There had to be a few dozen flash and smoke grenades in the crate, and as he lifted a tray of these out and set it aside he discovered a greater prize.
Compound 2-chlorobenzalmalonontrile.
It was a mouthful, to be sure. Which was why most people, including the police and military who used it, referred to it simply as “tear gas.”
The trouble was, though Kotler searched quickly through the crates and those surrounding them, he couldn't find a gas mask. Which meant that if he used this, in an enclosed space, there was just as much chance that it would blow back on him, effectively disabling him right alongside the mercenaries. Once that smoke cleared, he'd be at their mercy. He might even be worse off, as most military were trained to quickly overcome the effects of tear gas. Quicker than laymen, at any rate.
Kotler had undergone some of that training himself, but he'd never been a model student when it came to his eyes burning and mucus pouring from his nose while he retched and gagged and writhed on the floor. He hadn't gotten high marks in that particular training.
Still, it could be worth the risk. It was the only weapon he could find, at the moment, that could potentially incapacitate several people at once. If anything gave him a fighting chance …
He heard the sound of stone grinding stone, and looked up to see the passage door easing open.
Dammit!
It was too soon! He'd been counting on more time, as the mercenaries edged their way through the corridor, trying to avoid any other traps. Kotler had underestimated them, and that could cost him.
“Down! Down!” the men shouted, moving in a rush and taking cover, their weapons trained on him.
Kotler had no intention of going down. Not without a fight.
He quickly pulled the pin on one of the tear gas grenades and tossed it toward the tomb exit.
“Grenade!” One of the men shouted, just as a plume of tear gas erupted and billowed into the chamber. The coughing and gagging was immediate, and gave Kotler a precious few seconds.
He managed to snag one more tear gas grenade, and hoisted the automatic over his shoulder before sprinting for the stairs at the entrance of the tomb.
Shots trailed him as he ran, and he dove into the chamber above as he reached the top couple of steps.
There was coughing and cursing from below, as well as orders to pursue. Kotler rolled to his feet and raised his weapon.
Two men emerged from below, and Kotler fired. One fell forward, dead as a round hit him square in the chest. The fate of the other, Kotler couldn't say, as he fell back, tumbling into the chamber below.
Kotler scrambled to his feet and leapt to the wall with the owl motif. He placed his hands on the owl's head, and gave it a forceful turn, realigning it to its original configuration.
The stone steps rose slowly, closing the gap in the floor and sealing off the entrance. Kotler reached down and yanked the dead mercenary up, clearing his legs from the gap as it closed. Before the steps had completely risen to their place, however, several shots were fired through the opening, and Kotler hugged the wall, covering his head with his arms and staying as low profile as possible until finally the stones rose back into place.
He sank along the stone wall to the floor then, huffing. The entire fight had taken only seconds, and it was debatable who had come out the victor. Kotler was alive and uninjured, at least. But the mercenaries had all of the statues of Ah-Puch, as well as a very large cache of weapons, drugs, and God knew what else.
They owned the game, at this point. Or at least, owned the game board.
Worse, Kotler was now trapped in the tomb once again, with little hope of getting out.
Things could not be worse.
Chapter 27
Denzel and the others moved cautiously past the skewered remains of two mercenaries, still pinned to the floor and wall of the tunnel by immense wooden spikes. A third man lay dead on the floor, with signs that he, too, had been fatally injured by the trap. Denzel silently motioned for his men to be alert.
They hadn't had any sign of Beta One or any of the other mercenaries, during their move through the tunnel, which could be a bad sign. If Beta One made it to the others, Denzel and his team could turn the next corner and face a firing squad. In these close quarters, with no real cover, it might prove challenging to survive. Denzel couldn't think of any alternatives, at the moment. They had to do whatever they could to put down this threat, as well as find Kotler and Graham, if possible.
They kept one light on the floor as they moved, trying to stay alert for any more of these traps. None of them wanted to end up like the men they'd just passed.
Up ahead, Denzel spotted a glint of something in the beam of his flashlight. He motioned for his men to hold back, and signaled that he would move ahead alone, to scout.
He kept low, moving in a crouch, and trimmed the light from his M4 so that it was a narrow, low-intensity beam. He kept this aimed at an angle to the floor and one wall of the tunnel, to hide it as much as possible.
This had the unfortunate effect of keeping his weapon aimed at the floor as well, which wasn't ideal, but he reasoned he should be able to quickly bring the weapon to bear, if he needed it. Chances were he'd be gunned down either way, but that was hardly helpful thinking.
On the bright side, he was keenly aware of the fact that he was feeling no tugs or pangs of claustrophobia at all. He couldn't explain why, but he had a suspicion—he had a sense of mission. He had something to occupy him fully.
He held on to that, embracing it and pouring on as he could, keeping his mind on the objective as well as keenly alert for signs of danger, from an enemy or from the environment.
It was a lot to keep in his head, but it crowded out the clutch of fear that he might otherwise have felt.
It took only a moment to reach the source of the glint, however, and Denzel stood upright, sighing with both relief and an odd sadness. Or maybe pity was a better word.
