by Kevin Ashman
‘No!’ shouted Agnes, ‘It’s not true, it can’t be.’
‘Why are you telling us this?’ asked Brandon quietly, ‘You must realise you are facing a long time in prison.’
‘I am going nowhere,’ said Jacob,
‘And what makes you think you are safe?’ asked Gatilusi
Jacob looked up at him in derision.
‘You think I came down here without raising the alarm?’ he asked, ‘Even as we speak, my people are probably on their way. You will never get out of here alive.’
‘It was you, wasn’t it,’ gasped Agnes, ‘You killed the Mother Superior.’
‘What if I did? She was dying anyway and I just wanted to wipe that smug look of that self righteous face of hers before she did. Since I was a little boy, she has taken every opportunity to berate me and remind me I am just the caretaker’s son. She has made my family’s lives a misery as long as I can remember, and, when the last Pontifex Maximus died and I was approached to become the eyes and ears of the elders, I jumped at the chance. Only she stood above me in the order. Now the roles are reversed, and I have the control.’
Gatilusi grimaced and pressed his gun at the man’s head once more.
‘Don’t do it,’ said India, quietly, ‘We need him.’
‘Why?’ snarled Gatilusi, barely holding his temper, ‘What’s to stop me putting a bullet in his perverted brain right now.’
‘Because he might know where Camille is,’ said India.
The Nun looked at India
‘Who is Camille?’ she asked.
‘A ten year old girl who was abducted from London by one of your people,’ said India, ‘And I think he had something to do with it.’
‘Why?’
‘Probably because he wanted some of the action himself,’ ventured Brandon. ‘Isn’t that right, Jacob? They may have given you the semblance of power but in reality you are just another pawn in the game. You do all the work and the faceless ones get all the pleasure. I think you used the contacts of the order in London to get young girls of your own.’
Jacob didn’t answer.
‘That’s it, isn’t it, Jacob?’ Everyone else was doing it so why couldn’t you? You enjoyed the protection of this organisation and believed you were untouchable. How many were there Jacob, two, more, perhaps dozens, and where are they now, Jacob, What have you done with them?’
‘You think you know all the answers,’ sneered Jacob, ‘But there are things not even you know. Yes there have been girls, but it was no more than I deserved.’
‘You killed those two poor girls as well, didn’t you?’ said India.
‘What girls?’ asked Sister Agnes.
‘There were two young girls murdered beneath Victoria Station in London. One was flogged to death and one was crucified. She was wearing a necklace with a coin as a pendant. Phillip of Macedonia.’
The Nun’s hand went to her own throat.
‘Like this?’ she asked and pulled out a chain.
‘Exactly the same,’ said India.
‘It was you, wasn’t it?’ said Brandon, turning once again to Jacob, ‘You gave them a similar necklace as a gift before you killed them.’
‘What if it was me?’ asked Jacob, ‘They deserved it.’
‘What girl deserves to be crucified?’ gasped India.
‘Un-pure ones,’ screamed Jacob, I thought they were Virgins but they weren’t. They were harlots. I deserve purity, I am the Pontifex Maximus. The punishment for impurity is clear and she had to be punished.’
‘Oh my God,’ said India, ‘How many others were there?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Jacob.
‘Of course it matters,’ shouted India, ‘How many have you killed?’
‘I don’t know,’ shouted Jacob, holding his head in his hands, ‘I don’t remember.’
‘What about Camille?’ asked Brandon quietly, ‘Did you abduct here as well, Jacob.’
‘The girl from outside the hotel?’ asked Jacob.
‘Yes.’
‘She is so pretty,’ said Jacob, ‘And so young. You would think she would be pure but even she needs to be punished.’
‘Bullshit,’ shouted India, ‘She was only ten, of course she was pure. You are nothing more than a cold blooded murderer, looking for excuses to justify the killings.’
‘What did he say?’ asked Brandon suddenly, interrupting the girl
They all looked at him.
‘Sorry,’ said India, ‘What do you mean?’
‘He said ‘Is,’ not ‘Was.’ Camille is alive.’
