Treasure Hunters from the heart

[TertiusHuman]

Will turned to look at the tent at that exact moment and saw the two embrace and the passionate kiss.

"Well . . . seems like old school actually got his wish."

He wanted to stay up and take a walk with Tiffany and discuss the thoughts he had and also to talk about the notes he had made about the second scroll. Well, that would be useless now, since she seemed to be under the spell of Roger the Dodger. He went on the walk he had in mind and thought about the notes he had made and what he had seen on his glimpse of the scroll.

 

[milkmaiden38]

0600 coffee and breakfast

The next morning Tiffany was up early and in the coffee/breakfast tent. She did not however, look like an explorer, or archeologists. She looked like a college girl on spring break. She was wearing daisy duke shorts and a low cut, tight thin t-shirt. It looked very sexy, but missing were her small back pack, climbing rope, her two guns strapped on her thighs, her combat knife, and her utility belt.

Will walked into the food tent and headed straight to the coffee. He poured himself a cup and then saw Tiffany waving him over. “Good Morning” she said to him.

Will was still pissed about last night, but now he was in shock about how Tiff was dressed. “What the hell are you wearing?” He asked.

“I thought I’d go more like a tourist today” Tiff answered. Proud of her clothing choice.

“What?” Will said basically because he did not know what else to say. But then his mind caught up and he added “I don’t fucking believe you” he said in a grumpy voice.

“Wow, I thought you’d like this outfit. I guess I’ll change after breakfast” Tiff replied “Why are you so pissed?” Tiffany asked.

“I saw you and roger kissing last night” Will stated.

“Oh” Tiffany said back “Will, he forced me into that kiss”

“Forced you?” Will asked

“Well, more like guilted me into it. But I told him repeatedly to stop chasing after me. I loved you and was not interested in a change.” Tiffany said.

Roger walked into the tent and came straight to Will and Tiffany’s table. “WOW, tiffany you look amazing. WOW… I… WOW” he said completely floored by what Tiffany looked like.

Tiffany stood up “At least someone likes my looks.” Tiff said to Will. Then she turned to Roger “Excuse me, I’m going to change” Tiffany said angry and stormed out of the food tent.

30 minutes later

Tiffany was dressed in her British jungle commando outfit. She had on her camouflage pants and shirt. The shape of her big breasts could be made out, but barely. She had her small back pack with supplies to include climbing rope, her two guns strapped on her thighs, a combat knife, and her utility belt with its many pockets.

Tiffany climbed into the jeep with Will driving. But she did not say anything to him.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Will was not certain if Tiffany would ever lie to him, he was quite certain that she have done so in the past. Small, white lies of course, but never something on this scale. He also was not certain that could happen, she would not lie to him about her and Roger would she? Even if she did say that she was with him.

But were they really together?

Sure they have had some fun together, they were really working together very well, but they never really spoke about being together and before their adventure started, they had not really gotten along because of they had different views on integrity. He had changed, she was the same as he had gotten to know her.

And she had been with Roger before.

That only meant that . . .

"Will, stop."

He realized that he had been thinking so much, that they had actually arrived at the site. He pulled up next to the other vehicles and switched off the engine. He turned to talk to Tiffany, but she had already gotten out of the Jeep. He sighed and got out as well, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Tiffany and Will

Tiffany was standing inside the cave staring at the 2nd white lady painting. Roger was off talking to some of his workers. Will came up next to her, as she looked at the painting. The painting showed a white lady among black and white figures, but they were not on a hunt. The scene was of a village and a religious ceremony. Most of the houses in the scene were simple huts, but in the background, there was a larger building. It was square with columns made of stone. The architecture of the building was similar to Herod's Temple or the second temple in Jerusalem.

Tiffany was so excited to see this new discovery she forgot she was angry with Will

“Wow… this is amazing” Tiff said. “No way, whoever painted this just used white paint because that is all they had. The white figures are in the painting on purpose”

Will watched as Tiff got more and more excited. She moved over to look closer at the drawing of the temple. “It does look like the Herod's Temple” Tiffany said out loud.

She turned to Will, “Will what do you remember about Herod’s temple?” She asked.

“The first temple, called Solomon's Temple, was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. A second temple replaced it, and was upgraded by King Herod. It took his name, being called Herod’s Temple.” Will explained.

