Europa Conspiracy (Babylon Rising 3) (33 page)

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"Look," Isis exclaimed. "A set of stairs! I'll bet that this was a back entrance. It's not wide enough to be the main passageway."

"Let's go in!" Bingman's voice was filled with excitement. "I don't think there'll be any of Nebuchadnezzar's guards hiding in this hole."

"We
still need to be careful," Murphy cautioned. "We want to be sure that nothing will collapse on us. Captain Drake, you can tell your men to rest while we go exploring."

"Yes, sir. Are you sure that you don't want some of us to accompany you?"

"Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary."

Murphy entered the acrid pit first, followed by Isis, Amram, and Bingman. The stairs continued down for about thirty feet and then stopped in a ten-by-ten chamber with about a seven-foot ceiling. Murphy shined his light around.

"Three tunnels split off the chamber. We can go right, left, or straight ahead."

Bingman's voice could be heard in the background. "Decisions, decisions, decisions. You choose, Murphy. We can always come back here and try a different one."

"Did you bring your bread crumbs, Will?"

"No, but I do have my knife, and I can scrape arrows on the wall."

"That will really preserve the archaeological site," Isis exclaimed.

"It sure beats getting lost."

Murphy laughed. "Let's try it for a while without marking the walls. I think all we'll have to do is follow

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our footprints in the dust. Let's try the tunnel to the right."

Isis shined her light down to check that she could see her footprints. They were clear in the dust. She felt relieved. She didn't like the idea of getting lost in a maze of tunnels.

She was about to follow Murphy when something caught her eye--other footprints. They came from the tunnel to the left and entered the tunnel that was straight ahead. They seemed to return to the same direction they came from. "Michael!" she called. "Come back here for a moment. I think I've found something."

Murphy returned and Isis shined her light on the footprints.

Murphy brushed his hand through his hair. "They're large prints. Probably a man who weighs about two hundred pounds."

"How would you know that, Michael? Are you Sherlock Holmes?" Amram asked.

"By deduction Dr. Watson. The shoe size is close to my size and I weigh about one ninety-five. The impression created is very similar to mine except for the print pattern on the sole of the boot. And look there! Whoever it is walks with a slight limp. Can you see a little drag mark from the side of the footprint?"

"I beg your pardon, you
are
Sherlock Holmes. Now tell us who it is and you will win a copy of
The Hound of the Baskervilles"

"My guess is that it's Methuselah. When I was at the Canon City Penitentiary, I talked with an inmate named Tyler Scott. He described Methuselah to me. He said he

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was about my size and walked with a slight limp. I later received a golden cup from Methuselah. The only way that Methuselah could know about the location of the Handwriting on the Wall and the cup was to have been here before us. I think those are his footprints."

"It looks like I may owe you a copy of the
Baskervilles,"
Amram said seriously.

"Well, I'll collect later. For now, let's follow these footprints and see where they lead. They'll be better than bread crumbs or marking on a wall."

The team followed the tracks for another ten minutes until they came to a spot where the tunnel forked. Tracks came and went out of both of the forks.

"So far, so good, Michael. You pick," Bingman said.

"Let's go to the left."

Another ten minutes of exploring brought them to a flat wall.

"The tunnel ends here," Isis said, discouraged.

"It
seems
to end here," Murphy replied after looking around. "Look at the floor. The prints look like they go
under
the wall. I'll bet this is some kind of a back door. Will, you and Jassim help me push on the wall."

All three men put their shoulders to the wall and pushed. Slowly the wall seemed to pivot to the left and open.

"Well, we've learned something else about Methuselah," Murphy said with a grunt.

"What's that?" Isis asked.

"We now know that he's a very strong man. He pushed the wall door open all by himself."

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--------

As the team moved through the opening and shined their lights around, they couldn't believe their eyes.

"This must have been the temple treasury!" Murphy exclaimed. "Look at all the gold and silver. There are hundreds of plates, goblets, cups, and eating utensils."

Isis was shining her light on the walls. "Look at the ornate golden shields!"

Amram was scooping his hands through some coins. "This is indeed a king's ransom." He got out his camera and began to photograph the precious relics.

"It's an unbelievable archaeological find!" Bingman cried. "I've never seen anything like it in my life."

Murphy looked at one of the golden cups. "I'll bet this is where Methuselah got the golden cup from."

"It doesn't look like he took very much," Isis said. "Just who is this guy, anyway?"

"Well, I've never actually met him, you know, but I have heard him. He laughs with a high-pitched cackling laugh. I know he has a weird sense of humor. He enjoys putting me into life-threatening situations. He must be independently wealthy, because he creates expensive and elaborate traps for me and he doesn't take any artifacts like the ones that are in this room. He understands the Bible and must believe in stories like Daniel and the lions' den and Noah and the ark. And he has told me that my training is almost done--whatever that means. Oh, and by the way, I have one of his fingerprints and am trying to see if I can get a match somewhere. That's about all I know."

"That's enough to give someone a nightmare," Bingman murmured.

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"That's a good way to put it, Will. Methuselah
is
a nightmare."

"Well, maybe your nightmare will come to an end if we go back and find out what's at the end of the other tunnel," Amram said encouragingly.

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FIFTY-NINE

"WE'LL LEAVE the wall door open for now," Murphy said. "After we explore the other fork in the tunnel, we can return with the soldiers and retrieve the relics in the temple treasury."

"I can't believe it hasn't been looted before now," Bingman said excitedly. "I feel like a kid in a candy shop. I want to see it all and examine every piece. It's not every day a person discovers something like this."

