"We were attacked by two men on buggies just like yours. They killed four of us and stole several artifacts."
"Is anybody injured?"
"Yes."
"May I see? Maybe I can help," Chase offered.
The woman's gaze lingered on Chase, finding his handsome features appealing. Taking a deep breath, she led them to a tent where two men and a woman lay on cots. One man had a broken arm and other two had been shot, one in the arm, and the other in one shoulder.
Chase efficiently tended to them while Box told the woman, "Don't worry. He was a doctor, a surgeon actually, before deciding he wanted to be a lawyer. And that was before he decided to play bush pilot. Go figure."
The woman pulled her eyes from Chase. With a crisp motion she stuck out her hand and said, "I'm Zizi. I'm the dig supervisor."
He shook her hand. "Call me Box. Like I said, we're looking for a friend. Were the guys that attacked you alone?"
"As far as I could tell. They wore balaclavas. They rode in fast, from different sides of the camp, and demanded the artifacts. They tore the place up. We resisted. Some of us tried to fight them and were shot."
"I'm sorry, Zizi. Which way did they leave?"
"The same way they came in. Different directions. There and there." She pointed at opposite sides of the camp.
Chase returned to them and said, "I've done what I can. A bullet passed though the woman's arm, but it looks like it's still in the other's shoulder. I set the broken arm as best I could under the conditions. They're in no serious danger, but should get to a hospital as soon as possible."
She put her hand on Chase's arm. "Thank you," she said and maintained physical contact with him. Zizi felt grateful and relieved to have such apparently capable men in camp.
Chase looked at the carvings on the wall of the cliff. "What is this place?"
"We're not sure. Come." Zizi hooked her arm through Chase's and led the two men into the arched doorway and down a long passage. The passage was arched like the entrance and the walls and ceiling were covered with the same dense patterns. Powered by generators, banks of lights on stands lit the corridor. After about fifty strides the three emerged into a large chamber that had been cut out of the mountain interior, and had to walk around a huge stone to see the full room.
They were standing in a brightly lit room shaped like a pyramid. Each wall base was a little over three hundred feet long, the sides tapering up to a pointed ceiling, a little over three hundred feet above the center of the room.
At the center of each wall there was a single colossal stone. They appeared to be large heads and all had the same basic features: flattened nose, wide lips, and capping headpiece. At the center, much smaller stone heads faced the corners of the room and a large slab sat atop them. Stone stairs, three steps, had been built for each side. A slender upright rectangular block sat at the center of the slab.
Chase looked around. Over the passage entrance was a large, colorful image of a galaxy. Turning to his right he saw a large picture of a solar system, on the wall opposite the entrance was an image of a planet. On the last wall was a picture of what appeared to be an altar.
"We're still mystified. We have no explanation yet for those drawings. The stone heads are similar to the Olmec heads found along the south coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The heads along the walls are five meters tall. Much larger than the Rancho La Corbata head. Also, the rock is not indigenous to this area and, as you can see, much larger than the entrance. Behind the heads are passages to antechambers."
"What are Olmecs?" asked Chase.
Touching Chase as she talked, Zizi said, "Not what, who. The Olmec civilization was one of the first civilizations in the Americas. They probably thrived between 1200 to 400 BC, but carbon dating puts them as early as 1500 BC. Like I said, they lived along the Gulf of Mexico, largely along the coastal plain of southern Veracruz and Tabasco. They were one of the first civilizations to build pyramids, by the way; even though the Egyptian pyramids at Gizeh are thought to have been built around 2600 - 2500 BC. So as you can see, this is out of place. Doesn't fit with what we know."
She looked up at chase. She found Chase extremely attractive and was increasingly aroused in his presence.
"What did the killers take?"
"An orb."
"An orb?" Chase questioned, enjoying the feel of her touch.
Zizi sighed, like she had made a decision and crossed her arms. "Yes. An orb. About the size of a coconut. Densely covered with those same shapes and pictures as the entrance and passage way."
