Ramirez originally granted Sebastian and Thomas an eighteen month permit to conduct archaeological excavations at the Temple of the Sun, but the minister grew impatient as the contract came to an end — little real progress had been made, and the dig was holding up the development of the site for tourism purposes. Ramirez and his assistant Olga travelled to the site to express their displeasure with the situation, and to inform Sebastian that they intended to hire another team to take over.