Part 19 (2/2)

In stark contrast, West and his team arrived in their sentry tower breathless and on the run.

'Even if we get this Piece of the Capstone,' Stretch said, 'how can we possibly get it out? How can we get it past the Americans? And if it's a large Piece, it'll be nine feet square of near-solid gold-'

Pooh Bear scowled. 'Always argue the negative, don't you, Israeli. Sometimes I wonder why you even bothered to come on this mission.'

'I came to keep an eye on all of you,' Stretch retorted.

Wizard said, 'If we can't get get the Piece, we at least need to the Piece, we at least need to see see the Piece. Lily has to see the positive incantation carved into its upper side.' the Piece. Lily has to see the positive incantation carved into its upper side.'

West ignored them all.

He just peered out from the balcony of the sentry tower, down at the Great Arch of the Refuge.

He eyed the jetty at the bottom end of the guttered rampway stretching down from the Great Arch. The jetty stood at a point exactly halfway between the two sentry towers and it was covered by a small four-pillared marble gazebo. The vertical distance from West's balcony to the little gazebo: maybe 50 metres.

'Big Ears. I need a flying fox to that gazebo.'

'Got it.'

Big Ears whipped out his M-16, loaded a grappling hook into its underslung grenade launcher, aimed and fired.

The hook whizzed out across the chasm, arcing high through the air, its rope wobbling behind it. Then it shot downward,toward the marble gazebo on the jetty, until-thwack!-the hook whiplashed around one of the gazebo's pillars and took hold.

'Nice shot, brother,' Zoe said, genuinely impressed.

Big Ears looped his end of the hook's rope around a pillar in the sentry tower's window and the rope went taut-creating a long steep zipline that stretched down and across the chasm, from the high sentry tower down to the low jetty.

'Lily,' West said, 'you're with me from here. Grab on. We go first.'

Lily leapt into West's arms, wrapped her hands around his neck. West then slung a compact handlebar-like flying fox over the rope and pushed off- -and the two of them sailed out over the immense chasm, across the face of Hamilcar's Refuge, tiny dots against the great ancient fortress- -before they slid to a perfect halt on the surface of the little jetty that lay before the dark looming structure.

'Okay, Zoe, come on down,' West said into his radio.

Zoe whizzed down the rope on her own flying fox, landing deftly next to West and Lily.

'Wizard, you're nex-' West said.

Bam!

Gunshot.

It echoed loudly across the great chasm.

West spun, saw one of Judah's snipers aiming a long-barrelled Barrett rifle out from their sentry tower's balcony ...and suddenly realised that he was no longer within the protective range of the Warbler.

But strangely no bullet-impact hit near him, Zoe or Lily.

And then the realisation hit West.

The sniper wasn't aiming for them.

He was aiming at the- 'd.a.m.n it, no...'

Bam!

Another shot.

Ping! Shwack!

The flying fox's rope rope was severed right in its middle and went instantly slack, cut clean in two. It dropped, limp, into the water. was severed right in its middle and went instantly slack, cut clean in two. It dropped, limp, into the water.

And suddenly West, Zoe and Lily were out on the jetty, all on their own, completely separated from the rest of their team.

'No choice now,' West said grimly. Then, into his radio: 'Big Ears, Pooh Bear, Stretch. Give us some cover fire. Because in four seconds we're gonna need it!'

Exactly four seconds later, right on cue, a withering barrage of gunfire blazed out from Judah's sentry tower.

A wave of bullets hammered the marble gazebo where West, Zoe and Lily were taking cover.

Impact-sparks exploded all around them.

But then the reply came from West's team, on their tower: roaring fire, aimed at the opposite sentry tower.

Bullets zinged back and forth across the main chasm, between the two towers.

The cover fire had its intended effect: it forced Judah's men to cease firing briefly and thus gave West the opening he needed.

'Okay, now!' he yelled to Zoe and Lily.

Out of the gazebo they ran, up the wide guttered rampway that gave access to the fortress, tiny figures before the enormous ancient citadel.

They flew up the stairs and, to the sound of gunfire outside, disappeared inside the dark yawning entrance to Hamilcar Barca's long-abandoned Refuge.

They entered a high-ceilinged many-pillared hall. The pillars ran in long sideways lines, so that the hall was exceedingly wide but not very deep.

It was absolutely beautiful-every column was ornately decorated, every ghost-like statue perfectly cut. It was also curiously Roman in its styling-the heavy-trading Carthaginians had been incredibly similar to their Roman rivals. Perhaps that was why they had been such bitter enemies over three b.l.o.o.d.y Punic Wars.

But this hall was long-deserted. Its floor lay bare, covered in a layer of grey ash.

It had also been modified by the Ptolemaic Egyptian engineers.

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