"Why would they be interested in an orb like that?"
Zizi turned to the passage and barked, "Stella!"
Turning back to the men she explained, "We found it on the upright stone block on the slab. The orb has unusual properties."
Again turning to the entrance, she yelled, "Stellaaaa!" Chase looked up at Box with a raised eyebrow. Box grinned.
"It's made of an alloy we can't identify." Zizi continued. "It's extraordinarily dense. Based on its density it should weigh over three tons. Three point one four, to be exact. But it's no heavier than a cell phone."
A tall, slender woman entered the chamber. She had short, dark hair, was attractive with somewhat angular features. "Stella. Please show them."
Stella raised her shirt. Low on the right side of her back was a small red spot, like skin healing from a burn. Low on the right side of her front was a larger red area, more ragged in shape.
"What?" Box asked.
"Tell them."
"I tried to protect the orb," Stella said in an Aussie accent. "I grabbed it and ran. I didn't get far before they shot me. Here." She touched the red area on her back.
"Are you saying the orb healed you?" Chase asked.
"I'm saying I was holding the orb when I got shot. They grabbed it from me and took off. Within five minutes, this." She pointed to the red splotch on her stomach.
"I don't have arthritis in my hands anymore. It disappeared after I handled the orb. Others here have had similar experiences simply by being within its proximity," Zizi added.
"Fascinating." Chase looked at Box. "The symbols are the Parker connection. Probably got Anna for ransom."
"Makes sense," Box agreed.
"It's dark. Nobody's going anywhere tonight. Let's turn in and get an early start."
The group turned and retreated back through the passage. As they exited, Zizi said to Chase, "May I have a word, privately?"
"Go ahead, Chase. I'll set us up."
Zizi took Chase by the hand and led him to her tent, isolated across the camp from the other personnel. Once inside, Zizi closed the flaps, walked across the tent and punched the play button on her CD player. Music filled the large nylon taffeta enclosure.
"Who is this?" he asked.
Zizi turned to face Chase and said, "Slang. 'The Bellweather Project'." She began disrobing. "I hope you don't mind. You seem the type not to." She was very short, slender, with smallish breasts. Pulling off her shirt she gestured with a hand for Chase to take his clothes off. He shrugged and started unbuttoning his shirt and quickly undressed.
She approached him, dropped to her knees and took him into her mouth. Zizi felt his cock stiffen as she swirled her tongue around the crown. She took his cock deep into her small mouth and back out. Chase watched her hair flick back and forth as she gave him pleasure. She mouthed his balls while sliding one small hand over him.
She looked up at Chase. "Fuck my face," she demanded. "As hard as you can." She guided his hands to her head and again closed her lips around his cock. Zizi took him into her throat, her nose pressing against Chase's stomach. He ran his fingers through her short hair and thrust into her mouth, backed almost out, all the way in, his balls slapping against her chin.
Zizi pulled away. She looked at up Chase, her eyes gleaming, watering at the corners. "Yes. Harder."
Chase complied and fucked her mouth. Zizi made wet noises and spittle drooled down her chin. While holding her head still, his cock fucked her mouth deep and hard. He stopped thrusting and whipped her head down and back on his cock. She gagged and moaned and roughly rubbed her pussy. After several minutes, she pulled away, lay on her back and improbably tucked her legs behind her shoulders, folding her body in two.
"Fuck me. Hard as you can."
Chase kneeled over Zizi and drove into her. He used his size and weight and strength and fucked her hard, driving her against the ground. With each thrust he moved her closer to the side of the tent. Her head finally pressed against the nylon wall, but Chase kept at it. Zizi's head bent sideways and she moaned, enjoying the unnatural angle and discomfort.
He spun her away from the wall, wrapped his arms under her body and grasped her shoulders and drove inside as hard and fast as he could. Zizi grunted harshly with each thrust.
