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A N o v e l
Don HoeSel
3
SerpentMoSeS
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2012 by Don Hoesel
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division o
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Printed in the United States o America
All rights reserved. No part o this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any orm or by any meansor example, electronic, photocopy,
recordingwithout the prior written permission o the publisher. The only exception
is brie quotations in printed reviews.
Library o Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hoesel, Don.
Serpent o Moses / Don Hoesel.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7642-0925-3 (pbk.)
1. Archaeology teachersFiction. 2. Moses (Biblical leader)Fiction. 3.
Christian antiquitiesFiction. 4. RelicsFiction. 5. Secret societiesFiction.
I. Title.PS3608.O4765S47 2012
813.6dc23 2012004894
Scripture quotations are rom the King James Version o the Bible.
This is a work o ction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products o
the authors imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual
events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by John Hamilton Design
Author is represented by Leslie H. Stobbe
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1
The jeep slowed and pulled o the highway, the suspension
struggling to settle the vehicle onto the narrower road thatwound a barely discernible path through the hills. The night-
vision binoculars in the hands o the Libyan rendered the
details o the jeep with perect clarity despite the act that it
was running with lights out. The absence o headlights sug-
gested the man drivingthe only one o the group Bouayeds
team had not been able to identiywas a local who knewthe terrain surrounding Tripoli well enough to navigate in
the dark.
The Libyan watched as the jeep worked its way up a steep
hill and then as it disappeared over the edge. Only then did
he lower the binoculars and bring a phone to his ear. He said
a single word beore turning his eyes back down the highway,
waiting or the dark SUV that had trailed the jeep rom aar.
It took almost hal a minute beore the truck came into sight
and, on reaching the turno, pulled onto the dirt road and
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made the same climb as the vehicle that had preceded it.
When it too disappeared, Bouayed again raised the phone.
They are no good to us dead. Remember that, he said to
the man who answered, a man who acknowledged the direc-
tive and communicated it to the others with him.
As Bouayed ended the call he looked up into the evening
sky, searching or any sign o the helicopter, but he could not
nd it nor hear any sound o its presence.
Ater he slipped the phone into a pocket he remained atthe top o the ridge or another moment, regarding the spot
where he had lost sight o the jeep, beore turning away and
walking down to the waiting car. He slipped into the back
o the dark sedan, and the driver started o as soon as the
door was closed.
Do we have any inormation on the driver yet? Bouayedasked.
It just came in, the other man said. He is a local courier.
No apparent oreign connections. The man looked up and
caught Bouayeds eyes in the rearview mirror. It is doubtul
he knows anything about his passengers.
Bouayed grunted. Which means he will be dead as soon
as he has taken them where they want to go.
The driver did not answer but returned his eyes to the road,
leaving Bouayed to again ponder the presence o the Mossad
so near the capital. He thought the Israelis had been oolish
to try to send them in by planeeven a small one. They had
been spotted beore they were ten miles past the border. It
spoke o sloppiness and Bouayed was not accustomed to such
rom the Israelis. Nor was he used to oreign agents errying
lettered German historians into the country.
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When the car reached the highway the driver pulled onto it
and aimed or the same road down which their quarry and the
tail had disappeared. Bouayed looked at his watch and saw
that the current time was within the acceptable engagement
window, which meant that things would likely be concluded
by the time he arrived.
It took the driver some time to orce the sedan onto a road
not meant or a vehicle o its type, but soon it was bouncing
up the hill, Bouayed bracing himsel with a hand on the rooin order to keep rom leaving his seat. When they reached the
top o the hill, all the Libyan could see was sky until the car
shited to level and then into a decline. And what Bouayed
saw with that change in perspective brought a vehement curse
uttered quietly enough that it was doubtul the driver heard
it pass his lips.The helicopter he had not been able to spot rom the ridge
was on the ground, its rotors still spinning. It had come down
in the jeeps path, and the SUV had pulled in behind, pinning
the Israelis and their passenger between two groups o heav-
ily armed men. Bouayed saw the problem immediately: the
helicopter had landed too close. The lack o a buer zone
did all but ensure a ght.
By the time the driver had brought the sedan to a stop
within yards o the SUV, the reght was in ull orce. Bou-
ayed exited the car in time to see one o the men in the jeep
slump orward. It was the driver, who likely only realized
that his passengers were anything other than his standard
low-prole ares when a military helicopter landed on the
road in ront o him.
