Her day started like any other. She got up around 7-o’clock, headed into the bathroom and jumped in the shower. After of about fifteen minutes, she got out, whapped a towel around herself and walked back to her bedroom. It was at this moment that a knock came in at her door. Still in nothing but a towel, she hollered back. “Just a minute!” She said as she hurried to get dressed.
Because of the urgency of time, she simply just slipped on a pair of jean shorts and an old t-shirt. After her supposed guest left, she would put on something else for the day. She made her way for the door, her bare feet squeaking against the hard wood floor when another knock came again. “I’m coming, I'm coming!” she said as she grabbed the handle and opened the door. Yes, can I help you?” she asked the tall man at her entryway.
“Yes, Clair. You might not remember me, I am Doctor Isaac Brody, I worked with your father a long time ago.”
It took Clair a moment, then she spoke. “Yes, of course. It’s been too long, uncle Isaac.” She said reaching out to hug Brody. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you since…well you know...,”
“Your father’s disappearance. Yes, that’s why I’m here. How would you like to continue his work?”
“Oh, um, I don’t know. It’s been forever since I jumped into anything like that. She said sitting down on the sofa. “I don’t know if I can handle another failure.”
“Clair, nothing you do is ever a failure. You are the best in the field, just like your father.” Brody comforted Clair. “Heard about your venture to discover El Dorado, you had one false step, it’s natural, happens to everybody.”
“I know, it’s just,”
“You don’t have to agree to anything, just hear me out.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. Your request just hit me off guard, it’s been five years since I walked away. She said. “What is this job you want me for?”
“Well, a month ago, while conducting an excavation on the island of Bimini, my team uncovered seven slates containing a dialect of Mayan I’ve never seen before.”
“I wasn’t aware the Mayan had any presents on Bimini. Are you sure of your findings?”
“Completely, but the glyphs seem to be gibberish.”
“Huh, do you have any notes I could look at?”
“Better, photos of the slates.” Brody grabbed his briefcase and brought our several images of the slates and handed them to Clair.
Clair looked them over for several minutes before walking over to her desk to get her journal. This definitely peaked her interest and she wanted to know more. “Well,” she began. “it’s not gibberish, at least if you know what you’re looking at.”
“Can you translate it?”
“Possibly. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but this beginning part here,” she pointed to the top half of the first image. “speaks of Chichen Itza. A good place to start, maybe?”
“Brilliant! You definitely are your father’s daughter.”
****
A couple hours after Brody departed, Clair continued to pour over the notes and images he left for her. It must have been longer because her phone started to ring. Checking the caller ID, noticed that it was her mother, Mary Rain. Clair had gotten so focused on Brody’s notes that she forgot about the lunch date with her mom. "Mom? Hey, how are you? Sorry, I completely forgot about lunch. I’m leaving now.” Clair said answering the phone.
“It’s fine, dear. I’m free all day if you need your time.” Replied Mary on the other end of the call.
“No, no. I’m on my way, there's actually something I want to get your take on.”
“No rush, I’ll go ahead and grab a table so we don’t have to wait. I also have something you may want to see.”
“Great, I be there soon.”
After hanging up her phone, Clair got up and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Putting on some light makeup and pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Clair grabbed her coat and bag and made her way downstairs.
The Brooklyn Diner was a bit too far to walk in the cold, so Clair haled a cab. Traffic was quite busy, but still the drive to the diner didn't take long. After getting out of the cab, Clair walked inside; she looked around before she noticed her mother, a woman with short curly black hair and patches of gray coming through wearing a floral sweater sitting near the end in a corner booth. "Mom, sorry I made you wait, time just got away from me" Clair walked over to her mother.
“I haven't seen you in weeks, and that's all you have to say. Come here, give me a hug" Mary getting up from her seat.
"Of course not, mom. It's good to see you. I've meant to come by the house. It's just with my dance career finally taking off…" Clair hugging her mother.