They turned back to Jacob.
‘Is she Jacob,’ asked Brandon, ‘Is Camille still alive?’
Jacob stared at the intense look on Brandon’s face and started to giggle.
‘Might be,’ he said, ‘I don’t know really, It’s in the hands of the Goddess.’
The sound of voices and running feet echoed from the entrance passage above.
‘What do you mean, in the hands of the Goddess?’ shouted Brandon, grabbing him by the collar, ‘Where is she you fucking pervert, where is Camille? What have you done with her?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ laughed Jacob hysterically, ‘It’s too late.’ He looked up as several men burst into the room and spread out along the landing, each pointing a pistol down into the cavern.
Brandon stared up at the six men.
‘Don’t even think about it,’ he said quietly, anticipating Gatilusi’s next move.
Gatilusi lowered his gun back to his side and they stood waiting for someone to speak. A grey suited man in dark glasses followed the rest into the room, and stood at the top of the stairs.
‘You,’ he shouted, ‘Put the gun down.’
Gatilusi crouched slowly and put the gun on the floor.
‘Kick it away from you.’
The gun went spinning across the floor.
‘Right, Caretaker, what is going on here?’
‘They shot me,’ shouted Jacob, hysterically, ‘I need an ambulance.’
The man stared at him derisorily, and turned to Brandon.
‘Mr Walker, we meet at last. I have to say you have caused our organisation a lot of hassle over the last few days. Still, nothing that can’t be resolved.’
‘And who are you?’ asked Brandon.
The man smiled sarcastically.
‘Call me Mr Smith,’ he said, ‘I represent this organisation.
‘Armed division, I assume,’ sneered Brandon.
‘Something like that,’ answered Mr Smith, So, out of curiosity, why have you gone to all this trouble.’
‘To find a missing girl,’ said Brandon, ‘We know she is around here somewhere and I suggest you let her, and the rest of us, go before it is too late.’
‘Really Mr Walker, I don’t think you are in any position to make any demands, do you?’
Brandon looked around, seeking a resolution to their dilemma.
‘Look, Mr Smith, or whatever your real name is, we don’t know what this is all about, but there is an option here where everyone wins.’
‘Oh yes, and what is that exactly?’
‘You just leave us here and go back to wherever you came from.’
‘And why would we do that?’
‘Think about it,’ said Brandon, ’There is no way you are going to get away with this. Within hours, special forces are going to be crawling all over this place, but you still have time to get away and those children can get back to a normal life.’
‘Special forces?'
‘Because I have already made the arrangements,’ said Brandon, ‘Even as we speak they are probably on their way.’
‘Ah yes, the taxi driver,’ said Mr Smith. He fished in his pocket and threw down a phone to shatter at Brandon’s feet. ‘I think we can safely assume that call was never made.’
Brandon’s hopes plummeted as he realised they were isolated. No help was coming.
‘Enough nonsense,’ said Mr Smith, ‘Caretaker, what is the sit
uation here. How much do they know?’
‘Everything,’ said Jacob, grimacing in pain.
‘Everything?’
‘More or less.’
‘How very unfortunate,’ said Mr Smith, ‘Still, at least it makes the solution simple.’
‘What are you going to do?’ asked India.
‘Unfortunately, I have no option but to remove you from the situation,’ he said menacingly.
‘What do you mean, surely you’re not going to…?’
‘Oh, but I am,’ said Mr Smith.
‘You can’t,’ shouted Brandon amongst the commotion.
‘And why not?’ asked Mr Smith.
‘For fuck sake,’ shouted Brandon, ‘You can’t kill us all, what about the children and the nuns?’
‘Nobody knows the children are here, they can be replaced, as can the nuns.’
‘But what about the rest of the order, all the Nuns in the convent, you can’t cover up all their deaths.’
‘You are right,’ said Mr Smith, ‘But fortunately for them, none are aware of the existence of the inner order. They need not be harmed.’
‘You are serious, aren’t you?’ said Brandon, taking a step forward, ‘You really mean to do it.’
‘It is unfortunate, but yes,’ said Mr Smith.
