The Jerusalem Creed: A Sean Wyatt Thriller (18 page)

“Yep.”

Tommy shivered at the thought. “Okay, so we’re sure it’s the box with the white stone?”

Sean nodded. “Has to be.”

He took a step to the side and drew closer to the box. He set his candle down on the rock plinth next to the object. His hands reached out and touched the smooth edges of the top. The seam between the main part of the container and its closure was extremely thin. Whoever had built it was extremely precise with their craftsmanship.

Tommy hovered behind Sean, looking closely over his shoulder.

Sean grasped the top from both sides and started to lift it up. There would be no turning back now.

Paro

Sean’s fingers remained steady as he pulled up on the lid. He winced slightly as wild thoughts of acid spray shooting out from the box ran through his imagination. When the top came free, nothing escaped the container. Instead, they were greeted by something glittering in the yellow candlelight. Sean let out a long breath and completely removed the lid, setting it aside on the end of the altar.

Inside the box was an artifact that hadn’t been seen in nearly three thousand years. Twelve precious stones were set into the metal breastplate. Golden chains were attached to the end of one side via a matching gold clasp. Two more were connected to the sides and wrapped underneath the piece.

The two Americans blinked rapidly, their eyes not fully believing what they saw.

“It’s beautiful,” Tommy said. “This is one of the holiest holy relics in all of Judaism. Only the high priest of Israel was allowed to wear it. That means only a handful of people ever put this thing on in the history of the world.”

“It’s pretty incredible,” Sean said. “We need to get it out of here if we’re going to save your friend.”

“Right.” Tommy’s face contorted. “Toting this thing down the mountain won’t exactly be inconspicuous.”

“We can stuff it in this bag,” Sean offered.

“That will not be necessary.”

The voice came from the darkness near the entrance. Sean and Tommy spun around, each instantly drawing their weapons and retreating from the light. Though their reactions were fast due to years of experience and training, they were undeniably in a bad situation.

A match flared to life in the tunnel. It moved to the left, touching the wick of a candle. Once more, the candle’s illumination lit up the area around it, casting a pale corona onto the faces of the two monks. It also revealed another face, one that the Americans instantly recognized.

Sharouf Al Nasir.

Sean kept his pistol trained at the man’s head, but the darkness made it difficult to be sure of his aim. If he missed, Sean would hit one of the monks that Sharouf was using as human shields.

“You’re not going to need those weapons,” Sharouf said. “Put them down, and bring me the Hoshen.”

Sean and Tommy simultaneously inched their way behind the stone platform and met in the middle, using the altar and the golden boxes as cover.

“Why don’t you come over and get it yourself, Sharouf?” Sean sneered.

The Arab clicked his tongue and shook his head. “No. I do not think so. We do not have time for your games, American. I do not feel like sitting around and waiting out a stalemate with you. Here is what will happen. I am going to send this young man over to collect the breastplate. I will keep the old man with me. You will allow the young monk to bring the Hoshen back to me, and in return, I will let all of you live.”

Sean knew there was a catch to what Sharouf was offering, and he didn’t want to think about it. Unfortunately, he didn’t have an ounce of leverage at the moment.

“What’s the play?” Tommy whispered. “If we give him the relic, he’ll either kill us or lock us in here.”

“Either way, we’re dead. No one’s going to check for us in here. You heard the abbot. That door hasn’t been opened in five hundred years.”

“Do we have a deal?” Sharouf pressed the issue.

They were out of time.

“Okay,” Sean said. “Fine. Send the boy over. But if you screw around, I’m putting a hollow point between your eyes.”

“That is a big risk to take, American. I doubt you will do something that stupid. And if you do, my men will cut you down.” He paused for a second and pushed the young monk forward. “Here comes the boy. Give him the breastplate, and we will be on our way.”

The interpreter stumbled forward. When they’d first met him, Sean and Tommy figured the monk was young, but now that his life was on the line, he looked much younger.

“Just take it easy, kid,” Sean said, keeping his pistol pointed at Sharouf’s head. You’re going to get out of this just fine. We all are. Isn’t that right, Sharouf?”

