THE MAHABHARATA QUEST:THE ALEXANDER SECRET

by CHRISTOPHER C. DOYLE

  However, despite this conclusion, there seemed to be no way of opening the door.

  ‘Break it open,’ Van Klueck commanded, unable to wait any longer.

  The massive rock breaking hammers were produced and three men set to work on the rock.

  There was evidently something important behind the rock, for it would not yield easily. The three men laboured for half an hour before cracks began appearing in the rock. All the while, splinters from their efforts flew around the chamber. The other men had to shield their faces with their hands to avoid being hit in the face by the shards that rocketed out of the stone. The men attacking the rock now stepped back and were replaced by three others, to provide fresh energy to complete the task.

  After another half an hour of back breaking work, the stone door finally splintered into smaller pieces and disintegrated.

  A yawning black hole was revealed.

  What was hidden beyond that opening?

  70

  327 BC

  PRESENT DAY AFGHANISTAN

  From Man to God

  Eumenes held aloft the torch as Alexander squinted at the parchment his mother had given him before he had embarked on his campaign of conquest to the East. She had told him that it had been given to her by a philosopher from the very lands his army was now camped in. But it was not the source of the parchment that had interested him. It was the tale of the myth — the secret of the gods — that had driven him to lead his army across Asia and into the land of the Indus.

  He stared at the dark landscape around him, trying to identify the meaning of the verses on the parchment, as explained to him by his mother, with the topography of the land.

  ‘It should be here, somewhere,’ he muttered, half to himself, half to Eumenes. ‘We just passed Poseidon’s staff.’

  Eumenes nodded. ‘Shall we proceed further? Perhaps it is ahead?’

  Alexander grunted. They had been searching for almost an hour now, their task made more difficult by the darkness and the unevenness of the rocky ground upon which they walked. But Alexander had needed to carry out his search under cover of the darkness. That was the only way to find Poseidon’s trident.

  He had cleverly motivated his army to march this far and was not going to allow anything to come in the way of his success.Initially, he had told his soldiers that they were fighting for glory. For Macedonian glory. Avenging their humiliation at the hands of the Persians. They would fight the Persians and defeat them. Alexander would rule Persia. This had resonated well with his troops, especially the battle hardened veterans who had served under his father, Philip II. They could see in his plans, an extension of Philip’s ambitions and his conquests. Alexander, to them, was a true son to his father.

  Over the last few years, they had routed Darius, killed the nobles who had betrayed the Persian monarch and established Alexander as the ruler of Persia. And then, at Balkh, as the troops contemplated returning home, Alexander had dropped the bombshell. They were marching on to Asia. He had goaded them on with stories of conquest of the world, marching to its ends and establishing Macedonian supremacy in the lands of the Indus. His men, flushed with their victories and the seeming invincibility of their king and his army, had rallied around him.

  Now, he was within sight of the true reason he was here. The secret of the gods. Dividing his army into two parts, he had led one section up the Kunar valley, following the instructions on the parchment. Callisthenes had already completed his part of the mission, in which he had complied with some of the instructions on the parchment, while Alexander had led his army against the Sogdian rock and subdued the Bactrian tribes.

  Alexander now had all he needed according to the instructions on the parchment. He and Eumenes had slipped away from the camp tonight, searching for the final signs that would lead them to the location of the secret.

  Slowly, cautiously, they moved forward, skirting the rock formations that rose around them like silent sepulchres in the night, towering above them. Far below, unseen to them, hidden by the mountains and the cloak of darkness, the river flowed on. It had seen conquerors come and go and was oblivious to the presence of even this king, who would be one of the greatest conquerors of all time.

  Eumenes glanced around anxiously. Alexander had refused to bring along any of his guards, trusting his sword and his skill as a soldier. ‘Who will attack the man who has conquered the world?’ he had scoffed at Eumenes when the latter had suggested that they be accompanied by a host of soldiers. But Eumenes did not share Alexander’s confidence. Alexander had made no secret of his desire to subdue the hill tribes of this area, arguing that they posed a threat to the flanks of the army. Eumenes knew that this was a cover up for the secret mission they had undertaken tonight. But the local tribes had fled at their approach, retreating to their stronghold at Aornos, a few miles away across the pass that would lead them to the east. Who could tell whether a disgruntled tribesman was skulking in the shelter of the rocks and the trees, waiting for an opportune moment to assassinate the ruler of the civilised world?

  ‘There!’ Alexander’s hoarse whisper intruded on his general’s thoughts.

  Eumenes strained to see what Alexander had noticed. Another strange shaped rock formation loomed ahead of them. But this one was different. It seemed to have been massively eroded in layers on either side, giving it the appearance of an immense wave breaking over their heads, stretching to the sky above.

  A massive wave. Or a snake with five heads. Which matched the verse on the parchment.

  Alexander hastened towards the snake shaped rock, Eumenes scrambling after him, trying to keep pace with his king.

  Presently, they stood before the rock. It was much taller than it had seemed when they first saw it, stretching around fifteen feet above their heads.

  Eumenes held the torch close to the rock, trying to detect any means of entry to the underground cavern that, according to the parchment, lay beneath the rock.

