Death Raids A Heart II

Pt. XIII

Upon resurfacing out of the site, David and Lara found themselves surrounded by Russians and dead native bodies. Well over two dozen guns pointed at the husband and wife, all cocked and ready to open fire on the command of their superior, Johnson Jon-Johnson. The cowboy smirked devilishly at David as he bent over and made eye contact.

"Howdy, cowpoke." Johnson mumbled smugly.

Roughly, Johnson grabbed David by his shirt and pulled him along to follow the group to their ground vehicles. He continued to clutch the bag that contained the strange skull they found in Orellana's grave where both David and his female companion stowed in the back of Jeeps with slightly less than two dozen guns pointed at them. A short drive took them to an airstrip which took them to the German's camp in Ilha Aramacã.

It was night time when they arrived at the camp. A few German troops occupied the camp were relieved to see their fellow soldiers return, which in turn sparked a party in dedication to their loyalty and hard work. Both David and Lara were strapped to two separate chairs, both parallel with each other facing the campfire outside. Just when things couldn't get any worse, in walked a rather gorgeous blonde woman whose affiliation came as a shock to both David and Lara.

"Jessica?! What in blazes are you doing - working with the Germans?!" Lara exclaimed with shock and aggression.

The blonde woman shrugged her shoulders in a smug fashion.

"What can I say? The Germans... they can lead me, can lead us, to riches!" Jessica replied quietly so one of the guards stationed at the entrance of the tent didn't hear what she was saying.

"I should have known... Like father, like daughter. Isn't that right, Jessica?" David grumbled in disappointment. 

"No, my dear, David. This isn't just about what the Germans want. It's about what I want." 

Everyone's attention was stolen by two people entering the room. One being the poncho-wearing cowboy and the other being a man whose identity brought a sense of familiarity to David. It only clicked to whom the other man was when he spoke. 

"Good evening, Mr Gardner. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," said a man with sandy-blonde hair. "And you, Mrs Gardner. My name is Spencer Reed. And I am the man in charge of this expedition to Akator - the place in which it is believed the crystal skull will lead us." 

"And who's gonna lead you? Us?" David scoffed in self-amusement. 

The sandy-blonde man man produced a grin that went from ear to ear. At the snap of his fingers, Johnson Jon-Johnson called for something to be delivered into the room. Spencer's hands planted on the arm rests of the chair David was bound to and stared deviously into his eyes. Lara watched anxiously as a table was dragged into the room with a stand on top and a brown bag that concealed the alien skull. 

Spencer then stood erect and grabbed a stopwatch in order to track progress. "There may be hundreds of skulls at Akator. The skull was stolen in the fifteenth century. 'Whoever returns it to the city temple will gain control over its powers.' Whoever finds them will control the greatest natural force the world has ever known. Power over the mind of man and woman." 

Equipment was fastened to David's head so to monitor his brainwaves and such as he was given no choice but to stare at the skull looking right back at him. His wife watched on in fear of his health as the smirk on his face very slowly melted away the harder he concentrated on the skull. After a minute and ten seconds, David began to shake violently as if he were having a seizure. 

"STOP! STOP THAT NOW! LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU BASTARDS!!" Lara voiced her concerns. 

Jessica had taken action and threw the brown bag over the skull, ceasing the strange connection it and David made. His head rolled downwards so that his chin was touching his chest. Tears swelled in Lara's eyes at the sight of her husband going limp. It made her fear the worst but the fact that his chest was still moving comforted her that he was indeed very much alive. 

Jessica motioned to unbuckle David but as soon as she got one hand free, somebody grabbed her from behind and threw her to the ground. This shocked everyone in the tent as Jessica found her own father staring down at her with a disapproving look in his eyes. His face was tense and his fists were clenched as if he were ready to lay a beating on his own daughter. The humiliation she felt was nothing compared to his true feelings towards her. 

"YOU DO NOTHING WITHOUT MY COMMAND! I AM YOUR SUPERIOR AND YOU WILL DO AS TOLD! NEVER, EVER DO ANYTHING UNLESS I SAY SO! UNDERSTAND?!" Spencer boomed as he kicked his daughter in the jaw. 

Her head jerked from the kick, causing her to yelp in pain and fear. Taking the skull into his personal care, Spencer stormed off to his tent. Johnson Jon-Johnson followed suite, which left Jessica to sit on the floor and cry to herself. 

"Jessica. Jessica!" Lara whispered loudly. 

The other woman sniffled and lifted her head up, gawking in the brunette's direction. 

When she was given the moment to speak, Lara suddenly came up at a loss for words as all she said was a simple, "I'm sorry." 

She smiled a frown and pulled herself up to her feet before brushing off the dirt on her clothes. When she left the tent, Lara jerked in her seat in an attempt to loosen or very unlikely break the restraints. David, however, was half bound but sleeping - somewhat braindead. A few soldiers entered the room and surrounded Lara and her husband, securing them with rope fastened tightly around their wrists as they were taken out of the tent. 

They were once again on the move. The Germans offered no form of respect to the two archaeologists. Lara, being the only conscious and sane of the two, was ordered to assist in their discovering the exact location of Akator. Reluctantly, Lara assisted them much to her disapproval, all the while they headed in the general direction towards Akator.