from a distant realm. It was as if she went into a secret chamber and searched out just the right smile from off her shelf of fake smiles, and presented it. I had seen enough fake smiles to know she was still playing a game with us.

Again, this whole matter was a bit strange. There was a motive in her pursuit, and we suspected it was gold. We knew we had to keep our eyes on her. The best way to do this was to give her a job among others that could watch her. It looked like the kitchen would be that place. We would put her to work with Esther, and I thought we'd let our Taiwanese girl Rose, bunk in the same room. This way we'd have someone to report on her.

So here we were again, trying to be fair with this person, but our patience was running low. She was proving herself to be a real pain.

# Chapter 4

# The Sub Mishap!

Be gentle and be kind, but don't be left behind in the swirling smoke and ash of mankind. There will come a time when you'll find your way and your efforts will have made them pay!

By the next day we could already see some of the incredible racing yachts off in the distance. I think they said thirty-three of them had departed San Pedro on July 3rd, two days behind us and they had already caught up to us. To see these sleek wind machines in their magnificent splendor was an awesome sight to behold. They were the perfect engineering accomplishment. To harness the wind and use nature to one's advantage was nothing less than beauty in motion.

Several of the yachts came close. As they sailed past us, we blew the ship's horns; everyone was yelling and waving their hats. With all our modern electronics and communication devices, we could follow the scattering of the racers on a large screen, known as the Yellow-brick Tracking Leaderboard. We also had direct communications with each yacht . Two of the bigger boats were stirring up most of the interest in this year's race. One was an 87 footer, the Explorer, a sleek hulled beauty which was arrayed in all blue sails.

The second entry and new to the Trans-Pacific Race was the Golden Wind. This was a newly designed Chinese boat, a single hulled, 90 footer, with sails of bright yellow that had been sailing full winded alongside the Explorer for the hour we had been watching.

The intense competition grew out of the Chinese sponsored boat. Most boats were built and owned by individual owners or companies while the Golden Wind had been paid for by the Chinese government. It was rumored that the Chinese crew had been commanded to win—or else!

Since this was the Chinese first entry, they wanted the win, and wanted it bad. They had already developed the reputation to sail dirty and play rough. From what we gathered, it was no longer competition, but a full-on battle between design and skill and between massive government and free enterprise.

JJ began taking bets on the different boats. There were the single hulled boats and the double hulled catamarans. He had already made up a large chart and posted it in the dining area. Each square had the participant's name in it. The participant named their winner, second and third place and best times, he really went all out with many ways to win and to lose. Since we were right in the middle of this famous race, we might as well enjoy it ourselves was his logic. It was Julie who came up, standing there looking over the game and gamble board, who made the comment to JJ, "Don't you have anything better to do than waste your brain on such games?"

JJ didn't even turn around but answered while putting on the final touches, "Some people read bad news into the day, before the mailman—even arrives."

"Smart ass," she mumbled and walked away.

This Trans-Pacific race is famous for fast downwind sailing under spinnaker in the trade winds and wow, were they ever flying. By the end of the third day, most racers had moved ahead of us. We could see their silhouettes in the setting sun and we got some super photos.

By now our shipboard routines were being established. I personally, never knew there was so much in sailing a bigger ship like The Inheritance. Shipboard life was pleasant and all our on-board passengers were having a great time. The food was excellent and the night sky out to sea was something to bring out every philosophy and story one could imagine. That night, or should I say early the next morning things went wrong for the race. The bridgeheads received an 'SOS' emergency call from the Explorer. It was loud and clear. They were in big trouble. Our entire crew was awakened and told to be ready for a rescue.

From what we could gather through the panic of the Explorers crew, the boat had either collided with another boat or had hit something in the water. Some thought it might have been a whale, one thought it was a submerged wreck of some kind. The Explorer had pulled way out in front of the Golden Wind that afternoon, but now had been waylaid as the Golden Wind sailed right on by. Now, the Explorer was in trouble. We were about an hour out from them. This was the first time our high powered engines pushed The Inheritance up to 20 knots. We caught the sight of distress flares and Jocko blared our ships horns. We also shot off a few flares for anyone else in the area.

The radio distress calls were open on the ship's speaker systems. Everyone was listening to Winslow Parker, the Explorer's Captain, explain the damage and at the same time give orders to his crew on what to do. They were taking on water and assessing the damage as The Inheritance drew closer. Their hull had been breached, but the damage was not fully known yet. The Inheritance was the only ship in the immediate area and remained in constant contact with the Explorer. One of their female crew members had been hurt and Tregubov our ship's doctor was prepared to go over and assist the injured.

Most of the crew were waiting for instructions as they watched the horizon. Brookstone being one who could assess the situation and was always coming up with some theory, now mentioned, "Strange thing here. That Chinese boat just left them behind without wondering what might happen to them. Guess they really want to win." He let those words float around and then added, "Wonder if this accident might have something to do with the Golden Wind's 'do anything for the victory' ideology."

"According to Captain Parker, no boat was close enough for a collision."

"I still wouldn't put it past those Chinese to be doing something or have done something to cause this. I would like to put down our sonar scan antennae and listen to what might be going on underwater."

Jocko didn't disagree, but asked to wait a few more minutes until we were up to the Explorer. The noise that we were making would only interfere with the sonar scanner receptions, but that might be interesting.

Personally, my own antennae went up. If there was any funny business taking place here, imagine the story behind the scene. I asked Jay how long it would take to put the sonar into play. "Not but a moment, we only have to push a few buttons and the sonar modular will descend and the antennae will begin scanning for sounds and objects."

The Explorer came into view as its emergency beacons flashed on the horizon. It was only a few more minutes before we approached. Jay was speaking with the Explorer's Captain asking if they wanted us to send out rescue boats to pick up the crew. Winslow replied that they were trying to assess the damage first. But he did ask if we could send over our doctor, and if we had any engineers aboard. Jay told him that the entire ship was full of engineers. What kind of an engineer did he need? Winslow replied that any mechanical or marine engineer might be able to assess the damage better than his crew of deck hands, half of them being young women.

Jocko told Jay to choose a few of our own to go and take a look. Jay asked Elmo, Benjamin's son, and Jasper, along with Mike Tregubov, our ship's doctor to get into the launch and go take a look. They were soon on their way with several others in the launch in case they were needed. I suspected that our engineers wanted to assess the female crew as well.

Brookstone had now dropped the sonar scanner into the depths to begin scanning for anything that might have caused damage. Then Wally came in saying that he had picked up and recorded communications between the Golden Wind and another Chinese boat. "That's strange, there are no other Chinese boats in the race," Jay said.

"Can you decipher what is being said?" Jocko asked as he drifted The Inheritance up closer to the Explorer.

"I can't speak Chinese, but the guest cook Hu-Long, I think that is her name, might."

"Ok, get her up here and see what she can tell us," Jay asked Crystal to bring her.

"Her name is Lufong not Hu-Long," Crystal corrected Wally.

Soon, Lufong walked into the communications center with Crystal. She looked a little frightened, but Crystal reassured her that they just wanted to know what was being said between the two boats.

The conversation had been recorded at first but now the speakers would crackle now and then with more conversation or words in Chinese. Lufong listened intently and would nod her head as she listened.

"One man say to other man, they do good job, other boat now stopped, someone gone out of race."

Everyone's head turned to Brookstone, wondering how this guy might have suspected such a thing.

"...Wait minute," Lufong held up her finger as she bent her ear closer to the speaker. "Other voice say good, but now they get damage and will have to come up to check damage."

Wally came in saying that the sonar was picking up some kind of a submerged body, and it was fairly large. Everyone began to speculate and put things together when Elmo reported back from the Explorer. Damage to hull is confirmed and Explorer taking on water but breach in hull could be patched and repaired.

Jay asked Elmo if he could tell what might have caused the damage. "It was not a whale, the tear has too sharp of an edge. A whale would have more or less pushed into the side, but this was almost cut or sliced, and we found black paint and a few steel slivers in the cut."

"In your opinion, what do you think it might have been?"

"It had to be some kind of a boat, and a good sized one. The cut is both below the waterline and half way up to the deck. This means it was a fair sized something."

Wally waved his hand drawing attention to the sonar screen, "That is no whale, but it looks like a submarine of sorts. A smaller class sub."

"You've got to be kidding me," declared Jay, "That is insane."

"Insane it is not, if it's a Chinese sub," Brookstone answered.

Speaking to Elmo, "Is there anything we can do for them?" asked Jay.

"We might lend them an auxiliary pump to help with the water, and we could fix a patch onto the cut."

"Would they be able to make it to Honolulu on their own if we did a patch job? They still got about two or three days to go."

"If we did it right, they could get back in the race, if they wanted."

Just then, Winslow came back online and made their wishes known, "If it were those Chinese that did this, we want back in the race. What is needed and how long will this fix take?"

"An hour to pump the water out with one of our high powered pumps, and then another good hour to patch over the breach. We'll need to get started right away if we want to get this boat back on course."

"You got it," said Jay. "The pump is on its way. What else will you need?"

"Two pieces of tin about three foot by four foot with high impact carriage bolts with large washers. We will put that heavy duty marine glue into the rip and then lay fiberglass stripping over that. Then put on the sheets of tin both inside and outside and drill the hull to fit the bolts and sandwich them together."

"Sounds like you know what you're doing. Go for it. We'll get those things for you as you are setting up the pump."

The launch was now shuttling back and forth between The Inheritance and the Explorer and the repairs were on their way. Doctor Tregubov thought it best if the injured girl return to The Inheritance. She had a few cracked ribs, and needed to stay out of bumpy waters and rest. Parker agreed and asked her to finish up the trip to Hawaii aboard The Inheritance. She agreed and returned with Doctor Tregubov. Everyone was watching the launch return and gave out a few wows, when they saw the girl that was returning back with Tregubov. She was a long haired beauty, tanned and well proportioned. Doctor Mike came aboard with a big grin. He first introduced her as Manya and then helped her get away from all the gawking eyes, down to the infirmary.

"Hey, no fair, Doc gets to go over for a minute and brings back the woman of the year. You think I could go over for a short visit Jocko?" Morgan asked.

I was sitting back watching all this take place. It was amazing to see everyone jump into action for the sake of others. On top of all this, I felt a really good story beginning to outline itself. If we could prove that a Chinese submarine caused the damage and allowed the Golden Wind to move into first place, I had the story of the year right here and now.

Brookstone was analyzing all the data from the conversation and from the sonar readings. The sub, or whatever it was, had moved off into the distance but had not yet surfaced. They might have realized that another ship was on the scene and they did not want to be found out. Brookstone went into consultation with Jay and Jocko and the rest of us, asking for our opinions on what we should do.

"What were our options?" I asked.

"No matter what, we must contact the Coast Guard and they'll get hold of the Navy. That is first on our list."

"You want me to handle this?" Wally asked.

Because of Wally's Naval experience and contacts, we let him run with this event. "Yes, let them know what we are doing and where exactly we are located," Brookstone put Wally to work in this area.

"We can also follow the sub, especially if it is damaged. It most likely won't dive any deeper, not knowing what its own damage might be. It could have damaged itself when it hit the Explorer, or even rammed it."

"Rammed it?" Amber spoke out.

"Yes, that could very well have been. Especially with the 'Good job' conversation between the Yellow Wind and the sub."

JJ had come into the communications center and was listening. He spoke up, "I think we better be calling this Golden Wind, the Yellow Fart instead!"

No one wanted to laugh but it was just too funny not to.

Elmo asked that the launch be brought around to the damaged side and asked that someone begin sealing up the cut from the outside and then holding the tin plate over the area. They would drill through from inside. While this sandwich repair was taking place, our loan pump had reduced the inside water down to near nothing. Jocko suggested that while the repairs were being made, it might be a good idea for The Inheritance to move out over that sub or whatever it was. Maybe flush it up.

"Flush it up, then what? We might have a dragon by its tail if we're not careful," Theo expressed his concerns.

I saw a big smile come over Brookstone's face. His one eye twinkled and he tried hiding his smile but slyly stated, "No worries there, mate, we got enough tricky wickies aboard to sink that sucker if need be."

"Ah, come on Brookstone," Theo blurted out.

"Like I said, Theo, no worries there. What do you think I loaded up back at the Hearst cove, a ton of candy bars and potatoes chips?"

"Well, no, but enough to sink a submarine?"

"It wouldn't take much more than a few 50 caliber armor-piercing shots to settle the matter—real quick."

"Okay you war games enthusiast, is there any other way of handling this? You're gonna start World war III here, over a bump in the night," Gretchen, our peace maker interjected.

"Oh yes, big Daddy go Boom-boom, we die and Yellow Fart winds de race," JJ stuck his two cents in again. But this time Brookstone told him he better remove himself from the big boys and go play with himself down in the morgue.

It became obvious that Brookstone was getting irritated at JJ and his jokie-hokie attitude. I thought I might have a little talk with JJ as soon as possible. We didn't need any animosity growing amongst us. And for sure, JJ didn't need Brookstone on his case. At first chance, I expressed to JJ my feelings about his attitude and this growing irritation with Brookstone. "Be cautious youthful one, when trying to take opposition with an old rugged character, it's like a tender dove trying to land on an ancient CACTUS!"

"Okay, okay, enough of that boys. Let's get serious here," Amber spoke out.

"We is serious here. Big Daddy wants to go Boom-Boom on submarine and win big ribbon," Theo tossed his hands into the air, indicating a big blast. Oh no, not Theo too, I thought.

The sonar was still following the sub while the conversations had continued. Then Gretchen came up with the most practical solution. "Let's send a message to the big Yellow Fart, as JJ so named her, and inform them that we are well aware of what they and their underwater buddy has done. And if any other reports of the sub comes up, she is going to go down and we mean down—down!"

"Not bad," Jay had to agree.

Brookstone was smiling again, "Yeah, the one thing we do not want anyone to know is our ability to fight back. In fact, it is better no one even knows we are on the scene. Just make the repairs, and away we shall go."

"This is one of the most ridiculous conversations I've ever heard. Do you realize we simply set out on a cruise to Hawaii and suddenly we are caught up in an international episode involving sub attacks on the American entry into the Trans Pacific race—how the hell do we get mixed up in all this stuff?" I burst out my frustration.

Things went quiet for a moment, then Crystal added to the joint staff meeting of great minds, "No need responding emotionally to this situation. Think about this, we are actually discussing if we should sink a Chinese submarine, a real submarine full of men. And we want to stay low key—huh?"

Brookstone was listening and still smiling at the same time. He finally said, "So you folks do have a few brains among you."

I saw what Brookstone had been doing. He was trying to get us to think before acting, and apparently we passed his test. Wow, I thought, this guy was not only sly, but a psychological therapist with the cunning of a fox, to do us good. "So, contact the Yellow Fart is the best way to go. They will contact the sub and let them know that they have been found out. I would keep the threat out of it, but let them know that the Navy and Coast Guard are on their way. And let's get out of here," with this, Brookstone gave his congratulatory approval.

With four of our well-trained engineers working on the repairs, the Explorer was back in business within three hours. Even though the hull of the Explorer had been damaged, it appeared that they would be able to sail on in the race. What the loss of those three hours would mean, only the elements and time would tell.

The crew of the Explorer tried to express their appreciation, but we told them to get their sails up and their butts in gear, we wanted a win from them. The news of their mishap had already gone viral and the Golden Wind was now known world wide as the Yellow Fart!

So far, our names were not in mention. We were only noted as a passing freighter and that was how we wanted it.

As we watched the Explorer get back under sail and slowly disappear, we loaded up the launch and made ready to get started. However, Brookstone wanted one last thing. He asked if he might deposit one last kiss of warning to the sub. We were puzzled but he assured us that this would not endanger anyone, just give them something to think about.

He disappeared down the elevator to one of his armament storage rooms and returned with two round objects. As The Inheritance got on its way we followed him out to the upper side observation areas where he stood for a moment. Then he kissed one of the objects and tossed it a long ways out. We waited, wondering what the heck, then a deep concussion sounded down in the depths. He then tossed the second one out and it took longer this time but then the underwater shock came to the surface. "Just a couple of handy dandy concussion devices, made in America," Brookstone dusted his hands off and added, "Show's over folks, let's get this ship back on course."

# Chapter 5

# Final Approach!

The joy of a new morning comes brightest to that one who wakes up with something to do.

It seemed as though the rest of the miles across the Pacific were spent counting coins, jewels, stamps and rare metals. Don't get me wrong, this was a great way to spend those endless hours on the vast Pacific.

Jonathan had set up a 24 hour work station down below near the secret vaults. The operation had to be kept under wraps. It was not safe to be exposing the bunker treasure just to anyone. If the news of this vast collection ever got out to the wrong element, we would have nothing but trouble on our hands. This went especially for Julie the stowaway. Therefore, only the MAVIN group workers along with a few other trusted individuals were allowed to be in on the work.

It was dull work, other than the fact that each of the safety deposit drawers were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, that did not count after several hours of photographing and cataloging each coin and every stamp. It was those stamps we were going to have trouble with. Jonathan, after listening to one of Esther's stories, had discovered that Esther and her husband had been well-known philatelists, active members with the American Philatelic Society some years back.

Jonathan suggested that we assign Esther and her son to organize the stamps into sellable collections, which could be put into the high end auctions. She would be the perfect person for this slow-motion task. After the collections were organized into particular categories, then she could submit one collection at a time to a German stamp auction, one of the most prestigious auctions in the world, fair in their exchanges and discreet in their business practices. Esther had unknowingly created a long term job for herself. She would be the perfect person to handle this portion of the bunker treasure.

It was hard to believe that one man could have purchased so many coins and jewels over the years. But I was reminded that my grandfather Steward had been traveling and buying this stuff for over 40 years.

I had seen some fantastic jewels and rare stones in the Hearst treasure, which we still had a small part of back in the Huntington Beach storage facility. Then there was the Palmyra treasure which had not yet been cleaned up and was waiting in Timm's warehouse vault in Honolulu. It was those few drawers of gold nuggets that really took me back; I mean I just could not get my eyes off those golden rocks.

Each one had to have its own history, and Auggie could only tell us a few stories that went with them. Auggie told us, "Steward and I would go to the Merced River above Fresno towards Yosemite where we visited many old timers who owned claims along the river. With his business mind, Stu bought up at least twenty riverside claims. We made deals with the sellers, allowing them to continue to work the claims, keep half of all they found and we would pay for the improvements on the claims. Most of these folks were elderly retired couples looking for a means to help pay their way. The outdoor life during the several working seasons kept them happy and healthy.

We would spend a week up there and buy up all the nuggets the miners would sell. We paid top prices and made it worth their while to wait for us to show up in the autumn. Many of the older couples would camp out on their claim for the summer. They would clear out a deep pit next to the stream and then let the water flow into it. Then they would set up their dredge and dig through the gravel beds until they reached flat rock bottom. There they would dive and scan for cracks in the flat rocks and open up the crevices. We could hardly believe the amount of gold nuggets they would come up with. Imagine a quart jar full of nuggets each season."

He went on to tell us of only one spooky episode, "Once, we were held up by two men disguised as campers. But they were more than surprised when the couple we visited turned the tables on the bandits and pulled out a huge old revolver and robbed the thieves of their opportunity.

Yes, those were some exciting times, gold mining, hold-ups and meeting the real down-to-earth folks. Some of the nuggets were as large as walnuts, real beauties they were. We had several locations that we would visit each year, but Steward would buy the coins while he was on different business trips. We just stored all this stuff in the bunkers until eventually he decided to store everything in boxes.

After a time, I stopped going with him. My responsibilities on the ranch became my part of the operation, and I left the purchasing of things up to him. It was the gold mines on our own property that kept on producing, and we would use those funds to purchase the bunker treasure, as you call it."

The best story was told one night. Auggie explained that there had been gold miners that had come ahead of them and did a lot of digging at the river. There were two miners from eastern Canada who found a vein of gold and extracted a goodly amount of gold from the vein. About 50 feet back into the tunnel, the vein narrowed and went dead. They took their gold and abandoned the mine shaft.

Auggie continued, "Now Steward was no dummy and had some geological knowledge going way back. He knew that earthquakes would come along and shake the mountain now and then. A gold vein could be broken with a shift in the rocks. So, we bought the mine for a few bucks, went back in and started digging up and back.

"Now let me tell you, within four feet up and back, we rediscovered the broken vein. It grew bigger and became our number one resource mine. This is the mine up in the Hope Canyon area you saw." So Auggie made us feel like we were a part of the gold mining story.

Before The Inheritance reached Honolulu we were faced with several demanding decisions. The hospital outpost in Western Samoa was asking for us to re-send or locate their lost supplies. This was a special jungle hospital set up on one of the Pacific islands by my grandparents. They had agreed to build small medical outpost facilities and provide equipment and medical supplies, allowing charitable organizations and volunteer groups to staff them with doctors and nurses. These doctors and nurses were recruited by various religious organizations and world health groups. We had an obligation to them and something had to be done.

However, we were supposed to drop off Jay, Gretchen, Jonathan, along with JJ and his girl Tanya, and now Abby, along with some of the kitchen crew. But if we were to move on, this would leave us short of help. Our original plans were to just load up the Palmyra treasure into the Tripper and bring the Tripper back on The Inheritance. But now, Jay was planning on sailing The New Song back to Newport with Gretchen and using JJ, Tanya, and Abby as crew, leaving Jocko without a first mate. We were going to have to make some serious choices soon.

It was a crazy idea, but so far, the MAVIN Group mind-set was full of craziness. I understood that the mind in and of itself is powerful. Link this to an overly active spirit and you never know what might come of it. Think about the great minds of history: Solomon, Christ, Plato, Einstein, Edison and so forth. Imagine the minds that established themselves as kings, rulers, warriors, explorers, inventors, philosophers and scientists and the changes they brought about by their thoughts and by their personal ideas. I could see this genius at work in our own collective thought process.

For now, we would leave the Tripper stored in Timm's warehouse with the Palmyra treasure. We would retrieve it on our way back from the visit to the far east medical facilities. Then, The New Song would be placed aboard The Inheritance, and we would take it with us. It would be lifted up by crane and set and locked into a massive framework, keel and all. It would rest there, available for the changes Jay wanted to make on it.

Jay would go with us, and he also hired the Highmanner family to go with us. They would all work on The New Song as we traveled. Between Wally and Jay and the Highmanner family there was more than enough brain and muscle power to do The New Song right. The only concern we had was with JJ. We wanted him to get into school as soon as possible. This dilemma was partially solved when JJ, Tanya, and Abby considered enrolling in the University of Hawaii for at least one semester while we were gone to the Asian islands.

Timm expressed his dismay and was upset at having Julie aboard The Inheritance. He thought it was best for him to stay behind and watch over the warehouse. He had a lot of loose ends to deal with, and felt this was a better way for him to help. JJ, along with Tanya and Abby, would stay with Timm and begin working the treasure that had to be cleaned up and categorized. In the long run, this was an excellent decision and relieved us of the worries of having the treasure go unwatched.

Timm's warehouse had living quarters built into it; for the time being, they would live there and begin cleaning the Palmyra treasure.

Then there was Julie. This was a real decision for us. We could not leave her in the Hawaiian Islands on her own, especially since she knew where Timm's warehouse was. We decided to give her the choice of going back to her parents, or to Newport to start up with the Bay Front Retirement Home, or to join us as kitchen help on The Inheritance for now. She decided to stay aboard The Inheritance.

Jonathan wanted to go but he could not leave his shop unattended for the possible two or three months we would be gone. He decided to fly back to Newport. Then Max got hold of us wanting to join us in Honolulu, which was fine with us, as long as he knew we were headed further into the South Pacific for a rescue mission.

Then there was Dustin, good old Dustin, long-time lawyer and friend. Did he ever give me the worst of times! "Again, I leave you guys alone for a few days and whacko booms, as JJ would say. You guys end up in the middle of a Chinese sunken submarine scandal."

"Wait a minute, where do you come up with this stuff? There was no sunken submarine, nor was there any Chinese scandal we were in," I retorted openly.

"Listen, don't think that I just sit around taking long walks on short piers doing nothing and don't know what your crazy team is up to. I know Winslow Parker personally and his sponsors contacted me with all the news. You guys were not mentioned directly but your fingerprints were all over this one. I knew immediately that you were there and you were deep into the whole matter...weren't you?"

The phone was silent for a long time until he declared, "Told you. I knew it, you guys were there...right!"

"Yeah, so what if we were just passing by and saw flares for help?"

"Just passing by, ah—sure thing."

"Sure, those things do happen, now and then."

"Huh, just another side track for you folks again. I'm glad you were there, but why is it that I have to worry about you and your gang so much now? I liked it better when you were just a plain and simple journalist."

"Me too. Why don't you try giving back this billion dollars and we'll just start over again, how about that Dustin?"

"Well, wouldn't go that far. And besides, I must humbly admit, you and your gang bring some excitement into my life. By the way, are you going to publish this story?"

I had to laugh, "Ahha, got you there old man!" Dustin went quiet for a moment while he had to laugh at himself because he knew this was a dynamite story.

"Actually, I'm getting burned out on all this excitement. And if you need us to generate new life into your existence, you better reconsider the forces that are at work in your life," I gave it back as good as I got, as the expression goes. But I told him to watch for the story to come out soon, "I sent it under my by-line to Thortin Mayhurst, editor for the San Luis Obispo Tribune. It should be posted and circulated soon, and I think it is going to cause an uproar."

"So I need to take up a sport or get a hobby to generate my own excitement. How about if I come visit you and count rare coins."

"You're hired, get your butt over here. We need all the coin counters we can get."

"Got to go now. Please stay on course and keep me informed on your decisions, so I don't cross them with some of the ones I must make over here." With that, we broke off.

The Trans Pacific Yacht Race was still happening and it came down to the wire. We were all gathered in the theater room and watched the first few boats come across the finish line at Diamond Head. Even with a three hour delay, the Explorer managed to gain on the Golden Wind and pass her, coming in a half hour ahead of the Chinese sponsored boat. Immediately the Chinese entered a complaint that the Explorer had unfair help during the crossing, and the officials had to review the episode.

Eventually, the Explorer was given the first place trophy in its category, and it was rumored that Chinese entries from now on would not be accepted into the race. This caused an international furor but the MAVIN Group and the Inheritance managed to stay out of the fray.

JJ's betting game worked out great for the kitchen help. Apparently, Esther was a sharp cookie when it came to laying out bets. We felt that finally, JJ had met his match. She was able to match him, and actually beat the pants off him in some of the long running poker games. JJ was baffled how this wheel-chair-bound woman could out play him, and in a few cases, actually shame him. The crew began to bet on who would be the winner between JJ and Esther, in some of the wild all night card games they held.

We sailed into one of the Pearl Harbor terminals and docked at one of the ship repair dry docks. Benjamin made these arrangements; his family knew just about everyone in the business. There were those connections again.

Jay and Gretchen sailed The New Song over to the shipyard and within a few days, The New Song had been stripped down of masts and rudder and prop. It was then lifted by a massive crane and placed into its heavy-duty frame stocks aboard The Inheritance. We thought it would take up most of the working deck in the back, but it fit nicely, becoming an onboard project.

Jay was rebuilding The New Song, turning it into a place to live, but also a dive boat for his treasure hunts. It would be set up with all the latest gadgets, with nothing in underwater exploration spared. It was a total go for him and Gretchen. It was like having a yacht factory aboard; everyone had their ideas and opinions for Jay's new creation.

The New Song became one of those privacy hideaways for certain couples, let's say. It was a little unusual to stand on the backside bridge watch and look down and see this schooner right there following us. It became its own night club party room, and another hundred jokes circulated about the new entertainment center. Surprisingly enough, it was Julie who adopted a righteous attitude, calling The New Song a 'hulk of sin' which is bound for hell!

For the last few days of the trip across the Pacific, we were made to endure this new religious attitude of hers. Strangely enough, she became the ship's first anointed Bible thumper. It was good old Esther who kept putting her in her place with some religious questions, like, "If God destroyed the world with a flood, where did the Chinese come from? Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons? Can angels be born as children and dwell among people for a purpose?"

We were opened minded to all ideas. There were some very interesting discussions that came out of these religious expositions.

# Chapter 6

# Big Two Punch Surprise!

Woe unto the improbable, it's so unpredictable to the facts of the matter.

With all that we already had balancing on our plates, the surprise of the year tilted the entire table. Timm, in an excited voice, called us, telling us to get over to the warehouse and be prepared for a shock. He wouldn't say more. We were puzzled and hurried over to the warehouse. Thinking that it might be the FBI or the local police or maybe the treasure had been stolen, we tried to prepare ourselves for the worst. Greeting us at the office door, he immediately escorted us through the offices, bringing us to a back room. Gesturing for us to open the door he stood back with a mysterious look on his face. I was a little hesitant but figured that Timm would not endanger us in any way so we entered...

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed.

There stood Winston and Rose, the two Taiwanese kids that had disappeared off The New Song when we entered into Nawiliwili Bay on the return run from Palmyra Island. They had escaped overboard and we had no idea where they had gone to. The officials went looking for them but never could find them. Theo, along with Amber and Crystal moved into the room and just stood there staring at the two long departed kids.

These two culprits stood together, having the biggest smiles we had ever seen. There they were, like two highly paid actors for some commercial white teeth product, huge smiles set off by sparkling eyes and a look of wonderment radiating into the room. These two stood there as if waiting for judgment to be pronounced in brightly flowered Hawaiian shirts, baggy surf shorts, fairly nice sandals and beaded head bands to hold their hair out of their faces.

Rose became frightened at the stunned silence in the room and moved behind Winston for protection.

"What? Wha, wh, the heck are you doing here?" Theo hardly got the words out.

Then Amber and Crystal ran over to them with open arms, hugging and shaking them. They were a little embarrassed at this reaction. Then the questioning began.

I didn't know where to start other than, "All right, start telling us your story."

Winston opened the trial, "Hallo Mister Luke and Theo. We much happy be with you today," he tried to be formal.

"Yeah, yeah, cut the soft talk and tell us how you got here and why," Theo fired his first question.

"You no happy to see, me and Rose?" Winston's face took on a worried look as he expressed his question.

I knew Winston well enough to know he was a great actor and would use every trick in the book to win their way into our lives once again. "Sure, we are happy to know that you are well. But how the heck did you get from Kauai to Honolulu, and then here to Timm's warehouse?"

"This much big story, take hour to tell," this half pint was already testing my patience and wanting to avoid details.

"Listen Winston, we got all day and more to hear your tale. It better be good." I thought I'd toss in a threat to get this kid talking. "If you lie to us, I'll call the police right now and have you sent to the State Penal Institution for many big long years. Or maybe I'll sell you to another tuna boat captain."

Amber and Crystal shot me a really stern look as to tell me that this was a bit too rough for the situation. At the moment I didn't care, I had too much on my mind to take on another unsolved mystery. So I added, "Start telling the story, or Timm is going to call the police right now." With this, Timm pulled out his cell phone.

Nervously, this wide-eyed kid began telling. "Yes, yes, Mister Luke, we tell all story and more. Tat day we go overboard and swim to shore when special police come. We go hiding in bushes and get in truck with much dirty clothes and go for long ride. Man catch who gets big mad, but is knowing of bad times for our kind. He help us and we work in his business wash hotel laundry."

Theo interrupted him, "Those men were not police, but helpers for your kind of people."

"Oh, we very big sorry. Make worry and large messtake for nothing."

"Yes, you got that right," Timm added.

I wanted to get to the point, "Go on, how did you get here?"

"This worker man know other boat man who take cars to your island and we pay him with monies you give for us. Worker man much serprized. Man with wash business look at your boat, ask harbor man where you go. We wait and hide in one car then follow when chance is good."

"Pretty slick I would say," I nodded. "But how did you find Timm's warehouse once you got to Honolulu?"

"We know New Song boat is nice ship and stay in good place. We search for many days, sleep on beach and then find it in special rich man harbor."

"Okay, then what?" Theo had taken a seat by now, his fingers were drumming on the desk as he went on listening to this maddening explanation.

"We watch for you, no one be there. We take up cleaning tool and go down to New Song and begin to clean up, it big mess with seegal shit and stuff."

I was almost smiling but had to hold back. These two were not only miniature detectives and improvisers, but had street smarts working for them. Brookstone's instructions on profiling and learning how to put people to work for you was coming back to me.

Rose had stepped out from behind Winston now, getting her courage back and showing some pride in what they had accomplished.

"Many people like us work there. We work for money, people like us, give food and we live in New Song."

"You mean you stayed aboard The New Song all this time?" I asked.

Winston nodded but made sure he put this huge face of guilt on as he said, "Good for guard your boat—right-oh. No one ask who are we. Just want chores on more nice boat like new Song."

"How did you get into the boat?" Theo inquired.

"Not trouble. I know, what you say, peck lock on hatch, so simple," he answered with a full-on face of pride.

To get past the lock picking incident, Amber hurries on, "Then what?"

"One rainy day, we see mister Timm in parking lot, we run hide. He come and go. We go to office and say Mister Timm hire us to clean warehouse but no tell us where it be. Man look up number and we get taxi. We here now. Good thing, yes?" Winston was nodding his head like a chicken picking grain up before any other chicken could get it. Rose almost duplicated the exact movement as though they were giving themselves approval and wanting us to do the same.

I tell you, we were a bit impressed with the ingenuity and creativity that these two street urchins and castaways had shown. I already knew that Amber and Crystal were cooking up some plan to keep these young escapees or at least find a place for them. This was a long-running story, starting with our rescue from off their sunken tuna boat, all the way to this hide out in Honolulu. I had to smile, knowing that if their skills could be developed, in time they might become Mr. and Mrs. President! I shook my head thinking that I was sounding like Brookstone, always looking for the angle, and looking for those who had hidden skills waiting to be tapped. Hey, why not? I thought.

"Do you have any money left that we gave you?" I asked.

"Oh yes. We make money wash hotel tings, now have more and pay back what you give us."

"How much more did you make over what we gave?" Theo asked out of curiosity.

"You and Mister Jay and others give $200 each. We spend this to come here, but now we got more, like 600 cause we work much for rich boats—do good work, people like us team work."

Rose shyly contributed her say-so, "We mock berry good team, work hard as one, damms good teems."

Crystal laughed and asked, "Hey, can we go to work for you two? Looks like you very smart business people."

Winston's face lit up like a Christmas tree; he knew he had scored a place in our hearts. "We hire, we pay big time wages, okay-dokay."

We were all smiling by this time. I took a few moments to pronounce my judgments, looked over at the rest of the judges. "I think you two might be worth keeping around. We will take you to our new big fancy ship and train you in several positions. You will continue to learn English and you will make a good wage. You will have your own room and eat like kings and queens. It will not be a free ride, but for now, we'll keep you out of the immigration system and out of very not so good jail. How does this sound to you?"

Winston's face took on a worried look, "Oh Mister Luke, this is good deal we think. Is new ship like old tuna boat or nice like New Song?"

I thought for a moment and then took a sheet of paper and folded it length wise and laid it on the desk. I then took a stick of gum and broke it in half and laid it down near the end of the paper. I then said, "This paper is sample of ship size. This gum is The New Song on the top of the new ship. You understand what I show you here?"

Crystal guffawed and said, "This kid has got you talking like him now."

Winston was excited and spoke to Rose in Taiwanese. Then said, "Very big ship then, big big one like tourist ship in home harbor, yes."

"Yes, you want to work and live with us there?" Amber asked.

"Oh much, this graditude heaven." He paused, looked around a bit worried and said, "No need be dis king stuff or queen too soon."

This really broke us up but Winston and Rose stood there with a puzzled look on their faces. They were serious about not being promoted so soon to being kings and queens. After this dramatic exchange, the girls cooked up lunch and then we took our two castaways back to The Inheritance. When they saw The New Song sitting on the back deck of The Inheritance, Rose cried out something about big ship make baby ship. We handed this wonder team over to Amber, Crystal and Gretchen to help them find their way. Gretchen and Jay were absolutely astonished at the story we told them. Jay had tears in his eyes saying, "Now that is a great end to a sad story!"

Gretchen in a rather soft voice of wonder said, "When hope dies dreams will crumble! And this duo makes me realize that dreams come true."

The girls assigned the two refugees to Esther's kitchen crew. They would become the ship's all-round service attendants. Winston and Geordie, Esther's son, became good friends and excellent working companions. Esther took on the role of an all around mother and bloomed in her new role. She called the crew her garden!

Our kitchen crew was fast becoming the international entertainment center of The Inheritance. Esther, along with her many other endowments, was a talented flute player and was teaching the kitchen help how to play the flute. So, often we heard someone walking around the ship playing haunting tunes, but yet, they were played with a perfect tone. This mysterious flute player turned out to be Geordy, her son. But it was Winston who, in his effort to learn, went screeching around the halls on the way to his chores. Finally, Timm was elected to ask Esther to please confine the walk-about flute players to the music room and let them learn without disturbing the entire ship.

Oh wonderful was this ship life, a bit confining but most interesting, if you were a psychologist or a social scientist! We found out later that Wally had been keeping extensive notes on all the goings on aboard. He thought he might write a book one day, or submit his findings to some mental institute.

Esther decided it might be a nice idea to have a welcome aboard dinner for Winston and Rose. With our encouragement she prepared a feast to be held the next day.

The table was set with abundant platters of food, pies, salads, dishes of rice, potatoes and plenty of gravy. It was a feast to behold. Now in the middle of this banquet table, there sat a massive golden glazed turkey. Now this thing had to weigh at least 30 pounds.

After everyone was seated and our two new guests were seated directly in front of the turkey, Winston's eyes were locked onto the bird, almost mesmerized with it. Finally, we all stood up and had Jay speak a prayer and give a welcome to Winston and Rose. Winston was dumbfounded, for the first time without words. After a few moments of silence, Amber asked Winston if he was okay, and if he would like to say a few words before we started to eat.

He murmured a few phrases and still, his eyes were fixed on that golden glazed bird. "I no believe this. Now I know why American so fat and big."

Now this statement certainly took all of us back. Amber was trying to figure out what he was trying to say when he went on, "I never believe chicken could grow so huge, just too huge to believe!"

Then suddenly, everyone understood and a roar of laughter broke out. Winston and Rose thought that the huge turkey was a chicken. Apparently, they had never seen a roasted turkey. They acquainted the size of Americans with huge chickens.

Needless to say, the welcoming dinner was a great success.

