The Last Chamber (31 page)

Armenian Mountains

The night had been uneventful except for the constant flapping of the
wind against the inflatable tent. The room had stayed surprisingly warm, thanks
to the heaters in the corners. Alexander Lindsey had known the devices were
supposed to have eight hours of power, but usually claims like that were
somewhat exaggerated.

The sun was beating down on the white surface of the tent, causing the
room to be naturally illuminated. Lindsey sat over a hot cup of coffee, reading
through Drake’s diary, scanning it for anything that might prove helpful on the
final leg of what had been a tumultuous journey.

Will entered the tent, followed closely by Kaba. “The snow didn’t last
long,” he reported. There is a layer of it still on the ground, but down in the
valleys it’s already melting. Looks like it will be a clear day, so as soon as
we refuel, we can begin the search again.”

“Excellent,” Lindsey nodded at the younger man.

“Would you like us to take the bird back and fill it up then return,
or do you want to come along? The nearest airstrip is about twenty minutes
away.”

“Thank you for asking, Will. I believe I will stay here until you
return. I am still weary from all this travel and I need to continue my
research. When we find this place, it is essential we understand how to make it
through the three tests.”

Will could tell his benefactor was exhausted. The toll evidenced
itself under the older man’s eyes, and in the color of his skin. He didn’t
appear to be in good health. Will had never been a big believer in whatever it
was Lindsey was looking for. But he did believe he owed the man his life,
despite the quirks. More than that, Will hoped his benefactor would leave his
vast fortune to him. With the incredible amount of money Lindsey had at his
disposal, Will could finally leave a life of danger behind. He and Kaba could buy
a small island somewhere and drop off the grid completely. It would be an
amazing turnaround for a boy who had been given such a rough start by life.

That difficult period made him strong, though. And it made him
ruthless. Will was willing to do whatever it took to get what he needed. When
The Prophet had found him, he redirected that combination of resourcefulness
and diligence into something greater.

Initially, when Will had met Lindsey, his first inclination had been
to simply kill the old man and take whatever he could off him. But something
inside the back of his mind thought better of it. It was a decision that could
reap enormous benefits in the future. The Prophet had already been extremely
generous. Will had no doubts that generosity would continue in the foreseeable
future.

“Kaba,” Will turned towards the black haired woman. “You and two of
the men stay here while we go back and refuel. If you need anything you can
reach me on our SAT
  
phones.”

She gave a quick nod and disappeared back out the entrance of the
tent. Even in a heavy coat she was beautiful. Will watched her leave, letting
his eyes linger for a few moments.

“You two are my only legacy,” Lindsey spoke with a rattle in his
voice.

Will’s head snapped back to the old man. His tired eyes were looking
up at him with a sense of pride.

“You have done much for us, Sir.”

Lindsey looked down to the rocky ground then back up again, deep in
thought. His breaths were coming in labored efforts. “If we do not find the
tree, my time here on this earth will be short.”

“No,” Will disagreed, shaking his head. Though, inside he knew the old
man could very well be dying at that moment. “You will be around for a long
time, Sir.”

A twinge of guilt stuck through Will’s chest. He’d been snippy with
his benefactor during the escapade in Atlanta. Now that he could see the man
was dying, Will realized how much he actually cared.

Lindsey coughed a few laughs. “I appreciate the sentiment, Will. But
we both know I don’t have much time. If we do not find the tree in time, I want
you to keep looking for it. The only thing I ask of you is that you complete
the mission. It is all that matters. It must be seen through. You must give me
your word, that if I die, you will finish what we have started.”

“You have my word, Sir,” Will answered after a few seconds of thought.

“This world has become a desolate place. The cities are a shambles,
and filled with corruption. Crime is rampant, and those who lack, steal from
those who have. The world has gone too long in this degenerated state.”

Lindsey reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a piece of paper. On
it was a phone number, and another sequence of numbers. At the bottom was a
name Will didn’t recognize.

“What is this?”

“That,” Lindsey explained, “Is the direct line to the man in charge of
our Biosure facilities. He will carry out the order to ship the vaccinations.
You will need to give him that number to verify the order.”

Will stared at the paper for a few long moments. In his hand was the
order to execute billions of people across the globe. The weight of that
thought wore heavy in his mind. He’d killed more people than he could remember
over the course of his life, but billions? That was a strange thing to think
about.

Lindsey could sense the apprehension on his apprentice’s face. “The
world has needed a new beginning for far too long, Will. Soon, there won’t be
enough food for everyone. There won’t be enough space for everyone. And when
those things happen, chaos will ensue. It is better to send them all to their
rest and start anew. We will bring about the New Jerusalem that Revelation
speaks of. We will start over with a new Earth, free of crime and depravity.”
He decided to give the younger man one more incentive. “You and Kaba will be
the King and Queen of this new world.”

