The Cathari Treasure (Cameron Kincaid)

by Smith, Daniel Arthur

  “Also you must hate this world and its works and the things of the world, love not the world or the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of God but is of the world. The world will pass away, but he that does the will of God abides forever.”

  Cameron looked to Marie for clarification. “The material world is a lie of the evil Rex Mundi,” said Marie.

  Lady Mani shifted her eyes to Nicole’s, “And Christ said, ‘The world cannot hate you, but me it hates because I bear witness of it that its works are evil. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and vexation of Spirit. Hate the solid garment of flesh.’ By these witnesses, you must keep the commandments of God and hate the world, and if you continue well to the end, we have the hope that your soul shall have life eternal.”

  “I have this will,” said Nicole, “pray to God for me that he will give me his power.”

  Marie took her cue and with Ananda and Lady Yada said, “Parcite Nobis. Good Christian we pray you by the love of God that you grant this blessing, which God had given you, to our friend here present.”

  Nicole then said, “Parcite Nobis. For all the sins, I have ever done in thought, word, and deed. I ask pardon of God, of the Church, and of you all.”

  Then Marie, Ananda, Lady Yada, and Lady Mani replied, “By God and by us and by the Church, may your sins be forgiven and we pray God to forgive you them. Adoremus, Patrem, et Filium et Spiritum Sanctam.”

  Ananda walked over beside Nicole, Lady Yada, and Lady Mani. The four once again recited the Lord’s Prayer followed by a passage from the Bible. Cameron knew the verse at once as he had heard the lines so many times in his youth. The passage was from the book of John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

  Though he recognized the words of the first and following passages of the book of John, they now were shadowed with the beliefs of those around him. Particularly the last line they recited, “For the law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Truth came by way of Jesus thought Cameron, at least what they interpreted to be the truth.

  Cameron absorbed Marie’s words and listened to the final prayers for peace that Lady Mani spoke aloud to Nicole. He tried to comprehend how the weight of being a Perfect would bear on Nicole, for the rest of her life. He could understand the idea of living an austere life, such as a nun or a monk. To fully comprehend what this would mean in their faith was something else.

  Cameron did not have long to think. Below the apartment, people began to yell. There were gunshots and then more yelling. The commotion from the first floor restaurant reflected in the faces of everyone in the room.

  Ananda’s jaw slacked and he turned toward Cameron, unsure of his next action, “It is the worst. They are here.”

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  Chapter 26

  Toronto

  Ananda slowly reached into his pocket and then offered his hand to Cameron. In Ananda’s hand, Cameron saw the dull brass key for the padlock on the bottom of the door.

  From downstairs, they could hear screams and more gunfire. Cameron looked at the key and then into Ananda’s lost eyes, “I’m sorry sir, I don’t think we’ll be leaving that way.” He then raised his voice to the women, “Marie, Nicole, help Lady Yada get Lady Mani dressed and gather up whatever they need. I am going to try to buy us some time.”

  Nicole embraced Lady Mani. The old woman no longer showed the strength that emanated from her only moments ago when she performed the consolamentum. Now her vibrant eyes became childlike and her frail body began to shrink. Lady Yada put her arm around Lady Mani. “Here child, let’s help her to the bed,” said Lady Yada.

  The gunshots had stopped and now the only yelling came from two urgent and authoritative voices. Cameron’s commando training kicked in. The muffled words coming from the yelling voices did not matter, the tone told Cameron what he wanted to know. Someone was being interrogated in the kitchen while the other voice barked out orders. The picture came clear to Cameron. He calculated at least four armed and disciplined individuals were running around downstairs and they would soon figure out that the people they were looking for were on the second floor.

  Marie turned to Cameron, “Please hurry.” She still sounded somewhat calm.

  “You won’t even know I’m gone,” said Cameron.

  Cameron made his way back toward the front of the apartment. He reached under his shirt and pulled the P226 from between his belt and lower back. Though he did not think anyone could hear him below, he stepped as lightly as he could.

  Cameron stopped short of the door and froze. He listened to see if the gunmen downstairs had found their way into the small hidden room and the adjoining stairwell. The pocket doors were not that well hidden and there were many implements in the kitchen that could be used to make someone talk.

  Cameron inspected the padlock and chain again and then the room. The chain reinforced metal door made the entry as secure as possible without rebuilding the whole wall. The only way that anyone was getting through the door was to push through the entire doorframe and, from the sound of the assault, Cameron bet the men downstairs would figure that out sooner than later. No doubt, the men would have explosives. Barricading the door with the sofa could be enough of a deterrent to buy some time.

  Cameron went over to the sofa and attempted to drag the heavy piece of furniture over to the door by lifting the end. The large sofa did not budge. On closer inspection, Cameron realized the heavy sofa was a sofa bed. That would make sense, he had not seen a bed for Ananda, and was pretty sure that the cot in the bedroom was Lady Yada’s. The heavier the better, Cameron had to quickly find a way to get the oversized sofa away from the window to the front of the door.

