Map Of Bones Part 38

"I'm going with you," Rachel blurted out. She struggled with the buckles on her vest.

"First let me make sure it's safe."

Rachel shrugged out of her air tank and vest and propped them into a crevice. Gray wasn't the only bold one. "I'm coming up."

"Me too," her uncle said.

Rachel took a breath and undid her hose. Free, she swam to the tunnel opening and ducked through. It was pitch dark. In her haste, she had forgotten to turn on her flashlight. But as she flicked her legs and pushed deeper, a ripple of light appeared only three meters ahead. Her buoyancy helped propel her. The light grew. The tunnel widened to either side.

In a matter of moments, she popped out into small pool.

Gray frowned at her. He stood on the stone bank that lipped the circular pool. A drum-shaped chamber opened around her. A man-made cave. The roof was corbeled in narrowing rings, giving it the appearance of being inside a tiny step pyramid.

Gray held out an arm for her. She didn't refuse, gawking at the chamber. He helped haul her out.

"You shouldn't have come," he said.

"And you shouldn't have gone," she countered, but her eyes were still on the blocks of stone around her. "Besides, if this place has withstood an earthquake that toppled the Pharos Lighthouse, I think it can handle my footsteps."

At least, she hoped so.

1:04 P P.M.

A MOMENT MOMENT later, Vigor appeared, splas.h.i.+ng up into the pool later, Vigor appeared, splas.h.i.+ng up into the pool Gray sighed. He should've known better than to try to keep these two away.

Rachel shed her mask and pushed back her hood. She shook loose her hair, then bent to help the monsignor out of the water.

Gray kept his mask in place and ducked his head under the water. The radio worked best with water contact.

"Kat, maintain a post by the tunnel exit. Once we're out of the water, we'll lose communication pretty quickly. Monk, if there's any trouble, relay it to Kat, so she can fetch us."

He received affirmatives from both. Kat sounded irritated.

Monk was glad to stay where he was. "You go ahead. I've pretty much had my fill of crawling around in tombs."

Gray straightened and finally pulled away his own mask. The air smelled surprisingly fresh, if not a tad crusty with algae and salt. There must be a few crevices to the surface.

"A tumulus," Vigor said, free of his own mask. He eyed the stone ceiling. "An Etruscan tomb design."

Two tunnels led out from here, angled apart. Gray was anxious to explore. One was taller than the other, but narrower, barely wide enough for one man to pa.s.s through. The other was low, requiring one to hunch a bit, but it was wider.

Vigor touched the blocks that made up one wall. "Limestone. Cut and fitted tightly, but feel...the blocks are cemented with lead." He turned to Gray. "According to the historical record, this is the same design as the Pharos Lighthouse."

Rachel stared around her. "This might be part of the original lighthouse, perhaps a subfloor or bas.e.m.e.nt cellar."

Vigor headed for the closest tunnel, the shorter of the two. "Let's see where this leads."

Gray blocked him with an arm. "Me first."

The monsignor nodded his head, a bit apologetic. "Of course."

Gray leaned down, pointed his flashlight. "Conserve your flashlight's batteries for now," he instructed. "We don't know how long we'll be down here."

Gray took a step forward, hunched beneath the low roof. A twinge p.r.i.c.ked his back from one of the bruising slugs he had taken back in Milan. He felt like an old man.

He froze.

c.r.a.p.

Vigor b.u.mped into him from behind.

"Back, back, back..." he urged.

"What?" Vigor asked but obeyed.

Gray retreated into the pool chamber.

Rachel eyed him oddly. "What's wrong?"

"You ever hear of the story about the man who had to choose between two doors, behind one hid a tiger, the other a lady?"

Rachel and Vigor nodded.

"I could be wrong, but I think we're faced with a similar dilemma. Two doors." Gray pointed to each dark tunnel. "Remember the riddle of the Sphinx, marking the ages of man? Crawling, upright, and bent over. It took crawling to get into here." Gray recalled thinking that when he entered the tunnel.

"Now two ways lead forward," he continued. "One where you can walk upright, another which requires you to hunch. Like I said, I could be wrong, but I'd prefer we take that other tunnel first. The one where you walk upright, the second second stage of man." stage of man."

Vigor eyed the tunnel they had been about to enter. In his profession as an archaeologist, he must know all about b.o.o.by-trapped tombs. He nodded. "No reason to be hasty."

"No reason at all." Gray circled the pool to the other tunnel.

He shone his flashlight and led the way. It took about ten steps until he breathed again.

The air grew a bit musty. The tunnel must be leading into the depths of the peninsula. Gray could almost sense the weight of the fort above him.

The pa.s.sage made a series of sharp jags, but eventually his light revealed the tunnel's end. A larger s.p.a.ce opened ahead. The glow of his flashlight reflected off something beyond.

Gray continued more slowly.

The others crowded behind him.

"What do you see?" Rachel asked at the end of the line.

"Amazing..."

1:08 P P.M.

ON THE monitor of the Aqua-Vu camera, Monk watched Kat cooling her heels by the tunnel entrance. She sat perfectly still, hovering with minimal effort, a conservation of energy. As he spied, she s.h.i.+fted ever so subtly, underwater tai chi. She stretched a leg, turning a thigh, accentuating the long curve of her body. monitor of the Aqua-Vu camera, Monk watched Kat cooling her heels by the tunnel entrance. She sat perfectly still, hovering with minimal effort, a conservation of energy. As he spied, she s.h.i.+fted ever so subtly, underwater tai chi. She stretched a leg, turning a thigh, accentuating the long curve of her body.

