Lemuria by Burt Clinchandhill (most popular novels of all time .txt) 📗

Bishop and De Cremonese out. When they were out, he pulled out a small ramp from under their seats. “Could you please help me?” he asked as he jumped in and untied the motorcycles in the back. Bishop and De Cremonese— each on a side—supported the bikes coming down, and within a minute, the operation was finished.

“You’re good to go,” Mike said. “I’ll be here waiting. You have my sat phone number, so you know how to reach me.”

Both men took a motorcycle and started the engines. “Are you going to be okay, Father?” Bishop asked.

“Don’t you worry about me,” De Cremonese shouted over the revving engines. “I was driving a scooter through the crowded streets of Milano when you were a baby. You worry about where we’re going from here.”

“All right, follow me.” Bishop switched on the GPS on his handlebar.

***

“You are Ms. Coleman?” Ignatowski asked again.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m sorry,” Lindsey said. “It’s all a bit overwhelming right now. Do you mind if we come in? I don’t think it’s safe here in the hallway.”

Amie looked from Lindsey to Ignatowski. “You’re not with the hotel?”

“No,” Lindsey answered, setting one foot into the room.

Amie thought for another short moment before opening the door wide. “Come on in.” She pulled them both in, and quickly closed the door behind them. Then she walked into the room and closed the curtains. “If you’re not from the hotel, then who are you, and why are you here?”

“My name is Lindsey Wilson.”

“And I’m Ralph Ignatowski. Please call me Iggy. We work for the U.S. government and, um, I guess we’re here to rescue you.”

“You guess? You don’t know?” Amie asked.

“Well, that’s a bit of a long story,” Lindsey said, “and I don’t know if we have the time to get into all of that.”

Amie looked at her watch. “They’re quite punctual here, so I figure we’re good for at least another two hours before someone delivers my next meal, and checks up on me.”

“Do you mind if we sit down?” Ignatowski asked, looking around the room.

“Please.” Amie pointed at a comfy couch at the other end of the room.

Ignatowski looked through the inner doors, all the way to the other end of the floor. “From here, it’s one big set of linked rooms, stretching all over the hallway,” he pointed out. “Looks very comfortable.”

“Not if you spent the past weeks inside it,” Amie replied. “Now, if you please?”

“I’m sorry,” Ignatowski folded his hands. “How are you doing?”

“Physically, I’m okay. I’m well cared for, but the closed confinement is starting to get on my nerves. It’s only since today that they opened up the balcony for me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lindsey replied. “But I’m sure we can get you out of here.”

Ignatowski stepped between them. “Do you know of the Young Earth Movement?”

“The what?” Amie exclaimed.

“Young Earth Movement,” Lindsey replied. “When you disappeared in the U.S., Mulder claimed they abducted you. He said they demanded Eldin Mulder’s retreat from his research on AI and genetics.”

Amie first frowned before she started laughing. “That’s quite something.”

“What’s that?” Ignatowski asked.

“Well, it’s kind of ironic, I guess. The real reason that I’m here, disappeared so to say, is that I was the one insisting on Eldin abandoning his research. Or, in any way, I was worried about the way he was conducting it. And when I found out some details about his work abroad, I confronted him with it. That didn’t go down well, and here I am.”

“And then you contacted a Jesuit Father, Lamberto De Cremonese, did you not?” Lindsey asked.

“I did, but I never got the chance to meet with him. I had to bail on our first meeting, and later I didn’t have the guts to try again. I know he tried to contact me a few times, but I always found a way to ignore him. But how do you know? Is he here? You work for the U.S. government you said. Which branch?”

“I’m sorry. I realize it’s a lot to take in. Let me try to explain as briefly as I can,” Lindsey replied. “We’re with the NSA and NRO. We were investigating disappearing isolated tribes, from all over the world, but....” She paused.

Ignatowski took over. “Right now, we’re on our own, helping a friend. And to answer your other question, Father De Cremonese is on a different island with the friend we’re helping, looking for another disappeared friend.”

Amie shook her head rapidly. “Wow, and how did you find me?”

“A friend of yours helped us find this location. We weren’t sure if we would find you, our friend, or anyone for that matter, over here.”

“A friend of mine?” Amie asked.

“Oliver Lancaster,” Lindsey replied. “Father De Cremonese and our friend Matthew Bishop met him at his home.”

Amie grinned. “Is he okay? I thought about him a lot these past days.”

“He’s fine,” Lindsey assured her.

“That’s good to hear. And, uh, that missing friend of yours. That wouldn’t, by any chance, be Jennifer Porter?”

Lindsey and Ignatowski briefly looked at each other, and then both nodded to Amie.

“You know her?” Lindsey asked.

“I saw her once or twice with Eldin, but never met her. Though she probably was one of the reasons I got worried about Eldin and where he was heading with his research.”

“Do you know where she is?” Ignatowski asked impatiently.

“Excuse us for our bluntness,” Lindsey apologized. “But we’ve got reason to believe that we’re on the clock somehow.”

“No need to apologize,” Amie assured her. “Did Oliver tell your friends about Eldin being on a tight schedule or something like that?”

“He did,” Ignatowski replied.

“And what island did you say your friends were on?”

Lindsey looked at her watch. “They should be on Darwin Island by now.”

“Then they just might be in the right place,” Amie told them. “Do you have any way to contact them?”

Lindsey took her satellite smartphone out of her backpack.

***

Bishop stopped his motorcycle at the edge of a cliff, took off his helmet and stepped off. De Cremonese stopped a few feet