Chapter 4

Early Monday morning

The girls went back to sleep while I stayed awake and guarded Mateo. I also kept an eye on his buddies, although they didn’t bother us. Shortly after sunrise, but well before breakfast, a helicopter flew in and landed. Two men climbed out and headed for Dr. Watts, who had started towards the chopper. Our camp’s other two guards made a beeline for them as well and began a heated discussion until one of the two men who had just arrived cut them off. It looked like I was next on their agenda as the two men who had arrived headed for me, accompanied by Dr. Watts.

One of the men was from the U.S. Embassy in Quito. The other was the head of the State Police. They questioned both Amy and Tina separately, and then questioned me.

“Why were you waiting for the officer?” the police official demanded.

“Are you aware of Dr. Ray Parker and his work with the languages of early Mesoamericans cultures?” I asked.

“I am well aware of who Dr. Parker is. His books were the basis for three popular movies about life in ancient Mesoamerican towns,” he replied.

“Do you know how he learns the ancient languages?”

“Something about praying to his ancestors for help,” he replied.

“Dr. Parker is able to visit a village of the ancient cultures for which he learns the languages. Other people at the college are able to do it too,” I explained.

“What does that have to do with last night?” he asked, thinking that I was stalling.

“I work for Dr. Parker. I sketch and paint the ancient villages. Dr. Parker had to introduce me to what he calls the Tribunal, the spirits of his ancestors. They allow me to see the ancient villages I sketch. I did the primary sketches for the three movies you spoke of. Last night, the Tribunal warned me that one of the guards would try to attack me, thinking that I had some sort of valuable artifact. I waited until he poked the gun at my dive helmet thinking it was my head. Once he demanded that I give him something, I acted quickly since he had a gun and all I had was a stick.”

“Where is the artifact he wanted?” the officer asked.

“There is no artifact from Saturday. I only started recovering artifacts yesterday. Josh, Hector, and Amy documented each of them and packed them,” I replied.

I had to stay where I was while they spoke with Josh and Hector. They confirmed that there had been no artifacts recovered the first day. They were quite positive because I had handed them my camera, video camera, fins, and flashlights before they helped me out of the water. My hands and dive bags had been empty. Then, they had helped remove my helmet and tanks before I stripped out of my wetsuit.

He quizzed them about the artifacts we recovered yesterday, and they assured him that I had sent everything up to them while I was still underwater. We had gone through the same routine when I came out of the water yesterday, so I couldn’t have hidden anything.

“Could he have hidden anything in his swimsuit?” the officer asked. Amy cracked up.

“How much can you hide in a Speedo?” she laughed.

We spent the rest of the day reviewing my footage from the first dive. It clearly showed every bit of the sides and the bottom, with no artifacts visible on the bottom.

When he commented that I could have altered the video, we watched it again, this time paying attention to the time stamp in the bottom corner.

Then, we went through my video from yesterday’s dive. Each time it showed me recovering an artifact, he insisted on seeing it. Amy took great pleasure in showing him her thorough photographic and written documentation of each artifact, and then showing him the actual artifact in the artifact tent, right where they were supposed to be.

After wasting most of the day, I finally asked angrily, “Did you ask Mateo why he thought I had a treasure, and why he attacked me?” The consulate official put his hand on my arm to calm me down.

“He says somebody told him you found a valuable artifact,” the police official replied.

“Did he say who?” I continued to press.

“He wouldn’t say,” he replied defensively.

“Maybe you should be interrogating him to find out who it was. Maybe it was the worm in the bottom of a tequila bottle,” I suggested, making the officer blush. Yeah, so sue me that I didn’t know the worms were in mescal bottles, not tequila. Most of my drinking had been beer.

“Feel free to waste the rest of my day if you want to search my tent,” I offered sarcastically. He did. He went through everything. I’m surprised that he didn’t try to search inside my scuba tanks.

We went at it again when he insisted that I turn over the Glock. “Like hell I will,” I growled. “One of the police officers tries to hold a gun to my head. His two friends insist that he’s innocent even though I have a recording where you can hear what he says. You spend an entire day questioning me like I’m a criminal. I don’t trust you or anyone else right now. I’ll leave the gun here when we head home. Until then, it stays where I can reach it.”

