by David Wood
He felt the vibration beneath his feet as Corey opened up the engine and Sea Foam crashed through the waves, making a beeline for the fishing boat.
“Willis, Professor, did you hear that?” Greg asked.
“Roger,” Professor replied.
“We’re on the mother!” Willis cried.
Nervous energy boiling up inside him, Matt hurried into the cabin and grabbed an M-16. Please let me get a chance to use it. For a moment, he wished he had the Atlantean gun Maddock had found in Japan, but Bones had only managed to generate a few waves with it. For now, its secrets remained hidden.
Returning to the deck, he watched as they bore down on the fishing boat. He could make out two figures in rain gear looking in his direction. He dropped to one knee, rested his M-16 on the gunwale, and waited.
One of the men in the boat spotted Matt. He shouted something to his comrade, who sprang to the wheel and gunned the engine.
“They’re running!” Matt called.
“Not for long,” Willis said.
Ten meters in front of the fleeing fishing boat, mechanical arms extended like a creature from the depths, Remora surfaced. The pilot yanked the wheel to the right just as a wave crashed into the boat, nearly capsizing it. As he struggled to recover, Corey cut Sea Foam across their bow.
Matt stood and trained his rifle on the pilot.
“Hands in the air! Now!”
Both men raised their hands and stared up at Matt in horror. Up close, he saw that both had the weathered features of men who spent most of their time on the water. He had a sinking feeling they’d chased down the wrong craft. Willis seemed to confirm that a moment later when he reported no weapon attached to the craft’s underside.
“Whatever you want, just take it.” The pilot’s voice trembled. “But we don’t have much.”
Greg appeared at Matt’s side and flashed his identification.
“We’re with the D.E.A. We need to inspect your boat.” It was a lie they’d agreed on at the outset of the mission.
The men’s frozen faces melted with relief.
“You two move to the stern and put your hands behind your heads,” Matt ordered. No harm in maintaining the ruse.
Greg inspected the boat, proclaimed it “clean,” and apologized for the inconvenience. The relieved men assured him there was nothing to apologize for, and headed back to port without complaint.
“Sorry,” Matt said. “I really wanted it to be them.”
“Me too.” Greg gazed out at the sea. “But we’re searching for a needle in a haystack here.” His phone rang. “It’s Tam.” He answered, listened for a few seconds, grimaced, and then hung up. “We’re aborting the mission.”
“Why?” Matt protested. “There’s no way those guys could have already complained about us. Besides, they think we’re D.E.A.”
“It’s not that.” Greg pocketed his phone and pounded his fist on the gunwale. “Bill gave you a bad tip. The Dominion just hit Norfolk.”
Chapter 39
The sound of voices drew closer. Bones drew his Glock and took up a position at the corner where he could see the Dominion operatives’ approach.
“Give me some light,” Maddock whispered. Jade and Sofia trained their Maglites on Orion’s belt. Quickly, Maddock placed the crystals in their proper spots. As he pressed each into its slot, some invisible force, almost like magnetism, snatched the crystal from his fingers and held it fast.
“I can see their lights,” Bones whispered. “We’re almost out of time.”
“Got it.” Maddock set the last crystal into place and the door swung inward. He shone his beam inside, making a cursory inspection for booby traps, and then ushered the others inside. After they all entered the chamber, he pried the crystals free and pushed the door closed. With a hollow click, it locked into place. “Now, let’s see if Krueger was right.”
Turning around, he swept his light around the room.
“Oh my God,” Jade whispered. Her free hand found his and squeezed. “This is it!”
Statues of Egyptian gods lined the Hall of Records. Between each statue, the walls were honeycombed with alcoves for storing scrolls. A band of hieroglyphs ringed the chamber just above the alcoves. It was laid out like the Atlantean temples, but with a large stone table at the center where the altar to Poseidon would have been.
Jade and Sofia immediately began snapping pictures.