“You’re in no position to question me,” the Arab answered. “But I will let all of you live, yes.”

The apprentice made it to the box and hesitated for a second. His eyes lowered and took in the sight of the glittering breastplate.

“Pick it up, and take it to him,” Sean ordered.

The monk’s eyes leveled with Sean’s. He swallowed and reached into the box. His thin fingers wrapped around the edges of the breastplate, and he lifted it out easily. Sean thought it might have been a little heavier.

“Bring it to me,” Sharouf said. His voice boomed through the circular chamber.

The young monk turned around slowly, holding the relic across his forearms and shuffled his way back across the floor to the tunnel. When he reached Sharouf’s position, he held out his arms, and the Arab reached out and snatched the breastplate. Sean and Tommy watched the whole thing play out, looking for a crack, a moment where they could seize the advantage. That moment never came.

“Good,” Sharouf said. He passed the relic back to one of his men and returned his focus to the two monks.

He put a hand on the abbot’s shoulder and pulled him back toward the door. Another hand reached out and tugged on the interpreter.

“Where’s he going?” Tommy asked, though there was a sinking feeling in his tone.

“Not sure,” Sean answered quietly.

The candle disappeared from view. Six seconds later, the door slammed shut, and they heard the lock click into place. Sean jumped up, placed a foot on the stone platform, and launched himself toward the door with his weapon fully extended.

“Sharouf!” he yelled as he hit the ground and sprinted forward.

“He’s gone,” a familiar and frightened voice said from the other end of the passage.

Sean’s heart jumped into his throat. The interpreter and the abbot reappeared at the edge of the room. The light from the Americans’ candles brushed across their worried faces. Sean lowered his weapon. Tommy did the same and stepped around the plinth.

“You two okay?” Sean asked.

The interpreter nodded, but the abbot’s face showed deep concern. He began speaking rapidly while the younger monk listened. When the abbot was finished, the boy translated.

“He says that the world is in grave danger, and there is no one to stop them. No one will come to get us out because visiting this part of the monastery is forbidden. Only he is permitted to go to the door, and no one has ever been in here. Even if someone knew about it, the only key that can open the door was taken by those men.”

Tommy sighed and shoved his pistol back into its holster. He turned away and kicked the air. “Well isn’t this just perfect!” he shouted. His voice echoed off the walls somewhat louder than he expected.

“Relax,” Sean said calmly. He put his weapon back into its holster as well. “Help is on the way.”

“Help?” Tommy asked incredulous. “What help? No one knows we’re in here. You just heard the man say that no one is permitted in this part of the monastery. And the only key that can open the door is gone.”

He pulled out his cell phone in the desperate hope that he could somehow get service. So deep in the mountain, though, there was no chance. “Of course.”

“We’re underneath, like, eighty feet of rock. No chance that thing’s going to work in here.”

Sean’s comment didn’t help, but Tommy couldn’t understand how he was staying so calm.

“What’s wrong with you?” Tommy asked. “We’re going to die in here.”

Sean walked back over to the platform and moved the empty box over to the side. He sat down and crossed a leg over one knee. “We’re not going to die. Help is on the way.”

The two monks listened closely as the two friends went back and forth, watching with keen interest.

“Why do you keep saying that? Who knows we’re in here?”

Sean folded his hands and placed them on top of a leg. “Who’s the best person you could think of to pick that lock and open the door?”

Tommy was exasperated. His hands shot out to both sides and then dropped, smacking his thighs. “I don’t know. A locksmith?”

Sean flicked an eyebrow at the obvious answer and then cocked his head to the side. “I was thinking more along the lines of a thief.”

“A thief? What thief…” he stopped himself before he could finish the sentence. “Wait a minute. How?”

“I texted her before we left Indonesia. She was closer to Bhutan than we were. I texted her again when we started our hike.”

“But how do you know those men didn’t see her?”

Sean shot him a glance that expressed what he said. “Really? I’m pretty sure she knows how to stay out of sight. She waited at the base of the mountain in the parking lot. I assume she followed those men when they started up the trail.”