# Chapter 7

# Big Change In The Works!

Time stops for no one, and world events are the worst time keepers.

Our arrangements with the group finally worked itself out and we thought we were scheduled to sail for Western Samoa. However, Amber and Crystal, along with the help of Brookstone and Wally, with the help of the Navy, finally got hold of one of the port ministers in Western Samoa.

With some serious exchanges, they, strangely enough, located the medical supplies destined for the medical outposts. It was all a sham. Nothing had been lost, everything in those island nations is run on bribes and payoffs. So a bit of green, wired to the right account, suddenly opened doors. The lost medical supplies were found and were on their way to our facility of volunteer doctors. Brookstone had taught his security team how to press the right buttons, and most of the time those buttons were connected to cash accounts. Yes, we had to pay; but in the long run, those bribes or payoffs saved us plenty of time and a great deal of money. It was another lesson placed into our book of knowledge.

We began making jokes about the MAVIN team becoming an international ATM machine!

The one great thing was that we had proof we had made the right decisions by creating a well running data research team with Amber, Crystal, Gretchen, and Wally too. No doubt, the wise use of technology saved us a long haul to the mid-Pacific, and now we had to work out the other problem in Java. It was the same old thing. A hi-jacked load of medical supplies had disappeared and waylaid while waiting in the port. We had several investigators searching out the mis-allocated cargo. We were waiting for everything to come together before we made a decision to sail further into the sunset or the Indonesian Islands.

Unexpected events are always changing the boundaries of great plans and human destinies, and so it was again for us. It was early in the morning when every siren in Honolulu began to sound. The Pearl Harbor terminal speakers blasted out a warning. There had been a massive 9+ earthquake between Hawaii and the South American coastline and a massive tsunami wave was reported to be on its way.

Every ship that could move was warned to get out of the harbor—just in case. Every possible link to someone 'in the know' was up and running high with serious communications activated. Ships were moving out. We ourselves were up and alert, tuning into every possible station and to ships that were out to sea. How dangerous this might turn out to be, we had no idea.

But we did not want to be trapped in a harbor when a wall of water came roaring in. We had experienced this kind of event on Palmyra Island when a great sucker wave hit the island. We barely escaped with our lives, and this one might be ten times worse.

The city of Honolulu had been alerted and people were being asked to move up into higher areas. The reports kept coming in. if the waves hit either Peru or Chile, or maybe both of them, we would be called to evacuate the medical outpost workers in the back regions of those countries. This was one of our stops, and now it looked as though we had no choice but to head in that direction.

My grandparents, using the Mitchner Foundation, had founded several medical facilities in the back wilderness of the isolated areas of those vast mountain regions. We had been in contact with the medical assistants there for several weeks. They had already reported to us that their facility had been damaged in the far reaching quake. The latest reports informed us that the facility had been shaken to pieces and they were completely cut off from all help. The roads and every means of communication was disrupted. Many people and villages were buried under massive landslides. Great canyons had been opened; with geysers of steaming waters shooting into the air, no one knew which direction to go. Several volcanoes had been set into minor eruptions with the entire southern region of Peru and parts of Chile having been devastated.

The Inheritance was the tenth ship to depart the harbor. This alert was being taken seriously, after the earthquakes in Japan and the following tsunami wave that had destroyed so many villages and wiped out thousands of people.

I contacted Dustin asking him to find out as much as he could about our medical outposts in Peru and in northern Chile. Most of the information was sketchy, to say the least. We were well off-shore now and trying to put all the data together to make the best decision. Everyone was wide awake, somewhat nervous, fully alert, with the central control office and the communications center running at high speed. Each and every computer, all the satellite connections with outside news agencies and with all our own contacts were bringing in reports. The Inheritance was fully crewed and we were well supplied. We had been preparing to sail to Western Samoa, then into the Malaysian area to supply our medical outposts, but that issue was now resolved. We were waiting for updates on a possible tsunami that could hit Hawaii.

News of the earthquakes exact location came to us several hours into our outside move. The quake had taken place roughly 100 miles west of the southern coastal regions. First reports stated that a great rip or trench had been opened up in the floor of the sea. They were estimating it to be 100 miles long, 2 miles across and they were not yet sure of its depths. Strange reports of boiling water and geysers shooting up out of the ocean indicated that undersea volcanoes had broken open. All types of sludge and ash was floating thick above what the scientists were considering the new rip in the bottom. All the remaining towns and villages near the coast, whichever survivors were left alive, were being evacuated to higher areas.

They were not sure yet, but it seemed a few small islands had disappeared. Most of the western population of Peru lived along the coastal areas and if there were to be a tsunami to come ashore there, the devastation would be horrendous. So far the Hawaiian Coast Guard, along with all the naval emergency stations, had not reported or detected a tsunami wave coming towards Hawaii.

Large waves were expected to hit the east sides of the islands but the geological contours of the ocean bottom would influence the direction of the massive surges. The quake had certainly disrupted the ocean floor and reports of great wave action were already coming out of that area. Again, we had been forced into unexpected decisions and had been contacted by the Coast Guard, inquiring of our destination. They had heard that we were considering a run to the southern South America coast areas and if this was true, they wanted to send relief supplies along with us for the devastated areas. Before we could give them an answer we had to clear up our problems in the Java outpost.

It was Wally who was handling the Navy contacts. Since we were ready to sail, they offered to help settle the supply issue in the Asian area if we would handle their shipments to the relief efforts in Peru, and possibly Chile. So far, Wally was working out the details with several naval officials of the Pacific fleet, asking them to deliver those waylaid supplies to the medical outposts and evacuate any of the personnel that wanted out. In exchange, we would deliver their relief supplies to the devastated coastal towns of Southern Peru. Nothing like making a deal with the military!

Everything had been put on hold for the time being. We were in contact with Timm at the warehouse and now, we were considering loading up the Tripper onto The Inheritance and bringing it with us. We had planned on retrieving it on our way back from the eastern outpost deliveries but with this disaster in Peru and our need to extract our people from that area, we could take the RV van with us aboard. No need to make two trips back and forth across the Pacific, not if the Navy would handle the Java chore for us.

We could have the Palmyra treasure loaded into the Tripper and have Timm bring it to the Pearl Harbor terminal and load it into the lower sea van area. We had to get back into the terminal in order to have the Navy load up at least four sea vans of supplies. They also wanted to ship four jeeps along with hundreds of small supply crates. This was fine with us as long as there was room and they secured them in place. There would still be plenty of space for the Tripper van and any other equipment or supplies.

Already, the word had gotten out about The Inheritance headed for Peru, and the Red cross, along with several other disaster relief organizations, were asking us to carry their crates of emergency supplies. The Inheritance was being asked to become a vital link for supplies that could reach the devastated areas sooner than anyone else.

One reason for this request was that The Inheritance was small enough to get into the coastal bays and ports. Other than a few larger airports in the North, most of the airports in mid Peru were closed due to damage. Our smaller coastal freighter would be the perfect vessel to move along the shore and deliver the supplies. Especially if the roads and bridges had been torn up.

Now Timm, JJ, Tanya and Abby were reconsidering their stay in Honolulu. For the New Song was now aboard the Inheritance and would be reconditioned as we made our way going east across the Pacific, to eventually sail back up to Newport. The Tripper could be loaded up within a few hours and as The Inheritance was being loaded with its emergency cargo there would be time for Timm to button up his warehouse. This would mean that we would sail with a full compliment of crew and MAVIN Group members.

We were thankful that Benjamin Highmanner and his two sons were with us. They knew their stuff about how to load and balance cargo into a freighter, which was all new to us. Now our crew would learn from the best.

I was almost afraid to call Dustin, but I did. "So you guys are going to be sidetracked all over again?" was his first inquiry.

"Well, yes, looks like it. But can you understand how these things keep coming our way? Hey, I did not ask for an earthquake, but heading east instead of west might be the best thing for all of the crew aboard. We hear that the Asian pirates are on a rampage. Who knows, we could be caught in one of their attempted take-overs."

"Bet you Brookstone was looking forward to a little war with those pirates," Dustin guffawed.

"True, I would say so. But let them get their freighter rebuilt and go fight the pirates with their own ship."

"Oh by the way, what did they decide on The Sparrow, are they going to do anything with it?" Dustin asked about the second Mitchner freighter we had traded to the Hearst Castle Security Forces for their efforts with the Mexican cartel in Balboa.

"They have already authorized it to be rebuilt. Benjamin sent word to his crews back in Vancouver to get started, and it is already in dry dock being torn down. I do know that they're going to rename it, but that is their business."

"Listen Luke, I'll keep you informed on what I am hearing about the southern quake, but if you guys do sail that way, you better be careful. You're gonna have thousands of people wanting to board you, and it might be that even the Chilean and Peruvian Navy might want to confiscate The Inheritance."

"Ok boss. We'll go careful and will do everything to stay safe. Please update us with everything you get."

A few of us were sitting around waiting for the final negotiations with the Navy when Winston came through the door, with Rose tagging onto him like a tail. He was excited and wasn't even half way to my desk when he blurted out, "Boss Luke, we go too!"

At first I didn't know what he was even asking, but Crystal caught on right away. "Apparently, they think we are going to leave them behind."

I leaned over my desk and said, reassuring them, "No Winston, we do not leave you behind. You go to Peru and America with us."

"Oh so good, better go America and this place called Pru. No worry go to Asia and bad pirates and get inslavem."

"No, don't worry. Just don't go out on deck to show yourself to immigration officers or port officials. And you be good. You understand this? No Policee," I said.

"Many good hopes, wee much savvy and we bet your boots, we do and hide plenty!"

JJ and Abby took young Winston and Rose under their wings and soon, there were prolonged games and lessons exchanged. From what we could tell, Winston had picked up poker like a Midwest tornado would snatch up a mobile home park. In time, we knew that JJ would likely become one of Winston's mobile homes...no doubt!

# Chapter 8

# Julie Goes Missing!

Any subject with a history of endless troubles,

is like a chain that will not have a hard time linking up with more!

A strange new phenomena had begun to manifest with me. The hair on my neck would stand up whenever one of the girls, including Gretchen, would be headed my way. It seemed as though they were forever bringing me off-the-wall news or challenges. I told this to Theo and he burst out laughing, "Thank goodness. I thought I was the only one with this hair raising phenomena." He added, "And it even works through walls, no matter where we're at."

"They must have some magnetic transonic powers manifesting within their femininity, or something like that," I whispered, not wanting anyone to hear, not least the girls.

Too late. It was amazing, but they must have heard me. For my neck hairs were beginning to rise. I had been on the run, on the go, and on the phone for six hours and had finally taken a few minutes to rest. It was Gretchen that came looking for me between phone calls, "Hate to bother you Luke, but think we got a problem here again."

Without even looking around, I just shook my head considering this magnetic tran-sonic thing, "Toss it onto the pile; I'll get to it when I find time."

"I think you better put this one at the top of your pile, Mister Mitchner. It's Julie again. She's gone missing."

"Not her again. What do you mean gone missing?" I asked in frustration.

"She is not aboard. We've looked everywhere for her. The last time anyone saw her was while we were at the Pearl terminal."

"Ah sheeet, did she tell anyone where she might be going? Or did she just leave ship for a few hours?"

"We searched everywhere, and we went through her things in her room. It looks like she did some packing. A duffle bag was taken and many of her daily outfits were missing. This tells us that she did a get-away routine."

"What else did you do in trying to locate her?"

"We didn't want to bother you. We figured she had to have someone waiting for her at the dock or she had to take a cab out of port."

"Yes, and then what?" I asked.

"Crystal, our number one tracer, got on the phone, contacting every taxi cab service in the area. Sure enough, a cab had picked one woman up near here late last night. The cab driver said he dropped her off at the Inter-Island Hotel in Honolulu."

"So far, so good," I replied. I was also happy that these girls were making some decisions on their own and taking up some of the responsibility.

"Jay and I shot over there as soon as we got this news but she was not there. But the desk clerk informed us that a woman did come in late but soon left with one of the hotel guests."

"This ain't looking so good, I got a funny feeling here."

"I think your feeling is spot on, by the description of this hotel guest, it sounded like Thomas."

"Don't tell me, they are checked out...right?"

"That is a reasonable deduction. That very hour, the clerk reported they departed."

"So, she was really in contact with her partner in crime, so much for her religion," I answered. My mind went into high gear on this one. For she could easily throw a monkey wrench into our plans with the Palmyra treasure still at the warehouse. I was already calling Timm immediately and asked the girls to call a meeting. I called Timm and told him of Julie's departing the ship and likely meeting Thomas. How far this plot with Thomas had gone I did not know, but I wanted to put a wall up between us and their conniving.

"Timm, I cannot say what they might have in mind, but we have to move on this before they move on us."

"How's that Luke?" Timm asked. I could hear a rough edge to his voice.

"First of all, we are going to have a quick meeting about this. But here's what I want you guys to do. Right now, load up the Palmyra treasure into the Tripper. Don't Leave any of the coral chunks or dust in the vault. Each of you go through every inch of the warehouse and wipe off every surface that might have our prints on it. Drive the Tripper over to the Pearl terminal #12 and we'll bring her aboard."

Theo and Crystal came into the office while I was giving instructions. "Put a for sale sign out front and mark it sold. I would like to clean the place out. Make it look like no one has been there for a time. If the police do show, they won't find a thing. I'll send a few of our people back with you when you deliver the Tripper. Looks like it might be better for you and JJ and the girls to come with us now. The Inheritance is most likely headed for Peru instead of the far east."

"Guess you heard about the big quake and the possible tsunami wave that might be headed our way," Timm remarked.

"Yes, we have been asked to change our plans and we are going to head for Peru or the western coast of South America with a load of emergency supplies for the Navy and several relief organizations."

"That means no long trip to the islands in the far east?"

"Yes sir, that is correct. Bring all your stuff that you'll need, won't be getting back here for a while. Besides, Thomas and Julie will most likely show up there to try and get the treasure back."

"Okay, will do. JJ will probably have a hundred questions about this sudden move, what should I tell him?"

"Just have him call me if he has questions, and remind him that he'll be getting out of school for another few months on this one. Also have Tanya and Abby let their parents know what is happening."

Amber's head popped in the door and said that the meeting is ready to go in the conference room. I said a hurried goodbye to Timm, grabbed up my cap and headed for the meeting. Oh yes, about that cap, my new cap, the girls had made me hang up my cowboy hat. They presented me with a very nice admiral's hat, with gold leaf sewn onto it. Even though I was not the captain, it still gave me that presence of authority.

Everyone was there, Gretchen had gone over the events and everyone had been talking about what to do. I got right to it. I explained my idea of the getting the Palmyra treasure out of the warehouse and having Timm drive the Tripper to the docks, where we would put it into storage aboard The Inheritance. The For-Sale and Sold signs might be a deterrent to Thomas and this crazy woman for a day or so, if at all.

Wally spoke up, "It might be a good idea to have a couple of watchmen to patrol the warehouse, just in case they want to get revenge or some crazy thing like that. This way they cannot move in and if they persist, leave them a note that the Honolulu police are going to activate their warrants."

"You think that Thomas and Julie will fall for this?" asked Theo.

"Doesn't really matter. But if they do notify the authorities and a raid does take place, they're gonna have one heck of a time explaining a crazy disappearing treasure story. And then be arrested on those warrants."

"You think we'll have time to do all that?" asked Amber.

"We can only try. Let's fake it for now and figure it out later."

"Yes, it might be better to bring the Palmyra treasure with us aboard The Inheritance. That will give us something to do while sailing over to Peru," Brookstone agreed.

The meeting ended. Timm had called letting us know that the treasure was being loaded up inside the Tripper. They had begun the clean up and JJ went for the sign to post on the building. Timm was hesitant in driving the Tripper over to the terminal, for it was loaded up with the gold chain links, along with all the random stones, coins and jewelry pieces. You could hear it in his voice. It was a bit shaky as he tried telling me, "Do you realize that there had to be at least 35 million dollars worth of treasure there?" and he was really concerned.

"Tell you what Timm, if you are really bothered with this, I'll ask Morgan and Jasper to get over there and help you. They'll drive the Tripper back. By the time you get things buttoned up there, they should be there. Then all of you come back with them and that should work out better for you."

"Wow, thanks Luke. I was overwhelmed after handling all that treasure stuff. We'll be ready for them."

"How did you handle all the pieces of the treasure?"

"We loaded everything into five gallon buckets with seal down lids. It made it easy to just carry everything into the Tripper."

"Nice touch Timm. Our gang should be there within a half hour. And we might hire a couple of guards to patrol your place in case Thomas and Julie think to break in, looking for the goodies."

Again, things were moving along way too fast for me. Even though it was pushing things along faster than we wanted, it was better than having to deal with Thomas and Julie directly. There could be a confrontation which we did not want.

The thing I dreaded most at this point was to have Dustin contact me asking why we were getting side tracked again. This time I had what I thought would be a good answer, "You know Dustin, life is full of strange turns, and if you play dead too long, even your memory begins to believe you!" He failed to call.

Suddenly, we were all playing the big game of Hurry, Hassle and Hustle!

# 

# Chapter 9

# East Into The Sunrise!

No matter if we be young or old, rich or poor, great or small, we should know that we too, have placed events into motion by our influence!

Jocko, along with a harbor pilot, moved The Inheritance back into the Pearl Harbor terminal. Within a few hours, the Tripper van came driving onto the dock and made its way across a steel ramp, up into the belly of The Inheritance. Our portable lifting cranes lowered the four jeeps onto the cargo elevator, where they were lowered into the depths of the storage area. Even with the large shipping sea vans, there was still plenty of room. Before the gates to the storage areas were even locked up, we were transferring the Palmyra treasure into the second secret vault. Another phone call came through to me. It was a Navy Commander, a Thaxton Uhallie the third, and he wanted to know...

"This is Commander Uhallie, just checking with you Mitchner. Hope everything was loaded up without to much trouble, and did those four jeeps show?"

"Yes Sir, no problems so far Commander. We are arranging everything right now. What can we do for you?"

"I just wanted to confirm everything. This earthquake on the west coast did some major damage. The US Navy has some interests in that area and we need to put our medical team in there. We have a team of doctors and nurses that are headed that way. But because of the damage done to the airports and roads, especially in the south, they'll never get there for at least three weeks. But we know that you'll be there, probably within six days. So we are wondering if you would have the accommodations to take our special medical team along with you. You'll be there, and they'll help handle the sea vans and supplies for you, once you find a docking area."

My mind was racing through all the angles to this proposal. We had the accommodations and plenty of room for them, and more if need be. I couldn't see any problems with this, but I let the Commander know that we wanted to set out within a few hours. We were waiting for one other individual passenger, our one and only Max Colton, to show up before we would set sail.

"That's great. To sweeten the deal, we'll top off your fuel tanks. As you might have heard, our old friend Wally has asked us to make sure that your medical outposts, both in Samoa and Java get their supplies. We'll handle that for you, if you take care of delivery for us, that will work out nicely for the both of us. And, the medical team will bring a good supply of steaks and goodies for your crew."

"That would be nice, our tanks are about one-third down, so if you want to send over your fueler, we'll be ready. And those steaks sound good."

"The medical team is getting ready right now and should be there within an hour. Is that okay?"

"The sooner the better, but we'll wait and get their accommodations ready."

"Well, Luke Mitchner, we really appreciate this. If we can help in any other way, feel free to contact me personally. Oh yes, take care of my old friend Wally, that guy is a whole university bound up in a hairy body." He laughed and signed off.

After his disconnect, I informed Jocko and Jay that we had a medical team going with us. "They'll be here in an hour or so. Also, the Navy is sending over a fuel tanker and giving us a top off for helping them out."

"That'll save us some time," Jay looked at his watch and nodded his approval.

Just before the fuel tanker pulled up alongside us and began pumping our tanks full, Max arrived in a taxi. He stood down on the dock, looking up at us and checking out The Inheritance.

We had some fun with him as he came up the gang plank. Jay stood with his captain's hat and demanded to see Max's ID. Max thought this was funny but Jay continued, "Never heard of you. You're not on our passenger list. Best you go to the American consulate and get registered with the government—maybe like the CIA."

"Oh hell Jay, stop playing games with me. I bet it's one of your crazy MAVIN people that put you up to this. Luke knows I'm coming. If you don't get out of my way, I'll have your captainship revoked." Max slapped Jay on the shoulder and just stood there. Finally, we stepped up laughing and greeted good old Max with more good humor.

Theo showed Max around the ship. He was impressed, especially when we took him to his cabin. I got on the loud speaker and announced, "Ship ahoy there mates, we are ready to leave. I want out of here before we get any more phone calls, so as soon as the Navy medical team arrives, we are out of here."

Everything was running like a fine clock. As soon as the tanker had topped off our fuel tanks and pulled away two US Navy trucks pulled up and the medical team piled out. There were four women and four men, all carrying heavily loaded duffle bags, who came up the walk like old pros.

Wally had come out to greet the navy folks. Upon seeing this team of so called navy medics, I had a thought that this was no ordinary team of doctors. They were a mixed bag of individuals wearing their island tans and casual garb, looking like they were going on a cruise instead of a difficult medical task. The last two men had a strange unsavory look, like they had just escaped off a police line-up. Hulky, bulky and noisome they were. While the first two gents did look like doctors, whatever doctors should be looking like. The follow-up men didn't carry themselves like doctors, but more like combat soldiers in excellent physical condition. In fact, they looked more like fighters than doctors. But I guessed that was the new standard for medics.

We greeted them and without much ado, Wally and Theo had their supply boxes brought up from the dock and took them to the tourist deck where they were shown accommodations. Theo paired them up in double cabins. It worked out just right, they were more than pleased with this arrangement.

Most all of our crew and passengers were out on deck as the ship's horn was blowing. We all went up to watch the dock slowly slide away. Amber pointed something out to me down on the main deck—Wally pushing Esther around in her wheel chair. That was interesting, for recently we had noticed that Wally and her were spending more time together. They were both what we would consider intellects with much to share. For Esther, it had to be nice to receive this attention, especially with her husband so recently being killed by a white shark. I had known Wally now for several years, going back to the Pit Stop adventure in the high desert. I knew he was a loner and I always thought that a good woman would help him attain his full potential; maybe it would come to be.

Brookstone had been observing the boarding of the team of medics from the winged bridge. When I came up to the pilot's center he had one of his peculiar contemplative looks on his face, letting me know his thoughts, "If those guys are doctors, then I'm an Arab Sultan with fifty wives and worth billions!"

Turning to him I inquired, "If not doctors, then what?"

"The nurses are probably nurses and the first two of the men look like over-worked medics who have been locked away in a mental hospital, whiter than ghosts. But the last two...Did you ever see a doctor looking like a trained warrior fresh off a battlefield?"

"You know, I did get an odd feeling, but just figured this was part of the Navy's way of doing business."

"For sure, these guys are going to do some business, just hope it isn't going to be in our markets." Brookstone guffawed.

"I'll ask Wally, he might have some answers. Let's keep our eyes open and stay alert for signs of trouble."

Brookstone was staring off into the distance as if searching the sea for an answer while speaking, "I'd suggest that you inform our crew to be on guard. It wouldn't be too difficult for these guys to take over this ship."

"Ah come on Brookstone, what would they want to do that for?"

"Listen Mitchner. If I remember correctly, we have two different treasures hidden and locked up in our vaults. How much they are worth, I got no idea, but the bunker treasure is well into the millions, while the Palmyra treasure with those gold chain links got to be an easy twenty-five mil. I think there might be a motive—if they've gotten wind of the treasures. Don't you think?"

"Wow, you're right. But how would they know what we have?"

Brookstone asked me how we had come to invite these doctors aboard. I thought back about the Navy Commander, Thaxton Uhallie, who had called me and authorized fuel to be added to our tanks. He seemed legitimate, but maybe I'd have Wally look into this a little deeper.

Theo came along smiling. I figured he had been hidden away with Crystal somewhere, but he got into the last part of our conversation. "Well now, if there ever were a time to get sick or get injured, it would be now. For we got five doctors and four great nurses aboard to handle just about anything."

"Wonderful, I'll tell everyone your suggestion," I shook my head thinking that Theo had been hanging around with JJ too much.

While we were pulling away, our attention was caught by a taxi screeching around the corner, flying out onto the dock. The doors flew open and a woman and a man began to run towards the edge of the dock. They were yelling and waving. Behold, it was Thomas and Julie waving some papers around and yelling for us to come back. Almost everyone along the rails started booing them and was shaking their heads with a 'no way,' 'no can do' answer.

Thomas began flipping us off, and Julie just sank to her knees and she looked like she was crying. It was sad in a way, but too bad, I thought. We had enough of their threats; they were on their own now. Goodbye troubles. We were on our way!

Ah yes, we were on our way, but our troubles with these two was not over yet. We would learn later on how close we had come to falling into their ugliest trap yet.

Brookstone went on while pointing down, "Strange that your buddy Thomas and Julie would show up almost at the exact time as those doctors, even though they were a bit late."

Brookstone tossed out the thought that maybe they did not know we had two treasures aboard, "Maybe just the one and that alone was huge. They could have figured out that we had the treasure aboard, maybe by following us or watching the warehouse, or whomever."

Shortly thereafter I gathered our main crew and advised everyone to be careful, keep an ear open for any troubles from the medical team or anything unusual. Wally had a good idea, "Why not assign young Winston and his gal as the medics' cabin stewards. Tell them to play dumb and no speakee English but listen and watch. This would put our eyes and ears among them."

"You mean turn our new passengers into spies?" Crystal put it out directly.

"Yeah, sort of, why not? We'll take measure and maybe gain a tiny bit of insight to other motives they might have."

I didn't like how Thomas and Julie managed to get to us so quickly. It was as though someone had told them to get aboard, but we were fortunate enough to be moving out when they arrived.

"That was a bit strange, I thought so too," Timm mentioned his suspicion, especially since he had seen two of the rougher looking doctors standing alone, watching the scene below and shaking their heads, about something.

Then The Inheritance blasted out its booming horns. We could feel the engines begin their throbbing underfoot as we moved down the Pearl Harbor channel and out to sea. Our course was set for a southeast by east compass heading, and soon the Diamond Head crater was disappearing over the horizon.

We were on our way again, only this time it was in the opposite direction we had planned for. There was no doubt, the way things had been going for us, adventure and challenge had become part of our routine vocabulary. Everyone was asking what adventure or calamity were we sailing into next? We thought for sure that JJ would post a betting board up for big bucks on what might happen.

# 

# Chapter 10

# The Crossing!

The imagination is very capable of dreaming up a thousand worries a day; and if you're not careful, all your strength in worrying will be made to pay for imagination's endless travels far away.

Even though the wave activity began coming our way, no reports of a tsunami was heard nor seen yet. However, we were intercepting every radio call and satellite conversation between the South American coast line and us. There came a report, of not just one massive wave that had rolled up onto the Peruvian coast, but two. The second wave was a little different and came from a second earthquake out to sea.

Those waves had swept onto shore and roared over villages, towns, and washing into the many valleys along the coastline. There was no way of estimating the damage. However, periodic reports were given, and it was way worse than anyone imagined.

Benjamin and his two sons, Elmo and Ollie, were confident in our two great engines and felt that we could run them at full power and cut off at least a day of our estimated time. We went with their recommendations and put The Inheritance to the test.

Wally became the contact man with the Navy medical team. He reported that they did know their stuff about our outpost facility, but he also felt that there was more to this team than just medicine. He gave them a tour of the ship, excluding the lower deck areas, which were off limits and locked up for our use only, where we had our work areas for the clean up of the treasure.

The first evening's dinner was quite the gathering, even a surprise to me. For the first time the entire MAVIN team except for Dustin and Nadia were gathered.

There was Jocko, Jay and Gretchen, Theo and Crystal, Amber and I, JJ and Tanya, and it looked like Timm was getting closer to Abby.

Wally reserved a place next to him for Esther, along with Brookstone, Max, Jasper, Morgan and Mica, and we had our own doctor-medic, Mike Tregubov, who sat with Manya, his latest patient off the damaged Explorer, who had decided to stay with us rather than fly back to California after the Trans Pacific race.

Jaden had gone back to the Hearst Castle Security ranch with Brookstone's father Robbie Kaamin. Theo's father, Jonathan, had also returned to Newport along with Dustin and his wife.

Then we had young Winston and Rose. Besides this we had Benjamin and his two sons Elmo and Ollie, with their engine techs, Nigel Corbon and Imogene the midget, along with Esther, her son Geordy and her kitchen crew.

The medics introduced themselves as Oliver Clinton, John Parks, Samuel Smith and Jake Jones. Then the nurses, Debby Stuart, a tiny woman Darlene Cradle, a younger nice looking lady, Dallas Crewstone, and one stern faced woman, well worn by time, Dasha Sleven. There were a few others off on their own as the system engineers, who had to remain on duty.

My brain was spun out with all these odd names. We certainly had a strange mix of passengers and crew members aboard. Our meals together were never dull, and it was nice having these four additional nurses aboard, sort of helped in the balance of women to men. Never thought I'd have to concern myself over such a thing, but it was there. Do you realize that such an imbalance could start a war, I thought. And China and their shortage of women came to mind. Then the Moslems, you had to get yourself blown to pieces in order to go to some desert in the sky and get your 77 virgins, Nah, balance on earth was better. Jocko seemed to be coming around more often now that the four nurses were getting around the ship, and Jocko was seen giving Dallas a walk about almost every evening. Hey I thought, who knows, she might be the best thing for him since fresh air!

Then, if this team of eight doctors or medics were something other than doctors, they were doing a good job of hiding it. My concern bore fruit after a few days at sea. There were no restrictions on anyone who wanted to walk around the ship and visit the gym or the library, but the working rooms were off limits. It was Crystal who ran into one incident that she settled for herself, which Amber later informed me of. It took place in the library with this so called doctor, the big crude one. Crystal was there on her own searching for history books of Peru, when this Smith character came up behind her and ran his two hands over her posterior. From what Amber told me, Smith got the shock of his life when an upper back kick caught him directly in the groin. Crystal turned to give him a final jab as he was bent over, and he then tumbled to the floor as she departed the library with her books. I was wondering why we didn't see Smith at the dinner table after this, guess he was nursing his lower body injuries. No other incident had been heard of after this, and no, we did not tell Theo!

That balance I mentioned with the four traveling nurses became a shipboard game for all. It was hard to keep track of the couples that would go wandering off and disappear. So what we did was to create a hide and seek game using the ship's cameras and listening devices. If you were on your own or were bored, you could come sit in the spy room and use a joy stick to check out each cam on the ship. You could follow people down long corridors and use the speaker system to let them know they were being watched.

This became quite the game—to find places to stay out of the hunter's eye. Now and then you would learn that there was an entire gang of players up in the computer lab, all trying to follow you. It was funny, but in time became a pain. You might be thinking a romantic moment in the sunset and just about ready to make that really special move on your honey when suddenly a nearby speaker blasts out, "Got you. Do your parents know where you're at?"

If anyone happened to disappear into a room, we would send Winston, Rose, and Geordie directly there to deliver loud knocking, and when they did open, they received a bowl of popcorn and a platter of sliced onions and hot mustard to go with really stinky cheese with horseradish and some Russian style salami, really powerful stuff. It was fun to see how our ingenious crew got into a humorous and large scale game of birth control!

The fourth day out to sea we ran into a rain storm that was so heavy, that our decks seemed like swift rivers flowing, we were like a submarine moving along underwater. This was a great test for The Inheritance. Benjamin Highmanner and his sons were all over the ship, taking notes and measuring stress points; they seemed to be happy with the results. Personally, I thought that we were going to sink under all the water which was pouring down on us. But some people are prone to dedication and the pure preservation of their reputation. This was easily displayed with the Highmanner family; it could have been their strict German heritage. We knew that our ship, The Inheritance, had received the best workmanship and a top rating at the hands of the Highmanner family. We were more than thankful.

Some of our passengers might have become curious about our daily disappearances, when we took the hidden elevator into the workshop areas where we would enter into the vault chambers to put our time in cleaning and shining the loose stones from the Palmyra treasure. It was Gretchen and Jay that had the knowledge of bringing out the beauty of the intricate gold pieces. We would go into great detail about the many miniature designs. We called it the work room. This is where the vaults and the deep secret interior area existed. The way this area had been built into the ship was nothing less than ingenious. No one could tell there was a sound-proof work area behind solid bulkheads. There were special codes that would open a passageway into this area, with the walls made sound proof. The MAVIN members would take their turn at cleaning and organizing the Palmyra treasure first.

With all of us working our shifts, it only took a few days for the entire treasure to be cleaned and classified. It was amazing to see the history and story that these artifacts were revealing. Many of the pieces of jewelry that we broke loose from the encrusted coral were carvings of birds and animals.

We examined each piece under a high powered electronic microscope. Each piece was photographed and weighed, with a visual description added to its file. Every piece told a story, but it was the golden links and the symbols cut into each one that began to really show, or tell, a tale.

Gretchen was proving herself to be our Inca and Mayan artifacts and history expert. She did not know it all, but with Amber and Crystal's research they began to unravel many of the mysteries that went along with some of the more elaborate pieces. We came to understand that much of our Palmyra treasure went back beyond the Inca empire. According to Gretchen we possessed some even more valuable pieces from the Olmecs, the Mayas, the Toltecs, and the Aztecs, peoples prior to the Incans.

Gretchen spent most of her time examining the symbols on those six golden links. Jay and Gretchen were both baffled at the mystery those symbols were presenting. Each link had differing symbols, but each one had a center theme of what appeared to be a three circle emblem with differing features. They seemed to appear as a water symbol at the edge of an animal's head. We spent many hours trying to make some sense of this repeated symbol.

It was Crystal who came up with an idea that put us onto a new pattern of thought. We went with this and Gretchen made her discernment known, "I think that the chain itself is a symbolic road, maybe a road map, you might say, not just a chain of links. It eventually begins to climb or wrap its way up a mountain. That mountain either looks like a head of an animal of sorts, or is connected with a symbolic animal, linked back to the Incan or Aztec culture." She showed us various drawings she had made. Using the backdrop of the Andes Mountains and inputting the ancient Inca roads known to be in existence, there seemed to be a possibility in her discernments. "Incredible. If that is so, we have to begin looking for a mountain path which might look like an animal, and a peak with an animal's head or named after a bird," Jay spoke up.

"Okay, we are assuming that each of these links carry a map on them. This was most likely done in case the chain was ever dismantled. Each link would tell the way to a greater treasure or a place where the full chain has been hidden."

"Could the chain itself be telling us that there is a road to a special destination?" Amber offered up her point, which really made us stop and think.

We spent many hours tossing this around. Our conclusion was that these symbols were a map. This symbolic map pointed to a real place. However, the Andes Mountains ran from Bolivia in the north all the way to the tip of South America. There were thousands of mountain peaks along that range of volcanoes, peaks and valleys. Yet, these symbols had to be from the Inca dynasties which were more or less established in what is Peru today. Gretchen and the twins, Amber and Chrystal, along with Wally and Jasper would now begin a search for the animal mountain, as we were calling it. We came to understand that the symbols were a map of sorts. We decided to seek out further insight to these symbols once we reached Peru.

Jay got in contact with his father Jonathan, to see how he was doing and what he might know about the symbols. He had been into Peru and Chile and had visited many of the ancient people's cities of stone. He would get back with us as soon as he collected or found something interesting. It was only a day when Jonathan got back to us. "You know, I went onto several of my university library sites, set up for scholars and university professors, and found something interesting."

"Great. Please don't hold us in suspense," Jay asked.

"You guys are not the only ones looking for an answer to these symbols."

"What?"

"That's right. There is another person or group intensely researching that very symbol. Where they got the copy of it is not said, but it seems to be rather important to these people."

"Oh man, how would anyone know of these symbols unless they had seen them on the links?" Jay questioned.

"I don't know, maybe they're a known symbol. But so far I cannot find them in any of the registries of the ancient Inca or Aztec symbolism."

"You mean there's such a thing?" Jay questioned.

His father laughed and said, "Son, they just about have everything on earth tagged or labeled. The alphabet organizations, like the CIA, even have samples of every pile of dirt and grain of sand on earth, they got it all."

"You got to be kidding me, Dad."

"No, if you stepped in a pile of camel poop in eastern Turkey, they could tell where you've been by the dung on your foot."

Jay had put the phone on speaker so everyone else might listen, "Could you send us every bit of data you have on those other researchers? Every little bit, if you would, Wally and the twins will trace it down. This is weird."

Our computer room went into overdrive with nothing left unturned. Within a day, our team had traced the searches back to a company in Colorado. With a little more effort we soon discovered that this Colorado company was a major mining corporation, which so happened to own a number of mines throughout the world. It just so happened that they had partial ownership in several mines in Peru and three in Chile. The really striking fact on all this was their name—The Bear Mountain Mining Alliance. In turn, they were owners of the Clermont Mining Company in Canada, which was not only weird but mighty mysterious.

Amber, in her never ending drive, located purely by accident, a photo of the symbol. It was posted or sent to a mining operation, directly to a couple of mining engineers in Peru. The photo seemed to be the exact symbol from one of the gold chains. We were now wondering how a photo of such a symbol off one of our links could have gotten to these people. As far as we knew, no such links existed anywhere else in the world. But the guessing went around and came back to Thomas and Julie. They could have snapped pictures of the links when we were aboard the New Song and maybe, just maybe, they were trying to get this mining company to locate the long hidden cache of gold from the time of the conquistadors.

The shadow game was banging on the closet door and maybe, this is why Thomas and Julie were trying to get aboard.

I had to remind everyone that our main purpose for sailing to the west coast of South America was to deliver the supplies sent by the Navy and relief groups. Also, to deliver our own supplies to the Mitchner medical outposts, if they even existed. No news since those earlier calls had reached us after the second big quake. We began our inquiries with the medical team and where they might know of a safe anchorage. They had made contact with several ham radio operators trying to determine what might be going on in the area. It was not good, as far as they could tell. We would have to move slowly as we came near the coast and play it by ear.

# Chapter 11

# Life Aboard The Ship!

The great essentials of happiness: something to love, something to care about, something to hope for, and something to do!

Great despair is when any one of these is set aside, lost or neglected!

Life aboard The Inheritance went on as usual. Amber and Crystal were painstakingly giving Theo, Gretchen, JJ, and me lessons in the oriental art of defense. I have to admit, we were getting fairly good at this kick butt stuff, however, we got most of the pain. As normal, we went away with the crap beat out of us, but we were learning, so Theo said with a swollen lip.

