by Chris Ryan
The boxer tried to wrap the piece of sacking closer around the item in his hand. Instead, it fell away. A few rays of the morning sunlight caught what was underneath.
A gleaming piece of gold.
‘Oh, look at that mask,’ said Amber in a steely voice.
Alex thought, I’m not going to die so that you can take that away.
The thin man put his foot on the bottom rung of the ladder to block their escape. There was a click. He’d cocked the gun.
Hex kicked away the ladder viciously. The thin man lost his balance and the gun went off, the bullet pinging off the ceiling.
Li and Paulo charged at the boxer and knocked him to the ground. Amber went for the mask.
Alex thought about an escape route. They couldn’t use the window and they couldn’t go back through the hole in the wall because it was blocked. He still had the fireman’s plans but there wasn’t time to get them out. He tried to remember them. There was another way out, he thought, past this main workshop area. Probably where the looters had come from.
The thin man was groaning and rolling on the ground. Li and Paulo had disabled him. Now was their chance.
Alex grabbed the night vision goggles and pulled them on. He saw the thin man lunging for his gun. His eyes and open mouth glowed demonically white as his fingers closed on the weapon.
Alex snapped a spine off the tail of the fibreglass stegosaurus. With a flick of the wrist he frisbeed it towards the thin man. It sliced into his hand like a knife. The gun clattered to the ground and spun away into the shadows.
Paulo and Li had dropped the torches. One rolled towards Alex and he grabbed it. He flashed it twice then turned it off. The others knew what that meant. Come with me, now.
They got up and ran.
Alex kept the torch turned off. It would give away their position and anyway he was wearing the goggles. He led the way through the green, rubble-strewn room and into a corridor. It was the warren of rooms where ancient treasures were stored. The others pounded behind.
Alex consulted the map in his head. Not that turning. The next. And then out the other side and round in a circle to double back and confuse their pursuers.
They were lucky. The rooms were still intact. Maybe they’d all survived because they were small and weren’t trying to support a large ceiling over a big empty space. Alex was wiry and fast, darting like a fish through room after room. The others stayed on his heels, trusting him and keeping close.
The looters behind fired a shot. Alex turned the group and the bullet ricocheted in an empty room. His tactic was working. The looters didn’t know where he was going, couldn’t see them because they weren’t using a torch.
Alex, able to see clearly, was leading them on a magical mystery tour. He passed a giant head the size of a demolition ball. Huge bulbous eyes stared at him. The next room held the skeletons of tiny dinosaurs in a glass case, arranged like flying fairies. A stele lay in pieces in the next one, as if it had been sawn up for a stage magic act.
Suddenly he was plunged into darkness. He groped out blindly and crashed into a wall. Amber cannoned into him. Li, Paulo and Hex breathed heavily behind him.
They huddled into a group. They had to talk. They tried to do it in the faintest of whispers.
Alex ripped the goggles off his head.
‘Battery gone?’ hissed Hex.
‘Must be,’ panted Alex.
Another volley of shots rang out.
‘How far?’ whispered Amber.
Alex tried to remember the map in his head. ‘Not far. This way,’ he whispered. ‘But the moment we put the torches on they’ll see us so we’ll have to run like hell.’
Alex put the torch on.
It was like a starter pistol. They started running, as fast as they could.
Behind them, the robbers saw the beams and began to fire intensively. A volley of shots rang out close to Alex’s ear. That was uncomfortably close.
Ahead was a long room with a heavy wooden door. Alex dived in.
Hex, the last through, pushed it shut.
‘Block the entrance,’ yelled Alex.
Paulo, Li and Amber pushed a heavy wooden chest against it.
Alex pointed his torch into the room. It was long and wide, like an airport corridor. But a dark wooden door stood at the end. ‘Over there,’ called Alex.
They ran towards it. The door was huge, like the entrance to a palace. Grand carvings in the distinctive Maya style covered every surface.
‘Oh, that’s rather fine,’ said Amber. ‘I don’t suppose it leads to the lavatory.’ She was still clutching the mask in its sacking cover.
