The Revelation Code (Wilde/Chase 11)

by Andy McDermott

  ‘It’s already on, Victor,’ Cross told him dismissively. ‘This isn’t Marine One; you’ll have to manage.’

  ‘There’s a big fan right above us,’ added Simeon, with a mocking glance up at the main rotor. Anna chuckled.

  ‘Damn right it isn’t Marine One,’ Dalton muttered. He tried to look over the pilot’s shoulder at the desert below. ‘Any sign of what we’re after?’

  ‘Not yet,’ Cross told him. ‘But we’ve only checked three sites so far. We’ll find it, though. Have faith.’

  ‘Right now, I’d rather have legroom.’

  ‘I see a sinkhole,’ Simeon reported. ‘Ten o’clock, thirty degrees down.’ Other binoculars turned to locate it. Paxton slowed the chopper and began to circle.

  ‘Well?’ Dalton demanded impatiently after a couple of minutes. ‘Is that it?’

  ‘We’re still checking,’ said Cross. ‘But there’s nothing nearby that might be ruins, or a cave system, and the sinkhole itself is empty, so . . . I don’t think so,’ he decided, crossing off another marker from the map. ‘Okay, Paxton, take us to the next site. Four down.’

  ‘Too damn many to go,’ Dalton grumbled as the helicopter wheeled about to begin the next leg of its laborious search.

  The other group of explorers were enduring an equally laborious, and considerably less comfortable, journey. Even for a vehicle of the Discovery’s off-road prowess it was hard going, with no roads to follow, nor even tracks.

  Eddie had taken over navigation duties from Nina, having much more experience from his military career. Despite this, the map’s lack of fine detail meant they were sometimes forced to backtrack from terrain beyond the Land Rover’s abilities. ‘Shit,’ he exclaimed as he looked ahead, seeing that what on the chart was an open, if narrow, valley was in reality blocked by a near-vertical ridge of rock taller than a man. ‘Okay, Jared, turn us around. We’ll have to head back to that big boulder and try to get up the hill.’

  ‘It might be too steep,’ the Israeli said as he reversed.

  ‘If we don’t try, we’ll need to go all the way back around this fucking mountain.’ Eddie glared out of the side window at the offending peak.

  Jared retraced their tracks to a large sand-weathered rock, then turned north to face a steep incline. ‘I don’t know if we’ll be able to get up this.’

  Eddie assessed it. ‘So long as you put it in low range and keep moving, you’ll make it. And for Christ’s sake don’t go at an angle, or we’ll roll over.’

  ‘We will? Wow! I’d never know these things without you to tell me. All that time the Mossad spent teaching me how to drive off-road . . .’

  ‘All right, don’t be a cheeky twat,’ said the Yorkshireman. ‘Just go for it.’

  Jared aligned the Discovery with the shallowest route up the incline, then started his ascent. The big 4x4 managed a reasonable pace at first, before its wheels began to slip and scrabble. ‘There’s more grip over there,’ Eddie suggested, pointing to where the rock had less of a covering of sand.

  ‘I know, I’ve seen it!’ the younger man replied testily as he turned the wheel. ‘Did the SAS give you training in stating the obvious?’

  ‘No, just in taking the piss out of kids who think they know everything.’

  Nina was more interested in something to one side. ‘Look, over there,’ she said. Jared kept his eyes on the climb, but Eddie followed her gaze. A cluster of loose stones had built up in a dip: stones of a very distinctive tint. ‘Those rocks – you see the greenish colour on them? That’s copper, oxidised copper. There must be deposits higher up.’

  Eddie peered up the hillside. ‘Can’t see anything. They might have rolled half a mile to end up here, though.’

  ‘It’s still a promising sign. Let me see the map again.’ Eddie handed it to her; she perused it, so deep in thought that she was oblivious to the Land Rover’s lurches as it clawed its way up the hill.

  The slope finally eased. ‘I wouldn’t relax yet,’ Jared told Nina as she looked up from the map. ‘We still have to get back down.’

  ‘But we’ve found it,’ she said. ‘This is the valley!’

  Spread out before them was a winding gorge. Its walls grew higher in the distance, the pale sandstone cliffs almost vertical as they passed out of sight around a bend. ‘If my theory’s right, that the line “clothed with the sun” from Revelation refers to somewhere with copper deposits facing east, then it should be at the top of a cliff down there,’ said Nina. ‘Come on, let’s go.’

