by David Wood
“We need a safety rope. The surface of that crystal has got to be…” Matt’s words were cut off by a scream as Logan took two steps, lost his footing, and tumbled into the gorge.”
“…slick.”
They shone their lights down into the fissure. Logan lay impaled on a crystal spike, the blood pouring from his mouth redder than his hair. Perkins turned away at the sight, and Bill retched.
“A sacrifice for the Lord is the noblest sacrifice of all. We must soldier on.” Robinson dug into his pack and pulled out a rope. “I wish Brother Logan hadn’t been so hasty. Your idea,” he leveled his gaze at Matt, “was a good one.” He secured the rope to a stout crystal and handed the other end to Matt. “Lead on.”
Matt’s first instinct was to attack. Perhaps take Robinson by surprise and drop him into the cavern alongside Logan. But then he realized the man had already drawn his weapon.
“What’s that for?”
“Times like these are when men tend to lose faith. Our task is too important for fear to take hold. Now, show us the way.”
Grimacing, Matt secured the rope around his waist and moved out onto the crystal. The surface was slick as ice, and he had to choose each step with care. Once, his foot slipped and he teetered above the ten meter drop, arms flapping like a bird in flight, before recovering his balance. Finally, he made it to the cave and climbed inside.
The cave was about five meters deep, and the same across. The floor and walls bristled with tiny, white spikes. A few lay broken, presumably by the man who had originally discovered this place. Choosing his steps carefully, he moved to the center of the cavern where the transparent crystals hung from the ceiling. Somehow, perhaps through minerals leaching down through the bedrock, a distinctive type of crystal had formed here. It was a small cluster, enough to fill his backpack and no more.
“I’ve got this,” he called. “It shouldn’t take me long.” He heard a rustling noise, and turned to see Bill, his face pale despite the heat, entering the cave, with Perkins right behind him.
“What’s going on?” Matt asked.
“It’s Robinson,” Perkins whispered. “He’s got your brother.”
Matt peered through the cave opening to see Joel on his knees, hands behind his head. Robinson held his pistol at the base of Joel’s neck.
“Insurance!” Robinson shouted. “Bag up the crystals and toss them to me and I’ll let him go.”
“I won’t do it until you let him go.” Matt knew the threat was empty, and Robinson did too.
“Fine. If you prefer, I’ll shoot all of you and retrieve the crystals myself.”
Matt glowered at him, vowing to kill Robinson the first chance he got. Why had he come without a weapon of his own? Foolishness. Rage burning inside him, he set about chipping away at the crystals. In a matter of minutes, he had filled his backpack.
“Walk out onto the bridge,” Robinson said when Matt poked his head out of the cave. “Just a few paces.”
Matt did as instructed.
“Toss the bag over there.” He indicated a place off to the side. “If you attempt to distract me by tossing the bag directly at me, or if you do anything other than follow my instructions to the letter, your brother dies. And you’ll be next.”
Matt could see no way around the situation. Robinson was armed, and Matt had only a rock hammer and a crystal spike. Reluctantly, he tossed the bag of crystals onto the ledge near where Robinson stood.
“See how easy that was? Now, back into the cave with you.”
“Let him go.”
“When you’re in the cave.” As Matt backed into the cave, Robinson sidled away from Joel, keeping his pistol trained on the kneeling man. It was clear from the way his eyes kept flitting about that Joel was looking for an opening to attack, but saw nothing more than Matt did. Robinson was being careful, and he held his pistol like he knew how to use it.
True to his word, Robinson did not shoot Joel, but sent him across the crystal bridge and into the cave. He had just clambered inside when Robinson snatched something from his backpack, hurled it toward the cave, and ran. Matt saw the object over Joel’s shoulder as it flew toward them.
“Grenade!” Matt shouted.
It seemed to happen in slow motion. Joel leapt out of the cave, catching the grenade in midair. His eyes met Matt’s as he fell into open space. Matt hit the floor as the world turned to fire and ice.
