Gregg Loomis - Gates Of Hades

Even had the Chief been in the habit of taking the allowed time off, he would not have done so today.

This morning, Dr. Maria Bergenghetti had surfaced. Well, perhaps not surfaced, exactly. She had telephoned a coworker at the Bureau of Geological Studies, requesting certain equipment: six air tanks with three regulators and backpacks, as well as spelunking gear such as miners' helmets, harness, and rope. She also wanted some scientific apparatus, the function of which was unclear, something the names indicated had to do with detecting, analyzing, or measuring gases.

Guiellmo stared at the inventory as though ordering it to give up its secret. The volcanologist was going to explore the crater of a volcano or a deep cave. Unfortunately, Italy was riddled with both. Since no fire retardant clothing had been requisitioned, it was a safe bet the woman and her companions were not headed for the caldera of an active volcano. Yet why else would she want a source of breathable, air?

If she was, in fact, in the company of this American, Peters, what interest did he have in caves, volcanoes, or gases? It was not likely he would find more Russians to kill in such places.

Not that Guiellmo was particularly sympathetic to Russians. Their national image since the fall of communism was one of lawlessness, of crime, corruption, and violence that made the old American West look tame. Although many people decried stereotypes as based on prejudice, Guiellmo saw them as based on observation. And observation of crime in Russia was not encouraging for law enforcement.

But Italy was not going to tolerate its soil being used to stage an open season on Russians or anybody else, lawless or not.

He stood and went to look down on the Piazza del Quirinale, now empty other than the presidential guards, still as statues, and the resident pigeons, busily searching for the last crumb of pizza crust dropped by the morning's horde of tourists.

Breathable air in a cave? Unlikely it would be needed. That left extinct volcanoes. The most obvious was Vesuvius, killer of Pompeii and Herculaneum, inactive since 1944. Was it considered extinct?

He returned to his desk and sat heavily. No matter. Bergenghetti had requested the equipment be assembled at the old Vesuvius Observatory, the nineteenth-century structure that served as a base for recording data, the research facilities having moved to Naples. A good choice. The building was known by few, and there would be only one or two technicians present.

As usual, Guiellmo preferred the involvement of as few people as possible in an investigation.

Vesuvius Observatory

Mount Vesuvius

Late the next afternoon

The drive from Turin had been exclusively on the Autostrada, Italy's equivalent of the interstate system, until the last thirteen kilometers south of Naples. They parked in front of a red-and-white neoclassic building that resembled a wealthy family's villa more than a structure dedicated to scientific endeavors. Other than the Volvo, the spacious square in front held only one car, a motor scooter, and a tour bus chugging diesel fumes. Maria, Adrian, and Jason climbed out of the Volvo, stretching and yawning from hours on the road.

Jason worried that the car, lacking its rear windshield and sporting suspiciously round holes in the coachwork, might draw attention.

"In Rome, mebbe," Adrian assured him. "In Naples, many o' th' cars are rolling junk heaps."

Perhaps. But did they look like the former owners might have been Bonnie and Clyde?

Jason paused to admire the view of vineyards and small settlements nestled in the folds of the volcano's verdant slopes. "Doesn't look like anyone's worried about another eruption anytime soon."

"The soil's rich in alkali and phosphorus," Maria said, turning to share the view. "Perfect for grapes. The Lacryma Christi wine comes from here."

"It'd suit the growin' of malt f good whiskey, too," Adrian observed. "But it's na' for the bonny scenery we're here."

Inside, the building housed an impressive polyglot library and a huge collection of minerals, presumably the vomitus of the mountain itself. Maria led them around a group of thirty or so white-haired tourists, listening intently as a blond tour director lectured in German as she pointed with an umbrella to indicate a large boulder.

Maria paused in front of a small elevator until its door slowly parted, revealing an open platform designed to carry freight more than passengers. Inside the shaft, a simple switch gave a choice of only two floors, the main one and one above. They exited the elevator after a wait that made Jason wonder if the contraption really was moving. A short, dimly lit corridor ended at an open door.

A twelve-by-twelve-foot office managed to contain two metal desks back-to-back, computers, and an array of machines that seemed to be drawing graphs, recording temperatures, and completing functions at which Jason could only guess. A man and a woman interrupted a conversation as the three entered, looking up in surprise.

Or was it guilt?

Maria's smile faded as she asked a question, " Dove Guiedo?"

Where's Guiedo?

The two technicians exchanged glances before the man replied.

Maria nodded her head, asked another question, and received a slightly longer response. "Our gear is on the loading dock around back. One of the people who usually works here packed it for us."

The woman gave Jason and Adrian a stare that was far more steady than curious before she asked another question, to which Maria responded by introducing Jason and Adrian with an explanation that Jason's very limited Italian couldn't follow.

This time the man inquired, to which Maria shrugged before answering.

The number of queries were making Jason uncomfortable. He sensed Adrian shared his feelings when the Scot said, "Best we're off, lassie. Bid your friends farewell."

As they were loading the gear into the back of the Volvo, Jason asked, "What was all the question-and-answer about?"

Maria opened a canvas bag, removing and returning three regulators. "The man was curious about where we will be using the equipment. I told him there are a series of caves around Lake Averno that we were investigating."

"Lake Averno?"

"I mentioned it that night in Sicily. With what happened, I can understand your not remembering. One of the Phlegraean lakes near where we are actually going. Lots of underground volcanic activity. In fact, there are places where the ground itself is hot. The Greeks thought the entrance to Hades was nearby, as we learned from Eno that it is. 'Averno' comes from the Greek a-ornom, without birds. Apparently in ancient times, the vapors were suffocating, deadly to anything flying over it."

Adrian hefted an air tank in each hand. "That's why we would need to get kitted out. Good thinking."

Maria started to lift a third and nodded gratefully as Jason took it. "I certainly was not going to tell them we were going someplace forbidden by the government, even if Guiedo had been there."

"You knew those two?" Jason asked.

"Never saw them before. There are not that many peo- ple who work for the bureau. I thought I knew them all by sight."

Adrian put down the tank he was lifting as Jason asked, "And Guiedo, the one you made inquiry about, he was someone you know?"

"Known him for years. The woman said he'd gone to Rome to see to his sick mother."

An hour later, Jason was driving the Via Nuova Marina, a wide, six-lane boulevard skirting Naples's harbor. The water was to his right. On his left, the city's hills swept upward abruptly, festooned with apartments displaying the day's wash on a thousand clotheslines.

He had expected the traffic of Rome, the mostly absent stoplights, kamikaze dashes through busy intersections, and the use of horns rather than brakes. Naples presented different but equally traumatic hazards: Without warning, cars would pull over to park two or three deep along the curb, doors opening into traffic. Or a vehicle would simply choose to park in the middle of the street, occupants stepping fearlessly into lanes of moving cars, trucks, and scooters. Jason not only feared hitting someone nonchalantly getting out of an automobile, but that the casual merging of pedestrians and cars would conceal an ambush until the last second.