by Nick Thacker
“Meaning?” asked Wayne.
“Meaning, gentlemen, that all of the tests were a complete failure. Every one of the test subjects was deceased within five years.”
The weight of the statement hit everyone. Whatever they were all after down here — if it was even here — was dangerously powerful. In the back of Bryce’s mind, he began to hope they wouldn’t find anything here.
“Needless to say, the possibilities of this crystal are endless — I’m hoping we can unlock serious potential in the advancement of non-steroid human enhancements. And, of course, the associated health benefits,” Vilocek finished.
“But what about Whittenfield’s father? Why did he need your father to continue the research?” Wayne asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? Like I said — the test subjects injected with the crystal substances all experienced heightened senses, followed by a drastic — and fatal — crash. My father needed to find either an antidote to the crystal synthetic or the pure form of the crystal itself — in order to save the lives of the subjects involved with the study. Whittenfield’s father included.”
Bryce cocked his head slightly. “Wait — you mean — “
“Yes, Captain Reynolds. Whittenfield, Sr. was one of the first subjects who received testing with the crystal material. Like the others, he had a brief period of extremely impressive intellect, and — also like the others — he was gone within five years.
“Before he died, James Whittenfield, Sr. asked my father to continue the research they had started together — and that, Bryce, is why we are here today. I am trying to continue his research and find the answers to life’s most intriguing questions — you, on the other hand, are here to prevent us from doing that. Also, I’m guessing, you have been tasked with tracking down whatever it is we’re looking for, to reach it before we do, and bring it back to your altruistic benefactor.”
He looked down at Bryce with ever-deepening eyes. Vilocek was growing more impatient and upset by the second, and Bryce wasn’t sure if he wanted to be in his line of fire when the man’s wrath became too much to hold in. Staying calm and collected, he looked to the others in the room and then back at Vilocek. “Look, man — we’re not here to hurt anyone. We just want the same thing you want, and it seems to me that it’s not here. I don’t know where it is, just like you don’t, but if we put our heads together we can figure this out. I’m more interested in getting my men out of here alive than in meddling between you and my boss’ petty differences.”
“Well said, Captain. However, I’m failing to see how exactly you are going to be any help to me,” Vilocek responded.
“What if I told you I know where the crystal is?”
Bryce walked toward the center of the room, watched closely by Vilocek’s men. “I noticed that when entering this chamber from the passageway, a square stone was blocking the way. On this stone was a symbol that we also saw on the door that led into the passageway.” Looking to Vilocek, he saw the man nod in agreement. Over against the far wall he could see Professor Jensen Andrews perk up just a little, his interest in the conversation now heightened.
“Ours was the same — two doors, each with a symbol on the center of it. What of it?”
“Well, at first I thought it was just a simple marking — a method for letting outsiders know the way.”
“Like ‘entrance’ or ‘passageway’ or something,” Vilocek said.
“Right — except, both our passageways had these markings, and they both led here. You would think that one would be an entrance, and one would be an exit, no?”
“Go on.”
“So, it must be something more — it must be a way of pointing to the crystal’s hiding place. So in here, if we can only find the same symbol…“ Bryce’s voice trailed off as he looked down into the well shaft.
Vilocek hustled over and they looked down the well. About thirty feet down, at what they assumed was the floor of the shaft, was a large symbol, again outlined in glowing blue.
“Ha! That must be it!” Vilocek’s excitement was impossible to hide. “Well, what are we waiting for? Find out what that symbol is leading us to!” he shouted to his men.
The men exchanged uneasy looks, and Vilocek remembered that they were not equipped to climb down the well shaft. He was about to fly into a rage when Beka spoke up. “Hey boss — maybe this will help?”
Vilocek looked over at Beka, who was holding in his hands a silver arrow-shaped object. He unfolded it, the single point dividing into three separate arms. It was a Botach Technical MR Grappling Hook, rated for up to 3,000 pounds on just two of the blades. Beka had produced the hook and 200 feet of rope from Sean Bartlinski’s pack.
