by David Meyer
CHAPTER 74
“They look so …” My brow knitted as I searched for the appropriate word. “… peaceful.”
“You must be joking.” Ben grimaced as he studied the skull. It was light gray in color and completely lacking in flesh. “They don’t even have eyes, for God’s sake.”
“I mean the way they’re just laying here.” Again, I nudged the skull. Then I shifted my gaze to the other bodies. “It’s almost as if they died in their sleep.”
I walked around the circle, checking the bodies. But my gaze kept coming back to the first skeleton. Its tattered clothing meant nothing to me and obviously, there weren’t any nametags in the vicinity. Still, I somehow knew I was looking at Justin’s remains.
Distinct sadness washed over me. Justin hadn’t abandoned his family. Rather, he’d died quietly in the cavern via unknown means, leaving his wife and my dad to fend for themselves. Did he ever realize how much my dad would miss him? That the man would rip apart Manhattan in a vain quest to find him?
And why did Justin want to steal the gold anyway? Was money really that important to him? And what did he hope to do afterward? Surely, he couldn’t have planned to go back home, not with the U.S. government scouring the country for him. Was he planning to abandon his family all along?
The thought was unsettling. Justin, in all likelihood, had planned to skip town with the gold, leaving Drew to grow up in a single-parent household. Drew had then risked his reputation, business, and even his sanity to find him.
In other words, Justin was selfish and Dad sacrificed everything trying to prove otherwise. Now, I was sacrificing everything in order to prove his effort hadn’t been in vain. What did that mean for any offspring I might have in the future? Was I destined to hurt them like Justin had hurt Dad and Dad had hurt me?
I aimed my beam to the northeast. The steel plate, still cracked open, allowed a bit of natural light to creep into the area. But despite the extra illumination, I couldn’t see a back wall.
Ben looked thoughtful. “With the plate closed, there would’ve been no ventilation. They must’ve suffocated.”
I shook my head. “If that was the case, they would’ve struggled. Grabbed their throats and gasped for air. No, whatever killed them happened in a flash. They never saw it or even felt it. They just died.”
He clucked his tongue uneasily. I knew what he was thinking. Could whatever have killed them kill us as well?
He knelt next to a rusted fork and a dusty tin can. “Bortles Beans,” he read off the can’s label. “Maybe they were poisoned.”
“I doubt it. Otherwise, the killer would’ve taken the gold.”
A gust of wind swept into the cavern. Faint and distant shrieking rang out overhead. The noise made me think of the summit. Of the three carvings we’d found. Something had killed off the Caborn-Welborn tribe centuries ago. Did the same thing kill Justin and his crew as well?
I felt around Justin’s clothed skeleton until I located a small leather book.
“What’s that?” Ben asked.
I opened it up. “It’s a journal, just like the one from Milt’s office. They must’ve bought them together, probably so they could have a full record for the history books. That’s interesting … the first couple of pages are missing.” I compared the journal to the Capitalist Curtain papers. “It’s a match. This is where Justin got the paper for his notes.”
Ben nodded. “Well, what’s the book say?”
Quickly, I leafed through the pages. “It looks like he kept a daily record.” I flipped to the last page with text on it. “Okay, the last entry is dated December 27, 1949. That’s thirteen days after the robbery.”
Ben looked at me expectantly.
I cleared my throat. “This morning, the last Army vehicle packed up its equipment and drove off into the night. We think we’re alone now, but it’s too dark to be sure. We’ll visit the crow’s nest in the morning for another look. The men are in good spirits, but restless. They want to hit the road. It’ll be a challenge to keep them here the full thirty days.”
Ben looked at me. “And?”
“And that’s it.” I frowned. “You know, that remark about a crow’s nest is interesting. I wonder—”
A metallic object crashed against my skull. I dropped the journal and flashlight. Clutching my head in agony, I slumped to the ground.
