"Looks like a serious discussion," Lamont said.
"Yeah. Let's hope it's not an argument."
"Korov is a pretty good guy."
"He's a Russian," Ronnie said, "good guy or not. The question is, what kind of Russian?"
"We're about to find out." Nick and Korov were coming back.
"There is a door ahead," Korov said. "It should lead inside. Bukharin, take the point. Ivanesky, behind him. Once through the door, we will carry out our orders and destroy this thing."
He was speaking English. Nick nodded to himself. He'd been certain all along that the Russians spoke English. They were Spetsnaz, after all. Foreign languages, especially English, were a requirement for all Russian Special Forces. When Korov said they would destroy the pyramid, Nick watched for a reaction. Ivanesky showed a flicker of surprise before his face returned to a mask.
"Yes, sir," Bukharin said. The two moved down the hall. The others followed.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
The door was made of the same ceramic material as the walls. Bukharin pulled it open a crack and peered through. The buzzing sound got louder, like the sound of a thousand bees. He opened the door wide. They went through the door and spread out to the sides, weapons ready.
The base of the pyramid was a vast, square chamber. A wide walkway of concrete went around the four sides. Light strips on the walls gave off the same glow that lit the hall. The walls sloped upward for a hundred feet or more to a flat ceiling high overhead. Like the hallway, the walls were lined with white ceramic material.
Nick looked out over what seemed to be a bottomless pit, trying to make sense of what he saw. In the exact center of the chamber was a flat concrete platform surrounded by a low railing. Bridge-like walkways crossed to it from each side of the perimeter. Four massive columns of copper rose from the pit to support the corners of the platform and continued upward, halfway to the ceiling. A constant, crackling discharge of blue-white lightning danced from column to column. Four thick rods of copper projected from the ceiling above the columns. Electricity flowed in four continuous streams between the columns and the rods.
In the middle of the platform was a machine. The buzzing sound came from six giant wheels made of smooth, circular bands of metal. Each was an odd golden color. Each was at least twenty feet high. They turned in a steady blur.
Impossible, Nick thought.
The wheels weren't attached to anything. They floated in the air without visible support, spinning above a curved cradle of silvery metal placed between two large, free-standing flat sheets of metal bolted to the concrete. A faint, blue haze shimmered over everything.
The air stank with the scent of ozone. The metal of his AK felt warm and gave little shocks to the touch. Static sparks jumped from Nick's clothes as he moved. His hair stirred in restless movement.
On the far side of the pyramid was a door. A thick ledge extended out over the pit, supporting an elevator shaft. The shaft rose to the ceiling and whatever was above. The wall on the right side of the pit had a closed set of double doors.
Lamont stared at the impossible wheels. "It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie."
"The Matrix," Ronnie said, "or Stargate."
"Listen up," Nick said.
"The control room will be up there." Korov pointed toward the ceiling. "This is the heart of it. We take this out. Nick, you and I will plant charges. Ronnie, Lamont, you cover the elevator and the doors. Bukharin, Ivanesky, stay here and cover the passageway."
Korov and Nick walked to the machine. Nick went to the cradle under the spinning wheels. His body tingled with electricity. He knelt on one knee and placed charges at the base of the cradle. He inserted detonators and hoped the random electricity didn't set them off. Then he went to one of the flat metal sheets and began there. Nothing on the platform would survive. Korov was busy at the copper columns.
Nick heard two clicks in his tiny earpiece, then Selena's voice.
"Nick, can you hear me?" The transmission crackled with static.
He coughed.
"Twenty minutes ago a helicopter brought someone in. A second one just landed. It's a troop transport."
In Virginia, Selena watched glowing green figures emerge from the aircraft like a stream of ants. The stream formed up into three orderly lines.
"30 men. They're getting ready to go inside."
"Shit," Nick said.
"What?" Korov looked up from where he was placing a detonator in a block of Semtex next to one of the columns.
"Assault troops, outside. We're about to have company." He stood and spoke into his headset. "Ronnie, Lamont. Get back over here."
Korov didn't ask how Nick knew. He reached for a timer.
"Stop what you are doing, Colonel. You, American. Tell your men to drop their weapons."
The voice came from behind them. They turned. Bukharin had his AK-47 leveled at them. Nick saw Ivanesky's body lying on the floor by the hall entry. Across the way, Ronnie and Lamont froze.
Korov's voice was calm, but his face betrayed his anger.
"Traitor. You killed Zhukov, didn't you? I wasn't sure. I thought perhaps one of the airmen."
Bukharin's face was expressionless. "The Lubyanka is a good place to consider treachery. You will…"
He never finished whatever he was going to say. A shot from across the way stopped him mid-sentence. Nick felt the burn of the bullet passing his cheek. The round took Bukharin in the throat. Blood gushed from his mouth. He stumbled backward against the platform railing and over it. The body fell away into the pit. Across the way, Lamont lowered his rifle.
Nick looked at him. "Nice shot. Kind of close, though."
"Didn't hit you, did I? You Jarheads aren't the only ones who can shoot."
"Time to leave. You'd better get over here." Nick turned to Korov. "I thought it would be Ivanesky."
Korov shook his head. "Bukharin was smarter than Ivanesky." He knelt down again. "Set the timers for eight minutes."
"Not much time," Nick said.
"Eight minutes."
They set the timers. Korov stood. "We boogie now, yes?".
"Da, now we boogie."
They hurried to the passage entrance. Ronnie and Lamont were already waiting. They stepped through the door.
The entry doors burst open. Troops in black uniforms with red patches on their shoulders began firing across the pit. Bullets chipped pieces from the wall. Nick slammed the door shut. Rounds hammered the other side.
"Those aren't our soldiers," Korov said. "I don't recognize those uniforms."
They ran down the passage. The door flew open behind them. Nick had a grenade out and ready. He turned and hurled it with everything he had and ran after the others.
The explosion slapped at his eardrums. He was outside the kill zone, but the men coming through the door hadn't been that lucky. Someone was screaming. Nick didn't look back.
He reached the shaft leading to the surface. Lamont and Ronnie had already started up the rungs. Korov stood to the side and fired down the corridor.
"Go on," he said.
Nick began climbing. He felt like he had the strength of lions. When those charges blew, he wanted to be as far from the pyramid if possible. He climbed as if demons were behind him.
It was a long way back to the surface. Going down had been hard. Going up was worse. He focused on a steady rhythm. Reach, step, reach, step, over and over. One rung at a time, one after the other. In his mind, eight minutes was counting down. Then he was at the top. Ronnie grabbed his hand and boosted him up and out into the night. Korov tumbled out of the shaft after him. It had started to snow. They ran for the river, where their escape boat waited.