There, laying on the floor of the tunnel, was Beta One.
The man had apparently tripped another one of the triggers in the floor, and had died a grisly death from a large, spike-studded stone that had fallen on him from above. Denzel grimaced at the sight of the young man, who was an absolute ruin of gore and splatter on the floor. In some odd and macabre twist, the man's head and face were intact. Though Denzel couldn't say the same for the rest of him.
His head lolled in a loose and sickening pose that was all wrong, and disturbing. The stone had hit him square in the shoulders and upper back, snapping his neck and crushing him, the spikes penetrating him and sending shards of bone into his lungs and other organs, as well as forcing some to protrude luridly from his back and sides.
Denzel made a sour expression as he knelt and checked the man's pulse, more out of a sense of being thorough than out of any doubt.
Definitely dead.
The question was, had he managed to reach the others, before he'd gone down?
It didn't seem likely. The fact that Denzel and his team hadn't faced any gun play since moving into the corridor indicated that no one knew they were here.
Small miracles.
Denzel opened up the flashlight, brightening the beam, and used it to signal his guys, who came forward with caution.
“Jeez,” Knoll said, grimacing at the fate of Beta One. “I'd rather be shot.”
“I don't think he was given an option, at the time,” Denzel said.
“So what's our play?” Hicks asked.
Denzel shook his head, and looked down the corridor. “We're still in the dark, in every way possible. We can safely assume there are at least eleven armed and trained men somewhere in that direction. They're after Ah-Puch, which means we can't just turn away. We have to find them, and stop them if we can. Failing that … we gather intel.”
“We at least have the element of surprise,” Hicks said, nodding to Beta One's corpse.
“Maybe,” Denzel said. “But I don't like our odds. Outnumbered, outgunned, and the
y have the high ground.”
“They said they were engaging an enemy,” Knoll said. “You think Sarge got some of our boys in here?”
Denzel considered this, and shook his head, thinking. He huffed a short laugh. “Kotler,” he said.
Knoll blinked. “The squint?”
Denzel chuckled. “Don't sell him short. He's had weapons and tactical training. And he's smart. If he figured out how to get to this tunnel, he might have spotted the mercenaries. And he's crazy enough to try to take them on, all on his own.”
“Doesn't sound crazy,” Knoll said, spitting on the ground. “Sounds flat-out bat shit insane.”
“If Kotler thought it was the only way to keep these guys from getting their hands on Ah-Puch, he'd risk it,” Denzel said.
“So what about us?” Hicks asked.
Denzel shrugged. “We risk it, too,” he replied. “We still don't know what threat Ah-Puch poses, but we can't risk letting it fall into enemy hands, if we can prevent it.” He looked to Knoll. “I can't order you to help with this,” he said.
Knoll grinned. “Don't need any orders. I'm getting paid well enough for the risks, and I never cared much for letting bad guys just do whatever they want.”
Denzel nodded. “Ok, let's get moving then. Lids up, take it slow.”
They started forward, lighting their way but keeping to the stone wall of the corridor, to provide at least that much cover.
Several minutes later they heard the sound of coughing and retching from up ahead.
Denzel signaled the others, and they each trimmed their lights. The corridor went dark, but ahead of them Denzel could see a slant of light, illuminating the details of the stone wall of the corridor.
A doorway.
The three of them moved cautiously and quietly, crouched low and weapons ready. When they'd come as close as Denzel dared, he halted and they each took positions, covering the width of the corridor. There was very little cover here, so Denzel was praying there'd be no firefight.
It was difficult to see into the space beyond the door, but sound from within carried into the corridor with no trouble, as if it were being amplified by the stone walls.
“We're irrigating the eyes of everyone who was affected,” a voice said. “But it's going to be a while before most of us are ready to move.”
Another voice cursed. “How many are down?”
“Seven total,” the first voice said.
Another curse. “Do what you can. The rest of you maggots, get to it. We're here to do a job. Prep all of this for transport. Priority is the statues, but we'll work on the weaponry, too.”
“What about the drugs?” a third voice asked.
“You looking to have a party, Rogers?”
“Might be good for some extra cash,” Rogers replied.
“I like where your head is at, but they're low priority. Box up everything we can carry, once the tear gas is no longer a problem. Statues, weapons, drugs, and anything else. In that order.”
There was the sound of work in progress, and Denzel leaned in close to his own men.
“Weapons and drugs?” Hicks asked.
“Must be the cache from the dealer,” Denzel replied. “This just got a lot worse.”
“What should we do?” Knoll asked.
Denzel considered. “I think the game has changed. We need to get back to base camp, get as many of your men as we can, and set up on the cenote entrance. We can infiltrate from there, but we'll need to regroup.”
Knoll nodded, and the three of them were about to rise and make for the exit when the radio pitched to life.
“To the incredibly well-armed men in the tomb, this is Dr. Dan Kotler. Hi.”
Denzel fumbled with the radio, turning it down a bit. Hopefully, the men inside the tomb would be more preoccupied with what they were hearing, and not paying as much attention to any sound from outside the chamber.
