The Secret of Atlantis

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Clambering back up the vertical shaft took longer than Hawke had allowed for, and when they reached the fresh air of the outside world Kruger and the others were already emerging from a pile of scrub-covered rubble at the bottom of the mesa’s northwest slope.

“They took a hell of a risk going into that second tunnel,” Reaper said.

Hawke nodded sharply, exhilarated by the hunt. “Eden said he was the luckiest bastard alive, and I’m starting to believe him.”

They jogged down the hot, rocky mesa, occasionally slipping on loose scree but making good progress until they reached the bottom of the slope and took cover behind a number of juniper trees growing around a small oasis. They were now on the same level as Kruger, who was totally exposed as he and Korać ordered their men into the boats.

“We can’t let them get away,” Lea said.

“She’s right,” Reaper added. “If they get into the boats they’ll be out of sight in seconds, and it’s a half hour hike up to Chabat’s Eurocopter.”

Hawke’s response was to bring his Glock into the aim. For a second he heard nothing but the gentle desert breeze as it whistled through the thick leaves of the date palms and juniper canopies above his head. In the distance was the splashing sound of the river as it moved west though the deep gorge.

Softly, he squeezed the trigger…

Gunshot crack, puff of smoke… one of the mercs clutched his throat and dropped into the muddy bank beside the boat.

Korać and the mercs reacted with speedy professionalism, moving into defensive positions while Kruger and Van Zyl fired up the front two boats.

Hawke fired again, and the second shot gave away their destination tucked away in the oasis. A second later another gun battle revved up to full speed as the Serbs defended their position and prepared to retreat with the column-shaped stone key.

With the superior cover afforded by the shady oasis, Hawke and the rest of the ECHO team made short work of the exposed Serbian mercenaries, so the second Kruger and the key were secured, Korać ordered his men into the boats and they pulled out into the center of the coffee-colored river, guns blazing off the sterns the whole time.

Thanks to the ECHO team’s assault, they had taken out a good handful of the mercs available to Kruger and forced them to leave one of the jet boats behind.

“Looks like we’re going white-water rafting!” Hawke said. “Anyone up for a splash with me?”

As the smoke began to clear, Ryan was able to get a better look at the detail inside the inner chamber. He spent a few moments shining his Maglite on various parts of the tomb and was amazed by what he was seeing. “Some of this stuff is unbelievable. Problem is that the cylinder Kruger and the others got was obviously the main attraction and without that there’s much less to go on.”

“We’re going to need more than that,” Camacho said gruffly, and turned to Chabat. “Call for back-up and get what’s left of this place secured. This location is now a major archaeological site and potential international security risk and I want it quarantined.”

“Yes, sir,” Chabat said, and walked along the tunnel to get a signal on his radio.

Maria sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “So we don’t have the cylinder, but what have we got?”

Ryan shone his flashlight along the walls. “It’s hard to know where to start, but considering the sarcophagus and shrine have been destroyed I think these pictograms on the wall are our best bet.”

“What pictograms?” Scarlet said, staring hard at the wall now illuminated by Ryan’s flashlight. “Are you sure they’re not just scratches?”

Ryan sighed and shook his head. “It’s me we’re talking about. Of course I’m sure they’re not scratches.”

“I hope your knowledge of ancient symbols is as half as good as your sense of self-regard, kid,” Camacho said.

“It is,” Ryan replied seriously, and took a step closer to the wall. “This confirms it — I think the grand prize was definitely a key.”

“You sure?”

He nodded. “This symbol here is for a key, without any doubt, and if my translation is correct it looks to me like Tanit was supposed to be guarding it. I guess that’s why old Dirk had to use the idol to open her tomb.”

“So the obvious question,” Scarlet said, “besides why so many beautiful spies find you attractive, is a key to what?”

“I don’t even know if there is an answer to that.”

“None of us do.”

“I meant an answer to the question of the key… but if there is an answer to it then the only place we’re going to find it is in this inscription above the shrine.” He paused a beat. “And what’s intriguing about it is the similarity between these symbols and those on the idol, and the ones I saw back in Mictlan. There’s a real connection here.”

Camacho turned to him and passed a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “You mentioned something about that before.”

“So someone listens to me,” he said, turning to Scarlet.

“But what’s the connection?” Maria asked.

“Hard to say, but Atlantis is lurking in the middle of all this somewhere.”

Camacho let out a long frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what the hell I know anymore. When I was a kid Atlantis was a mythical place, but apparently now I’m searching for it so I guess anything can happen from this point.”

Ryan moved closer to the wall. “We’re going to need pictures of all these and then send them over to Elysium. We need Alex and some computer power on the case. This one here of Tanit is bothering me.” He started to snap pictures of everything in sight.

“You mean the figure in the skirt?” Maria said.

“It’s deliberately ambiguous. Because it’s a triangle with a circle on top of it and the two lines stretching out either side just beneath the circle, or head, it does indeed look like a woman in a skirt — so it could be a simple symbol representation of Tanit.”

“But there’s another way of interpreting it?” Camacho said.

“I don’t know… I know I’m missing something. I’m going to email this stuff to Alex and see what she comes up with,” Ryan said.

Camacho nodded. “With Kim and Alex working together they’ll be all over this like a dog on a bone, I’ll bet!”

“All we need now is for Joe to get that sodding stone key from Kruger and we’re away,” Ryan said.

“What do you think his chances are?” Maria said.

Scarlet smiled. “Better than average, darling.”