Indiana Jones and the Stone of Truth

INTRO

The Dornier DO-17 light bomber was nearly invisible as it sped through the impenetrable Canadian fog. The plane was specially modified for this mission to travel very long distances without refueling. Though it meant removing all shielding and armaments, it had been the only way to cross such vast distances without stopping in enemy territory.

The crew wasn't standard German military either. These men were older and less martial. Though no less committed, they had an air of intelligentsia about them more befitting doctors or scientists than soldiers.

Their navigation equipment had been giving them trouble which was disconcerting since they were so far from home and without any means of support. More worrying was the ice buildup that had started to appear on the rear control surfaces.

Though the plane was used to operating in the bitter temperatures of northern European airspace, the low altitudes they were forced to operate at to elude enemy radar meant that there was more moisture in the air, hence the greater probability of icing.

The crew were too occupied with other matters, for now, to concern themselves with the plane's exterior. Navigation was almost impossible alone and unaided in this far wilderness with little to no visibility. Added to that, they were now nearly running on fumes and were discussing whether to try to tap into the fuel lines to attempt feeding their return fuel supply into the motors.

As the men argued about what course of action they should take, they began to notice a loud humming sound from the rear of the craft, followed by a disconcerting shaking. They all stopped what they were doing and turned toward the source of the commotion.

As the shaking continued the men noticed the plane begin to dip towards the ground. They turned in unison and began shouting toward the pilot. He fought with the plane for a minute before bringing it back into somewhat level flight. He yelled at the men to stop doubting him, pleased with his piloting skills.

Unfortunately, in the confusion the crew had stopped paying attention to the navigation. They failed to recognize that one of the few topographical features on their route, a line of hills, lay directly ahead of them.

After a few minutes, the plane began to buck and shake again and once again lost noticeable elevation before the pilot could gain control for the second time. Afterward he started to question the others about their route, but they never had the chance to answer...

Army Intelligence HQ, Fort Belvoir, VA

Hiram Feinstein was buried under a mountain of file folders. Ever since the Nazi's had started their military campaigns in Eastern Europe, Army intelligence had worked its analysts night and day, trying to catch up to their European counterparts in their human and communications intelligence capabilities (humint and sigint).

As he was mentally processing his files for the hundredth time, something caught Hiram's attention- "SS Directed to Search Allied French Archives". It sounded important, though the file contained little more content than the title. As he skimmed through the file he thought it reminded him of something else he'd read recently, but couldn't remember now what that might be.

Hiram put the file down and then, a moment later, saw the title that had eluded him "Canadian RMPC Reports Mysterious Plane Crash". As he hastily glanced through the text he found what he was looking for- "Though the early winter weather conditions and remoteness of the site preclude investigation the site on foot, RCMP search plane crews reported that the downed, twin-engine plane appears to be a German design..."

Marshall College, Connecticut USA

As Marcus Brody rushed down the school hallway, his mind was a blur- a blur that was overwhelmed at the moment with trying to avoid crashing into scurrying students. It was finals week which made the always frantic lunchtime rush even more frantic.

He returned a few students' greetings courteously but briefly before finally stepping into his office and closing the world behind him. He scanned the items of mail he had just picked up as he stepped to his desk but stopped short upon seeing the address on one of the letters- Department of Defense, Washington.

The letter was penned by one William Holden. Marcus knew the name well, as he was one of the officials involved with the government settlement for their work retrieving the Ark of the Covenant. "What the blazes could he want?" was Marcus' unusually strong reaction. He opened the letter with trepidation and began to read...

Doctor Henry Jones Junior was lost in recollection. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of student questioning at the end of his lecture on Glastonbury. "Huh, oh yes, King Arthur. Though the legends have existed for well over a millennium, there is no solid evidence that the King Arthur of legend ever existed, let alone was buried at the site." Luckily, he was used to answering that question, as it was asked every semester without fail.

His mind was off in another hemisphere, contemplating a temple whose fabled treasures he might never able to unearth- it was recently buried by a massive earthquake. He looked up from his reverie to see Marcus Brody peering through the doorway- most of the students had already filed out of the classroom.

"Marcus, what brings you down here among the peasants?", he teased his old friend. "Indy, I received a message from an old friend", something in the way he said it made Indy uneasy. "Friend, what kind of friend?" "The kind that doesn't take no for an answer", Marcus replied. "Stop by my office when you're finished and I'll show you", and with that Marcus was gone.

Forty-five minutes later Indy was pouring himself a glass of scotch in Marcus Brody's office. The door flung open and there was Marcus, breathless as if he had just run across the Marshall college campus. "Ah Indy, how good of you to stop in, can I help you with something?" Indy looked perplexed "Marcus, you said you had a message, an important message to show me?" "Ah, of course, take these will you", he handed Indy a stack of books and papers as he rummaged through his things. "

Ah here it is, have a look at this Indy". Marcus tried to hand Jones a letter as Indy attempted to reach for it without dropping his pile. "Oh dear, here let me just help you with those" and he finally took back his belongings and Indy silently regarded the envelope and then its contents.

"Well, Indiana?", Brody asked with curiosity. "No", Indy replied curtly as he handed him back the letter. "But Henry, please reconsider, this is the U.S. Government Indy." "I don't care if it's the King of England, this sounds like a wild goose chase and I'm not interested." "But they say it's for National Security, and there money's always good Indy."

"They always say it's for National Security, and besides, their intelligence is meager, and their intentions aren't always good either", Jones finished arguing. "Besides, this is just supposition and hearsay, and I don't need to stick my neck out for them after what they pulled last time", he added, referring to the incident with the Ark of the Covenant.

Marcus looked disappointedly at his old friend, "Well, you know best, I suppose. Perhaps you're right." Marcus had been rather looking forward to hearing about another Indiana Jones adventure, they were always so... interesting. Of course, anything was interesting compared to Marcus' academic existence at the college and the museum.

"And besides", Jones added as he put on his hat and turned for the door, "Let someone else take the risk for once and the fall, if I'm right and this is just a wild goose chase." "And if you're wrong Indy?", Marcus retorted. But Indiana had already left and there was no reply.

North Atlantic Ocean

The Captain of the HMS Treadwell put down his spyglass but kept his steely glance straight ahead into the night. Even though all was calm with no trouble in sight, he was only too aware of how treacherous the North Atlantic crossing could be, and how fast things could turn around out here.

The Treadwell was a small liner at 300 feet, compared to its more famous fellow passenger ships, but it wasn't lacking in luxury or taste and was still a worthy vessel to spend time in crossing the sea, if not quite as ostentatious as its more famous rivals. The small size meant it was less costly to travel aboard, and could more quickly load and unload, as well as being able to stop at smaller ports.

In a cabin amidship Professor Harold Cromwell was studying a pile of papers on the cabin's tiny table. He looked somewhat like Ebenezeer Scrooge, bent over the table with his antique reading glasses and flowing white hair. As a professor at the Imperial College of London he took his scholarship seriously, even if this task didn't seem to make much sense on the face of it.

Though Dr. Cromwell wasn't naturally disposed to assist the former colonies, he knew that the board of the college valued its ties with America and that his cooperation was expected, whether it was explicitly stated or not.

He turned his gaze back to the assembly of papers and rummaged through them in his mind again, trying to establish a connection between the actors and the seeming focus of their intent- but he had been unable to formulate a link thus far. There was just no record of any significant history or archeological finds in the region that would justify such a dangerous and secret expedition, and he had half a mind to declare to them just that.

He decided at length to retire for the evening. Maybe the light of day would bring new light to the mystery he thought, as he turned out the light and pulled up the covers of his small bunk.

Another captain gazed through a second optical scope, "Target 1000 yards dead ahead", he declared reluctantly. He did not know why he and his crew had been tasked with this particular target, but he didn't like it in the slightest.

Though they had been allowed to approach the target only after nightfall, and were therefore limited in visibility, it didn't look like and enemy ship to him. If he didn't know better, he would swear that they were targeting some kind of merchant vessel, or passenger ship.

He looked at his orders again. There was no doubt they had the right target, and the orders came from the director of the admiralty himself, so they couldn't be disputed. He knew he had no choice- "Make ready torpedo tubes 2 and 3 and plot solution to the target", he ordered, and then "Fire!"

He heard the loud whoosh of the torpedo tubes and knew it was finished. He could only hope his feelings were wrong, and that they had the right target after all, but either way there was nothing to do now but wait. A minute later he saw the explosions and the target ship began its death dive into the deep.

London, England- Two weeks later

The home was as somber as the occasion itself, thought Marcus Brody. Though he was an unabashed anglophile, somehow everything about this trip just didn't sit well with him. "But one mustn't wonder if one is feeling out of sorts at a celebration of death after all", Marcus consoled himself.

Though he had not known the professor well, he definitely knew of him, as did everyone in professional archeology. Professor Cromwell had been, after all, the consummate old-school archeologist. In fact, when people said "he wrote the book" about serious archeological study they weren't kidding, he really had written reams of work from treatises all the way to the eminent (and to the students exceedingly dry) textbooks used in university classrooms around the world.

"What a pity", Marcus thought. Dryness was not off-putting to Mr. Brody, in fact he had attended several of Dr. Cromwell's lectures with rapt attention, hanging onto his every word. As the ceremony commenced, he found his mind drifting off to memories of earlier occasions he had attended in honor of Professor Cromwell.

In his reverie Brody had failed to notice a respectable gentleman quietly approach him. As the eulogy ended and people began to file forward to pay their respects, the man spoke "Excuse me, Mr. Brody is it?" "Why yes", Marcus turned to see a bespectacled and well-to-do looking man, little more than his own age, standing beside him.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Francis Armworthy, Chair of the Imperial College archeology department and a colleague of Doctor Cromwell's. I wonder if I might have a word with you of a matter pertaining to the poor, uh late, Professor Cromwell." To Marcus the man looked the part of an earnest and entirely respectable English Gentleman. "But of course", came his reply, and Dr. Brody gestured for the man to lead the way.

It was apparent that Professor Armworthy was no stranger to the late Doctor Cromwell's home. He led Brody down a hallway and around a corner into a small and rather untidy study, "Here we are old chap, a bit cramped i'm afraid, but no doubt it will suffice in a pinch." "Yes, it's quite all right", Brody replied, "Now you said you wanted to speak about Doctor Cromwell?"

"Yes, I did", Armworthy began, "Say, were you well aquainted with the good Doctor?" "Well, I wouldn't say I knew him well", Marcus began, "Just the odd bit of correspondence with the college, and I had the good fortune to attend a few of his lectures.." "Splendid, so you were familiar with the Professor's work?" "Why yes, as familiar as all tenured archaeologists should be", answered Marcus, "Why do you ask? Was he in some kind of trouble?"

"Trouble? One wouldn't think so would he..." Francis trailed off. "No, I suppose not old boy. It's just that, I can't help but think there's something strange in all this", that piqued Marcus' attention. "All what Francis?"

"Well, last month the Professor was called to the Dean's office for an unscheduled meeting. Normally, as the department Chair, I would be consulted on such a thing, if there was official college business in the department that needed seeing to. I would at least be given the courtesy of a memo, but I was told nothing, either before or after the meeting, and left completely in the dark."

"Well, it was shortly after that that Harold began to act a little different", Francis continued. "I say a little different because he was never the friendly type, but he at least believed in common courtesies as a matter of course, as all good Englishmen do. Well, I can't say for certain, but I began to feel as if Harold was hiding something from me, and then very well avoiding me altogether."

"I meant to confront him about it, gently of course, but before I could do so he suddenly announced that he had urgent business to attend to, some sort of personal family matter, and would be leaving immediately on a leave of absence."

"You don't say" put in Marcus patiently. "Yes", Armworthy continued, "It was most irregular for two reasons. First of all, staff leaves of absence are supposed to require prior approval by the Department chair, and then if they're not available, the Dean can approve them. But when I asked Dean Buckminster about it, he said everything was in order and carry on normally. And if that wasn't queer enough, I have it on good authority that Cromwell had no family, in fact, he was an orphan!"

"An orphan?" "Yes!" "Good Heavens", Marcus replied. He was as perplexed as his host. "Well, what does all this have to do with me then Professor?", Brody queried. "Well, probably nothing, but what I can tell you is a matter of secrecy to both our governments", and he lowered his voice as if their were spies all about.

"About two weeks ago, one of our secretaries was in the Dean's office, waiting to deliver a package to him, and whilst waiting she happened to glance at his desk." "Yes?", Marcus breathed with anticipation. "She claims that in a file folder, open on Dean Westminster's desk, there was a memorandum regarding Doctor Cromwell. However, before she could read more than a few words of it, the Dean came into the office, sat down, and immediately closed the folder. Now what do you supposed was written on the front of the file folder?" "Well, I haven't the foggiest", put in Brody honestly. "You'll never believe it, but it said US Government- Secret!", Armworthy announced triumphantly.

"Now you understand sir, with you being a dean yourself, and an esteemed professor no doubt, from the other side of the Atlantic, I am positive you must have some clue of what your government wanted with Professor Cromwell!" Marcus was absolutely flummoxed, "Well...", he began weakly as Armworthy eyed him expectantly, "I really have quite no idea what to say."

"Come now Dr. Brody, but you must have some hunch as to what your government should want with such an esteemed academician as our professor", Francis continued undeterred, "Why maybe they've spoken with some of your colleagues of late as well?" "No", Marcus began again, "No one has spoken with any of my colleagues about any hush, hush secret affairs. No, I can't think of anyone involved in anything like that, only that nice chap from Army intelligence..."

Henry Jones Jr Residence, Connecticut USA

"Yes Indy, I'm telling you Doctor Armworthy confirmed it. Professor Cromwell was on a mission for the US Government when it happened. And not only that Indy, but his friend in the Admiralty says the ship was purposefully targeted by the Navy and sunk."

Indiana Jones was having a hard time believing what his ears were telling him. It all seemed so unreal. But then that little voice inside his head had warned that this mission was trouble, and he had a sinking feeling that it was right.

"C'mon Marcus, a classy passenger liner sunk by the British Navy just to keep one, old archeologist from reaching America? It's crazy, even if they did want to stop him for some reason, they could easily have grabbed him before he left, or even after he arrived. It just makes no sense."

"Well, I am telling you Indy that there is something sinister going on here, and it's all to do with that German team, unit, what have you", Marcus finished his tirade. Indy pondered his words for a moment, "Well", he said at last, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to do a little snooping around, but just a little mind you, and safely, I don't need anyone dropping bombs on me, or launching spears at me again, or arrows, or bullets..."