Another shot rang out. The looters were at the door at the other end of the room.
‘Alex, while you’re admiring the carving,’ said Paulo, ‘I think we’d better get out.’
‘I’m actually trying to find the handle,’ said Alex. ‘Ah, there.’ He turned it and pushed.
Nothing happened. It wouldn’t move.
As one, the five friends put their shoulders to the door and pushed.
It was no good.
Paulo dropped to his knees and looked through the gap between the two great slabs of wood. ‘I can see daylight. ‘We can definitely get out.’ He shoved it with his shoulder. ‘Only it won’t budge.’
‘Is it locked?’
‘I can’t see a lock. We just can’t move it.’
Another shot.
Alex threw the map down and handed the torch to Amber. With his good hand he opened his belt kit. He got something out and handed it to Hex.
Hex knew by the feel of it what it was – a stick of plastic explosive. ‘Are you sure?’
There was a rat-a-tat of bullets as the looters shot into the door.
‘Has anyone got any better ideas?’
‘Have you got the other bits too?’ asked Li.
Alex opened another pocket on his belt pack. In it he had the white coil of det cord, the box of detonators and some wire. He went up to the door and looked at it.
A sickening crunch of wood made them all look back towards the other door. The looters must be trying to batter their way in.
‘Hex, can you break that stick into three.’
Hex stripped off the cellophane and snapped the stick neatly into three pieces.
Alex took a piece and moulded it into a blob, like putty. ‘We need a piece on each hinge. Make sure the surface is clean or it won’t stick.’ Alex put his piece into the lock.
Hex and Amber cleaned the dust off the hinges and set the other two charges, pushing them in well.
One-handed, Alex hooked the box of detonators out of his pack. Li was ready to assist. ‘One in each?’ she said.
Yeah.’ Alex nodded. ‘Be careful. The heat from your—’
‘– hands can set them off,’ finished Li. ‘I remember. And trees might be bigger than you thought.’
That was just what Alex needed right now. His smashed fingers were all too fresh a reminder of the mistakes he made last time. He had to forget that now, and just remember his training. But this time it was all the more crucial. If he got it wrong, the pressure wave would kill them as surely as a falling roof . . .
Crash. The looters were really laying into the door. This was no time to have doubts. Alex gave the det cord to Paulo. ‘Take my knife. Connect the detonators like this.’ With his toe he drew a diagram in the dust on the floor.
Li had put the detonators in the blobs of explosive. Paulo added the det cord.
‘How do we set it off?’ asked Hex.
‘The firing device. It’s in my belt pack.’ Alex held up his hands so that Hex could see into the pouches.
‘There’s just these in there,’ said Hex. He brought out a couple of twisted wires like stripped electrical cable.
Alex swore. ‘Where’s the firing device? It must be somewhere.’ He started looking around on the floor.
At the far end of the room, the door was starting to bow. Soon it would give.
�
�What exactly does it do?’ said Paulo.
‘Provides a charge that sets everything off.’
Amber said, ‘We can’t look for it now. Hex, your palmtop.’
‘We can’t use that. There’s no signal.’
Amber groaned and Alex suddenly realized what she was driving at. ‘No, but we can use the battery. Quick.’
Hex got out the device and levered off the battery lid. ‘That’s an expensive piece of equipment—’
Amber plucked the battery out of the black machine. ‘Yeah, then it should do the job.’
Alex took a deep breath and twisted the wires onto the det cord. The door at the far end gave a splintering crunch. The looters were nearly through the barricade.
Alex straightened up. Had he done everything? Was it all going to work? Had he judged the weight of the door correctly?
Only one way to find out.
‘What happens if you get it wrong?’ said Amber.
Alex grinned. ‘Another earthquake.’
‘Really?’
‘No, it’ll just kill us all. That’s how my dad’s best friend was killed.’
‘Right, everyone stand along the wall next to the door.’
They lined up beside him.
‘Put your hands over your ears and open your mouth. Otherwise the pressure wave will burst your teeth.’ He put the palmtop battery on the floor in front of him, then straightened up. ‘Ready?’
