The Atlantis Cipher (The Relic Hunters Book 2)

by David Leadbeater

  The third night of diving took them to the area around Lucie’s waypoint. The entire team was antsy by now. The SEALs were itching for action against the Bratva. Bodie was entirely sure that if the Chinese hadn’t been present, the SEALs would have taken them out that very night.

  Still, his focus remained on the underwater quest, and although he wasn’t scared of drowning, with every hour that passed beneath the surface he began to feel as if the black waters were eager to claim him. The grid was barely two-fifths explored. The Chinese were still hard at it, and left Bodie wondering if, sometime soon, they might actually run into each other. He crouched in the black depths and sifted dirt and rocks and sludge and tried to see through clouds of silt. He knelt, he sat down, he walked along rocks. Time passed without meaning down here, eternity lasting a lifetime. He was aware divers had been using the Azores for many years, but knew they were mostly part-time and recreational divers who wouldn’t generally stray beyond thirty meters. The deeper they went, the less traveled the lakebed should be.

  The dive’s halfway point passed with no success. Bodie’s air tank signaled that it was below half full. He checked another gauge to verify but dropped it, then reached along the hose to retrieve it and caught his hand inside a fissure.

  He pulled gently, but his glove snagged on something. Slowly, he crouched, worked his fingers around, and managed to extricate it. That was close, but I guess I could live without a glove if I had to. He moved on, still searching, but then a thought occurred to him. Quickly, he moved back to the fissure, finding it after more than a minute of searching, and followed it down the sloping bedrock. The depth gauge read eighty meters, and he guessed he was fifteen out into the lake. The next drop-off was sharp and the fissure opened up. Bodie decided to follow it, relaying his movements back to Cassidy and Jemma.

  Jemma tutted in his ear. “That’s tomorrow’s grid. Stay put. You’ll hash it all up.”

  “Already there,” he responded, still following the fissure, which, to be fair, was the only interesting feature he’d found in three nights.

  “I have you on radar,” Cassidy said. “But consider yourself reprimanded. Jemma’s gonna slap you crimson when we get back up top.”

  Bodie measured the widening gap. “Promises, promises. You gonna use your hand, Jem, or your flippers?”

  “Stop it.”

  “I think I’d prefer the flippers.” Cassidy laughed.

  Bodie grinned. Levity was one of the things that kept him sane, kept him moving forward with the knowledge that all of this was being done, essentially, against his will. And if that wasn’t enough—he’d actually come to Heidi’s aid earlier, saving her embarrassment. Damn, that’s confusing.

  His single light shone dead ahead from the front of his helmet, illuminating particles floating in the water. He unhooked a more powerful flashlight and waved it across the area. The fissure was stark white in the new light, jagged and partly hidden by sediment. It appeared to be narrowing again, and Bodie thought of moving on, but it wasn’t narrowing. It was the deposit buildup. Bodie dug around, still following the tear, and then Cassidy and Jemma materialized out of the gloom, using the comms to let him know they were alongside.

  “Thought we’d take a break and join you.”

  “Could be nothing.”

  Bodie showed them the fissure, then waved his flashlight ahead to see how far the opening extended. The underwater world revealed itself for just a moment, darkness pinpointed by hidden eyes and flitting silhouettes. The fissure ran farther down, out of sight. Bodie checked his depth and air gauges.

  “Okay, for now.”

  The gap widened enough so that Bodie could put his head inside, then his shoulders. They dug furiously, causing an underwater cyclone that impaired vision. The farther Bodie slipped inside the fissure, the more excited he got, but he remained aware that they were descending meter by meter, farther and farther toward the bottom of the lake.

  “Ten more minutes,” Cassidy warned.

  Bodie heard her, but he had to keep digging. Like a dog who’d lost his favorite bone, he dug and dug, moving on when his gloved hands came up against solid rock. The strange sensation when his fists punched through didn’t register at first.

  But the fissure broadened and Bodie slipped inside, purely by accident. His arms kept going, encountering no resistance. The angle of his body told him he was underneath the solid rock of the lake now, having crossed a thick lip. He forged on, swimming ahead, and heard Cassidy close behind.

