The Adventures of Thane Johnson and the Sword of Alexander the Great

By Thomas John Papadimos

Thane, his friends, sister, and cousin manage to put many pieces of the museum heist of the sword of Alexander the Great together. However, Thane ends up getting kidnapped, placed on a ship with the stolen artifact and sent to Egypt, but the ship makes a stop in Chania, Greece at a naval base. Thane manages to escape the ship with the sword with the help of U.S. security personnel who discover the captain is a criminal and a kidnapper. The teens successfully overcome several malignant characters to achieve a happy outcome.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667846545

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The Adventures of Thane Johnson

and the Sword of Alexander the Great

© 2022 Thomas J. Papadimos

ISBN 978-1-66784-653-8

ISBN eBook 978-1-66784-654-5

All rights reserved.

This book is dedicated to my grandchildren, Athanasios, Eleni, and Leonidas, and to all those who come to us in the future; and to my three children, Alexa, Sophia, and Yianni; and to my beautiful and loving wife, Areti, through whom all things are possible.

A special thanks to my undergraduate English Literature Professor, Alan McKenzie, who told me, Sir, you will never be happy unless you write.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. The Theft

Chapter 2. The Investigation

Chapter 3. The Accusation

Chapter 4. Determined

Chapter 5. Action

Chapter 6. Bhavika and Company

Chapter 7. The Plot Thickens

Chapter 8. On Offense

Chapter 9. Trapped

Chapter 10. Escape and Freedom

Chapter 11. Run and Hide

Chapter 12. The Old Man

Chapter 13. Naxos and More

Chapter 14. Kuznetsov Revealed

Chapter 15. The Sword’s Journey Back

Chapter 16. Predicaments

Chapter 17. Confessions

Chapter 18. Rescue

Chapter 19. Bait

Chapter 20. How it Ends

1

The Theft

I want to tell you a story. It’s not about monsters. It’s not about aliens from another planet. It’s not about winning the lottery. It’s not about a cataclysm of epic proportions, or about a journey around the world. It is a tale about what happened to us, that is, to my family. I am telling you this story from my perspective and that of my friends and family members. Our recollections are solid and accurate. There are also legal transcripts of testimonies and newspaper articles available. The whole thing was scary and exciting, heart-warming and gut wrenching, and while I wish it had never happened, part of me is glad it did. I grew up a lot.

It was summer. It was very hot and not a cloud in the sky. I would have called it Africa hot, but things in Greece were pretty hot in the summer anyway. You probably could just call it Athens hot. Sweat was dripping down my face. My shirt was soaked. Man, was I uncomfortable! The sidewalk was so hot you could fry an egg on it. My mom was taking me and my sister to the National Archaeological Museum today; that’s where dad works. My dad is an archaeologist at the University of Athens in Athens, Greece (he has a Ph. D. from University College, London). The museum has lots of cool old stuff (dad calls them artifacts) from long ago and far away. He always lets me see the new things that come to the museum (those are called acquisitions). My dad is the senior curator of the museum (that is kind of like a manager who takes care of the ancient things). I was excited because I was 14 years old today! The whole family was going to lunch together to celebrate my birthday! And to see the sword of Alexander the Great, a new acquisition at the museum. It is a phenomenal archaeological find and a treasure that made Greece and my dad proud.

My dad is a Scotsman from Edinburgh. His name is Angus Johnson. He has travelled all over the world. He even got lost in the Amazon jungle for two months, where he was bitten by a snake, got chased by a wild boar that injured his right shoulder, got sick with a fever, and lost 25 pounds. He was saved when he accidently came across some U.S. Navy seals who were training with the Brazilian army. The reason he survived was probably because, before he did his Ph.D. studies, he was an officer in the British SAS. That stands for Special Air Service. It is a Special Forces unit of the British Army. He loves to travel. He is kind of like that guy Phileas Fogg, who went around the world in 80 days; and he has a bit of Indiana Jones in him, too. He does not travel as much anymore because he has us, and he says that we are all that he needs.

My mom is Greek. She is so beautiful. Well, at least I think so. She is a terrific mom. Her name is Daphne Petroulas. Mom actually lived in America for a while. She graduated with a degree in physics from Ohio State University in Columbus. My dad told us that mom is a brilliant scientist, but she has decided not to work so she can stay at home with us and make sure we are well cared for.

My dad and mom met on a Greek island called Spetses while on a tour of a house that used to be owned by a woman named Bouboulina. She was a hero in the Greek war of Independence. She was the first female admiral, at least that is what mom told me. Her house has become a museum, but I have never been there. Dad says he will take us there soon. Us means I have a younger sister. Here name is Alaina, and she is 11½ years old. She likes to always present her age in an exact fraction. She can be such a pain. She always follows me around. Sometimes she takes my stuff and hides it on purpose. Alaina likes climbing trees and playing sports. Sometimes I think she has more athletic skills than I do. Alaina and I go to a British school in Athens, because mom and dad want our English language skills to be impeccable (I think that means perfect). Our school is far from our house. My mom usually takes us every day and picks us up. I like my teachers, but sometimes they’re very strict. Dad says that’s how British teachers have always been, all the way back to when he was a kid and even before Queen Elizabeth was born—and that was a really long time ago.

