Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (18 page)

Now would be the most precarious stage of the operation. They didn
’
t know what they might find when they surface
d
. For all Dane knew, someone might be standing above them when they emerged from the water. Also, they
’
d need light to inspect the area around the stone.

Slowly, like a sodden log drifting
upward, Dane rose
up until his mask broke the surface of the water. He immediately looked for Meade, and felt the shock of cold surprise to see the sheriff facing them. Reflexively, he reached for his Recon knife, not that it would do any good at this distance, but, as his fingers closed on the handle, Meade turned away again.

The sheriff unhooked his radio and spoke into it.

“
You boys awake out there?
”
So the boat crew
was
on his mind. Dane couldn
’
t make out the garbled reply, but it must have been a question or a complaint, because Meade barked out a sharp retort.
“
It doesn
’
t matter if you haven
’
t seen anything. We
’
re keeping this place sealed tight.
”

As the sheriff continued his tirade, D
ane seized the opportunity to turn
on his waterproof flashlight and sink down beneath the water
at the place
where the stone vanished beneath the surface.

He saw nothing but mud.

Unwilling to give up, he
scrubbed
at the silt, stirring up a muddy cloud. He was about to give up when his fingertips scraped on coarse
rock
. He kept working until he had uncovered a stone, two feet square, with a cross carved in its surface. Remembering Matt
’
s accident, he inspected it closely. Unlike the seal on the booby-trapped opening he and Matt had found, this cross was sunk deep
er
in the stone and
was
wider on the inside than
at
the
surface
. It was like it was made to grip.

He considered for a moment. He was convinced this stone had to be removed in order to gain access to the passage shown on the map. But what if it was another trap? Somehow, he didn
’
t think so. This passage was marked on the map while the other was not, thus indicating that this one was the way in. The directions telling them which passages to take were likely the safeguard on this end. He
’
d have to take a chance.

Dane had taken hold of the stone with both hands when Bones, who was keeping watch, grabbed him by the shoulder. He raised his head out of the water and looked around. Meade was still talking on his radio, but someone else was approaching. It looked like the same man they
’
d seen patrolling earlier.

They
’
d have to hurry. Meade might be useless as a guard but Dane felt certain the other guy was of a higher caliber. Speaking in the lowest tone possible, he gave Bones a hasty set of instructions, and the two of them sank beneath the surface, took hold of the stone, and pulled.

It did not budge.

Dane surfaced and stole a glance back toward shore. Meade had spotted the approaching figure and was walking in his direction. Neither had spotted the intruders in the swamp.

Submerging again, he made a corkscrewing gesture, indicating they should add a counterclockwise turn this time. They tried again, pouring all their strength into the effort. Dane felt the burn from his hands all the way to the base of his neck as he strained against the rock. Finally, as if something had broken free, the stone rotated a smooth quarter turn and stopped with a hard knock of stone on stone. In the silence, it sounded like an explosion, and he dared another look above the surface.

“
Fisher,
”
Meade greeted the approaching man.
“
Quiet night?
”

“
So far,
”
Fisher replied in an accent twin to Locke
’
s.
“
Of course, an
yone could have slipped past
while you were waffling on with your mates out there and we
’
d never have heard.
”

Meade started to say something but, just then, a burst of sound that Dane recognized as a drill filled the air. Locke and his crew were already trying to break through to the chamber. On the positive side of the ledger, the noise should cover any sound they might make removing the stone.

He and Bones set to the task, and worked the stone free of its socket just as the sounds of drilling ceased. This time there was no whooshing sound, as the passageway they had uncovered was
already
filled with water. They la
y
the stone aside and Bones
forged ahead
. Dane was just about to follow when a glimmer of light up above caught his eye. Someone was playing a flashlight across the surface of the water directly above him! The mud and debris they
’
d stirred up made it impossible for anyone to see him, but it would be obvious, even to as dim a bulb as Meade, that something or someone was down here. And when they investigated, they
’
d find the underwater passageway.

The thought had just occurred to him when a bullet sliced through the water inches from his face. These guys weren
’
t messing around. Adrenaline surging through him, he
plunged
into the passageway, wondering what they would find, and how they would get out again.

