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ARTIFACT thick clasp envelope Watching the driver

NOTICE: This story contains explicit descriptions of sexual activity

between more or less consenting adults. If you are not of legal age to

read such material, or if you find it offensive, then stop reading now.

This story is (c) Copyright 2001 by Wiseguy and may not be reposted on

any for-profit system. Posting on a noncommercial site is normally

okay, but check with me first and do not alter the story in any way.

The full text of this and all Wiseguy stories is available for download

(text or PDF) or for on-line viewing (HTTP) at my web site,

http://www.asstr.org/~Wiseguy.

I welcome all comments from readers (wiseguy35@hotmail.com).



ARTIFACT

(c) Copyright 2001 by Wiseguy

(In honor of the ASSTR Anniversary)



Joanne studied the photos, absorbing every detail.

The one in her left hand showed a young woman of 26 lying

on a hospital bed. Her honey-blonde hair was damp with

sweat, and her face displayed both exhaustion and joy.

Joanne looked into that face, the face of her daughter

Maddie, and remembered the mixture well.

In her right hand was another photo, this one of a newborn

baby girl asleep in a plastic basinet. Tiny fingers curled

into a lazy fist, the skin on them loose and wrinkled, the

pink color mottled. A white stretch cap adorned with a

pink ribbon covered the baby's head. In the margin,

someone had written the vital statistics: Joanne Marie, 7

lbs 3 oz, July 27th.

Joanne sighed. The picture was almost two weeks old

already; the baby would look totally different today, she

knew. Little ones change so quickly. As she taped the

pictures to her makeshift dressing mirror, she caught a

glimpse of herself and realized that the big ones can

change a lot, too. In three months at the archeological

dig, the sun had bleached her hair enough that the gray

streaks had become the dominant color. Her skin had

darkened a few shades as well, and the crow's feet at each

eye seemed to have grown. Joanne, you're starting to look

like a grandma, she confided in herself. It was good that

she'd be going back home soon. Spending summers on a dig

had been exciting at 25, interesting at 35, and endurable

at 45, but at 58 Joanne was finding that her intellectual

curiosity tended to fade after a few weeks without a soft

bed, a private bathroom, or central air conditioning.

Or, she thought in annoyance as her door popped open, a

bedroom with a lock.

A bright young face poked through the doorway. "Lunch in

ten, Grannie," the intruder announced.

Joanne didn't even turn her head. "Okay, Nina," she

replied as the door closed again. Wincing at the usual

protests from her arthritic knees, Joanne rose from her

chair and headed for the communal dining room.

As dig facilities go, she mused, this one wasn't that bad.

An abandoned mission, graciously leased to the dig team by

the Mexican government, made a good home base. It was a

solid structure, at least, instead of a tent village like

many other digs. One wing of bedrooms had been turned into

an office, a darkroom for photographing objects recovered

from the dig, and what the team had taken to calling the

Bits Room -- a long room full of storage cabinets and

tables, where grad students had the tedious job of trying

to assemble bits of broken pottery and other artifacts into

recognizable pieces. The rest served as a small dormitory

to house the team who worked the dig. They took turns

cooking meals on the ancient gas stove in the kitchen and

ate them together so that everyone could help in the

cleaning up.

Lunch was beef stew, cooked and served up by Jeff, the

team's photographer, and Leo, a grad student. The stew

was excellent, but as usual Joanne ate very little -- her

appetite had been one of the earliest casualties of the

rampant heat and humidity.

"Pecking at your food again, I see," came a gruff male

voice. Joanne turned to see Dr. Henry Lambert approaching,

loaded plate in hand. "May I?" he asked, indicating the

empty seat next to her.

Joanne nodded. "Please." Dr. Lambert was the chief

archeologist, the man who'd discovered the ruins of a 16th-

century village here in central Mexico and persuaded a

prestigious American university to provide funding and

staff to excavate and study it. Dr. Lambert had also been

the one to persuade Joanne to leave the air-conditioned

comfort of her Anthropology Department offices to lend her

talents to his team for the summer.

"Jeff is going to think you don't like his cooking," the

doctor remarked. "You hardly eat at all these days."

Joanne sighed. "It's not the food, it's the environment.

I'm getting too old for field work."

"Nonsense. Age is all in the mind."

"Tell that to my knees," Joanne retorted. "And my eyes.

And my hair."

"You look fine to me," he said, smiling.

"You're an archeologist, Henry; it's your job to appreciate

ancient, decrepit things." It was an old joke, but they

chuckled together anyway.

