Chapter 19: The Chamber

Imam Almasi frowned, as he carefully looked over the hood of the truck. They had chased the Order convoy until they had turned to fight in the Pyramid Complex. He was frowning because the Order wasn't really trapped. They could easily escape to the north, west, or south, despite the teams he had sent to each side to close those options. His main force was still on the shoulders of the Al Ahram highway, but were prevented from attacking.

The highway split the Complex by going between the Great Pyramid, also known as the Pyramid of Cheops, and the Pyramid of Khafre, the next smaller pyramid. Most of the Order convoy had gone to the south, and were hidden in the maze of the Giza Necropolis, and around the Pyramid of Khafre. The Order had good positions, but they were not unassailable. Niu estimated that his force still outnumbered the Order by four to one. Plus, he had two cases of RPGs to soften the Order's positions.

The massive stones the ancient Egyptians used limited the effectiveness of the RPGs. Also, the Order snipers, hidden on the north side of the road around the Pyramid of Cheops, were effective disincentives to men raising up to aim the RPGs. The stones and the snipers made the RPGs nearly ineffective, other than as deterrent to the Order forces firing back as his men advanced. Each time his men tried to advance, snipers hidden north of the road began killing his troop leaders among the advancing men. The leaders were easily identified; they were the men following the advancing soldiers.

Niu had tried to send men into the Cheops part of the Complex, but that exposed them to fire from the Khafre Pyramid area. The Sons weren't exactly pinned down, and were reasonably safe where they were. They could safely go east, back towards Cairo, or west, into the desert. He considered surrounding the northern part of the complex too, but shrugged the idea off.

The Order of the Seeker was here to find something. They weren't going to try to escape until they had what they wanted. Imam Almasi knew that the Order could be defeated, even if they found what they were looking for. All the Sons needed to do was prevent the Order from escaping with whatever they found. The knowledge of the gods, in whatever form it had been saved, could be destroyed.

Imam Almasi believed that the last remnants of the Order of the Seeker would die when the knowledge was destroyed. When that happened, the Sons of the Viper would no longer need to hide in the shadows. The Sons of the Viper could take their proper place in the world, holding the reins of power worldwide. But there was something wrong, and Imam Niu Almasi knew it. He just didn't know what was wrong.

Niu Almasi was known for his visions of the future, but that wasn't the only skill that he relied on. The visions were a flamboyant demonstration of a gift that had less obvious aspects. Niu could 'feel' when a bargain wasn't complete, when dealing with market vendors or heads of state. He could 'feel' when a traitor was near, or when an enemy was observing him. He had thwarted and confounded spies from country after country. The US had competent spies at one time, but no more. Egypt's spies were a challenge at one time, but they were his, now. Israel's spies were very good, and Niu tried to kill them whenever they got close to him, successfully deflecting the blame each time. It was entertaining to watch Israel take retribution against Niu's competitors within the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, Imam Almasi could 'feel' that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what.

He had the order trapped, after a fashion, but they weren't trying to escape. That meant they hadn't found what they were looking for. Or did it?

Niu began thinking of the report he received from Colonel Baccus, about the actions in Lebanon. The Order had used deception and evasion to thwart the Sons. That had continued when they landed in Egypt. Obviously, the members of the Order fleeing Lebanon had been reinforced in Egypt. Deception and evasion had been the hallmark of Order interaction with the Sons for centuries.

'So why were they standing and fighting now?' Niu asked himself. 'Because they need something hidden in the Necropolis or around the Khafre Pyramid, ' he answered himself. 'They didn't have time to dodge and weave after landing, ' he reassured himself. 'But that isn't the way the Order works, ' he argued back. 'The Order always feints one direction and goes another. Except, maybe they aren't this time. Maybe they didn't have time for subterfuge because of how quickly the Sons of the Viper responded.'

Niu looked around, reassessing where they were, and what they were doing. Brotherhood contacts in the city had assured him that everyone in the Order's convoy had ascended to the Giza Plateau. The Sons had fought their way up the hill, and had chased the last of the Order convoy into the Giza Necropolis. He hadn't been aware of the snipers at the Cheops Pyramid until they tried to attack the Necropolis in force. The snipers were a demoralizing discovery. Niu wondered if there was something else that he wasn't aware of.

