We crawled back a few feet and headed toward M2 at a crouch. His trail took us back the way we had first come.
“We're going to the JU390 graveyard. That big slab of wing I found had a gap at one end. I took a peek and saw a good-sized space below. I tossed in a bug bomb so it should be tolerable by now.”
“Bless you,” Amisi said. “I have visions of scorpions and spiders in dark places.”
When we arrived at the graveyard, M2 took us to the wing slab, but we didn't crawl under. “Fortunately,” he said, “this area has hard-packed, gravelly sand that doesn't show footprints. Have a seat on the wing. As soon as we spot the searchers, we'll duck inside. It's bound to be hot in there and it will overwhelm my deodorant.”
Harry was nearby on a mound of sand, busy with his binoculars. M1 and M2 had their own eyepieces at work. Seeing this, I was confident that Alice, Amisi and I could relax. Our rest period lasted less than fifteen minutes before Harry sighted the first searcher.
“Heads up,” he said. “They're coming this way on foot. They've spread out and the trucks are following behind. Time to take cover.”
We didn't dive into our shelter, but we moved right along. The space was about three feet wide at the entrance. Once inside I saw that it widened to about seven feet at the end, which was a good twelve feet from the entrance. The height was not much more than three feet in the middle. The girls and I went all the way to the rear. Harry lay in front of us and the boys crouched on either side of the opening with weapons at the ready. M1 had picked up a large blower housing and left it right at the opening.
I lay side by side with the girls, breathing through my mouth. It became very quiet as we listened for footsteps. When they finally arrived, they must have been walking on tiptoe. The first we heard of them was when one stepped up on the wing section, right above where we were lying. He wasn't jumping, but the metal dented and the noise was alarmingly loud. I heard more footsteps. One of the trucks passed, then things became quiet. Minutes later I saw M1 stick a tube up out of the entrance. The son of a gun had a periscope. Small wonder his backpack was so big. After a good look, he pushed the blower out of the way and we all crawled out.
“I've been thinking,” he said. “It's obvious that the thugs we just avoided are working for Roy and Carl and I think they're looking for the first group of runners we encountered earlier. I also think the first group belongs to our contact which goes far to explain why he is missing. If true, this fight is lop-sided and we should intervene. I can't be sure, but that's how I see it now. I invite comments.”
“I think we all agree,” Alice said, looking around at us. “We need to help out.”
“Okay, let's go,” he said. “Amisi and Biti, how are you holding up? Leaving you here is my second choice.”
“We both exercise every day,” I said. “The only thing I need is a bigger gun.”
As we hiked along at a fast pace, M1 and M2 rummaged through their side packs and handed Amisi and me two long barreled pistols with sliding stocks.
“Here's the safety,” M2 said. “It's a semi-automatic, one shot every time you pull the trigger. The clip holds thirty rounds and you each get two extra clips. I expect one body for every round you fire.”
“If I can line them up right, I can give you a twofer,” I said.
M1 didn’t laugh. “Biti, when we get close, you and Amisi hang back as far as possible without losing sight of us. If they are firing on the smaller group, we'll engage them from the rear, take out the trucks and fall back. When you see us coming, turn and run as fast as you can. We'll all go to our hideout under the plane wing and wait for Roy's troops to pass by.”
I didn't argue about the role that Amisi and I had to play. I knew that realistically we would be a liability in the thick of things. My trusty crutch would also be a hindrance on this foray. I left it concealed, along with the rest of our gear, under the wing. No one felt like talking as the sun reminded us of where we were. I was having a fantasy about my long ago Army life as we trudged along looking for any signs of the enemy.
The sound of gunfire reached us before we saw any of the combatants. Amisi and I stopped while the others ran forward for about eighty yards. They fanned out a bit, then I lost them as they hit the dirt. Until that moment, the gunfire was sporadic, but seconds later, my gang opened up. One explosion after another erupted, as the trucks became junk. I heard rapid fire from a distance as Roy's troops shot back. M1 and crew were firing, but much slower. This was good. They weren't firing until they had a target. Roy's troops would soon exhaust their ammunition at that rate and sure enough, in less than two minutes the firing slacked way off. That told me we were dealing with armed thugs rather than trained soldiers.
