Killer Thrillers Box Set: 3 Techno-Thriller, Action/Adventure Science Fiction Thrillers (23 page)

 
Now, almost 40 years later, Madu had reached a high point in his political career and was only a few years from retirement. He had climbed high up the bureaucratic ladder, and his life and achievements would be considered a success to most of his peers.

But there was one small thing that Madu could never let go. His greatest weakness, his superiors (and his father) had always said, was his anger, brought on by a need for revenge.

Madu felt that anger now. He had been duped; humiliated by someone he thought he could trust. Vilocek had destroyed and desecrated a sacred archeological and cultural site, and wreaked havoc on Madu’s homeland. The men who had been killed at Giza would be avenged.

 
He would punish Vilocek for what he had done. And if, in the process, the criminal led him to the prize his father had longed for, all the better. Uncovering an ancient artifact alone would be a boon to his career, but if his father’s legend was even the least bit true, it might be worth much more.

He looked once more around the great hall.

“There’s nothing here,” he snapped.

One of the soldiers looked at him. Nervously, he asked, “Are you sure this is the place?”

“My father would not have dragged me here 20 times if he thought the legend pointed somewhere else.”
 
The other soldier’s eyebrows arched slightly, and Madu wondered himself whether or not his father had simply been crazy.
 
He sighed under his breath and resumed looking around the room. He called for his second-in-command to report on their preparations, then left the Treasury.
 

CHAPTER 35

3:24 AM - PETRA, JORDAN

Vilocek and his strange entourage had arrived in Jordan and met up with the Israeli team Vilocek had hired, and the entire group was now en route to Petra. The four Israelis were all ex-special forces; now mercenaries-for-hire who certainly looked the part. They briefly sized up their new commanding officer and his ragtag team of misfits, then fell in, chuckling to themselves.

Vilocek didn’t bother with pleasantries. He scrutinized his new men, clearly trying to assess what he’d got for his money. Finally he turned and addressed the group.

“We will enter the city from the east, from the main tourist booth and gates through the area they call the Siq — it’s a crevice in the cliff that runs from here to the open plaza in front of the Treasury.”

He turned to the Israelis. “You are to remain on high alert throughout this mission. Our intel indicates that we may be walking into a firefight. We are expecting resistance; we don’t know how many.”

“Firing orders?” One of them asked in a thickly accented voice.

Vilocek pondered a moment. “We have no reason to believe that we will meet any civilians inside the city –– you are to engage and overcome any hostile forces, but your primary objective will be keeping the rest of us alive.”

The Israeli nodded and stepped back. Vilocek turned to Bryce. “Madu probably has the jump on us. If he’s not already here, he’ll be right behind us. We need to get in and get out as quickly as possible — no screwing around, and don’t try anything stupid.”

Bryce’s tongue pressed against the back of his bottom teeth as he clenched his fists at his side. He knew any escape attempt here would be futile, especially with the new mercenaries to consider. As much as he wanted to punch Vilocek in the jaw, he knew he had to wait it out until they’d found the crystal. There was no way to get himself and his men out of there alive — especially with three civilians in tow. The bastard might be in charge now, but Bryce had his own orders — and they didn’t involve Vilocek getting out of here with the crystal. He exhaled softly, choosing to bide his time.

The four Israeli men watched this exchange in amused silence. They didn’t know the details, but they weren’t paid to care. As the group started moving toward the opening in the cliff face, two of the Israelis jogged to the head of the line while the other two waited to bring up the rear with Beka.

Sunrise was at least three hours away, but the moon was just bright enough to see about 100 feet ahead. As they neared the cliff face, they could begin to make out the details of the Siq and the surrounding rock walls. Formed naturally over countless years, the Siq — or shaft — served as the main passage into the city.

Part of the mystique of Petra was its isolation and inaccessibility. The Siq played a significant role in protecting the city, as it was one of the only entrances into the site, and it was easily defended. It was thought that the Siq was once actually a stream bed filled with running water, though it had long ago been filled in for use as a walkway for the burgeoning tourist industry in Jordan.