One o the others had jumped rom the jeep, strang the
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soldiers pouring out o the helicopter. But he was cut down
beore hed traveled more than a ew eet. That let the two
men who occupied the back seat o the jeep, and Bouayed
knew that despite the orders he shouted into the phone, those
men would be dead in moments. A lone man stood no chance
o stopping what had been loosed.
Even so, Bouayed began to move toward the jeep, his black
shoes kicking up dust as he scrambled down the incline and
into the line o re. They had to take the German alive, andhe considered that directive important enough to ignore the
bullets that lled the air around him. As he ran Bouayed
reached beneath his coat and pulled his gun.
It seemed to take a long while or him to cross the empty
space between the vehicles, and with each step he waited
or the inevitable, or a handul o the many rounds to ndthe two men who still remained in the back o the jeep. But
with each step that saw the oreigners still alive, and with
the growing realization among his men that Bouayed had
entered the kill zone, the Libyan was beginning to hope that
he might secure his prize ater all.
He was within steps o the jeep, the reports o gunre dying
o, when he saw the remaining Mossad agent lurch back
against the seat. It seemed to happen in slow motion with
the blood beginning to ow rom the mans chest. Still, the
Israeli had not dropped his gun, and even as the Libyan rounds
aded, Bouayed held his weapon steady on the oreign soldier.
The blood came more quickly now, welling rom the mans
chesttoo much or the wound to be anything but mortal.
With the Israeli dying, Bouayed turned his eyes to the only
other survivor: the German, who wore a look that Bouayed
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could only identiy as incredulity. The mans ocus appeared
to move everywhere yet seemed unable to ocus on anything
until Bouayed drew near, and then the Germans eyes ell
on him. It was only in that moment that the Libyan allowed
himsel to believe he had captured his prize. He would handle
the mans interrogation himsel. The German would give
up his secrets; he would divulge all that he knew. Bouayed
would see to it.
The night air had dropped several degrees since Bouayedstood on the ridgetop watching the jeep pull o the highway,
and he elt it or the rst time, the crispness on his skin. It
improved a mood already enhanced by the success o the
mission. As he started across the last ew eet separating him
rom Dr. Felix Hostratter, he ound himsel wearing a smile
likely unsuited to the moment.He did not register the movement right awaya shiting o
position by the dying Israeli, a last ailing against the nality
o what awaited him. The German himsel did not seem to
notice, as the mans eyes remained xed on the approach-
ing Libyan. A second series o movements, though, pulled
Bouayeds ocus away rom his prize. The Mossad agent had
pushed himsel upright. His shirt was soaked through with
blood. Bouayed could see his chest heaving as he ought to
draw breath. His ace, however, had taken on a look o resolve.
The Israeli looked at Bouayed, and the Libyan thought
he saw a hint o a smile touch the mans lips. Then Bouayed
saw the gun hand come up. Beore he could react, the Israeli
twisted in his seat and placed the gun against the Germans
temple. An instant later, a single shot scattered whatever
secrets the man held.
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2
Two Weeks Later
Ater the wall in ront o him exploded, Jack had a singlemoment to consider the one thing more rightening than
the act that people were shooting at him. It was that, i by
some chance he happened to get out o the tunnel alive, Es-
peranza was going to kill him. Then the thought was gone,
ractured by the pulverized rock that cut into the skin o his
ace and neck.His eyes snapped shut against the rain o debris, causing
him to slow involuntarily despite the urgency o his ight.
Momentum, though, served to carry him around the curve
o the tunnel and out o the immediate line o re, where he
used the fashlight in his shaking hand to nd the uneven rock
wall that traveled arther into the darkness than the meager
light could penetrate.
An hour ago, on the way in, as he picked his way over the
sloping terrain, hed had time to choose his course with care,
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to ascertain the irregularities o the path and decide where
to place each step in order to disperse the pain in his ankle.
Now, as he scrambled to keep in ront o his pursuers, he elt
each step in sharp stabs that ran between ankle and knee.
Hed injured the ankle during his journey in, which meant
he stood no chance o avoiding urther damage with caution
thrown to the wind.