Somehow the four nurses found out about our lessons and insisted in joining us. These four nurses were no slouches but had some nice qualities that came along with them. Once the rest of the crew found out that the nurses were taking the lessons, our gym area became over crowded. Max, Morgan, Mica, Jasper and then Elmo and Owen jammed in. It was crowded until the girls decided to split the class. What happened was the four doctors must have been enamored of Amber and Crystal, making sure they didn't miss any lessons. But after observing and interacting with Smith and Jones, the two more gruff appearing doctors, it was obvious that they knew more than we did in the defense skills. This was another clue to who these doctors really might be. We suspected they were nothing less than kick-ass soldiers of fortune, with abundant skills in killing, as Brookstone put it.

Originally, I thought Amber and I would have plenty of time together while sailing The Inheritance across the Pacific. Not so. I've never been so busy, way too busy, as far as I was concerned. I began to have my doubts about being this so-called executive having to deal with everyone else's affairs and emergencies.

Ambers skills were definitely in demand; she was in the computer center for hours at a time, monitoring and collecting and researching the minute by minute updates on the earthquakes. Several extremely violent quakes had taken place now. Something more than just the simple get-it-over quake was taking place. What it was, no one was sure as of yet. But it was serious, more than just serious, but earth shaking, if I might use that phrase. I could relate to this earthquake thing, it was as if a quake of sorts was going off within my own life. I kept wondering where the heck I was going. I wanted to get close to Amber, but it seemed as though time and events kept putting up barriers.

Besides my watch in the control center and my walks around the ship, I was constantly being called to meetings or having to listen to people's personal feelings. One such event took me by surprise. For Esther our latest kitchen chef had asked me to come see her for a few minutes. I didn't want to get involved in dinner menus, but it turned out much different. She seemed secretive when I came to see her; wheeling her chair over to a corner area, she called me over and began her talk.

"Luke, when we first met, I told you that I was a bit of a different character. Do you remember?"

Thinking back, I nodded my agreement, remembering when we stayed at her bed and breakfast on the beach in Camry. She did mention something along those lines. Now she began, "I had a vision last night. It was different and because I feel it had something to do with this ship and us, I wanted to tell you."

I was uncomfortable but had experienced several apparitional events with Amber, while we were out to sea on the New Song. And then there was Crystal with her extraordinary vision, so said, "Go for it. Tell me please."

"I saw the Inheritance weaving back and forth in a Z pattern. Danger existed all around us and there was a darkness that came over us as we moved forward. But what was strange was that I saw shadows moving around inside the ship. It was as if we were having to fight two battles at once, but they were working something out...it was rather confusing."

"In your vision, was there violence or bloodshed?"

"Not that I could recall. But it was dangerous, and those shadows as if they had two faces, that was the strangest part to me." She ended her talk and just sat back looking up at me.

"Well, Esther, I am no expert on such matters, but I'll keep this in mind and we'll be on guard for those shadows. But I got to admit, this is an unusual piece of information. And I thank you for being concerned enough to let me know."

She looked down at her watch and said she had to go check on Geordy with his school lessons and start preparing the dinner set-ups, and zipped back into the kitchen area.

Later that evening out on deck, I had time to be with Amber and told her of Esther's vision. Amber stood in the light of the last glow of the day looking out to sea. "That is certainly a strange one," she said.

"I know. This stuff is new to me in one sense; I've had to deal with all kinds of spiritual situations in my investigations, but they usually dealt with other people, not me personally."

"Okay, the weaving of the ship just might be that. Something that exists ahead of us and we'll have to do just that—weave our way through. Then the shadows, that is a little frightening. For shadows usually mean something sneaky or deceptive. Whatever it is, we at least have been given a heads-up and might be more on guard to, maybe, figure the shadow thing out, before they or it does us damage."

"You think it is that simple?" I asked.

She put her arms around me and with a smile said, "Oh Mister Mitchner, nothing is ever as simple as it might appear."

I kissed her and was thankful that I had someone to share these occurrences with. We stood there in the glow of the setting sun. The sea breeze turned cool and finally, we were able to enjoy a few sweet moments together. Just as things were getting warm with us, the ships speaker came on with Theo's voice, "Luke Mitchner, you have a call waiting. Please come to the bridge and take this call." His message was repeated several times until I lifted my arm up and waved that I had heard. So much for those special moments of shipboard romance.

It was Dustin, giving some updates on the quake and what might lay ahead for us. I thanked him and asked him to let us know how Troy and Beverly were doing, and if Thomas or Julie had tried contacting them.

I put Wally, Mica and Amber on investigating the possible secret agenda of this unusual team of doctors and nurses. But our first hint of their agenda came through our little spy, Winston. He would stop in at my office and try to explain what he had heard. He was their room steward and run-around boy. They would order things from the kitchen or deli and he would be the one to deliver it. His English was still limited but would capture certain words. These words became a puzzle that we had to assemble into some common direction. Words like radar, helicopter, damage, headquarters and company.

The computer background searches along with the personal in-depth profiling programs began to yield up further information. The four nurses were part of a navy team of qualified nurses. They had been sent out on many projects involving disasters and security tasks. Brookstone classified them as part qualified nurses and part CIA. But he was suspicious of everyone.

Then there were the first two doctors: Oliver Clinton and John Parks. The last two were not known as doctors, but were qualified in a medical first aid only program. One was a Samuel Smith while the second one was a Jake Jones. They weren't even in the navy but had been sandwiched into this team for reasons not understood. Their names certainly were not Jones and Smith. I wondered if they had used those names, wanting us to suspect them in something, then test our skills to find out more about our own operations. Crystal suggested we might bug their room, but that would be too obvious if they were anyone other than who they claimed, bugs or listening devices would only alert them. We just let them be, but kept an eye on them.

They were sending messages and emails to Thaxton Uhallie their Commander. There were a few that raised our antennae about coded messages. Wally got onto this and found out that their emails were being automatically forwarded to a third party. This third party was a concern to us. There really was no reason for this, opening up another area of investigation, and deeper our team went.

As we drew near the western coastline of Peru, we began to run into floating debris fields. At first, they were just scattered patches of vegetation. But then, as we went further, the surface of the ocean became a floating junk yard.

Huge logs, trees, roofs, dead fish by the tons, animals, and we began to see bodies and every sort of obstacle. The reports of the damage were nearly unbelievable. Entire coastal villages had been destroyed. The quakes first leveled the towns and villages and then came the Tsunami. The massive waves roared over the shores and nearly flowed ten miles across the flat areas before the waves dissipated. Then it back flushed and carried all the debris back out to sea. We were weaving, just like Esther's vision had shown, back and forth around massive piles of everything imaginable. Entire towns were broken into chunks and pieces, and it got worse as we moved within 50 miles of the shore. We had to find our way around the massive log jams. Now and then The Inheritance, as cautious as we were, would hit something. A sudden loud thud would echo through the hull and everyone would feel it. Jocko would announce that we had just hit a log jam or maybe a half submerged building. Then the reports of boiling geysers became a real hazard for us. These shooting blasts of boiling water were underwater volcanoes that had been broken open and were spewing ash, that when it touched the ocean waters, began to boil. The entire surface of the ocean for miles was like a thick gray mush. Crystal, our wise-cracker, said it looked like a bad oatmeal breakfast cereal with lumps of burnt pretzels and old raisins floating in it. Someone commented that those lumps were actually human bodies, and she shut up.

From our satellite photos we could see large yellowish circles along the fault lines in the ocean. These yellowish debris fields were miles across and turned out to be the underwater volcanoes spewing forth ash and lava, heating the water and floating to the surface. Terrible gas smells would drift across our path as we moved closer into the coastal zone.

Waves of every size would come rolling across the surface. We were told that smaller quakes were still disturbing the ocean bottom. We had to double up our watches to help spot some of the larger obstacles. There were numerous fishing boats, rafts, with long docks that we had to go around. Several fishing trawlers were moving among the fields of debris, looking for what was left of their homes and villages, their decks filled with survivors well worn down. We would stop and offer fresh water and food supplies but we could not take any survivors aboard. We had no idea what lay ahead, and it was better for the rescue boats to deliver the survivors up to the northern part of the coast area. Ports that still were open and the damage was less as you went north.

Everyone that went on deck had to be wearing breathing masks. The volcanic gases were spewing out of the water and a fog of gas began to form into clouds and drift over the waves. So much for global warming and climate change blamed on mankind I thought.

As we entered into this coastal area of debris, and while everyone was on double watch, the Smith and Jones team were seen wandering the ship, poking into every corner they could get their noses into. Fortunately, our camera systems recorded nearly all movements aboard, allowing us to tune in on their spying forages.

Winston and Rose took their spy mission seriously; without our permission going on inner room fortune hunts, looking for things you might read about in spy books. Lo and behold, Winston came up with something noteworthy and telling, about the size of a shotgun shell, tucked away in a vest pocket. He was not sure, but brought it to us, where we called Brookstone to identify what it was. We thought it might be some electronic device at first; but no, "If I got it right, this is a tiny blaster, with a timer embedded in it. It could be placed into a computer or some electric gear or even into a hydraulic system and set to go off at a certain time." Very carefully he showed us the timer on the back and with a pocket knife, pried open a tiny overlap on the front casing and pressed out a few tiny shots. It was obvious that this was some type of an explosive that could be used to do enough damage to a system, that could then shut down larger systems, possibly an entire ship. The small device even had a pull tag on it, to adhere it to a pipe or a tube of any kind.

Something flashed in my mind when I saw those tiny metal beads. Now where did I see those before?

I rolled a few of them around in my hand and then a sick feeling came over me. Remembering back to the hanger up at the Mitchner Ranch, and the broken plane that my grand parents had been killed in. There, inside the engine and hydraulic systems, those same beads had been found.

Could there be a connection?

I had Brookstone remove the firing pen from within and then reseal the device. I told Winston to return this device back to where he had taken it. "Make sure you put it back exactly and do not leave any signs that you were there," I told him that his spy mission was over. This little thing could have gotten him killed and his eyes got as big as lemons.

There was no time for leisure, everyone was on watch and had to stay alert for any geysers or sneaker waves. Esther's vision was turning out to be accurate; she definitely won points from me. I felt that the shadows were revealing themselves, but time would be the judge.

# Chapter 12

# Doctors and Nurses

Risk is a chancy delusion with a possible odd conclusion!

While visiting the kitchen for some fresh coffee, Esther tugged on my sleeve, reminding me to be on watch for the double faced shadows. I responded, "For sure. You got that weaving part right on, so maybe the shadow thing is going on at this time. We'll watch for it, and thanks," I patted her hand and went my way.

From the upper observation center I ran into the 4-D nurses sitting at the windows discussing the horrific damage that lay ahead of them. Amber and the girls were calling them the 4-D gals because of their names. The eldest was Debby Stuart, then a tiny woman named Darlene Cradle, a younger nice looking lady Dallas Crewstone, and one stern faced woman, well worn by time, Dasha Sleven.

It was easier to remember them by 4-D's! I took a seat with them wanting to know exactly where they were headed once we reached the coast. "Mr. Mitchner, we are concerned about how we'll get into the interior with our supplies. The damage reports are beyond our comprehension," Debby began.

"Just call me Luke, that will do. I know. We are following the situation right now. We'll just have to play it by ear. We have several vans to unload, along with jeeps and crates of relief supplies besides yours, to offload. How this is going to happen I really don't know, but we'll be there for you."

"That is comforting. This is a challenge beyond our capacity to deal with. We are on-the-spot nurses and can pretty well handle most situations. But this sea van supply situation is a whole other animal," Dallas the nice looking nurse expressed herself.

I went on to explain, "We are working on a couple of things at this moment. We need to find a port that is still in existence, one with a dock that can be used to unload the sea vans and all the equipment."

"How about one of those transport helicopters that can lift up a tank?" asked Dasha.

"That would be nice. But so far, the nearest helicopter of that size is probably still up north on one of the military bases."

Darlene spoke out something she had heard, and then looked over at me casually, saying, "That Smith guy was mentioning that they already had a giant transport chopper waiting for them somewhere along the coast."

Hmm, I thought, no one mentioned this to us. "Oh really. I must speak with them about this, that would solve our problems. Just maybe, we could deliver you and your medical supplies to wherever you're going."

"Didn't Gretchen fill you in on our plans about the medical outpost up in a high valley in the Andes?" Dallas sipped her tea and casually asked.

"I've been so busy, I haven't even had time to talk. I know they are trying to handle the logistics of our responsibility, figuring out where we are going to finally unload all these supplies."

Debby spoke up, "That's great. But so you know: the Navy Doctors Corp has been asked to help out at this upper facility. We'll start there and work our way down to the lower areas. By then, we will have assessed the needs in the area and more supplies will have come in and we'll begin setting up village medical outposts. We are headed for the International Doctors outpost facility up in the Majes high valley. It is pretty well due east of Pisco Bay, up through a hundred miles of deserts and canyons. It is way out there."

"That is really strange, that is the very same place we are supposed to be delivering the supplies to. This is one of the outposts and medical facilities my grandparents sponsored some years back. We are headed there first. But, from what we are hearing is that the entire area up there has been demolished. We might have to help bring out those people unless they are going to rebuild the facility."

Debby, seemingly the older nurse was astonished, "Wait a minute, you mean that Stewart and Gladys Mitchner were your grandparents?"

I nodded, "Yes!"

"That's unbelievable. I was just a young girl when they came and built the mountain outpost. In fact it was your grandmother who sponsored a group of us younger girls to become nurses. We were devastated when we heard of their deaths. We use to call them Stu and Glad. They would land a small plane up on the high desert plateaus and bring in all kinds of supplies. They were the most wonderful people." She almost broke into tears as she recalled their friendship with the Mitchner's. "Now, years later, here is their grandson bringing in supplies to us again. This is incredible and almost unbelievable."

I had to admit, this was an unexpected blessing for us. To be continuing with my grandparents' work and to meet those who were inspired by them. Well, that was more than edifying.

"Now this is something we have not yet been informed of. Please tell us everything you know," Dasha gave voice to her interests.

"Sure thing. Why don't one of you stop by the communication center, maybe every hour, and I'll keep you updated on what we have and are doing. Also, tell the doctors to come by, that we'd like to get acquainted with them. We have some satellite photos of the area coming in that might tell a whole new story."

Darlene expressed their thanks and said that would be great. This way they could begin making decisions on what they might do.

Just then, a huge boiling bubble burst out of the ocean about fifty yards from us, spouting up a filthy dirty geyser into the air. It was as if a gigantic whale was clearing its blow hole, but it went on and on. These geysers were shooting up more and more now as we came closer to the coast, and they were not only dangerous, but deadly, if they rained on someone.

Everyone's faces were pressed to the windows watching this fountain in the sea. I hurried back to my post in the communication center to see what news had come through. But all the time I was wondering about the transport helicopter the nurses had mentioned. I remembered that Winston said he overheard the two men mention something called helicopter.

Jay had just announced over the loud speakers that no one should go out on deck in case one of the boiling geysers blast up next to the ship and scald someone. "By the way Luke, one of the medics called in asking to talk with you. I told him I'd let you know as soon as you returned back to the bridge."

"Which one was it?" I asked.

"I have their names here. It was Sam Smith...and..." I interrupted him, had to laugh at this one and added, "Don't tell me but the other one is probably a Jones...right?"

"You got it my friend, a Jake Jones. Good luck on this one."

I tried thinking this information over and finally buzzed their room, got Smith on the line and let him know that I had some time if they wanted to come up to my office and talk. He replied they'd be there in a few minutes then hung up. I went over the notes that Wally had sent me on those two. I really did not want any more mysteries. I had too much on my plate to be playing games. Not knowing if these guys were dangerous or had something else up their sleeves, and then someone knocked on the door. "Come-on-in."

Both Smith and Jones came in. No doubt, they were well built, having well worn faces. They were tanned and sported a few tattoos, not quite filling the role as doctor. I introduced myself officially and shook hands with them. I waved them over to sit down and asked them to let me know what's up. "You guys want some coffee or anything else, I'll order it. I'm going to have some coffee, need to stay awake."

They nodded, saying that would be good. I notified the kitchen to send up three good mugs of hot coffee and sat back waiting for them to begin.

Smith, the better groomed one, opened the conversation, "Looks like we have run into a major situation here with this quake and disaster. We knew it was going to be bad, but not as terrible as it is."

"That's for sure," I answered.

Then Jones began. "We have a little confession to make first. You probably already know this, but we came aboard looking like a team, but we are not exactly one team. The other two guys are official navy doctors and the four women are the navy nurses but we are only field medics. We have been asked to make sure those sea vans are delivered to the right people. One of them is to be offloaded with a number of assorted crates at Pisco, to whoever is in charge there. Then two of them are to go with the nurses, to a high mountain medical facility in the Majes Valley, while the last one goes to a mining camp above the Majes Valley. If it is possible we are supposed to anchor in the port of Pisco in southern Peru. From the port, we can air-lift the vans up into the mountains, while the other crates and containers can be unloaded at the bay. The bridges and roads have been wiped out unless we put together a mule train. This Majes Valley is one of the most remote settlements in the entire Andes Range. But he mule train is out; the containers will have to be flighted up to the area now. This mining operation has won favor with the government of Peru because new minerals have been discovered in the area, so the medical facility is perfectly located for the possible proposed operations. The International Doctors Core has an excellent reputation and we want to help. This is where the two doctors and four nurses are headed. We are to make sure they get there safe and sound. However, reports are telling us that the facility has pretty well been damaged."

Just then, young Geordy came in carrying a tray with mugs of coffee and several pastries. Leave it up to Esther, she'll take care of us every time. He sat the tray down on my desk, bowed and left the room. I gestured for them to take as they wanted. We spent a moment sipping our coffee and munching on turnovers.

"You mentioned flighting those containers to the outposts, by helicopter, I'm guessing. So with all this disaster ahead, do you have one lined up?" I had a few pages of notes from Wally about these two and wanted to see if I could fit the pieces together by using their answers.

Smith answered, "We are to unload the jeeps and release them to the military. The other smaller containers and crates will also go to whoever is in charge at Pisco. In exchange, the Peruvian army is supposed to give us the use of a transport chopper to haul the other three vans up to the mountain outposts."

"So what is the problem with how things are turning out?" I asked.

They looked at each other and pointed out the window. "It appears that the Pisco Bay docks have been torn to pieces and we are not sure if there will be any place to unload all this stuff, no less get it up into the Andes."

I opened my top drawer and pulled out several satellite photos of the area we were supposed to anchor in to deposit the vans and the medical team. I slid them over and they began to scan the photos. "Oh man, this is impressive, you really got some connections to have gotten these photos. I don't think that even the military in Peru has connections like this," Sam Smith stated as he studied the photos.

Didn't want to say much, but The Inheritance was extremely well equipped and we had direct links to several military and geo-marine and environmental satellites. I pointed out one small area inside the bay, "You can see Pisco Bay; there is still one portion of a dock left. We are headed there, if we can get through the debris field. We also have to stand back, there are hundreds of people camped out among the rubble who will be trying to get aboard."

"That is a given. But the military down here gets pretty rough. They might want to board the ship and take over."

Our team had discussed all the possibilities that could arise and we hoped we were ready for any thing like this. I went on, "Do you think the nurses will be safe up there with the facility being torn down?"

"Those women are tough. They've been around; besides, there will be plenty of villagers up there to assist. The mountain people of the Majes Valley love those nurses, nothing is going to hurt them. Besides, those vans are filled with life saving medicines and a lot of survival food. They will begin putting things back together with the help of the locals up there. Most of those people are simple Indian peasants, and we'll be there to help, at least for a week or so."

"So, where do we fit into your plans?" I asked.

"To begin with, we will have to make at least three flights up to the top. Once things are organized, we'll probably be up there for a week. We would like you and The Inheritance to stick around to extract us and anyone else that might need a way out."

"What do you mean anyone else?" I asked.

"Part of our work here is to make sure that the mining engineers above Majes on the upper plateau are safe and we are to re-supply them. We were told that there are several mining engineers up there that were on their way out when the quake hit. The bridges are all laying down in the canyons now, there is no other way out for them, if they did want out."

"How do you know this?" I thought I'd ask. For they have had to be in contact with someone up there in order to know this.

"Well, we were in contact with a few of the doctors' friends back in the States. They reported by shortwave but transmission has been broken. We are assuming that this is not a good situation that these folks are in now."

I didn't quite know how to get into it, but thought I'd just open the door on this one. "Okay, you say you're medics, but you're not with the navy. With a few quick checks, we see that you've been on your own for several years now. I read that you were hired out as mercenaries for some out-of-the-ordinary groups. You have also been used as security on some of these mining ventures. So how did you get in with the navy medical team, and who is paying your way at this moment?"

Things went really quiet. You could hear the different noises around the ship and the hum of the air-conditioner. Smith remained cool and collective, but Jones squirmed a little and sat down his coffee with an irritated clank.

"I should have known it when I saw those photos. Few people could get their hands on these high resolution satellite photos. So Mitchner, who are you guys yourself? Who is paying your way?" Smith asked with his counter thrust, and what seemed to be a superior attitude.

That was a nice move to avoid any answer, I thought. "To begin with, you came aboard our ship, we did not go to yours. This gives us the right to ask questions." I waited then pressed further, "Again, we are curious about how you came to join up with the navy team."

Smith leaned back and simply stated that they had done some behind the scene work for the navy and they owed them a favor. So they called on them, once they heard about the team headed for Peru.

This seemed like a straight upfront answer and I wanted to move on, so continued with my own reply, "Well, Smith, we are just what you see. This is our ship. It is a research and diving vessel. We also use it as a college and group expedition ship. Companies or universities can hire us to take them anywhere in the world for their research or work. We will also begin our college classes in the earth sciences and in oceanography in a few months. This little jaunt here is a favor for the doctor-hospital facilities. Most of our people are retired engineers or teachers who like to give something back to their communities."

"That is impressive," Jones acknowledged. "But again, who might be paying your way?" He waved his hand around saying, "This is one heck of a nice set up. It surely costs a lot of money to run this boat, someone must be handling the bill."

I had a feeling that they knew something of the MAVIN Group but did not want to let us know that they knew more about us. Over the last week or so we had kept an eye out on these two. They had been searching out every area they could get into. After a few days of observing their spy walks, it became obvious that these guys wanted to know everything about The Inheritance they could.

Our cameras had watched them try to get through one of our locked doors which needed a code to open. They tried their best, but they became frustrated that someone had put this barrier into place so well. We were also thankful that the Hearst Castle Security Force working with Benjamin and the Stone Harbor Ship & Iron Works Company had sealed off certain areas for our use only. These secret and locked passages led down into the vault and storage chambers; no one could access these areas except for a few who had the codes.

I was thankful that young Winston had found that explosive device. I was sure that they had formulated some type of a plan to take The Inheritance. Yet, it could have been a part in their tool box for another work, we'd have to wait and see.

I sighed, knowing they didn't want to answer too many of my questions, but said, "We have helped lot of different people. Some poor and some not so poor. We have been paid well for our efforts, or just enough to keep going until our college gets up and running."

They nodded minimal agreement and asked. "Is there anyway you can get hold of the military in this area and let them know that our medical team is soon to arrive? And that we'll be needing the transport helicopter to get the medical supplies up to the high valley outpost."

"Is there a name to contact? Maybe someone in the military. There is a big mess out there, the more data you give me, the easier we might locate your chopper. I'll get my radio people on this right away. However, you still didn't answer my question on who you are working for. This is a big operation for just two half-navy, half-mercenaries wanting to help deliver some supplies to a few engineers up in the Andes."

Jones gave us their contact's name, "From what was told us, we were supposed to be met by a General Juan Domingo Peron, in Pisco Bay."

Smith smiled saying, "Mitchner, you're really a persistent man, but we'd rather not give out too many details at this time. Too much detail might cause our operation harm and might end up bothering you."

I leaned forward on my desk, sat down my coffee and simply said, "Since you do not want to tell all, guess my team will continue to dig until we come up with a bit more information. As far as helping unload the vans, we'll try to find out about your helicopter, and accommodate you and the navy as we promised."

Jones had an annoying smile, thinking that there was no way we would discover where their paychecks were coming from. After all, it was one of the world's largest mining corporations, and when they wanted to hide something, it was buried. Or so he thought. They arose and Smith mumbled, "Just don't dig too deep. It could be a bit of trouble for all of us." He looked around and thought to add, "This ship is really something. It certainly has some off-limit areas, deck posts forward and aft, which might hold large weapons and what could be several possible defense systems."

Without putting up any defense, I wanted them to know that we were well enough prepared to deal with most troubles. "This small coastal freighter was once used in the Viet Nam war to deliver supplies to the shore bases. We found it advantageous to keep some of the original on board fixtures but use them for different reasons. Like the side posts front and back. We bring up our deck cranes and they sit on these posts, and this is how we unload the containers down in our storage areas. As far as secret chambers, these are off-limit areas for our passengers. We might transport some type of valuable material or equipment for our contacts and we must guarantee their safe delivery, no big deal there. For every freighter that might pass through dangerous coastlines, it is always a good thing to have some type of protection. We have several lockers filled with flares, smoke devices, and a few flash devices to warn off pirates." I didn't want to lie about any of the things they had already seen, this would only have made them more suspicious.

Jones, the square jawed man, sporting a few not so pretty tattoos, tossed out a most interesting piece of information. "I'm sure you have heard of this revolutionary group called the Shining Path, which happens to inhabit many of the mountain and interior forests."

I nodded my awareness of them.

"The Peruvian military will be on your butts, thinking you might be delivering munitions to them. With these vans and supplies, both you and us, are going to become targets and might have our hands full of trouble. This is one reason why we were sent along, make sure our supplies were delivered without troubles attached to them."

"That could very well be," I acknowledged.

"It's one reason we might work together in completing this job."

I assured them that our mission was strictly humanitarian, and as far as any assistance to the Shining Path revolutionary group, we had absolutely no intention or any inclination towards them, or the Peruvian military.

They seemed to accept my casual explanation and with this they departed, most likely thinking that I was rather naive.

I sat there wondering what they meant by this last statement. Then Esther's strange warning of two-faced shadows popped into my mind. Within a few minutes, Brookstone, Wally, and Max came into my office. I already knew that they had been listening to this interview and they began to enlighten me with more information. They sat down across from me, and Max opened up the exchange. "While you were talking, I ran Smith and Jones pictures into the IPA, the International Police Agency. It didn't take long to scan their profiles. Smith ain't no Smith and Jones is no Jones," he left it hanging there.

"Great, Max. Do you think you might move forward a bit and fill in with some detail? You know that I am a simpleton with an empty bag of patience."

"Sorry, yeah. Smith is Henrix Witherstone, he was also a Marvin Tredwell, and a few other persons before he became Samuel Smith."

"Okay, how about our Jones, what or who was he? Might I ask."

"He was born Gordon Ludwig Mendelssohn, then became Felix Brooster, then Bruce Studwick and on and on until this Jake Jones thing. And before you ask, yes, they both have a dossier of being mercenaries and heads of a security team for several mining interests."

I sipped the remainder of my lukewarm coffee and thought—a bell's ring is determined by its weight, also by its tones and by what it speaks, so too, with a messenger! The ring in their bell had just become a clank, instead of a sharp ding.

The words, 'mining interests' caught my attention but I set it aside for now. I put out a figurative remark, " What on earth would these two be tied up in, or have any interest or connections in a mountain valley outpost for volunteer medical people, helping outback Indian people," I tossed out.

"Don't have the least idea, but I'd say the mining thing is more the target than a medical clinic, unless they are tied up with the Shining Path rebels," Max offered. "But for sure we better keep them on our radar. They got to be up to something, it's more than just some friendly payback. However, we'll have more data coming in on them and their sponsors."

Brookstone was listening, but he had that long distant look—weighing and measuring out facts and pieces of the puzzle. "Now if I recall, there are four large containers and a number of other crates that came aboard. One larger container was the relief supplies from the navy for the earthquake victims, two of them were for the doctors' station and the nurses, but who was the fourth one for?"

"I was under the understanding that the first three were sent by the navy for the nurses and doctor station, to our very own outpost," Wally said.

"Let me have the girls check on this. I didn't handle any of the paper work on them," I suggested.

I put the question to the girls and within a few minutes they got back saying that the navy had only sent two vans with the nurses. One other was brought aboard by Jones and Smith, the two acting doctors we presumed. Crystal went on to say that the fourth sea van along with all the smaller containers were from the various relief groups. It carried water purification systems, clothing and food items, and things that the victims could use immediately, and those would go to the military officials in Pisco.

Ummm, I thought, that was interesting. Wonder what those two might be shipping up the mountain. I thought aloud, "We might take a look inside their sea van and find a clue to what they are up to. Hope it's nothing to do with that revolutionary group."

Max suggested that we keep an ear open and our eyes looking closer. We definitely didn't want to get our knickers caught in a Shining Path episode. "This mountain outpost area which they are also headed for, do we have any photos of it yet?" I asked.

Wally said he'd have them soon.

Brookstone disappeared for a few hours with Jasper and Morgan. I had the feeling that they were about to do one of their sneak-abouts and the third sea van was about to give up its secrets. But I did not say anything.

The Shining Path... if we ran into them, we'd really be sidetracked. I laughed as I thought of Dustin's ever lasting complaints about us getting off track. That's all we needed!

# Chapter 13

# General Domingo Meets The Inheritance

It's okay to open your arms up to change

but don't drop your hold on what is real.

By morning the 5000 mile-long Andes' Mountains range could be seen rising into the distant sky. We still had 25 miles to go before we came to Pisco Bay. The stench in the water was terrible. Every kind of animal carcass was floating in the water, while dead fish by the thousands were clustered together, rotting in the sun. Trees, logs, roofs and submerged buildings bobbed up and down. The closer we got to the bay, the thicker the water became. Grey sludge and muck splashed up onto the sides of The Inheritance and the entire upper structure became dusted with assorted ash and mud. It was nearly impossible to keep the ship clean. Any time we went outside, we would end up covered with dirt and tracking the muck back into the ship.

Hundreds of campfires could be seen burning along the shore and upper level plains area. Either most buildings had been destroyed, or people were afraid to go inside their homes. There were two other smaller ships or trawlers anchored inside the bay with us. We could see that hundreds, maybe thousands, of people were gathered along the bay watching us approach. We knew this was dangerous, so instead of moving The Inheritance directly into the bay, we decided to send our diving launch to check things out. We were more than thankful for this decision, for when Brookstone, Theo, Jasper, Mica, and Smith and Jones went in and reached what was left of the dock, the military police were there to confiscate the launch for what they claimed was their own use.

Smith and Jones demanded to see General Juan Domingo Peron, and that name dropping event did the trick. Within a short time, the General and his protectors were being brought out to The Inheritance by Brookstone and his crew in our launch. We watched all this happen while Theo stayed on the radio with them. There was definitely a military presence. A near panic atmosphere existed alongside the Bay fronts. A fresh water and food shortage existed. We would soon learn the worst of the story.

It was a little awkward, we had never thought to welcome a general aboard, but I guess there is a first time for everything. I was sort of glad that The Inheritance was looking rather shabby with all the scum and muck splashed onto her decks. We were planning to clean her up but there was not enough clean water to handle the task; besides, we did not want to appear too fancy. It was Jocko and Jay who had the honor of welcoming the General and his entourage, who were quickly escorted into the main conference salon and made welcome with hot coffee and a variety of juices and drinks. The General did a good job with the English tongue, and certainly wanted it known that he was the authority on this great stage of the disaster situation. The first display of his arrogant pomp was to light up a huge cigar. This was not a good thing to be doing aboard The Inheritance, but his act was so demonstrable we let it be for now. The government had sent him into the area with a hundred troops to keep order and begin working out a plan of reconstruction and relief for the victims of the Pisco area. It was apparent, this man had come into a level of authority and was versed in applying it. He was used to getting his way, and the uniform he was wearing gave him extreme powers above and beyond any common sense, or so he thought.

Within moments, we were in a storm. Lightening flashed around the room, hot wind blew while this General bellowed out thundering demands. He immediately demanded to know what we were carrying, who sent us and what type of help we could offer. Whoever this man was, any tact he might have had was long lost in his cloud of cigar smoke.

Jocko, using his own 'wee-wee on you' tactics, took his time in answering. With a cool presence, he leaned back in his captain's chair, then meticulously packed his own pipe and lit as if waiting for something. After a few puffs, which seemed to irritate the general as if he were being put on hold, Jocko began his own interrogation. "General, we have been sent here by the United States Navy. We are the first major supply ship to arrive and upon our reports back to the Navy, they will determine what more to send—if anything. In the mean time, we have brought a number of sea vans of relief supplies for the general population, and especially for the misplaced children and injured. We have also brought with us two medics, two doctors and four nurses. These doctors and nurses are first assigned to the medical outpost in the Majes Valley. Our own teams of helpers will begin setting up medical tents, food distribution centers and will help to organize the homeless. So, if I might ask, what does the military have to do with our efforts?"

Oh yes, lightening flashed out of this man's eyes and it was as if the air crackled. The general had a quizzical look cross his face, as if to question this news. His thick dark brows began to crawl around on his broad forehead, while his black eyes darted around and then locked into an intimidating stare. Jocko seemed to be having fun with this drama queen and went on, "General Juan Domingo, Our first task here at Pisco, is to unload all the relief supplies, then get the remainders of the sea vans up into the higher valley to the medical facilities established for the villages and inhabitants."

Then there was thunder! "No, no, we will not allow this. All supplies go to me here at the dock of the Bay!" The General stated right up front, while taking another draw on his stogie and puffing a huge cloud of stinky smoke into the air. His action, he thought, moved him off the stage of arrogance and onto the podium of authority.

The room went quiet with an obvious impasse set in motion by his haughty command. This so named General, an obvious self-made man of pride went on, as he looked around, sizing up his new office. "Gentlemen, in fact we are in need of your ship. My men will soon be here to take it for our personal headquarters." He swished his cigar around as if giving his approval of such nice quarters and for such an easy victory. He had come aboard, sized things up and saw that this freighter was the perfect answer to restoring his authority/ and privileges.

My hair stood up and I was just about to make a major protest against this idea, when Jocko sat up straight and ever so casually pressed the intercom button getting Gretchen on the line, "Gretchen, please get Commander Thaxton Uhallie the Third, from the Pearl Harbor Navy base on line, patch us through. If he is not up yet, wake him up and let him know we have some problems here at Pisco Bay with a General Juan Domingo Peron from the Peruvian army."

Upon hearing the name of the Navy Commander at Pearl Harbor the General lost some wind out of his sails. Jocko very carefully filled in some of the detail of our mission. "General Domingo Peron, we have been sent here to help. We carry at least 20 tons of medical, clothing and food supplies for your people. This is a free donation from the United States Navy supply depot and from several world relief groups. These supplies are not for the military but for the people of Peru who have lost everything. We have come a long way to bring this help to your country. For you to threaten us with taking over our ship, you might rethink your thoughts." Jay knew that we would have to be dealing with the military during our stay here, thus he used a concerned tone and applied a gracious diplomacy making his point.

General Juan Domingo Peron was now biting down on his cigar looking up at the ceiling, thinking this over. Then the intercom buzzed and Gretchen's voice came on. "I have Commander Thaxton Uhallie the Third online, should I patch him through now?"

"Yes please, and thank you, Gretchen."

The voice was clear and direct, "This is Commander Thaxton Uhallie the Third, of the Pacific Fleet Command, Pearl Harbor Pacific Station, what might I do for you?"

"Good day Commander, this is Jocko McDuegolle the Captain of The Inheritance along with Jay Vontempski, Luke Mitchner and other members of our crew."

"Yes, I remember you and Jay, hope you and your crew had a safe trip across."

"Yes, everything went good along the way. But this earthquake along the Peruvian coastline is one of the worst I have ever seen or even heard of. It is bad...really bad!" Jocko looked directly at the general and went on saying, "We'll send you some satellite photos and videos of the disaster if you would like."

"Yes, that would be great. It is hard to get any information out of there, it is great that you and your boat are on the scene. Please keep us informed...and what might we do for you?"

"We have a little problem here at the Port of Pisco in southern Peru."

"What seems to be the problem, or should I say problems?"

"To make it short, we want to begin delivery of all the supplies that have been sent...but a General Juan Domingo Peron, representing the Peruvian military, wants to confiscate the shipments and actually take over our ship."

There was a slight clearing of the throat, before the Commander replied. "Have they made a move on you or your ship?"

"Not yet, but we are not at dock in the bay. The general is sitting right here now listening, do you want to speak with him?"

"Yes, certainly!"

Jocko turned up the speaker and asked the Commander to explain our mission and the orders we had been given.

"Hello, General Domingo—I think I recall your name when I visited the ambassador in Lima. I hope we can help you and your nation recover from this terrible disaster." As normal, there had to be the butt-kissing exchanges first, and so it went. Commander Uhallie did not beat around, he went right to the top with the ambassador thing.

"I thank you Commander Uhallie, and my nation also thanks you."

"Now what is the situation with wanting to take the supplies along with the ship? I don't understand this."

"Commander, we are in need of all these things and we understand that this ship, The Inheritance, has sea vans and containers loaded with emergency supplies for the people."

"Yes, that is true. But some of the supplies are already designated for the hospital outposts in the valley of Majes, I think it is called." There was a pause, then Commander Uhallie went on to say, "There are many other ships being loaded with tons of food and necessities for the quake areas. I'll be real blunt here, if word gets out that the Peruvian military has taken these shipments over, you can understand that relief agencies will be hesitant to send you anything else. You can kiss much of the relief supplies goodbye."

General Domingo scratched his chin, thinking about how to respond, "I understand this, but the people are hungry and want the military to get food for them."

Commander Thaxton Uhallie asked Jocko what he thought could be done.

"We'll begin setting up tents and delivering food, blankets, and the medical supplies from the relief van along with the crates which were sent for this reason. We will also begin producing clean water through our onboard purification systems for the people in the area. But the larger vans must go up to the hospital outposts. We can work something out here if the threat of The Inheritance is removed, otherwise we are pulling out."

This was a serious statement to be making to the Peruvian general, but if I knew Jocko, he was not playing around. The general turned red with anger and pointed his smoking cigar at his accompanying guards as if to show us that he could take the ship right now.