Li, Amber, Hex and Paulo put their hands over their ears and flattened themselves against the wall.
Now or never. Alex touched the wires to the battery, then ducked and wrapped his good arm around his head.
They saw the flash before they heard the noise. The noise was huge, but at the same time strangely silent. It was like being inside a giant bell and being vaguely aware that it had been rung, but too deafened to hear it. Plaster was falling all around them, and then that all too familiar sound. Ripping, crumbling concrete.
The double doors were wide open. That was all they needed to see.
They ran. Plaster showered down from the ceiling. Concrete fell from the weakened structure. It was like the beginning of the evening; dinosaur bones falling everywhere. Hex had a peculiar feeling of déjà vu. Had he ever actually got out of the pit with the dead girl? What are you running for? his brain asked. You’ll never get away. He slowed as the debris came down around him like rain.
Amber saw Hex just standing still. She cannoned into him, shouldering him on like a buffalo in mid charge. ‘Move your ass, Hex,’ she shrieked. ‘Get out.’
Hex realized he really had got out of the pit. The girl had died, but he had survived. And he was in danger right now.
He ran like he had never run in his life. Towards the morning sky. Behind him, the roof collapsed and buried the looters in a great roar.
25 MORNING
The sun was up. Parents were arriving all the time, driving battered vehicles laden with emergency supplies. They hugged their children, then packed them into the car and headed out of the ruined city. Señora Marquez presided over her dwindling class aided by her temporary assistants – Jose, Imelda, Miguel, Thalia and Felipe and Alpha Force.
Inside Miguel’s van, Amber swiftly injected her insulin, packed her kit away and came out to join the others. Alex moved the night vision goggles onto his lap to make room for her to sit down and Paulo handed her a coffee.
Li looked up into the sky. ‘You know – it sounds like things are getting back to normal.’ The air was no longer full of the wail of sirens. Instead it was peaceful with just the occasional car or truck going past.
Two fire trucks stood on the grass, next to the ragged hole the girder had made in the front wall of the museum. Firemen were inside, looking for the trapped looters. The building was a ruin; the roof collapsed, the other walls cracked.
Alex nudged Amber. ‘Some other things are getting back to normal too.’
Amber smiled. Hex had his palmtop open and was fingering the keys. She leaned over. ‘I thought your battery had gone.’
‘I had a spare,’ said Hex, not looking up. ‘Mind that cable, by the way.’
Amber looked down. A black wire snaked out of Hex’s palmtop and through to the front of the van. He was charging the machine from the cigarette lighter socket on the dashboard. Amber tried to peer at the screen. ‘So, what’s going on?’
Hex raised his finger and did a quiet countdown. ‘Three – two – one – now.’
The moment he said, ‘Now,’ an electronic chorus chirped up. Ringing, warbling, beeping – the phones were suddenly live again. Hex grinned at his four friends as the group in front of them all did the same thing – gasped and searched their pockets for their handsets. In moments they were chatting or texting, their faces shining with relief. The world was creeping back to normal.
‘I was watching the service providers’ website,’ said Hex.
‘Anything else going on?’ said Paulo.
‘Yeah, I’ve got Reuters, the news agency.’ Hex read off the screen. ‘Belize City is reeling after a massive earthquake last night. The quake struck at ten p.m. local time and measured eight point five on the Richter scale. Emergency services were overwhelmed as tremors caused widespread damage to buildings and roads. Experts say it’s too early to estimate the extent of the catastrophe but the loss of life is expected to be in the thousands.’
Another car pulled up, its back end low on its axles. Through the glass of the hatchback Alpha Force could see blankets, bottles of water and tinned food. Alejandro, the boy Paulo had saved with the kiss of life, went to hug his parents as they climbed out of the car. Another family reunited.
Li peered over Hex’s shoulder. She noticed a headline further down the page. ‘AMAZING FIND IN ANCIENT TOMB MAY BE A THOUSAND YEARS OLD, SAY EXPERTS.’ It seemed like another thousand years since they’d found it.
