Europa Conspiracy (Babylon Rising 3) (34 page)

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Isis was still disoriented.

"We've got to get out of here," Murphy called out. "If there are any aftershocks, we might not make it. The whole ceiling could collapse and the tunnels could be buried."

Murphy helped Isis up and yelled. "Bingmanl Jassim! Are you okay?"

"I'm all right," yelled Bingman, "but Jassim has been hurt. I think he has a broken leg. I can support him on his bad side and he can sort of drag along with his good leg. Let's get out of this place before it changes from a banquet hall to a tomb!"

Murphy turned to Isis. "Are you able to walk?"

"I think so."

"Grab my hand and don't let go."

The dust in the air made it hard to breathe. Murphy picked up his flashlight and began to help Isis across the room toward the entrance. He stopped for a moment and shined his light back into the room. Bingman was supporting Amram, who had a pained look on his face. They were about ten feet behind.

"Will, are you going to be able to make it?"

"We had it worse in Desert Storm. Keep moving."

The trip back to the surface seemed to take forever. They were almost to the chamber that had three tunnels when Captain Drake and his men appeared. "Are you all right, sir?"

"We're okay, but one of the team is injured. Maybe your men could assist him. I think he has a broken leg."

The Marines behind the captain didn't need an order.

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Rushing past Murphy and Isis, they ran to Jassim Amram. The first Marine grabbed Amram's arms, turned around, and laid him across his back in a piggyback position. He bent forward slightly, holding the injured man's arms over his shoulders. Two other Marines went behind and picked up part of his weight, supporting the broken leg the best they could.

Amram yelled a few times in pain. The Marines ignored his shouts. Getting out quickly was more important than any momentary pain.

Then they began to creep forward as quickly as they could in the tight tunnel. Captain Drake led the way with a bright-beam flashlight.

As they reached the base of the stairway to the surface, Jassim Amram yelled again. "The camera! I left it where the Marines picked me up!"

"I'll get it," Bingman cried. "We also need the pictures to prove the existence of the Handwriting on the Wall. It will only take a couple of minutes. It's not very far back."

Murphy yelled again, but it was of no use. Bingman was off and running. Murphy grabbed Isis's hand and started up the stairs.

"Where is your other team member?" asked Captain Drake, who had gone on ahead.

"He went back for the camera. He wouldn't listen to me."

"It sounds like he was trained to complete the mission, sir. Rescue the people first, then rescue the information."

About two minutes had passed when all of a sudden there was another gigantic rumble, and everyone was knocked to the ground again. An aftershock!

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Murphy was up and running toward the staircase. As he arrived, a cloud of dust and air came out of the hole. He grabbed a light and shined it down. Dirt covered most of the stairs. It looked as if the complete tunnel system had collapsed, obliterating the room of temple treasures and Belshazzar's banquet hall. There was absolutely no hope that Will could have survived.

He was wondering what he was going to tell Will's wife and children, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun round and there was Bingman--his clothes torn and dusty--with a huge grin on his face. In his hand he held the camera, battered but intact.

"Looking for this, Murphy?" he asked.

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SIXTY

EVERYONE AT BARRINGTON Network News was walking on eggshells. Ever since the death of Stephanie Kovacs, Barrington had seemed to lose some of his focus. He wasn't attending to the daily details of the operation as he did in the past.

Melissa, his secretary and assistant, had stepped in to act as a go-between for the staff and Barrington. She seemed to be the only one he trusted, and she protected him from unnecessary intruders.

He had always been a difficult man to work for, but now he was completely unpredictable. He fired two top-level managers who questioned one of his decisions. Even though they were right, he didn't like to be challenged in any way. He was a walking time bomb.

Stephanie's death had hurt him more than he realized. His hurt had turned to anger, and his anger had turned to hatred. Now that hatred was beginning to settle into the

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strange world of revenge. It seemed to occupy his every waking thought.

Barrington buzzed Melissa and asked her to come into his office.

Barrington had his chair turned toward the windows. The fingers of his hands were pressed together in front of him like a steeple and were propping up his chin. He looked deep in thought.

"Melissa," he said, "I want you to get some information for me from the finance department. I want to know how much actual cash we have on hand. I don't want to know the value of all our assets in buildings, land, and equipment. I want to know about actual cash that we could use on a quick turnaround. Oh, yes, get those bean counters to let me know how much money I can get the banks to loan me. And how much lead time the paperwork would require."

Melissa knew better than to ask why. "Mr. Barrington? I've had five phone calls from Paul Wallach from Preston University. He'd like to get together with you for a short meeting."

"What does he want?"

"He won't tell me, sir. He just insists that he needs to talk with you."

Barrington sighed, looking disgusted.

"Set him up for Friday at three P.M. After that meeting I'm leaving. I have some planning to do."

--------

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When he entered the office, Paul Wallach could tell that Barrington seemed preoccupied. He thanked the older man for seeing him, then asked, "School is almost over for me, and I was wondering when I will begin working for you. I graduate the latter part of May."

Barrington just sat there looking at Paul... or maybe through him.

"I was curious as to what my responsibilities would be. We really haven't had a chance to talk much about it after you gave me the assignment of reporting on Dr. Murphy's archaeology class. How have you liked my writing so far? What does the future hold for me with the Barrington Network News?"

