Sapphire III: Chapter 4

4. Atlantis Fever

Teeming with excitement and anticipation, Alec started to lead himself into the dinner theater along with the rest of the crowd.  On the way, something caught his eye; this distraction resembled a polished porcelain plate displayed in a glass case.  Upon closer inspection, he realized that this was no plate, but rather a large mosaic fragment.  He had wandered into the Atlantean artifacts display.

Careful not to take too much time, lest he should be late for the dinner show, he perused the miniature museum.  He saw a great variety of pottery fragments depicting everyday life in Atlantis.  They were painted mainly in white and blue, the colors not having greatly faded over the ages.  In fact, the colors seemed a little too vivid to truly be over thirty-five hundred years old, as the artifacts' placards bragged.

The centerpiece of this collection was a suit of armor.  In particular, it was a breastplate and shoulder pads, cast in bronze with some sort of metallic trim, mostly resembling gold but with a reddish tint.  The armor's placard stated that this other metal was "orichalcum", a precious commodity of Atlantis, and was second in value only to gold.  Looking at the armor, he didn't really care if it was fake or not.  Whatever material was used to line the bronze, it made the whole thing look good.

Returning to the crowd, Alec headed to the entrance of the dinner theater, where he met Gardet and went aside with him to a table for two.  Soon afterwards, a waiter came around for their dinner orders.  Alec ordered lamb with rice, but was clueless as to what drink he should get along with his meal.  Gardet, however, was happy to assist him.  "Might I suggest a wine from Badeau?  That's Madame's family's vineyard."

"Who, Elodie's?"  Gardet nodded.  "Of course.  A '78 white, please."  The waiter bowed briefly, and after taking Gardet's order, went off to the next table.  The show would not start until all the dinners were delivered to the tables, so he and Alec had some time to discuss the truth behind the party.  Alec started the conversation.  "So did you speak with your friend from Interpol?"

"Yes, we met since you and I last left."

"Did he get a chance to look over the goods?"

"It wasn't easy.  I had to give some persuasion of my own, but he got some time with them."

"And what did he say?"

"He believes that these alleged Atlantean artifacts are fake."

Despite his doubts about the existence of Atlantis, Alec couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

"The samples that he was able to investigate, he says, are actually from Crete, and date after the eruption at Thera."

"What makes him so certain?"

"Only a few days ago, some artifacts were stolen from an excavation site on Crete.  These pieces on display match what was stolen.  Everything else was made not too long ago."

"And the orichalcum?  That's some pretty stuff, to be sure, but is that fake too?"

"Actually, orichalcum is not too rare in the real world.  It's an alloy of gold and copper.  It must have been added to an existing suit of armor to make what we now have on display."

Alec's mind was rushing at a dizzying pace with all the new information being presented upon him.  "So this whole Atlantis display is just a hoax... I don't believe it.  Why would they want to put on this kind of show?"

"Isn't that what you were sent to find out?"

"You're right.  Well, whatever you do, don't make a big deal out of it.  If word of this gets out and the crowd gets in an uproar, the panic might cause my targets to leave before I can get any explanation out of them.  But do you think I should tell Elodie?"

"That depends.  Do you think you can trust her?"

"In my line of business, you always have to keep that possibility open.  So I don't think I should tell her about the hoax... yet.  Wouldn't want to now, anyway, not while everyone has Atlantis fever."

"Speaking of which, it looks like Madame's show is about to start, since I see our waiter!"  Sure enough, their water had arrived with their dinners.  Minutes after he left, the lights dimmed and the curtain rose, revealing a stage set with Greek marble architectural pieces and lit in blues and greens.  Alec focused mostly on having his dinner and pondering possible reasons for hosting counterfeit artifacts until it was time for Elodie's act.

She crawled out onto the stage across a broken marble block.  Her costume, a sea-green cat suit with blue wave-shaped trim along the cuffs, was meant to portray her as a water nymph.  And as she writhed and twisted about, her movements did indeed give the impression of flowing water.  As sensuous as her moves were to Alec, she exhibited a playful side as well, such as when she balanced on one of the blocks atop her forearms, her rear end within inches of touching her shoulders, kicked her legs with a laugh as if she were lazing about beside a country stream.

As Elodie held this pose for something close to fifteen seconds, she turned her head to follow a ball that had just rolled out from the side of the stage.  Alec guessed this to be part of the act, as she got back up on her feet and stood with one foot on the ball.  But instead of bending over and picking it up with her hands, she cupped her foot around it and rose her leg straight up behind her with tremendous speed and stability.  She was now in a standing vertical split, with her back bent sharply in order to keep her hold on her upper leg.

From there, she let go of her foot's hold on the ball, dropping it into the gap made by her bent back.  Once the ball was lodged snugly behind her back, without letting go of her raised leg, she dropped it down back to the floor, remaining perfectly balanced even as she stood in a tight back bend!  To top if off, she slowly bent her knees until she was able to press her hands on the floor, then lifted her legs, taking the move into a handstand.  Up until then she had faced to the side of the stage, so the audience could follow the twists of her body, but now she walked around on her hands to face the audience, and then grasped the ball between her feet.  After playing with the ball for a little while, she tossed it high into the air, quickly stood back on her feet, and caught the ball, striking a pose to signify the end of her amazing act.  Almost immediately, she was met with thunderous applause, not the least of it coming from Alec.