  As an elite Legionnaire, Cameron was required to use his mind and his body. Sometimes brawn was all that was necessary. He went over to the far end of the sofa and set his P226 on the floor. Cameron lay on his back, contracting his body tightly to fit in the space between the sofa and the wall. His feet pressed firmly on the wall and his shoulders up against the sofa, Cameron pushed his legs and shoulders away from each other with all of his force. His muscles tensed, bulged, and turned to tight bricks. He could feel his face flush and he let out a growl, exerting his will into his shoulders over the strength of his body. Slowly the sofa began to slide behind him toward the door. The wooden legs squealed as they scraped across the wooden floor. When his growl had used all of the air his lungs held, the movement stopped. Sweat was beading on his face and his legs and shoulders were on fire. Before Cameron’s momentum was lost, he pulled in a chest full of air through his clenched teeth and let out another explosive growl as he extended his legs from his body in a fluid thrust. Then Cameron had met his limit. He could push himself no farther from the wall.

  Cameron rolled over onto his hands and knees and looked down the length of the sofa, still too far from the door. The sofa would need to be no more than a hands length from the metal door form a proper barricade. Time was running out to restrict the door from opening enough to stop someone from entering. There was more yelling and then automatic weapons fire. The yelling stopped instantly and was followed by a crash that came more from behind the door downstairs. The gunmen were at the bottom of the stairwell. They would not take that much longer to get up the stairs. The sofa only needed to be moved a little farther to make a difference.

  Cameron scanned the room perchance he had missed something. The only other piece of furniture in the room was the table. Cameron’s blood coursed through him in the terrible rhythm of his heart beat, intoxicating him with adrenalin. Cameron pushed himself to be focused, mindful of his surroundings, and fully aware of every opportunity and alternative. Of course, the table was the right size. He raised himself up onto his knees, wrapped his hands around the single long leg and the
n pulled the table down toward him. The red sash lamp and the Buddha statue fell to the floor. Cameron pushed the tri-stand against the wall and squeezed himself between the tabletop and the sofa. Again, he clenched his teeth and let roll a growl. The position was to his advantage. This time the sofa moved quickly behind him. The tabletop crackled against his feet as the sofa slid against the door in one swift motion.

  Satisfied, Cameron again rolled over to his knees, swiped his hands together, and then picked up his P226 and stood. No sooner was he on his feet then the handle of the door began to jiggle. In his own commotion, Cameron had not heard them come up the stairs. Without pulling the drapes back, he looked down on the street. On the street in front of the restaurant were two black Cadillac Escalades and outside of each stood an armed man wearing a sport coat and dark sunglasses. On busy Yonge Street, the Escalades and these professional gunmen did not turn any heads.

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  Chapter 27

  Toronto

  Cameron made his way through the kitchen toward the back of the apartment. Through the wall, he heard the quick creaking steps as other gunmen joined their comrades outside the door.

  In the bedroom, Cameron found the others huddled by the French door to the deck. Ananda pressed the thin drape against the glass and craned his neck to view what he could of the courtyard behind the restaurant.

  “What do you see down there?” asked Cameron.

  Nicole answered for the old man. “We saw one of the gunmen out in the yard. He went back under the deck.”

  “I do not see him now. Perhaps he is gone,” said Ananda.

  “He’s not gone, he’s guarding the door, we’ll have to go through him,” said Cameron. A deafening thud came from the front of the apartment. The dull heavy sound was startling and unnatural. “Don’t worry, it’s going to take them some time to break that door down.” Another thud came, followed by another, then another.

  Cameron stepped up next to Ananda and craned his own neck to seek out the guard. “I’ll have to go out there to get a better look,” said Cameron. He slipped his hand behind the drape, unlatched, and then opened the French door wide enough to fit his upper body. Leading with his P226 held high, Cameron leaned out the door. He looked down on the deck to choose where to place his first step. Between the boards of the deck, Cameron could see the courtyard below. The gunman was standing below the edge of the deck.

  Cameron froze and then turned his head toward the roof of the building. The building to his right was at least four stories and though the next three buildings to the left were only two floors high, the last building on the corner looked to be about fifteen. Cameron pulled himself back into the apartment and pushed the door shut. “Ok, I spotted him. Escaping by rooftop is unlikely. The buildings around us are too tall. I’m pretty sure I can take him out but we will have to move quickly. There are steps around the end of the deck. You can get down that way. I will take a more direct route.”

  The thudding stopped.

  “Why have they stopped?” asked Nicole.

  “That was quicker than I thought,” said Cameron.

  Marie looked to the front of the apartment, “You think they have given up already?”

  “Oh, they haven’t given up. They just moved to plan B a lot sooner than I thought they would. We have to move now.”

