“Tam can be a bear to work for,” Stone said, “but occasionally she gives us some great toys to play with.”
They stepped inside a small room, their way barred by a plexiglass wall with a small door set in the center.
“Climate controlled,” Dima said. “To help protect the documents.” She pushed the door open and stepped inside, the others following.
This room was tiny, no more than five meters square. A small wooden table and two chairs sat at the center and against the far wall stood a glass case containing perhaps forty books and scrolls, all of which looked very old and very fragile.
Dima hurried over to the case and let out a gasp. “I can’t believe this. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, The Gospel of Judas…” She opened the case and reached for one of the scrolls but quickly pulled her hand back. “What am I thinking?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of cotton gloves which she slipped on before retrieving the scroll. She unrolled it enough to see the first line of text. “The Book of Lucifer,” she whispered. “I didn’t believe this one existed. Positively amazing.”
“Not to rush you or anything,” Stone said, but I have a feeling the Swiss Guard headed our way the moment we opened that door. Unless, of course, they noticed what Bones did to the security camera, in which case we have even less time.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just that these books… Never mind.” Dima hastily scanned the shelves, reached in, and took out a tiny leather bound volume. “This is bound in human skin,” she said, her face twisting into a grimace. She opened the cover and smiled. “This is it. Let’s go.”
They quickly exited the room, but Stone raised his hand immediately, bring them all to a halt. “It’s too late. The guard is coming.” Indeed, voices and footsteps echoed through the room. “You three hide. I’ll let myself get caught and you can sneak away once I’ve gone. Tam can get me out.”
“Thanks for that, but it might not be necessary,” Bones said. He didn’t explain, but turned and headed back inside the room. “Let’s play a game I like to call follow the conspiracy theorist.” He hurried to the small table and dropped to the ground. “According to one of my favorite web forums, the Templars had trapdoors and tunnels all around the Vatican, though nobody knows where they might lead. All of them were marked by the Templar cross.” He pointed to the large stone tile on the floor beneath the table. It was marked by the famed red cross.
“It wouldn’t be the first time this cross has shown us the way,” Maddock said. He joined Bones and the two of them tugged at the tile. It came free immediately, revealing a square shaft and a series of rusted iron rungs.
“Everybody down,” Bones said. “If we’re quick, I can have this thing back in place before the pajama patrol gets here.”
Dima went down first, followed by Stone, Maddock, and then Bones. They didn’t know how deep the shaft might be or whether the iron rungs would hold, but it was the best option available to them. They descended in the darkness until Dima announced that she had hit the bottom.
When Maddock’s feet hit solid ground, he stepped quickly to the side, but not before Bones shouted, “Look out!” Maddock hit the ground hard as his friend’s bulk landed atop him.
“Did you forget how to climb?” he grunted.
“The rung gave way. You must have weakened it. I keep telling you to lose weight Maddock.”
“You have got to stop falling on me.”
“Where are we?” Dima asked.
Bones looked around. “Ancient sewer system,” he said.
“And how do we get out?”
Bones grinned. “No clue.”
They began exploring the maze of tunnels that twisted and turned in the darkness far below the Vatican. Several times they hit dead ends and were forced to backtrack. These ancient tunnels were crumbling in places and water dripped from the ceiling. Maddock hoped everything would not come tumbling down on top of them.
“Are we lost?” Dima finally asked.
“Not at all,” Bones said. “We’re just eliminating all the dead-end passageways first. Once we’ve taken all the wrong turns, the only way left will be the way out.”
“That’s not very comforting,” she said, but she did not raise any more questions.
After two hours of exploring, or, more accurately, wandering, the passageway began to slope upward. Here, the walls were sturdier and showed no signs of leakage. Heartened, Maddock picked up the pace. They climbed and climbed until he was certain they must be approaching ground level.
“Do I hear voices?” Bones asked.
They stopped to listen. Sure enough the dull sound of conversation emanated from up ahead. They hurried on, turned a corner, and skidded to a halt in front of a blank wall.
“Holy crap. You’ve got to be kidding.” Bones lashed out with a vicious front kick, slamming his booted heel into the wall. With a loud crash, the aging mortar crumbled and several of the stones flew outward, opening a gap in the wall large enough for a man to fit through. Bright light and fresh air streamed in.
“I guess we found the way out.” Bones flashed a sheepish grin and then peered out the hole he had unintentionally made. “Uh oh.”
“What is it?” All of Maddock’s senses were on high alert. Had the Swiss Guard caught up with them, or perhaps the Trident?
“Just follow me. And run.” With that, Bones plunged through the hole and took off.
Dima and Stone followed, and Maddock brought up the rear. When he burst out into the open he was surprised to find himself looking up at the stands of an ancient arena. The years had been unkind, it still retained hints of its previous majesty. Even now, he had to marvel at the skill of the hands which crafted this ancient wonder. All around, tourists gaped at them. He didn’t waste time trying to explain. He just ran.
Leave it to Bones to bust a hole in the Colosseum.
Chapter 31
Tyson navigated the throng of tourists outside St. Peter’s Basilica. He hated crowds, especially when he was in a hurry. The intel he had received indicated that Dima Zafrini had left Turkey on a flight to Rome. Also, he finally had names for the two men with whom she was traveling: Dane Maddock and Uriah Bonebrake. Both were former Navy SEALs who had turned to treasure hunting. Oddly, the Trident’s best men had been unable to learn much about their backgrounds. Great portions of their service records were locked down tightly, and bits of their civilian lives seem to have vanished. It was highly suspicious and suggested that they had powerful connections. He didn’t need a report, however, to realize Bonebrake was related to the old man whose family had protected the secret of the Noah Stone for so many years. That made this personal for Bonebrake, which meant the man would not be easily diverted. That was fine by Tyson. He looked forward to evening the score with the two men when he finally caught up to them.
“You think they’re here?” Ahmed asked, his hand resting too close to the spot where his pistol was concealed.
“A traffic camera spotted them heading in this direction.” Tyson never cease to be amazed at the sorts of connections the Trident had. They even had eyes among the Polizia in Rome. “Bonebrake stands out in a crowd. Once they picked him out, the other two were easy to recognize.”
“I can’t wait to catch up to them,” Ahmed said. “I owe Maddock for what he did to Felipe.”
Tyson felt his hackles rise at the mention of their friend whom Maddock had taken down in the ice cave. Felipe was still hospitalized with a concussion. It further galled him that, once again, Zafrini had gotten away. If he and Ahmed didn’t catch them soon, things could get ugly.