“We don’t have much time,” Maddock said.
“Why not?” Sofia asked, still clicking away. “We’re in here, they’re out there, and they don’t have the crystals.”
“I don’t think that will slow them down for long. The best we can hope for is they try the door for a few minutes. Once they realize they can’t get in, I believe we can count on them to resort to other means.”
“Like what?” Sofia asked.
“Like blowing the door,” Jade said. “Maddock’s right. We need to hurry. I just hope we can find the information we need in time.”
“What happens when they do blow the door?” Sofia’s voice dropped to a scant whisper.
“You two will hide while Bones and I deal with them.” Maddock wished he felt half as much confidence as he feigned. He had a feeling the Dominion would have sent enough trained men to make sure a job this important came off without a hitch.
“Guys, there’s something weird in here.” Bones pointed to the nearest statue—Osiris. “Notice how every statue has been defaced?”
“Every one?” Jade asked, moving deeper into the hall. “That can’t be right.”
“He’s right,” Sofia said. “Every face is smashed. That can’t be an accident. Someone’s been in here.”
“That’s not the worst part. Check out the alcoves.” Bones shone his light along the wall.
Every alcove was empty.
“No!” Sofia wailed. She balled her fists and pressed them to her forehead. “All this work, and grave robbers beat us to it.”
“Not grave robbers,” Maddock said.
“How do you know?” Jade cocked her head to the side and fixed him with a questioning look.
“The thieves left a calling card.” He shone his light on the wall above the door, where someone had carved a few squiggly lines and a familiar symbol.
“The Templars? No freaking way.” Bones looked like he was about to say something else, but just then, they heard voices on the other side of the door.
Maddock couldn’t make out the words, but it was clear by their excited tone that they knew they’d found the entrance to the Hall of Records. He looked at Bones.
“There are a bunch of guys out there, Maddock.” He said it with the clinical detachment of an engineer sizing up a challenging task.
“We’ll have surprise on our side, and they’ll have to come in two at a time.” Maddock thought fast. “We’ll lay our Maglites in alcoves, with the beams directed at the door. They’ll aim for the lights at first. That will buy us a little more time.”
“Maybe we won’t have to fight.” Sofia grabbed him by the arm and pulled him deeper into the hall.
“We can’t hide from them,” Maddock said. “When they find the chamber empty, they’ll give it a thorough search.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Sofia continued to pull him through the hall. Bones and Jade followed behind them, bemused expressions on their faces. “This place is laid out exactly like the Atlantean temples.”
“So?”
“So, that means there should be an air shaft leading out. That’s how I got away in Spain.” She released Maddock’s arm and hurried ahead.
Maddock glanced at Bones. “It’s worth a try.”
“It’s here!” Sofia called. “Come on!”
“Okay, everybody into the shaft,” Maddock ordered. “Bones take the lead; I’ll bring up the rear.”
“No way. Why do you get the good view?” Bones winked. “Besides, I’m the biggest. If I get stuck along the way, everyone behind me is stuck too.”
“Fine.�
�� Maddock stuck his Maglite in his teeth and began to climb. He’d made it about ten meters when an explosion rocked the passageway. “I guess they blew the door.” He wondered if the others could even hear him. If their ears were ringing half as loudly as his, he doubted it. He looked back to make sure everyone still followed, and continued the climb.
The climb through the shaft went on with agonizing slowness. The stones were fitted together with such precision that he found it difficult to find handholds. Every muscle ached from crawling in a hunched position. It felt like boot camp all over again.
As the ringing in his ears abated, the voices of the Dominion’s men rose. Angry shouts and arguing reverberated through the shaft. I know how you feel, he thought. You came all this way for nothing. Listening to the men in the hall below, a sudden thought struck him.
“Everybody turn out your lights,” he said around his own Maglite, which he still held between his teeth.
“Why?” Sofia asked.
“In case they look into the shaft.” He paused enough to douse his light. “I don’t think Bones’ butt is big enough to block the light.”
