A hand chopped at Bodie’s throat. Agony exploded inside his lungs. The other hand came around with a knife thrust at his ribs. Bodie barely moved, but just enough for the knife to slice his suit and flesh and cause blood to pour. The other hand jabbed at his sternum, and this time he went down to his knees.
Damn, these guys are bloody good.
The Chinese soldier fell across him then, shot through the back by Cassidy. Bodie struggled to push him off. The second soldier was coming around a far column, held at bay by a flurry of wide shots from Jemma, who had taken cover behind another pillar. Bodie rasped, trying to catch his breath.
Cassidy was moving fast to intercept the second soldier. Hugging the outer wall, she padded quietly on bare feet until she reached the pillar that he was hiding behind, but didn’t take anything for granted. Soundlessly, she dropped to the floor.
He reappeared around the pillar four seconds later, arms first, then head, standing about a meter above her, the gun pointed and already firing. Cassidy shot upward, twice, into his chest, sending him toppling back into the water.
Bodie watched as the two remaining swimmers came close to the steps. There was a lull. Jemma coughed. The waterfall roared. Bodie massaged his throat gingerly.
Cassidy waved. “You fuckers fallen asleep, or what?”
Nobody knew if they heard, but the swimmers’ next actions terrified Bodie. They reared up, balancing on a sunken step, and aimed automatic gunfire at the building’s entire façade. Hundreds of bullets tore chunks from the walls. Bodie shrank back, head down and filled with raucous noise. He was so close to the floor he couldn’t focus, but knew he had to see what these madmen did next.
They fired ceaselessly, aiming at random. Only now they were pushing away, swimming on their backs with feet propelling them toward the far sheer wall with its steps. They passed close to the waterfall. Bodie tried to pick them off, braving the hail of bullets, but quickly ducked back down.
After a few seconds he looked out from behind his cover. Both swimming soldiers had ceased fire and were each about to pull the pin from a grenade.
You crazy fucking . . .
Bodie acted immediately on seeing the grenades, realizing they had ten seconds or less after the pins were pulled. Another major problem had occurred to him—they had left their tanks and face masks at the front of the temple, in full view of the Chinese. There was no living without those tanks and masks. He jumped into the open, grabbed masks for Jemma and Cassidy, and flung them behind him. The third mask was an easy kick across the floor. Then he bent down for the tanks as both grenades were hurled toward him. He was desperate to complete his task before they exploded. The first grenade landed and bounced, followed by its twin.
Bodie wrestled the first tank into his arms and threw it, then hurling the second tank to the rear of the building where, after a swift glance, he saw Cassidy and Jemma were already headed. His entire being was consumed now with one spinning grenade as it slipped off the building and plunged into the water.
And then the blast.
It detonated beneath the surface, sending a mighty deluge in every direction, an eruption that slammed Bodie off his feet. He felt the brief sensation of flight before striking the building’s side and seeing the column that held it up start to crumble. The second grenade exploded on the floor of the temple, turning the cave into a hellish bedlam.
Bodie almost slipped between the building and the side of the cave. There was a meter gap down there, but the chances of being crushed were incredibly high. He scraped and scrapped and hung on. A deeper panic seized him when he saw the swimming soldiers hurling two more grenades. The column to his left shuddered, wavered, and then stopped moving, holding fast. One of the central pillars fell away, plummeting straight down in a jumble of marble, mortar, and dust. The boiling waters claimed it, dragged it back. Water poured from everywhere, and waves ran across the building’s floor. Bodie lay prone, waiting for the next two explosions.
Meanwhile, Cassidy and Jemma had raced to where Bodie threw the masks, picked them up, and jammed them over their heads. They held on through the next explosion, huddled against the water blast, unable to stop themselves from sliding across the floor on the seats of their wetsuits, propelled by the detonation. As she slipped, Cassidy grabbed one tank and heaved the other in Jemma’s direction. Jemma caught hold of it, snagged a strap with her hand, and looped it over her shoulders. The final explosion sent them farther back. Cassidy stopped herself by planting her feet on the rear wall of the cavern, suspended over the drop to the water below. She flung herself into the water as soon as she got the chance.