The last part certainly did appeal to Will’s ego. He and Kaba could
rule the world. They would gather in the few survivors and bring them under a
common rule.

“But if we don’t find the tree, we will not be able to survive the
virus.”

Lindsey smiled weakly. “You will find it. We are so close, now. I know
you will.”

“You will find it,” Will corrected, though he didn’t really believe
it. “But, I have to ask. What if we cannot locate the last chamber? It’s been
hidden for several thousand years. What will happen if it remains
undiscovered?”

The old man’s eyes narrowed. “I have a backup plan for that
contingency. The mission will go on as planned, whether we find the Garden of
Eden or not.”

“A backup plan?”

“In my mansion, I have built a bunker where we can wait out the
epidemic as it sweeps across the world. There are enough supplies there to
sustain us for several months. By then, the virus will have run its course.”

Will appeared confused. “If you have that in place, why go through all
the trouble to find the tree of life? You could just wait it out in the
bunker.”

Lindsey smiled feebly. “Because, Will, if I don’t find the chamber and
the tree of life, I will die. When you get older, you will understand what that
means. If I find the tree, I can lead this world into a new age, free of chaos
and crime. That bunker is meant for you and Kaba, in case I don’t make it to
the tree in time.”

In a sick way, it was the greatest gift anyone had ever given Will.
His benefactor had provided him and Kaba a way to survive even if they didn’t
find the last chamber. It was a gesture that motivated him to see the task
through to the end and find the lost Garden of Eden.

“Sir,” Kaba rushed in through the entrance of the tent, interrupting
the intense conversation. “You need to see this.”

Lindsey got up out of his chair, energized by the young woman’s
enthusiasm. He knew she wouldn’t burst in like that unless it was something
significant he needed to see. Kaba was also not very excitable. Since he’d met
her, Lindsey had never seen Kaba lose her cool over anything.

The three stepped outside into the chilly, mountain air. A thin layer
of snow remained on the ground, but it was melting fast. The temperature had
risen in the early parts of the morning, returning the region to its more
typical climate. Above, the sky was clear, producing the brightest sun they’d
seen in a while.

They all slipped on sunglasses to protect their eyes as Kaba led the
small group to where some of the other men were standing near the edge of the
ridge. DeGard was with the men, staring down into the valley at something.

“What is all this fuss about?” Lindsey demanded as he reached the drop
off.

No one needed to answer the question. He saw what the ruckus was
about. A thousand feet below, a narrow road wound its way through the
mountains. On the road, two SUVs were making their way slowly through the
mountain pass.

“Wyatt,” Will realized out loud.

“Get everything ready,” Lindsey ordered, still staring at the vehicles
below. “They may lead us right to it.”

Cartersville, Georgia

The shot echoed through the woods behind the McElroy cabin. Helen
stood stiffly in the darkness for a moment. The hand on her neck slid off, and
the one holding the gun to her head dropped instantly as the man’s body
collapsed to the ground. She felt something warm and wet on the side of her
face and neck, and reached up to touch it with her finger. Blood.

She looked down at her attacker, but quickly turned her eyes away. A
large hole penetrated the man’s forehead, and the back of his skull was
completely obliterated. Before she could say or do anything, the men in the
SUVs quickly exited and began opening fire on the cabin.

Joe had shot the man in the head. It was a gutsy thing to do, but it
had saved her life. Now, though, he was in trouble. She grabbed her bow and
hurried along the edge of the woods, back around the rear of the tool shed and
farther up the property, closer to the driveway. In thirty seconds, she was
behind the men firing from the protection of the SUVs.

“Sit tight, Joe,” she whispered to herself and pulled her own AR-15
around to her shoulder. “Mama’s got you.”

Inside the cabin, Joe had taken a huge gamble. He knew he was a good
shot with the assault rifle, but his target was only a few inches from his
wife’s head. Any slight movement and he would have shot her instead of the
mercenary. Fortunately for both of them, he hadn’t missed.

As soon as he’d seen Helen was okay, he dove back into the laundry
room, knowing there would be repercussions from the action. Sure enough,
bullets started zipping through the shredded remains of the house. Fortunately,
the thick logs the walls were made from withstood the barrage. As long as Joe
stayed down, he was okay. The problem was when the men decided to come into the
house. He needed to get to the trap door again. If he could get outside, he
could take up a position in the tool shed and flank the men as they approached
the house. They would be sitting ducks. Getting over to the trap door was a
dangerous proposition, though. Even with the walls stopping most of the
projectiles, he didn’t want to risk one getting through.

