Nothing New Under the Sun, page 6
“We’ll need to handle this very diplomatically,” the dean continued. “We’re already in trouble with the smuggling operation taking place on our watch.”
“I would like to point out, there may be more Peruvians involved in these thefts of artifacts than North Americans,” Esmeralda commented.
“It won’t matter,” the Dean responded. “The Peruvians will view it as an insult to their sovereignty. In their minds, the gringos would have tried to rip them off again.”
Jacob looked to Carter, who nodded. Carefully, Jacob took out the original box from his briefcase, which he used to ship the golden bird north. He opened it after putting on cotton gloves.
“I have the artifact I discovered in the cave,” he told them. “I will bring it around the room so everyone can see. Professor Devereux has already had the gold content analyzed.” He slowly walked around the room showing the golden hummingbird to everyone at the conference table. When finished, Jacob returned it to the box and removed his cotton gloves.
He walked over to the table and set the box down. “I’ve placed the artifact here for everyone to see. It’s up to you to decide what needs to be done next.”
There was silence and then the Dean turned to a Board member on his right and spoke quietly. Next, he turned back to Carter and Jacob. “Would you two gentlemen please excuse us for a minute?” he requested. “We need to have a conversation in private. I’ll bring you back in a few minutes.” Carter and Jacob walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.
They waited in the lobby without speaking to each other. A few times Jacob and Carter exchanged looks, but they knew nothing more needed saying.
The door to the conference room creaked open after 30 minutes. “Could you two gentlemen please come back in?” The Dean requested. “We have something to tell you.”
They walked back in just as the Dean was taking his seat. The box with the golden hummingbird was still in the location where Jacob had left it.
“We’ve come to a decision,” the Dean told them. “And it is a unanimous one; I want you to know there was no dissension on this matter.
“We’ve decided to ask Dr. Wilson to take charge of the site, reporting directly to Professor Devereux as the CEO of the expedition.
“Dr. Wilson knows more about the Inca civilization than anyone outside Peru. Ms. Levy phoned her contacts with the Peruvian National Police, and they were grateful for our help. They’ve suspected a smuggling operation was taking cultural artifacts out of the country for the past year and have undertaken some investigations on their own. They agree Dr. Wilson should be in charge of the site and will do everything possible to help him. We smoothed things over by offering to send the golden hummingbird to the Peruvian embassy in Washington, D.C. The ambassador himself is arriving tomorrow to pick it up.
They’ve promised not to publicize the smuggling operation because they don’t want to compromise the investigation.”
Jacob had a bewildered look on his face.
“You have our full trust behind you, Dr. Wilson. Professor Devereux, we owe you our gratitude for helping him bring this to our attention. If you accept our proposal, Dr. Wilson, we want you to leave right away and travel to the site. Because we don’t know the full extent of the corruption at the dig site, we’ll send a security team down there with you. They have an office in Lima where they will hire some local guards to accompany you. The local police will, in all probability, arrive first, but we feel you will need protection while you’re down there.”
The Dean stopped and looked at Jacob for an answer.
Jacob was pale but managed to signal his acceptance by nodding his head.
The Dean smiled and continued, “next week, we are going to issue a joint press release with the Peruvian Embassy. We’ll state the nature of the smuggling operation and explain how you stopped it through your courageous efforts. The government of Peru will take credit for anyone they arrest as part of the smuggling ring.”
Carter looked at Jacob’s stunned face and wondered if his had the same expression.
“Professor Devereux, I take it you don’t have any objections about the role of CEO as suggested? I’m sure you’ll be able to do most of your work remotely via a satellite communications link.”
“No objections sir. I will be honored to work with Dr. Wilson on this.”
“Thank you, that’s what I expected.”
Outside Jacob turned to Carter, “What just happened in there?”
Carter chuckled, “Well I didn’t see that coming either. Seems you and I are now in charge of that dig my friend.”
“How come it happened so fast?” A still dumbfounded Jacob wanted to know.
“Think about it. Who knows the site better than you do? You have demonstrated your loyalty and trustworthiness. You are the best choice, Jacob.” Carter laughed, “Welcome to the real world of archeology, Jacob. Let’s go find that lost Gold Garden.”
Chapter 6
One brief moment of time
Later that evening Carter told Mackenzie about the emergency meeting of the University Board and the company responsible for the survey work outside the Peruvian city of Cusco. He avoided most of the details of the possible legal complications arising from Jacob taking the golden hummingbird out of the country and focused instead on how well the man handled himself in front of the board. Nor did he mention Wilson was a former student of his. Mackenzie sat spellbound as she listened to his account of the meeting.
“Wow, and poor Jacob thought they were going to charge him. He walked out of it not only a free man but the champion of the hour.”
“We discussed what the outcome might be beforehand,” Carter told her. “He’s very serious about making certain the artifacts don’t fall into the hands of smugglers. It’s been an issue for years, and the stigma of people selling relics is something the profession wants to avoid.”
