The Atlantis Cipher

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

With no functioning comms and no real clothes or shoes, the journey back to their camp took longer than it should have. They barely rested, conscious that an unknown but very real ticking time bomb now lay in Chinese hands, aware that with every passing minute the fate of the world hung in the balance. They were some way ahead now, and possessed everything they needed to find Atlantis first.

The night was dark, but an almost full moon and a million shimmering stars helped light their path.

They came over a rise, vegetation in their way, and stared down the slopes of the crater to the wide lake below. The whispering wind tussled and fought with the unyielding branches all around. Because of his relatively high vantage point, Bodie had eyes on the Chinese camp, and then the Moroccans’, and then their own as the entire vista came into view.

They were fighting on the banks of the lake.

The Chinese had attacked, it appeared, from the water, their small dinghies lying forlornly there now, drifting close to the edge. Bodie could see chaos had overtaken the camp, with soldiers involved in fierce firefights, dodging equipment and using the natural cover of the undergrowth. The scene was illuminated by several small conflagrations, and most combatants exchanged bullets from behind whatever cover they could find. Bodie saw Cross and Gunn leaping in the firelight, but there was no sign of Heidi. Their camp was under siege, but maybe, just maybe, the three of them could turn the tide of battle.

The ground dropped off sharply below. Bodie hastened down with the women. They veered toward the camp, thankful when they passed below the lip of the crater and were no longer outlined against the sky.

As they arrived at the outskirts of the camp, the battle raged around them. Bodie counted five Chinese soldiers, most likely what remained of their force after they lost two in the underwater cavern. He saw two SEALs lying motionless, the rest holding the Chinese at bay. A figure was pinned down behind a twisting clump of brush close to the water. Bodie guessed this was Heidi or Lucie. He slowed as he hit the beach, coming in behind the Chinese positions. Ducking low, he crept along, one foot in the water, the other in the sand. He stopped and raised his hand.

“Slowly.”

Cassidy placed the only gun they had retained after the cave firefight into his palm. They knew it was down to the last three bullets. Bodie saw this as a real chance of getting rid of the Chinese, who had been a heavy, life-threatening noose around the necks of the relic hunters. Taking care, he crept closer and closer, letting the noise of the battle mask any sounds he might make. Not once did a stray bullet come close; he was at a right angle to their position. When he reached optimum range, he settled and took stock.

Three Chinese were dug in between the curve of the bank and their camp, all hidden behind fallen logs and the trunk of a tree. A fourth hid cleverly in the shallows of the lake, using the slope for protection. Bodie slunk in closer, took a deep breath, and made sure he knew where the nearest cover was.

The area around Heidi suddenly began to blaze as flames cavorted and leapt between branches. The fifth enemy soldier kept her pinned down with gunfire. Bodie lined him up first and squeezed off a shot. The slug took him in the shoulder blade, sent him flying. Bodie switched aim smoothly, taking down the man behind the tree. The third and fourth were already changing positions. One moved too far and was immediately picked off by a SEAL, which left just two.

Bodie dived for cover. Bullets punished the undergrowth all around. Head down, he lay beside Cassidy and Jemma until more shouts went up.

“Look out!”

“Left, bud, on your left.”

The three of them bobbed up. Bodie swore. The Bratva, it seemed, had taken the opportunity to attack, sensing easy prey. Maybe they were intent on just killing him, or maybe they had decided to join in the hunt for Atlantis. Bodie wouldn’t put it past them. Criminals were opportunists, just like everyone else.

Bodie decided to hold on to the almost-empty gun in case he could find more rounds. He saw a Chinese soldier walking out of the water, but then another appeared out of the blackness behind the first, giving Bodie pause because he hadn’t even sensed the man was there.

The Bratva waded in among them. Bodie counted six running through the crackling conflagration that was their campsite. Three SEALs were also present. Bodie ducked beneath a burning, collapsing branch to head-butt a large man, making him stagger backward. Fires raged all around, crackling and smoking high into the shadow-struck night. Bodie dodged another burning bush, turned, and shoved his adversary into the flames. The man’s uniform caught fire, and he screamed and ran through a clearing. Up ahead, he saw Heidi crawling along the ground, keeping her head down.

Chaos crackled and spat and screamed all around. The SEALs engaged the Bratva, shifting from cover to cover, firing their weapons, and engaging in hand-to-hand combat, and the two remaining Chinese soon joined in. The camp was still in chaos. Cross elbowed a soldier before Gunn managed to push him down into a tangle of brush. Cassidy leapt atop him as he tried to sit back up. Gunn hadn’t seen her coming and greeted her with incredulity, losing focus, and then had to jump free as a Bratva fighter tried to grab him beneath the arms. Jemma searched for a weapon. Bodie slid in beside Heidi and lifted her face.