As soon as we saw our four get up and run toward us, we turned and hotfooted it as fast as we could go. I kept glancing back to make sure they were coming along and to my surprise, Amisi and I were keeping our distance. I'm sure it was because the others had their ammo backpacks, but still, there we were out front.
We reached the wing first and waited, guns poised until they were just steps away, then we dove into the hole. M1 was the last in after pausing above the entrance to see that the bad guys were not in sight. The blower housing was back in place and we were as before except for a lot of heavy breathing. I couldn't think of making jokes about the new smells we were tolerating. In about two minutes we heard the ragged pounding of several feet. As they ran close by, some of them were crying out in what Amisi later told me were rather violent curses. They were also trying to signal Roy and Carl, but the noise from the backhoe was too overpowering. The shouting and cursing continued, but they kept going and soon the voices faded. We were alone.
M1 cautiously raised his periscope and kept watching for another two minutes before he saw something and lowered the scope.
He leaned close to the opening. “Kosey?” he called out.
I heard some muffled shouting. “Someone says do not fire,” Amisi translated.
I heard another voice, much closer. “New York.”
“Dodgers,” M1 answered.
“Come out my friend,” the voice said, now even closer.
We were happy to comply. M1 introduced us to Kosey who then introduced us en masse to his crew of eleven fighters. M1 explained that the name Kosey meant lion. Fortunately, the lion spoke good English with just a trace of accent.
“It was you, was it not,” he asked, “who destroyed their trucks?”
M1 said that it was and enquired about his casualties.
“We suffer only from thirst,” Kosey replied. “It was good fortune that you found us. I was hoping you would stop and wait at our meeting place, but it is good you did not.”
“What about those who were after you?” M1 asked. “Who are they and what were their casualties?”
“They are not from here,” Kosey said. “They are only criminals paid by those two down below. When we advanced, I counted nineteen of them who will fight no more. I think there were six in each truck and that would leave twenty-three of them still alive.”
“Do you have your own trucks?”
“Yes, but we keep them well away from here. We have plenty of supplies.”
“We will share our water with you,” M1 said.
“No, my friend,” Kosey said. “There is always water nearby if you know where to look. I have already sent two of my men on that quest. They should return before the sun leaves the sky with water for all and perhaps some food.”
As our leaders talked, most everyone was facing west where the bad guys had gone. Only Alice noticed something approaching from behind. “Hit the dirt!” she shouted, while grabbing a grenade from her vest. I head the swoosh as she launched it fastball style.
Oh, oh, I thought, she forgot to pull the pin. But Alice was moving faster than we could follow. When I turned to look at her target the grenade hit the fighter in his stomach, causing his rifle barrel to lower. The bullet hit the sand at our feet. Before he could lift the r
ifle, Alice rocketed into him, taking him down in a classic tackle. His free arm appeared in a wide-arc swing, showing an ugly knife clenched tightly in his fist. Ms. Dance reached up and grabbed his wrist. Instead of stopping his swing, she simply pushed forward and the knife plunged into the fighter. The whole thing was over in less than ten seconds. The rest of us had hardly moved.
Alice got up, dusted her trousers and retrieved her grenade. “He’s dead,” she said. “The wound was self-inflicted.”
Kosey looked chagrinned and sent two men back to make sure there were no more survivors. He also looked in awe at our Amazon warrior. I think he was falling in love. When another of Kosey's men relieved the deceased fighter of his rifle, I saw that it was Mister Macho Man.
Amisi said to Alice, “If you ever feel bad about this, I'll tell you what he said to me back on the trail.”
“He tried to kill us,” Alice said. “It’s regrettable, but necessary. I’ll be fine.”
