Ethan glanced at him, completely expressionless. “Yeah, be nice to know why that was, too.” He snapped the pieces together with a click.
Sam scratched his temple and stared into the flat field beyond the window. The nature scene was soothing, deceptively so. Nothing about the world of men had touched it yet. Shaking himself mentally, Sam wondered where the hell to begin.
The beginning, he supposed. It was usually the best place. He turned to Ethan. “What do you know about the Hawara Pyramid?”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed and he lifted the gun, then leaned back far behind him into the back seat and grabbed his kit bag. He hauled it up front, plopping it in his lap. “Not really. I’m guessing it’s in Egypt?”
Sam smiled, but it was thin-lipped. Most people thought of the Egyptians when they heard the word ‘pyramid’, not knowing that the pyramids were one of the oldest-type structures known to man. It was more stable than a straight tower and its elegance of shape suggested a yearning toward heaven for many cultures. For now, he let it go—not everyone was a historian and the American school system sucked. Whatever. As it happened, the man was right. “Yeah,” he said. “Near the ancient city of Crocodilopolis, sixty miles southeast of Cairo.”
“Crocodilopolis. You’re shitting me.”
Sam raised his hands, though he remembered having a similar reaction himself. “Hey, I don’t make up the names. Apparently, they have a lot of…”
“Hippos, yeah. Sounds like it.”
Sam bit back a chuckle. Ethan just stared in a non-committal way. “Okay. Crocodilopolis. And?”
Sam went on drumming the steering wheel. He wondered if this was the best place for this conversation. Wondered if pursuit was coming. If they could see for miles along the flat open fields, others could too. It wasn’t likely that there’d be more – Ethan had taken out the last of the visible ones. But that’s what Sam had thought before, that day that they’d…
Ethan said, “Hey. Hippos?”
Sam jerked back to the present to find Ethan eyeing their surroundings, the same as him. They’d be okay. And this was important. This was … everything.
“Amenemhat III was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt,” he continued. “He ruled from c. 1860 BC to c. 1814 BC and was notable for building the Black Pyramid, the Hawara Pyramid, and …” He glanced at Ethan. “The Labyrinth.”
The last word grabbed Ethan’s interest. His gaze flicked from his recon of the fields to Sam, sharpening. “Go on.”
Sam increased the air conditioning a little bit and leaned back in his seat. Sweat ran down his neck.
“The Black Pyramid was originally about two hundred and twenty-five feet tall. It had a base of three hundred and fifteen feet long, an incline of fifty-seven degrees.” He knew Ethan’s mind would supply the visuals that matched the numbers, a skill used often in laying out prospective target hits. “It was a typical size for pyramids of the Middle Kingdom. Not massive but, not tiny either. But something was different – the Black Pyramid wasn’t made of stone.”
Ethan snorted. “What’s it made of? Crocodile bones?”
Sam grinned. “Nothing so glamorous. Just clay and mud brick, I’m afraid. But it is—was—covered in thin sheets of limestone.”
“Yeah? So, we’re looking at a tank; back in its day.”
Sam blinked. He hadn’t thought of it that way. “I guess you could say that. Though it probably has more to do with weight than armor – there weren’t any internal walls, either. Considering how close the pyramid is to the Nile …” He shrugged. “There’s a pyramid nearby, at Dahshur. The Bent Pyramid of Sneferu. The land is clay and not stable, so close to the river. The Bent Pyramid had already begun to sink centuries before. The two pyramids are only about two miles apart.”
Ethan flipped out his pocketknife and started to clean the blood from under his nails. Sam risked a glance at himself in the rear-view mirror and wished he hadn’t.
“So how big is this thing anyway? Were they worried about it falling through the earth?”
Sam put his appearance out of his mind, but realized they’d have to find a place to clean up before they made their public debut. He rubbed at some dirt on his cheek, trying to look casual. “The ground-level structure consisted of an entrance opening into the courtyard and mortuary temple, surrounded by walls. There are two sets of walls. Between them there are ten shaft tombs, which are a type of burial structure formed by graves built into natural rock. The pyramidion,” He glanced at Ethan as the other man opened his mouth to make some remark, “which is the capstone of a pyramid, was covered with inscriptions and religious symbols. Some of these were scratched off, leading researchers to conclude the pyramidion was never used or it was defaced during Akhenaten's rule in the years to come.”
