He simply stood in the tunnel, deep in thought.
Not because he had time to spare — because he certainly didn’t — but because a sense of dread had washed over him like a downpour from a sudden storm. The feeling hit him so hard and so unexpectedly that he instantly had doubt about the orders he had given. It was so severe that he was tempted to stop McNutt and the women before they roamed too far so they could come up with an alternative plan of attack.
For a leader like Cobb, it was a horrible feeling.
There was no place for doubt in his world.
In fact, he had felt like this only once in his entire career: one time in thousands of missions.
Unfortunately, his gut had been right that day.
And many soldiers had died.
Sarah and Jasmine focused on the task at hand. Using their fingers, they dug away as many of the loose chips from the wall as they could. It amounted to more than an inch of stone. Still, they had no idea how thick the block was.
‘Okay,’ Jasmine said, ‘time to use the wand.’
Sarah stepped away as Jasmine pressed the end of the baton against the rock and activated the sonic pulse. In an instant, the block cracked, but it didn’t dissolve into the fine powder that they had seen with the mortar. Instead, it splintered into small, jagged pebbles.
Jasmine was thrilled. ‘It worked!’
Sarah dove in with both hands, pushing away small piles of stones as she emptied the space the block once filled. On the third scoop, she felt a rush of cool air blow across her forearm. ‘Did you feel that? It’s hollow on the other side!’
She attacked with renewed vigor, tearing away fistfuls of debris as she widened the hole to almost two feet. ‘It’s going to be tight, but I think we can make it through.’
‘I don’t know,’ Jasmine said as she crouched down for a better view. ‘You can, for sure. I’m not so sure about me.’
Sarah checked her out; she was slight but curvy. ‘Your butt?’
Jasmine nodded. ‘Yep.’
‘Too bad Josh isn’t here. He’d offer to get behind you and push you through.’
Jasmine blushed. ‘You’re right. He would.’
At that point, they half expected to hear McNutt’s voice in their ears, whispering something sexual and completely inappropriate as he sprinted away to save the day.
All things considered, they would have preferred that to Garcia, who chimed in with the update that they had all been dreading. ‘Bad news everyone. They’re in the boiler room, and they found the grate.’
23
Kamal and Tarek realized how ill prepared they were for a subterranean adventure as soon as they entered the water system. The only light in the first tunnel came from the boiler room above. Beyond its reach, the space was dark. Without the aid of lanterns, flares, or even flashlights, they were forced to rely on their cell phones.
They found the first cistern without difficulty. After all, it was a straight walk down a narrow tunnel — even a blind man could have found it. Sadly, the only thing separating them from a blind man was the soft glow of their phones, but that advantage disappeared as soon as they reached the cistern.
In the tunnel, their light was sufficient.
In the cistern, darkness ruled.
Their screens were like fireflies in a stadium.
The space was too large to light.
Thanks to the gloom, Kamal and Tarek overlooked the small notches that had been cut into the wall. From their perspective, their only option to reach the bottom was to leap from one level to the next. Without saying a word, they chose separate routes for their descent. Each knew that their combined heft would put the structure under considerable stress. By splitting up, they were able to cut that burden in half.
Still, each leg of their journey caused the supports to shake as their full weight dropped from the story above. Had they not separated, their combined force would have shifted the pillars so much that the entire structure would have come down. Instead, their split approach allowed the pillars to stay balanced, like fat kids on a seesaw.
Once they reached the bottom, Kamal took stock of the situation. There were two tunnels to explore, and his team had eight men. Even if he divided his forces, they would still have a fighting chance against the girl and her friends.
He shouted up to his men: ‘Abed, stay there and guard the exit. No one gets in or out. The rest of you, come with me. We have a job to finish.’
Garcia was more worried than he had been in quite some time. What had started off as an ‘easy’ mission — if there was such a thing — had quickly gone to hell.
First, Jasmine had almost died in the cave-in.
Then the goons had arrived at the apartment building.
Now they were streaming into the tunnels with weapons drawn.
How could it possibly get any worse?
‘Guys,’ Garcia warned, ‘I didn’t get a great view of their guns, but it looked like they’re packing some serious firepower.’
‘Copy that,’ Cobb whispered. ‘I guess they’re not engineers.’
A moment later, Cobb and McNutt heard an Arabic voice echoing through the tunnels. Even from a distance, they had heard it clearly. Suddenly they realized how easily their sounds could give them away. From that moment on, conversations would be conducted through whispers, hand gestures, and facial expressions.
Fortunately, the signal to kill was an easy one.
Unfortunately, Cobb wasn’t ready to give that order.
After all, he was trespassing on government land. For all he knew, the gunmen could have been cops.
Jasmine looked at Sarah. ‘What did he mean by “serious firepower”?’
Sarah shrugged. ‘It means we should keep moving.’
‘Please don’t treat me like a kid. I know I’m new to the field, but how am I supposed to learn if you always keep me in the dark?’
‘First of all, I’m not the one keeping you in the dark. The Ancient Egyptians are. They’re the idiots who didn’t put lights in here.’
Jasmine rolled her eyes. ‘You know what I meant.’
‘As for your question, who the hell knows? If his idea of “serious firepower” is anything like Josh’s, they might have a tank back there. The point is I don’t want to be around to find out. Do you?’
‘I guess not.’
Garcia chimed in to clarify his remark. ‘Relax, Jasmine, they do not have a tank in the tunnels. Guns? Yes. A tank? No.’
Jasmine didn’t move. ‘What about Jack and Josh? I know they have guns—’
‘Trust me,’ Sarah assured her, ‘Jack and Josh will be fine. Whoever’s following us will need a tank against those two.’ She nodded toward the hole in the wall. ‘Let’s worry about our part. Focus on finding whatever it is that’s down here to be found. After that, we can leave and so can the guys.’
Jasmine nodded her understanding and doubled her resolve. She slipped her arm into the hole, followed by her head. She rotated her shoulders, trying to find the angle that would allow her to pull herself through. Instead, she found herself stuck in the opening.
Sarah offered her guidance before panic could set in. ‘Just breathe. The hard part is over. Your head is through. Just take your time.’
‘Everything okay?’ Cobb whispered.
‘I think someone’s having a baby,’ McNutt replied.
Jasmine tried to laugh, but the stone restricted her breathing.
‘Jasmine’s stuck in the wall,’ Garcia explained.
Sarah put an end to the nonsense. ‘No one’s stuck in the wall, and no one’s having a baby. Jasmine just needs a minute.’
Embarrassed by the attention, Jasmine twisted and turned until she found the space to move her other shoulder through the opening. Thirty seconds and a gentle nudge from Sarah later, Jasmine pulled the rest of her body through the gap in the wall.