“I do not intend to stumble along in the dark,” Gurka grunted. “Nor do I intend to lead the watchers to our cave. We will make camp soon, and we will make ready.”
The words were ominous. It was clear that Gurka expected an attack and appeared to be prepared to make camp and wait for it. But they couldn’t run out here. They couldn’t hide. And they couldn’t lead these people to treasure.
Like it or not, Bodie and the relic hunters had a fight on their hands.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Bodie stared out at the night, willing the shadows not to take on the shape of an enemy combatant. Their camp sat inside a rough circle of irregular stones with a mountain at their backs. For now, it was in darkness.
The mercs were at the outer perimeter, weapons ready. R24 formed the second circle. Bodie and his team sat at the camp’s center, unarmed but with orders from Gurka to “get involved if the shit really hits the fan.” Lucie, for once, was close by and free of Dudyk.
Bodie heard Cassidy checking that the blonde woman was okay. There was a quiet affirmative and then the clatter of two objects landing inside their camp.
“Fuck me!” a voice cried out. “That’s a grenade!”
Bodie felt a moment of pure terror. They couldn’t see the explosives. Couldn’t deal with them. Were they to die here, so easily, after all they had been through? His heart thumped like a jackhammer as he turned to shield his friends.
The devices discharged. They weren’t grenades after all but smoke bombs. Men began to cough and break rank. The smoke billowed out and then drifted upward.
“Shoot, you fools! Shoot!” Gurka’s command ended in a violent fit of coughing.
Some mercs opened fire in the dark; others tried to stay low and stay under the rising smoke. Bodie heard grunts of pain, but then their camp was overrun.
Men jumped among them. The air reverberated with grunts of pain, the occasional gunshot, and falling bodies. Bodie saw a figure rear up before him. He didn’t strike because he wasn’t sure it was an enemy, but then he took a rifle barrel to the temple. He fell sideways, hitting the rocky floor. It was impossible to fight with any composure—the air full of smoke, the darkness impenetrable, the screams and cries and orders of men disorienting to the senses.
Four pairs of legs stomped around him, but who was the enemy? Nina’s sharp voice pierced the dark.
“Do it!”
Bodie knew two fires had been prepared and was furious that it had taken R24 so long to light them. It showed a certain amateurishness. Instantly now, they flared to life. Shadows erupted all around him, frantic battling shadows. Bodie saw the enemies he knew struggling against over a dozen strangers, with more ranging around the battle. It was all close-quarter combat. Knives glinted and flashed. Two mercs lay dead already along with four of the newcomers. Dudyk, Vash, and Belenko were holding five at bay. The smoke had stopped billowing now, but Bodie’s throat was dry, and his eyes were watering. His team lay or knelt all around him. Cassidy had a man by the throat. Heidi was dragging Lucie from another’s hands.
The melee continued. The fire crackled and spat. Lurid, dancing flames painted the rock walls all around with nightmarish entwined shapes. It was a scene from the seventh circle of Hell, a demonic vision. An enemy’s arm broke, his keening scream adding to the horrific spectacle.
It was then that he saw an incredible vision, a woman with jet-black hair and a powerful frame slipping in between mercenaries, hurting them, sending them falling to the ground. She carried two wicked, curved knives, which were mostly caught by stab vests, but what distinguished her was the way she moved, the incredible dancing, deadly ballet as she dodged between the bulkier fighters, helping her colleagues out, saving their lives, never stopping. Sweat flew off her in a fine mist; the dark strands of her hair clung to her forehead and cheeks. For one moment she saw Bodie, caught his eye, and nodded.
And then she was gone, throwing herself into the thick of the battle for her friends.
Bodie picked up a rock and smashed the first enemy he could find across the face. A cheek burst and blood sprayed as the man fell limply to the ground. Bodie leapt over him, struck a knee-high rock, and went sprawling.
He rolled onto his back and quickly assessed his plight. He was clear. He rose, but then someone stumbled across him, sending him back down. There was no skill here. Just luck. Bodie jumped onto the man’s back and kidney punched him. An elbow connected with his temple. His vision clouded. The jumping, flitting shadows played havoc with his senses. He saw one, abnormally elongated by the fire, rise high and fall upon him. The fists hit a moment later, smashing his head into the ground.
