The Aleppo Code (The Jerusalem Prophecies) (50 page)

Bohannon needed air. His left hand steadying him against the growing current, Bohannon pushed his head above the surface, sucked in some air, and dropped back underwater to see Rizzo’s legs sticking out of the opening. He pulled. Rizzo twitched, but came through the opening. Bohannon wrapped his left arm around Rizzo’s waist, struggled to get his boots flat onto the floor, pushed his body up against the wall, and lifted Rizzo out of the water.

10:46 p.m., Babylon

They were reunited, but still in mortal danger, desperate for a way out of this rapidly flooding tunnel.

Rizzo was in pain, dazed from his fall, and too weak to force his way through water that would have been up to his waist. Tom didn’t know how badly Rizzo was injured, but he didn’t look good. Neither did Annie—though she wouldn’t say anything. And Joe was bleeding from the gash in his arm.

“Let me take the packs,” said Joe. “You and Annie help Sam.”

Tom knew they had to find a way out, quickly, or they would all succumb to hypothermia. He grabbed the flashlight from Annie.

“Let’s go.”

There was no more conversation.

Tom sloshed forward, down the tunnel, the current at his back. The tunnel was high enough to walk in. But where were they going? How were they going to get out? And what about the staff? Now that he had a moment to think, Tom took a moment to pray.
I don’t understand. If you want us to find Aaron’s staff, why are you making it so hard? Why are there so many obstacles?

“Didn’t you expect opposition?”

“What?” Tom glanced over his shoulder. Annie had her head down, concentrating on guiding Rizzo along the slippery clay floor, and Joe was struggling under the weight of the extra packs.

“Didn’t you expect opposition? Our enemy doesn’t want the staff recovered. He knows it will be used against him and will orchestrate his final defeat.”

Tom’s mind and emotions were reeling in a jumble of confusion. He was wet, cold, and frightened. And now …

“Don’t be afraid.”

Are you kidding? Where have you been? We’re going to die down here.

“Don’t be afraid. I will never leave you or forsake you. So I haven’t left you now. Have faith. And stay on the right path.”

He swept his flashlight back and forth through the darkness in front of him, but Tom felt no hope.

Platitudes? We don’t need platitudes. We need a miracle. If you didn’t bring us here to die, we need a miracle.

“We need a miracle.”

Tom stumbled at the sound of the voice behind him, and almost fell into the water. He turned to find Annie close to his side.

“Tom … we need a miracle,” she whispered. “Otherwise …”

“I know. We’re in pretty bad shape.”

Tom had his left hand braced on the side of the shaft while the flashlight in his right scanned the space in front of them. Annie was walking tight to the wall, leaning into it for traction as she tried to keep Sammy steady. The current in the river had been accelerating, and now all were struggling to keep their footing.

Tom’s flashlight spotted the change coming.

The tunnel took a sharp turn to the left just ahead of them, the water sweeping around the turn in a swift current.

“Stay to the left if you can. The current is fastest on the right,” Tom said over his shoulder. As he turned back to the front, his hand slipped off the wall, throwing him off balance. As Bohannon’s feet were swept forward, snatched up from under him, a vision of underwater terror and a cry for help were stifled by the hands that held his shoulders steady. Bohannon’s boots found the floor, and he turned to thank his rescuer. Annie and Joe were wide-eyed, both hands plastered to the left wall.

“You were falling,” said Annie. “How did you stay up?”

“I know. I—” Tom’s light fell against the far wall.

In the shadows, high in the wall to the right as the river made its violent swerve to the left, was the black void of a large shaft. To the right.
Stay on the right path.
He remembered the voice in his mind, the direction in his spirit, the answer to his prayer not that long ago. Tom hadn’t noticed the opening earlier. He was concentrating on the water as it rushed around the corner to the left.
If I hadn’t lost my balance, we may have never seen that tunnel.

“Are you okay?” Annie placed her hand on his shoulder.

“You look like death,” said Joe.

“Tom, are you all right?” Annie repeated.

He closed his eyes and carefully rolled his neck, trying to release the tension. “I don’t know.” He felt like a heart attack in a wet shirt—sick, in pain, cold, and clammy. He needed to sleep for a month. He forced his eyes open. “I thought I was a goner. I don’t see how I stayed upright. Somebody grabbed my shoulders. It was dark and fast and frightening, and I—”

“Tom.” It was Annie’s voice. Soft. Calm. “You’re here. You’re with us. You’re safe. We’re going to be okay.”

Tom looked up at his wife.

“I know. There’s a way out.”

Annie had the only working flashlight left between the four of them. She turned it toward the yawning shaft and wished its beam into the darkness. “How do you know? How can you be sure that’s the way we should go?”