"Hush! I understand. It's just good to see you."
"Why did you? On the phone, you said that you had something for me."
“Come, sit down.”
“What do you have to give me? I’m curious.” Clair sat down across from her mother.
“Yesterday, I was going through some old keep sakes to clean out the attic, and I found this!" Mary pulled out what looked like a leather book.
“What is it?” Clair looking over the book.
“Your father’s journal!”
“What?” Clair began to rifle through the pages excitedly. “I thought it was lost with him! How did … how did you find it?” Clair asked, looking up at her mother in amazement.
“Like I said, I was going through some boxes in the attic and found it tucked away in a corner. I guess his partner dropped it off years ago, and somehow it got lost,” Mary explained.
“You know what’s in it?”
"Details on all his venture's."
Just then Clair’s phone started to ring. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was from Chase Harding, Clair's ex-boyfriend from four years ago. Why was he calling her? She wondered. Clair pressed the Talk button, “Hello?” she said.
“Clair, don’t say anything! Isaac Brody recently contacted you, right” Chase said.
“Yes, but how did you…”
"I can't talk over the phone; it's not secure! Meet me in Central Park, 1:00. I’ll explain everything” Chase said before hanging up
“Ok, good talking to you too?” Clair said to herself as she put her phone down.
“Who was that Honey?” Mary asked.
"Chase? He wants to meet up in a few hours."
"Really? Maybe he wants to get back together with you."
"I don't know? He was real cryptic”
“Huh? That’s odd! Are you going to see him?”
" I haven’t seen him since we got into an argument after I returned from the Amazon.”
“You should go, maybe it’s important! Why else would he call after all this time?”
“Maybe you’re right, he did sound serious”
Back at her apartment, Clair paced back and forth, wondering if she should go to Central Park to find out what Chase had to tell her, and why he knew Isaac Brody had approached her to translate Mayan glyphs to begin with. After about an hour of walking around Clair grabbed her computer again and started typing:
Glancing at the clock, Clair grabbed her coat and bag before heading downstairs. Halfway out the main doors, she ran into David Hansen, her neighbor and former classmate. “Hey, Clair! Heading out?” he asked, turning around as they passed each other.
“Yeah! Going to Central Park to meet a friend. Sorry, I can’t talk, I’m in a hurry,” Clair replied.
“No problem. Say, are you still going on the new dig in Giza?” David followed Clair out the door.
“I don’t know! We’ll see. I’m sorry, David, but I’ve got to go.”
“It’s alright. Call me tonight when you’re free,” he said.
After David walked back inside, Clair hailed a cab and made her way to Central Park to meet Chase. The drive didn’t take too long only about fifteen or twenty minutes with the traffic. While in transit, she opened her father’s journal to the first entry silently:
****
Once the cabby pulled up alongside the curb, Clair got out and headed into the park. She didn’t see Chase yet, so she figured she might be a little early. Moments after she had sat down on a cold wooden park bench, Clair heard something come up behind her. She quickly turned around and saw Chase standing before her in his old dark brown jacket and short auburn hair. “Are you alone?” he demanded.
“Chase? What’s going on? Why ask me here?” she asked.
“I said, are you alone?” he demanded again.
“Yes! Now answer my question. What do you know about Isaac Brody and the glyphs?”
“You need to give up on this while you can.! Isaac Brody is not who he appears to be.”
“I can handle anything, no matter how dangerous it might seem; or don’t you remember Kyoto?!” Clair holding her hands on her hips.
“I haven’t forgotten, but it’s different now. The stakes are higher!” he said.
“That’s not answer”
“It’s complicated, Clair. Please, just forget about Isaac Brody and his Mayan tablets before you get involved”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that. I became involved the moment I translated some of the glyphs. She stated. “I’ll be going the Gala tonight to finish the translations”
“Jesus Christ, Clair! How stubborn can you be?”
