Steve Berry - The Alexandria Link

He translated out loud.

“Weep not: behold the lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to open the book and loosen the seven seals thereof.”

He heard footsteps echoing from beyond the doorways. From which one was impossible to say.

“McCollum’s in there,” Pam said. “But where?”

He walked to one of the doorways and entered. Inside, a tunnel penetrated the rock, more low-wattage sconces every twenty feet. He glanced into the adjacent opening, which also led into the mountain, only through a different tunnel.

“This is interesting. Another test. Seven possible ways to go.” He dropped the pack from his shoulders. “What happened to the days when you just got a library card?”

“Probably went the same place as leaving a plane only when it lands.”

He grinned. “You actually did good on that jump.”

“Don’t remind me.”

He stared at the seven doorways.

“You knew McCollum would act, didn’t you? That’s why you let him go with that Guardian.”

“He didn’t come for the intellectual experience. And he’s no treasure hunter. That man’s a pro.”

“Just like that lawyer I dated was more than a lawyer.”

“The Israelis played you. Don’t feel bad. They played me, too.”

“You think this was all a setup?”

He shook his head. “More manipulation. We got Gary back too easy. What if I was meant to kill those kidnappers? Then when I went after George, they’d simply follow. Of course you were there and the Israelis were tracking. So they made sure I took you with me by spooking me in the airport and in the hotel. All makes sense. That way the Israelis kill George and they’re done. Whoever kidnapped Gary links up with us to find this. Which means the kidnappers have a far different agenda from the Israelis.”

“You think McCollum took Gary?”

“Him, or at least whoever he works for.”

“So what do we do?”

He fished the spare magazines for his gun from the pack and stuffed them into his fatigues. “Go after him.”

“Which door?”

“You answered that yourself in Lisbon when you said Thomas Bainbridge left clues. I read his novel on the plane. Nothing there even remotely close to what we’ve experienced. His lost library is found in southern Egypt. No hero’s quest. Nothing. But that arbor in his garden-that’s another matter. I wondered about the last part of the quest McCollum gave us. It would make no sense to just walk in once you get here.”

“Unless you’ve got a gun to someone’s head.”

“True. But something’s wrong.” He motioned at the doorways. “With this type of safeguard, they could easily lead an intruder astray. And where is everybody? This place is deserted.”

He again read the letters above the doors. V S O V O D A.

And he knew.

“You used to get on me all the time, wondering what good an eidetic memory is.”

“No. I wondered why you couldn’t remember my birthday or our anniversary.”

He grinned. “This time it pays to have good recall. Remember the last part of the quest. Heed the letters . The arbor. At Bainbridge Hall. The Roman letters.”

He saw them perfectly in his mind.

D OVOSVAVV M.

“Remember, you asked why the D and the M were spaced apart from the other eight.” He pointed at the doorways. “Now we know. One gets you in. The other, I assume, gets you out. It’s the middle part I’m unsure of, but we’re about to find out.”

VIENNA

THORVALDSEN ASSESSED HIS SITUATION. HE NEEDED TO BEST Hermann, and he’d brought the gun beneath his sweater for that precise purpose. He still held the letters of St. Augustine and St. Jerome. But Hermann held a weapon, too.

“Why did you kidnap Gary Malone?” he asked.

“I don’t have any intention of being questioned.”

“Why not humor me for a moment, since I’ll soon be leaving?”

“So his father would do what we needed done. And it worked. Malone led us straight to the library.”

He recalled what the vice president had surmised the night before and decided to press the point. “And you know that?”

“I always know, Henrik. That’s the difference between us. It’s why I head this organization.”

“The members have no idea what you’re planning. They only think they understand.” He was fishing to see if anything more might be offered. He’d sent Gary to hide for two reasons. One, so there would be no possibility that what they’d overheard last night would be revealed. That would place them both in absolute jeopardy. Two, he knew Hermann would come armed and he needed to deal with the threat alone.

“They place their trust in the Circle,” Hermann was saying. “And we have never disappointed them.”

He motioned with the sheets. “Are these what you planned to show me?”

Hermann nodded. “I was hoping that once you saw the fallacy of the Bible, its inherent flaws, you’d understand that we’re merely telling the world what it should have been told fifteen hundred years ago.”

“Is the world ready?”

“I don’t care to debate this, Henrik.” He thrust his arm forward and leveled the gun. “What I want to know is, how did you learn of those letters?”

“Like you, Alfred, I always know.”

The gun stayed aimed. “I will shoot you dead. This is my homeland and I know how to handle the matter once you’re gone. Since you already have my daughter, I can use that. Some sort of extortion plot you’d concocted that went bad. It won’t really matter. You won’t care.”

“I believe you’d actually prefer me dead.”

“No question. Much easier, in every way.”

Thorvaldsen heard the running steps at the same moment he spotted Gary bolt from the plants and tackle Alfred Hermann. The boy was tall, lanky, and solid. His momentum toppled the older man from his feet and caused Hermann to lose the gun.

Gary rolled off his opponent and snatched up the weapon.

Hermann seemed stunned by the attack and came to his knees, searching for breath.

Thorvaldsen stood and grabbed the gun from Gary. He wrapped his hand around the weapon and, not giving Hermann time to rise, slammed the butt into the side of his head.

The dazed Austrian crumpled to the dirt.

“That was foolish,” he said to Gary. “I would have handled it.”

“How? He was pointing the gun at you.”

He didn’t want to say that he was indeed running out of options, so he simply clasped the boy’s shoulder. “Good point, lad. But don’t do that again.”

“Sure, Henrik. No problem. Next time I’ll let whoever shoot you.”

He smiled. “You’re just like your father.”

“What now? There’s another guy outside.”

He led Gary near the exit and said in a soft voice, “Go out and tell him Herr Hermann needs him. Then let him enter first. I’ll take care of things.”

MALONE FOLLOWED THE TUNNEL MARKED BY THE LETTER D. The route was narrow, two people wide, and extended deep into the bowels of the rock. The path turned twice. Light came from more low-wattage sconces. The chilled, mysterious air carried an acrid quality that stung his eyes. After another few twists, they entered a chamber decorated with magnificent murals. He marveled at their brilliance. The Last Judgment, hell mouthing flames in the river, a Tree of Jesse. Cut into the wall from which they entered were seven doorways, above each of which was a single Roman letter. On the opposite wall seven more doorways, a solitary letter above each, too.

D M V S O A I.

“We take the O, right?” Pam said.

He smiled. “You catch on fast. That arbor is the way through this maze. There’s going to be seven more of these junctures. V O S V A V V. That’s what’s left. Thomas Bainbridge left an important clue-but one that makes no sense until you get here. That’s why the Guardians left it alone for three hundred years. It’s meaningless.”