“Well, for one thing, it looks like the only real alternative. We can’t go that way,” Tom said, hitching his thumb toward the tube from which they could now hear the deep-throated rumble of falling water, “and I don’t think going back is a viable alternative. But even if that weren’t the case, I’d bet my life that is the way out. I heard a voice … I was told to take the right way. And that’s the right way.”

Annie looked over at the mouth of the shaft.
Right or wrong, did they have any choice?
“All right. But how are we going to get there?”

The opening was on the other side, across the racing water. And it was higher up the side of the tunnel, tucked inside a small alcove that made it hard to see. Twenty-five hundred years ago, the opening was probably at floor level. Not anymore.

“I know a way.”

Annie turned to look into the eyes of Rizzo. He was leaning against Rodriguez, his hands holding fast to Joe’s belt as he struggled against the current. He looked almost as bad as Tom, but firmness had returned to his voice.

“It’s about time I pulled my own weight.”

Rizzo hated the fact that he felt this vulnerable, this helpless, this much a captive of his small stature and limited physical ability. He knew he owed his life to Joe and Tom, and his heart ached for how much the two of them had risked rescuing him. But he was helpless then, and he felt helpless now, weakened, waterlogged, and incapable of taking care of himself. If he tried to walk in this raging torrent racing through the tunnel, he would be gone in the blink of an eye. He was a liability. Until now.

Rizzo had climbed up onto Tom’s back and was tying a length of rope into a harness around the chest and shoulders of Joe. The other end of the rope was tied to a piton driven high into the wall above his head. “The harness will give your body more stability if you slip into the water, more than if you just tied it to one point, like on your belt.”

“Where did you learn that?” asked Joe.

“I haven’t spent my whole life playing video games, wise guy. We use that kind of a harness when we’re scuba diving.”

“What?”

“Keeps you more stable in the tricky currents.”

“No. I mean … when were you scuba diving?”

“I’m not crippled, dog breath. I’ve been diving for the past five years. Something even you didn’t know about me. It’s one of the few places on the planet where I’m equal to people of average size and inferior brains, like you, Attila. Now let me get back to work.”

Rizzo returned his attention to tightening the harness on Rodriguez’s chest.

“Okay, big boy,” Rizzo whispered. “Now it’s our turn.” Rizzo shifted over to Rodriguez’s back. “You’ve got to get us across to the other side of the river and get under that opening so I can crawl up into it.”

“Is that all?”

“Yeah, but it’s a snap for Superman. Let’s go Clarky-baby.”

They were slightly upriver, along the left-side wall, from the alcove. Eight … ten feet of water. Not that far. Probably two, three long strides. Normally. Then, another eight to ten feet to the alcove and the shaft opening. Rodriguez looked down at the rushing water. It didn’t seem to be rising anymore, but the water was still up to his knees. And deeper where the current was moving fastest. There was nothing to hold on to. And he had Rizzo on his back. How was he supposed to do this?

“Bend over at the waist … spread your arms out in front of you. Change your center of gravity. Bend your knees. Try to get your weight distributed evenly over your hips. Now you’ve got two points of balance—over your knees and over your hips. When you step, keep your feet inside, between your hips and your knees. Slow, small steps.”

“More scuba diving?”

“No, tae kwon do.”

Incredulous, Rodriguez twisted his neck to get a look at Rizzo.

The little man held up his hands. “Remember … I told you once. Hands of death. Let’s go.”

Rodriguez looked at the water, felt foolish in the arm-pointing crouch Rizzo described, and took his first step.

11:09 p.m., Babylon

He was amazed. It worked. Not that crossing the rushing water was easy. Rodriguez feared every step, tried to feel the floor through his boots, searched for a telltale waver in any of his muscles. But with each step, his confidence grew and his fear subsided. Before he was fully aware of it, they were across. His outstretched hands touched the wall on the far side of the tunnel.

“Stop,” Rizzo whispered. “Rest a moment. You gotta be careful here. Turning is tough. Don’t let your weight rock back, or we’re goners.”

Careful not to tip his balance, Rodriguez rested a hand against the wall. “How do I do this? How do I keep my balance? Just go sideways?”

“Too hard,” said Rizzo. “This is all about shifting your weight without losing your balance. It’s what we do with kick moves. When you’re ready, turn your left foot, slowly, out to a ninety degree angle. When your left foot is settled, slowly rotate your shoulders and hips to the left. About halfway through the turn, stop, and bring your right foot along. Then rotate your hips and shoulders again and extend your arms in front of you. When you turn ninety degrees, stop and rest. Then we’re almost home.”