“Do you really have to ask”
“I suppose not. Since I can’t talk you out of this. You want a ride?”
“Thanks, but I’ll manage”
After leaving the park, Clair made a run for the Ballet Theater and hoped that Mrs. Malison wasn’t too mad at her absence. Once she had made it to the theater, Clair quickly moved to the back to get changed. However, her dance director, Racheal Malison was waiting for her. “Yes, I know I’m late! But I can make the time” Clair said starting to take off her shoes.
"That won't be necessary, Ms. Rain! I already gave your spot to Mallory O'Neil."
“What? No, Mrs. Malison! You can’t, not with the national ballet a few months away” Clair pleaded standing up.
“It’s already done! I told you when you first came here that I needed a lead I could count on! You are welcome to fill one of the secondary spots” Mrs. Malison explained.
“No, I'll be okay. There's always next year" Clair said as she sat back down.
“Ok, but before you go. I need a fill-in for another girl who is out sick."
“I'll be right out. I just need a minute,” Clair said trying to fight the urge to cry.
“Alright, don’t take too long”
“Yes, ma'am”
While dancing on stage, Clair kept noticing Mallory shoot her with slight smiles and cocky smirks. It wasn’t until they were getting ready to go home when the trouble started. Clair was in the dressing room putting her jeans on and tying her shoe lases when Mallory walked in. “I must thank you, Clair! If you haven’t been late getting here, then I never would have gotten my spot” Mallory said trying to brag.
“You’re right, Mallory,” Clair smile as she brushed past her, heading for the door. “It must be so nice to know you got the spot by default instead of actual talent.”
Mallory’s jaw dropped. “You… you… I do not win things by default!” she managed to sputter.
Clair shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out, Mallory.”
“Don’t count on it!” she shrieked after her as she passed through the door. “I’m the top dancer here now, so you’d better just get lost!” Mallory said again, but Clair didn’t even turn around, grinning slightly to herself as she exited the building.
Once she was outside, Clair felt cold breeze blow through; so much in fact that it made her shiver slightly. She zipped up her coat and hugged her arms to her chest as she walked to the edge of the street to hail a cab. It was at that moment, Clair heard someone walk up behind her. She turned around and saw Chloe standing there in her $2000 fur coat. “You alright, Clair? That was quite the response you gave Mallory” Chloe said.
“Yeah, I'm okay. I think that I'm going to take a little break from ballet for a bit and pursue some other things" Clair replied.
“It was something Mallory said! Wasn’t it? I’ll get her for this!” Chloe threatened pounding one hand into the other.
“It wasn’t Mallory, Chloe. I’ve just been thinking about it a while now” Clair said looking down. "I've just realized that I let Archaeology ride back seat for far too long. It's time I pursue that now!" she continued.
“Oh, I see," Chloe said in a sad tone.
“It’s not like that! I'll still come around for practice"
“You will?! Great!” Chloe said hugging Clair.
“In the meantime, you wanna come to a gala with me? There be champagne.”
“Are you kidding! Why didn’t you ask sooner!”
At Clair’s apartment, she and Chloe started to get ready for the gala that was being held at the museum. Chloe of course, got all dolled-up wearing a red strapless tube dress, her hair was done up in curls with heavy makeup on. Clair, on the other hand, kept it simple with a standard black V-neck dress, her hair tied back into a ponytail and her makeup was also real light.
After making sure she had all she needed to translate the glyphs, both Clair and Chloe made their way out and to the museum. While Chloe was going to party to have fun and drink, Clair’s time would be more professional, in translating the Mayan tablets; she was almost giddy with excitement.
After hailing a cab, the ride over to the Museum took around twenty minutes. Lots of cars and people were gathered outside walking in, the turnout was so huge Clair thought for a moment she was at the Red Carpet. Most of the people however, were businessmen and politicians. Walking up the steps both Clair and Chloe were met by a beefy looking security guard who was checking everyone before they went in.
