Celtic Empire (Dirk Pitt 25)

McKee peered over the top of the rock shelter at the empty monastery. “Make your way closer without being seen, if you can. Call us on the radio if there is anything to report.”

Gavin nodded, passing the binoculars to Rachel. He pulled a Ruger SR9c pistol from a shoulder holster, released the safety, then tucked it back in. He then climbed out of the rocky command post and slowly made his way down the rise.

Reaching the entrance to the monastery site, he ducked behind a stone wall and listened for the sound of voices. The only noise was the rustle of wind in the grass and the cry of a nearby gull. He crept forward, slipping behind the first hut and peering around its front. There was no sign of the other men.

He made his way across the site, eventually reaching the small oratory. He looked over the wall to see if they had climbed down the steep back side, but they were nowhere to be seen. Then he noticed the excavated wall, a large boulder on the ground, and a dark opening in the side of the hill.

He peered inside, then stepped back and retrieved a two-way radio on his hip.

“They’ve found a tunnel and have gone underground,” he radioed to McKee. “We can finish them off in there. And they’ll never be found.”

66

The steps were carved into a nearly vertical slab of rock that disappeared into total darkness below. The four men stood aside a massive underground fissure that descended several hundred feet. Pitt aimed a light at the steep, narrow steps that had been hand-carved into the rock face.

“Hope no one’s afraid of heights,” he said, initiating the precarious descent.

“Never an elevator when you need one,” Giordino grumbled.

Dirk followed his father down the steps, Giordino and Brophy trailing behind. They walked in silence, attentive to each step they took, while in awe of the vast underground opening they had stumbled into.

The steps followed the face in a wide arc, which leveled briefly across a flat slab, then resumed descending in a countercurve. The men trekked downward, their shoes clapping against the steps and echoing across the crevice, shattering the silence of the subterranean world. Brophy periodically aimed his light over the side, but the bottom was always beyond view.

“It fits,” Dirk suddenly blurted out.

Everyone stopped a moment to catch their breath.

“What fits?” Giordino asked.

“The inscription on the oratory rock. The steps have descended in the same curvilinear path as depicted on the rock.” As he spoke, he motioned over his shoulder at the steps they had just descended.

The others stared past him. They weren’t focused on his words. Rather, they were focused on the four small lights that now appeared at the top of the steps.

A hail of gunshots echoed through the chasm like bells in a cathedral.

“Kill the lights!” Pitt yelled, as flecks of stone burst from the wall above him.

The four men ducked onto the steps, extinguishing their lights, as Gavin and Rachel each peppered a handful of shots at them from above. Dirk looked up, spotting four figures on the upper ledge.

“Keep moving,” Pitt urged in a low

voice. “Use a hand on the wall.”

Dirk did as his father suggested, sliding a hand along the rock face for support as his feet probed in the dark for the next step. Giordino started to follow from behind him, but then hesitated when he heard a loud gasp.

“Everyone okay?” he whispered.

The wilted body of Brophy slumped onto his back in the darkness, nearly knocking him off the stairs.

“Sorry,” Brophy said. “My leg . . . I think I’m hit.”

“I got you, Professor,” Giordino replied. “Hang on while we get you out of here.”

He proceeded to move down the steps, carrying Brophy piggyback style. Pitt led the way, whispering guidance as they descended into the abyss that materialized in the dim light.

Standing atop the entry ledge, McKee aimed her flashlight into the depths. The four escaping men appeared as indistinct shadows beyond its range.

“Go ahead, follow them down,” she directed to Gavin. “They’re surely not armed. Let’s see where this leads.”