"We can do a little research, and the boys from DC don't need to know anything about it. That way, we're in control, and at the first sign of trouble, we scram, got it?" "Of course, Indy, whatever you say. Say, what shall I do, while you're up North snoop- uh researching my boy?" "Like I tell my students, 90% of all archeology is done in the library, so, go to a library. Do you have one in mind?" "I think I know just the place", Marcus said with a smile.

Morrin Centre Library- Quebec, Canada

The interior of the building was exactly as Marcus Brody had imagined it- towering, it's four walls covered from floor to ceiling with glorious, polished wood shelves, and on them, thousands of old books. He sighed with sublime satisfaction as he took it all in before getting to business.

Brody had chosen this library specifically both because of Quebec's connection to the mystery, but, more importantly, it was the only English library in Quebec, as all the other libraries were primarily French. He found a catalog and began the tedious search for a needle in haystack.

Chester Monroe was a British Army captain who served under the 16th century Royal confidant John Churchill First Duke of Marlborough. Monroe later worked for Churchill at the Hudson Bay fur company outpost in Churchill Manitoba, where Sir John served as the Governor of the Hudson Bay Company in the late 17th century.

Monroe suddenly appeared out of the wilderness one day in Quebec Montreal ranting about a vast, secret treasure, before dying of exhaustion a few days later. This incident would have remained an obscure, forgotten event in history had the Germans not discovered it among French archives after the invasion of Paris.

American Intelligence would never had paid any mind to such an outrageous claim had the Nazis not tasked one of their most elite special units to infiltrate Canada, ostensibly for the purpose of locating the treasure, whatever it may be.

They might never have known of the mission had an RCMP patrol plane not spotted the wreckage. Subsequent reporting from fur trappers confirmed that the crash was recent, but they only saw sings of the crash. No one had actually been to the site yet due to the remote, mountainous location and the harsh, winter conditions.

So, Marcus had volunteered to help with research while Jones was left to do the "dirty work", or in this case cold and wet work. Indy was heading for Manitoba, to try to find the German plane wreck and clues to their mission before the Nazis or anyone else did.

Hours later, Marcus yawned and rubbed his eyes. He had been searching through books and manuscripts for hours with no luck. He was just about to quit for the evening when he sat straight up in his seat, his eyeballs fixed on the newspaper on the table in front of him. He had grabbed the ancient paper as an afterthought, but now he was staring at an article on the back page- "British Soldier Claims Secret of Lost Civilization Hidden in Canadian Wilderness".

Canadian Boreal Forest, Ontario Canada

Indiana Jones squinted as his face was wind blasted and sunburned at the same time. The air was sharp on a December day in the far north, but the sky was half clear and the sun was shining- if Indy hadn't been moving it would have been quite pleasant. The rolling, pine covered hills interspersed with narrow, snow-covered meadows would be a beautiful site under other conditions.

Jones glanced at the map again that was strapped to his arm. It was hard enough to navigate through the far north in normal conditions but bouncing up and down while steering a sled through the pine and spruce forest at twenty miles an hour made it almost impossible.

"Hyah, hyah!" Indy cried. The dogs yipped and barked excitedly as Jones drove them on. It had been two days since he left Thunder Bay loaded with a week's worth of supplies, and as far as he could tell it would be another two days until he reached the wreck- if he could find it.

It amazed Jones, who had travelled all over the world, just how vast the Canadian wilderness was. Though he was used to covering vast distances, he usually did it from a plane, or car. This was different from the jungle, where you could take a boat upriver for hundreds of miles, or the desert, where you could drive over huge areas, usually in a caravan.

Here, there was no way to float or drive through the frozen wilderness and being by himself days from anywhere made him feel truly alone. He pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on the forest and his dogs. The dogs were wonderful companions as well as being a reliable means of transport, and he knew he would never make it out here without them.

That night as Jones was cooking dinner over the campfire, the quiet stillness was broken by a distant howl. Indy listened intently for the duration and then turned his attention back to his food. Moments later more howling broke out and this time from all around. The dogs begin running around and barking like crazy. "Uh oh", exclaimed Indy wearily, "Here we go again!"

Morrin Centre Library- Quebec, Canada

Marcus Brody kept pondering the headline over and over in his mind "British Soldier Claims Secret of Lost Civilization Hidden in Canadian Wilderness". Though he wasn't a field archeologist like Indy was, Brody had always had a fascination with ancient cultures and sites. The newspaper story, of course, sounded like a nonsensical tabloid attention-grabber, but if so, then why was everyone taking it so seriously?

The article hadn't given Marcus much to go on. Apparently, Captain Chester Monroe, after several years of faithful service to Lord Churchill, ran out on him after claiming to find evidence that Churchill possessed secret knowledge of a golden age. Of course, everyone in the preceding centuries had myths of a golden age, so that in itself was nothing remarkable or credible.

Chester asserted that this secret was being deliberately hidden from mankind and that Sir John's writings indicated that clues to the location of the lost civilization were hidden somewhere in the town of Churchill. The site had been founded by Sir John and there he served as the Governor of the Hudson Bay Company. Monroe claimed that his uncovering of this secret had put his life in danger and thus he fled to Quebec, some 300 miles to the southeast.

Marcus didn't know anything about Churchill, but he had a hard time believing that a remote fur trading outpost held secret clues to anything except maybe where to find beaver pelts. Still, he was a researcher and a professional, so, it wouldn't do to leave any stone unturned. He sighed and turned back to his pile of books.

Canadian Boreal Forest, Ontario Canada

The wolf pack had circled the camp for a bit, and then drawn off. As much as Indiana hoped they'd left for good, he knew they'd probably be back - and he was right. Maybe 20 minutes had passed when the dogs started crying frantically again. Indy glanced up to see several wolves tearing through the camp. Jones started yelling and half-heartedly tried to club one or two with a branch, but they were too fast and he knew it.

The wolves were still testing the camp and the dogs, but mostly ignored Indiana Jones cursing and stumbling after them. They were intently checking out his sled dogs- barking at them, brushing against them, and smelling them, and now they had started nipping at the dogs' hind legs.

Indy knew he had to do something, and fast. Though he knew that wolves' reputation as man killers was largely a myth, and so far, they had barely glanced at him, he also knew that if they injured or killed one of his dogs it would seriously affect his ability to travel in the winter landscape.

Dr. Jones had just pulled out his revolver and was making ready to fire it in the air as a warning when he heard a loud roar behind him. Spinning around he was shocked to see a large brown bear reared up and roaring. On instinct he brought his revolver down to aim it at the bear when the wolves suddenly rushed towards the intruder forgetting all about Indy and the dogs. He apprehensively held his fire while his heart raced and his mind scrambled to comprehend what was taking place.

The wolves had driven the grizzly bear back on his hind legs and it looked like they would succeed in driving them off, when he suddenly landed on all fours again and, rushing forward into the pack, caught one of them in his jaws and threw him aside like a rag doll. The injured wolf managed to regain its feet, though it was wounded and bloody, and the rest of the pack was now subdued. Still barking and growling, the wolves backed up in unison, and then spun as one and rushed off into the Canadian forest. The brown bear yowled and followed the wolves, leaving Indiana Jones and his sled dogs finally in peace.

Indiana Jones couldn't sleep the rest of the night though the dark hours were uneventful, and the wolves did not appear. The bonfire Indy had built up as a precaution was still smoldering when he peeked his head out of the tent later that morning. Though he was tired, he wanted nothing more than to leave that camp behind them and continue to the end of their journey. "Besides", Jones thought to himself, "What else could possibly go wrong now?"

German Forward Command, Paris France

Colonel Gunther Klaus glanced through the files once more before sighing and setting them on his desk. He raised his glance to the man seated before him. Straight, proud, and grim, but exuding a subtle malice, he was not like the soldiers that the colonel commanded. Now he wished to be rid of him in the most expedient way possible.

"Herr Schmidt, I see that central command shares your desire to complete your mission." He was exaggerating, in truth they were not all in accord yet on what course of action to take but having these SS irregulars here made not only himself uneasy, but his men as well. "You and your men are to be provided with transport across the Atlantic. From there it will be up to you to see your mission is fulfilled, do you understand?" Schmidt simply nodded, and on his visage was the slightest hint of a smile.

Canadian Boreal Forest, Ontario Canada

Indiana Jones was getting anxious. Two and a half days after his encounter with the wolves, he was worried that they had missed the downed plane and might never find it. Fortunately, he soon found what he was looking for- a line of hills standing out of the forest, and then, a small, burned tire.

With the dogs tied up yipping and yapping, Indy climbed the hillside to where the wreck protruded from the snow. As he inspected the German plane it was evident that the wolves had been here too- not much remained of the crew but torn and bloody uniforms.

Searching through the wreckage and the remains Jones did not find much of use. Searching through the downed plane for the second time, Indiana noticed a bulge behind a placard on the bulkhead. He yanked the warning notice down and found a leather-bound logbook with an SS insignia.

Doctor Jones knew conversational German and spent a few minutes glancing through the contents of the log before he was satisfied it held the information they wanted and tucked it away in his shirt. As he descended the hill feeling satisfied with himself, Indy noticed that the dogs were no longer barking. In fact, the whole valley was eerily silent.

Indiana Jones glanced quickly about while reaching for his holster. The dogs were all huddled together, silent and subdued. As Indy continued quietly down the hill, his ears straining for any sound, he felt he was being watched.

As he reached the bottom of the slope and peeked around the corner, a pair of deadly, yellow eyes locked onto him. It was the biggest Mountain Lion Indy had ever seen. He stood motionless and silent for a moment before raising his firing arm. The cat suddenly hunched, preparing to leap as if it sensed Indy's intention. Indiana started to pull the trigger, but the cat suddenly sprang- in the wrong direction.

Indiana watched confused as the Mountain Lion leaped ten feet to the left and ran off behind the hill. Wondering what was going on, Indy heard a low throbbing sound behind him. Turning around, Indiana Jones could now clearly recognize the sound of an airplane heading towards him.

Jones considered taking cover, but it would be hard to hide the sled and the dogs, and he wanted to see who was after him. A few minutes later the pitch decreased, then Indy saw the plane pass by him about a quarter mile to starboard. The plane lazily turned around and came back for a better look- this time directly over Jones and his team.

As the plane passed by again Indiana thought he saw an arm hanging out the window and pointing down in his direction. The plane circled again, this time lower, and kept a curving trajectory as it passed near his location. Jones could see the port windows this time, and a face staring down at him. Though he couldn't make out much from this distance, he thought the man looked menacing as he gazed directly at him and then pointed and yelled to the plane's other occupants.

Though he didn't know why, Indy felt a sudden urge to show the figure the logbook he had found, but then thought better of it. That man looked unpleasant enough already, so why make things worse for himself. After a few more minutes and circles, the plane slowly headed off into the distance.

Indy knew that by the time they found a safe place to land and backtracked to the wreck he and the log would be long gone, but just to be sure he made ready to leave immediately. Something made Indiana Jones feel uneasy about all this, and he decided for once that discretion was the better part of valor. "Hyah!" he called as he cracked the leads, and the dogs barked and dashed back towards civilization.

Henry Jones Senior Residence, Fairfield New York, USA

The parlor was small and cluttered but felt like home. Marcus Brody looked across the small table at Henry Jones Junior, who had just sat down, "Marcus, before you ask, yes it was dangerous, dirty and deadly, and yes I got it- whatever it is."

"Well, you look none the worse for wear, so it can't have been too bad", Marcus offered. "There were bears Marcus." "Bears, well, what kind of bears?" Brody asked anxiously. "The big kind Marcus, with teeth and claws. Lions, Wolves and Bears, oh my." Marcus looked away for a moment, a genuine look of horror on his face.

Indiana Jones chuckled and changed the subject, "Well whoever they were, they weren't looking for timber", he added sarcastically. "Look here Marcus, I found this in the wreck", he said and passed the leather-bound tome to his partner. Brody took the volume gingerly as he inspected the covers and then flipped through the pages.

"Indy, this looks like, well it doesn't look like a normal military document, it looks more like listing of lost archeological sites." "Yeah, that's what I thought, but the way it's written, well my German's a bit rusty, but it looks like someone is trying to connect the dots between all these sites." "Yes, my thoughts exactly, but archeologically it doesn't make much sense.

These are very disparate sites, separated by long distances, with completely different cultures and some of them are centuries apart in time. It seems whoever wrote this was trying to create connections that aren't there in any historical sense."

"Well, whoever it is they've sent Nazi's across the Atlantic in two different planes to find this. It can't just be meaningless."

"Dad, you remember doctor -?" "Yes of course, we had courses at Oxford together." "Well Marcus has it on good authority that his death was no accident. But he was supposedly killed by the British, along with everyone else on board. Why would the English and the Nazis be after the same legend in the middle of a deadly war?"

"Where did you say - was going again junior?" Indiana hated being addressed as Junior by his father, he stiffened as he answered the question, "Churchill Dad, Churchill Manitoba, in Canada"

"Canada! Well, there's no interesting archeological sites there. In fact, there's nothing from antiquity there except for early native sites. Churchill? Now why does that sound familiar?" Indy and Marcus leaned forward in anticipation. "Well, it's gone now, but when I remember, and I will, I'll send it to you in a letter."

Henry Jones Junior didn't want to wait for a letter. He let it go and after a quarter of an hour of pleasantries he was ready to leave. "Well Dad, it was really great to see you, but we'd better be going, we have a long drive ahead still. C'mon Marcus."

"Leaving? But you just got here!", Henry Senior protested. He tried to convince his son to stay longer, but Indy didn't speak much to his father since his mother died, and he wasn't in the mood for chit-chat.

Indiana Jones didn't say much during the drive back to Connecticut. He was annoyed that his father failed to enlighten their search and mad at himself for being at a loss. At length he spoke "Marcus, do you think there's anything to this story about a lost civilization?"

"Well, I don't know Indy, but the Army seems to think so, and so do your German friends." "And the English too, don't forget", added Indy, "I still don't get it. Did you check out that Monroe guy? Maybe he's putting everyone on a wild goose chase."

"Not likely Indy", Brody responded. "Chester Monroe was a highly decorated and respected officer in the British Army, and then later had a sterling record serving Lord Churchill by all accounts."