Brandon took a step sideways until he was almost directly in front of Gatilusi.
‘But surely that means the end of Mortuus Virgo,’ said Brandon, ‘Why would you self destruct?’
‘You think this has never happened before,’ laughed Mr Smith, ‘Over the centuries, the acolytes have been wiped out on many occasions, and yes, sometimes at our own hands, but it is not the end of Mortuus Virgo. There are places such as this all over the world. Don’t you worry about us, Mr Walker, we will endure.’
‘What about me?’ shouted Jacob.
‘You are no longer any use to us,’ said Mr Smith.
‘What do you mean?’ shouted Jacob, ‘I am one of you. You can’t kill me, I am the Pontifex Maximus.’
‘Really?’ said Mr Smith, and turned his head to nod at one of his henchmen. A single shot rang out, and a bullet smashed into Jacob’s chest sending him flying backwards. ‘Not any more.’
Gatilusi looked down and saw Brandon’s gun tucked in the rear of Brandon’s trouser belt. Suddenly he realised why Brandon had moved in front of him. He slowly drew the gun as gently as possible from the belt, keeping it low and out of sight.
‘Ready?’ He whispered, ‘After three.’
Brandon nodded. If they were going down, they were going down fighting. He took a deep breath and braced himself.
‘One, two, three.’
Brandon threw himself forward to where Gatilusi had kicked his own gun a few minutes earlier, and Gatilusi opened fire at the men on the landing, catching them by surprise. The noise was deafening in the cavern and two of the men fell wounded to the floor, while the rest dropped down behind the perimeter wall in panic.
Brandon grabbed the gun discarded earlier and sent a few shots upwards to keep their heads down. The Nuns grabbed the screaming children and ushered them down behind the rear of the wall surrounding the fire pit. Brandon raced around the fire and joined them behind the wall.
‘What now?’ gasped Gatilusi, swapping weapons with Brandon.
‘I don’t know,’ said Brandon,’ But I’m not going to just sit back and take it. How many shots have you got?’
‘Two mags,’ said Gatilusi, ‘Forty rounds in total, you?’
‘Eighty,’ said Brandon, ‘Not a lot, but it may keep them away or a while.’
‘Then what?’
‘I don’t know.’ He turned to Sister Agnes.
‘Is there any other exit to this place?’ he asked.
‘Only the chamber of the Pontifex Maximus,’ she said pointing up to the Balcony from where Jacob had descended earlier, ‘But I don’t know where it leads.’
‘Okay,’ he said, ‘This is what we will do. Gatilusi and I will give covering fire while you and your colleagues get everyone up those stairs as fast as you can.’
‘Will we have enough time?’ asked India.
‘We have enough rounds for just under a minute,’ said Brandon, reloading his pistol with a fresh magazine, ‘So when the shooting starts, make sure that everyone knows exactly what they must do. As soon as we run out of ammo, they will pick us off like rats in a barrel.’
Thirty seconds later, India turned to Brandon.
‘Ready,’ she said, ‘They are scared but know what to do.’
Brandon turned to Gatilusi.
‘Okay sharpshooter,’ he said, ‘As soon as the last one is up the stairs, you and I cover each other and follow them up. Agreed?’
‘Agreed,’ said Gatilusi, ‘Ready? Go.’
Once more Brandon and Gatilusi jumped up and started firing at the balcony, only easing off when all the gunmen had dropped once more behind the wall. In his peripheral vision he could see a line of children and the six Nuns climbing the stair as fast as they could. Up above, Mr Smith realised what was happening and shouted an order to his men.
‘Get up,’ he screamed, ‘Their getting away.’
A few of the gunmen took their chances and sprang up to engage the Gatilusi and Brandon. A hail of bullets flew in either direction as the fire fight broke out until at last, Brandon ducked once more behind the wall. He looked up at the doorway above and saw the back of India, disappearing through the archway.
‘Right,’ he said, ‘Our turn, ammo?’
‘Just a couple left,’ said Gatilusi. Brandon threw him his last magazine. ‘One full mag each,’ he said, ‘Make them count. Ready?’
