The Illuminati Endgame (The Relic Hunters 7)

by David Leadbeater

  It was a long shot. Bodie dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed Heidi’s number. This wasn’t the same phone he’d had when they were working together, it was a burner. But he recalled her number by heart. Would she take a call in the middle of a firefight?

  No.

  He tried again and kept trying. A minute later, he waved, trying to catch her attention and holding his phone up in the air. Heidi’s head popped out of cover and very briefly as she fired toward the Hoods.

  Bodie kept calling.

  *

  Cassidy and Yasmine raced along the ground separating them from Adelaide and Nimrod.

  Adelaide rose to her feet holding a plastic tube containing a good sample of ore and then turned. Her eyes locked onto Cassidy’s. Her lips moved and Nimrod spun too, smiling when he saw them coming.

  “Bastard’s too confident,” Cassidy said.

  “Good,” Yasmine said. “He’ll feel worse when I make him bleed.”

  Adelaide met Cassidy, the two redheads of a similar build and height. Adelaide dropped the ore sample into bag and withdrew a knife.

  Cassidy rounded her warily. “The Illuminati’s getting desperate then?” she said. “Sending out their leaders to get the job done.”

  “The job is done,” Adelaide said. “We are but days from the endgame.”

  Cassidy cocked her head. “And what’s that?”

  “Don’t you know?” Adelaide drew her hair away from her face. “The end of everything as you know it.”

  “Apocalypse, then?”

  “Not exactly. More a reshaping. A global restructure. Imagine... the rich suddenly becoming poor in comparison to others... imagine that.”

  “With the Illuminati taking control?”

  “We already are in control. You just don’t know it.”

  Cassidy pivoted as Adelaide lunged with the knife. The blade flashed past her right hip. Adelaide withdrew, but didn’t overbalance as Cassidy had hoped. Cassidy now knew that Adelaide could put up a capable fight, but at what level?

  Yasmine shaped up to Nimrod. The leader of the Hoods stood arrogantly, pretending to stay loose and uninterested. He carried no weapon that Yasmine could see. She waited, circling him.

  When he faced the east and the sunrise briefly blinded his eyes, she leapt in, catching him a blow in the solar-plexus and a kick to the thigh. Nimrod staggered, but Yasmine was too savvy to fall into that trap.

  She held back, watching.

  Nimrod laughed and rubbed his chest where her punch had made contact. “Is that it?” he said. “I’ve had harder massages.”

  Yasmine didn’t get drawn in. Nimrod could bait her all he liked, try to disrupt her concentration, but she was far too experienced and wily to fall into that trap.

  Nimrod struck. Yasmine parried. The two circled each other, cagey as tigers in a pit. Yasmine saw an untamed, fierce and violent air about Nimrod, as if he’d lived hard his entire life. She knew he wouldn’t go down easy.

  Cassidy didn’t stand on ceremony. She rushed in at Adelaide, knocking the knife aside and slamming her at the base of the throat, the chest and the temples. It was how she’d used to cage fight—full-on attack, shock and awe your opponent with a stunning strike and then withdraw after landing at least one debilitating blow.

  Adelaide dropped the knife into the grass. She fell over her own bag then scrambled back to her feet.

  Cassidy crouched in front of her, watching the blood drip from a gashed eye. “You ready to see my endgame?” Cassidy grinned.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  Bodie had almost given up trying to get through to Heidi when, finally, she answered the phone.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Listen,” Bodie said. “Lay down some heavy fire for ten seconds and then withdraw. Give us a chance to hit them from behind.”

  Heidi protested at first but then seemed to realize the practicality of his suggestion. With luck, they’d halve the number of their enemy in one stroke. But it had to be quick. The Hoods were aware of Bodie’s position and would already be thinking about taking offensive action. Bodie had remained out of sight and deliberately unengaged for that reason.

  “Thirty seconds from now,” Heidi said.

  Bodie put his back to the stone and motioned to the others to remain in cover. He checked his gun, knowing he’d have to change mags during the onslaught but seeing no alternative. Jemma readied her gun.

  Bodie knew what she was feeling. “Just relax and then squeeze,” he said. “Remember, they would shoot you and view it as a blessing to their masters.”