Vilocek’s smile came back. “Great — you and Karn stay here and watch the rest of them; I’m going down right after our friend.”
Bryce knew Vilocek was referring to him, and his mind began to race. He couldn’t go down the shaft and ensure his team — and the two civilians — would be safe up here. At the same time, he didn’t want Vilocek getting his hands on the crystal.
He drew a deep breath.
He would be putting everyone — including himself — in more danger now, but there was no other option. They had been relieved of their weapons and had no way of getting free. He looked toward the shaft —
— And had a revelation. They had been relieved of all their weapons, but like Sean’s grappling hook, they still had most of their gear.
He needed to get to higher ground, someplace where he could get a signal out.
Slowly formulating a plan in his mind, Bryce stepped forward and walked completely around the shaft, looking closely at every side. Vilocek knew Bryce was calculating — checking the integrity of the thousand-plus year-old stone well — and let him be. Finally satisfied, Bryce took the grapnel from Beka, secured it to the lip of the well, and cautiously swung his body into the shaft.
With a quick glance up at Vilocek, Bryce pushed back with his feet and plunged downward into the well.
CHAPTER 28
9:42 PM - GIZA, EGYPT
There was nothing there.
Bryce and Vilocek stood on the center of the symbol, its flailing arms outstretched almost to the edges of the well. Here at its bottom, the well ended in a circular room about fourteen feet across. The floor was carved out of the same stone as the walls, perfectly smooth and level.
The symbol was the same they’d seen before, but about 100 times larger. It spanned the entire floor. Besides the giant blue symbol, however, there were no other markings or symbols, and the room was completely empty.
This seemed to irritate Vilocek beyond belief. “Where is the crystal? What is this supposed to be — some sort of tomb?” he cried out, his anger flooding the room.
Bryce’s stayed calm. “Tanning — listen to me. I’ve been thinking about this since we came down here, and I think we can help each other.” Vilocek looked at him, suspicion clouding his features.
“I know it was you and your boys who murdered those guards outside, and I know it was you who called in the Egyptians. However, I’m sure you didn’t admit to your contact that you murdered his men, which means that whoever’s after us now is probably going to be just as pissed at you when he finds out he was duped.”
“What’s your point?” Vilocek snapped.
“The way I see it — “ Bryce continued, “you can run out of here and leave us all behind, knowing that we’ll be killed — or worse — by those guys. Or, you can admit that you need our help. Whittenfield’s resources, like his father’s journals, aren’t here — and you won’t get to them without us.
“My offer is that you help us get out of here — alive — and we’ll help you find your rock. Whittenfield wants the same thing you do, so it seems like you’d both be better off working together — at least until you find what you’re looking for, and we get these Egyptians off our back.”
Vilocek stared at him, deep in thought. He had already played out every possible scenario in his mind
— if he left Bryce’s group here, they would certainly tell Madu’s men what had really happened. Whether or not they ended up killing Bryce and his team, Vilocek knew Madu would suspect who the real killers were, and would want vengeance.
And he couldn’t just walk out of the pyramid hand-in-hand with Bryce, either. Then Madu would know they were working together and would never let any of them leave Egypt alive. At the same time, he’d run out of options down here — the crystal had obviously been moved, and Vilocek was out of leads.
He hated to admit it, but Bryce was right. They needed each others’ help.
CHAPTER 29
10:55 PM - GIZA, EGYPT
The run back up the tunnel had proven more exhausting than Cole had expected. Bryce’s team had been given their weapons back, save for Cole — he’d had to give up the weird paralyzing rifle he’d been carrying — Vilocek had wanted it back. Instead, Bryce gave Cole his own sidearm and some ammunition. Cole was in good shape, and easily the most experienced distance runner here, but the lack of air and constant curving incline seemed to take its toll on him. He saw the blue symbols on the walls around him as he ran, each section seeming to pulsate even brighter as he passed. He wondered if whatever had been injected into his bloodstream would have lasting side effects. Vilocek’s men hadn’t mentioned it — but if the crystal caused long-term damage, they would certainly know about it.
