The Midas Code

Tyler talked through gritted teeth. “Just get Stacy.” He took a breath and stood, taking one last look at the smashed geolabe lying forgotten on the stairs, being covered by the rising water.

He staggered behind Grant as they saw the pumice barrier rising. Orr thought he had penned them in, but it had risen too slowly. There were still two feet of space left.

Grant went over, and Tyler struggled to pass Stacy through. Once she was safe, he used the last of his strength to tumble over the barrier into the cool air of the exterior tunnel.

Tyler staggered to his knees and lay down on his side, not sure if he’d ever get up again.

SIXTY-FIVE

B ecause Tyler was sucking wind and Grant had to support Stacy as they walked, there was no chance for either of them to catch up with Orr, but at least they could find their way out using his markings.

The tunnel maze seemed to go on forever, but Tyler knew they were getting close to the entry well when they passed three bodies that were burned and mangled by the phosphorus grenades. Tyler, still shirtless, considered taking one of the men’s jackets, but he thought that wearing a burned piece of clothing from a dead man would be even worse than being naked.

Orr had been so sure he’d killed Tyler that he hadn’t bothered to cut the rope that still dangled at the bottom of the cistern. Grant went up first, while Tyler put Stacy in a harness. Grant pulled her up and then helped Tyler get to the top. By the time they reached the surface, it was midnight.

None of them had a phone, except for Orr’s, and because of the password protection Tyler couldn’t use it to call out.

While Grant went to find a working phone, Tyler held Stacy in his lap. She was barely conscious. Her face was pale, and she’d lost a lot of blood. They’d bandaged her up as best they could, but the walk had been hard on her. Tyler stroked her hair.

Her eyes fluttered open. For a second, she couldn’t focus, then she recognized Tyler’s face.

“Hey, I thought I was dead for a minute there,” she said weakly. “Is that the moon?”

Tyler looked up and saw a full moon shining brightly through the clear sky. He instinctively inhaled a deep breath of warm night air, but he stopped when pain convulsed his chest.

“That’s the moon,” he said. “We made it out.”

“Good. I hated that place.”

Tyler smiled.

A look of alarm suddenly bloomed on her face. “Where’s Orr?”

Fresh anger welled up, but Tyler tamped it down. “Don’t worry. We’ll track him down.”

Stacy closed her eyes and sobbed. “Carol. Carol’s gone.”

“Shh. Don’t talk. Save your strength.” Tyler was still in a state of disbelief. The first of the five stages of grief. A part of Tyler hated himself for being so analytical, even now.

Not that he lacked emotion. Every time he pictured Orr’s face, pure hatred flowed through him. He didn’t hate many people. Sometimes he hated himself, like now, when he’d failed so totally. But Orr had earned it, and Tyler swore he would track Orr down if it took him the rest of his life.

He completely understood the powerful need for vengeance. It was appropriate that he’d found it in Italy, so famous for its blood-soaked vendettas.

Grant came trotting back toward them with a cell phone triumphantly held in his hand.

“I got emergency services,” he said. “An ambulance is on the way. I told them it was a heart attack so the police wouldn’t come right away.”

“Where’d you get the phone?”

“Some kid on the street. I saw him talking on it. He told me to buzz off until I offered to trade my Rolex for it. He spoke English, so he helped me with the operator.”

He handed the phone to Tyler, who dialed Miles Benson’s number, one of the few he had memorized. He prayed that Miles would answer the unfamiliar number.

He did, on the second ring.

“Miles Benson,” he said in his curt tone.

“Miles, it’s Tyler.” He could hear the exhaustion in his own voice.

“Tyler? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours! Where the hell are you?”

“I’m in Naples with Grant. Stacy’s badly injured, but we’ve got an ambulance coming. Miles, I think my father is dead.”

“Dead? Jesus. Last time I heard, the general was just coming out of surgery at George Washington University Hospital. Doctors said he’d be in critical condition for a while, but they expected him to make a full recovery.”

For the first time in hours, Tyler felt a surge of energy. “He’s not dead? You’re sure?”

“I know what I heard.”

“What about Carol Benedict?”

“Scared, but she didn’t have a scratch on her.”

“Thank God!” Tyler said. He lowered the phone. “Stacy, it’s all right. Carol’s safe.”

“Carol?” she said, her eyes flashing open. “She’s okay?”

Tyler nodded, and this time Stacy wept tears of joy before her eyes closed again. He put the phone back to his ear.

“Miles, Orr is still alive. Did you find the nuclear material?”

“No,” Miles said, “but the FBI confirmed that the site where we found your dad had unusual levels of radioactivity.”

Damn. Sometimes he hated being right. But not often.

“Have you found anything else?”