by David Wood
Undeterred, the chopper rose into the air, fired off a single burst in the direction of the shooters, turned, and zoomed off into the night.
Matt’s knees went weak and he crumpled to the ground. Joel was dead, Robinson escaped, and the Dominion now possessed the crystals it needed to unleash their weapon.
Over the sound of his own ragged breathing, he heard shouts and the cries of someone in pain. At least one of the attackers was down. He could just make out some of the words.
“Hang on, Kasey! Help’s on the way.”
He knew that voice.
It was Maddock. And that meant they were another man down. Forcing himself to move, he headed toward his friends. How, he wondered, had this mission gone so wrong?
Chapter 36
“Kasey’s out of commission for the foreseeable future.” Tam looked around the table at her “Myrmidons,” as they had taken to calling themselves. Everyone appeared shell-shocked. With Joel dead, and Kasey seriously injured, spirits were low. It was up to her to keep them going.
“I won’t pretend to know exactly what each of you is feeling, but I can tell you I’m hurting. I knew Joel longer and better than most of you, and I’ve known Kasey almost as long. I also feel bad about Krueger. Just remember this. We are the last line of defense against the Dominion. Hell, we’re the only line of defense.”
“I take it our tip about an attack on Savannah wasn’t taken very seriously.” Greg sat rigid as a statue. He was taking the failure harder than anyone.
Tam laughed. The only response she’d gotten was, “We’ll give it due consideration and take all precautions we deem necessary.” Translation, “We’ll put it in the file with all the other crackpot tips.” She’d also shared the information with a few trusted contacts, but none of them had the power or the inclination to do anything about it.
“Not a chance. So it’s all on us.” She paused, and began pacing to and fro. Her uncle was a preacher, and he’d taught her a few oratorical tricks to captivate an audience, and the judicious use of silence was one of them. Too little, and you got no effect. Too much and you lost their attention. She watched for the little signs: narrowed eyes, a slight cock of the head, subtle demonstrations of interest. When the time was perfect, she continued. “We’ve got to find this Revelation Machine before the Dominion gets its hands on it. I think it’s pretty clear that they believe it, whatever it might be, will bring about the end of days.” She let that sink in for a long moment.
“I don’t care how much pain we’ve suffered. I don’t care if you don’t approve of the people I’ve brought onto our team. And I really don’t care about your relationships or family issues or your histories together. This is bigger than any of that.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Avery cast an embarrassed glance at Bones, who grinned and winked at her. Jade lowered her head a notch. Only Maddock didn’t react to her words. The man could be hard when he wanted to be, but that wasn’t all bad.
“I need to know right now. Is everyone here still committed to the cause? Because if you’re not, I swear to Jesus I’ll find somebody else who is, and you can put on a skirt and work as my secretary until this is over.”
“Hell yes!” Bones pounded his fist on the table. “I mean, yes we’re committed, not yes to the skirt thing.”
The tension broke. Each person reiterated her or his commitment to bringing down the Dominion and paying them back for Joel and Kasey.
“So, what’s the plan?” Greg asked.
“First of all, I don’t know if there’s anything we can do about Savannah, but we need to try.”
“I think the biggest problem we face is the fact that the Dominion won’t come in a destroyer or any other sort of military vessel,” Maddock said. “They’ll have attached the weapon to an ordinary ship so as not to draw attention.”
“I agree, and that’s both good and bad. Bad because it’s difficult to spot; good because it’s easier to sink.” She looked Maddock in the eye. “Can we use your boat?”
“I won’t be with it?” he asked.
“I need you somewhere else. Besides, it’s Matt and Corey who make her go, right?” When Maddock didn’t argue, Tam turned to Greg. “Take Matt and Corey and Willis. And take Remora. That way, you can patrol above and below the waterline. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
She dismissed the four men with a jerk of her head.
“I want my archaeologists in Egypt. Maddock, Bones, Jade, and Sofia—I want you to take the information Krueger provided and find this Hall of Records, if it exists.”
