He walked over to Devon’s body with quick movements, his face without expression. But as he glanced down at what was left of the man’s face, an involuntary shudder ran through him. He struggled not to gag.
Please don’t let him have seen that, he pleaded silently as he looked up. The Commander stared down at him, victory in his eyes.
CHAPTER 36
Saint Paul, MN
Laney and Jake shared a bench on the campus, right on the river. Jake was on the phone, relaying the information they’d found out to Henry and coming up with their next step.
Laney was glad she wasn’t part of the conversation. Her mind was working overtime with the possibilities around Montana. Dr. Priddle’s ideas, although controversial in archaeology, were logical, if there was indeed a prior advanced civilization. But Montana? She dialed her uncle.
“Hi, Uncle Patrick.”
“Laney,” Patrick exclaimed, relief evident in his voice. “How’d the visit go?”
“Pretty well.” She gave her uncle a shortened version of the conversation with Tara. “Is it really possible the site we’re looking for is in the United States? Is there any evidence of an extremely early civilization in North America?”
“Actually, that’s an interesting question. Alternate archaeologists contend that North America was indeed home to ancient civilizations.
“What? I’ve never heard that before. Is there any proof?
“Well, that’s matter of debate. There are rumors, of course. My favorite is about a lost city found under the Grand Canyon back in 1909. And then there have been isolated findings which people argue indicate an ancient civilization’s existence. Ancient Indian medallions found in Michigan, a Stonehenge-like structure found in Miami, of all places, an Egyptian statue found in Illinois. There quite a few unexplainable artifacts that have been found in the U.S., or in some cases, reputed to have been found.”
“So if I told you Dr. Priddle appears to have gone to Montana, would that be a possible location for a second Gobekli Tepe?”
There was silence on the phone. Laney could imagine her uncle staring, unblinking, his hand on his chin. Laney had coined it his “thinking man” look when she was a child.
“From a geological standpoint, it’s possible, of course. The landmass of Montana is millions of years old.” He paused mumbled. “Hmmm, could they have gone to New Mexico? Nah, that was too late in the timeline. Central America?”
She interrupted. “Uncle Patrick? Care to share?”
“Sorry. I was just thinking about where they would have gone after. If the site was created by the Children of the Law of One, and they truly were on the run from the Sons of Belial, they wouldn’t have returned home. And they wouldn’t have stayed at the site, because that would have led the Sons of Belial right to it. Yet, they must have gone somewhere. I was thinking about the Anasazi ruins at Chaco Canyon, but they only date to the tenth century. So I’m trying to think of where…”
Laney bit her lip, waiting for him to continue.
“There is one site that would seem to line up with the timeframe we’re talking about. Although ‘site’ is probably too strong a word for the location.” Patrick paused again.
Laney sighed and rolled her eyes. “Uncle Patrick, if you’re trying to create some sort of dramatic build up, I assure you, you’re there.”
“Sorry, sorry. It’s not that. It just, well, it’s almost too incredible.”
“Uncle Patrick, everything about this situation is incredible. So what’s one more brick in the surreal pile?
Patrick chuckled. “True enough. Okay, then. There was a group of people called the Olmecs from northern Mexico whom traditional archeologists believe reached the pinnacle of their civilization around 1500 BC. They were known for their carvings of incredible stone structures, weighing over a hundred tons, that they moved across great distances. Do you remember the book I showed you of statues from all over the world, when you were a little girl? You called it the giant head book.”
Laney’s mind flashed back to pictures of heads carved from stone that rivaled the size of the sphinx. “I remember it. Which ones were the Olmecs?”
“They were the carvings of the heads with African features found in San Lorenzo in Mexico. And there’s debate as to the age of the ruins attributed to the Olmecs: 1,500 BC is the youngest age that can be attributed to them. Alternative archaeologists, however, believe that they are thousands of years older. Some even argue that the carvings were not actually of the Olmecs, but rather were handed down from an even older civilization.”