The Forbidden Tomb (16 page)

‘We didn’t see any benches,’ Sarah offered.

Garcia anticipated the comment. ‘The benches have mostly been removed in the years since the war. The wood was needed in the ghettos. Some built with it. Some simply burned it. Either way, everyone turned a blind eye.’

Jasmine appreciated the information, but it didn’t explain the brick wall. ‘It still leaves us with one question: if the goal was to protect as many people as possible, why seal off part of the system? There’s another cistern beyond the brick wall and several more tunnels. There would be room for hundreds of people. Why not use that space as well? Why put the barricade there? And how do we get past it?’

Silence hung in the air as everyone pondered the issues.

That is, until McNutt chimed in.

‘I’m not great at math—’

‘No shit,’ Sarah said.

‘But by my count, that was
four
questions, not one.’ He double-checked his math on his fingers. ‘Yep,
cinco
.’

Jasmine smiled. ‘What’s your point?’

‘I have no idea how to answer the first three, but the fourth one is easy.’ He broke into a wide grin. ‘If you want to get through, I can get through.’

* * *

They weren’t the only ones pondering new evidence. Kamal and Tarek had gone without sleep as well, having spent the night running down their only lead: the cell phone picture of the mysterious woman.

The photograph had been sent by an elderly shopkeeper at one of the businesses that they ‘protected’. He, like many others, had heard of Kamal and Tarek’s interest in the woman. Hoping to curry favor with the henchmen – the payments that he owed to them seemed to increase every week – the shopkeeper did what he could to find her.

Since his ailments prevented him from roaming the city, the shopkeeper had asked his grandson to keep an eye out for anyone matching Sarah’s description. The grandson had then asked his friends for help, and one of those friends had snapped the picture of her down the street from the apartment building.

They didn’t know where she was headed.

But if she returned, they would be ready.

* * *

There were pros and cons about returning to the tunnel so soon after their rekky.

On the plus side, it was still the weekend, which meant the streets would be filled with people of all shapes and sizes and the local authorities would be preoccupied with maintaining the general peace on the rowdiest day of the week.

On the other hand, if anyone had grown suspicious of Cobb and Sarah the night before, their reappearance might cause some alarm, especially since there would be more to notice on their return trip. This time they were bringing Jasmine, McNutt, and a wide assortment of equipment.

After sorting through all the possibilities, Cobb decided it was better to hit the tunnels while they were fresh in their minds than to sit on the yacht and wait.

The rest of the team agreed.

Papineau dropped them off in an alley near the apartment building before he returned to the yacht. Meanwhile, Garcia monitored the team’s movement from his makeshift command center, using high-tech toys and surveillance videos.

Garcia tapped a few keys. ‘Okay, boys and girls, I’ve got all of you up on my screen. That means your devices are transmitting . . . Can everyone hear my voice?’

‘Yes,’ said Jasmine.

‘Hurry up,’ urged Sarah.

‘Who is this?’ asked McNutt.

Cobb smiled. ‘That’s affirmative.’

Garcia checked his video screens. ‘The street is clear in front of the building. The lobby is clear, too. Commence on your go.’

Cobb nodded at Sarah. ‘Clear here. Moving in.’

To lessen their odds of detection, they traveled in pairs. Sarah and McNutt went first, followed by Cobb and Jasmine. Sarah picked the lock without breaking stride and continued down the hall toward the stairwell. McNutt slowed briefly, placing a piece of tape over the strike plate to prevent the lock from reengaging, before he caught up with Sarah. They continued toward the basement and the boiler room as Cobb and Jasmine arrived at the front door. Cobb opened the door like a gentleman while smoothly removing the tape from the frame. Jasmine walked through before he pulled the door shut behind him.

All in all, their breach had taken thirty-nine seconds.

One second less than they had expected.

Inside the boiler room, McNutt had no trouble removing the metal grate that led to the tunnels below. Sarah instinctively paused to listen for trouble. Hearing nothing but the steady hum of the boiler, she dropped into the system below and turned on her video flashlight.

‘We’re clear,’ she said from the tunnel.

A minute later, the team was standing beside her.

‘Now where?’ Jasmine wondered.

