The Seven Seals of Egypt

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

Plan C appeared to be working.

When two vehicles appeared, following each other down the blacktop, Drake and Dahl put their misgivings aside and pointed their weapons at the drivers. Happily, they were both male and young and didn’t appear too traumatized as a dozen soldiers crowded in alongside them. Of course, they never saw Vladimir and his men coming over the hill at their backs. With the entire team barely inside the cars, hanging out of windows, wedged so tight even their bones hurt, they made the break for freedom.

Smyth drove one car, Kinimaka the other. Drake was squeezed in beside Luther, with Crouch alongside.

By design.

They talked about the fifth seal. “Of course I remember,” Crouch said indignantly. “I remember the design. The pyramid is from Saqqara, the earliest burial site of the nobles of the First Dynasty. One of the common traits of this mission has been the age of the objects in question. Perhaps this doomsday machine is the earliest of all.”

“Because it is a weapon of the gods?” Kenzie asked. “And thus came first. It makes perfect sense.”

“Why not recap that curse again?” Drake said, for Luther’s benefit.

“Find the seven seals for seven tombs and settle the fate of men. Follow the lost symbol that entombs the Ancient Doomsday Machine. Break the seven seals of Egypt and start the End of Times.”

“No matter how many times you hear it,” Alicia said from the front, “that always sounds nasty.”

“The same could be said of you, bitch,” Kenzie, crammed next to her, said.

“Shut it, skunk.”

Drake urged Crouch to continue. The older man was happy to take his mind off aching bones, bruises and raw wounds.

“Saqqara is in the north and where we should go next. If we can’t stop FrameHub, the CIA and possibly this splinter group fighting for and getting the doomsday machine then we’re all in big trouble.”

“Is it a big place?” Drake knew they all needed rest and to head blindly into some ancient vastness was just foolhardy at this point.

“Relatively. And our rivals will be headed there too. Saqqara comprises underground galleries, funerary tombs, monuments. It’s also famous for having the oldest comprehensive stone building complex throughout known history. It remained significant to the Egyptians for more than 3000 years. Such incredible history…” Crouch tailed off, shaking his head in wonder.

Dahl shouted something back through the open window. Drake had to strain to catch it.

“Any thoughts on why FrameHub would want the weapon so badly?”

“Just the obvious,” Crouch said. “They’re a new entity. Though why they’re clouding the issue with this ransom demand is unclear.”

“That’s exactly what it is,” Drake said. “Muddying the waters. Flooding Egypt with mercs. They aim to steal the weapon in the chaos and use it when they fancy it. They’re kids, spoiled kids at that. It will be another ransom, another game. At least, that’s my take.”

“Sounds feasible,” Crouch agreed.

Luther was listening intently, but remained on mission. “I may be grateful for your help, and all, but you guys are coming in with me. All of you.”

Drake admired his tenacity. “It may have escaped your knowledge that we outnumber you five to one.”

“Doesn’t matter. I never fail.”

“Neither do we,” Dahl said, half out the window and catching some serious airflow. “I’d advise you to re-evaluate.”

“Orders are orders,” Luther said. “Can’t change ’em.”

Drake gestured for Crouch to continue. “Well,” the Englishman said. “I recognized the pyramid at Saqqara. It’s from the third Dynasty, called Djoser’s step pyramid, world-famous and with a rectangular base. We’re getting very close to the seventh seal now, my friends, so we really must hurry. Whoever gets their hands on that machine…” He shuddered.

For the first time, Luther glared at him. “You keep talking about a machine. What is it?”

“Nobody knows. The curse of the seven seals leads the way to, supposedly, an ancient machine that could destroy the world. Don’t get me wrong here — we know this is an olden-day piece of writing and comes with the undesirable tag-word curse, but we started out skeptical too. But so far, each tomb or monument has led us to the next. It may all be hoax, but what if it’s not?”

“I hope it’s a hoax,” Dahl said. “Better for everyone.”

“Agreed,” Drake said. “But we can’t afford not to find out.” He fixed on Luther. “Do you understand that?”

