The Secret of Excalibur

by Andy McDermott

  Kruglov spoke in Russian, a command to keep her voice down. ‘But she has a point,’ he went on to Mitchell. ‘Once you had Excalibur, there was no need to keep Wilde alive.’

  ‘Like I said,’ Mitchell began, exasperated, ‘I had to maintain my cover. I’d be no use to Leonid if DARPA even suspected I was feeding him information. They’d cut me off, put me under a full investigation. But doing everything I could to keep her alive puts me above suspicion.’

  Kruglov frowned, considering his argument. Eventually, he nodded. ‘And what now?’ he asked, regarding the case again. ‘Are you prepared to give us the sword?’

  ‘That’s why I’m here. As far as DARPA’s concerned, they’re going to take delivery of a sword - but not the one they think. I’ve taken care of all the paperwork. Officially, this sword,’ he held up the case, ‘no longer exists. So I’m ready to take it to Leonid.’

  ‘What’re we gonna do?’ Nina hissed. ‘We can’t let them take it!’ Chase glanced back to where they had entered the garden. ‘I’ll be right back.’

  ‘What? Where’re you - Eddie!’ She watched in disbelief as he hurried away, then turned back to the scene playing out before her.

  Kruglov’s wide mouth twisted into an expression suggesting he had just sucked dry an entire lemon. ‘You want to take it to Leonid?’

  ‘That was the deal,’ Mitchell insisted. ‘I said I would personally take it to Leonid, and he agreed.’

  ‘I don’t trust you.’

  ‘I don’t give a rat’s ass whether you do or not. The point is, Leonid trusts me. I told him I’d bring him Excalibur. Well, I’ve got Excalibur right here, and I’m ready to take it to him. He’s waiting for it, Aleksey. And you know he doesn’t like to be kept waiting.’

  A cheer rose from the other end of Leicester Square; somebody famous on the red carpet. Nina looked round to see Chase hurrying back, crouched low to stay hidden from the Russians behind the tree. He had something in one hand. ‘Er, what?’

  ‘Big Ben was the best I could manage,’ said Chase, holding up a rather poor gilded miniature of the world-famous clock tower, bought from the nearby stall. ‘Wait here.’

  ‘What’re you doing?’

  ‘Nina, just stay back here. Please, don’t argue,’ he added as she began to protest. ‘I’ll handle this.’

  Lowering his head, he stepped out from behind the tree, casually walking through the other people on the path towards the group. Kruglov’s back was to him, while Dominika and Maximov were both focusing their attention on Mitchell.

  Kruglov finally nodded. ‘Okay. We will bring Leonid the sword . . . together.’

  ‘I can live with that,’ said Mitchell. He smiled. ‘So, let’s—’

  Chase stepped up behind Kruglov and thrust the ornament into his back, hoping its shape and hardness would convince the Russian he had a gun. ‘Ay up. How’s things?’

  ‘Eddie!’ Mitchell exclaimed.

  ‘Planning a trip, were you? Keep still,’ he warned Dominika as she reached into her coat. ‘Try anything and Toadface here has a nine-millimetre heart attack.’ She lowered her hand.

  ‘You would shoot me in the back?’ said Kruglov calmly. ‘With all these policemen around?’

  ‘I’d shoot you in the fucking face for what happened to Mitzi,’ Chase growled. ‘Jack, put down the case. I can’t fucking believe that after everything we went through, you were working for these bastards all along.’

  Mitchell put the long metal case on the ground. ‘Eddie, if you’ve got any of the sense you finally convinced me you had, you’d walk away right now.’

  Chase pushed Kruglov forward. ‘Guess you were wrong. Okay, everyone back up.’ Still advancing, he watched as Mitchell, Maximov and Dominika warily retreated. He prodded Kruglov in the back with his ‘gun’. ‘All right, shithead. Pick up the case. Very slowly.’

  ‘So, you are Chase?’ Kruglov asked, voice still not betraying the slightest concern, as he bent and took the case by its handle. ‘You’re as brave - and as stupid - as I’d heard.’

  ‘Maybe, but I’m not the one with a gun in my back, am I?’

  ‘No, but Nina is,’ said Mitchell.

  Chase grinned mirthlessly. ‘Nice try.’

