Shiva (75 page)

“
That is a sealed document,
”
Prenner growled.

“
Yeah, right. From me?
”
Stark said
.
T
hen his mother cleared her throat.
“
And my mom?
”
The tech held up a hand.
“
Plus
,
it turns out that Prenner didn
’
t just happen to stumble upon this mission.
”

“
Please,
”
Prenner said
,
h
is tone losing
its
dangerous edge
,
“
d
on
’
t.
”

“
Sorry, dude, the time for don
’
t ask, don
’
t tell is way over.
”
Stark brought up a picture of Brandt
’
s deceased point man, Svengurd. Bunny barely recognized him. She
’
d known him for about twelve and a half minutes. His height and stark
-
blond hair were kind of memorable
,
though. The photo morphed into a candid photo of Svengurd and Prenner in an embrace.
“
Prenner here was Svengurd
’
s boyfriend.
”

Bunny turned on the lieutenant.
“
I knew it.
”
When everyone looked to her, she clarified.
“
About him batting for the other team
—
I knew that part.
”

“
Yes, Svengurd and I were engaged,
”
Prenner admitted.
“
And yes, I did and still do blame Brandt for his death, but I would never betray my country or put Brandt
’
s men at risk
—
certainly not a little girl.
”

Prenner searched the eyes of everyone in the room but came up with no takers. Not Bunny
,
either.

“
Get his gun,
”
Emily ordered.

Bunny approached Prenner as he put his arms out to the side.
“
I
’
d say I
’
m sorry,
”
she said,
“
b
ut you know, I
’
m not.
”

Prenner leaned in.
“
You think I
’
m a tight ass.
”
She didn
’
t answer that clearly rhetorical question.
“
So think about it. Would I break the rules like this?
”

She grabbed his gun and backed away.
“
I
’
ve given up wondering why sick creeps like you do anything.
”

Handing the gun to Emily, Bunny accepted a ball of wire.

“
Tie him up,
”
the CIA operative instructed.

As Bunny obeyed, Stark clapped
h
is hands together.
“
Al
l
right, now that we don
’
t have to worry about any interruptions
…
”

He called up the
T
abernacle, now on fire. The three men had been busy
,
though. Strangely
,
not putting out the fire, but carving letters into the hillside.

GPR
.

Bunny racked her brain for some ancient meaning to those letters.
“
It isn
’
t
A
ncient Greek or Mesopotamian.
”

Stark
’
s mother chuckled.
“
No. It is ground
-
penetrating radar.
”

“
Yes,
”
Stark answered.
“
I think we
’
ve got a satellite nearby equipped to identify underground bunkers.
”

“
So they must think Rebecca and the others are alive.
”

Emily nodded.
“
Alive, but trapped underground.
”

As Stark retasked the satellite, Bunny was going to concentrate on the
alive
part.

* * *

Brandt kept an eye on their tail as they approached yet another set of doors. How many had they passed through by now? He simply deferred to Rebecca each time. They had tried to consult Vakasa, but she was too busy either rebraiding her hair or playing with her necklace. For a supposed
M
essiah
,
she wasn
’
t exactly the type to take the lead.

“
Um…
”
Rebecca said
,
indicating to the doors. Brandt wasn
’
t sure why until he realized that neither of them had any symbols. They were simple stone doors. This couldn
’
t be good.

“
What do you think it means?
”

Rebecca wouldn
’
t meet his eye. Instead
,
she looked down to who was playing a phantom game of hopscotch. The kid never stopped surprising him.

Well, they had to pick one of the passages. Brandt went over and pushed
open
the door on the left. Its floor sloped upward.

“
That could lead to the surface,
”
he said
,
trying to pack as much hopeful optimism as he could into the statement.

“
Or to a dead end,
”
Rebecca countered.

The other door showed a passage that went down. Steeply.

Brandt didn
’
t even bother to argue.

They were going down.

