The Last Chamber (4 page)

Nile Valley, Egypt

Alexander Lindsey’s phone rang in his jacket pocket. He reached into
the folds and answered it quickly.

“Is it done?” he asked.
 

“No,” Will’s response on the other line was not what Lindsey had
wanted to hear.
 
“Sean Wyatt and
his female friend got there before I did.
 
They’ve already left.”

“Do you know where they’re going?” Lindsey asked, concerned.

There was a moment’s pause.
 
“They’re headed your direction.
 
But they’re travelling by train, so you will have a few hours head start
on them.”

Lindsey appeared concerned.
 
“Take care of it,” he ordered.
 

“I’m already on the train, Sir.
 
I’ve got two of the men with me.
 
We will handle it.”

“See to it that you do.”

Lindsey hung up the phone and put it back in his jacket.

“Problems?” DeGard asked from the other side of the back seat.
 

Lindsey shook his head.
 
“Nothing we need to worry about.”
 
He changed the subject.
 
“How much longer until we get to this place?” he asked.

He and Luc DeGard had been traveling south for nearly two hours by
car.
 
They hoped to arrive in the
early morning.
 
Behind them were
two SUVs with a total of eight armed guards.
 

“We should be there in another seven hours,” said DeGard.
 

Lindsey sighed.
 
He wished
they could have taken a plane, but with all the extra men and equipment, it
would have taken longer to make the arrangements to fly.
 

“It appears we may need to hurry once we arrive in Nekhan.
 
Sean Wyatt has Dr. Firth, and they are
on their way. So, when we get there, be sure you don’t piddle around.”

DeGard seemed to resent the comment but said nothing.
 

Outside the vehicle, the Nile Valley whirred by silently in the early
evening darkness.
 
Even though he
was in the lead, Lindsey looked perplexed as he stared through the window.
 
Sean Wyatt had caused enough trouble
and Lindsey hoped Will could take care of him once and for all.

“If I may ask,” DeGard interrupted his thoughts.
 
“Why are you seeking the lost treasures
of Akhanan?
 
You are obviously a
wealthy man.
 
You have power.
 
The treasure may be of significant
value, but I would think a man like you wouldn’t need it.”

Lindsey continued looking out the window as he listened to the
Frenchman’s question.
 
“How much do
you know about the lost chambers, Professor?”

“They are ancient rooms of gold, thought to be legend until
recently.
 
Apparently, your enemies
with the IAA found two of them,” DeGard shrugged after his statement.
 
“I would have turned your offer down
three months ago.
 
The chambers
were the stuff of legend, myth.
 
But, now that they have been discovered, I am willing to take the chance
that we can find the next one, for a share of the spoils.”

“You shall have a large share, indeed,” Lindsey added.

“So, that begs my question, Monsieur.
 
What is it that you are after?”

The question lingered in the car for a moment.
 
A large shipping truck zoomed by on the
other side of the road, interrupting the quiet hum of the road.
 

“There are some things, Monsieur DeGard, that are far more valuable
than money.”

“Ahhh,” the realization hit DeGard. “So, you believe the fairy tales
after all, Monsieur Lindsey.” The old man ignored the comment so DeGard
continued. “I supposed it is what every man seeks when he is near his end: the
fountain of youth, the cup of Christ, or in your case, the tree of life.” His
last sentence was lathered in derision, emphasized even more by his accent.

“I see you are the right man for this job, Monsieur DeGard. But you
are obviously not a believer. The tree of life was never mentioned after the
great flood in the Bible. No one ever uttered a word of its existence until
thousands of years later. Now, I believe are on the trail.”

“The trail? The trail to what? Another chamber full of gold? I am
certain you will find the chamber, but searching for immortality is folly,
Monsieur. Death is the only certainty in this world.”

“Perhaps. What do you care, though? As long as you get your money,
correct?” It was Lindsey’s turn to be contemptuous.

DeGard smiled broadly, revealing his crooked, stained teeth.
“Something like that. And I’m sure I will.” He laughed heartily as the car
entered into the darkness of a tunnel.

Nile Valley, Egypt

Sean sat next to Adriana, across from Dr. Firth in a first class cabin
of the train.
 
He watched the
shadows and outlines of the landscape pass by, deep in thought. The professor
was asleep, and Adriana was nodding in and out of slumber as well.

He hadn’t been able to sleep much, despite the monotonous click-clack
of the train tracks beneath.
 
Tommy
was in a hospital in Athens and it was all Sean could think about.
 
He’d wished he had gone to the museum
early to check things out, make sure everything was clear.
 
Even if he had, there would have been
no way to know there would be a car bombing.
 
He forced himself to let go of the blame.