“I'd like to make a deal, if it's possible,” Kotler said.
“What's he doing?” Hicks asked.
“Buying time,” Denzel said. He was thinking fast now. If Kotler had a radio, and was in a position to reach out to these guys, he must be safe. That was a relief. But he was also still trapped in the tomb. Denzel had no idea what his actual circumstances were, but it might come down to leaving him to his own devices, for now. The plan to circle back and get reinforcements was still a good one.
“So, what, he's going all Die Hard in a tomb?” Knoll asked.
“I wouldn't put it past him,” Denzel said. “If he's making this play, he has his reasons. And the best way to help him is to get back to camp and put our own plan into motion. Let's move,” he said to others.
They followed as Denzel led.
Over the radio, the conversation continued.
“We don't need any deals, Dr. Kotler. We have everything we came for.”
A pause, then, “Except a way out,” Kotler said. “I'm about to do something that's going to close off your route, and the only way out will be the way I went. I hold all the keys to that exit.”
“Smooth play,” Knoll said. “But is he saying he's about to close off our exit?”
“Double time it,” Denzel said, and they began trotting quickly. “Keep to the path we took in!”
“How do we know you're not bluffing?” the mercenary commander asked.
“You don't. But I'm not. I have a way to seal you all in that tomb for good. I can't let you take those statues out of there, so I'm going to use what I have. But, you being mercenaries and all, I figured you might be open to a bit of negotiation.”
“What do you have in mind?” the mercenary asked.
“I'll open a path for you to come out of that tomb, but you leave everything behind, including your weapons.”
There was a pause.
“I'm pretty sure he's laughing his ass off at that one,” Knoll said.
They were rushing through the corridor, and had avoided all of the traps they knew about. They kept to the same path they'd used to enter, as best they could. Denzel kept the light from his M4 aimed at the ground ahead of them, using hand signals to divert them when he spotted anything he even remotely thought might be a trigger.
“That deal doesn't sound like it would work out too well for us,” the mercenary replied, his voice sounding both amused and insulted. “What's to keep us from just blowing through the exit and getting out of here on our own? We have enough explosives in this room to blast a tunnel back to the States, if we wanted.”
“I wouldn't advise it,” Kotler replied. “You'll bring the whole temple down on top of you.”
“He's right,” Hicks said.
“Keep moving,” Denzel replied.
The last sound Denzel heard from the radio, as they got out of range and the stone of the passage blocked their signal, was Kotler offering one more chance. Static cut through the signal then, and Denzel never heard the mercenary's reply.
They finally came to the chamber where they'd been held captive. Denzel stopped and regarded the scene. “Get all of these tanks and drop them into the water, as deep as you can. Hide them.”
They started moving everything, diving into the cold waters without wetsuits, dragging along everything they could get their hands on.
It wouldn't necessarily keep the mercenaries from being able to escape via the water passage, but it would help to slow them down. It would buy time, and right now time was what they needed most.
Denzel clutched the radio in his hand for a moment, wishing he could reach Kotler. He wasn't sure what he'd say.
So instead, he shoved the radio and his weapons into one of the water-proof bags they'd used to carry things in. He and the others pulled on tanks, and rushed into the dark waters without wetsuits. It was going to be a long and uncomfortable swim, but they needed to clear out of here.
Denzel was pretty sure things were about to get worse.
Chapter 28
Kotler was standing in the altar chamber, having climbed the steps fr
om the hidden chamber below. There was now a very large buffer of stone, gold, and not a few hidden traps between him and the mercenaries. He might need all of that, considering the firepower they now had at their disposal.
His chatter over the radio had not been a bluff.
As he'd made his escape, he realized that he'd missed a detail, earlier, that could have made things a lot simpler. In fact, it had been such an obvious answer, he couldn't believe he'd overlooked it.
After sealing the mercenaries in that tomb, he had crawled up to this space and out of the altar entrance with only the thought that he was escaping from one tomb to another. And then, as he looked at the cap stone of the altar, something occurred to him.
It had been designed to be closed from the inside.
It could be opened from the inside as well, he was sure. So closing it wouldn't necessarily provide him with any further barrier of protection from his enemies, if they worked out how to get through the door of the tomb. But he had a different revelation in mind.
Opening the altar had, it seemed, triggered the closing of the tomb's main entrance. It had also disengaged the trigger that would reopen the door.
What if it went the other way as well?
There was a handle on the underside of that slab that would allow someone to close the door behind him. So what if opening the altar locked down the temple, and closing it disengaged that lock?
It seemed obvious, now that Kotler considered it, but it wasn't without its risks.
Even if closing the altar triggered the main door to open, Kotler still had to make his way through the dark, past numerous hidden traps, with Graham potentially waiting to shoot him as he approached. And, if the mercenaries managed to escape the tomb by way of the altar, they'd be hot on his heels. He couldn't even count on them triggering any of the traps in the corridor, since he and Graham had helpfully marked each of them with orange spray paint.
As he'd put the pieces together, however, he'd made a logical leap. One he was nearly certain of, if not a hundred percent.
The Girl in the Mayan Tomb Page 23