Theatre of War (Matt Drake 28) Tenth Anniversary Novel

by David Leadbeater

  Finally, they turned eastward, the final journey of their night before admitting defeat. Maybe they could wait for morning to break and try again, or somehow stake out the rooms they’d trashed just thirty minutes ago. Either way, their night-time search was almost at an end.

  Drake slowed to see the rim curving into the canyon, giving the wandering tourist more space in which to view the treasures it held. The first thing he saw as he focused on the far end were five figures highlighted against the backdrop, five shapes gazing down into the canyon.

  “Hey,” he said. “What about those guys?”

  For years, he would remember the first time the SPEAR team crossed paths with the Relic Hunters.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  As the last of the crimson sunset coated the majestic, ragged curve of the Grand Canyon, the SPEAR team approached the five immobile figures they thought might be the Relic Hunters.

  Drake advanced as incongruously as he could but—since they were the only people on the small outcropping—it wasn’t easy. Especially, he thought, with the big Swede and Mano Kinimaka at his side. The Hawaiian staggered between rocks on the ground as if on purpose, and soon all five figures standing on the rim had turned.

  Drake saw the body language. The fighting stances, the wariness, the sense of flight. There was no point trying to be stealthy.

  “Guy Bodie?” he asked the only male.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Bodie said, his accent English.

  Drake saw how he moved to stand in front of his team as if to protect them. Drake approved. “We only want to talk.”

  “Who are you?” one of the taller females asked. Drake guessed they were about twenty feet from the other crew now but, due to the lighter backdrop, found it hard to make out faces.

  Then, as he inched forward, changing angles, the dying light fell on her face. Cassidy Coleman’s long red hair was unfettered, burnished by sunset. Drake saw a tall, muscular, confident woman who knew how to handle herself.

  “Drake,” he said. “Matt Drake.”

  Alicia was at his side, Dahl and Hayden beyond her. To the right was Kinimaka and Mai. Drake guessed the only reason Bodie and co. hadn’t run yet was because they were effectively cut off.

  “No trouble,” he tried.

  “Unless you want some,” Alicia added. “Then we’re all up for that.”

  Drake gritted his teeth, caught between wondering if their adversaries were carrying weapons and reaching for his own.

  Guy Bodie stepped forward. “Look, guys,” he said. “We’ve had a really big couple of weeks. How about you back off and give us a break. You’ll never understand what we just did for you.”

  Drake winced, knowing the big Swede would be all over that.

  “Hey, pal,” Dahl said. “When you’ve saved the world as often as we have, you can join our big boy club. Until then...”

  Alicia dug him in the ribs. “Big boy club?”

  “Umm, do you want to be called a big girl?”

  Drake hissed at them as Alicia frowned in uncertainty.

  Hayden took the lead. “Listen, Bodie,” she said. “No matter what you’ve been doing you must have noticed the state America’s in at the moment. We’re trying to prevent it getting any worse...” She paused.

  “What does that have to do with us?” Cassidy asked.

  “Your names appear right at the top of a bad guy list of thieves,” Drake pressed. “The best in the world, apparently. You guys headed for Vegas?”

  Bodie stared at him. “You’re not CIA? That’s good. But clearly you’re not dealing with a full deck either. Do we look like we’re headed for Vegas?”

  “Bags are packed ready to leave,” Alicia said. “You could be there tonight.”

  Bodie nodded as if acknowledging that, but Cassidy stepped forward. “You’d better not have stuck your dirty paws into my bag, bitch.”

  Alicia blinked, momentarily surprised.

  Drake tried to save the situation. “Hey,” he said. “This really is as serious as it gets. You, Bodie, are top of a list compiled by a group of arseholes called the Scourge who want to send America back to the Dark Ages. We’re talking infrastructure gone, communications gone, hundreds of thousands dead. It’s all happening right now so please—if you know anything, tell us.”

  One of the other women, raven hair tied neatly in a bun, leaned over to whisper something to Bodie, hopefully an affirmation of his words. Drake recognized her as Jemma Blunt from their fake IDs, and waited, but Alicia moved forward.

  Ohhh... shit...

  “You wanna bring that smart mouth over here so that I can punch the fuck out of it?” she asked Cassidy.

