“Mark! It looks like we’re going to need our plan B! I want the Gatling guns ready to fire, and I want someone to prepare the antiaircraft rockets to fire when that thing gets closer!”
“Already on it boss!”
At the edge of the room, Dr. Swan typed rapidly on her laptop, downloading all the information she would need to reach the inner sanctum of Atlantis, including the now complete code to Atlantis.
Edward smiled at her resilience as he watched Dr. Swan hide the contents on a device no larger than a fingernail. She then prepared to destroy her entire workstation, including her laptop, if the worst were to happen.
Edward could only imagine what would happen if the code to Atlantis fell into the wrong hands. Behind them, he could see that the two zodiacs had slowed down and the men were preparing to board. He saw the men at the front, carrying AK47s, swing grappling hooks while yelling war cries in their native language. Others simply fired at his hull.
Surely they must know that a vessel like his would never enter the Congo without arming herself well enough to defend herself!
“Okay Mark, time to destroy them all!”
Edward brought up the automated defense system, and placed an asterisk over each of the zodiacs. The computer system then highlighted the perfect angle of firing, and a microcomputer fired.
The rattle of the four Gatling guns turning filled the room.
But no rounds were fired.
All four Gatling guns had had their rounds removed from their rollers.
For the first time, since the arrival of the rebel army, Edward felt genuine fear.
His heart pounded as he realized he had a traitor aboard.
“Quick Mark! Get the men on deck!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that Mr. Worthington.” Edward looked up, only to see that Mark had unlatched the safety on his own weapon and pointed it directly at him.
Edward looked around the deck of his ship for his other men. Then it struck him — no one had come to his aid, because they couldn’t. They were locked below the deck. His most trusted bodyguard had betrayed him.
“I have to know, Mark. Why?”
Mark grinned. “I’m sorry, but in my profession loyalty is only ever to the highest bidder.”
“But you set the price and I always happily paid for it!”
“Yes, and I was happy with that price. But then, along came Atlantis. And that, my friend, can offer me more than all the gold in the world. It can offer me unlimited power. Even if half the crap that you and Dr. Swan have discussed over the past few weeks ends up being correct, I’m going to be a very rich man.”
Edward looked at him and tried to speak. He faltered, unable to find words to make any sense of the betrayal, and then he didn’t have to.
Three shots fired in rapid succession.
Looking up, Edward was surprised to find he barely felt them. Then he saw the three clean bullet holes open up in a narrow grouping between Mark’s eyes — it wasn’t his own life that had just ended.
Behind him, Billie had already lowered her Glock.
“That was close. Again, Dr. Swan, I believe I owe you my life.”
Billie gritted her teeth. The boarders had already secured the Andre Sephora. “I’m not sure I’ve done you any more good than to prolong the inevitable.”
Several men came in and grabbed them. He noticed, thankfully, that Dr. Swan hadn’t felt the need to fight to the death. So long as she was alive, there was still hope.
The helicopter hovered just above the front deck of the Andre Sephora. A man stepped out of the aircraft. Edward recognized the man instantly. How could he not? After all, that man might just be the most dangerous man on earth.
“Andrew Brandt! I should have guessed you were behind this attack!”
“Mr. Edward Worthington.” Andrew looked at Billie, struggling to get free from the soldier who held her head in an arm lock capable of killing her in seconds. “And Dr. Swan. How nice to finally meet you. I cannot say how pleased I have been with your efforts. I could never have deciphered the code to Atlantis on my own.”
He then looked at Mark lying dead on the ground. “I see that you found the employment of my associate, Mr. Mark Armel, unsatisfactory.” Andrew laughed at his own joke. “No matter, he has served my purpose already.”
The commander of the soldiers who held them approached Andrew. “What do you want me to do with all of them?”
“I’ll keep the girl. You never know when she might be useful.” Andrew grinned lasciviously. “As for the rest of them, kill them.”
Billie swore at Andrew. “You’ll never work it out. I’ll die before helping you.”
“Don’t worry, my good Dr. Swan. Your death is certainly on the cards, but first there are a few things I’d like some help with.”
Several shots were fired before anyone knew where they’d come from. Zanzibe, the little pygmy king, had taken refuge in a fishing box, too small from any normal sized person to squeeze. He’d then, released three quick bursts from his Uzi. Edward then felt the man’s strong hands pull him free from his now dead captor.
In front of him, Andrew had already moved to take Dr. Swan.
The soldiers at the front of the boat quickly moved to take the back of the Andre Sephora. Machine gun fire pelted through the inner workings of the ship.
“We have to go,” Zanzibe said.
Edward followed him to the back of the ship. “What about the rest of my men? Those trapped below deck?”
“No one’s trapped. They all worked for Mark.”
“Then where can we go?”
Edward followed Zanzibe to the back of the ship. “I’ve laid explosives. The ship’s going to explode any moment now!”
The two dived into the water.
Before their heads resurfaced, the echo of a massive explosion, sent a shockwave ringing through their ears.
Edward and Zanzibe swam as long as their breaths would hold them before breaking the surface again. He looked back at the Andre Sephora. There was nothing left. Already three hundred feet away, Andrew’s helicopter departed. “There goes the code to Atlantis — and more important, the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
Chapter Seventy-Three
The tunnel led down much lower than anywhere they’d been inside Atlantis. After nearly an hour, the ancient escape route turned and they began the long journey in an upwards direction. Sam looked at his survival time in his ADS machine — they were down to six hours. They would need to begin the process of surfacing soon, if they were to make it in time. Sam swam around the next bend in the tunnel, revealing the opening inside a small cave overlooking the outside of Poseidon’s temple.
“What do you think? Are Andrew’s men taking chances that we’re dead or will they be waiting for us on the surface?” Tom asked.
Sam was about to answer, and then noticed that next to the extensive outer dome, a sad-looking Snow Cat stood looking very out of place, nearly 500 feet below the surface.
“Oh yeah, they weren’t taking any chances. Now we’re stuck about three hundred miles from anywhere, in the Siberian winter without a vehicle!”
“All right, let’s go face the elements.” Tom began the systematic process of ascending.
The massive facemask of Sam’s ADS machine broached the surface of Lake Cheko. Tentative that a second attack might be imminent, he decided not to return through the hole they’d originally created. Instead, he built a new one as close to the shore as possible.
He scanned the area quickly, seeing nothing but white. Then, switching on his helmet-mounted infrared monitor, he scanned the area above. Reassured nothing except snow surrounded them, Sam climbed out and made his way to the edge of the lake.