“I always do.”
“Right, I keep forgetting Bones isn’t with you.”
Dane smiled, but keenly felt his best friend’s absence. He found he actually missed Bones’ constant chatter. Doubtless, if he were here, Bones would be spouting theories about aliens until he was blue in the face.
“What do you think Bones would make of this thing?” Dane asked, but no one replied. All of them had fallen silent at the sight that lay before them.
The fine details had worn away over the years, but there was no mistaking the giant sphinx that sat atop the hill overlooking the city. Unlike its Egyptian counterpart, which lay in silent contemplation, this sphinx sat up on its haunches, its mouth open wide as if eager to devour anyone or anything that might intrude upon its watery domain. Dane marveled at the size of the sculpture.
“This thing could eat us for lunch.” Dane found himself transfixed by the stone beast.
“We should call him Jared.” Willis waited a few seconds. “Aw, come on. Eating a sub? Jared? If Bones had said it, you’d all be cracking up.”
“We want it to swallow us,” Sofia said. “Maddock, can you take us inside?”
“Are you serious? That seems… dangerous.”
“Do it,” Tam said in his ear. “She and I have already discussed the plan.”
“Didn’t bother to clue us in, did you?”
“I’m the boss of you, and don’t you forget it. Take it slow, and don’t get yourself into trouble.”
“If you say so.” Dane shifted in his seat, sat up straighter, and steered Remora into the sphinx’s gaping maw.
Inside, a wide pit ringed with stone steps plunged straight down. Cold sweat rising on the back of his neck, Dane took them down into the inky blackness.
“Okay, so maybe this wasn’t such a great idea.” Sofia’s breathy words were barely audible.
Indeed, it felt like they were descending into Tartarus. The pit seemed to go on forever, with only the steps hewn in the wall breaking the monotony. It felt like they’d never reach the bottom, but, at long last, their instruments indicated they were drawing near to solid ground.
When they reached the bottom, Dane halted their descent and slowly turned the sub about. The walls of the pit were blank.
“Dead end. Guess we need to head back up.” Willis sounded relieved.
Run a few scans and see what you can find.” Dane searched the stones in front of him. There had to be something here. “Maybe we’re missing something.”
He heard Willis’ fingers tapping buttons on his console. A minute later, his friend cried out in triumph.
“That’s what I’m talking about. At ten o’clock, there’s a break in the wall that’s partially blocked.”
Sure enough, they had overlooked an opening. It was almost large enough for Remora to pass through, but a pile of rubble and silt barred the way.
“I supposed we could use the arms to clear an opening, but it could take a while.” Dane scanned his monitors. They had an hour before they’d have to draw on their reserves of power and oxygen. He didn’t want to cut it that close, especially since they and the sub were still getting to know each other, as it were.
“No need,” Willis said.
Before Dane could ask what his friend meant, a bright flash blinded him, debris pelted the plexiglass bubble, and a dull explosion reverberated through the pit. Sofia screamed as the sub pitched to the side.
“What the hell?” Dane shouted, trying to blink the spots out of his eyes and struggling to right the craft.
“Sorry, y’all.” Willis sounded sheepish. “It was one of the little torpedoes. I didn’t go for one of the big ones.”
“You have got to be kidding me. Even Bones wouldn’t have done that.” Dane knew it was a lie, but he didn’t care. “What if you’d brought the whole place down on us?”
“My bad. I’ll ask next time. But, check it out! I got the tunnel open.”
Sure enough, the rubble was gone — blasted away by the torpedo. Through a curtain of silt, sub’s lights revealed a short tunnel and a large open space beyond. Hoping the blast hadn’t destabilized the rock, Dane plunged Remora through the passageway.
The space beyond proved to be almost a match for the temple Sofia had discovered in Spain: a column-lined chamber a good thirty meters long. A statue stood in the center, encircled by an altar resembling a tiny Stonehenge monument.
“I remember that old dude.” Willis said as Dane directed the lights upward.
“Poseidon,” Sofia whispered. “It’s just like the temple I excavated in Spain. This is proof that the Atlantean civilization spread across the ocean.”
“I want to make a record of this place.” Dane tapped the console and a camera began snapping still pictures of the chamber. “Where to next?”
“Check around behind the statue. That’s where the adyton should be.”
Dane stole another glance at the sub’s readings. They still had time, but the window was closing. “You think there’s a weapon down here?” He asked, navigating Remora to the back of the chamber, careful not to hit Poseidon or the altar.
“There it is! Straight ahead. See it?”
Inside an alcove beneath a pyramidal facade, something silver reflected the sub’s light.
“It’s a machine like the one Bishop Hadel took from the temple in Spain.”
Dane moved the sub in to get a closer look at the gleaming contraption. It was identical to the pictures they’d seen of the weapon Sofia had found: a metallic dish suspended beneath a pyramid-shaped frame, topped by a grasping hand.
“All right. Let’s see if we can get this thing out of here in one piece.” Dane considered the instruments he had at his disposal and formed a strategy in his head.
“Man, you got to be kidding. This little sub can’t handle that thing.”
“It only took a few men to carry the one in Spain,” Sofia said. “It must be deceptively light.”
“We’ve got to give it a shot,” Dane said. If the Dominion had one of these things, it could only help them to study it and hopefully learn how it worked and what it could do. It also would be a good idea to keep it out of the Dominion’s hands. If this machine truly could create a tsunami, the enemy could double the devastation should they obtain it.
He brought the sub as close as he dared, extended the robotic arms, and took hold of the device. “Watch out for old ladies crossing the street behind us.”
“Beep! Beep!” Willis chimed in as Dane reversed the sub.
Slowly, he dragged the Atlantean machine from the chamber and out into the temple. As Sofia had predicted, it was light and moved easily.
“Now for the tricky part.” He released the machine and used the robotic arm to hook a cable around their prize. It took three tries and a rain of taunts from Willis before he got the job done, but finally, towing the machine behind the sub, he was able to lift it and carry it toward the exit.
“Be careful not to hit the…” Willis began, but before he could finish his sentence, the sub jerked to a stop.
“What was that?” Dane glanced at the screen displaying the feed from the rear camera. The cable was snagged on Poseidon’s trident, and the statue now lay atop the device, which appeared undamaged, but was pinned to the temple floor. What was worse, there was no way he could reach it with the robotic arms.
They were stuck.
Chapter 13
Silence fell as Bishop Frederick Hadel entered the boardroom. His eyes passed over the men assembled there, taking in their expensive suits and gaudy watches, the trappings of a materialistic society. One of the many things he would change when their plans came to fruition. Wealth was a means to an end, but not an end unto itself. Until that day, he would play their game, operating his headquarters from this opulent retreat center in the Wasatch mountain range, and deliver his weekly sermons from a gilded pulpit in a lavishly-decorated church. What was it about common people that obscene displays of wealth inspired them, even when the religion they purported to follow taught against the accumulation of material possessions?