Jack Canyon and The Superweapon of Atlantis | CHAPTER SIX

Words: 1671

The Sao Miguel island in the Portuguese archipelago, Azores,
in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was a straight trip
through the Strait of Gibraltar to this chain of islands.

Jack watched from the damaged bridge of the Poseidon as it
drew closer to Azores. Sao Miguel was directly in view, as it
was the most eastern island in the group. Jack had changed
from his long sleeve to a short sleeve gray T-shirt.

"Are you ready for this, Jack?" Rallis asked as the ship
slowed down to almost an idle.

"It's now or never, Captain," Jack replied as he continued to
stare at the islands, admiring them for a moment.

"We're as close as we can get, sir," the first mate said, as
he cradled his arm, which was now in a sling.

"Thank you," Rallis said as he turned to Jack. "Is your team
ready?"

"They should be getting stocking the boat now," Jack told him
as they headed out of the bridge.

"Jack, I'm sorry to do this to you, pal, but I need to get
this ship refueled and some of the damage repaired," Rallis
told him as they moved along the deck toward the boat they
were going to use to get to Sao Miguel. "I don't know how
long it will be before we return."

"Take your time," Jack said patting the man on his shoulder.
"We're going to have a lot of work to do on Sao Miguel, my
friend."

"But Jack," Rallis said, but then he paused. Sympathy
pervaded his eyes. "You'll be on your own if trouble arises."

"I'm more than capable of handling it," Jack assured the Greek
man.

"I know you are," Rallis laughed as he slapped Jack on the
back.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with us?" Jack asked.

Rallis considered it for a moment as he examined all who would
be going. "My place is with my ship, Jack. I will see you
upon my return."

Jack nodded with a smile at his friend and stepped onto the
small boat, which was soon lowered into the water. He turned
and saw that Atawhai was going to navigate.

"He's not coming?" Kate asked as she looked up at her son
from her seat.

"He's taking the ship to the other side of the island," Jack
announced. "There's a fueling station there."

"I don't expect to see our German friend, again," Kate said.

"Mom, no one ever gives up on finding their treasure," Jack
replied, taking his seat just as Tangaroa took off. "Look at
you. You've spent so many years chasing after Atlantis. What
has it gotten you?"

"Right now? I'm almost there," she told him.

"Mom. . ." He said sympathetically.

Kate sighed heavily, gathering looks from everyone else on the
small boat. "I never allowed my job to interfere with my
life, Jack. Your father understood that I had to be away
sometimes. What about you, huh? You have yet to settle down.
I'm never going to have grandkids."

Jack looked out at the island as it got larger. He kept
silent throughout the last few minutes of the trip.

Tangaroa steered the boat to the beach of the island, where
everyone grabbed their gear and got off. They all watched as
the Poseidon moved around the island and vanished from their
sight.

"Well, we're on our own," Erin spoke as she turned towards the
others. "So, which way?"

"Inland," Jack said simply as he began to march up the beach
and into the jungle terrain.

"That's real helpful," Erin replied as she and the others
followed behind him.

"Is there anyway to be precise on where we might find
something?" Tangaroa asked.

"I'm not sure," Jack admitted as he looked at the journal page
of Talus's shield.

"Let me take a look," Kate said as she pulled the journal from
his hand. She scanned over the page for a moment, where she
spotted the word: Gemini. It was strategically hidden on the
shield. "Here's something."

Tangaroa examined the area she was pointing at. "Gemini?
What's that mean?"

"It means twins," Erin answered.

Kate stopped walking so she could think more thoroughly.

"Mom?" Jack asked as he stopped with her. He moved to stand
before her. "Mom, what is it?"

"Twins. . ." She repeated. "There is a lake, technically,
two lakes known as the twin lakes. They were created by the
caldera of a volcano."

Jack sighed heavily and hung his head.

"What is it?" Erin asked, concerned for him.

"I hate volcanoes," he stated, remembering the last time he
encountered one during his hunt for the Wiccan Stones.

"From my research, the first eruption was supposedly twenty
thousand years ago," Kate explained. "I don't want to make
any incorrect statements, but it's possible that it caused
most of the damage that destroyed Atlantis."

"Can you find these lakes?" Tangaroa asked. "Do you know
where they are?"

"No, I don't," Kate admitted.

"I think I might," Jack said as he turned Erin around.

