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.”“You know Jack, the scrolls did say Atlantis was a great naval power.I’m betting that bay would have had hundreds of ships out there too,” Javier said, momentarily distracted from his sadness.“Yeah, I never thought about that, but you’re right,” Burt said, now equally fascinated by the new conversation.Quietly thinking about the last exchange, Jack added, “If you listen, you can hear the sounds of life down there in that town.I wonder what it would have sounded like seven thousand years ago.”“From way up here, the only sounds you’d hear would probably be the sounds of hammers chiseling stone,” Javier responded.“Without any mechanized machinery, it’d be pretty quiet.”He looked up at the sky and heard a plane in the distance.“It’s amazing that we take the sound of planes for granted, never really paying them much attention, but they really do affect our peaceful environment.Seven thousand years ago, aside from the sounds of voices and crude tools, it must have been a fairly quiet society to live in compared to ours.”“Quiet and beautiful,” Jack added.“If it truly was the most opulent city in the world at that time, just imagine all the architecture that we’d be seeing right now.The Romans had the Coliseum and the Greeks had the Parthenon.I wonder what the Atlanteans had.”The four men stood quietly and thought about Jack’s statement.As they gazed out upon the city a mile away, each man envisioned their own version of Atlantis.A moment later, the silence was broken.“I know exactly what they would’ve had,” Javier said, now feeling the rush of discovery.“Standing down there and looking in this direction, they would have seen a magnificent pyramid.”For a brief moment, the four scanned the mountains and hills around them, each man imagining a grand pyramid standing watch over the city.“What a sight that must have been,” Burt said.“What a sight that WILL be,” Jack corrected, staying positive for Javier’s sake.Jack’s intentions were realized.Feeling the power of hope, Javier’s demeanor turned positive once more.Reaching for his pack, he shouldered it and said, “Somewhere out here is our pyramid.Let’s go home and get some rest.”“Maybe we’ll get lucky tomorrow,” Darrien added.“If not tomorrow, very soon,” Jack replied, “It’s just a matter of time.”~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~The following day, the four men continued their search.From dawn to dusk, their pursuit proved fruitless and the failure slowly ate away at their spirits.The next day resulted in the same, as did the days that succeeded it, continuing in a long string of failed searches.As the days turned into weeks and their efforts went unrewarded, morale began to degrade and any attempt to turn their hopes became ineffective.The desperation that followed cast a pall over the four that hung heavy as they worked.Each man knew the consequences of defeat and the pressure of it further hindered their ability to work.Bringing further complication to the difficult task, Nicolae Sokolov’s men increased the frequency of their visits.With each meeting, their demands became more ominous and threatening as Nicolae’s patience was running out.He wanted more and to him, they seemed to be delivering less.After another long day toiling in the sun, the four pulled up into the shortened driveway at their rented villa.Stepping from the car, Jack immediately spotted the break he’d been waiting for.Sitting on a patio table in front of the house, sat a delivered package.He turned to Javier and said in a confident tone, “I think we’ve just bought ourselves some time.”Seeing the package, he cried out, “Halleluiah! I didn’t think it was ever going to get here in time.”Rushing to the patio, Javier immediately grabbed the package and tore it open.With a relieved smile, he said, “Well done, Jack.I think you’ve just saved Serena’s life.”Jack reached in and pulled out a delicately wrapped urn.Unraveling the bubble-packing that protected it, he stared at the intricately crafted pottery and smiled in satisfaction.“This looks great, Javi,” he remarked.“What do you think? You think it’ll fool them?”“I think it would fool me.Damn, that guy’s good!” Javier exclaimed.As Darrien unloaded the packs, Burt made his way to the patio.Seeing the small urn in Jack’s hands he asked, “Where’d you get that?”“You like it? It’s Atlantean,” he said, his smile turning wily
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