“I’m going too,” Avery protested. “Sofia and I are the ones who’ve been working on…”
“You’re not an archaeologist. I want you here. He gave you more information than just the Hall of Records research. Follow up on it. Besides, I need at least a couple of people to watch my back in case something comes up. If I send all of you across the Atlantic, I’ve got no one.”
A touch of the Maddock obstinance flashed in her eyes, but she didn’t argue.
Relieved, Tam dismissed the rest of the team, but grabbed Maddock by the arm as he walked by. He stopped and waited until the others left.
“I want to tell you,” Tam began, “that no matter how much the things I do piss you off, I need you and I’m glad you’re on my team.”
“Same here.” Maddock’s eyes softened. “Like you said, I don’t always love the way you operate, but you’re on the right side.”
Tam gave his shoulders a squeeze.
“Good luck,” she whispered. “And try to bring them all back alive.”
Chapter 37
Standing at the entrance to the Fayyum Oasis, the pyramid of Amenemhet III looked more like an Indian mound than an Egyptian monument. Constructed of mudbrick over a series of chambers and corridors, the pyramid once boasted a limestone facade. Over the years, the exterior stone had been stripped away for use in construction, leaving the mudbrick core exposed to the elements. Now, its original pyramidal shape was barely evident. The last rays of the setting sun lent a reddish-brown cast to the once-magnificent monument. All in all, it made for an unimpressive sight.
“It looks like a pile of dirt,” Bones observed.
“That’s a good thing,” Jade replied. “It’s not an impressive sight, which means it doesn’t draw tourists like the Giza complex does.”
“Where’s this awesome temple and labyrinth?” Bones sounded affronted.
“All that’s left are stones from the original foundation.” Sofia gazed at the scattered remnants of Egypt’s past glory, a sad smile on her face.
“We don’t care about that. We need the entrance to the underground chambers, which, according to Krueger’s notes, can be accessed through the main pyramid entrance.” Maddock had spent the entirety of the flight studying the notes. Sofia was already familiar with the details, but Jade and Bones hadn’t had the chance to study them. Or, more accurately, Bones chose to sleep his way across the Atlantic, while Jade was either too proud, or felt too guilty about the way she’d treated Maddock in Japan to ask for a turn. That, of course, did not prevent her from stealing glances over his shoulder whenever she got the chance.
Sand crunched beneath Maddock’s feet and a dry breeze ruffled his hair as he approached the pyramid. A hand-lettered sign identified the pyramid as Middle Kingdom, gave its height as fifty-two meters, its base width one hundred, and directed them toward the entrance which lay at the pyramid’s south face.
A narrow walkway led to the spot where three monolithic slabs of limestone formed the entryway. Here, portions of the interior corridors peeked out from the eroded mound of bricks. Taking one last look around for unwelcome visitors, be they local authorities or Dominion agents, Maddock led the way into the darkness.
They descended a stone staircase that ended in a small, rectangular chamber. Maddock shone his Maglite on the ceiling, revealing an opening.
“Bones, will you do the honors?”
“Sure. I love being your person
al stepladder.” One by one, Bones boosted his three companions up to the chamber above them, and then, with a helping hand from Maddock, climbed up himself.
This chamber ran at a ninety degree angle to the one below, ending in an alcove, where Anubis, the Egyptian protector of the dead, stood watch. The paint was faded, but the god was easily recognizable. Moving as if in sync, Jade and Sofia took out digital cameras.
“No time for that,” Maddock said. “Besides, I’m sure you can find pictures of this chamber online. It’s not exactly a secret.”
“But there is a secret passageway somewhere?” Bones asked.
“There is. This chamber was a decoy. Once upon a time, stout doors guarded that alcove. Grave robbers would waste time breaking them down, only to find themselves cursed by Anubis.” He shone his light on hieroglyphs carved above the god’s jackal head. “The true path lies above.” He pointed to another trapdoor in the ceiling. “You have to pass through three of these dead-end chambers in order to get to the burial chamber. But we don’t need to go quite that far.”
