"Haven't seen it. Where's the Avatar?" Michael replied, just as terse.

"Fine!" Lucinda replied, nonchalantly and stepped out naked, walking past him, and finally spied her towel thrown to the floor about four feet away. Without even a pause or a bit of embarrassment, she bent over and picked it up.

"Nice view!" Michael said, grinning as she then slowly wrapped it around her and sauntered by him.

"Last one you'll see of me," she replied, her back to him as she walked over to the side of her bed, grabbing a comb and started to untangle her wet hair.

He walked over, taking an ottoman from the chair by the bed and sat down on it, across from her, "Where is the Avatar?"

"That old thing? I told everyone already. I had it in my pocket in the Tomb. I tried to give it back to Juan Tocha but he wouldn't touch it. Later, when he persuaded me to help him get King Bolsaque back from the archeologists, we slipped back into the tomb. Last thing I remember was getting the whammy put on me by him as we got into that grand cavern area. I was pushed forward and fell into a pit. When Rollie and Angie found me and helped me out of the pit, I checked my pockets and it was gone! That's the whole story," she said, taking a breath and ran the comb through her wet hair slowly as he watched her face to see if she was lying.

"You're lying, Lucinda. You still have it with you," he replied, leaning forward and putting his finger on the towel edge over her breasts.

"You'd better get out of here, Sanchez. I am sure by now that they have checked the fingerprints on that body and found out that it is Tocha, not Sanchez, or Conte, or Lopez, or whatever else you go by," she warned.

"I'm sure," he replied, "a bit sloppy for me but I was in a hurry. Tocha was working both sides. He was supposed to have been lining up everything for the sweep. I have no idea what he was doing in the Tomb last night except helping the smugglers get out, under his cover for them."

Michael leaned closer to her, his face near hers as she felt that magnetism from him, drawing her closer. With his eyes never leaving hers, he slowly pulled the towel down, letting it rest in her lap. His mouth moved over hers briefly, barely touching as she breathed faster and in her mind, saying over and over; oh shit!

As his hands caressed her breasts and then went back and pulled her buttocks toward the edge of the bed against him, he covered her throat with kisses and then plunged his mouth against hers; she saying to herself- I'm in trouble now!

"So why are you here? Why didn't you get the Avatar from Tocha?" she said, moaning as he starting fumbling with his pants.

"Because I put the real Avatar in your camera bag under your film. I planted a fake rip-off outside the window. You took that one to the Tomb last night. Tocha found out once he lifted it from you in the cave, smart man that he was and decided that you and I were double crossing him," Michael said, his breathing fasting and voice growing deeper. He pushed her back on the bed, falling on top of her.

For a second, Lucinda was surprised. No wonder Tocha got upset with her in the cave and pushed her over into the pit. No wonder he tried to close off the Tomb with her inside. He was double crossing Michael as well.

"You killed him, didn't you?" Lucinda said, suddenly as his lips came crashing down on hers and she felt his hips push against hers.

"He was going to go back to his boss, Toya. I couldn't let that happen. It worked out in the end because I found him in the bungalow trying to find the real Avatar. He told me Toya had been notified when I accused him of butterflying me and he told me that he had sent word to Toya that I had killed Roddy and Janas."

His strength was overwhelming, Lucinda thought as he pinned her down roughing, holding her hands above her head.

"I've checked the case, Lucinda. The Avatar isn't there. I need it, you understand?" he said, his face very close to hers.

"You're hurting me," she said, grimacing.

"Where is it?" he demanded, loosening her hands then as she smiled suddenly, taking his face into her hands above her, drawing him down and kissing him passionately. As he responded, lost in the moment, she suddenly took her legs, which he had kneed apart and wrapped them around his back in a quick, decisive clench. She squeezed with all her might against his kidneys and then flipped, taking him over as she kneed him in his exposed groin.

Michael went instantly into a fetal position as she got up off the bed, wrapping her towel around her securely and went for the door.