“Why would the lost tribe of Israel, rebuild King Herod’s temple here?” Tiffany asked.

“A third temple at the Herod site, will happen during a period of time on Earth in which the messiah will reign and bring universal peace and brotherhood to all, without any evil. Many believe that there will be such an age” Will said.

“So maybe the lost tribe, thought they could just build the third temple anywhere and bring about universal peace?” Tiffany suggested, but she did not believe what she was saying.

“Maybe?” Will said, not sure either.

“Wait!” Tiffany gasped “I just remembered something! Look in your Jim Barfield book. What artifacts were in the Temple of Solomon and Herod?” Tiffany asked Will. Will flipped through the book and found the lists.

The Ark of the Covenant, containing the Tablets of Stone, before which were placed the pot of manna and Aaron's rod
The Urim and Thummim, these were divination objects contained in the Hoshen
The holy oil
The sacred fire.

In the Second Temple, Herod’s Temple included:

The Menorah (golden lamp) for the Hekhal
The Table of Showbread
The golden altar of incense, with golden censers.” Will read from the book.

“Will, remember what I told you about the part of the second copper scroll I could read. It mentioned consolidating the treasure so the Romans could not find any parts. It also mentioned the Ark of the Covenant and the “lost" tribe of Israel. The Ark of the Covenant was at the first temple, Solomon's Temple.” Tiffany pointed out.

“What are you saying?” Will asked.

Tiffany pointed to the painting on the wall “This is not herod’s temple. It is Solomon’s temple. The two look similar, and this drawing is crude. Someone just picked the wrong temple. Solomon’s temple had a room designed to hold the ark. This all make sense now. The lost tribe, rebuild the temple, because they needed a place to store the ark.”

“I think you are right” Will agreed.

“So, now, we just need to find the remains of this temple” Tiffany said. “The treasure from the copper scrolls will be there.”

 

[TertiusHuman]

Will thought for a moment and then nodded

"You may be right, I think that the possibility of finding the treasure at the temple might be a good one. But there is another thing to consider."

He looked at her as she turned her attention to him and then grinned that wicked smile of his.

"If I am correct and they have hidden all the treasures in the temple . . . "

Tiffany frowned slightly and then her eyes brightened up and she became even more excited.

"Will are you talking about . . . "

Will held a finger to her lips to silence her

"Yes, the holy oil and cencers. Just think what an impact it would have on religions based on the Christianic system. We are sure to be rewarded for that kind of find."

But that was not what he meant and Tiffany knew it. Will believed that if all the treasures were hidden in the temple, that could also mean that the Ark of the Covenant could be there. That find alone would be a complete realization of any dream the two of them could have had.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Sir Roger Cloven

The clean-cut, boyishly handsome, Sir Roger Cloven, dressed in a traditional British explorer’s outfit, high black boots, khaki pants, white jacket and a pith hat joined Tiff and Will.

“What are you two whispering about?” He asked, a smile on his face. “Have you discovered something?”

Tiffany turned to face him “Nothing, Roger” She said sweetly.

“I can still remember our kiss from last night. It was wonderful” Roger mused, only speaking to Tiffany. Then he looked at Tiffany’s outfit. “My dear, you make everything you wear look good. I can only imagine what you will do to a proper female explorer outfit!”

Tiffany’s eyes narrowed at his comments. Roger was trying to piss off Will by bring up their goodnight kiss, and his comment about her clothing was a subtle dig for her to wear something more revealing tomorrow.

“Thank you, Roger” Tiffany said “But that was just a good night kiss, between old friends. I’m with Will and I told you that last night.”

Roger was taken aback by Tiffany’s blunt reply. But Tiffany quickly followed it up with her next comment. “This is the most amazing discovery in Archeology since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone. There can be no doubt the white figures on this drawing were done on purpose. This is direct evidence of a large group of white people this far south in Africa.” She said pointing to the drawing

Roger faced glowed, as he did have a big ego. “As big as the Rosetta stone… I think that be a bit of an overstatement, but I thank you, nonetheless.” He said

“Can you tell us anymore about the find… any other clues as to where this image was from?” Tiffany asked.