--------------------------------------------------

Once the curtain fell, Alec said a good-bye to Gardet and left for the bar.  He tried to wait for Elodie there over the next half hour, but as time passed his patience waned more and more.  Having no one else to talk to only made the wait worse for Alec.  Just as he stood up to pass time at the game tables, she snuck up on him, planting a soft kiss on the back of his neck before sitting down.  "Allô, Alec," she said sweetly.  "Sorry to keep you waiting so long...  This circus thing is not as easy as you might think!"

"Not that I ever thought it was easy in the first place.  But you're here, so that's all that matters."  Spotting the bartender out of the corner of his eye, Alec asked, "What shall I get you to drink?"

Elodie answered without any hesitation.  "Have you tried Badeau, my family's vineyard?"

"Yes, I had a white with dinner.  Really quite good."  To the bartender, he instructed, "I'll try a '78 red, with a shot of grenadine, if you don't mind."

"And a soixante-dix-neuf for me.  Straight up."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, that's a '79 vintage."

Alec sadly looked down.  He didn't like to be reminded of 1979, the year when he first tried to marry Ivanka, only to have her abducted by Boris.  But he brushed aside his melancholy when Elodie asked him about the grenadine he wanted with his wine.  "Just going bold.  You know what grenadine is, do you?"

"I don't know much about drinks, really.  My trainer puts me on a strict diet most of the time."

"Well, anyway, grenadine is basically cherry syrup.  You put some of that in a lemon-lime soda, and you get a 'Shirley Temple'; it has got to be one of the best drinks ever, soft drinks anyway."  Just as he finished explaining this to Elodie, their drinks arrived, and they shared a toast to one another.  "To us," he said, before they both took a sip of their wines.  The splash of grenadine in Alec's drink made it intensely sweet.  "Such flavor... so sweet.  Like your kisses."

Elodie blushed, the shade of her face nearly matching that of her wine.  "Aw, thank you.  Are you saying should start using cherry lip balm or something?"

"That's up to you.  But there's something I have to ask you.  Why did you get this gig for Aeolus?"

"Aelous?  What's that?"

Alec dropped his voice as a precaution.  "They're the group who's sponsoring this party.  I may have reason to believe they're involved in some shady business."

Now Elodie was growing interested.  "Oh, with who?"

"I'm afraid I can't say until I know if I can trust you.  Not that I personally think that you're bad, but even the most beautiful of women – such as yourself ­– can betray you in my kind of business.  You remember business I'm talking about, do you?"

Elodie had to think for a minute.  "Oh, you mean the –"

Alec had to cut her off with a subtle wave of his hand.  "Sorry about that.  Now, my question...?"

"Right.  I guess... a job is just a job for me.  I've been trying to start a revival for my circus career anyway."

"It's okay, I'm sure you wouldn't know all about Aeolus.  But is that all?"

"...There was something David brought to my attention that got me interested in the job.  There's a rumor that an old friend of mine is attending the party."

"Any idea who?"

"Well, let's see...  You wouldn't tell me why you're looking into Aeolus, so I think it's only fair that I don't tell you about my friend!"  Alec stared at Elodie blankly.  Sensing his discomfort, she hastily added, "Oh, but for you, you know I'm kidding!  Tell you what, I'll give you a hint.  He's the father of my son."

"You have a son?"

"Ah, oui!  His name's Claude, he's six years old...  I should have a picture of him..."  She rummaged around in a purse, its fabric matching that of her dress nearly exactly, until she took out a few small photographs.  They portrayed a young boy with blonde hair shining like the sun.  In some of the pictures, he was stretching along with Elodie; in fact, even at his young age, he was nearly as flexible as his own mother!  "I'm so proud of him," she narrated as Alec perused the pictures.  "Why, just a few months ago, he did his first knot!"  She then showed him a picture of Claude successfully attempting the twisted position.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Alec complimented with enthusiasm.  "If he's that good now, I can't even imagine what he'll accomplish when he gets to your age...  Forty, is it?"

"Forty-two, close!  Although, I wouldn't be surprised if you had guessed thirty!  I get a bunch of anti-aging treatments to keep up appearances as a performer."

"And it shows!"

"Thank you.  So anyway, I'm glad I was able to start training Claude at such a young age.  You know, children are more flexible when they're younger, so it's good to capture that momentum and keep it going, you understand?"

"I never thought about it that way, but yes, when I think about it now.  As a matter of fact, I have a son of my own.  Ten years old, name's Jake.  Had him with my late wife, before she... before she had to leave me.  I don't think I can talk about that just yet, sorry.  But we got together again and married, only to have her die two years ago, and... here we are now.  So, tell me a little more about that friend of yours."

"Well, he was a contortionist, just like me.  Much better than me, actually."

"In all honesty, I find that hard to believe."

"Aw, thank you.  But seriously, this man was amazing.  In addition to bending his spine and all, he could dislocate his joints without pain.  Once, he even did a split where he brought his legs way past vertical until they were parallel to each other!"

"Three hundred sixty degrees?  Surely that's impossible!"

"No, actually, I have it on tape.  I've looked at it over and over again.  There must be some kind of secret, like how does he train for it?  And it wasn't easy getting that video either!  It's amazing, the favors David has done for me over the years."

"Isn't it just?"  As he said this, Alec thought about the artifact analysis he had just discussed with Gardet, but chose not to talk about it for the moment.  But as his conversation with Elodie died down, he just barely saw someone pass by.  The man's white tuxedo and blonde hair, slicked back with copious amounts of hair oil, were conspicuous enough, but once he looked past the white eye mask, he recognized this man as one of the Aeolus officials he was sent to investigate.  He was headed in the direction of the game tables.  Haste apparent in his voice, Alec asked Elodie, "How about we play a game now?"