  The redhead didn’t retreat, but also stepped forward. “We’ll see who backs down when the real fun starts.”

  Bodie held up a hand. “Hey, Cass, wait. Just wait.” He turned his attention to Alicia. “I’d really back off, love. She’s a cage fighter.”

  Alicia gave Bodie a predator’s hungry glare, annoyed by his use of the word ‘love,’ and then smiled. “Bring it on.”

  Drake stepped forward then and so did Mai, trying to hold Alicia back.

  The Relic Hunters saw their advance as a threat.

  Drake’s attention snapped from Alicia to Bodie as the strongly built man came at him. “Hey—”

  Bodie jabbed at Drake, the blows strong but not telling. Drake knew instantly that Bodie was not military trained but had picked up a few good moves along the way. He retaliated with a gut punch and a knee to the ribs.

  Bodie fell away, but it was a ruse, the thief just looking for some clear ground in which to run. The man’s head was swiveling left and right, keeping track of his team, and as soon as he saw they were in trouble, he slowed, turning to Drake.

  “We won’t go easy.”

  “We don’t even have to—”

  But Bodie struck harder then, a flurry of blows that drove Drake backward. The Yorkshireman defended himself and brought Bodie in striking distance of Dahl. The Swede grabbed Bodie around the waist and threw him to the ground, taking over.

  Drake lifted his head to take in the scene.

  It wasn’t good but it was spectacular. The SPEAR team fought the Relic Hunters on the edge of the Grand Canyon, their silhouettes highlighted against a vast backdrop of dark sky and glittering stars.

  Alicia sent punches and kicks at Cassidy, testing her defenses, the two women circling each other.

  Jemma faced Hayden, while Kinimaka took on Yasmine, the knife in her hand keeping him at bay.

  The other woman—Drake figured it was Lucie Boom—changed the entire dynamic of the battle. She stood close to the rim, unchallenged and ignoring the fight. Under her right arm she carried a laptop in a leather case.

  Mai waited close to Alicia, looking to get involved.

  Drake stepped back as Dahl and Bodie wrestled on the ground.

  The Swede grunted, caught by a jab to the neck. Bodie appeared to be a dirty fighter.

  Drake had a flashback to training when his instructor had once told him to target vulnerable areas when you needed a swift getaway, as well as something to teach your daughters later. Eyes and balls, men, he’d said. Eyes and balls.

  Bodie leapt to his feet. Drake let him back off and see the battle as Dahl struggled to rise to his knees.

  “What’s up, Dahl? You spot a meatball down there?”

  Bodie was breathing lightly. Yasmine had already sliced Kinimaka’s jacket open, but the big Hawaiian only needed one clear opening to take her down. Hayden and Jemma were trading blows close to the rim of the canyon. Alicia was rolling on the ground with Cassidy on top, caught in a thigh squeeze and trying to exert one of her own. Drake tried not to let it distract him.

  “Back off,” Bodie grated. “We can’t help you.”

  “Why are you top of an extremist’s list, mate?”

  “An old, bad reputation. I’m not that man anymore.”

  “The CIA don’t appear to agree,” Dahl said.
/>   “The CIA? Are you crazy? When can you ever trust the CIA?”

  Drake caught Dahl’s eye. “He has a point.”

  Bodie was watching the tussle between Alicia and Cassidy. “I know her,” he said. “Not at first. But now. It’s Alicia Myles, yes?”

  “She’s got a bad reputation too,” Dahl said.

  “It’s not that. Alicia Myles helped find the Sword of Peter, which then gave us the glory of finding the Holy Grail and King Arthur’s tomb among the rocks of Albion. We—”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Dahl muttered. “We found some important shit too. The bones of Odin. Tombs of the Gods. Ancient weapons in Egypt. The plagues of Pandora. The ghost ships of Arizona and the treasures of—”

  “That’s enough,” Drake said. “We’ve a decade of experience. By the time you’re finished the bloody sun will have risen.”

  “I was about to say that we used the distraction to escape the CIA,” Bodie went on. “We’re trying to decide what to do next now that the CIA have found us.”

  “You mean Heidi Moneymaker and Kenny Pang, right?” Drake asked. “I don’t see them around here.”

