The first throw didn’t catch but the second one did, slipping down around the head of the stone and into the groove. A few moments later, Tommy had pulled the nylon tight and was stepping backwards with one end. Will grinned and grabbed another piece of the rope just above Tommy’s hands. The rope went taught and both men pulled steadily. Their leverage on the top of the stone moved it almost immediately, and the gigantic piece of rock tipped over with a loud thud onto its side in a matter of seconds, sending rolling clouds of dust up into the air. They dropped the rope and walked over to the wall where the stone had been standing. Both men turned to look at each other for a second after what they had seen. A narrow portal entered into the canyon wall.
“That rock was a perfect fit, huh?”
“Yeah,” Tommy agreed. The dust continued to settle while he grabbed a few flashlights out of his backpack.
“Are there gonna booby traps or anything like that in there?” Will sounded sarcastic yet a little uncertain.
“You never know.” Tommy played with him.
“Really?”
“No. Well, not usually anyway. Most of the time the stuff that was designed to protect ancient treasures has long since gone into disrepair. Pretty sure we’re not going to be getting chased out of here by a giant rolling stone.”
Will laughed at the reference. “That was a cool movie, though.”
Tommy smiled as he passed him a flashlight. The two men stepped over the foot of the big stone they’d just overturned and into the darkness of the entrance. The thin passage was only about six feet high and three feet wide. Its walls were smooth, cut with laser-precision from the ancient rock of the canyon. The shape of the corridor was wider at the bottom than the top, giving it the appearance of a kind of pyramidal hallway. A floor of solid stone lay under their feet.
Tommy ran his hand along wall as they proceeded slowly away from the light outside. “No one has been in here in a long time,” he said reverently. There were a few dusty spider webs where the angles of the walls met the ceiling. Tommy brushed them away with his light as they moved further into the rock mountain. The passageway came to an abrupt halt a few feet ahead, turning a perfect ninety degrees to the left. Both men moved carefully, leery of what lay around the corner. Will pulled his gun out of its holster and held it at the ready. Tommy looked at him with a funny expression. “What are you gonna shoot in here?”
“I don’t know,” Will answered. “You can never be too careful.”
Tommy shook his head mockingly then eased his way around the corner, shining the light down the next part of the passage. There was nothing ahead except what looked like another turn in the hall.
The two pressed on and discovered four additional sharp changes in the corridor. After ten minutes of working their way into the mountain Will was beginning to wonder where the path was leading. “I’m starting to feel like a rat in some kind of maze.”
“I know what you mean,” Tommy agreed but kept moving slowly ahead.
After one more right turn Tommy came to an abrupt halt. Will aimed his light in the direction Schultz was looking. The bright beams illuminated a large room that opened up out of the passageway. Some parts of the chamber were carved out of the mountain rock by human hands, while other bits of it looked somewhat natural. The dusty scent in the air had given way to the moist odor of a cavern. In the center of the room, about thirty feet away, a rectangular, stone pedestal rose from the floor.
On top of it rested something shiny and metallic.
Will started to take a step forward, but Tommy put his hand out and stopped him. “Careful.”
The young cop appeared confused. “I thought you said there were no booby traps,” he said sarcastically.
Tommy gave him a warning glare. “I said there were probably none.” He made sure to emphasize his uncertainty as he scanned the floor with his flashlight.
“What are you looking for?” Will asked while he moved his light around the vaulted ceiling of the enormous room.
“Pressure points. I’ve heard of some places that had false floors. If you step on them, it triggers some kind of ancient security measures.”
Will looked at him with wide eyes. “Take your time.”
He looked around for another minute or so; satisfied that nothing appeared sinister, he stepped from the passage into the chamber.
A few moments later both men were standing at the pedestal, eyeing the odd piece of gold that rested on it’s top. The stone altar had various forms of writing on it that had not used in millennia. Tommy was busy looking over some of it in an attempt to understand what it said. Will reached out his hand to touch the golden leaf. “Don’ touch that,” Tommy stopped him without looking up from his investigation of the altar.
“Let me guess, booby trap?”
“You never know.”
Tommy set his backpack down and pulled out his digital camera from the front pouch. The flash of the camera seemed odd in the ancient room.
“Can you read that?” Will asked after a few moments.
“Some of it,” he answered while moving to get some different angles. “Ancient languages are not my area of expertise. I’m better at identifying timeframes and cultures. Most of this language comes from a very long time ago. It’s kind of a predecessor to ancient Hebrew.
“It says something about the eagles and where the rivers unite, which we got from the stone.” Tommy pulled the small stone out of his backpack and held it up to examine the similarities of some of the writing. “It’s very curious.” He put the small stone back in his bag and began evaluating the gold piece. He’d never seen anything like it in all his years of archaeological work. The yellow metal was thin, almost delicate. It had been carved to an incredible level of detail to look almost exactly like a real leaf.
“What is it?” Will asked just above a whisper.
“I have no idea.”
Hunter Carlson moved along the canyon path with his team. He was a strong man with short, dark blonde hair. He wore Ray Ban sunglasses, a rolled up sleeved-flannel shirt, hiking boots, and some khakis. Three other men followed him. All four of the men carried Glock nine millimeters in a ready position as they stepped quickly through the canyon. The long, box-type sound suppressors may have been a bulky and perhaps unnecessary precaution out in the wilderness but one never knew if there were curious tourists around. Best not to attract too much attention.
The three other men were dressed just as casually, wanting to look more like sightseers than a hit squad, save for the weapons.
They had gotten word that Schultz was heading to New Mexico to visit an area north of Santa Fe so they had made quick preparations, all taken care of by the Order. Carlson wondered who shot at him the other night at Georgia Tech. He had gone back to the lab to see what else he could find on the computer. His assumption that there would only a few police officers at the scene had been correct. He hadn’t anticipated Schultz and the other man showing up, though.
Up ahead, his point man was drawing nearer to a large, overturned stone that lay next to the cave entrance. They’d watched silently from a distance as Schultz and his companion had discovered the hidden opening in the canyon wall. After waiting a few minutes, Carlson was satisfied his team could safely advance without being seen. Suddenly, the man in front screamed out and dropped his weapon, clutching his right leg in pain. The other men froze momentarily, unsure of what had just happened. “Thompson, what’s happening up there?” Hunter asked into the microphone strapped around his neck.