Um, hello! waves
Been a long time since I updated the fic, but never fear, I do intend to finish it.
I want to tell you guys, reviewing works, I feel so guilty for not posting every time I get one. That's right shame me into updating :D
Again I want to thank everyone for reviewing, so thank you: Elena, Halfhuman123, Snaperules, Badkidoh, White Wolf Zita, Rydicule and EvilBoyGenius-JackSpicer's-Grl
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Anyhow, onwards with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except I guess Obie…Yay?
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Chapter 12 – Certainty
Kimiko watched eagerly as Jack tipped the container, she and Dojo were each hovering over one of the redhead's shoulders, a piece of parchment slid smoothly out of it and into Jack's waiting palm.
"You were right" Kimiko exclaimed, trying to get a better look at the rolled up paper.
"Your confidence in my ability is groundbreaking and truly flattering" Jack muttered, doing his best to ignore the weight she put on his left shoulder, mostly because it didn't feel at all uncomfortable. "Of course I was right. I'm always right" he continued absently, as he began to slowly and very carefully unroll the parchment. Three pairs of eyes stared at its content.
Kimiko's voice was the first to break the silence "I don't believe it… a riddle. How cliché is that?" she exclaimed in disbelief.
"It's France" Jack told her by way of an explanation. He was presently staring at the piece of paper in his hand, like it was holy.
Kimiko tilted her head to get a better angle on Jack's face. She was not surprised to see that his eyes were practically sparkling with excitement.
"This. This is what treasure hunting is all about" Kimiko heard him say in a heated whisper.
"What does it say?" Dojo asked, from over Jack's other shoulder. The riddle was written in French, and Dojo had never bothered with languages much.
"It's all yours Jack. Your French is better than mine" Kimiko told him, eyeing the text apprehensively. She stifled a yawn.
"Right. Scoot over, my back is killing me" Jack said and with a groan hefted himself off of the floor and unto the bed. He stretched with his arms above his head, the motion was accompanied by a symphony of popping joints and vertebrae, making him wince.
"Would you just get on with it?" Kimiko demanded impatiently, as he was busily popping each finger joint.
"Okay, okay" he said, taking another luxurious stretch. He read the riddle over a few times, his brow furrowed in thought, his eyebrows performing an almost constant up and down motion, to match his thinking pattern..
Again Kimiko was struck by how expressive his face was. If she tried, she thought she might probably be able to decipher the contents of the riddle just by looking at his constantly fluctuating expressions.
"So" Jack said suddenly, clearing his throat "It says something like this:
The child of fire you now seek
The will to reach the heavens you will need
Find a rock to pierce the sky
A hallowed place – The highest point
Shy away from the wrath of God
The sin of theft does burn
With the blood of the stone
Cower in the depths
To find the final resting place
Fire withers without air"
Jack was silent a moment, then added "that last bit is a little removed from the rest, it's almost like a second thought. I should write this down" he mused aloud.
"And what's that, under the text" Kimiko asked taping the strange drawing with a finger. It was a single line twisting and curling, without following any apparent design, at one end was the now familiar drawing of a salamander "It looks like a map" she finished.
Jack nodded "I think it is one. Except I don't know a map of what" he said, the thoughtful look returning.
"Can you scan it into the computer and try to find a match via the satellite network?" Kimiko suggested.
"I could do that, but I doubt it's going to help. I rather don't think this is a map to any preexisting highway" he said, but seeing her deflate a little continued "Our best bet is to find out where the riddle is pointing to and then look for the path"
Kimiko nodded "You should write down the translations so we can have it for reference"
Jack got up and retrieved a piece of paper and a pen. He plopped back down onto the bed, using his knee for a hard surface he started writing out the clue.
"What are you doing? Writing it in Cyrillic?" Kimiko cried, staring at the chicken scrawl his hand was leaving in its wake.
"It's my handwriting. It's perfectly legible" Jack said defensively.
"I beg do differ" commented Dojo.
"Give me that" Kimiko said, claiming both pen and paper from Jack's only slightly resisting hands "Dictate and I'll do the writing"
Jack quirked an eyebrow at her "You're Japanese" he told her.
"Yes, and I still write a more legible English than you do" She countered smirking. Grudgingly he repeated his translation, as Kimiko dutifully wrote it all down.
The paper was then placed in the middle of the bed, Jack, Kimiko and Dojo sitting in a circle around it.
"So the riddle is pointing to a location?" asked Dojo.
"Most likely, it would explain the presence of the map" Jack reasoned.
