Matt locked his gaze on the target and watched it grow larger in his field of vision. As they drew closer, the boat came into clear view. His heart leapt when he got his first good look at the boat.
“I think this is it!” he called into his mic.
“Dude, no need to shout,” Corey said.
“What makes you think so?” Greg asked in clipped tones.
“That boat is identical to the one Bill took us out on for the so-called fishing expedition. Who, in their right mind, would be out fishing on a day like today?”
He felt the vibration beneath his feet as Corey opened up the engine and Sea Foam crashed through the waves, making a beeline for the fishing boat.
“Willis, Professor, did you hear that?” Greg asked.
“Roger,” Professor replied.
“We’re on the mother!” Willis cried.
Nervous energy boiling up inside him, Matt hurried into the cabin and grabbed an M-16. Please let me get a chance to use it. For a moment, he wished he had the Atlantean gun Maddock had found in Japan, but Bones had only managed to generate a few waves with it. For now, its secrets remained hidden.
Returning to the deck, he watched as they bore down on the fishing boat. He could make out two figures in rain gear looking in his direction. He dropped to one knee, rested his M-16 on the gunwale, and waited.
One of the men in the boat spotted Matt. He shouted something to his comrade, who sprang to the wheel and gunned the engine.
“They’re running!” Matt called.
“Not for long,” Willis said.
Ten meters in front of the fleeing fishing boat, mechanical arms extended like a creature from the depths, Remora surfaced. The pilot yanked the wheel to the right just as a wave crashed into the boat, nearly capsizing it. As he struggled to recover, Corey cut Sea Foam across their bow.
Matt stood and trained his rifle on the pilot.
“Hands in the air! Now!”
Both men raised their hands and stared up at Matt in horror. Up close, he saw that both had the weathered features of men who spent most of their time on the water. He had a sinking feeling they’d chased down the wrong craft. Willis seemed to confirm that a moment later when he reported no weapon attached to the craft’s underside.
“Whatever you want, just take it.” The pilot’s voice trembled. “But we don’t have much.”
Greg appeared at Matt’s side and flashed his identification.
“We’re with the D.E.A. We need to inspect your boat.” It was a lie they’d agreed on at the outset of the mission.
The men’s frozen faces melted with relief.
“You two move to the stern and put your hands behind your heads,” Matt ordered. No harm in maintaining the ruse.
Greg inspected the boat, proclaimed it “clean,” and apologized for the inconvenience. The relieved men assured him there was nothing to apologize for, and headed back to port without complaint.
“Sorry,” Matt said. “I really wanted it to be them.”
“Me too.” Greg gazed out at the sea. “But we’re searching for a needle in a haystack here.” His phone rang. “It’s Tam.” He answered, listened for a few seconds, grimaced, and then hung up. “We’re aborting the mission.”
“Why?” Matt protested. “There’s no way those guys could have already complained about us. Besides, they think we’re D.E.A.”
“It’s not that.” Greg pocketed his phone and pounded his fist on the gunwale. “Bill gave you a bad tip. The Dominion just hit Norfolk.”
Chapter 39
The sound of voices drew closer. Bones drew his Glock and took up a position at the corner where he could see the Dominion operatives’ approach.
“Give me some light,” Dane whispered. Jade and Sofia trained their Maglites on Orion’s belt. Quickly, Dane placed the crystals in their proper spots. As he pressed each into its slot, some invisible force, almost like magnetism, snatched the crystal from his fingers and held it fast.
“I can see their lights,” Bones whispered. “We’re almost out of time.”
“Got it.” Dane set the last crystal into place and the door swung inward. He shone his beam inside, making a cursory inspection for booby traps, and then ushered the others inside. After they all entered the chamber, he pried the crystals free and pushed the door closed. With a hollow click, it locked into place. “Now, let’s see if Krueger was right.”
Turning around, he swept his light around the room.
“Oh my God,” Jade whispered. Her free hand found his and squeezed. “This is it!”
Statues of Egyptian gods lined the Hall of Records. Between each statue, the walls were honeycombed with alcoves for storing scrolls. A band of hieroglyphs ringed the chamber just above the alcoves. It was laid out like the Atlantean temples, but with a large stone table at the center where the altar to Poseidon would have been.
Jade and Sofia immediately began snapping pictures.
“We don’t have much time,” Dane said.
“Why not?” Sofia asked, still clicking away. “We’re in here, they’re out there, and they don’t have the crystals.”
“I don’t think that will slow them down for long. The best we can hope for is they try the door for a few minutes. Once they realize they can’t get in, I believe we can count on them to resort to other means.”
“Like what?” Sofia asked.
“Like blowing the door,” Jade said. “Maddock’s right. We need to hurry. I just hope we can find the information we need in time.”
“What happens when they do blow the door?” Sofia’s voice dropped to a scant whisper.
“You two will hide while Bones and I deal with them.” Dane wished he felt half as much confidence as he feigned. He had a feeling the Dominion would have sent enough trained men to make sure a job this important came off without a hitch.
“Guys, there’s something weird in here.” Bones pointed to the nearest statue — Osiris. “Notice how every statue has been defaced?”
“Every one?” Jade asked, moving deeper into the hall. “That can’t be right.”
“He’s right,” Sofia said. “Every face is smashed. That can’t be an accident. Someone’s been in here.”
“That’s not the worst part. Check out the alcoves.” Bones shone his light along the wall.
Every alcove was empty.
“No,” Sofia wailed. She balled her fists and pressed them to her forehead. “All this work, and grave robbers beat us to it.”
“Not grave robbers,” Dane said.
“How do you know?” Jade cocked her head to the side and fixed him with a questioning look.
“The thieves left a calling card.” He shone his light on the wall above the door, where someone had carved a few squiggly lines and a familiar symbol.
“The Templars? No freaking way.” Bones looked like he was about to say something else, but just then, they heard voices on the other side of the door.
Dane couldn’t make out the words, but it was clear by their excited tone that they knew they’d found the entrance to the Hall of Records. He looked at Bones.
“There are bunch of guys out there, Maddock.” He said it with the clinical detachment of an engineer sizing up a challenging task.
“We’ll have surprise on our side, and they’ll have to come in two at a time.” Dane thought fast. “We’ll lay our Maglites in alcoves, with the beams directed at the door. They’ll aim for the lights at first. That will buy us a little more time.”
“Maybe we won’t have to fight.” Sofia grabbed him by the arm and pulled him deeper into the hall.