  Bodie bowed his head. “We’re still working out everything that happened.”

  Drake didn’t press the issue. It wasn’t relevant and seemed to weigh on Bodie’s heart. “You haven’t been contacted by a shadowy organization to rob a Las Vegas casino? You haven’t heard of the Scourge? Of Zuki. Of secret royal families?”

  “We’ve been entirely off the grid, mate. Running between countries. We finished just a few days ago.”

  Bodie could be lying, of course, but Drake had spoken with thousands of liars in his time and believed he could read the signs.

  “Any idea who else might take your place?”

  Bodie staggered aside as Alicia and Cassidy rolled past, the latter taking a swipe at Dahl’s legs as she went by and upending the Swede once more. Drake couldn’t hide a smile.

  “You okay down there, Ikea boy? What you looking for this time? Seen a flatpack you wanna build?”

  Dahl growled as he regained his feet and checked his gun was still stuffed into his waistband. “I’m gonna shoot both of them if they do that again.”

  Bodie’s eyes widened in disbelief. “All this time you had guns?”

  “Of course,” Dahl said. “We’re soldiers.”

  “I mean... you never thought to use them? You said yourself that we might be a terrorist group.”

  “No need,” Drake said. “We’ve seen enough terrorists to know when to shoot first.” He shook his head as Alicia and Cassidy’s fight continued.

  “We should step in and stop that skirmish,” he said. “Although...” He paused to watch. “I’m wondering if there’s a way to get Mai involved too.”

  Bodie sighed. “Why bother putting a stop to it?” he said. “They seem to be enjoying themselves.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  Drake and Dahl stepped aside with Bodie. The Swede yelled at Hayden to stand down while Bodie asked Yasmine and Jemma to back off.

  Less than a minute later, both teams stood and watched Alicia and Cassidy as they rolled closer to the edge of the canyon.

  Drake winced as Alicia took a jab to the face.

  Dahl started forward, looking to break the two women apart, but then thought better of it. Taking on a helicopter, yes. A submarine, definitely. But getting involved with Alicia Myles and a cage fighter? Not a bloody chance.

  Mai stepped to Drake’s side. “She seems happy.”

  “Yeah, I guess,” he speculated. “But what if they roll right off the top?”

  “A chance we need to take,” Mai said with mock-seriousness. “We may not get another chance to lose Alicia.”

  Drake nodded at Kinimaka and Hayden as they walked up, the big man nursing a couple of wounds inflicted by Yasmine. The dark-haired Moroccan still carried her knife, but held it pointed at the floor now, her face neutral as she too stared at the last ongoing tussle.

  There was a yell from Cassidy and then a strained grunt as she rose, hauling Alicia up by the armpits. Alicia flung an elbow out, catching Cassidy on the cheekbones and drawing a line of blood. Cassidy gritted her teeth and sent out a fake jab, which Alicia ducked to her right.

  Straight into Cassidy’s powerful right cross.

  The blow smashed into Alicia’s nose, causing the entire SPEAR team to gasp and wince at the same time. Alicia yelled out, staggered backward and brought a hand up to her face, trying to stem the flow of blood from her nose.

  Drake took the opportunity to run forward, dragging Dahl with him for support.

  “Stop,” he shouted. “It’s over. We’re done here.”

  Alicia ignored him, fixing Cassidy with eyes practically shooting flames. Cassidy regarded Alicia with no less ferocity.

  The last of the sunset diminished behind them, the canyon a black void against a midnight sky. The faint breeze ruffled Cassidy’s red hair and tugged at Alicia’s blond locks. Between them, tension the texture of sludge hung in the air.

  Alicia removed her hand from her nose, flinging blood to the ground, and turned toward Drake.

  “What did you say?”

  “Fight’s over, Alicia.”

  “Not until I beat this bit—”

  “Hey!” Mai shouted. “Hey, you’re fixed. You’re fixed!”

  Alicia glared. “Sprite, if you don’t shut the fuck up, you’re going right off this rim—”

  “Your nose,” Mai said as Drake stared. “Cassidy’s punch fixed it. She put it back into place.”

  Alicia blinked and then glided two fingers over the bridge of her nose. The pain made her wince, but the assessment made her smile in satisfaction.