“If I might make a suggestion,” the consulate official offered in a more conciliatory tone. “I have three American guards on the way here who are all former military. They should be here Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Campbell can turn the pistol over to them when they arrive.”

“Fine,” the police official huffed--and left, taking Mateo with him.

I was in a foul mood after that and spent an hour hurling my atlatl darts at a tree. By the time my arm was too tired to continue, I’d managed to hit the tree where I was aiming the last twenty or so times. I was still pissed, but the bulk of my anger had dissipated. I also had a better understanding of how a pitcher’s arm feels after a baseball game.

I retired right after dinner, tired due to a lack of sleep last night. At some point, Amy and Tina joined me in my dream. Then Tina disappeared for a few seconds and returned with Alice, another of the girls in camp.

At least the Tribunal waited tonight until we’d finished. “You handled yourself well last night,” the usual voice said. “Unfortunately, it appears that the two friends of the man you captured still believe that you have a valuable artifact. When you stop for lunch tomorrow, have your atlatl with you, and eat lunch in this spot with your three women,” the voice directed as it showed me a shady spot hidden among several bushes near where we usually ate meals.

“Just fucking great,” I groused to myself.

“Again, we apologize for the danger and inconvenience,” the voice intoned. “This should be the last problem, however. The Cara god Yahux thought you would recover the statue and sent the guard to steal it back. Yahux was unaware that the statue has already been removed from your world. He has since been dealt with and is unable to incite further problems, but the two friends of the guard you captured now want revenge, as well as the artifact the first guard thought you had.”

“What was that?” Alice asked nervously once we were back in our own dream. “Oh shit, we were all naked,” she exclaimed before we could answer. While Tina and Amy tried not to laugh, I explained about the Tribunal.

Tuesday

While we were well-rested this morning, the four of us were tense. Alice looked at us sheepishly when she exited her tent. She hadn’t been with us in my tent last night. Instead, Tina had noted her interest in me after her comment about not being able to hide anything in a speedo and went to her in her dream and invited Alice to join us. Until the business with the Tribunal, Alice thought it was just a dream. Tina motioned for her to join us for breakfast, and she did. After a minute or so of awkwardness on Alice’s part, she just became one of the group.

Despite my nervousness about lunch, I made my third dive, the one I should have made yesterday. Tina assured me that she was both familiar and skilled with the Glock I’d taken from the guard. She exhibited her proficiency by quickly disassembling and reassembling the pistol. She joined us in the cave, but strictly as a guard, keeping my atlatl handy for me.

“I still don’t trust those guards,” I explained to Hector and Josh when they looked at Tina questioningly.

Once I was fully suited up and had double-checked that everything was working properly, I started my dive computer and began my descent, picking up where I left off Sunday. Today, I was searching the half of the lake bottom closest to the mouth of the cave. I quickly began finding multiple artifacts, most of which were small statues carved from stone or made of fired clay. Many looked like a small jaguar, but were only a bit bigger than my thumb. I was so engrossed in what I was doing that the alert from my dive computer startled me.

“And that’s why you use a dive computer, dummy,” I thought to myself as I began my ascent, including a short decompression stop halfway up. Being so far from any sort of medical help, I preferred to exercise an overabundance of caution, especially since I was not sure how being so high in the mountains would affect my recovery from the dive.

“Wow, you found a lot today, Hector exclaimed as I broke the surface. I noted that Alice had my big video camera as I’d asked her to and recorded me surfacing, empty-handed. She also recorded Hector and Josh helping to divest me of my gear and tanks, as well as my wetsuit coming off. I did a slow pirouette to show that there was “nothing up my sleeves” so to speak, although in this case it would have been “nothing hiding in my Speedo.”

Once the camera was off, I stripped out of the wet speedo and pulled on my walking shorts. Hector and Josh gawked when I stripped in front of Alice and Tina. Even with the girls there, the cold water had caused enough shrinkage that there was nothing impressive to see.

“What, you think I don’t know what a naked guy looks like?” Alice quipped.

Once I had dried and stowed my gear in my tent, I set the wetsuit out to dry. Grabbing the atlatl, I spent half an hour practicing and was surprised that my aim was still as accurate this morning as it had been when I quit last night. I was also surprised that my arm still worked after the overuse yesterday. I made ten attempts, and all hit within a few inches of the spot on the tree I had been aiming for.