He turned his head away from the window and glanced over at Adriana.
 
She’d fallen asleep again.
 
Her head was cocked to one side and her
dark brown hair draped over part of her face, reaching down to the nape of her
neck.
 

They’d returned to their hotel with the professor in tow, and had
changed out of their dirty, singed clothes, and hurried to the train
station.
 
Fortunately, they had
caught the last train of the night out of Cairo.
 

Sean looked down at his (should be “his”?) watch.
 
The local time was just passed
midnight.
 
They’d been on the train
a few hours.
 
The bar car would
still be open.
 
Maybe a drink
would help to get a little rest.

He slipped out of his seat, careful not to disturb his travelling
companions, and headed towards the rear of the train.
 
He passed from one car to the next, unnoticed by anyone.
From what he remembered, the bar car was one more over.
 

Halfway down the aisle of sleepy travelers, he looked through the door
window that led to his destination.
 
The hairs stood up on the back of his neck, and for a moment, Sean
thought he’d seen a ghost.
 
He
rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing correctly.
 
On the other side of the window stood a man he thought was
dead.
 
Will Hastings.

Sean’s eyebrows lowered, still trying to comprehend the situation.
 
It couldn’t be him
. He’d watched as the police
officer had been gunned down inside a cave in Ecuador. Yet there he was, alive
and well. But if he was alive, why had he not contacted Sean or the others?
Will stood in the intersecting area between the passenger car and the bar area,
looking down at his phone.
 

Sean noticed a gun, dangling loosely in a holster on the inside of
Will’s jacket.
 
He still couldn’t
believe it was Will, and that he was in Egypt
.
It couldn’t be coincidence.

Suddenly, the apparition looked up and through the window.
 
His eyes locked with Sean’s and, for a
moment, there was a strange pause as if the world around him had stopped.
 
Before he could do anything, Will
pulled the gun from his jacket and squeezed off three muffled shots. All Sean
heard was the bullets thudding into the wall behind him.

Six years of fieldwork for the United States government couldn’t have
prepared him for the odd turn of events.
 
But when the gun was drawn, Sean’s instincts to drop and find cover
kicked in instantly. After rolling to a stop, he removed his own weapon from
his jacket and ducked behind an empty seat to his right.
 
When no more shots came, he risked a
peek around the corner of the seat.
 

There were three bullet holes in the glass window but Will was
gone.
 

Sean tried to piece everything together in his groggy mind.
Will was alive?
 
Why was he shooting?
 
Nothing made any sense.
 
He looked around to make sure none of
the other passengers had been hit.
 
Everyone was asleep and hadn’t even noticed the entire altercation.
Thankfully, the sounds of the train rolling along had covered up the low pops
from Will’s weapon.

Cautiously, Sean made his way down the aisle towards the rear of the
car.
 
When he reached the door, he
pressed his back against the corner wall.
 
Standard procedure from his days with Axis.
 
He held his weapon close to his chin before stepping out
from his cover, leading with the barrel.
 
A quick look through the window revealed that the apparition was
gone.
 

He slowly turned the handle on the door and pushed it open.
 
The sounds from outside grew instantly
louder as he stepped through into the intercessory area between cars.
 
A sliding door to his left was open,
filling the area with cool desert air.
 
Sean had a bad feeling, like he was being led into an ambush.
 

But he needed answers.
 
He
stuck his head out the door and looked down the length of the train in both
directions, but couldn’t see anything.
 
A train stop whooshed by with red lights flashing, causing Sean to jerk
his head back inside.
 
At the same
moment, a bullet sent sparks flying off the corner where he’d just been
standing.
 

Will was on top of the train.
 
What was he doing?
 
Sean
moved over to the door on the opposite side of the little room and eased it
open.
 
He pushed his weapon out
through the opening and checked above to make sure the area was clear.
 

Things started to come together in Sean’s mind.
 
Will had been with them every step of
the way during their search for the lost chamber in Ecuador.
 
He’d thought it odd that the policeman
had taken such a keen interest in their adventure.
 
But who was he to tell Will he couldn’t tag along?
 
Now things started to make sense.
 
Will had never been on their side.
 
He probably wasn’t even a real cop.
 
Did that mean the other Atlanta police were in on
it too?
 
Sean shook his head at
the thought.
 

He remembered what he’d heard a few weeks before.
 
Golden Dawn has people everywhere, in every form of
government.
 
They’ve infiltrated so
many organizations; it is hard to know how many operatives they have.
So, that was it
,
he realized
.
 
Will was working for Golden Dawn.
 
He kicked himself for not figuring it
out sooner.
 

Sean cursed under his breath.
 
