The Atlantis Stone (17 page)

CHAPTER 42

"What did you do to their ship?" Sexton asked Selena. "She's down some by the stern. They've got the pumps going."

"We wanted to stop them from harassing us."

"You've changed, Selena. I never would've figured you for something like this."

She shrugged. "Stuff happens."

Sexton looked at her as though she were a stranger.

Nick said, "I'm going to tell you why we're here."

Sexton listened while Nick filled him in.

"I don't believe this. You really think these people had something like antigravity? You're trying to find a record of what it was? What they used to control it?"

"That's about it."

"That's crazy."

"No more crazy than those ruins down there that aren't supposed to exist," Nick said. "The Russians don't think it's crazy. That's one of the reasons we have to follow up. What if it isn't crazy and the Russians find what we're looking for? We have to find it first. It's a matter of national security."

"I'm getting damn tired of hearing that phrase tossed around," Sexton said. "The politicians love it."

"Do I have to point out that I'm not a politician?"

Selena spoke up. "Jeff, I know you want to get out of here and I don't blame you. At least stay until I finish translating what's on those pyramid walls."

"I don't want any more surprises."

Nick held up his hand. "No more surprises. I promise."

"One more day. Then I'm leaving."

Nick went back to his cabin and called Harker to tell her what had happened. He got to the part about disabling the
Tolstoy
.

"You did what?" Harker said.

"We didn't sink them," Nick said.

The satellite connection was spotty, crackling with atmospherics.

"What didn't you think?"

"I said we didn't sink them."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better," Harker said. "I can't wait until the president calls me up and asks me why I attacked a peaceful civilian research vessel belonging to the Federation."

"I don't think he's going to hear anything about it," Nick said. "They attacked us, not the other way around. Lamont almost died. One of Sexton's crew is dead and he was a civilian. If they make waves it's going to bounce back on them."

"Two of their people are dead."

Elizabeth thought she could hear Nick shrug on the other end of the connection.

"Like I said, they attacked us. They got more than they bargained for. I can't see how they'd want to turn this into an incident. It's to their advantage to keep quiet."

"You'd better be right."

Nick waited.

Elizabeth said, "All right, we'll move on. What's your plan now?"

"Sexton says there's an alert about seismic activity. The ruins are crawling with vapor columns that indicate something's happening down there. The city sits on the edge of a precipice and an undersea quake might finish the job. Selena wants to take one more look tomorrow for that archive. After that we're heading back to port."

"I don't want any more trouble with the Russians."

"We never wanted trouble in the first place. If they don't provoke us there won't be any more problems. There's one other thing you need to know."

Elizabeth began tapping her fingers on her desktop.

"I had to let Sexton it on what we're looking for. He was pretty ticked off about losing one of his people and ready to haul anchor. I didn't have any other option."

"Right now that's the least of my worries," Elizabeth said. "He signed the secrecy agreement."

"He's okay. You don't have to be concerned."

"Finish up and get out of there. The Russians may not turn it into an incident but they might retaliate. If you end up on the bottom of the ocean there's not much I can do about it."

"Thanks for the encouraging words."

"I want regular updates. That's all, Nick."

Elizabeth broke the connection.

Nick put his phone away and went up on deck. The others were waiting for him.

"I talked to Harker."

"What did she say?" Ronnie asked.

"She wasn't happy. She wants us out of here and she's worried about the Russians."

"She has a point."

"They won't try anything else if they're smart. Selena, where are you with that translation?

"I'm working on the last panel we photographed," Selena said. "I should have it done soon."

CHAPTER 43

The next morning there was a memorial service for Heath. The mood on the ship was somber, a far cry from the day before when people were joking and laughing as they worked.

Afterward Ronnie, Lamont and Nick stood aft by the port rail. Selena was below, finishing up her notes. The Russian ship was down by the stern but she wasn't sinking. They could hear the sound of the pumps keeping her afloat.

"Glad you're okay," Nick said.

"Those dolphins saved my ass. It was shark city down there. One of them thought I was lunch."

"I'd heard stories about dolphins protecting swimmers. Researchers say that's all they are, stories."

"Yeah, well, if one of those researchers had been down there he'd change his mind pretty quick."

"What's next?" Ronnie asked.

"After Sexton recovers his robot we'll make one more video run through the ruins. Then we're done."

