The Mask of Minos, Bruno's Inferno

Chapter 50 - Enter to Learn

                                   

He drove his Austin Healey up the dusty streets making the sharp turns in between closely parked cars on the road twisting like a coil, moving slowly. Children darted out on one occasion nearly sending him careening into a guardrail. He slowed down. The coast became more visible as he rose in altitude up the rocky land and little homes gave way to larger estates nestled into the beautifully landscaped hillside. He came to a restaurant built into the side of the cliff, terraced along the road. On the other side of the road rose the main building of Romanov's industry. He parked his car and looked across the street to the edifice of Trireme Enterprises. It rose to lofty heights jutting out of the white salty stone that seemed to grow out of the rich earth that had been luxuriously manicured.

The front door displayed the name Trireme in English and stoically carved in ancient script above the door was the name in Greek. Engraved into the door was an odd geometric design of a square inside an octagon inside a triangle, symbolizing the acronym TIE.

Harry stood looking up at the building as it disappeared into the mountainside, and reappeared high above jutting out into space looking almost as if it hung weightless in mid-air. He approached the front door and it opened automatically inviting the visitor into a small black marbled lobby, cool and darkened from the sunlight, which heated the world outside.

The foyer was empty except for a small elevator. He pressed the button and immediately, the door slid open. The cabin was lined with highly polished cedar planks and smelled as if it was freshly built. Dim light came from sconces built into the wall. In seconds the doors opened, and with hardly the feeling of having moved at all. He stepped out and to his left the windows showed a view of the entire coast and ocean below. He looked down at the ground hardly able to see the hillside. the restaurant across the street was much smaller than before and at least 100 feet below and cast in the late afternoon shadows.

The lobby was small and lined to the one side totally by shaded glass, the other a wall of natural stone with cleaned and polished boulders jutting out as they were found upon construction. Inset in it was a set of metal doors, possibly to another elevator. The receptionist sat at a desk at the far end, busy on the phone. The floors looked metallic, shiny, and bright, and inlaid into it was a large colorful image of a classic Greek vessel - the trireme. He studied the floor as he crossed to the receptionist's desk. He admired its luster and thought the material looked more organic than the metal plates. Deep reds and greens and raw sienna made the ship, and blue stones the ocean, which was laced with white foam.

The woman behind the desk looked up and smiled as if she were looking at her own brother. She welcomed him and offered him a cocktail or coffee, and a seat while he waited. Behind her desk was a set of doors flanked by a large panel of television screens displaying market news from around the world. The DOW plunged 100 points; the price of gold reached $225 in China. The Soviet Union desperately clung to Afghanistan.

Impatient, a bit nervous, he walked to the window and sat on the chair and enjoyed the view.

"Mr. Thursday?" A woman stood next to him looking joyfully down at him. She was young, attractive with an athletic build. She smiled with white perfect teeth. She had brown eyes and thick light wavy hair, and looked directly into his eyes. She offered him her hand. "I'm Kelly Hatcher, Mr. Romanov's assistant."

She looked genuinely thrilled to see him, and that frank innocence eased his mind. She spoke English with an American accent.

"Mr. Romanov is expecting you." She held onto his hand. "Would you follow me please?"

He hesitated, and she turned. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, I was just curious about the floor."

"It is the most notable part of our company's edifice. The floor panels are made from a raw silver ore mostly from Nevada. It has a high concentration of lead, which lowers the cost, but not the value, and it is highly polished to look as you see here. The ship is made from semi-precious stones from around the world. All of the stones here are gathered from our own mines. The blue water, for instance is made of Larimar, from a mine in Chile. The white is opal quartz from a series of islands we own in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar, the mother of pearl from Arizona. Rocks rich in rare-earth minerals make up most of the rest of the floor."

She reached out her hand and took his, leading him across the lobby. When she turned she let go and walked with an exuberant confidence. She wore a light colored sun-dress, which flared out from her waist. On the wall next to the doors was written in raised silver letters, "Enter to learn, walk forth to serve," scripted in that same geometric design he had seen on the front door." And the company logo of a Greek Trireme in solid silver highlighted with more stones, no doubt from Romanov owned mines. Indeed as he looked around he noticed the lamps hanging from the tall ceiling and on the wall sconces of very stylized design.

"The exact replica of the lamps of Crete during the fifth century B.C.," She said.

Through the doors, the hallway was lined with plaques and awards displaying the various products Trireme Enterprises sells including the many food products, like olive oil, caviar, jams seafood, and meat both fresh and canned from around the world, including a large photograph of a pasture filled with Scottish highland cattle with tremendously long horns. On the opposite wall were certifications of precious metal mines and stone and gemology degrees each tagged with the Romanov stamp, and also photos of the starry sky and dozens of satellites and rockets to get them there.

"This is impressive," Harry said trying to quell his enthusiasm.

Kelly stopped to allow him to admire the art and architecture. "We're into everything." She smiled proudly. The doors opened and they passed into another room. "If you'd like to take a seat here," she waived her hand towards a table with four chairs overlooking the coast, "I'll go and tell Mr. Romanov you are here. I'm afraid he's very busy and can only spare a few moments, but it will be time well spent."

He wondered if she meant for him or Romanov, or for herself. He watched her walk off, and despite her athletic physique, her femininity and shapely form were abundant, notwithstanding. The chairs sat at the end of a long open space completely made of glass. As he walked out to it, it seemed unsafe because there was no floor - so to speak. The small room was cantilevered out at least fifteen feet seemingly with no means of support, completely free of any other part of the building, and as he stood next to the table he could see clear to the ground appearing to be suspended in mid-air. The end of the odd room was round and fifteen feet in diameter. He began breathing heavily and sweat formed on the palms of his hands. Relax, he told himself, and he pulled a large soft leather chair out from the table and sat down.

"From the ground up it would look as though a table and chairs were floating in the air," a deep voice said from behind him. Harry stood quickly but not without some trepidation and turned to meet Romanov.