Jack stopped or a moment to catch his breath. He could
hear voices behind himcloser than he likedand knew hischances o staying in ront o those voices or the mile that
separated him rom the cave exit were slim. As he started o
again, the beam rom the ashlight played over the ground,
illuminating the multiple pairs o boot prints hed ollowed
deeper into the tunnel. Hed ound himsel irritated at the
boot prints an hour ago, and not just because their existencesignied the presence o other people interested in what he
himsel had come here or. Rather, his annoyance had come
rom the act that they upset the illusionthat they robbed
him o the opportunity to convince himsel that his were the
rst eet to pass over this ancient ground in a thousand years.
Cultivating that belie, alse though it might be, went a long
way toward stroking the ego o any respectable archaeolo-
gist. In Jacks current predicament, though, he ound himsel
wishing hed allowed the existence o those prints to dissuade
him rom entering the cave at all.
He raised the light and shook his head as the ar edge o
the beam tapered away without nding a wall. That indicated
a long stretch o straight tunnel that would expose his back
once his pursuers rounded the corner behind him. Forcing
more speed into his legs, he sent his mind scrambling or
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anything that would increase his chances o reaching the
open air o Jebel Akhdar, and the only thing that presented
itsel was the ork in the tunnel that served as the sole split
rom the main passage hed ollowed in. Jack hadnt explored
that rabbit hole, as the map now crumpled into a ball in his
jacket pocket had kept him on the wider path. Consequently
he had no idea where it went or i it provided a way out o
the labyrinth that cut through the mountain. But beyond the
split Jacks memory provided an image o a quarter mile oramrod-straight rock that he knew hed never be able to tra-
verse beore they caught him. So the ork was his only chance.
Even as he settled on that goal, he noticed the light behind
him was growing stronger, which meant he was about to lose
the angle that had provided him some measure o protection
rom the rounds that had ollowed him rom the treasurerooms antechamber. He couldnt run any aster; his breath
came in ragged gasps that over time had settled into a rhythm
matching the sound o his side bag slapping against his thigh.
All he could think to do was to swing his pack around so
that it covered the small o his back, then crouch as much
as he was able without sacricing speed. A moment later he
heard the advance squad o a renewed volley.
As he cringed against an anticipated hit, and as the bullets
struck the rock on either side o him, the small part o his
brain that wasnt dedicated to survival picked out a single
voice amid the other sounds and, i he wasnt imagining
things, it sounded as i the voices owner was imploring his
companions to stop shooting. Unortunately the command
had no eect on whoever held the guns.
In ront o Jack, the beam o light bounced along, giving
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him just enough inormation to keep him rom running into
a wall. And on one o its upward swings he saw, about orty
yards ahead, the spot where the tunnel widened to accom-
modate the second branch. Beore he could nd any hope
in that realization, one o the many bullets that had tracked
him or the last hal mile nearly ound its mark, bisecting the
sliver o space between his ribs and right bicep and leaving
on the latter a tangible and painul reminder o its passing.
The distraction pulled his attention away rom the un-even tunnel oor, and his oot slipped into one o the many
depressions that marked its surace, robbing him o balance
and sending him hard into the tunnel wall. He recovered
quickly, losing only a ew seconds, but the incident cautioned
him against presuming saety just because he could see his
objective. The growing pain in his upper arm suggested thatan intact arrival at the second tunnel entrance was ar rom
guaranteed.
With that thought Jack took one last look down the tunnel,
xing the details o it in his mind. He then switched o the
fashlight and fooded his way out with darkness. That done,
the eeing archaeologist straightened and poured all o his
remaining energy into running aster, bringing his knees up
to minimize contact with anything that could trip him up. He
stretched out his let hand, nding the tunnel wall and using
its light brush against his ngers to keep him centered. But
despite that passing solidness there was something almost
terriying in hurtling without reservation into darkness.
Still, he pushed those thoughts aside and ran on, counting
his strides. When he reached thirty he suspected he was close.
Sure enough, the cold rock disappeared rom under his hand.
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He brought himsel to a halt, eeling a moments panic at
the loss o the one thing that gave him some assurance that
he would not run headlong into solid rock. He turned and
backtracked the ew steps to where the tunnel wall ended,
then saw the diused light rom other ashlights coming up
the tunnel. He knew it wouldnt take long or that light to nd
him, although he was thankul that his engineered blackout
seemed to have temporarily halted the gunre.
