The Ark tl-1

by Boyd Morrison

  Brett tossed Locke’s radio to Garrett, who caught it easily. He keyed the mike.

  “Dilara Kenner and Grant Westfield. I know that you can hear this. If you come forward in the next two minutes, I will promise each of you a quick and painless death. If you don’t, I will begin shooting Tyler Locke. First the feet. Then the hands. Knees. And so on. Nothing vital. Nothing that would kill him. But it will be an agonizing way to die. You have two minutes starting now.”

  “They won’t do it,” Locke said.

  “You better hope they do.”

  “You were waiting for us all along, weren’t you?”

  “You’re a resourceful man. As soon as I saw that you had made it to Khor Virap, I knew you’d be able to find the Ark and show me the way in.”

  “And you’re always good at thinking about all the angles, Sebastian. That’s why you got away with cutting all those corners building your lab and firing me.”

  Garrett smirked. “I win yet again. By invading Oasis, you may have changed my plans, but the outcome will be the same.” He spoke into the radio. “You now have 60 seconds left.”

  * * *

  Grant had made a mistake not to keep Dilara with him.

  He had been looking at an intricately-carved ivory figurine and Dilara had still been photographing the treasures when he had heard Tyler yell, and then seconds later the radio call had come in from Sebastian Garrett telling them they had two minutes to reveal themselves or Tyler would be tortured to death.

  If he was going to save Tyler, he had to move fast, and Dilara would slow him down. He told her to go back to the third level and hide. She’d argued that she could take care of herself, so Grant used that, telling her to keep herself safe and out of sight. She should use only her 3-D mapping system to guide herself since it didn’t depend on an external light source. She shouldn’t use her flashlight or helmet light.

  They’d separated, and Grant doused his own flashlight. He flicked the infrared scope on. The scope picked up temperature differences, not visible light, so any heat source — particularly a human body — in his field of view would flare like a campfire on a moonless night. He knew Cutter was around somewhere, and he wouldn’t be content to wait for the full two minutes. He’d come find Grant.

  Grant ran low and fast toward the crevice, but when he got to a ramp, he decided height would be an advantage, so he ran up to the second floor, trying to keep his footsteps as light as possible.

  That’s when he realized leaving Dilara had been a mistake.

  As he was running, he peered back and up to the third level promenade to see where Dilara had gone to hide so he could find her later. With the infrared, he saw her go into a room. To his surprise, he saw another figure on the third level carrying a weapon. Then a second unfamiliar person caught his eye on the first level. Neither of the hostiles seemed to be looking in his direction, so he ducked into one of the rooms. They both seemed to be quietly and methodically searching each room. He flipped up his eyepiece and crept out to look up to the third level promenade and down to the first level cavern floor. No lights, which meant they had night scopes.

  He flipped the infrared eyepiece back down. The images weren’t distinctive enough to let him identify the hostiles, but the one above him looked smaller. A woman. Svetlana Petrova, Garrett’s girlfriend. He was sure the other one was Cutter.

  He had three options, all of which churned through his mind in as many seconds. First, he could keep going and take out the people holding Tyler, ignoring Dilara’s situation. Not a good option. Tyler wouldn’t forgive Grant if he sacrificed Dilara for him. Second, he could start firing at the hostiles, but with these civilian infrared goggles, the chances of hitting anyone at this range were minimal. Not to mention he’d give away his position.

  Since the first two options sucked, he chose the third. Petrova would make a perfect hostage. He could exchange her for Tyler. Or at least buy enough time for him to figure out the next move and keep Tyler alive and free of bullet holes. If Grant could sneak up on Petrova from behind, he could grab and disarm her.

  Grant crabbed up the ramp to the third level as fast as he could. In his earpiece, he heard Garrett say, “You now have 60 seconds left.” He was running out of time.

  He peeked over the edge of the third level walkway. There was Petrova, just 40 feet in front of him. She was almost to the room he’d seen Dilara go into. If Petrova saw her first, she was dead. These people weren’t looking for hostages.

  He got to his feet and crept toward Petrova, ready to take her in a headlock.