"Speaking of ancient things..." The doctor shifted a

little closer to Joanne and his voice dropped to a quiet,

conspiratorial tone. "I have something to show you after

lunch."

"Oh?"

Dr. Lambert put his finger to his lips. "Top secret

stuff," he whispered.

Joanne nodded and fell silent, allowing herself to listen

while the rest of the staff discussed their morning

progress.

"We've got about three more boxes for the bits room," said

Andres, a thirtyish man with a powerful build who

supervised the excavation team. "Found several nice-

looking whole pieces, too, ready for cataloging."

Jeff nodded, swallowing the last of his stew. "I'm still

working on last week's lot, but I'll make room. " Looking

at Joanne, he added, "That is, unless you'd like first

crack at them."

"Any markings?" she asked Andres.

The big man frowned and shook his head. "Nah, they're

pretty plain."

"I'll pass, then, thank you. I've got plenty to do before

I pack for home as it is."

Plenty indeed, she thought to herself. During the summer

she'd amassed a large collection of research notes and

photos of items taken from the dig, all of which bore some

kind of writing or symbolic markings. Part of her job was

to try and interpret those glyphs; to determine what

civilization had founded and then abandoned this village in

the first place, how they had lived, who they were.

Perusing that material, looking for patterns, marking

similarities to other known cultures, could keep her busy

for months after returning home.

Joanne helped with the clearing up after lunch, then made

her way across the compound to Dr. Lambert's bedroom and

office. She knocked once, heard him grunt a "Come in," and

slipped inside.

Dr. Lambert drew the makeshift curtains across his window.

A thought seemed to strike him: he stuck his head out the

window, looked around, then pulled back in and fixed the

white linen back in place. "Can't be too careful," he said

quietly.

"About what, Henry?"

The doctor reached under his bed and picked up a small

canvas bag. "We found something at the dig this morning,"

he explained. "I wanted to make sure you see it."

Joanne took the bag from him. Its weight, and the faint

clinking sound as the contents moved in her hand, gave her

a clue as to the reason for the secrecy. She reached

inside, pulled out the item, and drew in a sharp breath.

In her hand was a necklace. The centerpiece was a

translucent crystal of some kind, rounded and polished,

ringed in a silvery metal with a dull sheen. A series of

metal bars formed a short, flexible band that would sit

flat against the wearer's collarbone, with a simple but

clever clasp at the back to hold it together.

"It was quite a trick smuggling this thing past the

federales," Lambert noted, "but I knew you'd want to see it

up close."

Joanne nodded, her attention already absorbed by the shiny

thing in her hand. The Mexican authorities kept several

men at the dig for "security" purposes; it was well

understood by all that their primary duty was to grab

anything that appeared to have significant monetary value

and secure it for the government. A few things had been

seized so quickly that Jeff hadn't even had a chance to

photograph them first. If one of those soldiers had seen

the necklace, Joanne felt sure it would have vanished right

away, never to be seen or studied.

Lambert was shifting in his seat like an excited child.

"What do you think?"

"The workmanship is exquisite," she replied, watching how

the uneven room light played through the translucent

crystal. "Better than anything else we've found here."

"Yes, yes," he said, impatient. "But look at these." He

whipped out a penlight from his shirt pocket and shone it

on the center of the necklace.

Joanne looked again and saw what she had missed at first:

the penlight's beam revealed symbols etched into the metal

ring surrounding the crystal. The lines were sharp and

well-defined, but shallow enough that she had missed them

in the relatively dim ambient light of the room. "Ah,"

she said. "Yes, I see what you mean. These are very

interesting."

"Mayan?"

"Possibly. This culture definitely had some strong Mayan

influences, much as the Huastecs did. But the Huastecs

never did any metal work like this that we know of."

"Mixtec?"

Joanne shrugged. "That's been the puzzle all summer,

hasn't it? All the evidence suggests this place was built

around the time of the Spanish conquest, when the Aztecs

pretty much ruled this area. Yet the things we're finding

suggest Mixtec, Huastec, Toltec, Zapotec ... it's as if the

inhabitants had been borrowing from almost every

neighboring culture, including some we thought to have died

out by then."

"I told you it would be interesting," Lambert said with a

grin.

Joanne was staring into the crystal center again. "Can I

take this back to my room?"

"Please," he assured her. "Take as many notes as you need

to, study it all you like while you're here. Give it to

Jeff when you're done, and he'll take it from there."

"What about the government?"

"They'll get it," he promised grudgingly. "But not until

we've learned everything we can from it first."