He stared up into nightmare eyes.
It was the flame and the shadow again, catching reflections and distorting them. His attacker was pulled away, uttering a cry. Cassidy stood above him.
“No time for a nap, boss.”
Bodie took a breath and rose. His head cleared. Around the camp and among the rocks, the eleven remaining mercs, R24, and the attackers fought together, struggling for space. His own team was dealing with just two men. Yasmine concentrated on one while Heidi and Pantera confronted the other.
“We need to pin one of these—”
They were swept apart as four battling men staggered between them, one sending Bodie sprawling once more. This was bloody madness. What could anyone hope to achieve? The enemy combatant with the broken arm was on his knees six feet to Bodie’s right. Someone swung a knife down toward his neck, which he was unable to defend against, and he fell dead. The merc who’d killed him was suddenly hit by a beast of a man, a bearded giant. He went flying, head over heels. The giant turned to Bodie.
He had a Glock in his hand and time to use it.
Bodie pounced up from his heels, shooting forward at speed. The gun tracked him. He closed the gap. He wasn’t going to make it. The Glock leveled. In the second or so it took to reach for the gun hand, he noticed two very clear things.
The large man had a welcoming smile on his face.
And familiar tattoos across his left cheek.
What . . . ?
The Glock didn’t fire, but the man pulled him into a bear hug. “You know us?”
“I do now,” Bodie grunted out, face crushed to a rough stab vest. “The bloody Bratva. What the hell are you doing here?”
“You thought we wouldn’t hunt the ones who wronged us?” The man threw him around a little to imitate fighting moves.
“We handled that,” Bodie gasped. “It was done. I met the bosses in Miami. It wasn’t us—”
“We know,” came the reply. “I don’t mean you. I meant these R24 people and their mercenaries. That is who we hunt.”
It suddenly made sense. The Bratva had justifiably taken offense when their meeting—and their hierarchy—had been raided, threatened, and attacked by mercenaries with guns. Now they were here for revenge.
“How did you find us?”
“You made a call to the CIA? We heard that.”
Around them, the fight still raged. People struggled to win, or at least not to die, with every sinew, every ounce of will.
“You were listening? And you beat the CIA here? That figures.”
“We were closer,” the man allowed. “But they are closing in too. This will end by tomorrow.”
“You have to go,” Bodie said. “Leave now. They have Caruso’s family. And one of them watches Lucie constantly. If they suspect anything, they will give the kill order.”
“We are losing this fight anyway,” the man said. “Be ready.”
In moments, the man had thrown Bodie to the ground and given a command to his men. The attackers began to melt into the night. They fired high to warn their opponents to keep their own guns in check, but the mercs had no intentions of continuing the battle and soon sank into repose to check their wounds.
Bodie grabbed Cassidy and quickly explained before walking over to Heidi. The rest gathered around, sitting back on their haunches and taking stock. A
sense of shock stole over the assembled figures. Several dead bodies lay around, surrounded by pools of blood. Gurka himself looked shell shocked. Dudyk made his way back to Lucie’s side, though he had never been farther than two arm lengths away. It took Bodie and Cassidy ten halted minutes, but they explained the new Bratva revelations to the team.
Heidi shook her head with some irony. “Of course a criminal organization makes it here before my own government. That’s a given.”
“What are you talking about?” Gurka glanced at them suspiciously.
“Just happy to be alive,” Cassidy said. “Glad they’re gone.”
“Then you are fools. All of you. They have gone, yes, but how do you think we enter the cave without being seen? How do you think we will do that?”
It was a fair question, one Bodie had thought of but hadn’t voiced out loud. It put them in a corner. It would force R24 to make hard, definitive choices, none of which would be good for his team.
“You have the rest of the night,” Heidi snapped. “Why not think on it?”