My dad decided to settle in Greece because he loved the weather, the blue sky, the history, the culture, but most of all because he loved mom. She was born in an area of Athens called Pagkrati. My grandpa and grandma live in Greece, too. I call them Pappou Lukas and Yiayia Sophia. They live near us. I had a grandpa and grandma in Scotland (my dad’s parents), but they died of the Covid virus.

My dad loves the area where my mom grew up. So, he got us an apartment in Pagkrati near Varnava square. The square is really nice. It has three restaurants, a bunch of cafés, a bakery, a cheese shop, a fish store, a meat store, a shoe repair, a book store, and something called a periptero—it is a very small shop that stands alone and sells lots of stuff, but only fits one person inside. You go up to the window and tell the lady what you want and she gets it for you. And every Friday only about 150 meters from the square, on Archimidous street, is a farmer’s market. It is too cool. You can buy food, flowers, shoes, and other stuff, like slingshots. I love slingshots, but I sometimes get into trouble. One of our neighbors, Mrs. Trakitis, has two nice big dogs and a nasty old cat. That cat is really mean! It’s always scratching me. So, I occasionally use my slingshot to scare the cat. She complains to my mom and I always get a scolding. I really got in trouble one day when the volley from my slingshot missed the cat and shattered Mrs. Trakitis’s favorite flower pot. I did not hear the end of that for a long time.

The other thing that used to get me in trouble—and mom was always angry with dad about this—was dad teaching me how to pick a lock. I think he learned as a kid. His dad had been a locksmith. He has had this little lock-picking kit since as far back as I can remember. Anyway, he taught me how to use it. I would practice on locked doors at our house and other relatives’ homes. One day, while playing soccer at the local field, I kicked the ball over a fence into a junkyard. We were all upset about it. I went home and got my dad’s little kit and picked the junkyard lock to get our ball. A neighbor called the police on us—mainly on me. I was forced to suspend my education regarding lock-picking. Luckily, I got off with only a warning from the local constabulary. My parents were not happy about that incident. Mrs. Trakitis heard the story and she made the point of telling my mom I would amount to nothing. Not cool.

Oh, how I hate it when it is this hot, I said aloud. It was just after 12 noon and the sun was like fire falling on our heads.

Me too, said my sister Alaina. She was holding my hand. She does that a lot. Even when she has been mad at me.

We were almost to the museum when suddenly I heard the loud roar of a car that was speeding very fast. It whizzed right by, bounced off the curb near us, and side-swiped a car across the street. The loud BANG and CRASH made Alaina scream. It scared me too! I saw it clearly. It was green car and there were three people inside of it. I thought one was a girl. Why would they be driving like that? It sped away.

Wow, I yelled, we almost got clipped.

Alaina had tears in her eyes and was shaking. Mom took her in her arms and gave her a big hug and a kiss and stroked her hair. She calmed down.

Up ahead I could see my dad at the door of the museum. Dad was on his phone. He looked sad and angry. A minute later we heard police sirens wailing and three police cars pulled up to the museum entrance.

I ran to my dad. What happened?

Someone robbed the museum, Thane, he said. He looked out of breath. They took the gold-jeweled sword of Alexander the Great.

The sword of Alexander is the museum’s newest acquisition and it is extremely valuable. It is over 2,000 years old and a true treasure of historic significance. It was recently discovered and donated to the museum. It had just arrived at the museum this past week. My dad had tears in his eyes. It must have meant very much to him. I know that as the senior curator, he was responsible for safeguarding the sword.

The sword of Alexander the Great was recently found in an excavation in Egypt. Alexander was a Macedonian Greek who conquered most of the known world around 325 years before Jesus was born. The sword type is a called a kopis. It is usually a little more than two feet long, or about 65 centimeters. It is a heavy, single-edged, forward-curved, one-handed, iron cavalry sword. The sword has two parts, the blade and the hilt. The hilt has a guard so your hand is not injured, a grip (where you hold the sword) and a pommel. The pommel is kind of like a decoration (such as a dragon) at the very bottom of the sword. Alexander’s sword had precious gems in the guard portion, which was made of a gold alloy; and the grip was made of bone.

Mom ran up to dad.

Daphne, said my dad with a shaky voice, I am so angry. How did they do it? Why did they do it? How could this happen?

Maybe I am just a kid, but I know why they did it. People do something like this for money. The sword was worth a fortune.

Dad looked up into the sky with outstretched arms. Then he did his cross three times. I knew he was upset. He was not that religious, but when he is upset—really upset—he crosses himself. He was raised as a Protestant, but Dad was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church to make Pappou and Yiayia happy and give their blessing so he could marry mom.

The day was just getting hotter and even more sad.

Pop, I said (I learned from the movies that some people called their dad Pop), it will be ok. You just wait and see.

My dad clasped his hands to his face and just groaned.

The police came by and took statements from lots of people; the bystanders in the street, the people visiting the museum, and the people who worked at the museum. Essentially everyone.

Sir, sir, I kept trying to get any officer’s attention, but they were all ignoring me.