“You assume? You assume?” He asked the question twice, somewhat more troubled the second time. “How will she know how to find this cave? Even if Adriana did follow those guys up the mountain, how would she be able to follow them and us through all those passages without being noticed?”

“Tommy, you need to trust me.” Sean turned to the two monks. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get out of here. And that breastplate is useless without the other relics. If they don’t get the two stones that go with it, it will just be a shiny decoration on their walls.”

The interpreter looked dubious, but he translated for the abbot. The old man nodded. He took a seat on the hard floor and leaned his back against the wall. The apprentice did the same.

Sean kept talking. “According to what Tara and Alex came up with, the Urim and the Thummim were taken into Babylon by Daniel the prophet. He was entrusted with watching over them until he died.”

Tommy broke away from his frustration and tried to focus on what Sean was saying. At least that way he could try to be productive instead of freaking out, which helped no one. “Okay. So if he kept it until he died, do you think he gave it to someone else?”

Sean shook his head. “Based on my knowledge of the life of Daniel, I don’t think he would do that. He seemed like a loner. His three best friends were already dead when he met his end. Since they were gone, I doubt he would have trusted anyone else, especially the Persians when they took over.”

“So you think the stones are buried with him?”

“Maybe. What do you know about Daniel’s burial place?”

Tommy thought about it for a minute. He scratched the stubble on his right cheek as he considered the question. “I know a lot of biblical history but am a little shady on that. The city of Susa in Iran comes to mind. From what I recall, the supposed burial site is pretty elaborate.”

“Then that’s where we’ll go. It’s our only lead.” Sean’s face was determined as he stared at the floor, rocking back and forth on his makeshift seat.

Tommy shook his head. “That’s assuming we can get out of this death chamber.”

The sound of metal on metal squeaked from the other end of the corridor. There was another noise, something moving inside the mechanical part of the door, then a click and the creaking hinges as the portal swung open. A bright-white LED light shone into the passage and approached slowly. Sean stood up and peered into the light. Tommy reached for his gun, but Sean kept his arms to his side. The two monks stood up off to the right of the tunnel opening and took a step back.

When the person with the light reached the chamber threshold, they lowered the cell phone with the light on the front. The glow from the candles stretched over and revealed the face of their new visitor: Adriana Villa.

Paro

Adriana smiled mischievously. When she spoke, her Spanish accent made her words sound as sweet as honey. “Are you okay, Tommy? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

His mouth was wide open, and his eyes matched the expression.

Sean stepped over and wrapped his arms around her. He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her hard for a moment. He hated to let go, but now wasn’t the time for catching up on missed time. Nehem was still in trouble.

“I’ve missed you,” he said.

“I can tell,” she answered, still grinning.

“We need to hurry. They have the Hoshen, and they’ll likely be going after the two stones next. We can’t let them get there before us.”

Tommy was still bewildered. “How did you find us? I mean…how were you able to follow them undetected?”

“You really don’t have much faith in me, do you Thomas?”

He blushed. And whenever she called him that, it made it worse.

“We’ll talk about that later,” Sean said. He turned his attention to the abbot and bowed low. “Thank you. We’re sorry for the…” he motioned with his hand, “however you say all of what just happened.”

The young monk didn’t interpret this time. Instead he just said, “Go, and stop them.”

“Will do.”

The two Americans led the way back out the tunnel and through the secret passageway, with Adriana close behind. They kept their conversation to a minimum until they reached fresh air and the waning daylight.

When they were outside, Sean spoke up first as he put on his shoes. “I saw you in your car on the other side of the parking lot.”

“Yes. I stayed in the car and watched. Soon after you two started up the trail, I noticed those men follow you. Once I was satisfied none of them lingered behind, I got on their tail. It was a little trickier to go unnoticed once we were out of the woods, but they were so focused on catching up to you two, I didn’t have too much trouble.”

Tommy slid into his second shoe and stood up. “I wonder how they were able find out that we were coming here.”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Sean said as he stood. “And I guess this answers the question as to whether or not Sharouf survived the crash.”

“Where are you going next?” she asked as she stepped down onto the path leading to the bridge.