Bill and Perkins barely had time to scream before razor-sharp shards of crystal shredded them like tissue. Pain like a thousand needles stung Matt’s back, but, shielded by the low wall beneath the cave’s opening, the worst of the blast passed over him.
Ears ringing, pain lancing through him, and heat creeping up his back through his damaged cooling suit, he pulled himself to his feet and looked out.
Joel was gone.
And so was the bridge.
Chapter 34
“Everybody get down!” Willis shouted.
Avery felt him shove her hard in the back and she hit the floor, her breath leaving her in a rush. The windows exploded in a shower of glass and the sound of gunshots boomed all around. She struggled to her feet, brushing glass from her hair. Willis had shoved the sofa against the front door and now peered out of one of the shattered windows.
“There’s at least four of them. They’ll probably come at us from both sides, and have another man guarding the door.”
Krueger shoved a stack of notebooks into Avery’s arms.
“As soon as I moved in, I cut a bolt hole in the floor of the bedroom closet. Move the shoes aside and pull up the carpet. It’ll take you down into the basement, which runs the length of the building. You should be able to get out that way.”
“We’ll all get out that way.” Willis flinched as the kitchen window shattered. “Come on.”
“Somebody has to stay here, or else they’ll know we’ve gotten away.” He reached behind a bookshelf and drew out an assault rifle. Avery was no expert, but she knew an AK-47 when she saw it. “Those notes can’t fall into the Dominion’s hands, and you’re more capable of getting the ladies out of here than I am.”
A burst of gunfire shredded the front door, and Krueger fired back.
“Go!” he shouted. “Or else this is all for nothing!”
Willis hesitated for a split-second before ushering Avery and Sofia toward the back room.
Avery found the bolt hole, yanked it open, and dropped down into the cool, dark basement. Above her, the gunfire continued. She heard another window shatter, Willis return fire, and a man cry out in pain. Good!
Sofia dropped down next to her and Willis followed a moment later.
“I’ll get you away from here, and then I’m going back for Krueger.” They dashed down the length of the basement, passing storage cubes made from two-by-fours and cheap chicken wire, each labeled with an apartment number, and ending in a laundry room.
Willis held up a finger for silence and then slipped out the door. He returned moments later.
“We can’t get to the car. There are too many of them.”
“I saw a couple of motorcycles in one of the storage cubes,” Sofia said. “Too bad we don’t have the keys.”
A wicked smile split Willis’ dark face. “I don’t need keys.”
“Can you not squeeze so tight?” Avery grunted. They were roaring south along the Extraterrestrial Highway atop a freshly-hotwired Honda Shadow. Willis had wanted them to take both bikes, but not only had Sofia never ridden one, she was deathly afraid of them.
“I’m not letting go.” Sofia’s voice quaked. “We don’t even have helmets. What if we crash?”
“We’ll definitely crash if you suffocate me.” Avery felt Sofia’s python clutch ease a little. “I don’t get it. You’re an outdoorsy girl. You SCUBA, you climb, what’s so bad about a motorcycle?”
“What’s bad is flying down the street with nothing between me and death but the clothes on my back.”
“Fair enough. Just hang in there. Willis sho
uld catch up with us soon.”
Ten minutes later, a man on a motorcycle appeared in her rear-view mirror. She recognized him immediately and pulled to the side of the road. Willis stopped alongside them and cut the engine.
“I called Tam. She says it’s too dangerous to try to make it all the way to Vegas. She’s hooking us up with a flight out of a little airfield about a half an hour from here.” He grimaced.
“We wouldn’t have had time to hit the casinos,” Avery chided.
“Naw, it’s not that. It’s Krueger.”
“What happened?” Avery had noticed Willis was alone, but didn’t want to broach the subject.
Willis shook his head. “Right after you left, Krueger’s gun went silent. Must have run out of ammo. They were hauling his stuff out of the apartment. I would have gone in, but there were more of them than I thought, and they were better armed than me. Besides, I needed to get the two of you out of here.”
