'Maybe there's something on the ship we can use to pry it off,' Austin suggested.
They descended to the large chamber. Zavala reached up to the boat rail and with a boost from Austin pulled himself over the side and into the boat. He held on to the gunwale and took a tentative step forward, testing his weight.
'The deck's holding, but I'll stay on the cross beam just in case.' The wood creaked as he made his way across the deck. 'Lots of amphorae. I Jeezus.' A pause. Then an excited exclamation. 'Kurt, you've got to see this!'
Zavala came back to the side of the boat and helped Austin climb in. Through the centuries the deck had settled, and now the planking slanted down to the middle where most of the amphorae were concentrated. Austin followed Zavala on a cross beam to the middle of the deck. Although the hull rocked slightly from their weight, it remained solidly ensconced in, its stone cradle.
Zavala bent over a big jar that had broken apart and came up with green fire sparkling in his hand. The elaborate necklace encrusted with emeralds and diamonds had come from a pile of gold and jewels lying in the artificial valley formed by the slanting planks. Austin took the necklace and decided he had never seen a piece of jewelry more beautiful. The intricate settings were painstakingly handcrafted. While Austin wondered, Zavala reached .into an intact jar and pulled out a handful of loose gems. Diamonds. Rubies. Emeralds. Zavala's mouth dropped open in astonishment. 'This must be the greatest concentration of treasure in the history of the world!'
Austin was squatting by an amphora that had split open. 'It makes the British crown jewels look like play beads, doesn't it?' Stones the size of marbles ran through his fingers. 'The international lawyers are going to have a blast figuring out who owns this stuff.'
Zavala glanced toward the burial chamber. 'Maybe the last owner of record is in that stone coffin.'
Austin picked up a couple of spearheads. 'Let's see if it's anyone we know.',
They climbed out of the boat and went back to the burial chamber. The spearheads were strong, and the points fit under the lid. No combination of leverage, even in the hands of two well-muscled and resourceful men, proved equal to the skills of those who had designed and carved the stone coffin.
'Guess we'd better go back to grave robber's school,' Austin said.
Zavala checked his pressure gauge. 'No time like the present. We're going to have to switch to our spare tank if we stay much longer.'
'We've seen all we need to see. Maybe the scientists can make sense of all this.'
He started to lead the way back to the boat chamber when the unearthly quiet of the tomb was shattered by a thunderous explosion from above their heads. Austin had a fleeting vision of what it must be like under an erupting volcano. Synapses in their brains went crazy as ageold survival instincts clashed with conflicting commands.
Run. Hit the ground. Freeze.
They fought to keep their balance as the floor shook under their feet. The explosion forced air up into the enclosed chamber, creating a wind tunnel effect. The shock wave knocked Austin and Zavala back into the crypt. Arms flailing, they slammed against the sarcophagus in a wild clatter of tanks and air hoses, then slid into the space between the stone coffin and the wall that contained it. The fall cost them cuts and bruises but probably saved their lives. A piece of ceiling as big as a diesel engine block crashed down on the spot where they'd been standing. Sharpe-dged rocks flew through the air as if they had been shot from a strafing fighter plane. A choking cloud of dust billowed into the burial chamber and covered everything with a fine whitish coating. Then a pattering of loose stones and dirt rained down.
Austin spat out a mouthful of dust and asked Zavala if he was all right.
Zavala made his presence and condition known, first with a coughing fit, then a string of curses in Spanish.
'Yeah, I'm okay' he sputtered. 'How about you?' .
'I think I'm in one piece. Wish I could stop the telephone ringing in my head.'
More coughs. 'What happened?'
'It sounded like a combination of Vesuvius and Krakatoa. My guess leans toward a few kilos of C4 plastique explosive.' Austin grunted. 'I like you a lot, Joe, but I don't think we're ready to be engaged. Can you move?'
There was more cursing as they untangled arms and legs and breathing hoses, until they were able to stand. Zavala reached for a halogen lamp which had fallen within arm's reach. He flashed it on Austin then back at his own face. Their masks were askew but the lenses were unbroken and had protected their eyes from the blinding dust.
'You look like a disreputable mime,' Zavala said with a laugh.
'I hate mimes, even reputable ones. You're looking a little pale yourself. I've got another revelation. We're breathing without our regulators.'
Zavala held the halfmask that contained the microphone and regulator to his face and clamped his teeth on the mouthpiece. 'Still works,' he said.
'Mine, too. Looks like we won't need them. I feel fresh air coming in.'
'That means somebody blew the top off the pyramid. Time to get moving. Can you walk?'
Zavala nodded and crawled from the pit, then leaned in and helped Austin out. They were covered from head to toe with whitish brown dust that gave them a zombielike look. Austin flashed his light back into the pit and saw that the heavy stone lid had been cracked open by the concussion. Austin knew they should be moving, but his curiosity got the best of him. He aimed the light at the figure inside.
The face was covered by a jade mask with round eyes and an aquiline nose. The corpse was dressed in a shroud of dark material that could have been velvet. Strands of whitishred hair poked out from under an amorphously shaped hat made out of the same material. Austin moved the light down. The clawlike mummified hands clutched rolls of old parchment. Austin removed one of the rolls, examined it with wondering eyes, then tucked it back into the bony hands. He noticed a glint of yellow under the chin of the mask The shape was familiar, but it seemed out of context. Austin wanted to take a closer look, but there wasn't time. The sound of voices was coming from the boat chamber.
48 THE ALMOST IMPENETRABLE CLOUD in the boat chamber was dissipating rapidly, the motes swirling against the sunlight that streamed down from a huge opening that yawned where the ceiling had been. Great chunks of rock had flattened .the stern end of the dark red hull like a potato masher. Columns had been knocked over and lay in fragments. The chamber floor was littered with smaller pieces of rock and coated with limestone dust. Austin had no time to mourn. the boat's destruction. A rope ladder dropped down from the ragged hole. Two figures dressed in black were climbing down the ladder into the dusty haze.
The first one to set foot on the floor reached up and steadied the ladder. 'Sorry about the mess, Don Halcon,' came a voice that was flat, unemotional, and unapologetic.
'It couldn't be helped, Guzman,' said the slenderbuilt dark-haired man, surveying the wreckage. 'The important thing is that we reached our goal, not how we did it.' He flicked on a powerful flashlight and pointed it at the ruined boat. 'My God, what a fantastic sight!'
The intruders made their way through the rubble and climbed over the splintered stern timbers to the less damaged section of the boat. Moments later Halcon shouted with excitement. 'Look at this, Guzman!' he said with hysterical joy. 'There are enough jewels in my hand to outfit a whole new army.'
Austin stood at the entryway to the boat chamber with Zavala and considered their situation. They were unarmed except for their sheath knives. Halcon and his henchman would have sidearms at the very least. If he and Zavala made a break for the ladder or the water entrance at the far end of the chamber, they'd be picked off like ducks in a shooting gallery.
He whispered his concerns to Zavala. 'Maybe we can bluff our way through.'
Joe had come to the same conclusion as his partner. 'What have we got to lose?'
Just our lives and those of many, others, Austin thought. 'We've got to work our way back to where we came in. Get rid of our main air tanks. Keep the emergency tank and regulator with you.' He tapped the pouch around his neck. 'I've got a surprise that might distract them, but the timing has to be just right. It won't take long for them to find us. If we surprise them they may start shooting.'
'Okay, let them know we're here. I'll take my cue from you,' Zavala said.
Austin clapped his colleague on the shoulder, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the boat
