The Atlantis Cipher

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

As dawn broke, Bodie paced the shore, desperate to be back in the water. The SEALs had stepped in, recommending a few hours rest for the trio, but as the time approached when they could reenter, Bodie couldn’t stop speculating about the Chinese and how close they might be to locating the fissure. If these operatives were a splinter group loosely associated with the government, as Heidi conjectured, then he could only assume they wanted Atlantis for the same reason that the Americans did — to claim and use its riches, its potentially advanced technology. Whoever won the race to Atlantis might theoretically rule the world.

Then Bodie, Cassidy, and Jemma were back in the water, swimming quickly to the original fissure and squeezing inside. All the way they kept an eye open for the enemy, checked their radar for figures, but came up with nothing. Still, it didn’t make Bodie feel any more comfortable.

Instead of angling down, Bodie swam in a horizontal direction, mindful of what he’d found the previous evening. At first, the gloom misled him, but then he felt his way up the wall and saw the same opening he’d seen earlier. It was undoubtedly a fissure.

This time, they quickly found the wider end, and all three fitted in easily. They swam into a narrow cavern.

“Underwater caves,” Jemma said. “Nothing special for the Azores.”

“Gotta be unexplored,” Bodie said. “Judging by the amount of silt we pulled out of there.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“What the hell do we know about debris buildup? Anyone?”

“It wasn’t big on the curriculum at my high school,” Cassidy said.

Bodie swept the cave with light, spotting an opening below. Swimming down, he called for the others to follow. It was barely a meter wide, and led to a tunnel.

“Follow me.”

“Really?” Jemma breathed out heavily. “I’m not comfortable with that.”

“Go before me,” Cassidy offered. “I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Bodie performed a quick recon, ensuring all was well before venturing inside. Sure enough, the walls were close. Twice, his tank clanged on a sharp rock, making him reevaluate how strong it was. Twice, he forged on.

Three minutes felt like a lifetime, but they emerged from the tunnel into another chamber, this one with relatively clear water. Bodie spied some rubble buildup on the floor and dived down to investigate.

Piles of white rock, bare and smooth. He swore. All he wanted was a face, a carving, a bloody inscription.

A signpost would be even better.

Shrugging the frustration away with a small smile, he found another tunnel, this one angling downward and slightly wider. Their air supply was a quarter spent. Carefully, they levered their bodies inside. Another three minutes of careful jostling, shunting, and propelling and they felt a sharper tugging in the flow around them. Suddenly, they were caught in the current.

Unable to stop, unable to turn around, Bodie could only warn his friends with a screech as the current caught him and dragged him forward. The momentum increased as he saw the foaming flow draw nearer.

Oh, shit, we’re in a waterfall.

In another moment he was tumbling, spinning, caught by a force far greater than he was.

Sent out over the edge, with no way of knowing what awaited him.

He tumbled straight down, the sensation terrifying, surrounded by froth and sheets of water. Any equilibrium he might have retained was lost. His head was filled with screams and rushing water.

Without warning, he hit a liquid surface, still caught in the waterfall’s flow, and now his body was being pushed toward another extremity. Spinning, thrashing, Bodie managed to sprawl out of it rather than swim, and then kicked his legs in what he hoped was the direction of the surface.

His head and arms broke through with an enormous splash.

The first reaction was relief. Sweet, I’m alive! The second was worry for his friends. Cassidy appeared first in a plume of water, then Jemma. Both women fought for air against the surging flood for a moment before realizing they were alive.

Bodie got straight on the comms. “Relax, you’re safe.”

Then the realization hit him. Were they safe? Treading water, he surveyed the new cavern. First, he saw the waterfall twenty feet above. It poured powerfully, sending the torrent on its endless journey into the big cave below. Bodie assumed there had to be an equal-size exit point underneath them, since the cave didn’t look to be filling up. He spun, anxious to sweep the entire chamber.

“Ah, girls,” he said. “Is that what I think it is?”