“Hey, Willow. It’s me. I took care of … mesa … Berserkers …” Ben spoke in a near-whisper and my temporarily addled brain had trouble deciphering his words. “Send them and …”
Wincing, I touched the back of my head. Streaks of pain laced through me.
Steeling my body, I forced myself to sit up. Then I twisted in a half-circle. Ben stood a couple of feet away. The pistol, held firmly in his hand, was pointed at my face.
“Life is about decisions,” he said. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Decisions?” I shook the cobwebs from my head. “What are you talking about?”
“You thought your dad committed suicide. But he died because I decided to kill him.” Ben smiled. “Just like I’m about to kill you.”
CHAPTER 75
Ben killed Dad? But Dad committed suicide … didn’t he?
Slowly, I rose to my feet.
With a sad smile, Ben squeezed the trigger and …
And nothing.
He frowned and squeezed the trigger again. Again. And yet again.
Again, nothing.
I grabbed the pistol and jabbed it backward. The gun slammed into his face. Blood squirted out of his nostrils and he released the gun to grab his nose. Wailing softly, he sank to his knees. “You broke it,” he said. “Oh my God, you broke my nose.”
“Believe me, it’s an improvement.” Reaching into my pocket, I took out a full clip. Quickly, I replaced the empty one.
“There were no bullets?” He blinked his tear-filled eyes. “Wait, you knew?”
“I suspected, but I wasn’t sure.”
“I … I don’t understand.”
“You’re the reason the president wanted me to go to Fort Knox in the first place. Plus, you were still in the vault when the press conference started. So, you could’ve overheard us discover the fake gold bars.”
A grin cracked his visage. “Actually, I already knew.”
That surprised me, but I let it pass for the moment. “So, who’s Malware?” My gaze widened. “Wait. No. No, it can’t be. Willow?”
He smirked.
I shook my head. “Why?”
“The same reason you’re here,” he replied. “Family.”
I frowned.
“Years ago, your grandfather decided to steal all that gold.” Ben waved at the dump trucks. “That, as it turned out, was a critical decision. And it, in turn, caused both of our fathers to make critical decisions of their own. Namely, to find him at any cost.”
“Both of our fathers?” I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
“My father was the brainchild behind Project Capitalist Curtain. Through it, he hoped to achieve global governance and thus, world peace.” He offered me a sad smile. “When the gold vanished, his life took a turn for the worse. He lost focus and became obsessed with finding Justin. He even went so far as to befriend your dad in order to keep tabs on your family.”
I heard shouts and scuffling noises. Clearly, the Berserkers were getting closer by the second. But at that moment, I didn’t care.
“I didn’t know it at the time,” he continued. “But apparently, your dad grew wise to it. One day, he invited my father to visit one of his construction sites. Father must’ve expected something because he took me along in secret and asked me to wait outside. And so I did until I heard scuffling. I ran inside and saw Father lying on the ground. Your dad was on top of him, punching away. I ran inside and grabbed him, shoved him toward the window. The glass broke and you know the rest.”
My mind flashed back to that single moment in time. To the hot sun, to the ice cream dripping down my hand. To Dad
plummeting to his death. The revelation that I hadn’t seen a suicide that day but rather, a murder, sent jolts of shock through my body.
“And yes, I meant to kill him. You would’ve done the same if you’d been in my shoes. Family first, right?” He shrugged. “After we got away, I asked Father what had happened. He refused to talk about it. It wasn’t until after he died that I discovered the truth. Your dad had found out about Project Capitalist Curtain. He claimed to have a lead on Justin’s whereabouts. And he threatened to go public unless Father told him the truth. Father, of course, refused.”
I exhaled.
“Afterward, Father doubled his efforts, searching for the lead your dad had mentioned,” Ben continued. “But he never found anything.”
The lead. That must’ve been the safe deposit box.
“When Father died, I decided to fulfill his legacy. To bring about global governance and thus, world peace. Fortunately, my position gave me the tools to do it. I managed to cripple the U.S. dollar and set the stage for a global currency. But there was a problem.”