‘Let’s go,’ said Gatilusi and jumped up to run towards the stairs.
Brandon aimed up at the balcony and started to reverse towards the stairs, giving covering fire. Halfway up the steps, Gatilusi stopped and joined in the shooting to allow Brandon to catch up. The continued to cover each other until Brandon’s gun clicked on an empty magazine.
‘Empty,’ he shouted and turned to sprint the last few steps to the balcony, passing Gatilusi on the way.
‘Me too,’ said Gatilusi, as his gun too fell silent. For a few seconds the cavern was silent before the gunmen realised their advantage and jumped up to return the fire. Several shots ricotched off the rocky walls around them, as they raced through the archway and into the space beyond.
A few yards in, both men stopped in confusion. They had expected to find a passage of some sort, but instead the found a small chamber, sealed at one end by a solid looking door, the only other way out. To one side, all the children and Nuns were huddled together in a frightened group.
‘It’s locked,’ said India, a look of terror on her face.
Brandon ran towards the door and examined it closely.
‘Can you break it down?’ asked India.
‘No,’ he said, ‘It’s solid Oak.’
‘Then we are trapped!’
‘Sorry, India,’ he said, ‘It was our only chance.’
She stared at him for a while, before smiling gently and, tiptoeing up to reach him, kissed him gently on the lips.
‘What’s that for?’ he asked.
‘Just wanted to see what it felt like?’ she said, ‘Before it is too late.’
She smiled again and walked over to join the Nuns as they sat the children down, cross legged on the floor. Sister Agnes started a prayer.
Brandon and Gatilusi watched them for a few minutes before Brandon reached down and slid out a knife from within the side of his boot.
‘What are you going to do with that?’ asked Gatilusi, ‘They’ve all got guns.’
‘I am going to try to reason with him,’ he said, ‘And If I can get close enough, perhaps I can take him hostage.’
‘That’s a shit idea,’ said Gatilusi.
‘Maybe it is,’ said Brandon, ‘But it’s the’ only one I got left.’
‘They’ll never fall for it,’ said Gatilusi, You won’t get halfw
ay down the stairs.’
‘Perhaps not,’ said Brandon, ‘But I’m not going to wait here and do nothing.’
Gatilusi stepped forward and offered his hand in friendship.
‘Nice knowing you, Brandon,’ he said, ‘Good luck.’
Brandon hesitated, but took the man’s hand.
‘You almost had it,’ he said.
‘The Palladium?’
‘Yes.’
‘Wasn’t meant to be,’ said Gatilusi, ‘The Goddess had us fooled all along.’
‘Seems like she did,’ said Brandon.
He looked towards India who was busy comforting one of the crying girls. She looked up and, after a moment, sent him a gentle smile.
He nodded and smiled back.
‘Time to go,’ said Brandon and walked back towards the archway, but as he entered the Cavern once more, he was blown backwards by a blinding explosion.
Chapter 36
England 2010
‘Steady,’ said India, as Brandon struggled back to consciousness, ‘Slowly does it.’
Brandon groaned. He could feel India’s hands on his face and knew he was lying on his back. His head ached, and his skin felt hot. He knew something awful had happened but could not remember what. He opened his eyes slowly.
‘I can’t see,’ he said, ‘I’m blind.’
‘Don’t be so bloody dramatic,’ said a familiar male voice, ‘The effects will wear off soon enough.’
‘Who’s that,’ asked Brandon.
‘Cheeky fucker!’ said the voice in amusement.
‘All in good time,’ said India, ‘You just rest for a few moments.’
India poured some water from one of the bottles they had been given onto a handkerchief and dabbed it on Brandon’s face. Slowly, Brandon regained his senses and sat up alongside India. He looked around the room, his vision clearing up by the second.
‘Feeling better?’ asked India.
‘Much,’ said Brandon, ‘What happened?
‘You happened,’ said India, You saved us, Brandon.’
‘How? I don’t understand.’
‘Your mates, the special forces you promised,’ said India, ‘They turned up just in time. It seems you managed to send the signal after all.’
