Sean Wyatt Compilation Box Set

by Ernest Dempsey

  The two mercenaries looked at each other skeptically but obeyed. They’d already seen what she was capable of in the church. Slowly, they stepped across the threshold of the doorway and into the passage. Angela and the others followed closely behind. The air in the corridor was cold, noticeably more so than the room they’d just left. A draft brushed past their faces as they continued to move along. Just like the room before, the walls were smoothly carved from the rock beneath the river. There were no signs or pictures, only perfectly smooth stone walls and floors. The two men in the lead came to a point where the passageway came to a halt and made a sharp right. Cautiously, they leaned around the corner and shone their beams into the empty, stone hall. Simultaneously, they moved ahead around the corner, one on each side of the path. Suddenly, the floor shifted and tilted down where they stood. They lost their balance as the contraption lowered like an ancient teeter-totter. Both men yelled for a moment before dropping out of sight.

  Angela and the team leader had jumped back at the sight, but they moved forward again and risked a look down into the space where the men had fallen. On their side, the floor had raised, and they could see down into a chamber. Their flashlights revealed a pit of what looked like hundreds of stone spikes protruding up from the floor. A few skeletons with very old-looking armor were scattered among the stone spears. Like the decayed bodies of the skeletons, the two men who fell had been impaled.

  One of them was already dead, a particularly large spike jutting through his chest in a bloody, mangled mess. His eyes stared up to the ceiling, lifeless. The other man was writhing in agony, a stone barb piercing through his abdomen and right leg. “Help...me,” he managed to gasp.

  “Leave him,” Angela ordered. “We go back and take a different passage.”

  The man below reached up his right hand, begging for help when a deep rumble resonated through the cave. The floor began lowering back down again, and the dying mercenary disappeared in the darkness below.

  “Turn around,” she ordered. “Let’s move.”

  Tommy was amazed at how deep the passage went into the earth. It seemed like they’d been walking for thirty minutes. Maybe it had only been ten, but either way, the task of carving out that much stone seemed an incredible one. Finally, he could see an opening up ahead. “Looks like something at the end of this corridor,” he said to Carlson.

  A few moments later the hallway opened up into an enormous room. The ceilings rose like the inside of a pyramid, coming to one point in the top where a small hole appeared to be bored into the stone. The smooth walls were about eight feet high, meeting the ceiling and amplifying the effect of the sloping angles. On the opposing three walls were three symbols, a leaf carved into the middle of each.

  Tommy recognized them immediately. In the center of the room, a cube-shaped pedestal rose up from the ground about four feet. The scene reminded him of the chamber he’d found in Georgia. With that one, they’d needed to place the stone on the little altar to gain access to the golden room. This pedestal, however, was different. Engraved on the side of it was a picture of a tree whose branches wrapped around, spiraling upward until they reached the top. On the surface were three imprints of leaves matching the ones on the walls. Within each imprint were dozens of little stone pegs.

  “What is this?” Carlson asked as he whirled around in confusion. “Where is all the gold?”

  “You know,” Tommy answered in a snobby tone, “that is exactly what the last guy wondered when I found one of these things.”

  Carlson’s anger spiked; he smacked Tommy across the face with the back of his hand.

  Tommy fell backward a few steps but stood tall once he regained his balance. “Yeah, about that. We probably need the three golden leaves to get into the real chamber,” he said defiantly.

  “What are you talking about?” Hunter raised his gun and pointed it at Tommy’s face. “What golden leaves?”

  “You mean these,” a new voice came from behind Carlson in the direction of the doorway.

  Carlson turned around to see Wyatt open his backpack and reveal a shimmering, yellow object; he also noticed that Will and Adriana had guns trained on him.

  Hunter cursed himself. Had he kept his gun on Tommy, he could have at least retained his hostage. Now he was in a tight spot. However, he still had the weapon aimed in Adriana’s direction.

  “Drop those guns, or I kill her right now,” Carlson made sure his barrel was pointing straight at her heart.

  Tommy started to move toward him from behind, but Hunter saw the movement and halted him. “You move another inch, and she dies! Understood?”

  Schultz froze in his steps.

  “Squeeze that trigger, and you die next,” Sean said in a steely voice.

  Chapter 66

  Southeastern Ecuador

  Angela stood between the two remaining doorways, trying to decide what to do. Telling any other men on her team to lead the way down a dark passage would be futile after seeing what happened to the last two. She would have to take a risk.

  “You two,” she pointed at a red-haired man with a matching beard who was standing next to another mercenary with a shaved head and a goatee. “Take the middle passage. We’ll go down the right. If you get into trouble, radio for help. And if you find anything, let me know.”

  They knew she had no intention of helping them, as just evidenced with the men she’d left to die, but by offering to take the same chance they were taking, their minds seemed to be a little more at ease. They nodded, full of new courage, and watched as she led the way into the far right corridor. The team leader and another younger mercenary followed her in. Convinced they had as good a chance to survive as the others, they moved ahead and disappeared into the center portal.

  Angela moved carefully along the passage, staying close to the wall. Her light shone into the long hallway ahead. It seemed so far, she couldn’t see the end of it. Suddenly, she heard two screams in her radio. They’d only been in the tunnel a minute.