“Fort Knox,” I said. “The depository.”
He nodded. “Intrinsically, the U.S. dollar is worth nothing. But if backed by gold, well, it could still be saved. Thanks to Father’s notes, I knew Fort Knox’s gold was gone. However, there was always the possibility it might show up again. So, I enlisted Willow to find it or at the very least, to make sure it stayed lost.”
“How’d she know about Justin’s safe deposit box?”
“She didn’t. At least not at first. Instead, she put her systems to work on your dad’s life and noticed a curious pattern. Prior to his death, he tore down a bunch of buildings which had all served as former branches of Five Borough Bank. She delved into the bank’s old records, which had been scanned into some library’s holdings, and discovered inventories of unclaimed safe deposit boxes. One box belonged to Justin Reed and held a twelve-page document known as Capitalist Curtain.”
“Impressive,” I admitted. “But why involve me?”
“That was Willow’s idea. She said it made for good symmetry.”
The corners of my mouth tightened. I hadn’t known Willow for very long. Just a couple of years. But she’d always struck me as a beautiful woman, inside and out.
Apparently, I’d been mistaken.
“Is that why she tried to kill me?” I asked. “Because you killed my dad?”
“No, although she liked that aspect of it. Truthfully, we were worried you might start looking for the gold yourself.”
“And yet, you still convinced the president to take me to Fort Knox.”
He nodded. “After you escaped the riot, I decided you still had value. The idea of America’s greatest treasure hunter exposing its most valuable treasure as a complete fraud was too good to pass up.”
I could hear distant raucous noises coming through the open plate. Fighting and yelling and cracking wood and all the other sounds one might expect from a riot in the middle of the forest.
“So, all of this for world peace, huh?” I asked.
“A worthy goal, wouldn’t you agree?” He offered me a genuine smile. “And still quite achievable. Distract K.J. so I can get these trucks out of here. Let the markets open tomorrow and do their work. Let the U.S. dollar die a deserved death.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” He shook his head. “I overheard everything. President Walters turned his back on you. You don’t owe him anything.”
“I’m not doing this for him.” I nodded at Justin’s skeleton. “I’m doing it for him and Dad. I’m doing it so their stories can finally be told.”
“But—” A soft bang rang out. Ben swiveled his head toward the steel plate.
“That was fast.” I lifted my head. “Dutch, Beverly … we’re over here.”
A couple of shadowy forms filed into the cavern. They carried bags and other bulky items. One of them walked to the east wall and fiddled with a machine. Squealing lightly, the plate closed over again. The natural light blinked out and darkness filled the cavern.
Small lights appeared. Then the newcomers walked confidently in our direction. One of them, the tallest one, spoke up. “So, we meet again.”
My body tensed. It wasn’t Dutch or Beverly or even K.J. But I knew the speaker. Not well, but still I knew him.
It was Saul.
CHAPTER 76
Gunfire rang out and I darted deeper into the cavern, zigzagging every few steps. Bullets chewed the walls, the floor, the ceiling, pulverizing the ancient rock formation.
A bullet flew overhead and struck the ceiling. The rock sparked and I caught a brief glimpse of my surroundings. To the northeast, I noticed the cavern end in a rock wall. A thin tunnel cut through it. I could probably fit inside the tunnel, but the effort would slow me down.
To my left, I saw a crevice. It seemed pretty deep and partially hooked around a corner.
As the spark blinked out, I slid into the crevice. Holding my breath, I squeezed around the corner.
Moments later, I heard three sets of footsteps race past me. They stopped and a few moments of silence filled the air.
“He ran into a tunnel,” a man shouted. “Want us to go after him?”
“Nah,” Saul called out after a moment. “Kent, you take guard duty. If he shows his face, kill him. The rest of you get back here. We need to prep for transport.”
Clearly, Malware—a.k.a. Willow—had recruited Saul and his gang to her family’s cause. I assumed they were planning to take the gold. But how? The old dump trucks were probably out of commission. And it would take days to move that much gold to other vehicles.
