Temple of the Gods - Andy McDermott [179]
But now nobody would ever know their story. The temple was well within the fifty-yard blast radius Alderley had mentioned, so blowing up the meteorite would bombard it with debris, smashing the statues and shattering the ancient records behind them. She would be the only person ever to see the hidden wonder of the lost civilisation close up.
She knew the sacrifice had to be made, though. Taking one last picture of a statue, whom she took to be Eupraxia, the goddess of well-being, she headed back to the narrow flight of stairs.
By the time she returned to the ledge, Eddie was out of sight on top of the meteorite, lying down to push the primed explosive as deeply into the rock as possible. She aimed her camera upwards, trying to get as much of the temple as she could into frame with the mouth of the crater high above . . .
A sound caught her attention. A soft scuff, like someone stepping on gravel.
She moved across the temple’s front to the tunnel entrance. Nothing but darkness was visible. She listened for several seconds, but the noise didn’t recur. Dismissing it as just the breeze shifting grit on the floor, she turned away, lining up her photograph again—
Crunch.
The same noise, louder, closer.
She whirled – and saw Stikes emerge from the lava tube, his gun pointed at her. Behind him, other faces came out of the shadows, all equally unwelcome: Sophia, Warden, the other members of the Group. And Larry, held at gunpoint by an unsmiling mercenary in desert combat gear.
‘Dr Wilde!’ said Stikes with malevolent brightness. ‘We can’t go on meeting like this.’
‘Eddie!’ Nina yelled. ‘They’re here, they found us! Set off the—’
Sophia rushed past Stikes and slammed a gloved fist against Nina’s jaw. The blow knocked the redhead to her knees. She spat out blood and whipped up one leg, trying to plough a retaliatory strike into the other woman’s stomach, but Sophia neatly sidestepped the attack and drove a boot into her chest. Nina let out a choked gasp of pain.
‘What’s the matter, Nina?’ Sophia snarled as she delivered another savage kick, this time to her abdomen. ‘Eddie not been keeping –’ a third impact – ‘up with your training?’ She stamped on Nina’s stomach, leaving her writhing and struggling to breathe.
‘That’s enough!’ ordered Warden. ‘We need her alive!’
With evident reluctance, Sophia withdrew. Ignoring Nina’s moans, Stikes surveyed the ledge. ‘Chase!’ he called, his voice echoing off the temple. ‘Show yourself or I’ll kill your father!’ The mercenary forced Larry forward, gun pressed hard into his back.
A head slowly rose into view over the top of the meteorite. ‘Let ’em go, Stikes!’ Eddie shouted. ‘This thing’s wired to blow – if you don’t, I’ll take us all out and this whole thing ends right here.’
There was a flurry of consternation amongst the Group, some of them pushing back through the mercenaries into the tunnel, but Stikes was unbowed. ‘You’re bluffing. You won’t let your wife die, especially not at your hand. Or even your father.’
‘Well, Eddie?’ asked Sophia. ‘What are you going to do?’ She kicked Nina again, drawing another pained cry.
‘Leave her alone!’ Eddie demanded.
‘Or what? You’ll blow us all up? Hardly. I know you better than that.’
‘We’re wasting time,’ said Warden irritably. ‘Mr Chase, I will let Mr Stikes carry out his threat if you don’t surrender right now. If you do, then . . . I’ll let you and your father live.’
‘What?’ snapped Stikes.
‘What can they do? We have the meteorite, and we have Dr Wilde – as you say, he won’t risk anything happening to her.’ He turned back to Eddie. ‘What do you say, Mr Chase? This is your chance to end this without any more death or violence.’
To Nina’s shock, Eddie held up his hands, then climbed down the sulphur-covered rock, jumping the last ten feet and walking out of the circle