  The Discovery set off again. They headed along the canyon, before long rounding the bend to see . . .

  ‘There!’ exclaimed Nina. ‘It’s up there!’

  The valley opened out before them, creating a broad natural amphitheatre several hundred feet long. It forked at the far end, one leg turning north-east and the other almost due south, closing off the western end of the great open space with a towering cliff. A couple of taller peaks rose beyond it, forming a massif surrounded by ravines.

  Jared stopped the 4x4. Its occupants got out, Nina scanning the barrier through binoculars. A vertical cleft in the rock was obvious even to the naked eye, and under magnification she glimpsed beyond it a narrow, twisting passage cutting deep into the sandstone, blue sky visible at its top. The channel was about sixty feet deep, the base of its entrance almost two hundred feet above the canyon’s floor.

  But it was not the shape that had caught her attention; it was the colour. Patches of shimmering turquoise-green stood out clearly on the surrounding rock where veins of copper had been exposed to the elements. There were also streaks and spots of a darker golden hue. The soft stone was being relentlessly scoured by the desert winds, gradually revealing new deposits of raw, unoxidised copper as the surface layers fell away. Even with the sun high in the sky they shone with a warm light; at dawn, Nina imagined, the reflected glow would be quite spectacular.

  ‘Is that what we’re after?’ Eddie asked.

  ‘Looks like it,’ she said. ‘A narrow passage – the, ah, woman’s place – high up where someone would need wings to reach it, surrounded by copper that would catch the dawn light. It fits what John of Patmos wrote in Revelation, after being filtered through his hallucinogenic visions.’

  Jared squinted up at the opening. ‘Where does it go?’

  ‘There was definitely a sinkhole on its far side in the satellite photos,’ said Nina. ‘Let’s get a closer look.’

  They drove the rest of the way down the valley. Reaching the cliff, they found that a steep pile of scree had built up along its foot, reducing the distance to the bottom of the crevice by some forty feet. ‘Still a fair old climb,’ said Eddie.

  ‘Fifty metres? No worse than that cliff we climbed in Italy,’ Jared said.

  ‘The one you almost got killed on when you slipped and fell?’

  ‘I caught myself.’

  ‘I caught you.’

  The young man frowned, then reluctantly admitted: ‘Huh. Yeah. You did.’ Eddie gave him a smug look.

  ‘But you can get up there?’ asked Nina.

  ‘Looks straightforward enough,’ her husband assured her. ‘Although we’ll need to use ropes if the rock’s that crumbly.’ He looked at Jared. ‘You up for it?’

  ‘Any time, old man,’ the Mossad agent replied. He opened the Discovery’s tailgate and began to take out the climbing gear.

  25

  ‘Nothing here either,’ reported Cross, marking another site off his map. ‘Okay, Paxton, let’s move on.’

  Behind him, Dalton had by now abandoned any attempt to disguise his irritation. ‘All this time, and nothing down there but sand and potholes. I should have gotten out when we went back to Ovda to refuel. How long before we have to gas up again?’

  Paxton checked the gauges. ‘Another two hours, sir.’

  ‘Two hours! Christ.’ The exclamation brought disapproving glances from Simeon and Anna. ‘How about we refuel early so I can get out?’

  ‘We’re not going to disrupt the
search because you’re uncomfortable, Victor,’ said Cross. ‘We have work to do – God’s work.’

  He spoke politely, but it was perfectly clear to all that a challenge had been issued. ‘Now wait one damn minute, Cross,’ Dalton rumbled. ‘I don’t intend to be jolted around in this sweatbox for another two hours just because it interferes with your schedule. And my title is still “Mr President”, thank you very much.’

  ‘Of course . . . Mr President.’ Cross managed to keep all but a tinge of disdain from his voice. ‘But it’s your schedule too. And considering how the timing has worked out perfectly for us, we need to stick to it.’ He looked back at the former politician. ‘It’s in both our best interests. Don’t you agree, Mr President?’

  Dalton became acutely aware that he was surrounded by his partner’s most loyal disciples, and that all of them were armed. ‘I suppose so, yes,’ he said, trying to salvage some decorum. ‘But if I can’t even look out of a window, I’m not contributing much.’

