*
Sam wasted no time trying to plan his next move. With the remains of both six-wheelers still burning, the three men got back into the Holden and continued to follow the trail.
Picking up his cell, Sam called Elise.
“Hello, Sam.” The voice sounded younger than he’d imagined. More like a girl in her early twenties than a woman. He’d never actually spoken to her. In fact, he’d often wondered whether Elise was simply an alias. In the years that he’d used her services, he’d always done so through a secure internet connection at her direction. “You must be in trouble.” she said.
She had intentionally kept their relationship untraceable, but given him the number to call, if he ever became desperate.
Now was one of those times.
“You were right. Rodriguez is an asshole, and he’s taken Aliana. I need you to find him before he leaves the country.”
“Okay. Where was he last seen?” she asked. Sam could hear her feverishly tapping away at her keyboard, most likely accessing a number of overhead satellites.
“He was driving a grey six-wheel Mercedes, somewhere near our current location, about half an hour ago. I’ll just read you my GPS coordinates.”
“Don’t bother, I’ve already acquired them from your cell phone.”
Sam gripped the edge of the car for stability, as his father swung around another corner.
“Oh, Sam, what have you been doing?” Elise said, as if she were admonishing a child. “You’ve left two burning trucks, and at least one dead person… there’ll be an investigation, you know.”
“We can deal with that later. Right now, I need to know where Rodriguez has gone – can’t you track Aliana’s cell phone or something?”
“No, it’s signal disappeared about twenty miles to the north, presumably where she was captured, perhaps? Hang on, I’m trying something else… okay, got it.”
“Where?”
“Someone’s started warming up the engines on his jet at Bendigo airport…”
“But is Aliana there?”
“No, but if its engines are turning over, they must be expecting him. I’ll run a search within fifty miles of the airport.”
James turned on to the blacktop and headed towards Bendigo. The speedometer, Sam noticed, was creeping upwards, and was reaching for a hundred miles per hour.
“Okay, found him. He’s thirty miles out of Bendigo.”
Sam pulled out the GPS on his phone. “We’re 80 miles away. There’s no way we’re going to make it in time. Can you stall the plane’s takeoff?”
Elise laughed, “I appreciate the vote of confidence, Sam, but there’s nothing I can do to convince a privately owned A380 that it doesn’t want to take off.”
“What about the police? Can you send them a false terrorist threat or something?”
“That could be arranged, not that it would do much good. The airport is empty and the nearest police are 80 miles away.”
The Holden started to shudder with vibrations as it reached the 100 mile-per-hour mark.
“All right, we’ll try our best. Can you find if they’ve lodged a flight plan, maybe we can cut him off at his destination?”
“Sorry, nothing logged yet.”
“Okay, thanks Elise, call me back as soon as you know anything.”
“Will do.”
Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at the back runway of the Bendigo airport.
At the far end of the airport, the gigantic, specialized, A380 looked unnatural in its surroundings. In fact, had it been the standard, commercial model, the plane would have had nowhere near enough runway to take off, but Rodriguez had obviously had it built specifically to decrease its takeoff distance.
“There!” Sam pointed it out before they’d even driven into the grounds of the airport.
James turned the car and drove straight through the wired fence designed to keep wildlife off the runway, “I see them.”
Giant dust spirals, fifty feet high, were forming, behind the airbus.
“They’re getting ready to take off!” James said.
And then it started moving towards them.
Sam reached for his machine gun, and pointed it towards the front of the plane.
The plane began picking up speed.
His finger began squeezing the trigger.
Tom pulled it downward, and a number of bullets sprayed the ground ahead. “It’s started the takeoff. Anything you do now will just get her killed!”
James, pulled the car off to the side of the runway, as the nose of the plane left the runway.
Sam swore and punched the dashboard. “We lost her!”
He felt Tom’s hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right, we’ll find out where they’re headed, and then someone will be waiting for them when they land.”
*
Two hours later, Sam received a call from Elise.
“Have you got their destination?” he asked, immediately.
“No, and there’s something else you’re not going to like.”
“What?”
“I tracked Rodriguez’s plane as it made a direct route eastward until it was a hundred and fifty miles off the coast…” she then stopped.
“Then what?”
“And then it disappeared.”
Sam puffed heavily. “What do you mean it disappeared?”
“I mean, I hacked into the Australian radar towers and tracked its progress over land via her transponder. I also maintained a visual of her movement via satellite,” Elise said.
“And then?”
“Once it was out of radar range, it headed towards dense cloud cover. The pilot switched off its transponder, and changed directions. I’m trying to pick its signal up again, but it appears to have disappeared completely.”
“You lost it? The world’s largest commercial jet, and you can’t find it with all of the data at your fingertips?” Sam said.
“It’s a big ocean. I’ll keep trying, but whoever’s flying this thing’s a professional.”
“Okay, keep trying. You can’t move an A380 without someone noticing it.”
