The Lost City,by Achast Part 1.

 The office had been thoroughly ransacked.Shelves had been overturned,spilling their heavy loads of thick,academic books everywhere.Desk draws and a filing cabinet had been pulled open and the papers within scattered across the floor.Clay figurines and carved plaques,reproductions of ancient,Meso-American pieces from museums around the world had been callously knocked off shelves,and torn from the walls and smashed.

Professor Angelica Cardosa whimpered softly into her gag,looking at the ruin that had been made of her life's work.It  would take her years,if not decades to undo the damage these thugs had done in minutes....assuming the anthropologist was given a chance to try and put this nightmare behind her..

The 28-year old professor sat on a heavy wooden chair in the centre of the ruined office.Her arma were behind her back,pinned uncomfortably between her short,slender body and the hardwood back of the chair,wrists crossed and bound with brown,strong hemp rope.More of these ropes circled Angelica's torso,running above and below her busr,and around the back of the chair,lashing the young woman to it.Her legs ,covered by a long brown skirt,had also been tied with rope,at the knees and ankles,which were then tethered to one of the chair legs.

The sturdy chair and the coils of thick,tight rope were more than enough to convince the slender woman she had no chance of struggling free,so after being taken captive at gunpoint,she had sat meekly,merely watchung in horror as the men who'd seized her,were now systematucally tearing apart,her tidy well ordered academic world lookinh fot something.When she had attempted to protest,they had responded by stuffing a balled up rag into her mouth.A long strip of white cloth had been tied into a tight cleave gag,and a large rectangular strip of silver duct tape was sealed firmly over Angelica's mouth.She could barely make a mumble behind it.The men were dressed in dark jackets,wore black  masks and appeared to be ordinsry thieves,perhaps looking for a valuable artifact or trinket they could sell on the black market.But soon enough,from the way the men turned over every draw and went through each book before tossing it aside,it became apparent that the intruders were looking for one thing in particular.

Jusr then,Angelica heard the front door of the house open.A figure entered,crossing the house quuckly to the office.The anthropoligist's eyes widened in recognition,as she suddenly realised what this was all about.The new arrival was a young woman in her late twenties.She had a seasoned skin with fair blond hair that she wore,in a long braided ponytail.The woman had on a khaki shirt with matching trousers.She wore jungle hiking boots,but much to Angelica's alarmed eyes,she noticed the gunbelt with her trademark handgun that made her instantly recognise her at once:Katherine Von Gruan,infamous in the antiquities community as a notorious grave robber,not above stealing other,honest archeologists' work and selling artifacts on the black market for personal profit.

The four thugs,hired muscle,stood up from their ransacking as Katherine entered.She crossed the room to where Angelica sat bound and gagged,picking her way around the mess scattered around the floor.Angelica glared up at her defiantly.

"This place is a mess..." Katherine teased her captive."You really should tidy it up  when you have the chance." She turned toward her men."Have you found the journal yet?" And the key?" She spoke English,but her voice had an unmistakable German accent to it.

I was right to send it away.Angelica thought to herself.It wouldn't do her any good,but it might keep a very important historical discovery out of this nasty,wicked bitch's hands.

The leader of the thugs,a man named Smith,shook his head."We've searched this place from top to bottom.It ain't here..."

Katherine frowned." I suppose we'd better ask our hostess then."She turned back to Angelica.With little ceremony,she tore the tape away from the other woman's mouth and jerked the tight cleave gag off.Instantly,Angelica spat out the balled up cloth that had been stuffef in her mouth."So Dr Cardosa,tell me.." Katherine asked the captive in accented Portugurdr."What have you done with the map and key?"

Angelica tried to keep on her defiant face,despite the fear she felt."I've already sent off both of them,just before you came,"she replied."Somewhere far from here.You will never find the Lost City of the Gods!"

Katherine sighed."You will tell me who you've sent them to." She told her captive sternly as she nodded towards her thugs."These gentlemen can be quite persuasive..."

The men grinned,gathering around the two women.Helpless in her bonds,Angelica trembled with fear.Nevertheless,she managed to find the voice to speak."Go ahead.It..it won't do you any good.I won't help you!"