“Still,” she brought up, “he might have been suspended from his job or even gone to jail.”
“I would have made sure he had the best legal representation possible,” Carter said. “But, yes, he looked into the abyss when he walked into that meeting this morning. I could see his hands shaking when he brought the golden hummingbird out to show everyone.”
They were in a small restaurant overlooking Boston Harbor and the lights of the city illuminating the metropolitan area. In the distance, they could see the changing color of the leaves on trees in the park and joggers running along the paths trying to avoid each other. Through the open windows of the restaurant, they felt the fresh air and heard the sounds of traffic in the distance. As Carter looked out at the busy scene before him, he remembered the waterway had once been much larger. Filling in a good portion of the harbor is what extended the Boston City area to what it was today.
“So,” Mackenzie continued, “from what you say, it sounds as if you’re the official head of the survey with Wilson being your representative in the field.”
Carter nodded. “The first order of business is to find out how far up and down the chain the rot has traveled. He suspects Freeman’s contacts were in the city and some people involved in the dig were passing information about the better artifacts. We need to find out about everyone involved before another shovel hits the ground. Right now, the entire site is under the jurisdiction of the Peruvian National Police. Every person who was working there has been moved off-site.”
“How are you going to restart the survey? Something tells me you’ll have to be patching up a lot with the Peruvian government.”
“It helped when we offered to give the hummingbird to the ambassador. At least they are still happy to keep us involved. They know the University can lend the prestige they need to the survey, but at the same time, they are not happy about what happened. They have made it clear we’ll be kicked out of the country if it ever happens again.”
“That’s understandable,” she said as she took a sip of her wine.
“I want to fly up to Freydis and talk to my grandfather,” he continued. “I want to think this one through with him. We might have to bring in a new company to continue the work. I really don’t want to, but if the Peruvians don’t allow me to use RAU, I will have no choice."
She nodded. “Freydis? What’s that?” She put down her wine glass and looked at him with curiosity.
Carter smiled warmly. “It’s the name of my grandfather’s ranch up north in Canada. He’s owned it for years.”
“How did he come up with the name?”
“Freydis was Leif Ericksson’s sister, born around 950. The Viking sagas refer to her as Freydís Eiríksdóttir. She was with Leif Ericksson when he traveled to North America if you follow the accounts in the sagas. She had red hair and was a wild and adventurous woman!” He teased.
“Somehow I missed reading those but it sounds like I should,” she laughed.
Mackenzie tossed her flaming hair back as she remembered something and looked deep into Carter’s eyes.
“Do you have any plans for next Saturday?”
“No. Why? Do you have something in mind?”
“My brother Ray is home on leave at the moment, and mom wants me to come over for dinner. You want to come along and meet the family?”
Carter did some quick calculations in his head and figured he would have four days with Grandfather Will and two more to prepare for the survey with Wilson.
“Sure, but only if your mother is expecting me.”
“Oh yes, she is. In fact, she wants you to come so she can meet you. We had one of those mother-daughter talks if you know what I mean.”
Carter smiled. He knew exactly what she meant.
The leaves were beginning to line the streets as winter started to show its teeth and he took her hand in his as they walked toward the car. His heart beat faster when he felt her snuggle up close to him.
Stopping under a tree, his crimson-haired goddess turned her green eyes to him, and Carter felt the stir in him; he had to be with this woman. She was the one he’d waited for all his life; he just didn’t know it until that momentous collision several weeks ago. She leaned into him and electricity sparked through his body as her lips touched his - voices chanted in a language unknown for centuries, echoing in his ears as he enjoyed the essence of the stunning woman in his arms. Time stopped for both of them.
If Carter could collect and preserve one brief moment in time, this would be it.
“I could do this for the rest of my life,” he spoke softly as his lips disengaged from hers. She rubbed his back and continued to look into his eyes.
“I feel the same,” she whispered.
“What are we going to do about it?”
“You’re going to have to catch me to find out!” she laughed as she broke out of his arms and ran full speed toward the car.
Carter ran after her. When he caught up, she was leaning on the car still laughing, her red hair spread about her shoulders. He opened the door for her and saw her settled. Walking around to the driver’s side, he whispered to himself with glee, “I’ve just chased the mother of my children.”
Chapter 7
That’s mandatory
The next day Carter left for Freydis. The flight in the twin-engine plane didn’t seem to take as long as it usually did - he had a lot on his mind. He needed to talk to his Grandfather about his new responsibilities and Mackenzie. Gramps would want a complete account of each, so he rehearsed what to say as he passed over the Canadian landscape.
As usual, Grandfather Will was waiting for him by the hangar at the end of the runway. He helped him unload his luggage while peppering him with questions saved up about the golden hummingbird. As they drove off to the main house, Carter tried to answer them as best he could.