Every joint in her body creaked as Joanne pushed away from

her desk later that night. With tired eyes she took in the

results of her afternoon and evening's work: a highly

detailed, accurate sketch of the centerpiece of the

necklace, with every glyph faithfully reproduced. Placed

under a magnifier, the symbols had turned out to be much

more intricate than she'd initially thought; amazing

workmanship for the period, she repeated to herself.

Some of the icons were vaguely familiar. One resembled a

pattern she'd seen on a Mayan fertility talisman, but not

quite enough to call it a match. Others reminded her of

carvings she'd seen on Olmec structures which were usually

interpreted as relating to food or nourishment. But that's

not likely, she reminded herself. The Olmec civilization

had ended around 400BC, overshadowed by the emerging Mayan

culture. And the Maya were long gone by the 16th century,

weren't they?

Brain-weary, Joanne flipped off the fluorescent light of

her magnifier. The smooth, rounded crystal in the center

of the necklace went dark momentarily, then picked up the

thin streams of moonlight coming from the window and

swirled them around like wisps of smoke inside its depths.

Unthinking, Joanne picked up the necklace and held it up

nearer the window, looking through the crystal and out the

window. The pattern of light eddied and churned before her

tired eyes, soothing them somehow.

She took a few dreamy steps toward the dressing table and

mirror. Such a beautiful piece, she said to herself.

Slowly, as if guided by someone else, her hands laid down

the necklace long enough to undo the buttons on her denim

shirt.



Dr. Henry Lambert sat on the end of his bed, rubbing

Capsaicin cream into his aching elbows and hands. He'd

dismissed Joanne's remarks at lunch, but the fact was that

Lambert had seen a few more summers than she had, and on

nights like this one his body also complained that he was

getting too damned old for field work.

The curtain swished gently, heralding a welcome nighttime

breeze. Lambert stood up and leaned into the window,

pushing the linen aside to enjoy the air on his face. A

soft light shone into his eyes, and he saw her.

She stood alone in the courtyard, dancing slowly in the

moonlight. The image was murky, hard to recognize, but

Lambert saw the shining jewel on her chest and knew

instinctively what it must be. He ran out to the

courtyard, looking sharply around to see if anyone else had

noticed her yet. Rather than run out into the middle of

the courtyard, he beckoned to her from the side. "Joanne!"

he called in a stage whisper. "What the hell are you

doing?"

She stopped dancing and approached him, gliding along as if

carried by the breeze. As she drew closer, Lambert's eyes

adjusted to the darkness enough to register two surprising

facts. First, this was not a 58-year-old woman in front of

him. She was Joanne's height, had roughly Joanne's figure,

but the face and the body had the lightness and vitality of

youth.

Second, the woman was naked.

Lambert's eyes took in the feminine form as it closed the

distance between them. She was beautiful: lithe and lean,

with hips that swayed invitingly as she walked and breasts

that begged to be adored. And above the breasts, glowing

with an inner light of its own, hung the necklace. "Where

did you get that?" he demanded hoarsely.

The woman smiled at him, her eyes piercing his spirit, and

put a finger to his lips. Her touch sent an electric spark

through his body. He felt the blood rushing through his

system, collecting in one almost-forgotten point.

For the first time in years, Henry Lambert had an erection.

He stepped backward, feeling his way back into the

building, through the hall, to his own bedroom door. She

followed, matching his pace, smiling at him, those powerful

eyes holding his gaze. They entered the room and he

stepped back some more until he found himself sitting on

his own bed, looking up into those incredible eyes. Her

fingers lifted his jaw as she bent over slightly for the

first kiss.

Lambert's lips met hers, and he felt as if her aura were

enveloping him, swallowing him into herself. For the first

time, he dared to touch her. His hands reached forward and

found firm, ripe breasts waiting to welcome them. His

heart began to flutter as he explored her voluptuous body,

his hands rejoicing in the feel of soft, firm, female flesh

once again. He hardly noticed that the woman's hands were

busy relieving him of his clothing.

In moments Lambert was naked, his iron shaft pointing

straight up from a nest of gray-streaked pubic hair. Her

kisses became more insistent, pushing him down, and he had

no strength to resist. His body dropped back onto the bed,

overborne by her energy and her weight above him. He

moaned uncontrollably as she kissed her way down his chest,

down his belly, to take his straining cock into her mouth.

Lambert groaned, his cock so stiff it was almost painful,

and gave in to the inevitable. He came loudly into her

mouth, crying out with each spurt, a tiny voice in the back

of his mind wondering if his heart could have withstood

much more.