He wondered who Will really was.
 
At the moment, that was a question that would have to wait.
 
His eyes narrowed as he reached a hand
out and grabbed hold of a ladder rung on the side of the train.
 

SSSSS

Will had been sending Lindsey a text message when he looked up and saw
Sean Wyatt standing thirty feet away in the next car.
 
The shock on Wyatt’s face had told Will he had the element
of surprise.
 
He’d pulled out his
weapon quickly and managed to get off three shots, but he assumed the rounds
missed.
 
The sound suppressor on
his barrel was bulky and made accuracy less than reliable from that distance.

Sean had hit the floor and rolled out of sight before he could fire
any more shots.
 
Will’s initial
thought was to pursue, but he knew Sean would do the chasing, if for no other
reason, out of curiosity. The IAA agent had thought him dead, so, there was no
doubt he was trying to figure out what was going on

Still, Will knew that Sean would come after him.
 
He’d opened the side door of the car
and climbed out into the cool, windy night air and onto the roof.
 
As he expected, a few moments later,
Wyatt’s head had poked out through the door.
 

He’d fired another shot, but his target had been startled by a
railroad crossing and jerked back inside the train, causing the bullet to
narrowly miss the head.

He wondered what Sean’s move would be.
 
Whatever it was, staying out in the open on the roof was
probably not a good idea.
 
Quickly,
he turned and started moving towards the back of the train.
 

SSSSS

Sean reached the top of the ladder and, hanging on with one hand,
raised his weapon above the line of site on the roof.
 
Will was moving quickly towards the rear of the car.
 
Sean pulled himself up onto the top and
started jogging in the same direction, careful to keep his balance on the
constantly shifting train car.
 

Will had almost reached his destination when Sean knelt down and took
aim.
 
He trained his sights on the
small of his target’s back and was about to squeeze when he heard the engine’s
horn blast.
 

Sean turned to see the front of the train disappear into a mountain
tunnel.
 
He dropped down flat
against the roof, pressing his body against the ridged metal, just as the train
car entered the tunnel.
 

The roof of the burrow rushed by, mere inches above him.
 
He forced himself to lie perfectly
still in the darkness amid the pungent smell of diesel exhaust.
 
The short time the train was in the
tunnel seemed to last forever.
 
Suddenly, the night sky opened up above him and the air became clean
again.
 
He stole a quick look
towards the front of the train to make sure there wasn’t another tunnel up
ahead.
 

Returning his focus to the back of the train car, he saw that Will was
gone.
 
He stood up again and
started making his way in the direction Will had gone.
 

A silhouette popped into view at the end of the roof.
 
Sean raised his weapon as the other
figure fired off three shots.
 
He
dove to the right and rolled to the edge of the roof, nearly falling over the
edge.
 

He managed to stop himself with his left hand and extended his gun out
in front of his face.
 
He fired off
a quick succession of shots, sending his target ducking for cover.
 
Two rounds sparked off the upper edge
of the next train car.
 

Sean rolled over and pushed himself up.
 
He sprinted down the rooftop in Will’s direction, his gun in
the lead.
 
He closed the gap
quickly and jabbed his weapon over the edge where his quarry had just been.

Will had disappeared into the car’s side door.
 
Sean deftly descended the rungs and
swung into the open door, catching Will off guard with two boots squarely in
the back.

The force of the blow sent Will sprawling forward towards the other
door.
 
Sean had landed on his
tailbone, momentarily shocking his system.
 
Will spun around and extended his gun at arm’s length.
 
Sean simultaneously did the same.
 

“What are we going to do, Sean?
 
Kill each other?” Will sneered.
 

“I thought you were dead,” Sean replied.
 
“I also thought you were one of the good guys.
 
Guess I’ve been wrong a lot
lately.”
 

Will shrugged, “What can I say?
 
I’m a hard man to figure out.”
 
He’d torn his jeans in the fray and his leg was bleeding, slightly.
 
His dark, emotionless eyes stared
fearlessly at Sean.
 

“So, you’re working for the Order,” Sean shouted above the wind.
 
“How much did they pay you?”
 

Will laughed.
 
“More than
you’d make in two lifetimes.
 
But I
enjoy the work,” he smirked.
 

Sean kept up the poker face, his voice and nerves remaining calm.
 
He’d been in that situation
before.
 
Losing his cool would only
make things worse.

“They gave you a policeman’s funeral.
 
It was a beautiful service,” he said sarcastically.

Will cocked his head to the side.
 
“How sentimental.
 
Let’s stay on task, though, shall we?
 
I pull my trigger and you pull yours, neither of us gets
what we want.”

Sean nodded.
 
“True.”