Once inside, Clair began to look around for Isaac Brody, unsure as to where she must go. Chloe, on the other hand, spotted the liquor table before walking over to grab a drink. Clair spent the next five minutes searching the crowd until she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She quickly turned around, only to see Chase standing before her in his old dark-brown jacket. His short auburn hair was as artfully rumpled as it had been the last time she saw him, four years ago. “You look distracted! Having second thoughts about all this. You know it’s not too late to back out” said Chase.
"I already told that I am not backing down! I see my promises through to the end! I just can't find where Isaac Brody wants to meet" Clair replied.
“I thought I saw him heading down the hallway over here!” Chase said pointing to the left side of the large room. Chase said with a sign.
“Lead on then. I’ll follow”
Clair followed Chase down a long dark hallway that was only lit up by the backlight of exhibits nearby. As she walked, Clair glanced at a setup of western cowboys; she stopped and looked at it. Clair always had like cowboys and indians from the Old West. As she stared at the setup, Clair found herself getting lost in her memories again. She was snapped back to reality when Chase laid his hand on her shoulder. “You, alright?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking is all” she said.
“Ok, come I saw a light over here!”
Chase led Clair to a doorway that opened into a large room that had a long table with six chairs along the sides and one chair at each end. Four people other sat at the table, one of them walked towards where Clair and Chase were; Clair recognized him as Isaac Brody. "Ms. Rain! So glad you decided to join us. But who's your friend here?" Brody said.
“Chase Harding,” Chase holding out a hand with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Clair noticed how tense Chase seemed as Brody took the offered hand, like he was holding himself back from saying something else. "Harding? The one who found the resting place of Gangus Khan, right!” stated Brody.
Clair stopped paying attention to the exchange between Chase and Brody when she noticed one of the men sitting at the table. Her blood boiled as she recognized his face. If she’d known he was going to be there, she might have reconsidered coming. “Why the hell is Seth Mendez here?!” Clair demanded as the man in question, with his slick black hair, beady brown eyes, and a dark goatee, directed a wavy sneer towards her.
"Mr. Mendez is here for the same reason you are," Brody turning from his conversation with Chase.
“Hardly!” shouted Clair. “Mendez couldn’t translate a Mayan glyph if it he heard it out loud!”
“Speak for yourself, Clair Rain! My skills have improved greatly since our last meeting Mendez said.
“Oh, I wasn't aware schools were accepting gutter rats now!"
“Please, Clair! Let’s be civil. I only came to lend my knowledge. People do change!” Mendez said.
“Fine! But I’ll be keeping an eye on you!” Clair stated.
"I hope I don't let you down," Mendez smirked.
While Brody left the room briefly to retrieve the Mayan stone tablets, Clair took her place at the far side of the table and away from Seth Mendez. Chase sat down beside her as he looked at the others who were there. Brody was taking a while getting the Mayan tablets, so to pass the time Clair pulled out her father’s journal her mother gave her. The first section was titled Tulum; hinting that he was doing research in or about the Mayan City of Tulum:
Clair stopped reading, catching a smirking grin coming from Seth Mendez, she laid the journal on the table as she spoke up. “What are you smiling at, Mendez? Clair said.
“I just thought that it's strange that you're here. I was under the impression you given up archaeology!" Mendez said still smirking.
“You of all people should know that I don't give up on anything! Yes, I did take an extended hiatus for a bit; but I'm back now." Replied Clair.
“Until you get another failure and quit again! Tell me, what was it like to reach your destination and find nothing!” Mendez teased.
“Why you!” Clair jumped up from her seat.
“Clair sit down! He’s not worth it” Chase said grabbing Clair’s arm.
At that moment, Isaac Brody walked back in carrying a set of seven stone tablets each about 2ft in length. He laid each one on the table in a grid pattern with four in a top row and three in a bottom row. Clair walked over to where the tablets lay and began to look them over carefully. "They're extremely old! Did you date them? Clair asked.