“I’m no thinker. No strategist. I’m a bloodhound — they point me in the direction they want me to go and slap my ass. I’m tenacious. Raw. I get the job done without relying on fancy gadgetry. So no, Drake, I don’t understand it. And even if I did you lot would still be my prisoners.”

“Look.” Alicia struggled to turn around and look the big man in the eye. “Whilst I like the imagery of you being slapped on the ass, you — my old-style, simple, loutish beast — are talking up a steaming pile of crap. Open your damn eyes and wake up to the fight. Soldiers shouldn’t deal in black and white anymore. There’s adversity in much of the world right now, most of it caused by the people that pull your strings.”

“And dude,” Drake added, “it’s not as if they try to hide all of it.”

Luther couldn’t twist his body in order to address Alicia, but replied to Drake. “You think I haven’t heard this before? A hundred, desperate times from outta the mouths of a hundred desperate criminals? Shit, I could have made the speech for you.”

Kenzie groaned. “Well maybe some of them were telling you the truth. So what does that make you?”

Luther hesitated just for a moment. “You guys came outta hiding to chase down some ancient weapon that may or may not exist? Why the hell would you do that?”

“Now that—” Alicia banged the seat “—is a great question. Drake?”

“You’re asking me?” Drake felt defensive. “We all agreed. Even Smyth. We all agreed.”

“I came with you. You came for Crouch. Kenzie came for Dahl.”

“No. We all came to help.”

Alicia shrugged. Kenzie tried to catch Dahl’s eye through the window. “She’s right, Torst. I’m not here to save the world.”

Drake heard the outer shell at work and ignored it. Dahl called back inside whilst nobody could see his face.

“We are not together, Kenzie. We never will be.”

“Now I know that’s not true. You wouldn’t lead me on all this time.”

Drake heard the warning note in her voice and how Dahl fell suddenly silent. A taut silence filled the car.

“Did I lead you on?” the Swede finally asked.

“Stop it with the jokes. You’re scaring me.”

Drake frowned at the tone of her voice and the heat in her eyes. Kenzie had proven she could care and that she could fit in with the good guys. He hoped this wasn’t some kind of degeneration.

Smyth, driving the car, spoke up then out of nowhere. “It was me,” he said. “Luther? It was me, anyway. You shouldn’t be chasing these guys.”

Drake both saw and heard the guilt. “Shut up, mate. This isn’t the time.”

“I’m willing to accept any judgment.”

“There were circumstances,” Drake said. “And the guy was a murderer. Nobody should ever shoulder another man’s sins.”

“This is interesting,” Luther grumbled. “But what are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” Drake said. “Sunstroke has made the dumb American delirious.”

“Ah, great. And we’re good with him driving the car?”

Crouch stepped in, seeing a chance to gloss over it all. “The fifth seal is the pyramid and we must go there in all haste. There’s a lot of ground to cover. Of course, these tombs are still being excavated. Almost eight million dog mummies were found a few years ago. Who knows what else lies beneath those sands?”

The car slowed as they reached the outskirts of a town. Drake thought this might be the perfect chance to procure an extra vehicle and maybe dump Luther and his two comrades. In all honesty though, what he wanted was something entirely different.

“Luther,” he said. “I hate to tell you that you’re working for the bad guys. I hate to tell you that there’s a rogue cell in the American government searching for terrible weapons. I hate to see your loyalty, your faith and your training betrayed at the highest level. So I’ll say this — find someone you trust in DC and ask them to check. Stick with us whilst it happens. Call a truce. And if, at the end of it you still think we’re all guilty of treason, then we will come quietly. You have my word.”

Drake held his hand out.

Alicia practically squawked a rebuttal. Dahl tried to wriggle back inside but couldn’t get near. Drake had chosen the perfect time.

Luther considered it. “We stick with you? We have full weapons? Alone time?”

“Yes, but no communications. We don’t want have the Air Force dropping down on us.”

“I always go dark,” Luther reminded him. “Only chatter is between the team.”