“Going in there would have been a suicide mission. You’re not Bones; you’re smarter than that.”
“If you say so,” Willis sighed. “Anyway, Krueger’s either dead or their prisoner.”
“Which means,” Avery said, “the Dominion might soon know about the Hall of Records.”
Chapter 35
“Two guards,” Maddock whispered into his mic.
“I see them.” Kasey’s voice didn’t lose the serene quality it always held.
“Which one do you want me to take out?” Maddock held his Walther ready to fire.
“We’ve got this one,” Greg said. “Cover us in case we get into trouble.”
Maddock watched as two dark figures appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Greg took one guard out with a sharp strike to the temple and a knee to the forehead. Kasey eliminated her target with a strike to the chin and a roundhouse kick to the head as he fell. They dragged the men away from the entrance, bound them with zip ties, and motioned for Maddock to join them.
Keeping to the shadows, they passed through the gate and headed toward the mining company’s main building.
They dispatched two more guards at the entrance. No need, Greg noted, to kill the men if they could help it. As far as they knew, these were locals and had no affiliation with the Dominion.
It wasn’t until they located the security office that they ran into trouble. Two men burst forth, spraying the hallway with automatic pistol fire. Greg and Kasey hit the floor and, before they could return fire, Maddock took both men down with head shots.
“Wow!” Kasey said as he helped her to her feet. “I guess the SEALs’ reputations are deserved.”
“Sometimes.”
“Can Bones shoot like that?”
“Yep. Almost as good as me.” Maddock winked. “At least, that’s what he claims.”
“I figured he was full of crap.” Kasey fell in alongside Maddock as they followed Greg into the office.
“Oh, he’s definitely full of crap, but he’s also very good at what he does. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“Do you think you two could manage to guard the door while you gossip?” Greg was already working on hacking into the computer system.
Maddock and Kasey took up positions just inside the door where they could watch the hall in both directions.
“I have to admit, he handled himself pretty well in Paris.”
Maddock looked at Kasey. “Don’t tell me you’ve got a thing for him. His ego doesn’t need the boost.”
“No. He’s just… interesting.” Kasey looked away, but Maddock didn’t miss the way her cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink. Bones was going to eat this up.
“I’ve accessed the security cameras,” Greg called. “The good news is I don’t see anyone between us and the entrance to the crystal caverns.”
“Going by the tone of your voice, it sounds like you’ve got some bad news to deliver,” Kasey said. “Spill it.”
“Interesting choice of words. Come see for yourselves.”
The heat assailed Robinson the moment he stripped off his useless cooling suit. The sudden wave of heat staggered him, but he smiled despite his weariness. Twenty minutes from now, he would be free of this hell and on his way back to Utah with the crystals that the bishop so fervently desired. His triumph was certain to earn him a spot in the inner circle, one which he believed he richly deserved.
A harness hung at the end of a stout cable and he strapped himself in before pressing the button on the wall. Ten seconds later, a mechanical hum filled the shaft and he began to rise.
Two thousand feet deep, the Robin Hole was a ventilation shaft originally drilled by miners to ventilate lower chambers. When they broke through into this remote section, they widened the hole just enough to lower, or lift, a man through the hole.
The ascent seemed to go on forever as he scraped and banged against the stone walls. Sweat dripped from every pore of his body, and his breath came in gasps. It shouldn’t be taking this long, should it?
Finally, he felt cool air on his face and he rose from the shaft to see Rivera’s smiling face.
“You did as instructed?” Robinson asked as he removed the harness.
“I called the number you gave me and said what you told me to say. I also set off the charges I placed on the turbines.” Rivera frowned. “What about the rest of your men?”
“They won’t be joining us. Now, where’s the way out?”
“That tunnel over there.” Rivera pointed off to his left. “May I ask when I can expect the rest of my money?”