Vilocek held up his hand just before they entered, motioning for one of the Israelis and Agent Karn to move ahead and recon the area. Several seconds later, Karn radioed back to Vilocek, whispering an all-clear signal. With that, Vilocek, Corinne and Professor Andrews entered the narrow chasm with the second Israeli soldier. The rest of the group followed at short intervals, two-by-two into the heart of Petra.
 

CHAPTER 36

3:37 AM - PETRA, JORDAN

As they walked, Bryce noticed a drop in temperature. He wasn’t sure if the weather was actually changing, or if he was simply hyper alert to his surroundings. His body tensed, though his eyes continued to scan the narrow path ahead. The Siq was only a few meters wide in some spots, and it made him feel caged in. He glanced over his shoulder, and the Israeli bringing up the rear returned his glance with a dismissive grin that seemed to say, “I’ve got it covered, mind your own business.”
 

Again, he noticed a chilling breeze — was it a breeze? — that washed over his bare arms and face. He looked to the front of the line, but most of the group didn’t seem to notice anything.
 

But Vilocek did.
 

He suddenly whirled around, tense and alert. He stood still as his eyes darted to and fro, finally settling on the rest of the team.

Corinne was frozen in fear.

“Wh-what is it? Did you see something?”

Vilocek held a finger to his lips as he took another breath and held it. The others, eyeing Vilocek with interest, found themselves doing the same. He looked slightly silly, crouched there in front of them like an ape — but he radiated an energy that was contagious. The armed men each dropped wordlessly to one knee, training their weapons outward in every direction.

Vilocek cocked his head to one side and whispered almost inaudibly, “Stick to the sides. We’re not alone.”

The team shuffled around, unsure of what the older man had seen or heard. Bryce retreated to the safety of the canyon’s northern wall. His three remaining men, Wayne, Jeff, and Sean did the same farther ahead. Beka moved forward, passing Bryce and the two Israeli soldiers, and knelt at a spot farther up the canyon. They had all barely made it to the sparse shelter of the cliff walls when the world around them erupted in a chorus of gunpowder.
 

“Get down! Get to cover!” Beka shouted.
 

Bryce spun on the ball of his left foot and dove toward a protrusion of rock in the cliff face. As he crashed down to the hardened sand, he caught a movement from the corner of his eye.
 

Corinne was throwing her lean body over her uncle’s squatty bulk — what little help it would be — pushing them both into a small recess in the otherwise unbroken southern cliff face. Bryce watched her trying to protect her uncle, and he was struck with admiration at her selflessness.
 

A bullet ricocheted off the rock inches from his face, forcing him to get back in the game. He looked around, careful not to present an inviting target.

Then Beka’s strange weapon hummed to life with an other-worldly whirring noise.The rhythmic pulsation filled Bryce’s ears as the rest of the group finally began firing back at their unseen attackers.
 

Bryce heard the crack of a rifle frighteningly close to his position. One of the Israelis fell backward against the cliff face, shot through the throat, blood pouring from his open mouth. More bullets slammed into him as he fell.

Another Israeli stopped firing to turn and gape at his fallen comrade.

“He’s gone! Forget it — return fire!” Bryce yelled, unsure if he could be heard over the din.

The Israeli dove next to his dead countryman, lying sprawled against the wall.

“This guy has a death wish,”
Bryce thought.
 

Bryce opened fire on the top of the canyon as the man grabbed the pack around the corpse’s waist and ripped it from its Velcro straps. Rolling back out of the line of fire, he pulled a small tube from the open pack, looked intently at it, and then heaved it toward the top of the cliff.

Bryce continued firing as bullets smacked the rocks all around him. He felt a controlled rage building, pushing aside the anxiety of being trapped and under fire in favor of a righteous indignation directed at the hidden attackers. As the Israeli rolled back to cover, the tube he’d thrown — exploded with a fury Bryce had long ago forgotten.
 

The explosion ripped apart the upper tiers of the canyon walls. The beautiful sandstone rocks became a crumbling, smoking mess, smashed into a thousand pieces of sediment. Visibility was lost behind a thick wall of smoke and debris, and Bryce struggled to withdraw further into the little recess.