“
What the bloody hell is going on here?
”
Locke called as he trotted up to the shore of the swamp. Sheriff Meade leaned against one of the boulders that formed the so-called Oak Island Cross, staring down at Fisher, who was waist deep in the water, shining his light all around.
“
I heard a shot. Who fired?
”

“
It was your man here,
”
Meade said.
“
I don
’
t know how you do things at your
museum
, but we don
’
t take pot shots at everything that moves.
”

In the reflected light of Fisher
’
s torch, Locke could see the sheriff
’
s scornful sneer.

“
Remind me to put up a sign reading
Trespassers Will Be Shot On Sight,
”
Locke said.
“
Because that is precisely what will happen to anyone who invades my work site.

“
I
’
m the law around here, not you people.
”
Meade
’
s back was ramrod straight and his voice trembled with anger.
“
I don
’
t care who you
’
ve bribed. I will take you to jail.
”

“
Of course you will.
”
Locke gave the man a tight smile and turned to Fisher.
“
What concerns me is, in shooting at a muddy swirl and not a target, you might have alerted potential intruders that they have been spotted.
”

“
Nobody came out of the water,
”
Meade said.
“
It was probably a beaver.
”

“
A beaver.
”
Locke could not keep the sarcasm from his voice.
“
As a professional law enforcement officer, that is your assessment of this situation?
”

Meade grimaced but had no reply. Just then, Fisher called out.

“
I
’
ve found something. Hold my torch.
”
He handed the light to Meade, who shone it where Fisher indicated. Fisher took a deep breath and vanished beneath the dark surface, emerging ten seconds later clutching something to his chest. He staggered to the bank and set the object on the ground and Meade turned the beam of the torch onto it.

The circle of light revealed a stone disc with a Templar cross adorning its surface.

“
God in heaven,
”
Locke whispered.
“
Someone has found it!
”
He produced his own torch and shone it on the boulder, where his sharp eyes immediately caught something Fisher and Meade had not noticed.
“
There
’
s an outflow of clear water coming up from underneath the stone. See what
’
s there.
”

Fisher swam for the stone, vanished from sight, and resurfaced moments later.

“
There
’
s an underwater tunnel
down there,
”
he sputtered, water streaming down his face.

“
You
’
re certain it
’
s a tunnel, not a chamber?
”

“
I think so,
”
Fisher gasped.
“
I couldn
’
t see
well
, mind you, but it
looked
like a long, narrow tunnel.
”

“
Good. I want divers down there immediately.
”
He rested his hand on the grip of his Browning HP Mark III. Meade noticed and frowned.
“
Sheriff, please put your people on high alert and resume your patrol. I will see to things here.
”

Meade didn
’
t bother to argue. He returned Fisher
’
s torch, unhooked his radio from his belt, and walked away, barking orders as he went.

Locke gazed down at the Templar symbol. Finally, after centuries of searching, they were close, and no intruder was going to stand in the way...

...or live through this night.

The darkness in the underwater passage was absolute, and Dane moved forward cautiously, keeping one hand on either side of the tunnel. He wasn
’
t worried about running into anything in front of him; Bones would encounter any obstacle before Dane did.

He estimated he
’
d gone twenty feet when a light blinked on in front of him. Now that they were well away from the entrance, Bones had
turned
on his dive light. Dane followed suit, revealing a tunnel identical to the others they
’
d surveyed.

He caught up with Bones and they swam side-by side, following the passageway as it curved to the right and angled downward, gradually narrowing. Bones fell back, letting Dane scout
ahead
. Just as the way was growing uncomfortably tight, they came to place where the main shaft continued forward, while a wide passageway branched off to the left
and
another, much narrower, broke off to the right. The first direction in the map had been
“
shaft south.
”
Dane checked the compass on his dive watch, and confirmed
that
the tunnel to the right would take them south.

This passageway, though narrower than he would have liked, was straight and its walls worn smooth, and they made good time as they penetrated its depths.

Dane
’
s confidence in the map
’
s directions grew as they came to a
divide
. One shaft led up and to the left, the other almost straight down.

Tunnel divides. Lower shaft
, he thought as he took the lower passage. This tunnel corkscrewed at a dizzying rate before angling back up again. Now thoroughly confused, he checked his compass and confirmed they
were once again heading east.

The first tunnel they passed branched off to their right, leading south. The next clue was
“
third tunnel north,
”
so they kept moving. It was odd, as the chamber they sought lay somewhere to the south. Dane was suddenly grateful they hadn
’
t stumbled across the entrance to this chamber on their own. Without the directions, they
’
d be lost, and who knew if more booby traps could be found in some of the other shafts?