Cole ran toward the Lower Room, following his new teammates. They’d all decided to leave the hidden room through the hole Cole had popped out of, since it led to the antechamber of the Lower Room — closer to the Descending Passage, and closer to freedom.
Vilocek had agreed to protect Bryce’s team until they were out of Egypt, in exchange for Whittenfield’s resources back at the lab and his team’s continued help tracking down the location of the crystal.
As soon as one team or another reached the crystal, however, all bets would be off.
Cole hoped he would be long out of the way by then. His main reason for being here, at least initially, was Corinne Banks. They had barely spoken, but something about her seemed compelling. The little he knew about her had given him enough of a reason to want to stay along and help.
Corinne, on the other hand, hadn’t looked his way since they’d been inside Vilocorp headquarters in New Mexico. He hoped her apathy toward him was simply a result of her protective focus on her uncle, but still, it was nerve-wracking to not even get a look in his general direction throughout this whole ordeal.
He was behind her now as they ran up the tunnel shaft. Not a bad view at all, he found himself thinking. Her hair bounced from left to right, lit by the bluish light of the symbols as she ran. He noticed her legs as well — long, lean, and hinted with a summer tan. He slowly took in the view, down to her feet, where the strangely shaped anklet rested around her ankle. She was in fine shape, and he wondered if she was into working out or running at all. It was a shame that she didn’t seem to care that he was there.
Up ahead, Karn slowed to a stop. They had reached the top of the tunnel, and Karn and Vilocek both poked their heads out of the hole to look for Madu’s group. Seeing nothing, Karn pulled himself up with his hands and stepped out of the tunnel shaft, followed by Vilocek. The remainder of the group did the same, one at a time, until they were all gathered inside the antechamber of the Lower Room.
“Everybody keep your heads down,” Vilocek said in a low voice, “and keep moving no matter what. Madu Jabari must have missed this tunnel shaft when he came through before, and I’m assuming he’s down below now — but he’ll be back when he finds that room empty.”
One after another, they crawled on hands and knees upwards. Karn again led the way, followed by Beka, Bryce and the rest of his team, and finally Corinne and Professor Andrews. Vilocek had felt safe leaving them at the back of the line since they knew that Madu’s men were the only thing they’d find below. Besides, he needed as much firepower at the front of the line as possible in case they ran into any of Madu’s team waiting above.
Vilocek expected this possibility — he could almost guarantee it. Madu Jabari was habitual in nature and therefore predictable. The man had few tricks up his sleeve, and Vilocek was sure Madu would approach this problem without much creativity.
Madu––never one to shy away from a fight––would have been leading the charge down into the pyramid. Also, Vilocek assumed, Jabari would have taken half of his men with him and left the remainder up on the surface or spread out elsewhere throughout the pyramid. Vilocek couldn’t help but chuckle. Madu was a decorated military officer, now serving more as a political puppet than an actual soldier. Vilocek knew Madu didn’t succeed in his military career through a distinguished level of intelligence, but rather a will and ability to charge forward without regard to the risk of failure.
A sound up ahead alerted Vilocek and Karn to slow. Both men listened intently for a few seconds. It sounded like a whispered argument, too faint to make out the words. Vilocek nodded once to Karn, and the big man moved forward quickly.
Vilocek watched as Karn ran toward the split in the passages, pulling his knife from its sheath at the same time. One of Madu’s men dropped down into the Descending Passage at about the same time Karn got there.
The Egyptian soldier yelled out just as the 8 inch blade sunk into his neck. Karn smoothly rolled forward, carrying the stunned man with him past the split in the passage. A second soldier gaped at the scene before realizing what had happened and springing into motion.
Karn was much faster.