"Could the Cheops Pyramid, the Great Pyramid, be the true target for the Order?" he asked himself aloud. 'No, ' he answered himself silently. 'That would be too obvious.'

The Imam looked back towards Cairo, wishing the Sphinx complex didn't block his view of the city to the south-east. He froze. They had driven right past it, but there hadn't been any reason to stop. They could see their quarry, so why should they have stopped.

Niu straightened, forgetting where he was for a moment, until Major Rashida sharply tapped the back of his knees, causing his legs to fold. A bullet ricocheted from where his head would have been.

"Thank you, Major," Niu said sincerely. "It seems that even I need a keeper, occasionally. He looked around and called, "Colonel Baccus, Habib, come to me."

Habib, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood contingent, appeared at his side in moments. It was several minutes before the Colonel appeared. He was crawling as if he were on the front lines of a war zone.

"Colonel, get your men. You and your men will be coming with me," Imam Almasi ordered with disgust. He took a calming breath before continuing with, "Habib, select ten of your best men. You and your men will be coming with me. Inform your men that remain here that they will obey the Major, or face my wrath. I'm sure they will prefer the Major's orders. Major Rashida, you are in charge of your soldiers, and the remaining members of the Brotherhood. Break the Order's lines, and see what they are protecting."

"Yes, Imam," Major Rashida said courteously.

Darius had suspected that they were chasing the wrong target as soon as they had stopped. He wondered if the Imam had figured that out, too.

"Where are we going?" Colonel Baccus asked, concerned that he would need to move from his safe location.

"We will try to outfox the foxes," Imam Almasi replied with a frown. "Why are you still here? Why haven't you left to find your men?"

"I'm going," the Colonel protested, looking around desperately, wondering where his men were.

Colonel Baccus didn't relish the idea of searching for his eight men in the hundred-fifty plus men arrayed against the Order. There were bullets flying. He was too important to risk his life in a fight like this one. His men shouldn't be too far away; he had ordered them to stay close to him.

"Sergeant Imad," the Colonel yelled. "Gather the men and come to me," he ordered, as he crawled towards a safe pocket created by two vehicles.

"Imam, may I ask a question?" Major Rashida asked carefully.

"Of course, Major," the Imam answered.

"You have never suffered fools," the Major stated emphatically. "Why is the Colonel here?"

The Imam sighed before saying, "He was a good man, once, and a valuable asset to the Sons. I am afraid that I allowed him to grow soft, and spoiled his usefulness. He is still valuable due to his position in Lebanon. I allowed him to follow the heretics to Egypt so I could personally evaluate if his value still exceeds the risks he represents."

"Thank you, Imam," Major Rashida said respectfully. He hesitated before adding, "I am afraid that, if my opinion were asked, it would not be favorable for the Colonel."

"I understand, Major," Imam Almasi answered patiently. "However, there is value in other places besides the battlefield." Niu was the one to hesitate before he added, "I think it is obvious that the Colonel has little value on the battlefield."

"Thank you, Imam," the Major said again, with a thoughtful nod. "That is why you are taking him with you," he mused, almost to himself. "Please be cautious. I don't trust him."

Niu only nodded in agreement, but he was touched that the Major would care. He was more astonished that the Major would risk his wrath by questioning the value of a senior member of the Sons of the Viper.

Major Rashida was a rare commodity. He was a true believer, but one that didn't allow his belief to cloud his vision of the world's realities. Imam Almasi decided to ensure the Major's career advanced at a little quicker pace.

Nearly ten minutes had passed before the men going with the Imam were gathered near him. Habib had his tasks completed, and returned in less than five minutes. The remainder of the time was spent waiting for Colonel Baccus and his men.

"Where are we going?" the Colonel asked, the challenge barely concealed in his voice.

"The Order may be trying to fool us," Imam Almasi said, after deciding to answer the question. "We are going to inspect the area around the Sphinx."

The Colonel's quiet snort of derision, a sound that he didn't think the Imam had heard, sealed his fate.

'It is a good thing the Colonel is part of a military organization, ' the Imam thought. 'They are very good about following the chain of command when the senior member dies.'

Cody's path, down the dark stairs, was lit by the crystal in the staff. The stairs began winding, into the depths, as soon as it went below ground level. He could hear the shuffling steps of the others following him. Lances of light began stabbing the darkness as they descended into the ancient tunnel. The flashlights that Cody had suggested were being turned on by nervous archeologists and Order soldiers alike.