Above him, the three men who had ambushed them got the full force of the explosion. Two had been kneeling on either edge of the crevice, firing down into the narrow defile. They were killed instantly, their body armor shredded by bits of stone and shrapnel. The third had turned to run when the Israeli threw the explosive. He only got a few steps before it went off, savaging him from behind, and leaving him unconscious, bleeding and barely alive.
 

Now four more men had taken up positions on the cliff top and were pouring fire into the crevice.

Covered by the explosion, Bryce quickly shifted left to a spot that offered a better view of the cliff top. He could see two soldiers poking their heads over the edge, taking potshots at the group ahead. Wayne Thompson returned fire, hitting one of the men in the chest. The man slumped forward, then slid over the edge to fall 100 feet to the canyon floor, nearly landing on Sean and Jeff, who were crouched directly across from Wayne. The remaining men above concentrated their fire straight down on Wayne’s position.
 

Bryce found a target and took careful aim. He fired a quick burst, and the man lurched backwards and disappeared. As Bryce looked at Wayne to see if he was still in the fight, he saw his friend swing his rifle around and point it directly at him. He had no time to react before he saw the muzzle flash. He flinched as two shots snapped past his head. Opening his eyes, he caught Wayne grinning at him. Bryce turned, and saw two dead soldiers crumpled on the ground several yards behind his position. Wayne had just saved his life. When Bryce looked back again, Wayne was already scanning the wall above, searching for new targets.

Bryce and the Israeli soldier both turned to guard the way they’d come, wary of any additional troops creeping up from the rear. They didn’t have to wait long.

About two hundred yards from their current position, a small army of men came into view around a bend in the Siq. Bryce knew they were trapped. They couldn’t climb
up
the walls, and they couldn’t break through the larger force now blocking their only exit. Bryce knew that Jabari now had them
exactly
where he wanted them — their only option was to get through the Siq and into the main plaza — where Madu would certainly be waiting.

“Shit!” he cursed, as he and the Israeli fired a few shots down the canyon, then turned and ran the opposite direction. Wayne, Jeff, and Sean were busy fending off the men on the plateau above when their commander ran by.
 

“They’re behind us! We need to move,
now!
” he shouted as he passed them. The force coming up the Siq had broken into a run, every few seconds firing a wild shot or two. Bryce could see about twenty men, and he suspected there were more coming up behind them.

“Jeff — you got anything for that?”

“Already on it,” Jeff said, taking up a spot next to Bryce at the next bend in the path. He pointed his M203 9-inch grenade launcher down the shaft toward the advancing troops, fired a round that fell a few meters short, and reloaded. He took cover briefly to dodge return fire, then launched two more grenades. The second and third shots hit their mark, blasting a swath through the center of the advancing group and scattering limbs and bodies against the sandstone walls.
 

Meanwhile, Wayne and Sean ran through a hail of bullets to grab Corinne and her uncle. They had gone mostly unnoticed as they huddled together to one side, but their position was far from safe. Wayne grabbed her by her collar, causing her to yelp in surprise. Sean grabbed Jensen under his arms and dragged him to his feet, and the four retreated deeper into the twisting canyon.
 

About fifty feet ahead, Beka fired off a few carefully aimed rounds. He was flanked on one side by Vilocek, red-faced and barking orders that no one could hear, and on the other side by Cole, flat on the ground with his hands covering his head, trying to get as small as possible. Another Israeli was taking potshots at the men on the rimrock above, forcing their heads down.
 

“Keep moving!” Bryce shouted at them. “Get to the plaza!” Vilocek glanced up as Bryce’s group charged past his position. He opened his mouth to countermand Bryce’s order, then shut it when he saw the troops coming up the Siq from their rear. He yanked Cole to his feet and followed Bryce. As Vilocek moved, Wayne dropped into his spot and turned to cover their escape. He fired another grenade down the path, followed by two quick shots from his rifle at the men on the cliff. One toppled and fell into the chasm. His body hadn’t hit the bottom before Wayne was moving again, toward the main plaza and safety.