"Well, what about the site, did you come across any information about it in Quebec? Maybe we're missing something." "There's not much to report about Churchill, Henry. It's a small wooden settlement, almost a hamlet really, built in the 17th century by Sir John. It sits on the shore of Hudson Bay, near the mouth of the Churchill River. It's across the river from the old fort, I believe." "What fort?", Indy demanded with renewed interest.

Churchill, Manitoba Canada

The Prince of Wales fort stood on a point in Hudson Bay, across the river from Churchill Manitoba. Created to protect the Hudson Bay companies' interests, it was rebuilt in stone over the wooden original fort around the same time that Churchill was founded.

Nothing could be seen of the fort or anything else as Indiana Jones and Marcus Brody flew through the Canadian pea soup over the Hudson Bay. The college library hadn't turned up any more information than they already had on the site, so they were forced to return north of the border once more.

Marcus looked hopefully out the window, "You don't suppose they'll have a library, or an archive?" "I wouldn't get your hopes up", Indy put a damper on his enthusiasm. "I hear they have nice moccasins though." Marcus turned his face to the window again.

The plane soon began its descent. Though Indy desired to get a look at the layout of the area, the fog didn't let up and they were on the ground before they knew it. They collected their baggage from the snowy ground where the flight crew had dumped it and walked across the field that served as the airport to the road into town. After trudging a few blocks through the snow, they arrived in "town".

Indiana Jones looked up and down the street intently. There were a few long, wooden lodge- like structures of several stories each, a few shops, a gas pump and some ramshackle dwellings. His gaze was fixed in the distance however, and after looking for several long moments he apparently did not find what he was looking for, "Come on Marcus, let's find our rooms and drop off the baggage."

As they trudged across the muddy street Indy caught a brief glimpse of a face peering out of one of the upper windows in their direction, but it disappeared as he turned his head for a better view.

The hotel was one of the larger buildings, and it looked like it had seen better days. After they dropped their bags, Indy pulled open the curtains and tried to get a good view of their surroundings. The fog had abated somewhat and Indiana could now partly see the country surrounding the tow, "They sure do love their trees", he muttered. Forest was all that his eyes could see in three directions outside of the town. He knew the Hudson Bay lay in the other direction, behind the lodge.

The next morning the sky was clearer, much to Indy's delight, as they stomped down the street to the old Hudson's Bay Company House. The original building was still standing, though it had half burned down some decades before. They didn't want to accept the fact that whatever clues they hoped to find may have burned down along with that part of the building. Some ways behind them a hooded figure watched them intently and then turned down a narrow alleyway.

The two men entered into the historical building and, after leaving a few coins in the donation tray and reading the meager literature, began their search. "Well Marcus, this isn't exactly my usual type of field work. Maybe your historian's eyes can find something I can't."

In reality, as usual it was Indiana Jones that came up with their lucky break. After spending a few hours looking through the rooms open to the public, Indy was leaning against a hallway wall, lighting up a cigarette. As he was lighting it, he noticed suddenly that the smoke was curling towards the wall. He watched curiously for a moment before he realized its significance- there was a hidden chamber behind the wall.

With curiosity Jones followed the smoke trail as it moved a few feet down the corridor and then wafted towards the ceiling. Something looked funny to him. Lighting another match and looking towards the ceiling Jones noticed what was out of place- there was a gap between the top of the wall and the ceiling.

"Marcus!", Jones yelled as he stood on his tiptoes and reached his fingers as high as he could, just high enough to reach the gap and feel inside- it definitely felt like there was a large opening. "Marcus, get over here!", Indy said excitedly as he lit another match and looked up and down the dim hallway for any indication of an entrance.

Just past the gap in the wall, Indiana found was he was looking for- there was a slight gap between the wall paneling next to where he stood, and the next section. Not only that, but the edge wasn't plumb but angled slightly from floor to ceiling tilting to the right, as if it was hastily installed, or built by amateurs.

At that moment Marcus Brody appeared, "Yes Indy, what's all this commotion about?" "Marcus, late as usual", Indy quipped, "or maybe just in time. Here, help me find something to pry with", he ordered as he look back and forth, then through his belongings looking for some kind of implement.

After a minute of searching Indy realized that he did have something he could pry with, "You might want to stand back Marcus, this isn't exactly the smartest move, or the safest". With that Indiana Jones pushed the raised sight on the end of his pistol barrel into the gap in the wall and pushed.

Nothing happened at first. Brody could hear no sound but Indiana Jones grunting. Then he began to hear a slight squeak, like a rusty nail twisting in an old board. There was a sudden snap, and a part of the wall panel pulled back. Indy wasted no time shoving his arm in and pulling, and then when it gave some more using his shoulder. Marcus had just made up his mind to attempt to help his colleague when the whole panel jerked away from the wall with a loud snap.

Marcus Brody coughed and wheezed at the sudden upwelling of dust and covered his face with his sleeve. After a minute he uncovered his face and was about to ask Indiana why he hadn't warned him when he noticed that he had disappeared. "C'mon Marcus", Indy's voice came from behind the wall, "Get in here and help me search the place." Marcus timidly poked his head through the opening.

As Marcus Brody's eyes adjusted to the dim light he noticed that the hidden room was in fact a large office or study. Burnished bookshelves lined two sides of the room, from floor to ceiling, while the center of the space was dominated by a huge, wooden desk. Like the rest of the room, the desk was exceedingly dusty. It was covered with yellowed old papers and next to it stood a huge, wooden globe in a large, round mount.

"Indy", Marcus Brody began to query, "Should we possibly do something about that huge hole?", he continued, pointing to the wall they had left open. Henry Jones Junior was too busy regarding the contents of the shelves and then the desk to pay Marcus any mind. He shuffled through ream after ream of papers, intent, his eyes never leaving his work.

Marcus began to inspect the third wall, the one not covered with bookshelves, for clues. He felt useless and was determined to contribute something useful to the cause. Turning away from his search after finding nothing of interest, Brody leaned against the globe in thought. As he gazed at the dark, wooden ball he noticed that it looked very much like the old 16th century maps the Europeans drew during their great explorations, complete with breaching sea monsters in random sections of ocean.

Indiana Jones was still rummaging through papers on the desk, so Marcus examined the globe in more detail. He saw it had major lines of longitude and latitude encircling it. Following one absent mindedly from Northern Mongolia towards Churchill, he noticed that there was a star at the site of the settlement, but something looked out of place.

The detail was very crude on the centuries old depiction, yet he could make out the small bay next to the township and even the Churchill river flowing into it, but he couldn't figure out what it was that felt so wrong. Brody glance over towards Indiana Jones and debated whether to ask his opinion when he noticed something odd about the hole in the wall, it was a gun barrel poking through!

"Indy, watch out!", Marcus managed to yell just before a burst of gunfire rang out. Luckily, Indiana Jones had just a split second to react, thanks to Marcus' warning, and dropped to the deck just as the bullets flew over him, piercing his beloved fedora hat in the process. Indy didn't even have time to recover before they heard a whooshing sound, and then saw the flashing light of a Molotov cocktail enter the room.

"Get up Indy, we have to leave!", Marcus implored. Jones got to his feet and brushed himself off before taking in the growing fire and looking longingly towards the paper on the old desk. "Hurry Indy, there's no time", Marcus pulled him away from the desk and cautiously towards the opening in the wall where he suddenly stopped, worried. Noticing his look Indiana took a quick peek outside before grabbing Marcus and pulling him through. Moments later they heard Lord Churchill's papers catch on fire.

Coughing from the smoke, Indiana Jones and Marcus Brody headed down the hallway before Indy jerked to a stop, "Wait, whoever it is will be expecting that." Indy scanned up and down the hall before noticing a small door near the other end on the left, "This way Marcus", and Indy half dragged Brody back down the hall.

The door was unlocked and the two men rushed inside. It appeared to be a small storage room, but it contained what Indy was looking for- a small window at the far end, fronting the street. They found a container to climb on and, after forcing the window open, found themselves staring at a ten-foot drop to the ground. Indy noticed that there was a lamppost close to the window with lights branching out from the top. It wasn't much, but it just might be enough. Dr Jones pulled out his bullwhip, "Marcus, you're not gonna like this."

Marcus didn't enjoy sliding down the rhino hide whip to the ground, it burned his hands terribly, but soon the two men were back on the ground. Through the smoke Indiana thought he could spy a few suspicious looking characters down the street across from the building's entrance, "Well, it looks like I was right, we'd better not go that way. Indy led Marcus a short distance down the street in the opposite direction and, when the smoke had reached its zenith, across the street and behind the buildings completely out of site of the other men.

"Well, it's a good bet the hotel is being watched. You didn't leave anything valuable in there did you?" "Valuable, well no, I mean nothing other than a few archeological journals, my Sunday suit and my diary." "Well, it's probably best if we leave town now before anything else goes wrong. It's not like we can check anything else of Lord Churchill's", Indy gestured to the smoke. "But Indy, what about our suitcases?", Marcus inquired worriedly. "They'll probably find new owners soon enough", Indy tried to assure his friend. Marcus was bewildered but followed the younger man towards the airfield.

Indiana Jones and Marcus Brody felt their luck was finally turning- there was a flight leaving shortly for the states and the pilot agreed to take them. As the pair was waiting for their pilot to take off Marcus was deep in thought. He suddenly realized what the answer was to what had been troubling him- "Henry, I find it very strange."

Indy sighed and knew that whatever it was was probably nothing, but Brody wouldn't rest until he spoke his piece. "Yeah?", Indiana responded without removing his hat from his face. He was trying to sleep and as usual used his hat to block the sunlight from his eyes. "Well, the globe was marked with a star for Churchill, but it was on the wrong side of the river."

"Wrong side, what do you mean the wrong side?", Indiana Jones demanded? The town, we are just south of the Churchill River, you'll see it when we're airborne most likely. The mark for the town was north of here across the river, about 2 and a half miles." The sound of the motors changed pitch as the pilot started moving into position to take off."

Indy jumped out of his seat and yelled at the pilot's headset covered ear "What course are we taking off on?" The pilot pointed at his directional indicator on which he had already set their heading- 20 degrees or North North East. Indy sat back down excitedly, "Whatever is 2 and 1/2 miles North of here we should pass right over it after we take off", he yelled at Marcus and pointed out the port side portal.

Moments later the plane accelerated, bounced down the runway and slowly lifted off to the northeast. Pilots always took off facing into the wind whenever possible for increased lift, then he would make a sweeping turn to the south when he was well clear of the area.

Brody and Indiana turned their heads and peered out the porthole at the ground below them. A river appeared which they knew was the Churchill River. After they passed over the river the ground rose somewhat to a large, flat plateau, clear of trees. Suddenly Marcus shouted and pointed ahead- there was a large building, Fort -, and it was shaped like the star on the globe.

A little, old native man watched for a few minutes as the plane meandered through the sky. He then stood up and shambled off towards town. His report on the flight would earn him several coins from the strangers, enough to feed and house him for a few weeks at least. It was enough.

MARSHALL COLLEGE CONNECTICUT, USA

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and half of Thursday flew by before Indiana Jones knew what happened. He had been travelling so much lately that his piles of paperwork had turned into a great mound on his desk, which he had finally been obliged to take care of. Then there were finals to prepare and other concerns necessitated by the ending of one semester and the beginning of another.

Jones was relieved to see Marcus Brody poke his head in the door later that afternoon. "Indy, I wonder if I might have a word with you?", Brody queried. "Well, come on in. I've always got time for you Marcus, even when there is no time", he gestured to the piles on his desk.

Marcus took a seat next to the corner of the desk and began to speak in hushed tones as if Nazi spies were all around them, "I've been thinking about the globe we found Indy, and there's still something puzzling about it. I remember distinctly before we attacked, the same line of latitude that was on the fort also ran through Mongolia."

"So, aren't they on the same latitude?", Indy replied. "It looks like it on Churchill's globe, but I verified it and Churchill is about a hundred miles north of Northern Mongolia. They deliberately made the map to connect those two sites."

"Do you have any idea where exactly it's pointing to?", Indy asked. "Why yes", Brody stated calmly, "It seems to cross a point just North of the capital, Ulaan Batar." "How far north?", Indy demanded. "I don't know, no more than fifty miles I should think, but it's impossible to tell exactly from memory Henry. Is it important?" "Yes, because I think I know where it's pointing to, and why."

Ulaan Batar, Mongolia

Indiana Jones deplaned from a modern airplane into the third world capital of Mongolia, Ulaan Batar. The airport was little more than a grassy field with a few ramshackle buildings surrounding it. The city was like many in this part of the world- identical, monotonous, industrial looking buildings radiated from a central point outward in all directions. Paving technology hadn't made it to this part of the world yet- the roads were mud. Indiana hailed one of the few motorized Taxis and headed north.

The sun was dipping towards the horizon when Doctor Jones arrived at his lodgings. Darkhan was a smaller city, located about an hour north of the capital. The slight, middle-aged host booked him in with a smile and led him to his spartan room. He was tired from the long journey, but he knew he wouldn't be able to rest until he laid eyes on his objective.

It was only a mile or so to the location on the outskirts of town, so Indy decided to walk. The cool, fresh air would do him some good and keep him awake. After about half an hour he saw a small hill and at the top the object he had travelled to see- the seated Buddha.

The Buddha monument was in a circular space, seated on an octagonal base and surrounded on all sides by nine tomb-like structures. Something about the geometry of the complex registered in the back of his mind, but he couldn't remember what it was and dismissed it. He stood still for a long moment, taking everything in, before beginning a thorough examination of the monument.

A short distance down the hill, a man in a dark suit peered around a corner towards the monument, surveying Doctor Jones intently. He watched intently as Indiana inspected the site. He was careful to keep his distance and remain out of his quarry's line of sight as much as possible. However, he knew his superiors would not be pleased if he couldn't provide any information on Jones's progress. He crept closer to the monument.

Indiana Jones had a strange feeling he was being watched. He fought the urge to look around him and focused on his work. He noted there were strange markings on the tombs surrounding the Buddha like pictographs or maybe phonemes, but he didn't recognize them. He covertly opened his journal and made rough sketches of the markings while attempting to appear more interested in the statues pedestal and orientation than anything else.

After making a show of inspecting the geometric characteristics of every piece and it's relation to the rest of the site, Jones tucked his journal in his jacket and headed back toward the hotel. He thought he caught a glimpse of a dark figure at the edge of the site but paid it no mind as he walked quickly in the direction of downtown and his room.

