Page 40 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope (The Children Of The Gods #100)

ELUHEED

T he utility closet on the fifth level was too small for two adult males to squeeze in.

Shelves lined three walls, stocked with cleaning supplies that gave off a chemical smell that made Eluheed's eyes water.

He and Tony sat pressed against the wall, flashlights clutched in their hands but not turned on.

In the darkness, every sound seemed amplified—their breathing, the distant voices of people evacuating the harem, footsteps on the nearby stairs.

"Seven forty-three," Tony whispered, the luminous dial of his watch the only visible light in the darkness.

Two more minutes until the final sweep, and then fifteen minutes until the power cut, and then a few more minutes to make sure that no one remained in the structure.

Heavy footsteps approached their door, paused, and Eluheed held his breath. The handle rattled, but they'd locked the closet from the inside.

The footsteps moved on.

"That was close," Tony whispered.

They waited in silence as the sounds of evacuation grew more distant.

"Fifth level clear!" A guard's voice echoed from the staircase.

More footsteps receded up the stairwell, then gradually, silence settled over the underground complex.

"Eight o'clock," Tony announced.

As if on cue, the faint hum that had been the background noise of their lives ceased. Ventilation, electrical systems, the pulse of the building itself, everything stilled, and the silence was absolute.

Eluheed clicked on his flashlight, the beam cutting through the darkness. "Let's go."

He unlocked the door, wincing at the click that seemed to echo in the stillness. The corridor beyond was pitch black, their flashlight beams creating dancing shadows on the walls.

They rushed on silent feet toward the stairwell, or as silent as Tony could manage, which left a lot to be desired, but then there was no one in the building, and even the surveillance cameras and microphones were off, so the stealth was more out of habit and fear than necessity.

Funny how the mind twisted things. The ventilation had been cut off only moments ago, and yet the air already felt heavier, even though they had hours before it became a real problem.

The stairwell was a concrete throat descending and ascending into darkness. Their footsteps echoed despite their efforts to move silently. Fourth level. Third. Second. Each landing looked identical in the flashlight beams, distinguished only by the numbers painted on the fireproof doors.

"Wait," Tony said suddenly on the second-level landing.

"What?"

"Listen."

Eluheed strained his ears but heard nothing. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. No dripping water, no settling sounds."

"That's a comforting thought," Eluheed muttered, continuing onward.

After the earthquake, the flooding, and the failure of essential systems on the island, it was good to know that the underground pyramid was structurally sound.

They opened the door on the first level and stepped out into the luxurious hallway.

"This way," Eluheed said. He'd been to Areana's domain before and knew his way around it, but everything looked different in the darkness.

The rich carpet muffled their footsteps, and their flashlights reflected off the cream-colored walls.

"In here." Eluheed opened the double doors to Areana's bedroom. "That's the bookcase," he said, finding it with his beam. "The pressure plate is under the third rose from the left in the carpet pattern, about thirty-three centimeters from the wall."

Tony crouched, studying the intricate floral design. "Found it." He pressed down, and there was a soft click.

"Now the books. Herodotus, Plato, Marcus Aurelius pulled out, then Ovid pushed in."

Eluheed found the correct spines and performed the sequence. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a click and a soft grinding sound. Part of the bookcase moved, but Eluheed had to push on it to open it all the way.

Beyond was darkness and the damp smell of earth.

They stepped through, and as Eluheed lifted his head to search for the surveillance cameras, he found them mounted at regular intervals along the concrete wall, connected with a wire that supplied their power.

Cutting the cable would probably result in all the cameras in the tunnel going offline, which wasn't a good idea.

They only needed to disable those that monitored the section up to the fork, and those leading to the submarine, if there were any in that section of the tunnel.

"Do you want to disable them now?" Tony studied them.

"Not yet. Let's find the submarine first. We don't want to leave evidence of sabotage if we are not going to escape this place. Eventually, it would be found."

"Right," Tony agreed.

The tunnel wasn't as wide as Eluheed had imagined, and a silly image popped into his head of Navuh riding a motorcycle back and forth between his mansion and the harem, his elaborate robes fanning out behind him like a knight's on horseback.

But that wasn't Navuh's style. The tunnel culminated in a wider area that was large enough for a compact vehicle to turn around. That wouldn't have been needed if Navuh were riding a motorcycle.

From where they stood, it sloped slightly downward, its walls carved from living rock and reinforced with concrete in some areas.

The floor was all concrete. Their footsteps echoed as they made their way toward what Eluheed hoped was a fork.

The slightly salty smell gave him hope that they would find it.

He didn't need to wait long. About twenty-five minutes into their walk, they found the fork in the tunnel, and this section was too narrow for a vehicle. Evidently, Navuh didn't plan to use one once he got to the fork.

They walked shoulder to shoulder through the narrow passage, and no more than ten minutes later the tunnel opened into a natural cave.

"Holy shit," Tony said. "It's real." His flashlight beam illuminated a wooden dock extending into black water and the vessel tied to it.

The submarine was sleek and modern. It resembled an elongated teardrop, maybe fifteen feet long, constructed from what looked like white composite material with a strip of dark glass running along its upper surface—a continuous canopy rather than portholes.

