*
Pierce awoke with a start as strong arms grabbed his shoulders. A quick shake of the head cleared his slumber induced fog. Within a few seconds he recognized the loft above the cantina he and his men had crashed in the night before. He also recognized the face peering down at him.
“Rise and shine m’Lord,” smiled MacDuff cheerily.
“What time is it?” he asked noting the darkness and still feeling as tired as when he fell asleep.
“No idea. My watch broke during the shoot-out at the first checkpoint yesterday. But its well before sunrise, call it 3 am.”
“That’s nice, I’m going back to sleep,” Pierce replied stiffly as he began to lay back down. But before his head could hit the pillow, he sprang back up as if prodded by electricity. “Wait, has Paolo reported in?”
Receiving a nod Pierce jumped up and began searching for his jacket within the sheets and his boots on the floor. He quickly put them on while MacDuff made his short report.
“He just showed up and described the truck and Bufford exactly. I imagine they’ve unloaded their cargo and have gone through the portal by now.”
“Where are the others?” Pierce asked looking around the vacant loft.
“I sent them to watch the villa, recon the area before we moved in.”
“Good idea,” nodded Pierce as they descended the stairs and left the building through a side entrance. It was only a few blocks to the street the villa stood on and they made the trip quickly.
“Anything?” Whispered Pierce as they approached Sean and Liam huddled in a small alley. It was across from the villa and offered a view of the building and the bisecting street.
“No one has been in or out since we arrived,” Sean reported quietly. “I assume that’s the truck they took in Merida?”
Pierce looked down a side street beside the villa and recognized the truck that had carried the crates to the meeting with the arms dealer.
“Looks like it. Liam, take a round about route to that truck and check the insides. I can’t tell from here if the crates are still in it.”
Liam nodded silently and headed out into the darkness behind them. After a few minutes they could see him approaching the truck, checking the cab first then the cargo area. He shook his head slowly after replacing the flap.
“What do we do now?” Sean asked, echoing Liam’s thoughts from across the street.
“I want to check out that truck for myself,” Pierce replied. “There might be something in there that might be important.”
They took off in the direction Liam had taken, zigzagging their way along small streets and alley ways. Just when Pierce was beginning to feel completely lost he saw the hood of the truck ahead of them.
“Did you get lost?” Liam asked leaning coolly against the truck fender.
“We took the scenic route,” Sean replied easily.
“I wasn’t sure when I’d be back in Seville, wanted to see the sights,” Pierce added, knowing he was probably the reason they had taken so long.
“It’s completely empty back here,” MacDuff confirmed as he emerged from the cargo area. “Just some wood splinters from the crates and some shell casings. They’re most likely from the shoot at the meeting.”
“What about the cab?”
Sean and Liam entered the driver and passenger doors respectively, their heads swivelling immediately as they searched. Pierce walked over to the driver’s door and looked in inquiringly.
“Same story here, shell casings and not much else,” answered Sean motioning at the sparse cab he was sitting in.”
“Well it was worth a try,” Pierce whispered sullenly. He knew their next step was to return to the Manor through the portal. But he had no idea what they would do when they got there. Their mission had been to observe Bufford, since Lord Lodge knew he was up to something. The vagueness of the order hadn’t been noticeable when it had been given. But standing in a dark alley in Seville made Pierce realize they’d been running around half cocked, with no end-game planned.
So they had chased Bufford across southern Spain and watched him grab a few crates of machine guns. The fact they hadn’t been discovered was a miracle. But Pierce had to admit they had no idea what Bufford was planning or if his plan even had to be stopped. There was a possibility, however slight, that he was actually working on behalf of the Manor. The guns could be for the Manor’s arsenal, to be used on future hunts.
But somehow Pierce knew this wasn’t true. The evidence on hand might not prove anything definitive but he knew Bufford’s character, knew that despite the funny crazed colonel routine, a real devious son of a bitch lurked within. The clincher was where the order to watch Bufford had come from. If Victor Lodge believed someone was planning something nefarious, they probably were.
“Sorry what?” asked Pierce, realizing that the muffled noises around him were voices he’d drowned out while lost in thought.
“What’s our next course of action sir?” MacDuff repeated dutifully. Pierce could tell the question was sincere and that his men were as equally unsure on how to proceed as he was.
“I’m not really sure,” answered Pierce truthfully, but without sounding lost.
“Do we head back to the Manor?” Sean asked.
“Or do we stay in Spain and hunt down the Reaver?” followed Liam immediately.
“I have the sneaky suspicion there is no Reaver,” Pierce observed as they exited the truck and gathered around. “I would bet that the hunt is on a wild goose chase to keep the Manor empty while Bufford and his accomplices achieve their goal.”
“Accomplices?”
“Drummond at least, but probably Cleaver as well,” Pierce explained confidently. “Bufford knew where the hunt was going to take place and had probably been here prior to the announcement. How else would he have that truck ready?”
“If that’s the case, then there’s only one option,” MacDuff acknowledged, silently making the decision for the rest. “We return to the Manor, keep our heads down, and sort these buggers out once and for all.”
Leaving the truck behind, they rounded the corner and entered the front door of the villa. Everything was as it had been when they been in it last. An air of disuse and abandonment permeated the rooms. Dusty white sheets covered the furniture, heavy drapes were drawn shut, and cobwebs hung amongst the chandeliers and light fixtures. They followed a path ploughed by numerous footprints across the dusty and dirt encrusted floor to the room containing the portal door.
“Nice an inconspicuous,” Liam commented as they approached a closet on the second floor, whose door served as the portal to the Manor. The overlapping footprints all merged at the entrance to the closet door. “Ten quid says that at least one street urchin will be found rambling the Manor halls after breaking into this villa and wondering what’s so special about this closet.”
Chapter 23
A Malevolent Manner (Patrick Pierce #1) Page 78