Jemma slid past, flailing.
Cassidy reached out, managed to grab her arm and hang on. She used her planted legs as a fulcrum, first arresting Jemma’s glide, and then pulling her back to safety. The tank clanged off the marble floor between them. Through the viewing panel of their masks, they breathed out at each other in relief.
“Bodie?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Bodie’s attention had been fixed on the Chinese as they escaped toward the rudimentary staircase. He’d lost his gun, maybe lost his life, but he watched them scale the wall and prayed that they missed a handhold and fell into the choppy waters below.
One important point did occur to him: they found what they were looking for.
Then the final explosions buffeted the chamber. Hell, he imagined, had never been so wet. Another column went down and the building began to droop. A wave big enough to surf dropped over him.
Cassidy’s bare feet stopped just millimeters from his skull.
He looked up at her. She had clearly managed to escape the last two explosions. She grabbed him under the arms and hauled him to his feet. With unsteady legs he tried to keep his balance, but found he had to lean on her to stay upright. The world tilted. The floor cracked, a crazy, zigzag fault line passing right between his legs. When its edges parted, Cassidy dragged him through the crumbling pillars.
Above, the plinth shattered.
The pediment listed and then toppled outward, masses of carved marble coming straight down at him. Jemma ran and leapt into space; Cassidy ran, pulling him along.
Together they dived into the water. Bodie tried to see where his own air tank had gone but saw nothing. Desperate, he dived with Cassidy and Jemma straight for the bottom of the pool. As they skimmed through the water, the women strapped themselves into their air tanks and tried to attach the breathing tubes.
At their backs, the building started to topple and crash into the water. A displaced surge came straight at them. Debris smashed against Bodie’s foot, propelled by the sudden rush. Cassidy allowed her body to straighten and drifted underwater for a moment to set her breathing apparatus properly. Jemma did the same.
Together, they pushed Bodie’s mask over his face.
It was only now he realized he’d been holding his breath all this time.
Cassidy pushed her breathing valve into his mouth, a kiss from a good friend, and he took several lungfuls before giving it back. She sucked hard herself then, readying her body for the next big challenge.
She pointed. Bodie stared. Oh, fuck me. A million what-ifs barraged his brain. Below, the waters of the cave funneled into and through a narrow hole. The possibilities of what lay on the other side were endless.
Just remember what you’ve already passed through. It will be the same.
He gestured frantically to the far wall and the staircase. Cassidy made an explosive motion with her hands and Bodie realized what she meant. If they followed the soldiers they risked walking into bullets or bombs.
So down they went. They paused once more, this time Jemma pulling her breathing valve free and lending a lungful of air to Bodie. Cassidy went first, allowing her body to ride the spiral of water down through the hole wherever it led. Then Jemma and Bodie followed as he saw, to the left, an expanding wall of rubble coming toward them.
The master thief closed his eyes.
Cassidy fell through into another cave, splashing into the water from a height. This one was three-quarters full and had a staircase cut into two sides. There was no telling what ancient wonders were in here. She struck out for the side underneath the higher staircase. Behind her, Bodie and Jemma bobbed along, finally meeting the wall. Cassidy climbed a small part of the wall up to the stairs, seeing a narrow hole right above them. When she arrived at the stairs she peered up, wondering if the hole led into the cave they’d just vacated.
It didn’t.
The shaft veered away from the underwater cave system. It occurred to her, finally, that these were air vents, and in fact the reason they hadn’t been poisoned by the underground air. It made sense. In fact, it was perfect. She waited at the top and explained her thoughts to the others, while unselfconsciously hanging off the wall.
“Bollocks,” Bodie said, now looking close to his old self. “And there I was just starting to enjoy swapping saliva from the breathing tube with the two of you.”