My nervousness about the upcoming confrontation at lunch had disappeared sometime while I was diving, replaced by anger at the guards. The four of us grabbed our lunch and headed to the spot we’d been shown. It was on a rise two or three feet higher than the tables were. A good-sized rock would provide us with cover, and the entire thing was hidden from the dining area by a clump of bushes.

That’s when I remembered the Tribunal’s words from last night, “Your three women.” I assumed that they meant temporarily. I also wondered when the wife they had chosen for me would show up, and how I’d know she was the one.

“I’m not sure how this will happen, but I intend to sneak off to one side or the other as soon as I see them,” I told the girls once my mind returned to the approaching confrontation. “You start videoing them as soon as you see them,” I told Alice, handing her the small video camera usually attached to my dive helmet.

“Let me take the first shot with my atlatl and you take the second guard if you have a clear shot,” I told Tina. “Unless they look like they’re going to hurt someone,” I amended.

Lunch was about halfway over when the two guards strolled into camp, assault rifles leveled. “Where is he?” one of them shouted. When people spotted them, the other three girls in camp started screaming. The first guard fired a shot into the air, which immediately had everyone’s attention.

“Where is he?” the first guard repeated angrily. Dr. Watts looked around. “He might be in his tent checking his gear or in the cave,” he replied nervously.

The first guard grabbed Kayleen, one of the girls in camp. He sent the second guard to search my tent. When they didn’t find me there, he then sent the guard to check the cave. “Come out, coward,” the second guard shouted, looking around for any sign of me. I’d crept to our right, closer to the cave. When the second guard approached, I unleashed one of the darts with my atlatl. My movement must have caught his attention as he turned his assault rifle towards me. I dove to my left towards a wide tree just as my dart found its target.

Still, he managed a burst of three shots, one of which grazed my right arm. “Should have gone to the right,” I murmured angrily once I checked and found that the wound was only a graze. It still burned.

“Come out, coward, or I’ll hurt one of the girls,” the first officer shouted.

“Says the bigger coward hiding behind a girl,” I taunted from behind the tree. “If you check, you’ll see that my dart went through your partner’s chest, not his back.” Since Tina hadn’t fired, I assumed that she didn’t have a clear shot so I stepped out from behind the tree where he could see me. I had a dart ready to throw.

When he raised his assault rifle, Kayleen dove for the ground, as did everyone else who hadn’t already hidden behind something. Tina’s shot caught him in the left shoulder, and as he turned towards her, I unleashed my dart and started loading a third as I ran towards him. I noted that Tina had ducked behind the rock as soon as he turned towards her. He began to spray bullets in her direction for a second until my dart skewered him through the back. My next dart was already in the air. The first dart had staggered him. As he began to collapse, the second dart hit just at the base of his skull. I’d aimed for his chest, so that shows how much he’d collapsed.

Showing that she’s no dummy, Kayleen wrestled the assault rifle from his grip and stood over him glaring, her finger on the trigger.

“Move!” she shouted at his body. “Twitch, even!” she screamed in frustration.

I’d turned to check on the other guard. He was in the same condition as his partner appeared to be. My dart had penetrated his heart. Taking the assault rifle from the first guard and the Glock he wore in a belt holster, I looked back at Kayleen and had to laugh. She was now kicking the body of the other guard, including a final kick right in the family jewels. It’s a good thing she has on sturdy boots, I thought. Tina arrived just then and hugged her, after taking the assault rifle from her. Alice was following at a more sedate pace, still videoing everything.

“Ohmigod, you’ve been shot,” Tina screeched when she saw the blood on my arm.

“It’s just a graze,” I replied, trying to calm her down. The poor cook was crossing herself while she stared at us from behind a rock near her tent.

By the time Dr. Watts finished making the call on his satellite phone, my wound had been washed, disinfected, treated with an antibiotic ointment, and bandaged. Once he finished his call, Dr. Watts got the honor of giving me the shot of antibiotics--in the butt.

“Someone from the U.S. Embassy will be here before dark. They’ve already lodged a formal complaint with the Ecuadorian government. He’ll also have the three American guards here today,” Dr. Watts explained.

“What were they after?” he asked me.

“Maybe there’s an old legend about treasure in this area,” I replied with a shrug. “The asshole yesterday already reviewed the footage of my first two dives and searched my things,” I reminded him.