“Researchers?” Ethan's brows rose. “Someone actually found this place?”
“Several ‘someones’, actually. It was a team effort.”
Ethan rubbed at hole in his worn jeans and Sam could tell his interest was piqued. “You said “ground level structure.” That means there’s more?”
Sam laughed. “Much more.” He drew a finger down the wheel like he was traveling into the earth. “Below ground level, subterranean, is a network of complicated passages. There were burial chambers for two of his queens – one of them was named Aat and the other had no name.”
“Nice guy.”
“That’s history. From what I’ve read, the king's section remained mostly intact- they found a sarcophagus, canopic jars, the whole enchilada. But no king.”
“Grave robbers?”
Sam nodded. “That’s what they think, anyway. The section for the queens had definitely been broken into and looted. The pyramid was abandoned after it began to crush the underground chambers- remember how I told you it was too heavy for the land it was built on?” Sam shrugged, marveling again at how much the ancients had accomplished with minimal technology. “The builders installed supporting beams and mud brick walls to stop the sinking, but it was too little, too late, and the pyramid was abandoned.” He glanced at Ethan. “You already know what happens to abandoned buildings in the desert.”
Ethan grinned. “Yeah. They fall down or they get used.”
“Exactly. This one got used. By the 13th dynasty, the lack of security meant that locals had usurped the Valley Temple nearby to be used as a granary, so they think the first breach of the pyramid happened at about that time. There is evidence of restoration work around one hundred years later though so, someone gave a damn. Or they just didn’t want to bother building another tomb: King Auibre Hor and his princess Nubheteptikhered were buried in two of the ten shaft tombs on the northern side of the outer enclosure.”
Ethan laughed. “Cozy.”
Sam laughed with him. “After they abandoned the Black Pyramid, the pharaoh changed tack and went on to build the Hawara Pyramid.” Sam stared out the windshield, remembering the first time he’d seen the massive structure, back when he’d just finished his first tour of duty and stopped in Egypt on his way back to the States… “To this day, it has the honor of being the third highest ancient Egyptian pyramid in existence.”
“Third highest.” Ethan waved his hands. “Oooh.”
Apparently, Ethan chatted after he killed. Sam wondered what the real problem was. Nerves? Sam himself had been shaking like a leaf earlier. Still was. He clasped his hands tight on the steering wheel to hide the small tremors. “It has its distinguishing qualities.”
If it was nerves, Ethan displayed no other signs. “Yeah? And what are those?”
Sam looked at Ethan as the cool air blasted from the vents. He loosened his collar a bit. “It’s said that beneath the Hawara Pyramid exists an ancient Labyrinth that housed a Forbidden Library with the greatest body of human knowledge in all of ancient times.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. Then he slapped his pockets and opened the glove compartment, rummaging inside. “A labyrinth. I don’t suppose this labyrinth would require a k
ey?”
Sam grinned. “More than one. But wait. We’re getting to that. What is the labyrinth? It’s purported to be a vast underground complex of caverns and chambers…a maze, if you will. They say it held the secret to the origin of mankind. They say it holds secret, ancient texts from Atlantis.” He glanced at Ethan. “Heard of Atlantis?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard of it. City under the sea, right? Fairy tales.” He shrugged, dismissive. “Really bad Disney movie.”
Sam laughed. “Maybe. Maybe not. Something must have existed for so many to have written about it. Same with the labyrinth. No one knows if it existed, really. But Strabo wrote of it in his ancient treatises and even Herodotus apparently had the chance to visit and record its wonders—before it disappeared into history.”
“Record its wonders. Don’t suppose he recorded what they actually were, did he?”
Sam’s lips quirked. “Afraid not.”
