Andy McDermott - The Hunt For Atlantis

“One minute, just one more minute! Please!”

“Let her,” said Kari firmly. Chase reluctantly acquiesced, but pointedly held up his watch hand.

“The map,” Nina said, almost gabbling in her haste to get the words out. “Look, the destinations at the end of the trade routes, or whatever they are, they’ve got numbers and compass directions marked next to them. The mouth of the Amazon, here,” she pointed at it, “it says seven, south and west, just like it does on the sextant arm.” She moved across the map to the distorted representation of Africa, indicating the continent’s southern tip. “But look at this! The Cape of Good Hope ’s marked as well-it shows its latitude relative to Atlantis!”

Chase shook his wrist, waving the watch at her. “Point, Nina! Get to it!”

“Don’t you see? We already know how far south the mouth of the Amazon is relative to Atlantis, seven units of latitude, and now we know how far south they said the Cape is as well-so since we know their positions relative to each other in modern measurements, we can use the difference to find out exactly how big an Atlantean unit of latitude is, and then work back north from the Amazon to find Atlantis itself! We can do it! Now that I understand their system, we don’t even need the artifact any more-all we need is time to make the calculations!”

“We’re out of time, Nina,” said Chase, his tone making it clear that there would be no further discussion. “We’ve got to get out of here. Now!” He took the light from her. “You too, Kari! Let’s go!”

They ran out of the chamber, passing the colossal statue of Poseidon. Nina strained to listen over the sound of their footsteps echoing through the huge room. “What’s that noise? I can hear something!”

Chase could hear it too, a low-frequency rumble, growing louder with every second. “Shit, sounds like a chop-”

The entire temple shook as an explosion blasted a hole in the roof.

D own!” screamed Chase, throwing himself on top of Nina as shattered stone rained around them. Much larger blocks tumbled to the temple floor below the gaping hole, smashing deafeningly apart on impact.

A fierce wind blew through the gap, whipping the clouds of dust into a swirling vortex. Chase rolled clear of Nina and squinted up at the sunset sky, which was almost immediately obscured by something.

Something big.

The roar of the helicopter’s engines and the machine-gun thudding of its rotor blades were so intense that he could feel them. A Russian-built Mi-26 Halo, the biggest helicopter in the world, designed to carry large loads over long distances.

Large loads-or large numbers of troops.

The chopper moved into a hover directly above the hole. The fuselage doors were open, and at any moment ropes would drop from them so men could rappel into the temple…

“Come on!” he yelled, his voice barely audible over the Halo’s thunder. He helped the women up. “Get to the tunnel! Now!”

“What the hell’s going on?” shrieked Nina.

“It’s the Brotherhood! Get into the tunnel! Run!” He grabbed the still-bewildered Nina’s arm and pulled her after him, Kari sprinting alongside.

Six black lines snaked from the Halo. They fluttered in the downdraft before tightening as men dressed in black combat gear and body armor expertly descended each one, brilliant beams of light lancing out from their chests. Chase saw enough in his brief backwards glance to know they were professionals, ex-military.

And each man was armed with a Heckler and Koch UMP-40 submachine gun, and probably other weapons as well.

They reached the passage, Chase leading the way with the flashlight in his outstretched hand. The noise of the chopper was still audible even as they negotiated the twists and turns and ran through the door into the chamber housing the Challenge of Mind.

“How could they have found us?” Kari demanded.

“I don’t know,” said Chase as they entered the next tunnel. “Maybe they put a tracker on the boat.”

Nina was breathless, unused to the pace. “What do they want?”

“The same thing as us,” Kari told her. “Only they want to destroy it, to make sure nobody can use the information to find Atlantis.”

“And destroy us, too,” added Chase.

“Oh my God!” Nina gasped. “What about Jonathan, and Hugo?”

“Just got to hope they went straight for the temple and bypassed the village,” Chase said grimly.

They reached the last stretch of passage before the drawbridge over the pool. Running footsteps echoed up the tunnel behind them.

“Get to the exit,” said Chase, handing Kari the light as they ran over the bridge, which flexed under their weight. “Wait for me.”

“What are you going to do?” Nina asked.

“Try to stop them from catching up. Go on!” He stopped at the end of the bridge, letting Nina and Kari past. Then he grabbed the endmost plank and strained to lift it from the ledge before pushing it sideways with all his strength. The bridge warped along its length, creaking and groaning.

With a pained grunt, Chase shoved it down into the pool. The wood tried to bend back to its original shape when he let go, jamming the bridge against the vertical side. He kicked at it, driving the end into the water with a splash. The remaining caiman surfaced nearby, taking a sudden interest.

“Okay, go!” he shouted, running for the exit. Kari led the way, Nina hesitating as she waited for Chase to catch up.

“Their weight’ll put the end into the water,” Chase said as they hurried down the passage. “Then we’ll see if that croc’s still hungry.”

“Thought it was a caiman,” Nina panted.

“Whatever! Okay, here’s the poles. Kari, you go first, then Nina.”

Even without the incentive of the descending ceiling, they still picked their way between the spiked poles faster than Nina would have liked, the barbs plucking at their clothes. Finally they cleared them, emerging in the confined chamber housing the Challenge of Strength. Chase retook the lead.

“Okay,” he said as they ran, “the second we get out, I want the two of you to run like hell into the jungle. Get away from the temple, then find cover and stay in it.”

“What about you?” Nina asked. “And the others?”

“I’ll get ’em. I’m just hoping that the Indians are pissed off about Qobras blowing up their temple and went after the helicopter. If we’re lucky, there’ll hardly be any guards left.”

“And if we’re not?” said Kari.

“Then I guess we’re fucked!” They came around the last corner, a square of fading daylight ahead. “You ready?”

“No,” Nina moaned.

“You can do it, Nina. Kari, look after her. I’ll catch up as soon as I can.”

“I will,” Kari promised. They were almost at the entrance.

“Okay, get ready… go!”

They raced into the open-

And stopped. There was nowhere to go.

Waiting for them were ten more men in black combat gear, weapons at the ready, standing in a semicircle around the temple’s entrance. The bodies of four Indians lay among the huts; of the rest of the tribe, there was no sign. Castille, di Salvo and Philby were still prisoners, on their knees in a line in front of…

“Hello, Eddie,” said Jason Starkman.

He didn’t look the same as when Nina had met him in New York. The suit was gone, replaced by a military outfit-body armor, equipment webbing holding ammo and a sheathed knife, what looked like a grappling hook slung over his back. A black patch covered his right eye. The sickening memory of her finger digging into something wet made her shiver.