"Assuming that is a map" Dojo countered.
"Yeah, I'm sure it's actually just a decorative squiggle. The writer was feeling artsy that day" Jack said testily.
"Knock it off you two" Kimiko cut them off before the conflict could escalate. "God, I hate riddles" she muttered, glaring daggers at the offending piece of paper.
"Of course you do, you're too pragmatic for this sort of thing. You like to beeline straight to the point, or the answer as it were"
"Yes, well, you're plain fanciful" Kimiko retorted, feeling affronted for some reason.
Jack shrugged unconcernedly "Whatever works" his features took on a pensive cast "A rock to pierce the sky… hmm I don't suppose we have to hurl rocks in the air. A meteor maybe? Do you know if there's any meteor shower passing through?" he asked seriously.
"Er, I don't think so. But why would we need crashing meteors to find this thing?" Kimiko asked, a little dubious.
Jack waved his hand "You know how these things go, planet alignment, eclipses and so on, mystical mumbo-jumbo is what they thrive on"
Kimiko had to agree with that. The Wu were proof enough for even the most hardened of cynics.
"Maybe it means a really tall mountain?" she suggested, hoping they wouldn't have to wait for rocks to come flying out of the sky.
Jack ran this over in his mind "That's not bad- in fact, I think it might just be it" he declared making a grab for the paper.
Kimiko felt herself swell up with pleasure at the praise, and then felt silly about doing so.
"The sin of theft does burn/With the blood of the stone" Jack read out loud "Blood of the stone could be lava" he said, his voice building up with excitement.
"A volcano!" They both said together.
"Yeah!" Dojo exclaimed feeling left out of the loop.
"That makes sense, very appropriate too-" Kimiko stopped abruptly, a look of horror crossing her face.
Jack frowned in confusion at the sudden change in her demeanor, his lips forming a question. He stopped, his lips a perfect "o" of realization.
They both turned their heads to look at Chase's note, innocently folded up on the bed stand. They looked back at each other, now sharing the look of horror.
Dojo twitched his tail irritably "What?" he demanded, annoyed at being constantly left out.
"Chase" Kimiko answered almost in a daze "He mentioned volcanoes in his note" she shook her head, as if to dispel the unease "But he couldn't have known. We didn't know until one minute ago"
Jack rushed to reassure her "No, no. It has to be coincidence" a pause "Although it is Chase we're talking about" he amended nervously.
"Thanks Jack" Kimiko muttered drily.
"How should I know what goes on in that twisted, evil mind of his?" Jack cried.
Kimiko sighed, feeling awfully tired "Never mind. We'll find out anyway soon enough"
"True. We're still left with the volcano. This probably narrows down our search to a million possible locations" Jack informed them brightly.
"That's nice. Doesn't the rest of the riddle help narrow that down?"
"Possibly. But we need to actually solve it first" Jack cast a quick glance at Kimiko, the paper in his hand and the watch on his wrist "Which we will do first thing tomorrow" he finished, yawning hugely to make a statement.
"You should get some rest princess, I know I interrupted your beauty sleep today" he teased as he got up to leave.
Kimiko glared halfheartedly at his retreating back, wondering if she should throw the pen at his head.
Upon waking up the next morning, Kimiko lay propped up against her pillows, covered in the warm doublet the hotel provided, with Dojo snoring peacefully from the foot of the bed. She was waiting for an epiphany to strike, as they sometimes do after a long sleep. It was slow in coming. It was in fact not coming at all.
She extended a hand, feeling along the night table for the clue. Her questing fingers encountered the folded note, which she picked up, deciding to read it herself. She smiled a little. Jack really had given her the briefest of summaries. As notes go, it was a very long one, written in what she guessed was Chase's small and very neat hand. The smile faded as her eyes picked out the word volcano. It seemed to rise up from the rest of the text and taunt her. Suddenly angry Kimiko crushed the paper in her fist, opening her hand she dumped the ashes in the ashtray on the bed stand.
Remembering what she had originally intended to do, she sat up to look for Jack's translation. Not finding it she realized Jack must have taken it with him when he had left that night. She sighed, hoping he might have had some luck with it.
An hour later, Dojo on shoulder, Kimiko was knocking on Jack's door. It opened revealing Jack, looking fresh and very cheery, his grin was nothing short of dazzling in its brightness.
"Come in! Come in!" he invited cheerfully making room for Kimiko to enter, and following after.
Kimiko had to stop and stare at the interior of his room. By all means it should be an exact replica of her own. It looked like her room if you squinted and tilted your head a little to the left and imagined a hurricane had swept through.