Indiana Jones looked relaxed the next morning as he finished his meager hotel breakfast of toast and coffee. He pretended not to notice the grim looking stranger in the dark jacket sitting across the room from him, watching him darkly from the corner of his eyes.

Doctor Jones put down the paper he was "reading", it was in Mongolian, straightened his tie, and made a show of asking the host some questions about the monument followed by a query on the best local restaurants for dinner. He finally left the room and sauntered off towards the monument.

The man in the dark suit watched him leave, then left the room for the lobby and gave some quick gestures to three other out of place looking men seated there. At once one of the men left the hotel and the other two headed towards the guest rooms.

Henry Jones Junior had all the information he needed from Mongolia, but his mission wasn't completed. He was aware he was being watched and was determined not to lead his adversaries to the lost civilization.

Indy made a show of going to the few other monuments in the area and scrutinizing them intensively. He had left some maps and notes in his room with misleading information as he was certain it would be searched.

Finally, after spending several hours in a convincing effort, he turned back towards the hotel. This time he didn't even look for spies, though he was certain of their presence. He made a show of being tired, though it wasn't entirely an act.

An hour and a half later, Professor Jones was seen leaving the hotel. Indy was feeling famished and asked the driver of the cab he hailed to take him to a certain restaurant across town. A concealed figure watched them drive off and hurried across the street to a vacant office building to phone in his report.

A short time later Indiana Jones exited the cab and entered the restaurant. The cab barely slowed enough for him to step out before immediately speeding off in the opposite direction. A few minutes later a dark Chevy sedan pulled up across the street from the restaurant. A man in a derby hat and trench coat exited the car and walked casually down the street before crossing and coming back towards the car on the side of the restaurant.

The man turned his head briefly as he passed in front of the restaurant, just long enough to notice a foreigner wearing a hat and leather jacket seated near the back of the restaurant, his back turned towards the window. "Not too bright, not monitoring your surroundings in a foreign land", the man thought as he passed by before crossing the street again. He thought it very strange that the professor was so cavalier and there was something else that seemed off about him, but the man couldn't immediately tell what it was and moved back to the vehicle.

Back at the hotel a similarly dressed man strode down the hallway Towards Indy's room. He flung his shoulder against the door and it burst open. He quickly and deliberately searched the room. After a few minutes he pulled out the dresser drawers and there was what he sought- Indy's journal.

Indiana Jones had not moved for three quarters of an hour. The men watching in the car were getting impatient and were contemplating going in after him, Public or no, when he suddenly stood up and strode toward the back of the restaurant. This was their chance, the Nazi squad practically tripped over each other in their rush to exit the vehicle and follow Jones.

The men rushed across the street and burst through the front door. Their leader believed that Jones had discovered as much as he was going to about the lost city and was now a liability that they were better off eliminating.

The men pushed past put out looking thirty-something Mongolian man who was just leaving at the same time. They crossed the floor hurriedly and shoved open the bathroom door- there was no one there. The stall door was closed, but it was locked and no one answered. One of the men kicked open the door, weapons raised. They looked in disbelief. On the toilet lay a battered leather jacket and fedora hat- Indiana Jones' hat.

Cinnecticut, USA

Marcus Brody didn't follow everything that Indiana Jones was telling him, but he understood that they were not the only seekers on this quest, and that his friend was lucky to once again escape peril unharmed. "Indy, tell me again, you did what to your journal?"

"Look, Marcus", his friend began, "They already know everything we know, so it's not our biggest worry right now. The only thing they don't know, at least not yet, is the significance of the symbols on the bases at the monument. I just removed that page and wrote a new one with some nonsense to throw them off our track." "But Indy, won't they notice the missing page?" "Well even if they do, they have no way to know what's on it, and that gives us some time to figure out our next move."

"And who are these people Indy? Nazi stooges?" "No, I don't think so. They're too subtle for that, if they were just hired guns they would have done us in already. No Marcus, I think we're up against some Nazi officers, maybe even high-ranking ones, like the SS." Brody contemplated his words solemnly.

"Now, look here Marcus", Indiana Jones pulled a parchment-colored piece of paper out of his breast pocket. "Take a look at these symbols, you ever seen these before?" Indy had drawn several shapes around the page in a rough circle. To Brody they looked like shapeless lumps of clay. He had no idea what they meant. "Indy, are you sure these are the right symbols?" "I'm positive Marcus, I copied them right off the pedestals." "Well, I don't remember seeing anything like these before, though there is something familiar about them."

Henry Jones Jr. felt dejected. He was certain they only had a short time before the mystery men would be hot on their tail again, and he wanted to be long gone by then. He had left Brody's house and was at home, sitting in his favorite chair and thinking. He didn't really think the amorphous shapes were pictograms of course, they were much too globular for that.

Maybe the forms were some kind of symbols representing the spirit world or the afterlife, but Indy knew that such ancient artwork almost always included representations of entities from the spirit world, or at least would show the initiate before or during their journey. Indiana was bothered too by the globe they had found. It

The globe seemed too simple to be a map to such a culturally, spiritually, and historically significant site. There was almost nothing on it at all except for the continents and a few lines of latitude and longitude, not even the borders of any countries. England at least should have been denoted, considering its source of origin.

Why would they not show their homeland? The only reason Indy could think of was that it didn't need to show borders since it was an island. Indy suddenly bolted upright in his chair, "How could we be such fools?", he said to himself as he frantically searched his study for a world map. He had several old map replicas on his walls, but they were mor artwork than cartography.

Indiana Jones flipped frantically through several books and dug through the piles of material on his desk and tables before unfolding a large Mercator map. It wasn't fully comprehensive but contained all large land masses including significant islands. He poured frantically over the map and then finally found what he sought- a shape. The shape of one of the symbols from the monument. The shape was an island.

LONDON, ENGLAND

The room was darkly lit and somber, like the four men in dark suits waiting impatiently at the table. They kept checking their pocket watches and were about to abandon the meeting when their host entered abruptly. "There's been a complication", the tall, thin and obviously wealthy man reported. "The Americans have involved themselves in our little venture".

The seated men looked at each other apprehensively. "Though not directly, of course. They've asked an archaeologist to investigate the matter, and so far, he's been too clever for our German friends to evade or remove. We must now choose a course of action, either we move forward with all possible speed in hopes of outmaneuvering him, or we engage ourselves to remove the threat." The men looked at each other again for a long moment, then one of them spoke up, "Who is the American?" "Henry Jones Junior".

Sulawesi Island, Indonesia

Henry Jones Jr. looked for all the world to be sound asleep as he lay back slouched in the seat of a Douglass DC-3, his fedora covering his face. However, Indy wasn't able to sleep on this flight, too many unanswered questions were still racing around his head.

Indy still couldn't figure out what the significance of these particular islands was, or how they could lead him to the final destination. Legend spoke of a scroll, that would point the way to the lost civilization. A paradise scroll, so to speak, but no one knew where it could be found of if it even existed.

These islands should either hold the scroll, or point to its location, but Indiana Jones felt that they were not significant enough that someone would have chosen to cache such important knowledge there. Many of the islands were small and didn't contain the advanced civilizations you would expect to create or safeguard such an important secret.

Jones chose the largest, and most populated, of the islands to begin his search- Sulawesi. Part of Indonesia, Sulawesi was a fairly large island that claimed civilizations thousands of years old, and it's densely forested mountainous interior might still hold secrets undiscovered by modern man.

The one thing Jones was certain of was where he should start- Tana Toraja. the city of the dead.

Henry Jones Junior had been to Indonesia before in his career. The island nation was the location of several archeological sites, such as Ulu Leang, that were being studied to determine pathways of migration for early man in Australasia. He had picked up a few words of Indonesian and thanked his driver as he stepped out at his location and glanced around to take in the site.

Tana Toraja, like most of Indonesia, is set in the middle of a lush, vibrant tropical environment. The city, which was really a village, consists of many elaborate, carved wooden homes with tall, V-shaped roofs that give it its famous, unique appearance. The region was also known for its elaborate funeral rites which include exhuming and dressing up the corpses of recently deceased villagers and parading them through the streets.

It didn't take Indiana Jones very long to stroll through the village, observing anything that might be useful for finding the lost city, but nothing turned up. His real goal was the nearby temple Pura Tambunan Litak, where he suspected any clues to the city would be found. As he walked, he failed to notice a man following some distance behind him in a beige suit.

It was only a little past noon when Indy finished his tour of Tana Toraja. He contemplated trying to find a local to bribe to transport him the several miles between the city and the temple via cart or donkey, but in the end decided it may end up to be faster just to walk, and it would certainly give him time to think.

Though the road led through the jungle, Indy knew there were no dangerous animals on the island, other than maybe a venomous snake or spider. As usual, man was the biggest danger to him. The thought made him suddenly self-conscious and he wondered if he might be followed. Indiana decided to step off the road for a few minutes for security, and he could study a bit of the native fauna while he was at it.

After resting and sightseeing for several minutes, Indy grew impatient. He was just being hysterical, he told himself. There was nothing to worry about and even if there was, he could handle himself. He clutched the handle of his bullwhip and started back towards the road.

In less than two hours Henry Jones Jr found himself in front of the small temple of Pura Tambunan Litak. It looked in some ways like the ornate buildings he had just witnessed in town, but with the addition of some statuary and high walls surrounding the site. A few people were milling around the site- locals, some tourists, and a couple of priests.

Indiana Jones headed towards an older, bespectacled priest and struck up a conversation in halting Indonesian. The man smiled and nodded while conversing and providing some answers of which Jones only understood a few words. Figuring that if anyone was likely to have an idea of how to find the lost city it would be him, Jones kept up the conversation as long as possible. At last, he took his leave of the old priest after many heartfelt thank yous and bows.

Jones stepped to the nearest eave to get out of the sun and withdrew his journal from his shirt pocket and started jotting down notes from his conversation. He was so intent that he didn't notice the two gentlemen in linen suits come around either side of the temple complex and start towards him.

Oblivious to the approaching danger, Indiana Jones was just finishing up his frantic notetaking when a bright and cheery voice hailed him, "Excuse me sir, but I think you dropped this." Jones looked up to see a stunning, young, smiling woman in a light colored, feminine suit complete with trendy hat approach him. The young woman continued to smile warmly as she thrust a folded piece of paper into his hand.

Henry Jones Jr. was flabbergasted for a moment before replying, "Uh, I think there's been some kind of mistake, I just finished writing in my journal and I didn't notice any missing pages." "Please Doctor Jones, there's no mistake, this paper belongs to you." Something in the way she spoke and the subtle change in her smile told him she was deadly serious. "Uh, yeah sure, I think I did drop this paper Miss" Jones quickly took the note and glanced inside, but not before finally noticing the two suspicious men loitering nearby.

"I was glad to receive your request for a guide and would be happy to show you around the temple", the mysterious woman continued, taking him by the hand toward the entrance to the complex as the suited pair watched them intently.

The woman leaned in toward Jones as they walked, "I'm here to warn you, you're in great danger. You must do what I tell you if you wish to live." She led him around the outer wall and along its inside towards the rear of the complex. Indy was too confused to argue with her for the moment.

They continued along the inside of the wall until they passed the corner of the extended wing of the temple, then they left the wall with a quick glance behind them until they found a small, recessed doorway. The woman retrieved something from her pocket and fiddled with the door urgently until, after a long moment, she managed to open the door and pull Indy through it.

The chamber was small, dark, and dank, but it was away from prying eyes. "Doctor Jones, do you have any idea how you can leave this temple without being captured? Did you make any plans for escape?" "Hold on a minute lady, you seem to know all about me, but I've never met you before." "Dr. Jones this really isn't the time for this." "Yeah, it's never a good time. Listen, you drug me in here, the least you can do is tell me who you are before you drag me back out of this hole."

"All right, my name is Penelope Smallbridge, and I work for people who are concerned about your well-being." "Aw, I'm touched", replied Indy sarcastically, "Well that's a good start Miss Smallbridge. I had no idea the Queen was so fond of me." Penelope gave him an aggravated sidelong glance, "In case you didn't notice there are two German agents right behind us and another four concealed along the road just outside of the complex. They want to ensure you never leave this place alive. Do you have any idea why they are so interested in you?" She added innocently.

"Nice try sweetheart, but I wasn't born yesterday", Jones retorted gruffly. He was certain that someone who knew his movements and actions so intimately would know exactly what he was after. The fact that she was English surprised him, but something in the back of his mind told him it was significant and not a coincidence. "Now, since you got us in here, do you have any idea for how to get us out of here?"

"But you haven't even looked at the temple yet!", Smallbridge objected. Something in the way she said it reinforced Indy's belief that she knew why he was here and what he was after. He would need to be careful around her he decided.

"Another time", Indy announced solemnly, "Now how do we get out of here?" "There is a place where we may be able to climb over the wall, towards the back of the Temple. It's risky though, the land back there is open with no place to hide" answered Penelope. "Well, we'll have to chance it", decided Indy. "Come on!", he ordered, taking her hand and turning toward the doorway.

They sped toward the back of the complex with hearts pounding. Indiana Jones and his mysterious helper Leaned against the wall and caught their breath. "What did the old man tell you", Penelope asked him innocently. "He said the place I'm looking for is the central site, whatever that means", Indy answered absent mindedly. "Is that where you're going next?" "Maybe, if I knew where that was. I think we'd better get over this wall first", he replied and made a step with his hands for her to surmount the wall. Indiana was beginning to feel suspicious of her questioning.

Penelope stepped on Indiana Jones' hands and hoisted herself up to look over the wall, "It's clear", she announced positively and scrambled over. Indy struggled to follow her but finally managed to pull himself up and over- and was immediately grabbed by waiting SS agents. Indy struggled but they held him fast as two more agents raised firearms and directed them at Dr. Jones. Another agent held Miss Smallbridge.

"Let's go!", one of the German agents shouted and Indiana Jones and Penelope Smallbridge were led towards a waiting truck and then pulled aboard. The truck slowly turned and headed back towards town. "We need to escape", Indy announced to his companion while he glanced around. "No Dr. Jones", Smallbridge objected. "Even if you make it off the truck, they'll shoot you before you can escape." "Leave that to me", came the surprisingly assured reply.

Luckily, the Germans had been in too much of a hurry to search him adequately and failed to check his back where he had a surprise hanging from his belt. Indiana Jones stealthily reached behind him and unbuckled the item while taking in his surroundings. It would take a great deal of skill and luck for him to pull this off. Penelope looked at him apprehensively, "Dr. Jones, I don't think you should..."

