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Pitt followed hi lined with smooth concrete The tunnel extended over a hundred feet to theat a narrow stairwell They climbed a level to another door, which they found ajar Giordino was about to look around it when a phone rang on the opposite side

“Maguire,” came a weathered voice that answered the phone “No, there’ve been no unauthorized vehicles approaching the site” Theunit I’ll wake hiuards, then take a look around” Another pause “Right,” he said, then hung up

The man made another phone call, slipped on a jacket, and stepped away When Pitt and Giordino heard a distant door open and close, they entered from the stairwell

It was a security station, just inside the building’s front entrance A row of video le desk provided live feeds from hidden cameras around the complex One focused on the exterior entrance, where the ar toward the driveway

“So out of herein” He reached over to a video monitor that showed the main corridor and adjusted the ca

“I’e soet ”

They entered a wide central corridor that ran the length of the building The bright white concrete floor, walls, and ceiling gave it a sterile feel The doors along the hallway had glass inserts, allowing a view inside S laboratories occupied by one or two people in lab coats They hesitated in front of one door, which opened to a kennel Cages lined the walls, each containing a beagle or other

“Lab-testing on Snoopy,” Giordino said in a low voice “I dislike these people already”

They continued down the hall until a door handle clicked behind them Pitt saw a dark room to his left and rushed in Giordino followed quickly and closed the door They froze in the dark, listening as someone continued down the hall Another door opened and closed, then Pitt flicked on the light switch

Overhead LED lights revealed aroom Worktables with computers, microscopes, and chemical solutions lined the rear and side walls Several X-rays were posted on a corner viewing ht operating lights, sided by a tray table containing an array of scalpels and probes More disconcerting, a surney, covered by a sheet

Silently, Pitt and Giordino approached the operating table Pitt stared at the draped figure, then grabbed a corner of the sheet and drew it back He wasn’t sure what to expect, perhaps one of the test dogs from the kennel

Instead, he exposed the well-preserved body of a thirty-five-hundred-year-old Egyptian mummy

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To Pitt’s untrained eye the size of the ancient linen wrappings around the legs and torso suggested a mummified child of ten or twelve The shaved skull indicated a male The head was tilted back, and a sed inside to keep the mouth open

“I wasn’t expecting to find King Tut,” Giordino said