She didn’t have to voice what they, and Caruso, already knew. None of them were going to make it out alive. None of them would be set free when the Amber Room was found. R24 would follow the Nazi example and get rid of everyone who knew about it. And that meant Caruso’s family too.
Tomorrow was truly the endgame.
It was a telling moment when Gurka gathered his fellow R24 members together, all except Dudyk, and walked with them into the darkness—there to discuss and decide whatever twisted plan would work best for them.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
It was a hard night.
Bodie’s initial thought was that R24 had decided to take the battle straight to the Bratva, because last night, its members hadn’t returned at all. It was only an hour before dawn that Gurka led his rancorous crew back to the camp and sat staring into a fire for the next ten minutes.
Then, he made an announcement.
“All of you,” he said, speaking directly to the mercenaries. “Hit those bastards hard. Hit them now, before dawn. Whoever walks back from the battle, I’ll triple your fee.”
Bodie tried reining in his emotions. Gurka had just passed a death sentence on the eleven mercenaries who remained, but to a man, they looked eager to earn their new reward. It was a risky scenario. Maybe Gurka was hoping they would weaken the Bratva enough in order that R24 could finish them both off. By his count, the Bratva were down to fifteen. It was possible.
He saw Dudyk readying Lucie. Nina was repacking her rucksack with care. Vash and Belenko were preparing weapons. Gurka was sitting quietly, eyeing the mercs as they made ready.
Heidi tapped Bodie’s shoulder and leaned over to whisper. “They’re sacrificing their own men,” she said. “Using the battle as a distraction so they can find the cave without being seen.”
Bodie thought she was guessing, but it felt right. “Sounds like a play they would make.”
“It’s good for us,” Heidi went on. “Brings our enemies down to five.”
But not good for the Bratva.
An odd thought. Here he was, anxious for a criminal gang that, until a few days ago, had been sworn mortal enemies.
He was surprised by Cassidy whispering in his other ear. “Keep it clean, you two. What’s up?”
Bodie pulled away. There was something he didn’t want to explore right now about having two women whispering in his ears. Before he could explain, though, the mercs started to leave. R24 members urged their captives to follow them. They walked steadily until they could see the valley floor ahead and the cliffs opposite, where the Bratva had been standing the day before.
Gurka pointed out a barely discernible route. “We scouted it last night. You can get right up to their camp that way.” He proceeded to show the mercs another path that the Bratva were using. The black skies were already turning gray as he ordered them to move out.
“It’ll be light in twenty,” were his last words to them. “Good luck.”
When the last man was out of earshot, he turned to Caruso, his face etched with anger. “Now, you Italian fuck, you will show me the entrance to that cave, or I’ll order my men to break your wife’s fingers.”
Caruso stared, shocked. “I am . . . aren’t you waiting to see . . . oh my . . .”
Bodie coughed. “What he means is—aren’t you waiting to see how your men fare first?”
“Don’t pretend to be stupid. We’ll find that cave on our own and kill any men who survive. But I’m sure you already know that.”
Gurka and his comrades had to act quickly, Bodie thought, if they were to find the cave while the mercenaries were distracted. “So you’re threatening Caruso’s wife again? The guy has mental problems. He can’t tell you what you want to know!”
Caruso wrung his hands together. “Please don’t hurt my family.”
Gurka already had a phone in his hands. “Line’s already open.” He brandished the device like a weapon. “Last chance, Dante.”
“Follow the tracks,” Lucie said from the back. “Just follow the tracks, and the cave’s at the end.”
Dudyk shushed her quickly. Bodie was surprised at the lack of venom in his tone but realized the group was trying to stay quiet as dawn approached the vast, echoing mountains.
“It is,” Caruso added immediately. “We follow the train. I remember following the train.”
Gurka snarled at him. “How fucking far? It could be miles!” Then he brought the phone close to his mouth. “Hurt her.”
Instantly, Caruso fell to his knees. “No, please.”
“Be quiet.” Nina slapped him.
“Not my family. I am helping you. I am. If you have to hurt someone, hurt me.”
Gurka watched him closely, as if evaluating an act. Without moving, he spoke once more into the phone. “Hold off. For now.”