"Er..boss." Smith said."Perhaps the good doctor might be more compliant if we start talking to her friends?" He nodded his head to one side.In that direction was an open door,leading to the kitchen.From the room,came the sounds of muffled sobs.Clearly visible through the door were two young women,both in their early twenties.Like Angelica,they had been securely bound to two sturdy chairs and gagged with silver duct tape.

The first was a tall,slender Brazilian girl with long dark hair.She was dressed in a maid's uniform and had been the professor's housekeeper.The girl beside her was shorter,with pale freckled skin and auburn hair.She wore a long sleeved red shirt,unfastened at the top,and tight blue jeans.She was also of Braziian descent and was a student,studying at a local university and was the professor's student and assistant.

"No! Please!" Angelica begged,but the men ignored her.Smith turned to one of his accomplices.

"Morris," he inatructed,"run out to the truck and grab the spare car battery.Bring the jump cables too."Hearing this,Angelica went pale as the man known as Morris turned and walked out of the room,stomping the pages of a research paper underfoot indifferently.

"Well,Dr Cardosa," Katherine's tone of voice was now full of menace."I'll give you one more chance to be reasonable,and save yourself and your companions from a great deal of pain.Tell me,who did you send the map to?"

+++

Louise was sitting at a table in the hotel bar,nursing her drink.Since it was still early in the afternoon and the place was all but empty,the bartender,a middle aged Brazilian man dressed in a white dress shirt,hadn't shot her any ill-looks about taking up space more profitable customers might have used.

Sitting on the table in front of the young woman,were two items which had brought her here from London.The first was a metal disc,roughly six inches in diameter.There was gold in the disc,which had been worked with the glyphs and figures of a Meso-American people,done with such startling detail and craftmanship,it was hard to believe the gold medallion was at least half a millenuim old,maybe older.Louise had also noticed sitting in the centre of it,was a white crystal of some sort.

The other object was a small black,leather bound booklet.Idly,Louise flipped through page after page of small,dense writing,done in a very neat hand.Scattered here and there were hand drawn illustrations,sketches of native pictograms and artifacts,alongside maps showing the Amazon River basin in great detail.About three quarters of the way  through,the notes trailed off.On the last page,was a half-finished sketch of a Mayan Ziggurat.

Why did you send this to me? Louise thought to herself,troubled.Idly,she ran her hands through her long brown hair.She had known thar Professor Cardosa,one of her old teachers and her mentor,had been working on discovering the location of the Lost City.It had been a pet project of hers for some time.Last she heard,the professor had been making a good bit of progress.So why had she suddenly decided to post her life's work to her old student,with no reason as if on a whim?

"And unfinished too..." Louise muttered.The final pages of theories and calculations were extremely promising,enough to convince Louise to set up this expedition,but though the book had narrowed things down to a relatively small patch of jungle,having a definite location would have been far better.

"That book make any more sense,Lo?" A voice asked from behind Louise.A moment later,the person who had asked that walked around the young woman into view.She was also a young woman,with shoulder length brown hair.She was dressed like Louise,in a light brown,long sleeved shirt unfastened at the top,with matching working trousers and tough,jungle hiking boots.

"Not really Naomi." Louise told her friend and colleague."We'll just have to hope when we're out there on the river,that things will make a bit more sense.."

"Yeah," Naomi replied."Speaking of which,I've got in touch with a captain who has a boat for hire that fits what we need.Want to come with me and check it out?"

"Alright." Louise stood from the table,scooping the book and talisman into the leather satchel at her side.

The two women walked out of the hotel onto the bustling street.Naomi flagged down a taxi.As they got in,she gave the driver the address of a small,riverside Marina.The man fought his way through the crush of traffic,cars,cyclists and pedastrians everywhere,before he successfully dropped the women off at the riverside.

As Naomi counted out coins for the fare,Louise scanned the long line of piers and the myriad of boats tied up at them:motor boats and sailing vessels,riverboats,yachts and barges,tiny one-man dinghies and boats large enough to sail across the ocean.

"So what boat are we hiring?" Louise asked.