“Hey, my butt is perfect. Just ask your old lady.”
“Your sister is my old lady,” Maddock retorted.
“Oh, yeah.”
Even Jade laughed at this, though they quickly fell silent.
“Do you see anything yet?” Jade whispered. “Any light at the end of the tunnel?”
“Not yet, but we entered the labyrinth just before sunset. It will be dark outside.”
He couldn’t deny he was worried that the shaft wasn’t a true air shaft that would lead outside. If a shaft this size were open at the other end, wouldn’t it have been discovered by now? Nothing to be done about it, he supposed. At worst, they’d hide in the shaft until they were certain the hall was empty, then try to sneak out the way they’d come in.
His fears were confirmed minutes later when his skull met a stone wall. He halted, and Jade crashed into him a moment later. He heard twin grunts as Sofia and Bones joined the pileup.
“Why have we stopped?” Jade whispered.
“End of the line.”
“There’s got to be a way out,” Sofia protested.
“I don’t know.” Maddock ran his hand across the wall in front of him. It was smooth, just like the sides of the shaft. He felt for a seam, but the stone was seated tightly in the end of the shaft. “I think we’re out of luck.”
“Let me see.” Light blossomed in the darkness and Jade squeezed in beside him.
“Warn me when you’re going to do that.” Maddock tried to blink away the spots in his eyes.
“Somebody had to find the doorknob. Look.”
He squinted against the too-bright light, and looked at the spot where she’d trained her beam.
“It’s a slot for a crystal. I must have missed it in the dark.”
“Duh. Now hurry up. I want a bath and a beer, and not in that order.”
“Can I join you?” Bones asked.
“Only for the beer.”
“Just like old times.” Maddock pulled out the bag of crystals, found the one that fit, and set it in place. Silently, the shaft swung open. Cool breeze and the glow of artificial light bathed his face. He looked around at his surroundings and laughed.
“What’s funny?” Jade asked.
“You’ll see. Just be very careful climbing out. Bones, be sure to take the crystal and close the door behind you.” Carefully, he climbed out of the hole. When they all reached the ground, they stood, looking up, and laughing.
“I can’t believe that we just climbed out of the eye of the Sphinx.” Bones couldn’t tear his eyes away from the battered stone face of the ancient monument.
“Believe it,” Maddock said. “Let’s get out of here. If we hurry, we should be able to get back to the car long before the Dominion gets out of the labyrinth.”
They took off at a slow trot. Maddock and Bones could have stood a faster pace, and probably Jade, who always kept fit, but he didn’t know if Sofia would be able to handle it.
As he ran, he punched up Tam’s number. She wasn’t going to like his report.
Chapter 40
“With us live from his church in Utah is Bishop Hadel of the Kingdom Church.” Patricia Blount, the news anchor, was an attractive blonde of middle years, but her pleasant smile belied her reputation as a hard-nosed interviewer. She didn’t quite manage to disguise her frown as she introduced Hadel. Though the Dominion was an organization unknown to most, Hadel was well-known, both for his altruism and his controversial opinions. “Bishop, it is my understanding that representatives from your church are already on the scene in Norfolk, providing aid to displaced families.”
“We call them missionaries,” Hadel corrected. “And, yes, they are on the scene. When tragedy strikes, we reach out in loving compassion to our brothers and sisters in need.”
Hadel’s easy smile turned Tam’s stomach. She knew what a monster the man was, even if the world didn’t, and the fact that she couldn’t yet prove it made it all the worse.
“With thousands already confirmed dead, tens of thousands more having lost everything to the second freak tsunami to hit the United States in less than two weeks, how do you comfort people who might think to give up hope in your God?” Blount winced at her own brief lapse in professionalism.
“He’s everyone’s God, Patricia, whether they know it or not.” Hadel smiled like an indulgent grandfather. “And we provide reassurance through acts of mercy like those we are performing in Norfolk.”