“Susa, Iran,” Tommy answered. “It’s the supposed burial place of Daniel the prophet.”

“The fact that they were willing to lock you two in that cave means they probably know where they’re going next.”

Sean nodded. “Yeah. Which means Nehem is probably still alive. I doubt Mamoud and his henchmen would have figured any of this out.”

“It’s why they needed him in the first place,” Tommy added. “I wonder if he had anything to do with them showing up here in Bhutan.”

“Could be. But we’ll have to wait for those answers. For now, we have to get back to the car.”

A sinking feeling crept into Sean’s chest. His eyes drifted over to the bridge and the nightmarish staircase.
Not again,
he thought.

Having made it over the difficult obstacle less than an hour before helped give Sean enough confidence to make it down the steps and up the other side faster than the first time around, but it still took much longer than his two companions. When he reached the top of the steps near the cafeteria, Tommy and Adriana were already standing by a tree. Tommy’s chest was heaving as he tried to catch his breath, while Adriana seemed to be unaffected by the climb.

“Sorry, guys. Went as fast as I could,” Sean offered.

“Don’t worry about it, bud. We’ll catch up to them.” Tommy tried to grin through his labored breaths.

“Good job,” Adriana said without an ounce of sarcasm. She knew how difficult it was for Sean to deal with heights.

“No time for a snack,” Sean said, changing the subject. “We’ll need to hurry. We’re at least twenty to thirty minutes behind them now.”

The three took off down the mountain at a gallop. At certain points on the trail, they had to slow to a jog, eventually barely moving faster than a brisk walk. Still, they pressed on, trying to keep pace with the group they were tracking. Getting down to the trailhead took almost half the time it took to go up. Along the way, they passed a straggler or two who had almost lingered too long at the information center up top.

By the time they made it to the bottom, there was barely any sunlight left. The sky radiated with bright oranges, pinks, and purples. They slowed down just before going over the last crest that led to the parking area. If they’d somehow caught up to Mamoud’s men, they could find themselves running into an ambush. They moved in tandem, keeping to the tree line, moving laterally at first and then down, from behind one tree trunk to another to keep visibility at a minimum. Once they were close enough, Sean surveyed the parking area and saw that only a few cars remained. Adriana’s was off to the far side, Sean and Tommy’s was a little closer, and three other vehicles sat empty, parked in random places along the edge of the forest. One probably belonged to whoever was closing the cafeteria at the top. The other two were likely the stragglers they passed on the way down. Whatever the case, Sharouf and his men were gone.

Relieved wasn’t exactly how Sean would have expressed his feelings. He was glad not to be walking into a trap. Then again, the men who’d stolen the Hoshen believed the Americans were still on top of the mountain, trapped in a forbidden cave with no way out.

Even though he was happy to put off a shootout, he knew that now Mamoud’s cronies had the advantage. And they also had a head start.

He peered into the window of their rental and saw Pak’s outline. He was lying in the driver’s seat motionless. Sean’s heart started pounding a little quicker.

They hurried down the hill to the car. Sean got there first and started to bang on the door when Pak shot up from the seat with wide eyes.

He unlocked the doors and got out quickly. “Hey. You made it back before dark. I sorry. I started to take nap. Get very tired when I sit for long time.”

Tommy patted him on the shoulder. “It’s no problem, Pak. Glad you’re okay.”

The man’s eyes questioned the statement. “Why I not be okay?”

“No reason,” Sean stepped in. “Just happy to see you. Mind taking us back to the airport?”

The driver’s face beamed its perpetual beam. “Of course,” he exclaimed. “You find what you looking for?”

“Sort of. Still have some work to do in another place.”

Adriana started for her vehicle. She turned to Sean and asked, “Mind if I catch a ride on your airplane?” Her grin creased the corner of her right cheek.

“Absolutely.”

She spun around and ran over to her car while the two Americans hopped in their rental.

Tommy sat in the front seat with Pak. He looked over at the driver as he started to back the car out. “Hey, Pak, how fast can you get us back to the airport?”

A sly grin creased the driver’s face. “You ask right question.”