"I know what you mean, Will, but I think it would be good for us to see what else might be down here," Murphy said indulgently.

It took the expedition team about twenty minutes to retrace their steps back to the fork and then follow the other tunnel, which ended in a dead end.

"This looks like the same type of wall we just came from," Amram said. "I'll bet that it too is a secret door."

"One way to find out," Murphy said, putting a shoulder to the wall. Even with Bingman and Amram's help, it

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didn't budge. "I know this has to open like the other one," Murphy said through gritted teeth. "We'll just have to keep working it loose."

Finally after forty minutes and a lot of sweat, the wall door gave way. The team stepped into an enormous room. It was so large that their flashlights could not shine through the darkness and reflect off a back wall.

"This is huge!" Amram exclaimed. "Can you believe what they were able to do without modern tools?"

"Look at the stone tables." Bingman was pointing at a marble table with marble benches; dozens of other tables surrounded him.

"Probably a dining room of some kind," Murphy concluded, shining his light straight up. "The ceiling looks about sixteen to eighteen feet high. It's a little hard to tell in this light."

"Look at the painted murals on the ceiling," Isis exclaimed, focusing her light off to the left.

"This must be Belshazzar's banquet hall," Murphy cried. "I have a feeling that we're going to discover the Handwriting on the Wall very soon. Jassim, do you have the camera?"

"Of course. That is why you have brought a smart Egyptian like me along."

"Let's spread out and see if we can find anything."

It wasn't long before the team could hear Bingman yelling. "Come over here. I think I have found Belshazzar's throne."

Murphy was the first reach Bingman. "You may be right," he said firmly. "Look right there. It's a raised platform with three steps."

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Murphy walked up the stairs and approached a wall. In front of the wall were the remains of a marble throne surrounded by three smaller thrones.

"I'll bet this is where Belshazzar and his wives or top officials sat," Isis said.

"Probably his wives," Murphy replied. "In Daniel, Chapter Five, it states that he brought golden vessels for his wives and concubines to drink from. They were the golden cups that were taken from the temple in Jerusalem. This desecration was the final straw that caused God to write a message for him on the wall."

They all shined their lights on the wall behind the thrones.

"I don't see anything," Isis said, disappointment evident in her tone.

Murphy told her, "If Belshazzar was sitting on the throne at the time of the writing, I'll bet it's on the other side of the room, where he could watch the armless hand scratch a message."

"Well, let's go see, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. You have been right so far," Amram said.

The team worked their way to the other side of the room, stepping carefully around broken marble blocks.

"Let's do this together," Murphy advised. "Let's all raise our lights at the same time and see what we might discover. We're looking for four words in Babylonian script: the words
Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.
On the count of three. One. Two. Three."

Four flashlights brightened the ancient wall. It was definitely covered with some type of plaster. Large and small cracks could be seen along with chunks of missing

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plaster. Everyone was searching for something that looked like a word amid the many cracks.

"Look! To the right," Amram cried. "Is that part of a word?"

All lights turned to where the Egyptian was pointing.

Isis stepped forward to examine the wall more closely. "Yes, I think it is," she concluded. "There are chunks of plaster missing, but I think I can read it. It says 'ene, Tekel, Uphars--' This is it! The first
Mene
is missing along with the first letter of the second
Mene.
The
Tekel
is quite clear, and two letters are missing off of the back end of
Upharsin."

Murphy, Amram, and Bingman all shouted at the same time. A strange echo could be heard in the ancient chamber. Amram took out the camera and began taking shots from every possible angle.

After a few minutes, Murphy sat down on one of the marble benches and was silent.

"What's wrong, Michael? Aren't you happy?" Isis asked. "You've found the Handwriting on the Wall!"

"I have mixed emotions. Yes, this is an unbelievable archaeological find, Isis--one of the greatest to date. It's like finding Noah's Ark again. It proves the validity of the Bible and strengthens my faith."

"But... ?"

"But I'm wondering what will happen when we share this news with the world. Will people believe it? Will this discovery really change anyone's behavior? Will people understand the importance and significance of God's coming judgment? I feel like I've been standing outside of a building that's on fire. I yell for the people to come out

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and be saved from the flames, yet they ignore the warnings of smoke, heat, and my pleas."

Isis wasn't sure what to say. She knew she herself was one of those people he was talking about who had been ignoring the messages. She had actually walked on the ark, and now she had actually seen the Handwriting on the Wall... and still she hadn't made a decision.

Why haven't I?
she thought.

"Michael, archaeologists from all over the world will want to see this, and the room full of temple treasures." Bingman could barely contain his enthusiasm.

Murphy started to speak, then stopped and listened. A sound like tanks driving over an empty building rushed toward them. Instinctively Murphy knew what it was.

The earthquake hit with lightning speed. Everyone was knocked to the ground. The sound inside the room was terrifying. Murphy got to one knee and shined his light toward the ceiling. Dust and debris were dropping from the ceiling. He looked around for Isis. She was on the floor trying to figure out what had just happened.

As he shined his light toward the ceiling above her, Murphy could see an enormous section beginning to loosen. Isis was just beginning to get her feet under her when Murphy hit her with a body block and sent her flying like a rag doll. At the same instant, a large stone landed where she had been.

Murphy rolled to his feet and ran to her. She was gasping for breath. Murphy took her in his arms. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. But I had to do it."

He pointed to where she had been standing. A wedge-shaped rock had been driven into the floor.