Footsteps hiked past me, going in the opposite direction. Dim lights appeared. Soon after, soft metallic noises began to spring up near the trucks.
After a few minutes, I crept out of the niche and stole a glance toward the tunnel. One of Saul’s guys, adorned in jeans, hoodie, and ski mask, stood off to the side, keeping his gun trained on it.
Sticking close to the wall, I crept southwest. Thanks to some ground-based light fixtures, I could see Saul and his gang milling about the ten dump trucks. A couple of guys were patching up the tires and pumping them full of air. Others appeared to be working on the engines. Still others focused on adding features and details. The changes, although subtle, had an impact and the trucks were starting to look a lot like the much newer dump trucks the Army had brought to the area.
Clearly, Saul—or more likely, Malware—was taking a page out of Justin’s playbook, altering the old trucks to look like modern ones. With the Army distracted by the Berserker mob, they’d sneak out of the cavern and close the plate behind them. Then they’d drive away with no one the wiser.
I heard a soft whirring sound. The plate began to slide open. Engines turned over and began to putter softly. I gritted my teeth. I couldn’t let Malware and Ben get away with this. But how to stop them?
Dropping to a crouch, I hurried forward. Along the way, I scanned Justin’s corpse, the trucks, Saul’s men, and loads of tools and gear. My gaze stopped on the canisters lined up in the east wall alcove. Graham had said they contained fuel. If ignited, they’d pack a decent punch, maybe even large enough to catch K.J.’s attention.
One of the trucks began to inch forward. It drove up the ramp and rolled partway into the clearing. There was no time to think, only time to act.
I aimed the pistol at the nearest canister and squeezed the trigger. A spark filled my vision.
An enormous explosion ripped through the cavern. A wave of energy slammed into me, knocking me over. But Saul’s men had it much worse. Some of them, perched high up on the dump trucks, were dashed to the ground. Others were blown straight into metal siding.
As I regained my footing, a fireball rose out of one of the canisters. It quickly lit piles of blankets and stacks of old firewood. Flames started to stab outward in all directions. They didn’t quite reach the trucks, but they easily consumed other canisters as well as additional su
pplies left by Justin’s crew.
I turned my attention to the parked trucks. Their engines still puttered softly, but they remained still. The tenth truck had come to a halt just outside the cavern and I could see blood splatter on the front windshield.
White smoke curled up and spread its way through the cavern. Within seconds, I was surrounded by it.
I dropped to the ground, the odors of smoke and garlic in my nostrils. A disturbing thought occurred to me and I glanced toward the nearest wall. It shone like gold in the bright light and at last, I figured out why everything smelled like garlic. The walls were made of arsenopyrite, a type of fool’s gold with one important differentiating feature. When heated, it emitted fumes.
Toxic fumes.
CHAPTER 77
If my leg was long enough, I would’ve kicked myself. When heated, altered, or even touched, arsenopyrite released arsenic into the air. It accounted for the garlic odor. Hell, it accounted for everything.
Once upon a time, the Caborn-Welborn culture had started a massive fire around the mesa’s exterior. In the process, they’d heated the arsenopyrite ore, unleashing arsenic into the air. Hundreds of people, if not thousands, had died and the culture vanished from the history books.
Centuries later, Justin’s crew took refuge within the giant cavern. They’d blocked off most—if not all—forms of ventilation. After the Army had abandoned its search, they’d proceeded to heat canned goods over a large fire. The fire caused toxic arsenic to enter the air.
And their lungs.
Skulking along the wall, I made my way toward the open plate. The scent of garlic invaded my nostrils and I was forced to hold my breath. Saul’s buddies lay everywhere. Some bled from fatal wounds. Others were merely unconscious.
“Cy!” I twisted toward the bellowing voice. Saul and a few of his friends stalked toward me with blood in their still-dazed eyes, furious beyond belief.