“You okay? Injured?”

Her eyes cleared. “No, no, just the smoke.”

She coughed. He dragged her away from the flames. The bald Bratva fighter with the spindly arms ran past him, followed by Yasmine, neither giving him a second glance. How did they find this place? Heidi grabbed his arm and pulled herself upright.

“Have you seen Lucie?” she asked.

Bodie frowned. “Shit, no. Where was the last—”

Bodie had ridden the odds too long. A Bratva body-slammed him, knocking him to the ground. The exertions of the last few hours had depleted his strength. As he tried to repel a second attack, he realized his capacity to fight was now dangerously reduced.

Raising an arm, he struggled to find the energy needed to fight effectively. His opponent kicked him in the ribs and then leapt, coming down hard with an elbow. Bodie managed to scramble clear and saw Heidi approach his attacker from behind, a boulder in hand. The rock crashed against his skull, made his legs fold. Heidi helped Bodie up and the two went in search of Lucie.

Cassidy was assisting Cross, peeling an opponent from the older man’s back, forcing hands from around his throat, and sending his attacker spinning into a tree. He cracked his skull against the thick trunk, and collapsed to the ground. Burning debris from a spreading fire fell around him. Cassidy couldn’t just leave him to burn alive, even if he was an enemy. She moved in to pull him clear, but he struggled against her as she tried to assist. She smothered the flames on his clothes, checked he was okay, and then punched him in the face.

“I think he would thank you,” said a female voice at her side. “Maybe.”

She fell into a defensive position. Yasmine and the bald man were there. Cross stumbled forward but tripped over a branch and went face first into the earth. The three regarded him for a moment, shaking their heads.

“Why can’t you see what’s right in front of your eyes?” Yasmine asked cryptically. “We don’t want to kill you. We’re trying to help you, even now. You are a damn fool, Eli Cross.” She couldn’t stop the small, genuine smile from creeping across her face.

“Couldn’t agree more.” Cassidy lunged first as she read the bald man’s body language, a quick feint that told her he was about to strike. He leapt an instant later, catching a punch to the chin. Cassidy circled him as Yasmine stepped away from the encounter.

Bodie still saw the Chinese as the major threat. Their numbers may have been depleted but he knew from previous experience that they were formidable warriors. The SEALs had engaged them with knives, but one American was bleeding profusely and the other was attempting to beat a fire out on his friend’s back while continuing to fight. Bodie left Heidi to continue her search for Lucie, and loped off. Jumping a fallen crackling branch, he hit one of the Chinese from the side, bearing him to the ground. All of a sudden Jemma was there too, real courage making up for lack of skills, her weapon a thick, gnarly bough. Bodie reared away from his opponent. The Chinese soldier raised himself up… right into the bough that Jemma swung. It contacted heavily with his forehead, making instant lights out, the body falling backward with a thud.

The remaining SEALs, looking grateful, took on the final Chinese fighter.

Bodie spun in the dirt and tiny fires, the wetsuit actually helping him move. “Still got your phone?”

Jemma patted her suit. “Tucked safely away.”

“Really? Shit, I don’t wanna know where.” He surveyed the scene. Heidi dragged Lucie from underneath a flaming tree as parts of it sheared away and charred the ground all around. Lucie reeled when a spark landed in her hair and caught fire. Bodie was grabbing handfuls of water but Heidi managed to smother it, yanking Lucie upright and screaming into her face.

“Pull it together!”

She hauled Lucie away and into the clearing.

Bodie found his attention divided. So far he’d been too engaged with the Chinese to worry about the Bratva and had lost track of his own team. Cross had somehow fallen to his knees in front of Yasmine, and she was shouting into his ear. Cassidy was fighting the bald Bratva warrior. Gunn was lying prone as a heavily tattooed Bratva killer stood over him. Two Bratva soldiers were searching the remains of their camp, and Bodie wondered if they had been ordered to look for clues as to the whereabouts of Atlantis.

Bodie decided Gunn needed his help more than anyone. Cassidy could hold her own, although the bald Bratva’s fighting style made him a dangerous opponent.

Bodie darted to where Gunn was being threatened by the Bratva soldier, hammering into the man from behind and knocking him away from the still-prone Gunn. The man spun to face Bodie, raising his knife. Bodie grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted, trying to force him to drop the weapon. But the soldier was stronger than he looked and shrugged Bodie off with ease. He lunged with the knife and Bodie jumped back. He dropped and kicked out, striking the Bratva soldier’s knees. A branch from a burning tree crashed to the ground nearby, distracting the tattooed soldier. Bodie took the chance and kicked the man hard in the chest, knocking him off balance. The knife fell to the ground. The man, though winded, still reached down to grab it. Bodie raised his boot and smashed it down on top of the man’s head, laying him flat out on the ground and rendering him unconscious. Then he scooped up Gunn and checked on Cassidy.

