“We’re protecting much more than three people in the catacombs,” Bruton told the commander.

75

75

Monday, October 5

Catherine Book sat in Bruton’s office at the Pentagon. It was the first time they were in the same room. After Hashim had kidnapped Julian and Dominique in Mosul, Bruton tasked Kurt to enlist Catherine to find them. He needed her to find them again.

“Why did they go back to the warehouse?”

Bruton unlocked a drawer. He took out a dark velvet bag and placed it on the desk.

“Can you tell me what’s in this bag?”

“I’m not a dog who does tricks.”

“I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“You did.”

He went to unwrap it.

“It’s a cuneiform,” she said, before she even saw it.

He opened the bag and handed her the stone.

“This is from the warehouse?”

“Yes.”

“If you know they’re there why do you need me?”

“Because, they’re in the catacombs deep underneath.”

“And don’t have a way out?”

“We don’t have a way to communicate with them and we need a way in.”

“Who’s we?” she asked.

“There’s a Special Forces team above ground waiting for instructions. I need you to find a way in for them, so we can let the three in the catacombs know it’s us coming in, and not the enemy, and get them out safely—before more mujahideen arrive and find them, and the tablet, because they will.”

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76

The Special Forces team positioned themselves along the eastern wall of the warehouse. They’d found an indentation in the foundation of the building and began to dig.

Bruton had sent them an electronic drawing of Catherine Book’s remote view rendering of a possible access point into the catacombs, as well as a drawing of the catacombs themselves that would lead them to Julian and Dominique.

Due to the depth they’d need to go, and the constricted breadth of the drop to get there, two of the leaner members of the team were chosen.

“You haven’t told your wife where you are, have you?” the commander said with a wink to the first soldier strapping on equipment.

“No, sir. She thinks I’m in Hawaii, sir.”

The guys laughed.

“That’s good, Murphy. She should never know where you are unless you’re in her bed.”

“Yes, sir. I hope to be there soon, sir. We plan to have a bunch of kids, sir.”

“And you’re good to go, too, Wilson?” the commander asked the second soldier.

“Yes, sir,” Wilson said.

“You planning on a family?”

“No, sir. I prefer more than one bed to lie in.”

The guys hooted.

Murphy and Wilson finished putting on the specialized scuba equipment, which made them look like a cross between fire fighters and deep-sea divers—with rigs, harnesses, and cylinders of high-pressure breathing gas weighing down on their bodies.