Conquistador, p.7
Conquistador, page 7
“We should have bought a new car,” said Jen, when she saw a shiny black BMW SUV parked outside of the home.
“There’s nothing wrong with my new Jeep,” replied Mitchell.
“I bet I’m underdressed as well. I knew I should have gone clothes shopping.”
“I doubt it. You’ll be the prettiest woman there,” said Mitchell with a wink at his wife.
“Be that as it may, I just hope I packed enough clothes for the weekend.”
Mitchell smiled. Jen had brought enough clothes to last her a couple of weeks. He was the one who had probably under-packed. He glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw Nate’s white Ford Explorer drive in through the gate. Mitchell parked his Jeep, got out, and opened Jen’s door for her. He waved at Jackson as he drove his SUV up next to Mitchell’s vehicle. Right away, Jackson’s teenage son, Daniel, got out of the Explorer and stared up at the mansion in awe.
“Hi, Daniel,” said Mitchell. He was amazed how tall Daniel had grown the past year. He now stood a good head taller than his father.
“Hey, Ryan,” replied Daniel.
Jen and Kelly, Jackson’s wife of over twenty years, hugged each other in greeting.
“Good day, everyone. I am so pleased that you could all make it,” said Alejandro Cruz as he walked out to greet his guests. “Please don’t worry about your luggage or your cars. My people will take of everything for you.”
Mitchell quickly introduced everyone.
Alejandro shook everyone’s hands and said, “If you will follow me inside, Julia is resting in the drawing room. She’s looking forward to meeting all of you.”
“Whatever you did, Dad, keep it up,” said Daniel.
Alejandro let out a chuckle and smiled at Daniel. “Young man, do you like the new Nintendo NX gaming system?”
“I’ve never played it, sir.”
“I have a set in my games room. It is yours to use the whole time you’re here. Perhaps we can play a game of Super Mario later tonight.”
“Thanks. I’d like that, my Dad doesn’t like video games.”
Alejandro smiled. “It’s okay, he’s a busy man. Me, on the other hand, I have lots of time on my hands, and I love computer games.”
Inside, they were met by Julia Cruz. She was dressed casually and smiled when she saw Mitchell and Jackson. There were flutes of champagne for everyone but Daniel, who, to his chagrin, was handed a soft drink. Alejandro made the introductions before sitting down on a nineteenth-century couch.
“Well, here’s to a pleasant weekend,” said Mitchell, raising his glass.
“Yes, to a weekend with new friends,” said Julia.
The rest of the day was spent leisurely walking around the house and the grounds. Jen, being a historian, was amazed at the rare collection of paintings and family heirlooms dating back to the early sixteenth century. The next morning, after a late breakfast, Julia took Kelly horseback riding, while Daniel was ensconced in the games room. Jen joined her husband along with Nate, and Alejandro, in his study.
After pouring everyone a cup of coffee from a silver pot, Alejandro Cruz took a seat behind his desk.
“I hope you don’t mind Jen being here,” said Mitchel to Alejandro. “She works for General O’Reilly as an analyst in the intelligence section.”
“I have no objections to Jen’s presence,” replied Alejandro. “If she can help solve this mystery, I’d be more than grateful.”
“What mystery would that be?” asked Jackson.
“On our flight back from the Philippines, Ryan asked me if I knew why Julia’s kidnappers would have been interested in her time in the Amazon and our family history. I spoke to my sister when we got back home, and she told me that she was repeatedly asked about the Knights of Saint Peter.”
“I’ve never heard of them,” said Jen. “Were they a military order that protected pilgrims going to the Holy Land during the time of the Crusades?”
“No. They were actually formed in the sixteenth century, and their mission was to safeguard a secret.”
“What secret?” asked Mitchell.
“That, unfortunately, I do not know,” said Alejandro. “Before we get ahead of ourselves, I need to tell you a little family history. And before we go any further, I must ask that anything we discuss here today never leaves this room.”
“Sir, we all signed non-disclosure documents when we joined Polaris,” explained Mitchell.
“Ryan, please stop calling me sir.”
“Don’t be offended,” said Jen. “He does this with everyone. It took him a year to stop calling my mother ma’am.”
Alejandro opened a drawer on his desk and brought out an old leather book which he placed in front of him. On the cover was the faded image of a snake wrapped around a sword. “This was given to me by my father in his last will and testament. This book details our family history, reaching all the way back to the mid-fifteen-hundreds. I’d only ever given it a superficial look-over, as I wasn’t all that close to my father. He drank too much, and after my mother died in a car crash in which my father was allegedly drunk, I rarely spoke to him. It was only after talking with Ryan and my sister that I took the time to properly read the book from cover to cover.”
“Did you learn anything of value?” asked Mitchell.
“Yes, quite a lot. The Knights of Saint Peter were formed by an ancestor of mine. His name was Fernando Cardero. He was a conquistador who had been part of an expedition which ventured far into the Amazon in the 1530s, looking for treasure. Fernando was the sole survivor to walk out of the jungle. He was found on death’s doorstep by a priest who nursed him back to health. Fernando was so troubled by something he had seen or done during the expedition that he constantly begged the priest for forgiveness.”
