Quest

Chapter 28

Brian Fawcett was waiting for them when they reached the bottom of the pyramid, a nervous look painting his face. Armed guards stood nearby, eyeing Dane and the others. He had the feeling they were not there by coincidence.

“Quarters have been prepared for you.” Brian cleared his throat. “I shall show you to them. We have food and drink waiting there for you as well. Also, your friends are already there.”

“These quarters wouldn’t happen to be guarded, would they?” Dane was not certain how long he would tolerate being caged, and he knew Bones to be doubly impatient with such things.

“For your safety, only. Some people are suspicious of new arrivals, you know.” The words sounded artificial, and Fawcett reinforced Dane’s instinct with a quick shake of the head. He mouthed the word “later,” and led them away from the pyramid.

To Dane’s disappointment, they were given a room, not in one of the huts, which would have been easy to escape from, but in one of the ancient stone buildings. A contingent of guards escorted Kaylin and Tam away to separate quarters. “Don’t drink any tea,” Dane warned them as they parted ways. Kaylin looked at him with fear-filled eyes, while Tam merely looked calculating, like she was already planning their escape.

At the room that was to be their quarters, Fawcett entered with Dane and Bones, and a guard closed the door behind them. They heard the lock turn, followed by the sound of a bar sliding into place.

Willis, looking weary, sat on a mat of woven reeds, his bandaged leg stretched out in front of him, and his back against the wall. They all stared at Fawcett, who began pacing the room.

“I understand,” he said, “how you must feel.”

“I doubt that,” Bones said. “And I doubt you have any idea who you’re messing with.”

“Please, give me time,” Fawcett pleaded. “You only just arrived. We need to convince Hamilcar that you only came in search of Thornton. Then, he will believe you mean no harm.”

“So Hamilcar is in charge?” Dane asked.

“Technically, no, but everyone on the council defers to him and follows his lead.”

“If ScanoGen shows up, he’s going to regret locking us up and confiscating our weapons. I doubt there’s a person here, besides us, who can use them.” Dane kept his voice calm. “We came to rescue Thomas. That’s all. We’re not here to steal anything from their tree.”

“Thornton told you about it, did he?” Fawcett chuckled. “I should not have told him, but I fear holding my tongue is not a talent I possess. Besides, I felt that I owed it to him after he told me all about my grandparents and their homeland. The man is quite the expert on Percy Fawcett, you know.”

“We know; believe me.” Dane grimaced. “If he’d been a little less interested, we wouldn’t be here right now, and neither would ScanoGen.”

“Maybe the ScanoGen guys were killed by the Mot’jabbur.” Matt’s flat voice was devoid of optimism. “Then we’ll just have to worry about getting ourselves out of here.”

“You are welcome to come with us,” Dane said to Fawcett. “I know this is your home, and I won’t pretend it’s not going to be a dangerous trip back, but if you wanted to see the outside world, you can come along. Like I said before, you’d be a famous man.”

Fawcett shook his head. “No. I fear it is not so simple in my case. At any rate, I don’t want to see anything happen to Kephises, which is why I am trying to convince you to remain patient. If you try to fight, you will be killed, but I don’t doubt you are capable of doing your share of harm, even without your weapons. I don’t want to see anyone hurt, especially my brothers and sisters here.” He ceased his pacing. “This is a magical place. We live peacefully, work together, care for one another, all without the interference of the outside world.”

“I hate to tell you, but that’s probably over for you.” Dane truly did hate the fact that the secret of Kephises was out of the bag. Hopes of keeping it hidden from the world hinged on the silence of a few ScanoGen members, not to mention that of Thomas, once they got out of here. Dane trusted the rest of his group to keep their silence, including Tam. For some reason, he had already developed confidence in her. He hoped she would be an asset, and not prove to be a mole, cleverly placed by ScanoGen. He had been there before. “Forget the Grecian urn you guys have hidden away somewhere,” Dane said. “Thomas opened a Pandora’s Box when he got in bed with ScanoGen.”

Fawcett flinched at the mention of Pandora’s Box. “I really should not have been so free with what I told Thornton. But, I suppose it does not matter now. Promise me you won’t try anything reckless.”

“That’s not a problem.” Dane ignored the frowns Bones, Willis, and Matt directed at him. “Just make sure Hamilcar understands that, if ScanoGen attacks, the four of us, with our weapons, will give your people their best chance at survival.”

“I shall try.” Fawcett made an awkward bow and backed to the door. At the sound of his voice, the door was unbarred and opened slowly, several gleaming spearheads filling the empty space. When the guards were satisfied that their prisoners were not making a rush for escape, they drew back and permitted Fawcett to exit.

No sooner had the door closed than Bones was on his case.

“Are you kidding me?” Bones stared at him like he was from Mars. “What do you mean, telling him we wouldn’t try anything?”

