"Wow," Jack breathed. He'd never seen anything like it. Lara glanced over to him and smiled.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I never tire of this part."

"What do we do now?" D.C. asked. Lara slid her pack to the ground, unflapped it and started pulling out her climbing gear.

"We'll abseil down there and have a look around. It's been my experience that you find what you're looking for if you look long enough."

The Delta operators started checking their rappelling gear. Jack touched Lara's shoulder, causing her to look up at him.

"Let's not take too long. We're on the clock, remember?"

"Of course, Captain. Believe me, that is weighing heavily on my mind." She had never felt the responsibility of so many other lives riding on what she did. It was decidedly uncomfortable. Lara wondered how these men could function with that kind of pressure. Jack seemed to bear it with an easy grace.

Within moments, the foursome had their rappelling seats fastened and their ropes anchored, their D-rings and snaplinks hooked in and locked, and were ready to go. Lara unflinchingly swung herself out over 100 feet of air and settled into her rope. The men did likewise. Without a word, they kicked off and bounded to the cavern floor in seconds, the ropes whizzing through their gloved hands. They stepped gingerly on the smooth limestone floor, unhooking from their ropes. Lara took a long moment to look around.

The cavern was at least 150 feet high and almost as many yards wide. Glassy stalagtites and stalagmites punctuated the chamber's geometry, and odd outcroppings of colored rock could be seen here and there. More importantly, there were no discernible signs there had ever been visitors. Lara walked out to the center of the chamber, the men fanning out in all directions, looking around and above them. Despite the apparent lack of any threat, their weapons were kept off safe and muzzles covering wherever their eyes wandered.

"So what are we looking for, Miss?" Lara turned to D.C. in response to his question.

"Well, David," she replied, "look for anything that seems out of place or doesn't belong. Especially anything at all that is man made."

"I suggest we split up. We'll cover more area in less time," Jack interjected. "Terrell, go left and check that area over there. D.C., go right along those rock outcroppings. I'll go over into that corner there." The foursome split up, each searching their respective area. The cavern was enormous and would take a long time to search.

*****************************************************

Rimoux was awakened by the ringing of his cell phone. It was most likely Harris. At least it had better be, interrupting his nap like that.

"Yes?"

"We're in position."

"Has she emerged from the mountain?"

"Not yet, sir. We found her entrance point. You might be interested to know there is a satellite radio hidden there."

Interesting, Rimoux thought. Lara never uses a satcom in the field. Could she be with someone? That could complicate things.

"Do you think someone is with her?"

"Don't know, sir. Orders?"

"Same as before. Wait for her to emerge, kill her and take the stone. Kill whoever is with her. And don't tamper with that radio! I don't want them alerted to your presence."

Rimoux shut the phone off before Harris could reply. What if there were American commandos with Lara? It could get bloody. No matter. Harris had twelve good men with him. They should be able to handle anything.

Jamba entered the office. He carried a metal box with him.

"Is everything ready, my friend?" Rimoux asked. Jamba placed the box on the desk and turned it toward his boss.

"Yes sir. The charges are all placed and ready to go. Just enter the time here and press the arming switch. The rest is in Allah's hands."

Rimoux smiled.

"Wonderful, Jamba. And our contact has his instructions?"

"Yes sir. We will have a truck waiting at the appointed location. It will be easily accessible through the sewer system. We will all be out of here before anyone knows we're gone."

Rimoux was pleased. Harris would take the stone and kill Croft, he and the men would escape the Embassy and get away clean before the Americans outside could do a thing. Before their very eyes their precious embassy would go up in a fireball with all the hostages inside. And the Emerald Eye would fetch millions on the black market. It was a beautiful plan.

*****************************************************

Jack called everyone on the radio to his location. He found something. When Lara arrived, he pointed it out to her. She saw it and nodded.

"Well done, Jack. You have a flair for this." She smiled at him. What Jack found was a hairline crack in the cave floor next to a strangely shaped rock. It seemed that there was an opening there. The rock must be a seal over a door of some kind.