Alejandro paused to take a sip of coffee. “My ancestor lived with the priest for almost two years. In that time, he adopted the priest’s last name of Cruz as his own, and formed a militaris ordinis.”
“Pardon?” said Jackson.
“A military chivalric order,” explained Jen.
“Exactly,” said Alejandro. “This order was named after Saint Peter. He’s the patron saint of many things, such as fishermen and sailors. He was chosen by Fernando because he is also the patron saint of longevity. Why longevity? I have no idea. Fernando Cruz recruited several devout former soldiers to his cause, and made them swear an oath to protect the order’s secret, even under the pain of death.”
“Too bad your late father’s book wasn’t a bit more specific,” said Jackson.
“I agree with you. There are, however, two pieces of information I was able to learn. First, the Knights of Saint Peter never numbered more than six. This included Fernando. Therefore, I am a living member of the order. There were five other names listed on a piece of paper which I found folded up in the back of the book. I haven’t had the time to see if the names belong to anyone still alive.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d love to do that for you,” said Jen, with a gleam in her eyes.
“Trust her, she’s good. Jen has a knack for research,” said Mitchell.
“I’ll write the names out for you,” responded Alejandro.
Jen smiled from ear to ear.
“What was the other thing you learned?” asked Jackson.
“A descendant of one of the original knights became a priest in the New World in the early nineteenth century,” explained Alejandro. “When one of my ancestors got deathly sick with malaria, he entrusted the secret of the order to this priest.”
“I take you have a name?” said Mitchell.
“Yes. The priest was called Francisco Alvarez. Fate, however, wasn’t kind. The Father was murdered when his church was pillaged by British mercenaries on April 29, 1819.”
“Where was this church?” asked Jen.
“In Portobelo, New Grenada.”
“Which is now called Panama,” explained Jen.
“Do we know if the order’s secret was taken by these pillagers?” said Jackson.
Alejandro shook his head. “The diary isn’t clear. It’s obvious something of value was hidden there, but it doesn’t say if the robbers found it and took it with them. As the order has carried on for another couple of centuries, I would have to assume that the secret, whatever it may be, is still hidden there.”
“Or elsewhere,” said Jen.
“The people who kidnapped your sister knew enough to try and pry that information from her,” said Mitchell.
“They must have thought she knew your family’s deepest secrets,” said Jen.
“Julia doesn’t even know of the existence of this book. I didn’t see any reason until just recently to take what was written in it seriously,” explained Alejandro.
“Sir, whoever it is, they’re not going to stop just because they failed to sweat the information from Julia,” said Mitchell. “In my experience, people like that are fanatics. They won’t quit until they have what they’re after. Have you spoken with the general about keeping us on for a little while longer?”
“Yes. He asked me to call him later today.”
“Do so, and ask him to let us look into your family’s secret for you. If you and your sister were to go to Panama, you’d no doubt run into the men who abducted Julia. Let us do the legwork for you. Once your secret is out in the open, there will be no need for these people to trouble you any longer.”
“I’d really appreciate anything you can do for my sister and me.”
“Sir, if it’s not too inconvenient, please hand over your diary to Jen so she can dig through it and see if she can find things you may have missed.”
“Of course, she can have it,” replied Alejandro, sliding the book over to Jen.
“I’d also like to draft your sister to help me,” said Jen. “Part of what these people are after is tied to the Amazon and, unlike myself, she has some experience down there.”
“She’s been through a lot recently. I’ll ask her on one condition,” responded Alejandro.
“Name it.”
“That you both work from here. Our home is heavily guarded, and I couldn’t live with myself if anything else were to happen to her.”
Jen looked around the room. “I could get used to living like this.”
“Not unless you divorce me and marry yourself a billionaire,” said Mitchell.
Jen smiled. “It’s a thought.”
“It’s all settled then,” said Alejandro, rising from his seat. “We need not talk of this anymore until tonight. Please enjoy yourselves, and try to relax a little. As for me, I have a rematch with Daniel in ten minutes’ time. The young man is quite good.”
Jackson waited until Alejandro was out of the room before looking over at Mitchell. “Hey, Captain, did it ever occur to you that the people who abducted Julia may know what we look like?”
“It had,” replied Mitchell. “But we have a leg up on them. We, at least, know where to go to start the search.”
“That may be true, but we have no idea what we’re looking for. It could be a golden statue the size of bull, or it could be a recipe for chicken soup.”
“Cheer up, Nate. I doubt it’s a nuclear bomb, so we have that going for us.”
Jackson looked over at Jen. “Your husband has a terrible sense of humor.”
“I know. At least you don’t have to live with him,” she replied.
“Hey, I’m in the room, you two,” declared Mitchell, feigning being hurt.
“I don’t know about you two lovebirds, but I’m going to see if I can round up some sticky buns,” said Jackson, as he walked out of the room.
“So, Mrs. Mitchell, what would you like to do?” said Mitchell, with a lustful look on his face.
“Not that,” she replied, pushing away from him. “You can wait until we get home. Come on, Ryan, take me horseback riding.”