However, just at this time, Brookstone and his brothers Jasper and Morgan who were listening in on the conversation, stepped into the room, followed by Jones and Smith. Jocko smiled, while casually waving his pipe towards these men who had instantly manifested. They did not show any weapons, but their presence was more than enough to show the General that his threat was only a hair under stupidity! The appearance of Brookstone along with his scars and his eye patch was enough to stop anyone who thought they had some kind of authority. These guys looked like the massive Spanish prize bulls that chased the common peasants around town, and were now looking down on the general's entourage.

The general, managing to hold onto his dignity, nodded and acquiesced, saying, "Then what might we do to help the people?" In reality, he was under the assumption that all people of authority were corrupt. He was really saying: what must I do to get my share of those tons of marketable supplies.

Commander Uhallie answered, "General Domingo, you might first begin reconstructing the docks so that the relief ships can get in and out. There are many that are on their way and organization is needed to dock and unload all these supplies. You might repair a few warehouses along the bay to store the supplies; show the people you are doing something." A few moments went by when the commander added, "I would start moving as many people out of the area as possible. Begin a clearing of the coastal roads and march the masses north to where the quake damage was not so bad. Send a few of your soldiers along to alert the other towns and villages to prepare to help the refugees. This will help take some of the pressure off you there at Pisco."

The General arose and with a compliant tone, thanked Commander Thaxton Uhallie and stated that he and his men would comply for the good of his nation.

Wow, I thought, was it really that simple?

Commander Uhallie told Jocko and Jay that if they needed any more help, just let him know, and he signed off.

As the Peruvian general moved towards the door, Jocko stood and asked the general to wait a minute, he had more to say. Even though the General was upset at being shown up, he paused. Jocko said, "We are carrying four jeeps and we are willing to put them ashore, and unload one large relief sea van along with all the smaller crates of supplies, if you will allow us to use your HUEY transport helicopter to carry the three other sea vans up to the mountain outpost."

The General smiled, because he knew this was a good show of his efforts. He came back to the desk and reached over, shaking Jocko's hand. "When can we get the jeeps and the supplies?" still smiling as he asked.

Jocko was leaning back and said, "One of the jeeps was for the high mountain outposts but the roads are so damaged, jeeps won't do anyone any good up there. So, as a good gesture on our part, we'll hand them over to your people. When the dock is ready and we are better organized, it might take a day or so, we'll begin the exchange. We'll bring the jeeps up on deck, you bring the helicopter over and we'll harness them to a lift carriage and that will begin our exchange. After we move the jeeps out of the cargo bay, let's work together by first lifting up the one container with all the relief supplies in it. Then, depending on the weather your chopper should begin taking the other containers up to the outpost in the Majes Valley. When it returns, we'll unload the rest of the smaller crates. Then after this, if all goes well, you can haul the other vans up the mountain and so forth until our supplies for the outposts are delivered and then you'll have more than enough supplies to help you tame the hungry for a few days. By then, other shiploads should be arriving. In the meantime, we suggest that you put the people to work on rebuilding the docks and warehouses—get them ready for our supplies and for the other ships soon to arrive. Give them food for their work."

"This all sounds very good, we will get the transport helicopter ready. When you are ready with the jeeps, we'll be back with the helicopter."

The General stopped again saying, "We would like to help you with those supplies to the mountain outposts but the fuel supplies for the helicopter are very low. We do not have enough fuel to do what you ask." General Domingo thought he had found a way to prevent the transport of the other three sea vans up to the mountain outposts.

Jay asked me about the ships fuel supply...I knew that our supply still had plenty. We were once again thankful for the extra design of our fuel tanks by Benjamin and his company. "I told the general that they did not have to worry, we had plenty of fuel for their needs."

Brookstone interrupted our last-minute exchange saying, "General Domingo, we would like to use one of your four jeeps for our own purposes while we're here, would that be a possibility."

The General nodded giving his approval to this rugged looking warrior type. This was a nice move on Brookstone's part. He gave the general back some dignity by asking his permission to use one of the jeeps—his jeeps.

Jay then tossed out a real bone for the general to chew on. "We have six medics, four of them being field doctors. We also have a well organized crew that will begin setting up large tent facilities to act as a hospital and a kitchen for you and for the people."

Jocko added something new, saying, that two of our nurses might stay down here and help with some of the more high-risk patients, unless they are really needed up at Majes.

Therewith, I witnessed the first major crises handled rather well. As I was learning, it pays to have connections, know people in high places and don't to be too quick to give in or give up. I found a name for this game, Brookstoneing it! Not bad, not bad I thought.

Sometimes we must pass down a long narrow tunnel to get to the bigger view and attain a better perspective. I was certain that this General Domingo had just walked through that tunnel. What was so nice, was that I didn't even have to get my fingers singed in this power play. However, we were not so naive as to think that the general's zeal to take our ship had been neutralized and quenched. His pride might had been hurt, but his authority was still burning hot.

# Chapter 14

# Arrival and Unloading

Season's change brings excitement to the soul,

so too, the thought of life and its adventures.

For safety reasons, Jocko had made the decision to anchor off shore for the night. The next morning, The Inheritance moved in closer to the half standing docks to begin its unloading. The atmosphere was constantly changing. The winds would blow hard, then the clouds mixed with low tumbling fog as The Inheritance slowly pushed its way through and around great heaps of debris floating in the waters. We rounded the peninsula which jutted out, giving Pisco Bay some protection from the great swells that rolled in off the Pacific. However, nothing had escaped the great tsunami waves that had rolled in, reaching far above the outside jetty. This was evident as we came closer into the bay. A shocking scene greeted our crew who stood along the railing, taking in the docking procedures. A variety of small boats were paddling around the bay picking up dead bodies from out of the mucky waters. Some of these small boats were over-loaded with corpses. We found out later that mass graves had been dug to bury thousands of the drowned. As bad as this was, it did not shock me as much, because I had been in India on the Ganges River where it is common to see dead bodies from infants to elderly floating down stream.

What was really bad was a strange thick smelly type of fog which had settled along the coast giving off a rotten egg odor, preventing any helicopter lift offs. Jocko and Jay with some unusual moves, managed to bring The Inheritance up to one portion of the shipping dock where we set anchor and tied up to the piers.

An entire village of raggedy tents had been erected along the waterfront with hundreds of people lined up to see what help might be coming their way. The word disaster could not even begin to describe the destruction and the hungry masses near rioting. Almost every building was down, nothing but a pile of tangled rubble, while the entire coastal town looked like a forest of stumps.

General Domingo had set armed guards on the entryway to the dock and kept the hordes from getting in the way. We could see that the warehouses were being repaired. Huge army tents had been set up as temporary kitchens, and medical facilities were crowded to capacity. We would begin unloading the first supplies; it was a theater of busy workers and intense moments!

By afternoon the fog had blown inland and three of the jeeps were being lifted up from our cargo hold and placed onto the docks, then driven away. The general now had his own mode of transportation and was pleased with the bargain he had supposedly gained.

While watching all this activity, Brookstone came to talk. I knew he had something on his mind and I asked him to tell me. "Luke, my brothers and I went down into the cargo bays and managed to get into the third sea van. We were careful not to set off any alarms and there were several well placed laser alerts."

"So tell me the big secret," I encouraged him.

"There are some food supplies in the front but within a short way into the container there are several large crates. It looks like heavy duty drilling or mining equipment. They also have a small hard rubber tractor with a trailer filled with tools, and large heavy duty crates. There were several crates which contained what might be a laser or radar machine. I think this is one of the new devices used to sub-scan the ground, as if it were a sophisticated medal detector. There were all types of sealed boxes. Some had sophisticated cameras, heavy duty scales and, strangely enough, climbing tools and harnesses. So far it looks like they are doing what they said, by transporting supplies and this type of machinery up to a mining operation."

"Yes, that could be. But I still don't trust them, this whole thing is odd," I commented.

"Yeah, only one thing unusual—in the far back we found what looked like large lead lined crates about the size of coffins, but well built. There were rolls of heavy ropes and cables, with a heavy duty hoist. It looks like they are planning to either bury something or haul something away; I am just guessing." He paused, as the cargo chopper could be heard hovering over another jeep up on the deck. "No worries though, we tagged every piece of equipment and crate with tracking bugs, so we'll know exactly where everything is going."

While we were speaking, the huge HUEY helicopter was swinging the last jeep up to the warehouse. The first two days were spent unloading most of the relief supplies into the army tents. With the damaged docks and fallen walls things were going slower than we expected. Gretchen and Amber, along with Crystal and the other girls, Tanya and Abby, worked together under the guiding hands of the four nurses.

One of the Navy tents had been set up to handle the water purification systems, while another was strictly to be used as an emergency care facility. The nurses had set up a special tent as an operating room. Another tent would be used to distribute food and to serve meals to the children. Brookstone assigned Jasper and Morgan to stand guard over their sisters and the nurses. The groups of roving men could not be trusted and often tried pushing their way into places where they did not belong.

Within a few days, the upper bay front area had become a vital center of resources and supplies. It was turning into a small city, almost like a busy ant hill as seen from a helicopter. The doctors main concerns were to prevent the usual outbreak of water born diseases: cholera, typhoid or dysentery. Several serious operations had already taken place, with a full lineup waiting.

In the following few days, the chopper began lifting the smaller containers and crates up to the tent and warehouse storage areas. By now, our helpful crew members had opened the main sea van, filled with relief supplies, up near the tents. The basic distribution of the supplies had been accomplished, and now Jones and Smith, along with the two doctors, were anxious to get the other three vans up the mountain.

The four D nurses had prepared their belongings and were awaiting instructions. Jocko and most of the crew would remain behind; but Brookstone, two of his brothers, along with two of the nurses and Smith and Jones wanted to assist in the rebuilding of the Majes outpost. And of course, the twins wanted to go, but we put them off until after the first trip. We did not know how dangerous it would be and wanted to make the first flight without extra worries. Besides, we reminded the girls of the great job they were doing with the earthquake victims...right here!

Benjamin and his sons knew their stuff. They had secured the first large sea container, preparing it for the long haul up the mountain and made sure it would be safely held in proper balance. The first van would be a test run and a scouting trip, to see what might be left of the outposts.

As much as I wanted to go up to the medical outpost, Jay and Jocko made it clear that this might be far too dangerous a trip. We would be able to watch and exchange ideas through the video and radio devices they were carrying. Brookstone took a special video camera with him to film everything along the way. The pictures would be transmitted back to the communications room where we could talk and watch over their flight.

It was the third day when the nurses were escorted onto the helicopter along with Brookstone's brothers and Benjamin's two sons—the first trip up to the Majes station. There would be two soldiers also going. We were concerned about the revolutionary group called the Shining Path. They were a notorious armed group, rumored to be active in the upper mountainous area. This was the reason for the extra fire power, a 'just in case' step recommended by Brookstone.

Soon, the first sea van was being lifted up and away. It seemed so easy, but there were great engines and power exhibited in this transport action.

With communications being cut off from the outpost, we were not sure what the first flight might encounter. Pictures up the mountains were nothing less than spectacular. Massive canyons, roaring rivers, pristine lakes, cliffs and peaks, but it was evident that the roads, bridges and railroads had been devastated. There was no way any vehicle could have ever made it through those mountains. If it weren't for the incredible roads cut through the mountains by the Incas there was no way that the Spanish invaders could have ever conquered the Inca nation.

JJ came up with another one of his odd ball thoughts, "Those Inca planners weren't all that smart, they should have burned all the road maps to their highway systems. See, never pays to give out your address to your favorite hiding place. They must have been the first triple A agency ever."

Everyone just groaned.

We were still not sure why Smith and Jones were so eager to go along. For now, our suspicions had to be held in check. The only thing we could do was to be on guard, watch those two suspects, and go along with them to make sure their intentions were not against the medical facilities, and that they had no surprises up their sleeves. Brookstone figured that they wanted to scout out the area first, for their container was the last to go up the mountain. There was strong tension while our crew members were aboard the huge chopper. Nothing but bad news was reported about these large helicopters and especially an old worn out one, most likely poorly maintained by a third world country. But we had to do what we had to do.

# Chapter 15

# Insight To Reasons

Life is so full of surprises, it surprises me when the day starts without one!

"Wow, you girls—got it!" The door to the research room burst open and Wally came blasting in, holding out a print-out.

Crystal had jumped up out of her chair and was yelling at Wal. "Wally, you scared us. What the heck is going on? What do you got?"

His large dark eyes were lighted up like lanterns in a cave, as he looked around realizing that he had burst into the room without warning. In an apologetic voice, he calmed himself saying, "Sorry girls, just got a bit excited when I hacked into a nest of hidden memos from the world's fifth largest mining operation."

Amber stepped over to Wally and reached for the print-out to see what he was excited about. "Luke is going to expel gas when he reads this," Wally said as he let the print-out go into Amber's hand.

Crystal was reading over Amber's shoulder, "You're right, this is the key to the Smith and Jones boys and their real mission. Now this is interesting."

"Where and how did you get this Wally?" Crystal asked as she was trying to grasp the entirety of the message.

Wally always ran his fingers through his long beard when he was nervous or excited and so he stood there stroking his thick reddish forever-entangled beard, "Long story short—a friend from the Naval observatory knew I was here at Pisco and thought I'd be interested in this. As you have read, The Claremont Mining Alliance, which happens to be a subsidiary of the Big Bear International Mining Corporation based in Colorado, happens to be working out of the Pisco Bay and up the canyons from here. They own several earth scanning satellites which use the highest technology known to science so far. They not only sell geological scanning time for the military, archeologists, and oil companies, but they use their GER (Ground Penetrating Radar) satellites to scan the surface of the earth for minerals. What caught the observatory's attention was the fact that they had been repeatedly going over one area above here for weeks. My friend thinks they have found or located something unusual. They wouldn't spend that much time in one area unless they knew something was there. He thinks we might invest in this company if they do come up with a new mineral—gold, copper or whatever, in this area. He says it is an enigma to keep an eye out for."

"I'm still not making the big connections here Wal," Crystal admitted.

"Crystal, think back to the Mitchner ranch and the shooting episode. Remember the big hole in the earth up there with all the waste water in the rock dam just waiting for a disaster?"

"Sure, I remember that, but so what?"

Amber clicked her fingers and said, "Yes, The Claremont Mining Alliance, that is who the Hearst Castle Security Force had to deal with about the attack against Luke."

"You got it my dear, but that's not all. The Claremont Mining Alliance is now researching and scanning the upper mountain area for something. But the best thing, or maybe it isn't so good...I found out that the two guys, Jones and Smith, are hired and paid by The Big Bear International Mining Corporation. This means they are associated with The Claremont Mining Alliance, the very ones that tried doing away with Luke!"

"Now, for sure that might bring about a gas attack for Luke," Crystal almost yelled.

"These two have actually worked their way onto The Inheritance, and we are delivering a container full of something for this unfriendly company." Wal waved his big hand for emphasis, "Hell, we brought those two guys aboard and they may have plans for Luke's demise. How stupid could we be!"

"Could be. But maybe they don't know yet that The Inheritance is owned by the MAVIN Team." Amber had her arms crossed, thinking aloud. "The first thing we got to do is get this data to Luke."

"Absolutely. But there's more. I'll tell it when we go see Luke."

Amber buzzed Luke, asking for a meeting right away. Luke answered, "Now what sounds so important?"

Luke was standing there observing the activity below on the docks from the bridge window, when the excited trio knocked and then walked in. Luke was looking out the window. The next sea van was being prepared, while the first one had just lifted off and was headed east towards the high mountains. "Is the Smith and Jones van gone yet?" Amber asked.

"No, only the first of the two for the Majes outpost, but the other containers are being prepared. The nurses and doctors are on their way to the Majes medical facility, with Theo as our spokesman, along with Brookstone and his brothers, then with Elmo and Ollie and two soldiers. Our deal was to deliver the two containers to the Majes facility, and then the last one will go up further to the mining camp."

Luke pointed up the bay showing them that the van was about a mile away and several hundred feet in the air. "Oh darn," Amber said.

It was Crystal who was upset, "Why would you send Theo up there first trip? You know it's dangerous, and besides, I wanted to go."

"Oh Crystal, it was a last minute decision; Theo decided to go on his own. He wanted to get a first hand look at why we were actually here. Maybe on the next trip you and Amber can go take a look for yourselves," Luke tried to smooth over the upset feelings. "Sorry we forgot to tell you to come watch, but it ain't that big a deal as of yet. We still might have a few trips to make. So what's up with you?"

"We have some important news for you Luke." Amber asked Wally to hand over the print out.

"We, or I should say, that Wally came up with some really gastronomical information," Crystal started.

"Gastronomical? What the heck is this?" Luke shook his head, knowing that the news was going to affect his recent stomach and pipe ailments.

"We think we found the link between the Jones-Smith connection to one of your old friends, The Claremont Mining Alliance."

That name made Luke sit down and lean forward. Sure enough, his stomach began to rumble. With a slow agonizing tone, he said, "What? Tell me—please."

"Remember that little zipper cut on the back of your head, the one you got up in Hope canyon?" Amber reminded Luke.

Luke's hand went up to his head and felt the long bump running across the back of his head and nodded, "Certainly, how could I forget that sweet canyon kiss."

"Well now, The Claremont Mining Alliance is a subsidiary of The Big Bear International Mining Corporation based in Colorado!"

"Yes, and so...?" Luke queried with growing anxiety.

"Smith and Jones are working for the Claremont Mining Alliance, but it is The Big Bear International Mining Corporation that is paying their wages and sent the container," Amber said to fill in the details.

Luke began to fill in his own details with the things that Jones had said at their meeting, about being careful and not causing trouble. "How is this relevant to their being with us now and the delivering of the container?" Luke said.

The girls turned to Wally for further input. "I am not sure how all it fits together yet, but the Bear Corp has its own GER satellites, and apparently, from what my friend at the naval observatory tells me, this high powered ground penetrating satellite is very interested in something up near the mountain outposts where we are delivering the supplies and the nurses."

Luke put this information together with Brookstone's report on his findings inside the sea van, and added the cautionary advice that the Jones-Smith team had given to the MAVIN team. A picture of a covert operation began to formulate. What it all meant he could not make heads or tails of it, not yet.

Luke asked Wally to bring up the feed from Jasper's virtual video as the helicopter flew into the mountains. Wally hit a few buttons on the key board and there appeared a clear shot of the inside of the helicopter. Jasper narrated as he filmed the passing ground below. They could see entire villages laid waste. One scene was of a vast vineyard running alongside a canyon. The canyon edge had broken off, taking at least 500 acres of the vineyard into the deep canyon. The live shots told it all. Bridges were gone, main roads had buckled while massive landslides piled over the narrow cliff roads. Even the upper desert areas showed open gashes and craters zig-zagging across their barren faces. Jasper didn't say much, the pictures said more than enough; but you could hear everyone else pointing out spectacular views and landmarks.

Meanwhile, higher and higher the sea van moved along, dangling under the huge helicopter.

Jasper began filling in past information as the helicopter proceeded up and through numerous canyons. He was a well read student of history, and apparently knew a great deal of the history of Peru. "When the Inca kings realized that the Spanish invaders were not going to be defeated, they sought refuge from Pizarro and the Spanish conquerors. They gathered their slaves and loyal warriors. They began to move up into the higher regions, trying to escape the onslaught of death and destruction of the Spanish."

Suddenly and unexpectedly the helicopter flew over the brink of a magnificent canyon, a densely populated valley known as Cotahuasi. The walls of the canyon were covered with innumerable terraces—thousands of them. It seemed at first glance as though every available spot in the canyon had been either terraced or allotted to a compact little village. One could count more than a score of towns, including Cotahuasi itself, its long main street outlined by whitewashed houses. As they flew over the canyon, the roads, or whatever was left of them, weaved past hundreds of man-made terraces and through little villages of thatched huts huddled together on spurs of land rescued from the all-embracing agriculture.

It was marvelous to observe the extent to which terracing had been done on the side of the Cotahuasi Valley. Although they were in the zone of light annual rains, it was evident from the extraordinary irrigation system that agriculture depended on the ability to bring water down from the great mountains in the interior. Most of the terraces and irrigation canals were built centuries ago, long before the discovery of the Americas by Europeans.

The helicopter crossed over another desert area and came to the Majes Valley, below the high Coropuna Mountain. From this step-down region, the mountain outposts and medical centers could reach out in many directions. The outpost had been assisting the peasant Native Indian population for at least 40 years. Stewart and Gladys Mitchner, my grandparents, had done their homework and had established this medical facility in a crossroads. The moderate temperate zone offered an area for fruits and cereals to thrive. The village and town is surrounded by gardens, vineyards, alfalfa and grain fields, all showing evidence of hundreds of years of cultivation. The medical compound was at the head of one of the branches of the Majes Valley and was surrounded by high cliffs, centrally located in a prime area, to serve the entire region.

The updrafts from the large open canyons would lift the chopper as if it were a fly. After passing over the larger canyons, the pilot took the helicopter up a valley of terraces and small farms tucked away in the far end. There was a smooth flat area set into a plateau protected by cliffs. The chopper slowly circled while the camera picked out a tin roofed compound and several out buildings. A group of people gathered as the chopper descended and hovered over an open field. Slowly the container was lowered and set on the ground. Men came running and undid the harnesses which were lifted back up to the chopper. Then the helicopter itself settled onto the plateau. The engine shut down, the blades stopped spinning and the doors opened. Men and women who must have been the doctors and nurses formed a group near the door. The back ramp was lowered; the passengers and crew stepped out onto solid ground, in the Majes Valley.

The two new replacement doctors, Oliver Clinton and John Parks were completely surrounded and whole heartedly welcomed. The nurses were hugged by several of the resident nurses. Smith and Jones introduced themselves as Navy medical and security men. Then Theo and Brookstone stepped up to the group and Brookstone introduced himself and Theo, along with his brothers and the Highmanners, Elmo and Ollie.

The doctors noticed that Smith and Jones, along with the Kaamin brothers and the two guards were well armed, and made a comment about this. Brookstone spoke up for his men, "We had no idea what we might find up here. There has been reports of the revolutionary group the Shining Path, in this area. With most of your communications down, the roads all closed, we felt it best to not take chances on what might be going on. Smith and Jones are part of a security team for the mining operation. They were sent along to help guard the supplies and make sure the containers arrived safely."

The facility's head doctor, Doctor Tekinov, nodded and said that there were a few revolutionaries that came up from the eastern side of the Andes for malaria treatments. "They have been driven down into the jungles of the Amazon by the Peruvian army, and we don't see them too much any more. But we offer treatments and medicines if they need it. This simple exchange has kept us safe from what violence they have been known for."

"That's good to hear," Brookstone answered.

The container had already been opened and a line of men and women were handing boxes and parcels along and storing them inside a stone-walled building and a larger tent on one side. The entire area was alive with activity. There were a good number of native Indians working on the damaged buildings and it was obvious that the quake had done a lot of damage. The larger building, which turned out to be the main hospital, had the roof fallen in, but was on its way to repair. One other building was completely laid flat, but the only structure that seemed to be without damage was a neatly built bamboo structure, a living and cooking building. The outpost nurses took the four new nurses to their headquarters, and the doctors invited the rest of us to a lunch. A long table had been set up and was loaded with breads, fruit and steamed vegetables. Later on in the meal, a large pot of boiled goat was brought out. Everyone ate well and we exchange ideas and travel tales.

After eating, Brookstone asked about the work and what they might need from the Mitchner Trust. The doctors were a little surprised that these visitors knew about the Mitchener funding. But Theo explained how Luke had inherited the Mitchner Trust and they were here by his grandparents' request; he did not want to mention the MAVIN Group yet. The medical team had heard about the deaths of Steward and Gladys and were concerned about how the outpost would be cared for. They explained that even though they had sustained a lot of damage, many villagers had come to assist. The supplies within the container would really help them. The two doctors, Clinton and Parks, went over the things that had been sent. Medical supplies were the most important—a variety of vaccines, antibiotics, new medical devices, dental tools—as well as hardware, from nails to tools, and seed for planting, several new phones and a new generator. Excited and thankful for everything, they took everyone on a tour around the compound.

There was a stone block house for the nurses and one for the men, with their own kitchens and rest areas. The large hospital, and what they called the lab, was situated in the center. Off in the distance were clusters of village houses where local helpers lived. They had a water supply flowing out of the cliff into a channel which ran through the gardens and among fruit trees. Up this high, they were still in a temperate area that allowed fruits and foods to grow, but somewhat limited in kind. So they had built a green house for raising herbs and vegetables, but it had been torn to pieces by the recent storms and in the quake. All in all, it was quite the facility. Our group walked about and filmed as much as they could.

The existing doctors and nurses really wanted news from the outside, especially about the earthquake. The main concern was that they might be trapped up here for a long time, since the roads had been destroyed. We tried reassuring them that as long as they could communicate with us through the new satellite phones we delivered, we could have supplies brought in.

The Highmanner brothers wanted to stay in the Majes outpost and help for a few days until the last trip was going out. We explained that we were aboard the freighter The Inheritance and if any one of them wanted to return to Pisco Bay or the States, we would be headed there after our mission had been completed here.

The time to return and transport the next container came and with all due respects we said our goodbyes and gave our promises to be there for them. We would stop and deliver the second van later if time allowed, probably late in the afternoon. We had a third container to deliver which was scheduled to go up to the mining camp. We indicated that this was why Smith and Jones had come with us. The doctors gave us a suspicious look when we mentioned the upper plateau and the mining engineers. Brookstone had the feeling that we had just touched something a little sore, but nothing more was spoken.

We did come to learn that this medical facility had been bothered by several of the engineers from the upper area. Apparently, the nurses at the compound had attracted attention, and several of the mining engineers had been making pests of themselves. It was proving out that there was not one place on earth where some type of violence, ill will, and brutality did not have its roots growing. We had come to realize this in our short time as a dedicated group of people who sought to do good. No doubt, we had our hands full, and we would have to become very picky on which of these evils we would oppose. Amber, a part time philosopher put it this way, "You did not have to seek out evil, it would find you, even if you were hiding from it!"

# Chapter 16

# On The Mountain

What you allow, you have agreed with, but what you oppose you are free from.

Theo and I were not going to be denied the last trip up the mountain, regardless of the dangers. By mid afternoon we had the second container on its way up the mountain. We could feel that the long haul was taking its toll on the older chopper. Even though we could see where the first two containers had been set down in the Majes Valley, we continued over the immediate area slanting up to another vast plain area. A massive walled cliff, partly encircled a large plain area, which was one of the prettiest areas so far.

Right up front, our eyes were drawn to majestic Mount Coropuna which had a sparkling cobalt blue lake kissing its face. The mountain reflected its awesomeness with an interesting tinge of pink on the surface of the lake. Mount Coropuna was capped with a white gleaming crown of snow reaching up into the clouds, fingering down through black cliffs of volcanic wedges where green fields greeted the mountain with a half moon-shaped lake waiting there in silence. The combination of colors was dazzling, and then we saw black gashes in the land ripped open by the quake.

As the helicopter maneuvered itself up near the cliffs, we could see three large cave caverns carved into the face of the mountain. The middle one was the largest with an arched opening while the others off to each side were smaller but also arched. From the left cavern flowed a stream of water like a mouth spewing forth its waters into a canal, which emptied into the lake. No doubt about it, this had to be a sacred refuge of the ancient kings; it was just too beautiful a place not to be called sacred or to go unclaimed.

Jasper mentioned that as far as he knew there was no record of this hide-away temple complex, located on any of the published maps. All I could think was that I had seen a lot of things in my travels but this had to be the most awesome place ever. As we circled we were amazed at the serene lake, peacefully nestled into a lower depression with a cluster of old stone structures and large tents of sorts nestled among massive boulders near the lake. We could see a small tent city with men guiding our helicopter to a specific area who waved to lower the container next to one of the large structures. We stood still in flight, as the big helicopter slowly maneuvered around to place the container down . Several men came forth and undid the container, then waved the chopper over to one side to land.

Back at the computer room, Wally shook his head saying, "These are tough times for the mountain villages, there is no way up. Every road and bridge has been broken or badly damaged. That chopper will become their life line for a long time." He punched in the coordinates of the landing spot and lo and behold, it was just about the exact area where the GPR satellites had been searching and scanning.

Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen following the scenery spread out before them. Jay and Gretchen, along with Wally and the girls, were taking in every detail of the area that was being filmed. "What a beautiful lake," Crystal commented. The lake had a pinkish tinge to its surface and Gretchen said she thought it was named Flamingo Lake. It was a nesting refuge for flamingos that nested around the edges and in the various coves. The flamingo bird held significance in the Inca kingdom long back when. The natives still called it Flamingo Lake. This entire upper region had become a refuge for the Inca kings when the Spanish began to invade the Inca cities and destroy everything in their quest for gold. From the aerial photos, it was hard to tell that this upper plateau was a refuge for the kings of a once great people.

As Jasper scanned the area with the camera and gave forth commentary, it was Crystal who called our attention to the mountain, "From the lower area in the plateau, where some stone structures still stand, I thought the mountain had the shape of a leopard's head."

"Move back to that point again Wally," Jay asked.

"Stop right there and move one frame at a time as they go up."

They all sat watching and suddenly Wally stopped the film, clicked on a spot, encircled the view and sure enough, there the mountain took on the form of a leopard's head, or maybe a wolf. Time and quakes had altered the feature, but there was a form of what could have once been an animal's head.

It was Gretchen who brought out the memory of the carvings in the links. They had noticed an animal's head in the puzzle map, as they were interpreting the drawing. At the moment they thought it to be another peculiar oddity about this area. Then Amber pointed out the three cavern openings in the mountain, "Maybe those circles in the chain drawing are those caverns." Wally began to point out something different in the awesome landscape; he drew their attention to various diggings in the area. Several long trenches, one about ten foot wide, came off the lake, and one had a tent set up over it. "Wonder what that might be," he asked as he pointed to the pile of earth and rocks alongside the tent. He went on to point out curved walls, low foundations and circles of stones. "This area could have been an ancient village, or even a temple."

There were several large depressions scattered around the area. It appeared that the earthquakes had shaken the ground and must have pushed up hidden foundations, while settling the soil down in other areas. There was one long ridge or raised inclination running at least a mile towards the mountains. This was a fresh ridge that had to be pushed up out of the earth during the quakes but would now be a permanent feature on the land.

Wally finally sat back, running his big hand through his tangled beard, and spoke up. "I hacked into The Claremont Mining Alliances computers and downloaded some of the GPR satellite data from this area."

"What did you come up with?" Jay asked.

"Interesting, is all I can say."

"Please say it Wally, we ain't got all day to wait," Crystal began, scratching her chin imitating Wally as she spoke in a drawn out Texas drawl.

Wally got a little irritated but went on, "They seemed to be looking for either a huge meteor that hit in this area, or a gold reef so large it doesn't make sense—or to get really out there—there is a note about a flying saucer crashing in that area."

"Ah come on Wal, a flying saucer?" Amber laughed.

"Hey, no kidding, that is what the data stated and I went over it several times. The flying saucer thing was a speculation by one scientist, but the radar keeps showing a large object buried below the ground. This might be why they are digging those trenches."

"We better notify Luke and Brookstone to keep an eye out for something along those lines," Amber suggested.

"Yeah, remind Luke. But that's not all. Remember that Brookstone hired two of his own security investigators to hang out on the Mitchner ranch?"

"Yeah, that was a Taylor and another guy, I think it was Owen. Why?" Jay replied

"We got a bit of feed back from them just a while ago. They say that The Claremont Mining Alliance uses two hard-core guys to do their dirty work. We are not sure yet, but an informer came to Auggie at the ranch a time back and said he did not like what was going on in the mine and went on to describe these two types. They could be Jones and Smith."

The room went quiet except for Wally tapping his fingers on his desk. "If it is those two, wow. And they were the ones who set Luke up. It is possible that their mission is not over yet."

"You got it my friend," Jay stated directly.

"That means they knew exactly that they were going aboard The Inheritance, and they must know that we are the MAVIN group and that Luke is the Mitchner ranch owner."

"Yep," Amber agreed and moved over to the window to stare up towards the mountains as if sending her prayers after Luke.

"What if it is a flying saucer?" Crystal asked. Everyone looked at her, as if she were asking about watermelons growing on the moon. But it did open up all kinds of speculations.

"I like the gold reef idea better," Wally said.

"Don't you think a real flying saucer would be a fantastic discovery?" Crystal retorted.

Gretchen didn't hesitate, "Not really. The military would take it and away it would go, never to be seen again, probably stored in the Area 51 base. Lost forever."

"I don't think that The Big Bear Mining Corp would waste millions of dollars scanning this plateau for a flying saucer. It has to be something way more valuable than that—I say gold," Wally was still looking at the screen.

"If it were a meteor or a flying saucer, they would have to bring it down here. And I got a feeling they're going to try and get us involved," Amber was still looking out the window speculating.

Jay got hold of Brookstone by satellite phone and filled in the details they had. All he could say was, "Most interesting."

After all systems shut down, the Huey chopper finally went quiet. A group of Indian workers waited until the back ramp was lowered, then they came up and gave their greetings before they began unloading all the supplies from the inside of the helicopter. There were all types of boxes and crates, along with food supplies.

After the path was cleared, Theo and I, along with Brookstone and his brothers jumped down off the huge chopper. A cold wind greeted us first, it blew across the barren plain, rippling the surface of the lake. We looked around waiting until two men dressed in sheepskin coats came out of one of the buildings talking with Smith and Jones. They came up to us new-comers, introducing themselves as the field coordinators for the Big Bear Mining Corporation. Jones and Smith had already walked over to the container and were giving orders to the workers. They were unloading the van and moving crates to specified areas, moving equipment into a large well constructed tent. Another group of workers were gathered around the crates, stacking and bundling things together inside the tent.

The two mining engineers seemed more than happy to have visitors, but were baffled who Theo and I, along with Brookstone and his brothers, might be. They introduced themselves as Oliver Chromthumb and Harvey Silznik, then invited us into one of the tents standing next to an ancient stone edifice. As the helicopter had reached the upper plain, Brookstone had filmed the entire area so that the watchers back on The Inheritance could see a reason for this van to be brought up to the higher desert area.

There, high up on the mountain, the engineers, with earnest anticipation, invited us into their tent, then asked their elderly servant to brew up some fresh coffee and were soon inquiring about our role in coming up to the camp. It was obvious that these two men were eager to talk with English speakers, who were possibly educated as well. However, there seemed to be some apprehension on their part, not knowing exactly how to accept us. We let Brookstone be our spokesman and break the ice.

"We have been traveling aboard the freighter The Inheritance, to learn to make connections, and to get acquainted with life at sea. My family and I are soon to begin our own shipping company and need to learn what is necessary and useful."

"How did you hear about us and our mining ventures?" Oliver asked.

Brookstone was looking over several maps that hung on the wall when he answered that they had been sent to help deliver the sea containers to the medical outpost down below and wanted to see the beauty of these mountain areas. "We were told that there were mining engineers up here doing research. We've always been interested in the Andes and especially the Inca ruins. We thought this would be a chance in a lifetime to actually see some of it while we delivered the medical supplies. We thought we might get even a better view, up higher, from your camp. Since the ride was there, we decided to take it."

"You say you are aboard a freighter?" Harvey Slink, the large bearded man, asked with some irritation that we were here; yet, he seemed interested in the fact we were aboard a freighter.

Theo answered, "Yes, The Inheritance from Canada, a coastal freighter, consigned by the navy at Pearl Harbor to deliver supplies to Pisco Bay to begin helping the earthquake victims. We happened to be traveling aboard."

Brookstone thought it a good idea to toss in a sidetrack, "This trip to Peru was a detour for us. We were supposed to be headed for west Australia and Indonesia for a business connection, but the US Navy asked the owners of The Inheritance to make an emergency trip to Pisco and deliver needed supplies to the victims of the quake—and so here we are."

"Do you mind me asking what type of business connections you had in Australia and Indonesia?" Silznik casually but slyly inquired.

Brookstone went on as though it were no big deal to tell their business ideas, "We have a smaller freighter being refurbished at present and we are trying to establish shipments from the west coat to Asian ports. We are hoping to be handling shipments of minerals from Australia to various refineries in Indonesia and, if possible, up to the States."

Now Brookstone and the rest of us were watching carefully for any reaction, and yes, Chromthumb sat up and took a closer look at the brothers. "You do know that part of our exploration in this area is to test for possible mineral extraction?"

"We sort of figured this. No other reason for you to have such an elaborate set up with all these diggings, unless you were archeologists with all the right approvals from the government."

Now this statement definitely got some facial reactions. Eyebrows shot up, eyes narrowed down, and Oliver began to choke. But just then, the old Indian woman came out of the back with a tray set with coffee cups and several dishes of cheeses and hard pastries. Oliver Chromthumb, apparently the head of this camp, gestured, saying, "Help yourselves, this is the best coffee for miles around," and guffawed at his statement. But his partner Harvey Silznik, who had gone quiet during this exchange, seemed pleased to have the subject interrupted by the servant woman.

Silznik stated, "It's gonna take more than a few shiploads of supplies to make a dent in the disaster of this massive quake, or should I say, quakes."

His partner added, "Not just the earthquakes, but the tsunami that followed which probably did more damage than the quakes."

"That's for sure. We just flew over the areas. No doubt, it's a disaster of major proportions," Jasper added as he waved his cup around, and asked, "How did you fare up this way?"

"We got to admit, it was one of the most frightening things we have ever experienced. This whole damn mountain shook like a bear shaking off water. Imagine seeing the earth roll. Those huge boulders actually tumbled from off the mountain, and that jagged ridge rose up. There are some deep crevices that are now wide open on this plain. It was bad, really bad, but none of us were hurt," Harvey Silznik got a little excited in telling his experience.

Brookstone tried digging out more information from these mining engineers, if that is what they were, but they seemed to dodge the description of their actual work up here. Then Smith came into the tent asking for coffee and told the two engineers that the chopper had a problem that was going to take some time to fix. "That's not good. It means evening will arrive before you can get out of here. Is that right?"

"Looks that way for now, but we are working on it."

Silznik looked over at all of us and said, "Welcome to Peru. Looks like you're gonna have to spend the night up here."

"You could sleep in the chopper. It's insulated and there are blankets in there. You'll need them, it gets mighty cold up here," Oliver surmised.