  But the look of malevolent pleasure spreading across Dominika’s face warned him Mitchell might not be bluffing. He risked a brief glance over his shoulder—

  And saw the last of Kruglov’s henchmen, the man with the topknot, standing behind the terrified Nina.

  It wasn’t a gun he was holding to her back. It was a knife - the one he had used to kill Chloe Lamb.

  22

  Nobody moved, the group forming a strange tableau amidst the bustle of Leicester Square. Nina was the first to speak. ‘I’m sorry, Eddie. I didn’t see him coming.’

  ‘Put down the gun, Chase,’ said Kruglov. ‘Or she dies.’

  Chase jammed the point of the ornament into his back. Kruglov grunted. ‘If he even twitches, I’ll kill you.’

  ‘He won’t do it, Aleksey,’ said Mitchell. ‘He loves her too much.’

  ‘You shut up, you fucking two-faced—’

  ‘He already blames himself for the death of a friend,’ Mitchell continued. ‘He won’t let anything happen to Nina as well. Even if that means letting you go. Eddie, I’m giving you both a chance here. Just walk away.’

  Chase angrily jolted the case with his knee. ‘People have died for this fucking thing. You seriously think I’m going to let you hand it over to this bunch of twats?’

  ‘You don’t have a choice,’ Kruglov said. ‘Yorgi, when I count to three, kill her. One.’

  ‘Eddie, he’ll do it!’ Mitchell said. ‘Just -’

  ‘Two.’

  ‘- walk away, right now!’

  Chase stepped back and dropped the metal souvenir, which clanged to the ground between Kruglov’s feet.

  The Russian looked at it and chuckled, then turned to face Chase, smiling his frog-like smile. ‘Three.’

  ‘No!’ Chase screamed. Behind Nina, Yorgi moved, about to thrust the knife into her back—

  His face blew apart.

  Mitchell had whipped out a silenced handgun and fired it almost directly at Nina, the bullet passing so close to her face that it singed her hair. The dead Russian fell backwards, chunks of ragged flesh flapping from the shattered bones of his skull.

  ‘Get out of here!’ Mitchell shouted—

  Maximov slammed him back against the bust of Newton. The gun flew from his hand. Chase spun to face Kruglov, but the Russian smashed the case into his stomach, knocking him to the ground. Kruglov yelled an order, then sprinted into the garden.

  A bystander saw the mangled corpse and screamed, panic quickly spreading across the square.

  Nina snapped out of her shock as Kruglov ran past her, the case in his hand. She saw Chase struggle to his knees, winded but unharmed. She paused, caught between conflicting impulses . . . then ran after the Russian. If he got away with Excalibur, everything she had been through, all the deaths she had witnessed, would have been for nothing.

  Chase stood, and realised Nina was no longer there. ‘Shit!’ He was about to follow her when a metallic sound reached him, clear as a musical note even through the yells of the crowd. Dominika had drawn and cocked her gun, aiming it at him—

  Shouting from his right: two policemen running towards them. Dominika’s eyes flicked towards the noise, then she looked back and fired - but Chase had already rolled away, the bullet chipping the pavement. She turned and ran.

  The policemen went after her - and were sent flying back as Maximov swung Mitchell at them like a human baseball bat. The three men tumbled to the ground as the Russian bellowed in triumph before lumbering away across Leicester Square, swiping pedestrians out of his path.

  Chase was about to run after Nina when another gunshot made him whirl. Somebody had tried to be a hero and attempted to tackle Dominika - and had received a bullet in the gut. The green-haired assassin was sprinting south out of the sq
uare. More screams erupted in her wake. Chase snatched up Mitchell’s gun. He wanted to find Nina and Kruglov - but Dominika was the more immediately dangerous target. She had to be stopped before she hurt anyone else.

  There was another thought in his mind. He had a score to settle with Dominika.

  Kruglov reached the north side of the garden, barging people aside. Nina was gaining, the Russian slowed by the awkward case. Another cheer rose from the crowd outside the Empire, cameras flashing as a limo disgorged its celebrity cargo.

  Nina saw Kruglov looking for an escape route. The cordon ran the full width of Leicester Square, completely cutting off the northern end, and all the other streets leading away were jammed with people. He glanced back, to see her running after him. His free hand moved inside his coat, emerging with—

  ‘Gun!’ Nina screamed, hoping the police - and the pedestrians in the line of fire - would hear and respond. ‘He’s got a gun!’

