by Rick Jones
. . . Whump . . . Whump . . . Whump . . .
The cavern began to tremble violently as concussive waves rippled their way through, shaking the area with the intensity of a high-scale earthquake. Stones within the walls began to loosen, dust from the ceiling cascaded downward, and the earth began to shift.
John lost his knife, the KA-BAR bouncing and skipping off the rocks and landing by a grouping of stalagmites. With his free hand he grabbed a hold of stones not completely stable against the wall. Alyssa hugged herself close to the wall as pebbles and stones peppered her from above.
The waves grew worse. And then the instability of the stones and the weight of the beast were too much for the wall to handle. The rocks gave way and the beast fell, the predator peeling away from the wall and falling to the floor below.
Since the tips of the stalactites were blunted they did not impale the creature, but snapped like chalk sticks beneath its weight as it landed on them. Shaking its head to gather itself, it then looked up at Alyssa and Savage and cried out in bestial rage.
Then the ceiling cracked and separated as running fissures raced across the earthen ceiling above them. Chunks of rock began to fall, the earth imploding from above and pouring downward like the sands of an hourglass.
The creature roared as it was being buried alive, its anger gone as self-preservation kicked in. Sand and stone poured downward, the roof of the cavern collapsing as Alyssa Moore and John Savage continued to cling tightly against the wall.
The only thing visible of the creature was its head, the rest buried as the level of the sand continued to sift downward to cover the creature in its entirety. It squirmed. It cried out. It did all it could do to pry itself free.
And then the entire ceiling gave, the weight of countless tons falling on the creature and snuffing out its life.
When the earth stopped shaking, Alyssa opened her eyes. What was once an opening the size of a manhole was now the rim of a crater. She could see the entire sky, and the transition of colors that marked the moment of an approaching sunset. At that moment she thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
They labored and finally made it to the surface. John aided Alyssa onto level ground far from the crater’s edge. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She fell into his embrace. And John Savage gladly accepted her. He then gazed off to the horizon. It was going to be next to impossible to walk through the desert with Alyssa and her injury—the distance incredibly far, especially with no water.
She pulled back from him. “Now what? You know I can’t walk.”
“Then I’ll carry you. Maybe we’ll get lucky and come across shepherds or something.”
She feigned a sad smile. “Thank you, John. Thank you for not leaving me behind when you could have.”
“I told you. I’m a man. And men are irrational.” Her sad smile was replaced by a real one. “All right,” he said. “I can carry you on my back through the night. It’ll be cooler that way—”
“You won’t have to carry her at all,” said a voice from behind.
When Savage turned to confront the voice, he saw a heavily armed contingent of soldiers.
#
Leviticus was angry beyond words. He had been assured that no one was going to get hurt in the mission but certain aspects of the assignment had been omitted by papal intention.
When the chopper lifted them to safety and Alyssa’s ankle had been attended to, Savage explained everything to Leviticus regarding the temple of Eden from the moment of his agreement to follow through with Alyssa’s assassination to the moment of their escape. He left nothing out.
Leviticus looked at Alyssa, and then leaned forward into Savage’s ear. “I see you missed your target,” he whispered, smiling lasciviously. “Especially when she’s ten feet away from you.” When he spoke he did so in jest, taking a jab at Savage.
Savage smiled. “Loyalty above all else,” he said, “except honor.” And then: “You were right, Leviticus. There’s more than just duty to others. There’s also duty to one’s self.”
He agreed. “To know the difference between right and wrong, John, is to know honor.”
Savage looked at Alyssa, who was toying with the bandages around her ankle. She was oblivious to their discussion. “Pope Leo was wrong,” he told Leviticus.
“Leo was afraid. And when men are afraid, they become lost.”
Like me? thought Savage. The way I was lost?
“But he’ll find himself,” said Leviticus. “Good men usually do before it’s too late.”
Savage leaned his head back and listened to the rotors, the sound eventually lulling him to sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
The Following Day
Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University Hospital
Southeast Turkey
Alyssa Moore was lying in bed with her foot and ankle elevated. John Savage took a seat next to her on his visitation, his face having a few nicks and cuts, the vestiges of their journey together.
It was confirmed by x-ray that she had a minor break, a hairline fracture, and would need to spend another day at the hospital. She smiled at him. “You come here to kill me?”
He barked a quick laugh. It was wonderful how they could now look back on something so horrible and view it with humor. He raised his hand in a facsimile of a handgun, cocked his thumb, then said, “Bang.”
She fell back into her pillow with her hands over her chest, feigning death.
“So how are you feeling?” he asked in seriousness.
“I get to leave tomorrow. But you know me.”
“You want to leave now.”
“Exactly. I think they’re keeping me here to pump up the bill. What do you think?”
He winked at her. “Who wouldn’t want to keep you?” There was a pause between them, the mood growing serious. “Hall’s alive,” he told her. “He made it out somehow.”
“I know,” she said. “Adskhan told me.”