They started down the brief slope that would take them to the valley floor. All around, the darkness was tinged with a lighter gray, giving them just enough illumination to navigate by. The mercs had had enough time to cross the valley floor by now and start ascending the far cliff. Soon, they would be seen, or they would attack. Either way, a battle was imminent.
Finding the train tracks, Gurka and Vash started off at a fast pace, and within ten minutes, they were approaching the large tributary. It bent away to the right, not obstructing their path, the increasing roar of rushing water drowning all other sounds out for the next ten minutes. Gurka increased the pace. Bodie bowed his head as water spray filled the air. The eight relic hunters and Caruso walked between the four members of R24, with Lucie and Dudyk at the back. It was a hard slog. By the time they left the tributary behind, they could hear gunfire.
“Good,” Nina said on hearing the brutal sound. “It is perfect timing for us.”
“Men are dying,” Yasmine said. “Even your men.”
Bodie remembered she had been undercover inside the Bratva for a long time. It only occurred to him now that she might know some of the men on that cliff, or maybe their friends and brothers.
“Shut up and walk,” was all Nina would say.
The tracks ran dead straight for a mile and then started curving to the left. Gurka, Vash, and Belenko toiled hard to ensure that they didn’t stray. When the tracks bent away, it took the leaders many minutes to find them.
The bend ran toward a high mountain. The rails were totally buried beneath three feet of brown earth. They were rusted, pitted. No wonder they had lain here unnoticed for decades. And when Bodie studied the mountain they ran unerringly toward, he quickly voiced a thought.
“There’s no cave.”
Gurka cursed and told him to be quiet. The fact that the tracks ran toward the mountain was significant, Bodie thought, but at the end of the tracks he’d been expecting an opening, maybe a cave. He looked at the valley floor extending ahead toward the mountains. He saw the range beyond, peaks jutting up at the brightening sky. A chill wind scythed down through the passes, blasting into his
face. The mountain in question wasn’t strictly a mountain, Bodie thought. It was comparatively low, more of a craggy, rocky hill. It rose vertically for around five hundred feet, had steep, sloping sides and a peaked summit. But it was part of the Tatra range.
The foothills running up to the mountain were short, less than a hundred feet of terrain, dotted with large boulders, shrubs of grass, and a few small trees. They climbed through it, still hearing gunfire echoing across the valley. When they reached the foot of the mountain, Gurka stopped and turned.
“It is a good bend for a train,” he commented. “And the tracks stop here.” He uncovered a hard edge before turning to Caruso.
“This is your last chance.”
From Gurka’s tone, his countenance, and his body language, Bodie knew the Italian was out of time. That meant Bodie and his crew were also out of time. But they could still fight back.
“The end of the . . . ferroviari . . . the tracks.” Caruso stared at the earth as if trying to claw through the wreckage that was his memory. “I know what that means . . .” He paused.
Bodie readied himself. He saw Cassidy and the others move closer to Gurka and his four teammates. Lucie was rapt with attention.
Dudyk stared Bodie in the eyes, an unreadable expression on his face.
“It means we have found the Amber Room,” Caruso finished.
Gurka snapped, reaching out for their guide and grabbing him by the neck. He wrenched the older man so hard that he instantly fell to his knees; Gurka bent and allowed him to fall, staring straight into his terrified eyes. Bodie couldn’t let him hurt the older man and took a step forward, but both Vash and Belenko aimed their guns at his chest. It was only Nina, thinking to check the rock face out, who averted bloodshed.
“The rocks aren’t right.”
Gurka looked over, keeping his hands around Caruso’s neck. “What?”
“Look here. Put him down.”
Bodie waited for Gurka to start walking and then followed the scarred man to the rugged rock face. He was past taking orders. Nina waved a hand. “Cracks. Lines. From below the foothills, even from the foothills themselves, they look like jagged mountain fissures. Fractures, actually. But up close, it’s clear. Someone fitted the rocks across the entrance, not perfectly, but well enough to hide it. And the entrance was huge.”
The Amber Secret Page 19