Lamont looked over at the
Tolstoy
. "Too bad we couldn't sink her."

"At least they're too busy staying afloat to bother us."

They watched as Sexton's crew lowered the second ROV into the water. A minute later it disappeared under the surface.

Selena came over to them, excited. "I've found it."

"What? The archive?"

"Yes."

"Let's go inside," Nick said. "I want Harker to hear this."

The small cabin felt stuffy with all of them in it at the same time. Nick called Harker and put her on the speaker.

"Give me some good news, Nick."

"Selena thinks she's found the archive. I'm going to let her tell you about it."

"Hello, Elizabeth."

"You found the archive?"

"I found out where it is. The location was written on the wall of the pyramid."

"Is it down there in the ruins?"

"No. It's on the mainland."

"Where is it?"

She had her laptop open to her notes. "I'll read what was on the wall. It's the key."

In the green land where the Great River flows to the sea, we set the lion to guard for eternity the record of our people.

"That doesn't tell us much," Elizabeth said. "It could be anywhere."

"It's in Egypt," Selena said. "The Great River is the Nile."

"Why Egypt?"

"If I'm right, the lion that guards the secrets is the Sphinx. The archive is buried under it or nearby."

"There's nothing but sand around the Sphinx," Lamont said.

"It's on the west bank of the Nile. At one time the river flowed right by it. Before Egypt was desert it used to be green."

"Not for a hell of a long time."

Elizabeth listened as they talked.

"We're talking about a long time. Thousands of years ago, before the pharaohs ruled Egypt."

"I thought one of them built the Sphinx," Ronnie said.

"Not everyone agrees on that. There are some archaeologists who think the Pharaoh's face was added long after the Sphinx was constructed."

"Why would they think that?"

"Khufu is supposed to have commissioned the Sphinx at the same time as the great pyramid. The face is supposed to be his. But there's an account from the seventh century BCE that says when Khufu first saw it, the Sphinx was buried up to its head in sand."

"That doesn't make it thousands of years older."

"The Sphinx is built of limestone. It shows erosion caused by heavy rains. It hasn't rained hard enough to do that in Egypt for ten thousand years. Maybe longer. Suggestions the Sphinx was put up more than forty-five hundred years ago are always dismissed, evidence be damned. The Ministry of Antiquities is invested in their timeline. Anyone who contradicts the official history is considered a crank and a troublemaker."

"Everyone's been all over the Sphinx," Elizabeth said. "If there were any hidden chambers they would've been found a long time ago."

"That's just it," Selena said. "They did find them. There are also several underground tunnels in the area. Most of them have never been opened. The authorities don't allow exploration."

"Why not?" Lamont asked.

"For one thing, Egypt is Muslim. The Sphinx is an image forbidden by the Quran. The pyramids are considered an expression of human arrogance, an affront to Allah. Doing anything there stirs up trouble. Aside from that, the idea that someone other than Egyptians built the Sphinx is unacceptable. The last thing the authorities want to find are ancient records left by a different civilization."

"I'm surprised ISIS hasn't gone after the Sphinx by now," Nick said. "It's a perfect target. Think of the publicity if they blew it up."

"Assholes," Lamont said.

"Yeah. Assholes with guns and Semtex," Ronnie said.

Elizabeth rapped her pen on her desk. The hard sound came through the phone.

"Let's stay focused. Selena, are you positive your translation is accurate?"

"The only way to be sure is to find the archive."

"Under the Sphinx."

"Yes. We have to investigate it."

"It's been hidden for thousands of years."

"There's a sealed passage in the great pyramid. We can get to it through that."

"Good luck getting permission to open it up," Nick said.

"Who said anything about getting permission?"

"What sealed passage?" Elizabeth asked.

"The Egyptians found a hidden entrance in the great pyramid last year. They think it leads to a tunnel going to the Sphinx. We should get into the pyramid and open it. If there is a passage there, it will take us to the archive."

"If that's where it goes," Elizabeth said. "Let me be sure I understand you. You want to go into one of the biggest and most important historical attractions of the ancient world and break into a sealed entrance without getting caught. Then you want to follow a passage that might or might not be there to an archive that might not exist and discover what may be only a figment of someone's vivid imagination. Is that about it?"

"More or less."