James looked at him, and for the first time in Sam’s life, his father looked uncertain about their next move.
“It’s your show, son. Where do you want to go?”
“Oh my god!” Sam said, “I just worked out where he’s headed.”
Both Tom and James simultaneously said, “Where?”
Sam ignored their question and got Elise back on the line. “I need you to find me the closest and fastest jet.”
“Military or private?”
“I don’t care, whatever’s closest. Rodriguez already has a two-hour head start.”
A moment later, Elise said, “There’s a Citation X – it’s not a lot faster than the A380, but it’s been fitted with long range fuel tanks so at least you won’t have to land and refuel.”
“That’s great – where?”
“One’s currently sitting in a private hangar at Elmore airport, about a twenty-minute drive from where you are.”
“That’ll do. Find the owner for me and tell them I’m taking their jet,” Sam then sent Elise a text with the details of his flight, using Tom’s smartphone. “I’ve sent you the details where I want to go, and what I’m bringing into the country – I need you to clear everything with the required government officials.”
There was a momentary pause, as Elise skimmed the text. “I’ll do my best Sam, but their government’s not going to be happy with you bringing machine guns.”
“I know. Just pay their bribes, and make it happen.”
Chapter Twenty Two
Billie looked at the wall along the base of the sarcophagus for what must have been the thousandth time since discovering the looking glass. She could identify a little over half the pictographs, and all but three of the locations seen through it.
Somewhere, on this wall, were the answers to all her questions. The questions her grandfather had instilled in her when she
was just six years old. Deep inside the inner psyche of her mind, Billie knew that she was close.
Then she saw it.
Standing above the sarcophagus, she noticed that the pictographs weren’t just maps to direct the lens of the looking glass – they were actual maps to each of the locations.
From where they were in the middle, the images above were in the northern hemisphere, whereas those below, were situated in the southern.
She still couldn’t understand how they knew about them, and even recorded some that weren’t yet built at the time of this pyramid’s creation.
Making a couple calculations, she tried to pinpoint the distance between two places that she knew, starting with the submerged pyramid, where she stood, and the pyramid of Giza. Once she’d worked it out, she found the ratio between actual distance and the map.
Then she measured the distance between where she stood and the pictograph of Stonehenge, and applied the same ratio. Afterwards, she calculated the known distance between Stonehenge and where she was standing.
They were an exact match, give or take a single mile.
Fuck me – that means I can work out exactly where Atlantis lies!
Billie began to measure, so that she could work out the primitive distance.
And then the alarm went off.
“Billie, come in!”
She jumped down and picked up the radio.
“What is it, Veyron?”
“Two torpedoes, coming in fast, approximately 30 miles away.”
Shit, they found me quicker than I thought!
They were getting smarter, or was she getting slower?
“Copy that…”
“You may still have time to get out!”
“I doubt that,” Billie said and she reached into her duffle bag, retrieving a laser cutter.
It was going to break her heart, but she had to cut the top of the round lens off the looking glass. It was the only lead that she might ever have – that’s if she even survived the next couple minutes.
She attached the mechanical frame to the looking glass and switched on the laser. It might take a few minutes to slice through.
While it was heating up, Billie jumped back down and grabbed her laptop.
There was no time, for anything…
All her work was there.
Everything would have amounted to nothing if she didn’t get it.
She removed the hard drive and slid it into her watertight pocket. Then she climbed back up the sarcophagus, held the laser cutter, and removed the lens to the looking glass. It could have been a beautiful blue diamond, but to her, it was much more valuable.
A sound like thunder striking a hundred times at once, echoed throughout the pyramid.
For a second, she thought that it was going to take the beating as the entire structure shuddered like an earthquake – and then something cracked.
Water began trickling in from the roof.
Slow at first, and then faster, and then water poured in with the pressure of a high powered jet, before rocks started to fall.
She had to get out now if she was going to have any chance of survival, but she was trapped. Leaning with her back against the wall, she watched in horror as the roof above her split in two. Water, along with giant rocks, now decimated the King’s Chamber.
Billie reached for her dive mask, and jumped through the tunnel below. With nothing to stop the pressure of the water below from rising, now that the roof of the pyramid had collapsed, water now filled the chambers below – rising with the force of nearly 500 feet of water above.
Her hand reached for the rope ladder, stopping her before she hit the second chamber, swinging her into the middle.
More blocks and water came down, flooding the entire pyramid with debris.
Until nothing remained.
*
Aliana looked at the man pointing the gun at her. Where she’d seen an intelligent, confident, and powerful man a week ago, she now saw a child who’d never had any real friends, who was forever trying to supersede his father’s success.
And she saw a man turned delirious with desire.
Men in the midst of insanity, she knew, were the most dangerous of all. He pointed towards the base of the pyramid. “Start climbing,” he said.
“You want me to climb the Great Pyramid of Giza?”