Crack! Indiana Jones' trusty old bullwhip sprang to life, wrapping itself around the bridge girder where he had aimed it and yanking Indy backwards as the truck continued forward. Indiana was pulled from the agents sitting next to him and directly into the armed agents sitting in the back of the truck bed, bowling them over and making it impossible for them to fire their weapons as Indiana Jones was pulled free from the vehicle to the roadway behind.

The drivers of the truck heard a commotion behind them and slowly got the message that something was wrong. As they slowed the truck to a stop the Germans piled out of the back and ran towards the bridge. As they reached the spot where Dr. Jones had been standing, they looked over the railing towards the river below and saw no sign their prisoner except for a rawhide whip dangling above the water. They looked frantically up and down the river but it was no use- Indiana Jones was gone.

MANILA, PHILLIPINES

Henry Jones Junior sat at his hotel table in his bathrobe with his head in his hands and a map on the table. No matter how many times he looked at it his mind couldn't make sense of it- the central temple. The problem was that most of the temples they had identified were from different parts of the world, different periods of time, different cultures even different religions. Out of all these random sites, from Indonesia to Egypt how could anyone pick one of these locations as the center, the most central to the myth, but central how? Not in time, not in religious, cultural, or historical significance.

Indiana Jones stabbed his finger in the middle of the ring angrily, as if to prove to himself that there was no center- but there was. In the exact center of the ring of temples, in what looked just like barren mountains, there was something significant- Bhutan and the Gangtey Monastery.

WASHINGTON DC, USA

Hiram Feinstein hung up the phone and pondered the conversation he had just heard. Doctor Brody seemed quite excited during their fifteen-minute call and was quite insistent that his information was correct. Though it sounded questionable Brody's academic reputation was impeccable. Hiram sighed and decided he should at least make some cursory inquiries to see if anything concrete turned up.

FAR EAST AIRLINES, OVER SOUTHEAST ASIA

Henry Jones Junior sighed. This was about the tenth trip he'd made on this adventure, and he was beginning to tire of it. He had considered waiting for Marcus in Manila, but in the end, he knew that the Germans would figure things out soon enough and he needed to stay a step ahead of them if he was to complete this quest. He would have to do it alone this time.

Indy thought he needed to be wary of the British too. He still had no idea who Penelope Smallbridge was or how she was caught up in this, but he decided to keep his guard up from here on out. He was suspicious of her questions and how she happened to show up right when the Germans did. And there was something else. Though it had slipped his mind at the time, Indy remembered Marcus' claim that the British had killed his mentor Dr. Cromwell. Though he couldn't see a connection between the killing and Penelope it seemed like quite a coincidence and one he needed to be wary of.

Luckily, Indiana Jones hadn't told Ms. Smallbridge everything the old priest had relayed to him. It seemed that somewhere in this "central temple" was located a scroll- a scroll that told how to find the lost civilization. Though he had a hard time believing that something so important would not have been found already, he figured he could at least confirm whether there had been a scroll and, if it wasn't there, maybe obtain some clues to its current whereabouts.

SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA

The Douglass DC-7 was gliding in for a landing while a tall, thin man in a gray suit watched from the shadows of the terminal eaves. His orders were simple- ascertain whether Dr. Jones was onboard the flight and if so, kill him by slipping poison into his drink. If that attempt failed, he was to report it at the next stop. He clutched the small vial of poison in his jacket pocket and smiled as the plane touched down.

As he waited for the plane to refuel, Doctor Jones lay back and took a deep breath. He was still bothered by all his encounters and close escapes. He'd been lucky, but he couldn't count on his luck to continue. There was something that still didn't make sense to him about all this.

The Germans and the Brits, but the Brits were never seen, other than Smallbridge they were always behind the Germans, unless... If they were working together then that could explain it, but then why would Penelope try to help him? And if they were working together, why didn't they catch him long before this? Jones drifted off still pondering as the stewardess came by and dropped off a glass of water...

Professor Jones awoke with a start. His dream of being chased through the jungle had just ended at the same moment the plane experienced rough turbulence. He reached for the glass of water on his tray, but just as he stretched out his hand to it the plane jolted again, and Indy's hand knocked the glass to the floor. "Damn", Indy mumbled as he braced himself against another shudder.

A few minutes later after the turbulence had subsided a man in a white suit peered around the row to see Indiana Jones slumped in his seat, and the glass of water spilled on the floor. He smiled to himself and settled back. He could sleep in peace now that his task was accomplished, and his master would be pleased.

CONNECTICUT, USA

Marcus Brody was awakened by the sound of the telephone ringing. It was early evening and he had dozed off in his easy chair. He answered the phone still rubbing his eyes, "Hello?" "Doctor Brody? This is Hiram ... with Army Intelligence." "Yes", replied Brody, "How can I help you?" "Mr. Brody it's about your partner, Doctor Jones. We fear he may be in grave danger."

GUWAHATI, ASSAM INDIA

"Doctor Jones, wake up Doctor Jones!" Indy opened his eyes to find a stewardess shaking him, "Doctor Jones. We've arrived at our destination, and everyone's already debarked from the plane!" Indy shook himself awake and stumbled out of his seat. He had slept like the dead, and he felt dead as well as he stumbled down the boarding ramp with the stewardess assisting. He looked ill or drunk to anyone watching the scene.

Henry Jones felt dead tired, but he was too close now to stop. He slumped into a cab and directed them to take him to the train station. From there it was only a several hour ride to Bhutan.

The Gangtey Monastery was very isolated. Located in the center of the country and surrounded by nature preserves, there was no direct route to get to the monastery. Jones pondered is options as he pored over his maps. He could go through Gelephu or Sarpang for a more direct route, but the roads were obscure and uncertain, or he could take the longer route through the capital Thimpu. It was a longer, round about path, but would be sure to be better taken care of and, Indy thought, he'd be more likely to get reliable information about the route to the monastery and what he could expect to find there.

Thimpu, BHUTAN

Indiana Jones was shaken awake several hours later by his driver, "Look, Look!", he said excitedly. Rubbing his eyes Indy beheld the beautiful valley of the capital city of Bhutan. It looked like something out of a postcard from Austria or Colorado, except for the unmistakably Asian palaces and temples. He had the driver drop him off at the edge of town so he could stretch his legs and take in the scenery.

Henry Jones Jr. enjoyed the idyllic tranquility of the small, central Asian city as he strolled up the main boulevard. He heard more children playing and bovids braying than cars or trucks. While the western world was rushing into the future, here people proudly lived in the past. He had no specific destination in mind, or any time schedule. After so much travel it felt good just to go slow, like a leaf on a slow stream.

Eventually, Indy so a dense region of large, formal-looking buildings, and made for them. He had passed the few impressive buildings on the outskirts of the city as they were most likely palaces or temples, not government offices. He found a building that looked like what he was after and went inside. After a short wait, a young clerk approached him and gave him surprising news- they had a message for him, all the way from America.

Indiana read the message again as he left the Government building: "Be careful. Trust no one. Army intelligence advises serious threat to your person. Avoid dealing with British Nationals if at all possible." He almost ran into a couple of Bhutanese and then stopped to take in the impact of the message. If the Army had warned Marcus, they must know something he didn't.

Indy was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of shouting, "Let me go your ruffians!" Spinning around to face the fracas Indy was shocked to see a think young foreign woman being hassled by two, rugged-looking native men. They appeared to by trying to abduct her into an old wagon. He was even more shocked to see who the young woman was- it was Penelope Smallbridge.

Indiana Jones' jaw dropped for the second time that afternoon as he recognized his acquaintance. "Hey!", Indy yelled, causing the two Bhutanese men to take their eyes off of Penelope for a moment and cast worried looks in his direction. The cart driver was getting nervous by the attention the commotion was causing and spurred his pony to take off, threating to leave his comrades behind. The two men looked anxiously back and forth between their ride and the angry American archeologist.

Indy shouted at the two men again and started to push his way through the growing throng towards them. As the cart was pulling away, they finally decided that escape was more important than fulfilling their mission and they released Miss Smallbridge and ran after the rolling cart. Indiana Jones caught up to Penelope and grasped her by the arms, a look of concern painted on his face. She looked up at him and then their eyes locked, as if frozen in time.

Indiana Jones woke up and raised his arm over his eyes to block the light streaming in between the curtains. He was in an unfamiliar place, and it took him a while to remember what happened and where he was. "So, you are alive", a feminine and familiar voice spoke out. Slowly turning his still-sleepy head, Indy saw the form of Penelope Smallbridge standing to the side of the bed. She looked at him disapprovingly before breaking out into a big smile, "Come on sleepyhead, or are you going to sleep all day too."

Indy looked menacingly at Penelope, but it didn't work, she just laughed at him. He remembered last night now, the attack, bringing her back to her hotel like a lost, scared puppy, and then she found her way into his arms and though he didn't trust her he couldn't say no to her.

Thinking about it he realized that he shouldn't have gotten involved with someone potentially working for the enemy, "So how does a nice girl like you end up in a town like this after all?" he asked innocently. Penelope glanced at him and hesitated, "Let's not talk about it now, shall we? It's a beautiful morning and I'm sure we both have important things to do." "Yes, important things like figuring out how we just happened to bump into each other in a backwater country three thousand miles away from our last meeting, or why you were attacked, or, while we're at it, how you managed to escape those Nazis single-handedly. That must be quite a story and I, for one, am dying to hear it."

Penelope Smallbridge crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, before plopping on the edge of the bed and beginning what was sure to be a long explanation. "Indy Darling, I realize this looks bad, and it must be very confusing for you, but you have to believe me that I am on your side." "Well one thing's for sure, whenever they call you "Darling" you're in for some tall tales, so let's hear it."

Miss Smallbridge looked hurt for a moment and then began, "Well, you have to understand, my family has a long history of involvement with the Government, beginning generations ago and right up to my father, who was a Royal Navy Captain during the Great War. After the war, my father was brought into the Home Department as a civil servant and rose up to a position of some prominence- personal assistant to the Department Secretary."

Indy half listened while he contemplated something in his mind. The Army, the Nazis, the British, and now even local Bhutanese are all competing to find the lost city of Shangri-la. "What is it that's drawing all these different groups together to find a myth and legend?" The thought kept repeating in Indy's mind as he tried to listen to Penelope. "What are they hoping to find", he pondered, "Or not find?"

Henry Jones Junior looked doubtful. He had just heard Miss Smallbridge's entire story of her family's involvement with the British government and how supposedly the Americans had asked them to keep an eye out for Jones' expedition and render assistance if needed. He didn't believe that part for a second, but he had no doubt of her family's involvement with the government, though he didn't think it stopped with her father. If Penelope was working for their government that could explain her involvement.

It turned out that Penelope knew something of their destination. She had even managed to get her hands on a relatively up-to-date road map that would make their trip easier. They had arrived at a sort of unspoken truce and decided that they would head out for the Monastery together in the next few days. Indy wasn't sure who's side she was on, but he decided she was better than the Nazi's and would probably follow him whether he took her willingly or not. At least he could watch her this way, and he didn't exactly dislike her company.

The trip from Thimpu to Gangtey Monastery was slow and uneventful. It was hilly country, full of streams and valleys which made the roads dodgy, winding and slow. Indy wondered if they would really find the location of Shangri-la at the monastery. He had no idea of what to even look for. Penelope seemed unworried and content and didn't discuss their objective.

After many days of slow travel, the found themselves one morning gazing up a beautiful valley, surrounded by lush, green hills clad with thick evergreen forests. At the head of the valley was the unmistakable white walls and high, multiple roofs of Bhutanese temple- Gangtey Monastery. Henry Jones Junior lifted the brow of his fedora hat to take in the site. "Well, let's hope she was worth the wait", Indy solemnly proclaimed.

Time moved very slowly the next few days as Indiana Jones and Penelope took their time speaking with the locals and the temple monks and pored over every inch of the temple looking for clues. The Buddhist monks seemed to have no idea what they were communicating no matter how many ways Indy asked it, though they were friendly and unfailingly polite. Indy felt like they had struck a dead end. Luckily, there was no sign of the Germans, and they were pleasantly forgotten for the time-being.

Day three of their stay in Gangtey dawned and Indiana stared out the window of their dilapidated hotel room towards the Monastery at the far edge of town. He felt like he was missing something, even then as he regarded the structure, he felt there was something he was failing to see. He was absent-mindedly staring at the numerous corners of the roofs as a shadow passed overhead and noticed how they changed in appearance. Snap! Indy had a revelation and snapped his fingers. The multiple angles and changing shadows could have been purposefully designed into the structure to send a message!

"Penelope!" He called to his still-groggy partner, get over here, quick!" Miss Smallbridge yawned and struggled to her feet, "What is it?" "Take a look at the temple now and tell me what you see", Indy ordered. She lumbered over to his side and looked out the window. "I don't know Indy, what am I looking for?" "Look, there!", Henry pointed at the ground in front of the temple, "Tell me what you see?" "I don't see anything Dear, just some people and shadows… Wait, it looks almost like the shadows are a shape of something, what is that?" "That", said Indiana Jones, "should be our destination. But it's probably skewed from this angle, we'd need to get an aerial view to be certain", he said while glancing around the area. "There, that hilltop", he gestured to the west of the temple, "That ought to do it, how fast can you be ready?"

Penelope was not ready to rush out the door, even if it meant finding the lost city of Shangri La, "No, you go on without me Dear, I'm still half asleep and I would only slow you down." Indy looked at her for a moment and then decided she was right and rushed from the room.

Indiana Jones looked down towards the Temple. He had climbed the small hill that flanked the East side of the city and was just high enough to get somewhat of an aerial view of the site. Clouds were obscuring the sun and temporarily blocking his ability to identify the message hidden in the building's shadow, but he was certain it was there.

Indy was doubled over for a minute, catching his breath. While he was looking down, he suddenly noticed his shadow appearing on the ground- the sun was out! Quickly standing again he raised his hand to shield his eyes and stared down and forward to the area in front of the temple. The wind whipped clouds were altering the shadows continuously, but after several moments he was able to make out a shape- the shape of a mountain.

Henry Jones Junior burst into the hotel room door- and stopped in shock. The woman whom he had left half asleep in bed was now fully awake and dressed to kill. Smiling at his surprise, Penelope Smallbridge stepped to meet him and handed him a glass of champagne, "So, you've solved the mystery? Have you figured out the location of the lost city?"

