Read Online Ramsey's Gold (Drake Ramsey Book 1) by Russell Blake - Free Book Online
Authors: Russell Blake
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was untouchable to them. I wouldn’t say they were in love with him, but they let him do his thing while they went about their business. Plus, deep in the Amazon, the Indians don’t have guns. They use bows and blowguns. And back then, the drug cartels hadn’t moved in – Colombia was the primary cocaine-growing region, so the jungles of Brazil and Peru weren’t infested with killers like I hear they are now. That leaves the Russians. Your father and I knew they were in the area, looking. But obviously, we misjudged what they would do to find the treasure.”
Drake studied Jack’s face. “Tell me more.”
“Not much to tell. Cutthroats. Vicious. No conscience. Ex-KGB, they were trying to find the treasure for their employer, an oligarch – one of the bosses that wound up running the filthy place. The only positive is that seventeen years ago both of them wound up in a Siberian prison. So they got what was coming to them, even if it wasn’t for your father’s death.”
“How do you know?”
“I have friends in the intelligence community. We still talk, although not as much as we used to since I quit drinking alcohol. They were willing to do me a favor. You never know when you’ll need one in return. Last I heard, the Russians were in for the duration in an arctic wasteland – a frozen hell nobody could survive for long. The life expectancy in that camp is five years. Need I say more?”
“They never found the city?”
“No. If they had, they wouldn’t have returned to the mother country and fallen low enough to get arrested.” Jack finished his coffee. “All ancient history.”
“But you still changed your name, so the threat couldn’t have been completely neutralized.”
“Even if the two scumbags wound up in the gulag, there was about a two-year period when we didn’t know what would happen. It wasn’t worth the risk.”
“How do you know about the Russians?”
“They approached your father on that last trip and suggested joining forces. Actually, it was more like they threatened him if he didn’t help them. I was at the meeting. Let’s just say it got tense. Two things you need to know about your father: he was stubborn as a mule, and he didn’t take kindly to bullying. Like I said, it got tense.” Jack looked at Drake appraisingly. “I’d say you take after him in respect to being stubborn.”
Drake ignored the observation. “My father stared down two former KGB killers?”
“You’ve never seen anything like it. You’d have thought he was bulletproof. The man didn’t know what fear was, unfortunately. Guns came out, and looking back, it was only because they needed him alive that it didn’t escalate. Anyway, that’s how I knew I was still at risk after the expedition. Following that meeting, your father made me promise that your mother and Patricia would go into hiding if anything happened to him. Gave me notes to hand-deliver to them. It was like he knew…”
“I understand why the name changes. But I still don’t get how grown men could believe that some golden city has remained undiscovered for centuries.”
“Many believe the legend’s true. I still follow all the latest developments. In fact, after your dad died, an Italian researcher discovered a report by a Spanish missionary squirreled away in the Jesuit archives in Rome. I think that was 2001 or 2002. The report talked about a hidden city in the jungle overflowing with treasure – precious gems, gold, you name it. The Spaniard had been on good terms with the Indians and they’d shared the story with him, if not the exact location.”
“Do you believe it’s real?”
“You know, I started off skeptical and wound up a believer. Mostly because of your father’s conviction – that it was real, that he had a good idea of where it was, and that not only was it possible to find it, but that he’d be the one to do so. Does that mean it is real? Hell no. Would I bet the farm on it? No. I’m too old for
Drake studied Jack’s face. “Tell me more.”
“Not much to tell. Cutthroats. Vicious. No conscience. Ex-KGB, they were trying to find the treasure for their employer, an oligarch – one of the bosses that wound up running the filthy place. The only positive is that seventeen years ago both of them wound up in a Siberian prison. So they got what was coming to them, even if it wasn’t for your father’s death.”
“How do you know?”
“I have friends in the intelligence community. We still talk, although not as much as we used to since I quit drinking alcohol. They were willing to do me a favor. You never know when you’ll need one in return. Last I heard, the Russians were in for the duration in an arctic wasteland – a frozen hell nobody could survive for long. The life expectancy in that camp is five years. Need I say more?”
“They never found the city?”
“No. If they had, they wouldn’t have returned to the mother country and fallen low enough to get arrested.” Jack finished his coffee. “All ancient history.”
“But you still changed your name, so the threat couldn’t have been completely neutralized.”
“Even if the two scumbags wound up in the gulag, there was about a two-year period when we didn’t know what would happen. It wasn’t worth the risk.”
“How do you know about the Russians?”
“They approached your father on that last trip and suggested joining forces. Actually, it was more like they threatened him if he didn’t help them. I was at the meeting. Let’s just say it got tense. Two things you need to know about your father: he was stubborn as a mule, and he didn’t take kindly to bullying. Like I said, it got tense.” Jack looked at Drake appraisingly. “I’d say you take after him in respect to being stubborn.”
Drake ignored the observation. “My father stared down two former KGB killers?”
“You’ve never seen anything like it. You’d have thought he was bulletproof. The man didn’t know what fear was, unfortunately. Guns came out, and looking back, it was only because they needed him alive that it didn’t escalate. Anyway, that’s how I knew I was still at risk after the expedition. Following that meeting, your father made me promise that your mother and Patricia would go into hiding if anything happened to him. Gave me notes to hand-deliver to them. It was like he knew…”
“I understand why the name changes. But I still don’t get how grown men could believe that some golden city has remained undiscovered for centuries.”
“Many believe the legend’s true. I still follow all the latest developments. In fact, after your dad died, an Italian researcher discovered a report by a Spanish missionary squirreled away in the Jesuit archives in Rome. I think that was 2001 or 2002. The report talked about a hidden city in the jungle overflowing with treasure – precious gems, gold, you name it. The Spaniard had been on good terms with the Indians and they’d shared the story with him, if not the exact location.”
“Do you believe it’s real?”
“You know, I started off skeptical and wound up a believer. Mostly because of your father’s conviction – that it was real, that he had a good idea of where it was, and that not only was it possible to find it, but that he’d be the one to do so. Does that mean it is real? Hell no. Would I bet the farm on it? No. I’m too old for
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