Buccaneer (Dane Maddock Adventures) (29 page)

This folder contained footage from the security camera in the delivery area. He quickly scrolled through the clips, as the museum apparently didn
’
t get many deliveries. One clip after another, all showing an empty loading bay, rolled by.
He was ready to give up, but
figured he might as well keep going, at least until Willis showed up, which ought to be any minute now.

The most recent clip was from this afternoon, and ended shortly before they
’
d arrived. For no particular reason,
he skipped down to it
and double-clicked. This clip began the same as the others, footage of an empty room, but it soon grew interesting.

On the screen, a
heavy-set man with a pistol on his hip opened the bay door and a black sedan with tinted windows rolled in. Another man, short and dark, also armed, stepped out. The two spoke for a minute, then moved off screen. Two minutes later, they returned, supporting a figure in jeans and a t-shirt.

It was Angel.

She could barely stand, as if she was under the influence of some sort of drug. She also might have been injured, and unable to walk on her own, but he didn
’
t want to consider that. Her hands were cuffed in front of her and ankles shackled. They weren
’
t taking any chances with her.

They put her into the back seat and the big guy got in
after
her, while the dark-skinned man took the wheel. A minute later, a lean, tawny-haired man
climbed
into the passenger seat and they drove away. Corey scrolled through the rest of the clip, but the car did not return.

Angel was gone. They had missed her by a matter of minutes.

Corey reached for his cell phone, then thought the better of it. They had agreed Corey would not call Willis,
in case his phone should
ring at an inopportune time, but Willis would call Corey if he needed help.

When they weren
’
t certain anything was amiss at the museum, he hadn
’
t been too concerned about Willis, but now things had changed. What if the guys he
’
d seen leaving in the car weren
’
t the only armed, dangerous men on the premises? Willis should know that Angel was gone and there was nothing more he could do in there, but how could Corey let him know? He supposed he could go in after him, but the very thought made his stomach threaten to heave up. He was a computer guy, not a soldier. Besides, what if he walked into a trap and they both wound up...

He dismissed the line of thought with a shake of his head. Willis had been in worse situations than this plenty of times. He
’
d be okay.

Willis checked his watch. Thirty minutes since he
’
d heard so much as a footstep down below. Hoping Shears and the rest of the museum staff had gone, he crawled to the bow of the pirate ship and peered over the edge.

Down below him, the museum was empty. He watched for another five minutes before deciding it was safe to come out. But how to get down? He scanned the deck and his eyes fell on a coil of rope in the stern. Unlike most of the ship, which was constructed from new materials, this appeared to be an authentic rope from an old sailing ship. It looked dry and brittle, but he had no choice.

He lashed the rope to the stern and tossed it over the edge. It was too short, ending about ten feet above the floor, but it would have to do. Not willing to waste time fretting over something beyond his control, he took hold of the rope, climbed over the rail, and shimmied down.

The coarse rope scoured his already scraped hands, but he worked his way down in a controlled slide.

Halfway to the floor, he heard a snap and the rope gave an inch.

“
Oh hell.
”
He dared a look down. Twenty feet was too far to fall.

Another snap as strands of the aged rope began to break under the strain of his weight. And another.

He slid a little faster, bracing himself for the fall that now seemed inevitable as, far above him, the rope frayed and, fiber by fiber, fell apart.  He was twelve feet up when it finally gave way.

He hit the ground hard, landing skydiver style, but the impact on the hard floor jolted him all the way up his spine. He grimaced as pain lanced through his knees, and he wondered if he
’
d torn something. It didn
’
t matter, though. He had a job to do.

One positive was that he didn
’
t have to
leave a length of rope
dangling from the stern of the ship where it could draw unwanted attention. He coiled up the fallen rope and carried it with him to the closed exhibit where he hid it beneath the fallen pirate figure. He paused to listen in case anyone was still here and had heard his fall, but the museum was silent as a tomb. Figuring it was time to move on, he took a deep breath and stepped through the door at the back of the exhibit.

He found himself in a spartan hallway that ran along the back of the exhibit hall. Doors on either side provided access to the various exhibits. In front of him, a stairwell led down to a lower level, and he spotted another smudged, bloody footprint a few steps down. Hand resting on his Beretta, he made his way down into the darkness.

He found himself in a poorly-lit basement area. He spotted more footprints and followed them past doors labeled according to what was stored inside them, to a small room, perhaps a
large janitor’s closet
. Inside, he found a folding chair and a stainless steel table.

And a great deal of blood.

A dark spatter slashed across the wall to his right, and more spots trailed down to the floor, where more dark, dry patches spotted the gray surface. Trembling with rage, he gave the room a once-over, in case he
’
d missed an important detail. A small wastebasket was shoved into the corner on his left. At first, he thought it was empty, but then he spied a glint of silver. He knelt and fished it out. It was a broken necklace with a turquoise and silver Kokopelli pendant. He
recognized it
as Angel’s
. This definitive proof she had been here.