The area all around her and the bald man, around Cross and Yasmine, burned with a hateful fury. Flames licked at their faces, their flesh, as they struggled and brawled and shifted positions. The blackest of skies outlined it all. Again, Cassidy threw a Bratva clear just as a burning branch would have landed on his squirming body, and the bald man stood down to give her a few seconds to quench her own blaze.

The Bratva were killers maybe, but respectful of a worthy opponent and with a deeply held honor code. It was what he was counting on when it came time to steal and return the statue that set them after him and Jack Pantera in the first place. He saw Yasmine had a hand around Cross’s throat now, still yelling at him. Bodie’s best guess was that she was desperate for information.

Which poor old Eli doesn’t have.

Bodie ran up to the confrontation.

“Hey, Yas,” he drawled slowly, using familiarity to gain her attention. “You two are not married yet.”

He reached out and pulled her away, releasing Cross. Yasmine spun with an open hand, slapping him across the face. Bodie stood back, watching the interaction between the two.

“Why are you even here?” Bodie asked.

“Three reasons actually. You, Atlantis, and the Rif, which relies partly on us.”

“The Rif?”

“Yes, the Rif is our home, but it has been a region of strife for many years now. We consider ourselves independent of the Moroccan government.”

“I hear of it quite often. Mostly reports centering on the fact that it ignores narcotics and other criminal trades that are the mainstays of its economy.”

“The government neglects the people. We help feed them.”

“Is that what Viktor tells you?” Cross put in. “He’s all about power, Yas. That’s why he wants Atlantis and all the incredible secrets it may contain. Just one of those secrets could be powerful enough to put the Bratva in control for many years.”

“Look, Viktor is not the boss. We work for the Frenchman called Lucien. And regarding the Rif — it is tyranny,” Yasmine said. “There is no rehabilitation. No aid. The region is devastated. What do you expect them to do? They have to survive.”

“Not in debt to criminals,” Bodie said, trying to keep her talking. Again, they’d been told the name of the real Bratva boss of the region. It was uncalled for, and surely against any rule. What was she trying to tell them?

“The government always excludes the Rif from state development plans. It is devastated. A devastated population will not lie down and die, it will fight. It will resist until social and economic development arrives. Until then…”

“I’m guessing you are originally from the Rif,” Bodie broke in, ducking as a branch exploded with the popping sound of gunfire. “But you can’t confuse a state struggle with a criminal organization. How many like you does Viktor, or Lucien, have on the payroll?”

“He wants the clue. The clue you found down there.” She nodded at the lake. “Give it to me and I can let you live.” She looked back at Bodie. Her gaze was strong, but he sensed that behind the stare she was pleading with him to go along with her proposition.

Bodie glanced around. He could see the other confrontations had continued during their discussion. The SEAL team was forcing the remaining Chinese soldier to the ground, tying his hands behind his back. Cassidy and the bald Bratva soldier had reached an impasse, both still standing, both unable to continue. The fires raged in the treetops. The scene was chaos.

“We’re evenly matched,” Bodie said. “No, we’re better than you. I recognize that you hit us without weapons and I respect that, but it was as much for you as for us. The Chinese were winning at that point.”

“We helped save you.”

Bodie made a face. “To kill us later? Not really, but you did cause confusion. Tell me, how did you know we were here? You didn’t possess any of the information.” He tried hard not to show how rattled he was, still surrounded by the Bratva. But he was grateful that Yasmine had been put in charge. At least she had reason to let them live.

For now.

Yasmine plucked at Cross’s scalp until she came up with a tiny tracker. As she did so, the thief tried, ineffectually, to bat her away. “How did you…” He seemed lost for words then, staring at her.

“Remember the hug back at the Alps?” Yasmine shrugged. “I planted it then. Precaution. Always precaution.”

Bodie scowled. “The CIA didn’t detect that?”

“Signal can be turned on and off remotely,” Yasmine said. “We just activated it a few hours after Moroccan airport CCTV scanned your faces.”

“We didn’t—”

“There’s always CCTV, Guy, you should know that.” Heidi shrugged.

The SEALs were around them now, two holding guns at a nonthreatening level. Bodie backed away and signaled for the whole team to do the same. Yasmine stared at Cross, but the thief couldn’t look at her, hanging his head as he trudged along. Having already noted their lack of firearms, Bodie didn’t expect any protests from the Bratva and didn’t get one.

“Stalemate,” he said. “Everyone could die right now or we could all live to fight another day.”

The bald man stepped in front of Yasmine. “You can count on it,” he said.