‘Cross, get back — God damn it,’ Rosemont growled as the other man ducked through the entrance. He traded exasperated looks with Arnold. ‘Wait here and watch for the chopper. I’ll get him.’
He splashed into the lake. Cross had by now disappeared inside the ruined structure, spill from his flashlight washing back up the tunnel. ‘Cross! Get out of there. We’ve got a job to do.’
There was no reply. Annoyed, Rosemont sluiced through the opening and made his way into the building’s heart, turning on his own flashlight. The water rose to his knees. ‘Hey! When I tell you to—’
He stopped in amazement.
The room was not large, only a few metres along each wall. But it had clearly been a place of great importance to its builders. Stone columns coated in flaked gilding supported each corner of the ceiling, bands of pure gold and silver around them inset with numerous gemstones. Not even the grime left by the long submersion in the lake could diminish their splendour. The walls themselves were covered in the skeletal ancient text he had seen outside. There were more Hebrew passages too, but the other language occupied so much space that these were relegated to separate tablets laid out around the room’s waterlogged perimeter.
It was obvious what the temple had been built to house. The wall opposite the entrance contained a niche a little over a foot high, more gold lining it. Above it was a faded painting, a stylised seven-branched menorah — a Hebrew lampstand — with several letters over it. Carvings resembling the sun’s rays directed Rosemont’s eyes to its contents.
A strange stone figure filled the nook. Its body was human — but the head was that of a lion. Wrapped tightly around the statuette’s torso, shrouding it like wings, were several metal sheets embossed with a pattern resembling eyes.
Cross stood at the alcove, examining the artefact. ‘Do you see it?’ he gasped. ‘Do you see it?’
‘Yeah, I see it,’ Rosemont replied. There was a new edge to the other man’s voice that he had never heard before, a breathless excitement — no, wonderment. ‘What is it?’
Cross gave his superior a glance that was somewhere between pity and disdain. ‘You don’t see it, otherwise you’d know.’
‘Okay, then enlighten me.’
‘An apt choice of words.’ He leaned closer for a better look at the leonine head. ‘It’s an angel.’
‘Yeah, I can see that, I guess. It does kinda look like an angel.’
‘No, you don’t understand. It doesn’t just look like an angel. It is an angel! Exactly as described in the Book of Revelation! Chapter four, verse six — “Four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion.” And there’s more: “And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him.”’ He crouched, the water sloshing up to his chest. ‘There’s something written on its side. I know what it says.’
‘You can read it?’ asked Rosemont, surprised.
‘No — but I still know what it says. Revelation chapter four, verse eight — “And they rest not, day and night, saying ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.’” They aren’t speaking day and night — the words are written on them, always visible. That’s what it means!’
‘That’s what what means?’
‘Revelation! I understand it, it’s all coming to me…’ Cross stared at the angel, then turned to face Rosemont. The older agent was momentarily startled by his expression, an almost messianic light burning in his eyes. ‘You said this lake was a meteorite crater. Revelation chapter eight, verse ten — “There fell a great star from heaven, burning as if it were a lamp.” Wormwood, the falling star; it’s describing a fireball, a meteor strike — and this is it, this is where it landed! It’s the bottomless pit!’ He faced the alcove once more. ‘The prophecy, it’s true…’
‘All right, so you’ve had a vision from God,’ said Rosemont, his discomfort replaced by impatience. ‘We’ve still got a mission to carry out. This is a job for archaeologists, not the CIA — let Indiana Jones take care of it. We need to get Kerim’s intel on those Iraqi positions.’
‘You do that,’ Cross replied as he took out a compact digital camera. ‘This is more important.’
‘The hell it is.’ Rosemont stepped closer as Cross took a photo of the alcove and the surrounding text-covered wall. ‘You’re coming with me, right now—’
‘Mike!’ Arnold’s shout reached them from outside. ‘The chopper, it’s coming back!’
‘Shit,’ said Rosemont. The Iraqis had probably spotted the Toyota’s tracks cutting across the dried-up marshlands. ‘Okay, Bible study’s over — move out!’
He splashed back down the tunnel, readying his rifle. Cross hesitated, then almost reverently took the angel from its niche, finding it surprisingly heavy for its size, and followed.
The two men joined Arnold near the broken pillar. ‘They’ve turned out their nav lights,’ he warned.
Rosemont listened. The pulsing thunder again grew louder, coming from somewhere to the south-east. He couldn’t see the aircraft, but with night-vision gear, its pilot’s view of the lake would be as clear as in daylight. ‘We need to get away from the ruins.’
‘You sure? The walls’ll give us cover—’
‘Not against rockets. The moment they see the truck, they’ll assume we’re inside and blow the hell out of the place! Spread out and try to reach Kerim’s people.’ He started to move, then caught sight of what Cross was carrying. ‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘I can’t leave it behind,’ Cross replied.
‘Put it down and take up your weapon! That’s an order, Cross!’
The two men glared at each other, neither willing to back down… then the deadlock was broken by Arnold’s cry. ‘Incoming!’
A flash of fiery light in the sky — and something streaked overhead. The CIA agents threw themselves flat—
The rocket hit the Toyota, the truck exploding in a dazzling fireball. Two more missiles hit the temple itself, shattering stonework and causing the roof to collapse with a crash that shook the surrounding sands. Then the gunship blasted over the ruin, swinging into a wide loop above the lake.
‘Is everyone okay?’ Rosemont called. His two companions responded in the affirmative.
‘We lost the truck,’ said Arnold unhappily, looking back at the burning wreck. ‘How are we gonna get out of here?’
‘We’ll walk if we have to,’ said Rosemont, ‘but let’s worry about staying alive first.’ He glanced towards Kerim’s position. ‘We’ve still got two LAWs over there. We might be able to bring down that chopper.’
Arnold was not convinced. ‘It’d take a miracle.’
‘God’s on our side,’ said Cross, unshakeable conviction in his voice. He held up the angel. ‘We found this for a reason. The Lord won’t let us die now.’
‘We need firepower, not faith!’ said Rosemont. ‘Leave that damn thing here — we’ve got to get those rockets.’ Cross gave him an affronted look, then reluctantly placed the angel at the foot of the pillar. ‘Okay, Gabe, find Kerim. Cross, with me.’
The agents set off at a run. Rosemont searched for the Hind over the dark water, but saw nothing. He could tell from the changing pitch of its engine note that it was turning around, though — another attack could come at any moment—
More fire in the sky — and dusty geysers erupted as cannon fire ripped across the shoreline. The gunner had spotted the Ma’dan and opened up as the Mi-24 swept in. The Marsh Arabs returned fire, muzzle flashes bursting from the reeds, but the AKs were useless against the Hind’s thick armour. Tracer rounds homed in on the gunmen and hit home, screams rising over the helicopter’s clamour as bodies were shredded by a storm of explosive shells.