M1 nudged me. “Remember what I said in Colón,” he whispered. “I’ve yet to meet the rat bastard that Alice can’t demolish.” He then went over to the cliff edge to check on Carl and Roy. After a few minutes, he came back and called a conference. “They're still at it down there and the hole is pretty big. They should strike pay dirt any time now. My guess is that they haven't heard from their army and possibly they won't. I doubt they’re getting paid enough for a real fight against guys that shoot back.
“It's time for us to move in and take over the dig. I'd like us to be the first ones to go in the tomb and to facilitate that, we'll have Kosey and his boys chase them out. We'll follow close behind and take over the dig while Kosey guards the entrance. Do any of you know how to operate a backhoe?”
“Biti does,” Amisi said. “About ten years ago he rented one to dig footings for a new garage. In the process, he knocked down a pear tree and crushed our garden shed, but by George, he got the job done.”
“I should be able to figure out how to operate that one down there,” I said. “Besides, there are no pear trees or sheds for me to destroy.”
“Then we have a plan,” M1 said.
Kosey was in our group during the discussion. M1 requested that he leave four men here on the cliff edge to give cover to whatever may happen below. He then asked him if he needed radios.
“Just one, so that I may talk to you,” Kosey said. “We use hand signals in the desert. It is our second language.”
A few more instructions to Kosey's troops and we were on our way. Just before we reached the small gully, the two men who went back to the battlefield to check bodies joined us. They reported that no one from that direction would trouble us again. The descent to the river bottom was quick and without incident. Our group stayed well back of Kosey and crew as we marched back east. When we came around the bend, the crew started to shoot at or near the busy backhoe. It only took seconds before the big scooper stopped. I saw Carl leap down and join Roy aboard their pickup. Its rear tires kicked up a cloud of dust and it roared off to the east. We had the place to ourselves.
The engine of the backhoe was still running when we arrived at the dig. Carl and Roy had departed so hastily that they also left the trailer and I had my first look at our will-o’-the-wisp GPR unit.
“Halleluiah!” Alice exclaimed, with one hand on the handle of the machine.
Kosey told her he would send for a pack mule to carry the unit to our plane.
Alice slapped my back. “Well, Mister Backhoe Man, best you climb aboard and demonstrate your skills.”
“Won't be necessary,” M2 called, from the edge of the pit. “Carl finished the job for us. The entrance is big and clear.”
I turned off the machine and put the key in my tea pouch. Carl, or Roy for that matter, would not operate that thing again.
Kosey and his people watched with interest as we slid down to the bottom and gathered at the entrance.
“Why they made the entrance this big is anyone's guess,” Amisi said, “but it is authentic and very old. Maybe the ancients carved it out two or five thousand years ago.”
CHAPTER 23
One more check of our equipment and it was forward march into the darkness once again. There were two or three feet of loose sand at the entrance, but it was only a minor hindrance and we were soon walking on solid rock.
Whoever engineered the tunnel was overly generous with traditional dimensions. Perhaps he was using non-union labor and could afford a round hole a good ten feet in diameter. The size made it possible for us to walk two abreast for perhaps twenty feet before we entered a large chamber. The dimensions did not approach what we found under the Harz Mountain, but still it was a big space. Our combined lights were sufficient to give us a complete picture of where we were, except for the far end. A rough estimate put us in a gallery perhaps thirty feet wide by eighty deep and at least fifteen high.
It was a disappointment to see that the place was empty except for a disorganized pile of Nazi eagle-stenciled crates that lined the wall at our left. Harry and M2 opened two of them with more tools they took out of their marvelous packs and found paintings inside. Scraps of wood littered the floor.
“I imagine,” Amisi said, “crates filled this place to capacity. They took all they could manage because of the plane wreck. It's sad to think of the loss when the submarine went down. I'm looking for anything Egyptian, but I see nothing. Not even carvings or paintings on the walls. Maybe they never finished this or there is another chamber.”
“Seems to me,” Alice said, “that the big treasure is not here, but under the Harz Mountains. It looks like this was just a convenient transfer point.”
