6.30 am the plane landed at London Gatwick.
7.00am Myka Bering was in her hire car. 7
7.05am Myka was on her way to Glastonbury for her 10 o'clock meeting at her new dig site.
9.30am she arrived at her destination.
Stepping out of the car looking around at the green rolling hills of Somerset against the cloudless blue sky Myka was reminded just why she loved her job so much. Breathing in the crisp countryside air she stretched feeling tired but succinctly content. Being one of the most sought after archaeologists in the US the brunette found herself travelling all over the world, working at all sorts of sites. One month she might be suffering the heat of some sandy desert, the next she could be battling against the cold in an outer arctic region. Whatever the location Myka Bering loved her job and thanked The Gods for giving her such a privileged position in life.
Myka had always been a hard worker, she barely socialised as a teenager, instead she stayed in, read books, learnt new languages and studied ancient civilisations avidly following the history of ancient kings and queens like others her age read about the latest celebrities in the gossip magazines. She had worked hard to graduate with top marks, she had worked even harder for 6 years at university to get her masters degree and doctorate, then just after her 28th birthday her professor Artie Neilson found a job for her which would turn out to be her lucky break.
Artie sent her on a hunt for a mysterious artifact deep in the south American jungle. Stone tablets had been discovered in coastal cave just off the coast of Mexico that supposedly revealed the location to a solid gold Incan sceptre that could control the earth elements. Myka followed the trail that she could cipher from the ancient tablet and discovered a hidden temple buried beneath the trunk of a huge forest of trees by an earth quake 5000 years ago. Interestingly hidden deep within the treasures of the lost temple was Myka found the sceptre clasped in the hands of a solid gold 6 metre statue if the Incan deity Ayar Cachi, a known to be hot tempered God thought to be the cause of earthquakes in Incan folklore. Coincidence maybe, but Myka couldn't help but believe in more mystical influences and perhaps even the magic of the sceptre itself.
The treasures of the hidden tomb were exhibited in New York and from then on Myka Bering had set her name in stone amongst the top archaeologists in the US and requests for her presence at dig sites had been a constant stream in her inbox ever since.
She smiled to herself hard work does pay off after all, she couldn't help but feel a little smug with herself as she swung her backpack over her shoulder and grabbed her leather fedora form the back seat of the red hire car. She knew it was cliché, ever since Indiana Jones hit the screens in the 80s every young wanabe archaeologist wore the damn things, but to Myka it had a more sentimental purpose. The fedora had been her fathers, and he had given it to her before she went on her first long haul excavation in Cairo. It had been his grandfathers who had been a pioneer in the new lands of New America. Her Father had always said the hat should belong to an adventurer, something he had never been running a simple bookstore, so he gave it to Myka telling her to fulfil the duties of the pioneer's fedora and live the life his grandfather could only dream of.
Myka felt the rim of the hat and imagined all the journeys the well-worn leather had already been through. Being a stickler for tradition, despite the Indiana Jones jokes Myka would not depart from her precious heir loom which she certainly planned to bestow upon her children one day
'Wow children' she thought to herself 'You might actually want to get a boyfriend first Bering' she mentally mocked herself. She had had a long term partner Sam during college but they amicably split when she was 24 due to pressures of work on both their parts. Time passed by, jeez life had passed her by and now here she was 32 years old and no one to share her amazing life with.
Sighing to herself the smugness she felt earlier dissipated. Perhaps if she hadn't worked quite so hard to the point of shutting herself of from the world she might actually have found the time to meet somebody. Perhaps the socialites at uni had it right after all. A person couldn't truly have it all could they?
Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a young red head who pulled up in VW camper next to her. The door swung open and a punky looking red head stepped down from the vehicle and extended her hand.
'Myka Bering, it's a pleasure to meet you at last.'
Myka shook the red head's hand in return and smiled warmly.
'Miss Donovan I presume?'
'Please call me Claudia. I'm not one for all that formal malarkey. Sorry I'm running a little late….disaster at the flat I rented involving a pigeon and a kettle…don't ask! Shall we go meet the team? I know they are all bursting to meet you.'
'Myka smiled at the babbling young woman before her. ' That's not fair…you have me intrigued…perhaps I shall get the story our of you later Until then lead the way… I'm looking forward to meeting my new team also…but please tell me you have somewhere I can grab a cup of coffee, I am pooped?''
Claudia put on her best British accent, 'Darling we're in England don't you know. Here we drink tea, tea, tea and the even more tea.' Claudia laughed going back to her sassy American drawl. ' We do genuinely have every selection of world tea practically on tap here but there is a mediocre instant coffee blend that I can rustle up for you?'
Myka smiled warmly at the red head, 'That sounds perfect, I'll take any form of caffeine right now after the flight I've had. If not I fear I'll be snoozing at the feet of my team mates. Not the best impression I wouldn't imagine.'