“You know he’s a threat to us, don’t you? We know about his illegal museum of stolen antiquities aboard his yacht, and his authorization to have Noah and Montario killed.”
She allowed her head to fall back into the pillow, her eyes staring upward.
“He knows we’re alive,” he added. “Your return here has made the news in a big way. The girl who discovered Eden,” he said, flexing his fingers in a gesturing form of quotations.
“Except there is no Eden and nobody believes me.”
“Except for Obsidian Hall, who I’m sure will do everything in his power to keep his little secret safe.”
She looked Savage directly in the eyes and saw intent. “What are you going to do?” she asked him.
“What should have been done a long time ago to a man like him.”
“Don’t hurt him.”
He grabbed her hand gently within his. “Listen. Hall is a man of notorious breed and will do anything to protect his empire. Right now you and I stand in his way and he will do anything in his power to make things right for him. Well, not this time,” he told her firmly. “People like Montario or Noah will never have to fear a man like him again. Good people. People like you.”
She wanted to ask him so many questions. But she didn’t want to hear the truth, either.
He stood. “Where are you going?”
“I got a few errands to run,” he said, tracing the edge of his finger along the side of her face. She grabbed his hand and held it to her cheek. His heart pounded.
“Be careful,” was all she said.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be at the Göbekli Tepe site tomorrow.”
“I’ll be gone a few days. But I’ll see you there.”
“Promise?”
He nodded and smiled, showing his rows of teeth. “I promise,” he said.
And then he was gone.
#
The Vatican
Vatican City
After a long
and arduous day, the pontiff returned to the papal chamber only to find John Savage sitting in a chair, waiting.
After closing the door behind him, the pontiff looked questioningly at Savage, then to the door, then back to Savage. “How did you get by the Swiss Guard?”
“You know who I am,” he told him levelly. “You know my skills.”
“That I do,” he said, and then he took a seat opposite him. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
“No thanks to you, I understand. You knew where I was.”
“I wasn’t sure, since you disappeared off the SIV’s grid. But I surmised.”
“So you thought it best to tie everything up, regardless of the potential loss of life?”
“I did what I thought was best for the interests of the Church,” he returned. “And not a moment goes by that I don’t agonize over that decision. Not one.”
There was an awkward pause between them, the men facing off before the pontiff noticed Savage’s lack of attire. “You’re not wearing your collar,” he said.
“That’s because I surrendered it to the clutches of someone who needed it more than I did.”
“So, are you here for retribution?”
John waved a dismissive hand. “Of course not.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Just to tell you that I believe I know what you’re afraid of. And that I’m alive to tell the tale, if need be.”
“Eden no longer exists. And no one will believe you if the related allusions as to what lie within those tombs were real.”
“You mean Adam and Eve?” The pontiff’s jaw dropped. “That’s right,” said Savage. “You destroyed the tombs of Adam and Eve. More so, I had the opportunity to look upon them before you had the place leveled.”
“Adam and . . .” His words trailed.
“And Eve.
“No,” he whispered in distress.
John, however, omitted the deformities. “How will God look down upon you now?”
“I thought I was doing . . . what needed to be done.”
“Including the murder of an innocent woman?”
The pope looked at him with the appearance of a man who had aged exponentially over the past few days. “I’m glad you’re all right,” he uttered. “And I’m certainly glad that you didn’t follow through by hurting Ms. Moore.”
“I almost did more than just hurt her.”
“I understand that. I also understand that you were dutifully following my instructions in the name of the Church, which I take full responsibility for. My poor decision making, John, has cast me forever in a shadow in which I may have condemned my soul to the Lake of Fire. Please believe me when I say that a minute doesn’t go by where I don’t wonder about it. And I hope you can forgive me for my horrible transgressions.”
“Forgive?” He smiled. He recalled the moment when he told Alyssa that her forgiveness would mean a lot to him, and she granted it, seeing a good man beneath the hard-shelled exterior. “I came here looking for direction in search for inner peace, a salvation. But I didn’t find it—at least not here. My salvation came in the form of the one hundred pound woman you sent me to kill in order to hide a secret. And in the end she forgave me for my transgressions. The moment she did, I felt a wonderful uplifting I thought was impossible. So, Your Holiness, please be assured that you have my forgiveness.”
The pontiff’s face seemed to melt with relief, but not entirely.
“I believe you were frightened at the prospect of the discovery and acted in desperation to protect the interests of the Church because that’s what your position demands of you. You’re not an evil person by any stretch of the imagination, but simply misguided by a moment of poor judgment.”
“Nevertheless, I made the decision. And because of it, despite your forgiveness of my lack of ruling in this matter, I wonder if I will achieve the right to enter the world of Light and Loving Spirits.”
“A wise man just told me that a truly repentant man is a good man. And a good man will always find his way.”
“You’re talking about Leviticus, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“Leviticus is a good man who has more right to sit upon the papal throne than I do at this moment.”