“What I said was, we won’t try anything reckless.” Dane grinned. “That word, my friends, is subject to interpretation. And what other people think of as reckless is just another day at the office for us.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.” Willis nodded. “You just say the word and I’m ready to move. I can deal with the leg.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything less.” Dane took a careful look at the room in which they were imprisoned. It was a wonderful example of ancient architecture, made of solid stone, each block precisely fitted together. The floor consisted of smooth, square tiles, so precise they looked as if they were manufactured by modern machinery. Truly, they had stepped back in time.

Which was what he was counting on.

Moving to the far wall behind Willis, he put his hand against it, and found it was cool to the touch. He put his ear to the smooth stone, listened intently, and smiled at the soft sound of running water.

“Okay, everybody look around for a hole, or maybe something in the floor or at the base of the wall that looks like a vent.”

“Care to let us in on your little secret?” Bones, to his credit, was already searching the floor even as he asked the question.

“This building has Roman-style air conditioning,” he explained. “Well, not actual air conditioning, but water is piped through the walls, which cools the room. It might also have an ancient heating system, which consisted of vents that carried warm air from a fire in a central location throughout the building. Also, when archaeologists excavated the ruins of Carthage, they found that the houses had waste holes that ran down into a communal drain. If they went to the trouble of installing the cooling system, I’ll bet you they put in waste disposal.”

It required only a few minutes to give the room a thorough search, which turned up nothing. Dane gritted his teeth, thinking hard. There had to be a way out.

“Any more ideas?” Matt asked.

“I’ve got one,” Bones chimed in. “Maybe Willis could move his fat butt so we can see if there’s anything underneath him.”

“Oh, sorry.” Willis winced as Dane and Matt hauled him to his feet.

Dane pushed aside the mat with his toe. Up against the wall, where Willis had sat, lay a square floor tile four times the size of all the others. Grinning, he dropped to his knees and ran his fingers along the edge of the tile. Centuries, or more, of dust and dirt had accumulated in the cracks. As he began scraping and brushing it loose, Matt and Bones lent a hand. Finally, the edges were clear. Dane slipped his fingers down into the open space, and felt a groove running all the way around.

“All right,” Dane said. “Everybody grab hold and let’s do it.”

The ancient stone must not have been moved in a long, long while, for it held tight. Veins stood out on Bones’s neck as he tugged. Sweat beaded on Matt’s forehead, and his face was screwed up in intense concentration. Dane shifted his weight, gave the tile a jiggle, and was rewarded by a bit of movement.

“Come on, you mother.” Bones hauled on the stone with renewed vigor, and, a millimeter at a time, the stone tile came free. They laid the heavy tile to the side and Dane looked down into the hole. Cool air drifted up into the room, carrying with at a faint scent of something unpleasant.

“Okay, Andy Dufresne. You going to crawl through the sewage to freedom?” Bones clapped him on the shoulder.

“Matt and I are the only ones who’ll fit,” Dane said, looking down into the darkness. The drain was just wide enough that he could work his way through, provided it did not grow narrower at any point further up.

“At least it’s a small population,” Matt observed. “In a bigger settlement, this thing would be stanky.” He sighed deeply. “All right. You first, or me?”

“I’ll take the lead. You can pull me out if I get stuck.” He turned to Bones. “We’ll get back as quick as we can to let you out.”

“No problem, bro. If they find you’re gone, I’ll just bash them in the head with this tile.” He grinned at the thought.

“Don’t get yourself killed, Bones. I’m serious. Worst case, they come looking for us. I doubt they’ll hurt you, unless you give them reason.”

“You take the fun out of everything.” Bones frowned.

“You heard me. I need you to stay alive in case I have to sacrifice you to the Mot’jabbur on the way back.” He ignored Bones’s insult and, crinkling his nose, slid headfirst into the tunnel.

Four inches of cold water flowed along the bottom of the drain. He headed upstream, in the direction from which the drain would be fed. Matt was right — the smell was not as bad as it could have been, and soon his olfactory senses tuned it out entirely.

“I hope nobody decides to take a leak right now.” Matt couldn’t hide the disgust in his voice.

“At least we could see something,” Dane whispered. They were moving forward blindly, feeling their way through the dark, smelly drain. Dane’s shoulder’s scraped the walls, and he felt that familiar warning flash of alarm that divers feel when they find themselves in a precariously tight position. He wasn’t diving right now, of course, and if he were to feel like he was getting stuck, he and Matt could simply back up.

They continued on, time seeming to grind nearly to a standstill in the darkness. It was difficult to tell what kind of progress they were making, which made it feel even more frustratingly like they weren’t moving at all.

“What do you think?” Matt finally whispered. “Did we make the wrong move?”

Just then, Dane caught a glimpse of gray in the distance. “I see light. I think we’re almost there.” Now, with a visible goal in front of him, Dane moved as fast as he dared, devouring the space between himself and what he could now see was the night sky shining into the drain.

When they reached the end of the drain, he took a breath of fresh air and peeked his head out. Here, a stream, probably the one that fed the waterfall back in the valley, wrapped around the edge of the village. The drain angled in from the side, so the current and gravity would naturally carry water through it. The calm rush of water was the only sound in the quiet night.