"We're in no hurry, and it would be interesting to go out and take a look at those quake openings, never seen them before," Morgan finally got into the act, and really wanted to look around.

"That would be okay, but you got to be careful. Those crevices are deep. In fact one is spooky, its depths reach down into the core of this mountain. When we drop rocks down there, it takes a long time before we can hear them hit water."

"Wow. Can we go while there is still light out there?" Jasper asked. "This sounds exciting."

"Better now than tomorrow, we got a lot of work to do yet," Oliver got up and pulled on a woolen cap and pointed to the tent opening, "Be my guest, please."

# Chapter 17

# Something Big On The Mountain

If we would search out that special moment in each day,

life would be an adventure, a real discovery

and a trip worth remembering.

Being at the base of Mount Coropuna made me realize the altitude, for the air was so much thinner. Our brief meeting ended and we walked out into the afternoon shadows which cooled the breeze into a slight chill. Strolling up towards the mountain, an afternoon peace reflected down into the lake. The group had to weave its way around various holes and pits dug into the rocky ground. No doubt someone had been excavating, taking samples or testing the rocks in the area.

The well worn path led us past a large work tent set up next to an ancient stone building. Silznik indicated that these tent and standing buildings were off limits, they were the places where the minerals and samples were stored. As we walked around, all indications were that this entire plateau could have been an ancient temple complex. We could see outlined foundations, collapsed stone buildings, and soon came to a marvelous wall of finely cut stone.

The wall was about three foot thick and averaging eight feet tall. But it was the cut of stone that was most fascinating. Each stone was cut with straight edges, still fitted together almost without any gaps unless the weather had broken them. The inner stones had been cut with odd corners and unusual angles. This gave the wall the ability to flex. Yes, flex and roll in case there were ever an earthquake. Apparently, quakes in the Andes were a common event and over the centuries the Incas built their walls to withstand their effects.

Speculation rose up again, how those ancient people could have cut stone down into such precision blocks without using any steel. Where did they get their engineering abilities to design and construct an incredible road system, cities nearly suspended in the clouds and water delivery systems that had been in use for thousands of years? The workmanship and engineering could only be admired, but it became obvious that there was more than a mining expedition going on here and now.

Soon they came to the jagged openings in the earth. It was rather frightening to see how the power of nature just ripped open the earth and split it down to its guts. Sure enough, one crevice had to be at least a thousand feet deep. There was no way to see but a short way down, for the walls of the rip went back and forth. When a rock was dropped down, small landslides would begin tumbling down and down and down into the blackness and only in the quietest moment could you hear something hit. Now and then we could catch a whiff of methane gas floating up out of the depths which had to be the beginning of a vent. The thought of someone being tossed or falling into this crevice made all of our hairs stand up. It was more than spooky getting close to the gash, much less ever falling into one.

Chromthumb explained that they had lowered several men down into these deep crevices to take samples. This had to be one of the most dangerous jobs we ever heard of. Silznik commented that those guys never were the same, and all the rest of the workers refused to be sent down.

The trail went up and over small hills and we could see where the diggers had been digging trenches into the small mounds, one here and another there. When we reached the upper part of the plateau we could see for miles around. Jasper's eyes slowly scanned the plateau and took every little detail in. He finally commented, "This entire area looks like it was once an Inca settlement, or maybe a sacred temple area."

Oliver shot his head over to Jasper asking him why he thought that. "Well, from up here, you have this pristine lake and there seems to be a number of ancient ruins next to it. Those standing walls had to encompass something important, or why would they build such elaborate walls. Then he pointed up to Mount Coropuna behind them and finished up his observations, "That is Mount Coropuna. It is known to be one of the highest peaks in the Andes and that alone makes it sacred. The Incas were not only famous for honoring such things but were known to build temples and make sacrifices to the gods of the mountains."

Oliver stood there intrigued at Jasper's knowledge of the Incas and asked him, "Are you some expert on the Inca history or what?"

"Not really, but having to spend weeks at a time aboard a freighter, I have learned to read and study, and I love the history of the Spanish conquest and this land called Peru."

The afternoon was quickly fading, witnessed by a cool wind from out of the west. Mica was slightly bent over, having his ear bent towards the lake, listening intently to something. Morgan asked him if he were okay.

"I hear a strange noise. It is not the wind but seems to be coming from below us."

Oliver Chromthumb hesitantly delivered an explanation, "This is an amazing area. No doubt the Inca kings migrated up here, running from Pizarro and his Spanish invaders, and built extensive caverns to hide in." He pointed to the three large openings in the cliff where a fast flowing stream poured forth from the wide mouthed cavern. "That stream flows out of the heart of the mountain and has been diverted into the lower lake where a series of canals catch the overflow. The lake is constantly filled with its overflow. We do not recommend that you go swimming there, for an elaborate drainage system is built into the lake bottom so that water from the lake flows into an under ground aqueduct and comes out at the Majes Valley below. Many people have been swallowed up by the lake and their bodies never seen again. We learned this the hard way when two of our workers went for a swim and were sucked down, never to be found. We went looking for them by draining the lake into these open canyons and that is how we discovered the lake's drainage system." He did not elaborate more than that, but when the lake had emptied, they had found tons of golden images and precious stones lying at the bottom of the lake.

"What makes this plateau so different is the tradition attached to it. They say that a burning sun fell and struck the base of the mountain and created a vast hole, which was then filled up by the waters from out of the mountain. These type of events became part of the Mayan and Inca religions; they most likely made this area a sacred place and probably the last refuge of the Inca kings."

We moved around several huge boulders, pressed into the ground along the path, getting closer to the outside cavern openings. That was strange, Morgan thought, a stream flowed out of one cavern while warm air blew out of the middle cavern. Jasper noticed that a well worn path was going directly into the center caverns and wondered what might be in the cave.

Morgan intimated, "That heated wind must be from deep inside the mountain...which, I hope is a dormant volcano."

They had followed the path around huge house-sized boulders leading up to the cliff. Silznik was a bit more free with their exploration of the area, "Those larger boulders once sealed the three caverns. But the quake rolled them back and now we hear the noise from the inner mountain. That is the noise you are probably hearing."

Chromthumb shot his companion a dirty look as to say enough is enough and stopped them before they got any closer to the mouths of the caverns. "It is very dangerous for when the big quakes hit. The entire mountain shook and those huge boulders, once part of the cliff, broke loose and exposed the caverns; rocks have been falling ever since. We thought we were going to be crushed to death."

"That is amazing. Did the boulders roll off the mountain or were they always hiding the caverns? Because those openings look so uniform." Morgan inquired.

"From what we can tell, they were part of the cliff face and they were broken loose and tumbled down the hillside." Silznik offered this thought but was hesitant to say more.

"It is really dangerous to get closer, rocks and boulders keep sliding off the mountains, and until things settle down, we cannot fully explore the caves. We've already lost a few men to slides and we just don't want anyone else up there," Chromthumb spoke up sternly. It was obvious that he was laying down restrictions and that he did not want us seeing more.

A small rock slide came bouncing down the front side of the cliff, as we were listening to his warnings.

The sun had moved behind some coastal cloud formations and a late afternoon chill settled onto the plateau. Silznik broke into the conversation saying that it was time to get back to the camp. The sun goes down here fast and it could get even more dangerous with rocks sliding and all those pits open.

As our group descended towards the camp area, Brookstone's curiosity grew when he saw both Smith and Jones riding the tractor into the larger tent. They were pulling a flat trailer with two large well-built crates. Brookstone was pretty sure they were the reinforced crates that they had seen inside the sea van. Wonder what they were for, he thought. He had seen many mining operations around the world and this did not have the obvious settings for any mining exploration that he could recall. In fact, it looked more like an archeological dig. One open pit was in the middle of a raised foundation made of finely cut stones. It looked like an ancient well wall that someone had been digging in.

The night came on quick and the cold settled in as the brilliant stars blazed the night sky into worshipful brilliance. It was easy to see why the ancients could turn the night skies and the heavenly bodies into divine masters. We ate a tasty rice and canned-beef meal and made our beds in the helicopter. I had waited to call The Inheritance and speak with the crew and the girls. Reception was clear but the battery power was low. I delivered the news on the mining operations and the strange works going on up on this high plateau. Crystal and Amber were the most vocal about us staying on the mountain overnight. They were already concerned about our having to travel in a worn out chopper, no less to be sleeping unguarded against any danger, especially hinting at Jones and Smith.

Too many things were piling up too fast. Morgan had seen what looked to be armed guards inside the tent area. This would be strange if it were true. It was Jasper who did a midnight look around. He was gone for about an hour and returned with verification that there were armed guards inside the large tent. Apparently, some work with the two large crates was taking place. He assumed that the shipping crates were being packed and made ready to take down the mountain in the morning.

The return flight had been scheduled for the morning—then the monkey wrench was cast into the works. Shortly after breakfast, just as we were readying ourselves to depart, the main mechanic came up to Chromthumb and reported that it was going to be at least another day before they could get the chopper up and running. This caused some agitation among the group, and an argument broke out between Smith and Jones and the mining engineers. I contacted The Inheritance again and reported the delay. I asked that they would contact the Majes Outpost and let them know about the delay of, we hoped, only one more day. This extra day was really a great opportunity to get the chance to explore the site before we departed. We did not know it at the time, but this opportunity was going to turn into an adventure beyond our comprehension.

So the new day began!

# Chapter 18

# Mining Or Archeology?

The morning kingdom greeted the gates of the dawn with its waiting song, the crown of the day rose gleaming, and the day wore it shining!

There is something to say about sitting around a fire high in the Andes Mountains under the glow of a trillion stars in the middle of the night.

With the fire burning red and yellow, in quiet exchanges with those gathered, we became acquainted with one elderly man of the mountain. In the glow of the fire his features displayed an ancient look that must have come out of fifty generations long gone, he had to be a descendent directly from the Inca race. He stood back, like a smoky shadow among the gathering, quiet and listening but had a presence about himself. He was rugged, short and stocky, with a face that rivaled a burnt walnut shell.

It was Morgan who engaged him in our conversation by asking questions about the mountains. Stepping forward he answered with great dignity, speaking English rather well. More than a common worker, certainly an elder, respected by all the native workers, somehow a manifested guardian come to watch over the young villagers who had been hired to work with the engineers. We could not quite catch his full name as it was given in an ancient dialect, but in English, he was called Son of Eagles, so we called him Eagleson. He came from a family of guides, which was also famous for working with and capturing condors, the eagles and other great birds of the Andes.

Besides his rough outdoor clothing he wore an old cowboy hat with two eagle feathers sticking out of the band. Truly, this old man looked like something out of a long lost novel. He was well respected and seemed to be a shadow in the camp, just staying out of the way, but with the eyes, I guess you might say, of an observant eagle!

After a most enlightening conversation around the fire with the stars having announced heavens glory, Eagleson had quietly agreed to give us a tour the next day—if for some reason we were going to be there. There was a feeling that the village elder had something to say and we wanted to hear, so he accepted his services for us. He did stress that the tour would begin very early. Rest up and keep it quiet, do not tell others, was his only requirement.

Before dawn we were awoken by the elderly guide, tapping us with his long walking stick. Then he faded into the background and waited patiently, letting us know we would be gone for the day. Within moments we had thrown a few things into our shoulder packs and we were up and following the old man of the mountain.

The first stop was a walled plateau several thousand feet up the east side of the mountain, overlooking a vast canyon and a rushing river far below. It had to be an ancient observation area; with the large flat stone in the middle, we were sure that ancient kings and their priests had sacrificed innocent virgins to the rising sun in this very place. The sun was still sleeping behind the far world's edge, but the heavens were glowing brilliant from over the distant ranges.The only thing sacrificed that morning had been a good pot of boiling coffee beans and a few hours of good sleep.

Eagleson was quiet as in contemplation, wrestling with his thoughts. He seemed to be murmuring prayers, waiting, watching like an eagle searching below for something to move. Everyone stood there awed at the spectacular view and the dawn rising. With some reservation, the elderly guide responded passionately when asked about Inca history and these treasured mountain ruins. All the distant peaks were pointed out, named, and described with a brief history. Jasper had the feeling that they were standing with a divine man of the past, floating on the edge of the clouds.

There in the eastern sky we could see a thin fog rising up out of the darkness. Eagleson explained that this was the humidity rising up from the Amazon jungle hundreds of miles below us. It went unsaid, but this morning was one of those moments that could only be called a spiritual revelation.

There was no reason to ask any more questions, he had opened up like a rare encyclopedia, we just let him talk according to his own feelings. The sun began to peek forth in a brilliant vermilion glow, shooting out golden rays of dazzling light. In this new born light he would point out various areas of interest, interconnecting trails or what might be an ancient network of well planned roads, taking on the appearance of veins of gold in the morning sunrise. Oddly enough, the trails seemed to be headed up to this mountain. His bony finger traced out hundreds of stone walls holding up step-down terraces which encircled plateaus of long past gardens, now overgrown with thick mountain foliage, the ancient agriculture gardens built into the slopes of the mountains. The terraces were still there but the people were gone. We could actually see several damaged and overgrown canals that once carried water to the distant villages. But it was the three caverns that had us the most interested. Eagleson finished up and led us back down and around by a trail cut into the face of the cliff.

The old guide pointed out several dangerous and recent rock falls along the way. It was around sunrise when we saw the first smoke rising up from the mining camp far below. We crossed a stone bridge, spanning the fast flowing stream rushing out of the cavern and moved behind one great boulder.

He explained that the water cavern was a collecting point. Melting snows from off the mountain trickled down into springs and they fell into the cave. The water had flowed for centuries, cutting a groove into the cave itself. Soon the old guide stood looking down into the entrance to the middle cavern. It was a smoothly cut opening and we could see where the huge boulders had once been fitted into the openings.

The old mountain man drew our attention to the cavern openings, "Those boulders did not roll off the mountain. They had been secured over the openings of the caverns by man's engineering ability and made to blend in with the face of the cliff. They had been in place for centuries. It took a strange quake to break them loose." Eagleson explained that the creek that poured out of the first cavern had always been thought to be a mountain spring; no one knew that it flowed out of a cavern. Brookstone was listening, bent down refreshing himself with the clear running water flowing from the mountain cavern.

Eagleson looked around and without hesitation he waved us into the mouth of the middle cavern. Just a short ways into the cavern, the steps began to descend down and down into the darkness. The further we went the darker it grew but there was still enough light to help us see our way. Eagleson had worked and explored the cavern with several of his younger helpers and knew where large oil lamps waited. He also explained that the miners or treasure hunters had spent much time in this cavern and to be careful that we did not stumble over their tools and junk lying around.

The mountain peaks were sacred to the Incas. This is where life came from. Snow fell from the heavens and collected there. Then over the seasons the mountain would slowly deliver life-giving water into the streams. The Inca engineers would capture the waters in the streams and divert it into their cross country aqueducts, then channel the waters into branch canals. These canals would carry the water to the fields, to the hundreds of terraces and plateau gardens, and into each town and village below. They considered every mountain as a godly entity. There were few peaks that were vacant of temples and altars that did not receive daily sacrifices to the god of the mountain.

Now here was a perfect example of what was once a temple complex, most likely set up in service of sacrificial offerings. We were about to walk into the heart of this sacred mountain. With all respect, we followed Eagleson down. Our elder took up several lamps and tarred torches and lit them as we descended further down the well worn stairway.

Everyone thought it would get cold as we went further into the mountain but instead, the heat from somewhere out of the depths rose up. We had to be several hundred feet down into the cavern when it opened up to a huge room, where every step echoed across the chamber. Immediately, we began to take slow and lighter steps as to keep the echoing down. It seemed as though we were in a sacred realm; little did we know.

The chamber had been carefully encircled with an outer stone wall. The workmanship in this circular wall was phenomenal. How the stone cutters could have so finely cut an edge on each stone was a mystery in and of itself. Since no iron tools had been used, there were many theories on how this might have been achieved.

One interesting theory was that the Incas used an acid extracted from a certain plant to soften the edge of the rock, then chipped it away as needed. These finely hewn walls, more than anything, intrigued Morgan and Mica. Both being engineers, they could not keep their hands from feeling the craftsmanship of the walls. We could see the mountain rock rising up behind the wall, into a massive dome which was glittering with silvery mica chips. The lanterns made the mica chips glitter as stars in the heavens. Our shadows were projected as giants moving along the chamber walls, creating a majestic awesomeness.

Once our eyes adjusted to the shadows and darkness, we could see where many side caves were cut into the chamber walls. We could see where stones had been moved and someone had been working and digging around. Eagleson pointed around to the smaller cave openings that went completely around the chamber. He explained that these side caves were burial chambers for hundreds. Theo went over to one and began looking down into its long smooth opening. The entire cave was filled with bones, which were set on inset shelves cut into the stone. There had to be hundreds, maybe even thousands of skeletons in this one cave. Soon Jasper and Brookstone were standing there in reverence. They knew that this was no place to be messing around; it was a mausoleum. Mica asked Eagleson how long this site had been open to the mining company.

A fractured look came over Eagleson's face as he revealed, "They are no mining company. Are treasure hunters who have disturbed many burial chambers. And this is bad. Very bad."

This statement caught all of our attention. "You must be a keeper of the mountain," Theo both inquired and denoted.

The old guide looked around, it was quiet for a time before he spoke, "Yes, I am not only a descendent of the ancient ones, but an official for the Peruvian Archeological and Antiquities Department." Now this got our attention...a descendent from the ancient ones?

Jasper turned and held the lantern up to Eagleson's face and asked, "Does your government have a problem with this mining venture? If they do find minerals, that will mean a great financial reward for your country, isn't that right?"

"This is true, but I'm afraid that they are after something else. I didn't get up here but a few weeks ago, just before the big quake. I've been trapped here, not able to do a thing about what I suspect," Eagleson's black eyes stared deep into Jasper's face.

Brookstone took his time before asking the old Man of the Mountain, "Why are you telling us all this? How do you know that we are not with the so-called miners?"

Eagleson looked all of us over, and then said, "I do not know who you are. But I do not see greed in your faces. I am desperate and must trust someone with what I know." He paused for several long minutes then proceeded, "I feel that my life is soon to be finished and this crime against my people must be stopped. I have no other ways to contact anyone with authority to do something. The earthquake has destroyed all lines of communication, and the only way down is by mule or llama. Since all the bridges and paths are destroyed, it might take months for anyone to get through. My hope was renewed when I saw you get off the flying buzzard and realized you were not with those other men and the guards."

"What actually do you know?" I decided to ask.

Eagleson looked at me, measuring out what exactly he was going to say. "The lake for example. They say that two of their workers disappeared there. They drained the lake by emptying the water flow into one of the quake openings. According to my village workers, as the lake level dropped they began to discover hundreds of artifacts, golden images and statues and a chain of sorts." He was standing there shaking his head. "The two workers had been sucked down into an underwater drainage tunnel that must carry waters down to Majes. The bottom of the lake was thick with icons, images and golden relics. They loaded up crates of these things and then refilled the lake until the first load could be removed out of there. They knew that the helicopter would be coming up this way because it had landed at Majes several days earlier, and they did not know who might be coming this way. But the entire camp is set-up to steal the ancient treasures...and that is what I know so far."

"Do they know who you are?" asked Morgan.

"They think I am the elder or overseer of the workers from Majes. If they knew I worked for the government of Peru, I may have been dropped into the bottomless opening you have seen yesterday. In fact, bringing you up here, may be my last try to do something."

Brookstone's intimations were right, there was something else going on here, "What can we do to help you Eagleson?"

A glimmer of hope came over the old man's rugged face as he rubbed his chin. "Whatever they have loaded into those crates is unknown to me. I got here after they had already located something worth keeping secret. I tried to find out what they had been working on and one of my village workers told me that they had been diving and working in the lake when the two villagers disappeared. It looks like they found something extraordinary, for one night they lifted several large objects from the lake, but no one saw what it was. They had their own guards keeping the village workers away. That night, two of my people disappeared.

"After the earthquake shook the mountain and the boulders that once sealed these caverns rolled away, it became obvious that they were treasure hunters who came, not miners. They went through this chamber and took every piece of gold and treasure out." The old man pointed to many of the small insets that had once held sacred objects from centuries ago. "They stripped this chamber clean."

Some rocks broke loose from the ceiling and hit the steps a short way from us. One larger one broke into pieces, and the rest were sent flying in all directions. "This is what I mean by dangerous. The cave could collapse at any time. Our voices could be setting the rocks loose to fall on us. So speak softly and try not to make noise."

"Where did they put those things?" Morgan asked.

Eagleson pointed to an area where tools, ropes and wooden crates were piled, saying that they had loaded everything up into crates and took them to the tent. "I'm not sure but I think all the images and sculpture went into many of those crates. I do not know for sure. I do know there has to be much gold and jeweled objects that were in this chamber."

Mica asked if he might try out their new flashlight video devices. Each of them carried one flashlight and when it was turned on, it not only acted as a light, but it became a sensitive video recorder. If the atmosphere was okay, the signal would be transmitted to The Inheritance communication center where they could see first hand what was being filmed. Not only that, there was a built in chip that captured both sound and video which could be retrieved and studied later. Brookstone nodded his approval, "Might as well, this way we got some proof of this thieving scheme."

Morgan asked Eagleson what was in the last cavern next to this one. "It is the main burial cave. It goes back deeper than this one. These two last caves are connected by a cross tunnel further back. However, this center cavern became the crematorium or final sacrificial chamber as we will see. What I believe is that when the Spanish conquistadors invaded, the Inca kings realized the breakup of their kingdom. When they saw that there would be no victory, they began to flee farther into the mountains. They built many of these lower village fortresses almost as decoys, while carrying away the last great treasures of the Inca kings. The Spanish monks tortured thousands of the priests and royalty, trying to figure out where the gold went. This is where the rumors of a two ton gold chain came from, along with treasures of jewels and precious stones of every size. One of the kings collected as many of the icons, masks and statues as possible and then melted all the gold in storage and created the chain. He did this so that no one could steal away the treasures altogether. It seemed that one thing would be better to hide than hundreds of smaller golden objects. They say that it took over 200 men to carry the chain. The captured slaves knew about the treasures but had no idea where they had disappeared to. As Pizarro searched through these mountain cities and canyons hunting for treasure, the Inca rulers had been preparing a final refuge, using the final times to hide their treasures as they fled."

There was no doubt, we were captivated, born again listeners, our interest was on full alert and wide open. This strange elder portrayed the feeling that time was running out. He seemed to be in a casual hurry to tell more. The drama of the moment increased when more small rocks fell into the chamber. "The lake below the mountain is not a man made lake. From oral tradition, a great burning star fell one night. It struck the mountain and buried itself into the earth and burned up. That is what formed the lake and made it one of the most sacred places of the Inca. The last kings channeled the stream into the crater. The water flowing out of the first cavern was diverted into the lake, making it holy water. The lake has an underground chamber connecting with a cave which carries water to the canyons below. I believe now, this was the long suspected lake where the Inca kings hid some of their gold. This is why the treasure hunters have searched the lake and they did find something most valuable. What it was I cannot say, but it is so valuable that two of my villagers were thrown into the watery cavern at the bottom of the lake and disappeared."

"Why would they do that?" Theo asked.

"Whatever they retrieved from the chambers of the lake is only known by a few. It has to be one of the last treasure discoveries of the Inca Empire—and they did not want anyone to know what was found, and then taken."

Eagleson carefully moved over to the center of the chamber, waving us over to a circular walled pit. There we stood next to a large stone block, and stared down into the depths of this black hole as he went on with his phenomenal oratory, "I believe that this was one of the last and farthest hideaways from the Spanish warriors. The kings had several years to build and prepare a final hiding place for some of their greatest treasures. These last chambers became the final resting place for thousands of fleeing families. I think that this pit was a point where the priests and royal families believed they could enter the world beyond. This is where they would offer their treasures and then leap into the depths of the mountain to be burned alive when they finally hit bottom—if they did"

What was so interesting, was that this old man made it so real, almost as if he was there or had been there first hand. His descriptions captured our imaginations so that we felt we were there, back in time. In front of us in the center of this vast chamber was what we might call an altar. It was like a center well which could have stood in the middle of a small town plaza. At first we thought it was an old abandoned well, but no way. It was about 10 foot across and a rush of hot methane-tainted air slowly swirled up from its dark depths. Eagleson cautioned us to be careful, for time might have weakened the circular wall. And some of these openings were set up with trapdoors and death traps. He took one of the tar torches and used a lighter to begin its burning. The old-fashioned torch flared up bright, and once it was burning strong, he motioned us closer, telling us to be careful here. We leaned over as he dropped the fire into the depths. We stood transfixed, watching the flickering flame disappear. Down and down it went, spinning bright like a falling star in a dark night. We watched the flame grow smaller and smaller, almost to the size of a pin head and still it fell. We could catch glimpses of the sides of the well now and then, as the light spun and fell into what seemed to be infinity. My stomach tightened, thinking that the edge of this pit was going to suddenly break off. We would all be hurled down into those dark depths.

Everyone stood mesmerized, trying to both calculate and imagine who or what could have created this hole into hell. Then after a minute or so, there came a flash type glow from somewhere far below. It was as though the torch had finally found bottom where a pool of methane had collected. Within a few seconds, a whoosh of hot air blasted up out of the pit. This had to be a volcanic cave in the heart of the mountain—nothing to be messing with, not tossing in burning torches into gas puddles. Eagleson told us to step back and we did. After a long while of staring, Jasper turned to the elder Eagleson, "What do you think this was used for?"

Immediately Eagleson waved us back away from the pit, and just as we stepped back, a large cluster of rocks fell from the high ceiling of the cavern. The rocks hit the edge of the well, shattering into hundreds of sharp edged pieces, then as if flushed down, they fell into the pit with an echoing clatter and crashing. "Oh suffering jaws," Jasper yelled out, we could have been killed!" He looked at Eagleson, realizing that this old man had just saved their lives.

"This is what I was saying. Many of the last sacred places are set up with death traps for the disrespectful. You must be careful. I think the hot blast of air that came up from the bottom could have set off the falling rocks. But the entire mountain is full of what you call booby traps and worse."

Everyone was definitely shook up. I was picking out small slivers of volcanic glass from my arm and was almost afraid to take any more steps, wondering what was next.

Eagleson was looking around for more dangers while he had us stand still in our places. "Are you familiar with Inca history and how suddenly the populations of entire cities and villages mysteriously disappeared? I think that this is where the last of the royal Inca kings and their families and villagers came and committed suicide. They most likely offered up the last of the Inca treasures by tossing it into this bottomless shaft, then they would follow. This was a sacrifice to the god of the mountain."

"You've got to be kidding us," Mica was standing nearest the pit while looking into the depths of the hell hole, declaring his skepticism.

Morgan added, "If any gold was ever tossed into the fiery depths of this mountain, you can easily understand that it could not be retrieved."

"Smart thinkers, treasure lost forever," Jasper shook his head for such a loss.

Brookstone sadly added, "No, my friend, this would have been a great honor for those leaders. To actually go and join their offerings and the gods of the mountain, this would have been the place to do it. Better this than to be butchered by a heathen dog named Pizarro."

They were all staring into the blackness as the Old Man of the Mountain added, "There is no other place like this anywhere in the Andes. It is a perfect and final escape from the ruthless invaders."

"How about all those skeletons in the side caves?" asked Morgan.

"Those were most likely the common people or the servants of the kings. Once the great boulders sealed the entrances off, everyone was fated to die here. I think that each body was going to be tossed down into the shaft, but for some reason, the caretakers never got around to it. We are not sure of this, most of all the history was destroyed by the Catholic monks and priests. But we do know that the Inca empire almost came to a sudden conclusion. Where all the Indians went is still a mystery. But I am estimating that between these two caverns alone, there must be ten thousand skeletons. Then how many went into this fiery pit?—maybe ten times more!"

It was Jasper that came up with an idea that excited all of us, "I noticed all the rope on those rolls in the pile there," he pointed to the tools and boxes, and sure enough, there were large rolls of rope. "How about we take a couple of our video flashlights and lower them into the pit as far as we can, to see what might be down there. We can watch the video when we get back to the ship. What do you think?"

"Oh wow. That is good thinking Jasper, let's go for it," Theo got excited.

We soon had two flashlights tied to the rope and very carefully were letting them down into the depths. Down and down they went, twisting and turning. We came to the end of one roll of rope which had to be at least 1000 feet, and then we tied on the second rope and continued to lower it. We could still see the lights moving around as the rope was lowered. We could also hear a tiny bit of water falling somewhere from below. Every so often we would get a puff of fresh air blowing up our way, which meant that somewhere down this hole there had to be outside air flowing in. Maybe there were other ways from the outside to get into this hell hole, who knew.

It was Morgan who thought that it would be an incredible adventure to be lowered down into the depths and see what is really down there. I suggested that we first take a look at what the video shows and then consider sending him down.

Mica was digging around in the pile of tools and realized that someone else had the same idea. One of the items was a large heavy-duty hoist. We figured that this mining gang was going to send someone down into the hell hole to see if they could recover treasure if it was down there. Eagleson was sure that there had to be tons of gold and treasures that were tossed down as a sacrifice to the god of this mountain.

It had to be about ten minutes before the rope went slack and we could barely see the lights so far below. We twisted the rope around and around as we slowly lifted it back out of the pit. This twisting was so the video could get a full round-the-walls picture. It took some time to get the flashlights back and move the ropes back to the piles of tools. Brookstone had us remove the storage cards from the flashlights and tuck them away safely. They would be a treasure in themselves if they came out.

Morgan was still looking down this shaft, shaking his head with the idea that he might be going down there one day, when, a distant echoing voice came floating down into the vast chamber, "Hey down there, this is Silznik. Can you hear me? The chopper is soon repaired and we want you up here and ready to get going—now."

Jasper was given the ok to answer and so yelled, "We hear you, we'll be up in a few minutes."

Eagleson stood back looking up the hundreds of stone steps, nodding that it was time to go but said, "You shall go now, and with you they will send the crates. I do not know how they will take them out of the country but please help the people of Peru and make sure this does not happen." With this, the old wise elder took from off his neck a chain which held an amulet of sorts and put it on Brookstone's neck, "This is my personal protection against any possible curse. It has been handed down from my ancestors and if possible, I'd like it back when our business has been completed. I do not know what shall be, but I ask that you help guard the treasure of this mountain; with this amulet, no harm shall come to you."

We stood there in the light of the lanterns listening to the old Inca villager and guard of ancient treasure. Brookstone answered, "We'll do our best. Can you give us a reliable name to contact back in Pisco?"

"The quake has cut everyone off, it will be difficult. There is my companion in Cusco who you might try and contact, Director of the Colegio Nacional Antiquities Department. His name is Alejandro Coello, a trusted friend of mine. He will help you do the right thing. Do not trust others, this treasure is too great to hand over to just anyone."

"What if we cannot reach him, is there anyone else we might contact?" Brookstone inquired as they began their assent up the stairway.

"Yes, a Corporal Gamarra assigned to the American Embassy in Lima, he can put you in contact with some honest reliable authorities." They came near to the opening as he added, "If for some reason you cannot contact my colleagues then hide the treasure until you can get it back into safe hands. Make a record of what you have seen; this is one of the great last time discoveries in the world."

We stopped and took a moment to shake the elderly Eagleson's hand and give him our assurance that we would do everything possible to make sure the treasures were returned to the people. By strange occurrences beyond our physical knowledge, every one of us knew that we had been assigned a task of far reaching consequences, possibly by forces outside our times. All together we felt that this entire event was part of an ancient long, on-going struggle. For some peculiar reason we had been placed in the center of this historical mystery and had come to know the single man who had the key to the enigma. We felt privileged to know this old man of the mountain. We paid our respects to Eagleson and ascended to the mouth of the middle cavern.

Brookstone handed over one of the unused flashlights to Eagleson and told him what and how it worked. "Use it to contact us and be careful you don't let anyone know you have such a thing. This is all we can do for you at this time."

Eagleson bowed lightly and with an earnest face of hope, he bid us farewell.

The day was well spent as we emerged out of the cavern. Silznik was impatiently waiting at the top for us; the look on his face was nothing less than twisted anger. He was more than bothered that Eagleson had taken us down into the cavern, and in a gruff voice told everyone to hurry it up.

This single event marked the line between suspicion and a full awareness that something more than mining was going on. There had to be big dollars involved here, this was no ordinary operation. We would soon come to learn this for certain.

# Chapter 19

# Final Touches On The Mountain!

Adventure into change might sound like a dream come true, but pray it does not become an un-changeable nightmare!

With the knowledge we now possessed, our walk back down to the mining camp was vastly different. Trying to escape a ruthless army, hungry for gold and thirsty for blood, we could feel the struggles of the ancient people. With our new knowledge of this mountain and its secrets, we were humbled, feeling we were on a sacred plateau, maybe one of the Inca's last known places before they made their final escape into the unknown.

Late afternoon came with the mechanic still working on the chopper, trying to get it ready to go. Chromthumb and Silznik came out and invited us into a farewell meal but something else came along with their invitation.

During coffee, Chromthumb began his inquiry. "Mr. Brookstone, we understand that you are now aboard the freighter The Inheritance. We find ourselves in a strange position with this disaster looming over our work. We were supposed to be shipping down the core samples from this area to Pisco bay where they were to be trucked to Lima, but as you can tell and have seen, the roads and every bridge is gone for hundreds of miles. We are in need of getting these core samples to our company for analysis. The chopper is hopefully, leaving to go back down to the bay this afternoon. We are wondering if you would allow our men to take several sample crates, along with a variety of smaller ones, with you and store them aboard your freighter." With this request came a feeling of covert nervousness.

Theo and I sat back listening to this exchange. Due to the danger, we thought we'd let Brookstone be the front man. "We'll have to check with Captain Vontempski of The Inheritance and they'll let us know. But I don't see any problems." Brookstone looked over at us and added, "We have no say on the use of the helicopter but we'll have to check with The Inheritance for your crates."

"That would be great, it could save several months of our work up here and save us precious time. Our firm will compensate you for all your expenses," Harvey Silznik added.

"Sounds good. Let me call The Inheritance."

Brookstone stepped out of the tent and made his call. Wally consulted with Jocko and they gave their assurance but with reservations. "We'll need a cargo manifest. The military seems to have an eye on us and is double checking things. We don't want any trouble with them," Jocko emphasized. However, Wally felt it best to have the crates delivered to the warehouse first, until everything had been unloaded from The Inheritance. There were some delays in handling the cargo. Then with the possible breakdown of the helicopter, the General was going to put a stop on any more trips up the mountain. Those that were to come out from the Majes Valley outpost would have to do it when the chopper stopped on its way down the mountain. The MAVIN team had a tight schedule to work out and asked Brookstone to make sure there was room aboard for the returning outpost workers and the Highmanner brothers.

After approval was given, Jones and Smith went into the tent and soon the tractor started hauling out the first of the two heavy crates, loading them into the back of the cargo area in the chopper. They weren't ordinary crates. They were made of thick heavy oak planks, cross banded with heavy iron straps and fortified corners. They actually took on the appearance of safes. Brookstone thought this was odd. Why would anyone put a bunch of sample core rocks into such a fortified box; it was just way too heavy. Someone had made sure no one could get into them but they looked like they were made for more than just rock samples. Smith and Jones supervised the handling of the crates, making sure they were balanced and secured. They soon brought up several smaller boxes with the same iron bands sealing them, fitted them into the cargo space and covered everything over. Again, it took more than a few men to move the crates. There seemed to be way too much guarding and security just for several crates loaded with core samples. We learned that Chromthumb and Silznik were remaining behind with their peasant digging crew, but the armed guards were going with the crates. They stated that their company helicopter would be here in a few weeks. They still had much surveying and exploration to be done in this area. The native Indian digging crews stood off watching and waiting in case they were needed handling the crates.

Our little group said our goodbyes to Chromthumb, Silznik and the rest of the new friends we had made and worked our way back to the helicopter. Looking around for Eagleson, we did not see the old man of the mountain as we passed the camping area and reached the Huey helicopter which was now up and running. We waved our goodbyes and boarded the massive flying machine. Within minutes, we lifted off, encircling the upper plateau and all its mysterious sites, and flew west down the high mountain slopes towards the Majes Valley outpost. There, we circled and landed on a cleared area. We could see that repairs had been made to the buildings but there was still a long ways to go. The pilot did not shut the engines down, so it was a difficult to hear the greetings and messages delivered by a number of outpost workers and several of the long term nurses. New faces came aboard with an array of luggage and packing boxes while others handed over letters and messages to be delivered. We wanted to stay around and visit for a time but the pilot was in a hurry. A storm was on its way and he wanted out of the mountains before it engulfed us. As it was, it took some time to load everyone up, so we had a short time to introduce ourselves to the head doctors and reassure them that the Mitchner Foundation would be there for them.

Soon everyone was loaded up, seated tight and we were bound back to Pisco Bay. The chopper crew was informed that we would be landing in a cleared area behind the warehouses. The crates would be moved into the storage areas until The Inheritance had been completely unloaded. This change of plans brought out the worst in Smith. He began making demands that their Big bear Mining crates had top priority and they were to be put aboard The Inheritance first. The General had his orders and until he gave his approval, nothing was going to leave the warehouse. It would be another two days before The Inheritance would be ready to ship out. Final preparations were being made while several new shipments were soon to arrive. The Peruvian military and their engineers were using the smaller cranes off The Inheritance decks to help rebuild the docks that would be needed to off load the bigger ships, soon to arrive.

As we descended over the vast gorges and canyons, Jasper had his feet propped up on one crate and got some dirty looks from Jones. "What is the reason for your security on these crates?" Jasper inquired of Jones.

Jones didn't know exactly how to answer this question but Smith immediately said, "It has taken our company millions of dollars to locate new mineral sources. There are many other mining companies that would love to just take these crates for their own use—without doing any research or ground work. It is necessary to get these deposits back to our labs in Colorado for analyses. We have had troubles with missing samples in the past; our job is to make sure these crates and samples are not interfered with and they all arrive safely."

"I can understand that," Jasper agreed.