"We did! Carbon-dating places the tablets to sometime before the seventh century" Brody said.
“That would place them in the Late Classic Period. Which sounds about right if they mention Chichén Itzá!” Clair inspecting the tablets.
“How do you know they mention Chichen Itza?” Chase said.
"I translated some of the glyphs I could remember last night," Clair looked up at Chase.
The translations lasted most of the evening, with Clair, Chase, and the two other men working on them. Seth Mendez occasionally helped when he felt like it and Clair was beginning to lose her patience with him. After of about two hours of studying the glyphs and double checking her notes, Clair made a revaluation. “It can’t be!” she said in a low voice. Seeing Clair’s face light up, Chase looked at her with his usual puzzled look on his face. “What is it Clair?” he asked.
“Brody where did you say you got these tablets?” Clair said.
“A hidden room in Sayil. Why?” Brody asked.
“Because this tablet speaks about the Fountain of Youth or at least something like it” Clair explained.
“The Fountain of Youth, ha! It’s just a myth and doesn’t exist!” Mendez said with a slight chuckle.
“I said it was the fountain of youth or something like it. All I know is that the tablets depict some pool or water source created by the Mayan rain god, Chaac! It’s somewhere beneath Chichén Itzá, and I'm going there to investigate it" Clair explained.
“I was hoping you say that! Your plane leaves in the morning” Brody said.
“You already knew what the tablets said! Didn’t you?!” Chase stated
“Not entirely. Just the part about something underneath Chichén Itzá. I had no idea it was the Fountain of Youth! I swear!” Brody defended.
"I already figured out you knew what most of the glyphs read. Otherwise, you won't have come to me" Clair said.
“That was part of it!” Brody said.
“And the other part? Asked Clair.
“Your father!”
****
Clair stood there in the room, shocked at what Isaac Brody just said. How could he know her father and why was her father mixed up with some crazy theory about the Maya or the Fountain of Youth. Clair’s father was a renaissance expert and medieval archaeologist, not Mesoamerican. All this was a bit much to take in at once to the point Clair wanted to know more, but she was tired and wanted to get home, she also had to pack as well as find her Passport.
After leaving the meeting room, Clair went to find Chloe who was nearly passed-out on the floor. Most of the other guests had already left and gone home; spotting Chloe over in front of a T-Rex skeleton display Clair walked over and helped her up and into a cab. Clair instructed the cabby to drop Chloe off first, so Clair could help her inside.
After helping Chloe get home and making her way back to her own apartment, Clair took a quick shower. Once she got out, Clair went to her closet and searched for her Passport, after securing her passport Clair took out her duffle bag and packed a few days’ worth of clothes. Clair did a double check to make sure she had everything so that she didn’t forget anything important. Once she was sure she had everything ready, Clair set her alarm clock for 6:00 in the morning and crawled into bed and tried to get some sleep.
That night, Clair had the same dream as the night before. The one with her father just before he left. It was day that Clair got her acceptance letter from the Archaeological Institute of America.
In the morning, Clair awoke a bit before her alarm went off and just stared at the ceiling above her bed thought about the journey she was about to embark on. As Clair rolled over, she glanced at the clock and noticed that it was almost ten to six. So, she decided to go ahead and get up and around. Clair walked into the bathroom and performed her routine of showering, brushing her teeth and applying her makeup.
After leaving the bathroom, Clair preceded over to her closet to get dressed. She picked out a pair of loose blue jeans, a white t-shirt with a small pocket over the right breast, dark brown hiking boots and a black leather jacket. After tying her hair back in a high ponytail, Clair made one last check of her things before remembering to call her contact down in southern Mexico to have her supply box ready. ‘Clair's Supply boxes are an assortment of different things like local money, survival and first aid kits, and a glock-17 handgun with fifteen rounds. Some of her boxes she left with friends and people she trusted, if that wasn’t an option Clair kept a safety deposit box at local banks in that country’s capital, the only thing she travels with is her katana.