His own light still doused, Jack stepped to his right, los-ing sight o the approaching illumination and eeling along
the rock until he ound the place where it curved into the
secondary tunnel. Earlier, on his way to the treasure room, as
hed passed by and briey shined the light down the smaller
passageway, hed heard a trickle that suggested running water
but hadnt seen anything. He heard it again as he started in.I his memory was accurate the tunnel took a sharp right
curve several yards in, but he couldnt swear to that. So when
he began his advance down the unexplored passage, it was
with considerably greater care than hed shown in exiting
the last one.
Hugging the wall, he worked to put distance between
himsel and his pursuers. He doubted the ruse would pro-
vide complete reedom rom pursuit, but even i it orced the
other party to split up, sending one group toward the exit
and another down the branch Jack had chosen, he would
consider it a victory.
In the smaller tunnel the silence that normally pervaded
the whole o the place beneath the mountain seemed to take
on added weight, as i it were a physical thingsilent except
or the sound o the water, growing louder now. In less than
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a minute hed reached the spot where the corridor began
its turn, and in the next ew steps the sound o the water
increased even more. He elded an urge to use the ashlight
to get a eel or what waited or him, yet he doubted hed put
sufcient distance between himsel and the small chamber
where the tunnels met or the light to go unnoticed.
Releasing a sigh, Jack started o again and it wasnt long
beore he noticed a change in the eel o the wall beneath his
hand. It took a ew seconds or him to realize that the sot,damp skin covering the rock was moss. It was while he was
processing that act that his oot came down in several inches
o water that traveled over his shoe, drenching his sock.
He thought a curse, but stied it beore it could pass his
lips. Pulling his oot rom the water he took a step back and,
ater weighing the danger o doing so, he chanced the useo the ashlight. With his hand over the lens Jack allowed
only a sliver o the beam to escape, just enough to show him
what lay ahead.
Taken aback by what he saw, his hand ell away rom the
ront o the ashlight, allowing its ull strength to ll the
chamber. He stood there motionless, studied the wall that
marked the end o the tunnel. To his practiced eye the barrier
gave every impression o having been an abandoned project,
as i ancient excavators had given up once water started to
trickle rom the rock lest they loose the trapped reservoir
behind it. Over time, though, the water had worked its way
through the stone, creating several larger cracks that sent the
water down the wall, where it created the stream that pooled
at Jacks eet beore ollowing a gentle slope that kept the
water emptying through a ssure in the ground.
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It was an escape route Jack could not take. To make matters
worse, the only other way out would now be blocked. It was
also possible that they had sent some o their number ater him.
Jack stared at the wall or a ew more moments, until he
heard noises behind him that had nothing to do with run-
ning water. Turning away rom the wall, he dropped to a
knee and swung his pack rom his shoulder. Experience had
taught him that when ate removed one option, a man had
to move quickly to the next one. He unzipped the pack andpulled out the one item in it that lacked any connection to
the practice o archaeology.
He held the gun up, bringing it into the light. For most o
his proessional lie hed never traveled with a gun, and even
now he didnt like keeping one near. Esperanza hated it, even
i she understood why he sometimes chose to take it alongwhen he traveled. However, he hadnt red one since Australia.
The sounds o his pursuers grew more pronounced; he
knew they would have seen the glow o his light.
Jack moved to his let, putting his shoulder against the
rock, and then turned o the fashlight. It took several blinks
and a handul o seconds beore he could see the approaching
illumination displacing the darkness that surrounded him.
He raised the gun and waited.
It didnt take long.
When the rst o them appeared, stepping clear o the
curving wall, Jack sighted on the fashlight in the mans hand.
Just as the light began to turn in his direction he started to
squeeze o a shot. At the last moment, though, he shited
and put the bullet into the wall a ew eet to the side o the
shadowy orm.
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With the time that had passed since the last time hed red
a gun, Jack almost lost his grip on the weapon. The man hed
shot toward dropped the ashlight in his scramble to get out
o the line o re. Jack smiled in grim satisaction and settled
back to wait or whatever would play out next. He kept the
gun raised, but no one else stepped out and he suspected the
men who had chased him to this point were debating the
merits o making themselves targets or a desperate archae-
ologist entrenched in a deensible position.Several minutes passed in that ashion, and every so oten
Jack thought he heard voices over the sound o the water.
However, when the minutes began to stretch out without
any activity, he began to grow irritated at the delay. He was
about to call out when a voice came rom down the tunnel.
So what happens now?The man had an accentEnglish, Jack thought.