We were all feeling a bit let down, just wandering around looking at the blank walls and kicking the splinters. Amisi, who had gone toward the back of the room, called back, “Here's something interesting. The last few feet of the back wall on the left side are not continuous, but set back about six feet. You can't see it from where you are, but there is a narrow, tall passage cut into the jog. Can't be more than five feet wide. There's a lot of rubble on the floor. Must have been a wall here, but someone tore it down.”
We joined her with our flashlights.
M2 played his light on the passage roof. “Looks to be about twelve feet high.”
“The end is only twenty feet away,” M1 said, “but for the last ten feet I can't see a wall on the left. Looks like we may have another tunnel. I think, Amisi and Biti should be the first to enter—she’s our trap expert.”
“Come, my dear,” Amisi said, dramatically. “I will show you wonders beyond belief. Don't trip on the rubble.”
We pointed our flashlights ahead and walked down the passage to where the left wall vanished.
“Another big tunnel,” Amisi called back. “I think it's maybe thirty feet long. Can't see further. No obvious traps.”
“Harry, you stay here,” M1 said. “The rest of us will follow Amisi and Biti in increments.”
The three joined us and added their illumination to the new tunnel. Amisi and I began to walk the thirty feet toward a black void. Shadows soon revealed that straight ahead, the tunnel walls ended, but our lights couldn't penetrate any further. I could just see a suggestion of distant shapes, but it was almost like pseudo-light that wasn't really there. We may as well have been shining our lights up into a nighttime sky filled with clouds.
I had one hand hooked over Amisi's belt as she walked slightly ahead of me in dreamlike fascination. She almost took me with her when she stepped into empty space. I managed to pull her back, while at the same time assuring our comrades we were okay. It was a balcony without railings. Wide steps went down to a barely visible floor, perhaps thirty feet below. Shadowy shapes hovered there on the edge of reality. We needed more light.
“It looks all right,” Amisi called back, “but we can't see much. It's a big place and our lights aren't nearly strong enough.”
I heard some conversation. M1 decided to have Harry stay where he was, just in case. I looked as
I heard footsteps heading towards us through the tunnel. They switched on some bigger, blinding lights that must have come out of their marvelous packs.
I heard Alice gasp as she arrived. I blinked the tears from my eyes and turned to look at what she saw. This occasion called for a fanfare of trumpets and French horns.
Alice felt the same. “TA-DA. Welcome to the end of the rainbow.”
As her words echoed back from a great volume of space, I noticed what felt like a tourniquet around my wrist, causing my hand to swell. It was not the ancient curse of the serpent. It was Amisi's hand making a grab for reality.
“I need a new word for fantastic,” M2 said, so overwhelmed he couldn't think of a joke.
M1 called back, “Harry, trot in here a second and have a look.”
The sidewalls were very far apart. The creators of this space had designed two rows of massive, carved support pillars that marched down both sides, much as they do in big cathedrals. This left a wide central space that allowed us a mostly unobstructed view of the entire area. A railed corridor ran from the bottom of the steps down the middle to the far wall. At its end, we saw a giant sarcophagus set on top of a small stepped pyramid, flanked by four times life-sized statues of an unknown king or pharaoh and his queen. A bewildering mass of statuary and other objects packed every other square foot.
My brain constantly tries to make connections—often without my conscious effort. Perhaps that is why I tried to picture the two young, but overweight businessmen from the Silver Diner attempting to squeeze into one of those small side passages.
Everywhere, there was the glint of precious metal and brightly painted objects. I saw carved horses harnessed to real chariots and statues in the garb of servants and soldiers. A hundred banners of unfamiliar design sprouted from the tangle of merchandise. The walls had ledges marching up the sides, filled with more statues and urns and chests. There was an atlas of information for anyone who could read the story.
We just wanted to stand and look, but M1 had other ideas. “We have what we came for outside on the trailer. We have to leave here ASAP, but first we have to take pictures. M2, just go around and keep your camera clicking.” M2 trotted down the steps, his big light in one hand and his camera, already at work, in the other. “Alice, you, Amisi and Biti go up the main aisle and get some close-up shots of those statues, that pyramid and the thing on top. Harry and I will stay here and watch everything.”
Discovery Page 17