12
Bavaria, Germany
Gerhardt Lang brought his BMW i8 sports car to a sudden halt and switched off the car’s finely tuned engine. The driver’s side door lifted up. Lang got out of his car and looked over at the line of equally expensive vehicles. He did up the buttons on his tailored tuxedo jacket and adjusted his bowtie as he walked to the front door of his brother’s palatial home. Lang was in his early thirties. He was handsome, and had wavy blond hair that came down to the collar of his tuxedo. His blue eyes were almost aquamarine in color.
“Good evening, sir. I hope your journey here was pleasant,” said an elderly man in a tux, standing on the stairs leading to the all-glass front entrance.
“You know me, Hannes,” replied Lang. “Any chance to take my car for a drive is a good day. I take it my brother is busy schmoozing with his party guests.”
“Yes, sir,” said Hannes, with a dry tone in his voice.
“Well, I had best go in and say happy birthday.” With that, Lang strode inside. Right away, he noticed there were more guests than usual. Everywhere he looked, key players from the German government mingled with people from the sports and entertainment industries.
Gerhardt Lang was the total opposite of his brother, Alexander. When their parents died, Alexander, as the older brother, had taken control of a worldwide pharmaceutical company with assets in the tens of billions of Euros. Gerhardt had never been interested in working in his family’s business, and preferred to spend his inheritance on cars, women, and risky business ventures. His latest endeavor was the real reason he had decided to visit his brother on his birthday.
“Ah, Gerhardt, it is so nice to see you,” said a beautiful, red-haired woman as she walked out of the crowd carrying two glasses of champagne.
“It is a pleasure to see you, too, Anica,” said Lang to his sister-in-law. He smiled, took one of the glasses and sipped the drink. “Where is Alexander? I can’t see him through this crowd.”
“He’s upstairs on the deck. Come, let me take you to him.” Anica slipped her right arm under Gerhardt’s left and guided him through the sea of well-wishers. As they began to climb the stairs, she whispered in his ear, “I hope you’re not here to ask Alexander for any more money. He’s not too sympathetic to your ideas after your venture into Bolivian silver mining ended in ruin.”
“No, Anica, I’m not after any money. In fact, I’m here to see if my older brother would like to make himself richer than any man has ever been.”
Anica reached over and gently tapped Gerhardt on the cheek. “My dear, you never change.”
On the deck, they found Alexander sharing a joke with the captain of the Wolfsburg soccer team.
“Alex, my dear, look who I found,” said Anica, to get her husband’s attention.
Alexander shook the player’s hand and turned to face his brother. “Come here, Gerhardt, and give your brother a hug.”
Gerhardt smiled and wrapped his arms around Alexander. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Anica guiding everyone else off the deck so the two men could be alone.
Alexander was eight years older than his brother, with thinning, strawberry-blond hair on his head. He had a growing midriff that stretched his tux snug. “So what brings you here tonight? Certainly not to wish me a happy birthday.”
“Ah, Alex you always get to the point,” said Gerhardt. “Before I say another word, I’m not here to ask you for any money. Your darling wife already warned me off.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Alex, your company is the business of designing pharmaceutical products to be used all around the globe.”
“I know that already. What is your point?”
“How much did your company spend on anti-aging research last year?”
Alex shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’d have to check the books.”
“I can tell you. It was a mere ten million Euros. A pittance, when you consider the profit that could be made with a drug that could prolong life by hundreds of years.”
“There is no such drug. All attempts at creating one have all had an undesirable side effect…Namely, it creates cancer in the mice they were tested in.”
“What if I told you there is such a thing, and that the only side effect it has is in tripling the lives of the people who are exposed to it?”
“Exposed to what?”
“A rare flower found only in a remote portion of the Amazon rainforest.”
Alexander shook his head. “Gerhardt, I am aware that hundreds of drugs have been created in the past few years from plants found only in the Amazon, but none of them have increased the lifespan of a single person.”
“That is because this flower has yet to be found. You do realize that the Amazon covers over a billion acres.”
“Gerhardt, if this flower has yet to be found, how do you know that it can triple a person’s natural life?”
“A few years ago, I bought a book belonging to a man who claimed to belong to a society which had for centuries guarded a secret hidden somewhere in the Amazon. From the book, I learned that the founding member of the Knights of Saint Peter was a conquistador who had ventured deep into the Amazon in search of the fountain of youth.”
“Good grief, listen to yourself. There have been stories of the fountain of youth dating back centuries. We both read about Ponce de Leon when we were kids and his search for the mythical fountain. If memory serves me right, he looked in Florida, not the Amazon.”
“Yes, but there was a nobleman called Juan de Sandoval, who claimed to have spoken with some native tribesmen, and it was through them that he learned of the location of the fountain. But wasn’t a fountain, it was a rare flower that grows in an isolated valley and gives the people who live there an extraordinarily long life.”
Alexander let out a sigh. “Do you know where this mythical valley is located?”
“No, but I’m really close to finding it. Just think, Alex, you could make a serum from this plant and charge millions for it. You’d make tens of billions the first year the drug went on the market.”