What happens is that I shoot anyone who steps around
that corner, Jack called back, channeling as much condence
as he could.
The immediate response was a chuckle that Jack barely
caught.
Your last shot missed by a considerable margin, the other
man said, humor in his voice. Youre either a horrible shot,
in which case we might just try our luck and come in ater
you, or you dont have it in you to kill someone.
That rst one was a warning, Jack answered. I wont
miss a second time.
Assuming I believe that, the Englishman said, how do
you think youre going to get out o here?
Jack did not have a ready answer to that question. Ater
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a pause he shrugged and said, I havent quite gured that
part out yet.
And while you gure it out, all we have to do is wait. We
have the benet o being able to restock once our supplies
run out, so we can simply set up camp here until you starve.
Im not so sure about that, Jack said. Unless you have
a pass rom the Libyan government, which Im guessing isnt
the case, then youre in the middle o an illegal antiquities
operation. Are you really going to wait around and hope thelocal authorities dont stumble in here while youre waiting
or me to die?
There was no response to his question.
You know, I didnt even get what I was ater, Jack went
on. So, to be honest, Im not sure why youre concerned
with me anyway. The sta is still back there.Even as he said it, he knew they wouldnt take his word or
it. Theyd been looking in the wrong place, and the bullets
had started ying beore they could have gotten a good look
at what he was doing. They wouldnt let him go until they
assured themselves that he didnt have the artiact.
Im sure it is, the Englishman said. The problem is that
I have a ew riends with me who are not so trusting.
Are these the same riends who shoot beore making
proper introductions?
Sadly lacking in social skills, the Englishman conceded.
And that might be why theyre discussing where to place the
C-4 that will bring the entire cavern down on you.
Jack didnt reply to that. Instead he squatted in the dark,
his gun at the ready, wondering i they could possibly have an
explosive. He thought the odds were against it. As a general
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rule, things like C-4 seldom lent themselves to the discipline
o archaeology. Too, i they were not content to let him go
or ear that he had the artiact, he considered it unlikely they
would bury him beneath several tons o rock.
As he considered that, he saw a fash o movementsome-
thing ying out rom behind the wall and landing on the
ground.
Thats so you dont think Im making up the bit about
the C-4, the Englishman shouted. A ew seconds later abeam o light emerged rom the enemy cover to illuminate
it. The object was gray and about the size and shape one
would expect C-4 to look like. Theres plenty more where
that came rom.
Jack had to concede that i it was a blu, it was a good
oneone that let him with ew options. Even so, it tookalmost a ull minute beore he pushed himsel away rom the
wall, struggled to his eet, and ater thumbing the saety in
place, tossed the gun a ew yards in ront o him. The second
the weapon let his hand, doubt washed over him and he
wondered i hed just made a terrible mistake. Yet he ought
the urge to go ater the gun.
That was the sound o me tossing my gun away, he said.
There was no immediate response, and Jack was about to
make the announcement again when a lone gure stepped
into view. Even with multiple lights in his ace muddling his
perspective he could see that the man was enormous. That
impression was solidied when three other men joined the
larger one, all o them dwared by the rst. As the parties
regarded each other, the previous eeling Jack had enter-
tainedthe one that told him hed made a mistakereturned
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with a vengeance. While he was already late getting back to
Caracas, he suspected his current circumstances would make
him a good deal lateri he got there at all.
I have a riend whos going to be really upset about this,
Jack said, adopting a rueul smile.
At that, a man standing to the right o the giant took a step
orward. Almost blind, Jack could make out nothing o the
mans eatures, though he suspected it was the Englishman.
We all have riends who are angered by the choices wemake, Dr. Hawthorne, he said.
You dont understand, Jack said with a headshake.
Youve never seen Espy angry.
The Englishman did not respond right away, but Jack could
intuit the smile he wore.
And you havent met Imolene, the Englishman said.
Then the giant began to move toward Jack, who only in
that moment thought to wonder how the Englishman knew
his name.
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3
As his captors marched Jack back along the route down which
hed fed, he decided that being orced to endure the indignityo retracing his steps bothered him almost as much as the pain
o his minor bullet wound. Yet he couldnt blame anyone but
himsel, as Mukhtar had warned him o these men beore
Jack let Al Bayda. Four menthree o them European, one
Mukhtar had guessed was Egyptian. Theyd slipped into and
out o the city with a quietness that suggested a desire orsecrecy, and when one required certain types o items, such
items oten had to pass through Mukhtars hands. And that
suggested they were ater the same thing Jack was. Even so,
Jack had kept on task, intent on being the rst to touch the
artiact in perhaps a thousand years.
