Hunter's Hope

by M. J. O'Shea

  He saw a busy coffee shop and gestured for the others to follow him in there. They got seats near the back, but in a place where they could still see the window, and finally they slowed down to breathe.

  “Holy shit,” Kendra said. “What just happened?”

  “I think what just happened,” Jack said, “is that we just got really, really lucky.”

  “Lucky?” Brad wheezed. “We just got shot at.”

  “And we’re fine. Let’s wait in here for a while, make sure whoever was following us is gone, then we can catch a cab back to the hotel.”

  The other three stared at Jack like he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. But they were fine. And they had another piece of the puzzle tucked inside a drawstring leather bag.

  Okay, maybe Jack was a little shaken. Hell, he might look like some Indiana Jones type, but he was a TV star, not a real archaeologist. For sure, not a soldier. He’d never been shot at. He’d gotten Alo out. Kendra and Brad too, but that had been luck. He hoped he looked a lot steadier than he felt.

  They were eating dinner on the floor of Jack and Alo’s hotel room. None of them had felt like venturing out to a restaurant.

  “Are you okay, everyone?” he asked. “I know it’s been a couple hours, but I wanted to take stock.”

  “I’m okay,” Kendra said.

  “I’m not.” Brad made a face. “Jack, that was fucking insane. We can’t keep going.”

  “Man, you got those shots on camera didn’t you?” Jack asked.

  Brad nodded. “Before we started running, yeah. I got the beginning.”

  “And you think we shouldn’t keep going? Do you have any idea how impossible it’ll be for the network to turn this down?”

  “I have kids.”

  “Brad’s right, Jack,” Alo said. “It’s not worth it. One of us is going to end up getting killed.”

  Jack took a deep breath. He was scared just like the rest of them. But he didn’t want to stop. He wanted to find the rest of Ira’s stash and show the whole fucking world. Save his show. Save Alo. Make it happen.

  “Guys, if we stop. If we go back to New York with half of the pieces found, sure I have a show. We have enough footage to knock the execs on their asses. But Alo... there’s nothing you could do other than turn your great-grandfather’s letters over very publicly and never have anything else to do with finding this treasure.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “It is. Do you want this hanging over your head? Do you want people to think that you’re hiding another letter? That there’s more out there?”

  “Who’s to stop them from thinking that even if we find all the stuff?”

  Jack shrugged. “You might be right, but at least you’ve got control that way. Who’s to say whoever you turn it over to is the right people? Alo, we don’t know who is after us. You’ve seen Watson’s guy, and we’ve seen that woman a few times, but there are probably others. We don’t know who they are or who they work for. Do you want to take that chance?”

  The kid had a point when he said it was too dangerous, and Jack was probably talking a lot of shit. But he didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t stay without Alo, but he didn’t want it to be over. A few more cities. They could do it.

  “I still think your best insurance is to find all of it, get it home, and go public. It’s the best option that you’ve got.”

  “You honestly think that will end all of this?”

  “A hell of a lot more likely than quitting now.”

  Jack didn’t know that. Not for sure, at least. He thought it would work, he hoped it would work, but he didn’t know. He wasn’t going to quit, though. Not if he had a choice.

  “I agree with Jack,” Kendra said. “If we go home now, none of this is going to be over. Your family is going to be followed forever. Let’s finish it.”

  Alo stared at both of them. He looked a little betrayed, like none of it made any sense. But then he stared at Jack for a long time and nodded. Jack felt a stab in his gut. The kid trusted him.

  Not a kid. Alo trusted him.

  Jack wanted to pull Alo into his arms and never let go. He wanted to protect him. He wanted to protect himself. They were all in this together and nobody knew who to trust. Jack wanted Alo to trust him. He’d already put his life on the line to protect him. He’d do it again in a heartbeat.

  “Okay. We’ll keep going.”

  “Good. Brad, you’re welcome to take off if you really want to. I won’t hold it against you.”

