Odessa Sea (Dirk Pitt 24)

They threaded their way through a serpentine section of tunnel and reached a small clearing. Hawker stopped in front of a rusty iron gate embedded into the rock and shined his light through the bars. Just beyond, a nearly vertical shaft descended into blackness.

Hawker faced the others with a wary grin. “This is it. The records indicate there was a cave-in during the original excavations. The shaft was cleared away in the 1880s to create a storage bay, possibly for powder reserves. Apparently, there was another collapse years later, then it was sealed off.”

“Was it named for Admiral Nelson?” Dirk asked.

“The Battle of Trafalgar was fought nearby in 1805. Lord Nelson was killed during the engagement and his ship, HMS Victory, towed to Gibraltar for repairs. Several of the Victory’s crew are buried in Trafalgar Cemetery back in town. The tunnel was, no doubt, named in his honor.”

Hawker tried his supply of skeleton keys, but none turned the mechanism. After several failed attempts to open the lock, Perlmutter asked him to step aside. Using his mass, the historian raised a foot and stomped against the latch with the weight of his heel. The gate flung open with barely a protest.

The big man peered over the precipice and shook his head. “I’m afraid you’ll have to take it from here.”

Hawker crawled to the edge and shined his light into the depths.

“Looks to be about twenty feet to the bottom.” He opened his duffel and retrieved a static nylon climbing rope. “If fifty feet doesn’t do the trick, then we’ve got bigger problems.” He tied one end around the gate’s stanchion. “Anyone care to join me in the descent?”

Dirk and Summer stepped forward, but Perlmutter and Trehorne shook their heads.

“You may need a couple of old mules up here to pull you out,” Trehorne said. “Julien and I will stand by at the ready.”

Hawker slipped the rope between his legs and pulled the loose end from his right hip, then crossed it over his left shoulder, gripping it behind his back. Secured by the Dulfersitz rappelling technique, he stepped over the edge and lowered himself down the shaft, using the friction from the rope as a brake. He was gone from view less than a minute before he shouted up, “All clear.”

Summer descended next, clipping her flashlight to her belt and duplicating the rope configuration. She let herself down slowly, pushing off on the shaft’s smooth limestone walls. After ten feet, the narrow enclosure expanded into an open cavern where the ceiling had given way during excavations below. Hawker’s light guided her to the floor and she slid down the remaining distance, landing on her feet.

“Well done,” he said. “I think it’s closer to a twenty-five-foot drop, actually.”

He helped her release the rope and called up to Dirk.

“It would be a lot less nerve-racking if someone had left the lights on,” she said.

A few seconds later, Dirk dropped to her side. They swung their flashlights around the cavern, highlighting piles of crumbled rock and a small passageway to their right.

Dirk aimed his light at the opening. “Your honors, Major.”

“My pleasure.” Hawker hunched down and scurried through the tunnel, Summer fast on his heels. After a short distance, the trio entered a square room about twenty feet across. But the room was completely empty, save for an upright wooden rack in the corner. Summer walked the perimeter and examined the floor and walls for any indication a Russian treasure had once been stored there but found nothing.

As Hawker examined the rack, he noticed a faint smell of gunpowder. “Looks like a musket rack. I’ll bet the room was used to store small arms and perhaps some gunpowder.”

“But not gold,” Summer said.

“It would seem not.”

She heard an echo of Perlmutter’s voice and ducked back to the entry cavern. “Julien?” she called.

“Summer, what have you found?” his voice bellowed in a curt tone.

“Nothing, I’m afraid.”

“The gold. It wasn’t there?”

“No, it doesn’t appear as if it ever was. We’ll be up shortly.”

She turned to rejoin Dirk and Hawker, then hesitated. Something wasn’t quite right. She swung her flashlight around the cavern, then realized what it was.

The rope was missing.

“Julien!” she shouted. “Where’s our rope?”

Her question was met by silence.