“I believe and most of the team agrees, this is not an actual place. The first white lady painting showed an oryx hunt, as we all know, Oryx live about 600 miles south of here. The drawing was dreamed up by the artist. We think this scene is also fantasy. The structure in the background is so large, and made of stone. If it existed, it would have been found by now. But I think that makes the drawing even more important. It shows the dreams of the people back at that time.” Roger added.

“Thanks Roger, that is very helpful.” Tiffany replied. Then she looked at Will “Well, shall we be off and do our own exploration?” She suggested to Will.

 

[TertiusHuman]

As was to expected, Roger had to show up at some stage. Will clamped down and didn't even rise to the bait as Roger mentioned the kiss. He let Tiffany handle Roger as he studied the painting and then made a few mental notes. He wanted to refrain from taking out his note book where Roger can see it or even maybe see his notes.

He looked around when Tiffany spoke to him, he noticed the look on Roger's face and just nodded, "Sure, let's go. Who knows, maybe we will find dinosaur droppings."

He grinned at Roger and then followed Tiffany outside, he didn't say anything for a while and then took out a compass from his sling-bag and a folded geographical map. He marked the cave with the painting on it and looked at the map, then looked around them and took a few readings with the compass and then slid all of it back into the map.

"Well Lover boy was wrong about the migration trails. Oryx have been known to migrate through this area a few hundred years ago. Severe climate changes did alter their migration patterns, but it stands to reason that when that painting was made long before the climate changed and forced the nomadic tribes to move after them."

 

[milkmaiden38]

Roger

Roger watched as Tiff and Will walked away. He had seen them whispering about something and they went on their own in a hurry. They had discovered something. He knew it. He walked back to the site manager for his team of archeologists. “I’d like someone to keep an eye on our guests. From a great distance. Have them use binoculars. I just want to make sure they stay safe… and not attacked by animals.” He instructed his manager.

Tiff and Will

As they walked away from the site, Tiff and Will discussed what they had learned.

“I agree. I thought the same thing. How can an ancient artist dream up a prefect picture of an Oryx, having never seen one?” Tiff said. “But Roger was right about one thing. A structure the size of that temple would have been found by now.”

“Unless it is covered by dense jungle… or buried underground” Will pointed out.

“The jungles around here are thick, but only near the river. It thins out quick after that. And the area is not known for earthquakes. Even many, many years ago.” Tiffany pointed out.

They both kept walking, then Will thought of something. “Unless… it was not a natural earthquake”

“What do you mean?” Tiffany asked.

“The ark was rumored to have destroyed the walls of Jericho!” Will suggested.

“Oh, wow” Tiffany gasped as she thought about Will's idea. “That is brilliant. That explains how the temple was buried. But how do we find it?” Tiffany asked. She thought of an answer even before Will suggested something.

“Wait… I think I know how.” Tiffany said as she pulled out her cell phone. She had a weak connection back to Roger’s camp, only one bar, but it was good enough. She did a quick web search and after a minute she looked at Will and said “Bingo! I know where the temple is!”

“How?” Will asked.

“One of the other powers of the Ark is to cause outbreaks of tumors and disease on non-believers. I did a search of the diamond mines in the area, and Mine #218 owned by the Firestone Mining Company was closed when all the workers were afflicted by a strange disease. I’ll bet the miners were getting close to the buried temple and started feeling the effects of the Ark.” Tiffany explained.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Will took out the map, which he had marked the location of the temple on, judging from the drawing. He held it out to Tiffany and grinned at her,

"So judging from the information you got, how close is that mark I made to the mine?"

He grinned even wider as he looked at the look on her face as she studied the map.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Tiff and Will

Tiffany was shocked, surprised, and then angry.

“It is exactly the same spot!” Tiffany said in shock.

“I thought so” Will said smiling

“Will… you knew where the temple was all this time?” Tiffany gasped in surprise.

“Not exactly, but I have a good memory and that was my guess.” Will explained.

“OHHHH, you make me so mad sometimes!! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Tiffany growled.

Will got a bigger smile on his face “It was a guess. I’m glad we arrived at the temple’s location via two different paths. The place might be toxic.” He pointed out.

“WILL DRAKE… I COULD KILL YOU” Tiffany yelled. “YOU HELD OUT ON ME!!”

“A little mystery in a relationship is important.” Will added with a rakish smile.