“The trees,” Carter told him as they drove along the path. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so beautiful before.”
“It’s because you’re in love!” his grandfather laughed.
Nothing escapes him.
After pouring the coffee, they moved to his grandfather’s study to discuss the events of the past few days.
“So your friend Jacob,” Carter’s grandfather began, “he’s in Peru right now?”
“He’s the only non-Peruvian national they’ll let onsite,” Carter explained. “The entire area is cordoned off by a detachment from the National Police. I talk to Jacob every day. He has an encampment outside the fence they erected. Even he has to check in every day with a guard who carries an Uzi. The government down there is deadly serious about taking care of this site.”
“Given what happened, I can understand why. Are they going to keep the same company?”
“Yes. It took a lot of persuading, but the Peru Ministry of Culture, in charge of antiquities, finally agreed to allow them to continue on a probationary basis. However, they will only be allowed to continue after the police have finished their work, which means everyone on the site will be thoroughly vetted before they are accepted. They will be checking the logs very carefully in the future. Everyone now realizes how big this discovery might become someday.”
“Would you be willing to talk to your satellite company friends? We’ll need a secure communications link to the camp. I’d also like to see if we could photograph the area from orbit. A lot can be determined from a geosynchronous satellite image.”
“You still have to do the ground work. But yes, I’ll talk to the people I know.”
“Thanks! That will be very helpful.”
“By the way, we’re going over to Ahote and Bly’s place tonight. They offered to cook dinner when I told them you were coming.”
Later, as they made their way toward their friends’ cabin, Will stopped the cart and cocked one ear to the distance. “Do you hear that?” His grandfather was absorbed.
“Hear what, Gramps?” Then he heard it too. The sound resembled a train whistle, but it continued to wail in the distance. Carter was quiet, trying to identify it and then realized. “Wolves! There are wolves out there. They’re howling.”
Grandfather Will nodded with a smile. “They weren’t around when I bought the place. They’re slowly coming back and repopulating the environment. It’s good, they’ll help to restore balance among the deer population.”
He stepped back into the cart and continued the trip. Ahote greeted him with a slap on the back, yelling to Bly that their guests had arrived.
“Will and Dr. Gates have arrived on schedule!” he announced.
Still sitting around the table after dinner, Ahote asked, “So what do you think the chances are that this golden hummingbird predates the Inca civilization?” He’d been around Carter and Will Devereux long enough to pick up their interest in ancient civilizations.
“It’s something I’m still thinking about. In some ways, this artifact is an Oopart.” Carter explained. He wished there was a better acronym. It sounded like a comic strip character. “The detail is too fine to match the Inca technology; they didn’t seem to like making precise copies of animals – at least not according to any artifact I’ve ever seen produced by them. I am cautiously optimistic that this hummingbird could be from a civilization before them.”
“Don’t forget Puma Punku in Bolivia,” Will brought up. “The Tiwanaku culture managed to build an entire infrastructure there. The construction techniques they used were beyond anything else we’ve seen in South America. Some of those stone blocks are polished better than what you’ll see at a modern stone yard. You think there might be a connection between them and what your friend Jacob found?”
“It’s possible, but I can’t say how much. Each could be the remnant of something much older. Or, they could be two distinct civilizations. We just don’t know. No one knows why the Tiwanaku culture abandoned the Puma Punku complex approximately 1,000 years ago. They left no written records, and no legends exist from the people in the area to explain the abrupt abandonment. The best guess is crop failure from bad weather, a plague, overpopulation, or war. No one really knows.”
Ahote refilled their wine glasses and looked at Carter, encouraging him to continue.
“There is so much we’re still learning about the history of this planet. Every so often, someone makes another discovery that undermines what we thought before. In most cases, it’s a simple matter of going back to adjust what we already know and then going forward again. But, every now and then, something really big is unearthed, which forces archeologists to rethink it all. We may be on the verge of a paradigm shift because of this golden hummingbird and the other artifacts Jacob found in that cave. We can’t ignore the possibility that some halfwits might want to destroy it just because the finds might threaten the way they think about the past.”
“Putting it that way, I can see why it’s important,” Ahote remarked. “Are you afraid someone will try and melt the artifacts down for their gold content?”
“It’s always a fear. Much of what the conquistadors found ended up melted into bars. We don’t even know the origin of that gold we found in the Viking longship. Heck, we still don’t even know what the ship was doing that far south.”
***
The next day, his grandfather showed him some of the improvements he was making around the homestead. While they walked, he turned the conversation to something different. “So tell me about this woman that’s spun the cobwebs in your brain,” Grandfather Will grinned.
“Mackenzie?” Carter came out of his latest daze. He’d been thinking about their last date and the dinner that he was to attend with her family when he returned to Boston. “As you know, she holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology and is an adjunct professor in the Department of Genetics at the University. Quite a woman let me tell you. She’s a tall drink of water; not much shorter than me.”