  Alexander found it. It was a narrow fissure, hidden behind a fold in the rock. Unless one knew it was here, it would have been impossible to see it, even in broad daylight.

  ‘Wait here,’ Alexander commanded, as he took the torch from Eumenes. ‘I will be back soon.’

  Eumenes started to protest, but was silenced immediately. ‘This is a sacred place,’ Alexander told him. ‘Fit only for a god. I shall go on ahead by myself.’

  The young conqueror disappeared into the fissure, leaving Eumenes alone in the darkness. But the general was not worried about his own safety now. Neither of them knew what lay beyond that fissure. They only had the word of a stranger to go by. What if this was a trick, a ploy to kill Alexander?

  Time passed, slowly, agonisingly and Eumenes sat down on the hard, stony ground, awaiting the return of his king.

  Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Alexander emerged from the fissure. His armour was wet, and his face shone.

  ‘It is done,’ he said, handing the torch back to Eumenes. ‘Now, I am finally a god!’

  71

  PRESENT DAY

  DAY SIX

  The Kernel of the Quest

  The now open portal gave way to empty space, every pore of which was filled with a blackness that threatened to ooze out of the doorway and overwhelm the small chamber they stood in.

  There was a collective gasp as the searchlights played on the impenetrable wall of darkness that formed a hidden cavern beyond the stone doorway.

  On the floor of the cavern was a roiling mass of snakes of all kinds, in all possible sizes. There were cobras and rat snakes, which were easily identifiable. There were others that were barely one foot in length. There were black snakes, along with green, grey and rust coloured ones.

  Only Van Klueck was unmoved. Vijay glanced at him and saw, to his surprise, that the European had a grim, satisfied look on his face. He seemed to have anticipated this.

  ‘Gather them up,’ the European commanded. ‘I want two of each type of snake. Get your hands on as many as p
ossible.’

  The men hesitated. There were possibly non-poisonous snakes in there. But most of the snakes seemed to be poisonous.

  Cooper barked out orders and whipped out a gun. ‘I want every man in there now! You have guns. Get in there and get the samples! Shoot if required, there are enough of them! Work as a team of two and watch each other’s back!’

  The men looked at each other and, hesitatingly, moved into the cavern. Ten men stood at the doorway, holding searchlights to illuminate the floor and make it easier for their comrades.

  The mass of snakes roiled even more as the men crossed the threshold. Their bags were now held in one hand, a gun in the other as the men moved gingerly through the snakes, trying not to step on them.

  There were immediate casualties. One man stepped on a cobra which struck with lightning swiftness. The man collapsed on the floor while the others continued their march. Another unfortunate man stumbled on a pile of snakes while trying to avoid treading on a cobra. He was immediately attacked by a coiled, hissing mass of snakes and went down with a scream as he was bitten multiple times.

  The others ventured carefully among the serpents, trying to learn from the mistakes their colleagues had made. Working in twos, they cautiously picked up snakes using their rifle barrels and slipped them into the bags. It was a painstakingly slow operation but there were no further losses.

  Vijay stood and watched apprehensively. He was not worried about the fate of the men in the cavern. He was more concerned about what would happen next. To him. And to Radha.

  The men in the cavern began making their way back as he looked on. He observed that, as long as the men were able to find spaces among the snakes where they could tread without disturbing the creatures, they were safe. By and large, though the snakes seemed to resent the intrusion, they left the men alone.

  Finally, the last pair stumbled past the broken stone doorway, into the main chamber. Their foreheads were beaded with perspiration and their clothes were sticking to their bodies. It was cool down here but the pressure of the task they had undertaken had drenched them in sweat.

  ‘Good.’ Van Klueck smiled appreciatively. ‘We now have the virus. Our operation here is over.’

  Vijay frowned. He didn’t understand what Van Klueck meant. They had collected snakes. Where was the virus?

  But the European was speaking again. ‘Let’s move.’ He fixed Vijay with a stony stare. ‘And now, I guess it is, as the Americans say, “payback time”. You gave us enough grief last year. And now, I think it is time we put a stop to that. In any case, you know too much about us and this operation. So you’ll understand when I tell you that we’re not taking you with us. You’re staying here.’

  Vijay’s heart sank. Even though he had always known that this was a possibility, he had hoped that the European would keep his promise. He should have known better. Especially after he had learned what they were after.

  But there was still one last hope he clung to. It was not for himself.

  ‘But you will let Radha go?’ he ventured.

  Cooper grinned. ‘We would if we could.’

  ‘She’s dead,’ Van Klueck informed him in his usual matter of fact manner. ‘She tried to escape and was shot by our guards.’ He turned to the men who were looking on. ‘Let’s get moving!’

  Vijay stood, rooted to the spot. He felt numb. His mind felt like a vacuum had sucked all his thoughts out, leaving a large empty hole. A deep, dark void. His legs gave way under him and he slumped to the floor, his back bent, his face buried in his hands.

  He had lost loved ones before. His parents. His uncle. But somehow, nothing had hit him as hard as the loss of Radha. Patterson had prepared him for this. But how can you ever be prepared for losing someone who you love more than life itself?