The weather fronts came rolling up the mountain canyons buffeting us constantly. The helicopter was knocked about by high winds and then would drop. Everyone had to hold on. One drop was so severe that the crates slightly lifted and thudded down. Brookstone thought he heard something clank inside the crate that Jasper had his feet on. He was not sure, but it was a faint sound of metal. Rock samples would not have clanked like this, Brookstone thought, but let it go. Then about 20 minutes later, everyone was nearly tossed out of their seats as the huge chopper was pushed upward and half way over. Again, the sound of clanking iron or metal caught Brookstone's ears. His suspicion about these crates grew. We finally came to the bay and circled around, then hovered over the warehouses to slowly settle down in an open area. There was a united exhalation of relief. The Inheritance crew was right there to greet their boys home, especially Crystal and Amber.

Theo and I were the last few off and were immediately grabbed up by the girls. We moved off to the side and stood in the doorway of the warehouse watching the show. All of us were relieved that our part of the mission had been accomplished. The nurses and the supplies had been delivered without any troubles as far as we knew. Theo commented, "The eagle has landed!"

Two doctors along with Dallas the special nurse, the one who had been hanging out with Jocko, had returned with us from the Majes Medical outpost and were taken aboard The Inheritance. One doctor was in pretty bad shape, it looked like he would have to be doctored back to health by his companions.

Meanwhile, Amber and Chrstal had volunteered to work on shore in the food and medical distribution tents. They had already set up the water purification systems and were distributing clean water to people. They were conducting classes among the women and children, teaching them how to purify their drinking water and how to prevent diseases from spreading. Theo and I were a little hesitant in allowing this, especially with all those soldiers and nearly starving people. Like it or not, Brookstone asked that one man be assigned to watch the girls while they were on shore. We didn't need anyone getting kidnapped or abused. Even though Amber and Crystal were capable of handling themselves, the other girls would not do as well if there was trouble. One incident did take place, but the soldier that tried grabbing Amber had met with a well orchestrated series of down to earth blows. Everyone had seen this female earthquake helper lay this tough soldier out flat, and the word went out immediately. It only took a few days before the girls had won the hearts of the people. Kids would follow them around and constantly bring gifts of all sorts to the twin wonders. One group of kids came to Crystal and presented their champion fighter with a new born monkey! They were so proud, and of course Crystal could do nothing but accept this unusual gift. Amber made a comment to Crystal, "My kids gave me a gold bracelet they found in one of the creeks...and you got the monkey...Huh!"

Theo was hesitant in allowing this little creature aboard, but the girls had already fallen in love with it, named it Mocko—too late! Everyone went bonkers over how cute it was. I just shook my head, "Don't ask me, it's your girl and it is your monkey now...Good Luck!"

Theo and I would be accompanying the ladies down into the tent classes just in case. The existing authorities of the tent city soon realized that the MAVIN team would be sending needed supplies back down to these many people and nothing but respect was offered. Luke was more than touched by the opportunity to really do something for the people in need. Finally, the MAVIN team had found a place where they were respected and their wealth could accomplish much.

Dustin made contact, giving more information on the various projects they had going in the States. Luke asked Dustin to get hold of an old friend, Leimana Pelton, on the Big Island of Hawaii, and order some of the new bamboo shelter design projects from the Bamboo Building Empowerment Network B. E. N. "His village and operation is on the big Island of Hawaii. Order ten fully completed bamboo buildings and have them shipped to Pisco Bay. Those ready to assemble buildings would fit the bill for replacing a local hospital, an orphanage and whatever else they might want to use them for."

Luke began to get that good feeling that his grandparents Steward and Gladys must have had in helping others; it was deep and satisfying.

Everyone came to Luke and Theo reporting in. Brookstone stayed behind for a while, curious about how the crates were going to be dealt with.

There was a loud disagreement between Smith and General Domingo over the crates. The General set Smith's concerns aside and told him to get his men moving the crates into the warehouse. After a consultation between Smith and Jones, they agreed, but were not happy with this arrangement.

Without knowing it, Luke and Theo had stepped into the target zone of Smith and Jones, whose agenda was to remove Luke Mitchner from off the scene. With all the commotion going on shore, opportunity of every sort had come their way. Jones was given the task of seeing how best to fulfill this hit. It had to look like an accident, so he began to plot things out for just such an event. Smith added into the plot by suggesting that they take over The Inheritance when it left port. How they would accomplish this was not yet known, but the idea began to ferment. The Claremont Mining Alliance had given them orders to retrieve those crates and do a hit on Mitchner. The chaos within the Pisco Bay front, with everyone coming and going, was the perfect opportunity for Luke to meet his end.

Leave it to Brookstone, his suspicious mind was already at work. Even though the crates were stacked near the wall in the warehouse with two guards taking turns walking in and out of the warehouse area, the crates were soon to be investigated. Brookstone assigned Morgan, the most capable person to do a sneak in and camera insertion. Morgan would manage to get behind the crates and drill a tiny hole, inserting a fine cable which had a rotating camera head affixed to its end. The opportunity came somewhere in the night when the surrounding fires burned bright and the soldiers were singing and having a good time with the women.

Morgan crawled around storage boxes and made his way behind the large crates. There was not much room to move around in, so from underneath a tarp covering and a pile of blankets, he reached out and slowly, ever so slowly, began to drill a tiny hole right next to one of the metal straps. The guard would come walking through the warehouse area every so often and the drilling had to be put on hold. Finally, the three-inch oak planks had been drilled and a tiny cable camera slipped into the crate. The night view went on as Morgan moved the camera deeper into the crate. It would jam up and get stuck or run into something until the cable was twisted and sent in a different direction.

On board The Inheritance, signals and images from within the crate were transmitted, and there the MAVIN team sat, watching a flat digital screen come alive with the contents of the crates. It took a few moment for their minds to adjust to what they were seeing. It was Gretchen first to speak out, "Holy-Moly, it looks like a golden chain and some kind of breastplate!"

Brookstone was the first to put all the pieces together, "For sure it ain't no mining operation—unless they were mining for rare treasures. It has to be an archeological dig or to better say, a robbery of the highest kind. That chain must be the original Inca chain of gold or part of it that was hidden away for centuries. The GPR satellite located something below the surface and sent those mining engineers up here to discover what it might be."

His fingers traced the chain as far as the light reached and brought all our attention to what seemed to be a golden suit of armor. We were only able to see the breast plate and it dazzled with studded jewels of all kinds. A minute of speculation buzzed around the room.

"What on earth are we going to do now?" Amber asked, knowing this turn of events would bring trouble.

# Chapter 20

# The Plot!

No matter what...

if the rain falls, if the flowers grow, if time passes, the oceans roar, the clouds burst, the sun shines, snow falls, the wind blows, or the grass turns green,

don't worry, men will always be there to claim their share—Mine!

It was mid morning when secured telephone rang at the Big Bear Mining headquarters. The secretary answered and immediately pressed the intercom to her boss's office, "Mr. Stubbs, you have an important satellite call coming in from Pisco Bay. Nick Smith."

Stubbs laughed at the name of his man in Peru, how many aliases does this guy have, he wondered. He had been waiting for the word on their operation, finally it looked like something was happening. "I hope you have some good news for us, Smith."

"There was some crackling on the line but Smith reported that they had brought the two main crates down to Pisco Bay. Because of the destruction of the roads and bridges for a hundred miles around, Chromthumb and Silznik made arrangements with this Luke Mitchner and his freighter The Inheritance, to take the crates to Lima, maybe even up to the States."

"When is this going to happen?"

"We wanted to load the crates onto the ship earlier today, but this Peruvian General Domingo made us store the crates in the dock warehouses until everything is loaded off The Inheritance ship."

Stubbs took a long drag on his cigar, "I hope you know the importance of this extraction. Those objects in those two crates are easily worth one hundred million. We have spent a lot of money and time locating this treasure, so exercise all caution. Get those crates either to Lima, or maybe to the States, as soon as possible. But get them to us—and don't let anything stand in your way."

Jones interjected his take on the situation, "Things got a little complicated with the earthquake destruction and the military presence. We have to work our way around all that." All the while, he was thinking about this one hundred million, and his palms started sweating.

"Just remember, you guys screwed up at Hope Canyon at the Mitchner Ranch, so don't let Mitchner get away again. We want him put out of business. And we mean out of business—completely! The Mitchner's nearly put us out of business up here, and the only way out from under them is to put Mitchner under."

"We are considering taking a different route for the stuff. We might have to grease some palms over here to get the crates back onto the chopper and fly them up to Lima, until we figure out a way to take The Inheritance."

"Do whatever you think is best to do. If possible, take over that freighter and have it moved up to Lima and load the crates up there. Then sail up the coast to San Diego and we'll meet you there. By the way Smith, there is a nice bonus for the both of you when this job is fully completed, understand the word—fully!"

"Yep, got it. That puts extra gunpowder into my loads."

Details of the mission were exchanged, with full authority given to Smith and Jones to make sure the crates were delivered. This had to be one of the great mining extractions ever known by one of the world's largest mining operations. This single find was worth at least five years of digging into a mountain for minerals.

That evening, Jones and Smith went to pay General Domingo a visit at his headquarters. They brought some of the finest brandy known to the area and began their presentation, "General Domingo. As you know The Big Bear Mining Alliance has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars surveying and extracting samples of ore from one of the upper desert regions. With this earthquake, we have run into complications getting our samples back to our mineral labs. It is vital that we get this done before other mining interests move in ahead of us. You know that our company will employ hundreds of your people in the mines and in handling the ore once it's been mined. This means millions for everyone in this area. Especially for those who have insight ahead of time."

General Domingo suppressed a greedy smile while giving partial attention to his visitors. "Yes, yes, I am aware of all this. What do you want of me?" After another few snorts of brandy, they presented their proposal. "We need to use your helicopter once again. Only this time we'll fly the crates up to Lima where you could load up the chopper with whatever you want. Then return back here and sell your things for a handsome profit. We are willing to pay you at least five thousand American dollars just for the one trip."

General Domingo's eyes shot open as wide as the barrels of a cannon, yet he tried hiding his surprise. Never before had anyone ever offered him so much for such a tiny favor. He enjoyed bribes, of course, every general did, that was part of military life and position, but he instantly fell in love with this one. He sipped his cup of brandy, took a puff on his cigar and blew out the smoke as if he were in the midst of a great decision. "When would you want this to take place?" he asked.

Jones spoke up, "As soon as possible, tomorrow morning if it could be done." That will give us time to deliver the crates and get back here to take over The Inheritance, he was thinking.

"...And my payments—when?"

Jones reached into his overcoat and extracted a sheepskin bundle and tossed it onto the desk next to Domingo's hand. "There is $2500 there, when we unload in Lima and return, we'll give you the rest."

General Domingo was no fool. He had dealt with many men who had no scruples about their words and he wanted some backup in this scheme. "I'd like to send two of my guards along on this trip north, to make sure nothing goes wrong. You understand this, don't you?"

"No problemo. Just have the chopper ready to load up in the morning, fueled and ready to go."

They finished off the brandy, shook hands all around, the deal was made, they headed for the warehouse where they were staying. General Domingo's mind was working overtime. The long range mining investment was one thing, but it was The Inheritance, a perfect sized freighter, that could be used to serve his real operations of smuggling and drug running. And a perfect palace on the sea. He would spend the next few days working out the details on the take-over of this perfect ship, fit for his purpose.

General Domingo sat back, contemplating his achievement in making such a wise and profitable decision. He puffed his cigar while thinking how The Inheritance would be taken away from those punk kids. Maybe he would let Smith and Jones take the freighter first, and then consider taking it back, in the name of the military, away from this Jones and Smith gang. What a nice prize in his arsenal...he was pleasantly thinking.

# Chapter 21

# The Hell Hole Mystery!

Old dancing skeletons that come to mock cannot be defeated with weak arguments—they must be sent packing by prancing powers and swift kicking decisions.

It was late and everyone was tired, it had been a hard few days up the mountain and everyone had been putting in overtime dealing with the tent city on shore. However, everyone became revived when we set up the equipment to review the videos that we had taken in the caverns and then into the pit of hell. This was something to get excited about. If our flashlight videos did work, we would have one of the worlds most incredible insights into time lost to mankind.

The viewing room was packed as the large monitor screen started flickering into view. The first thing we heard was voices, Jasper and Morgan working on the set-up before lowering the flashlights into the pit. The picture was a bit dull to begin with, but once the cameras went over and started to descend, it was as if the light began to reflect back and forth to show a clear picture. It got a little dizzy with the flashlights turning, as they went down and around.

The audio was good. As the flashlights descended you could hear the voices from above talking and sharing ideas about what to do. The venture down this hell hole slowly shut all our mouths. For as the video went down, it filmed emblems and symbols that had been carved into the walls before Mexico was invaded. About 100 feet down, there was a side tunnel that came in from the east; how deep or far it went could not be determined, the lights were moving too fast. Then, about 500 feet down further, there came a larger opening. It had an arch shape cut to its opening and the floor jutted out into the cavern a few feet. This had to be something that man had worked on or cut through.

Then further down, the source of the water noise was revealed when a side cavern had a small waterfall pouring out of it. The water splashed out and was blown back into the rock sides where thick moss grew along the way. There were notches cut into the side walls which allowed someone to climb up or down to these different side caverns. Now and then, a puff of whitish steam would come out of a crevice in the wall. Then, as the hell hole continued straight down, outcroppings of rock jutted out from the walls.

There we began to see what had to be skeletons suspended or stuck onto the sharp-edged rocks. It was obvious that someone had been tossed down the shaft, or jumped and bounced along until eventually hitting the sharp edge, and there they died. Some of the suspended skeletons were clothed and wore some type of garments. Now and then we would see chains of gold caught onto the ledges. There now began more openings and as the lights went by, we could see that they were filled with bones, skulls and what looked like images of gold or silver and stone.

"O my gosh, that is a baby skeleton," Gretchen cried out as she pointed to a small skeleton broken onto a jagged ledge.

"Talking about abortion..." it was JJ in all seriousness...if he could be serious!

We were near 1500 feet when the cameras began to reveal piles of human remains smashed down upon one another. It reminded me of some of the terrible pictures I had seen back in Germany of the Dachau concentration camp, where the nazi murders would pile thousands of corpses into massive graves and then bury them over. There must have been a cave-in along in time, for there was a pile of stone which had broken off the side walls and compacted the skeletons down some 20 feet. Now it was clear that this pile of human remains was mixed with every sort of icon, image, ornament, and sculpture. There were no words that would describe the site. We could actually see clawed hands gripping some icon or image; the speckle of gold shown through the pile of burnt bones. If a person could ever get down to this level and dig through these bones they could easily retrieve millions in gold and in rare treasure.

How deep this cavern went we could not tell, but if it went another 500 feet down, we would estimate that there had to be 100,000 skeletons compacted there. Could this have been the last place for the Inca kings and their families to have vanished?

The recorders picked up a weird howling sound. It had to be a breeze or maybe gas escaping through a vent or side tunnel. But when we stopped the film and took a closer look into some of the side tunnels that had been shown, we saw that humans had either lived in them or the side caverns were used as temples. Without light we could not distinguish what existed inside the side chambers. There was no doubt, men had been down in these areas. We did see what looked like a bridge or ladder inside one cave. This might have been used to cross the main cavern to reach a cave opening across the way.

We estimated that it would take 100 archeologists 1000 years to explore this one cavern. Every time the cameras moved around, another picture would be shown. The shadows of black and white created a most frightening mood. Very few words were spoken during this first journey down the hell hole; we were left with a million questions.

I was disturbed by the things we had just seen, and thought to say, "Would it even be right for us to share this film with anyone? If word ever got out about the amount of treasure that lay down in those depths, there would be no way for any law to prevent hundreds of treasure hunters from swarming all over this mountain. Most likely there were side tunnels leading into the main shaft from the outside, but hopefully, earthquakes over the centuries would have sealed them off." The feeling left with all of us was of a terrible tragedy—a horrific disaster beyond imagination.

"Maybe hundreds of villages had emptied out and the frightened natives had marched up through the canyons to sacrifice their children and their own lives to the god of this mountain. It had to be a final place of death for hundreds of thousands. We'll never know, but we do know that this mountain has to be one of the most massive graveyards in the world."

Theo admitted to his feelings, "After seeing this film I realize now the strange feelings that I had after leaving the cavern. I thought it was concern about finding another treasure or the flight back down the mountain, but I know now that we were the first ones in 700 years to witness death on such a scale and under the most horrific condition."

This half hour video revealed never before seen carvings, pictures, drawings, unexplored caverns, hidden treasures and a massive grave which might hold up to 100 thousand skeletons. Secrets from long past, answers for the world today, were just shown to us. Now what we were going to do with this exclusive discovery was a whole new dilemma. For myself, I had never seen our team lock down into such a serious mood. The feelings about the magnitude of this discovery was nearly overwhelming. There were just too many aspects attached to this so called hell hole.

The room was very quiet, there was a tangible atmosphere of edginess when Gretchen carefully spoke up in a timid voice. "My parents were what you would call spiritual people. They would go on retreats to help out missionaries and would often gather the family and pray about certain things. They had to deal with many strange situations while working in far away places. My suggestion is that we might say a prayer about this situation. If you are in disagreement with this idea, maybe take the time on your own to pray for protection and a guardian angel, at least to deal with these feelings. You never know."

With this, it was Esther who was hit with something that jolted her and her hands shot up as if in prayer. I took that seriously, knowing that she had already given me insights to things to come—and for sure, we all seemed to be submerged into a memorial of the dead.

We ended the night by asking Brookstone to say a little prayer to help clear our minds from what we had witnessed and experienced. Over the months of our acquaintance with the Kaamin family and learning about Brookstone and his exploits, we knew that he had, on several of his covert operations buried companions and fellow mercenaries. He had learned the general formalities of prayer under different situations. Therefore, it was natural that we asked him to say some comforting words. He didn't hesitate; in his simple bold manner he spoke forth adequate words that did bring some comfort to most of us.

There came that old phrase to me, "As long as there is time, nothing will ever be the same." It seemed as though as soon as we closed one door, five others would open. My question for myself was, "How long was this going to go on?" I pondered about all the situations since my inheritance had been activated. When were we going to be able to just get back to a normal life? A little shake of fear ran up my spine as I thought that maybe this was life for us from now on. I got to thinking that maybe that prayer did help us. I might have been in shock from witnessing that hell hole, and I could be in shock still.

# Chapter 22

# North To Trouble!

Wrong is a terrible place to find yourself while your enemy is just warming up!

By morning the sky was dark and cloudy with gusty rain showers passing overhead. The early morning activity had started up a bit early, but our kitchen was up and running. Everyone would have a good breakfast first before heading to the tents and supply areas to help where they were needed. With the revelation of what was inside those two crates, Luke and Theo were more than anxious to keep an eye out on their movements. It was Gretchen and Amber who came up to get the water purifications systems up and running for the day, when they noticed that the crates were being loaded onto the chopper. Immediately, Luke and Theo went over to the chopper and asked Smith and Jones what they were doing. "We were under the assumption that the mining engineers Chromthumb and Silznik made arrangements with The Inheritance to ship back the crates with us."

"Just a little change in plans," Jones smiled and answered.

"Who gave you these new instructions?" Luke asked.

"Orders from headquarters in Colorado," Jones answered.

Then Smith spoke up, "The only thing we'll need from you Mitchner and Vontempski, I think, is a few barrels of fuel. We'll move the chopper onto the dock and you might top us off but besides that, we no longer need your services."

This statement was rather blunt, it did not seem right. Now that we knew what was in those crates, we were very concerned about what might happen if these guys were caught or got away with this. Brookstone had informed the team of the events up on the mountain and the plea from the old man on the mountain, Eagleson. We went back to The Inheritance and gathered our team up and told them what was taking place. "What should we do about this? if anything." Theo said.

"In reality, we cannot do a thing, unless we are told different. What business is it of ours if they do move the crates out of here," Jay shrugged his shoulders as he gave his opinion.

"If they get caught hauling that treasure out of here, it might reflect back onto us and we could have a ton of soldiers swarming over The Inheritance," Wally added.

"Wait a minute here folks, we gave our word to Eagleson that we would help, I am not going back on my words," Brookstone announced.

"What if we ask if a couple of us could travel to Lima with them. We could keep an eye on things, and maybe get hold of a few contacts," Wally suggested.

"I don't think this would do us any good, we got a few more days here and then we're gone," Theo said.

They heard the HUEY transport helicopter thudding over the warehouse, making its way down to the newly repaired docks. We had asked our crew to make ready the transfer of fuel to the chopper when it landed, but to stall for time.

The kitchen help had put a few sandwiches together for the chopper crew. asked us to deliver the sandwiches, so Theo and I made our way down to the dock to say our goodbyes and watch everything; maybe there was a way.

Just before I left the kitchen, Esther cleared her throat as if wanting to catch my attention. I stopped and looked at her. "Luke—water, water, water!"

"Yes?" I looked around thinking water as I asked.

"Don't know, just had a strange feeling to tell you this. Whatever it is, just keep it in mind; water is good." With this I departed and caught up to Theo.

The chopper had refueled and moved back up to the back of the warehouse to finish loading. We got there just in time, the ramp at the back was open as they were just finishing loading up a few of the smaller crates and some other items inside. Theo and I walked up the ramp to deliver the sandwiches and say goodbye to the pilots and to take a look at how many crates they had loaded up. We had made friends with the pilot Albert Suarez during our short stay, as I asked a million questions about flying such a machine. Being a journalist, I could not let this opportunity pass me by. The blades were slowly turning as the huge engine powered up. The two accompanying guards were already strapped into their seats up front. It was a separate compartment and most likely much quieter up front. We handed over the bag of sandwiches and then something happened. As we moved towards the back ramp where Smith and Jones stood waiting to close the slide ramp, they smoothly stepped forth and from both sides we were blasted off our feet...we were tasered! I knew in an instant that I had been zapped; this had happened to me several years back with a nut case named Etroid. A thousand lights went off in my head. I felt myself falling and then I was tasered again and I was out. It felt as though we were slammed up the side of the head with what had to be blackjacks. Both of us went down like two birds shot out of the sky. Smith gave orders for the pilot to begin lift. I heard the door close and the chopper began to lift.

Theo and I were now lying paralyzed on the floor of the chopper as it shook and lifted into the sky. Everything was foggy, I felt numb from head to toe. I could hear Theo groaning as if in pain. I lay there, my head ached really bad and I thought it better to just play dead. What these guys wanted with us was not clear, but was soon to be remedied. I felt someone kick me and my eyes shot open. It was Jones, the mean bastard. "So Mitchner, we missed you the first time, but we won't miss you again."

I could barely hear his voice over the pounding engines, no less comprehend what he was saying. "What the heck you talking about?" I managed to mumble.

A garbled voice came drifting through the fog, "You remember Hope Canyon and the bullet that grazed your rich assed skull?"

I remembered, then I knew we were in trouble.

"Just stay face down on your bellies and we won't have to get rough with you. Don't worry, it'll all be over in a short time."

I thought this was Jones talking, but with the noise and my head full of crackles, I could not tell. I tried to listen for Theo but there was nothing.

The girls had come onto the upper deck to watch the chopper take off. "That's strange, where did Luke and Theo go?" Amber said as she looked around.

"Don't know. Looks like they went up into the warehouse to get away from the wind of the blades. Besides, it's starting to weather up pretty good," Crystal was stepping back out of the rain.

Brookstone was talking with Jasper and Mica about something when Wally came in saying, "Hey, something strange is going on here."

"What you mean Wally?" Jasper replied.

"Well, you know that our good buddy here," he pointed to Brookstone, "has required all of us to wear hidden trackers while on this project. Well, my screen is showing that there are two beepers going off in the helicopter that just took off."

Jasper said, "It's probably the trackers I put onto the two main crates last night."

"Don't think so. These are the personal ones that Brookstone handed out the first day we arrived at Pisco."

Jasper and Mica said they would go take a look and moved down the stairway to the dock. Of course, the girls were right there too. They ran into the open doors of the warehouse to look around. Groups of men and women were sitting on the floor out of the rain, when Jasper asked where Omeego, Luke and Theo were. The heads turned this way and looked around but there was no Luke nor a Theo. One older man pointed up to the sky waving his hand around as if indicating they went aboard the sky machine. It was the girls that got the first feeling that something was wrong. They searched the area without finding a trace of them. Running back up to The Inheritance they told Jay and Jocko that Luke and Theo were missing, at least they were not in the warehouse.

Everyone gathered into the communication center and watched the two personal trackers just bleep and beep; they were shown almost as one. They could hear the two personal beepers from the boys, while the beepers on the crates were off some distance towards the back of the chopper. Brookstone deducted that the boys had been taken.

Wally got onto the radio and tried contacting the Helicopter, but there was nothing but crackling and a hum. Either they were not answering or the weather was causing trouble. Wally tried the General but not even a click was returned. "What are we going to do now?" Gretchen asked with concern in her voice.

Jay pointed out the window, "Whoever gave orders for that chopper to head out in this weather had to be nuts." Just then, a huge flash of lightening lit up the sky and thunder boomed like massive cannons going off. They were looking off to the north as the storm seemed to tumble in from the sea and increase in its fury.

Wally brought up a GPS map and followed the beeping along the coast. The chopper seemed to be having a hard time, moving back and forth as it flew north. Brookstone pointed out their route up the coastline, "It is obvious that they are trying to make it to Lima, that is the only place left on the coast that is still standing."

Jocko was contemplating something and asked, "Is our job done here?"

"Well yes, we delivered the containers and set up the water systems and gave everything out. We really have nothing else to do but help rebuild and we can come back as soon as we find out what happened to our boys."

"What are you saying Jocko?" Wally asked.

"I'm saying we get this boat out of here, move up the coastline and follow the trackers as best we can and while we still can." Jocko was already on the phone with the engine room and giving orders.

Everyone agreed and instantly, Jay was on the speaker system announcing to all the crew to get engines up and running and get ready to ship out. It was incredible, everyone took their places and did their jobs; while the ship came alive. The gangplank was hauled in, all ropes were cast off and the Inheritance was on its way. We saw the General's jeep come flying down onto the dock and waving at us to stop. Jocko blasted the horns as we slowly moved out towards the jetty. Wally did make contact with the General by radio, exclaiming that new ships were wanting to come in. We'd be back in a day or so, that we were a bit afraid of being trapped in the bay during this storm. We would be back if things worked out. Wally tossed in for better relations, "Keep our jeep and treat it well my friend!"

The Inheritance moved north along the shoreline. The tracker beeps were clear and were not too far ahead. Apparently, the huge transport helicopter was being tossed around by the storm. The cloud level was low. This forced the chopper to stay close to the ground. From within, everyone was being bounced around. Both Luke and Theo had to grab onto the feet of the seats in order to keep from being thrown around. "I don't know who authorized this flight but they should have their head examined," Luke shouted out to Theo.

Theo saw Jones turn in his seat and thought to open the small side door but as soon as he moved the lever, the door was flung open and banged against the side of the transport. The heavy winds held it there. I saw Smith and Jones trying to see outside while yelling at each other. Then and there I realized that these two guys were going to shove us out the door. I poked Theo and spoke my thoughts into his ear. He looked around and saw Jones looking at us and then at the opening leading outside into the roaring storm. We had no choice, the helicopter was being tossed around so violently that both Theo and myself ended up piled alongside the wall right next to the opening. The lightening flashed right outside the door and thunder shook the flying machine. I thought I could hear the pilot yelling something about landing but there was no response from Jones or Smith. I could now see that we were only about 100 feet from the ground. We were being tossed up another 30 feet and then we would drop down. The wind had torn off the door by now or it was jammed into the side. I knew we only had a few minutes before the chopper would level out and then our executioners would make the move and push us out.

The centrifugal force was working in our favor so far. Both Theo and I would be lifted up at least three foot into the air and then dropped down. The entire chopper would roll sideways and we held on for dear life. The guards along with Smith and Jones had to remain in their restrains or they would have been bounced across the open spaces. I could see that the two crates were shifting forward and backwards and one almost rolled on its side. Water poured into the cab, and we were soaked as water sloshed back and forth on the floor. More yelling came from the front as even brighter flashes of lightening struck—a crisp sharp snap that blasted white gold before the impact of thunder shoved the large chopper onto its side—but we kept flying.

I was almost out of strength to hold on any longer. I knew that this could not continue, the pilot was having too much trouble keeping on course, no less keeping the chopper in the air. Now and then as if opening a veil, the wind pierced the clouds and the ground would appear about 100 feet down. I saw trees being torn up and whipped sideways. Small creeks were raging, boiling around large boulders, as it looked as if we would come to the shore, but then everything was hidden again in the blasts of rain.

Suddenly I saw a flow of water rushing along and knew it had to be a river. My mind went back to the maps we had studied of the area. There were several rivers that were north and above Pisco Bay, but they were usually dry. They had ben dammed up for centuries, capturing the waters for irrigation and for the villages. The thought of Esther's words came to me—"Water, water, water!"

The river was flowing wide and fast. I had an idea come to me. Maybe instead of waiting for our executioners for the storm to abate, maybe, just maybe we might jump out ourselves and take the chance of landing in the water. In the meantime, the chopper would be blown backwards and then move forward. The pilot found some leeway if he followed the river up stream. We really didn't have much time to he-ha around with our above average decision making skills. I grabbed Theo's head and put my mouth onto his ear and said, "We are going to jump!"

Theo's face turned green, then a sort of sour milk look, and without any dignity, he yelled into my face, "The hell I am!"

I took hold of his shirt and yelled back, "We ain't got a lot of choices. They are waiting to get a little higher and then out we go onto the rocks."

All I could do was increase my hold on Theo's collar and as we rose and fell, I moved us closer to the door. I was waiting to see the river again. We were hit with something, maybe a flying tree but the chopper dove downwards, then up again, and then spun around. The wind split open a window in the clouds and I saw rushing water. I did not know if it was the ocean or a river but I pulled Theo up close to me and told him to fling himself out into the air and try and keep his feet downwards until we hit water. Just as Theo began his near violent protest, we had no choice, the helicopter tilted on its side and we were spit out like gobs of chewing gum. Theo began to scream as he fell away but we were still holding onto one another's shirts. I know we did a few twists and turns and for a while did not know if we were up or down in comparison with the land below. I heard the chopper thrashing the wind and rain as it drew away from us and then I heard rushing water. We went through fog and clouds and suddenly, foaming waters appeared about 20 feet below us. I had the thought to tip backwards and hit the water feet first. I immediately pulled my feet up, expecting to hit rocks or the bottom but thank God, the water was deeper than I expected. Theo splashed down right next to me, somewhat forward and had a hard belly face landing. Now I have jumped off waterfalls before, like the Waimea Falls in Hawaii, about 70 feet, and I know that one's rear end could be shoved up to his throat if he hit wrong. I was hoping to hit at just the right angle but still got the upper butt thrust.

Theo came up gasping as the foamy waters rushed around us. I could not see what lay to either side of us, but I did see a tree coming our way, swirling in the water. I yelled at Theo to start swimming to the right side, or we'd be run over by the tree just upstream from us within a few kicks and in a panic stroking mode I felt my feet hit something. It was either a rock or maybe a log. Then Theo stood up and reached out for me pulling me over towards him. The stump of the tree went bobbling by as we continued towards what we thought was shore. The rains and lightening did not stop, the storm seemed to actually intensify. We were stepping through mud and sand as we made our way to what seemed to be the shore. I moved ahead of Theo and soon found a mushy sand heap. We fell down and lay there exhausted. Theo was moaning and his face was scratched and cut; I could not tell what mine looked like, but I felt that it was not much better. The waters continued to rise, the thunder was ear crushing and the lightening would not relent. There was nothing we could do other than stay where we were and we did not even know that. Once in a while we caught a glimpse of water rushing all around us. This meant that we were possibly on a tiny sand island. We had to keep an eye out for anything coming down river, anything that might wash us off our island of refuge. Then I heard the unbelievable, it was the chopper making its way down the river. It had to be looking for us, that is all I could think. I told Theo to grab hold of some of the bushes and junk floating by and covering up with it. For if the Jones and Smith team spotted us, they would most likely send some lead our way. Within a few minutes we heard a struggling helicopter flying low and it came down the river off to our left. We were now buried half in sand and covered over with shrubs, we did look like the wild west landscape.

Then again, the helicopter changed course and proceeded up the opposite side of the roaring waters and soon past over us and slowly went up stream. Lightening was striking everything and the thunder shook the earth. I told Theo to stay hidden for now, no reason to expose ourselves to anything or anyone. I had the thought that the helicopter realized that it was in danger, and maybe it was looking for a safe landing place. It was about five minutes later when lightening hit and a thunderous boom flashed from above us and I thought I heard a crunch. With the rain pouring it was hard to tell but the throb in the air seemed to disappear.

I didn't think it could get worse but as we lay there half in the mud, covered with bushes, I noticed things moving around us. With closer inspection I realized these things were snakes. The storm had flooded every snake den and crevice and they were now winding their way around the shrubs to keep out of the water. I warned Theo not to move. Of course he demanded an explanation and when he saw the snakes this really shut him up.

It felt that I might have some broken ribs as I tried settling in. This had to be one of the worst predicaments I've ever found myself in, well almost. I flashed back on the time I was locked up in a Mexican jail for two weeks. Then I remembered how I had gotten the scar below my eye while spiders crawled over my face, hiding out from the bad guys in a pit in smugglers cove. Yet, when I thought everything through, I decided that this was the worst predicament ever. If the river rose even an inch, we would be washed away into the raging waters, and there were the snakes. How the heck would we get out of this one?

Chapter 23

Rescue!

Please don't wait until it's too late to celebrate life and simple things,

do it while you are able to reflect and still have unbounded hope.

As The Inheritance pushed its way north at full speed along the shore, the MAVIN team was intently watching the screen in the communication center. The beeps were still coming in but there were strange anomalies surrounding them. One minute the bleeps were right there, next to the crate-tracking bugs, and suddenly they were gone elsewhere. It was Luke and Theo with the beeping tracking bugs, and now they were vertically descending away from the chopper. Suddenly there was only one beep. Everyone's heart sank.

The tracking signals on the crates moved away in the storm while the one tracking beep attached to Luke or Theo was somewhere on the ground. No one wanted to think it, but the thought of Luke and Theo being tossed out of the helicopter was real. Amber and Crystal had crowded into Wally's work area. They stood there with fists tight as rocks while their faces reflected a stern worried look from the glow of bleeps jumping across the large screens. Wally was trying to interpret the actions of the bugs and beepers, while Jay tried to keep a positive outlook on what was happening on the screen. They watched the large screen flickering its data while the beeping, or at least one of the devices, clicked (every few seconds) sounding like one of those heart monitors waiting for the heart to finally stop. The girls were silent and could not say a word, it looked bad. The only good thing was that the boys had been equipped upon Brookstone's suggestion with those tracking devices, and they might be able to at least recover their bodies.

Brookstone suggested that one of the beepers may have been torn off or broken, but they still could be together. Yet, a dreadful fear held everyone in lockdown. With The Inheritance making its radical turns moving around the irregular debris fields and the signaling devices tracing life with intermittent beeps, tiny lights flickered hope into the intense atmosphere. There it was, life itself reflecting onto everyone's faces . Doom and hope combined with the one beeping signal sounding out life or death, every thought and movement was suspended in a thick forbidding silence. It was as if the MAVIN team was being tested in a strange chamber of intense anxiety and uncertainty. This interlude with suspense was suddenly broken when Wally sat up and let out a little yelp, "They are moving again! Looks like the boys, or at least one of them, is moving."

JJ was about to say something when Crystal cut him off saying, "Don't you dare—suggest we take bets on who's beeper is still functioning."

"Well, it could turn out to be good, why not?"

Amber grabbed JJ and for his safety, shoved him out the door.

Brookstone was already bringing up topical maps of the area, asking, "Isn't there a river in that area?"

"Yes, but it is usually dry. The natives have dammed up the river for irrigation, no need letting all that water flow into the sea," Jasper explained.

"But with all this rain, that dry river just might be flowing once again," Mica added.

"Hey, take a look at that," Gretchen pointed to the two tracking bleeps on screen. They were moving back and forth and right above the boys single beeping device.

"Now that is strange," said Brookstone. "They must be looking for the boys. Wonder why."

Amber asked, "How far are we from the tracker devices on the boys?"

"I'd guess about ten miles," Wally indicated.

Jocko was listening over the speaker system and said, "We'll be in that area in about 15 minutes, so hold on."

Brookstone, Morgan and Jasper were already organizing themselves to handle the situation as they came closer. "Okay, Jasper, Mica and Timm, you guys go down to the diving deck area, get the launch ready. If it is a river we are looking at, then we'll move right in."

Things started moving fast now. The Inheritance drew closer to the beeping device but the shore was filled with debris and it was thick a mile out. Then Wally nearly shouted, "Ah sheeet, look at that, the tracking devices on those two crates either landed or hit ground."

"What do you mean hit ground?" Gretchen nearly shouted back.

"Just that, those tracking devices are on the ground, just about a mile up from the boys beeping devices."

"Okay, Brookstone, give us your amazing interpretation of this new development." Wally waved his hand over the screen.

"One of two things—the chopper either had to sit down because of the danger it was in, or, or, it damn well crashed."

Crystal said, "They might have landed and are coming back for the boys."

Gretchen asked, "Isn't there any way we could get a satellite shot of this area?"

"Not with that storm. Besides, it would take too long."

"If the weather would lighten up a little, we could send a small drone to take a look," Jocko suggested over the speaker.

"Listen you guys, this is our Luke and Theo, we got to do everything possible to get them out if they're still alive. Without Luke, we, well, we're in sad shape," Amber was in tears as she expressed her feelings.

Gretchen turned to Amber saying, "Don't you worry, we're going to get those two nerds out of there, no matter what is in our way."

Just then Jocko's voice announced that The Inheritance was coming up on what seemed to be an inlet where a rushing river gushed out. The rain was still pouring down but the clouds were breaking up as the weather front moved towards the mountains. Jocko made the decision, "I'll bring the ship as close to shore as I dare, but the launch will have to go in from there. I have no idea of the depth; we could royally get stuck."

Brookstone was on the radio with Jasper asking if the launch was ready. "Yes. Fueled, and we tossed in extra ropes and several rescue bundles."

"Okay, it'll be you—Jasper, Mica, me, and Jay going."

"We're going too," Crystal and Amber nearly shouted.

"No, it is way to dangerous," Brookstone answered.

"Like it or not, danger smanger, we are going," and with this Amber and Crystal had already pushed past Brookstone and headed for the lower deck where the launch was waiting.

JJ followed and was in the launch before anyone knew it.