"That is absolutely crazy."

"I wouldn't put it that way," Selena said. "I'd look at it as a challenge."

"A challenge?"

Nick interrupted. "It might not be too difficult, Director. Tourism is way off because of ISIS. If you can get us into the country without being arrested, we can bribe our way into the pyramid. The guards have been letting people in there for years who wanted to spend a night inside. We could be one more group of dumb foreigners. Selena's Arabic will help. A little C4 will get us into that passage."

"You're awfully quick to blow things up," Elizabeth said. "Now you want to damage a world monument."

"It's the only way to do it."

They waited while Elizabeth thought about it.

"There was an item in the morning brief two days ago. It looks like ISIS is planning a major attack in Egypt."

"How does that help?" Selena asked.

"For the moment the Egyptians are back to being our friends. I could offer to assist in preventing it."

"They may be acting like friends for now but I wouldn't count on it for much longer," Nick said. "Besides, they have their own counterterrorism unit."

"I know the general who runs internal security. I think I can convince him to let you enter the country. If he wants it done, it will happen."

Someone knocked on the cabin door. Nick opened it. It was John, the second mate.

"Take a look outside," he said.

Nick went over to the porthole. Not far away, the surface of the ocean churned and roiled. The air smelled of sulfur.

"Better come to the communication room," John said.

"Director, I have to go. Something's happening."

"Keep me posted," Elizabeth said.

They followed the mate to the communications room.

"What's up?" Nick said.

Sexton pointed at the ROV monitor. "Take a look."

The robot was outside the pyramid, about a quarter-mile from the ship. Yesterday there had been one or two vapor columns rising near the base of the massive structure. Now there were more than a dozen. It looked as though the seafloor near the pyramid was bulging.

"Is that what's making the disturbance on the surface?"

"You figured it out in one," Sexton said. "Something's getting ready to blow down there. Probably a volcano."

"A volcano?"

"Looks like it. Vicky, bring the rover home."

"What about the one we lost?" she asked.

"I don't want to lose this one too. If nothing happens down there we'll come back for it another time."

Vicky worked the joystick. The ROV backed away from the pyramid.

"What happens if it blows?" Selena asked.

"It depends. It's a long way down. It would take a really big eruption to sink us, but I'm not going to risk it. We're leaving."

Lamont pointed at the screen. "Something's happening."

Wide cracks appeared in the seabed, glowing with a malevolent, fiery red. The cracks spread outward from the pyramid.

"I think the pyramid's moving," Selena said.

"It can't move," Nick said. "How could it move?"

As they watched, the massive structure began to tilt. The seafloor around it split open. Then the pyramid began to slip away into the Atlantic abyss. It slid out of sight in a cloud of silt and steam. A glowing red column of molten lava fountained up from the shattered seabed.

The feed from the camera went dark.

Sexton ran to the bridge, yelling orders. Nick and the others followed him. By the time they got there the big diesels that drove
Sexton's Dream
had powered up and settled to a steady vibration.

"All ahead full. Flank speed."

"Flank speed, aye," the helmsman answered.

The ship began to move. The surface of the ocean foamed and curled. Suddenly a tall geyser of superheated water shot into the air. The column reached its peak and fell back., Scalding water and steaming rocks dropped onto the boat, a black rain from hell.

A glowing rock smashed through the skylight over the bridge and struck the second mate, knocking him to the deck. He screamed as his clothes caught fire. Two of the crew ran to help. Fires started on deck, where more rocks had landed.

Sexton yelled, "Get those fires out!"

A wave that looked as big as a house rushed toward them.

"Hang on!" Nick shouted

"Holy shit," Lamont said.

The wave struck the
Sexton's Dream.
The ship heeled over, sending everything that wasn't tied down flying through the air. Water cascaded over the decks and through the open door of the bridge. Slowly the ship righted itself.

Ahead lay the
Tolstoy
. The wave struck the bigger ship and swept across the decks. It continued on, subsiding as it moved away from the ships. Soon it was invisible. As it crossed the ocean it would build force until it became a tsunami.

"Whoa," Ronnie said.

The Russian ship appeared to have taken little damage. As the
Tolstoy
receded behind them. Selena saw Valentina come out onto the deck below the bridge.

The two sisters looked at each other as the distance between them increased.