Indiana grabbed the champagned glass reflexively and felt that something weird was going on here, but Penelope's charm sidetracked him, and he couldn't figure out what it was, "Yeah, I found it, or at least I think I found the final clue to its location."

Miss Smallbridge looked bursting with anticipation, "Well, don't keep my dying with anticipation Dear, what have you found?" She pointed at his champagne glass "Why don't you take a drink to calm yourself and then tell me about it?" He looked at the glass and suddenly didn't feel like drinking, in spite of being thirsty. "Oh, come now, have a drink with me or I shall be forced to drink yours as well", Penelope laughed and took a long swig straight from the bottle.

"OK fine", Indiana Jones responded to his waiting partner and took a quick drink from the glass, before discarding it on the table and sitting on the bed. Penelope sat next to him and took his hand, "Well? What have you found?" "It's a mountain", Indy began, "The sacred mountain, Mount Kailash." A smile spread across Penelope Smallbridge's face, "That's incredible Darling, you really are amazing!" She patted Indy's hand before standing up and moving back to the table and the Champagne bottle.

Still smiling, Penelope Smallbridge stared at Indiana Jones as he sat, as if waiting for some reply. She took one more drink from the Champagne bottle and watched as Indy's face began to sweat and he looked in shock. Indy wiped the sweat from his brow and rubbed his eyes as he started to feel queasy. He looked at Penelope in alarm and she regarded him, carefully keeping her distance. "Are you feeling OK Darling?", she asked him nonchalantly as Indy attempted to stand and reach for her.

Penelope Smallbridge backed up a step as Indiana Jones took a step towards her and then fell to the ground. "They told me it worked fast, but I didn't know it was this fast", Penelope said as she watched him for a moment longer. Satisfied, she turned away, grabbed a few things, and walked out shutting and locking the door behind her.

Indiana Jones felt like hell. He felt as sick as a dog, and beaten as a mule, but he was still alive. The poison was working fast, but not quite as fast as he let on for Penelope, he could still move. Rolling to his side, Indy struggled to a crouch and moved clumsily toward the bed. He had only moments to act and he knew it. Indy fumbled around his suitcase for a moment and then felt his whip and his pistol. The gun was useless to him now, but the whip was essential- he had to save as much time as possible for every second counted.

Struggling to the veranda, Henry Jones Junior looked through his bleary eyes at the city below him. Their hotel room was on the second story and faced roughly in the direction of the temple a few blocks away. He knew he had to get there fast to have any chance of surviving.

As he looked down, Indy heard a commotion around the corner of the hotel. He turned just in time to see Penelope hurrying to a vehicle that was just pulling up. A familiar-looking man got out and opened the door for her. The vehicle sped away as soon as Penelope entered it without a glance behind her.

Turning back to his situation Indiana noticed a lamp post about ten feet from the building. It didn't look like an easy or secure target, but he couldn't wait. At that moment, a small truck came into view and Indy gauged his timing and then swung his whip- crack! The end of the bullwhip wrapped itself around the lamp post and Indiana stepped off the ledge.

The hotel manager looked at the envelope "Attention Dr. Henry Jones Jr." He couldn't read English, but he had learned over the years to be able to distinguish names of hotel guests in writing. His register said there was a Jones in room 207, so he knocked on the door.

Indiana Jones was just stepping off the hotel balcony when he heard a knock at the door. Without thinking he turned to look towards the door- and then promptly dropped off the balcony.

Grasping his bullwhip with all his strength, Indiana Jones couldn't believe his luck. The truck he had seen was driving up the road directly below him- his plan might work after all. He couldn't see well, everything was blurry, but he could see the truck and swung towards it, intent on dropping on its roof and riding the rest of the way to the temple. It was such a brilliant plan. Whack! Indy slammed right into the side of the truck.

A crowd had gathered in the middle of the street. A young monk was walking through town when he heard a commotion and saw people pointing. He hurried up to see what was the matter and was shocked to see a western man lying on his side in the road. The man appeared to be dying as the monks approached him. The man looked up wearily and recognized the orange robes of the monastery. He spoke a few words in Tibetic to the monk's surprise.

The monk asked the people if they could try to carry Indiana Jones to the monastery. They struggled to raise him to his feet, but it was apparent that the man was not able to keep himself upright. Indy spoke a few more words, his voice barely discernable. The monks strained to comprehend his foreign accent "Help. Poison" Indy slumped to the ground, the poison had almost completed its task. The monk leaned over Indiana Jones, readying himself to speak a ritual to assist his soul on its trip to the afterlife, then a familiar voice asked him to move aside. The monk looked up with surprise, it was his master- the temple lama.

Indiana Jones was slowly gaining consciousness. For some time, all he was aware of was a dim light, and then wispy, white curtains, swaying around him. As he continued waking, he realized it was really a resurrection- he should have died.

Opening his eyes a little wider, Indy found that his vision wasn't quite as blurry as before, a good sign. The curtains obscured his view, but it appeared that he was in a wooden structure, probably several hundred years old. He noticed furniture with elaborate, colorful carvings of deities and demons. He now knew where he was- Gangtey Monastery.

As Indiana Jones regained his strength, he was able to talk with some of the monks about his ordeal. After a few days when he was feeling about ready to leave, he received a visit from Wang Po- the Lama who had saved his life. Wang Po spoke with Indy in English for a short time before asking him why he has been attacked and why he was in Bhutan. Indiana looked at the slight, peaceful man and knew he was someone he could trust, so he told him about Penelope, the Nazis, and his search for the lost city of Shangri la.

The old monk looked at Indy for a moment, sizing him up, before commenting on his tale. He told Indiana that the people of the Himalayas didn't want foreigners searching for the lost city and were suspicious of their motivations whenever they would ask. Indy assured him that he was working for the US government, against the Nazis, and his interest was purely professional.

Wang Po leaned towards Indiana Jones and spoke in a low voice, "Do you know what is in the lost city?" Indy shook his head. "People believe many things about Shangri la. Some say it has sacred texts, others say it is a place of healing, and others say it contains many relics- even magic relics." Wang Po pulled a small object from his robe and showed it to Indy. It looked like a carved jade ceremonial object, in fact Indy thought it looked more Chinese than Himalayan. "This came from the lost city." The old monk intoned, "It is what saved your life."

Henry Jones Junior waved farewell to the monks as he left the temple to start the last leg of his journey. He still wasn't sure he believed everything that the lama had told him, but he would soon know the truth either way. He was sure about one thing- even with a head start, it was doubtful that Penelope Smallbridge and whoever she was working with would find the city before him.

Henry had also been delivered the letter from Marcus Brody while he was in the monastery. Ironically, it warned him that he was in great danger and that the British may be involved. "Thanks for nothing" Indy thought to himself though in reality, he had only missed the warning by a few minutes.

While Wang Po had been cryptic about its exact location, he did reveal to Indy that the city wasn't actually located at Mount Kailash, but at a holy place still in Bhutan, a place that has a vantage of the sacred mountain. That made sense as the area around Mount Kailash was high, dry, windy, and barren. It was also very well-known and no sign of any ruins or ancient cities was ever found there.

The old monk told Indiana that the city was in Jigme Dorji National park in the far west of Bhutan near Sikkim India. It was near the hamlet of Gasa and the closest natural area in Bhutan to mount Kailash. Indiana was relieved. Even though it was a logical place to search for the city, it would take Penelope or anyone else days or weeks to discover their mistake and deduce the actual location. With any luck, by that time Indy would have found the city already.

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

The small room was dark, sweaty and smokey, in spite of the fact that the sun was shining outside. The thick curtains over the high windows kept most of the sunlight out, and the tension in. The Germans were huddled around the small, kitchen table while off to one side, seemingly trying to hide in the corner, stood Penelope Smallbridge. They men were alternating between studying small details in a dossier of aerial photos and maps and grunting and bickering with each other.

The consensus seemed to be that there was no direct route to reach the mountain as it was situated on the other side of the Himalayas, the Chinese side. They were also dubious that this was indeed the location of the lost city. It was not only located above a barren, windswept, high plateau, but it was a well-known location and unlikely to conceal any remains of a civilization that had not been found already. And then there was the issue of the Chinese.

Penelope wondered where Indiana Jones' body was, if there would be a grand funeral for Doctor Jones or if he would just be dropped in a pit somewhere to spend the rest of eternity anonymously.

GASA, BHUTAN

Indiana Jones could see the tiny village of Gasa in the distance at last. A broken radiator has disabled his hitchhiking ride some ways back so he was on foot. He stopped to take in the view and rest a minute. Gasa was nestled in the lush, evergreen foothills of the Himalayan mountains and was, in a word, breathtaking. It reminded him of his brief time in the Bavarian alps. He noticed that there was a prominent cliff face above the village that seemed to be riddled with caves, but they were too regular to be naturally formed, probably tombs of some kind.

Indiana Jones looked out from the doorway of the home of the family that had agreed to take him in for the night. It was serene and peaceful, but he felt a kind of hidden energy as he gazed upon the tomb-lined cliffs once more. He knew instinctively, and as an archeologist, that the end of his journey was there, and the answer to all his questions.

Henry Jones Junior stopped to catch his breath and take in the view as he neared the cliffs he had spied yesterday. The town looked like a tiny blip in a sea of green evergreen trees as he looked back at his progress.

His hosts could tell him little about the cliff tombs, apparently, they hadn't been used for hundreds of years and they weren't sure who had made them. They did relay to him the story of some village goats who had climbed high up the cliff face and disappeared never to be seen again.

Indy started up again and after several minutes found himself amid fallen rocks at the base of the cliffs. Looking up from here they looked much larger and more intimidating than they had from below. He also noticed that there was a standing stone near him, seemingly ancient, that appeared to be carved on its face but was so weathered it was almost impossible to make anything of it.

Indy's first thought was to take a rubbing of the stone like he had from other artifacts, but he realized he had nothing with him to use for the rubbing. He gazed up again hopefully, as if there would be an "X" carved into the stone face to show him the way. He had no doubt that this place was linked to the lost city, it made sense to him for several reasons, but he felt as lost as he had at the beginning of his adventure.

CHINESE AIRSPACE 20,000 FEET

The SS team prepared their parachutes and their intel. They were taking a risk crossing into Chinese airspace, but the area was so remote that it was very unlikely that the Chinese government would even notice or spend the effort to investigate if they did. They were hundreds of miles from any significant Chinese city, and with the rugged terrain they'd have plenty of advanced notice if anyone did show up, and plenty of places to hide in the high, rugged mountains.

Penelope Smallbridge was not with them. She had received an urgent communique from her government that required her immediate attention. She had promised to meet them at the site, but the agents were indifferent. They were only concerned with accomplishing their mission and saw her as an unnecessary complication.

Their commanding Officer was absent as well. He had instructed the men to carry on as planned, but said he had to attend a meeting with party officials. Secretly he had been ordered to follow Penelope Smallbridge and determine what she was up to and prevent her from reestablishing contact with Doctor Jones at all costs.

GASA, BHUTAN

Henry Jones Junior was getting frustrated. He had checking inside several of the small cliff tombs hoping there would be clues of some kind to the location of the lost city, but all he had found were bones and rocks. There were no clues, no secret doors and no hidden passages.

Gazing back up at the cliffs above he estimated that there were a few hundred rock-cut tombs. Not only would it take a long time to search them all, but many of them were high up the cliff and difficult to access, even with a rope. Luckily he had been able to acquire one in the village.

It was late afternoon and the sun was starting to head to the west, highlighting the cliff faces. Indiana Jones noticed some birds flying in and out of the upper caves. He thought there was something odd about it, but then returned his focus to the ground. He stepped over to the standing stone again and tried to scrape the patina off of it, but it was so eroded that it would be almost impossible to see the original carving whether or not there was anything covering it. He splashed a little water on it to see if that would make it more visible, but it was hopeless.

Indy decided he would have to try searching the caves again, but which ones? Looking up he had a sudden realization- the birds weren't landing in the tombs but flying through them. They must be doorways or tunnels! With a sudden burst of energy Indiana made for the edge of the cliff face and started to climb up the hillside. It took him quite some time, but eventually he reached his destination- the top of the cliffs.

GANGTEY, BHUTAN

Penelope Smallbridge was perplexed. She had until just returned to the Monastery city, but she was quickly able to find several people who verified that Indiana Jones was still alive. She didn't understand how he could have survived the poison; it was a particularly deadly as well as fast-acting variety. She was now heading to where she was told she could find answers- the monastery and its lama.

GASA, BHUTAN

Moving cautiously and deliberately Indiana Jones slowly made his way laterally across the mountain face. A fall here would be fatal. Trying to remember the location of the tombs he positioned himself where he guessed he was directly above where he saw the birds entering. Searching around for an anchor point, Indy tied a loop around a heavy-looking boulder and tried to estimate how much rope he had left. He thought he had just enough to reach the entrance.

Indiana Jones stopped for a moment to let the seriousness of what he was about to do sink in. He was alone, with no expectation of backup on a mountainside just above sheer cliffs trusting a rope from villagers he only met yesterday. If he made a miscalculation, he would likely end up dead. Of course, if he were right and he succeeded, he could end up rich and famous. Indy tested the rope's sturdiness one more time and started walking backwards over the edge.

Luck was with Indiana Jones. It turned out that he had judged correctly and what's more the openings in the cliff face were only about 15 feet down, not as far as he had feared. Climbing slowly down the rope he suddenly felt his feet push inwards and he knew he was inside. Indy lowered himself a few more feet and was surprised to feel his legs falling inside the mountain. Indiana positioned himself on what was like a window ledge of stone and finally peeked inside what he had come so far to find.

Henry Jones Junior was shocked at what he saw before him. He was sitting inside a window carved into the mountainside that opened up into a massive space. It looked to Doctor Jones to be as big as the largest cave he had even seen or heard of the space stretched hundreds of yards from left to right and continued back as far as the eye could see to what looked like another series of windows in the far side of the mountain. Beneath him lay crystalline pools of water, reflecting the angled rays of light that came through the windows and beyond them lay what looked like stone buildings- hundreds of them.

Anyone else would have been worriedly trying to figure out how they were going to get out of the high mountain window. Indiana Jones was trying to figure out how to get inside it. This was the biggest archeological find of the century, maybe in human history, and he would be damned if he wasn't going to claim it.

Indy pulled the remainder of the rope up and lowered it down on the inside of the mountain. He estimated he had about 15 to 20 feet of rope left, but how high he was above the cave floor was hard to say. The light streamed down at an angle, leaving the area underneath him shrouded in shadow. Indy gritted his teeth and lowered himself into the cave.

