Holly bit her lip. "I wish I had your faith. Once Cy and the others spread the word, I'll be blackballed. I'll be lucky to stay out of prison."
"Slow down."
Holly eased off on the accelerator. The Sno-Cat jolted. It gradually lost speed.
Jenner felt a small measure of pride at what he'd accomplished in the last week. He'd tracked down Beverly's travel plans and followed her to Kirby Station. After the whole Fenrir thing, he'd blown up the power plant in order to keep Baxter from using the landline to call for assistance. Then he'd killed the only witness, Ted Ayers.
Once Beverly had woken up, he'd taken advantage of her grogginess and gotten her to tell him the location of Werwolfsschanze. In a few hours, he'd depart Antarctica with the Amber Room. At long last, the Garden of Eden would be in his grasp.
"What are we looking for?" Holly asked.
"You'll know it when you see it." Jenner glanced at Holly. "By the way, don't worry about Cy."
She shook her head. "I don't even have the gun you sent me."
"It's not you he should be worried about. It's not even me."
"Then who?"
The snow blew away from the windshield. Glimpses of green fabric appeared. Holly's jaw fell agape.
The Sno-Cat crawled forward. A heavily modified truck came into view. Two others were parked close behind it.
Figures materialized out of the whiteness. They swarmed the Sno-Cat. They wore white camouflage uniforms with black boots and thick black gloves. White camouflage helmets covered their heads. Their hands held long rifles, the scopes of which were pointed at Holly's face. Quickly, she hit the brakes.
"Them." Jenner smiled. "Cy should be worried about them."
Chapter 78
I pulled the Sno-Cat to a stop just shy of the original anomaly. I could no longer see the ruins. Thanks to the heavy snowfall, the entire area looked like nothing more than a small hill.
I took the binoculars from Graham. With my elbows scrunched close to my sides, I lifted them to my face. Looking through the lenses, I saw a distant mountain. It was quite clear. But that wasn't the only thing. I also saw two bright red tents. One was substantially larger than the other. They'd been partially uprooted from the ground and waved at the air like giant flags.
"I see a camp right next to the mountain," I said. "Ten to one it belongs to Roy. That must be why he shot at you. He was guarding Werwolfsschanze."
"That makes sense," Beverly replied. "Do you see him?"
"No. And I don't see Aaron either. The area around the mountain appears to be vacant."
"Are you sure that's a mountain? There's something weird about it."
I turned my attention back to the formation. I studied the boulders. I observed their strange positions. Then I saw it. I'd seen others like it, but only in faraway places like Egypt, Mexico, and Peru. "That's no mountain," I said slowly. "It's a pyramid. A goddamn pyramid."
Chapter 79
The Sno-Cat slid to a halt. The ice continued for another twenty yards, ending at the foot of the giant pyramid. It towered above me, covering an area roughly equivalent to a Manhattan city block.
I opened my door and stepped out into the cold. Fierce wind threatened to knock me off my feet. Ice pellets assailed my face. Blowing snow formed a thick veil, obscuring my view of the structure.
Bending low, I noticed tread marks on the ice. They ended in deep gashes, surrounded by splattered snow. More marks lay just beyond them. It looked like a Sno-Cat had slid to a halt just shy of the pyramid.
I hiked across the ice. I kept waiting for the tracks to veer to the north or south but they continued forward, straight as an arrow. They ran all the way to the pyramid and vanished. It looked like the vehicle had driven right into the boulders.
Or right through them.
Graham hiked to a large boulder. He bent down and studied it closely. "It's definitely been worked. I can see the tool marks. Only …"
"Only what?"
"Only they're all recent."
My teeth chattered as I inspected the boulder. It stood three feet tall. I estimated its width at four and a half feet. It poked out of the pyramid like a small tumor. "It looks like fairly substantial working too." I ran my gloved fingers along the edge. "This is the worst attempt at an excavation I've ever seen. It's hard to know where the original carvings end and Roy's markings begin."
Beverly limped across the ice. She looked worn to the point of exhaustion. "Pat and I checked the tents. They're empty. Same goes for the rest of the field camp."
"Well, someone is here." I nodded at the tracks.
Her eyes shifted to the ground. Then they drifted into the air. "Amazing. Who do you think made it?"
I shrugged.
"They must've been protecting this for a long time. No wonder they wanted to kill Jeff and me."
I hiked to another boulder. It was shaped like a squashed triangle. Its edges were pressed tight against those of other boulders. "The Savalas are geologists right?"
Graham rubbed his jaw. "I think so."
I turned my attention to still more boulders. I saw ridges, cracks, clefts, and small peaks. I noticed long pointy icicles hanging from various outcroppings. I studied the way the snow collected in the crevices.
I walked a few steps to the north. My face felt frozen. My fingers were colder than icicles. My toes ached. Even my heart rate seemed to be slowing down.
I took off my gloves and ran my fingers across the surface of the boulders just above the tread marks. From all appearances, they seemed firm and unyielding. And yet, they couldn't be. The treads marks proved that. There had to be a way to get past them.
I placed my cheek against a boulder. Wind whistled past my ears. I moved down the length of the pyramid, scrutinizing every inch of its craggy surface. But I didn't see any way to access it.
I reached the north end of the pyramid. Seeing nothing significant, I backtracked and then walked all the way to the southern end. Again, I saw nothing of interest.
A gust of wind sent tiny icicles flying into my face. I turned my head and looked over my shoulder. Our Sno-Cat, just twenty yards away, stuck out like a beacon of beautiful light amidst the blank landscape. I was tempted to retreat into its cozy confines. I could turn on the engine, warm up a bit.
Reluctantly, I tore my head away from it. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to concentrate. Then I backed up a few feet.
From a certain angle, some of the snow on the ground appeared slightly different. I bent down and saw faint impressions near one of the ruts. They looked like footprints, partially filled in by newly fallen snow. I placed my boot next to one of them and pushed down. Then I compared the two prints. The other one was smaller and thinner than my own. Most likely, it belonged to Roy's female friend, Zoey Sanders.
I turned my attention back to the boulders. My teeth started to chatter. My reactions slowed. I became clumsy, nearly losing my balance on several occasions.
My mind started to wander. My movements became lethargic. Eventually, my hands stopped listening to my brain.
I snuck another peek over my shoulder. The Sno-Cat was barely visible. And yet, it called out to me, offering a refuge from the cold weather. Surely, I could afford a short stay in its warm interior.
I twisted back to the pyramid. The wind strengthened. It blasted me over and over again. I focused my attention on the area directly in front of the tread marks. Carefully, I used my hands to search the nooks, the crags.