He pointed the gun towards her and then fired a single shot. It struck the wall behind her, shattering the face of the limestone. “I won’t ask you again.”
She turned and looked at the pyramid above, and tried to remember the height of the only remaining wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
It was irrelevant – with her climbing experience, the trip would probably kill Rodriguez first.
Aliana then started to climb.
Followed by several local men who Rodriguez had bribed to give him access and carry the Ark of Light.
*
By eleven a.m. the sun was gaining on the horizon, and the temperature was rising. Not quite as hot as yesterday’s top of 118 degrees Fahrenheit, it was already well above 100. Sam swallowed a mouthful of water, pausing between limestone blocks, and then continued to climb.
“Are you certain he’s aiming for the top?” Tom asked.
“Pretty sure.”
“Because, maybe we could just wait down at the bottom for him?”
Sam ignored the question, and took some more climbing chalk out of his bag to dry his hands. Then, studying the difficult handhold above, he reached up and then swung his legs onto the next limestone block.
“I don’t know what you’re complaining about, Tom. You can practically step up this damn pyramid.”
More than fifty blocks above them, Sam spotted the reflection of light.
Was it them, or had I imagined it?
The light reflecting off the Ark of Light then glistened like a star. “Come on Tom. It’s them, and they’ve got a big lead on us.”
*
Aliana watched Rodriguez hold the Ark of Light up. It was approaching midday, and soon the sun would be directly overhead.
“Put it down, Rodriguez. It’s over,” she heard Sam’s voice, from below.
“Sam!” she shouted, in relief.
Rodriguez fired several shots from his massive handgun, blowing apart large chunks of the pyramid’s block.
“I have to give it to you, Sam, you seem like a difficult man to kill. But, you must know, you’re too late – it’s nearly midday, and I’m about to receive all the knowledge and power of man. There’s nothing more you can do.” He stood up and raised the Ark of Light so that its powerful diamond faced the sun, rapidly approaching overhead.
“No, you can’t!” Sam yelled.
Aliana took a step back, and then jumped off the top level of the pyramid to the blocks several feet below.
“Get back here, woman,” Rodriguez shouted. “Don’t you understand once I receive this power, there’s nothing you or Reilly can do to stop me?”
With her arms still bound, she jumped down the next one.
“Aliana!” She heard Sam’s voice in the distance. “Duck!”
“Good bye mortals,” Rodriguez said, as the sun came into a direct line above him.
She crouched down, taking cover as close to the block of the pyramid as she could, shielding herself with her arms over her head.
The world above opened into the most magnificent light she’d ever seen, and for an instant, she thought that it had all been real. That Rodriguez had won; that in this instant, he was gaining all the power and knowledge of the human race, throughout time.
Then a sound like thunder struck the top of the pyramid.
The stunning light turned to such extreme heat that the entire capstone of the pyramid exploded.
And then it all passed.
The sun continued on its way, and above, there was only quiet.
Sam climbed up the last block below her and took her in his arms. “You’re alive.”
; “Of course I am. I told you to wait for me when I dived for it, but this time you’re the one who disappeared.”
She kissed him, and it felt good.
Resting her head on his chest, with his arms around her, she was home, with the man she loved.
Aliana then whispered, “What happened to him?”
“He’s dead.”
“Why? I thought that the Ark of Light was supposed to bring its owner omnipotent powers?”
“Yes, but only those worthy, who could read the ancient texts, and understand when exactly to use it.”
“And for those who aren’t worthy?” she asked.
“Those are the fallen ones.”
Chapter Twenty Three
At the base of the pyramid, James was waiting for them, a luxury limousine ready to take them back to the airport.
James asked, “So, what did it cost you in the end?”
“What?”
“The map. What did Jie Qiang want for it?”
“He said that he wanted Rodriguez to get everything he’d ever wanted, and then, at that moment, have it all taken away from him.”
“I’d say Jie Qiang would be happy for the outcome, wouldn’t you?”
*
Tom had been at home in California for less than a day, and already, he was keen to return to the Maria Helena. Sam and James had both told him to take some time off and enjoy himself. They’d all been through a lot over the past month.
It was only 8 a.m. and the sun was already warm. He could go to the beach, have a surf, and enjoy the day, but he couldn’t quite relax. He’d never been very good at it.
Matthew had called from aboard the Maria Helena to tell him that the cleanup of the hydrogen cyanide was well on its way, and that it might take a few years for the sea life to return to normal in the Gulf of Mexico – but thanks to him and Sam the place would survive.
Tom asked again if they’d had any news of Billie’s body, and was advised that it was unlikely they’d ever find her. After all, the entire pyramid imploded under the enormous weight of the ocean, after it lost its structure.
Death had been common enough in his life, but he’d learned to deal with it by burying himself deeper with work, not having a holiday and moping.
It was time to go out, and do something different, he decided.
The Sam Reilly Collection Page 48