The Lost Kingdom

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Matt Drake arrived in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, with limited Intel and no genuine idea of what to expect. Hayden had briefed them during the journey, their leader trying to prepare them as best she knew how but, as he knew, mission expectations and subsequent reality were often poles apart. Since the Pythians had discovered the supposed lost kingdom of Mu buried somewhere beneath the silty waters of the Taiwan Strait that separated China and Taiwan, close to the place where the Awa Maru had been torpedoed over half a century ago, very little had leaked out.

At first, Drake thought it unlikely that a handful of mercs working alone might locate such a thing, but soon understood it was all down to satellites, GPS and computer systems. Log a coordinate in America somewhere and even a baboon would be able to follow it to the ends of the earth. And a good job, Drake thought. He’d met some of the mercs the Pythians employed.

Next up, Hayden explained how certain members of the Chinese government had been sent reeling, and were now firmly entangled in some kind of power meeting. The Pythians were pulling many strings, and not in a nice Thunderbirds kind of way. Taiwan was highly suspicious but still mostly in the dark. Tensions between the two countries were rising yet again. Hayden had previously reported that she was pulling together a specialist dive team; now Drake and his colleagues were about to meet them after being smuggled into the country.

Hayden’s language expert, David Daccus, had translated several parts of the infamous Niven Tablets, and had sent the pages of text to Dahl’s new tablet computer.

“The Naacal Tablets, or so-called Niven Tablets, originated in the land of Mu and were written by the ancient inhabitants of earth — the Naacal. In essence they are unusual andesite tablets with unrecognizable markings. They were never deciphered until they were lost. It appears now the that Americans did decipher them, and since the markings bear a lot in common with Scandinavian petroglyphs I, with the help of my Icelandic colleague, Olle Akerman, have posited a theory that makes sense of most of the symbols. From this we have confirmed that the likely location of Mu, or whatever this lost kingdom might be called, is indeed close to where the Japanese hospital ship went down.”

Dahl, talking aloud as others docked the boat, paused for a moment. “Olle Akerman,” he repeated. “I wonder how the old dog’s doing?”

Drake knew little as to the whereabouts of Dudley, although it appeared likely the man was also in Asia, furthering the Pythians’ plans. For now, it was up to them to confirm the position of the lost kingdom and report back, at the same time as scanning for any signs of the Pythians. Hayden hoped the dive team would be able to get the job done within a day, thus reporting back before the Chinese made any kind of unalterable decision. This operation had become much more that a treasure hunt or military op now — men as powerful as President Coburn were waiting on an answer to decide how best to strategize a response to whatever the Chinese might do. This mission might put the US, the UK and even the Japanese a step ahead.

With the small boat docked, the team surreptitiously made their way inland, relying on paid locals to deliver them to Hsinchu Fishing Harbor where Hayden’s dive team waited. The journey didn’t take long, less than an hour, and soon Drake was out of the minivan and stretching his legs, wary of the tropical weather and the light rain that swept across the exposed harbor. A strong wind greeted them, sweeping in and out to sea. The harbor itself was a simple construction of wide concrete gangways to which boats were tethered, bobbing in the water, and where cars and vans could easily be parked on top. Tied and sheeted cargos sat everywhere and also piles of tires. Exposed stairs led down to the water’s edge.

A man wearing a flat cap walked up to greet them. “Team’s ready, Mr. Drake,” he said in an American accent.

“Mr. Drake’s my dad,” he said gruffly. “I’m Drake. What do we have here?”

“All right, Drake. I’m Kearns. Over here we have Thibodaux, or Thib for short, Gale and Sims. We’ll be your dive team today.”

“Seals?” Dahl looked across the bay.

“Frogmen.”

“Seals then.” Drake laughed. “Why don’t you just say so?”

“Do you tell everyone you’re part of team SPEAR?”

“I do!” Alicia blurted. “I have ID and everything.”

The frogman shook his head wonderingly.

Alicia looked over the side of the gangway. “Hope you got a bigger boat.”

Kearns smiled. “We only have the one, I’m afraid. Surely you’re not all wanting to go down?”

Drake glance over the group. “I guess just three,” he said, knowing Dahl would be up for it and Alicia would skewer him if he didn’t ask. The rest, he decided, either weren’t in the right place for exploration or too inexperienced.

“How deep are we going?”

“Roughly seventy meters. That’s the depth of the Taiwan Strait. Maybe a little less depending on sediment build up.”

“So we’re talking decompression stops?” Drake started to shrug into a scuba diving suit.