  He stopped talking as an increase in gunfire stung the air. Heidi had passed the message on. Bodie counted the seconds, making ready. On eleven he stepped out from cover and took aim on the Hoods’ positions.

  Nine cloaked figures had their backs to him, crouched behind their own stones. Three faced him, changing magazines in their guns. Bodie took another step to create room for Jemma, then opened fire. Four bullets winged their way toward the shocked Hoods.

  Two twisted and screamed as their blood splashed the soaring stones at their backs. Two more dived to the side. Jemma loosed four bullets, striking only one target. Hoods fell, rolled and leapt to all angles.

  Bodie changed his mag. Heidi and some others fired single shots as the Hoods abandoned their cover, taking them out. Bodie counted those remaining before he and Jemma were forced back into cover.

  “Five,” he told Heidi over the open line.

  “Nice job.”

  The sun rose higher. A cool breeze sprang up, rustling through the surrounding grasses. It was still early, still semi-dark, but Bodie could see most of the nearby landscape. Gunshots would have traveled across the countryside and the law would have been alerted. Bodie wondered if perhaps British Intelligence had already told them to stand down. If so, he wished they’d brought more people.

  His attention was captured by movement to the west. This was where the remainder of the civilians had taken cover. Bodie guessed they numbered around a dozen, all armed with makeshift weapons. Clearly, somebody had contacted them—probably one of the Hoods—because now, they burst out into the open.

  They came straight for Bodie.

  *

  Cassidy punched Adelaide twice, but then stepped away as the Hood waved at something unseen. Cassidy took a moment to check and saw nine civilians running toward Bodie’s hiding place and another nine running at her and Yasmine. They had about ten seconds to act.

  To her right, Yasmine tangled with Nimrod, neither foe yet gaining the upper hand. Cassidy wiped sweat from her face.

  “You lose,” Adelaide said.

  “Not yet, bi—”

  Cassidy paused in shock as both Adelaide and Nimrod took off without warning, sprinting straight toward the oncoming civilians. It was a mind-jangling moment. Cassidy watched the two parties meet up and then turn toward Bodie and his colleagues.

  “What the hell’s going on?” Yasmine asked.

  “If they’re trying to confuse the crap out of me, they’re doing a good job.” Cassidy chased after their enemies but then slowed, not wanting to get hit in any crossfire. Stonehenge’s inner circle was wide open and prone to stray bullets.

  To her left, Heidi, Pang and the other agents had paused to see what would come next. The Hoods were also waiting. An odd silence fell across the battle—odd because, Cassidy knew, the fight was far from done.

  The civilians, Adelaide and Nimrod ran at Bodie. He had seconds to act. Cassidy gave chase with Yasmine, taking advantage of the lull in gunfire. Heidi and Pang came out from cover, watching.

  The Hoods also emerged and charged at Bodie.

  Showing quick awareness, Heidi and Pang gave chase. The whole clearing was now too crowded to shoot. Agents broke from cover to the east.

  Even so, Cassidy knew they’d all be too late.

  *

  Bodie had seconds to assess the situation. Following their attack on the Hoods, he had three bullets left while Jemma ha
d four. The attack was being led by civilians with hammers, knives and bats. Adelaide and Nimrod were behind them, the Hoods bursting from his right. At his side, Jemma and Lucie stood uncertainly.

  “Shouldn’t we run?” Lucie said.

  All things considered, Bodie thought it might be the best idea. Some of the Illuminati clan were running west, back toward the visitor center. Maybe they’d decided that now they had the ore, retreat was the best option.

  “Run south,” he said. “Get out of their way.”

  With seconds to spare, he led the charge. A bat swung past his head, narrowly missing, so close he felt its passage. The grunting and breathing of running men and women roared in his ears. Their boots pounded closer and closer. His left hand closed around Lucie’s, and he dragged her along.

  Running at an angle, the civilians swept past just behind them. Jemma was clear. Bodie was just clear, but Lucie—slightly behind—was clipped by a runner. Her entire body staggered to the left, her head coming down and sending her tumbling. Bodie felt her hand wrenched from his grip.

