Steele a Blast From the Past - Part VII

Laura bolted from her seat.  She was having a difficult time drawing air into her lungs.  She tried to put as much distance between her and the ancient scroll as possible.  Remington was right behind her.  "Laura, it's okay," he soothed wrapping her in his arms.

"It's not okay, she gasped in a tortured voice pulling away from him.  "You saw that painting.  It was me.  Me, Remington.  I don't know how, but..."

"It is you.  You can't escape this," Valencia pressed.

"Back off," Remington said, icily.  "It's not her."

The woman held her hands up and instantly retreated.

"Laura, listen to me.  The woman on that scroll is not you.  She may resemble you, but it's pure coincidence."

"Nothing in life is pure coincidence, Mr. Steele,"  Nero retorted.

"We can leave here," he whispered for her ears only.  "I don't give a damn what this crazy man threatens or believes.  He can go find another group of detectives to do his dirty work.  I won't have you upset like this."

"No," Laura said, with considerable effort.  "You heard what he said.  It was no idle threat.  He won't stop hounding us until we do what he says.  I'll be fine."  The color was returning to her face and her breathing had slowed. 

Remington tilted her face up to meet his.  "Sweetheart--"

"I promise you, I'm fine," Laura assured him.  Her hand rubbed his shoulder. 

Turning, they both walked toward the Neros.  Remington's arm protectively at the small of his wife's back.  They both resumed their seats on the couch.  Remington handed his wife the untouched glass of wine.  This time she took it.

Glancing at Nero, Remington tilted his head toward the scroll.  "Start talking."

Neronoma had a family he'd left behind to pursue the forbidden treasure and Queen Andulisa.  He was married and his wife, Mena, was expecting their first child.  When she heard of her husband's lack of fidelity and that he'd subsequently perished trying to attain the vast riches and King Talonysius' bride she was inconsolable.  If it wasn't for the sheer will to protect their unborn child she would have died from a broken heart.  When she went into labor she vowed nothing would happen to her baby.  Despite a difficult childbirth, Neronoma's wife gave birth to a son.   She named him Titan.  He was strong and handsome.  He grew to be a true fighter and excelled at every task put before him.  His mother grew prouder with each passing year.  She was certain that despite the weakness of his father, the mighty Gods had protected her son and would always keep him safe.  Titan grew and eventually the soldier's life that was in his blood beckoned to him.  A few years later, Mena fell in love and married a great general that loved and fostered Titan as his own.  His new father's position ensured he had the best teachers to be his tutors and the greatest military minds to foster him as he grew into a man.   Aware of his father's downfall and his harsh tyrannical rule, Titan vowed he would never follow in his footsteps.  He would be fair, honest and never seduced by greed or unattainable wealth.  Years later, during a great campaign his father was killed.  Titan grieved for him like a true son.   Inconsolable for a time, Titan traveled the world with a few trusted companions in search of something that would fill the void his father's death had left.  It was during this time he came across an old captain from Neronoma's army.  He told Titan and his friends tales about his father's successes and exploits.  Despite his disgust, Titan was curious about his sire.  The man recounted in detail Neronoma's obsession and the unclaimed treasures in the lost city.  He implored Titan to take up his father's quest to find the lost bounty and claim them for his own, but Titan refused.  The captain showed him a map of his father's detailing King Talonysius' city.  Something about the map called to him like nothing had ever done before.  For days he tried putting it out of his mind, but he couldn't.  One morning when he woke up he knew he had to find the ruins.  To see the remnants of the place his father had perished.  Secretly, Titan copied the map.  He didn't tell anyone what he'd done.  He paid one of his friend's handsomely to deliver a "message" to his mother of great import.  He told the man to tell his mother that they had decided to find the lost city and that he would contact her as soon as he could.  He entrusted the man with a small satchel containing several items and a letter.  Inside the letter he used a coded message to instruct his mother where to look for the map.  Titan's friend dutifully delivered the items to Mena.  When she discovered what her son had done she was distraught with fear and worry.  To ease his mother's fears, Titan wrote often and always sent word that he was well.  He was gone for over two years.  Eventually, the letters grew more and more infrequent.  Soon they stopped altogether.  Mena was inconsolable at the loss of her only child.  She took to her bed and awaited death.  Several weeks later, she was barely clinging to life when she received a visitor.  She was weakened and barely able to make out the disheveled, exhausted man before her.  When she gazed into his eyes she wept with relieve and love.  It was her son, Titan.  He'd finally returned.  He told his mother that they'd found the ruins by following his father's map and that he had barely escaped with his life.  There was no city of gold.  Just a dilapidated  fortress ravaged by centuries of exposure.  They searched every square inch of the structure and surrounding areas to no avail.  Eventually they gave up the search.  Exhausted and defeated, they stumbled across a nearby village.  There they found a man claiming to be one of the the rulers only remaining guards.  He told them after the King and Queen's death what treasures that he and that last of the King's soldiers could move were scattered to keep invaders from taking them.  The Earth simply swallowed up the rest.  That night Titan awoke to a skirmish.  The other men in his party were ransacking the old man's home in search of the riches.  On the floor the old man lay dying.  Upon seeing this betrayal, Titan took up arms against his friends.  A fierce battle ensued but in the end, he was injured, but victorious.  The others were dead.  He tried to help the old man, but it was too late.  Before he died, he told Titan the location of his only keepsake from the city."