Savage feigned a smile and stood.
“I assume that I won’t be seeing you anymore?”
“You assume right,” he replied.
“Before you leave,” said Pope Leo. “Tell me, what were they like? What did you see?”
“I saw something that will never be seen again,” he said. “I saw . . . revelation.”
And then he left the chamber.
CHAPTER FORTY
Aboard the Seafarer
Three Miles off the Coast of Izmir, Turkey
Upon his immediate arrival at the hospital, while he was being was treated for dehydration, Hall had his two gorillas stand sentinel at the hospital door. Not because of his personal welfare, but to guard the content in his backpack.
When he returned to the Seafarer, which was waiting for him three miles from the Turkey shoreline and somewhere in the Aegean Sea, he had placed his treasure inside a glass case and had it hermitically sealed, which meant that oxygen had to be pumped out and argon gas pumped into the container to preserve the material.
For almost two hours, he sat across the glass casing admiring his priceless trove with a crystal tumbler of expensive cognac in his hand. It was, without a doubt, his greatest treasure.
“Leave it to you to do something as heinous as that,” said a familiar voice.
Hall bolted from the expensive couch. John Savage was standing at the doorway wearing a neoprene suit. His face held the outlines of a diver’s mask that had been fitted tightly. In his hand was a firearm and attached suppressor.
“Savage,” was all he said. “So, you survived after all. And here I am thinking that it was only Ms. Moore who made it out since the news media never made mention of you, just her.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“Not so,” he said. “I’ll enjoy watching you being killed, as much as I will her. A man such as I can never leave loose ends, you know.”
“I concur, which is why I’m here—to tie up loose ends.”
Hall sniggered. “You’re aboard the Seafarer,” he told him. “Trust me. No matter how you got on board, you were seen.”
“I know that.”
“Then you also know that my men most likely have a weapon trained on you as we speak. But I will say this: I’m surprised you got this far.”
It was Savage’s moment to smile. “You mean those two apes of yours that are probably touching down at the bottom of the ocean right about now?”
Hall’s smile vanished. “What?”
“Your two goons. You know—the big guys. They’re lying at the bottom of the Aegean Sea.”
“You killed them?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to let them kill me. That wouldn’t have been right.”
Hall was stunned, frightened. “What are you going to do?” he asked.
“What should have been done a long time ago,” he answered. “Sit down.”
Hall did as he was told. Savage moved into the room with his firearm pointed at Hall’s chest. “Don’t worry about the rest of your crew,” he added, “They’re fine. They’ve taken the smaller boats to safety.”
“You know I have lots of money. I can pay you. And I won’t harm Ms. Moore. You have my word on that.”
“Your word? Hall, I wouldn’t believe anything that came out of your mouth even if your tongue was notarized.”
“So you’re here to kill me, then?”
“Actually, I’m not. I’m here because I want you to live long enough to watch something,” he said. “And then I’ll let nature take its course.”
“Nature?”
Savage looked at the glass case and to what was inside it. With a fluid motion, he leaned over the top of the glass and smashed it with the butt of his pistol. Hall shot to h
is feet. Savage quickly pressed the mouth of the barrel against Hall’s forehead. “Sit!” he said.
Hall did so, slowly and begrudgingly. “And what will you do with that?”
“Share it,” he said. “Unlike you. I assume you have something for me to carry this in?” Hall didn’t answer. “No matter. I’ll find something.” Savage placed the firearm in his shoulder holster, and withdrew his knife. “Give me your arm.”
“What?”
Savage took a step forward, grabbed Hall’s wrist, displayed the openness of his forearm, and drew the blade across the flesh, paring it. Hall screamed as he pulled his arm away, cradling it.
“Nature,” commented Savage. “It’s what you deserve.”
“What are you talking about?”
Savage kept his smile of malicious amusement. “Some men can never be forgiven for what they have done,” he said, pulling out a small, burnished metallic box from a side pocket. “And you’re one of them.”
“What are you going to do?”
“What am I going to do? I’m going to destroy your world, Hall. Everything in here, your lifetime achievement of stealing, your private little world, your comfort zone, came at the cost of how many lives?” He held the metallic box up, his thumb on a switch.
“That’s not what I think it is, is it?”
“Probably.” When he flipped the switch a series of muffled pops went off in succession.
. . . One, two, three . . .
. . . Whump . . . Whump . . . Whump . . .
Hall cocked his head. “What was that?”
“The sound of your life going down like a sinking ship.”
Halls eyes started. “No!” He stood and threw himself into frenzy as he bled out onto the Berber carpet, not caring. He ran from item to item, from treasure to treasure as the ship began to list toward the starboard side.
When he turned to confront Savage, the man was gone, and so was the item Hall most cherished. “SAVAGE!”
Items fell from their displays and plinths and mounts as the yacht canted to the right. Obsidian Hall stood by and watched his life slip away. As he stood there, his arm bled, the blood dripping in a steady beat against the floor.