He trailed a finger down the screen of a monitor.

A perfect S.

Perfect.

He shook his head and turned away. Who was he fooling?

He searched the flat expanse of blue water. He wore polarized sungla.s.ses, but by now, the constant noonday glare made his eyes ache.

And the heat...

Even in the shade, it had to be over a hundred degrees. His dry suit chafed. He had unzipped and peeled down the upper section of suit, and stood bare-chested. But all the sweat seemed to have pooled in his crotch.

And now he had to take a leak.

He'd better cut off the diet c.o.kes.

Motion caught his eye. Coming around the far side of the peninsula. A large sleek s.h.i.+p, midnight blue. Thirty-footer. He read the lines. Not an ordinary s.h.i.+p. Hydrofoil. It raced over the waters, slightly raised on its surface-piercing skids. It flew unimpeded over the slight waves, skimming like a sled on ice.

c.r.a.p, it was fast.

He followed its curve around the spit of land, a quarter klick out. It aimed toward the East Harbor. It was too small for a ferry shuttle. Maybe some rich A-rab's private yacht. He raised a pair of binoculars and searched for the s.h.i.+p. It took an extra moment to pin down the boat.

In the bow, he spotted a pair of girls in bikinis. No burka-wrapped modesty here. Monk had already surveyed a few of the other boats around the harbor, fixing them in place in his mental chessboard. One mini-yacht had a party in full swing, champagne flowing. Another houseboat-like craft had an older couple lounging about buck naked. Apparently Alexandria was the Fort Lauderdale of Egypt.

"Monk," Kat called from the radio.

He wore a headset connected to the underwater transceiver. "What is it, Kat?"

"I'm picking up a pulsing note of static over the radio. Is that you?"

He lowered the binoculars. "It's not me. I'll run a diagnostic on the transceiver. You might be picking up someone's fish finder."

"Roger that."

Monk glanced across the water. The hydrofoil slowed and settled deeper into the water. It had drifted to the far side of the harbor.

Good.

Monk fixed its berth among the other boats in his head, one more piece to the chessboard. He turned his attention to the Buddy Phone transceiver. He twisted the amplitude control, earning a feedback whine in his ear, then reset the channel.

"How's that?" he asked.

Kat answered. "Better. It's gone now."

Monk shook his head. d.a.m.n rental equipment d.a.m.n rental equipment...

"Let me know if it returns," he said.

"Will do. Thanks."

Monk eyed the length of her form on the camera screen and sighed. What was the use? He picked up his binoculars. Where were those two bikini-clad girls?

1:10 P P.M.

RACHEL STEPPED last into the chamber. The two men parted to either side in front of her. Despite Gray's warning to conserve their batteries, Uncle Vigor had flicked on his own flashlight. last into the chamber. The two men parted to either side in front of her. Despite Gray's warning to conserve their batteries, Uncle Vigor had flicked on his own flashlight.

The spears of light illuminated another drum-shaped room, domed above. The ceiling plaster had been painted black. Silver stars glowed brightly against the dark background. But the stars had not been painted onto the ceiling. They were metallic inlays.

The ceiling was reflected in a still pool of water that covered the entire floor. It looked knee-deep. The effect of the mirrored image in the water created a mirage of a perfect sphere of stars, above and below.

But that still wasn't the most amazing sight.

Resting in the middle of the chamber, rising from the pool of water, stood a giant pyramid of gla.s.s, as tall as a man. It seemed to float in the center of the phantom sphere.

The gla.s.s pyramid glinted with a familiar golden hue.

"Could it be...?" Uncle Vigor muttered.

"Gold gla.s.s," Gray said. "A giant superconductor."

They spread out along the narrow lip of stone that surrounded the pool. Four copper pots rested in the water at the edges of the pools. Her uncle inspected one, then moved on. Ancient lamps, Rachel guessed. But they had brought their own illumination.

She studied the structure in the middle of the pool. The pyramid was square-bottomed, four-sided, like the pyramids of Giza.

"Something's inside it," Rachel said.

The reflection off the gla.s.s surfaces of the pyramid made details inside difficult to discern. Rachel hopped into the water. It was a little deeper than her knees.

"Careful," Gray said.

"Like you'd take that advice," she shot back, wading toward the pyramid.

Splashes behind her announced the others were following. They crossed to the gla.s.s structure. Her uncle and Gray repositioned their lamps to penetrate the pyramid.

Two shapes appeared.

One stood in the exact center of the pyramid. It was a bronze sculpture of a giant finger, raised and pointing up. So large, she doubted she could get her arms around it. The detail work was masterful, from the trimmed fingernail down to the wrinkles at the knuckles.

But it was the shape below the raised finger that drew most of her attention. A figure, crowned and masked in gold, robed in a flow of white gown, lay atop a stone altar. The arms outstretched to either side, Christlike. But the golden face was distinctly Greek.

Rachel turned to her uncle. "Alexander the Great."

Her uncle stepped slowly around, getting a view from all angles. His eyes glistened with tears. "His tomb...the historical record mentioned his last resting place was in gla.s.s." He reached to touch one of the outstretched hands, buried only a few centimeters into the gla.s.s, then thought better of it and lowered his arm.

"What's with the bronze finger?" Gray asked.

Uncle Vigor stepped back to them. "I...I think it's from the Colossus of Rhodes, the giant statue that spanned the island's harbor. It represented the G.o.d Helios but was modeled after Alexander the Great. No part of the statue was thought to still exist."