A strong, happy lethargy washed over Lambert's body as his

orgasm subsided. He felt vaguely regretful, sorry that he

wouldn't be able to satisfy his mysterious partner, but was

too spent to say anything. Then, to his surprise, he

realized that his cock was still hard. How the hell can

that be? he asked himself, but his mind could find no

answer. Instead, it focused on the awareness of her body

looming over him, preparing to take him inside her. Her

eyes met his, and he felt his body again gathering energy

and channeling it into his groin. She lowered herself onto

him and Lambert heard himself start to moan again. Time

stretched out into eternity as their voices blended, crying

out together repeatedly until they climaxed as one.



Joanne woke up in a slight daze as the morning sun streamed

through the curtain onto her bed. Something didn't feel

right, but it took her mind a few moments to process the

data. Then she realized she was lying naked on top of her

bed, with her head at the wrong end.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. Joanne never slept

nude; not even in the privacy of her home, let alone out

here where anyone could come barging in at any moment. Why

had she gone to bed that way?

When had she gone to bed, anyway?

Sounds floated in through the window from the courtyard:

men shouting, heavy footsteps, a large engine grumbling

while its tires crunched the dirt. Joanne hopped up from

the bed, threw on her bathrobe, and poked her head out the

window to see what was going on.

She saw the site van, a battered old Econoline normally

used to transport crew, equipment, and supplies between the

compound, the dig proper, and the nearest town. It was

parked in the courtyard, engine running, rear doors

standing open. In a few moments two men emerged from the

far side of the building carrying a stretcher. She

couldn't make out the figure on the stretcher clearly, but

there was only one other person on site with that much gray

in his hair -- Dr. Lambert.

Joanne belted the robe securely and stepped out of her

room, only to bump into Nina in the hall. "What's going

on?" she asked the younger girl.

"Dr. Lambert is really sick," she replied. "They're taking

him to the hospital in the site van. Jeff's going with

him. Oh -- Jeff said to ask you if you'd supervise at the

dig this morning."

"Sure," Joanne agreed quickly. Someone would have to take

Lambert's place at the dig, overseeing the work and dealing

with the "security" men. "But what about Henry? What's

wrong with him?"

"Dunno; he just collapsed or something, I think. I gotta

get dressed." The girl skipped back to her room, the thin

cotton nightshirt she wore flapping behind her.

Joanne reached the courtyard in time to see the site van

pull out. Once outside the gate, it accelerated rapidly

and trailed off into a cloud of dust. She sighed, clutched

the robe, and decided it would be a good idea to follow

Nina's lead.

She washed up using the sponge and basin in her room,

promising herself for the hundredth time that as soon as

she got home she'd take a long, luxurious shower. She

dressed for the sun in jeans, a lightweight, long-sleeved

work shirt and a wide-brimmed hat.

With the site van otherwise occupied, Andres opted to walk

the three quarters of a mile to the dig with his crew.

Joanne went with them, hoping her knees would hold out, and

was surprised to suffer no ill effects from the trek. Once

the initial questions on the subject of Lambert were

answered, she found herself too busy to worry about

anything but the here and now of supervising the dig. The

morning seemed to fly by; one minute she was introducing

herself to the Mexican security troops, and the next the

site van was there to take them back to the compound for

lunch.



Jeff updated everyone over cold cuts and salad. "They're

still doing some tests to confirm it," he explained, "but

the diagnosis is that Dr. Lambert is suffering from acute

physical exhaustion. His age, the heat, and a recent surge

of ... activity ... combined seem to be the causes." At

the word 'activity,' two of the male grad students smirked

and nudged each other. Jeff shot them an icy glare and

continued. "He'll stay in the hospital for 2 or 3 more

days, mostly for observation, but he's expected to recover

completely." He nodded toward Joanne. "In the meantime,

Dr. Burke and I will split up his duties between ourselves

to keep things running."

"How are you feeling, Nina?" one of the smirking grad

students asked. "Any saddle sores?"

Nina blushed beet red and looked daggers at the student.

"You're a pig, Neil," she spat. "And you don't know what

you're talking about anyway, so shut up."

If Neil had a response, it wilted under Jeff's menacing

gaze. "Perhaps you two should go wait by the van," he

suggested. The boys recognized his tone and agreed,

lingering only long enough to rinse off their dishes.

Joanne waited until everyone else had left the table before

addressing Jeff. "What was that all about?"

"There's a rumor going around that Nina was in Dr.

Lambert's room with him last night. She swears it's not

true, and I'm inclined to believe her -- he'd never

undermine his own authority that way."

"Undermine it how?" She looked at Jeff's face and answered

her own question. "Oh. How did a rumor like that get

started?"