Barrington just sat there in silence. Wallach found the pause almost unbearable.

"Well, Paul," Barrington finally said, "I have a reputation for speaking frankly. Are you ready for a man-to-man talk?"

"I... I'm not sure. What do you mean?"

"I mean we're going to have one today. Number one: There'll be no starting date. Number two: You won't get a salary Number three: You won't have any responsibilities. Number four: Your writing stinks. Number five: I only used you to get information on Murphy. I didn't care about your writing style. Number six: Your scholarship is discontinued. And number seven: You're a fool."

Paul was in shock. "But, Mr. Barrington," he sputtered. "You told me that you thought of me as a son."

"That was just to get you to do what I wanted. I needed information about Murphy. But now I don't care about him. And I don't need you anymore."

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"But, Mr. Barrington--"

Barrington cut him off. "If you want to know the truth, Paul, you haven't got skills enough to drive a nail-let alone survive in this kind of business. Let me give it to you straight. I'll spell it out slowly so you'll understand: You're fired as of today."

Wallach sat there stunned. He had thought of Barrington as a father, and now his world was collapsing.

Barrington sat there looking at him with a cold, glassy stare.

Wallach slowly got to his feet and walked out of the room.

Paul Wallach was devastated. He had put all of his eggs in one basket, and now it had been dropped. His future was gone.

He was hurt and angry. He felt used and dirty. How could he have been so gullible and stupid?

He began to think back to when he first met Shane Barrington. He'd been in the hospital, after being injured in the church bombing. He remembered Shari's reaction to Barrington: Shari hadn't trusted him from the very start.

Then he recalled how Barrington had come to the Preston University campus and offered him a job. He had paid Paul twenty dollars an hour to write summaries of Dr. Murphy's classes. As a struggling student, Paul could use the money. And Barrington had seemed so interested in him. But Shari had questioned Barrington's motives then also.

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Why should the head of Barrington Communications be interested in your work?
she'd asked.
You're a student, Paul, not a world famous professor.

Paul was enveloped in a deep depression. Both the present and the future were in turmoil. He had come to depend on Barrington's stipend, and now he was being cut off without a cent. His planned career had been demolished, his personal self-esteem was destroyed, and he had lost Shari, the woman he had grown to love.

He realized that he had been on the merry-go-round of success and had looked only for the brass ring of happiness. He thought it could be found in money, prestige, power, and influence. Now he realized that his life was hollow and empty, and he was alone.

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SIXTY-ONE

THE MARINE BASE at Al Hillah was in full emergency mode when the expedition team arrived back. Marines were running, collecting gear, and troops were being loaded into vehicles filled with emergency medical supplies.

Colonel Davis was standing in front of the command tent giving orders to his officers. He approached as the team got out of the Hummers.

"All hell has broken loose around here. Our men are responding to the calls for help in Al Hillah and the towns surrounding Babylon. Many homes and business buildings have collapsed. Quite a few people have been killed, and many more are injured or trapped. Dr. Murphy, we're in a tragic situation right now."

"I understand." Murphy's mind flashed back to the devastation of the church bombing and the injured people. He could still see Laura in the hospital as she breathed her last breath. "How widespread do you think the damage is?"

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"This has been a big one. Central command has reported that it was a 9.5 quake."

"That's as big as the great quake in Chile!"

"The first aftershock registered at 8.2 on the Richter scale. I'm sure more will follow. The epicenter of the quake is in the heart of the Syrian desert, about a hundred fifty miles west of the town of Al Habbariyah. Emergency teams are on their way now. There's also been damage in Baghdad, Karbala, An Jajaf, and at least twenty other small towns. Central command said that the effects of the quake were even felt in Basra, four hundred fifty miles to the east."

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Thank you. If you could assist Captain Drake and his platoon, that would be great. The International Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and other emergency relief organizations are mobilizing."

In the mess tent, Murphy watched as Isis slowly collected food and a beverage. She looked physically and emotionally spent. As they sat down at a table, she turned to him and began to cry. He embraced her, whispering softly until she had cried herself out.

"This has been a terrible day, Michael," Isis murmured. "The excitement of our discoveries, then Jassim's injury and thinking Will was dead ... and now the death of so many in Al Hillah. I can't get it all out of my mind. I close my eyes and I can still see women screaming and slapping their faces in grief as they sit by dead relatives. I can hear the yelling of the men frantically digging for

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loved ones buried under the rubble. These people have suffered so much pain and hurt with the wars and now this earthquake. How can a loving God allow it all to happen?"

Murphy nodded. "In times like these there are no easy answers. A passage in Romans, Chapter Eight, talks a little about this." He reached for the pocket-size New Testament he carried. "Let me read you what it says.

"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later. For all creation is waiting patiently and hopefully for that future day when God will resurrect His children. For on that day thorns and thistles, sin, death, and decay--the things that overcame the world against its will at God's command--will all disappear, and the world around us will share in the glorious freedom from sin which God's children enjoy.

"For we know that even the things of nature, like animals and plants, suffer in sickness and death as they await this great event.

"And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as His children, including the new bodies He has promised us --bodies that will never be sick again and will never die."

"In the Garden of Eden, when man disobeyed, it started a chain reaction of sin, death, and decay. From that day until now, we have been overcome by misery, war, and