Staying low in the water, Dane crawled out of the drain, and Matt followed. The faint moonlight cast the village in a silvery haze. Firelight flickered in a few nearby windows, but no one was out. He was about to lead the way out when a figure appeared from the darkness, strolling their way.

Fawcett!

Dane froze. He didn’t need to warn Matt to be quiet. The man knew his business. He waited until Fawcett passed them, then rose up quickly and quietly, grabbed Fawcett in a chokehold with one arm, and clamped a hand over the man’s nose and mouth. Fawcett grabbed Dane’s forearm, but could not dislodge his powerful hold.

“Don’t make a sound,” he hissed into Fawcett’s ear. “It’s Maddock. He felt the man relax. I don’t want to hurt you, but if you call out, I will. Blink twice if you understand.”

Fawcett deliberately closed and opened his eyes two times.

“Do you know where our weapons are?” Fawcett blinked twice. “Good. I’m going to uncover your mouth, and you’re going to tell me where they are. Try to give us away and I knock you out and hold you face-down in the water until you stop kicking. Understand?” Two more blinks.

Fawcett sucked in a rasping breath, and coughed. “For God’s sake, man,” he gasped, his eyes and nose running, “I’ll not betray you. I’m trying to help you, remember?”

“Where are our weapons and supplies?”

“They are in Mago’s quarters. Right there.” He indicated the first door of the building from underneath which they had just crawled. “He is with his father right now, but his door it is locked up tight. You won’t get in, at least not without bashing in the door and drawing attention.”

Matt smiled at Dane. “I got this” He took a long look at the space between the stream and the stone building, gauging the distance. “You just be ready when I open the door.”

Fawcett frowned as Matt slipped back down into the water. “I’ll assume he knows what he is doing.” He rounded on Dane like an angry schoolteacher. “You promised me you would not do anything reckless.”

“I didn’t. If I’d wanted to be reckless, I would have sent my friend Bones through the tunnel. He’d have scalped you and set half this place on fire. And that would just be for starters.”

“I actually believe you.” Fawcett grinned. “Let’s move closer to Mago’s door and wait for your friend.”

They slipped into the shadows of a nearby palm tree and waited for Matt.

“Did you talk to Hamilcar about us?” Dane whispered.

“Yes. He said to treat you well until he decided what to do about you.” Fawcett’s eyes narrowed and his lips pursed. “I am worried about these ScanoGen people. I fear he does not take the threat seriously enough. He believes our guards will suffice.”

Just then, Dane caught a glimpse of movement in the shadows of a nearby hut. He ducked down behind the pitiful screen of the tree trunk, pulling Fawcett down with him. The figure moved closer, the moonlight outlining its frame. Dane could not believe his eyes.

“Tam,” he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. At the sound of her name, she jerked like a hooked fish. Her eyes searched the darkness and finally fell upon Dane. Dane held up a hand, signaling her to wait, and she nodded.

Less than a minute later, they heard a rattling sound, and the door to Mago’s quarters opened. Dane waved for Tam to come on, and they all hurried into the room and closed the door behind them.

“How did you get out?” Dane asked Tam.

“They underestimated me, like always. They only put one guard on us. I acted all girly and helpless, and yelled to him that I was hurt. When he opened the door, I took him down and tied him up. You know the drill.”

Fawcett looked dumbstruck, but Dane just grinned as he and Matt gathered their weapons. He handed Tam her Makarov and her flash gun.

“How about you?” she asked. “I was trying to figure out how I was going to disarm four guards and spring you guys.”

“Came through the drains,” Matt proclaimed proudly proclaimed. “That’s how I got in here, too.”

“So that’s what that smell is.” Tam grimaced. “Okay, what’s the plan?”

“We leave the tents and the camping gear. Just take ammunition and what food we can carry in a day pack. We’ll get the others, and get out of here.”

They grabbed packs for everyone, and Dane remembered his sat phone, which he hastily pocketed, just in case. Now ready to move, he turned to Fawcett. “Do you know where Thomas is?”

“I saw him only a short while ago. He was on his way to talk to your friend, Kaylin.”

Tam frowned. “I guess we’re going to have to fight our way back through the Mot’jabbur.”

“Can you think of another way?”

Fawcett cleared his throat. “I should not tell you this, but there is another way out. An ancient escape route put in place early in Kephises’s history. But I warn you, it might be even more dangerous than the way you came. There is a legend about a monster…”

“We’ll take it. It can’t be any worse than the Mot’jabbur. Where is it?”

“It is inside the pyramid,” Fawcett said. “There is a sanctuary at its center, and a passageway behind the altar. You will not be permitted to just walk in, though. You have to get past the guards and the priests. Perhaps I can help you with that, and show you the way. Understand, I don’t want anyone hurt.”

Distant cries of alarm rang out in the night. For a brief instant, Dane feared their escape had been discovered, but then he realized the voices were much farther away than their quarters. And then he heard gunshots, followed by an explosion.

“Too late for that.” He turned and looked at Tam. “ScanoGen is here.”