Indiana Jones let out a sigh of relief as he felt his feet hit solid ground. Actually, it wasn't ground but the remains of a giant stone pillar leaning against the wall, but it was close enough. He wrapped his arms around the tilting column to slow his descent and slid the remaining 15 feet to the ground. Looking around he say that he was on a stone walkway that was about ten feet above the ground which then sloped further down into the distance. Indy thanked his lucky stars that the cavern hadn't been fully excavated or he might have fallen dozens of feet to his death.

Henry Jones Junior walked forward and downward into the dim shadows. It was early evening and the light entering the cavern was dimming, though his eyes were adjusting to the darkness. He stopped at the edge of one of the pools he had seen from the window. Slowly inspecting the water, he decided it was probably safe and took a swig. It had a slightly unusual taste but seemed to be OK, so he drank his full.

The water seemed brighter than it should have in the dimming light, almost as if it had a light of its own. Indy noticed that there were luminescent green things growing around the edge of the pool. Things he thought because he couldn't decide if it was a plant, algae or fungus. Though he didn't know it, it was a species unknown to western science. A minute later, he continued on.

A few minutes later, Indiana Jones came across the first ruins of buildings. They were small- storage rooms, guardhouses or maybe shacks, and tumbled and slumped into piles of rock from time but they looked clearly man made. He couldn't find any artifacts, so he continued down into the center of the mountain.

As he approached more buildings, Indiana Jones could see that he was on the outskirts of a city, with many buildings, lanes and even tall, civic, or religious structures. One in particular looked intriguing- it looked like a Meso American stepped pyramid.

As Indy entered a row of ancient houses he felt a weird sensation, he started to feel lightheaded almost as if he were floating rather than walking. He also noticed that his night vision seemed improved, which would be normal except that the daylight was fading even while his vision grew sharper. He stepped inside one of the tiny, ancient dwellings and could immediately make out everything clearly although it should have been darker inside the structure than outside.

Indiana Jones glanced around the crude home looking for relics from the people of the lost civilization. Other than a few small chips from pottery that couldn't be identified, he found nothing of either artifacts or writing that could tell him anything about this place. He checked a few more dwellings but it was the same- the people left nothing behind to identify themselves. Either they all left, or something sinister had happened to them.

Doctor Jones continued onward towards the center of the lost city, and its secrets. He noticed there was a large, dark shape though he wasn't able to make it out until he got a bit closer. In what seemed to be the center of the lost city stood a temple, it looked like a ziggurat.

It was getting very dark inside Shangri La. Outside the mountain it was evening and the sun was nearing the western horizon. Inside only thin streams of light appeared from the far side of the mountain, and virtually none from the side Indy had entered. He desperately wanted to search the temple and learn its secrets, but he knew he would get nowhere without a light.

Indiana Jones searched his surroundings for anything flammable and eventually came up with some ancient fragments of cloth, some scraps of wood, and a few old bones. It wasn't much but it would have to do. Using the flint from his rucksack, he was able to stoke a small fire and then started to assemble a torch. It was late and he hadn't eaten. He should have been starving but food was the last thing on Indiana Jones' mind as he prepared himself to enter the temple and discover what lost secrets it held.

It was nearly black inside the mountain as Henry Jones Junior approached the temple, oblivious to the time and everything else. He stared at the stone in awe as he moved slowly around the structure, absorbing its every detail. It was made of stones, natural looking but far too uniform in size and appearance to be natural.

The original ziggurats of Mesopotamia had been made of mud bricks Indy mused, not stone. Since stone wears slowly to begin with, and here in this sheltered cavern even more slowly, it was impossible to guess the age of the structure. There were a few slender windows higher up the walls which were dark as pitch. As he rounded a corner Indy calculated that he had just walked at least seventy feet which would make the inside nearly five thousand square feet- enough to easily hide unknown treasures.

Indiana Jones had found no writing yet or even engravings of any kind yet at the site, but he wasn't worried. It was common for ancient cultures to focus their artisans on the inside rather than the outside of sacred sites, leaving the exterior to the builders.

Indy rounded another corner and was now in front of the Eastern face of the structure. Here once stood an obvious ramp with stairs leading up to the entrance of the temple. The ramp and been largely shattered and collapsed, however, and there was a big pile of rubble where stone stairs once climbed the face. Indy could just make out the lintel above the jumble of stone, though he couldn't see if the entrance beneath it was open or blocked. "There's only one way to find out", Indy stated to himself and began to climb the hill of rubble.

The torch still burned bright as Indiana Jones finally pulled himself atop the pile of boulders and took a breather. He could see that most of the entrance was blocked, but the last couple of feet were open, though he couldn't see how far back it ran. Indy took a swig from his canteen, the last bit of water from the village, and hoisted himself atop the boulder pile. He began to half-crawl half-drag himself into the entrance.

Luckily for Indiana Jones, he only had to crawl over a few yards of rubble before he was able to stand again and make his way down the dusty hallway. Judging from the thick, undisturbed dust no one had been here for years, perhaps centuries. The hallway ran for perhaps a dozen yards before suddenly opening onto a balcony several yards above the floor of the structure. Indy realized that the lighting was too evenly spread around the room to be from his torch and snuffed it out to get a better look.

Looking over the edge of the balcony, Indiana Jones caught his breath- a mesmerizing sight lay before him. In the center of the temple stood a low dais, and open the dais was a massive crystal. The gemstone looked like emerald, but was a different shade of green, an eerie, iridescent blue green that seemed to entrance anyone who beheld it.

Indy stood in awe for a minute before pulling his eyes away to regard the rest of the chamber. Around the gemstone were several pools of water, or what looked like water, but it shimmered and glowed and danced in the light of the gemstone so that the water almost seemed alive. He almost felt that the light was radiating through him, as if he could feel it somehow inside himself. He felt moved almost to tears. Then he noticed it- writing engraved and the side of the dais beneath the jewel.

Indiana Jones rubbed his eyes and looked again- yes there were definite engravings in the stone platform. He used his bullwhip to lower himself down to the floor, temporarily forgetting the spectacular sight before him. He approached the stone and then tore his eyes away to look at the markings below, but there was something else, something about the floor.

Jones stopped dead in his tracks, all the hairs on the back of his neck raised. Indy was experienced enough to suspect a trap. He looked closely at the floor and, sure enough, the flagstone in front of the dais had slightly wider grooves around it than the neighboring stones did. It was likely a trap door, one false step and you could be falling to your doom. Luckily, he was able to view the inscription from the neighboring stones.

The writing was foreign yet familiar, flowing, and beautiful. Then Indy realized why it looked familiar- it was a form of Sanskrit, or what looked like Sanskrit, only stylized and ancient. After studying the inscription for several minutes Indiana found there were a few words that he might be able to translate, among them were "stone" and "truth".

Indiana Jones studied the inscription for what felt like hours. Then he was startled by a voice behind him, "Stunning, isn't it Darling?" Henry Jones Junior was jolted to his feet by the sound and spun around to face Penelope Smallbridge standing over him. She was smiling but not in a friendly way. More disconcerting, she held a pistol in her right hand.

"I was wondering when you'd show up", Indy replied, faking conviction. "So, what bring a nice girl like you to a cave like this", he added sarcastically. "You Dear", she answered, stunning her lover. "Me? Well, you already had me back in Gangtey, why'd you have to follow me all the way here?" "It's not I that wants you", she began to answer him, then thought better of what she almost revealed and changed course, "I'm just here to see that you don't do anything… foolish or revealing."

"Oh, so all this is just our little secret, is it?", Indiana Jones retorted. He suddenly realized just how valuable this chamber would be to certain people. "Well, I'm not going anywhere", Indiana began again, "Why don't you come down here and we'll catch up on old times?" "Darling, how many other people know about this place?" "Just you and me Doll." "And what about your friend, doctor Marcus?" she asked. The question about Marcus stunned Indy, she obviously had read a dossier on him, probably from her German friends, and remembered the name backwards. Indiana had wanted to evade her question, but once again somehow couldn't help himself from answering her questions "Marcus doesn't know about this place, he just knows I'm somewhere in Bhutan."

Indy couldn't understand why he was being so honest with her, shooting himself in the foot no doubt. Then it struck him- "truth", "stone", this stone, it was called the "Stone of Truth" and it was literally! He couldn't understand how it could be, but somehow this chamber made of stone with the giant gem and the funny water all functioned together as a device, a truth telling machine!

Indy wondered if Penelope knew about the stone and that's why she was questioning him, but he thought it unlikely. He decided to try it on her, to see if she could resist the effect, "Where are your German friends Penelope?" "They… they're not here Indy", came her answer. It seemed like she hadn't wanted to answer, hadn't wanted to reveal the truth to him, but yet she did.

Did the stone really have the force of truth? Indiana still couldn't believe it, but it seemed that its power could work on anyone, as long as you asked a direct question. He decided to not push his luck. He could probably get away with it once, but he shouldn't do it again unless absolutely necessary to avoid alerting her. He had no doubt that her woman's intuition would quickly recognize the threat if he manipulated her again. That was the thing about women, Indy thought, just because they let some people use them didn't mean they didn't know when they were being used. "So, what do you think should happen now huh? With us and this stone", Indiana avoided asking a direct, pointed question that she would be forced to answer honestly.

"Oh, Indy Darling, what a silly question", but she never finished her answer. Suddenly there was a loud booming noise and then the sound of rocks jumbling, scraping, and falling. The chamber shook and then there was silence. "What the hell was that?", Indy asked rhetorically. Penelope just looked at him, not wanting to answer. Angry about her hiding things from him he started to ask forcefully, "Penelope, what in the world was…", but he was cut off by some more rumbling, then dust settling and silence. "That Darling is someone who wants to meet you."

Indiana Jones looked up in surprise and heard footsteps coming down the stone corridor. Moments later a man he had never seen before stepped into the chamber, "Welcome Doctor Jones, though really I think you should be welcoming me", the man said with a smirk. Indy appraised the newcomer. He was tall, thin, and intelligent looking and also smug, arrogant even. The man was attired in a linen suit of the highest quality under a thin woolen jacket. He oozed sophistication and class and was obviously English.

"Lord Percival English, fifth Earl of Cornwall at your service", the man said with a flair. "I take it Miss Smallbridge was a pleasant host?" "Just peachy", Indy said with almost a snarl. "What do you want with us?", he demanded. The stranger looked down on Indiana with almost pity, "It's not what I want with you, but from you. You are standing in my newest acquisition. I require you to vacate immediately and swear an oath that you will never reveal the location of this temple, nor any details about it or what's contained here", he said while appraising the stone. "And if we refuse?", Indy asked pointedly. "Then I'm afraid our hospitality will come to an end and so will you. And please, don't say we. It's very unbecoming of you Americans to use the royal we, and surely you aren't including Miss Smallbridge in your plans I hope?" "I might be", Indy replied. "I think you are about to find where her loyalties lie", English stated.

Three men walked into the chamber behind Percival English. One of them whispered something in his ear, the other two posed beside him as bodyguards, rifles held at the ready and steely gazes fixed on Indiana Jones.

"Penelope, please go down and search Doctor Jones. We don't want to leave anything of value behind and it would be a shame if a priceless relic were left behind." Penelope slid down the whip and slowly approached Indiana Jones. "I'm sorry it has to end like this Darling", she demurred as she began to search him. Moments later she removed his revolver and then she pulled out the artifact that Wang Po had used to heal him and then given him as a parting gift.

Penelope held up the artifact toward Lord English and he grinned in approval. Indiana noticed that it was the same color as the giant gem and seemed to be of the same material. Unsure of what to do, Indiana tried the power of the stone on his new antagonist, "Where do you intend to take the stone English?" "I am taking it far from here, far… taking it to my summer estate if you must know", he stammered surprisedly. "And what do you intend to do with us?", Jones made a final demand. "Your journey ends here, Doctor Jones. Soon you will be buried in this…tomb, permanently." "And how do you intend to do that?", Indy said defiantly. "Simple Doctor Jones. This temple is to be destroyed, and you with it. My men have just finished rigging the building with explosives. In fifteen minutes, you will be history. Now kindly step aside while my men come and collect the stone. Penelope dear, please keep your gun on him and do see that he behaves."

"It'll take more than a few sticks of dynamite to bring down this place", Indy said hopefully. "Only too true I'm afraid. However, my engineers tell me that someone knowledgeable with these ancient stone structures could destroy it. Someone, perhaps, like a professor or archaeology?", the grin on English's face told Indy the truth- they had got to Marcus Brody for information. He hoped Brody survived the encounter.

Penelope gestured over to the side of the chamber with her pistol, and Indy reluctantly complied. He studied the room and English's men for any clue or hint of a chance for escape or evening his odds in a fight. He noticed that Lord English's number one man was eyeing the other two almost with contempt as the climbed down to begin removing the stone. He obviously considered himself superior to the other two men, though Indy wasn't sure how he could use that to his advantage.

Indy turned towards Penelope and asked softly, "Penelope, why are you helping this guy?" "You wouldn't understand", she said dismissively. "Try me", Indiana replied in a softer tone while he stared into her eyes. "I told you my father worked for the British government. What I didn't tell you was our family used to be aristocrats." "Used to be?" "There was a conflict with another family, as there often were in the old days, and we lost our land and title.

We lost nearly everything, and our family was destitute. My father had started to turn things around, but he died before he could attempt to regain our family heritage. So, I went to work for the same government directorate he had worked for and made enough contacts that I was able to start to make a case for our reinstatement. However, without support from the Lords I have little chance of success. Lord English took me on as an associate and has promised to petition for my family's reinstatement once he has what he wants."

Indiana Jones looked at Penelope Smallbridge like he had just lost a puppy. "Please, don't look at me like that Indy." Indiana was too busy thinking to hear her. He just realized how he could even up the odds. English's two men had just reached the floor and were starting to walk towards the dais. They had left their guns on the balcony; confident nothing would happen. That left the odds at five to one, but only one of them was now armed, along with Penelope Smallbridge.

Indiana Jones knew his timing would have to be perfect if they were to survive. He turned to face Penelope and asked in a low voice, "You wouldn't really shoot me, right doll?" She looked at him uncomfortably. Indy asked again, "Penelope, are you going to shoot me if I don't comply?" "No", she answered against her will. "Thanks Doll", Indy smiled and turned to watch as the two men approached the gemstone.

