The Swords of Babylon

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Russell Cayman was flown by private jet to Honolulu, landing on a rough airstrip somewhere north of the city. As the airplane banked over the famous shoreline of Waikiki Beach, he stared down at the wealth of hotels; the rainbow-striped ones, the pink ones, the high-rise ones, and, beyond them across the golden sands, all the way to Diamond Head itself. The old crater jutted out from the landscape as if proclaiming its importance. Deep rooted in Hawaiian legend, none could have guessed as to the shocking significance of the ancient myths buried within.

Cayman was alone on the plane. Alone apart from the pilot and a small rucksack that took pride of place on the seat next to him. The rucksack was well-padded and the item within carefully wrapped. Cayman sat with his left hand resting atop it, his fingers within, touching the outer packaging of the object.

Kali’s smallest right hand finger, whole. The pinkie of her left hand he had already hidden within the Icelandic tomb. He had slipped in and out, posing as a translator and using the dead man’s I.D., coming unstuck only when a chance meeting occurred with someone who knew him. Cayman couldn’t even remember the old man’s face, but saw the recognition and fear in those eyes. He gave chase, but the old man knew the tomb like the back of his hand. No way could Cayman find him and maintain his ultimate cover, so he planted the bone and left. Zak Block would never know.

Now, as the plane skidded to a bumpy halt, Cayman made ready to disembark. He had seen no sign of Block’s mercenary ‘cells’ in Iceland, but the leader of the Shadow Elite had recently assured him that two cells had now entered Honolulu, and were just getting into place. They would help Cayman if they could, but their chief directive was to infiltrate and wait for Block.

Cayman drove toward the city. Diamond Head grew larger ahead, the ocean to his left sparkling and dotted with swimmers and surfers as the sun began to set, swelling across the horizon. He circumvented the extinct volcano, finally parking the car out of sight near one of the fenced off entry points to one of Oahu’s many lava tubes. They all led to Diamond Head, but this one especially had been pinpointed as leading indirectly to the trap system below. Cayman strapped Kali to his back, picked up another bag full of the tools he would need and set off. Neither of the Hawaiian cells had been in touch yet, so he had to believe he was on his own.

Cayman cut through the wire at the back of the compound, the most unobtrusive place, then fixed it back up with wire ties. Not perfect, but good enough for the time he would need. He climbed on to the roof of the small building and carefully swiveled the CCTV camera until its lens pointed away from the door. Again, not perfect, but kids and youths broke into these places all the time, and Cayman only needed a few hours. He jumped to the ground and within seconds was inside.

Not bothering with the light, he switched on his own flashlight and made his way to the lava tube. In this facility it was a smooth black hole in the ground, but one that sloped gently downwards instead of descending into a pit. He slipped inside, careful to adjust Kali’s pack, and began to slither down on his backside, now holding the Maglite between his teeth.

The darkness down here was comforting, not slithering with unknown horrors like the one in Singen, but profound and menacing nevertheless. He wondered what manner of creature might survive down here, what subterranean terror, and felt a sudden longing for Kali’s old tomb. Soon, he would return. Soon, it would become his home.

Cayman traversed the length of the lava tube, dropping gently until he sat with his legs dangling, forty feet up and looking out over the first trap system. Wrath — the first level of Hell.

The carved face of the Devil stared hard at Cayman, the fires that had once given life and meaning to the trap now extinguished. Cayman took a moment to study those hollow eye sockets, the hooked nose and cavernous mouth, and broke out into a smile. This was going to be a much more pleasurable evening than he had ever imagined.

And then on to Singen.