Shiva (41 page)

With the roar of the jets outside dampened by the walls, Rebecca cocked a head, trying to hear the patter of little feet. However
,
there was nothing. Just the sound of their harsh breathing.

Which way would Vakasa
have
choose
n
? Which way would a little girl
have
run? Or more aptly
,
which way would a supposed Messiah
have
choose
n
?

Either way, up would be the most obvious.

Rebecca pointed down.
“
I think she went below surface.
”

“
Good enough for me,
”
Brandt announced as Levont made his way down the limestone passage.

“
Shouldn
’
t we split up?
”
Talli asked.
“
Cover both options?
”

Brandt shook his head.
“
If we go down…
”

“
We go down together,
”
Lopez agreed.

Rebecca wished just once that
going down
wasn
’
t the most likely option.

* * *

“
Holy shit!
”
Stark announced
,
pointing to one of the many news channels he had on his screen.

Grainy cell phone footage showed a biplane landing near the pyramids, disrupting the popular light show. Oh
,
and did she mention that there was a man clinging to the wings? There was no doubt who was flying that plane or who was hanging on.

Bunny crossed her arms.
“
So does this qualify for the Disciples knowing where Brandt and the others are?
”

“
I do think this might qualify for an event that allows us
to
break radio silence
,
”
Emily added.

Prenner still frowned.
“
I know what you two want, but my brass is never going to authorize us stepping in.
”

“
Just call Brandt,
”
Bunny suggested as she watched the group run inside the pyramid. Where the hell did they think they were going? Every passage within the tomb was a dead end. Of course
,
as jets apparently streaked overhead, looking for a target, a pyramid was as good a place to hide
as any
.

Finally
,
the lieutenant gave the nod. Stark keyed in the commands, pushing his earpiece f
a
rther into
his
ear. He tilted his head.
“
No joy. They aren
’
t responding to my ping.
”

“
Try Davidson,
”
she said
,
counting off the people
who had
entered the temple. Only six. And no skinny
-
assed white boy.

Stark typed rapidly.
“
Nope.
”

Bunny chewed on her lip. It made sense the others didn
’
t respond. She could remember the press of those tunnels. The limestone was probably blocking the signal. Davidson
,
though? If he
were
true to form
,
he should be set up somewhere along the periphery of the Giza pyramid complex.

Unless he didn
’
t realize they were going to land near the light show. Come to think of it, that didn
’
t sound exactly like a pre-calculated rally point. So Davidson was in the wind. Or he was…

Nope, she wasn
’
t going down that road.

If he
was
alive, why wasn
’
t he answering?

CHAPTER 16

═══════════
═══════

Giza, Egypt

9:42
p
.
m
.
(
CAT
)

“
Il suo bene
,
”
Davidson said.
“
It
’
s okay
”
in Italian. Yet the three sweaty men still advanced. He
’
d already tried Arabic, Farci, and even Armenian, yet the men didn
’
t seem to speak any of the most common languages in Egypt.

His only solace was that he was pretty sure these men were not Disciples. Dressed in near rags and smeared with urban detritus, they seemed to be street thugs. Three street thugs with knives. Sure
,
Davidson could shoot, but that would advertise his location to not only the Egyptian police who were crawling all over the area, but the Disciples who must have descended upon the area since Lopez
’
s little circus landing.

The men looked like they came prepared to loot. A common occupation these days in Egypt. Some gangs were even accused of fomenting riots just so they could loot afterward.

Now
,
though, these men had a far more valuable prize in sight. An American. An armed American. How much would the government pay as a bounty? Or how much could they ask as ransom from the US? Either way
,
it wasn
’
t looking so good for Davidson. He needed to get out of this situation quietly and quickly.

Neither of which looked very likely at the moment.

Davidson secured his rifle onto his back and pulled a knife out of its sheath on his leg. The men brazenly smiled. Davidson pulled a second knife from his belt. Holding both weapons in the blade-back position, Davidson nodded to the men.

Funny
,
their smiles faded. They were used to ambushing tourists. Mugging them for their valuables
,
then running. Not a one of the three seemed any too happy about going up against a trained man. Yet the odds were still on their side
,
so they advanced.

Davidson danced back
,
waiting for one of them to commit.