Giving the knife a quick twist and a pull, he grabbed the blade with his left hand and swung it behind him. The knife caught the second soldier just above the groin. The man stopped dead in his tracks and he dropped his gun. He looked up at Karn, just as the bigger man crushed his face with a right hook. Crumpling, the soldier fell unconscious as Karn stepped back over him and spoke to Vilocek.
“All clear,” Karn said as he casually wiped his brow. The entire attack had taken less than 5 seconds, and Agent Karn wasn’t even breathing hard. Bryce, Wayne, and Jeff all stared wide-eyed while Beka smirked.
“Well done,” Vilocek said. “Let’s hope there aren’t too many more of them––we don’t want you getting tired, and I’m not sure Bryce and his friends will be much help.”
They continued the short climb in silence, and after about 10 minutes reached the exit. Beka and Karn stepped outside and stood on either side of the exit, on the lookout for more of Madu’s men. Vilocek held back just inside the entrance of the pyramid. Bryce, the Thompson brothers, and Bartlinski followed Karn and Beka outside.
As Gary McGowan lifted his head from the Descending Passage, one of Madu’s men finally noticed the movement at the pyramid’s entrance. He fired a single shot that found Gary’s left cheek.
The bullet exploded on impact. The force of it took half of Gary’s skull with it. His body slumped forward in the entrance as a fountain of blood splashed over Vilocek’s face, taking him and the rest of the people inside the tunnel by surprise.
The Egyptian, possibly stunned himself by the sudden appearance of enemies and the accuracy of his own hurried shot, hesitated for a heartbeat before realizing he was still in mortal danger. As he hurried to adjust his aim, a torrent of gunfire ripped into him. Two other men standing near were also hit.
Almost immediately the remainder of Madu’s rear guard converged on the entrance. Bryce, Jeff, and Beka fired at the men coming around the north side of the pyramid while Karn, Sean, and Wayne engaged the men coming from the south.
It was over almost before it had begun. Madu’s men were spread out and didn’t get to the fight at the same time. They were easily cut down one by one — like shooting fish in a barrel. Vilocek’s and Bryce’s teams had the higher ground and the numbers to stop the advancing pairs dead in their tracks — literally.
As soon as the shooting stopped, Vilocek bounded from the entrance. Covered in McGowan’s blood but seemingly unfazed, he ordered them to mo
ve out. “Get their vehicles. I’m sure Madu could hear the gunfire from down below. We need to get out of here before they lock down the entire country.”
They all set off toward Madu’s unmarked SUVs. Bryce’s team split up and headed toward the first two vehicles in the line, and Vilocek and his men headed toward the third. Beka, however, turned left toward the end of the line. Realizing what he was going for, Vilocek changed course and joined him.
The SUVs in the line accelerated away from the scene, followed by the black Humvee with Beka at the wheel. Blocky and huge, its clumsy lines belied the speed at which it was moving to catch up. Karn sat shotgun, and Vilocek, Corinne, and Jensen sat in the back.
They followed the lead vehicle to their chosen rendezvous point about 30 miles from the pyramid complex. While they drove, Bryce pressed a button on his shoulder-mounted camera, uploading the images he’d captured inside the hidden chamber beneath the Lower Room. He hoped that somewhere not too far away, Whittenfield would download the files and start piecing together the idea Bryce had started forming.
CHAPTER 30
11:37 PM - EGYPTIAN SUPREME Council Office
The group sat around a large oak table in the center of the room. Major General Horus Alexander, Commander of the Egyptian Border Guard, was seated between Major General Mohamed Hafez and Ms. Nena Dendera, advisor to the Commander of the Second Field Army. The three were there under the guise of “preparation for the upcoming meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces,” an explanation that was readily ignored by the press. On the surface, it seemed about as interesting as a U.S. Congress committee meeting; sometimes mentioned, most often ignored as “business as usual.” This place was completely unknown to the outside world, and the topic of the meeting was a closely held secret.