Ethan rolled his eyes but Sam could tell; he was intrigued by the story. The young man was smart and perceptive. And, he wanted answers. Sam thought he might have made a great historian if he hadn’t gone into the military. But then, he supposed war was a way of seeking answers, too. “So, what does this have to do with me? With those men I killed?”
Sam spread his hands. “The labyrinth was said to hold an untold wealth of knowledge: the histories of unknown civilizations, great empires, and powerful rulers that lived centuries before history as we know it, even began. There are lots of people who would risk a lot to access the potential power of that magnitude.”
Ethan shook his head. “I’ve never understood that. How does knowing about ancient civilizations bring men power? What about life? What about NOW, what we’re building NOW. We have the most advanced technology the world has ever seen. Why spend so much time looking BACK?”
Sam shrugged. It was a fair point. “Wise humans learn from the past and the surprising lessons it sometimes holds. If for no other reason, I suppose men want to find the labyrinth because it is, or at least it was, very was beautiful. They say that once one entered the sacred enclosure, there was a temple surrounded by columns, forty to each side, and this building had a roof made of a single massive slab of alabaster and carved with panels richly, further adorned by excellent paintings. You ever seen alabaster?”
Ethan’s voice softened, caught up in the tale. “Glows in the sun,” he said. “My…mom had this tiny box, when I was little. She kept her jewelry in it.” He looked out of the window. “That roof must have been beautiful.”
Sam wondered, not for the first time, what kind of home Ethan had come from. He sensed it may not have been carefree and all-day laughter. “I think so too.” He, also, looked out the window, imagining the glories of another time.
“But – just a legend.”
“No, actually.” Sam shook himself at Ethan’s dismissive tone. “It’s located less than a hundred miles from Cairo at Hawara. A team of researchers from Belgium – and Egypt – excavated in 2008. The expedition was able to at least confirm the presence of the underground temple, not far from the Pyramid of Amenemhat III.”
Ethan turned to him in surprise. “It’s real? This labyrinth, these keys? This…”
“Everyone thinks of Greek history and mythology when they hear about labyrinths. Theseus and the Minotaur and all that. Just like they think of Egypt when they think of pyramids.” He slanted a glance with a grin at Ethan. “Even though there are pyramids all around the world. The world holds many secrets. Most of them are still hidden.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that.” Ethan fiddled with his bag, then dropped it and faced Sam directly. “Does all this have something to do with the day we met?”
Sam squinted into the lowering sun. He should get the windshield washed. Rain had dried dusty and the evening light made the dust look like tears… “This has everything to do with what happened that day we met.”
Chapter Forty-Six
The sun slanted through the car windows in the parking lot outside the dive bar, early patrons laughing and loitering outside. Sam killed the motor and the car hummed to a stop. He flexed his hands on the wheel. “I could use a drink. You?”
Ethan glanced at the bar, then at Sam. “How do you know all this?”
Sam scratched his ear and watched a biker gang rumble into the lot. “It’s a long story, actually.”
Ethan watched the bikers shudder to a stop and slap each other on the back. The streetlights clicked on. Music swung out into the night as the men entered the bar; Ethan turned to look at Sam. “Tell me about what really happened on the day that we met, before those two Federal Agents tried to kill you.”
Sam spread his hands. “How about that drink?”
Ethan's lips were set hard. “Something happened that morning, before I met you, that ties in with everything that’s happening now, doesn’t it?”
Sam shrugged. “It does.”
Ethan put his hands on his knees, the hands that had just killed four men not more than two hours before. “How?”
Sam shook his head. “I can’t say.”
Ethan reached for the handle and snapped his door open. “We’re done here.”
Sam held out his hand. “Listen, Ethan…”
Ethan swung his head back around. “You can’t say? Or won’t say?”
They stared at each other in the confines of the small car. Finally, Sam shrugged one shoulder. “I guess, won’t say.”
Ethan glared. “Because you still don’t trust me? After I killed in your defense?”
Sam stared down the challenge in his voice. “No. Because the less you know about the truth behind that day, the safer we’ll both be.”
Ethan folded his arms and raised a brow. “Bullshit. I’m not buying it.”
