Ladies, while our good gentlemen are preparing for their concert, shall we explore the area and find out more about the original inhabitants?

Valerie: Better that than arguing over the presentation of the music for the eightieth time with Mike and Davy.

Lauren: Would love to!

Daphne: *shrugs* Why not?

(We open the next afternoon back in the hallway. Emma peeks her head out of a door.)

Emma: Ok, girls, all clear. No Sheila or Alex.

Lauren: Good.

Valerie: (As the four women tumble into the hall) I can't believe this. We have a whole tour without ONCE running into those two, and when do they decide to show up? The last leg, when we're in some rotted hotel that MIGHT just be sitting on top of ruins that used to belong to former Mexican warriors who dabbled in nasty magic!

Daphne: I wonder if I should've had a bigger lunch?

Lauren: Still hungry, Daph? ;)

Emma: We're practically sitting on black magic, and that's all you two can think of?

Daphne: Yes.

Lauren: *nods* Yeah.

Valerie: Maybe we can get Carmelita to make something. I'm not borrowing that thing Jose calls a "car" again just to drive fifty miles to get you two a sandwich.

Daphne: Okay.

Valerie: (As they head downstairs, we hear the sound of flapping window shades) You know, I think the wind is picking up.

Emma: They were talking about the storm on the radio last night. Mike translated it. Apparently, it's supposed to be a really big one. Hundred-mile-an-hour winds, lashing rain, floods, the whole works.

Valerie: (As they hit the main floor) I still think we should leave the moment the concert ends.

Emma: I want to find out more about all this. Why is Sheila here?

Valerie: She probably wants to buy this place to use it as one of her bases.

Lauren: Wouldn't surprise me.

Emma: Val, even Sheila would be able to tell it's falling apart.

Valerie: There must be something in the hotel she wants.

Emma: (Thoughtful) Or something UNDER the hotel...

Daphne: The ruins?

Emma: (Nods) Yeah. Remember how she wanted to get her hands on Kibbee Manor even more than the treasure hidden IN it? I'll bet this is the same thing.

(They find Carmelita bustling around the kitchen. She's a tiny, slender Hispanic woman with big, dark eyes, almost waist-length black hair in a long braid, and lovely olive skin. The kitchen is a large room and in somewhat better shape than the rest of the hotel, with dried chili, sausages, and garlic hanging on the walls and pots and pans arrayed everywhere. She looks up and smiles as the four women come in.)

Carmelita: Hello, Senoras! You are in luck. I am just finishing a batch of empadas - meat turnovers - for a snack for our guests. Would you like to try some? How about your men?

Emma: Our expecting mothers (indicates Daphne and Lauren) would love to try some, and I might have one. The men are at the concert arena, though, rehearsing for tonight.

Daphne: *grins* These look great! *takes one*

Carmelita: You may have as many as you like. I made plenty, and I put aside some more in freezer for later.

Lauren: Excellent!

Emma: (As the women all reach for meat pies) Carmelita, how long have you lived in this area?

Carmelita: All of my life. Jose and I were born in village ten miles from here.

Valerie: Have you ever heard anything about ancient Aztecs living in this area?

Carmelita: (Nods) Yes. I have heard stories. They say the Aztecs who lived here were one of the most violent in all of Mexico. They hold many bloody rituals in their temples, and many people died.

Valerie: (Shudders) Sounds like a very pleasant people.

Carmelita: Some Aztecs were not as bad, but these in this area were said to be particularly brutal and warlike. They conquered all those around them, and like all Aztecs, they practiced the ritual of human sacrifice.

Valerie: Ugh.

Lauren: Oh dear.

Carmelita: The local tribes were particularly interesting. It is said they used a kind of dark power to aid them in their conquest of other tribes, given to them by their Teixiptla, or what English call "gods."

Emma: Dark power?

Carmelita: (Rolls her eyes) It is only stories, though Jose believes it. It is said the tribes here had a magical rock, a Sun Stone, that gave them the power to conquer tribe after tribe, but the stone was lost when the Spanish conquered THEM in the 1500s.

Valerie: (As she finishes her meat pie) That's it. That's what she wants.

Emma: (Frowns) Pardon?

Daphne: Huh?

Valerie: She's after the Sun Stone.

Carmelita: She who?

Valerie: My husband recognized the woman and man who came here last night, and it's not a good association.

Carmelita: Mr. and Mrs. Saunders? (Frowns) There is something strange about them. They are not bad people, but I do not like the way she acts around my brothers. I know they are not sharpest tacks in drawer, but she is very interested in them.

Emma: Let's put it this way, Carmelita. They are the baddest people who ever lived.

Carmelita: Now, ladies, you are jealous. She is very attractive, and men seem to like her. (She puts the batch of meat pies she was working on in the oven.)

Emma: We're far from jealous. We've encountered Mrs. Saunders before.

Lauren: We know her very well, unfortunately. :P

Emma: (Licks her fingers) Do you know where she is now?

Carmelita: I think she and her husband went for a walk on grounds. They're the only other people here right now besides your group, my brothers, and me.

Emma: Thank you, now that we're all full, I think we'll go for a walk as well before the storm begins.

Carmelita: Good. Stop in anytime. I am always ready to talk.

Emma: Thanks. (Nods at the others) Come on, girls.