  ‘That you’re not, Mr President. That you’re not.’ Dalton glared at him, but the cult leader had already turned away.

  With a loud grunt, Eddie pulled himself up into the cleft in the rock face. He caught his breath, then stood. The passage was narrow, about six feet wide at its entrance and barely half that deeper within.

  Huffs and scrapes from behind. He turned to see Jared’s head appear over the edge. ‘Need a hand?’ the Englishman asked.

  ‘No, I’m fine.’ The Mossad agent hauled himself on to level ground and shrugged off the long coil of rope he was carrying before detaching his climbing harness from the line. ‘That wasn’t hard.’

  ‘I believe you. Thousands wouldn’t,’ Eddie replied as he removed his own gear, then took a walkie-talkie from his belt. ‘Nina? We’re both up here and safe.’

  Nina’s voice crackled from the radio. ‘What can you see?’

  ‘So far, nothing. The passage twists too much.’

  ‘According to the satellite, it should go back a couple of hundred feet before opening out at the sinkhole.’ A mix of eagerness and anxiety entered her voice. ‘You will be able to get me up there, won’t you?’

  ‘Oh, I dunno, might be too risky,’ Eddie told her, knowing full well that he and Jared would be able to bring her up the cliff with no risk to the baby. He smiled at the yelp of complaint that was audible from below even without the radio, then went on: ‘Yeah, we’ll be able to. We’ll see what’s back there first, though. No point hauling you all the way up here for nothing.’

  ‘Okay,’ she said reluctantly. ‘Tell me what you see the whole way, though.’

  ‘Rock, rock, rock, rock . . .’

  ‘You’re a funny man, Eddie.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s why you love me. Don’t worry. If we find anything, I’ll tell you.’ He lowered the radio. ‘Jared, you ready?’

  ‘Always,’ the Israeli replied.

  ‘Good. Let’s go.’

  The two men started down the passage, boots crunching over the gritty sand. They rounded the first turn, losing sight of the entrance but seeing something new ahead. ‘That’s tight,’ said Jared. The walls narrowed still further to a point where they were less than two feet apart. He had to turn slightly sideways to pass through. ‘Hey, will you even be able to fit?’

  ‘You calling me fat?’ Eddie replied. ‘Just ’cause you’re built like a fucking beanpole . . .’ But the obstruction presented no difficulty, the crevice widening out again after a short distance. ‘Okay, there’s a narrow section, but you’ll be able to get through,’ he said into the walkie-talkie. ‘Good job you’re only four months pregnant and not eight.’

  Nina was already becoming impatient. ‘Have you reached the sinkhole yet?’

  ‘No, I’ll tell you when we do. It’s nice in here, though.’ Beneath the snaking line of blue sky directly overhead, the rock walls were banded in different shades of brown, glinting seams of copper running through them. ‘Like being in a tiramisu mine.’

  ‘Great, now I’ve got a craving for some. Thanks, hon!’

  Eddie smiled, then followed Jared up the passage. It occasionally narrowed, but was still navigable. Presenting more of a problem were fallen rocks, some almost blocking the way. The Israeli looked up after climbing over one, seeing a ragged gap high above from where the stone had fallen. ‘I don’t think these cliffs are safe.’

  ‘Well, we don’t have to climb ’em,’ Eddie replied as he traversed the blockage. ‘But if you hear a big cracking noise from above, don’t look up to see what it is – just leg it!’

  Jared chuckled, then looked ahead. ‘Hey, it’s opening out.’

  ‘Nina, we’re almost at the end,’ Eddie reported. ‘I’ll tell you what we see.’ The pair continued on, the passage gradually widening – until they emerged in the open.

  ‘What is it?’ Nina demanded. ‘Have you found the sinkhole?’

  ‘Yeah – and more besides.’

  He and Jared stepped out into a roughly egg-shaped depression in the mountain, the far wall of the bowl rising up to flatter ground about fifty feet above. The sinkhole Nina had seen on the satellite imagery was indeed here, an almost perfectly circular opening near the hollow’s centre. Eddie peered down into it. Blue-green water rippled gently around ten feet below him. Small pieces of debris floated on its surface. He couldn’t see the bottom.