“What do you mean?” Bones asked.
“You’ll see in a minute.”
Like the chamber they’d just exited, this one was also rotated at a ninety degree angle to the one below and ended in an alcove guarded by Horus.
“Do we go up again?” Bones glanced up at the ceiling.
“We would if the burial chamber was our goal. But what Krueger discovered is that this particular chamber isn’t quite the dead end it appears to be.” He made his way to the alcove, stepped up onto the ledge, and ran his fingers across the hieroglyphs, the ancient stone cool and smooth to the touch. A shiver passed through him as he reflected on the fact that someone had stood in this very spot, nearly four thousand years ago, and carved these symbols. For a moment, he felt a brief kinship with that workman. What was life like for him? Could he have imagined how long his work would endure?
“Are you awake?” Sofia asked.
“Don’t mind him,” Jade said. “He’s a history buff and he sometimes gets weird around very old things.”
“You should have seen him scamming on my grandmother last Christmas.” Bones chuckled.
Maddock ignored them. His fingers stopped on a flat hieroglyph that resembled a rowboat.
“This is the symbol for a door or gateway.” He pressed his fingers against the glyph and felt it give way. It slid back, creating a handhold which he gripped and rotated a quarter-turn, then released as the entire wall slid to the side.
“Awesome,” Jade marveled, while Bones hummed the theme to Indiana Jones.
The passageway behind the trapdoor was so steep that they were forced to descend with the aid of handholds on the wall. By the time they reached the bottom, Sofia dripped with sweat and gasped for breath. Jade was in better condition, though she leaned against the wall to catch her breath.
“It’s good thing we’ve got Krueger’s notes, or else we’d be screwed.” Bones shone his light down the corridor. It ran straight ahead, well beyond the Maglite’s glow, and intersected a cross-hall every ten meters. An engraved column stood at each intersection. “There’s something we need to decide right now.”
“What’s that?” Maddock consulted Kruger’s notes.
“Which one of us has to fight the Minotaur?”
“Wrong culture.” Sofia laughed and squeezed Bones’ arm.
Jade and Maddock exchanged knowing glances.
“Straight ahead, seventh passageway on the left.” Maddock headed off down the corridor at a brisk walk, forcing the others to hurry to keep up.
“How did Krueger find his way through here?” Jade tried to walk and take in the scene all at once. She stumbled, and Maddock caught her around the waist.
They froze for an instant, gazing into one another’s eyes, the sudden closeness foreign, yet so familiar.
“Get a room,” Bones jibed.
Jade pulled away from Maddock and brushed invisible dirt from her knees. “Such tact.” She shot a dirty look Bones’ way. “It’s truly a wonder some woman hasn’t snapped you up.”
“I’m a roller coaster,” Bones replied. “I’m a short ride, but it’s always fun while it lasts.”
“You should try thinking about baseball,” Maddock suggested.
“I didn’t mean…” Bones sputtered while the ladies laughed. “Forget it.”
“Krueger found the chamber by looking for places where Anubis and the gateway hieroglyph appeared together. Like this.” They had reached the seventh cross-hall. Here, Anubis faced left, the gateway symbol hovering between the tips of his long ears.
Aided by Krueger’s notes, they followed where the jackal god led, winding through the labyrinth in a dizzying set of twists and turns, until Maddock was certain the whole thing was an elaborate ruse and they would spend the rest of their short lives wandering through this dark maze of sand and stone.
“Does Krueger say how long it should take to get there?” Jade’s tone held a hint of nervousness.
“It probably took him quite a while since he didn’t have directions to follow. He would have been forced to inspect every column and make notes along the way.” Maddock flipped to the next page in Krueger’s notebook. “If we haven’t made a wrong turn somewhere along the way, it should be around the next corner.”
“Don’t jinx us, Maddock,” Jade said. “I don’t have the energy to go back and start over.”