Felipe snapped his phone shut and strode towards them. His overcoat swung as he walked, revealing the gold mask tucked into his inside pocket. He hadn’t let it out of his sight since Amber had given it back to him. ‘Hey, guys,’ he said. ‘I’ve just been talking to the museum board. I’m trying to get together an expedition to the tomb in the jungle.’ He shrugged. ‘After all, we’re going to need a few new decorations round here. Would you be interested in coming along?’
Five faces looked at him eagerly. ‘Yes!’ ‘Absolutely!’ ‘You bet!’ ‘Right now?’
‘Ow,’ squealed Amber, and doubled over.
Hex looked at her with concern. ‘What’s wrong?’
Amber’s voice was muffled as she rolled up her trouser leg. ‘Just this bite. It’s quite big and swollen.’
‘Let me see,’ said Felipe. ‘I’ve had a few bites in my time.’
Amber presented Felipe with the evidence. ‘I’m a diabetic,’ she explained. ‘I don’t heal well.’
Jorges and Ana came up to have a look too. ‘Eww,’ said Ana. ‘Bots.’
Felipe looked at his daughter. ‘It certainly is.’
‘Bots?’ repeated Paulo. ‘Like horses get?’ His face was disgusted.
‘Oh my,’ said Li. ‘Nasty.’ She looked more closely. ‘Ooh, it really is.’
‘Oh brother,’ groaned Amber.
Felipe, Ana, Jorges and Li were bending over Amber’s leg like detectives over a clue.
‘Is that the tail?’ said Li. ‘That white thing moving in there?’
‘Yes,’ said Jorges.
‘Moving?’ repeated Amber. ‘Tail? You mean there’s something alive in there?’
‘Yes, you’ve got a larva in there,’ said Felipe. ‘See that little white circle? That’s its breathing hole.’
‘Oh how gross!’ groaned Amber. ‘Can you pull it out?’
‘No,’ said Paulo. ‘It will burst. After a few weeks it will hatch. Then it should heal with no problem.’
Alex and Hex exchanged horrified looks. ‘A few weeks,’ said Alex.
‘It’s like Alien,’ said Hex.
Amber fixed her tormen
tors with a fierce stare. ‘I am not waiting while it hatches! There must be something you can do.’
‘You can suffocate them with Vaseline,’ said Felipe. ‘Indians sometimes put a piece of raw meat on them to tempt them out.’
‘Ow!’ Amber jumped again.
‘That’s it feeding on the tissues in your leg,’ said Ana calmly.
‘Really?’ said Hex. He tried to peer over Li’s shoulder. ‘Let me see.’
‘If no one’s got a steak,’ said Amber through gritted teeth, ‘shall we give it some bagel? Or shall we all just stand here and look at it?’ She felt another stab of pain, and fingers prodding the bite. ‘Ow – Jorges, don’t poke it, you’ll make it angry.’
Jorges put his thumbs either side of the bite and pushed. A thing shot out of the hole, missing Li’s ear by centimetres. A white maggot landed on the grass and squirmed in the daylight.
‘All gone,’ said Jorges.
Felipe looked at his son, amazed. ‘Where did you learn to do that?’
‘From the Indians in Lubaantun,’ said Jorges.
‘Felipe,’ said Amber, ‘we’ll come to the jungle with you on one condition – you bring Jorges.’
‘Done!’ said Felipe.
The white maggot curled up in the sun. It was just one of the many souvenirs the five friends carried of the past few days. Cuts, bruises; grey dust daubed their torn jungle clothing like woad. Paulo had fine pieces of plaster in his curly mop. Amber had a mess of dried blood across her forehead and a fresh, bleeding wound on her leg. Li had a vertical line of plaster and rust down the middle of her body where she’d ridden the girder out through the wall. Hex had his grey statue make-up, his clothes stiff and white like plaster of Paris, Susana’s blood drying on his face like freckles. Alex had his bandage and sling. In just over twelve hours it had become as ragged and grubby as the makeshift bandage Paulo had put on him in the jungle.
‘Hey, guys,’ said Alex, ‘if we go back to the tomb we can pick up our navigation exercise where we left off—’
