A tense silence was followed by relieved laughter, then Decker said, “So, Lena… Earlier in the mission, you told everyone you had something important to tell us about the future of the Avalon crew. Later, when we were in Central Park Tower, you said there wasn’t going to be a next time for the Avalon crew. I think I speak for everyone when I say, we’re all ears.”
“Fine,” she said in clipped tones. She dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a linen napkin and dropped it on the table, lifting her chin proudly like a medieval princess. “I think it’s time we disbanded for a while.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her.
“Whoa, mic drop!” Cade said.
“Huh?” Riley said. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I think we should go on a break,” she continued.
Decker gently set down his fork with some untouched omelet on it and looked at her earnestly. “You’re serious?”
“I am.”
“But why?” Charlie asked.
“We’re not professional treasure hunters, Charlie, that’s why. You nearly went into a coma in Cuba. We all nearly died here in New York and the only reason we didn’t was pure luck.”
“I’m former SAS!” Riley said. “We make our own luck!”
“And I’m an ex-US Marine,” Decker put in. “It wasn’t luck that saved us.”
“But I’m a museum curator,” she said. “And my father is just an archaeologist too, and getting on in years.”
“I say, steady on Lena!” Atticus said. “I’m not ready for the knacker’s yard just yet.”
“And you’ll get there sooner than you think if we carry on like this!” she snapped. “And think about Diana! She’s a linguist, for heaven’s sake. What we’re doing is just crazy. Sooner or later, one of us will get killed doing this and I don’t want that on my conscience. This is why I feel we should take a bit of time out to reconsider what the Avalon crew is really all about.”
“She has a point,” Diana said. “Since I joined the crew, my career has taken a real hit.”
“But you get paid for working with us,” Riley said. “We all do. To the victor go the spoils, and we divide them fairly among us.”
“It’s not just that, Riley,” she said. “As a linguist, I have a reputation within the academic community. Flying around the world is fun, but scary and I am not a very brave person. I agree with Lena. I think we should go back to our lives for a little while and take stock.”
Riley scratched his head and stuffed a chunk of omelet in his mouth. He shrugged and mumbled something through the mouthful of egg.
“Charlie?” Selena asked. “What do you think?”
He also shrugged. “I think it was a great ride but if this is what you want then that’s just fine with me. There’s always work for me over in Thailand. Call me when you need me.”
She looked at Decker. “What about you, Mitch?”
“What about me?”
“Do you agree a break might be good for us?”
“Do you mean a break from what we do in the Avalon crew, or do you mean a break from the two of us?”
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s not be melodramatic, darling. I meant the team.”
He paused. “In that case, come with me.”
Everyone stopped eating and watched Decker take Selena’s hand as he walked her away from the table.
*
It didn’t take long for the elevator to reach the top of the Empire State Building. Stepping out onto the 102nd floor’s brand new observatory, Decker walked to the enormous window and gazed over Manhattan. It was a breathtaking view. The sun broke through a hole in the clouds and reflected off the East River. Behind them, some tourists snapped photos through the polished glass.
Selena sighed happily. “An impressive city.”
“I agree,” Decker said. “And I say that as a proud New Yorker.”
“Wait a minute. You said you were an Upstater and that you hated the city.”
“Sure, but I’m still a New Yorker. Besides, one of my grandmothers was born on the Upper West Side. It counts.”
She grinned and gave him a sideways glance. “All right, I’ll let you off this time.”
“Good, because I wanted to ask you a question.”
“Oh yeah? What sort of question?”
Looking out over the Manhattan morning, Decker turned the little box over in his pocket. With Selena and him it had not exactly been love at first sight, but now he couldn’t imagine being without her. He had made up his mind. He pulled the box out of his pocket and held it up between them. Opening it, he saw her eyes widen and her mouth fell open a little.
She brought her hands up to her mouth and widened her eyes in shock. “Oh my God!”
Decker shuffled around, blocking the view of the moment from a handful of tourists behind them. “Professor Moore, will you marry me?”
She looked into his eyes and stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the mouth.
“I think we both know the answer to that, Captain Decker.”
THE END
AUTHOR’S NOTE
So comes an end to another successful mission for the intrepid crew of the Avalon. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I always enjoy researching and writing about these exotic locales, not to mention the wonderful old treasures and legends. I tried to make this a leaner, faster adventure for the crew, and I hope you think I made that work.
A fourth adventure for the crew may be on the cards for 2021 but the next release will be the big one – Shadow of the Apocalypse (Joe Hawke 15). In this latest outing, Hawke and the rest of our beleaguered heroes end the nightmare they have been