"We'll have to move it," Lara announced. She immediately crouched down and threw her weight into the rock, grunting as she tried to dislodge it. It wouldn't budge. She tried pulling it, but there was no handle or grip to use for leverage. She finally turned and looked at the three men for assistance. They seemed to be amused that she took on such a heavy rock without hesitating. For her part, Lara was just trying to get on with things.

"You've got a lot of determination, Lara, but there are times when you should let technology work for you." Terrell held up a block of C-4. "When in doubt, blow it out," he joked.

Lara was dubious. "You don't think that'll be a bit of overkill, do you? We're inside a volcanic mountain chamber, after all. That plastique might bring the mountain down on our heads."

"Rest easy. Sergeant Givens is a master of demolitions. He was a demo instructor in Special Forces before he joined Delta. You might even call him an artist", D.C. said as he helped Terrell unwrap some blasting caps.

Lara watched, intrigued, as Terrell tore off a little chunk of C-4 and rolled it into a cigarette shape. He repeated the process several more times, studying the size and shape of the rock they had to get through. D.C. produced a small roll of wire and ran out several lengths, cutting and attaching a blasting cap to each. After studying the rock a bit more, Terrell began pressing the C-4 in four thin horizontal strips up the middle of the rock every foot or so. D.C. handed him the blasting caps which he pressed into the explosive strips. They ran the wire to its full length and D.C. attached them to the terminals on a small pocket detonator.

"The little red lights and blinking LEDs you see in the movies are pure B.S.", Terrell said to Lara. "You gotta use wired detonators. A radio controlled detonator could go off at the wrong time. Like when you're standing next to the charge." Terrell and D.C. stepped back behind a low rock.

"Fire in the hole," Terrell warned. Lara and Jack got behind another rock as Terrell and D.C. crouched low. Terrell flipped the ARM switch on the detonator box, then cranked the firing handle sharply to the right.

FOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Smoke, dust and bits of rock mushroomed up and away from the explosion. Everyone peeked out from behind cover to see what happened. It took a few seconds for the smoke to clear, but finally all could see the explosion's effects. What had been a single large piece of stone was now a large pile of pocks and pebbles.

"Bravo, Terrell," Lara said. "But it appears that your work is not finished."

He grinned at her. "Oh, I think it was about right. Any more and we'd be wearing that rock. Now, all we have to do is dig that stuff out of the way. Boss?"

"Right, T. Let's get at it." Jack said as he started digging with his hands. The other three joined him and after a few moments they had a hole big enough to see to the other side. Lara climbed up to the hole and peered through.

"What do you see, Lara?" Jack asked.

"Not a bloody thing." Lara reached into her pack for a flare, lit it off and tossed it through the hole. She peered intently in the hole for a long moment. Finally, she climbed back down the rockpile. The men looked at her expectantly.

"Looks like a large chamber in there," Lara began. "I can't see the ceiling or the far wall, but I can see some carvings on the near wall. It might be an anteroom of some kind. Let's get the rest of this rock out of the way and get in there."

The foursome quickly dug through the rest of the pile of rocks and rubble and were able to file through the opening into the large room. The flare was just burning out as they entered. Narrow cones of white light cut through the darkness in the room as team members switched on their flashlights. The whole room smelled of must and sulfur and a fine haze hung in the air. Slowly, they were able to discern exactly what kind of room they had entered.

The room was roughly square, about 30 feet wide and 50 feet deep and almost 40 feet high. Along the walls were strange carvings that seemed to Lara to be a cross between heiroglyph and cuneiform in nature. She couldn't identify these markings but something about them stuck in her mind. Had she seen anything like this before? The carvings started at a point about 10 feet off the floor and extended all the way to the ceiling. Every few yards Lara could see ornate frescoes cut out of rectangles of volcanic glass. She walked up to the nearest one and studied it closely. The men followed, fascinated by what they were seeing. The black glass panel was about 18 inches wide and almost 7 feet high. It appeared to be carved rendering of some kind of warrior. He bore a shield oblong in shape, like the Maasai shield, and a war mask that looked like the face of a lion or some such. His bearing was agressive and he was brandishing a long spear.

