“But I did not give it to him,” Karna defended himself. “I gave it to his son.”
“Then we must pay Zhuk a visit,” Wotan said.
Zhuk was absolutely shocked, when he realized what had happened. “I have been tricked,” Zhuk said confused. “I only gave it away to save someone’s life. How could Akula save his own son, his own flesh and blood?” “I will go to Akula and demand an answer!”
“Don’t,” Wotan said, “there is no time for that.”
“What do you mean?” Zhuk said.
“We cannot tell you that,” Karna said. “But I have not forgotten how you once saved my life.” Karna instructed Zhuk to build a ship, a huge ship. One that was large enough to carry a large group of people and animals and stay afloat for an extended period. “But do it quickly,” Karna urged Zhuk, “because everything will soon come to an end.”
Akula had thoroughly studied the documents that Wotan had given to him. Shutting the reactor down was easy. The hard part was getting someone inside, who could do the job for him. Akula knew that there was only one person qualified for the mission and that was Hokum. There was no one else that Akula felt could do it or could thrust for that matter. But Akula was still hesitant because he was well aware of the dangers involved. Hokum would have to go deep inside the lion’s den. The chances of getting caught were great and who knows what the Atlanteans would do to Hokum. They had in all likelihood not forgotten Hokum’s treachery. That is why Akula was reluctant to send Hokum. He did not wish to lose someone, who had been so loyal and served him so well. But on the other hand, he could not send someone who might betray him and warn the Atlanteans. “No,” Akula said to himself. “I cannot take the risk. Not now I am so close to conquering Atlantis.” There was no other option, he would have to send Hokum.
Atlantis’ soldiers surrounded the massive golden statue that Akula had left behind. Akula had finally agreed to surrender and the statue was a sign of good faith. It stood over three stories high and was the pride of Akula. The soldiers towed the giant statue to the beach and loaded it into a ship that brought it to Atlantis. The citizens of Atlantis were happy to see the statue. According to them, the statue was a sign of submission by Akula. By giving the Atlanteans such a priceless thing that meant so much to him, he had in reality admitted to the supremacy of the power of Atlantis. A national holiday was declared the day the statue arrived in the capital of Atlantis. The entire city was celebrating that evening. The people had gathered in the center of the city and were dancing and drinking to the sound of music. Even the soldiers, who normally were so alert, seemed to be swept away by the widespread euphoria. As far as everyone was concerned, the war was over and once again, Atlantis had come out on top.
Hokum was waiting patiently deep inside the solid, golden statue in a hollow room. He had so far managed to penetrate the heavily guarded portals of Atlantis, but now came the most critical phase of the mission. He waited until things had calmed down and then made his move. He gently lowered himself onto the ground. He had to be very careful. There was no room for any mistakes. “I don’t want to think of what the Atlanteans will do to me, if I get caught,” Hokum said to himself. “I would rather commit suicide, then surrender.” Hokum knew he was in the northern part of the city, very close to where the reactor was located. He made good use of the darkness and the fact that many guards had left their posts. He managed to reach the reactor without being detected and sneaked inside the building.
--o--
Click on Part 15 for what happens next in this series.
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