Jeff cleared his throat nervously. "There was noise coming

from his room last night. I heard it, and those clowns

from lunch heard it. He was definitely with someone, and

they were ... quite vocal. I think everyone assumed it was

Nina because she's the only female on site -- other than

you, of course. Not that I'm asking..."

Joanne was at once slightly shocked and a little amused.

"Of course you're not," she said. "But for the record,

Jeff, it wasn't me either. I turned in early and slept

like a stone." And woke up without my nightgown, in the

wrong position, her mind added, but she didn't volunteer

those details.



It was well after dark when Joanne finished for the day.

She had spent the whole day supervising the dig, and the

time after dinner updating Lambert's logs so that he would

know what had happened in his absence. There was no

mention of the necklace he'd given her in his logs, she

noticed. And there wouldn't be, she concluded, until he

was ready to admit its existence to the Mexican authorities

-- Henry was nothing if not discreet. Usually, she

thought, remembering the conversation with Jeff.

By rights she should have been dog tired, but Joanne wasn't

quite ready to turn in yet. Instead, she opened her top

drawer and felt around for the little ledge she'd

discovered above the drawer case. Her fingers found the

spot and pulled out the necklace for another look. She

stared, captivated, at the swirls of light in the large,

smooth crystal, her mind filling with wonder at the

craftsmanship of the people who'd made it.



Two figures crept slowly across the courtyard, whispering

to each other.

"How did I let you talk me into this?"

Neil grinned at his roommate, Brian, and urged him forward.

"It's gonna be great, you know it is. Nina's gonna go

apeshit."

"And that's a good thing?"

"Shhh!"

The miscreants quietly opened the door leading to the

women's sleeping area. Taking extra care to make no sound,

they tiptoed down the center hallway. They kept well clear

of the left side door, which was Joanne's room, because

they saw a faint light still shining underneath it. The

gap under Nina's door was dark. Emboldened, the boys

slipped into the room next to Nina's, which was currently

unoccupied, and closed the door behind them.

The window faced the outer side of the compound and was

covered with a metal grate but nothing else. Nina's

window, they knew, would be the same and only a few feet

away. Neil grinned wickedly at Brian. "Here goes." He

put his face near the grate and began to moan. He started

out softly, but quickly let it build to a volume level that

he knew would carry easily into the next room. Brian

watched, suppressing laughter, until Neil motioned him to

join in. Brian pinched his throat, stretching for the

highest possible pitch, and moaned along with his friend.

Soon they were doing a spirited reproduction of the sounds

they had heard the night before coming from Lambert's room.

The noise was enough to disturb Nina, who had been asleep

in her bed. She rose up onto her forearms and looked

around groggily. Even in that state, it didn't take her

long to realize what was up. Those pricks, she thought.

She started to get up, but then had a better idea. Fuck

'em, she said to herself. Let 'em get busted by Burke.

She sandwiched her head between two pillows to muffle the

sound and went back to sleep.

In the next room, the pranksters were so committed to their

noisemaking that they almost didn't notice when the door to

their borrowed room swung open. A pale, soft glow caught

their attention and drew it toward the doorway in time to

see the woman close it behind her. The young men fell

silent in surprise as they beheld the slender, enticing

form of the naked woman who had joined them. They looked

into her face, strange and yet somehow familiar, and found

themselves captivated by her presence.

As she strolled toward them, Brian and Neil felt a sudden,

overpowering need. Their clothing quickly dropped into a

pile on the floor and they knelt before their goddess,

cocks extended and quivering, ready to adore her. She

kissed them both, then pulled each face to a breast and

allowed them to suckle, getting them even more aroused and

deeper under her spell.

She chose Neil first, leading him to the bed and allowing

him to mount her. Brian watched, transfixed, while Neil

grunted and groaned his way to his first orgasm, then

eagerly took his place between her slick thighs. All of

his energy, all of his life essence seemed to concentrate

in his cock, and then to flow into her with his climax.

They took turns in her embrace, their bodies continuing to

perform long after their reason told them they were

through. All it took was a kiss, or a touch, from the

woman and they would become erect again and ready to serve.

The minutes stretched into hours until they finally passed

out, exhausted.



Nina rolled over, semi-lucid, suddenly aware of silence

once again. She looked at the clock: 2:45am. "It's about

time," she mumbled, thinking of her unseen tormenters. "I

hope you assholes are so hoarse tomorrow that you need a

crash course in sign language."