Jocko maneuvered the freighter into position in the mouth of the inlet and held it there. The back ramp was lowered and the launch slid into the sea. Jay being the most experienced under these conditions, would handle the launch up into the inlet and hopefully they could move upstream to locate Luke and Theo. The rain did not relent. Lightening kept flashing, followed up with horrific bursts of blasting thunder. Wally had the launch on radar and watched everyone move up stream. He calculated that it was about a half mile to the beeping devices. The launch had more than enough power to push its way up stream, but that wasn't the trouble. It was all the debris: the logs, the trees and junk floating down. The clouds or low moving fog was so thick that it was dark and gloomy. Everyone in the launch was listening intently to Wally and his instructions. "There is a big bend ahead of you, stay to the left and be ready for shallow water, looks like either sand bars or rocky outlets."

They were now in the bend of the river. Spouts of white water flushed up around rocks and trees jammed into the bottom. The beep was up ahead, seemingly in the middle of the raging waters. Jasper who stood up near the bow of the launch was motioning to Jay to either go right or to the left going around dangerous sunken objects when he waved Jay over to the right a little to bypass what seemed to be a brush covered island or sand bar.

Wally's voice broke through saying, "Okay, you're there, the beeping is coming from somewhere near you now."

Everyone started calling out for Luke and Theo but their voices were nearly drowned out with the gushing waters. It was our Crystal, Miss Eagle Eyes we called her, who spotted movement under the brush on the sand bar. Then Amber shouted, "I see a hand moving, it's got to be them. Move the launch over there." She pointed, almost ready to jump into the water, but Brookstone grabbed her, pulling her back. "Watch what the heck you're doing, see those snakes there?" and Brookstone pointed along the edge of the brush line where there were snakes twisted into the brush.

From under the brush Luke moved cautiously while he shook Theo saying, "I hear something out there. You're closer to that side, take a look. But do not move fast or disturb the brush because this island has become a catch all for snakes that must have been washed into the river."

Theo had been observing these snakes come ashore, crawl onto the sand island and take refuge right under the same brush piles they were hiding under. They could hardly move, but managed to make an opening to look out. "I can't believe this. My head must have been cracked open and my last wishes are pouring out. It looks like Amber and Crystal out there in the launch."

"Move over. Pull this crap off of us. Let me look."

"Holie-smokers, it is not your broken skull. It is the MAVIN team come to get us!"

Brookstone had his weapon ready in case it was someone other than the boys. Mica had the rope ready with a large knot tied into the end, and he tossed it out into the brush. Jasper yelled, "Don't make any fast moves until we pull this brush away from you. There are a lot of snakes that have collected there. Do you hear me?"

A muffled yell came back, "Okay. Go for it!"

A hand came out from the broken shrubbery, either giving an okay sign or waving hello. Jasper tossed the knotted rope over the pile of brush and began to pull it into the water. No doubt, the shrubs were clustered with snakes; they began to fall into the water and were washed down stream. Morgan jumped out and carefully moved to where Luke and Theo lay in the mud. He finished rolling the pile of bushes and sticks off and there emerged Luke and Theo's heads. Amber was the first over, followed by Jasper and Crystal, and then Mica was there. Brookstone gave orders to just get those two castaways into the launch. All the huggy welcomes could come later.

Mica and Jasper pulled Luke and Theo out from under the bushes. They were half stuck in the soggy sand and could hardly stand up. Of course, the girls grabbed them and even beyond all the roar of the river and the pounding rain the girls voices could be heard yelling, squealing and already asking questions. Brookstone yelled again, "Shut up. You might alert us to the bad guys. Get them into this launch right now," and Jasper and Mica had to drag Luke and Theo over and into the launch. Within a few minutes, they were laid out on the bottom of the dive boat while the launch made its way back to The Inheritance.

Talk about drowned rats, they were that and more. Their shirts were torn to rags, mud and dirt packed into their hair. They were scratched from head to foot, bleeding in some spots, but they were alive. Jay weaved the launch back downstream and made their way back to The Inheritance. The launch was pulled up the special boat ramp and the large door folded up into the hull. The storm raged on for the rest of the day. Jocko took The Inheritance back out to safer waters and there they drifted for a time. Luke and Theo were taken into the onboard medical facility and stripped naked. They were bruised purple from their splash-down. It was Theo this time. His left shoulder had been pulled out of joint and had to be reset. Luke had bruised ribs, one huge black eye, two broken toes on his left foot but other than this, no major damage could be seen. They were given showers, while our Doctor Tregubov watched them and the doctors from the Mages outpost were concerned about internal injuries, but only time would tell that story. They were given antibiotics, along with several other preventive shots. Within a few hours, they had rested a bit and were up in the observation salon somewhat revived and sipping coffee, relating everything that had happened. Now Wally asked about the helicopter and what happened to it. The boys did not really know, but the tracking devices were still in the same spot as yesterday and kept on sending out their signals. Theo's tracking beeper had been torn off, but it had served an excellent purpose. They were glad that they had followed Brookstone's advice. Otherwise, they would have never been found.

"You're telling us that you volunteered to jump out of the chopper all on your own?" Jay shook his head while asking.

"Not really! We had no choice, they were waiting to go higher and then they were going to toss us out into some gully. The winds were tossing the helicopter around like a rag doll and we nearly slid out on one tilt. I thought I saw a river or a body of water below and just grabbed Theo and out we went."

"I've heard a lot of stories in my day but this one takes the cake. Wait until Dustin hears it, he'll flip his cookie," Brookstone had his hand supporting his bearded chin as if it were going to fall off.

"You're saying that you two sky divers jumped into space without parachutes? How far did you say you fell?" Wally was staring at them, trying to figure out if they were not making up this crazy story.

Theo was squirming around in the chair, he had to be in some pain. He did not want to say, but his butt and all things attached in the area had been severely impacted and it would be some time before things settled back into place. "I'm guessing it had to be at least a hundred foot fall. That was the first time in my life I really felt that I was going to die. No, my life did not flash on me. I actually was thinking about sitting aboard The New Song and eating tacos."

The entire room went dead silent before a roar of laughter broke out. Then Crystal acted really hurt and said, "You mean you were not thinking of me while you descended to your watery grave?"

Theo rubbed his head and said, "It was that Luke again, he made me do it. It must have been that smack on the skull that knocked my wits out of me, sorry Crystal."

"That's enough of your cry-baby crap Theo. Just thank the powers to be that I had enough love for you to grab you out of that death machine and take you with me. Besides, I needed something soft to fall on, and you were the only thing within reach," Luke half spoke, half mumbled through his swollen lips and bruised cheeks.

"That is a great one Luke. So what were you thinking about when you jumped or slid out of the chopper?" Jasper asked.

"Simple, I was totally thinking about Amber and you guys, all the way down. I was wondering how you were going to carry on without me and my expertise." I tried smiling as my bruises shot out pain as if punishing me for this untruth. I thought, what was I thinking about as we fell? I only remembered trying to get my body going feet first and yelling at Theo to do the same. I knew if we were to hit anything in that water, it was going to be over for us. As it was, I hardly had time to even orientate my self to the upcoming waters.

I saw Amber's flashing green eyes giving me a look of, liar, will get you later.

"Okay boys, that will do for now, save your strength for tomorrow," Doctor Tregubov was smiling and told the girls to make sure we got to bed early.

I was in a daze, half awake and half slumbering, when I noticed Amber standing by my bed. My eye lids lifted about half way and I saw her shaking her head. I thought I heard her saying to herself, or maybe it was to me, "I can't take this too much longer. I just wanted to be in the surfing movie, a little sun and a little fun. But this—storms, hurricanes, bandits, drug cartels, assassination attempts, earthquakes, kidnapping and what next?

"What kind of a man did I fall in love with?"

Oh man, I thought, don't even want to start answering this one, so I shut my lids tight and fell asleep.

Chapter 24

The Crash Site!

Better to be a nothing survivor in the time of trouble than a successful casualty in the time of celebration!

By the next morning, the weather had cleared enough to send out a small drone. Wally and Jasper launched the drone from the upper bridge deck. Immediately, the camera came on line, and everyone sat there watching the drone fly up river. The leftover winds blew, scattering the clouds up into the higher mountains. The river was still flowing hard. Wally moved the drone towards the signals coming from the two crates. Suddenly, there appeared what looked like a huge black widow stuck to the side of a wall of sand—it was the downed chopper.

The helicopter was definitely smashed to pieces, with half of its tail submerged in the river while the main body lay broken in two, twisted and no blades were to be seen. The little drone flew back and forth over the wreck. Wally flew it up over the sand wall and over the surrounding area, looking for someone who might have escaped the crash. There were no prints in the sand and no one could be seen. It was a desolate barren stretch of beach and sand dunes. "The crates still must be in the cargo area, the bugs are still doing their job, sending their bleeps," Wally said.

"Keep looking for any survivors, someone may have made it through the crash," Brookstone directed.

Luke looked over at Theo who had his hand over his eyes and seemed to be saying a prayer. The site of the crashed chopper brought him back to reality. I said, "Now look at that. I guess I made the right decision, right Theo? No matter how much your butt hurts."

"What do we do now?" Wally asked, while his eyes watched the screen to take in every detail of the crash site.

"We don't have a lot of choice. We've got to check the wreck out. There might be someone aboard and stuck in the cab," Jay responded.

"And if no one is there, then what?" Timm asked.

"I don't want to sound morbid or whatever you might call it... but if those two crates are there, we better rescue them," Brookstone suggested.

Jocko nodded his head saying, "Nothing morbid about it, those guys were out to kill Luke and Theo. But mother nature worked its favor in our behalves. We'll go take a look, and if we so happen to find some cargo just lying around, well, it's our duty to collect it."

Luke and Theo's faces were still dulled with their near death experience while they watched the large screens. However, Brookstone and his brothers were elated at the prospect of looking at that HUEY Transport and were already preparing for a second trip up the river.

The girls stayed with Luke and Theo in the medical dorm while Jocko brought The Inheritance back to the seaside inlet opening where the launch would be sent off. The drone would stay up above the downed chopper as long as possible while the launch made its way back up, under the guiding hand of Wally.

The launch was geared up for both rescue and recovery. The Inheritance was positioned while the work-launch once again slid down the ramp into a rough sea. The sky had somewhat cleared, but the ocean was rough and filthy with everything that would float. The river was flowing fast causing white water and brown foam to fill the inlet. Again, Jasper stood front, pointing things out to Jay who powered the launch up the river. Wally had set the launches communications system to tune into the signal coming from the crates and they drew near.

The launch carefully moved up river, making its way around a few rocky bends, and there they saw the crash site. Morgan brought the launch alongside the shore area where the water had cut away much of the beach. They tossed an anchor onto shore. JJ waded onto the beach, securing the anchor to hold the launch from drifting down stream. Soon, Brookstone along with Mica and Jasper were looking into a huge gashed opening in the downside of the chopper. Timm was assigned to film every detail. The entire chopper was gutted and torn in half. The front pilots area was ripped jagged and the front was missing.

There was an arm sticking out from under the back part. It was one of the soldiers but no one else could be seen. Brookstone climbed into the back half looking for Smith or Jones but there was no sign of them, other than what appeared to be blotches of blood.

The cargo area was smashed and lay submerged in the water. The two larger crates could be seen, slanted downwards towards the back end of the cargo area while several of the other small boxes were piled against the far side. Jasper and Mica had searched the area for survivors but no sign of anyone making it through could be seen. Brookstone climbed back out and came over to the launch pointing out to his brothers the location of the two crates. "If we tear open this side panel door, pull the launch right up under the tail end here, we could just drop the crates into the launch without having to try and lift them."

"Okay, but once we start moving those crates, the entire bird might slip down into the river, so let's be careful with this, that chopper still weighs tons," Morgan warned everyone.

Soon, jasper had torn off the side panel door with a crowbar and sure enough, there were the two crates leaning against the wall, battered but still bound in their metal strapping. Jay carefully moved the launch up under the tail the best he could. With Jasper and Mica working from within and Brookstone and Morgan guiding the crates as they slipped downwards, the first crate almost tipped the launch up out of the water as it landed it was so heavy. They muscled it into the center and then lowered the second crate down. Morgan and Jasper wrestled the other smaller boxes into the launch and that was it for cargo. The chopper had been lightened and so it began to move.

Jay hurried and backed the launch away from the wounded helicopter. They could hear it groaning and saw it slip further into the water. Jasper was searching the cab for any paper work and came up with a pistol and a briefcase, when Mica felt the body of the chopper beginning to slide. He warned Jasper to get out just in time. They were standing on the hillside when the broken beast slid downwards. The current caught the tail end and slowly pulled the wreck into the rushing flow. They watched it bob around in the tumbling waters until it sank and disappeared. The only thing left were scraps of broken pieces, large oil stains, and the body of the one soldier. There was nothing to do but bury the soldier in the hillside. They soon had a shallow grave dug and buried the man the best they could. It was JJ who was tossing the few pieces of metal into the river to hide all traces of the crash site when he saw a Taser gun pressed down into the mud. When he reached for the Taser gun, he saw that it was held by a hand. It was the gun he was interested in, until he realized that it was held by a human hand. He instantly backed away and began to vomit. Jasper saw him getting sick and came over to see what was wrong. JJ pointed down to the hand. Jasper pried it up and saw it was just that, a severed hand. He took a scrap of canvas from the launch and wrapped the hand and gun up and put it into the launch. It had a small prison tattoo between the index and the thumb, he was sure it was Jones. He thought it might be a good idea to check out the finger prints and find out who it belonged to. He was fairly sure it had to be Jones, but better if they knew who it was. If they could get fingerprints from it, it could be useful information.

They went over the area again to double check for survivors, but not even a foot print could be seen. It looked like Smith, Jones, and the pilot and the one other guard had been tossed out when the chopper hit and rolled into its broken grave. It appeared that they must have been washed down river and drowned in the turbulent waters. They marked the coordinates on their GPS and turned down river, heading back to The Inheritance.

The small drone had served its purpose so they flew it back to the ship. The launch was cabled aboard; it was awkward with the heavy crates. Soon The Inheritance was sealed up, moving out to deeper waters, away from the inlet and any crash site.

If the helicopter had a chance to radio an SOS before crashing, it would be a long time before any rescue planes from Lima might come this way. The helicopter, a Utility Bell transport Twin Huey bladed turbo-shaft belonged to the military and they would be searching for it in time. It was most likely a valuable piece of their military equipment. General Domingo would be waiting for its return and when it did not show up, he would make contact with his superiors in Lima and the search would begin.

Luke and Theo were ordered to stay in bed. Their injuries were serious enough to have everyone concerned, while the two outpost doctors were analyzing the tests. They did say that they were more than impressed with all the up to date medical equipment aboard; they were very impressed. The possibility of inside bleeding and infection was at the top of their concerns.

After several quick meetings, discussing all aspects to their dilemma, the MAVIN gang and the crew of The Inheritance knew they had to get out of the area as soon as they could. If they were suspected in any way of having knowledge of the crash or being involved, the Peruvian military would be all over them, and for sure, search The Inheritance. It was too risky to offer up any words for now. Jocko turned the bow and they headed due west into the sunset.

There were many factors to their next few decisions. The idea of taking the Inca treasure back to the States met with total opposition. No one wanted to have to hide another treasure. They still had not dealt with the Palmyra Island treasure, and they still had a good part of the Hearst Castle Smugglers Cove treasure off the San Simeon coast in California to deal with. Then they had the Mitchner bunker stash to handle at Luke's grandparents ranch. To add the massive Inca treasure into this mix would have been too much trouble.

Money was not the issue. To take possession of the crates and the golden objects inside the crates would bring a ton of woe upon them that they just did not need. Plus, with Jay and Jocko making plans to go after the sunken freighter off the San Simeon coast near the Hearst Castle, they didn't need anyone climbing on their backs. The Big Bear Mining Alliance would go bonkers when they found out that their hit men had been lost in a helicopter crash and the treasure was missing.

This new life style seemed to be a never ending chain of troubles. We would just get out of one dangerous situation and find ourselves facing another one. The one thing I would say was that I was glad to have friends that were also neck deep in my same problems. Oh yes, it was also nice to have good connections, and a fair mount of funds to see us through, whatever it might be. So far we were thankful for our health and the collection of creative minds that we stood with.

Everyone knew that something had to be done. They had become a treasure laden ship and no one was supposed to know this. Jay and Gretchen wanted to remove all suspicion from The inheritance and get clear of the area. Brookstone and Wally asked for a meeting. Jocko and Jay, along with Luke and Theo with the rest of the MAVIN team soon gathered in the bridge conference room. As usual, Brookstone was way ahead in his thinking; without any time being wasted he began.

"As you know, we have opened those crates. I cannot begin to fathom the wealth that exists within them." He clicked his mouse and on the large monitor there appeared every thing that they had done with the crates. "You be the judges. The first one carries just a part of the Inca golden chain which stretches out more than twenty feet. At one end it has a serpent's head as big as a football. The thing is that it does not match up with the six links we already possess from the Palmyra treasure. The links are a different size. It looks like the Inca kings thought the chain idea was good, so they created more than one. But it is the second crate that we cannot fully grasp."

With this the techs brought up numerous pictures of the crate and its contents. The room went silent and then a gasp of near unbelief flooded the room. The entire box was filled with numerous golden objects. Golden panthers, beautifully carved masks of jade with embedded jewels. Various sized replicas of every kind of bird and animal, all in pure gold. Gold sundials, jewel studded bracelets, brooches, rings and intricate carvings of fish, snakes and what seemed to be insects. One of the most incredible objects was an eagle in flight. I think it was that eagle that everyone fixated on; it had to be one of the most beautiful pieces of art we had ever seen.

Then the photos went to one of the smaller boxes. "What the heck is that?" Crystal pointed while asking.

"That, my dear, is one of, or IS, the largest gold nugget that I've ever seen. It must be at least three foot long and eighteen inches thick. It almost looks like a meteor that fell out of the sky. The Big Bear Mining Alliance satellite must have scanned it and sent their mining team up here to the Peruvian mountains to find out what it was." Brookstone spoke in awe, "I have never seen anything like this."

Gretchen had been on the scene when the crates were opened and offered her own point of view, "It looks like they had pulled the chain and nugget out of the lake because they still had moss and bleaching clay embedded into them. I don't think that a golden meteor could have passed through the atmosphere without totally melting. If you look at it, it seems to take on the appearance of a statue. Maybe a statue that has been tossed into a fire or been caught into a blaze or a blast. You can see certain features here and there that might be, or have once been, facial features. There may be a hand bent up and melted into the body. It is definitely deformed but there are several things that indicate that it was not a meteor. There are several precious stones that have been melted and embedded into the surface. So that is why I think it was some kind of a statue that was caught, or tossed, or even sacrificed into a fire."

"That's incredible. But what the heck we gonna do about it now?" asked Luke, laid back in his office chair.

"One thing for sure, we are in a lot of trouble even knowing about this, no less having possession of it. We are going to have to figure out how," Brookstone paused, "to give it back to the native Peruvians, deliver it to the Peruvian government, or hold onto it while we figure out what to do." Brookstone was sitting back rubbing his patched eye.

Wally spoke, "No matter what we do, if the world finds out we possess this golden chain, and especially these hundreds of gold objects, we will be hunted day and night. No doubt there, folks."

"Wealth for Peru, but troubles for us," Crystal surmised.

Max added, "Yeah, imagine the Armenian or Russian mafia learning about a 100 million dollar box of gold icons. Bet your boots they would love to put that on display in one of their Las Vegas hotels."

Wally reiterated this point, "There was no way that the Big Bear Mining Alliance would ever give up finding the crates of gold. It was a world find and worth billions. Plus, if Peru ever found out they had anything to do with the loss of such treasures, Big Bear Mining would be finished in Peru."

"True, absolutely true. So I'm betting that much of this will be kept quiet," Max spoke up again.

"Think about the Big Bear Mining Alliance and how long it would take them to haul up that much gold or minerals from the mountains. At least five years. And here, in one quick swoop, they landed themselves a huge fortune, all without a sweat. No Peru government on their backs, no payroll, no woes or worries, just instant profit."

"...And then came the MAVIN gang," Crystal laughed.

Chapter 25

Making The Decision!

A long journey with the intent to give, will return a blessing,

the same journey with the thought to take, will yield very little fruit.

The large screen switched over to an image of the golden chain laid out in a circle. "This is the real treasure, we cannot even calculate its historical value. But you can bet there are few who care about its real ownership or its historical value. This thing could be melted down into hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bars and coins, then distributed and sold for more than all of us can imagine."

"What we have to decide is what we are going to do with it," Theo inserted.

All heads turned to him as though he were crazy for asking such a thing, "What do you mean what are we going to do with it, Theo?" Gretchen asked.

"Just that. We already own two and a half treasures that we haven't even begun to count, to think about hiding and keeping this one is too far out to consider. Besides, I personally do not want to have to dodge this mining company and its hired guns. I want to be free and able to come and go as I choose."

Luke spoke up, "Theo is right in many ways, but we do have to consider what we can do with keeping it safe and out of the wrong hands for now."

Jay said, "We are not without some possible help from the government. We must follow up and contact Eagleson's friends in the antiquities department of Peru, and establish a safe place for them to find the treasure. Let them know where they could find the golden chain. We could ship it to them with some explanation of how we came to get it. We want the people of Peru to have it, don't we? Especially with the massive damage and the terrible death toll on the mountain villages."

"I see some wisdom beginning to rise in this discussion. But we better think this one through. Maybe we'll speak with Dustin and see what legal ramifications there may be. The main thing is we want off the hook, about our being in possession of the chain and treasure," Theo made his point clear once again.

This seemed to bring a general agreement to the meeting and so the expertise of our favorite lawyer, Dustin Arrow, was sought after.

Finally, Jocko summed up the conversation, "It's obvious that when word gets out that these crates have disappeared, there will be a hunt. That helicopter is going to take some time to find, but if anyone escaped from its crash, then the hunt will begin sooner. In fact, it might be on now..."

Everyone was contemplating this, knowing that The Inheritance was already laden with treasure. If we were stopped and searched, we could all end up in a prison in South America.

"So what is your proposal, Jocko?" I asked.

"We do a disappearing act. We move out to sea and stay off the air for a few days until all arrangements have been made."

"There's no doubt, this Harvey Silznik and Oliver Chromthumb up at Mount Coropuna

know every bit of the treasure. Then there is Eagleson, and maybe a few of the native workers who are aware of it. Everyone knows we came in on The Inheritance and our first arrangements with the mining engineers were to take the crates aboard. So the connection between the treasure and The Inheritance, is already there. Besides, we gave our word on helping Eagleson," Brookstone answered, but hesitated for a moment, "Eagleson told us of the curse that was on the treasure. We can believe it or not, but seeing what took place with Smith and Jones and their helicopter, you be the judge. I think that we should keep in mind that we are working for the return of this Inca treasure to the people of Peru." Without being fully aware of it, Brookstone's fingers were twisting the amulet hanging on a leather string around his neck.

"A curse. I don't like the sound of that," Gretchen blurted out.

"That is what we were told," Jasper said. "...and if anything else, this disappearing thing, lying low, we would buy ourselves time to figure things out."

Jay, usually our level head and steady hand, said, "I've been on many digs and dives, and seen treasure that has been lost or hidden attract strange misfortune. I don't reject this curse thing, I've seen strange occurrences when it comes to treasure. The ancient Inca kings were well into the dark arts; who knows what those phantom powers might be able to do."

"Are you saying that spirits or ghosts could be attached to this treasure?" Timm said.

Theo lifted his arm up to show that things had to get better, this treasure had already caused too much damage, especially to him. "I couldn't prove it, but because of things I've witnessed and read about when opening up lost treasures, I would say that anything is possible. The sooner we get this treasure back to Peru the better off we're gonna be," he added.

I thought to say, "I think we might be putting the wake before the ship. This might be a job for Dustin. He could get hold of contacts and strike up a deal. Our names and identity will not be known. We could return the treasure without our names being involved; we become the middle guys in the handover."

"Not bad Luke, maybe that is the way to go," agreed Brookstone.

Once we had agreed to get hold of Dustin, the meeting turned to a full blown discussion of the new found treasure. Nothing like a ton of gold to get the old nerves up and running. Soon, I contacted Dustin through a special private satellite link. I sent him all the videos that had been taken up on Mount Coropuna, then all the photos of the treasure, the downed helicopter and the names that Eagleson had given us. After an hour or so, we received a call from Dustin.

"So you guys did it again," he fired at me.

I thought it better to be quiet and let him do his rambling chatter onslaught and get it out of his system. Then he said, "Okay, so what do you want me to do now?"

"Dustin, we might be able to handle this situation ourselves, but we thought it might be better for someone with official authority to contact the names I sent and deal with them directly. We might screw it up and get ourselves hung up with the government of Peru. I got an entire shipload of people depending on me for safe keeping. I don't want to take a chance on getting everyone tossed into jail."

The phone was quiet before Dustin replied. "I understand. I don't want you sailors to get tossed into a South American jail, then we'd have problems. Easier to deal with a 100 million dollar treasure than to have to deal with getting you wayward souls out of jail. Let me contact these two friends of Eagleson's. I'll get back with you once I work something out, if it's possible." With this, Dustin hung up, and that was it.

Chapter 26

The New Song Again!

Know, that in life it may be necessary to jump through people's hoops,

but it is not necessary to make it your profession.

The beauty of these masterpieces of ancient art and works of incredible skill held everyone in awe. Every eye was fixed on the details of the images. Everyone was saying "Oh my gosh," exclaiming wonder over every photo, when Jay spoke up. "The New Song is pretty well done; in a few days we can put the final touches on her and lower her into the sea. Then Gretchen and I along with a few others could sail her ahead and keep an eye out for any trouble.

"Plus, with The New Song off the back of The Inheritance, anyone flying over might not recognize The Inheritance," Gretchen added.

"That's a great idea," Wally said.

"We could transfer some of the Palmyra treasure onto it. That way we'll assure that part of our discoveries will be kept safe. And we might continue to clean it up more," Jay added.

"I'll bet you'll have a full crew before you even launch The New Song," Timm spoke up assuredly.

"No doubt. Half the people aboard have been watching you guys work on The New Song, just waiting for the chance to sail away," Morgan was smiling and looking like he was one of those who had been waiting.

"Done! Me and Tanya, and Timm and Abby are already signed up," JJ raised his fist and made sure everyone knew his little group was going on The New Song. They had been helping Jay and Gretchen refurbish the boat since they left Hawaii.

Even though the idea of what they would be doing was circulating, no one could take their eyes off the pictures that were being displayed on the main screen.

Wally, the scientist and logical mind among us, inquired of Brookstone and those who had been handling the golden images, "The boxes of art, tell us more about them."

Brookstone clicked through a few more pics and stopped on one that captured the massive gold nugget. He went on to give some of the facts about the treasure itself. "In the second large crate and including the two smaller boxes, there are at least 300 individual pieces. Just the objects themselves probably weigh eight hundred pounds. Then there are all the embedded jewels: incredible rubies, sapphires, diamonds and many other stones that I can't even name. Just in stones, the wealth in this treasure is near unbelief."

Gretchen, the closest one of the crew to being qualified as an archeologist, burst out with her intellectual observations, "Beyond the reach of modern day artistry, this assemblage of incomprehensible objects carries with it evidence of intergalactic skills, or perhaps better said—angelic influences. We as mortal beings in all reality, do not deserve this opportunity of coming so near divine objects."

Jay was leaning back listening, and when she concluded, smiling, he put his hand on her shoulder, "What she is saying here folks, is that she likes the creativity in these pieces." Everyone laughed, but Gretchen turned red as she realized how far out she had gone...intergalactic, where did that come from?

Then Crystal dropped a bomb on Theo and me, "Amber and I are also going with The New Song."

Theo almost jumped out of his seat as he blurted "What?"

I looked at Amber wondering when they decided this. She had never said a word about it. I glanced over at Jay to see what he was doing about this announcement. He was just shrugging his shoulders as if to say, whatever, you're all nuts. I was suspicious about this last minute announcement. Was it a revenge call on me and Theo for the boyfriend Logan fiasco we pulled on them back at the Hearst Castle ranch? Or, was it another practical joke being perpetrated against us? Since we left Hawaii, it seemed that everyone got into the practical joke theme. No one knew who the culprits were, but fingers were pointed at just about everyone. Even Theo got into it when he ran up a pair of panties from Crystal and Amber's laundry, and there they blew high in the wind as flags for everyone to see. There was a reprisal to this little prank when the girls got hold of our jock straps and sewed several large lemons into the pockets and ran them up the flag post, so Theo and I became the laughing stock for a few days. This practical joke thing became a source of entertainment, but was getting out of hand.

Crystal was afraid of spiders and lizards and those kinds of things. Well, someone, and I won't say who it might have been...but while ashore in Pismo, someone caught a few nice sized lizards and put them into the girls' pillows. Oh my gosh, never should have anyone done such a thing. Whoever it was had to be sorry for all the panicked screaming that brought the entire crew running!

It didn't take much time for payback. The girls purchased a real live alligator about four foot long and smuggled it aboard to let loose in the boys' bathroom. Talking about panic and a real threat, did shit ever hit the fan. Jocko made the announcement that the reprisal joking had to stop, someone could get hurt. What next, a wild elephant or a beehive in someone's closet? He stressed that we didn't have psychologists aboard to undo the damage.

Crystal was looking over at Amber, "Me and Amber going on The New Song is best for now. We want to get back home and pick up our lives. After all, we've been gone nearly two years."

Everyone knew that this was not something Theo or I wanted. Our feelings must have been strong enough to melt an iceberg still attached to the Arctic mass. But the games were not over yet.

"Humm, uh-humm," Jocko brought everyone back to reality with some throat-clearing. "Until we get an answer back from Dustin we got to disappear, or at least make ourselves scarce."

"Wow, never thought I'd have to disappear," Crystal said.

Amber was about to make a comment on this, when Brookstone stood up and cleared the screen, "Okay MAVIN team and dear friends, tonight we shall be gone."

"Where do we go?" Amber asked.

"We head northwest following the coast and when we hit calm seas we launch The New Song. Then we head due north parallel with the US coastline. Maybe we'll let The New Song drop off the Highmanner's along the way, at Catalina. Let them fly home and move out the other freighter, the Sparrow, if it is almost done by now. It might be moved over to Vancouver Island. We'll take her slip and do some repairs to The Inheritance, while we are figuring out what to do with the treasure. Maybe it is time for us to begin selling off some of our stuff. I think we had enough adventure for now, don't you?" Brookstone looked around at everyone nodding in agreement.

Luke had been thinking something over and finally said, "Until Dustin gets back with us, we better stay off the radar." It was as if a large Rubrics Cube appeared in the room and everyone was trying to twist it into some order, but from their own angle. Vital pieces of the puzzle seemed to be missing...

Luke saw the puzzled expressions on everyone's faces and figured it was a good time to fortify our reasons for a disappearing act—a good time to share the information from the briefcase Morgan had retrieved from the downed chopper. Everyone was taken aback when Luke brought out the pistol and briefcase, pulling out a sheaf of paper from inside the briefcase. Besides $12,500 in cash, there were several important notes. One completely outlined the hit that was meant to be on Luke and Theo. Why Theo, no one understood, other than they were both heads of the MAVIN team, and of course, Luke was the top gun for the Mitchner corporation. But it was clear that the Clermont Mining Alliance in Peru was working with the Big Bear Mining Alliance that was mining next to the Mitchner ranch back home in Colorado. Jones and Smith were not only hired to retrieve the crates from up the mountain, but also to do away with Luke and Theo. The big surprise was that they had plans to hijack The Inheritance...but as everyone knew, things went really bad for them.

The room was filled with expectations and some serious wondering about the idea to take over The Inheritance. Gretchen came up with a possible connection, "Maybe this is why Thomas and Julie tried to get aboard back at Pearl Harbour. We could have had two conspirators right along with us."

"Do you think Jones and Smith were in contact with Thomas?"

"Who knows," Timm expressed his revulsion. Then he suggested that this might have been how the symbol on the links found their way to this mining company.

Jay interceded, "You folks signed up with us because you wanted some adventure. We can't tell you everything, but the adventure is not over yet, believe me."

There was an amendment to this statement the next day. We heard from Troy, the father of Mike, our ship and adventure mate, who had a rare fatal disease, but who had given his life to help us get away from pirates at Palmyra Island. In memory of Mike we had formed an alliance with his parents for funding research into the rare illness. Mike's dad, Troy, had contacted Dustin and got hold of us through the satellite code we had given Dustin.

"This is Troy. Hope all is well with you folks. My daughter has informed us about the disaster there. Please stay healthy and get our girls home safe. Just keeping it simple and quick this time, Luke. Our lives have changed a lot. With Mike gone now, and his sisters with you aboard The Inheritance, we are a little lonely here. However, I do have some news. My law firm and I have decided to file a claim against the MLO—the Malibu Locals Only—on behalf of Ricky. It is going to be nasty, the beach town has already started kicking and screaming over the suit. We are going after the city itself: the police, life guards, and of course the Malibu surf and drug gang. It's going to be a real doozy!"

Luke said, "Please watch yourself with those guys. I've heard some not so-good reports when working with them, or against them,"

"Will do. Getting acquainted with you guys is turning out to be about more than business. But interesting."

Chapter 27

Big Zap!

A great forest weaves its roots together tightly and endures storms for centuries, so with a family and its heritage!

By the next morning, radio and news reports were coming in that The Inheritance had gone missing in a storm along with two smaller vessels now missing. The Peruvian Coast Guard had no time to begin a search for us. We had reported our mishap about 250 miles off the coast of Peru but we were far northwest of this report. We had sent one last coded message to Dustin back at headquarters, but all other communications would be over the new coded satellite phones. It was strange, I thought, we were suddenly dead and gone!

As long as there is time, nothing will ever be the same. Our half-baked plans would soon be trashed. Dustin, in the last few days, had been in secret negotiations with Eagleson's trusted friends.

Dustin reported to us that we must have made a mistake on this character named Eagleson. Professor Alejandro Coello in Cusco and the college of antiquities, along with the Department of Native American Culture, had never heard of this man, and they had no such person working for them or on their staff. Their records did show that back in time there was a tribe which was known for its ability to capture large birds and supply the kings with feathers and such. But no one was known to them as Eagleson, or any name close to that.

As we were trying to comprehend this odd piece of information, knowing for sure there was no mistake on our part, Dustin was explaining the arrangements for the treasures' delivery. This took pressure off the crew of The Inheritance; in fact, a wave of relief swept throughout the ship. The worries and big time responsibility of moving the Inca treasure had been removed, and we were no longer disappeared!

We tried explaining that there had to be a mistake about the mountain man named Eagleson. He was there, he had revealed the secrets of the mountain to us. Dustin told us not to worry about it, there was either a cover up or something else going on, maybe Eagleson did not want to be known. Strangely enough, he was nowhere on our videos, and besides our word, he was nowhere to be found.

We realized that Eagleson was the one disappearing. The Big bear Mining Company would be searching him out. He is the one who knew about the mountain treasure and the bottomless pit, along with its hidden treasures.

The final touches were being put onto The New Song and she was looking nice. We would launch her either tomorrow evening or at night. Dustin had contacted Professor Alejandro Coello in Cusco, and a special representative assigned by the embassy was soon to arrive there. The Antiquities Department had sent a special team by helicopter up to Mount Coropuna to investigate the Big bear Mining operation and any nefarious activity, and question the native workers. They were thoroughly excited about these caverns and especially the hell hole. They were curious about Mr. Eagleson and his role in revealing the secrets of the mountain. We were happy about this, for we were sure that they would now meet our friend of the mountain.

The rough plan was formulated. Dustin and his wife Nadia were to fly into Lima. There they would meet Professor Alejandro Coello and his team in the Port of Callao, the main sea port in Peru about 15 miles southwest of Lima. We decided to place the crates into a small 10 foot sea container that we had aboard, then stack emergency supplies over and around the crates. We would use our launch to carry it into the port, then deliver it to a specified dock where Professor Coello and other trusted friends of the man of the mountain, Eagleson, would be waiting. There they would load the container onto a truck and take it up to the museum storage facility in Cusco. If everything went okay, Dustin and his wife would return with us on the launch back to The Inheritance. The Department of Antiquities and Professor Alejandro Coello would then announce to the world the discovery of the crashed helicopter and the recovery of the lost Inca treasure. This way the MAVIN Group would not be involved. The Big Bear Mining Alliance would be upset at the loss of their two hit men, along with the great treasure loss, but they still might have their mining rights left intact. If they ever did even look our way again, we would hand over the video with the scam evidence from Mount Coropuna, and reveal their scheme to plunder the lost Inca treasures. This would cost them big time with the Peru mining projects they had going. Thus, we had gained a means to keep the big boys off our backs; something the Hearst Castle Security Force had been trying to teach us.

Old General Juan Domingo Peron would be a bit worried about his compliance in this scheme of Jones and Smith, but with them being dead, his secret was safe, and he was $2500 richer.

Brookstone decided to send the severed hand of Jones back up to the Clermont Mining Alliance to Nickolas Killingsworth. This would act as a warning to drop any further actions against the Mitchner Enterprises and let them know we were well aware of their theft and plots. He wanted them to know that if they wanted to play rough then rough it would be!

By now, the Pisco Bay harbor docks were receiving huge shipments of donated supplies from everywhere in the world. Ship after ship was being unloaded and General Juan Domingo Peron certainly had his pockets and hands full. We were nothing but bad memories best forgotten.

At one of our last meetings before The New Song was launched, a unanimous vote came through to allow each MAVIN member to choose one item out of the smaller treasure boxes before everything was sealed up in the sea van. Since there had been no official accounting of the treasure from the caverns or lake at Mount Coropuna, a few items would not be missed. Everyone felt that this would become a possession to remember this experience by. Brookstone took the wondrous golden eagle for the Hearst Castle Security headquarters with everyone else picking out golden masks, Inca figures of kings, prancing horses and a few jewel encrusted sun dials. This might have seemed a bit unfair, but it also seemed fair payment for the team as well-earned memories. Each person could do what they wanted with their individual piece, and so it was.