Cassidy considered kicking him off the wall. Jemma screwed her face up in disgust. All three of them then climbed into the vent together and began to wind upward through the rock.
“Let’s hope we don’t meet anyone coming down.” Bodie peered beyond Cassidy’s haunches. “Since there’re no wide spots.”
The air was good, the going tough. The passage was narrow and hard on the hands and knees. Sharp pieces of grit and rubble assailed their flesh and suits. Small creatures scuttled around them and fell from the ceiling. When they stopped for a breather they had to lie flat, end to end, until they felt ready to continue.
“In one way I hope that wasn’t the temple of Poseidon,” Bodie said during one break. “But in another, I really hope it was, because it shows we’re still on the right track.”
“Yeah, those soldiers really cooked it. Do you remember what you saw?”
He recalled taking photos. “I was too busy clicking,” he admitted. “Didn’t register the images.”
They forged on, the tunnel growing steeper until they had to claw their way forward. This continued until they could go on no more and collapsed in pain. Even after recovering and retrying, they found that the way ahead was nearly impossible. Cassidy groaned and slid backward. Bodie galvanized her with an ultimatum.
“Keep moving,” he said, “or I’ll crawl right over you and pull you with me—and, girl, I won’t ever let you forget it.”
A deeper groan and she was inching forward again. A grueling half hour later and the slope leveled off. The trio rested once more, took several gulps of air, and suddenly realized how much fresher it tasted.
A breeze wafted down the tunnel.
“We’re close, be doubly careful,” Bodie warned.
“I didn’t come all this way to end up as soldier bait,” Cassidy growled.
There was a surprise waiting for them at the tunnel’s exit. An outcropping of rock and brush covered the opening, and when Cassidy angled her body into it, moving headfirst into waning sunlight and sliding slowly free, her eyes ended up looking down the side of a mountain to the rolling ocean below. Heart pounding, she grabbed hold before she fell out.
“Pull me back,” she whispered furiously. “Just pull me back now!”
Bodie carefully dragged her to safety and let her readjust. “What’s the problem?”
“Let me check.” She let her eyes adapt to the light, gauged the vault of the crimson sky to determine the time, and saw the early sprinkling of stars above and a vertical space below her. “Shit, we’ve been in there a long time. It’s dusk.”
“Is that it?”
“No, that’s not it. I’m staring down the side of a fucking cliff face. That’s the problem.”
“Ah, what’s the distance?”
Glad to hear Bodie’s thought processes matched her own. She estimated the drop. “Eighty feet?”
“Shit, that’s a tricky jump. Not impossible, but tricky.”
Cassidy shook her head. “Oh, great. So the mighty Pantera never taught you cliff diving?”
Bodie smiled. “Everything but.”
Cassidy studied the area below. The truth was, there were no rocks, no rough surf, just rolling water. “Everything I can see down there looks safe.”
“Cool. After you, then.”
Cassidy smiled to hear the muffled voice from around her waist, where Bodie still held on. The bonds they had forged recently would only intensify. Her outlook on trust and friendship had been enriched, not least in the last few weeks. It even made her feel stronger inside, where it counted.
“Hold on,” she called back. “I’m gonna see if we can climb up.”
Wriggling, she shifted and angled her body until she hung out below the rocky outcrop. Then she grabbed hold of it and lifted herself up. Damn, that was good exercise for the abs. Bodie’s grip was powerful, and she placed her life in his hands. She edged out a little farther and clung, staring toward the top of the cliff. The face wasn’t vertical, but it was close. The sparse vegetation promised no handholds, and even the rock itself looked smooth.
“Pull me in. Climbing is not gonna work.”
Quickly, she related her findings and then told them what they were going to do.
“Keep your chin up. Jump out, feet down, and do not look at the water. Use your arms to stabilize yourself, but put them down before you land. Land strong, feet together, knees slightly bent. And Bodie, cup your sack unless you want it to turn into a really bad day.”
She counted eight seconds of silence and reflection before Jemma’s scared voice filtered out of the tunnel. “You’ve done cliff diving before?”
