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.He had arrived a few minutes earlier with an empty bladder.He knew it would take at least four large coffees for nature to force him from his lookout.If he drank them slowly, it would be more than enough time for Sarah and Cobb to get what they needed.‘Ready,’ he mumbled.Garcia monitored all the chatter from the converted radio room on the boat.He was the digital maestro.Not only was he responsible for recording the video feeds, he also controlled who could talk to whom, and when.‘Remember guys, Josh is there to look and listen.The more he talks, the more this plan falls apart.Don’t forget, he’s sitting alone at a table.We don’t need him talking to himself if it can be avoided.’‘Like he doesn’t do that already,’ Sarah teased.‘I heard that,’ McNutt said.Seated next to Garcia, Jasmine stared at a map of the ancient city on a next-generation computer screen.While it wasn’t the same as the three-dimensional hologram, the software was still rendering an amazingly precise set of images.‘I’ve got all three of you on the map.The GPS units are relaying your location, loud and clear.Well, not loud.I mean, the units aren’t beeping or anything because that would get annoying, but I can see where you are quite clearly.Well, not really you.Just dots on a screen.’Garcia winced.‘For the love of God, what was that?’‘Sorry.I’m nervous.’‘Nervous, or drunk?’‘Nervous!’ she assured him.‘Good, because we can’t afford to have two drunks on the job.’‘I heard that, too!’ McNutt growled.Cobb had been hesitant about the global positioning trackers.He assumed that if Garcia could follow his movement, others might be able to home in on the signal as well.Not that anyone would.After all, they had no reason to believe that they were being followed.Still, Cobb wanted to stay off the radar, not announce where he was.But Garcia had assured him that his security measures were sound: no one could hack the GPS signal without Garcia knowing it.And if someone tried, he could intercept the attack or shut down the signal before Cobb or Sarah’s position could be traced.Eventually, Cobb had decided that testing the accuracy of the map outweighed the risks.The odds of encountering the kind of elite hacker who could even identify a GPS signal – much less track it – were ten thousand to one, at best.That is, if the technology even worked in the depths of the city.They wouldn’t know for sure until they tried it out.Prior to the team’s arrival in Alexandria, Cobb and Sarah had searched the district for non-traditional access points to the tunnel system and had found one in the subbasement of an apartment building.It had everything they were looking for: a wide grate to load equipment, ridiculously inadequate security, and virtual privacy.Cobb cleared his throat.‘Sarah and I are walking up to the entrance now.We’re in play in three.two.one.’At zero, Sarah grabbed the doorknob and picked the lock faster than a senior citizen could turn a key.A second later, they were walking into the building.‘Impressive,’ Cobb whispered.‘I know,’ Sarah bragged.They hustled down a flight of stairs and found themselves in a long hallway flanked by storage lockers for the residents.They quickly planted a small, wireless video camera above the lockers and made sure Garcia could see the feed.Then they made their way across the width of the building, silently hoping that none of the tenants was in sudden need of the spare lamps, battered suitcases, or rusted bicycles that cluttered the bins.Fortunately, on this night, their path was clear.When they reached the end of the hall, Sarah easily picked the lock on the boiler room door.They slipped inside and locked the door behind them.‘Holy shit,’ she said as she turned on her flashlight and walked down the stairs.Steam hung in the air like a sauna.‘What’s wrong?’ Garcia demanded.‘It feels like Florida in here.Someone get me a towel.’Cobb smiled as he planted a second camera just inside the door.Not only because her comment was accurate, but because he knew all of that steam needed somewhere to go – and that was why they were there.The moisture drained into the ancient aqueducts below.Cobb lifted the iron grate off the large drain in the floor.Sarah lowered herself into the hole first, bracing her body against the walls to control her descent into the tunnels below [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]