  “Nice,” she said. “It’s been a while. Good job.” She reached out a hand toward Cassidy who narrowed her eyes before warily taking it.

  “Does it look okay?” Alicia asked.

  “I’ve seen worse jobs.” Cassidy sniffed. “Once.”

  “Well, I could say thanks for the rim job,” Alicia told Cassidy, making the others cringe. “But I won’t.”

  “Don’t worry,” Mai said to Bodie. “We’re taking her back to the asylum soon.”

  Bodie was trying not to smile. “We’re not your targets. As much as the CIA want to paint us with the bad brush, we’re on the right side now. I’m not so sure about them.”

  “Nothing is shadier than an anacronym in any part of the world,” Dahl said. “Keep your heads down.”

  “We tried that,” Jemma said, coming up with Lucie Boom. “Didn’t work.”

  Drake nodded then glanced over Bodie’s shoulder. “C’mon, Alicia,” he said. “Time to put you back under lock and key.”

  The Englishwoman moved forward, still waggling her nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, nothing.” Drake held out a hand to Cassidy Coleman. “If you ever need anything,” he said. “Give us a shout.”

  “You’re going?” Cassidy looked sad.

  “Yeah, we have to save the world.”

  “But we already did that.”

  “We think,” Lucie added.

  “It’s Wednesday,” Hayden said. “It needs saving again.”

  “Always another mission,” Bodie said shrewdly. “I know the feeling.”

  Drake grinned and shook the man’s hand. “Great to, well, meet you, I guess.”

  Alicia was eyeing Cassidy in the dim light. “Good fight,” she said a little grudgingly. “I could tell you’ve been around a bit.”

  “Is that a compliment?”

  “It’s as close as you’re ever going to get.”

  Cassidy nodded at Alicia’s still-bleeding nose. “You’re welcome for that.”

  Alicia looked like she wasn’t sure whether to smile or spit.

  Drake now shook Bodie’s hand. “Look,” he said. “Any idea of who might replace you guys to hit a Las Vegas casino?”

  “A couple of crews spring to mind,” Bodie said, pursing his lips and thinking. “But la
st I heard they were out of the game. Holed up and happy somewhere hot and sandy.” He reeled off a couple of descriptions and distinct methods that might single out a particular crew.

  As he spoke, the rest gathered around, Yasmine and Jemma still wary of Kinimaka; Hayden and Lucie staying quiet.

  Drake moved away to call Kenzie, Cam and Shaw with the new descriptions. He returned a few minutes later to see both teams shaking hands while continuing to eye each other with suspicion.

  “Ey up,” he said. “We’re really going to have to go. Apologies guys, for the greeting. Oh, and for breaking down your hotel room doors.”

  Cassidy glared. “Shit, man, that means we’re gonna have to sneak out before dawn. I like it here.”

  “You got lucky,” Alicia said huffily. “We thought you were dangerous fugitives.”

  “We are dangerous fugitives,” Bodie reminded her.

  “And so are you,” Jemma said.

  “Today, maybe,” Mai said with an air of long endurance. “Tomorrow, who knows?”

  Bodie nodded at her. “The CIA kept us on a short lead for too long, promising freedom but never defining it. You can’t keep a wild animal caged forever without it striking out. We had to try.”

  “Not a bad plan,” Kinimaka said, “disappearing in Mexico. But how did you hope to cope?”

  Bodie eyed the big Hawaiian shrewdly. “You mean the lifestyle change? Yeah, it was grating on us but there wasn’t a whole lot of choice.”

  “Grating.” Cassidy shook her head. “It was more than fucking grating. It was like being pushed through a woodchipper every damn day.”

  Alicia eyed the redhead and again touched her nose. “Maybe we have an affinity, you and I. We share some traits. The good ones, obviously. My bad choices are all my own and well earned.”

  “We have to get going,” Dahl said. “We can pick this up another time.”

  Drake nodded. “He’s right. America isn’t going to save itself. Maybe we’ll bump into you guys again someday.”

  Bodie’s face creased into a smile. “And next time on the same side.”

  “Can’t promise that,” Hayden said. “As Mai mentioned, proclivities change as often as underwear in the halls of power.”