Eventually, the hole would give them access to the tomb.
For now, it would save their lives.
‘Get down,’ McNutt called out to his friends. ‘It’s time.’
Sarah and Garcia dropped their shovels and hustled to the bottom of the slanted pit where they would be safe from the attack. Cobb joined them a moment later, after turning off the lantern that had lit their surroundings. For the next thirty seconds, the hole would be the safest place in the desert, guarded by an unseen force.
All that was left was the signal.
Sarah had suggested it, and the others had agreed.
Somehow it seemed appropriate.
McNutt smiled as he pulled the glow stick from his pocket. He activated the tube with a crack and a shake, and then held it above his head.
To the Muharib, light represented everlasting life.
To the Marines, it represented death.
Staff Sergeant James Tyson grinned when he saw the signal.
It was about goddamned time.
He and the rest of his Force Recon unit had been waiting patiently from their position just beyond the dunes. For hours they had tracked the shadows in the darkness. Despite their legend, the Muharib were not ghosts. They couldn’t escape the infrared and thermal vision employed by the Marines — especially since they knew where to look.
They had McNutt to thank for that.
Ever since their meeting at Biketoberfest, Tyson hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that he would be seeing his buddy again real soon. The Middle East was a vast and varied place, but Marines had a way of finding each other when it mattered most. Combine that with their personal penchant for mischief, and it was only a matter of time before someone’s phone started to ring. This time, it had been his.
Hell, he had even told McNutt that he would be in the region.
That was an open invitation for trouble.
McNutt had called to offer what he knew about the Alexandria bombing — which was more than the Pentagon. He had explained to Tyson that the men responsible for the tragedy belonged to the same group that had been involved in the Siwa explosion. Their conversation had been short, but McNutt had known all the right things to say:
Unchecked threat.
Regional terror.
Target of opportunity.
By the end, Tyson had been ready to lend his services, and McNutt had been more than eager to accept.
All they needed was a place and time.
Those were here and now.
‘Green light,’ Tyson exclaimed as he stared through his scope. ‘We’re a go. Repeat. We’re a go. Fire. Fire. Fire.’
Considering the pain and suffering the Muharib had caused, McNutt wanted to participate in their demise. He wanted to stare them in the eye and pull his trigger. He wanted to watch them die as they gurgled blood at his feet.
Instead, he followed through on his promise.
He signaled the Marines, and then joined his friends in the pit.
A moment later, the horizon exploded with silent bursts of muzzle flare. Pink mist filled the air as the Muharib were cut down where they stood. Skulls were shattered, and brains erupted. Blood showered the sand like crimson rain.
McNutt knew that the desert warriors were known for their ability to strike without warning, but they had nothing on the US Marine Corps. His fellow soldiers had perfected the art, and they relished the chance to show off their talents.
Shadow after shadow fell to the ground.
Until only one remained.
Moments earlier, Awad had been leading his men into battle.
Now, he was all that remained of their faith.
An invisible force had wiped out his legion in the night.
It was a scene dripping with irony.
And blood.
With nowhere to run or hide, Awad knew he had been defeated. In what should have been his time of triumph, he had failed himself, his brethren, and his god. He only hoped that Amun’s punishment would be swift.
A second later, a bullet answered his prayers.
Awad fell dead in the sand.
Despite their defeat, their deaths seemed a fitting tribute to their cause. The Muharib had defended the tomb to the bitter end, dying for what they believed.
In the end, their blood was spilled on holy ground.
And they died next to their god.
83
When the ambush was over, the Marines swooped in to cover their tracks. Since their actions weren’t exactly sanctioned, they needed to erase any evidence of their involvement, and that included the bodies of the men they had just killed. When they were finished with their cleanup, all that remained was blood-soaked sand.
The Saharan winds would take care of that.
As his men loaded the last of the corpses into the cargo transport they had secured for the mission, Tyson walked over to the others. Despite his relationship with McNutt, he kept his headcloth drawn tight and his goggles on to conceal his features. Officially, he and his unit were never there. As such, he couldn’t risk exposing his face.
McNutt nodded toward the large truck. ‘That’s not exactly subtle. Are you sure you can stay under the radar in that thing?’
‘I got here just fine, didn’t I?’ Tyson scoffed. He quickly scanned the group for any signs of injury. ‘Anyone hurt?’
Cobb shook his head. ‘Just fine, thanks to you.’
He saluted out of respect. ‘No worries, Major. Happy to help.’
As the son of a Marine Corps brigadier general — and a decorated soldier in his own right — Cobb was well known in certain circles. Normally, he hated the recognition, but at that moment he was willing to make an exception. ‘If you or your men ever need anything, just let me know. I’ll put in a good word wherever I can.’
‘I appreciate that,’ Tyson said. He turned to McNutt and held out his arms. ‘And you — you’re buying at Bike Week.’
‘See you there,’ McNutt answered in the midst of a brotherly hug.
As Tyson backpedalled toward his men, he had one final observation. ‘So the giant hole in the ground is for…?’
‘Giant flowers,’ Sarah joked. ‘We want to see if they’ll grow out here.’
‘Bullshit,’ Tyson growled.
The entire group tensed, including McNutt.
Tyson stared at them for an uncomfortable length of time before he started to laugh. ‘For the flowers, I mean. I hear manure makes all the difference in the world in a climate like this. That and water. Lots of water.’
Sarah smiled. ‘Good to know.’
Just like that, their arrangement was clear. McNutt and the others would never mention the Marines, and in return Tyson and his men would keep quiet about the excavation. It was an agreement that worked for all involved.
Cobb waited for the Marines to clear out before his team went back to work on the entryway. With their focus no longer split between the dig and their safety, they made short work of the remaining few feet of sand. As the sun’s first rays began to light the eastern sky, their shovels hit something solid.
Even though they had been expecting it, the clang of metal against stone still gave them a moment of pause. In some odd way, it struck them as proof that all of this was real. Only then did they fully comprehend the magnitude of what had happened. They would never see Jasmine again. Their friend was dead, as were those responsible for her death. All to protect whatever was hidden beyond this wall.
A few quick blasts from McNutt’s sonic pulse baton were enough to loosen the mortar around the stones. After opening a large enough gap to fit through, they lowered themselves into the chamber beyond. Given all that they had been through, they would face this final leg of their journey together.