Tiffany was pissed, but also impressed by Will’s abilities. He was an amazing treasure hunter. She took a few deep breaths and then said “Ok, this is the going to be one of the biggest find in archeology. I’ll kill you later… after we find the treasure of the copper scrolls and the Ark. Oh and stop the terrorists. Let’s get going” Tiffany suggested

It took them a bit over three hours to complete the hike to get to Diamond Mine #218. Tiffany had calmed down quickly as her excitement on their discovery was her main focus. She did ask him on the hike “Before I get killed… want to tell me any of your other “guesses”?” Tiffany asked.

Will smiled, “Nope”

“AGRRRR” Tiffany growled at him

“You love it, I’m a Mystery…” Will said spooky tone in his voice.

“Will!!” Tiffany said.

“Ok… there is one thing I should tell you.” Will said.

“What?” Tiff asked

“I think there is a old anti-personnel mine field close to the mine. I suggest we dig up a mine. I think we are going to need it.” Will suggested

“How kind of you, to tell me about a mine field before we walk into it.” Tiff replied in a mocking way.

“Glad to help” Will added with a smile.

Just outside the mine was the minefield. Where Will had learned about anti-personnel mines, Tiff did not know. But he carefully removed one, disconnected it’s trigger and placed the two items in his back pack. Tiffany had her small back pack with supplies to include climbing rope, her two guns strapped on her thighs, a combat knife, and her utility belt with its many pockets. She was ready when they reached the diamond mine.

The place was like abandoned ghost town. The faculties, to Tiff’s surprise had not been stripped. Quite a few remaining ore carts littered property. There were even some large railcar hoppers just rusting away, most full of paving rock. The main gate on the mine was unlocked.

“That is weird” Tiff commented.

“Yes” Will agreed. He looked around on the ground and found the broken pad lock. It had been broken recently.

“I think someone had been here recently” Will pointed out.

They headed over to the elevator at the end rail tracks. A small generator was running to power the elevator. “That confirms it. Someone is in the mine” Tiffany and Will checked their weapons. Then they got on the elevator. They selected level two and the elevator took them underground. As the doors opened on level 2, they saw no one, just a series of gloomy tunnels. There were 4 tunnels headed in 4 different directions.

“Lead the way, mystery man” Tiff said to Will with a smile.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Will looked at Tiffany and then shone his flashlight at the ground, highlighting the tracks which led from the elevator down the shaft.

"You know, sometimes I wonder how you became the rich archaeologist. You may have the body of a goddess and the mind of a genius, but sometimes . . . well I just wonder."

He cracked his neck and switch the setting on the flashlight, dimming the light as he pulled out a Geiger reader from his sling bag, gave Tiff another grin and started walking down the shaft, alternating his attention between the ground and the screen of the scanner.

"I think that the moment this needle moves, we stop and back track. There is another thing that I want to talk to you about, something that might just save this treasure from the wrong people."

He kept walking, looking at the scanner and the ground

 

[milkmaiden38]

Roger

Roger got the report on where his aid had tracked Tiff and Will.

“An abandoned diamond mine? Good God, Why are they there?” Roger asked out loud. “What did they do before they headed to the mine?” He asked.

“They seemed to be arguing about something. The woman looked at her phone and the man showed her his book.”

“Arguing… I don’t see what she sees in him. They argue all the time” Roger commented. “Since we set up that “clone” program for the Tiffany’s cell phone on our router, pull up what she was looking at” Roger instructed his aid.

Tiffany

"Gloomy tunnel” Tiff commented as she and Will continued to go deeper into the mine complex. “Be nice, if on one of our adventures we were in friendly, well lite, tunnels. BUT NOOOO… the tunnels have to be gloomy.” Tiffany complained.

“Could be collapsed tunnels. Does that sound better” Will countered.

“Now you are just being silly. We can’t walk into a collapsed tunnel.” Tiffany replied.

“Oops… wait” Will said stopping.

“You are going to try and explain how we can walk into a collapsed tunnel?” Tiffany asked.

“No” Will said. He shined his dim flashlight against the tunnel wall. He pulled out his knife and pried a rock the size of a baseball out of the wall. “Keep this” He said handing the rock to Tiffany.

“Ok” Tiffany said and placed the rock in her backpack.