  Dimly, through a mist, he sensed, rather than heard, people moving around. Someone was saying something to him. A searchlight was thrust into his hand. But the dark depression in his mind had engulfed him. Mind and body. The loss was overpowering. Nothing else registered.

  The men moved on, back up the staircase. Cooper had handed Vijay a searchlight. ‘We aren’t cruel,’ he grinned. ‘We’ll leave you with some light. At least as long as the batteries last.’

  Vijay sat, hunched over, staring at nothing, as Van Klueck and Cooper disappeared up the stairway.

  He was too far submerged in shock for a critical question to enter his mind.

  How long would it be before the snakes discovered the open doorway and entered the chamber?

  Nowhere to run

  Vijay didn’t know how long he had sat there in a stupor. He was jerked out of it by a loud rumble that shook the chamber and caused the shards of stone from the broken doorway to shiver on the floor.

  For a moment he was disoriented. Then, he recovered and remembered where he was. The keen pain of his loss had settled into a dull ache. He had his faculties back.

  In the light of the searchlight, he saw thick swirls of dust cascade down the stairway. He realised what had happened. Van Klueck and his team had emerged from the rock and blown up the opening of the tunnel, sealing it and sending boulders and dust surging down the stairway.

  He was trapped.

  But there was worse happening. He heard scraping sounds around him. There was hissing on the fringes of the searchlight, emanating from the darkness that reigned beyond the reach of the light beam.

  Vijay trained the searchlight on the floor of the chamber and froze in horror.

  The snakes had discovered the chamber and were making their way in.

  72

  Firepower

  Van Klueck watched the last of his men winch their way down the slope and join the others who had descended earlier. The captured snakes and the urns had been safely stowed away in the helicopters. The men were now busy packing the climbing and digging equipment in the trunks and loading them onto the helicopters.

  ‘Birds on the horizon,’ one of the men said suddenly.

  All eyes turned to the direction the man had indicated. The stowing of equipment and loading of trunks paused.

  Two distant specks were visible over the flat badlands that stretched to the west. They were rapidly getting bigger.

  Choppers. Heading in their direction.

  Cooper began rushing the men. He didn’t know who was in those helicopters but they definitely weren’t friends. No one among their allies knew about this part of the mission. If there were helicopters arriving, it was not good news.

  ‘Go, go, go!’ he yelled, spurring the men to work faster. They caught the urgency in his tone and accelerated their pace, sprinting where they were ambling earlier and dumping stuff in the trunks rather than carefully packing them.

  The choppers grew in size and the staccato sound of their rotors came to their ears. They were fast helicopters and were rapidly covering the distance between them and the rock.

  Cooper realised they would not have time to load all the equipment. ‘We have to leave the stuff here,’ he told Van Kluek, who nodded his assent.

  The men dropped the trunks and began boarding their own choppers.

  Cooper squinted at the horizon where the two helicopters were now big enough to be discernible with the naked eye.

  ‘Bad news,’ he told Van Klueck. ‘Kazakh airforce. Eurocopter EC725s.’

  Van Klueck nodded. ‘Let’s fly. And hope they have only the machine guns and cannons. No rocket launchers.’

  Cooper hopped into the chopper and the two helicopters lifted off.

  The Kazakh airforce choppers were closing in fast. Van Klueck’s helicopters weren’t built for speed. His troops were in an Mi-26, the largest heavy lift helicopter in the world, capable of accommodating upto 82 passengers, and just right for the 60 men Van Klueck had needed for this mission. It also had a range of 432 nautical miles, which was ideal for the distance they had to travel on this mission. His own helicopter was an Agusta Westland AW139M, built for upto 15 passengers with a range of 537 nautical miles.


  The Kazakh choppers, on the other hand, were smaller. They had a top speed of 324 kilometres per hour, just faster than the Agusta at 306 kilometers per hour and much faster than the ponderous Mi-26 at 295 kilometres per hour. Moreover, they were probably on a reconnaissance mission and weren’t carrying troops unlike the choppers belonging to the Order. That made the Kazakh choppers lighter. And faster.

  ‘We aren’t going to make it,’ Cooper said grimly.

  ‘Get the rocket launchers out,’ Van Klueck commanded. ‘They won’t be expecting armed resistance. We have to get them off our tail.’

  Cooper issued the command. There were two rocket launchers stowed in the rear of the cabin of the Agusta chopper, which were hastily unpacked and readied for an assault. Two men stood by ready to fire them.

  The unsuspecting Kazakh choppers drew closer.

  ‘Wait,’ Van Klueck instructed. ‘We don’t know if they have rocket launchers. Let them come into range. We have only one shot. Make it count.’

  Exploring

  Vijay stood up, warily, wondering what he should do. He was trapped down here with hundreds of snakes. The only way out had been destroyed by Van Klueck.

  A thought struck him. It didn’t offer much hope but it was something to go on. If this chamber was associated with the Mahabharata then it had been built thousands of years ago. The snakes couldn’t be that old. They would have to feed in order to breed and replenish their population.