The largest of the bunch grunted, shoving the smallest guy forward. The man stumbled, righting himself. He glared over his shoulder yet found no support there. Davidson flipped one of the knives, caught it, aiming it forward.

The guy must have decided to just dive in
,
as he charged at Davidson. He sidestepped, dragging the knife
’
s edge along the man
’
s arm. Davidson could have gutted him, easily, but the less mess the better. The man grasped at his bleeding arm, wavering to the left
,
then to the right.

Davidson grabbed him by the collar and shoved him back to his gang. Then he set up in attack position again.

The largest man glared, his jaw muscles working up and down. Finally
,
he must have decided that this little payday wasn
’
t worth the effort. With a guttural signal
,
he urged his gang back down the alley.

Not taking any chances, Davidson headed off in the opposite direction. This building would have made a nice perch, but now he would have to go find another one.

He could only hope he didn
’
t miss too much.

* * *

“
I
’
ve got her!
”
Levont shouted from up ahead.

Rebecca pushed past Talli
.
“
Vakasa, stop!
”

Brandt brought up the rear.
“
Catch our six,
”
he ordered Talli as he moved forward to see what all the fuss was about. Rebecca was struggling to pull the little girl from the end wall. Her fingers were bloody as she dug into the limestone.

“
Honey, no,
”
Rebecca coaxed
,
but the girl just wouldn
’
t leave it.

The little girl
’
s resistance didn
’
t matter as Brandt picked Vakasa up by the waist.
“
Maybe we can get back
—
”

That had just been wishful thinking
,
as footsteps echoed down the tunnel. Getting chased into the pyramid by two jets kind of gave law enforcement a heads
-
up to their location.

Which meant they were trapped. Brandt set
down
the girl. She made a beeline to the wall. Her only stop? To grab a knife from Levont
’
s leg.

“
Hey!
”
the point man protested.

She seemed deaf to his concern and used the point of the blade to dig into the thick wall. Brandt ignored her. As long as she wasn
’
t hurting herself or anyone else, Brandt said go for it.

“
What is she doing?
”
Levont asked
,
although his tone didn
’
t hold out much hope for an answer.

Rebecca put her hand out.
“
Do you have another knife?
”

“
Yeah, but
—
”

Brandt studied Vakasa
’
s work. She was determined.
“
Give it to her,
”
he instructed the point man.

Levont turned over the knife
,
and Rebecca sank to her knees alongside the girl, chipping away at the wall.

“
Want to share?
”
he asked his fiancée.

“
Want to lend a hand?
”
Rebecca replied.

Since they were trapped and all, just waiting for the authorities to figure out they only needed a couple of flashbangs or a tear gas grenade, Brandt pulled his knife and dug into the limestone.

“
How about now?
”
he asked.

Rebecca frowned. Sometimes she liked to let a theory run its course before discussing it. This was not the time he could indulge her.

“
I either need to know,
”
Brandt stated
,
“
o
r start prepping for an assault.
”

“
There have been rumors for years that there are tunnels that run beneath the pyramids,
”
Rebecca said.
“
That run all over this plateau.
”

Levont knelt next to them
,
adding another blade to the mini-excavation.
“
Why haven
’
t I ever heard of that?
”

She nodded next to Brandt.
“
Because the Egyptian government has not just vehemently denied it, but gone to great lengths to cover it up.
”

“
Which
,
in our experience
,
usually means that they do exist
.
”
Brandt sighed. Why couldn
’
t ancient history stay fucking ancient?

Rebecca nudged him with her shoulder.
“
That
’
s what I was thinking. I mean
,
several well
-
respected scientists have done ground
-
penetrating radar studies and found results very consistent with an intricate and elaborate system of passages.
”

Wiping dust away from his nose, Brandt dug harder. Even if it was only a rumor, that was better than a deadly shoot
-
out any day. And if anyone could find a secret entrance to a millennia
-
old hidden tunnel
,
it was the woman he was engaged to.

“
Why hasn
’
t the
H
istory
C
hannel picked it up
,
then?
”
Levont asked
,
then coughed. The tight passageway was not ideal for all the dust they were churning up. Brandt could begin to taste why the rock was called limestone.