'Many of those people will be Latinos,' Zavala said.
'What of it?' Halcon snarled. 'My conquistador ancestors used warring Indian factions as their allies to defeat the Aztec empire, then made them slaves. I will offer those who survive the opportunity to relive the greatness of the past as I restore the glories of two great civilizations, the Indian and the Spanish.'
'Glories like the ball court and the Inquisition?' Austin said.
And more you haven't even dreamed of, Mr. Austin. Much more.' His tone was ominous. 'I tire of this game,' he said impatiently. 'What of this great secret? I wouldn't blame you for lying to me, but it won't save you.'
'I'm not lying. It's in the other chamber.'
Halcon exchanged glances with Guzman. 'No tricks. Guzman has a hair trigger. Lead the way.'
Austin went up the stairs first, with Zavala following, then Guzman and Halcon, until they came to the edge of the burial pit.
'You came in this way?' Halcon said, looking in vain for an entryway
'I was lying about that, but not this.'
The figure in the sarcophagus had engaged Halcon's attention.
'Who is it?' Halcon said.
'If I may?'
Guzman's cold eyes followed every move as Austin reached into the stone coffin and removed the shiny object from the bony hands of the mummy. He handed it to Halcon, who examined it, frowning with puzzlement.
'I don't understand,' he said with suspicion.
'Consider this,' Austin said. 'You're the Maya, sitting on a pile of treasure for hundreds of years waiting for the men who brought it to you to return and reclaim it. One day a white man from the east shows up on your doorstep and says he wants his gold. He dies before you can accommodate him. You wonder if he embodies the Venus god, the feathered serpent Kukulcan, but you're not sure. So you hedge your bets, bury him with his treasure, and draw a map in stone in a way that only the Venus god will be able to understand. Those rolls of parchment he's holding are drawings of the inscription on the stone. But if that isn't enough to convince you, then tell me what a Christian cross is doing in a Mayan temple.'.
'It can't be!' Halcon said with disbelief.
'Don Halcon, meet the Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Christopher Columbus.'
Halcon stared at the mummy a moment, then laughed without mirth and tossed the cross back into the sarcophagus. 'Keep it, you poor fool.'
While all eyes were on the coffin Austin squeezed the pouch around his neck. Seconds later came a distant boom, then several others.
'What's that?' Halcon said, looking about him.
Guzman moved to the stairway and listened. 'It sounds like thunder.'
While the henchman's attention was diverted, Austin reached down to the floor and in a single quick motion picked up one of the sharp spear points he and Zavala had unsuccessfully used to pry the lid off the coffin. He wrapped his brawny arm around Halcon's slender neck and jabbed the sharp spike deep into the skin.
Guzman's gun swung around.
'Back off or this goes into his jugular!' Austin warned. He pushed the spear in further. Blood trickled down Halcon's neck.
Barely able to speak with his throat crushed, Halcon hissed, 'Do as he says.'
'Put that gun back in your holster,' Austin commanded. He knew Guzman would never give up his gun entirely, that he'd try for a head shot or plug Zavala first.
Guzman smiled, a hint of admiration in the curve of his thin lips, and slid the gun back into its case. Then Austin ordered Halcon to drop his weapon.
With Zavala staying close, Austin backed out of the chamber and dragged his human shield down the stairs into the main chamber. Guzman followed at a deliberate pace as they stepped over and around the rubble and stopped under the light streaming in from the ceiling hole.
Halcon had recovered from his surprise. 'Looks like a Mexican standoff,' he said, his voice choked but defiant.
A brief shower of water splashed down on them from above. Everyone looked up except Austin.
'That's not rain, in case you're wondering. Those booms you heard a few minutes ago were explosives. I used a remote detonator to blow up the dam that blocks water into the lake. Millions of gallons are pouring in.'
'I don't believe you,' Halcon snarled.
'Perhaps you should, Don Halcon,' said Guzman. 'It seems Mr. Austin was not lying about the detonator.'
'You could never have foreseen events,' Halcon said.
'That's right. My original plan was to blow the dam after we left to make it tougher for you to find the temple. This way at least we'll all die together.'
They were suddenly drenched by another deluge from above, only stronger this time.
'My guess is that's only the first ripple from the explosion. The reservoir would have burst by now. More will follow. It won't take much to breach that hole you blew in the temple. I have no idea how long before this chamber fills, but I wouldn't stay around too long if I were you.'
Guzman looked toward the ladder and seemed to lose some of his steely composure. 'We must leave.'
'Not without that treasure.'
'Doesn't make any difference to me,' Austin said. 'Like. you said, we're dead men.'
Water poured down again, but instead of a brief burst, it continued to flow in a torrent.
'Don Halcon . . .' There was alarm in Guzman's voice.
'He's bluffing, you fool,' Halcon replied with disgust.
'The treasure is of use to no one if he's right,' Guzman said.
Halcon's eyes filled with hate. 'You've always been nothing but a homicidal cretin from the day my father hired you,' he said with contempt. 'You can't see the glory!'
A hard smile crossed Guzman's lips.
Water was pouring in like a river now, directly on top of them so that it was hard to see each other, sloshing onto their feet, yet nobody moved.
'Quite a dilemma, isn't it, Guzman,' Austin taunted, raising his voice to be heard. 'Loyalty to your crazed boss and the Brotherhood, or death by drowning. I sincerely hope you resolve your family spat, but you'll have to settle it without me. That's the cue, Joe!'
Zavala ran toward the well at the far end of the chamber and dove in. Austin dropped the spear point, grabbed Halcon's butt, and with a powerful bum's rush threw him at Guzman, who'd been momentarily distracted by Zavala's sprint. They went down in a tangle, but even as he fell Guzman was pulling out the pistol. Austin dashed for the well. Guzman was up and got off a shot, but Austin was a poor target in the dim light, and the bullet missed. Austin dove into the well.
Guzman cursed and went after Austin. Buffeted by the flood swirling around his ankles and knees, he had taken only a few steps when he realized it would be suicide to stay in the chamber. This conclusion was reinforced when he turned and saw that Halcon had deserted him and was heading for the ladder. Halcon's dreams of glory had finally given way to his instincts for self-preservation. He slogged his way against the rising tide until he was under the ceiling hole where the water roared down in a miniature Niagara. Blinded by the force of the cascade, he groped for the ladder, but his hand slipped. He clenched his teeth with determination and tried again. This time he got a grip on a rung.
As he began to climb a hand grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him down. Guzman wrapped his arms around Halcon's knees and used the full weight of his body to pull him back into the chamber. Halcon held on with one hand and with the other pulled his pistol, which he had retrieved, from its holster and swung it with all the strength he could muster in his awkward position. The gun barrel struck flesh and bone, but Guzman desperately held on. Halcon raised the pistol again and brought it down twice more on Guzman's head with the desired effect.
Guzman's grip loosened. He lost his footing and was swept back into the chamber where his body came to