Then Will pointed to the needle on his Geiger counter. “We need to take this branch” He said as he moved down the smaller tunnel. “I think we are close” He told Tiffany

“What thing were you going to tell me, that might just save this treasure from the wrong people?" Tiffany asked Will

 

[TertiusHuman]

Will watched as the needle on the screen started to quiver slightly, not actually picking up any dangerous traces of radiation yet, but there was definitely something. He looked at the ground, the tracks still present there as well.

"To be honest Tiff, I think that this is not the only way towards the temple. In times of war and especially if you are a king who is renown for his intelligence, I think you will have more than one way out if you plan to bury your temple and most holy relics."

He glanced at her in the gloom and smiled

"So if Roger is true to form, he will swoop in to "save" you and take over the find. I know that you don't want to hear it and that you are kind of upset with me, but I still think the English lord did not change his spots ever since then."

 

[milkmaiden38]

The Temple

"Will, I will not admit you were right about Roger, because I will never hear the end of it. However, I will admit I was wrong about Roger." Tiffany admitted. Will smiled at the weird female logic of that statement.

Will and Tiffany went down the smaller tunnel until they reached an area where recent digging had occurred. The tunnel was so new, it had no support beams yet. They moved carefully, not touching any of the walls for fear of causing a cave-in. Tiffany saw another one of those funny rocks, and picked it up and placed it in her backpack.

That was when Will nudged Tiffany and pointed ahead. The small tunnel opened up to a large cavern. Inside the was a massive temple! The cavern was lite by some small flood lights. It was the temple as shown in the second white lady drawing. It is square front with columns made of stone. There were steps leading up to the great main doors. The huge doors were made of stone!

Tiffany and Will spotted two JWL terrorist guarding the main doors each holding an AK-47.

“I got this” Tiffany said as she crouched down and pulled out one of her hand guns. She steadied her hand against the rock wall… and fired. The first guard head exploded in gore, spattering the massive stone door with blood. The second guard turned in shock at what happened and then his head exploded as well.

“A little more payback for that beating we took in Jordan.” Tiffany stated. “I’m sure the sound did not get through those stone doors.”

 

[TertiusHuman]

Will looked over his shoulder at the hole they had just entered through.

"I am more worried about the echoes of those shots, than the people having heard it through the doors. You know a temple have windows and doors, not just one and don't forget the raw tunnel behind us which could collapse. Not like my theory could actually be true, it's just a hunch about other exits."

"Well it is good to know that even Will Drake can be wrong."

Will groaned softly and turned around to find Roger flanked by four JWL terrorists, he nudged Tiffany

"Before you turn around, rather drop the pistol. Out friends might find it as a sign of danger and get itchy trigger fingers."

 

[milkmaiden38]

Captured Again

Tiffany lowered her gun and slowly turned to face the JWL terrorists.

“Oh, Hi, I am Tiffany Bastow and this is Will Drake,” Tiffany said with cheerful voice and a little bow. “It seems like we've come to the wrong place. I do apologize. If all of you would be kind enough to stand aside we’ll go check out the other diamond mine across the valley” Tiffany said staring at the terrorists.

The closest terrorist to Tiffany hit her with his gun so hard it snapped her face to the right. Blood was dripping out of her mouth. Will tried to come to her defense, but another terrorist stopped him with his gun barrel

“Something tells me, they might be pissed about what I just did” Tiffany concluded as she glanced back at the temple and the two dead guards.

“Tiffany, you idiot, you probably just got us all killed!” Roger gasped. Tiffany noticed a terrorist near him held a gun to his side.

“Roger, no unpleasant thoughts. Let's keep it positive” Tiffany suggested with a smile.

“Shut up Bitch!” The lead terrorist yelled. “You will answer our questions, and then we will decide what to do with you.”

"Hanging's too good for them. Burning's too good for them! They should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive!” Tiffany said as they were marched to the temple. She was quoting a famous line from the movie Heavy Metal. Roger and the terrorist had no idea what she was talking about. Will loved the quote.

10 minutes later

Roger, Tiffany and Will were in a small dark room in the temple. Tiffany was carefully examining her surroundings, hoping there might be a way they could escape, but these terrorists were smart. Her hands were bound so tightly she was feeling a slight tingle in her fingertips. An equally secure rope was tied around one of her feet, and the other connected to Will’s and Roger’s. There was an armed terrorist outside. He was watching the only door out of the room. There were no windows.