  Kruglov fired at her. Nina dived on to the grass behind a bench, bystanders scattering like frightened pigeons.

  The crowd outside the cinema was still cheering, oblivious of the events behind it. Kruglov saw police officers closing from both sides and charged into the crush, battering people with the case and his gun as he clawed his way towards the barrier. Nina jumped up and raced after him.

  Dominika ran down a road out of the square. Chase followed, a momentary glance at a sign telling him he was on St Martin’s Street. He knew he was heading in the general direction of Trafalgar Square, but there was no direct route, Dominika’s path blocked by buildings.

  Fewer people here. He raised the gun, a silenced Ruger SR9, and risked a shot at the fleeing woman’s legs. It missed, cracking off the road surface just past her. Dominika returned fire over her shoulder. She had almost no chance of hitting him, but the two shots still forced Chase to duck and swerve, slowing him.

  She reached a crossroads and went left. Chase pounded round the corner after her, seeing her heading for the glass doors at the rear of the large building to the south.

  The National Gallery.

  Dominika fired another shot just before she reached the doors, preventing Chase from taking aim as she went through. Not that he would have: he could see people inside, a group of children - she had just entered the gallery’s Education Centre. For one terrible moment he thought she was going to take them hostage, but when he reached the doors he saw her haring up a flight of stairs.

  He kicked the doors open and pointed his gun after her, but she had already rounded a corner. Some of the children had seen Dominika’s gun, and his arrival only made matters worse. ‘Everyone get down!’ Chase yelled over the high-pitched screams as he ran to the stairs. He looked up. Dominika was aiming at him—

  Chase threw himself backwards as three shots echoed through the room, blasting craters in the wall beside him. He landed flat on his back, sending four rapid shots back at Dominika. She dived for cover as the banister splintered, then scrambled to her feet and ran to the top of the stairs.

  ‘Clear the building!’ Chase yelled at the gallery staff as they tried to help the terrified children. ‘Get everyone out!’ He raced up the stairs, gun at the ready. As he reached the top he saw Dominika dart down a corridor to the left.

  What the hell was she doing? She seemed to be fleeing at random, in a panic - but Chase couldn’t believe Kruglov and his people would have agreed to meet Mitchell in a crowded public place without having an escape plan.

  Something was wrong.

  He rounded the corner and followed her into the galleries.

  Kruglov reached the edge of the cordon, thrashing at the crowd with increasing fury. An enraged man tried to grab him; he smashed the butt of the gun into his face, breaking his jaw. As the man fell back, spitting blood, Kruglov flung himself over the barrier. A nearby security guard saw the commotion and ran to deal with the intruder—

  Kruglov shot him. A hole burst open in his chest, showering the crowd with blood. People screamed, the fun turning to fear. All order broke down as they trampled each other in their desperation to get away. Nina threw up her arms to shield her face as she ran into the mob, flailing elbows and feet swiping at her from all directions.

  Another gunshot. Through the chaos she saw a yellow-jacketed figure tumble to the ground: a policeman shot in the shoulder.

  Nina fought her way forward, and suddenly burst free of the retreating crowd, crashing against the railing. Kruglov was running for the nearest limo, gun raised. Despite the threat cameras were still flashing, paparazzi and public alike capturing the deadly spectacle, a real-life action scene playing out at the premiere of a Hollywood version. The Russian lowered his head in a futile attempt to avoid being photographed as he pointed his gun at the limo driver, screaming at him. The driver didn’t need to know any Russian to understand his orders, and scrambled frantically from his vehicle.

  Nina jumped over the railing and ran for the limousine. Kruglov kicked the driver away and leapt into the limo, tossing the case and the gun on to the passenger seat. He rammed the car into drive, looking up as he stepped on the accelerator—

  He saw Nina running towards him.

  The stretch limo surged forward, ripping up a section of the red carpet and smashing a photographer aside with its open door as Kruglov swerved the three-ton vehicle straight at her.

  No way to dodge—

  Nina dived forward, landing on the limo’s long bonnet on her stomach and sliding to hit the windscreen as the car accelerated. It clipped the barrier, scything one of the metal sections into the crowd, before Kruglov regained control.