“Yeah, but we’re compensating for that.” Kerns was checking the respirators. “Larger volumes of breathing gas.” He tapped two tanks, one reading oxygen the other reading EAN50. “Strap ‘em both on, backplate and wing set up. We’re using rebreathers too. Remember, decompression is your most vital procedure today, your ally. When we come back up the ascent rate ain’t there for fun, it’s mandatory. Got it?”

Drake nodded. Alicia struggled to pull on her suit, complaining hard, but when a Seal innocently offered to help she gave him the dead eye. “You said breathing gas,” she told them. “Don’t you mean air?”

“Nah. We use Heliox since it’s less narcotic. Don’t want any of you landies getting the narcs now, do we?”

“Whatever.” Alicia tugged at the neoprene suit. “Damn! Why can’t they make these things out of denim? I can pull a pair of jeans on in about two seconds flat.”

“About a quarter the speed you can pull ‘em off,” Drake observed drily.

Alicia ignored his comment, finally ready, and reached out for her air tanks. The group then spent another few minutes climbing into the Zodiac Hurricane RIB — rigid hull inflatable boat — and waiting for Kearns to make ready.

“All right,” he said. “We’re just taking a look here. Nothing too invasive. If this lost kingdom is down there we’ll see the signs. If the enemy have beaten us to it we’ll see the signs. Reconnaissance and verification mission only. Understood?”

Drake nodded for all of them, already staring out to sea. Dahl shouted to those that remained on the dock, ensuring Hibiki and Mai remained vigilant, but with everything that was happening between those two and Chika and Grace at the moment they barely registered his call. The Swede stared over at Drake with a worried expression.

“Sorry, mate, but all that shit between them? It needs sorting or we’re going to be looking at casualties.”

Drake bit back the snappy comeback. Dahl was right and he dreaded to imagine the effect of losing another member of the SPEAR team. “I’m open to suggestions,” he said finally. “But with the four of them it’s like picking through an SAS obstacle course loaded with mines. Naked.”

Alicia caught the final word and looked over. “What?”

Drake shook his head. “Life used to be simpler than this didn’t it?”

Dahl shrugged. “Simple usually means no ties, no family and no real love. I prefer complicated.”

The Zodiac began to rumble as its engines started and then powered forward through the slight swell. Its higher-than-normal sides protected the occupants from little of the spray and wind but the roomy interior was adequate for their gear. Spluttering from a faceful of spray, Drake remembered he hadn’t dived seriously in many years and put his mind to recalling the basics. Kearns, at the front of the boat, used a satnav system to zero in on preinstalled coordinates.

As the docks grew smaller, the wind whipped up, and they neared their destination in the middle of the Taiwan Strait, Drake held on tight and caught the leader’s attention.

“One thing bothers me,” he shouted. “Well, more than one thing, but this the most. Something’s down there. We all know that. But how can anyone be certain it’s Mu?”

Kearns made a noise. “Shit, how the hell do I know? Miss Jaye, though, she explained a lot of this whilst we were waiting for you guys.” He stressed the word “waiting” just a little. “First, like you say, something’s down there. Second, they now have these ancient, once undecipherable tablets to back ‘em up. Third, can anyone in government ever afford to be wrong?”

Dahl laughed knowingly.

“Nah, didn’t think so. Fourth, let’s tip their hand and see what gives. Fifth, they also have the Peking Man fossil on the table and that boy’s as real as they come. It all adds to the credibility, see? Add to that the fact that these tricky bastards inside the Chinese government all seem to want to go to war with Taiwan then you can see why the US is worried. Any excuse, Miss Jaye said.” He spread his hands. “And here we are.”

“Reconnaissance and verification,” Dahl said. “Nothing ventured nothing gained.”

“Easy in, easy out. Nobody loses,” Kearns said.

“Can we stop with the clichés?” Alicia moaned. “Friggin’ Navy Seals.”

“Pride of the Navy,” one of the men — Sims — spoke up.

A sudden explosion shook the skies, making Drake almost tip out of the boat. When he looked up he saw a streak of silver flying overhead, a jet fighter with loaded missiles.

“What the hell?”

“That’s a Taiwan military jet,” Kearns said. “Now I don’t believe in coincidence and they can’t have spotted us, so I’m guessing the Taiwan government have figured something out. Maybe they were tipped off. But when they start doing flyovers like that — the Chinese see it as a threat and a challenge. We’d best make this quick, guys.”

Drake sat up straighter as the boat slowed. A blue horizon stretched ahead, China so far away its coastline appeared only as a haze. Blue seas lay to all sides, empty of marine traffic and seemingly deserted. He assumed that would not actually be the case. If the Pythians were laying claim to this find they would be keeping it under a twenty-four-hour watch. Kearns was wasting no time, already strapping into his air tanks and readying his face mask. The Seals checked their rebreathers.