  “You pinpointed it?” he asked.

  “Jemma’s staying behind to make sure.”

  “No sign of the Chinese? From what I observed on the visit to their camp they appeared to know what they’re doing, while the Bratva are clawing around in the dark.”

  “No, but dude, they could be a meter away and you wouldn’t see them.”

  He knew that, just wanted to remind Cassidy of the threat. He was glad she was with him. Nothing like sharing a new experience with a friend. Time flowed by like the passing of water. Bodie swam with a strong breaststroke, pausing occasionally to cast the glow of his flashlight all around.

  They touched the far end of the fissure.

  “You’re kidding!” Bodie had been sure they’d found something.

  “Air low,” Cassidy said, the comms starting to crackle. “We need to leave now.”

  Bodie ignored her, aiming downward, kicking his legs and searching for the farthest corner. The space closed again up ahead, narrowing down. Cassidy slapped his shoulder and pointed toward the roof.

  “No time!”

  He nodded irascibly, more frustrated than ever. With a last scissor thrust of his legs he found the spot where ceiling met floor.

  Nothing. Just one more dead end.

  He treaded water, still disbelieving. Jemma crackled across the comms, asking where they were. Cassidy swam in front now and pushed him away. Bodie’s head went up and he saw something odd.

  Another fissure, but in the wall above, higher than he might have expected. He started swimming up to investigate, but Cassidy got full in his face and manhandled him away. Bodie came to his senses, seeing the air gauge dangerously low. Together they swam strongly, collected Jemma, and made their way toward the surface.

  “Something down there,” Bodie panted.

  “Yeah, and you’d have joined it forever with your bullishness.”

  “No time to waste.” Bodie didn’t acknowledge the reprimand. “We need to get back down there. Fast.” He broke the surface and started swimming determinedly toward the shore, suddenly brimming with excitement and purpose. It was all he could do to keep from cheering.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  As dawn broke, Bodie paced the shore, desperate to be back in the water. The SEALs had stepped in, recommending a few hours rest for the trio, but as the time approached when they could reenter, Bodie couldn’t stop speculating about the Chinese and how close they might be to locating the fissure. If these operatives were a splinter group loosely associated with the government, as Heidi conjectured, then he could only assume they wanted Atlantis for the same reason that the Americans did—to claim and use its riches, its potentially advanced technology. Whoever won the race to Atlantis might theoretically rule the world.

  Then Bodie, Cassidy, and Jemma were back in the water, swimming quickly to the original fissure and squeezing inside. All the way they kept an eye open for the enemy, checked their radar for figures, but came up with nothing. Still, it didn’t make Bodie feel any more comfortable.

  Instead of angling down, Bodie swam in a horizontal direction, mindful of what he’d found the previous evening. At first, the gloom misled him, but then he felt his way up the wall and saw the same opening he’d seen earlier. It was undoubtedly a fissure.

  This time, they quickly found the wider end, and all three fitted in easily. They swam into a narrow cavern.

  “Underwater caves,” Jemma said. “Nothing special for the Azores.”

  “Gotta
be unexplored,” Bodie said. “Judging by the amount of silt we pulled out of there.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?”

  “What the hell do we know about debris buildup? Anyone?”

  “It wasn’t big on the curriculum at my high school,” Cassidy said.

  Bodie swept the cave with light, spotting an opening below. Swimming down, he called for the others to follow. It was barely a meter wide, and led to a tunnel.

  “Follow me.”

  “Really?” Jemma breathed out heavily. “I’m not comfortable with that.”

  “Go before me,” Cassidy offered. “I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

  Bodie performed a quick recon, ensuring all was well before venturing inside. Sure enough, the walls were close. Twice, his tank clanged on a sharp rock, making him reevaluate how strong it was. Twice, he forged on.

  Three minutes felt like a lifetime, but they emerged from the tunnel into another chamber, this one with relatively clear water. Bodie spied some rubble buildup on the floor and dived down to investigate.