Suddenly, he heard the familiar sound of Helen’s assault rifle
outside. The men attacking their cabin all used sound suppressed weapons. Joe
and Helens were all natural. The thunderous boom of the gun shook the remaining
glass fragments from the windows, sending them clacking to the floor. He smiled
from his hiding place. It sounded like his wife was pissed.

From the edge of the woods, Helen picked off three of the men who were
closest to her. She crouched on one knee, taking down one, then another. The
men were dead before they realized what was going on. There were still several
left, though. And her line of sight was blocked by the one of the vehicles. The
men’s legs on the other side, however, were not.

Helen got down on her belly and lined up the first attacker. She let
out a deep breath and squeezed the trigger, sending the round through the man’s
kneecap and dropping him to the ground. The next bullet ceased the man’s sudden
screaming permanently. By the time the mercenaries had realized what was
happening, Helen had already picked off four of them.

The rest of the assault team redirected their fire to Helen’s
position. She rolled behind a broad oak just as bullets began to splash the
leaves and dirt around her. The men’s voices carried into the woods, barking
out orders. She quickly loaded a fresh magazine into the base of her weapon and
cocked it, ready to go on the attack again.

She stuck her head around the edge of the trunk when more rounds
whizzed past her face, causing her to withdraw back to cover. More booming
shots rang out from the front of the cabin, and she smiled. Joe was still
alive.

When Joe heard Helen’s gunfire, he knew the men in the SUVs would be
immediately thrown off by the flank attack. That was the chance he needed to
rush over to one of the windows and take up a position. He heard their return
fire, but when no more rounds were zipping through his living room, it meant
they were shooting at Helen.

Joe didn’t wait another second. He popped up in the window and started
spraying a hail of deadly rounds at the men in black outfits. Two had made the
mistake of leaving the safety of their trucks while their other team members
laid down covering fire. It would have been a good plan if Joe hadn’t been in
the window.

He cut the two men down easily, leaving the only remaining six members
of the hit squad scrambling for the last SUV in the line of vehicles. The slide
fire on Joe’s assault rifle allowed him to fire rapid shots almost like an
automatic weapon. By the time he was done, two of the three trucks had flat
tires and most assuredly, severe engine damage. Now that he had gotten the
men’s attention again, he thought it best to make an exit through the escape
tunnel and join his wife outside.

Helen watched the attackers take cover between the two outside cars,
huddling around the one in the center. Three of the remaining six continued to
fire rounds towards where she had taken refuge. What they didn’t notice was
that Helen had moved when Joe started firing on their position. When they were
caught off guard, she sprinted from her hiding place and moved further up the
driveway to get in a better position. Two of the men had started moving toward
the front of the house. It seemed they had grown tired of being on the
defensive. Being peppered from two sides had left them little choice but to
move forward.

From where she was sitting, Helen had a clear angle on the two men in
the rear. The two approaching the house would be slightly more difficult
because of the distance, but she thought those targets were both within her
range. If Joe was still in the house, she would need to take them out first,
which would mean her position would be given away to the two men in the rear.
She knew what she had to do.

Helen raised her weapon and trained it on the man who had taken up a
position at the base of their porch next to the stairs. The other was directly
across from him. If she did it right, both targets could be knocked out before
the remaining four realized she had moved.

Something moved in the leaves behind her, and she spun around with the
assault rifle held level.

“Don’t shoot,” a familiar voice begged from behind a thin tree.

Joe’s body stuck out from both sides of the narrow pine, while he held
both hands up. “It’s me, Helen.”

She lowered her weapon. “Joe, get over here,” Helen hissed, dispensing
with the pleasantries. She kept her emotions in check at seeing that her
husband was okay.

He padded over to her spot and crouched down next to her. “What’s the
situation?” he asked.

“Two guys are getting ready to go in the front door. Two more are by
the middle truck, and the last two are covering the rear. I was just about to
take out the two next to the porch before you snuck up on me.”

“Sorry.”

“You should be,” she sneered. “I almost blew your head off.” She
offered a grin that told him there were no hard feelings, but that her threat
was real enough. “I’ll take out the two at the porch. But as soon as I shoot
the first one, those guys taking up the rear will know where we’re shooting
from.”

Joe nodded, understanding the situation. “Looks like the best plan is
for one of us to take out the guys in the front at the same time the other
takes out the men in the back.”

She liked the plan and approved it with a quick smile on one corner of
her mouth. “I’ll take the two near the house; you get the ones in the back.”

“Why do you get the harder shot?” he asked as she got set up in her
position again and took aim.