"Um...that one right there.The...Duchess it's called." Naomi replied,pointing with her finger as she picked out the boat from the others at the marina.Louise followed her outstretched arm,to a splendid white riverboat,maybe fifty-sixty feet long.The boat was certainly impressive,having a raised structure on deck with a pilot house up front,and an open deck area near the stern.A white awning stretched over the deck,to give shade against the huge jungle sun.The whole boat had a look of clean tidiness,especially set alongside some of the other disreputable vessels tied up along the river.

As the two archeologists walked up,they saw a young woman on deck,checking over some of the equipment that were stored in lockers by the pilot house.Seeing them,she called down an open hatch.A second young woman appeared.In looks,the two women were very similar;both had dark hair,one shoulder length with the other longer,falling just past her shoulders.Both were dressed smartly in short-sleeved white shirts,with both unfastened at the top.Louise could see these two girls were both highly attractive,and yet there also appeared to be a military air about them too.

"Ahoy there!" The first girl they'd saw called out to them."Are you the gang that called ahead,and said they were interested in renting my boat for a few days?"

Louise nodded."Yes! May we come up,captain...?"

"Powell." The other woman replied."Jennifer Powell,and this is my partner,Paula Smith.We run this boat."

"It's good to meet you,Captain Powell." Louise responded,still walking up the gangplank,her hand extended."We would very much to hire your boat to take us upriver."

"Where to?" Jennifer asked.

"We're not sure..." Louise admitted."We're looking for some ruins,a lost city.We have a general idea of where it is,but we don't know for certain.We're hoping once we get out into the jungle,we'll have more luck figuring out the clues laid laid down to its exact location."

"Hmmm...intriguing." The captain said thoughtfully."Well,in that case,I guess I can give you daily rate.Paid in cash." The amount she proposed wasn't as bad as Louise thought it might be,but it was still rather steep.Frowning,the two archeologists put their heads together.

"With the money we've got,that will only give us a couple of weeks,a month at most." Naomi said quickly doing the maths in her head."Do you think we'll be able to find the city in that time frame?"

"I...think so." Louise replied,perhaps a little less certain than she would have liked.

"That also doesn't give us much time to excavate,even if we do find any ruins."

"If we can find the ruins location,dig up a few artifacts to show back at the university,we shouldn't have much trouble getting more funds for a second expedition." Louise replied as she turned back to Jennifer."It's a deal.When do we sail?"

"Bring your whole group and any luggage you want you want to bring back here tomorrow,say around 0700." The captain told them.Louise nodded,and the two women shook hands sealing the deal.

As Louise and Naomi descended the gangplank and walked to catch a taxi back to the hotel to make final preparations for the trip,they didn"t notice a man in the crowd,dressed as a tourist,raise a camera and take a quick picture of the two women.He also took several pictures of the boat,and the two very pretty crew women onboard it.When he was satisfied he'd had enough pictures,the man hurried away to disappear into the bustling crowds.

However,the man did not notice that he too,was being watched...

Well out of sight,a young Japanese woman had observed the man taking photos of the girls and carefully watched his departure.Once she was satisfied she had what she needed,the woman made her way back to her own safe area.

She reached the place within a few minutes and headed inside.A quick climb of a flight of stairs,and she entered a small office where a young man sat waiting for her.The man was dressed in a British army T-shirt and army trousers.He had short,dirty blond hair,blue eyes and a powerful physique.The Japanese woman liked him a lot.Like him too,she was dressed in military attire of her own country.A short sleeved light brown shirt with two,large square breast pockets,and her shirt was unfastened at the top.Her own pair of light brown,military style trousers with her jungle,hiking boots completed her own attire.

"You got everything Mika?" The man asked her,clearly in his English accent.

"Yes David." Mika answered him.She was a very beautiful young woman,having long raven hair that fell past her shoulders.She had a good athletic figure,and her eyes were warm and intelligent.Both of them were very fond of each other.They'd met during a military exercise between their two countries,and they'd bonded immediately.

"Louise and Naomi have hired Jennifer's boat." Mika informed him,as she handed him the photos she'd taken."They're heading out at seven tomorrow morning."

David scanned all the photographs,and he could see the four girls were all very pretty.Yet,when he saw the photo of the blonde woman,his face darkened.Mika noticed this.