(The four head back into the main lobby, Lauren and Daphne munching on the last of the meat pies.)

Valerie: (Looks at the other four) Who's up for some searching?

Lauren: I am!

Emma: Val, we're not archaeologists!

Daphne: So?

Valerie: Neither's Sheila, and that's never stopped HER before. (Shrugs) Who knows? Maybe that Sun Stone, if it does exist, might be worth something. ;)

Emma: (Nods, thoughtful) It could help repair or rebuild this hotel...or dig up the ruins if there REALLY are Aztec ruins under there. After all, all of Mexico City is built on the ruins of the Aztecs’ old capital city.

Valerie: Why else would Sheila be here?

Emma: The dashing, debonair Mexican men.

Valerie: Somehow, the Latin Laurel and Hardy don't seem her type.

Lauren: Never know. ;)

Emma: Ok, if we were going to find ruins around here, where would the best place to start be?

Valerie: (Looks at the darkening sky) I'm NOT digging around outside, and I don't think the other two are in any condition to do so. Besides, I'll bet that's what Sheila and Alex are doing.

Emma: Maybe we could find a basement or something.

Valerie: That's usually an obvious place to start.

Daphne: Works for me.

Emma: I think I heard Carmelita mention something about a basement last night. It's outside, near the kitchen and the common room. (She leads the girls to the area she mentioned. Valerie opens a large, heavy wood door. All four women file in. There's darkness for a few seconds before a lone lightbulb reveals a somewhat crumbling, gray-stucco room with shelves of dusty tools and rusty furniture, a massive, old boiler and lots of pipes, and better-kept shelves of jars, cans, and dried peppers that probably belong to Carmelita.)

Emma: (Stamps on the dirt floor) Ok, ladies, look around. Check for loose anything, parts of the wall that could be pried loose without pulling the whole building apart, places where the floor is softer than others.

Lauren: Right.

(The four women spread out. Emma taps at the walls, looking for a hollow sound. Valerie grabs a spade from one of the shelves of rusty tools and begins to dig in the ground.)

*Lauren checks for false floors while Daphne looks around.*

Valerie: (Sighs) This is crazy! How do we end up doing this stuff?

Emma: Val, it's something to do, and if it helps the Martinezes and stops Sheila, what harm could it do?

Valerie: Um, lots? I don't like the idea of this Sun Stone, if it even exists.

Emma: Maybe if WE get our hands on the Sun Stone, it might not be so bad.

Valerie: Not only does the damn thing sound too powerful, if it even exists, I don't like the kind of power it seems to control. Carmelita mentioned these people used dark magic.

Lauren: And dark magic, no matter who has it, is still bad news.

Emma: (Groans) All this is doing is hurting my hands. There's got to be something somewhere! (She stamps on the ground in frustration...and the dirt seems to give way beneath her feet.)

Valerie: Em? Where did that come from?

Emma: (Pulls away from the hole) I...I think I made it!

Lauren: Wow!

(Valerie goes over to the hole with the spade. All four women dig as well as they can. They pull back, and we see a relatively large hole, large enough for most people to climb into.)

Emma: We've gotta tell the guys about this!

Daphne: Yeah!

Valerie: The guys! (Looks at her watch) I'm supposed to be at the concert in an hour! (She looks at the girls) I think Jose said he and his brother have a car we could borrow. I asked him about it this morning. They might be able to give us a ride to the arena.

Emma: What about our hole? We have to hide this from Sheila and Alex...or anyone else's prying eyes.

Valerie: (Takes a few old rugs from the piles on the shelves and puts them over the hole, then sprinkles the rugs with dirt) There. That should cover them enough so we can find them, but other guests CAN'T.

Emma: Should we tell the Martinezes, too?

Valerie: (Shakes her head) Not until we tell the guys and get some more concrete evidence. I have the feeling this could be big.

Emma: (Looks at her watch) Let's go get ready for the concert and find Manuel and Jose. I wanted to see it, anyway.

Valerie: Right. (The four women head upstairs...not noticing two shadows around the corner as they go to the lobby, then up to their rooms. Sheila, dressed more practically in jeans, a blouse, and sneakers, pokes out from around the corner.)

Sheila: This was a brilliant idea, Alex. They lead us right to it.

Alex: Very nice of them, don't you think?

Sheila: They and the cook thought we were in the garden, when all the time, we were following them.

(The two descend into the basement and uncover the dirt hole.)

Sheila: (Pulls a flashlight out of a tote bag) Looks dark and awful down there.

Alex: *pulls out his own flashlight* Doesn't look that bad.

Sheila: Alex, it smells like someone, or many someones, died down there.

Alex: Isn't that what they said DID happen?

Sheila: I suppose we should have a look, just to make sure it IS the ruins down there, and not just dirt and bats and bugs. Parador will want us to report to him soon, and he won't be happy with a negative response. I don't know about you, but I do NOT particularly want my ears or tongue lopped off by an insane Mexican general.

Alex: Nor do I. I'm rather attached to my extremities.

Sheila: After you, my dear.

Alex: What happened to "ladies first?"

Sheila: I go first when possible death isn't involved.

Alex: Thanks a lot. :P

(Alex closes his eyes and jumps into the hole, followed by Sheila and a muffled squawk as the scene fades out on the now-empty basement.)