  Cameron opened the door, looked down through the boards and then out to the rail. He sized up the distance and launched himself out the door. His first step landed mid-deck and propelled him forward to the rail, which he grabbed with both hands, still holding the P226. Using his momentum Cameron hurled himself over the rail and down onto the gunman below. The gunman heard Cameron’s footfall above him and looked up toward the center of the deck. When the gunman realized that Cameron was falling toward him he was too slow to react. The gunman tried to bring his rifle up to block Cameron, sabotaging himself in the process. Cameron’s feet pushed the rifle into the gunman’s skull knocking him unconscious before he hit the ground. The blow pushed Cameron back farther than he had intended so he improvised a somersault and finished on one knee, his P226 pointed at the back door of the kitchen.

  Cameron could see the kitchen through the closed screen door. There was no movement or sound coming from the bright white room.

  Cameron looked at the stairs to his right. Nicole and Marie were waiting at the top holding Lady Mani between them. Lady Yada and Ananda leaned over the railing right behind the other three. Cameron put a finger across his lips and waved them down. He raised himself off his knee, his eyes peering through the door into the kitchen. When the others had joined Cameron he asked Ananda in a whisper, “Is there another way out of this courtyard?”

  Ananda shook his head pointed at the screen door, “Through there.”

  “Ok then, everyone stay close.”

  Cameron kept his gun leveled at the doorway as he closed in on the screen. He kneeled next to the gunman, unconscious and bleeding on the cement pad, and pulled up the rifle from under the gunman’s arm. “Put this in that trash can,” said Cameron. He handed the rifle to Ananda. Ananda held the rifle at arms length, walked to the trashcan, and deposited the assault weapon as quickly and silently as he could.

  Cameron began to step toward the door when he noticed something reflecting the light from near the gunman’s waist. Cameron knelt down again and felt toward the object with his fingertips, keeping his eyes on the door. When his fingers found their mark, he wrapped his hand around the object and pulled up a long metal dagger, the same as the one he took off from the assassin in New York. Cameron slipped the dagger into inside pocket next to the first and then went to the screen door.

  Gently Cameron pressed two fingers against the screen and pushed to the side. The screen door opened silently.

  Cameron was ready. He would not need to think to shoot.

  No one was there to challenge him. The kitchen was empty. Slowly they made their way into the room. The burners were still on, heating skillets and boiling pots. On the grill, vegetables cooked untended. A few more steps and they were almost to the pocket door of the small room leading to the stairwell. Cameron was about ready to peek in when he heard a voice from inside the door. “This will be quick,” said the voice. “See, he’s finished.” Cameron stopped and lifted his hand flat palmed to signal the others to do the same. There were rapid footsteps coming down the wooden stairs, someone running down the steps. Cameron placed the P226 eye level at the edge of the doorframe. If anyone stepped out the doorway of the stairwell, they were finished. Cameron placed his other hand over the one holding the gun to fortify his imminent shot. No one came out of the door. Another voice, different from the first yelled, “Get ready!”

  A thunderous blast came from above them. Plaster dust misted from the ceiling. Plan B had been to blow the metal door.

  Immediately after the concussion, the sound of quick creaking steps thumped from inside the doorway. The gunmen were rushing upstairs toward what was left of the metal door.

  Cameron was curious as to whether the explosion was enough to push the heavy sofa from behind the door. He did not care enough to stay around to find out. In a fluid motion, Cameron took two quick steps toward the doorway and spun to target anyone unfortunate enough to be standing there. The small room was empty, everyone that was there a moment before was now getting, or trying to get, into the apartment upstairs.

  Cameron pivoted toward the door to the dining room, and as he spun the corner of his eye caught site of something on the floor. Lady Yada gasped. The young man in the shiny blue suit was face down on the floor, the back of his shiny blue jacket now maroon and dotted with dark red holes. The young man was the person Cameron heard the gunmen interrogating.

  Cameron had not doubted these invaders meant business. He was now able to see the business they were in.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 28

  Toronto

  Cameron peered quickly out the small porthole window of dining room door to see what
they were up against and then quickly pulled his head back. A lone gunman, wearing a sport coat and sunglasses, stood inside the dining room with his back to the kitchen door. The gunman was much taller than Cameron and would be the only resistance until they were outside where at least two more gunmen waited.

  “What is out there?” asked Marie, “Are they dead?”

  “No. The kitchen staff is seated at the tables with the customers. Everyone looks a little shaken up.”

  Above them, the thudding started again, this time in short bursts. Cameron was pleased the sofa was causing them delay.

  “So we can walk out?”

  “Hardly, wait here a second. I don’t want to make a scene out of this.”

  Cameron pushed open the door, getting the attention of the tall gunman standing guard, though not before Cameron had his P226 pressed into the middle of the gunman’s back. Cameron placed his other hand up on the gunman’s shoulder, “Ease back big fella. No need to upset anybody more than we have too.”

  The gunman said nothing and let Cameron pull him backwards through the kitchen door. The others had lost looks on their faces. The giant in the sport coat dwarfed Cameron, not a small man himself.

  “Ok, big fella, raise your hands,” said Cameron. He reached around to the front of the gunman, grabbed the rifle out of his hands, and tossed the weapon over the counter. Cameron then reached around again and took a heavy .357 from inside the gunman’s jacket. He tucked the handgun into his own waist.