“No, an old boyfriend of mine used to compete. Guess I listened more than I thought.”
“We’re jumping, then?”
Cassidy told Bodie to let go of her feet and then slowly shuffled into a sitting position. Using the outcrop as both a fulcrum and a safety anchor, she rose, shaking out the aches as she went. Dead ahead, the sun set spectacularly, casting a sheen of fire across the steadily rolling waves.
She launched her body right into them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
With no functioning comms and no real clothes or shoes, the journey back to their camp took longer than it should have. They barely rested, conscious that an unknown but very real ticking time bomb now lay in Chinese hands, aware that with every passing minute the fate of the world hung in the balance. They were some way ahead now, and possessed everything they needed to find Atlantis first.
The night was dark, but an almost full moon and a million shimmering stars helped light their path.
They came over a rise, vegetation in their way, and stared down the slopes of the crater to the wide lake below. The whispering wind tussled and fought with the unyielding branches all around. Because of his relatively high vantage point, Bodie had eyes on the Chinese camp, and then the Moroccans’, and then their own as the entire vista came into view.
They were fighting on the banks of the lake.
The Chinese had attacked, it appeared, from the water, their small dinghies lying forlornly there now, drifting close to the edge. Bodie could see chaos had overtaken the camp, with soldiers involved in fierce firefights, dodging equipment and using the natural cover of the undergrowth. The scene was illuminated by several small conflagrations, and most combatants exchanged bullets from behind whatever cover they could find. Bodie saw Cross and Gunn leaping in the firelight, but there was no sign of Heidi. Their camp was under siege, but maybe, just maybe, the three of them could turn the tide of battle.
The ground dropped off sharply below. Bodie hastened down with the women. They veered toward the camp, thankful when they passed below the lip of the crater and were no longer outlined against the sky.
As they arrived at the outskirts of the camp, the battle raged around them. Bodie counted five Chinese soldiers, most likely what remained of their force after they lost two in the underwater cavern. He saw two SEALs lying motionless, the rest holding the Chi
nese at bay. A figure was pinned down behind a twisting clump of brush close to the water. Bodie guessed this was Heidi or Lucie. He slowed as he hit the beach, coming in behind the Chinese positions. Ducking low, he crept along, one foot in the water, the other in the sand. He stopped and raised his hand.
“Slowly.”
Cassidy placed the only gun they had retained after the cave firefight into his palm. They knew it was down to the last three bullets. Bodie saw this as a real chance of getting rid of the Chinese, who had been a heavy, life-threatening noose around the necks of the relic hunters. Taking care, he crept closer and closer, letting the noise of the battle mask any sounds he might make. Not once did a stray bullet come close; he was at a right angle to their position. When he reached optimum range, he settled and took stock.
Three Chinese were dug in between the curve of the bank and their camp, all hidden behind fallen logs and the trunk of a tree. A fourth hid cleverly in the shallows of the lake, using the slope for protection. Bodie slunk in closer, took a deep breath, and made sure he knew where the nearest cover was.
The area around Heidi suddenly began to blaze as flames cavorted and leapt between branches. The fifth enemy soldier kept her pinned down with gunfire. Bodie lined him up first and squeezed off a shot. The slug took him in the shoulder blade, sent him flying. Bodie switched aim smoothly, taking down the man behind the tree. The third and fourth were already changing positions. One moved too far and was immediately picked off by a SEAL, which left just two.
Bodie dived for cover. Bullets punished the undergrowth all around. Head down, he lay beside Cassidy and Jemma until more shouts went up.
“Look out!”
“Left, bud, on your left.”
The three of them bobbed up. Bodie swore. The Bratva, it seemed, had taken the opportunity to attack, sensing easy prey. Maybe they were intent on just killing him, or maybe they had decided to join in the hunt for Atlantis. Bodie wouldn’t put it past them. Criminals were opportunists, just like everyone else.
The Atlantis Cipher (The Relic Hunters Book 2) Page 19