“We’re using the buddy system,” Kearns said. “We’re all shipmates here, so Drake you’ll be mine. Now pair off.”

Moments later the group were tipping themselves into the water. Drake breathed through the mouth, employing a deep and slow breathing technique to help cope with the extra demands on his lungs. The divers limited their descent, allowing their ears and other senses to adjust as the underwater environment slowly darkened. Drake equalized his ears as the pressure built, seeing Dahl and Alicia do the same. He decided to check the comms unit.

“All well over there?”

Alicia’s head turned in slow motion. “Be better once I get you outta my head. First in Kobe and now here.”

“Not what you used to say,” Drake reminisced.

“Don’t slow the ascent,” Kearns’ voice interrupted.

Drake’s flippered feet fell further, drifting down at negative buoyancy. The world around him was a brilliant blue and above the light was bright white and suffused. Descending was a truly different world. Bubbles rose all around his colleagues, racing each other toward the surface and certain expiration. A shoal of silver fish flicked past. Darkness beckoned below and Drake fell into the heart of it.

“We’re dead on the coordinates.” Kearns checked a waterproof device. “Passing forty meters.”

Drake again equalized his ears, slowing his descent. This wasn’t exactly a technical dive but nevertheless still had to be conducted by the book as they were exceeding the recommended scuba diving depth. The Seals, he noted, carried numerous bits of equipment around their waists, including torches, cameras, sediment-hoovers and weapons. None of them ever stopped checking equipment and observing their surroundings.

At last the darkness enveloped them and finally they reached their depth at seventy meters. Kearns’ feet brushed the sediment at the bottom, not landing too fast, and Drake was soon to follow, feeling an odd sensation as he set foot on flat ground far below the surface of the sea.

Alicia wobbled, drifting before setting herself straight.

“Bit out of your depth, love?” Drake quipped with a laugh.

“Har, har, your one-liners used to be as good as DATY, now they’re about as funny as VD.”

“Oh aye? What the heck are you on about?”

“And you can stop your Yorkshire-ishness right there. It ain’t cute. And you’ve never heard of Dining At The Y? No wonder Mai’s become a frustrated bitch.”

“Hey!”

Alicia kicked off the bottom and tilted, waving her flippered feet at his face. Kearns swam to the right and Drake followed. The Seal team leader spoke. “A few miles that way,” he indicated China, “and you would reach the Yonaguni Monument, a popular tourist attraction for divers. Who’d have thought this would end up being so close to it?”

“Makes sense to me,” Alicia muttered.

“Nothing to see yet,” Drake observed.

“Then you’re not looking.” Kearns surprised him and slowed. He reached out a gloved hand, brushing at a slab-like, moss-covered object on the sea bottom. “See that? Now look here.” He scissored his legs, swimming around the side of the slab.

Drake followed, now seeing the stone staircase cut into the black rock. Six risers high it rose, each descending step wider than the other, ending at the sea bed. Kearns swam lower and brushed at the accumulated sand and sediment. Drake saw sharp little flakes drifting away.

“Goes deeper,” Kearns said. “See?” As his fingers cleared the silt more of the staircase became apparent.

“How much sediment is there likely to be?” Drake asked.

“At the bottom of the sea? That’s like asking if you’d like to live one, one-thousand-year life or ten one-hundred-year lives, but in a storm-tossed, windy environment like the one we have above it could be a meter a year, maybe more.”

“And they reckon this place is about ten thousand years old.”

“Big dig, eh?”

Drake began to understand now why the Pythians might be ransoming the lost kingdom to China. He didn’t understand how, but the why was clear. The task of uncovering it was impossible, even the task of exploration practically unthinkable. Having said that, China was the world’s most influential emerging superpower.

“Castle walls.” Kearns swam even further. “See the red walls? An ancient castle already discovered in the 1980s. And yet — nobody knows. Did you know?”

Drake shook his head, then realized Kearns probably couldn’t see the gesture behind his mask. “No. Why?”

“They’re pretty much unexplainable. Six- to ten-thousand-year-old, mortar-laced castle walls under the South China Sea? Thirty to seventy meters deep? At least five discovered by sonar graph? According to Miss Jaye the sonar graphs also showed many protrusions near the walls, indicating alleys, staircases and other walls.”

Drake saw where the man, through Hayden, was going. Back to the old “out of place” artefact impasse. Ten thousand years had passed since this place became submerged. But none of that mattered now.

Through the others they began to get a feel for the size of the area, the depth and width of the walls and what other objects lay in the vicinity. Kearns noticed that several silt piles had been recently built.

“Somebody else has been here,” he said. “A short time ago. Either they were doing a recce, like us, or…”

Drake stopped what he was doing. “Or what?”

“Or they left something behind. What the hell is that?”