"You know her?" She asked him.

David nodded grimly."She's known as Katherine von Gruan.Bad news,very bad news.She's involved in a lot of illegal activity.Theft of ancient tombs,a major computer hacker in corporate theft,and she's involved in the slavery market.She loves to grab girls for her own personal pleasure."

"Then we will stop her." Mika was determined to do so.

"Of course we will." David nodded his agreement."All the same,watch your back with her.She's a deadly fighter,very cunning too,and she's always got hired muscle."

With that,David then asked."Did you find out what Louise and Naomi are looking for?"

"A lost city of some kind.Not sure why yet,but I think it's very deep in the jungle."

David's face became grim,as he now knew the answer.

"If they're heading to where I think they're going," his voice was grim."Then all those girls are going to be in real trouble."

"What is this lost city? You'vr been there David?"

"Just the once " he nodded,remembering."I got lost up there,and it was a miracle I managed to get out.I think something helped me,something weird,like a force to point me in the right direction."

"You know anything about this lost city?" Mika was very curious."What kind of people lived there?"

"I'm afraid I don't really know,but I know of its legend.The Lost City of the Gods.It's supposed to have a hidden power there,but what it is,I don't know."

"What's our plan?"

"We make sure they're okay.We'll follow them in to keep out any threats." David rose and began to head out of the office."I"ll prepare the boat,Mika.You check our weapons.I think we're going to need them."

Mika nodded,and both of them left the office to prepare for their next mission.

+++ 

Katherine paced anxiously across the cheap hotel bedroom,like a caged predator waiting for the cage to open,allowing her to hunt.She and her hired thugs had flown down here,following the clues they had forced the unfortunate Dr Cardosa had given them.As insurance,Katherine had ordered her thugs to bring the professor and her two lady friends with them.All three young women had been brought along,smuggled bound and gagged in a shipping container.If any of the clues Dr Cardosa were to prove false,Katherine was going to make them pay dearly.She had her own tropical island retreat,where she enjoyed her personal pretty slaves.Those three girls would make excellent additions to her collection

Just then,there was a knock on at the door.Katherine walked over and unlocked it.It was Morris,the short,dark haired sneak she had sent out to look for the two archeologists who had the map and key.He had a grin on his face as he walked into the room.

"I take it you were successful?" Katherine asked,closing the door behind her.

"I found 'em." Morris nodded."Well,two of 'em anyway.They're looking to hire a riverboat,like they were going up into the jungle.Here's the pictures of 'em."

He handed Katherine the pictures,who instantly recognising Louise and Naomi at once.She then scanned the pictures of the other two young women,who were obviously the crew for the boat.All were very,highly attractive girls.

"Did you find out when they're going?" She asked Morris.

"Tomorrow morning." Morris answered."Seven a.m."

"Good." Katherine was pleased."We'll follow them in,and hopefully,they'll lead us to the city."

Pleased at her plan,she rubbed her chin thoughtfully,glancing at the three,bound and gagged young women,now all lying face down on the floor.Dr Cardosa,her maid and the other girl were mumbling behind their gags in terror.This only made Katherine smile in relish.

Morris also looked at the three trussed up,gagged girls with much interest.

"What do you want to do with them?"

"For the moment," Katherine responded,"we'll keep them with us.They might prove useful as pretty hostages."

"And after?"

"Well,I'm sure I'll think of something." Katherine's smile as she said that,didn't bode well for the three girls,who could only stare helplessly and fearfully back at her.

+++

"Ugh...it's too early for this." The young woman declared with a groan,setting her bag down on the pier.She was a tall,strikingly pretty woman,with shoulder length red hair and an impressive figure and bust.

"You said it,Kelly." Another young woman replied,stifling a yawn as she dropped her duffel bag beside the first woman's.She was a little shorter in height,but she was still a match for her own looks.Her hair was raven black,longer and her exotic looks showed off her Chinese ancestry.

"Louise," Kelly said,turning to the other archeologist."Why do we have to get up so damned early in the morning to catch a boat we hired?"

"We're paying for this boat by the day." Louise told her."And since we've only got so much money for the rental,I want to get the most out of it we can.The earlier we get out onto the river,the more progress we'll make."

