David Sakmyster - The Mongol Objective

“She seems to be doing okay,” Phoebe said. “But she needs a hospital.”

Caleb risked a glance toward Renee, where she stood close to the arch, arms folded, as her team of commandos dug a nine-by-twelve square out of the earth. They were at knee-depth, and Orlando was in their midst, looking miserable with his face caked with dirt, his eyes alone shining in the four floodlights they had set up. Caleb could tell he was complaining every minute about his “talents being wasted.”

“Uh oh,” Phoebe said, her voice barely audible over the pitch of the portable generators. “Here comes the bitch. Gonna make us get back to work.”

Renee strode up to them, tapping her gun. “Shouldn’t you be in a trance or something by now?”

Caleb didn’t look up, but just kept his eyes on Qara’s peaceful face, wondering what she might be dreaming right now, if maybe she were receiving some final words of instruction from the great Genghis just as he often prepared his generals before battle.

Phoebe cleared her throat. “Shouldn’t you be off torturing small animals?”

Renee glared at her. “Once we’re behind that door, we’ll need your sight. And I plan on marching Phoebe here right up front. I know you, Caleb. I know how you agonized, believing you caused her paralysis years ago. So unless you now want to be responsible for whatever those barbaric traps might do to her, you’d best find us a way past them.”

Caleb nodded slowly, swallowing. He debated telling Renee the truth-that he couldn’t. His powers had abandoned him, but he knew she wouldn’t believe him. Best to stall. “I know what we need to do; it’s just not that simple. I have no idea what’s down there. I’ve tried looking, but-”

“Try harder!”

“It doesn’t work that way. Sometimes we have to be right there, actually in the presence of the dangers we’re facing. And right now, to be honest, I’m a little preoccupied. My son’s in terrible jeopardy, and then I have you to worry about. Some kind of connection to an ancient Babylonian deity that I believe disappeared or died along with Thoth millennia ago.”

Renee opened her mouth, her face a mask of dismay.

“And all I know is that the god of wisdom, who did everything he could to teach humanity and raise early man out of the darkness of ignorance and spiritual bondage, was determined to hide this tablet from the likes of your “master.” Caleb took a step toward her, but was stopped by Phoebe’s hand on his arm.

“Not now,” she whispered. But then a shout from Orlando broke her concentration.

“Found it! I freakin’ found it!” Orlando raised a fist, grinning around at the blank faces of the Chinese soldiers. “Well,” he said, looking over to Caleb and pointing down, “I did. Here’s your door.”

They cleared away the slab of dark granite. It had six deep indentations, with bars across it, sealed into the stone.

“Handles,” said Commander Chang, pointing. “In Temujin’s day, they use ropes and horses to open door.” He smiled at his men, his brown teeth flashing in the spotlights. “But now, we have four-wheel drives.”

He turned to his men and ordered the setup to begin. They moved the halogen floodlights around the southern edge of the door, attached the six triple-braided nylon ropes to the back axle, and cleared everyone out of the way.

Orlando walked over to Caleb and Phoebe, rubbing the dirt off his face with his sleeve. “Why do I get a real bad feeling about this?”

“Because,” said a weak voice, as Qara struggled to sit up, “opening that door inflicts the curse upon you all.”

A moment later, the engine revved, the tires spun, the granite screamed, and something popped. The door launched from its ancient resting place, just as the jeep flew forward, lost its traction and spun sideways, then stalled as the floodlights highlighted the terrified face of the driver a second before the slab crashed through the cab, flattening it and crushing the man inside.

“Dear God,” Phoebe uttered, turning away.

Qara stood up, smirking at Renee, who returned her stare with pure hatred.

Orlando whistled. “Good thing I didn’t call shotgun.”

“Enough,” Renee hissed. “Chang, get your men to pack up these lights and the generators. Bring the weapons and everything else we need. And leave a team here to take care of Montross when he arrives. I’ll try to reach Hiltmeyer, but just in case, have our team stand by. Make sure we get the tablet and the other key from Montross’s dead body.”

“And the boy?”

Caleb snapped his attention to Renee.

Renee waved her hand. “Bring him, alive, and meet up with us. I’m sure we’ll find a use for him.”

She turned away from them, pulled out a satellite phone and walked to the edge of the hole, looking down the stairs descending into the waiting dark.

She dialed, and when a choked, gravelly voice answered, she said, “We’re in.”

They stopped a mile from Shang-du, at a small ridge before the descent. The jeeps came to a halt, with their vehicle in the lead. Night had fallen and the stars were out, burning fiercely, dominating the sky before the full moon’s ascent.

Nina leaned forward. “I say we kill the headlights, come in slow. We don’t know what’s down there.”

“Yes,” Montross said, “we do.” His eyes popped open, having been closed for the past ten minutes. “Colonel, do as the lady says. Kill the lights.”

Nina smiled, and between the two adults Alexander squirmed. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

Nina frowned. “Again?”

He lowered his chin. “Too much water.”

“Hurry,” said Montross. “Colonel, go with him.”

“What?” Hiltmeyer turned in his seat. “I’m no babysitter. Private Harris here can-”

“You both go.”

Alexander looked from one to the other man. “I can go by myself, really.”

“No way. Flight risk,” said Hiltmeyer. “We’ll go. I need to talk to my men in the other jeeps anyway. What’s our plan?”

“I’ll tell you,” said Montross, “when you get back.”

Hiltmeyer shot him a concerned glance, then opened his door.

Alexander slid out, helped along as Nina pushed him out the door. “Be quick.” When the doors had closed and they were alone, Nina asked, “What’s up? What did you see?”

“It seems,” said Montross, “that our colonel has other loyalties.”

Alexander found a cropping of small bushes. He unzipped and turned away from the man who had lit up a cigarette, watching him. He glanced over his other shoulder, toward his jeep, where two shadows in the back seat bent in close to each other.

“Wonder what they’re talking about,” Alexander said, loud enough for Private Harris to hear.

“Shut up and pee, kid.”

“I bet they’re talking about you.” Alexander zipped up, folded his arms over his chest and turned around, shivering. He could see his breath. He looked up and saw Orion, low and sideways, with Sirius poised above the tree line.

“What?”

“I see things too, you know.”

“Yeah?” Harris had a buzz cut, heavier and black at the top of his head, which Alexander thought made him look like a rooster after getting his head stuck under a lawnmower.

“Well, I saw-”

Harris leaned in. The ash dangled on his cigarette.

“-you.” Alexander, trembling even more, his eyes wide so as not to blink and see the vision again, added, “With a rusty spike through your chest.”

The soldier’s face went pale, the cigarette dropped from his mouth. “What?”

“Harris!” Colonel Hiltmeyer yelled. “Back in the jeep. We’re moving.”

“But-”

“Now! You too, Alexander.”