Rogue Angel - The Spirit Banner Part 9

The lead man never slowed. He charged into the designated area, his eyes on the wall that was getting closer with every step, confident that the sensors had been disarmed.

No sirens split the night.

No lights forced back the darkness.

The lead man reached the outside wall of the manor house. Unslinging the grapple gun from where he carried it across his back, he took aim and fired. The small steel hook shot upward, arced over the edge of the roof and embedded itself in the tiles high above. A sharp tug on the climbing rope attached to the hook confirmed its placement.

Hand over hand, the lead man and two others climbed to the roof, while the final two men in the team took up positions at the bottom of the rope, guarding the escape route for the others.

Once on the rooftop they followed the route that they had all committed to memory, moving from their initial entry point at the end of the south wing to a section of the roof above the main manor house. Their leader used the four chimneys to orient the team and then advanced to a spot midway along the roof's western edge.

At his signal, his two companions began pulling up the roofing tiles and stacking them to one side. When they had created a s.p.a.ce large enough for a man to fit through, one of them stepped to the side. The lead man, who by now had a.s.sembled a portable cutting rig from parts removed from his pack, pa.s.sed the rig to his waiting companion.

The item they had come for was less than fifteen feet away, separated from them by just a thin section of plaster and wood.

The leader glanced at his watch.

They were right on time.

He gave the signal for his teammate to start cutting.

A NNJA FOUND NNJA FOUND M M ASON ASON and his employer in Davenport's study on the first floor. She wasted no time in getting to the point. and his employer in Davenport's study on the first floor. She wasted no time in getting to the point.

"Something about the journal has been bothering me since this morning and I've only just now figured out what it is. If Curran died in that cave, who found the journal and how did you come to be in possession of it?" she asked.

Mason glanced at Davenport and the other man nodded, giving permission for him to answer the question.

"I handle a variety of jobs for Mr. Davenport. One of those happens to be scouting out new business opportunities. I was in Mongolia recently with a geological team, looking for mineral deposits. While investigating a series of caves a few days outside of Karakorum, we stumbled upon the mummified remains of two men. The journal was on a shelf near one of the bodies."

"And so you took it?"

Mason shrugged. "I thought it might be important and taking it with me seemed the best way of preserving it."

Annja frowned. "But now that you've had time to examine its contents, surely you understand that the site, and anything it contains, could be of historic importance to the Mongolian people?"

Davenport stepped in. "Of course we do, Annja. But we also want credit for finding the site and permission to excavate it. That is why we intend to apply for the proper paperwork to sponsor an expedition to do just that in the spring." He spread his hands, as if to say, Can't you see we're doing the right thing here? Can't you see we're doing the right thing here? "Determining the authenticity of the journal seemed an important step in that process." "Determining the authenticity of the journal seemed an important step in that process."

Annja wasn't sure if that was the whole story or not, but she recognized that it was all she was going to get at the moment.

"Good enough," she said, with a shrug of her own that clearly said she wasn't going to make an issue of it. "Then I guess it's okay to tell you...I think it's real." Annja couldn't keep the smile from spreading across her face as she admitted it.

Davenport let out a whoop of joy. "I knew it!" he shouted. "I just knew it."

Mason was up, shaking his employer's hand, congratulating him, the two of them laughing and talking, when Annja broke in again.

"I said I think the journal journal is real. Unfortunately, the map is not." is real. Unfortunately, the map is not."

That brought both of them up short. Davenport's voice held a trace of steel as he asked, "What do you mean the map is not? the map is not?"

Annja brought her laptop over to the table in front of the chairs where they'd been seated and turned it around to face them.

"Look," she said. "This is a full-scale image of the map from the back of the journal." The map appeared on the screen before them. "I cleaned it up some, but otherwise it is exactly the same. No image enhancements or anything like that."

The two men nodded to show they were following her.

"Now this," she said, calling up another image, "is a modern-day map of the same area. I've reduced it to scale to match the other one." The two maps appeared side by side.

Davenport glanced between them. "I don't see...Oh."

Annja grinned. "Yeah. Oh." She tapped the keyboard and they all watched as the two images slid over each other. Doing so allowed them to see that Curran, or whoever had drawn the map, had deliberately introduced errors into the positioning of many of the major landmarks. For instance, the Onon River had been moved slightly to the east while the Hentiyn Nuruu mountain range had been relocated a good distance to the south. The other errors were similar in nature; Annja had counted eleven in all.

Davenport stared at the map in confusion. "Why would he do that?"

Annja opened her mouth to reply but Mason beat her to the answer.

"He wanted to pa.s.s on the information but didn't want to make it easy in case it fell into the wrong hands. Remember, there's no way for anyone at that time to verify the map short of going there themselves. So a few subtle alterations and, voila-the secret is safe."

Davenport frowned. "So the map's a fake? It won't lead us to the tomb?"

Annja smiled. "The map's authentic all right, in the sense that it is as old as we expected it to be, and more than likely penned by the individual we think penned it. The thing is, it just doesn't give accurate directions to the tomb. At least, not directly. The location of the tomb is in there, we just have to break the code to get it."

Davenport's eyes shone with curiosity. "Code?" he asked.

T HE CUTTER SHUT OFF HE CUTTER SHUT OFF the torch and set it aside. He drew out a long-bladed combat knife. He used it to wedge up one side of the rectangle he'd cut in the roof, and then slid a gloved hand beneath it. A sharp tug broke the last remaining edge and the piece came free in his hand. He pa.s.sed it to the others and then cautiously stuck his head down through the opening he'd created. the torch and set it aside. He drew out a long-bladed combat knife. He used it to wedge up one side of the rectangle he'd cut in the roof, and then slid a gloved hand beneath it. A sharp tug broke the last remaining edge and the piece came free in his hand. He pa.s.sed it to the others and then cautiously stuck his head down through the opening he'd created.

The work area was immediately below them, just as they'd been told it would be.

There was no need for instructions. The entry team had been briefed thoroughly before their departure and they all knew their own individual a.s.signments. One man stayed behind to cover the roof while the leader and the last remaining team member lowered themselves through the hole they'd cut and dropped lightly to the floor below.

They were in!

"L ET ME SHOW YOU ET ME SHOW YOU ." Annja closed out the maps and brought up several pages from the journal itself. She pointed out the strange addition to each letter that had caught her eye in the first place, then showed them how selecting only those words brought up another message hidden inside the text of the first. ." Annja closed out the maps and brought up several pages from the journal itself. She pointed out the strange addition to each letter that had caught her eye in the first place, then showed them how selecting only those words brought up another message hidden inside the text of the first.

Beneath the watchful gaze of the eternal blue heaven The spirit of the warrior points the way To where the blood of the world intertwines And the voice in the earth has its say The sixty brides rode sixty steeds And now rest beneath the watchful eyes of those who came before In their arms is the truth you seek The way to all that was and more Then climb to the place where Tengri and Gazan meet It is there that the Batur makes his home

"What the heck is that?" Mason asked, bewildered. "I'm not one hundred percent sure," Annja replied nonchalantly, "but if I had to guess, I'd say it is probably directions to the final resting place of Genghis Khan himself."

10.

Annja's announcement was met with renewed excitement from the two men.

"Do you think you can decipher it?" Mason asked.

Annja nodded. "I've worked through the first stanza already, I think. And I've got some ideas about the others. But understand, there's no way to be certain. We could get all the way there only to discover I was wrong about the first part, which would then call the rest of the solution into question, as well. It's a c.r.a.pshoot."

She didn't miss the look that pa.s.sed between the two men.