"Hell hath no fury, Michael Sanchez!" she said, angrily as she ran out the door, running up the path, barefoot, with nothing but a towel wrapped around her. She pounded on Rollie and Angie's door in the early evening hour, "Oh please, be there!" she exclaimed, out of breath.

"What the bloody hell?" asked Rollie as he came to the door, in just his jeans. Angie was in bed, sleeping. He pulled Lucinda inside by her arm, her body shaking as he ran over and handed her Angie's robe lying across the bed.

"Oh Rollie! It isn't over! Michael Sanchez was in my room! He says that he put the real relic, not the fake one that he showed us yesterday, in my camera bag. He tried to seduce me to get it. I didn't know, you know!"

"Whoa! Slow down and take a deep breath," he said, as she sat down, looking at the door, fearfully.

Angie moaned slightly and lifted her head off her pillow, "Hey Lucinda," she murmured and then closed her eyes again, falling back to sleep.

"Are you saying, Michael is in your room? That the relic that he planted in his room was a fake and that he planted the real one in your stuff?" Rollie asked, as Lucinda nodded.

Rollie ran over to the door, peering out and seeing no one; "Why isn't he following you?"

"Uh, well- that's a little complicated. I let him start to make love to me and then, well- did the Rick nutcracker trick, you know…" she started to say, her eyes widened. Rollie cringed.

"I'm going down there, stay here!" he told her, as she drew her legs up against her chest in the chair.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Lucinda replied, shaking her head.

Rollie grabbed his shirt and walked out the door. Once thing, for sure. Michael Sanchez would have to not have any nerve endings to be able to have left Lucinda's bungalow at this time.

Rollie was right, he found Michael still on the bed in Lucinda's bungalow.

"Hey mate!" Rollie said, shutting the door, seeing him in his compromised position, "Need some ice yet?"

"Oh God," Michael said, writhing on the bed as Rollie leaned over, as if he were a doctor examining a patient.

"Whew! Ouch! She got you good!" Rollie said, putting his hand to his own groin in sympathy and sat down.

Michael shut his eyes, took a deep breath in, and then slowly, let it out.

"What a jerk I am!" he said, rolling his eyes.

"Bloody lying bastard as well," Rollie added, as Michael finally managed a slight grin on his face.

"Okay, so I didn't trust anyone. I was right to hide the real relic. Lucinda ran out of here last night with the fake, trying to give it back to the Indians."

"You killed a man," Rollie said, shaking his head.

"Before he killed me," Michael replied, trying to sit up, "Oh God," he added as he looked down at his pants around his knees and then finally looked down at his injuries.

"Walking like the Duke for while, Michael," Rollie said, rubbing his hands together and then frowned; "So, I gather that this Juan guy was double crossing you as well as that uncle of Roddy's - Toya, right?"

"Yes, and Lucinda showing up with the relic was like manna from heaven last night. Of course, when he saw that the one she had wasn't real, he took his revenge out in a big way," Michael said, trying to stand up and pull up his pants.

"Why did you let us go after Lucinda last night?" Rollie asked, mystified.

"You would have gotten down in the Tomb area for awhile, and Tocha was suppose to hold you down there until I got out with the relic. Only thing, he didn't stay down there with you. I found him loaded up on the other side of the temple. He had the bones of Bolsaque and the other relics in his truck. When I confronted him about his deal with us, he asked me where the real Avatar was, why we had duped him. At this point, we had a difference of opinion, his true plans were announced, and we had a scuffle. I knocked him out finally. I got confirmation that he indeed had already notified Toya of the problems and knew, I had to do something quickly. I brought him back to the bungalow, switched clothes and did what I had to do," Michael explained, starting to take slow, painful steps around.

"You find it easy to blow a guy's face off?" Rollie asked, horrified.

"Him or me, I wanted to survive, Rollie!" Michael replied, angrily, "And, with getting the real Avatar from the camera case and getting the hell out of here, I was going to succeed. But, Lucinda-"

"Luce didn't know about the camera case. Someone else must have found it, Michael. Why in the hell did you try something like this?" Rollie asked, motioning to him and the bed and waving his hand around.

