Read Online The Mahabharata Secret by Christopher C Doyle - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Christopher C Doyle
Ads: Link
photograph on it. The other papers that will give you access to the locker are in the folder I just gave you.’
Trapped!
Vijay and Colin accompanied the clerk down the stairs to the basement of the vault.
The lockers were in an underground vault accessed by a narrow staircase that was barred at the top by a solid steel door with two levels of security: an electronic password to open the first lock and a manual key to open the second.
The clerk stopped at a row of lockers, unlocked one of them and left. Vijay could now use his keys to open it completely. Vijay’s hands trembled with excitement as he opened the steel box kept within the locker. Inside was a package wrapped in brown paper. He ripped off the paper to reveal a layer of bubble wrap. Carefully placing the package on the felt-topped table the clerk had left for them, he removed the bubble wrap, wondering what lay within that had to be preserved so carefully.
As the last layer of wrapping came off, Vijay and Colin stared at the object that lay on the table.
It was a solid slab, circular in shape, made from a strange dark metal, ancient in appearance but with no traces of rust. One side was smooth and polished. The other side had a circular hollow at the centre, circumscribed by what looked like a gear wheel with inscriptions around it. Forming a circular boundary to the hollow and the gear wheel was a final circle, also surrounded by inscriptions. It didn’t seem like a key of any kind. As they stared at the disk a thought dawned on Vijay.
His eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked at Colin, who immediately understood what Vijay was thinking.
Just then, Vijay’s mobile phone rang. He looked at the number. It was Homi. He put the phone to his ear, but could only hear someone breathing heavily.
‘Homi...Homi...’ he barked into the phone anxiously. ‘Vijay,’ a scratchy voice gasped, as if choking; Vijay could barely recognise the voice as Homi’s. The words seemed to be coming between gasps. Or was it just a bad signal in this underground area? ‘Vijay...please...they...address...locker...please...leave...’ The voice faltered and fell silent, and Vijay heard a clattering sound as if something had fallen on the ground.
A cold fear gripped Vijay. He looked at Colin, who had replaced the metal slab in its bubble wrap packing and slipped it into a duffel bag.
‘That was Homi. I think he was trying to warn us to get out of here. Now.’
He quickly dialled the ambulance number that was saved on his phone for emergencies, and asked them to report to Homi’s office.
‘Farooq?’ Colin had caught onto Vijay’s thought.
Vijay nodded grimly. ‘Let’s go!’ He slung the strap of the bag across his shoulder and bounded up the stairs.
Suddenly, cries and screams filtered through the heavy steel door at the top of the staircase, which was open just a crack. Abruptly, the door slammed shut and the two friends, who had by now been joined by a few more people accessing their lockers, heard the sound of the bolts slamming home. Someone had locked the steel door!
The small knot of people looked at each other in surprise. There was, however, no cause for concern. If the steel door was locked, anyone wanting to leave the locker had simply to use the intercom and the door would be opened for them from the outside.
Vijay picked up the receiver of the intercom. There was silence; no tone. He waited for a while, hoping someone would come on the line, but nothing happened.
What was happening outside?
Abruptly, there were two sharp bangs and sudden silence. The screaming and shouting had stopped.
Vijay and Colin exchanged glances. Now they looked worried. They didn’t know how many of the others had realised it, but the bangs had sounded a lot like gunshots.
‘Let’s step away from the door,’ Vijay said as he and Colin tried to herd the others down the stairway. If those had been shots from a weapon, it was likely that there would be an attempt to
Trapped!
Vijay and Colin accompanied the clerk down the stairs to the basement of the vault.
The lockers were in an underground vault accessed by a narrow staircase that was barred at the top by a solid steel door with two levels of security: an electronic password to open the first lock and a manual key to open the second.
The clerk stopped at a row of lockers, unlocked one of them and left. Vijay could now use his keys to open it completely. Vijay’s hands trembled with excitement as he opened the steel box kept within the locker. Inside was a package wrapped in brown paper. He ripped off the paper to reveal a layer of bubble wrap. Carefully placing the package on the felt-topped table the clerk had left for them, he removed the bubble wrap, wondering what lay within that had to be preserved so carefully.
As the last layer of wrapping came off, Vijay and Colin stared at the object that lay on the table.
It was a solid slab, circular in shape, made from a strange dark metal, ancient in appearance but with no traces of rust. One side was smooth and polished. The other side had a circular hollow at the centre, circumscribed by what looked like a gear wheel with inscriptions around it. Forming a circular boundary to the hollow and the gear wheel was a final circle, also surrounded by inscriptions. It didn’t seem like a key of any kind. As they stared at the disk a thought dawned on Vijay.
His eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked at Colin, who immediately understood what Vijay was thinking.
Just then, Vijay’s mobile phone rang. He looked at the number. It was Homi. He put the phone to his ear, but could only hear someone breathing heavily.
‘Homi...Homi...’ he barked into the phone anxiously. ‘Vijay,’ a scratchy voice gasped, as if choking; Vijay could barely recognise the voice as Homi’s. The words seemed to be coming between gasps. Or was it just a bad signal in this underground area? ‘Vijay...please...they...address...locker...please...leave...’ The voice faltered and fell silent, and Vijay heard a clattering sound as if something had fallen on the ground.
A cold fear gripped Vijay. He looked at Colin, who had replaced the metal slab in its bubble wrap packing and slipped it into a duffel bag.
‘That was Homi. I think he was trying to warn us to get out of here. Now.’
He quickly dialled the ambulance number that was saved on his phone for emergencies, and asked them to report to Homi’s office.
‘Farooq?’ Colin had caught onto Vijay’s thought.
Vijay nodded grimly. ‘Let’s go!’ He slung the strap of the bag across his shoulder and bounded up the stairs.
Suddenly, cries and screams filtered through the heavy steel door at the top of the staircase, which was open just a crack. Abruptly, the door slammed shut and the two friends, who had by now been joined by a few more people accessing their lockers, heard the sound of the bolts slamming home. Someone had locked the steel door!
The small knot of people looked at each other in surprise. There was, however, no cause for concern. If the steel door was locked, anyone wanting to leave the locker had simply to use the intercom and the door would be opened for them from the outside.
Vijay picked up the receiver of the intercom. There was silence; no tone. He waited for a while, hoping someone would come on the line, but nothing happened.
What was happening outside?
Abruptly, there were two sharp bangs and sudden silence. The screaming and shouting had stopped.
Vijay and Colin exchanged glances. Now they looked worried. They didn’t know how many of the others had realised it, but the bangs had sounded a lot like gunshots.
‘Let’s step away from the door,’ Vijay said as he and Colin tried to herd the others down the stairway. If those had been shots from a weapon, it was likely that there would be an attempt to
Similar Books