As they passed through the door, the ground jolted to the right, then the left
,
then undulated underfoot.
His
and 
Rebecca
’
s
eyes met. At least they seemed to have chosen correctly.

The passage was steep and had become uneven. What had once been gilded surfaces now descended into hand
-
chiseled stone walls. Rocks cluttered underfoot
,
making the going slow.

Vakasa tripped
,
so Rebecca picked her up as they ventured deeper and deeper under the temple. A stone tumbled down from above. Brandt swung around, flashing his light, trying to see if they were being followed. Did an errant footstep dislodge the rock or was it simply the nearly nonstop trembling of the earth?

He waited
,
holding his breath. No one emerged. No shots were fired. No grenades tossed.

Brandt did pick up the pace
,
though. If the Disciples didn
’
t get to them, these tunnels were apt to collapse if shaken much more. Finally
,
they arrived
at
a door. A single door with only a lotus blossom etched into its surface.

Rebecca moved out of the way so he could enter first. Even if they were entering the Hol
y
of Holies, they still needed protocol. This door was heavier than the rest. He had to put his arm into it. Then it budged, opening into a large chamber.

Shining his light, they were nearly blinded by the reflection.

Brandt thought he
’
d been impressed back at the temple. He had been wrong.

CHAPTER 29

═══════════
═══════

Temple of the Her Holiness

10:45
p
.
m
.
(
IST
)

Rebecca spun in a slow circle
,
trying to take it all in. Resplendent didn
’
t even come close to this most Holy of Holies. Forget gold. Solomon had brought out the big guns here. The walls were lined
with
every precious gem you could think of. Gold filigree wove around the dazzling jewels.

And the statues? The entire chamber was filled with rows upon rows of them. Every ancient god was represented. Anubus, their old friend Moloch, Diana
,
and so many more. Each faced east. Each knelt down on one knee. Each faced a carving that seemed fashioned out of one enormous piece of onyx. They all bowed before the Black Madonna.

Only
,
she didn
’
t seem a Madonna at all. The statue before them
appeared
to be
just
a beautiful African woman with a babe in her arms. Not just any babe, though, but one with rows of braids just like Vakasa.

“
Don
’
t let her
—
”
Brandt yelled
.

H
owever
,
it was too late
,
as Vakasa
had
rushed forward and hugged one leg of the statue. It was the only thing her tiny arms could encircle.

“
Momma.
”

Rebecca braced for whatever happened next. The roof to split open. The floor to cave in. Anything. Seconds ticked by, nothing happened. If anything
,
the earth beneath their feet seemed to quiet. The constant quaking died down to silence.

“
Maybe it
’
s because she is home,
”
Rebecca suggested.

“
Or she isn
’
t the
M
essiah
,
after all,
”
Brandt countered
,
although his features didn
’
t seem as hardened as they usually did. If anything
,
he seemed simply relieved. As did Rebecca. If Vakasa really wasn
’
t the
M
essiah
,
then her chance
s
of having a normal life exponentially increased.

“
Of more practical concern,
”
Brandt stated
,
“
I don
’
t see another exit.
”

Unfortunately
,
neither did Rebecca.

* * *

As the
T
abernacle burned to the ground, Levont held up the C4 block.
“
Well?
”

Davidson paced it off again. But without blueprints for the temple
,
how could he know for sure? He turned around and counted his steps again, trying to get a more thorough understanding of the underground temple.

“
Things have quieted down,
”
Lopez remarked.
“
We could just wait.
”

Davidson glanced over his shoulder
with
a look that
,
even with his damaged lips
,
should have said
,
R
eally?

“
If we place it wrong…
”
Levont didn
’
t seem to want to finish the statement. Who did? They could only begin to imagine how unstable the ground beneath them was. An inaccurately placed charge could bring the whole hillside down on Brandt
’
s head.

They had to gamble
,
though. They had to think proactively. Maybe if the Disciples weren
’
t down there with them
,
they could wait. But with that she-cat down there
,
along with the priest? They had to make a move.