Picking up her phone, Clair dialed Mexico’s ‘Area Code’ before dialing her contact’s number. The phone rang for several seconds before the contact picked up. “Hello?” said a female voice over the speaker.
“Hi, Arianna it’s Clair Rain!”
“Clair?! Wow, long time no see! How are you doing?” said Arianna.
“I’m doing good. About to fly down in a few hours on an investigation. You still have that package I gave you?” Clair replied.
“Yeah, I keep it hidden in a safe place. Where do you what to meet up?” asked Arianna.
“I’ll be landing at Mérida International Airport in little over six hours. So how ‘bout you meet in the parking lot."
"Sure thing. I'll head that way! See you then."
"Yeah, see you."
Once Clair hung-up the phone, she grabbed her duffle and handbag before heading towards the door. After she exited the elevator and made it outside, Clair noticed Chase leaning up against the wall right next to the main entrance. “Chase? What are you doing here?” asked Clair.
“Here to drive you to the airport! I know you dislike driving in major cities, and like I said yesterday as long as you are going to pursue this; I am not going to leave your side!" stated Chase.
"I could have gotten there myself! Cab fare isn't as much as it uses to be."
"Yeah, but this is easier. And it'll give me time to talk to you on the ride over to the airport."
“If you think you can talk me out of going, then you better just save your breath!”
"Oh no! I know you too well for that! Once you set your mind on something, there's no changing it.”
“<sigh> Fine. Where are you parked?”
“Around the corner here!”
Chase led Clair around the side of her apartment complex to a rust-red 1970 Ford Mustang Boss, it had one bald right front tire and a dragon sticker in the rear windshield. “I can’t believe you still have this car!” Clair said in surprise. “I remember when you first got it” Clair continued.
Chase smiled slightly, “That was a cold winter if I remember correctly! I can still recall how you kept trying to get your hair to stop blowing in your face as we waited for the tow truck to arrive!” he said.
“Hey! That was a windy day! Besides, as I remember it; you were the reason we were in the open like that to begin with!”
“Hey, don’t blame me. The salesmen never said it needed gas!” Chase said in defense as he walked around the car.
"You could have asked though," Clair said getting in the passenger seat.
For most of the ride over to the airport, Clair and Chase remained silent. They were about five minutes out when Clair decided to break the silence; she looked at Chase as she placed her hand on his leg. "I am glad you came back in my life, Chase. Things just weren't the same without you."
“Yeah, same here. You were always smarter than me. I know our first meet since then wasn’t ideal, but I’m glad we’re together again.” Chase said.
“Maybe one day you’ll tell why?”
"Yes, one day."
Getting through airport security didn't take too long, and since Clair only had one carry-on bag, with her only checked bag being her katana case. Once on the plane, Clair and Chase took their seats in first-class. After fastenings her seatbelt, Clair took out her father's journal and began to read some more passages in it:
Clair laid the journal in her lap and turned to look at Chase who was already fast asleep, "The plane hasn't even left yet, and you're already sleeping!" Clair said to the sleeping Chase.
She turned back and glared out the window and watched the airport employees walking around making sure that the plane and everything was in top working order. As she stared at them, she found herself thinking about the last passage she’d read in her father’s journal. “Who is Katelyn?” She thought. “Was she an old friend or perhaps a colleague of Dad’s?”
Clair pondered for several minutes wondering who this ‘Katelyn' person was. Feeling like she kept hitting a block, Clair decided to give her mother a call; but before she could dial the number she heard the co-pilot over the intercom. "Good morning passengers! We are getting ready to take off, so please make sure your seatbelts are fastened, and all electronic devices are turned off! Your assigned flight attendants will provide drinks once we get under way! Thank you all for your patience and enjoy the trip!" he said.
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