"That's a nice toy," Tony said, playing his flashlight over the smooth hull.

The craft sat partially submerged at a floating dock, its design indicating that it had been built for recreation or research rather than warfare.

The transparent canopy would provide panoramic views underwater, and Eluheed could see four leather seats arranged in a row inside.

The control panel looked more like a tablet than the console he'd expected.

It looked like a luxury sports car and was obviously a recent acquisition. Had Navuh replaced an older model with this one? Did he go off the island on his own without anyone knowing?

The craft bobbed gently in the black water, looking more like it belonged at a yacht club than hidden in a cave beneath a despot's island fortress.

"A rich guy's toy," Tony said. "I wonder how much a thing like this costs."

The entry hatch was integrated into the canopy—a section that would lift up on hydraulic struts. Beside it was what Eluheed assumed was a scanner, its small LED display dark.

The sub's high-tech seemed incongruent with the cave's rough walls.

"Look at this," Tony said, crouching beside the dock where a charging cable connected to the submarine's hull. "It's electric. Probably has lithium batteries."

"This makes sense." Eluheed peered inside the craft, looking at the console. "Navuh wouldn't want anything that required specialized training to operate. This is designed for civilians and probably has automated systems."

"GPS and tracking systems, too," Tony added. "We'll need to work out how to disable those, but first, we need to figure out how to get in and then how to turn it on."

"Here is the lock." Eluheed pointed at the scanner.

Tony scrambled up beside him. "Let me see." He trained his flashlight on the small panel beside the hatch handle. "It's a fingerprint reader."

"Are you sure? It could be a numeric pad."

"It's a scanner." Tony leaned over and touched the plate. The thing came alive, but there were no numbers on the display.

"Well, it doesn't look like a numeric code, but it might require an entire handprint."

Tony shook his head. "It's too small for that. The question is which finger is needed." He changed the angle of the flashlight's beam. "It's not the thumb, so I assume it's the pointer. Is Navuh right-handed or left-handed?"

"Right-handed," Eluheed said. "How do you suggest we get his fingerprint? Cut his finger off in his sleep?"

"Of course not." Tony chuckled. "It's possible to lift fingerprints from a smooth surface using tape and graphite powder, or even just tape if the print is fresh enough. I saw it done in a movie once. Then it's possible to transfer the fingerprint to whatever surface you want, and it works."

Eluheed stared at him. "Are you suggesting that we get Navuh's fingerprint from something he has touched?"

"It shouldn't be too difficult. All we need to do is intercept the maid who clears the dishes after Navuh and Areana's breakfast. We get the prints and transfer them to something we can use on the scanner."

"That's insane."

"Do you have a better idea?"

Eluheed didn't. "Would it actually work?"

"It should, in theory. The oils from skin leave a decent impression on smooth surfaces.

With clear tape and maybe some powder from the kitchen, even flour might work, we could lift the print.

Then it's just a matter of transferring it to something the scanner will read.

Latex would be ideal, but even clear tape might work if we're careful.

We can practice beforehand, so we don't mess it up with the real thing. "

Eluheed rubbed the back of his neck. "That means we need more time and can't make our escape tomorrow."

"It's just a small delay. But we know the submarine exists, we know how many it seats, and we have a potential solution for accessing it.

" Tony swept his light around the cave. "This is a good spot, too.

The cave opens to the sea. You can even see light from the entrance over there. Once we're in the water, we're free."

Eluheed looked across the water to where Tony indicated. There was indeed a lighter patch of darkness in the distance that suggested an opening to the outside.

"We need to disable the cameras," Eluheed said.

Tony considered that. "We shouldn't. Now that we know how close the sub is and how easy it is to get to it, we need to rethink our strategy.

If we disconnect the cameras now and then have to wait one more day or two to get the fingerprints, the risk that Navuh would check the feed for some reason before we're ready to leave grows.

Better to wait until we're actually escaping.

One snip, and the power is cut to all of them.

A few minutes of dead cameras won't matter if we're already gone. "

It made sense, though it meant their next trip would be even more critical. Everything would have to work perfectly, from getting the fingerprint to accessing the submarine, and starting it without any idea how to operate it.

"There's something else," Tony said, crouching to examine the submarine's hull more closely. "Look at these."

Eluheed directed his light where Tony pointed. Small rectangular panels were set into the hull at regular intervals.

"Battery compartments," Tony said. "The question is whether they are charged and how long they can last."

Another unknown in an equation with too many variables already. But they were committed now. They'd found the submarine and confirmed it could hold all four of them. That was more than they'd had this morning.

"I'm sure Navuh would keep the submarine charged. It doesn't make much sense to have an escape vehicle that requires long refueling." He looked at his watch. "We should head back. We've been gone for well over an hour."

They made their way back through the tunnel, their lights creating shadows on the rough walls. The cameras watched blindly, waiting for power to return them to life.

At the bookshelf, Eluheed carefully reset the mechanism while Tony studied the books themselves.

"We need to know exactly which glass or plate Navuh uses," Tony said. "Can't risk getting the wrong prints."

"We'll get them all and use the bigger ones. Areana has dainty fingers."

"Good point," Tony agreed. "And the maid's fingers will be small as well."