Amber (18 page)
Authors: David Wood
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Action & Adventure, #Men's Adventure, #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Mystery, #Thriller & Suspense, #Sea Adventures, #War & Military, #Women's Adventure, #Genre Fiction, #Sea Stories, #Thriller
One by one the others made it through the ceiling, where Maddock and Bones hauled them the rest of the way out. When they were all assembled outside, Maddock looked them over. They were a rag-tag group, faces smeared with soot, hair streaked with ash, with numerous cuts, scrapes and bruises between them. But they had survived.
“Everyone okay?” Maddock looked each of them in the eyes, especially Leopov who held his gaze while she responded in the affirmative.
Bones rubbed his ears. “Next time we go on a mission with Leopov, remind me to wear earplugs.”
Naval Base San Diego, California
“Come on in,
gentlemen.” Admiral Liptow welcomed Maddock, Bones, Willis and Professor into his office on the third floor of a secure building on base. “Be seated, please.” He waved to four chairs lined up in front of his large, oak desk. The four SEALs sat, Bones setting a backpack on the floor in front of him.
“First of all,” the admiral began, “let me say that I’m glad to see you back safe and sound. From what I understand, things got a little dicey.”
The SEALs nodded but said nothing. The admiral continued.
“And you gathered solid intel. I’ve seen your pictures already,” he said, nodding to an assortment of printouts laid out on his desk, shots of the
Wilhelm Gustloff
, and of the Amber Room. “Sad to think all this beauty is gone forever, right?” Despite his words, it didn’t look to Maddock like the admiral was all that sad.
“Not quite all of it.” Bones bent down and pulled something from his backpack. Then he lifted it and set it on the admiral’s desk.
The Prussian eagle mosaic from the Amber Room, covered in a layer of dust and sooty ash.
It had a couple of dents here and there that it incurred during Bones’ climb out of the chamber, but by and large it was none the worse for wear. Bones produced a flashlight and demonstrated the “curse” for the admiral by projecting it on his desk. Professor relayed the story about the disgruntled worker during the Amber Room renovations.
The admiral shook his head, smiling. He pointed to the dirty eagle. “So that’s it? That’s all that survived of the Amber Room?”
Maddock nodded. “Except for the legends. I doubt they’ll ever die.”
END
If you enjoyed Amber
, try David’s Dane Maddock Adventures series, beginning with Dourado.
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The Dane Maddock Adventures
Dane and Bones Origins
Amber (forthcoming)
Justice (forthcoming)
Stand-Alone Novels
Callsign: Queen (with Jeremy Robinson)
David Wood writing as David Debord
The Absent Gods Trilogy
The Impostor Prince (with Ryan A. Span)
David Wood
is the author of the Dane Maddock Adventures and several other titles. Under his David Debord pen name he is the author of The Absent Gods fantasy series. When not writing, he co-hosts the Authorcast podcast. He and his family live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Visit him online at
www.daviddebord.com
.