  Just above the pool, a cave was cut into the shaft’s wall, forming a ledge. He didn’t need a doctorate in archaeology to know instantly that it was not a natural feature. Beneath the shelter of the overhang were several small archways, tunnels leading into the mountain. Inscribed around each were blocks of text.

  The Englishman didn’t recognise the language, but his companion did. ‘It’s Hebrew,’ said Jared, eyes widening.

  They hurried around the sinkhole and climbed down for a closer look. ‘Can you read it?’ Eddie asked.

  The Israeli examined one of the carved sections. ‘Some of it,’ he replied. ‘It’s ancient Hebrew, not modern. There are a lot of differences.’

  ‘But you know what this is?’

  Jared perused some of the other writings. ‘I think it’s a temple. This word here,’ he pointed it out, ‘is definitely Yahweh – God.’

  Nina was almost at bursting point with her radioed demands for an update. Eddie told her what they had seen, then added: ‘I’m assuming you want to come up here and look for yourself?’

  ‘No, no, I’ll just stand around in the baking sun while you two poke around,’ came the sarcastic reply. ‘Of course I want to come up there!’

  Jared pretended to wince. ‘So that’s what being married is like? I think I’ll have to disappoint my mom for a few more years.’

  ‘Nah,’ said Eddie with a grin, ‘I’m sure you’ll go on disappointing her for the rest of your life.’

  The younger man now winced for real at having left himself wide open for the joke. ‘Hamor,’ he muttered, before looking back at the tunnels. ‘Should we check what’s inside before we bring her up?’

  ‘Only if you want her to kill you,’ Eddie replied breezily. ‘Come on, let’s go back and rig up a belay.’

  Less than thirty minutes later, Nina had been brought up to the passage. ‘That was only about half as terrifying as I’d expected,’ she said as Eddie helped unclip her harness from the rope. ‘Are you sure the baby will be okay?’

  ‘Little Arbuthnot’ll be fine,’ he assured her.

  ‘More like Arbuth-not.’ She turned to Jared. ‘I’m glad you waited for me rather than rushing in. Exploring those tunnels on your own probably isn’t a good idea.’

  ‘You think it might be dangerous?’ he asked. ‘Booby-trapped, like the Spring of Immortality?’

  ‘It’s possible. If the last angel is here, it could be protected.’

  ‘The other angels weren’t,’ Eddie pointed out.

  ‘No, but this site’s different – Revelation suggested it was a place of great religious importance, some kind of redoubt for the Israelites. T
he angel might not be the only thing here.’

  ‘Let’s see, then.’ Eddie led the way through the twisting cleft, helping Nina over the fallen rocks.

  ‘Oh, wow,’ she gasped as they emerged in the bowl beyond. ‘Definitely a place prepared in the wilderness. I want to go down to that cave.’

  ‘What’s the magic word?’ Eddie asked with a smirk.

  She glowered at him. ‘Now.’

  He laughed. ‘Near enough. We’ll set up a rope to make it easier for you.’

  Nina overcame her impatience long enough to wait for the two men to put down the climbing equipment, then tie a line around a boulder and hang it over the edge. Eddie went first, supporting her from below as Jared helped her descend. She found her footing on the ledge, taking in the ancient inscriptions before her, then looked back at the pool. ‘What are those things in the water?’

  Eddie scooped up the nearest floating piece of detritus as Jared swung down. ‘Fungus, it looks like. Some sort of mushrooms.’

  ‘Probably best not to drink the water, then, or we might end up having our own hallucinogenic visions. Let’s take a look inside.’

  ‘Which tunnel?’ asked the Israeli. There were four entrances before them.

  ‘You tell us,’ said Eddie. ‘You can read the language.’

  ‘I can only read parts of it,’ he protested. ‘I’m a Mossad agent, not a rabbi.’

  ‘This one,’ said Nina, indicating the left-most.

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘Because I can’t read ancient Hebrew, but I can read symbols. I’ve seen this one before.’ She went to the archway, pointing at something carved above it: a menorah, accompanied by the characters that she and Cross had identified as representing the twenty-four Elders. ‘It was in the temple in Iraq and the catacombs in Rome. I’m also guessing it was on the piece of the Altar of Zeus where you found the angel in Berlin.’