"Sorry for the mess" Jack said from behind her. He walked around her and attempted to straighten out the bed a little. He picked up an armload of scattered shirts and socks and bunched up papers and some unnamed metallic objects and dumped them in an armchair already containing a mountain of aforementioned objects. They stood in precarious balance, a slight tremor running through the pile every now and then. It seemed to be defying physics, truly a thing of wonder.
Kimiko tore her eyes away from it and walked to sit on the cleared patch of bed.
"So, any luck?" Jack asked. He was leaning against the doorframe, a roguish half smirk on his face.
She sighed "No. None whatsoever. And not to point a finger but you did take the parchment as well as the translation, leaving me with not much to go on. You?"
He laughed and picked his way to the bed, where he plopped down next to her, jarring her, which earned him a glare and an elbow to the stomach.
"No thanks to you" he said a little tightly, rubbing the bruised skin "I am sporting a bump on the back of my head from your little outburst last night" he gave her a woeful look, which she completely ignored "But yes, I did work it out" and his smile grew obnoxiously smug.
"Go on" Kimiko urged, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes at him.
"Olympus"
She blinked "Olympus?" she repeated "Mount Olympus?"
"The one and the same" Jack agreed.
"Wow, that's… well, Jack, you make it sound like there's no room for doubt"
"That's because there is no doubt. Olympus fits it all" Jack declared.
"Do elaborate" Kimiko said losing her patience.
"If I must" he said stretching out on the bed, enjoying the upper hand for once.
Lifting her legs up on the bed, Kimiko attempted to make herself comfortable in the limited space. She watched Jack expectantly.
Dojo slipped from her shoulder and unto the bed, where he slithered his way to Jack's head.
"Well?" the dragon demanded, puffing a cloud of smoke into Jack's face.
Jack sat up hastily, choking and sputtering. Never one to give up without a fight, Jack made a lunge for Dojo, grabbing the fleeing dragon by the tail and holding him up level with his face. This might not have been the wisest course of action, dangling a fire breathing dragon by its tail in your face generally isn't. This didn't seem to occur to Jack "Why you little coal sucking fiend" Jack grated at the impassive reptilian face.
"Can you two not spend fifteen minutes in each other's company without breaking out in a war? You're acting like five year olds, both of you. Jack, put Dojo down. Dojo, stop bullying Jack" she ordered imperiously.
Like chastised children, the two, man and dragon, bowed their heads in shame and did as she instructed. Both settling themselves as far away from the other as the bed and Jack's scattered belongings would allow.
After this ritual seemed to be completed Jack cleared his throat "Right. Right. Kimiko, if you would please hand over the paper from the night stand?" he said extending a hand to take it.
"So let's run over this then. Okay first line: The child of fire you now seek – pretty self explanatory, obviously it means the Salamander. Moving on, next two verses: The will to reach the heavens you will need/Find a rock to pierce the sky – A tall rock, a mountain, which Olympus happens to be. Fourth line: A hallowed place – The highest point – Mount Olympus was said to be home of the Gods, it doesn't get any holier. Fifth and sixth lines: Shy away from the wrath of God/The sin of theft does burn – obvious if metaphorical reference to fire, theft probably refers to taking something hidden as well as the Greek myth of Prometheus. Seventh verse: With the blood of the stone – blood of stone, lava, so not a mountain but a volcano. Again, Mount Olympus just happens to be a volcano. Eighth and ninth verses: Cower in the depths/To find the final resting place – final resting place, is the place where the Salamander is stashed, and cower in the depths I imagine means we have to go underground, underneath Olympus. Questions?" Jack said, having regained the air of smugness about halfway through.
Kimiko sat quietly, running Jack's explanation over in her head. It made sense, and the man was supposedly a genius. Still, something about it seemed off. Why Greece? It didn't make sense, if it were Italy then sure, but Greece?
"Are you certain?" she asked, feeling a need to voice her concerns.
"Yes. I went over it a million times, Olympus covers everything" Jack assured her confidently.
"But don't you think it's strange? I mean, Why Greece?"
"Well, I'm sure that Greece would make an excellent hiding place, exactly because no one would be expecting the King of France to hide his treasure there" Jack said reasonably "Trust me" he added, smiling reassuringly.
Mollified Kimiko gave up "Alright Ellas it is then. How do we get there?" she asked, still a little dubious, but willing put her trust in him.