  Piles of white rock, bare and smooth. He swore. All he wanted was a face, a carving, a bloody inscription.

  A signpost would be even better.

  Shrugging the frustration away with a small smile, he found another tunnel, this one angling downward and slightly wider. Their air supply was a quarter spent. Carefully, they levered their bodies inside. Another three minutes of careful jostling, shunting, and propelling and they felt a sharper tugging in the flow around them. Suddenly, they were caught in the current.

  Unable to stop, unable to turn around, Bodie could only warn his friends with a screech as the current caught him and dragged him forward. The momentum increased as he saw the foaming flow draw nearer.

  Oh, shit, we’re in a waterfall.

  In another moment he was tumbling, spinning, caught by a force far greater than he was.

  Sent out over the edge, with no way of knowing what awaited him.

  He tumbled straight down, the sensation terrifying, surrounded by froth and sheets of water. Any equilibrium he might have retained was lost. His head was filled with screams and rushing water.

  Without warning, he hit a liquid surface, still caught in the waterfall’s flow, and now his body was being pushed toward another extremity. Spinning, thrashing, Bodie managed to sprawl out of it rather than swim, and then kicked his legs in what he hoped was the direction of the surface.

  His head and arms broke through with an enormous splash.

  The first reaction was relief. Sweet, I’m alive! The second was worry for his friends. Cassidy appeared first in a plume of water, then Jemma. Both women fought for air against the surging flood for a moment before realizing they were alive.

  Bodie got straight on the comms. “Relax, you’re safe.”

  Then the realization hit him. Were they safe? Treading water, he surveyed the new cavern. First, he saw the waterfall twenty feet above. It poured powerfully, sending the torrent on its endless journey into the big cave below. Bodie assumed there had to be an equal-size exit point underneath them, since the cave didn’t look to be filling up. He spun, anxious to sweep the entire chamber.

  “Ah, girls,” he said. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Cassidy was already staring, dumbstruck. Jemma saw it next and almost stopped breathing. It wasn’t perfect; it wasn’t anything like intact, but it was stunning nonetheless.

  At the very top, a pediment reached toward the roof of the chamber, almost brushing it at its apex. The triangular gable was supported by a horizontal plinth adorned with carvings, and then four columns that ended where the base of the temple began. The base consisted of four wide steps, which disappeared below the waterline, waves lapping at the discolored marble.

  Bodie took it all in. The top arch appeared to have been a different color, possibly inlaid with gold, but time, and perhaps water, had dulled its original effect. Grime and mold clung to the pillars and the reliefs. Bodie guessed that, in relative terms, it was a small building, understated even, and wondered if it had been the effort of just a few men.

  Still, without investigation they would never know.

  Cassidy swam around him and then Jemma. Bodie took another few seconds to scan the area and the darkness behind the pillars. He saw nothing. Hopefully the weapons they had brought would not be needed.

  Cassidy climbed out and removed her flippers, tank, and face mask. She splashed her bare feet in the water. Jemma followed suit.

  “The air seems fresh,” Jemma said. “Must be sucked down the shaft by that flow of water. It separates in the chamber and comes under pressure. The methane gauge is low. I imagine this cave was above sea level a long, long time ago, before the cataclysm. We must be careful, though. Most underwater caves are inhospitable, to say the least.”

  “Deadly,” Cassidy affirmed. “Grab your camera.”

  Bodie rose in their wake, dripping wet. This close, he could see better where the building had been damaged. The pillars at first glance looked smooth, as if they had been evened out by time. But here and there Bodie spotted deep parallel lines. Pockmarks pitted their surface. Several piles of rubble lay farther inside the temple. Bodie paused and looked back as the women moved into the building’s interior shadow.

  All clear. The water fell and filled the chamber with noise. The far sheer wall of the cavern had rudimentary steps carved into it about halfway up, which led to another tunnel entrance.

  The way out? Well, it’s either that or forcing ourselves through the hole down below! Bodie knew which way he’d prefer.