  He slowed. Lucie was engulfed by civilians. Some swung weapons that crunched into the grass. Some fell over her.

  Bodie threw one man aside and kicked another in the back. Jemma joined him. Adelaide and Nimrod hit from behind, the former kicking out at Bodie’s legs, the latter slamming an elbow into Jemma’s head as he tore past.

  Bodie collapsed, his knee screaming in pain. Jemma fell head over heels, striking the ground with a heavy thud.

  The Hoods flew among them then. Bodie saw nothing but flashing boots, legs and torsos. A knee caught him across the face. A sneaker came down on his hand. He rolled back and curled up, knee still throbbing.

  He came face to face with Jemma.

  Her eyes were dazed, her face slack, but she was coming to.

  Bodie turned away. A cloaked figure stood over him, a gun aimed at his head. He saw the trigger finger clearly, saw it start to squeeze. He braced, tried to kick out, but the pain in his knee was too much. Just then, something burst thought the Hood’s chest. He staggered forward, face still cloaked in darkness, and died at Bodie’s feet. The gun slithered away across the damp grass.

  Bodie groaned and rolled over. Heidi and Pang were sweeping in from the left with their remaining agents: three men, one woman and Butcher. Nobody dared fire. The civilians had hauled Lucie upright, grabbed hold of her and were dragging her away.

  Bodie climbed to his feet despite the pain. Two Hoods fired at Pang and the others, all of whom dived to the ground.

  Heidi kept coming, trying to help. She knew Lucie as well as any of them. Lucie had joined the team after Heidi. She shot a Hood and then struck another across the face, didn’t wait for him to go down. She made a beeline for Lucie.

  Behind Bodie, Cassidy and Yasmine pulled up. A Hood flung himself at Cassidy, pulling her to the ground. Yasmine stooped to help Jemma up.

  “Hey,” Bodie said. “Lucie!”

  Yasmine focused ahead and nodded. She darted forward, barging aside two civilians. Nimrod saw her and slowed, greeting her with a flurry of blows. Yasmine skipped to the right, out of the flow of people, and once again engaged the leader of the Hoods.

  It was left to Heidi to get closer to Lucie. The civilian crush prevented her. Both Lucie and Heidi were dragged along by the crowd. Two men had Lucie in a tight grip. Heidi went with them but found it increasingly hard to fight her way forward.

  The group hurried toward the visitor center.

  Pang and three other agents fell to one knee and took aim. Shots rang out. A civilian and a Hood were hit in their legs and felled. Bodie staggered forward on one good leg, aiming his own gun.

  It was a crazy melee. A Hood, looking back, fired at Bodie, the bullet almost taking his head off before it smashed into a standing stone. Bodie ducked, found himself near Jemma.

  “They can’t get too far surely,” Jemma said. “And even if they reach the center where are they gonna go?”

  “We have to help Lucie,” Bodie said, cursing his knee. “They could just kill her out of spite.”

  “Especially when they realize she’s our historian.” Cassidy returned from her tussle with her own Hood, bruised and battered but still looking game. “Come on.”

  She loped after the surging crowd. Pang and Butcher closed in from the left. Bodie limped along in Cassidy’s wake, but then saw Yasmine and Nimrod locked in mortal battle to their right. They couldn’t just leave Yasmine alone, considering who she was fighting.

  Bodie drew his gun, sighting on Nimrod. The Hood proved he had a sixth sense by choosing that moment to skip around Yasmine, putting her between him and a bullet. Bodie struggled to sight as Nimrod and Yasmine joined together once more.

  Bodie fought to quell a surge of frustration and guilt. In all this, Lucie should have been the most guarded. But it was Lucie that had been taken, who was being dragged along at the head of the civilian crowd as they ran.

  Heidi took several blows from a civilian and then a Hood as she fought to get closer to Lucie.

  Then there was a new sound: a rhythmic beat of terrible thunder that made Bodie’s blood run cold.

  They came over the western horizon where darkness still ruled: two predatorial shapes the color of tar. They came fast and low, skimming across the rolling landscape directly toward the runners.

  They had seconds to save themselves.

