Chapter Two

Laws where meant to be broken...

There are moments in everyone's life when they can't explain how they knew something was wrong. The moments when they knew not to go down that alley, not to go down that hall. They then find out later that some one was murdered there, or an explosion happened. One of the most remarkable moments in history that we have as an example in September 11, 2001. Many people were supposed to be in the world trade centers that did not show up that day. They could not explain why they felt they shoudl not go, they just did. Their lives were spared.

Tonight was one of those moments for Sophie Winston. There had been no sound, no movements, no reason for her to wake up. Yet she had. Internally she knew something was wrong, logic was telling her otherwise. She pulled out her glock from the nightstand and shut the drawer soundlessly. She checked the magazine and then quietly slipped out of bed.

Out in the hall there was still no indication that anything was wrong. Sophie walked into the kitchen silently and didn't even hear the intruder come up behind her. A brief sharp pain in her neck and the world went black.

***

Nick felt was only a little remorsefull that he'd had to knock Sophie out in order to transport her without problems. It had been necessary, no matter how much persuasion she would have given them trouble the entire trip. Now she was drugged in the back of the RV while they traveled to Louisianna.

It was a depressing thought knowing that he'd had to use force to get what he wanted. Nick was used to it, but he prefered to have things done willingly. You can't always get what you want, seemed like an appropriate statement for the situation. Of course he had gotten what he wanted, the procedure was not up to his standards, though. If only everything had gone according to plan. But when did it ever?

He'd been surprised when Sophie had come into the kitchen with her gun. Nick had thought she was asleep. He hadn't made any sound, hadn't given any indication that he was there. How had she known something was wrong then? The question would haunt him for the rest of his life. It was one of those mysteries of life that you would never have the answer to.

***

South of the Florida Keys

Sophie woke up feeling groggy and slightly nausiated. She didn't remember anything other then falling down toward the linoleum in her kitchen. Now she was on a comfortable bed, an unfamiliar bed. How had she gotten here? What had happened after she'd been knocked unconcious? Suddenly the answer was clear to her.

Nickolas Holt.

That conniving little...she couldn't think of a word to describe him. Not one that was bad enough. How could he? He'd abducted her from her own home! He was going to pay when she saw him again. He was going to pay through the nose.

Sophie sat up on the bed and waited till the room stopped tilting slightly in each direction. It didn't. A glance out the window explained this. She was in a boat! He's taking me to his expedition site! She thought, well he's going to have a run for his money if he thinks that I'm going to help him at all. It was then that she decided she was going to stay silent until he let her go. He would drive him crazy by not saying a word. She would refuse any type of contact with him or his crew, or what ever they were called.

Cronies? No, they only used that word in the movies to describe mob members. Associates? That would be more of a business ciminal. What did they call psychos who believed that they could find the lost city of Atlantis and kidnapped language scholars in order to get it? It was the question of the decade.

Sophie was willing to accept the fact that 'Atlantis' had existed once. Only it hadn't been called Atlantis. The famed 'lost city' that people searched for was really the civilization of the Minoans. On the island of Thera or the Isle of Santorini a people had been technologically advanced for their time. They had paved roads and houses while the 'civilized English' were still living in huts.

The Minoans were seamen. They became rich through the sea trade, mostly through Greece. One of the major cities that had played a big role in mythology was the city of Knossos. King Minos lived there and built the Palace of Knossos. This is where the legends of the Minotaur and labrynth originated. There is still some speculation on whether King Minos is a real person or just mythological, there is evidence supporting the fact that he was a real person.

The Minoans thrived from twenty-three hundred BC to fifteen hundred BC when they were virtually wiped off the face of the earth. One day they were there and the next they were gone. Some archaeologists believe it was a volcano that caused the destruction of the civilization, others believe it was a tsunami, and some believe it was an invading people. It could be that it was all three. Now if you were to look at the island of Thera, where there used to be land, there is now ocean. This supports that the volcano caused the end of the Minoans.

Sophie only hoped that these people who had abducted her weren't some crazed fanatics who believed that the Minoans still existed. She'd heard of some cooks that believed that they had predicted disaster and had transferred to another location. It is there that they still thrive, their technology still ahead of ours. Please, she prayed, please, I don't think I could handle it if they were crazy.

***

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

Charlie Bradford came into his office early the next morning. He was surprised when he didn't see Sophie's light on in her office. Normally she was at the center by seven. Maybe she's feeling a bit under the weather, he thought, she'll come in a little later.

By noon, Charlie was worried. Sophie hadn't called in sick and she hadn't come in, something was seriously wrong. He picked up the phone and dialed her number. The answering machine picked up. He then called her cell phone, it didn't even ring, it was off. This wasn't like her.

Two days later when he hadn't heard anything from her Charlie went over to Sophies house and didn't get an answer. He peered into her garage and was even more discouraged when he saw her car sitting there. His next stop was the police station.

"I need to report a missing person." Charlie told the detective when he sat down across from him.

"Who is it?" Detective Eric Brown asked sounding bored.

"My co-worker, Sophie Winston. I have reason to believe she's been kidnapped." Charlie's voice was strained, desperate.

"What's your reason?" Detective Brown asked, still sounding bored. The man started to clean his nails instead of looking at Charlie.

"Three days ago a man came in, he was big, six six, two hundred pounds plus. He was mean too. He demanded to see Dr. Winston, they talked for a few minutes, the discussion got heated. The man, I didn't catch his name, wanted Sophie to help him with a project." Charlie was getting into his tale now, "He wanted to find Atlantis and needed her help. Sophie's practical and doesn't believe in things like that. She refused and told him to get out. The man left in a huff. He was positively livid that she'd refused." Charlie waited for the man's reaction, it didn't come.

"I'm sorry Mr..." The detective said.

"Bradford." Charlie supplied.

"Mr. Bradford, unless there is some type of evidence supporting your claim there's nothing we can do. This Dr. Winston has every right to dissapear. She's a legal adult and unless there's a substantial amount of blood or sign of a struggle, I can't do anything. We'll keep an eye out for a ransom note." The detective wasn't going to change his mind. He'd formed an opinion about the case and nothing was going to change his mind. Unless a body turned up. A body was unlikely, though. The woman had probably found a lover and decided to leave her life and elope. "Have a nice day, Mr. Bradford."

***

Southeast of the Florida Keys

After sitting in the cabin for about an hour Sophie suddenly had a shining ray of hope. Charlie would notice her dissapearance and would report it. She'd never missed a day of work and she had already missed at least one day. She just had to depend on Charlie...