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"I think I' in my head"

More coughs "What happened?"

"It sounded like a couess leans toward a few kilos of C4 plastique explosive" Austin grunted "I like you a lot, Joe, but I don't think we're ready to be engaged Can you move?"

There washoses, until they were able to stand Zavala reached for a halogen lamp which had fallen within arm's reach He flashed it on Austin then back at his own face Their masks were askew but the lenses were unbroken and had protected their eyes fro dust

"You look like a disreputable h

"I hatea little pale yourself I've got another revelation We're breathing without our regulators"

Zavala held the halfulator to his face and clamped his teeth on the mouthpiece "Still works," he said

"Mine, too Looks like on't need the in"

"That etCan you walk?"

Zavala nodded and crawled from the pit, then leaned in and helped Austin out They were covered froave theht back into the pit and saw that the heavy stone lid had been cracked open by the concussion Austin knew they should be ot the best of hiure inside

The face was covered by a jade mask with round eyes and an aquiline nose The corpse was dressed in a shroud of dark material that could have been velvet Strands of whitishred hair poked out from under an amorphously shaped hat ht down The clawlike mummified hands clutched rolls of old parchment Austin re eyes, then tucked it back into the bony hands He noticed a glint of yellow under the chin of the mask The shape was familiar, but it seemed out of context Austin wanted to take a closer look, but there wasn't ti from the boat chamber

48 THE ALMOST IMPENETRABLE CLOUD in the boat chaainst the sunlight that strea had been Great chunks of rock had flattened the stern end of the dark red hull like a potato ments The chamber floor was littered with smaller pieces of rock and coated with limestone dust Austin had no time to mourn the boat's destruction A rope ladder dropped down fro down the ladder into the dusty haze

The first one to set foot on the floor reached up and steadied the ladder "Sorry about the mess, Don Halcon," caetic

"It couldn't be helped, Guz the wreckage "The ioal, not hoe did it" He flicked on a powerful flashlight and pointed it at the ruined boat "My God, what a fantastic sight!"

The intruders h the rubble and clied section of the boat Moments later Halcon shouted with excitement "Look at this, Guzh jewels in my hand to outfit a whole new army"