When the excitement was over, I sat down--quickly. My legs suddenly felt wobbly and my hands were shaking. My stomach felt like it was preparing to revolt--which it did. What I’d eaten at lunch ended up on the ground.

Needless to say, not much else happened until two helicopters arrived. The Attaché and another official exited one chopper. Three more men in police uniforms exited the second chopper. One of the three began photographing the body of the second guard and two began talking to individuals still in the dining area.

Dr. Watts met the Attaché and his guest and then pointed at me. “Mr. Campbell, on behalf of the Ecuadorian government, I wish to extend my apologies for the way you’ve been treated. I’ve reviewed the footage from your first dive and the notes of the now forcibly retired police captain who harassed you yesterday. There is no evidence of any wrongdoing on your part. We still don’t know what the three guards were thinking. The first one broke down when he heard that his two accomplices had been killed. He claims that God told him to take the artifact away from you,” he explained, shaking his head sadly.

While we spoke, the other three men continued checking the two bodies. They took lots of photos and spoke with everyone else in camp. They also checked the spot where I’d been when I confronted the second guard.

“As part of our apology, we have issued you a permit to own and carry the weapons used by the three men,” the official said as he handed me a stack of papers. There were ownership papers for the two HK-33 assault rifles and the three 9 mm Glock pistols. Aside from what we’d taken away from the guards, I had no idea what an HK-33 was. There was also a paper permit to carry the weapons anywhere in Ecuador and a separate laminated permit.

“Thank you,” I replied, although I had no idea what I’d do with the five guns.

Then I noted that one set of papers for a Glock was for Tina, as well as a permit to carry it. That made me scratch my head because nobody outside of camp knew about Tina and the Glock. She grinned when I handed them to her.

The government official left via the first helicopter just as another chopper arrived. “I brought papers permitting you to own and carry the weapons when you return to the States,” the Attaché said as he handed out more papers to Tina and me. Then he explained the process we’d have to go through to take the weapons home.

We’d have to buy locking cases with an alarm that would go off if someone opened the case without the security code. The ammo had to be transported in a separate piece of lockable luggage. We had to warn the airport security when we arrived, and they had to confirm that the weapons were unloaded and properly secured. They’d accompany the weapons to our plane and make sure they were securely stowed in the cargo bay.

When we returned to the States, we’d have to complete the required safety courses, which Tina assured him she’d already done.

Finally, two of the men interviewed Tina, Amy, and Alice. Alice showed them the video of the entire event while the third man took me to where I had intercepted the second guard and had me walk him through everything. They finally left just as darkness descended, taking the two bodies with them. They did leave us the ammunition and holsters belonging to the two dead guards. The two guards must not have expected a fight as they only had one extra magazine for each of their weapons.

The three new American guards were waiting anxiously to find out what had happened. They listened to my explanation while they cleaned the two HK-33s for us. They also did some work on the two guns so they couldn’t be used on full auto. After supper, most everyone in camp was still talking about what happened. I went off almost by myself and practiced with the atlatl, although my heart wasn’t really in it. Each dart I threw produced a memory of killing a guard. The new guards were surprised at how accurate I was with it. In all honesty, I was a bit surprised, too. I didn’t think the short amount of time I’d spent practicing would make me that good, especially given my previous record with the bow and arrow.

Kayleen joined Tina and I in my tent tonight, and joined Amy, Alice, and us in dream sex once we fell asleep. Yet again, the Tribunal waited until the girls were finally satisfied. “You accorded yourself extremely well,” the voice said to me. “Yet again we offer you a gift of your choosing.”

“Once again, I must defer the choice,” I replied and quickly found myself back with the girls. While the words hadn’t been spoken, I somehow knew that these girls were only in my life temporarily, and that I would KNOW when I met my wife.

Wednesday

When I thought about it this morning, I had the feeling the Tribunal had expected my answer about the gift. I also realized that I was the only one to appear before the Tribunal last night and that the visit was the shortest one to date.

I finished scanning and recovering relics from the floor of the lake this morning. Even though I searched fewer squares, the number recovered was close to what I found yesterday. Dr. Watts and I both felt that each statue was an offering of some sort, and that they had been tossed or dropped into the water relatively close to where the person making the offering stood. Given that, I was glad that I hadn’t discovered lots of bones--animal or human.