"Hey!" She cried.

"Calm down," Jack said as he searched her bag. "I'm not
trying to get frisky." He pulled out a GPS unit. "If I had a
dollar for every time I needed one of these things, I might
actually have the money to buy one."

"Good thinking," Tangaroa stated as he looked around the area.

Jack toyed with the device for a moment trying to get it to
work.

"Let me see that," Erin said, snatching it away. "I swear,
men have no idea how to read a map or even work a GPS unit.
That's why they get lost have the time." She pushed a button
or two and then handed it back to him. "There."

Jack examined it for a moment and smiled. "This way." He
trailed off into the wilderness.

"You're welcome," Erin said as she followed behind Tangaroa
and Kate.

***

Within an hour or less, Jack stood among his small team
looking at the most beautiful set of lakes they had ever seen.

"Now, Jack, why can't you ever bring me to such places for a
nice romantic dinner?" Erin asked jokingly.

"I never knew you had a romantic bone in your body," Jack
replied as he examined the scenery.

"If we only had a picnic basket," Tangaroa spoke.

"I think she meant a romantic dinner with just her and I,"
Jack told the big man.

"No, I'm hungry," the Kiwi told the American archaeologist.

"I think the cook packed us a lunch or two," Jack admitted.
"I came prepared. We have some PowerBars, too. Rallis wasn't
sure how long he'd be gone."

Tangaroa's eyes lit up as he began a search for his lunch. It
didn't take him long to find it in his pack. He was like a
small child or school boy with candy. He looked up at the
others noticing their glances. "What? I missed breakfast,
okay?"

"We didn't say anything," Jack said as they all turned to
admire the view again.

"So, what are we looking for?" Erin asked.

Jack stared out at the lakes, once more, as he looked hard for
something. Several times, he tried to say something, but
never did. "I have no idea. Mom?"

Kate was looking at the journal again when Jack asked. She
shook her head as she crouched down. "I don't know. This is
one puzzle I can't figure out."

"Let me take a look," Erin said as she sat down next to
Katelyn. She narrowed her eyes as she began to think. "The
words 'Michael' and 'Gemini' are positioned on the edges of
the shield."

"Yeah," Kate agreed, waiting to see where Erin was going with
this.

"Look at its position," Erin stated. "Why this side? Why not
on the left or on top?"

"Could it be the location of something?" Tangaroa asked as he
finished his sandwich.

"Was it good, Tanga?" Jack asked, almost laughing.

"Very," the man replied with a big grin. "If anyone doesn't
want there's. . . could you let me know?"

"Sure thing, buddy," Jack said.

"But how do we know which side of the lake this represents?"
Kate questioned, waving her right hand over the shield
drawing.

"Well, it should represent a map," Tangaroa announced. "Where
the top of the shield is north, the bottom is south."

"Then if Gemini is on the right, that means its to the east,"
Erin explained, motioning her hand to the right.

"It makes sense," Jack admitted. "Let's check the east side
of the twin lakes."

Tangaroa glanced around at the others. "Aren't I supposed to
wait an hour before going back in?"

"That's if you're swimming," Erin told him. "Let's go!"

"Yes, ma'am," Tanga agreed and followed behind them.

Once they reached the east side of the lakes, they searched
carefully for anything out of the ordinary. They must have
searched for nearly an hour before stopping to combine their
thoughts again.

"We've been up and down this whole side," Erin announced.
"What the hell did we miss?"

Jack looked up at her from his bent over position with his
hands on his knees, supporting his upper body's weight. He
took in a deep breath before talking. "Maybe we're on the
wrong side."

Erin began to pace back and forth.

"Haven't you walked enough?" Jack asked her.

"I'm thinking," she replied, but soon the ground swallowed
her.

Jack reacted fast and jumped out to grab her, but was sucked
into the ground too. Suddenly, Tangaroa and Katelyn fell into
the widening hole as well.

***

Johanna Mahler stood on the beach of Sao Miguel with only two
boats behind her. She looked at her men who had scattered
out. There must have been at least two dozen of them. She
huffed loudly.

"Mein Frau," one of them announced. "I found something!"

"Yes?" Johanna said. "What is it?"

"It's a fresh trail," he answered. "They've been here, and I can track them."

Johanna looked up at the dense rain forest terrain and smiled devilishly.