Anasazi Mystery and Kidnapping Drama
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Greenleaf Book GroupAnasazi Mystery and Kidnapping Drama
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Greenleaf Book GroupSelect Excerpts from Sign of the Anasazi
High Stakes
“Mariah no longer listened. Instead, she ran the scenario again in her head. After
receiving the sign, she’d been elated. Finally, she’d be reunited with her father. But
somehow, by sending her the sign, her father had placed Brittany and Jacob in mortal
danger. And if harm came to them, she would see him in hell.”
The Anasazi
“There isn’t much that anybody knows. The people we call the Anasazi were a large
American Indian tribe that inhabited parts of what are now Arizona, New Mexico,
Colorado and Utah about 2,000 years ago. Remarkably, all traces of the Anasazi abruptly
end about AD 1275—Marcus told me that anthropologists haven’t a clue as to what
happened to the entire lot. In fact, the name Anasazi was bestowed on them by later
Indian peoples. According to some, it means “The One Who Disappeared.”
On the Run
“Thomas punched another set of codes into the keypad and said, “We’re out of here,
kid. Let’s go! Jacob hadn’t finished stuffing the rucksack when Thomas grabbed him by
the arm and nearly threw him toward the dark opening.
“’I’m not done yet,’ he protested.
“Thomas glared at him.’ We have thirty seconds to get through that escape hatch before
it closes. And when it closes, nothing short of fifty sticks of dynamite is going to open it
again. So get off your butt and get down that shaft!’ Thomas screamed.”
Kidnapped
“’I hope you’re right,” Mariah glared at Darstow. “What have you done to get my
children back?”
“The FBI man walked over to the French doors overlooking the inner courtyard. He
paused quite a while before he spoke.
“’You know full well we’re doing everything we can to get them back.’ Then, suddenly,
he turned toward her, fixing her with a cold, blunt stare. “The professor will contact you
before he arrives. You must let me now his intentions. If you don’t, your children will
surely die.’
“Mariah was completely taken aback. She flushed, as if he had caught her in a lie.
“She felt so confused. Perhaps, if she didn’t tell the FBI about her father’s holographic
message, Brittany and Jacob might be hurt. But her father had specifically told her not to
trust anyone, especially Darstow.
“’I will do anything you ask. I want my children back.’ she glared at Darstow in defiance
of his icy stare.”
A Weapon Rules the World
Marcus had no doubt Darstow would position snipers throughout the ruin in an effort
to kill or wound him. Anything to get his hands on the shuttle. But Marcus had
something even Darstow was unprepared for; a weapon neither Darstow nor any other
living human being had ever seen. If pressed, he would use that weapon on the great
Keenan Darstow—and anyone else who got in the way.
Justified Violence
“The Deminians didn’t program me to kill those soldiers. Killing isn’t condoned in their
culture.”
“Then why, Professor? Why have you, a man of great learning, a man who has spent so
many years investigating the best of humanity, become so inhuman?”
“I saw inequities, and I wanted to balance the playing field. And in the process, it’s true,
I became what I loathed.” The older man turned to the journalist. “But now my daughter
and grandchildren are in danger, and I need your help to keep them safe.”
“A danger of your own making.”
“Yes, yes, of course. But there will be no more attacks and interventions. This place, this
is my last stand. Today, I’m leaving this planet forever.”
The World At Risk
“Finally, the video disc details my story: how Darstow killed my son-in-law and
kidnapped my grandchildren, all to retrieve the shuttle and reverse design its
technology which, once possessed, would enable America, and perhaps Darstow
himself, to dominate the world.”
“America already dominates the world,” Andrew noted, “and frankly, that’s okay—
with most of the Western powers, at least.”
“The country does so with some effort and diplomacy,” Marcus responded, “because
there are at least a few nations with the capability of threatening America in some way.
If it were so strong that all nations feared offending it in the slightest, my country would
soon cease to be America the beautiful and would become America the loathed. And
that is especially true if someone like Darstow was leading the charge. Think about it.”
Flying an Alien Ship
“Ladies and gentlemen, you are now in orbit far above Earth. We are in what science
fiction writers would call a Mother Ship built by a greatly advanced race of aliens called
the Deminians. The shuttle that we took to reach this Mother Ship is far smaller than the
ship, which originally held three shuttles, but now, alas, has just two. The shuttles and
Mother Ship were crewed by six Deminians, all of whom were injured or killed in an
unfortunate collision of two shuttles in the summer of 1947 near Roswell, New Mexico.
Threat of Death
Darstow retrieved a larger black box from his coat pocket. It had a black, graphite
antennae at the top, and a red button on its face. Darstow stroked Brittany’s fine blonde
hair. The girl shivered. “The box at your precious daughter’s throat is a small but very
potent explosive device. It is going to make you do what I say, exactly as I say.”
Darstow’s voice lowered. “Because if you do not follow my instructions to the letter, I
will depress this red button, and the device at your daughter’s neck will punch a hole
the size of a baseball through her throat.”