“How did your missionaries happen to be on the scene so quickly?”
“We have sister and satellite churches throughout the nation who assist us in our work.” Hadel said with a touch of pride.
“What do you say to those who claim a merciful, loving God would not allow a tragedy like this to strike innocents?”
“I would say there are few innocents in this world. Norfolk, I am sad to say, is not immune to the infection that is rotting our nation from the inside out. Norfolk is rated as one of the hundred most dangerous cities in the United States, with crime rates well above the national average.”
“May I ask why, in the face of this tragedy, you took the time to study up on Norfolk’s crime statistics?” Blount bore down. “It seems like you’d have other priorities.”
Hadel remained unflappable. “I sought to understand the reason for this seemingly-senseless tragedy, and came to the inescapable conclusion that God’s judgment and righteous wrath are at play here. This is a city peopled with some of the lowest of the low…”
“Who do you consider the lowest of the low?” Blount snapped, but Hadel rode over her.
“Not to mention the strong presence of the United States military, which aids and abets our corrupt government.”
Blount redirected the conversation. “Bishop, we’re going to play a cell phone video captured by one of the victims of the tsunami and we’d like your comments on it.”
“Of course.”
“The video shows your missionaries rescuing a white family from the flood waters, and then, almost immediately, fighting off a drowning African-American man…”
Tam’s phone vibrated just as an indignant Hadel shouted something about ‘ambush journalism’ and the tendencies of overcrowded boats to capsize. It was a text from Maddock. She fired off a reply and sagged against the wall, eyes closed. Why had she ever wanted to be in charge? What she wouldn’t give right now to be out in the field, matching wits with her quarry. Maybe she’d even get to shoot somebody. That would relieve her stress.
“What’s wrong?” Avery looked up from Krueger’s notebook. She was still upset with Tam for keeping her at headquarters, but she’d been working diligently since the others left on their respective missions.
“First the Dominion attacks the wrong city, making me look like a fool, and now Maddock finds the Hall of Records.”
“Really?” Avery sprang to her feet, upending her
chair. “Where was it? What did he find?”
“It was under the Sphinx, just like Krueger said. And it was empty.”
The gleam in Avery’s eyes flickered and died. “What?”
“The Templars got there first. He’s sending me a picture of…” Her phone vibrated again. “Here it is. The Templars left a calling card.” She handed the phone to Avery.
“The cross looks authentic. Lord knows we’ve seen enough of these lately.” The Templars had been at the heart of a mystery Tam aided Maddock and his crew in solving. “But these squiggly lines are odd.” Avery’s gaze went cloudy and she bit her lip.
“What?” Tam could tell the young woman was deep in thought, but she dared not get her hopes up.
“I think I know where this is!” She snatched up the notebook and flipped through to a hand-drawn map. “See how the lines on this carving match up?”
Tam looked at the map. It showed a stretch of river and an island. “It’s not an exact match. The Templar carving doesn’t show this island.” She tapped a chili-pepper shaped stretch of land that ran parallel to the shore, joined to the mainland by bridges at its north and northwest tips.
“That’s because this island wasn’t built until the 1800s but, according to Krueger, it’s one of the Templars’ most notorious ‘hide in plain sight’ constructions. He believes it’s the place where the Freemasons, the modern descendants of the Templars, hid their most sacred knowledge.” She paused. “And it has Atlantean connections.”
“Where is this place?” Tam held her breath. Hope stirred inside her again, though she was reluctant to believe it.
“It’s in Washington D.C. I know it must seem like a stretch, but Krueger was right about the Hall of Records. Isn’t it at least worth having Maddock and the others check it out?”
For the first time in she couldn’t remember how long, Tam permitted herself a genuine smile. Now she recognized the location.
“Girl, forget Maddock. There’s no time to waste. Besides, I’m the one who can get us inside. Grab your toothbrush. You and I are going on a trip.”