  Brad looked torn for a few seconds and then sighed. “I’ll stay. If I get shot, I’m taking you down with me, though.”

  Jack breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad. C’mon, kid. It’s time for bed. We weren’t followed here. Let’s lock up and go to sleep.”

  Kendra and Brad stood and went back to their room after a short round of good-nights.

  Jack sank down on his bed. “Are you honestly okay with this, Alo?” he asked. “I think we should continue, but I don’t want to pressure you if you really don’t agree.”

  “You called me Alo.” Alo laughed softly.

  “Yes, I called you Alo. I also know you’re not really a kid. This is your gig as much as it is any of ours. I need to know you’re okay with it.” Alo was quiet for a long time. He stared at the wall like he was expecting it to move, somehow. Jack was a little worried. Finally he looked right at Jack.

  “I’m scared,” Alo said. “I’ve been scared the whole time, but today made it so much worse. There were guns, Jack.”

  “I know.”

  “So we get the rest of the stuff. We go public. We catalog what we found, publicly return it to its rightful owners, we show the letters, we don’t hide anything. That’s the plan.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “And then nobody else can come after us.”

  “That’s the plan,” Jack repeated.

  He wished he could say the plan was going to work for sure. Jack didn’t know that. Of course he didn’t know that.

  Alo got up from his bed and went to the door. He flipped the dead bolt and pushed a chair in front of the door to be safe.

  “I’m not going to sleep,” he said. “There’s no way in hell I’ll be able to.”

  Jack knew a little about adrenaline drop. If he was right, Alo would be passed out in less than an hour. They’d just sprinted through the streets of Munich. They’d been shot at. Alo had been higher than a kite when they’d walked into the room. There’s no way that feeling would last— especially after food and some quiet.

  “Why don’t you get ready for bed. Maybe being comfortable will help.”

  Jack stood and went to where Alo was standing, clearly unable to figure out what he wanted to do.

  “I....” Alo just stared at his bag. Wrung his hands.

  “Here. I’ll help.” Jack reached for Alo’s jacket and unbuttoned it. He slung it over the chair and went for the buttons on his shirt.

  Alo sank against Jack’s chest. “I’m just really fucking terrified. I keep waiting for the feeling to go away and my chest to, like, decompress. It hasn’t happened yet.”

  Jack rubbed his back. “I know. Me too. I’ve never been in a position like this. Usually... well usually most of our digs are pretty scripted. I’m flying in the dark just as much as you.”

  Alo chuckled sourly. “And here I thought I was out here with an expert.”

  “You are. You. You’re going to find the rest of the stolen treasure, and we’re going to be fine. It’s going to work, okay?”

  Alo couldn’t buy it. Jack saw it in his eyes. He needed sleep; he needed human contact. He needed Jack.

  “I think you should take a nice warm shower. It really will help. Then I’ll put the television on, and it’ll just be noise in the background, okay?”

  “Yeah,” Alo mumbled. “Okay.”

  Jack stripped down and pulled a pair of sweats out of his suitcase to sleep in. He’d gotten used to sleeping in pants when he wasn’t on his
own.

  By the time Alo got out of the shower, he looked a little bit better. He was still pale, and if Jack looked closely he could see a tiny tremor in Alo’s hands, but he was smiling. Jack had found a cooking show and turned the volume way down. Alo would be able to understand them, but there was no way Jack could sleep with German in the background at full volume.

  Alo went to get in his own bed, but Jack patted the mattress next to him.

  “You... really?” Alo asked.

  Jack supposed that even after their heated kiss the night before, Alo still wasn’t sure how Jack felt. Jack wasn’t exactly sure how he felt, other than very attracted to a gangly, lanky kid who so wasn’t his type. But obviously somehow was.

  “Yes. Really.” Jack smiled. “I think some human contact would be good for both of us tonight. I’m not going to try anything. It would just be nice to have some reassurance.”