  She grabbed one of the windscreen wipers and looked into the limo, to see Kruglov glaring back at her. He fumbled for his gun as she leapt to her feet—

  Bullets blew out chunks of the windscreen beneath Nina as she hurled herself on to the limo’s roof. Slithering across the slick surface, she flung out one hand, just catching the chrome trim along one side of the roof before she fell off the other.

  Lying flat, she tried to get a grip with her other hand—

  Holes exploded between her outstretched arms, flecks of paint spraying into her face as Kruglov fired through the roof. Each new eruption of jagged steel was closer to her head, closer . . .

  The firing stopped. The Russian was out of ammo. Nina could smell the smoke from the last hole, barely a hand’s width from her face.

  The limo picked up speed, charging towards the end of the cordon. A movable barrier had been placed across it to let vehicles exit while keeping pedestrians out.

  But nobody was going to move it aside this time, everybody throwing themselves out of the limo’s path—

  Nina’s free hand closed round the other side of the roof just as the vehicle smashed through the barrier and skidded into Charing Cross Road. Traffic had already been stopped by people fleeing into the street, but the limo’s front wing still clipped a car as Kruglov swerved hard to the right, turning south towards Trafalgar Square.

  Nina swung across the roof, legs dangling over the side as she fought to keep her grip. The limo wallowed, a hubcap flying off and clanging across the pavement. The chrome strip began to tear loose beneath her fingertips . . .

  With a squeal from the tyres, the limo lurched and straightened out. Nina was jolted back across the roof. The engine surged, and she felt her hair whipping in the wind as Kruglov accelerated through the streets of London.

  Paintings lined the high rooms, but Chase couldn’t spare so much as a moment to look at the treasures of the National Gallery as Dominika weaved through the interconnected chambers and corridors ahead of him. Startled visitors jumped out of their path, evening viewings unexpectedly disrupted.

  Fire bells burst to clamorous life, the staff in the Education Centre having finally raised the alarm. At least that would get the tourists out of the way. But he still had to deal with Dominika - and whatever she was planning. She was definitely heading for somewhere specific.

  She reached another junc
tion, rounding a corner and throwing down a litter bin in his path. Chase hurdled it, barely breaking stride. He didn’t want to use the gun if there were any civilians nearby, but all he needed was a clear line of fire . . .

  He saw a large banner ahead, and realised where she was going.

  The gallery was holding an exhibition of works by Rembrandt. Art was hardly Chase’s field, but even he had heard of the Dutch painter, knew his works were worth millions . . . and Dominika was about to run through the exhibition with a gun in her hand.

  She wasn’t going to hold people to ransom to bargain for her escape. She was going to hold national treasures to ransom.

  Chase felt a moment of cold triumph. Dominika’s plan might have worked with Nina, but he was still a self-declared Philistine despite his fiancée’s best efforts. If Mitzi’s killer thought threatening to put a bullet hole in some priceless work of art would save her, she was dead wrong.

  Emphasis on the dead.

  The Russian ran through the exhibition gallery’s arched entrance, people scattering as they saw her gun. Chase rushed after her. ‘Get down!’ he yelled.

  Dominika stopped near the archway at the far side of the gallery. She snapped up her gun to aim at one of the paintings, a scene of the crucifixion. Chase didn’t care. He lined up his own weapon on her—

  She fired. But not at the painting.

  Instead, she hit its frame. The ornately carved wood splintered, the whole painting shaking.

  A siren screamed over the fire bells, alerting everyone in the building that somebody was tampering with one of the most valuable artworks. The piercing screech, intended to disorient would-be thieves, hit Chase hard enough to make him flinch, distracting him for the merest fraction of a second . . .

  That was all Dominika needed to escape.

  She dived through the archway as a security gate dropped down with the speed of a guillotine blade. The portcullis-like barrier clashed against the floor just behind her.

  Chase recovered and fired, but his shot clanged uselessly against the gate. Dominika threw herself into cover. He ran to the exit; the barrier was a heavier-duty version of the kind used to protect shopfronts, horizontal slats linked by chains. He tried to lift it, but it was locked in place. More barriers had already rolled down to block the other exits.