What a gorgeous day! Joanne thought, stretching her naked

body as it bathed in the sunlight from her window. She was

starting to enjoy sleeping in the nude; it seemed to bring

on the most vivid, sensuous dreams. Last night she'd

dreamed she was a tribal maiden, young and beautiful, who

encountered two Spanish soldiers. She had seduced them

with her beauty, bedded them and ridden them to ecstasy,

then left them dazed and gasping for breath. A most

enjoyable dream. Joanne hummed pleasantly to herself as

she washed up and dressed, a good 20 minutes ahead of her

normal waking time.

Jeff was already in the kitchen when she wandered over,

cooking omelets to order for the crew. "Your turn again?"

she inquired.

"Nah," he replied. "It's Dr. Lambert's turn; I figured I'd

fill in for him."

"Would you like some help?"

He looked at her in mild surprise. "Sure, if you feel up

to it, but you don't have to. I know you had a pretty

rough day yesterday; you should probably take it easier

today."

"Actually, I'm fine," she assured him, grabbing an extra

skillet and taking her place beside him at the stove.

With two chefs, they had no trouble getting everyone served

quickly. Joanne and Jeff fixed their own breakfast last

and sat together at the end of the long dining table. They

were about halfway through their breakfast when Andres came

over and sat beside them, an annoyed look on his face.

"What's up?" Jeff asked.

Andres grimaced. "I'm missing two of my grad students," he

complained. "Neil and Brian. They're not in their room or

the bits room, and they're not in here. The front gate is

still closed, so they didn't leave; there's no reason for

them to have gone to the dig by themselves anyway."

Jeff frowned. "Have you asked around?"

"Not yet. I was waiting to see if they showed up for

breakfast."

"Might as well do it before people start to disperse."

Jeff stood up and knocked sharply on the table. "Your

attention, please, everyone." A room full of faces turned

to him and fell silent. "Has anybody seen Neil or Brian

this morning?"

Nobody answered. Jeff repeated the question, and there was

a general shrugging of shoulders around the table. "Sorry,

Andres," he said to the big man. "Looks like we're going

to have to hunt them down ourselves."

As Andres was about to leave, Nina came to them. "I

haven't seen those two this morning," she told them, "but

last night they were outside my window until oh-dark-thirty

on one of their juvenile pranks. Maybe they couldn't get

back into the compound or something."

"What were they doing outside?" Jeff asked.

Nina made a sour face. "Making vulgar noises."

"Did you see them?"

"No," she admitted, "but I knew it had to be them. Nobody

else would think sitting outside my window grunting and

moaning all night would be funny."

With a collective sigh, they finished eating quickly and

cleaned up their dishes, then headed out to the front gate.

It was a simple wooden structure, big and strong, which

they secured at night with a 4-by-4 crossbar. "It was

closed and barred when I first got up this morning," Andres

recalled. "If they went out during the night, somebody

else must have locked it behind them." The two men moved

the crossbar aside and pushed the gate open. The women

followed them outside and around the perimeter.

"No sign of anyone lurking out here," Jeff observed. "Are

you sure they were outside the window?"

Nina nodded. "It sounded like it."

Joanne had a thought. "Maybe they were in that room," she

suggested, pointing to another window a few feet from

Nina's. "It might sound from inside as if they were

standing out here."

"It's worth a look," Jeff agreed. They trudged back around

the building and in the gate. Joanne and Nina reached the

door in question first and pushed it open. The older woman

drew in a sharp breath, and Nina giggled with delight at

the scene within.

Neil and Brian lay sprawled on the floor, unconscious and

completely naked. Joanne tried a discreet "Ahem!" but the

pranksters didn't move. She approached the nearest one,

Brian, and knelt at his side. "He's breathing," she said

to the men in the doorway. She reached over and put a

finger to his neck. "He's got a pulse, too." Taking a

firm grip on his shoulder, she shook him firmly. "Wake up,

Brian."

Brian's eyes opened into a thousand-yard stare, and a look

of horror came over his face. "No more!" he cried out in a

very hoarse, crackling voice. "No more, please!" He tried

to scoot away from Joanne, but his muscles would barely

move.

Jeff came over and stood beside Joanne. "Must be one hell

of a hangover," he said. "Why don't you let me and Andres

deal with this?" The women withdrew, leaving Jeff and

Andres in charge of the prodigals.

Joanne decided that, since it was such a lovely day, she'd

walk over to the dig and pick up where she'd left off the

day before. Andres arrived in the site van a short while

later with this crew, less Brian and Neil. When Joanne

inquired about them, he snorted. "They'll live," he

sneered. "They admitted to their stupid practical joke,

but say they don't remember anything after the first few

minutes. I think they got blitzed on some kind of cheap

whiskey, threw out the bottle, went over to that room to

play their little prank and passed out. They were

staggering around the place this morning like couple of

seasick tourists; they'd be worthless out here, they can

spend the day in the bits room."



