The words echoed from inside the hollow altar support and startled de Roquefort. Then he quickly realized that the voice was Mark Nelle's. Thorvaldsen moved to answer, but de Roquefort grabbed the crooked old man and clamped a hand across the mouth before he could utter a sound. He then signaled for one of the brothers, who rushed forward and grabbed the kicking Dane, a new hand sheathing Thorvaldsen's mouth. He pointed and the prisoner was dragged to a far corner of the church.
"Answer him," he mouthed to Geoffrey.
This would be an interesting test of his newfound ally's loyalty.
Geoffrey stuffed his gun between his belt and stepped to the altar. "I'm here."
"You're back. Good. Any problems?"
"None. Bought everything on the list. What's happening down there?"
"We found something, but we need bolt cutters. They're in the tool bag by the generator."
He watched as Geoffrey moved toward the generator and removed a pair of heavy-duty bolt cutters.
What had they found?
Geoffrey tossed the tool down.
"Thanks," Mark Nelle said. "You coming?"
"I'll stay here with Thorvaldsen and keep an eye on things. We don't need any uninvited guests."
"Good idea. Where's Henrik?"
"Unpacking what I bought and getting the camp ready for the night. The sun's nearly gone. I'll go help him."
"You might want to get the generator ready and the power cords unraveled for the light bars. We may need those shortly."
"I'll take care of it."
Geoffrey lingered a moment more then stepped away from the altar and whispered, "He's gone."
De Roquefort knew what had to be done. "Time to take command of this expedition."
MALONE GRIPPED THE BOLT CUTTERS AND WORKED THE TEETH around the brass chain. He then compressed the handles and allowed the spring-action to bite clean through the metal. A snap signaled success and the chain, with hasp, slipped to the ground.
Cassiopeia bent down and retrieved them. "There are museums around the world that would love to have this. I'm sure not many have survived in this condition."
"And we just cut it," Stephanie said.
"There wasn't a whole lot of choice," Malone said. "We're kind of in a hurry." He pointed a flashlight through the grille. "Everybody to the side. I'm going to open this thing slowly. It looks clear, but you never know."
He wedged the bolt cutters into the grille, then stepped to one side, using the rock wall for protection. The hinges were stiff and he had to work the grille back and forth. Finally, the portal opened.
He was just about to lead the way inside when a voice called down from above.
"Mr. Malone. I have Henrik Thorvaldsen. I need for you and your companions to come up. Now. I'll give you one minute, then I'm going to shoot this old man dead."