"Oldest trick in the book, Rollie. I have had to do this plenty of times in order to get information, stall someone, whatever…yeah- I know what you are thinking!" Michael went over to the wet bar and opened a bottle of whiskey, taking a swig as he closed his eyes for a moment.

"You lose all ethics, all sense of any kind of marital fidelity, do you understand? This has been going on for over five years. I want out, but it's like in me now, I can't seem to escape it. The Avatar was going to be my way out."

"You sound like a drunk at his first AA meeting," Rollie said, with no sympathy.

"Well, what could I expect from a guy like you?" Michael said, and then took another belt, "But you have some of the traits there, man. I saw the way you went after Mira. You two have done it, I know it! You've got her on the side, and that nice piece of ass, Angie for your wife."

"Hell, try as I may, I really can't stand you," Rollie said, standing up, putting his face in Michael's, "You talk as low and degrading as you want about anything but my wife!" His eyes registered his contempt as Michael stepped back and smiled.

"Well, okay!" Michael replied, taking another swallow.

"Mira is a friend. She has been in love with you all of this time, you idiot. I have never been anything but a friend to her, you hear that?"

"Yeah, I got it," he replied, shaking his head, the alcohol starting to ease his pain and his mind.

"Get out of here, Michael. We don't have your bloody relic. Get off to wherever it was you crawled out from under and leave us all alone. And leave Mira alone as well. She doesn't need your kind of love. It's despicable!" Rollie told him, agitatedly.

They stood there at a stand-off, one that would never be resolved for Rollie's sake and he left Michael standing there, alone and broken. When he got back to his own room, Angie was up moving slowly around the room. She was walking toward the porch where Lucinda sat in a rocker, waiting for Rollie's return.

"What happened?" Lucinda asked and then hugged him, seeing his tortured face. Angie walked out, seeing the two of them, Lucinda in her own robe, Rollie with his opened shirt and shuffled over to another rocker and sat down.

"Sooo, what'd I miss here?" she asked as Rollie and Lucinda suddenly smiled back at her.

After filling her in on the details, Rollie sat on the porch floor in front of Angie's rocker, his back resting against the rocker as she put her legs around his shoulders. She leaned back in the chair as he ran his hands over her shins, thinking. No one was saying anything at this point.

"Who do you think, has the Avatar now?" Angie suddenly asked, out of the still of the tropical night, taking a sip of cool mineral water. Rollie and Lucinda both looked at her and then shook their heads, not really answering, not knowing what to say.

"Rollie, will you check my room?" Lucinda asked, standing up finally, "I think I want to go to bed. Syd and I were suppose to have had a meeting after he met with production. I missed it! Guess I can kiss this picture goodbye…"

"Oh, don't fret, Luce- he's a good old bloke, he knows the talent when he sees it. Come on, let's go check to see if Mr. Sanchez has vacated the premises."

Angie smiled at Lucinda; "Goodnight Luce. We'll see you in the morning. Try to stay out of trouble, okay?"

Lucinda smiled back at her and winked; "You think I am just a silly ding-dong!"

"No!" Angie said, playfully.

Her nerves restored, Lucinda walked down the path with Rollie as the winds picked up, and Angie heard the rumble of thunder.

"You guys hurry up, we're in for another storm!" she called after them.

"I bet it's old King Balsaque raising cain now that he has been freed to spread evil throughout the land!" Lucinda yelled back.

Angie waved and wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her upper arms. She was getting chilled and started for the door. A streak of lightening lit up the sky suddenly as the lights flickered on and off and she jumped.

Standing in front of the door was an Indian man and woman. They were dressed in ancient ceremonial garb, the man holding out his hand and murmuring some sort of chant. Angie held her breath, her teeth chattering as the rain started to come down in heavy sheets. He came closer to her and she backed up against the edge of the porch railing. She had no where else to go as his hand came closer.