“Because I’m the better shooter.”

He couldn’t argue with that, not that it mattered anyway. Joe got down
on his belly and took aim at the first man in the back. The guy was scanning
the woods fifty feet to Joe and Helen’s left near the woodshed. The man’s
weapon went back and forth as he searched for any threat.

“Ready?” she asked.

“When you are, dear.”

“Fire.”

The two targets were knocked over immediately. A moment later, the
other two panicked men were dropped with nearly simultaneous shots.

“Good job,” Helen said, almost in a surprised tone.

“Did you think I would miss?” he tried to sound wounded.

Helen glanced back at him. “You never know with men,” she smirked again.
“We have two left in the center.”

The last two men she spoke of were scrambling to take cover anywhere
they could. At present, the only place they found protection was underneath the
center SUV. Both of them scurried under the carriage of the vehicle, lying on
their stomachs. Their heads darted back and forth, wondering where the shots
were coming from.

“You think you can hit the gas tank from here?” Helen asked, sure to
keep her voice low.

Joe answered with a sarcastic nod and crouched back down, lining up
the exposed underbelly of the vehicle’s fuel tank. He squeezed the trigger and
sent a round straight into the metal container. He frowned at the result. Gas
had started leaking from the hole in the tank, splashing freely onto the ground
and on one of the men.

“Why didn’t it blow up?” he asked, perplexed.

“That only happens in the movies,” she asked. “Fire off another one
and see what happens.”

He put his eye back to the scope and squeezed the trigger again. The
second bullet had the same result, ripping another hole in the gas tank. This
time, however, the shot got a reaction from one of the men under the vehicle.
He started firing his weapon, spraying bullets into the darkness, completely
forgetting the consequences for such an action.

The gas ignited instantly, setting both men on fire amid terrifying
screams. The blaze shot up into the tank of the SUV and immediately turned the
vehicle into a giant torch on wheels. Both men hurried out from under the
carriage, their bodies completely engulfed in flames. They ran away from the
burning truck and tried to douse themselves by rolling around on the ground,
but the damage had been done. After a minute or so, both charred bodies had
stopped moving as the deadly flames began to die down.

Joe turned away from the sight. “That’s got to be a bad way to go.”

Helen had a resolute look on her face. “They were going to kill us,
Joe. These were really bad guys.”

“I know,” he nodded. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too,” she exhaled. “That was a heck of a shot, by the way. I
thought I was done for when that guy had a gun to my head.”

“You ain’t getting’ off that easy,” he chuckled. Then a worried
expression washed over his face. “The dog is probably freaking out down in the
bunker.”

Helen smiled. “He’s going to wonder what in the world happened to the
house.”

The two stood up and started walking down the driveway, weapons slung
over their shoulders and in their hands. They had only taken ten steps towards
the wreckage when they heard a strange thumping sound in the distance. It grew
louder and louder, causing them to stop and turn around to see what it was. Joe
had a feeling he already knew.

Sure enough, over the treetops beyond the clearing, a helicopter
searchlight came into view. Through the trees, they could make out a few more
headlights rolling down the long driveway.

“You gotta be kidding,” Helen sounded exhausted.

“I guess this is it,” Joe said, holding up the assault rifle and
taking aim at the body of the helicopter.

She looked over at him for a second before copying his stance and
pointing the barrel of her weapon at the oncoming machine.

“I love you, ya know?” he said.

“Me too, Joe.”

As they were about to squeeze their triggers, a female voice boomed
through the area from a speaker on the helicopter. “Put your weapons down! This
is AXIS team three here to assist. Repeat. We are an AXIS support team here to
secure the area.”

Joe and Helen lowered their weapons apprehensively. They glanced at
each other, both with a look of relief. Joe raised a hand and waived to the
pilot as two SUVs rumbled up to where they were standing. Four men and women
piled out of the vehicles and ran towards the cabin, checking the bodies and
the hit squad’s trucks for any threat.

The helicopter landed in the small field next to the driveway. A
moment later one of the back doors opened up and a brunette woman wearing a
black business suit, white blouse, and her hair pulled back tight exited the
flying contraption.

She jogged over to where Joe and Helen were standing. Black smoke from
the burning wreckage swirled around in the slowing helicopter rotors.

“Are you two okay?” Emily asked stopping short of the heavily armed
couple.

Joe looked at his wife then back at the house. “We’re fine. But our house
is a mess. If we’d known you were coming over we would have cleaned up first.”
Emily stared at Joe for a second before she forced a few laughs. “I guess
Lindsey sent his goons here to recover the vial we took from his Biosure
facility. Unfortunately for him, Jenny Solomon has it now.”