serpent of moses

7/31/2019 Serpent Of Moses

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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

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


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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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Don Hoesel

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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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Serpent of Moses

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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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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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Serpent of Moses

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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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29

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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30

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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Don Hoesel

31

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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