There was no need to start over. The next turn led them to a dead end, just as Krueger said it would. And to what he claimed was the doorway to the Hall of Records.
“It looks just like the photographs.” Sofia beamed. Krueger’s journal included several snapshots of this wall, where, beneath the now-familiar gateway hieroglyph, an Egyptian carver had rendered the constellation Orion.
“Orion? Here?” Bones gave Maddock a knowing look. This wasn’t the first time Orion had figured into one of their mysteries.
“This definitely seems out of place.” Jade reached out and ran her fingers along the curved line of stars that formed the hunter’s shield. “But if this is a door, where’s the handle?”
“And what makes you think we can get in when Krueger couldn’t?” Bones added.
“Take a close look at his belt.” Maddock winked at Sofia while Bones and Jade shone their lights on the carving.
Bones saw it first. “The stars are shaped like the indentations on top of the Atlantean weapon we took from Daisuke.”
“Avery and I both recognized the shapes the moment we saw the photographs.” Sofia’s voice trembled with excitement.
“Did anyone bring the crystals?” Jade asked.
Maddock drew a small pouch from his pocket. “What? Did you think we were going to scout it out and then fly back for the crystals?”
“Don’t be an ass,” Jade snapped. “I was just asking.”
“Quiet, you two.” Bones hissed.
“He has no call to talk to me like that.”
“I hear it too,” Maddock said. “Listen.”
The corridor went dead quiet as they all strained to listen. Maddock heard it again—whispered voices somewhere in the labyrinth.
They looked at one another. Jade and Sofia appeared stunned, Bones determined. There was only one logical conclusion.
The Dominion had taken Krueger alive, and they were about to catch up.
Chapter 38
It was a dark day on the Atlantic. A gray blanket of storm clouds cloaked the sky, and a chill wind stirred up waves that battered Sea Foam, sending icy salt spray over her gunwales. Soaked to the bone, Matt stood on the foredeck holding a pair of binoculars. He knew he should get out of the weather, but he felt as though he were doing a penance for his failure in Naica. He wanted his revenge on the Dominion for what they had done to Joel, and right now, this was all he could do to help. He felt impervious to the cold, maybe because he found it a pleasant change from the deadly heat of the crystal caves, or perhaps his anger kept him warm. Either way, he stood fast.
The foul weather kept all but the largest ships ashore, and Willis and Professor took Remora in for a closer look at every craft that plied the waters off the coast of Savannah, but they’d met with no success. He wiped the lenses for what felt like the thousandth time and traced the dark line of the horizon—an inky divide between dark sky and darker water. Nothing.
And then he spotted a white dot. He wiped the lenses again and tightened the focus on the binoculars. Something was there! Feeling a touch of hope for the first time in hours, he turned and waved to get Corey’s attention. A moment later, Corey’s voice sounded in his ear.
“Did you forget we can talk to each other?”
“I did. Still not accustomed to this high tech gear. Take us north-northwest. I think I see a boat.”
“Must be a small one. Radar doesn’t show… wait. There it is!”
Sea Foam rolled in the choppy sea as Corey turned her about. A moment later, Greg joined Matt on deck.
“Can I take a look?” The tall, lanky agent, always so unflappable, still seethed with scarcely-contained rage. Matt knew no one blamed him for what happened to Joel, but he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt around one of Joel’s longtime colleagues. He handed the binoculars to Greg, who took a long look before handing them back. “Keep looking. Let us know when you have a visual.” He turned and stalked back into the cabin.
Matt locked his gaze on the target and watched it grow larger in his field of vision. As they drew closer, the boat came into clear view. His heart leapt when he got his first good look at the boat.
“I think this is it!” he called into his mic.
“Dude, no need to shout,” Corey said.
“What makes you think so?” Greg asked in clipped tones.
“That boat is identical to the one Bill took us out on for the so-called fishing expedition. Who, in their right mind, would be out fishing on a day like today?”