Two problems had just been eliminated. And in the next hour, two others would be as well.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
The blond man fixed his steely gaze on Carmen then walked over and extended a hand. “Jonas Stegmann, Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard.”
She shook his hand. “Carmen Petrosino. We’ve never met, but I recognize your name.”
“And I recognize yours as well.”
“I knew I got off track, but I didn’t realize I was already in the Vatican catacombs.”
Stegmann laughed.
Still concerned about the threat, several of the guards rushed over to the place where the giant had fallen over the edge. Carmen and Stegmann joined them. Flashlights were directed into the pit, but darkness swallowed the beams.
Stegmann looked at Carmen. “Do you know what it was?”
“I have no idea. We heard them coming up but found an alternate way back to the surface. Eventually, we all got separated, and I ended up here.”
“What is that?” One of the men stared into the abyss.
“What is what?” Stegmann asked.
“That.” He pointed.
Carmen crouched but saw nothing.
“A bit further to the left.”
After shifting her gaze, Carmen saw a tiny orange dot floating in the dark void. It seemed no bigger than the head of a pin, yet she knew the size was probably an optical illusion. As she watched, the dot disappeared.
“What just happened?” one of the soldiers asked.
“There it is again,” another said.
The dot appeared once again. Was a light shining up at them?
Stegmann got on one knee and studied the point of light. “I think we’re looking at an opening of some kind. When the opening disappeared, that was the giant passing through.”
Carmen didn’t know if he was right or not, but the hypothesis made sense. If true, it meant at least a couple of minutes had passed since the giant fell. She was no physicist, but that meant the opening could be a mile or two beneath them.
“Why is it orange?” one of the men asked. “If it’s an opening, what’s beyond?”
“Maybe this is a volcano,” Stegmann said after giving it some thought. “If it is, that may be lava. Whatever it is, it seems to give off light.”
A horrifying image surfaced in Carmen’s mind. Was it possible the order was right? Were they looking at an entrance to the underworld? After all, so much of the legend had turned out to be true. Shuddering, she pushed aside the thought.
Stegmann stood.
Carmen looked at him. “How did you know we were here?”
“As we began our investigation, the Polizia di Stato gave us some information on the person who stole the relic.”
“The State Police of Italy?” Carmen cut him off. “I’m surprised they were involved.”
“The thief murdered a courier prior to the heist then used his identity to effect the breach. The police were able to obtain evidence at their crime scene we were able to use to identify the suspect. To make a long story short, we eventually learned this man belonged to a cult.”
“The Order of Baal,” Carmen said with a nod.
“We were also able to uncover some disturbing things about Roger Lawson, the man your associates met with. Armed with that information, we performed a raid on his home. Unfortunately, the place was deserted, and there was nothing there to link him to any crime. Either he doesn’t spend much time at that residence, or he was planning on leaving soon.”
“The Israeli government allowed you to conduct a raid on their soil?”
Stegmann paused briefly, measuring his words. “We all live in a dangerous world, and we have a number of common enemies. Let’s just say we all try to provide help when we can. I can’t go into detail, but there is an unwritten understanding between our two states. In any event, I contacted the head of your organization, Dr. Alexander Ross. He brought me up to date about your meeting with Lawson and the planned trip to Mount Hermon.”
“Dr. Ross?” Carmen frowned. “He didn’t tell us you were coming.”
“He tried. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get through.”
“So you just came to Hermon and began searching? Talk about finding a needle in a haystack.”
“Your organization was able to determine the location of your last cell phone signal. It wasn’t very precise, but it was enough to put us in the right area. To be honest, it all just fell into place. As we drove the road, looking for vehicles, we found some reasonably fresh tire tracks turning off the highway.”
“Which in turn brought you to the entrance to the cave.”
Stegmann nodded. “After dispatching the guards left at the surface, we followed the lights back to the city, where we encountered the order gathered at the wall. We were outnumbered, so instead of fighting, we conducted surveillance. We overheard you were in the caves on the other side of the wall.”
“How did you get past them?” Carmen asked.
“We didn’t. We began looking along the perimeter of the city and eventually found another cave that brought us here.”
Apparently, the key wasn’t necessary after all. Carmen guessed various groups had come here throughout history. Some may have carved out their own caves. She looked at Stegmann. “I’m guessing, at some point, you heard me call out?”
“We did,” he answered with a nod. “I apologize we didn’t arrive sooner, but we had to figure out whether you were friend and not foe.”
“I completely understand.”
One of the other guards came over. “Sir, we’re ready.”
Carmen hadn’t noticed before, but the other men had used the time to refill their magazines.
Stegmann glanced at his watch then at Carmen. “You said you don’t know where the rest of your team is?”
Carmen shook her head.
Stegmann motioned one of his men over. “Can you get us back up?”
“Yes, sir.” He slid a GPS device from his pocket.
“Wait, I’m not leaving here until we find my team.”
Stegmann held up a hand. “And we aren’t either. I want to start by going back to the cave where we came in. Hopefully, we’ll encounter your friends on the way up. If we don’t, we’ll begin an organized search.”
His plan was sound. There was no reason to start wandering around and get lost. They needed to establish a base then send out search teams from there.
In the few minutes they’d spent together, Carmen had already come to respect the commander. He was tough, bold, and levelheaded. He was also good-looking, but she chose to ignore that for the time being. Not only did they have work to do, but she guessed Swiss Guards had taken vows of celibacy.
“I understand,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure my team was included in your plans.”
“They’re our top priority.”
After gathering their things and giving Carmen some much-needed water, they exited the cavern. Stegmann and the guard with the GPS unit took the lead as they maneuvered up through the caves. Carmen hoped he knew what he was doing as they maintained a fast pace throughout the climb. She guessed he must have placed markers at various points on the way down.
Eventually, the path leveled off. Carmen saw that as a good sign. Not only was it a relief to her legs, but it also meant they were likely near the city again. A few minutes later, Stegmann held up a hand, bringing the group to a stop. At first, Carmen thought they had arrived at the entrance. Then as she arrived at the front, she noticed the stern look on his face.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I thought I heard something.”
One of the guards pulled out an instrument Carmen recognized as a thermal imaging monocular. He made a few adjustments. After holding it there for a few seconds, he mumbled something to Stegmann in German. Unfortunately, he spoke too fast for Carmen to understand.