Well, he wasn’t an idiot, Sam knew that. “Well, you don’t have to buy it.” He spread his hands. “But you do need to trust me. Please, Ethan. It’ll need to wait.”
“Wait until when?” Ethan leaned forward. “Men are after both of us. Wait until when, exactly? In the grave?”
Sam shook his head. “Until we finish the mission. Then I can tell you the truth.” The door opened again, letting out the music and revelry. They both turned to watch. When the music died back down, Sam turned again to Ethan. “Listen… if we make it, I promise we’ll both go back and dig up the security box from that day. Back in Rhyolite. In Nevada.” He reached out for his own door’s handle. “Come on. Let’s get a drink. Best we get the lay of the land.”
After a long moment, Ethan nodded. “Promise?”
“On my honor—and as a marine.”
It seemed satisfactory. “And what’s in that box… it will reveal the answers to everything? Everything I want to know about your past? That you won’t TELL me, now, anyway?” He all but spat the words.
Sam nodded, thinking of who else had told Ethan that he couldn’t have what he wanted. He wondered what had happened to those men. “I promise. Everything’s there.” He held out his hand to shake. “When this is over, we’ll go together and set its secrets free.” He raised his brows when Ethan still didn’t move. “Deal?”
Ethan looked at him a long time, then reached out. The two men shook, strong. “Deal. And yeah.” He scratched his ear, glancing toward the bar. Sam noticed his hand shook, just a bit. “I’ll take that drink. And you can tell me what you know about this Labyrinth, right?”
Chapter Forty-Seven
The bar was a dive, full of colored Christmas lights strung in front of band stickers and glass bottles. The clientele turned at their entrance, sized them up, and then turned back to their drinks and pool games as the live entertainment tuned up on a small stage to the side.
Sam gestured to a small booth near the back. Ethan moved through the crowd like it was a war zone and walked with the certainty of a military man. Sam flagged down a server as they sat. “Lager,” he said, then looked at Ethan. Ethan shrugged as he slid in. “Same. And a water. No ice.”
Sam laughed. “Really
? No ice, in this weather?”
Ethan shrugged. “Got out of the habit in the desert. Too cold, now. Like drinking glass.”
The men faced each other across the scarred wooden table. Sam rubbed at some graffiti, wondering if there was a way to get out of this.
The server brought their drinks, frothy and frigid. He smiled his thanks as he took the first sip, keeping his eyes down; same as one does around wild animals. Maybe he’d be spared.
But it didn’t look like it. Ethan drank, wiped his mouth, then set his beer aside deliberately and leaned on the wood and hit him with that intense stare. “So?” He spread his hands. “We have our drinks; we’ve got mood music. We’re all set. Tell me what you know.”
Sam tapped the table, wondering where to start. “Okay,” he said. “There was a temple attached to the Hawara pyramid. It was a temple for the dead.”
“A mortuary temple.”
Sam toasted him. “A mortuary temple. It was referred to as the Labyrinth by the ancient Greek philosophers, Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, and Strabo, who praised it as a wonder of the world.”
Ethan snorted. “More ancient praise, more ancient names. Ooh.”
Sam held up his hands. “Yes, yes. Just, hear me out. You said you wanted to know.” Ethan gestured for him to continue. Sam did. “But of the three of them, Strabo—”
“Sounds like some kind of protein powder. Or like, a camping equipment company.”
Sam laughed. “Strabo was a Greek geographer, philosopher, and historian who lived in Asia Minor when it was transitioning from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire.” He quirked his brow. “In fact, he was instrumental in drawing up the original treaty. Not common knowledge, but true.”
“So, you’re an authority on Greek-Roman peacekeepers with an interest in politics?”
Sam again quirked a brow, ignoring Ethan’s sarcasm. “He had an interest in many things; one of which was the labyrinth. He documented its purpose and how Amenemhat III had kept the place secret for nearly four thousand years.” Sam grinned. “Strabo describes that Amenemhat left a key to his secret labyrinth, and a forbidden library to each of his children.”
The Labyrinth Key Page 23