Jack's wicked smile made a spectacular comeback, curling his lips up in a Cheshire grin "Par avion naturellement . Only the best for you princess. While you're with me I'll keep you in the lap of luxury!" He exclaimed getting off the bed and spreading his arms out flamboyantly.
Dojo made a puking noise.
Kimiko laughed "Oh is that what you call crawling on hands and knees through a dark damp muddy tunnel after facing a deathtrap?"
Jack's shoulders slumped under the weight of her words "Aw babe" he groaned "You had to spoil the moment"
"Stop whining, and get started on your packing, somehow I feel it might take a while" she said giving the room a long sweeping look.
"I'm not normally this messy you know" Jack said defensively "I just can't seem to be able to get anything organized when I'm travelling"
"Oh no doubt, no doubt" Kimiko said grinning, obviously not believing a word "I'd like to leave as soon as we're done"
This was received with a round of loud protests from both males. Kimiko pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation "Fine. We take breakfast, then we go"
Sometime later they were boarding Jack's private jet. This time Kimiko actually got to meet the pilot. A seasoned looking man in his forties, sporting a mane of short spiky black hair streaked with a little white. His face bore some questionable looking scars. Also he had an eye patch covering his left eye. Now normally you would question a man with an eye patch piloting a plane, but when you were face to face with this man you really didn't feel like questioning him. The best way to describe this man, who's name is Obadiah Ridge, is to think of the image your mind conjures up when it stumbles upon the words "war veteran".
Jack introduced him as "Obie, my chauffer, pilot, bodyguard, butler on occasion, oh and when I was a kid he used to be my nanny"
Kimiko was a little taken aback by the last bit. Mr. Ridge and nanny sounded like two very, very different concepts. This led her to one unsurprising conclusion, Jack must have had a seriously demented childhood. A momma's boy looked after by a nanny who looked like he came out straight from Vietnam and could probably take out Rambo in a one on one. No wonder Jack was such an oddball.
During the flight Jack was uncharacteristically quiet, he sat stooping over the laptop he cradled in his lap. The only sounds coming from him were the tapping of the keyboard and the occasional thoughtful grunt. As a result, Kimiko found the trip to be very boring, she and Dojo having ended up playing cards.
After what felt like eternity Obadiah's voice announced that they would be landing in thirty minutes. It was very soon after this that Jack snapped his head up looking extremely embarrassed.
The sudden motion, made Kimiko turn to look at him. His face was flushed and he was fidgeting uncomfortably, he also looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't quite get it out past his tongue.
Dojo abandoned his cards in favor of the much more interesting show Jack was providing. After a little more squirming he finally found his voice.
"Kimiko, you remember back at the hotel how you said Greece seemed an odd choice?" He stammered nervously.
"Ye-es" Kimiko answered slowly, fixing Jack with a steady stare.
"Um, yeah, well that got me thinking, so I figured I might as well look over it again" he laughed nervously "And then I remembered there was this mountain, volcano, in France, Puy de Dome"
By now Kimiko could pretty much guess where this was going.
"And it just so happens that it sports a temple on its peak. Heh, it's very name actually means peak, the highest point, you know, peak…" he trailed off under her unwavering look.
"So you've brought us all the way to Greece for nothing" Kimiko said calmly.
Jack nodded jerkily.
Kimiko rolled her eyes "Trust me, he says!" she exclaimed.
Jack gathered himself up a little at this "It's not like I purposefully mislead you!" he cried "It was just a mistake. A very stupid mistake. I…" he stopped, staring at Kimiko "Are you smiling? Is that a smile?" he asked sounding wary and confused.
Kimiko's smile widened. Jack pulled back suspiciously "You're not angry?"
"No, not really. We only wasted a few hours and some fuel. Besides you do such a great job of self inflicting punishment" she laughed. Seeing he wasn't about to let his guard down she continued, in some exasperations "Oh come on, I'm not going to bite your head off"
Jack seemed genuinely surprised to hear this, which Kimiko felt was rather rude of him. "Did you actually work yourself up into this frenzy because you were afraid to tell me you made a mistake?"
"Well, Kim, baby, you're known to have a bit of a temper, an extremely fiery one at that, literally, and we're in a metal box, thousands of feet above the ground" he explained, still quite not believing himself to be safe.
Kimiko shrugged "I'm not angry. I might have been if we'd have gone all the way to Olympus and dug up its base, or something, before you caught on. But since that isn't the case, I'll let you off" she said graciously.
Jack sagged with relief, but it wasn't very long lived.
"Oh and you should probably tell Obie we need to turn around"
Jack's face turned pale.
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Well, that's that, Read&Review people.