  Quickly, she and the other two rushed back to the room they’d just left. Both of the men she’d sent into the middle passage were lying on the floor. Their bodies had multiple puncture wounds throughout the torso and limbs. The redhead had received one through the left eye. A pool of blood surrounded the bodies and was draining toward the main entrance to the room, slowly.

  She’d been lucky. Whatever it was that killed them hit them with enough force to knock them out of the tunnel. “They’re gone,” she said to the last two as she pointed to the third doorway. “This must be the way.”

  Hunter Carlson considered the situation for a moment. There was no way he could take them all out. His only hope was to negotiate. He’d done his research on Schultz and Wyatt, though he had no idea who the others were. “The people I work for only want gold,” he said after deliberating. “While you, Mr. Wyatt and your friend over here, care more about the historical side of things. You want to make sure antiquities are preserved. The money is of no consequence, right?”

  “What are you getting at?” Tommy asked from behind.

  Carlson’s gun moved a little to the right as he moved his head slightly at the question. That was all Will needed. His weapon fired, sending a painful echo around the room. The bullet was true, though, and found its mark squarely on the gunman’s wrist. The impact of the round caused Carlson to instantly drop his weapon to the floor, grasping his arm with the other hand.

  Tommy grabbed the gun and held it at his side. Hunter’s face contorted in mixture of anger and agony.

  “You OK?” Sean asked Adriana. She nodded.

  “Glad you could catch up,” Tommy said, calming down a tense moment. He smiled at his friend.

  Sean grinned, “Next time, make sure you check who’s driving before you hop in a car.”

  Angela and the remaining two men on her team heard the gunshot echo through the passageway. They froze in place, wondering if the shot was directed at them. There was no bullet ricochet. Still, the sound meant
that they weren’t far away. “Keep your lights low on the ground in front of us,” she ordered. “We don’t want to announce our arrival.”

  Tommy smiled. “Glad you brought those,” he said, pointing at the backpack containing the golden leaves. “It looks like they go on that pedestal over there.” He walked over and knelt down on the hard stone. Carefully, he lifted the frail-looking objects out of Sean’s backpack and admired them for a moment; the intricate craftsmanship was stunning. “There must be a counterbalance system here like the one we found in Georgia.”

  “Not more ancient elevators, I hope,” Sean joked.

  “Only one way to find out.” Tommy stood up and walked over to the stone altar. He gently laid the first leaf into place where it matched the design.

  Will paid no attention. He just kept staring at Carlson with his gun pointed at the man’s head. Carlson was returning the gaze but wasn’t sure what was going through Will’s mind. He clutched his bloody wrist with the other hand but gave no indication of pain. The gears of Will’s mind were turning. He needed to find out who Carlson worked for. Then he would kill him.

  Tommy had already laid the second leaf into place and was now setting the third one down. He cautiously let the object settle into its seat. A clicking sound came from within the pedestal and the center wall. It was then joined by a deep rumble that shook the entire room. Suddenly, the center wall began to move, revealing a seam along the top and sides. A huge doorway was opening from the middle of the wall.

  “A hidden door,” Adriana marveled at the sight.

  The enormous piece of stone continued downward, shaking ancient dust from its surface as it moved. Sean and Tommy pointed their flashlights through the opening as it continued to widen. Through the darkness, they could see the reflection of their beams on the other side.

  Adriana stepped next to Sean. She could see a glimmer of something metallic just through the short passage between the rooms.

  “You all go on ahead,” Will said loudly. “I’ll stay here with this piece of crap.”

  The others nodded and stepped slowly into the tunnel as the large door finished its descent with a loud thud. Sean reached into his pack and pulled out a handful a large white glow sticks. He bent one until it cracked to life, and he dropped it on the floor. The stick cast an eerie ivory light on the walls and ceiling of stone. Then he took a few more, activated them, and tossed them ahead into the next room. As the sticks began to glow, their eyes were filled with an unbelievable site. Statues, gold panels, scrolls, medallions, plates, ancient armor were all placed neatly around the room.

  Sean glanced at Tommy. His friend’s face beamed with excitement. Before he could say anything, Schultz was on the other side of the chamber looking at a stone placard with a Babylonian engraving on it. Then he moved quickly to another piece, a thin golden scroll with ancient Hebrew imprinted on it. He traced his fingers along the writing for a few seconds before going to the next object.

  The room was gigantic, running around seventy feet long and probably just as wide. Each wall was decorated with precious objects from an ancient civilization. In the center of the room, a triangular stone pedestal sat alone. Sean walked over to it and noted the designs that covered the sides of it. On each side was a pyramid of varying sizes, shapes that were eerily familiar. At the top of the pedestal, a small round stone sat silently. It was the third stone.

  Adriana could not help but admire the work that represented so many ancient cultures. She wondered, “Why are all of these things here? They’re from civilizations on the other side of the world.” Something in her voice told Sean she had already come up with the answer.

  “We’ve been trying to figure that out,” Tommy answered.

  “Think about it,” she continued. “These relics represent nearly every major society from antiquity. There are even some here that the history books never mention. How did they get here?”

