David Golemon - Legend

As he tossed the morning briefing on his desk, he walked over to the coat rack and put on his suit jacket in preparation for the president's morning intel brief. He couldn't help but wonder in the end what price one would pay for peace. He picked up his phone and placed a call.

"Yes," the tired voice said.

"Congratulations on your mission to Iran. How's your jet lag?"

"I'm too tired to think about it, but we did leave the damned Iranians something to ponder. Iraq may not have the bomb to stop them from invading, but they now have something just as terrifying. Now, what about this expedition you briefed me on, this Professor Zachary?"

"We have it covered; there will be no amazing discoveries coming out of that area of the world. And if anyone else here goes digging into the same files the last person did, we'll be alerted; it's been red-flagged and we'll be able to trace it to the computer terminal that's being used. Sometimes it's very advantageous to be partners with the intel chiefs."

"Good. Is there anything else before we brief the president and the press corps on our diplomatic triumph?"

"No, everything is going well. I will be speaking to our partners in Brazil soon, to finalize our fail-safe positions as far as this expedition is concerned, if our SEAL friend fails to do what was ordered."

"I know it is distasteful at times to deal with people such as this, but the end will justify the means. Let's just close up the mine connection for good and move on with the real business at hand."

"I agree. Enjoy all the accolades for your harrowing diplomacy from our current man in office. If he only knew how he was helping us in the election! Anyway, this latest diplomatic coup should put you right over the top in the polls. Peace in our time, right?" He thought he was being smart, quoting Neville Chamberlain.

"I sometimes wonder if it was all worth it. As they say, you can't put the genie back in the bottle."

As the national security advisor hung up the phone he placed the morning report back in the red-bordered file and then he frowned. He knew that the sale of their souls to the Devil was the price all six conspirators had just paid for "peace in our time."

After Robby Hanson closed the cell phone he looked around and, when he saw no one watching him, he turned to the overhang of the second deck and waved the girl over. She smiled and came out of the shadows.

"What did she say?" the twenty-year-old asked.

"She's clueless; as long as she's finally going on her dream cruise down the Amazon, Professor Zachary doesn't care who's on this trip. Besides it's not like we're lying about your being a grad student from Berkeley, is it?"

The girl smiled and leaned forward to kiss Robby on the lips. "I just had to go. How could I miss the trip of a lifetime?"

"Yeah, but how much trouble am I going to get into? Remember it was me who helped you ditch your protection. Your father's going to freakin' flip his gourd." Robby shook his head, kissed the girl again, then turned her away from him.

"Go to your cabin and start getting acquainted with your fellow travelers, and stay out of sight until you check your equipment. And by the way, Kelly, your name is Cox. Leanne Cox. God, I'm dead," he mumbled.

She batted her eyes. Grabbing her brand-new seabag, she started for the hatchway leading belowdecks. Then she stopped and turned. "Don't tell me my secret fiance is afraid of my father?"

Robby smiled and started making check marks on his manifest. "Why would I be afraid of one of the most powerful men in the world, surely not I, Ms. Cox?"

Farbeaux decided to drive to Los Angeles from Palo Alto. Taking Highway 1 relaxed him and allowed his mind to absorb the mission and think. He had placed Helen Zachary's map inside a cylindrical container and placed it in the trunk. As he whistled he removed from his jacket pocket a Spanish cross once owned by Father Corinth. The last time Pizarro's priest had seen the cross was in 1534. The warmth of it radiated out into his hand as he looked at it. How clever of Corinth to have placed both ore samples together in this most ingenious way. The large cross had inadvertently fallen to Farbeaux over a year earlier when it had been offered as payment by a former employer for services rendered. It had gone through a few changes while handed down through the Corinth family. Jewels had been added, and a thin plating of gold. The surprise he found inside its hidden compartment was an amazing stroke of luck.

Farbeaux knew the riches to be found in that near-forgotten lagoon were now close to being in his possession, partly thanks to this very cross and the secrets it had revealed to him. A five-hundred-year-old myth, an old legend that refused to die, would soon become a reality that was worth more than all the lost treasures ever torn from the earth.

After her arrival at the harbor, Helen was making a final check of the crated equipment strapped down across the deck of the Pacific Voyager . She only hoped that they would have enough room on the river tug Incan Wanderer and the river barge Juanita when they transferred the equipment in Colombia. Kennedy and his team had three more crates than she had allowed them. On her clipboard she made a check mark by each space that indicated the weight of his crates. She frowned when she added it all up.

"Robby, where's Dr. Kennedy?" she asked her brightest graduate student. He tossed a coiled rope to one of young girls who populated Helen's expedition and pointed toward the stern of the Pacific Voyager.

She bit her lip and handed him the clipboard with the manifest on it. "Give this to the captain," she said, as she turned toward the stern. "Tell him we are over by three hundred pounds, but still within his load capacity."

"You got it, Doc." He watched her for a moment, wondering if maybe he should accompany her to see Kennedy and his men. But he decided that if anyone could handle these guys, it was Dr. Zachary. His eyes next sought out Kelly. She was on deck, checking her camera equipment. The thick-rimmed glasses and dyed hair didn't hide her beauty, but they did go a long way toward hiding her identity. He figured everyone on the ship would find it difficult to recognize her.

Helen approached Kennedy and his associates, who were huddled near one of the ships large stern cleats. They were deep into conversation when Kennedy looked up and saw her walking toward them. He nodded and his men turned and walked away, but not before Helen noticed one of them partially raise his hand toward his forehead. Kennedy's eyes locked on the man in question and he quickly lowered his hand and moved off. She wondered what that was all about.

"Professor Zachary, we about ready to shove off?" Kennedy asked as he straightened and walked over to meet her.

"I have a meeting to attend, but we should be able to depart in about twenty minutes." She zipped up her dark blue coat. "Doctor, according to the manifest, you have three crates that were not accounted for nor inspected, and the weight of those three crates placed us over our limit. It makes me wonder if you were trying to get these items past me."

Kennedy, a man of about twenty-six with short cropped blond hair, laughed. "My pharmaceutical company sent us two computers and a fluoride analyzer at the last minute. Nothing earth shattering, quite boring stuff really."

"Then you wouldn't mind if I inspect them?"

"Not at all, I'll have them opened for you. I don't think it should delay us more than two hours. It's a royal pain but they're packed quite well because of their sensitive components. But we don't want to break any rules. Mr. Lang, will you unstrap the analyzer and her component computers and break down the crates for the—"