  “I think so too.”

  Alo toweled his shaggy hair one more time and tossed the damp towel on his own empty bed. Then he crawled into bed with Jack. He was hesitant. Of course he was, after the day he’d had. Jack simply opened his arms and pulled Alo up against his chest. Alo was quiet for a long time, still a little tense, but his breathing was normal and his heart seemed to have slowed down to a regular pace.

  “You okay?” Jack asked finally. He kept his voice to a whisper in case he’d totally misjudged it and Alo was asleep.

  All he got was silence for a while, before finally a sarcastic “Why are we watching a cooking show?”

  Of course. Jack chuckled. “I don’t know. It just seemed relaxing.”

  “You can turn the television off, really. Unless you want it on. My mom didn’t believe in keeping televisions in bedrooms, so I don’t sleep well with one on in the background.”

  “Works for me,” Jack said. He reached over Alo, grabbed the remote, and flicked the television off.

  “Jack?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Other than Watson... who do you think is after us? Like what would you guess?”

  Jack didn’t have a damn clue. “Maybe some other treasure hunters?

  I don’t know. People with lots of resources who might know what we’re after.”

  “You don’t think any of them are government, do you?”

  Jack snorted. “Not that I’d put a damn thing past most government agencies, but I highly doubt it. They have better things to do.”

  “Yeah, but all this stuff... it could end up being really important. Maybe it’s the CIA.”

  Jack actually laughed at that. “Are you sure you didn’t have anything to drink with dinner? The CIA isn’t following us. And if they are, hell, that would make me feel a little better. At least they probably won’t shoot us.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Alo. Try to go to sleep.”

  Alo turned around in Jack’s arms. The proximity had been one thing when Alo’s back was cuddled up against him. When his face wasn’t so close. But it felt a whole hell of a lot different when it was them, face-to- face in the darkness. Jack’s pulse raced.

  “Thank you for being here, Jack. I know this is helping you, but you’ve done way more than you have to.”

  “Quit thanking me, kid. I’m having the time of my life.” It was true. Scary, sure. But the best thing that had happened to him pretty much ever? Also true. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.”

  “Jack?”

  “What’s up?”

  “I sent the ring and the painting away. I mailed them to a safe place.”

  Jack’s heart stopped in his chest. “You mailed them? That’s so risky.” In a way it was good that they didn’t have the art anymore, but that could’ve easily been the stupidest thing to do. “Also, it’s illegal. Really illegal.”

  “And everything else we’re doing isn’t?”

  Jack bit his lip to hold in a laugh. “Good point.” They’d done more than their share of things in the past couple days that varied from questionable to outright felonies. “Do you honestly think that was a good idea, though?”

  “No. But none of the options were good. One or two items we can probably get away with, but we couldn’t go waltzing through customs with a whole cache of priceless stolen art at the end of this, and we leave them here. It’s dangerous to have them and it’s dangerous to leave them. At least this way they’re going—”

  “Don’t tell me.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t tell me where you sent them. And I think it’s probably better if we keep this to ourselves. I want to protect my crew from knowing too much if it comes to that.”

  “Yeah. Okay.”

  “Are you going to send the new painting there as well?”

  Alo gulped. Even though he’d said he didn’t recognize the style immediately, the painting looked old, most likely Renaissance and Northern European. Alo doubted it was anything other than priceless. “It’s probably best if I do.”

  Jack nodded. “Yeah. Just, let’s take care of it when we’re out of Munich, okay?”

  “Jack?” Alo said once more.

  Jack bit back a smile.

  “Yeah, kid?”

  “Would you be angry if I kissed you?” he asked. “I think I need to think about something else that’s not... all of this.”

  Jack ran his fingers through Alo’s hair. Every time, he was surprised by how soft it was.

  “I wouldn’t be angry.”

  “Good.”