The two women laughed and chatted about Myka's journey to England all the way to the gates of Glastonbury Abbey. They had gotten on well from the moment Claudia had approached Myka almost 4 weeks ago sending back and forth enthusiastic and bantering emails, it seemed in life they were going to get on just as well.
As Myka stepped into the foyer she could see the ruins of the abbey through the tall glass windows on her right and she felt a familiar tingle in her belly filled with excitement and anticipation. Ever since she had received Claudia's email titled 'Glastonbury – a realistic hunt for the holy grail' she had been completely intrigued. For years the legend of the 'holy grail' had been retold and there had never been hard evidence that it even physically existed, however when Claudia had contacted her because they had permission to dig at Glastonbury Abbey the supposed burial ground of Kind Arthur she couldn't resist the pull of adventure. Sure Myka liked to be factual but it was that same sense of magic and more to this world than just plain objects that encouraged her to book the trip to England. That and the fact the reason they had permission to dig in the sacred grounds of the abbey was because a 5metre squared patch of grass in the grounds had collapsed into a unknown hidden chamber beneath. It could be nothing, it could be a simple cellar left over from medieval England but then again it could be a new lead to something a lot more exciting, something which Myka knew she would want to be there for if that were to happen. What was even better she barely had to do anything but show up, Claudia had prepped the scene, gotten the required permissions, built up a team and sorted the health and safety for the dig, all Myka had to do was turn up for the fun stuff.
Claudia returned from the nearby office bringing a hot steaming coffee in a polystyrene cup.
'Here you go…get this into…I put an extra shot in there to give it a nifty kick.' Claudia winked at the curly haired brunette who smiled and mouthed a 'thankyou' in return.
'Right.' The young American headed into the main building, 'let's get you introduced. It's a small team, but due to the delicate terms of our excavation I felt it would be better to have just a few hands at work. We want to cause as little disturbance as possible if we want to get our full 2 weeks here.'
Rounding the next corner they found three others sat chatting quietly at a small children's table, clearly it was usually used for school trips making the group look quite comical sat like giants on miniature chairs.
Claudia called out to the group ' Greetings people! Look who I've found!' Immediately the group stood with extended hands and smiling faces.
Claudia went around the small group introducing them all by name, the broad dark haired chap was Pete, Myka couldn't help noticed he looked at her cleavage at least two times. Then there was a tall and slim blonde guy called Steve, extremely well groomed Myka noted and finally another curly haired brunette Leena.
Once introductions had been made Myka joined the others at the tiny table and sipped at her extremely strong coffee while Claudia laid out the rules and restrictions of the site put in place by Abbey. The new part of the Abbey was still in use and they were to work with as little disturbance as possible.
Half an hour on and Claudia was wrapping up her intro leaving the room to take a call while Myka took the lead before they headed out onto the site. Gathering her papers from her notebook Myka was about to start reading through the key points and facts about mythical 'Grail' and the location they were about to be hunting when she was interrupted by a loud crash, shortly followed by an expletive echoing down the hallway sounding very much like 'bloody bollocks.'
A few moments later a slim raven haired woman popped her head around door into the miniature conference room.
'Hello, terribly sorry I seem to be an absolute clutz today.' The dark haired woman grinned and confidently sauntered into the room with no explanation as to who she was.
Myka looked about the group for an introduction but the others were clearly as in the dark as she was.
Myka put on her best authoritative tone 'May I be so bold as to ask who you are madam? The Abbey is currently closed to public until Tuesday.' The raven haired woman smiled a knowing almost cocky grin and held out her hand.
'HG Wells, writer , inventor and passionate lover at your service…. but you can call me Helena...miss?' As the pretty brit took Myka's hand she did a slight bow of the head before capturing Myka's green eyed gaze and stood unwavering waiting for the curly haired brunettes name.
Myka eyed the confident woman before, she certainly looked normal but she came across just a little crazy for her liking.
'HG Wells? ...writer?... Are you having a laugh ?' Myka pulled her hand away from the brit before her.
'Always my dear but in this case I am in fact completely ...(Helena took a step closer to Myka ) ... utterly serious' Helena smiled.
Myka felt heat rise in her chest as the mysterious woman in front of her moved forward into her body space. Normally a pretty confident woman herself Myka suddenly felt a flash of butterflies flutter about in her stomach. She gulped, her mouth suddenly dry and really hoped the raven haired woman didn't notice.
The brit spoke up.. ' so do I get your name ?
'Do I get a straight answer from you ?' Myka retorted quicker this time.
Helena laughed and made a mock saluting gesture at Myka. ' I swear I'm not messing around, scouts honour. I couldn't lie to someone with such a sweet face as you, God would smite me on the spot in which I stand for sure.' Helena grinned once more as she noticed a rising blush in the other woman's face.
Ignoring the rising heat in her cheeks Myka raised her eyebrow wondering if she could have misjudged the situation, perhaps this woman's parents just had a terrible sense of humour.
'Alright then miss H G Wells, would you mind also explaining what you're doing in here?' Myka put her hand on her hip. Who the heck was this woman and was she deliberately being cagey or just a hopeless flirt.