As she said this,Naomi came up and desposited the last of the bags,with the group's instruments and camping gear from the taxi's boot.She then turned to pay the driver.

"Is this your whole group?" A woman's voice called down from the boat.It was Jennifer,now walking down the gangplank,eyeing the four women on the pier.

"Yes,captain." Louise nodded to her,extending her hand.She introuduced Sarah and Kelly."This is Miss Sarah Burns and Miss Kelly Chu.They're two graduate students who've agreed to come alomg as research assistants for this expedition." Although Louise suspected the two new arrivals had been more interested in a free holiday to the Amazon,rather than hopes of finding the Lost City,was left unsaid.

"Well,come aboard then." Jennifer told her."We'll get your gear stowed away below,and then get underway as quickly as possible."

That was easier said than done.The riverboat had seemed roomy enough the day before with its two crew women.Yet now,with six women onboard,plus gear for an extended trip into the jungle,it was far more cramped.Indeed,Louise and Naomi had asked for cabins as an office space,to continue their work in deciphering the rest of the map.This hadn't gone down well with Sarah and Kelly.

"This isn't a pleasure cruise! We're here to do serious work,sometbing which may prove beneficial to all mankind!" She snapped at her two grumbling assistants,as they moved their bags out of their cabins.

The sun had risen a good way into the sky,before they finally unmoored from the dock and began to motor up the river,dodging around the other craft,as they then headed to their destination.

Despite what Louise had said,there was little for the girls to do in the first few days.The area Dr  Cardosa had mentioned in her journal was still some way off.They settled to life onboard,and they kept out of Jennifer and Paula's way as they ran the boat.Sarah and Kelly set up chairs on deck and enjoyed sunbathing,attracting a fair amount of attention from other boats as they cruised along.

Louise spent most of her time in the cabin,going over the book for the millionth time since it landed on her desk,trying to make sense of the translated descriptions of the Lost City.She was determined to find it.

She was so absorbed in her work,that Louise didn't notice Jennifer enter the room until the other woman placed her hand on Louise"s shoulder.This made Louise jump,startled from reading an ancient passage of poetry that Dr Cardosa had seemed to think alluded to the City.

"Sorry." Jennifer said,apologetically."Working hard?"

Louise shrugged."Yeah,though I don't know how much real progress I've made finding the city's location."

"You lot have mentioned this 'Lost City' a couple of times.What is it?" Jennifer asked.

"It's...well..." Louise thought for a moment to put the right words together."We're not sure what it is really.In a lot of ancient stories and legends from the ancient peoples of the region,there's repeated mention of this 'City of the Star Gods'.Supposedly,the high priests of this city made a pact with the gods,in exchange for enormous wealth in gold and gems,they offered a yearly sacrifice of young,beautiful maidens to be taken to heaven to serve the gods there.Supposedly,the city was lost in the epidemics that swept through the region following the arrival of the Spanish.More than one group of conquistadors got lost in the jungle looking for this city and its wealth.Some were never heard from again.Just before the Second World War broke out,the Nazis sent out an archeological expedition to look for the city.Their team went into the jungle and never returned." She shook her head." Most experts figure the city was only legends."

"And you think they're wrong?" Jennifer asked."You think it"s out there?"

Louise gave another shrug."Dr Cardosa...one of my old teachers thought so,and she made a good case for it.The legends about the gods and the maiden sacifices,are probably just that:legends,but even legends have to start somewhere.I think it's there...somewhere in the jungle.I'm hoping once we reach the area described in her notes,"she gestured to the table cluttered with papers and maps."I'll be able to narrow it down somewhat."

"And what will happen when you find the city?"

"Don't know.Depends on what we find;a few artifacts,maybe some structures still in place." Louise grinned."Or maybe the legends will be true,and we'll get to meet the gods..."

+++

N.B.This was my own version of a story request I asked from Achast.The original version had strong sexual content,including non-consent in it.Looking back at it though,I thought that was a big mistake in asking for that so I decided to make it a lot more cleaner,although I will include certain actions.

Anyway,it was good fun writing it out all again,and there's more to come.