Chapter 4

Nothing much to say right now, so on with the story.

Melana walked back to the lab room of their hideout with her sister. "So, do you think Dr. Quest has deciphered anything new?"

Anaya shrugged. "Maybe. He's under the impression that we have his entire family captive as it is so he's unlikely to still resist." Of course, we would have our leverage if it wasn't for her ….

The sisters opened the door to find their unwilling guest still sitting calmly in a chair behind a single, large desk. Melana entered the room first and stood before the desk. "Have you considered our offer, Dr. Quest?"

The man let out an irate sigh, "As if I have a choice. Regardless, this is a dead language you're asking me about. I'm going to need time to translate it."

Anaya frowned. "Just remember, the lives of your family members depend on how honest you are about your findings, doctor."

Dr. Quest didn't reply as they left and he continued studying the two ancient pieces he'd been presented with. The quality of the artifacts was astounding considering its age. And as he made notes on a language that seemed similar to Greek, the metal gleamed it's silvery red color.

If the circumstances were different this would be incredibly exciting. As it stands ….. I just hope that they're all unharmed.

~~~~~~~~~~JQ~~~~~~~~~~

Jonny frowned as he paced the hotel room he and Mei were hiding in. This is crazy. I'm in a hotel room with a girl I just met trying to figure out some way to keep her two crazy sisters from getting to Atlantis. Not to mention the possibility of a spy being in that temple Jessie's at ….

As Mei entered, the boy stopped pacing and looked at her. "Well?"

"I got in touch with the Head Priest. I told him we're hiding to avoid leading the enemy back to the ship. I think he believed me. So, for now, we're okay."

"All right. Let's try and think this through. Who was present when you were told the locations of the map pieces?"

"The Head Priest, the Oracle, a body guard and myself ….." The young woman sighed. "We'll just have to go get Jessie out of there. The temple itself has many hidden tunnels for emergencies."

"But what about everyone else there?"

Mei shook her head. "As long as one of them is a possible traitor and spy, there is nothing we can do. Jessie's safety and our mission are to take top priority right now."

"But Mei, they raised you. We can't just abandon them." Jonny insisted.

"There's nothing to be done for it. No matter what I may want to do, I took an oath to put the safety of Atlantis first. Above everything. Personal feelings cannot be allowed to sway me any further. Now, we need someone with a boat or plane to get us around. A car won't be much use right now."

Letting the argument drop, Jonny thought for a moment. "I think I know someone we can ask."

"Is the person trustworthy?"

"For Hadji, he will be."

Mei nodded. "Okay, I'll leave that to you then." The girl then went out onto the room's balcony. I wish I could do this the way he wants to. I owe those people everything and part of me feels like putting the mission first is a betrayal …..

"Mei?" Jonny waited in the doorway for her to look up. "Our ride will be here first thing in the morning."

She nodded. "Okay, I guess we need to form a plan then."

"A plan?"

Mei ran her hand through her hair, "Yeah. I was thinking that'd it'd be too dangerous for us both to go into the temple for Jessie. My sisters could have a trap waiting for us. So I was thinking that'd I'd go in while you stay hidden nearby."

Jonny nodded his understanding. "I guess you do know those hidden passageways better."

Early the next morning, Jonny and Mei waited in the lobby of the hotel. "He said to meet him here, right?"

"Yeah. No worries. Pasha will be here soon, I'm sure."

As predicted, the merchant turned court adviser ambled in moments later. Spotting Jonny, he smiled and approached. The man stopped short and frowned in bewilderment, however when his gaze rested on Mei.

Before he could ask, Jonny spoke. "I'll explain on the way, Pasha. We're kinda in a hurry."

As he drove them and listened, Pasha shook his head. "You all always did get into the most hard to believe situations. So, where are we going first?"

"Well," the young man replied, "we need to get Jessie back with us. Did you bring a plane or a boat?"

"A boat. I figured, it might be safer than flying."

Following Mei's directions, the boat arrived at the temple around sunset. The two teens disembarked quietly. Pasha watched them and said a silent prayer for their safety. Leading the way along the coastline, Mei led Jonny to a cave.

Turning, she whispered, "The safest tunnel in the temple comes out here. Wait here and I'll go bring Jessie out."

Jonny grabbed her arm and handed her a walkie talkie. "I come prepared, too." He grinned.

Chuckling, the girl nodded. "Thanks. I'll be back as soon as I can."

~~~~~~~~~~JQ~~~~~~~~~~

Jessie peeked out her window again and sighed. I wish I knew something. Jonny ….. please be safe.

Hearing a noise coming from behind her, Jessie spun around. Mei peeked out of the tunnel that now stood where a bookshelf had been. "Jessie, are you alone?"

The girl rushed over. "Mei? What's going on?"

"No time. Follow me, quickly." Sensing the urgency, Jessie hastily obeyed and rushed to follow her. "There's a traitor in the temple. We had to get you out as quickly as possible."

The other girl gasped as that news sank in. "Shouldn't we warn the Head Priest."

"No. We can't, Jessie. We have to get out of here before anyone realizes you're gone."

Knowing the girl had a point, Jessie followed Mei along the winding tunnel until she spotted Jonny awaiting them. The boy smiled at her as their eyes met. "Glad to see you're okay, Jess."

"You too. Did you guys get the map pieces?"

Mei replied first, "We got one. Then, we came back for you before my sisters could use their spy inside to do you any harm."

Jessie sat with Jonny as that sank in. "So we still have one more map piece to get to. Can you guys fill me in on what all happened in Turkey?"

"We hid in a hotel for a night and called Pasha to help us with travel since we weren't sure who in the temple is trustworthy."

Jonny leaned back and sighed. "And now we're trying to plan around what Anaya and Melana might be planning and finding their hideout."

"Oh," Jessie said, "that reminds me. I did manage to locate the Questor. It appears to be docked in Athens."

"Given that, I think we should continue on to Crete and then go to Athens. We can see if my sisters are there."

"Okay, in that case, I guess we need to be getting back to the boat before anyone discovers that Jessie's missing."

The three of them crept quickly along the cost until they reached Pasha's boat. Sitting on the deck, Jonny stargazed and tried not to think about what could be happening to his family. Carrying a bowl of soup and a glass of milk, Jessie sat beside him.

"Eat." She instructed. "Worrying won't help anything."

"Thanks, Jess." The boy replied as he obeyed.

As they sat, the boy sighed and wrapped his arm around Jessie. "I'm glad we got you out safely."

The young woman smiled. "It's not like I had the slightest idea about there being a traitor in the temple, anyway. Whoever it was had no reason to harm me."

Jonny shrugged, "I was still kinda worried. Anyway, I think I'm gonna get some sleep. We still have a labyrinth to get through tomorrow."

Tune in next time to see what happens in Knossos. And feel free to review. All comments

are welcomed and appreciated.