"What was it?" Remington asked, despite himself.

"A golden statue of a lion.  In his mouth was a scroll.  The scroll is rumored to contain the location of the vast treasures.  My resources have discovered it's location.  It's in an ancient church in Meteora."

"Greece?" Laura asked.
"Yes," Nero replied.
"Who is the woman on the scroll?"
"That's another mystery that has yet to be discovered.  Isn't it enough that she resembles your wife, Mr. Steele?  Don't you see that somehow this is all tied together?"
"What I see is that you'll stop at nothing to search for what may or may not be treasures that don't belong to you, Nero."  
"Don't be hypocritical, Steele.  People have been making discoveries like this since the dawn of time.  You are no different from me.  Need I remind you that you were a jewel thief?  One of the best, but still a crook that stole what didn't belong to him.  I am intrigued by the tale, and as a descendant I have a vested interest in this treasure.  After all it did take the life of one of my ancestors."
"Greed to the life of one of your ancestors, Nero," Laura replied.  "Why are you determined to involve innocent people in something that only you will profit from?  Neronoma has been dead for thousands of years.  Any treasures from that time are either gone, spent or went back to the Earth they came from.  You can't honestly expect to actually find anything."
"Laura, you amaze me at your incredible short-sightedness.  It is my destiny to uncover this mystery.  It's time the both of you accepted that it's yours, too." 

Vladimir's daughter walked over and handed Remington a large briefcase.  Remington opened it.  "What's all this?"
"All the arrangements have been made.  In three days time we travel to Meteora, Greece.  You'll meet me at my Villa in Larissa.  From there it's a short journey to Meteora.  Don't disappoint me."
"What about Dakota and her family?"
"They'll be safe.  As long as you both cooperate."
Remington and Laura exchanged looks.  His jaw clenched rhythmically.  "It appears it's all settled then."
"Nero raised his glass.  "To good fortune.  All of ours."

Back at the hotel Laura and Remington paced the floor of their suite with Mildred hot on their heels.  "You can't trust this bum!  There's no telling what he'll do to us once he gets what he's after."
"We know, Mildred," Laura replied.  "Still, it's a risk we'll have to take.  You know what we're up against.  Vladimir Nero isn't a man you say no to.  We can't afford to say no to him.  Not after that threat he made against all of us."
"Well, if you're both going I'm going," Mildred said with conviction.
"Mildred, we can't ask that of you, love,"  Remington countered, his voice low.
"You don't have to.  You kids are my family.  I love you both like...you're my own," she said, her voice laden with emotion.  "If anything happened to either of you...let's just say I'd feel better if I were right there with you.  There's safety in numbers."
Laura went over and hugged Mildred to her.  "Remington and I both love you, Mildred.  More than anything.  If you want to go, we would love to have you.  You aren't just a valuable employee, either.  You're part of our family."
"And we look out for our family, eh?"  Remington gathered both his ladies in his arms.   He cleared his throat a few times as he struggled for composure.  "Uh, I think I'll go check in on Dakota, okay?"
Laura and Mildred smiled knowingly.
Remington kissed his wife and Mildred on the cheek before he walked out the room and closed the door behind him.  In the hall he sagged against the wall.  His eyes closed, he fought to keep himself in check.  After a few moments he pushed away from the wall and went to check on Dakota.  Carefully, he opened the door and peaked his head in.  He was slightly surprised to find her sound asleep.  Closing the door just as soundlessly, Remington headed back the way he'd come.  Halfway there he stopped.  Angrily he pounded his fist against the wall.  His heart pounded in his chest.  He'd be damned if he'd come this far in life and finally discovered happiness to have it jeopardized.  Laura was his soul mate.  He'd waited his whole life to be with a woman he loved and who loved him back.  To finally have a family.  "There's no way I'm going to let it be taken away.  Not by anybody," he vowed aloud.  He headed back down the hall in the opposite direction toward the elevator.  Retrieving his cell phone, Remington selected his address book and dialed a phone number.  He had to wait for some time before it was answered.
"You'd better have a damn good reason for calling me this early in the morning," a man's voice growled in his ear.
"I do, mate.  We're in trouble.  Big, very large, very dangerous trouble."

It was sometime later before Remington returned to his room.  By that time Mildred had already gone and Laura had showered and put a nightgown on.  She was standing in front of the window peering out onto the busy city streets when she heard the door click.  Remington quietly opened the door.  She turned and stared at him.  Their eyes locked from across the room.  Each saw something in the other's expression that they'd never seen before.  It was Remington that moved first.  He strode purposefully over to his wife and pulled her into his arms.  Laura molded her body against his and wrapped her arms around his neck in one fluid motion.  When their lips met it was an explosive kiss that shattered them both.  Moments later their parted.  "Remington, I was worried.  I thought--"