Part 35 (1/2)

'How can they be onto us again again?' Pooh Bear asked.

West just stared at the convoy, trying not to betray his thoughts: Who gave us away? Who gave us away?

'Oh, s.h.i.+t!' Sky Monster exclaimed, hearing something through his headphones. 'The Yanks just scrambled fighters from Nasiryah. F-15s. We better find this place fast, Huntsman.'

A few minutes later, they arrived above the dusty town of Haritha, situated on the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab River about fifty kilometres north of Basra.

'Okay, Sky Monster, swing us due east,' West said.

Sky Monster banked the Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus above the town, but as he did so, he and West glimpsed the highway coming from the north, from Qurna- above the town, but as he did so, he and West glimpsed the highway coming from the north, from Qurna- -and on that highway, they saw another another column of American vehicles. column of American vehicles.

It was almost identical to the first-lots of troop trucks, Humvees and tanks; and another 5,000 men, at the very least.

West's mind raced.

'Judah must have had people at Qurna, searching for the waterfalls,' he said. 'But Qurna is the wrong junction of the rivers. He was searching too far to the north.'

'And now-suddenly-he knows to come south,' Sky Monster said pointedly. 'How about that...'

West just tapped him rea.s.suringly on the shoulder. 'East and low, my friend.'

But their position was clear-with a rat in their ranks, they were now caught between two two converging convoys of overwhelming American firepower. converging convoys of overwhelming American firepower.

If they found the Hanging Gardens-which wasn't guaranteed- they'd have to be in and out fast fast.

Within minutes, the jagged peaks of the Zagros Mountains rose up before them, the boundary line between Iraq and Iran.

Numerous small rivers snaked their way through the range's maze-like system of peaks and valleys-descending to the Shatt al-Arab. Waterfalls could be seen everywhere: tall thin string-like falls, short squat ones, even horseshoe-shaped ones.

There were many double-tiered waterfalls, and several quadruple-tiered falls, but as far as West could tell, there was only one set of triple triple-tiered falls in the area due east of Haritha: an absolutely stunning cascade easily 300 feet from top to bottom, that bounced over two wide rocky ledges, before flowing into a stream that wound down to the mighty al-Arab. These falls lay right at the edge of the mountain range, looking out over the flat marshy plain of southern Iraq.

'That's it,' West said. 'That's them. Sky Monster, bring us down anywhere you can. We drive from here. You take the Hali Hali to these co-ordinates and wait for me to call.' He handed Sky Monster a slip of paper. to these co-ordinates and wait for me to call.' He handed Sky Monster a slip of paper.

'Roger that, Huntsman.'

The Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus landed on the flat cracked surface of a lakebed that hadn't seen water in 1,000 years. landed on the flat cracked surface of a lakebed that hadn't seen water in 1,000 years.

No sooner had its wheels touched down than its rear loading ramp dropped open, banging onto the ground, and-shoom!-a second four-wheel drive Land Rover came rus.h.i.+ng out of the big plane's belly, bouncing down onto the mudplain and speeding off to the east, kicking up a cloud of sand behind it.

For its part, the Halicarna.s.sus Halicarna.s.sus just powered up again and took off, heading for the secret hangar where Jack West had originally found her fifteen years before. just powered up again and took off, heading for the secret hangar where Jack West had originally found her fifteen years before.

The Land Rover skidded to a halt before the towering triple-tiered falls. The roar of falling water filled the air.

'Allah have mercy,' Pooh Bear said, gazing up at the falls. At 300 feet, they were the size of a thirty-storey building.

'There!' West called.

A narrow stone path in the rockface led behind the lowest tier of the waterfall.

West hurried along it. The others followed. But when they arrived behind the curtain of falling water, they were confronted by something they hadn't expected.

On every tier of the falls, the water was thrown quite a way out from the cliff-wall, propelled by its rapid speed. This meant that the actual face face of each tier was largely water-free-except for a layer of moss and a constant trickle of dribbling water. It of each tier was largely water-free-except for a layer of moss and a constant trickle of dribbling water. It also alsomeant that each cliff-face was concealed concealed by the falls themselves. by the falls themselves.

And behind the curtains of water was a most curious feature.

Cut into the face of each rockwall was a dizzying network of ultra-narrow paths that criss-crossed up them. There were maybe six paths in total, but they wound and intersected in so many ways that the number of permutations they created was huge.

Gazing at the twisting array of pathways on the first cliff-face, West saw with dismay the alarming number of wall-holes and blade-holes that opened onto the paths.

b.o.o.by traps.

Zaeed was awed. 'Imhotep III. A genius, he was, but a sinister genius. This is a very rare type of trap system but typical of his flair. There are many paths with deadly snares, but only one of the pathways is safe.'

'How do we know which route is the safe one?' Stretch asked. 'They all seem to intertwine.'

Beside West, Lily was gazing intently at the path system behind the waterfall.

As she looked at it, something clicked in her mind.

'I've seen this before ...' she said.

She reached into West's backpack and extracted a printout.

It was t.i.tled: 'Waterfall Entrance-Refortification by Imhotep III in the time of Ptolemy Soter'.

'Well, would you look at that...' Stretch said.

The lines on the printed image exactly matched the layout of the pathways on the waterfall.

'But which path is the safe route?' Pooh Bear asked anxiously.

'That I don't know,' Lily said, deflating.

'Wait a second,' West said. 'Maybe you do...'

Now he rifled through his pack for a few moments, before he said, 'Got it!'

He pulled from the backpack a tattered brown leatherbound notebook.

The diary of the n.a.z.i archaeologist, Hessler.

'Hessler knew the safe path,' West said, flicking the pages of the diary until he found what he was looking for.

'Here!' He held the diary open, revealing a page they had seen before: Its t.i.tle was 'Safe Routes'.

West smiled.