"Fearsome chap," Lara observed. "Good thing he's just a carving." She wandered farther down the room, looking at the strange letters and other black glass carvings. They were all warriors, similarly garbed and threatening in nature. What was it about those markings?

As Lara inspected the carvings, the men checked out the rest of the room. It was completely bare except for one thing. A small stone podium about three feet high stood in the far end of the room. There was some glowing, glitering object setting atop it. D.C. walked over to the podium for a closer look. What he found was amazing.

"Hey, everybody, look at this!" he called out. Heads turned. "It's some kind of gemstone. Maybe it's what we're looking for." He reached out to take the fist-sized stone. As he did, Lara's eyes went wide as alarm bells rang in her head.

"D.C.! Wait! Stop!" Lara called out. It was too late. He picked up the stone and held it out, it's glow illuminating his face. He turned to Lara, startled.

"What's wrong, Ma'am? It's just a li'l ol' rock. Ain't gonna hurt nobody." The men were a little unnerved at Lara's reaction. She snapped her weapon up to her shoulder and looked around wildly.

"Bloody hell, D.C., put that stone back right now! I haven't safed it!", she ordered.

"Huh? What do you..."

D.C.'s reply halted in his mouth. Something happened. All around them, the black glass panels with the warrior carvings began to glow with a volcanic red hue. Seconds later, thunderous noise, sparks and smoke filled the room as grotesque beings with spears and shields blasted out of the panels and jumped to the floor. They were almost seven feet tall and beneath their masks glowed angry red eyes. The team was surrounded.

Jack, Terrell and D.C. were among the ranks of the world's finest soldiers. They had seen and done things that few have imagined. They claimed a proud heritage forged in blood in hellholes the world over. But they were totally unprepared for this. Lara Croft, however, was the Tomb Raider. She'd been here before.

Lara's silenced MP-5 chattered like an air hammer. The sound of gunfire switched the men on. Immediately the deafening roar of automatic weapons filled the room. The warrior-monsters attacked. They swung and jabbed with their spears and darted in and out between the four humans now fighting for their lives. One swung his spear in a slash aiming for Jack's head. Jack ducked and fired a long burst into it. The 5.56mm bullets seemed to knock it back a bit, but didn't kill it. He kept firing and just as his rifle ran dry, the being exploded in front of him and disappeared.

D.C. found himself trapped in the corner with two of the beasts jabbing their spears at him. They were inching closer and closer as D.C. fired back, his bullets seemingly bouncing off their shields. Just as they were about to strike, D.C. frantically swung his rifle at them, knocking one of the shields away. The beast looked away, momentarily distracted. D.C. shoved the muzzle of his rifle in its face and squeezed the trigger. The three-round burst split its head open and it exploded in a ball of orange flame. The other beast took the opportunity to attack. Its spear came in low and swept into D.C.'s right leg. He screamed in pain. The wound was severe, cutting through tendons and muscle tissue in his outer thigh. D.C. reached around and grabbed the spear in a deathgrip. The beast tried to pull the spear back for another attack, but D.C. held it firm for a moment. That was all it took for him to swing his rifle around empty his magazine into its chest. The explosion knocked D.C. off his feet and slammed him against the wall.

Terrell had already disposed of one of the creatures and was battling another, while Lara was busy dodging jabs from the last one. Her MP-5 with its 9mm bullets didn't have the shock effect of the men's 5.56mm rifles, and she was having a hard time of it. She would fire a long burst, and as the creature moved to counterattack, deftly vaulted over its head and landed with a judo roll. That would giver her enough time to fire another burst or quickly change magazines. This went on several times and Lara went through three magazines in fifteen seconds. The creature showed no sign of losing strength and Lara was running out of ammo. Just as the creature prepared to jab Lara in the guts with its spear, it exploded in her face. Jack had seen what was happening and drilled it with his rifle. Seconds later, another explosion sounded as Terrell killed the last creature.

As suddenly as it began, it stopped. The team was once again alone in the room, their faces singed and ears ringing, the floor littered with hundreds of brass shell casings, the thick stench of cordite in the air. And the black glass panels on the walls were gone without a trace.

CHAPTER EIGHT