Kathlyn Trent, Marcus Burton 01 - Valley of the Shadow by Kathryn Le Veque Page B

KV65.  So far, thirty-one steps had been uncovered, leading to a shaft forty-three feet above the valley floor that was blocked by big boulders and other debris.  Using ropes, pulleys and a good deal of manpower, Marcus and his team had managed to remove seven massive boulders weighing about four tons a piece. The shaft itself stood nearly ten feet high. 
    Kathlyn had watched the digging and removal for a little over three weeks, agreeing with Marcus on one very obvious thing; there was no way ancient grave robbers could have removed the boulders to get to the tomb. If the tomb had been plundered another way, then it would have taken someone of superhuman strength and intelligence to do it.   Although she had completed her task and located the tomb, she had asked to stay on until the tomb was officially identified. This was as exciting for her as it was for Marcus, probably more so.
    Their relationship seemed to have gotten over its rocky start.  He would include her in on any strategic discussions and generally treat her like one of the crew. Marcus had, in fact, been very nice to her, but there had been no more impulsive embraces or moments alone together. They had been so busy that there hadn't been time. Kathlyn had gone about her extracurricular duties with the SCA, filming some of the narrative for this exciting tomb discovery and insisting, over the protests of the documentary's director, that Marcus receive all of the credit for it. World Geographic Magazine was frantic to do a spread, but that missive came through McGrath and bore the stipulation that Kathlyn should do the write up on it. McGrath deferred to Kathlyn in all media matters and she handled them like the professional that she was. She could flatly refuse their request and charm the hell out of them all in the same breath.
    The dust was already billowing into the early morning sky by the time she reached the site. The SCA had to do some rearranging of the access to the east Valley of the Kings since the new KV65 site blocked off most of the main entrance. News of the find had been leaked to the news people within the first week and the entire world was enthralled with the discovery. Helicopters now roared overhead in the crystal blue skies with media from around the globe. One day an entire busload of Japanese tourists had pulled up and the people had spent the entire day, in the heat and the flies, standing behind the barricades taking pictures. 
    That had been the day that Kathlyn had taken a header on the lose rock and ended up with a gash in her knee that required seven stitches. The Japanese had clicked away furiously on their digital Nikons as Marcus picked her up and carried her, with blood streaming down her leg and onto her boots, back to camp.  On newspapers all over the world, the picture of the two of them appeared with a caption reading 'Mummy's Curse Strikes Again?’. In response, Andy and Larry had wrapped themselves up in old sheets and moaned and groaned around the mess tent that night, pretending they were killing people as they ate. Even Marcus had laughed at them.
    But there was no curse on this dig, at least not yet. The last of the boulders was about to be moved this morning, which would reveal, hopefully, a sealed entry.  Marcus, Lynn, Dennis and Ed were in the shaft, positioning the jacks and pulleys that would extract the rock from the shaft.  Even though Marcus had an undergrad in Physics and usually acted as his own engineer, Ed had a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering and had designed an extremely effective removal system. Marcus recognized genius when he saw it. A series of mercury vapor lights were set up to illuminate the tunnel, which cut back into the hill at about a 3 percent grade and grew fairly dark, fairly quickly.
    "Hello!" Kathlyn called back into the shaft, letting them know, for safety's sake, that she was there before she went in. "Anybody home?"
    The men were already a sweaty, dusty mess.  Dennis