No one answered him.
He walked around looking at the cavern, still holding the tablet. “There’s something special about this place, isn’t there?”
He stopped, then glanced over at Javier. “Is it the geology? I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere in the world.”
Javier said nothing.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” Oz smiled, as the revelation was dawning on him. He gazed around the cavern walls. “We’ve seen such things before. Strange technological marvels activated by even stranger geological sites. Hidden places. Places of power.”
He turned to face them.
“This is one of those places. I can feel it in the air. You didn’t just bring those tablets here to hide them. They’re here because you planned on doing something with them. But what exactly?”
He grinned at the silent faces staring back at him.
“Tell me. Now. Why this particular cavern?”
Still no answer.
He let out a heavy sigh. “I can see you’re going to need even more motivation.” He nodded to two of his men.
The men immediately grabbed Mari and Juan and shoved them to their knees. They pointed their guns at the back of their heads.
Javier gritted his teeth.
Rick watched him, frustrated. He wished he knew the answer to Oz’s question himself, then he’d just get the whole damn thing over with. But he had no idea what any of this meant.
Oz looked at one of his men and gave a subtle nod.
The man pistol-whipped the back of Juan’s head.
Juan grunted loudly, as he collapsed on the ground.
Sofia and Luis gasped.
Diego shook his head, whispering silent prayers.
Rick tensed.
After a few seconds, Juan propped himself up on all fours, then touched the back of his head, which was bleeding. He swayed a bit, then sat down on the ground. He looked up, tears stinging his eyes.
Carlos went over and knelt down beside him. He and Mari put their arms around their injured friend, trying to comfort him.
“Next time, it’ll be a bullet to the skull, understood?” Oz snapped. “My patience is reaching its limits.”
“Javier,” Rick said, “do as he says, or none of us will be seeing another sunrise.”
“You should listen to your friend,” Oz replied, his voice cool and menacing. “He seems to understand that we’re playing for keeps.”
“We...” Javier started, “we’ve... configured part of this space to hold the tablets, to display them for... study.”
Oz laughed derisively at his feeble explanation. “You could do that in the city. Try again.”
Javier gritted his teeth. “It’s true. It’s just that...”
Mari spoke up, “Javier, no! ¡No puedes!”
Oz aimed his gun at Mari. “Shut up! He can and he will, but the next word from you will be your last.” He pointed his gun at Juan and Carlos, too. “That goes for any of you, Shuar. I ask questions. You give me answers. That’s it.”
She swallowed hard. She said nothing.
Javier put his hands up. “Mari, lo siento.” He turned back to Oz. “This cavern energizes the tablets.”
Rick was surprised at the admission. He took in the expansive cavern, now seeing it in a new light. Holy crap, he thought.
Oz nodded, looking around the bewildering space. “It’s the geological features in here, isn’t it? I knew it as soon as I saw them, that they had something to do with why the metal library might be brought here.”
“It wasn’t brought here,” Javier said. “The tablets were created, in part, from the minerals in this cavern. Those minerals were combined with gold, also mined in our country, and made into an alloy that was formed into these tablets. It is an alloy that exists nowhere else on earth.”
Oz’s eyes lit up. He gazed down at the tablet he held, admiring it’s beauty and the skilled craftsmanship. Looking at the strange symbols embossed on it, he wondered about its purpose. “Go on.”
“We discovered there was some kind of energy source in here. Eventually we learned how to activate and focus it.”
Oz nodded with understanding, as his mind started filling in some of the gaps. “Through the design of the tablets? As well as their placement?”
“Si,” Javier answered.
“Most interesting,” Oz said. He walked over to the central grouping of stalagmites. He then felt a very faint vibration in the tablet. His hand tingled and warmed. He turned to Javier. “These formations are an energy source, aren’t they? I can feel it through this tablet.”
“Si,” Javier replied. “But we don’t fully understand what it is, or even how it works.”
“What about mineralogy studies?” Oz asked skeptically.
“We will not defile this site. It is a sacred space. To do so would dishonor the gift of it.”
Oz turned away, sneering at their primitive superstitions. He gazed up at the imposing stalagmites. He thought to himself how vital it was to have this place in the hands of someone–namely him–that could properly study its geology, then harness its full potential. These fools didn’t deserve it. But no matter, he mused, they won’t be in possession of it much longer. He was going to personally see to that.
He then noticed an unusual feature of the rocky protrusion the stalagmites were growing out of. The smoothed front had sections carved into it that were the same shape and size as the tablet he was holding. “These tablets, they’re meant to be placed here, aren’t they?”
Javier clenched his jaw. This vile man was an affront to this sacred place.
“Show me,” Oz said in a menacing voice.
Javier hesitated a moment, but then he thought of something. Something he would keep to himself for the moment. Speaking in Spanish he asked Mari and Carlos to help him set them up. He told Juan to remain sitting down. He was worried about his head injury.
Mari and Carlos hesitated. Javier whispered to them to trust him. Reluctantly they nodded.
Javier walked over to Oz. “We will need the tablet you’re holding.”
Oz narrowed his eyes, suspicious of the request.
Javier held out his hand, waiting.
Oz decided to hand it over. He was confident that he and his men retained ultimate control over this place.
Javier, Mari and Carlos took out the rest of