  “There are theories that maybe there was an ancient trade route that people from the Old World took long before Columbus came to the new world,” Tommy responded as he kept examining the cache.

  “Perhaps,” she said. “But what if it was something else?”

  Tommy stopped where he was and looked over at her. Sean did the same. “What are you getting at?”

  “I have been investigating the lost chambers for some time now. When you two found the first one in Georgia, I knew that there were many symbols and signs pointing to ancient civilizations. But most of what you found was just words and gold. “Now that I see these relics with my own eyes. I am convinced of the truth.”

  “What truth?” Sean asked suspiciously.

  “The people who brought these things here were not traders. They left their home out of necessity. And they brought as much as they could from their history to preserve it.” She looked at them both before continuing. “A collection like this could only have come from one place. The Library of Alexandria.”

  Will watched the others out of the corner of his eye. When he thought they were too far away to hear him he sneered at Carlson.

  “Now here is what’s going to happen. You’re going to tell me who you work for; then I’ll make sure that you die quickly.”

  Carlson’s eyes flashed in surprise. “What are you talking about?”

  Will held the gun lower, pointing it at the man’s right knee. “Have you ever been shot in the knee, Hunter?”

  “How do you know my name?” he asked, ignoring the question.

  “Because I’m better at my job than you.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Just answer the question, Hunter. Who do you work for?”

  Realization came across Carlson’s face. He let a smile creep to the side of his mouth. “Oh, I see. You’re the one working for the Prophet, aren’t you? I’ve heard about you, but they work very hard to keep your identity a secret, don’t they?”

  Will raised the weapon back up to the man’s chest. “You’d better start giving me names now, or so help me...”

  “You’ll what?” Hunter interrupted. “You’ll shoot me? They won’t let you.” He waved his hand toward the passageway.

  “Maybe I’ll kill them, too. You don’t know my orders.”

  The last statement struck home with Carlson. He didn’t know what this man was supposed to do. He’d heard about him and knew that the Prophet had sent his best to oversee the operation. But that was all the information he’d obtained.

  “I can make it hurt real bad, Hunter. Or it can be over quickly. Either way, you aren’t walking out of here.”

  The man looked into the other room at the other three who were examining the now illuminated room. “OK,” he said finally. “Let’s just say that you’re not the only one working for the Order.” He raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

  Will looked confused for a second. “I already know about the other team. They’re right behind us. They are supposed to be working with me.”

  “I’m not talking about them. And they work for the Prophet, too. I work for the others.”

  Then the realization hit Will. Carlson was working for other members of the council. He’d met some of them once, primarily the two men directly beneath the Prophet. The impression he had received was of two men who could not be trusted. “Mornay and Carrol,” he said quietly, more as a statement than a question.

  “You should know that I’m not the only one working for—”

  A gun fired from near the long passageway. The look on Will’s face turned to a grimace and he dropped to his knees. A hole in the center of his small backpack smoked from the bullet’s entry. Will fell to his knees, and Angela Weaver came into view behind him. A thin trail of smoke drifted up from the barrel of her weapon.

  “Boy, am I glad to see you,” Carlson said as he stood and started to move toward Angela and her men. She fired two shots into his chest, interrupting him, sending him reeling backward. Shock washed over his face. Two red carnations started spreading from black holes on his gray T-shirt.
The look in Carlson’s eyes begged to know why. “We’re on the same team,” he stammered, trying to stay standing.

  She lowered her weapon to her side as she spoke to him in a harsh tone. “A secret you obviously could not keep.”

  He fell down to his knees and over on his side.

  The first gunshot had startled Sean and the others. They looked through the portal in horror as Will collapsed to the floor, shot in the back. Then the shooter executed the man that had taken Tommy, firing two rounds into his chest. It looked like she was saying something to him, but they were too far away to hear.

  Adriana and Tommy looked at Wyatt. Sean’s old reflexes kicked in. “Find cover,” he ordered.

  As soon as the words left his mouth, the woman with the gun and her two men turned and started firing in their direction. Adriana deftly dove out of range and behind the wall next to the door. Tommy was somewhat less elegant as he dove, looking more like an out-of-shape baseball player diving into second base. Sean moved to the edge of the door opposite of Adriana and held his gun up at the ready.

  Angela and her two men unleashed a torrent of rounds at the little group in the next room. Bullet casings dropped to the stone floor around their feet with a clinking sound. Their targets all moved to the side of the door and out of range. She and her two men did the same on their end and simultaneously reloaded a fresh magazine of rounds. They each had several to spare, a luxury she doubted her targets could afford.

  Angela poked her head around the corner and saw the silhouette of a gun near the left corner. She lowered her weapon and squeezed off two shots. The bullets sparked off of the edge of the hallway, just missing.

  Sean pulled his hand back just in time before two rounds ricocheted off the wall near his head. He looked quickly over at the others who’d taken up a position opposite him, staying close to the wall.

  “How many,” Adriana whispered just loud enough for him to hear.

  “Three or four, I think,” he answered.

  Another three shots popped from the end of the passage and pinged off the corner next to Adriana, causing her and Tommy to both take another step back.