Before the woman could reply Claudia burst into the room and flung herself on the dark haired woman.
'HG ! O-M-G you came !' The red head vigorously hugged an amused Helena.
' How could I not my dear you know I can't resist the pull of adventure.' Helena pried the red head from her to take a look at her from head to toe.
' You have changed a lot young one, you have become quite the woman.' HG playfully tapped Claudia's nose.
' Ahh HG, you're too kind and it's been way to long.' Putting her arm around he taller woman she turned to Myka .
'This is my good friend HG Wells, sorry, I didn't realise she would definitely be coming. I hope she has been behaving herself?' Claudia bumped hips with HG playfully.
' Darling of course. I'm insulted and appalled you would think otherwise.' HG laughed ruffled the red heads hair.
Giggling Claudia stepped away from her attacker and spoke to the group. 'Anyway… HG is here because she's an amazing writer and hopefully she's going to be able to document what we do as we go and get inspiration for her new novel.' Gesturing in Myka's direction the red head continued ' I was actually hoping that HG could shadow you, perhaps you can tell her about what it is you've done on past exhibitions, explain what it is were doing here and make sure the old lady doesn't get in to trouble out on site.' Claudia grinned at incredulous look HG shot her.
Myka on the other hand groaned a little inside to herself. She always worked best alone, even working with a team she had the tendency to keep herself to herself….and ….of all people she didn't need some Dan Browne wanabe on her heels making up some ridiculous story about the grail and putting her name anywhere near it. Regardless of her doubts Myka couldn't let down the beaming hopeful face of Miss Donovan. She would agree but keep this cocky writer at a good distance.
'Of course Claudia, that's not a problem as long as Miss Wells follows the normal protocols as everybody else, respects the site and understands we may not even find anything. Then yes she may be my shadow.'
Claudia jumped excitedly on the spot at Myka's response. 'Right then, now the whole team really is all here. Shall we get tooled up and head on out. We only have two weeks and we need to make the most of every second.'
Myka nodded, she had never gotten time to do her briefing but she figured she could have a quick informal chat with everyone on the way out. Grabbing her ready packed tool belt from her bag she clipped it around her toned waist and looked in the raven haired woman's direction.
'Miss Wells you better get kitted up yourself ... Come with me I'll show you what you need.' Myka lead Helena to a table adorned with all sorts of funny looking tools at the side of the room. She grabbed an empty belt and holster and started packing in the all the equipment Helena would need.
'Once were out there I'll explain which piece is used for what. It'll be easier than going through it all now.' Myka spoke but kept her eyes focused on the table in front of her as she continued stuffing the tiny tools into belt pockets.
Helena watched the curly haired archaeologist trying to read the other woman's body language. She came across very confident in the way she spoke yet she wouldn't now make eye contact her. Hoping to ease any of the brunettes worries Helena touched the other woman's shoulder to get her attention.
'Thank you for this. I won't be a drag I promise. I'm a very fast learner and I respect that this is your work. I will as Claudia so eloquently put it… behave myself.' Helena did her mock salute again 'scouts honour remember, I was a very good girl guide.'
Myka smiled at the shorter woman next to her, she couldn't help but find her ever so slightly charming.
'Come on lets get you belted up.' Myka swung the tool kit over the raven haired woman suddenly realising she had now trapped herself into an extremely intimate position with the writer. Ignoring the blush creeping once more from her chest she secured the belt around the petite woman's waist. Wow her perfume smells amazing myka thought to herself shocked at where her mind was taking her.
As she fastened the awkward clasp she accidentally brushed the porcelain skin beneath the edge of the slender figures white blouse. She could have sworn she heard a slight moan come from the lips of the woman before her.
After fastening the final popper and clasp Myka stood back hands on hips.
'There all ready ...lets uh just get out of here.' Myka headed for he exit wanting to get out in the cool air as quickly as possible but Helena stopped her before she could quite make it.
'Wait I still don't have your name ?' Helena asked not budging from her spot until she had this gorgeous woman's name.
'Myka Bering, archaeologist, lecturer and just as passionate a lover I'm sure , but please just call me Myka.' The brunette copied the Brits earlier introduction. Shocking herself at her flirtatious tone.
Helena grinned at the brunette. She had a feeling they were going to get on very well, she couldn't help but a feel a invisible pull towards this woman of contradictions. She was feisty yet shy , Helena looked at the brunette who had a smirk on her face and once more held out her hand and clasped Myka's in her own.
'Myka, you have a beautiful name, how selfish of you to hide it from me for so long. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you .'
Their second handshake lingered just a little longer than it really should causing Myka to immediately flick back into work mode.
'Right …well now were fully introduced shall we get to work ? ' Myka held the door open and gestured for Helena to go through.
Helena with out a word complied and walked out of the room holding Mykas green eyed gaze for as long as possible. This really was going to be a very interesting adventure indeed.