By dinner that evening Brian and Neil were at least well

enough to face solid food with the crew. Joanne noted them

poking gingerly at their chili. Too bad, she thought to

herself, because this is really good chili. She spooned a

healthy amount onto a fresh cracker and savored the tastes

and textures on her palate.

"Found your appetite, I see," Jeff observed as he sat down

beside her.

Joanne nodded. "Andres knows his chili."

Jeff ate a spoonful and agreed emphatically. "So," he

said, changing the subject, "are you all packed up?"

"Not yet," she admitted. "I've been too busy at the dig,

and trying to wrap things up in the office. I'll have to

stay up tonight or get up early to finish packing."

He shrugged. "Don't spend too much time on it," he

advised. "The federales will just unpack it all in the

morning anyway."

"Oh?"

"Yep," he said, nodding. "Every time somebody leaves, the

locals do a thorough search of their luggage, study

materials, anything they take out of here. They want to

make sure nobody smuggles anything of value out of the

country. Which reminds me ..." He leaned in closer and

lowered his voice. "Are you finished with it yet?"

Joanne blinked. "With what?"

"Good answer," he said, grinning. "With the necklace, of

course. I helped Lambert sneak it out of the dig

unnoticed. I want to get some good photos of that thing

before it ends up around the neck of some politician's

mistress."

"I'm almost done," she replied. "I'll bring it over to

your room when things have settled down tonight. Would

that be okay?"

"Fine."



It was after midnight when Joanne closed up the last box

with a sigh. It had taken her all night, but she had all

of her research notes, books, and worldly good packed up

for the trip home. None of the boxes were sealed, of

course -- why bother, since the Mexican authorities would

insist on going through them in the morning? -- but it

would take only a few minutes to do that when the time

came.

She took one more look around the room. The closet was

empty, the desk and dresser bare, the washstand cleared of

all but the essentials she would need in the morning.

Tomorrow's clothes lay folded on top of her suitcase.

And on top of the tallest box, glimmering up at her, was

the necklace.

You've been putting it off all night, she told herself.

Time to give it up. She hefted it in her hand one more

time, admiring the cold beauty of that center stone. One

last time, she decided. Watching herself in the mirror,

she tugged her shirt collar out of the way and put the

necklace on.



Jeff was getting impatient. He knew Joanne had a lot of

packing to do, but would it have killed her to bring the

necklace over at a decent hour?

No, he argued with himself, she's just being discreet. The

fewer people see that thing before we "find" it officially,

the better.

Still, he was on the verge of taking the initiative himself

when he heard a soft knock on his door. "Finally," me

muttered under his breath as he strode over and yanked the

door open.

Jeff's jaw dropped in surprise. Before him in the doorway

was the most beautiful, fascinating creature he'd ever

seen. She looked vaguely familiar, the way the adult

children of close friends seem familiar, but he couldn't

immediately think of whom she reminded him. Then she

reached out and touched his face, and he no longer cared --

all that mattered was getting closer to her, losing himself

in her eyes. She drew him to her and kissed him, and Jeff

felt himself melting.



In her dream, Joanne was a beautiful young tribal maiden,

chosen by the elders to present herself to the Spanish

captain. She strolled slowly through the invaders' camp,

bathed in the moonlight, wearing nothing but the necklace

the elders had given her. Her mind was at peace, as the

priest had told her it would be, and her heart full of

purpose.

She reached the Spaniard's hut and rapped on the doorway.

The door opened and she found herself face to face with the

outsiders' leader. He was a comely man, with a strong jaw

and a pleasant face. His strange clothes hid most of his

body, but she knew that would change.

There was a look of surprise on his face, perhaps even

suspicion. He started to speak in the strange yet familiar

tongue the foreigners used. She sensed him backing away

and reached forward, touching his cheek with a finger tip.

She felt the power of the moon, stored in the necklace,

flow out through her body and into his. His eyes widened

and stared into hers, and she felt the powerful connection

that developed between them in that moment. Her center

grew warm and tingly; she needed to give herself to him.

She pulled his face to hers and kissed him, feeling the

moon's power enclose and embrace them. The captain

returned her kiss with growing fervor, and she could sense

the strength gathering in his loins. He stepped back and

disrobed, his eyes never leaving her face. She saw that

his manroot was stiff and long and eager for her

attentions. She grasped it in a hand and led him to his

sleeping pad, feeling it grow ever more firm in her grip.