Indiana jones watched as Lord English's first servant approached the dais where the Stone of Truth was waiting. He was so entranced by the stone that he didn't even bother to look at the inscription, or the floor. "Click", went a loud noise from in front of the statue as the man stepped on the trapped flagstone, but nothing happened.

"Damn", Indiana Jones muttered, the trap door had failed to open, but it had temporarily alarmed the two men who now stood in front of the stone dais. Indy took advantage of the situation and suddenly lunged at Penelope Smallbridge and grabbed for her pistol. The stone and its dais were in between them and Lord English's two men giving him the seconds he needed to wrest the gun away from her.

Chesterton, Lord English's bodyguard and manservant, had already been given orders to shoot anyone who interfered with English's plans- Jones, Smallbridge, even his two other manservants. He was a former military sniper, one of the best in the Royal Marines. Seeing the commotion taking place below he raised his sniper rifle and attempted to train his sites on Jones, but from his position he had no clear shot, the other servants were directly in his line of sight. He hesitated for a split second, and then decided to take out one of the servants, clearing a line of fire to Jones.

Indiana Jones had grabbed Penelope's Smallbridge's pistol and was momentarily screen from being shot by Chesterton above. As the sniper was trying to get a shot Indy decided to take a risk to attempt to decrease the number of opponents. He ran a few steps towards the two men who had backed away from the stone dais when they heard the trap click. Centuries of time and decay had degraded the mechanism, but Jones was sure it would still work with a little more effort. He ran headlong into one of Lord English's servants pushing him back towards the trap door. The trap made another clicking sound, this one less loud than before. Indy was sure it was on the verge of tripping; it just needed a little more pressure. Indiana Jones jumped on the man's back, holding on to his shoulders, there was another click, and the trapdoor opened. Indy just barely got clear of the panicked servant as he was swallowed up by a dark abyss.

Nathaniel Chesterton squeezed the trigger is his Lee Enfield rifle and "Bam", one of the two manservants hit the floor already dead. Before Chesterton could get off another shot, he was shocked to see Indiana Jones jump on the man's back, and then see him disappear into a hole in the floor.

Lord Percival English was aggravated with the disruptions to his plans. Now that he was down two men and it was basically Chesterton versus Jones, he faced the very real possibility of failure or even danger to his person. Such as shame he thought, the giant gemstone was worth an entire kingdom, but at least he still possessed the relic. Glancing at his watch, English saw that there were less than ten minutes left before the explosives were set to detonate. He turned and walked toward the exit.

Indiana Jones was pinned down. After disposing of Lord English's man, he had taken cover behind a corner of the dais and was taking potshots at Chesterton above. Penelope crouched down near him, merely a bystander at this point.

Indy noticed Lord English walking to the exit. He really wanted to catch him before he could escape to find out what the reason was for this madness, but first he had to deal with Chesterton. The man was a professional it was obvious to Jones, but he had to find a way to deal with him. Maybe he could use the stone to his advantage. He asked Penelope his name.

"Chesterton, hey Chesterton!", Indiana Jones called out loudly. "What is English paying you for this Chesterton? Whatever it is, I bet it's only a fraction of what the stone is worth. Did English tell you how valuable the stone is Chesterton?" Nathaniel Chesterton stopped firing for a moment, compelled by the stone of truth to answer his question, "No, he didn't, and I didn't ask." "Did he tell you what the stone does, what it's power is, did he tell you that?" "No, I don't know what you're talking about." "This stone makes people tell the truth. That's why it's so valuable, that's why it's called "the Stone of Truth". Think of how valuable this would be to some people, governments, military intelligence. What would they pay to have guaranteed, true confessions? Can you imagine what they would pay for that?" Indy didn't tell him his suspicion that the stone needed the water for its power to work.

"What do you want me to do?", Chesterton asked quizzically. "I don't know, maybe you could disable the explosives, and then we can talk about it. What do you say?" "I'd say you sound rather desperate", came a voice behind Chesterton. It was English, he had re-entered the chamber. "I say it's time to end this dilly-dallying once and for all. I'm afraid you leave me little choice Doctor Jones, and you too my dear, we can't have anyone talking to Jones' friends in Army intelligence about our little outing I'm afraid. Nathaniel, please do be kind enough to dispose of Doctor Jones and Miss Smallbridge at once."

Indiana Jones faced a bleak situation. Lord English's assassin was raising his rifle to fire on them. Indy still had Penelope Smallbridge's pistol, but he had no idea if it still had any bullets in it or not. There were two rifles on the balcony above, but he had no way to get near them before they would be gunned down. They could hide behind the dais, but that would only buy them minutes before the temple fell down upon them. If only there was a place they could reach that would shelter them from the collapse. He looked around but the only shelter was under the balcony that would very likely fall right on their heads if the hid there. There was only one other option, but it was risky and would require buying some time.

"Wait! Before you shoot us English, there's something you need to know about the stone." Chesterton glanced over at his boss who begrudgingly waved him off. "Really Jones, these theatrics are getting tiresome." "There's something you need to know, about how it works." "And what might that be?", English inquired. "The power of the stone doesn't just come from the stone itself, it's this whole place. The stone, the temple, the water, it all works together somehow to create a magic. If you remove the stone, it won't have the power anymore." "That's all well and good, but I'm not here for the stone, shall we finish this?" Not here for the stone? Indiana was shocked, he had assumed that was what English was after, since he seemed to know about it the whole time. If he didn't want the stone, then why would he come all this way through all these obstacles and conflicts? What other reason could he possibly have for being here?

"Then why are you here English, if you're not here for the stone?", Indy demanded. Percival looked down with the air of a disapproving parent, "I'm not here for the stone, I'm here for what it represents, for what it could represent in peoples' minds, should this place be revealed to the world." "But this is the most significant archeological find of the century, maybe the millennium", Jones interjected, "This place is a priceless find, even without the stone. This culture, this whole city is an unbelievable discovery that could change our whole understanding of history." "Yes, it is, and that's why it must never see the light of day."

Indiana Jones was stunned and couldn't believe what he just heard. Lord English, a high-ranking British Aristocrat wanted to bury the most significant human discover in centuries, and for what? "Tell me, Doctor Jones, how do you think people would react if they heard that a place was discovered that had magical powers, giant jewels, the ability to cut through any lies, even the power to cheat death?" "I hadn't exactly thought of it that way", Indy admitted. "Well, I have", British continued, "and I can tell you what would happen- bedlam, pandemonium. Our citizens would be rushing for the next train, boat or airship headed straight here to Bhutan.

How do you think the poor, downtrodden masses that we call labor would react if we told them there was a place with magical healing, ancient wisdom, peace, and prosperity for all? No, ruin, chaos, utter chaos. The working classes would lay down their tools and flee to this lost world, fleeing with all their cares and troubles left behind, and where would that leave us, leave civilization? Queen, church, industry, and country would be forgotten in a flash. Everyone would spend their days speaking of truth, healing, understanding, maybe even peace and equality. The old social orders would be forgotten, everyone would be clamoring for change, society would collapse."

Indiana Jones was stunned by what he had just heard. "That choice isn't yours to make. What gives you the right to decide for the rest of humanity?" "I speak for Britain, the true leader of the world. We created the world order and we will keep it. Chesterton!" As the Brit raised his rifle Indiana Jones quickly aimed the pistol and tried to get off a shot before the assassin could. The pistol rang out as the shot went wild, going over Chesterton's head and sending stone chips flying from the wall where it struck next to Lord English's head.

Percival English flew down the corridor, eager now to escape the gunfire and cognizant that the explosives were due to go off any time now. He left Chesterton to deal with the American and trusted that he would finish him off in time. The rubble had been cleared from the entrance and the Brit sped through the doorway and began to climb over the rubble that still covered the stairway.

Out of time, that was the thought that was racing through Indiana Jones' mind. He knew they may only have moments left before the whole temple came crashing down on top of them. He tried on last ditch appeal, "Chesterton, we're all going to die down here if we don't get out of here soon. How about dropping the gun and letting us climb up?" Chesterton didn't respond, but at the same moment there echoed a huge roar of explosions rocking the temple. The sound was deafening and then the building began to shake.

Indiana Jones and Penelope heard the sound of a gun hit the deck and then footsteps racing down the hall- Chesterton had taken the deal but it seemed to be already too late. Indy knew they couldn't both climb up and exit the site in time, there was only once choice left. Pulling down his bullwhip, Indy pulled Penelope over to the front of the dais, held her close, and moved them over the trapdoor.

Whoosh, Indiana Jones and Penelope Smallbridge barreled down a stone ramp just as the roof of the temple collapsed above them. It was a desperate gamble; this tunnel would probably protect them from being crushed to death but they could be trapped forever in and underground tomb. It was dark in the chute and the dangerous part was they had no idea what was waiting for them at the bottom.

A few seconds later the chute curved which slowed them down and they noticed a dim light. Whip held at the ready, Indy saw at the last second that the chute ended in a big pit. Indy shoved Penelope against the far side of the chute while pressing his legs outward against his side. Their momentum slowed. Penelope's dangled far over the edge, and she screamed. Indiana pulled her back up to safety, and then looked around them.

They were in a fairly large chamber that looked like a crypt. Faint light peered down from slits or small windows around the edges, he couldn't tell. Before them was a pit, about twenty feet wide. It was pitch black and there was no sound coming from it, Indy assume that English's man was dead. There was a floor on their left past the pit, about ten feet from the chute. It looked too far to jump, but maybe they could get across with the whip. Looking around them Indy spied nothing obvious to swing from, but there was another option. They could lower someone down into the pit if it wasn't too deep, but he didn't know how that would get them closer to escape. Indiana pulled a pen from his pocket and held it out in front of him, then let it fall. A second passed, then another and then they heard the pen hit the bottom. Indy figured it was about fifteen feet, plenty doable with the bullwhip.

Indiana Jones broke the plan to Penelope who wasn't at all happy with the idea of being lowered into a black gaping pit with who knows what at the bottom, "But how would I see anything down there Indy?" "I don't know, it's not like I have a glow in the dark…", Indy suddenly had an inspiration. Searching his jacket pockets he triumphantly pulled out his lucky cigarette lighter. He lit it for a moment to verify it worked before handing it to Penelope, "Here, try not to lose it."

Indiana Jones huffed and puffed as he lowered Penelope Smallbridge down into the black pit. A moment later he heard a scream. "Penelope? Penelope!", Indy cried frantically. "I'm here", she finally answered, "Indy, there are skeletons down here." "Yeah, I know, sorry", Indy answered. "Use the lighter to see if there's an exit." He could hear her flicking the lighter repeatedly but only saw small flashes of light, "What's going on down there?" "I'm trying to light it, but it keeps blowing out." "Well check which way it's blowing", Indiana answered impatiently. "It's seems to be behind me", Penelope announced. "Indy, there's a tunnel, about eight feet above the floor." Indiana Jones felt a wave of relief wash over him. A tunnel, they were getting out of here after all.

Sometime later, Indiana Jones and Penelope Smallbridge reached the end of the tunnel. Their hearts were crushed until they noticed faint traces of light around the edges of the end of the tunnel. Several strong kicks from Indy was all it took and a piece of stone fell out and light streamed into the tunnel.

They were so eager to get out they didn't even mind crawling over the mummified remains of the dead body buried in the rock tomb. Penelope was almost out of the tunnel when Indy grabbed her out of caution, but it wasn't necessary, this tomb was only about ten feet above the ground- and right in front of the standing stone marker Indy had seen at the beginning.

WASHINGTON DC, USA

Henry Jones Junior felt like he was back in the principal's office as a schoolboy. Government officials hounded him mercilessly on all elements of his story, particularly the Nazi's, in spite of him repeatedly telling them that they were only a nuisance after all, and the real enemy had been an ally- something the government did not want to hear.

Indy for his part had a lot of questions as well and he tried as much as he could to get information out of his interrogators that would answer them. He did learn a few things. Nathaniel Chesterton was hit by a falling stone near the entrance of the temple and had not survived. Of Lord English however there was no sign, and the US Government was none to eager to question their greatest ally about one of their leading citizens. It appeared that he was going to get away with his crimes after all.

Of the unit 66 Nazi's only bits and rumors had been heard. Apparently, the Chinese did get wind of an incursion of sorts in the mountainous southern border regions, but by the time they could get boots on the ground the Nazi's were long gone. What became of them was never known, but it's likely they passed back over the border to Nepal or India and from there escaped back to Germany.

They had also told Jones that Marcus Brody was fine, though he had been contacted by someone asking about the structure of ancient stone sites, he never left the safety of his living room.

The most shocking bit of news was about the site itself. Jones had assumed that the government would fund excavations, secretive no doubt, but he had believed that the culture, history, and incredible artifacts of the lost City would be uncovered, even if only briefly before being buried again in bureaucracy. But, according to government officials, the Bhutanese government, concerned with safety and foreigners pillaging the ancient site, decided to destroy all entrances to the site and make it a no man's land.

Indy was crushed. He had been prepared for deception, betrayal even, but not the complete denial and interdiction of ancient history. Someone had once told him that we just pass through history, but sites like Shangri la are history. Indy sighed, he had no doubts that the ancient writing he had seen on the inscription was incredibly significant, possibly predating any other known human writing.

Jones was convinced that there were more inscriptions in the city waiting to be found that would now be lost forever. Who could imagine what kind of ancient culture, knowledge, secrets, even technologies they could have uncovered? And the stone, the stone itself was treasure enough for ten lifetimes. Well, Indy thought, governments change, maybe someday someone could go back to the site and dig through the mountain to reach it. But he knew in his heart that it would never happen in his lifetime.

It was early evening when Henry Jones Junior finally was allowed to leave the building. Exiting a hallway into the mezzanine, he found someone waiting for him. Penelope Smallbridge wrapped her arms around Indiana and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She was going to ask him how it went, but the look on his face stopped her question. Her hand clutched the ancient artifact in her pocket. For some reason Indy hadn't asked her about it since Bhutan, she guessed he just had too much on his mind.

The couple left the building arm in arm as the sun went down. "Well Dear, where to now?", Penelope asked with anticipation. "I don't know, how about dinner", Indy answered decisively. He had to admit that even though she had lied to him, mislead him, betrayed him, and tried to kill him, he really liked her. But then again, how was that different than any other woman he knew? "What kind of food did you have in mind dear?" "Anything but Asian", Indiana Jones said and then broke into a slight grin. Penelope smiled back as they walked into the night together.

THE END