 

[TertiusHuman]

"So Will, what have you got for us to escape these ropes?"

Will just grunted in response to Tiffany's question. He had a plan and have executed it already, but he just did not trust Rodger, even though he seemed to be in the same pickle as them. But Will also have noticed that Rodger wasn't roughed up at all, his suit seemed as fresh as when he showed up in the breakfast tent and there wasn't a mark anywhere on him and a little voice in the back of his head just warned him against the man. And this little voice always kept him safe if he listened to it, but with Tiffany around, he didn't really listen a lot to it.

"Not really Tiff, they did a quite proper job of tying me up this time."

 

[milkmaiden38]

“Do you feel lucky?” Tiffany asked her fellow tied up prisoners

“No, we bloody tied up” Roger replied

“I feel lucky” Tiffany said in her confident, positive voice

“Oh shit” Will moaned under his breath.

“These assholes have not killed us, because they need us. They want us to answer some questions… So, I think it is time to show them how smart we are” Tiffany reasoned

“Don’t… you can’t possible know the answers to their questions” Roger said in alarm

“I think I do” Tiffany replied “and if I’m wrong, they will just kill us.”

“Killing us sounds… bad” Will joked.

“STOP BEING CHEEKY… THIS IS BLOODY SERIOUS. YOU CAN’T KNOW THE ANSWERS TO THEIR QUESTIONS” Roger yelled with certainty. Tiffany did not say anything for a moment.

“Will, I think you were right… ” Tiffany said to Will reluctantly. “Get ready, we can make our move in the main chamber”

“OH DUMBASS TERRORISTS… I’m ready to answer your questions” Tiffany yelled to the guard.

“Remember, we talked about this Tiffany. We don’t call terrorists with guns dumbasses” Will reminded Tiffany. It took a few moments but the door to their room was opened. There were 6 other guards all with guns pointed at them. Behind them was the leader, Will and Tiffany had met in Jordan.

“Miss Bastow and Mr Drake, it will be my pleasure to kill both of you”

“It was our pleasure to kill all your people in that little camp in Jordan… Mr. Dumbass” Tiffany replied with a smile.

“My name is Najjar Saadi” The leader said “You infidels need to be taught some manners. HIT HER” He ordered a guard

A guard came into the room and used the butt of his AK47 to hit Tiffany in the stomach. Tiffany doubled over, gasping for breath.

As she recovered, she said “Oh… manners, … like killing new born babies in a hospital… or killing someone mother?”

“Stupid woman. Hit her again” Najjar ordered. The guard hit Tiffany again with the butt of his gun.

“Now… where is the treasure hidden in this temple” Najjar asked

“I have an idea… but you need to take us to the main chamber” Tiffany replied

“Get them on their feet” Najjar ordered. The guards pulled Roger, Will, and Tiffany to their feet. At gun point, the three were taken to the main chamber. As they walked, Tiffany knew Will had been right. Roger was working with the terrorists. She suspected this because he had been so certain that she would not know the answer to their question. That was because they had asked him, and he did not know. Then when Najjar, arrived he said “Miss Bastow and Mr Drake, it will be my pleasure to kill both of you”. No mention of Roger.

As they walked into the massive main chamber room, the center piece of the temple. It had large lustrous iron braziers lamps hanging down from the stone ceiling. Square stone pillar supported the roof.

A special side room stood in the southwest corner of the chamber. Tiffany knew that was where the ark was location in the old Solomon temple. Was the ark in that room now? She did not know. On the walls were faded paintings, similar to the “white lady” art they had seen at Roger’s find, depicting life when the temple was in use. The room was lit via modern lighting used in a mine. Tiffany also noticed two metal detectors and a series of holes dug in the floor of the chamber. She also saw their backpacks and weapon piled up on a side wall.

In this better lighting, Tiffany noticed one more thing. The guards and Najjar, all had skin rashes. On their faces, and hands.

“Where is the treasure?” Najjar asked again as he pulled out a hand gun and pointed at Tiffany.

Tiffany smile. “Most ancient treasure was buried in the ground. Roger, you gave them the textbook answer.” Tiffany replied.

“I have no idea what you are talking about?” Roger responded with a innocent voice.

“Well, you won’t find the treasure there.” Tiffany said with confidence. “These people buried their temple with an earthquake. Anything in the ground could get damaged in an earthquake.” She concluded.