He hadnt realized hed slowed until the large manwhom
the Englishman had called Imoleneplaced a hand between
Jacks shoulder blades and shoved. Jack tightened his lips
against the rough handling but remained quiet. Instead, he
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ocused all his attention on the tunnel ahead, seen now in
greater detail with the addition o three more ashlights.
His research told him this cavern slicing through the moun-
tainous part o northeastern Libya had existed since at least
the time o Cyrene, and he suspected the ancient Greeks had
used it or deense, even as modern Libyans had used it to
resist the Italian occupation. By his estimation the tunnel
through which he walked was at least two centuries older
than the others hed explored in the area. Whoever built it hadtaken great pains to hide the entrance. It had been cut into
the mountain at an angle so that the shadow alling across
the opening gave it the appearance o a much narrower s-
sure. Hours ago, walking toward it, knowing he was heading
in the right direction, he could not nd the opening against
the brown and gray rock until he was right on top o it. Theexperience made him wonder i, unlike most secret places
surrounded by encroaching civilization, this one might have
remained unspoiled.
This tunnel is older than the others, the Englishman
remarked. It was the rst thing any o them had said in some
time, and Jack was taken aback by how the comment mir-
rored his own thoughts.
At least two centuries older, he agreed.
The Englishman walking next to him oered Jack a smile
but didnt say anything more. When theyd started out, Jack
had asked his name and, ailing to receive a response, pressed
the man urther as to how he knew Jacks. That question had
also gone unanswered.
They walked on or another twenty minutes, until Jack
began to notice a change in the light. He guessed the dark-
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ness in the tunnel had been lightening or some time, but so
gradually that he hadnt picked up on it. Up ahead, he could
see the place where the tunnel curved to the let, leading to
the antechamber hed been orced rom beore having the
chance to do anything other than have a look around.
At the thought o what lay beyond the curve, Jacks eet
began to move aster. Despite the circumstances that occa-
sioned his return to the cavern, he had no more control over
his growing excitement than he did his own breathing. It wasa eeling tied to a need to uncover the secrets hidden within
the chamber regardless o all else. It was what had brought
him back to the eld ater what had happened in Egypt, and
what had kept him there ollowing the events in Australia.
Moments later they reached the turn where, just ten yards
more, the cavern opened up beore them. Jack hadnt realizedhed stopped until Imolene propelled him orward, moving
toward a ten-oot drop-o to the cavern oor, where a rope
ladder provided by Mukhtar awaited. As Jack waited his
turn, the Englishman and another o his associates preced-
ing him down the ladder, he kept a wary eye on Imolene, lest
the man nd that one nal shove was sufcient to get Jack
where he wanted him. In this case, though, the giant exercised
patience. With the ladder clear, Jack turned and swung his
legs over the side.
The cavern was thirty yards across at its widest point,
stretching twice that to the back wall. The our battery-
powered oodlights his predecessors had wrangled through
the darkness barely reached those boundaries and did even
less to illuminate the ceiling a hundred eet above them.
When hed arrived in the cavern the rst time, the other
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men now in his company had passed through and taken a
smaller tunnel into the treasure room, as the original design-
ers had intended. Jack had hoped to use their preoccupation
to his advantage by taking what they wanted right out rom
under their noses. In covert archaeology, however, timing
was everything, and Jacks timing hadnt been as perect as
hed counted on.
Im assuming the treasure room was a misdirection, the
Englishman said.Jack didnt reply. Instead, he swung his pack around so
he could raise the ap and slip his hand inside. Only when
he elt Imolenes huge hand on his shoulderwith enough
strength to let Jack know he could crush every bone beneath
his ngersdid he look over at the Englishman, who shook
his head, his eyes on his enorcer. Jack elt the mans gripease and so returned his attention to his pack. He pulled out
a notebook, ipped it open, studied it or a ew moments,
and then, without consulting his captors, started o toward
the caverns ar wall, which was opposite the exit to the trea-
sure room.
As he neared the corner, the others trailing close behind,
his eyes ran along the wall, noting the unnatural smoothing
o the surace by ancient tools, the intricate patterns carved
into the rock. His rst time through, hed made it no arther
beore being discovered.
