Sam stared at the man’s face. “What are you after?”
The man spoke slowly, as though he was giving a sermon or making a prayer. “I’m looking for the Death Mask.”
“What’s that?” Sam asked.
“A sacred artifact. Something that will prove invaluable in the days to come.”
“The days to come?” Sam asked. “What’s coming?”
The man looked pitifully down upon Sam. “Haven’t you read your Bible?”
“Not lately.”
“The end of days is approaching. It’s time to seek shelter — and the Death Mask is the only way to reach the Third Temple.”
“Who are you?”
“My name’s Famine, and my day of glory is coming soon.”
Chapter Twelve
Sam glanced at the two men holding sawn off shotguns, and back to the man in black robes. Religious zealot or not, the man meant business. “What do you want?”
“I want you to tell me exactly what you discovered inside the hidden chamber.”
“Why should I do that if you’re going to kill me anyway?” Sam asked.
“Because if you don’t I will torture you first and then kill you.”
Tom said, “You must be the one called skinny?”
Sam said, “I think he said his name was famine.”
“So that’s it, then?” Sam asked. He glanced at Sadik. “You were always going to kill us, weren’t you?”
Sadik said, “I’m sorry. They have my family.”
Tom moved on instinct. His movements were quick and sharp. Tom held Sadik in front of him like a human shield, with his arm digging heavily into the man’s throat and the Glock pressed hard into the back of Sadik’s head. “Yeah, I’m sorry, but I have a family, too.”
Chapter Thirteen
Sam took in his situation in a silent glance. The two goons held the barrels of their shotguns low, as though they had all the time in the world to lift the barrels and shoot if they needed to. They looked bored, relaxed, like someone who’d spent their lives serving a master who always won by fighting with superior numbers. The ringleader was the worst. He was tall, and his face betrayed a hardened confidence of a man whose mere name evoked fear — Famine. Tom had Sadik, and he had nothing. They both had a pair of Glocks while the enemy had a pair of shotguns. They knew now that Tom was armed, but they didn’t know Sam was.
Famine laughed and said, “There are three of us. We’re armed, and you’re not. Derinkuyu is crawling with my men, and every one of them is on their way here, as we speak. So, what do you think you’re going to do?”
Tom tightened his grip on Sadik’s neck. “I could snap his neck?”
Famine shrugged. “It would save me the trouble of having to go through the messy process of killing him and his family.”
Tom’s brown eyes were wide and focused with steely determination. His jaw was set hard, but at the same time he wore a genuine smile, baring a full complement of evenly spaced, white teeth. It made Tom appear insane. Almost eager for a fight where he held the unfair disadvantage. It was the happiest and most alive Sam had seen his friend in a number of weeks. The first time in a long time Tom had been given a real enemy to take out his anger and frustration. He’d almost forgotten how fearsome his friend could become when it was necessary. Tom’s façade of being a gentle giant dissipated instantly when the need to fight arose, and all other options had been ruled out.
Sam said, “He doesn’t look like he wants to surrender. I’ll take the guy on the left, and you take the one on the right.”
“Okay, that seems fair.”
Sam reached into his right cargo pocket and withdrew his handgun. The Glock 31 was an extremely reliable weapon. He fired two shots before the first guy with the shotgun even lifted his weapon. The loud report of shots being fired from both Glocks echoed simultaneously.
His eyes darted toward the ringleader in the middle. Sam aimed directly at the man’s chest. He was close enough he was certain he would hit it. Famine fidgeted with his right hand, as though he was contemplating reaching for the gun. It would take extraordinary reflexes for the stranger to get a shot off, let alone two before Sam or Tom killed him.
“I wouldn’t,” Sam said.
The tunnel echoed with the sound of footsteps running heavily in the distance. “My men are coming. You’ll never get to keep me prisoner. You may as well hand yourselves over to me now.”
“I don’t think so.”
Famine shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Famine feinted resignation, and then reached for his gun.
Sam puts two bullets into the man in an instant. Famine man fell backward, landing hard. Tom picked up one of the dead guy’s sawn off shot guns. He fired a round down the tunnel, instantly stopping the progression of more attackers who were following the sound of gunfire.
Sam placed a firm hand on Tom’s shoulder. “Come on let’s go. You’re not going to win the fight like this.”
Tom pumped another shell into the gun in his hands, and then bent down to pick up the second shotgun. His eyes were now wild, like a possessed fiend released into the battlefield. “You got a better idea?”
Sam nodded. He pointed the Glock at Sadik’s head. “You’re coming with us.”
“Where?” Sadik asked.
“Back to the washroom.”
Tom fired another round down the tunnel. A second later he heard shots being returned. Tom moved quickly and followed Sam and Sadik back into the washroom.
“Now what the hell are you going to do?” Sadik asked.
Sam looked at the entrance to the small chamber. “Can you close that stone door?”
“Sure, but I don’t see what you’re going to do. What are you going to do, wait forever?”
Sam pointed the Glock back at Sadik’s head. “Close it or I’ll kill you myself.”
Sadik nodded. He undid the steel locks, more recently installed to prevent the accidental movement of the gigantic rolling stone. He tried to shift the heavy stone, but it didn’t move. Hundreds of years fixed in the one position had caused it to sink a miniscule amount into its stone cradle.
“Hurry up!” Sam shouted.
“I can’t move it!”
Shots whipped past him inside the washroom. “Tom, give him a hand.”
Tom fired a blast out the door from each of the shotguns and then ran toward the stone door. It was shaped like a giant wheel. He placed his shoulder on its edge, while Sadik pulled from the front of it.
It still didn’t move.
An attacker stepped into the room. He fired a single shot from his shotgun, without aiming. The spray went wild. Sam stepped forward and placed two bullets in the man’s head before he could reload. Another man started to climb down the ventilation shaft up ahead. Sam waited, watching the man climb down, until he was completely visible before firing at him.
He felt a stabbing pain right through his chest, as though he couldn’t breathe. With whatever breath he had left, he swore — because it was the man in black robes. Sam fired another two shots right in the middle of the man’s chest and still he kept walking towards him. He must have been wearing a Kevlar vest underneath his black robe.
The man laughed hysterically. “I told you, you can’t kill me — I am forever… I am above death — I am Famine!”
Sam turned and retreated inside the chamber. “Tom! Close that fucking door!”
He joined Tom and Sadik, who were pushing the edge of the stone wheel with all their might. Sam’s additional weight was just enough to start the movement. It rolled slightly.
“Don’t let them close the door!” Famine said to one of his men.