“No, they hid the treasure above. Inside those large iron brazier lamps, is my guess” Tiffany said as she pointed up with her ties hands to the lamps hanging from large chains. Everyone, Najjar and all the guards looked up at the massive lamps.

That was their moment to escape. Tiffany grabbed Najjar’s hand hold the gun and pointed at one of the guards. Najjar instinctively squeezed off as round, killing one of his own men, before he realized what was happening.

Tiffany struggled with him as Will went into action. She hoped the rope tying the three prisoners together would not restrict his actions too much.

 

[TertiusHuman]

As the terrorist hit Tiffanny with the butt of his rife, Will's attention was not on them, but on Roger. The man didn't even cringe when the rifleman slammed her the second time, that was all the confirmation that he needed to be totally sure about Roger. He wondered if Tiff would still try to free Roger when she made her move if she was still believing him to be the man she thought him to be.

He watched her put her plan into action, grabbing Najjar's hand and they both started to struggle for possession of the weapon. Will's hands came free and with a vicious right hook, he laid Roger flat, the rope falling away, cleanly cut. The nearest guard died with a knife blade in his heart, the second one fell, clutching at his throat as the small but effective knife sunk into his throat.

Will slipped off the safety and started to fire on the remaining guards, sending them either sprawling lifelessly or scattering for cover, in the meantime Tiff had landed a solid blow with her knee on Najjar's crotch and ripped the pistol free. They were both firing now and racing for their gear. Will slid to a stop, dropping the empty assault rifle, and picked up his pistol, laying down suppressive fire as Tiffanny reached him.

"Grab your gear and get behind cover, there's more left."

 

[milkmaiden38]

Tiffany and Will

Tiffany slid into the wall… like she was sliding into 2nd base during a game of American baseball. What made that move more impressive is she is British.

“Nice punch” She remarked to Will about his hit on Roger. She reached into the backpack and grabbed her guns. “Oh babies… did you miss me?” She asked her guns.

“Less talking more shooting” Will called out as bullets glanced off the pillar he was hiding behind.

“Yes dear” Tiffany said like an obedient 1950’s house wife as she took her backpack and guns and got behind the adjacent support pillar. She quickly peered around the pillar and fired at the first terrorist she saw. Her first shots were not on target, allowing the men to duck behind some cover.

“Did you have a rough day at work today?” Tiffany asked, still pretending to be a house wife.

“Yes, it was hell. I had to talk to an arrogant prick, go mining for information, and was captured and tied up, it was awful” Will replied playing along with Tiffany’s little roleplay. He managed to hit the guy shooting at him. But another took his place.

A terrorist firing from some scaffolding, made Tiffany duck back behind the pillar. She waited a second and then returned fire. It took half a clip. But she nailed the guy, as he fell from scaffolding.

“Well, I had a great day” Tiffany said in her happy voice. “I went to that old temple that is inside the diamond place… and found some beautiful oil lamps. Their ancient and real treasures!” Tiffany said as she fired a few more shots and killed another terrorist.

“Honey… that sounds great, but I hope you are not running low on resources” Will asked.

Tiffany knew that “running low resources” was Will being worried about how much ammo she was using.

“Not to worry, let me give you something that will make it all better.” Tiffany replied, like she was going to bring him a martini. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a disc shaped object. She threw it at him as she said “Catch”.

Will caught the object. It was the land mine he had dug up earlier in the day.

Najjar call out to them “Infidels… you will run out of ammo and then we will kill you. Give up now and we’ll finish you quickly” He yelled to Will and Tiffany.

“I think Najjar will get a real bang out of that” Tiffany suggested to Will

 

[TertiusHuman]

Will looked at the landmine, glanced up at the lamps that Tiffanny had mentioned, then peeked at the terrorists. Tiffanny had mentioned that she had enough ammunition, Will reloaded his pistol and motioned at the group on the other side of the cavern.

"You go left, I go right, let's see if we can gather the children together."

Tiff of course caught his meaning immediately, she started laying down fire on the left side of the terrorists, making them bunch closer to the middle. Will started firing on the ones right, wounding one made them all move closer to the middle.