Cassidy was already staring, dumbstruck. Jemma saw it next and almost stopped breathing. It wasn’t perfect; it wasn’t anything like intact, but it was stunning nonetheless.

At the very top, a pediment reached toward the roof of the chamber, almost brushing it at its apex. The triangular gable was supported by a horizontal plinth adorned with carvings, and then four columns that ended where the base of the temple began. The base consisted of four wide steps, which disappeared below the waterline, waves lapping at the discolored marble.

Bodie took it all in. The top arch appeared to have been a different color, possibly inlaid with gold, but time, and perhaps water, had dulled its original effect. Grime and mold clung to the pillars and the reliefs. Bodie guessed that, in relative terms, it was a small building, understated even, and wondered if it had been the effort of just a few men.

Still, without investigation they would never know.

Cassidy swam around him and then Jemma. Bodie took another few seconds to scan the area and the darkness behind the pillars. He saw nothing. Hopefully the weapons they had brought would not be needed.

Cassidy climbed out and removed her flippers, tank, and face mask. She splashed her bare feet in the water. Jemma followed suit.

“The air seems fresh,” Jemma said. “Must be sucked down the shaft by that flow of water. It separates in the chamber and comes under pressure. The methane gauge is low. I imagine this cave was above sea level a long, long time ago, before the cataclysm. We must be careful, though. Most underwater caves are inhospitable, to say the least.”

“Deadly,” Cassidy affirmed. “Grab your camera.”

Bodie rose in their wake, dripping wet. This close, he could see better where the building had been damaged. The pillars at first glance looked smooth, as if they had been evened out by time. But here and there Bodie spotted deep parallel lines. Pockmarks pitted their surface. Several piles of rubble lay farther inside the temple. Bodie paused and looked back as the women moved into the building’s interior shadow.

All clear. The water fell and filled the chamber with noise. The far sheer wall of the cavern had rudimentary steps carved into it about halfway up, which led to another tunnel entrance.

The way out? Well, it’s either that or forcing ourselves through the hole down below! Bodie knew which way he’d prefer.

With a practiced eye, he assessed the inside of the building. Nothing he could see shouted “Poseidon.” The interior was about the same in width as it was in length, the rock face behind the temple just a meter distant from its rear steps. Bodie assumed the entire structure continued deep underwater and wondered if they would have to dive down.

Jemma used her flashlight to scan the columns; Cassidy used hers to illuminate the ceiling. Bodie shook off the quiet sense of foreboding that pervaded his mind with prickly, razor-edged fingers. He couldn’t quite dismiss the thought that they had disturbed someone down here.

Why?

Jemma had scanned the front pillars and was moving to the back. Cassidy helped, her ceiling scan complete. Bodie wandered out front to take a look at the relief carvings high up on the plinth, reasoning that up there, at least, there was something to see.

Quickly, he removed the small telescope he’d packed in a waterproof bag. Lucie had indeed thought of everything. The telescope was fitted with a camera, and Bodie took several pictures, unable to comprehend the markings.

Cassidy came back. “Good boy,” she said. “There are more on the other side. I’m going to shimmy up the building and take some photos.”

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry. I can only fall into water.”

He sighed quietly. Cassidy knew the risks and happily shrugged them off, devil may care. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her capabilities, it was more that he felt an obligation to keep his team alive.

More than a team. These people reminded Bodie of the best parts of his childhood. He regretted losing the Forever Gang, but he wouldn’t lose touch with these new friends, who brought his old friends back to life without a crushing amount of angst.

Bodie was indebted to them a thousand times over and knew that they didn’t fully grasp why. There had been a time when he felt he’d never find trust and real friendship again, but Cross and Cassidy, Jemma and Gunn had selflessly given it to him. He saw that now.

Finished taking his photos, he glanced over the roiling waters.

Saw the first face mask pop up and then three more.

Followed by waterproofed guns.

I saw figures in the water.

“Get down!” he cried. “They’re here!”