“Does this region get a lot of those?”
“Couldn’t say. But probably not.”
“Right. Who did you say the director of the archaeology team is?”
“Dr. Brandau. But he took over for another guy.”
That last part perked up Sean’s curiosity. “Wait, what other guy?”
Tommy wasn’t sure where this was going, but he sighed and explained anyway. “I don’t remember the guy’s name. He was already gone when I got here.”
“Gone?”
“He died, Sean. Had a heart attack in his bed while he was sleeping.”
“Really?” Sean elongated the word to emphasize his doubts.
“Oh come on. You’re not saying someone killed that guy in his sleep to keep this cave-in a secret, are you?”
Sean spun around and shined the light on his friend’s face. Tommy tried to block it out with his hand.
“I’m not saying that’s what happened. But it’s certainly plausible that the archaeologist in question may have ventured down that passage, seen what was on the other side, and was told not to tell anyone.”
“If there is something on the other side. And even if there is, it just sounds like dump trucks. Maybe there’s a quarry close to here.”
Sean nodded. “Yes. A quarry. That would make sense. Let’s get back up to the surface and take a look.”
He didn’t say anything to his friend, but Sean already knew there was no quarry. He’d gone over the map of the area several times for the mission. Not once did he see anything that even remotely resembled a quarry. Something else was going on. A man had possibly been murdered in his sleep, and this cave was cut off.
Another thing bothered Sean. Why hadn’t they taken any of the gold from the statue? If whoever caused the cave-in knew about the passageway, they certainly would have explored deeper into the tunnels.
Unless they were told not to.
20
“I really don’t think there’s anything to see over that hill, Sean,” Tommy whined as they climbed to the top of the low mountain ridge.
“Honestly, I can’t believe you haven’t come up here just to look around. This view is pretty impressive.”
Tommy’s breath was coming in big gasps. He clearly hadn’t been keeping up with his exercise regimen.
“I’ve… been busy. You know… working and stuff. Didn’t really have a lot of time for sightseeing.”
Sean reached the crest and suddenly hit the deck. Tommy was several yards behind but instinctively crouched down when he saw his friend get down on his belly.
“What is it?” he asked, squatting next to a scraggly bush.
Sean peered down into the valley. He couldn’t believe what he’d seen. And he immediately realized what had happened.
A gravel road wound its way up the next hill and out toward the west. A transport truck — eerily similar to the ones Toli had been using — rumbled down the road and into a large tunnel cut into the mountain. Just before it reached the bottom of the drive, another truck appeared at the mouth of the entrance and passed, heading up the hill.
Tommy crept up to where Sean was eyeing the activity and saw what had caught his attention.
“Those look like the trucks from Toli’s compound.”
Sean twisted his head slowly to the left. “No, really?”
“Yeah, but those can’t be his trucks. He’s dead. And his little army is scattered.”
Tommy was right. And his comment only reinforced what Sean had already figured out.
“Don’t you see what’s going on here?”
Tommy was oblivious. Sean could see it on his face. His friend was good with riddles, history, and a number of things that other people wished they could do. But street smarts wasn’t necessarily Tommy’s thing.
“Toli was a cover,” Sean said, turning his attention back to the gravel road.
The realization started to sink in. “Wait a minute,” Tommy said. “You’re telling me that whole thing with Toli, the missiles we found, the ships in the harbor, all of that was just an elaborate cover-up to keep us from seeing this?”
“Maybe I’m just being paranoid,” Sean said. “But what are the odds that the exact same trucks Toli used to move those missiles are within miles of his compound? What could they possibly be delivering or removing from that tunnel?”
Tommy squinted against the bright sunlight. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re drilling for diamonds or something and those trucks are hauling away the dirt and rock.”
“No,” Sean shook his head. “They’d use dump trucks for that sort of thing.”
“You don’t think?”
“Yeah. Like I said, Toli was just a cover-up. It was a shell game. A really elaborate shell game. Whoever is behind all this wanted us to find Toli. They wanted us to find those missiles. Maybe they didn’t want to lose those shipments. But I have a bad feeling the real mother lode is in that cave.”
“So that’s why they blew the tunnel.”
“And why they killed that archaeologist who was first on the job.”
It was a sobering moment. But the major question still lingered.
“If Toli wasn’t the one behind all this,” Sean said, “who was?”
“I don’t know. But there’s only one way to find out.”
Tommy saw a familiar look in his friend’s eyes. It was a look that had gotten them in trouble when they were younger. More than once.
“Nuh-uh,” Tommy protested. “We are not going down there.”
There was no deterring Sean’s resolve. “If there are more missiles in those trucks and in that cave, a lot of people could be in major trouble if we don’t do something about it. You want to go back to the camp and keep figuring out how to get that statue out of the cave, fine. But I have a job to do.”
He was right. As usual. There was no arguing with Sean’s rationale.
“Fine. But how are we going to get in there? There’s a guard at the tunnel entrance. Looks like he’s got a gun.”
“So do I,” Sean said, showing off his sidearm.
“Yeah, but I don’t. I left mine back at the camp.”
Sean pointed at the guard. “Well, you can have his once I take him down.”
Tommy didn’t like where this was going. “And just how are you going to do that?”
Seventeen minutes later, the two Americans crouched behind a collection of shrubs growing over the entrance to the tunnel. They watched as the next truck rumbled down the gravel road toward them.
“So what’s your plan?” Tommy whispered. “Something about dropping down on that guy? You’ll break your legs.”
Sean had underestimated the distance between the top of the tunnel entrance and the ground beneath. From the previous vantage point, it didn’t look like it was quite twenty feet. Now he realized it was between twenty-five and thirty. Tommy was right. He would break his legs, even if he did time the jump right and land on the unsuspecting guard. And there was also the problem of Sean’s fear of heights. The young Axis agent had serious issues if he got above twenty-five feet.
Another idea popped into his mind as the truck rounded the last curve and turned onto the straightaway heading to the entrance.
“New plan,” Sean said. “And you’re not gonna like it.”
Tommy followed his friend’s gaze and shook his head. “No. Come on. That’s just as bad. The truck is moving too fast. You’ll miss it.”
“Nah. They slow down before they go through the opening. And it’s only eight or nine feet to the top of the cargo bed cover.”
“Even if you make it, the driver will hear you when you land.”
“The thing’s made of canvas, Schultzie. He won’t hear a thing. That diesel motor is too loud anyway.”
The truck was bearing down on their position. If he was going to do it, Sean had to be ready soon or he’d miss the chance.