“That’s it?” Marco asked.
“Appearances are deceiving,” Nina replied, walking ahead until one of the soldiers, at a look from Marco, stepped in her path just before the open door.
“Not you,” he said.
Alexander turned around. He was alone with Marco, standing in the room before the pillars. “I want Dad. And Uncle Xavier. They need to be here.”
“No,” said Marco. “You do it. There’s the box. It’s got three keyholes in it. Put them in.”
“Uh-uh,” Alexander said, shaking his head. “What if all three of us need to do it at the same time?”
“Why should it matter?”
Alexander shook his head. “Are you crazy? Of course it matters. Dad?”
“He’s right,” Caleb said quietly. “I don’t know if it has to be all three brothers, but I’d be surprised if the keys didn’t need to be inserted simultaneously.”
“Like the keys to activate a missile launch aboard a nuclear sub,” Montross added.
Marco thought for a moment. “And if you only do one at a time?”
Alexander shrugged. “Most likely, you and I are toast.”
Taking a step back, Marco waved on Caleb and Montross. “All right, you two. Get in here and do it like he said. But no games. First hint of anything funny and I’ll cut you down.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Montross said, walking past the soldiers and giving Nina a wink.
Caleb followed, wide-eyed. “I still don’t know if this will work.”
“It’ll work,” Alexander said quickly, glancing sideways at his father. He took two of the necklaces off. “Remember our vault back in Sodus?”
Caleb approached the box, standing beside it with Montross. Alexander was in the middle, and Caleb was getting ready to touch the box first, to get some kind of psychic glimpse into its past, and hopefully see something about how to open it, and whether there were punishments for not following the prophecy. But then Alexander’s question stopped him.
“Our vault?”
“Yeah, Dad. Remember what would happen inside when the stand was touched?”
Caleb blinked at him, and Montross smiled, a shine in his eyes.
“Give them the keys,” Marco ordered, pointing the gun at Alexander. “No more talking. Insert the keys now and open the damn box.”
Nina said something from behind the guards, and she tried to push through, but they closed ranks, keeping her at bay.
Alexander knelt in front of the box, the non-descript yet ancient-looking chest. He met his father’s eyes, and then looked for Montross, but his uncle was already moving back, taking two steps to position himself closer to Marco.
“Alex—” Caleb started, but his son was already in motion. The keys still in his left hand, he reached out and slapped his palm hard against the box’s lid.
And the great onyx door rumbled, released — and then fell.
Nina yelled. The guards turned, then backed away, guns raised. She got a glimpse of Marco, spinning around in confusion, and then as the door descended she saw Montross shoving him hard from behind.
The commander tumbled, fell and slid on his stomach. He screamed, tried to roll once more, but the two-foot-wide door came crashing down on him, crunching through muscle and bone, flattening his pelvis, his ribcage and his skull in an instant. One leg on each side continued twitching as his arms flailed for a couple seconds, then lay still.
Nina ran to the door and pounded at it. Screaming, yelling, trying to send her voice to the other side.
But it was too thick to be heard.
But she did a hear a voice. Distant, questioning.
The satellite phone, still in Marco’s lifeless hand. She snatched it up, and before the dumbstruck guards could react, she grabbed the spare gun from Marco’s belt. In one quick motion she brought around her arm and fired twice, dropping both men with clean headshots. As they fell, she darted to the side of the entrance. Two more men came running down, guns drawn.
She shot them both.
Sensing there were more at the top of the stairs, she waited with her back to the wall, then put the phone to her ear.
“Hello, Calderon? Nina here again.”
“Nina? What’s going on? Did Alexander open the box?”
“I don’t know that, sir. All I know is the door came down again. Caleb, Montross and the boy are all trapped inside.”
“Damn! And Marco?”
“Crushed.”
“What was that shooting?”
“Just me. Cleaning up.” She peeked around the corner and saw a black helmet duck out of sight at the top of the stairs.
“Nina, be reasonable. Wait there. I need to come to you now.”
“I know that.”
“With your boys.”
“Of course. Someone needs to get that door open again. And fast. I’m surprised you didn’t bring them here for the opening.” It had been bothering her for the past few minutes. “Why not?”
“Because they were needed here. Because there’s something else that they need to find first.”
“And have they found it?”
“Not yet. We’re having some difficulty. I know it’s here, but… Well, perhaps we can try later with Alexander’s help. We’re coming now. Give this phone to one of the other soldiers, and then you can stop killing people. I’ll tell them you’re in charge now. Guard the door until we arrive.”
“But Alexander, and his father—”
“They’re not going anywhere.”
“I’m not so sure. I remember Montross speaking of an underground complex, a labyrinth built ages ago, before the pyramids even.”
“I doubt that.” He didn’t sound sincere. “But even if you’re right, they can’t hide from us.”
Nina paused. “What do you plan to do with the contents of the box?” She had never gotten an answer out of Montross, what he would do with it. Only that it was vital to his survival. That, and the fact that she owed him her life was all she required. But now the stakes had changed. She had children. Two boys. Kept from her for more than ten years. So much missed time. Despite her deeds of late, despite who she was, this changed everything. “I want to know.”
“When the time is right, I’ll tell you. For now, if you want to see your children, do as I say. We’ll be there soon.”
“Wait! What is at the Statue of Liberty? What are you looking for?”
“See you soon, Nina. Now, give me to one of the men.”
She glared at the phone, then yelled up the stairs, “Hold your fire!” She stepped into the hall, hands raised, and let the men rush down to her, weapons drawn. She handed one of them the phone, and then turned and regarded the silent, black and unyielding door.
22
“So now we’re trapped,” Alexander said, looking about the room. In the dark, Montross had managed to find a flashlight on Marco’s right side, clipped to his utility belt. It was small, but more than sufficient to probe the room’s meager dimensions.
“No,” said Caleb, taking the light from Montross and aiming it into the far left corner. “I saw something in my last vision. When this room was designed and furnished. The man, almost familiar, in a blue robe, with a staff as he ordered the box sealed. There’s another exit.”
“It can wait,” said Montross.
“What?”
“They’re not getting back in here any time soon. So we have time. Time to open this box, time to get the books inside. Time to talk.” The light hit his face and he squinted, turning away.