Within two days The New Song, had been lowered into the sea. All her new rigging was set to go and she was tested for leaks and to make sure all her systems were functioning. Dustin and Nadia had arrived in Lima and met Professor Alejandro Coello and were now in the Port of Callao arranging the arrival of our container. It was to be marked as another supply of food, medicine and used clothes for the quake victims. It was designated to be shipped to Cusco, under the care of Alejandro Coello. One dawn morning the launch slid into the calm Pacific with the sea van setting dead square and only a few men were allowed to go along as cargo handlers. Brookstone, Jasper, Morgan, Mica and one of the Highmanner brothers would be guided in by GPS, without any Port authorities bothering them. Due to food and medical supplies for the quake victims, they would load the container right onto a waiting truck. Dustin was there to oversee everything.

Without any interference from port officials, the small sea van which had been marked as United Nations Relief Supplies was hoisted up onto a waiting truck. Brookstone told everyone to hang back and stay low. It was best that no one see any of them to possibly remember faces. Brookstone looked around for Eagleson, but was no where to be found. He turned to Alejandro Coello, the man that Eagleson had recommended, bowed slightly and then took the chained amulet that Eagleson had given him from off his neck and put it onto Coello's neck. Brookstone had tried to discern the markings on the amulet but none of the team could figure anything out. It had to be a long lost language or signs from out of the past, that only the Inca scholars might decipher. The old man's face broke into a great smile. They both knew there were better things to come.

They only had but a few minutes to pay their respects and give a quick explanation of how they had met Eagleson up on the mountain and how he had recommended Coellos as a trustworthy man to make sure the treasure and the site would be honored and preserved for the people of Peru.

Coellos listened intently but was puzzled about who this mountain man could have been. But Coellos, being of Inca heritage, was not unfamiliar with strange events. He was not overwhelmed by the mystery of a mountain man who had appeared to guard the treasure and preserve the mystical point of exit for the ancient Inca kings.

Brookstone assured Coellos that they would be in touch, also saying that he would like to be on any exploration team that might enter the core of the mountain.

The launch returned within four hours and there was a celebration waiting for Dustin and his wife. The Inheritance came back online, letting the world know that she had survived after all. As soon as congratulations from the Coast Guard arrived, The Inheritance went into full clean-up mode. The New Song had its new sails billowing as she moved as escort alongside the mother ship.

The Inheritance made its way north into the black velvet night. Silent and smooth she moved across the balmy sea. Amber was always at Luke's side and made sure he was on his way to recovery. It had been a long time since Luke and Amber had been together. Finally, Amber brought Luke some of his favorite hot chai with a few of Esther's incredible cinnamon rolls before doctor's orders to get to sleep took effect. "Well, Mister Mitchner, here we are again, finally alone for a few minutes. So how do you feel about the whole blasted episode?" she casually asked Luke while she sat down on the bed—then burst into tears!

"What the heck?" Luke gasped, choking on the cinnamon roll.

"You know what. Me and Crystal are soon leaving on The New Song. We are headed back to the HC Ranch. It seems like you don't even care."

"Let me think here now," Luke swallowed, took another bite of cinnamon roll and slowly sipped his chai as he stared up at Ambers tear-stained face—suspended in blurred time. He chewed for a few moments, then began a rather lengthy response.

Amber sat looking at this strange man. She almost forgot it was Luke. He had assorted scratches going in all directions on his face, just now beginning to heal. He had one huge black eye which made him look like an old raccoon that had seen better days. Yet suddenly she heard it begin to speak, "Amber, Oh Amber, Amber Kaamin, how could you even think that Theo and I were going to let you get aboard The New Song. We'd sink that damn thing before we ever let you go away on it."

"What are you saying Luke? We had it all planned, our clothes are packed, and right now Crystal is saying her goodbyes to everyone. I'm here to say my goodbye, to you—for we are leaving in the morning." With this she bent over and cried some more.

"Huh, so you think!" Luke couldn't stand it any longer. "Dear and sweet Amber, first of all, you better get unpacked. I've been thinking. Since I have met you, I got this scar under my eye," he rubbed his finger across the brownish scar under his left eye. "I also have a torn ear that was given me by Beelzebub the Parrot from Obscenity Island; it will never look the same again," with this he pulled on his deformed ear. "I also have a four inch jagged scar on my arm here," he rubbed the scar that he had gotten when Theo had torn out the huge tuna hook." He went on further, "I now have a torn muscle in my shoulder, two broken toes and a few loose teeth." He took on a serious look when he added the injury to his manhood during the storm at Palmyra.

"Oh, and Mitchner, don't forget the bullet crease across the back of your fat skull and that huge black eye," Amber cleverly reminded him, smiling through her wet cheeks.

Luke shot her a serious look, as if trying to figure out if he was being played, but murmured, "That's right, almost forgot the worst one. Almost forgot my banged up head, my out-of-joint shoulder and all these bruises. I am one massive scar and bruised man of trials."

"So what are you saying? I have already worried over you a hundred times."

"I'm wondering if you are good luck or bad luck."

Amber was shaking her head, and just began to say that this was not all totally her fault, when Luke reached out and put his finger on her lips, "So my Dear one, I conclude that you are good luck. I think it is time for you to marry me. Maybe, just maybe, you might be able to keep me from a death blow, instead of having me torn to pieces a bit at a time."

Amber just sat there shocked. Not expecting this, she was made speechless. Then Luke went on, "It isn't that I'm looking for a protector, but maybe a little more companionship, and I really need someone to help me spend my millions in a good way. You definitely have all the qualifications. So what I am saying is, I think it is time for us to be married and begin a new life together. No more of this sneaking up on the bow, or rubber lifeboat moments, and I am not under any influence of medication at this time. I know exactly what I am asking, and pretty sure I know what I am getting in this deal."

Amber was totally flabbergasted. Marriage, a marriage partner that loves me? Or is he just looking for a bookkeeper and marshal arts instructor—is he really serious about our futures? Then boldly, she exhaled and wiped her nose as she began to think this over. It didn't take long. With utter delight, she began her acceptance to his proposal, when good old Crystal, followed by Theo, came bursting into the most private moment of her life. She was too shocked to say a word at that moment.

"Hi guys, what you up to?" Crystal asked in a jovial voice.

"Oh Crystal, not a lot. Luke was just asking me to marry him, when you so rudely interrupted my train of thought."

"You're kidding, Luke," Theo shot his friend and partner a 'Hey, I'm sorry' look.

It was Crystal, as usual, "Crap, Amber, so what was your answer to this incredible raccoon man there in bed, wounded and helpless? Surely you have some kind of answer for him—now that you got him pinned down...and most likely drugged...right?"

Luke sat up, put his chai mug down on the table and reached out for Amber, bringing her right up to his chest and squeezing her while looking over her shoulder at Theo and Crystal. Theo was grinning like a cat with a full bowl of warm milk, while Crystal had tears starting to come. "Well, Amber Kaamin, what might be your answer, is it a go or another wait?" Luke was waiting while he held her tight.

Theo and Crystal thought it best to step out of the room, but Luke stopped them saying, "Oh no you don't. You done got into the middle of my special moment and now I want you two to be witnesses to this lovely lady's answer."

Luke could feel the front of his pajamas being soaked and realized that Amber's face was tight against his chest and she was still crying. Luke lifted her face and kissed away her tears and began to smile like never before.

"Oh Mister Raccoon Face, you already know my answer. Of course I'll be your wife!"

Theo shouted, "I knew it, I knew it, and everyone aboard knew it! Esther had one of her dreams and saw you two happily married. I knew it!"

"Okay Theo, okay. You don't have to wake up the whole ship."

"Too late my friend, you forgot to turn off the listening devices in here and..."

Just then Jay's voice came over the ships' loud speakers, "Attention, dear Inheritance crew and passengers, attention please. It's done folks. Luke has finally asked Amber for her hand in marriage. And she has just given her authorization for this union to proceed!"

Luke and Ambers' faces turned red and Luke shouted, "I'm gonna kill that Jay!"

"Oh calm down Mister Mitchner, everyone already knew. They were just waiting for you to find out."

His protest was soon drowned out. The ship's horns began to blast over and over. Every bell and chime began clanging while people began to pound and stomp and yell.

Theo really felt like the big shot at that moment. But his life was just about to change and he did not know it. The loud speaker came back on with Jay's voice loud and clear. "Also, for my younger hot-shot brother Theodore Vontemspky, everyone wants to know when you're going to ask that precious Crystal to be your wife. Maybe we could have a double wedding. Are you listening Theo?"

You could hear the laughter bounding off the walls of the ship and everyone was foot stomping throughout. Theo stood there beet red, not knowing what to say. "Well, Theo, hate to interrupt such an intimate moment in your life, but what are you going to do...huh?" Luke pierced Theo with some of his own medicine, "Oh and by the way, Theo, Esther also saw you and Crystal being married in her visions."

"I...I, ah, I...um"

Crystal turned around, reached up and kissed Theo, "Yes my Dear, I will accept your proposal, and that is it!"

Luke and Amber burst out laughing, yelling, "Thank you Jay. Good job!"

We could hear stomping and shouting while singing "Here come the caught husbands and the happy brides" came over the loud speaker.

Then a chain of congratulations came over the speaker system. Everyone had gone up to the bridge and Jay and Jocko allowed everyone to say their good words, jokes and best wishes.

"We get to be your witnesses, but who shall be ours?" asked Crystal.

In perfect timing, the door opened and little Rose stood holding open the door, while Winston in his steward's coat and bowtie, entered carrying a tray. What really made this picture so memorable was the pet monkey Mocko, sitting on Winston's shoulder, his big eyes watching all the goings on. Before anyone could say a thing, Winston burst out with one of his sunshine smiles, "From kitchen work. We send big graduations and mucho blesting from speciallty Maam Esther and son Geordie, Rose, our new baby monkey, and me's," he nodded up towards the black creature nestled into his neck and then to Rose and held out the tray to everyone. There were six glasses of what looked to be bubbling Champagne and a plate piled high with Esther's great cinnamon rolls. "Take, very much goodness here," his offer was irresistible.

Crystal asked, "Winston, there are six glasses of Champagne here and there are only four of us."

"Oh no Missy, me too celebrate dis good event. No leave us outside."

Everyone smiling, they lifted up their glasses, but before they sipped, Crystal said, "You, Luke and Amber, got Theo and myself as witnesses, but Theo and I got this little illegal and his pet monkey as our witnesses. So let it be!"

Theo guffawed, "Hope that ain't a sign."

Chapter 28

Bad News All Over!

When all else goes wrong, better use some of your less weighty instruments first, like your common sense, before setting sail in a storm of ill will.

It never fails, that old adage that money and wealth attract troubles has proven true to me. Ever since Theo and I stumbled onto the Hearst lost treasure in the smugglers' cove on the San Simeon coast of southern California, money had become a magnet for trouble. Remembering back, how we had to sail away into the Pacific and hide from unscrupulous lawyers while my inheritance was being untangled from the Canadian court system, as well as how we had to avoid the powerful deceptions of the business world which sought to seduce me to new levels of ruin. Then the formation of the MAVIN team to help me deal with all the concerns of my newly inherited wealth, along with the attempted cons and woes that came with such wealth. Again, a new plot to extract monies from us was pounding on our door.

Funny thing was that when I voiced this thought to Theo he had a rather nice comeback. "Oh yes. Do you remember how we got waylaid onto that desolate Hearst Castle beach to begin with?" He paused for a moment and proceeded to remind me, "We were on our way home from a surf and water show at Half-Moon Bay, I think it was. We were trying to sell a few of my boards so that we could pay our rent. Then, your stupid van broke down because you didn't have the money to get the fuel pump replaced to begin with. So I say, that it was poverty that got us into this mess, not wealth!" with this, he turned around and headed back to the kitchen.

We had barely finished up the return of the Inca treasure to Professor Alejandro Coello and the Government Antiquities Department of Peru when we were hit with a serious blow. We received a phone call from Troy James, the father of Mike, the crew member with a deadly illness who sacrificed himself for us at Palmyra Island, and his sister Tanya. Mr James was in a desperately woeful state. Apparently, Thomas and Julie had kidnapped Beverly, Troy's wife, and were holding her for ransom. In exchange they were asking for the golden chain links that Mike James had found on the Palmyra Island diving expedition.

These two had been a part of our crew for awhile, playing a role in the Palmyra treasure hunt, but they had stolen the rarest stones of our discovery and fled with them to Europe. They returned and tried conning the James family for a greater part of the treasure and threatening to reveal our unreported possession of the Palmyra treasure. This time, they had gone too far. Beverly was being held by Thomas and Julie in exchange for the gold links. The real problem was that the links were not in Troy's possession and we were not set up to make the existence of the links known yet. We were put into a nearly impossible situation. So how were we going to deal with this?

We were angry and outraged by these two long-term trouble makers who had driven us to the edge. I myself went into a depression of sorts about this on-going harassment from two sick individuals. The time had come to deal with them, but first we had to get Beverly back, safe and sound.

The last time we saw Thomas and Julie was when they showed up at the Pearl Harbor terminal five minutes too late, The Inheritance had already pulled away from the docks. We were informed by the Lucidation Data Systems, by which the Hearst Castle Security Force had signed up as our Hawaiian affiliates, that Thomas had contacted them to follow the two girls. The Lucidation Associates suspected that they had plans to kidnap Tanya and her friend Abbey and hold them for payment. This was spoiled when Abbey and Tanya had sailed with us and were now safe and sound aboard The Inheritance. We are sure that since their plans were spoiled, they must have flown back stateside and gone after Beverly.

We held a satellite conference call with Troy. We let him know that we were already on our way and we were all in agreement that these two had to be out of their minds. They must have not thought this through very well. Troy was a partner in a prestigious law firm in L.A, with enough legal influence behind him to have the entire state out in force if need be. We were sending Max, Brookstone and Wally to begin dealing with this situation immediately. Max was an FBI agent, with plenty of power working for him if we needed it. Then Brookstone had enough connections to either start a war or stop one if need be. Then there was Wally, not only one of the great computer techies, but a man with almost as many connections as Brookstone, but in the tech world.

It was Timm's and Gretchen's opinion, knowing Thomas and Julie well enough, that they didn't feel that Beverly was in any real danger. Yet, you never know what someone will do when greed mixes with anger, and jealousy takes hold of you.

We sent Max, Brookstone, Wally and Tanya back to Lima, Peru, on the launch and they flew out with Dustin and Nadia who had to change their plans, to go back to California. Aboard The Inheritance, all our research and contacts were put to work; not a grain of sand would be left unturned. We began to call in favors, and as The Inheritance moved north, we put all our resources into this hunt and find.

Beverly had been taken without force, most likely on the pretense of Tanya being hurt. She had finished up an early evening tennis game with a friend, when Thomas and Julie approached her. She stepped aside from her tennis partner and with some reluctance got into a personal conversation with Thomas and Julie; then shortly thereafter she walked off with them. Why and how all this happened was not known. But they had to be holding her somewhere and our first goal was to find out where.

That very evening, Thomas had called Troy and gave him the demand—the gold links for his wife!

Troy tried to explain that he did not have the links. But he was told to get them; then an exchange would be made. Troy seemed to be handling the situation calmly so far, but we were going to have to figure out a way to get in there and play their game. This was serious stuff—Brookstone basically said that it was time to put a permanent end to these two threats. We didn't like hearing that word "permanent" and tried to come up with the best plan possible, without the permanent aspect.

Every contact name was being reached, every credit card was being checked. All of Thomas's aliases had been researched and gone over. Car rentals, home rentals, hotels, beach bungalows and resorts were checked. We knew that these two did not have the know-how to not make a mistake. That was one thing our team was counting on. We knew that both Julie and Thomas were most familiar with the beach areas, and this gave us an edge in our search. The beach communities were rather tight and would work with others who were part of the beach scene.

One break did come our way when Beverly's debit card was used in the Huntington Beach area. It was a cash withdrawal up to the maximum.

Once our initial team arrived back in Los Angeles, they took up residence at the Troy home. A complete communication, electronics, and tracing system was put in order by Wally. Max did tap some of his resources but did not bring in the FBI itself. If we did bring them in, it would mean that the treasure would have to be made known, and we were not ready for this yet. Besides, Max himself did not fully trust the agency, and for sure, Brookstone didn't want anything to do with them. They were out for their own political gain; our treasure would be a cherry bonanza for them.

After our team had set up and were exploring every avenue, Thomas finally made contact. Troy let it be known that the MAVIN team had brought Tanya home and would be helping to work things out.

"What is there to work out? It's very simple, you hand over the links and we hand over your wife."

All this was being recorded and traced. Max, having some experience in hostage negotiations, became the spokesperson for the team. "Listen Thomas, there are no links to hand over," he explained.

"Bull crap. What do you think we are, really that stupid?" Thomas let his anger fly.

"No, not at all. But the MAVIN Group thought it was the right thing to do to hand over the links to the Peruvian Antiquities Department. So now the links are in the ancient city of Cuscu."

"I don't believe this. There is no way the MAVIN people would give back a 20 million dollar treasure."

Max said, "I know it is hard to believe, but you can read about it in the national headlines of Peru. It has been in international headlines for about a week now. Check it out on the internet yourself."

"Why would they do such a thing?" Thomas barked out.

"First of all, the links were found by Mike. The MAVIN Group does not want any credit for this discovery, this is why they set up the Mike James Memorial Trust. The links were duplicated, down to the finest detail, and these will go on display. The originals were given back to Peru."

"Duplicated? Duplicated, you say!"

"Yes, it is the idea or mystery the chain holds that is important. People are just as amazed at seeing what such a chain really was. Plus, can you imagine the security costs and number of guards that the Memorial Trust would have to employ to keep the links safe? No, better the links go back to Peru, and we keep the image of the chain. This way we can be free in exhibiting it in any museum that asks for a show."

"I can't believe that. You would give up gold for an idea?"

"First of all, think about possessing just one link. Imagine the headache of guarding and the worries of keeping it safe. It would drain you dry."

"The MAVIN Group had to pay dearly to establish that image. Don't forget, they bought those links with money that went into the creation of the Trust. The MAVIN group owned the links but the James family received the monies for the links and this went into the Mike James Trust."

The phone was quiet for a long time, finally Thomas spoke up again, "You might be trying to retrace this number but it's a no go for you. It's one of those pay by minute phones and I'll get rid of it as soon as this conversation is over."

"Sure Thomas, we know you're not so naive as to not know about the tracing devices out there."

Wally almost had to laugh. For the trace was back to the very desk where they had bought the phones. Each time they bought new phones, the clerks were on alert to be on watch for Thomas or Julie. The clerks could follow them out of the store and get a license number or some detail of direction. The clerks were rewarded well, and it became a payoff game for them. Once an area was established, they could triangulate the call going through, and so it was.

Brookstone then came on the phone and began to explain a possible way out. The MAVIN Team had brainstormed every possible idea on how to approach this situation. We had concluded that the driving force within Thomas and Julie was greed. Therefore we would apply the greed tactic in our efforts to get Beverly back home safe.

"Listen, if you did get the links, they aren't worth anything to you. You can't sell them without getting involved in a black market, something even you would admit is over your head and very dangerous. If you melt them down, it would cost you about half their value. So we have a proposal for you."

"I'm listening," Thomas answered.

"We know that you took more than your share of the stones and sold them off. Now there is still a good part of the treasure that we still possess. Every piece of it could be sold off to dealers and collectors without problems. We would be willing to hand over your original share and call it quits."

Thomas nearly exploded in outrage, "It wouldn't be anywhere near what the links went for."

"True, but your original portion is still up there. Maybe not 18 million, but still, you will come out nice," Brookstone spoke with a quiet thought-through voice. "Oh yes, you still have the salvage rights on the sunken tuna boat. We have the film in our possession, and that is a 5 million dollar salvage return."

"So what are you figuring the treasure is worth right now?" Thomas asked.

"We are still going through it, cleaning it up and then we'll know, or at least estimate what we have. So far, without the links we are estimating it to be valued around 48 million." Of course, Brookstone had somewhat inflated this number to entice the greed factor. "But whatever it is, you and Julie would each get one-eighth of its value. That would put you around 12 million together. Once we come up with an exact value, which could be more, we'll know how to split it. Or, you and Julie could come and pick out your share and do with it as you see fit."

You could hear the gears churning, grinding away on the numbers, and what might be the best way to take their share.

After another day went by, Troy was contacted again. Brookstone was going to give Thomas and Julie the plan that we had come up with.

"Okay Thomas, we can do this in two ways. You can trust us to separate out your share of raw treasure and deliver it to you personally. Or, you and Julie can come to where we are storing the treasure and go through it yourself and choose what you want or think should be yours."

"Max came on the line and surprisingly enough he really got tough. Just letting you know Thomas that if any harm whatsoever comes to Beverly, you can count that your lives are over. If you think you can hide from us you're really naive. For example, we know the very seats you sat in on the British Airways flight to England, every place you stayed at in Europe, the trains you took, and even the dealers you contacted. If I wanted, I could make one phone call and there would be 500 FBI officers hunting you down. You don't kidnap a lawyer's wife, and especially, one that just lost her son, and think to get away with it. We want you to know that it is your lives which are in danger. So consider getting Beverly back home immediately, then we will fulfill the exchange of monies or treasure with you."

Brookstone doubled up with the plan. "We are ready to buy your share out for ten million. That is five for you and five for Julie. Unless you want to come personally and go through the treasure itself. You might come out with maybe two million more that way, but you will have to show up personally."

There was a long pause on the phone while Thomas was digesting this information. "However, if you take the physical treasure, you're going to spend a lot of time running around fencing it to different brokers. You might not get what you think and you'll have all the worries and troubles of disposing it. Oh yes, don't forget you already took the best of the emeralds, and it would be nice if you would return the larger ones for display purposes."

"Let us think about this for a few hours."

Three hours later, it was Julie who called back, "We'll take the ten million."

"Okay. Which bank do you want it deposited in?" Max asked.

"Bank...we don't want it in a bank. We want cash."

"Sorry Julie, there's no way we can come up with 10 million in cash, it would take us a good month to even get near that, and then it would be too dangerous to haul around and then it would take a couple of days for you to count it."

This operation was getting worse with each call. However, the entire MAVIN Team, along with the Hearst Castle Security Force, had narrowed the hunt down to a mid-sized yacht in the Huntington Harbor. The Security Force team, headed by Brookstone, was having a difficult time pin pointing the location, until they realized that Thomas and Julie must have leased a yacht and were moving it around in the back waters of the luxurious bay-front homes near Huntington Beach and out to the coastal harbors. Fifty pairs of eyes were watching every doorway and monitoring all activities throughout the streets and waterways of Huntington Beach. It would only be a short time before the whereabouts of Beverly would be known. Once the yacht was identified, it would be the end for this kidnapping scam. Every one of the Hearst Castle Security Force were certified divers, experts in boarding boats and small crafts. Thomas's demands for cash went on and on. His greed ultimately allowed us to trace his moves and once we had identified their boat, Brookstone made his move.

It was Julie who caved in and gave out their location. She personally delivered Beverly back home. Within a day or so, Troy called us, letting us know that Beverly was home safe and sound, none the worse for her ordeal. She told the tale that this couple was so inept that she almost had to laugh at their actions.

We asked Brookstone what he was going to do with this couple, he suggesting that we did not inquire further. But we could rest assured that the chances of us ever seeing them again was next to never. Over time, with further inquiries through the girls, we managed to get different stories. One was that they had become volunteer orderlies for the next five years in a New Guinea leprosy village hospital. One was that they were working on a Burmese sugar cane plantation with another hundred prisoners, I mean volunteers. And the best one was that the Chinese had bought them for spare parts.

Thomas and Julie never did call back to make arrangements for their ten million. We thought we'd keep it in a separate account in case, after they had learned their lessons, they might need something to live on. Who knows? Maybe they thought that the money from the large emeralds would do them well, and Brookstone allowed them to take and run south.

Epilogue

Insurmountable problems for the poor are only a "flick of a flea"-sure thing- for those rich enough to possess the "flicker."

The Inheritance slowly made its way up the west coast, stopping at every port. Parts of the Mitchner bunker treasure of major coin collections were sold off along the way. The Palmyra Island treasure had been divided in half, and part went into The Tripper van which sat in the lower storage deck waiting to get back on the road. The remainder of the Palmyra treasure was loaded into The New Song, which sailed back with Jay and Gretchen. After it had been cleaned up, half was stored in the vaults of the Bay Front Retirement Home on Balboa Island, while the other half went into Jonathan's basement vault.

The Kaamin twins, Amber and Crystal, were hard at work planning their double wedding. It was either going to be held aboard The Inheritance or back at the Hearst Castle Ranch. They were considering the Mitchner Ranch, but that might leave out a lot of people. Gretchen suggested that they send The Inheritance down to Newport, and slowly work their way up the coast, picking everyone up to bring them to the Vancouver Harbor dock, then taking all the guests to the Mitchner Ranch.

Theo and I found it wiser to stay out of these decisions. We had our own tasks and plenty of things to work out. Theo, Wally, and Timm had finally set up their workshop and had been trying to work out the glitches in Jonathan's sound-reading machine. They were rarely seen doing nothing, forever locked away in their invention chambers. They did have some good ideas. It was Brookstone and his brothers who encouraged them to come up with more spy and intrusion devices, so they did. In fact, Jasper, Morgan, and Mica, all being engineers, spent most of their time working on their own inventions.

Besides this, Jasper and Morgan along with Wally and Esther spent several hours a day cleaning the Palmyra treasure. The acid and chemically polluted coral had taken its toll on many of the fine pieces. Yet, they held their beauty and their golden mystery. Everything was being categorized and given an estimated value. Wow! is all we could say.

For myself, I spent much time sitting with Amber, thinking over my life and watching the stars at night. I had been going over my journals and realized just how many strange turns my life had taken in the last five years. Looking back at all my assignments, my published articles, all my new friends, the Mitchner inheritance, the new way of dealing with situations, and now marriage. Life was certainly a challenge in and of itself, but add a fortune to it and you have a tiger by the tail. Then there was Amber and how she came to be in my life, a strange meeting of fate with a set of unusual consequences. Then there was the formation of the MAVIN Group and its future.

Amber and I would discuss our futures, and we both agreed that they would not be ordinary lives. Her brothers, of the Kaamin family, had their own agenda managing the Hearst Castle Security forces and the security of the Hearst Castle Estate and family. They also had their behind the scene mercenary team to keep up and running; corporations and government entities were forever banging on their doors. Of course this would not effect Amber too much, she was going to be a Mitchner.

Jay and Gretchen were settling in aboard The New Song, their home for a time. Jay and Jocko had been making plans for an exploratory search and dive to find the sunken freighter, the San Bella, a Hearst freighter which had gone down off the California coast in the 1930's. There sill had to be a tremendous amount of treasure which had been destined for the Hearst Castle.

The slate had pretty well been cleared, other than for a few small items. The Inheritance would probably be kept at the Stone Harbor Iron & Ship Works Company in Vancouver Harbor. Benjamin had suggested that we use his shipyard to keep our freighter—it was cheaper and would be kept safe. The basic old time crew could live aboard and always be ready to sail if need be. The group was now pondering this decision. We could bring her into the San Pedro Harbor and dock her there for periods of time whenever we might use her. The quandary for now was who would stay aboard as a permanent crew. Jocko had made himself comfortable alongside Dallas, the nurse who decided to work with us and be closer to him on The Inheritance. But we knew he could not stay away from the beautiful California coast for long. Plus The New Song, was going to be completely refitted when it got back to Newport. Benjamin and Jocko had both brought some salty old-timers aboard, and they had proven themselves to be trustworthy and eager to have a home to call their own.

The two freighters had a great future, The Inheritance was outfitted for excursions, explorations, adventures, and scientific missions. It was also ready to become a college at sea. Brookstone had re-registered their freighter The Sparrow as The Raven, and it was a well equipped freighter of power. In jest, we would call it the Hearst Castle Security Force Battleship, and we promised not to divulge too much about its refurbishing.

At the last meeting, someone brought up the possibility of the MAVIN Group purchasing our own plane. It could be kept in an Orange County air strip, and since we had an air strip on the Mitchner Ranch, we could fly up without having to mess with the big airports. This was a good idea that became even better when Brookstone said there was a small airstrip behind the Hearst Castle Ranch, but rarely used now. We handed this possible investment research over to Brookstone and his brothers. They not only had pilots' licenses but all the right connections for a good deal on a worthy plane.

Then we had our shipboard romances, intrigue, and new relationships forming. Wally, the gentle giant with the mind to match, became fascinated with Esther Stine, a perfect meeting of the minds. Wally, who was named after a famous Sultan warrior during the Genghis Khan era, seemed to be a physical misfit with his giant size and bushy beard; but he found excellence and extraordinary challenge with our kitchen magisterial medium. They slowly united to become a formidable intelligence team.

Wally soon approached the MAVIN Group asking about our thoughts on having Esther travel to Germany for a special experimental operation for her back. He had done lengthy research on her behalf and felt that there was a good chance of her once again being able to walk. We took this up at our last meeting and it was decided that on our return to the States, Wally would escort Esther and Geordie to Germany for this operation. The MAVIN Group would pay her expenses, and Wally would begin to set all this in motion. Amber and Crystal suggested that we could honeymoon in Europe and be there for Wally during his stay with Esther while she would recuperate and go through therapy.

Wally and Esther became the talk of the ship. All in good humor, speculations were made about their two unusual minds becoming one force, and who knows what might happen. Imagine a huge hairy giant computer genius with extraordinary inventive powers joined up with Esther, a rare mind of conglomerated talents. Their kids, O my gosh, their kids! and so it went for a time.

Oh now, there was JJ. He had actually calmed down somewhat. Maybe it was the influence of Tanya taking effect on him. It might have been our decision to get him into the university and take up law. That time was now drawing nigh. The one good thing was that Tanya would be there for him at UCLA. He had stepped out of a simple surf-bum gambling life and entered into some serious business. That event of finding the severed hand really shook him up. Maybe he was now looking at the field of law with a different perspective, who knew?

Then we had Timm. Timm was the quiet genius who had found his way into Abbey's life. They were like-minded in goals; their career ideals might form them into a great team of accomplishment. I saw this one as good, and getting better. Timm was thinking about starting up his chemical company back in Honolulu and giving a part of the warehouse over to the new surfboard productions of Theo and his inventors.

We were hoping that something might work out for Max. but we would wait and see what he had up his sleeve.

Jasper and Morgan, tried to stay out of our aim as match-makers but we knew they were in constant contact with Sally and Cinder back in Newport at Theo's water and surf shop. If all these potential partners ever did get hooked up, we would have one heck of an intertwined family, hopefully with the tightness and beauty of a rare Persian carpet.

This last sail home had to be the most pleasant. Incredible sunsets, warm tropical breezes and star filled nights. Many of us would bring cots up on deck and sleep there under the billions of glittering stars and be wooed to slumber by the smooth rolling sea. Much had happened to all of us. I would say that we had been welded into a fine-running machine. I had the feeling that we had just been in training and would be assigned to our real purpose soon. What that might be I had no idea. But from what I knew, I would not discount a higher purpose for what we had already been through.

Dustin and Nadia had already held several meetings to discuss the MAVIN financial holdings and investments. They would update us on our holdings, on our gains and on potential opportunities that might be on the horizon. This became a mind-altering training course, think out of the vault, Dustin would say. I had never been in a position to consider investments into future profits, but Dustin, with the backing of Brookstone, assured us that this was a good way to keep up on behind-the-scene circumstances. Better to know ahead of time, or at least get a hint of things to come, rather than be caught in the on-rushing headlights of a fast moving freight train.

Dustin had come into hundreds of documents that had been locked away by my Grandfather Stewart. We discovered that we owned a small island above Vancouver off the coast of British Columbia. It was not only an island, but it had a long-abandoned lighthouse still standing. We soon had satellite images of the place, and another idea—building a survival getaway fortress. Everyone got excited about such a project. Imagine that, we owned our own island.

Dustin had to make his normal comments about the MAVIN team getting sidetracked, again. At least he got a first hand look at how such things seemed to emerge and evolve.

We were not even half way home, and several new projects had dropped into our lap. I had to laugh, even if we hid out to sea, those strange events would come looking for us.

Brookstone had given our data collection banks over to Mica and Jaden. They reported that the data banks had grown. With several of our more computer savvy techs, we had acquired the Microsoft and eBay data bases. We were well on our way to having one of the world's most extensive data and profiling systems.

One complaint came to my ears. Amber mentioned to me that things were disappearing from our rooms and work areas. "What do you mean disappearing? Please fill in the missing thought here. Give me something more than the word 'disappearing'."

"Like several pairs of underwear and a gold ring that I had sitting on my counter. Then Crystal says she had her watch disappear. Things like that."

"I don't like the part about your panties. No way, who do you think it might be?" I inquired with a frustrated look on my face. "Hell, we just get over one situation and here comes another. Only this time it is, or must be, from someone who we trust. I don't like this."

"I know, I know. I checked around with others and they also said that a few small things were missing from their areas."

"Did you look at the videos from the ship's cameras?"

"We are going to get that review started tonight. Wally is going to help us go back at least a week. We should be able to see the culprit, unless he or she is invisible."

"Oh boy, hope it isn't Esther's ghost of a grandfather or heck, maybe her husband, the one who had been killed by a white shark."

"Okay Mitchner, what ain't you telling me?"

"Awe, it's a long story, ask Esther about it. She says that a ghost, maybe from her grandfather, lived in their beach home."

"I'll do that."

That night we found our thief and we didn't even have to go through the ship cam recordings. As we waited for Wally to get organized to see the video, there was some kind of a ruckus outside the computer room. Wally and the girls looked to see Mocko the monkey flailing around against one wall. He was tangled up in a pair of pink panties that had slipped over his head so that his head was poking out of one leg while his foot had got caught in the lining. We stood there amazed, and then it dawned on us. It was that damn monkey that had been going around, sneaking into every part of the ship, and just taking whatever it wanted. Wally reached down and pulled the panties off the struggling monkey and tossed them onto Crystal's head. Mocko shot off down the hall and disappeared into a closet area. They followed its trail and bent down to look into the closet space, and sure enough—there glowed two huge eyes of wonder. Mocko was staring out at them from a pile of odd and random items, almost defiantly asking what they were doing intruding into his special sanctuary.

Once they dug Mocko, the sneaky thief, out of his hiding place, they proceeded to count about 20 pens, 6 pairs of ladies underwear, one pair of mens underwear, several pieces of jewelry—and there was Crystal's watch and Amber's ring.

"You dirty little thief." Wally tried grabbing the ill mannered creature, but it took off like a shot down the hall and went flying around a corner. It darted onto the outside deck and disappeared. It was several days later when Winston came walking into the dining area with that Mocko on his shoulders. Wally was the first to ask. "Where did you find that thief?"

"Ooh mister Wally, Mocko want vacation and so run up high masted pole, way up on the dish thingee. He see me's and runs like glazy to me. He happy see me, I be worry bout him. You happy to knows is good?"

Everyone sat quiet, waiting for Wally to speak. Finally he said, "You better keep that ugly sneak thief locked up. He is a thief and you better know this: If he gets caught stealing things again, he might end up fish bait. Comprehendo Winston?"

With one of the most serious looks ever seen on Winston's face, he cried out, "No, no, not trues. I teach Mocko all he knows, he works for me. I train him to fetch for me; he go and bring me things. Is very good job he do. I show."

With this revelation, Winston set the monkey down and made a few odd noises as if clicking his tongue. Suddenly, that stinking monkey jumped up onto one of the counters and began moving things around. It picked up a spoon, then a folded napkin and looked around, then darted back to Winston. "See, he very smart for us. He go for many things if ever need."

"You're telling us that you actually trained that ugly thing to steal from us?" Theo had to ask.

"I learn him. Make big effort for Mocko be spy monkey."

"...And Wally, you want to adopt more of these monkey trainers?" Brookstone was laughing as he choked out his deflected humor.

Wally just sat there straight faced and slowly broke into a grin. "Well, maybe. Maybe Winston could train that thing to work for your Hearst Castle Security team. Please take it home with you when you leave the ship. Let us know how it works out."

By now, the entire table erupted into smirks, giggles, and laughter.

JJ had to yell out, "Criobongo, it's Gummie Fingers Gonzo! What is next for the night's entertainment?"

I sat there watching all this, just shaking my head, knowing that somehow I ended up head of all these unusual characters. I thought—the least of leaders must be able to take all the blame and share the smallest glory with those he took the blame for!

So the last part of our first cross-Pacific journey was coming to an end. We all knew that most of us would soon be off and running in different directions, unless we got sidetracked again. At least until the next crazy Luke Mitchner adventure came our way.

However, I knew for sure that I was going to write a book about all this.

THE END

Books By Michael M.Tickenoff

The Luke Mitchner Series

1 The Green Bus And The X-0 Factor!

2 The Pitt Stop Puzzle Mystery!

3 The Hearst Castle's Lost Treasure Mystery!

4 Obscenity Island!

5 Palmyra Island Lost Treasure Adventure!

6 The Inheritance! Parts 1 & 2

Fables, Magical Tales, and Adventures

Angel Eyes!

Fountains From Ice!

The King and the Shepherd Boy

Olga, The Blind Man's Beauty!

The Seventh Man!

Old Blind Sarah And The Village Lake Walkers!

The Lost Wagon Wheel Treasure Mystery!

An Oregon Trail adventure

Writings from Life

1000 Things To Tell Your Kids Before It's Too Late!

Rare seeds for a better future

Ponderosity! A vast collection

5000 Personal Proverbs and Sayings from Michael

Michael passed away in December of 2016, we miss him.

His books and stories will live on – something he wanted for his family, as well as for readers who will be delighted with his contribution to the world of imagination, thought and good will.

Following is a 'pome' Michael wrote. We couldn't have a better commemoration than the one he wrote himself.

Michael is a gentle old soul with a heart of gold and a very rich diamond mind.

He's been around and around and just won't go away.

If you have a hungry mind he'll feed you well, just read his stories and they will tell.

Everything is worn and torn on this old blind man, with the exception of his imagination!

Michael is friendly, he is kind, and is still learning to become somewhat refined.

Take him with a grain of salt and a pinch of gold because he's on his way to getting really old.

He's had a rough life...full of strife...has had many go-rounds and still he lives without a frown.

Surely life has taken its toll, but this man named Michael is a special old soul...with lots of life and a mysterious role!

He tells his stories in bits and bytes and pieces and loves to write.

From sayings to sagas and on to tall tales, based on many of his own life's trails.

Thank you Michael.