"Oh, man," Carl breathed, someplace in the dark behind Cody. "Look at these walls," he continued in a reverent whisper.

Cody glanced at the walls as he descended, and saw stylized images of Anunna and humans working side by side. The pictures looked very similar to other Egyptian murals found in the tombs of the pharaohs. Cody was seeing the images from the viewpoint of his training as an archeologist. He was also filtering the images through the memories of Enki watching men carefully embedding individually fired ceramic tiles in the wall, to create the mural, over twelve thousand years ago.

The bottom of the steps were nearly a hundred feet under the floor of the ancient desert. The steps ended in a large room, with three passages leading from it. Cody moved out of the way when he reached the bottom of the stairs. He needed to wait until everyone had finished descending the stairs. Cody could move along the tunnel quicker than the rest of their troop could descend the stone steps, and he didn't want to lose anyone. He needed to ensure that everyone understood the tunnels were not without their dangers, and the easiest way to ensure everyone avoided them was to all proceed together.

While he waited, and the chamber slowly filled with his followers, Cody reached out with his mind to sample the life force of those around him, the way Enki had instructed him. The process was different than when he searched for an ambush, and also eerily the same. He could feel the individual life forces on the stairs above him. He could even discern who belonged to which life force.

His mother, with Gabir close by, seemed to share a tenuous connection between them. Cody smiled in approval. Jamil was following Maria, and both were concerned, but also determined. The Sons had taken all of their loved ones from both of their lives. Carl and Amy seemed to have a connection similar to Gabir and Cynthia, but it was more nebulous and contentious. Briana's life force burned as bright as a beacon. Shawn's life force wasn't as bright as Briana's, but his spirit had a solidness about it that rivaled the stones surrounding them. Gabir's guards, and the additional Order members from Jabari's force, ranged all over the human condition for brightness, but they all had one thing in common. Each one of them was determined to see Cody succeed.

Stone was no bar to Cody's drifting mind. He could see, and feel, the two men that Gabir had left to guard the entrance to the tunnel. Two more men had been left at the edge of the ruins near the road, but Cody could barely identify them as separate life forces. He felt the glow of life from men at the Pyramid Complex, but they were too far to identify as individuals. That would soon change, Cody knew.

Cody allowed himself a moment to revel in the feeling of completeness, until he felt Enki's reprimand. He was not complete, yet, but he would be soon.

Cody focused again on seeing with his mortal eyes. He watched as the last guard stepped into the chamber from the stairs.

"Listen, all of you," Cody said quietly. "Stay close behind me. No one should wander. Don't think about exploring. There are traps and dangers in these tunnels. Some of the traps will kill an individual. Other traps will kill everyone in the tunnel with them, before resetting for the next group of victims. Does anyone have any questions?"

Cody didn't get any questions, so he turned and began walking down the right hand passage, with the others close behind. They were still admiring the murals and carvings, but ensured they didn't get separated from the person in front of them. The tunnel wasn't straight. There were Y splits in the tunnels, and at one point, Cody left what seemed to be the main tunnel, to follow a very small branch tunnel. Cody never hesitated, as he hurried from one passageway to the next.

"Professor, how do you know where to go," Briana asked anxiously. "Shouldn't we go slower if there are traps down here?"

"I have Enki's memory from the staff, Briana," Cody answered, his words echoing back down the line. "Through his memories, I remember directing the construction of these passages."

"Why are you just now getting his memories?" Shawn asked, sounding irritated. "It would have been nice to know a little more before we left Lebanon. We could have planned a little better."

Cody had to smile at Shawn's words. The smile was saddened by Shawn's unspoken thought that Brian might still be alive, if Cody had possessed this knowledge earlier.

"Think of it like putting on a leather glove that's a little too tight," Cody answered. "You have to stretch it here and there before it will fit over your knuckles and fingers. You have to consider the differences between our minds and experiences. I guess you could say that my mind needed some preparation before Enki and I could communicate directly."

"I still don't understand that," Shawn grumbled.

"I don't understand why the conflict between the Order and the Sons was orchestrated," Briana complained. "It kind of makes sense if they were just worried about the human race, but why would the aliens be afraid of us?"