  * * *

  “You’ve thought of everything,” Locke said. “Even those night vision goggles. Generation-Three?”

  “The newest we could get on short notice,” Garrett said. “Amazing devices. All we need is the light coming through that crevice to see this entire cavern as visible as if it were in daylight.”

  “You’ve thought of everything. Except one. What if the amulet isn’t really in my pocket? What if I’ve hidden it somewhere in the Ark?”

  “You didn’t have time. And if one of your colleagues has it, they will realize that my offer includes bringing me the amulet.”

  “But if they’ve hidden it, it could take you a long time to find it. Noah’s Ark is a big place.”

  “You’re bluffing.”

  “Just trying to get you to think about all the angles.”

  Garrett kept his pistol trained on Locke and looked at his watch. “We still have thirty seconds left. All right. We’ll make sure.” Garrett spoke to Brett. “Search him, starting with his left front pocket.”

  As Locke had hoped, Garrett took the bait. And as he knew, Garrett wouldn’t do the dirty work himself. He’d leave that to his minion.

  Brett approached Locke. Locke had noticed the guard carrying the flashlight in his left hand, the pistol in his right. To search Locke’s pocket, he’d need to holster his pistol.

  Brett removed the Amulet of Shem, and when he tossed it to Garrett, Locke seized his chance. As Garrett caught the amulet, Locke whipped his hands down and grabbed Brett’s vest. It wasn’t until Locke moved that Garrett realized Brett was the only one with a light. Too late, Garrett stuffed the amulet in his pocket and reached for his own flashlight.

  The guard might have expected a blow, some kind of chop or punch, but he wouldn’t have considered the possibility that Locke would simply grab his vest and push him backward. Brett’s flashlight clattered to the floor, leaving them unlit. Brett sent body blows into Locke’s midsection, but Locke wouldn’t let go and continued to drive Brett backward.

  By this time, Garrett had recovered and started shooting. In the darkness, Locke felt bullets zinging past his head. One hit the side of his thigh, causing him to stagger, but with the adrenaline dulling the pain, he couldn’t tell how bad it was. One thing he was sure of, his only chance was to keep hold of Brett until he could get him to the crevice.

  Locke kept churning his legs, pushing Brett, who was off-balance, but preventing him from falling, which would be just as deadly. The crevice was his target. Just a few more feet.

  The bullets kept coming, and one went into Brett’s shoulder, splashing Locke with blood. It wasn’t a mortal wound, but it was enough to slacken Brett’s resistance. In another two steps, Locke gave a final shove, and Brett tumbled into the crevice, the bag of tricks beside him.

  Locke scrambled away from the opening. He only had two more seconds because as he let go of Brett, he’d grabbed the pin from one of the grenades on Brett’s vest.

  Locke rolled ten more feet and covered his head. The shock of the explosion pummeled him. The grenade went off before Brett had a chance to get up, and the mining explosives were detonated by the grenade. A thunderous clap echoed through the cavern, and when it was over, Locke heard the walls of the crevice collapsing. It was completely sealed.

  It was exactly what he was hoping for. Not only was that way out closed, but light was no longer coming from it. Without a light source, c
aves aren’t just dark, they’re pitch black, like swimming in a barrel of ink. The type of night vision goggles that Garrett wore work well in the night sky, even without a moon, because although it’s dark outside, the stars still provide some light. In a cave, with no external light source, the night vision goggles have absolutely no light to amplify. They would be useless. Garrett, Cutter, and Petrova no longer had the advantage. They would have to use flashlights.

  The odds were even.

  SIXTY-EIGHT

  Cutter had been hoping that he’d find Grant Westfield crouched in the corner of a room so he could shoot him like a dog, but no such luck. He got his break when he looked up to check on Petrova’s progress. They were in comm silence to mask their positions. On a ramp above him, he saw a huge figure not 40 feet behind her get up and move towards her. That slab of meat could only be Westfield. Cutter finally had him in his sights, but the angle wasn’t good. He wanted to make sure he got that bastard dead center.

  Westfield didn’t see him. Just like in the Army, Westfield was too focused on his target, not paying attention to his flank. Now he’d pay for it.