  With a practiced eye, he assessed the inside of the building. Nothing he could see shouted “Poseidon.” The interior was about the same in width as it was in length, the rock face behind the temple just a meter distant from its rear steps. Bodie assumed the entire structure continued deep underwater and wondered if they would have to dive down.

  Jemma used her flashlight to scan the columns; Cassidy used hers to illuminate the ceiling. Bodie shook off the quiet sense of foreboding that pervaded his mind with prickly, razor-edged fingers. He couldn’t quite dismiss the thought that they had disturbed someone down here.

  Why?

  Jemma had scanned the front pillars and was moving to the back. Cassidy helped, her ceiling scan complete. Bodie wandered out front to take a look at the relief carvings high up on the plinth, reasoning that up there, at least, there was something to see.

  Quickly, he removed the small telescope he’d packed in a waterproof bag. Lucie had indeed thought of everything. The telescope was fitted with a camera, and Bodie took several pictures, unable to comprehend the markings.

  Cassidy came back. “Good boy,” she said. “There are more on the other side. I’m going to shimmy up the building and take some photos.”

  “Be careful.”

  “Don’t worry. I can only fall into water.”

  He sighed quietly. Cassidy knew the risks and happily shrugged them off, devil may care. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her capabilities, it was more that he felt an obligation to keep his team alive.

  More than a team. These people reminded Bodie of the best parts of his childhood. He regretted losing the Forever Gang, but he wouldn’t lose touch with these new friends, who brought his old friends back to life without a crushing amount of angst.

  Bodie was indebted to them a thousand times over and knew that they didn’t fully grasp why. There had been a time when he felt he’d never find trust and real friendship again, but Cross and Cassidy, Jemma and Gunn had selflessly given it to him. He saw that now.

  Finished taking his photos, he glanced over the roiling waters.

  Saw the first face mask pop up and then three more.

  Followed by waterproofed guns.

  I saw figures in the water.

  “Get down!” he cried. “They’re here!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Bodie ducked behind a pillar as two soldiers opened fire with automatic weapo
ns, providing cover as their two colleagues swam powerfully for the steps.

  Bodie looked back into the shadows under the building, and saw Cassidy and Jemma crouched to its side. He fired blindly at the water where the soldiers were. Bullets flashed back, smashing into the column, volley after volley. He slipped around the other side and managed to analyze the scene.

  The lead pair were coming out of the water and onto the steps. Bodie saw weapons strapped across their backs and breathing masks hiding their faces. The two at the back bobbed in the water, firing every few seconds. Bodie readied his own weapon and waited for their enemies to come closer.

  Cassidy fired first, the gunshot echoing around the small space. Her bullet skimmed the waves and embedded in the far wall of the cavern, but the attackers ignored it. They just fired back while their comrades continued to climb up the temple’s steps.

  Bodie leveled his gun at the closest climber and pulled the trigger, wounding him in the shoulder. His comrade instantly returned fire. Bodie felt a tug against his right ear. Something trickled down his cheek. He fell back, breathing hard.

  Too close.

  He counted to three before peering out again. The man he’d wounded struggled up the steps and tore his face mask off, gulping down air as he fought the pain of the bullet wound. Bodie now saw that it was the Chinese who were attacking them. The man reached the top of the steps. The second soldier was now slightly ahead. He had ditched his pistol, and was readying an automatic rifle.

  Cassidy and Jemma emerged from where they had taken cover, returning fire. But their shots went wild, missing the intended targets.

  Bodie ducked back as shots came from the two swimmers at the rear of the cave. He saw them drifting nearer now, weapons aimed.

  A figure came around the column. Bodie stepped back, firing, but the bullets went wide. The figure smacked him in the face, causing him to stagger, but he regained his balance by pushing off a column and dropping to a crouch. The attacker followed with a kick aimed at Bodie’s face. Bodie twisted so that his shoulder took the impact. Pain flared. The gun came up and he wasted another shot as the Chinese soldier disappeared around the column, then appeared almost instantly on the other side.