“
I
’
m gonna kill somebody,
”
he muttered, pocketing the necklace.

“
Not today, my friend,
”
someone said from behind him. Damn! He
’
d let his anger distract him, and someone had crept up behind him.
“
Very slowly take that gun out of the holster.
”

“
Hey man, I was just looking for the john. Is it anywhere around here?
”

“
If you don
’
t want a hole in your head, do what I say, and do it now.
”

He did as instructed, slipping his Beretta out of the holster with two fingers, making it clear he was not reaching for the trigger, and setting it on the ground.

“
Good. Now turn around slowly.
”

Still squatting down, Willis turned to see Shears pointing a gun at him.
The man smiled
, clearly pleased with himself.

“
Slide the gun over to me.
”

Willis did as he was told. He gave the Beretta a shove, sliding it toward Shears
’
gun hand with enough force that it slid past him.

Shears took his eyes off of Willis for only a split second, but that was all Willis needed. He whipped his Recon knife from his belt, hurled it at Shears, and dove into a forward roll as a bullet pinged off the ceiling. He came to his feet ready to wrestle the gun from Shears, but there was no need. Willis
’
aim had been true, and the hilt of his knife protruded from Shears
’
chest. He
’
d gotten him in the heart.

Willis retrieve
d
his knife and his Beretta, and dragged Shears
’
lifeless body into the room where An
gel had been held. He regretted
taking the man
’
s life, not because he placed any particular value on it, but because he would have like
d
to question him. As it was, he had no clue as to Angel
’
s whereabouts. He only knew she had been here. He guessed that would have to be enough.

The space beneath Hamilton
’
s tomb was a tight box, but deep enough that even Bones could stand up straight. A round seal was carved in the center of each wall: the Templar cross, an Eagle clutching a spear in its talons, and the familiar temple seal and two knights seal.

Dane moved immediately to the two knights on horseback, as it was the one drawn in the corner of the map. He ran the beam of his flashlight back and forth across the carving. It didn
’
t take long to realize what made this seal different from the traditional rendering. In most versions of the seal, each knight carried a lance. In this carving, the two lances were carved as one thick lance with a prominent point. Closer scrutiny revealed a fine seam running around the top half of the lance. Dane blew the dust away from the edges.

“
This looks like a button,
”
Avery said.
“
May I?
”

“
Sure.
”
Dane stepped back and watched as she gingerly pressed on the top half of the lance. It sank into the stone with a hushed click, and the seal slowly rolled to the side, vanishing into the wall and revealing a dark shaft with handholds in the side leading deeper into the ground.

“
Maybe you should stay here.
”
Dane looked at Avery.
“
I don
’
t know how far down we
’
ll have to climb. It could be dangerous.
”

“
Are you stupid?
”
Avery looked scandalized.
“
This is Dad
’
s quest and we
’
re going to finish it together. Besides, despite what our first meeting might have indicated, I can climb a little.
”
With that, she clambered through the
hole, ignoring Dane’s urges for her to exercise
caution, and began her descent.

“
Sisters,
”
Bones said.
“
You gotta
’
love
‘
em.
”
He grinned
.
“
I
’
ll make sure she doesn
’
t get into trouble.
”
He followed Avery into
the
shaft, and Dane went last.

At the bottom of the shaft, a doorway opened onto a dark chamber, with steps leading down into the bottom. Dane and Bones played their lights around the room. It was another Templar church. Like the church beneath Oak Island, the walls were adorned with ornate carvings but, instead of scenes showing knights in combat, the images told the story of the crucifixion. Directly in front of them, behind a simple stone altar, the image of the centurion piercing Jesus
’
side looked down upon them. The agony on Jesus
’
face was almost palpable.

“
This is amazing!
”
Avery took out a camera and began snapping pictures.
“
A Templar church beneath New York City. Hard to believe.
”
She paused, lowering the camera.
“
Wait a minute. This had to be here long before the Hamilton tomb was constructed. So that means...
”

“
Someone was in on the secret and built the tomb specifically as a cover-up,
”
Bones finished.

“
The Freemason
s
?
”
Avery asked.

“
I think it was Elvis and The Colonel, but that
’
s just me.
”

“
You
’
re useless.
”
Avery looked around, and her eyes suddenly widened.
“
But if someone or some group knew about this place, what if they took whatever was hidden here? I don
’
t see anything.
”

“
If it
’
s like the church under Oak Island, and I think it is, this place hasn
’
t revealed all its secrets.
”
Dan
e point
ed to a spot high on the wall and
the symbol of six crosses in a circle, identical to that in the Oak Island church.
“
If my guess is right, the map to this temple didn
’
t include everything someone would need to know. Bones, a boost?
”