  Alo leaned forward and brushed their lips together. Jack tugged on his hair; he wanted more. He always wanted more where Alo was concerned. Alo slid his tongue along Jack’s lower lip and slung his leg over Jack’s thighs. They kissed, slow and languid, until Alo’s breathing slowed.

  “Getting sleepy?” Jack whispered against his mouth.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Jack pulled the blankets up around them, creating a little tent.

  “Night, kid,” he murmured. “Sleep tight.”

  Chapter Seven

  It had been a long couple of days. Vienna had been a complete bust. They hadn’t found anything—not Ira’s initials even. Whatever had once been there was gone, smoothed over, disappeared into time. Alo could only hope whoever had it knew what they had. That it had gone to a good owner.

  Prague had been much more successful. Tense and dark, freezing and full of snow, but productive. They’d found a gold cross. It looked Spanish and late medieval, but it was hard to tell.

  They hadn’t seen any signs of the woman since the train into Munich, and whoever had shot at them didn’t seem to be trailing them anymore either.

  Alo could only hope they’d lost them with all the train switching they’d done between Munich and Vienna. Alo had been worried about getting the cross and the painting through customs but the tired officials had barely glanced at his paperwork and his bags before they waved him through. Apparently a couple of souvenirs weren’t noteworthy to them.

  They were currently on a train into the mountains. It was near dusk and snowy; the flakes fell past the train, thick and white, and settled into the dense trees. The landscape reminded Alo a bit of a childhood trip his family had taken to Whistler to ski. Alpine trees and not a building in sight for miles.

  “Where is this place we’re going?” Brad asked.

  All four of them were in a train compartment together. Nobody had felt safe splitting up. Not since Munich. Alo still had the painting from Munich and the jewel- encrusted cross they’d found in Prague stashed in his case. He was going to have a great time mailing a hunk of near-solid gold across a bunch of international borders.

  “Karlovy Vary. It’s a resort.”

  “A resort? Like skiing and stuff?”

  Alo nodded. “And spas. Five star hotels. Super exclusive.”

  Brad sank back into the cushion of the bench he shared with Kendra. “Sweet. I could use a massage.”

  Jack laughed. “Right. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to take in all the
amenities in between digging for treasure and such.”

  “You mean breaking and entering for treasure?” Alo snapped. Then he grinned to show Jack that he was just kidding.

  Jack ruffled his hair. Of course.

  They got off the train at the lower station and right into a car that Jack had organized to take them to their hotel.

  “Where are we staying?”

  Jack grinned. “I figured why not go straight to the source? The letter points to the Savoy Hotel, correct?”

  Alo nodded.

  “Then we’re heading in the right direction.”

  Karlovy Vary was like something out of a fairy tale. Alo stared at the colors and the shimmering snow. People were covered in furs and long coats, bright scarves, and tall boots. More than anywhere they’d been before, it was like stepping into another time. It looked like a dream.

  “I could definitely go for a few days here,” Kendra murmured. “Some skiing. Cocktails. A mud mask or two.” She made a satisfied face.

  She had to be exhausted. They all were. Sleeping on trains and taking turns watching their precious cargo wasn’t the way to get a restful night’s sleep. Alo only hoped that they’d gotten far enough ahead of the shooters in Munich that they’d never be found.

  He looked up in awe as they pulled in front of the Savoy. Alo had seen pictures of it, but that wasn’t the same as what looked like a castle in the middle of drifting snow. It was lit up from inside and glowed invitingly. Alo wanted to kick back and have a few hard ciders. Stare out at the snow. Jack elbowed him.

  “See, it’s not all gunfire and moldy basements.” Alo snorted.

  “No, it’s definitely not.”

  “I can’t believe my great-grandfather stayed right here. In this hotel,” Alo said after they were settled into their room. It was stately and old, although clearly renovated and retrofitted with modern amenities. Alo wasn’t sure he’d ever been anywhere so luxurious.