She stopped at the edge of his bed. His arms went around

her, drawing her closer to him, pressing his member into

the flesh of her buttocks. His hands found her breasts and

squeezed them while he planted small kisses on the nape of

her neck.

Her juices began to flow freely, and she was ready to

receive him. She bent over onto his bed, reaching between

her legs to find his rigid member and guide it into her

secret place. He needed no further encouragement --

grabbing her hips, he pulled her tightly against himself,

burying his probe as far as it would go. Her body

responded to his insistent movements, and their passions

surged in unison until his seed poured into her. She felt

the flow of his essence and accepted it hungrily, letting

her body gratify him with the sounds of her pleasure.

Soon his grunts and movements slowed, and then ceased. She

felt him disengage and stagger backward, but they were not

finished yet. She turned to face him again and the

necklace glowed, sending a new rush of power through her.

She took his limp hand, letting the power run into it, and

in moments his body was hungry for her again. She stepped

backward and he followed, gently pushing her back to the

bed. He knelt on the floor at her feet and kissed his way

up her thighs. He paused briefly at her pelt, inhaling her

scent and inflaming himself further, then continued kissing

up the middle of her body until he found her lips. His

mouth closed over hers as he slid his member inside her

again.

Her legs closed around him, pulling him in tighter, and

their bodies gyrated together in the timeless dance of the

beast with two backs. Their passion grew louder and

stronger, overpowering all reason, until in a burst of

silvery lightness they climaxed again. She held him inside

her until his gift was completely given, then rolled to one

side, letting his exhausted body flop back onto the bed.

She lay back swimming in the afterglow, waiting, until the

moon called to her again. The captain gasped when she

touched his chest, and groaned in faint protest when her

fingers found his dwindled manroot, but under her enchanted

touch it rose again to full height. She toyed with it

until it strained for the ceiling, then climbed up above

the man's spent form and plunged herself down onto him.

His body could scarcely find the energy to move, but as her

hips worked his member inside her she felt the fires

beginning to burn within him again. She reached up toward

the moon, invoking its magic one more time, and the moon

responded. The man twitched weakly, the last of his energy

flowing into her center, and fell silent.

She looked down at the unconscious figure and smiled. It

would be many days before he would feel strong enough to

make war on her people.



Joanne sat in front of the mirror for the last time,

running a brush through her honey-colored hair while the

Mexican authorities finished going through the last box of

research notes. In short order, they gave her permission

to seal the boxes and a note for Customs attesting that she

carried no valuable items that did not rightfully belong to

her.

Joanne thanked the officers in Spanish with her most

charming smile, and they helped her to load the sealed

boxes into the site van for transport. With Nina's help,

she affixed labels to all of the boxes so that they could

be shipped to her office at the University. Her one

suitcase and carry-on bag also went into the van.

Andres came up to her in the courtyard, jingling the van

keys in his hand. "I thought Jeff was driving into town

this morning," she remarked.

The big man shrugged his shoulders. "He's not feeling well

this morning," he explained. "He asked me to take you in,

and to pick up the supplies for him. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready. Is Jeff going to be okay?"

"I think so. He sounds like an 80-year-old man through the

doorway, but he says it's just a stomach flu. He'd better

not try to blame it on my chili."

With a laugh and a round of good-byes, they piled into the

van and drove out of the compound. Their immediate

destination was a small town called San Jimenez, about an

hour's drive from the dig site. There wasn't much there,

but the town did have a bus station, a large general store,

and a post office. Her boxes would be shipped to the

University by UPS from there; Joanne and her luggage would

get on a bus to Mexico City, where she could catch a flight

home.

Once they were well clear of the site, Joanne reached into

the map pocket in the back of Andres' seat and pulled out a

thick clasp envelope. Watching the driver, she quietly

removed a dark blue bandana from the envelope and let the

empty envelope slide back into the seat pocket. Andres'

eyes peeked in the rear view mirror. "You okay back

there?"

"Fine," she said. "Just stretching a little bit."

"You can still move to the front seat if you want," he

offered. "The view is a lot better."

"No thanks. I like the legroom here."

"Suit yourself."

As his eyes returned to the road, Joanne parted the folded

bandana enough to verify that the necklace inside it was

undisturbed. Satisfied, she opened her purse and slipped

it inside, next to the handful of tampons she'd borrowed

from Nina. Joanne hadn't needed tampons in several years,

but something told her it might be wise to have a few on

hand in the next day or so.

Her fingers fell on the picture of Joanne Marie, born 7/27,

and Joanne smiled. She was looking forward to a long,

happy visit with her new granddaughter.



-wg

11/7/01

Artifact

http://www.asstr.org/~Wiseguy

21