The lights did little to lessen the shadows, orcing him to
pluck a ashlight rom the hand o one o the Europeans in
the party, a man who had not uttered a single syllable since
Jack had been orced to join their group. Though the man
rowned at losing his light, he remained mute. Ater looking
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at the notebook again, Jack began to run the light over the
wall. It took him several seconds to nd the ocal glyph. While
that vexed him, it also elicited respect or the ancient puzzle
makers who had designed the system, who had set up the
alse treasure room where the others had wasted their time.
Slipping the notebook back into his pack, he used his ree
hand to wipe away the centuries o dust that had accumulated
on the wall, revealing Semitic text, part o which matched
what was written in a scroll hed pulled rom the sarcophaguso the Archbishop Giovanni Visconti in the Milan Cathedral.
With a smile o gratitude that the eort to procure that scroll
had not been in vain, he ran a nger over the text, his lips
moving as he did the calculations. He did them twice just to
be sure, and once he was certain o the result, it was all he
could do to stop himsel rom putting the data to use.Instead, he held back the thing inside o himsel that des-
perately wanted to see his research and labor rewarded and
stepped away rom the wall, looking toward the Englishman.
Heres where we decide how were going to work this
so you get what you came or and I get out o here in one
piece, Jack said.
The Englishman did not answer right away, but Jack had
the impression hed been awaiting the statement.
Im not sure youre in a position to bargain, he said.
Probably not, Jack acknowledged. But since the odds
are good that youre going to kill me as soon as you have it
in your hands, then its probably my only option.
The other man granted that to Jack with a nod.
Except that I believe youre overestimating your worth,
he said. Now that we know its not in the treasure room,
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and as we would also have possession o your notebook i
you were dead, it would only be a matter o time beore we
ound it ourselves.
Which would at least be a moral victory, Jack said. I
Im going to die anyway, Id rather you do some o the work.
The Englishmans lip curled. But then you would miss
the opportunity to see something that no one else has seen
in a thousand years.
It was the one thing his captor could have said that stooda chance o enlisting Jacks help, and he did not have a ready
response beyond a rekindling o the excitement that had
ebbed over the last ew minutes. To get as ar as he had, to
have waded through the research and traveled hal the world
until he was nally standing in a cave in Libya, and then to
be denied the chance to see, to touch the thing he sought,was difcult to swallow.
While he did not respond, he could see that the English-
man could read his thoughts.
Relax. No ones going to kill you, Dr. Hawthorne. This
is about the sta, nothing more.
There was no way to test the truth o that statement, so
Jack didnt try. He returned his attention to the wall and
located the glyph. Then, using the symbol or its assigned
purpose, he counted through the other symbols or the right
spot. The one he landed on looked no dierent than the oth-
ers, though he would have expected nothing else.
He tapped it once beore reaching into his pack and pull-
ing out a small hammer. Ater a glance at Imolene, to make
sure the giant would not snatch the tool rom him and use
it or some purpose or which it was not intended, he struck
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the wall, the sound echoing in the chamber. It took a second
strike beore the hammer went through the thin stone and
into the hollow beneath it. A eeling o exultation coursed
through him, but he pushed that aside and began to pull away
the shattered pieces, revealing a hole less than eight inches
across. It took less than a minute to remove the shards, and
once hed cleared the hole he put his hand in, all the while
wondering i the men behind him would allow him to do the
honors or i they would pull him away now that his useulnesswas expended. When no hands closed on him, he decided to
reach into the opening.
His hand touched something coarse yet malleable. It took
him a moment to recognize it as abric, but then he elt the
solid thing it encased. He tightened his grip and tugged, ex-
pecting some resistance but nding none. The thing slid out
as i coated in oillong and slender, wrapped in timeworn
linen.
In that moment Jack was alone in the cavern.
He held the artiact up, his eyes bright with the pure joy
that came rom such a discovery. It was the right size, yet
the only way to be sure was to remove the wrappings. That,
however, was an honor he would not be allowed.As he turned away rom the wall he elt the hands on him,
an arm wrapping around his chest. The Englishman stepped
orward and took the artiact rom Jacks hands, an apolo-
getic smile his only payment. An instant later the rock wall
rom which Jack had just pulled the relic came rushing or-
ward, and then all was blackness.
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