No longer the navigator, she was relying on Garcia to guide them to the far end of the cisterns. Unfortunately, she knew it would take a lot of jumping and climbing to reach the brick wall – and
climbing
was not her forte. In fact, the last time she had climbed anything of significance was back in grade school, and that incident had resulted in a bloody lip when a classmate pulled her hair and she fell off a jungle gym.

Today, the stakes would be much higher.

And so would the obstacles.

As they approached the first cistern, Sarah pulled a thin climbing rope from her backpack and began tying it around Jasmine’s waist. ‘This will catch you if you fall. It’s not the easiest climb down.’

‘I’m going first?’ Jasmine blurted.

Sarah smiled as she pulled the knot tight. ‘No. I’m going down first to check the holds. If they’re still solid, you’ll come down next. If not, the guys will have to lower you with the rope.’

Before the others could argue, Sarah was off the edge and making her way toward the floor. Fifteen seconds later she was staring up at them. ‘Jasmine, you’re up.’

‘Great,’ she said in a tone that suggested otherwise. ‘So, Jack, how do I do this? Do I just start climbing?’

Cobb smiled. ‘Yep.’

‘And if you happen to slip . . .’ McNutt showed her the tight grip he had on the rope. ‘I swear I’ve got ya.’

‘You won’t fall,’ Cobb assured her. ‘I did this yesterday in both directions, and the handholds are solid. Just have a little faith, and you’ll be fine.’

Jasmine took a deep, calming breath, blew it out slowly, and then started her descent. Her pace was measured at first, but after she got a feel for the spacing of the slots, her speed picked up considerably for the rest of the climb.

McNutt went down next, followed by Cobb, who brought the rope down with him. Once he reached the bottom, he quickly spooled the rope around his hand and elbow before he slipped it over his shoulder and nodded for Sarah to take the lead.

‘This way,’ she said.

The others followed as she led them through the twists and turns of the cistern system. Somehow she had memorized the maze and knew how to make it through without any guidance from Garcia – a feat that surprised everyone, including herself.

Although Jasmine had been amazed by the video footage of the tunnels, it was nothing like being there. In person, the underground cisterns were overwhelming.

‘This stuff should be in a museum,’ Jasmine said as she swept her flashlight across the space. ‘It represents the breadth of the region’s history.’

No one commented, so she continued.

She pointed to the base of pillar. ‘Look over there. That relief is influenced by the classical Greek style. But the arches in the last cistern were consistent with the angular, geometric design of Persia. The diversity down here is astounding. And it’s so well preserved. It’s amazing to think that by reusing pieces of ancient ruins they were actually protecting them. On the other hand, it’s a shame that—’

Sarah spun around and shined her light in Jasmine’s face.

‘What’s wrong?’ Jasmine demanded.

‘How should I know?’ she said in a harsh whisper. ‘There could be a herd of elephants charging toward us right now, and I wouldn’t be able to hear them over your historical play-by-play.’

‘Sorry. I’m just excited.’

Sarah softened her tone. ‘Listen, we can discuss the finer points of architecture and what it means to mankind once we return to the boat. But right now, we have to focus on the mission at hand – and that’s getting in and getting out.’

Jasmine nodded in understanding. She would continue to note the distinct features of each cistern, but she would keep the narration to herself.

While the women sorted out their differences and McNutt prayed for a wrestling match, Cobb took a more practical approach. At every turn, he marked their progress by applying invisible ink onto the tunnels themselves. The ink could not be seen with the naked eye, but under ultraviolet light it would glow like a neon sign. He hoped the precaution wouldn’t be necessary, but he always prepared for the worst.

Always had, and always would.

It was just Cobb’s way.

Unlike the rekky of the day before, this journey was destination-based. That meant Sarah wasted no time on sightseeing and led them directly to the brick wall. As she approached the far end of the tunnel, she checked in with Garcia to make sure that they were still within his range. ‘You still there, Hector?’

‘Copy that,’ he said as he tested their GPS units and the video signals from their flashlight cameras. ‘Tracking is good. Picture is clear. Four strong feeds, all recording.’

Sarah nodded toward McNutt. ‘You’re up.’