  Cutter found a ramp and tiptoed up. He’d ditched his sniper rifle in favor of the MP-5 submachine gun, which was a better close-in weapon.

  Westfield was close to Petrova, his weapon at his side. He was only 25 feet above Cutter, that big chest centered in his sights. There was no way Cutter would miss. He couldn’t resist seeing the expression on Westfield’s face when he realized he was about to be shot by Cutter, so he called out.

  “It’s Chainsaw,” he taunted.

  Westfield’s head turned, and even with the night vision goggles, Cutter could see the flash of recognition.

  A huge explosion from Garrett’s direction blasted like a cannonade through the cavern. At the same time, the viewfinder on his goggles went out. Nothing. Black.

  Cutter fired, but he knew it was too late. He heard the bullets chew into wood, but no screams of pain.

  He had missed. And now he was blind.

  * * *

  Dilara hated the idea of hiding, and the explosion, followed by a splat of bullets nearby, spurred her to action. She couldn’t stay there, waiting to be hunted down. She had to do something. She drew her pistol, although she didn’t know what she could do with it without a flashlight.

  Dilara had taken refuge in the weapons-filled room she had found earlier. She’d been awed by the knives, swords, and spears that lined the room. She recalled that an array of bows leaned against a wall, and next to it was an urn painted with a purple symbol that looked like a cloaked figure praying. The urn held a bolt of arrows, points down. The symbol had looked familiar to her, but she didn’t know why.

  None of the ancient weapons seemed better than the pistol, so she left them alone. The 3-D mapping system, as Locke had told her, was limited by the viewpoint of the RCV, so it hadn’t been able to see around the urns and other objects in the room. With her free hand, she felt her way to the end of the room, and peeked around, hoping there would be some light to guide herself by.

  The blackness was total, then a beacon lit. At least, it seemed like a beacon to her, but it was just Grant’s helmet light. It was sliding on the floor out of a room 15 feet in front of her.

  That’s when she saw the figure of Svetlana Petrova close enough to touch. Petrova fired at the helmet and backed up at the same time, right into Dilara’s gun hand. Dilara was so unprepared, the pistol was knocked from her grip. Her hands free, Dilara did the only thing she could think of. She tackled Petrova and wrestled her to the ground.

  The impact sent Petrova’s machine gun flying. Petrova elbowed Dilara, and Dilara responded with a punch of her own. But she could tell she wouldn’t win a hand-to-hand fight with this woman, not without the element of surprise that she’d had on the Genesis Dawn. She needed Grant’s help.

  She twisted around and saw Grant rushing toward her in the helmet light. Then he abruptly changed his direction and bull rushed Dan Cutter, who was standing at the edge of the walkway, training a gun on her and Petrova. The two men disappeared over the side and crashed into the walkway below.

  She looked back down at Petrova, whose face was a mask of fury in the dim light, and Dilara knew this was a fight to the death. Nobody was coming to save her. If she was going to live, she would have to finish the fight on her own.

  SIXTY-NINE

  Locke knew it was too much to hope for that the explosion had killed Garrett. The blast had either destroyed the flashlights or knocked them away because it was completely dark.

  He pushed himself up, suppressing a cough so that he wouldn’t give away his position. If Garrett wasn’t dead, he was still armed, and Locke wasn’t. His helmet had fallen off, and he felt around for it. His hand brushed against it. He put it on, relieved that the 3-D modeling system still worked. He could see the Ark, but the infrared sensor had been damaged. He wouldn’t be able to see Garrett unless he turned on the helmet’s light. And if he did that, Garrett would have the perfect target to shoot at.

  He heard the click of a pistol magazine being ejected, then another inserted and the slide racking. Then the ratcheting of a machine gun bolt. Garrett was heavily armed.

  “You idiot, Tyler!” Garrett yelled. “Do you realize what you’ve done? The entrance is gone! A thousand tons of rock is blocking it.”

  Garrett was hysterical. Good. That meant he didn’t know about the exit door at the first cave.