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  Bodie gritted his teeth and staggered forward. The pain didn’t matter. The damage didn’t matter. He wouldn’t let Lucie, and now Heidi, be carried along in that aggressive flow of the Illuminati faithful. Only two Hoods were still standing. Adelaide hovered around the back of the civilians and Nimrod, on seeing the helicopters, darted away from Yasmine.

  The choppers swept in, eating up the ground until they hammered overhead. From their open side doors, men hung and pointed weapons. Pang and his agents flew toward shelter as a burst of gunfire strafed them. Three went down. Pang dragged Butcher to cover.

  Bodie was close to a Hood, reached out, and grabbed his cloak. The man whirled, jerking Bodie off his feet and back to the ground where another painful jolt sprang from his knee. The helicopters came into land as their occupants laid down covering fire.

  Bodie, lying on his side, watched the scene unfold. Both choppers bounced their skids off the ground, rotors slicing at the air. Automatic fire kept the relic hunters and agents neutralized.

  Adelaide broke into a mad dash for one of the birds, Nimrod the other. The remaining Hoods were herded aboard, and then the civilians, at a barked order, shoved first Lucie then Heidi up into the main body of one of the choppers.

  Both women struggled. Bodie noticed Heidi drop her gun. Nimrod reached out to yank her inside.

  Pang fired from cover, his shot striking the metal shell near Nimrod’s skull. Lucie was heaved up and out of sight, followed by Heidi, and then the civilians simply stopped moving.

  They weren’t getting on board.

  Bodie hit a shooter as the bird took off, sending him crashing to the ground. Pang killed another. But they were no match for the eight men firing back. All they could do was duck and crawl to safety behind the enormous monument.

  In desperation, Bodie emptied his mag, seeing his bullets spark and clang around the interior of the helicopter. Everyone ducked, some dived to the floor.

  In the madness of gunfire and escape, Adelaide slipped out of the far side of the chopper and struck the ground. She thudded and didn’t move, didn’t even twitch when someone shouted her name.

  Both helicopters rose into the air and sped off toward the rising sun. Bodie’s heart thudded so hard he thought it might burst. Lucie! Heidi!

  They were gone.

  Unable to immediately come up with a plan to give chase, to save them, his attention was grabbed by the civilians that the Illuminati hierarchy had left behind. Numbering at around a dozen, they turned now in silence, faces blazing with hatred, and readied their weapons. Bodie turned t
o Jemma.

  “How many bullets you got left?”

  “Two.”

  “Save them for whoever comes our way. My knee is on fire.”

  Yasmine stood over them. The civilians charged, waving their makeshift weapons and yelling out about death and murder, the Great Dragon and all manner of chants originating from the Illuminati. It was a magnificent charge in their heads, but only in their heads.

  Pang, Butcher and the remaining agents stepped from cover and opened fire. The civilians went down. One veered toward Jemma, but Yasmine stepped in and felled her. A good move, since Bodie wanted at least one of the civilians alive.

  As well as Adelaide.

  With the last traces of the fleeing choppers disappearing from sight, Bodie put two hands to his knee and assessed the injury. Though painful, he believed it was all bruising and hoped there was no ligament damage. Jemma handed him a handful of painkillers which he dry-swallowed.

  Pang rushed up. “You realize they got the ore and Heidi? What’s your next move, Bodie? What is it?”

  “And Lucie,” Cassidy snapped at him.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

  “They’re going to the crucible,” Bodie said.

  “Which is where?”

  “Ask Lucie,” Bodie snapped, nodding at the sky. “She’s our historian.”

  “Our friend,” Jemma said.

  “I’m speaking in a language the idiot can understand.” Bodie nodded at Pang. “Apologies, Jemma.”

  Pang glared after the now vanished helicopters. “If what you are saying is true. If they’re heading for this crucible and then...” He paused, thinking.

  “Hades,” Yasmine put in helpfully.

  “Yes, Hades, to get their reward. Then, we’ve lost. The world has lost. Whatever the Illuminati want, they’ve just gotten it all.”

  Bodie looked back at the circle of Stonehenge, the scattered bodies and blood-splashed stones. For once in his life, Pang was probably right. Who could ever have guessed that this would be the site of their last battle? The place they fought to save the world. And who could have imagined that they’d lose?