McNutt smiled in anticipation. ‘It’s about time I got to blow something up.’

The comment wasn’t entirely accurate. He was actually going to reduce something to smithereens without explosives. He reached into a pocket of his cargo pants and pulled out a small tube no bigger than a penlight.

Jasmine stared at the device. ‘What are you going to do with that?’

His smile widened. ‘You know the spring-loaded batons that firemen use to puncture safety glass – the ones that drive a steel tip through the pane at high velocity to get out accident victims? Well, this kind of works in the same way, only instead of a steel tip, it uses a sonic pulse. And instead of shattering glass, it destroys cement, mortar . . . basically anything this side of solid rock.’

He glanced back at Cobb. ‘You should see what this does to someone’s face. Holy shit, it’s
brutal
. Blood and teeth
everywhere
. It’s like a hockey game.’

Jasmine grumbled. ‘Wait a minute. No one said anything about collateral damage. Will it hurt any ruins on the other side of the wall?’

McNutt shook his head. ‘Not a chance! The force will be localized on the target, just like a dentist’s drill, at least in theory . . . I mean, I’ve never used this thing on an old wall before. For all I know, the tunnel might come crumbling down on top of us. In fact, the more I think about it, you guys better stand back, like, a hundred feet or so.’

Jasmine glanced at Cobb. ‘Jack, is he serious?’

Cobb ignored her question. ‘Come on, Josh. We’re waiting.’

McNutt crouched and pressed the end of the device against the space between the bricks at the center of the wall. The group took a step back as he turned on the device, but it barely made a sound. And then it happened. As if by magic, the mortar between the bricks appeared to melt away. No messy fragmentation. No shards flying around the tunnel. One moment the wall was solid, and the next there was a gap in the center. Eventually bricks started to fall to the ground like leaves from a dying tree.

Sarah stared in amazement. ‘I want one.’

‘Me too,’ Jasmine admitted.

A minute later, McNutt examined the hole that he had opened in the wall. Then he shined his light through and saw nothing but empty space on the other side.

Just as they suspected, there was another tunnel.

And it appeared older than the others.

Jasmine groaned in disappointment. The other tunnels had opened into splendid halls, caverns of sturdy rock and meticulously placed stone that looked like works of art. But the latest tunnel had proven to be a gateway to something else entirely.

A monstrous pit of some kind.

Shining her flashlight through the gap in the wall, she studied the deep chasm that had swallowed the floor. The sinkhole had pulled the cistern into its gaping maw, causing the upper structures to tumble after it. What remained was a jumble of smashed columns and broken supports precariously stacked upon one another, with little more than a narrow ledge on the other side.

Sarah leaned in and surveyed the damage. ‘Well, this explains why the tunnel was sealed. This is a disaster. Someone really did a number here.’

McNutt shook his head. ‘No one did this on purpose. This wasn’t man-made.’

‘How can you be sure?’ Jasmine asked.

‘Let me clarify. If this was done intentionally, they did it the hard way. They dug a pit and let it fall, rather than planting some TNT and blowing it all to hell.’

Jasmine still wasn’t satisfied. ‘But how can you be sure?’

‘Explosions leave telltale signs. The fire chars the walls. Chemical accelerants leave stains. Even the shockwave itself stamps a distinct pattern onto the scene. They’re not always easy to spot, but they’re there. If you know where to look.’

Cobb stared across the ravine. While the others were contemplating the damage and what had caused it, his attention was on what lay beyond. In the distance, he could see the outline of the far wall. He noticed immediately that the stonework was different from the walls and tunnels throughout the water system.

The blocks were wider and taller. Heavier.

The type of blocks you would use to fortify a temple.

Cobb looked at Sarah. ‘Can you find a way across?’

‘Across?’ McNutt laughed. ‘Through that? That’d be like playing the world’s most dangerous version of Jenga. Only in this case, if the tower falls, you die.’

‘I can make it,’ Sarah replied confidently. She tied the rope around her waist and handed the other end to Cobb. She smiled playfully. ‘You know . . . just in case.’

Cobb wrapped the rope around his forearm and anchored his boots in the dirt, ready to break her fall if the wreckage collapsed beneath her.