“Your money.” Robinson smacked himself in the side of the head. “I almost forgot. Thank you for reminding me.” He reached into his bag and took out his 9 millimeter.
The expression on Rivera’s face turned from pleased to confused to panicked in the instant it took Robinson to pull the trigger.
“Pleasure doing business with you. Sorry to run, but I have a ride to catch.”
“What is it?” Maddock’s eyes went to the bank of monitors on the wall and his throat clenched.
Water was pouring into the caves.
“The pumps are no longer working. The caverns will be flooded in no time.” Greg kept his voice calm, but strain was evident in his eyes as he pounded the keyboard.
“Can you turn them back on?” Kasey asked.
“I thought I might be able to, but check this out.” He pointed to a screen showing what looked like a cavern filled with scrap metal.
“What is that?” Maddock asked.
“Those are the turbines. Somebody didn’t just shut them down; they blew them up.”
“Joel and Matt?” Kasey’s voice trembled.
Greg turned away from her, his posture rigid. He gazed at the bank of monitors for a second before finally giving his head a single shake.
“There’s no hope.”
The jagged outcropping sliced into Matt’s hand as he hauled his weight ever upward. He didn’t know if this crevasse would lead him out of the cavern, but it was his last hope. When Robinson blew the crystal bridge, damaging Matt’s cooling suit in the process, the way back had been eliminated as a possibility. The gap was too wide and the sides too sheer to climb. Any thoughts of playing Superman were dashed with a single glance down at Logan’s remains, now shredded by the grenade blast, still impaled on the crystal spike.
For a moment, he’d considered giving up, but then he thought about the man who’d found this cavern. Somehow, he’d made it to this cavern and out again. It was possible he could have made it to the cavern before his cooling suit gave out entirely, but there was no way he could have survived the return trip.
Unless he’d found another way out.
Matt had searched the cavern and found this narrow crevasse which, promisingly, climbed upward at a steep angle. His damaged suit would hinder his progress, so he’d removed it, chipped away a few remnants of what he now thought of as Atlantean crystal, and pocketed it, before beginning the climb.
Twenty minutes later, his strength flagging, he found
himself flat on his stomach, feet pressed against the sides of the shaft, inching his way upward. His body, slick with sweat and blood, burned with the effort, and the heat, though intense, had abated somewhat. He felt like he was back in the midst of a firefight in some unknown patch of jungle, which was an improvement over crawling through the Fifth Circle of Hell.
He pressed his fingers into a crack in the rock and tried to pull himself up, but the stone crumbled in his grasp and he slid back. He tried again, and again his handhold crumbled. He lay there, gasping for breath, feeling the last of his strength melt away. He couldn’t go on any more. He’d just lie here and gaze at the stars.
The stars! Up ahead, in the midst of unrelenting darkness, Orion’s belt shone in a sliver of gray light. The way out!
Calling upon reserves he hadn’t realized he possessed, he resumed climbing. Inch by painful inch, he moved toward the twinkling lights. They seemed to inch ever closer until he thought he could almost reach out and take hold of them. As if in a dream, he extended his hand.
A cool breeze raised goose bumps on his exposed flesh. He dragged himself out into the night air and rolled over on his back, relishing the shivers that racked his body. He was free.
He lay there, eyes closed, listening to the wind… and the roar of an approaching engine. He opened his eyes and spotted the approaching craft: a Russian Kamov Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter. He staggered to his feet and watched as the chopper landed atop a nearby hill. A man carrying a backpack came running out of the darkness. Robinson!
Matt’s hand went to his hip, reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. Cursing in impotent rage, he started running toward the chopper. There was nothing he could do, but he couldn’t bear just standing there and watching the murderous Dominion operative escape.
It seemed someone else had the same idea. As the Ka-52 rose into the air, gunfire erupted from the direction of the mine. Who could be firing on the chopper? He strained his eyes, but could not make out the figures, only the muzzle flashes, always in different places, as the shooters remained on the move.