  Locke stood, and the gunshot wound in his leg announced its presence with a jab of pain. He put his hand on it, but he couldn’t feel how bad it was. He tested the leg. He could walk, but with each step, it felt like an icepick stabbed his thigh.

  “Are you satisfied, Tyler? You’ve doomed humanity! I wanted to preserve the human race. Don’t you understand that? We’re destroying ourselves. My plan was the only way. We had to start over. And now you’ve ruined that!”

  Now Garrett was baiting him. He wanted Locke to respond so that he could empty his magazine in Locke’s direction. Locke wasn’t biting.

  He heard Garrett call into his own radio. “Cutter! Svetlana! Come in!” Garrett repeated the names several times. Apparently, they weren’t answering.

  Locke tiptoed forward as gracefully as his leg would let him and almost fell when his foot hit something that wasn’t on the 3-D image scan. He bent over and felt his pack. Locke ran his hands through it. The RC vehicle, the controller, and the laptop were all inside, but no weapons.

  Gunshots rang out farther along the Ark, but he couldn’t make out anything else. His hearing was still muffled because of his close proximity to the explosion. Locke looked in the direction of the shots and thought he could make out a faint light. There was no way to tell if the light was from a friendly or hostile. Locke felt a pang of fear for Dilara and Grant, knowing they were being hunted by trained killers. He desperately needed to come up with a plan.

  Locke couldn’t fight it out with Garrett, not with a bum leg and no gun. His only chance was to find Grant and Dilara. He had to assume they were still alive because he couldn’t bear to consider the alternative. Together they could escape the cave and seal Garrett, Cutter, and Petrova inside. But how?

  Locke thought about his only asset, the RC vehicle, and sketched out a plan in his mind. Risky, but it might work. He picked up the pack and slung it over his shoulder.

  Locke needed to buy himself some time and distance. There weren’t any stones on the ground around him, so he took out the laptop, careful not to make a sound. He held it like a Frisbee and tossed it as far as he could toward the direction of the crevice.

  The laptop smashed into wall. Garrett unloaded a burst of machine gun fire at it.

  Locke took that cue to limp in the opposite direction toward the exit door. The explosive clatter of the gun masked his movement. He used the clusters of urns lined against the cave wall for cover.

  Garrett aimed his flashlight in the direction of the laptop impact and ran toward the wall. The light
beam darted around searching for Locke’s body, then settled on the remains of the shattered computer.

  “I’m going to find you, Tyler!” The light began a search pattern down the cave, pausing to check in each room as it went.

  Locke moved faster, trying to stay ahead of the sweeping beam. He had to get to the exit before he was discovered.

  But to make his plan work, Locke needed Dilara and Grant with him. He wasn’t going to leave without them. He couldn’t yell out, so he had to hope Grant still had his own infrared scanner working.

  Locke raised his arm over his head as he walked and started signaling to Grant in the darkness.

  * * *

  Grant couldn’t let go of Cutter, not if he wanted to win this battle.

  Cutter was the best shot Grant had ever seen and could throw a knife with precision. But Grant was his equal in hand-to-hand combat, and even though Cutter was a big man, Grant had the size advantage.

  During their tumble onto the second level walkway, Grant had landed on Cutter. They had rolled over, and for a moment Grant lost his grip. Cutter turned his flashlight on and tossed it aside, out of Grant’s range, but close enough so that they could see each other in the dim light.

  During the motion, Grant was able to get his arm around Cutter’s chest, but he couldn’t maneuver himself for a headlock. The position reminded him of his wrestling days, but he wasn’t play-acting this time, and he wasn’t going to follow any rules. He was going to play dirty, and so was Cutter.

  Grant punched Cutter in the left kidney, and Cutter responded by stomping on his foot. Pain shot up his leg, and he fell backwards. Cutter flipped over Grant and sprang to his feet. In the distance, Grant heard gunfire, and he hoped it was Tyler taking Garrett out.

  Cutter reached for his pistol. Grant lunged at Cutter and got to him before Cutter could raise the pistol to fire. The gun flew into the air, and the impact took them to the ground. Grant was behind him again, still without a good hold, and when they rolled to a stop, he spoke into Cutter’s ear.