On the plus side, this is what Will had in mind, on the downside, it gave the terrorist a more concentrated firing rate. Which caused the two to duck back much more than before as bullets slapped into the stones. Will inspected the landmine and noticed that it was an anti-personnel mine, which meant that it would explode into much more fragments than an anti-vehicle landmine.

He reloaded his pistol and waited for a light lull in return fire from the terrorists, Tiffanny was busy drawing more fire to herself as she started to cover both sides. Will armed the landmine, then stepped half out of his cover and tossed the mine, cries of grenade went up and the terrorists ducked behind cover, some starting to run.

"Eat this." Will muttered as he opened fire on the mine, one of his rounds hitting the activator and the landmine exploded just above the terrorists, shredding them apart as it send flaming hot shrapnel into all directions.

 

[milkmaiden38]

The explosion ripped through the main temple chamber. The blast was so powerful, the shock wave knocked Tiffany on her ass. It also killed or took out most of the terrorists. The shooting stopped after the blast. As the smoke and debris cleared Tiffany could see what was left. Where the terrorists had been was now buried in scaffolding. The explosion had reduced the structured to a pile of bent and twisted metal.

“Wow” Tiffany said as she got back on her feet. “That was quite a good bang”

“I’m glad you liked it. Many women like my bangs” Will joked as he came from behind the pillar he had used to protect himself from the blast.

Then a wooden board moved in the debris of the scaffolding. Najjar pushed away the board and stood up. He had a gun in his right hand, but dropped it.

“I… give… up” He managed to say to Will and Tiffany.

He moved slowly toward Will and Tiffany. It was a shuffling walk, like a slow zombie, in a Hollywood movie. That was when Tiffany noticed Najjar’s left hand held a small button. Like the triggering device for mining explosives. The fucker had turned himself into a suicide bomber.

“You REALLY don’t deserve to live” Tiffany remarked and quickly fired her gun.

Her first shot hit his hand, destroying the trigger and his hand. The next two rounds hit his head. The first round blew half his head off, the second took the rest off. The headless body fell to the floor.

“I think he lost his head?” Tiffany said to Will.

“Ohhh god” Will groaned as he knew more puns were coming.

“Maybe you could give him a hand?” Tiffany joked with a smile. That was when they heard Roger moan.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Will's face grew serious as he walked over to where a bit of rubble was moving, he looked down at Roger.

"You know Roger, actually I should torture you and then kill you."

Will sat down on his haunches, pressing the muzzle of his pistol against Roger's head

"You betrayed everything we stand for, we look for old hidden treasure to give it back to the world, not to finance anarchy and death."

Will stood up, slipping the pistol back into his satchel, which was already slung over his shoulder again

"Instead, I am going to let Tiffanny decide what to do with you. I'd hand you over to the authorities, but I'm not the one you tried to fuck and then kill."

He turned away from Roger and looked at Tiff

"He's still tied up and I think something fell on him, that right leg looks a bit iffy."

He glances back at Roger

"But he'll survive, I have a hunch and I want to follow up on it now that we have a moment."

 

[milkmaiden38]

Tiffany

“Roger… you are such a DUMBASS.” Tiffany said in disgust

“Dumbass, is an American term. And like an American, you are not seeing the whole picture. I was forced to help them… they would have killed me if I did not.” Roger explained.

”Roger, you look the part of the British gentleman, but you don’t act like one. You sold us out. And if you had not figured it out yet, they were going to kill you anyhow.” Tiffany pointed out, not believing his explanation. “We’ll be turning you over to the Authorities.”

Roger just groaned at Tiffany's statement.

“Will, shall I look for a way to lower those oil lamps… or did you have a different idea?” Tiffany asked, wondering what Will was up to.

 

[TertiusHuman]

Will wasn't looking at the oil lamps though, his attention was elsewhere

"Hm? Oh yes, you can see if there's a way to lower them."

He wandered off, looking at the walls, muttering softly to himself. Pretty soon he seem to disappear behind a rock pillar and a few distant scratching sounds came from his position.

Tiffany looked puzzled at Will, she had seen many sides of him but never had she seen him so engrossed in something. She left Roger where he was and started looking around for a lever or some sort of device. She finally managed to find a rock which stood at a wrong angle to the wall, it was very cleverly concealed and when she moved it away, a solid bronze lever came into view.

As she pushed the lever, it retracted into the wall and with a slow grinding sound, the large lamps started to lower.