One of the Darklight soldiers stifled a laugh and whispered to his colleague, ‘Like the advert, only less chewy and more pooey.’
The man next to him sniggered and Radcliffe resumed his narrative, while doing his best to pretend he hadn’t overheard. ‘This third layer will be extremely difficult to penetrate, especially the biometric scanners.’
‘And that’s where I’ll come in,’ said a voice.
Everyone looked round to see Bic had rejoined them, his face peering back at them from another screen on the opposite wall of the truck.
Radcliffe glanced in Bic’s direction before carrying on. ‘Okay, layer four. This is the final hurdle we’ll need to overcome in order to reach the president.’
‘And the most difficult,’ Brett said.
‘Yes, despite your,’ – Radcliffe searched for the right word to describe the cyberterrorist – ‘friend’s help, the Secret Service will stick to the president like glue. Where he goes, they go. If you want to get him on his own, you’re going to have to find a way to get him to order them to stand down of his own volition, and even then they’ll want eyes on him, either via CCTV, or direct line of sight. What you’re attempting is not for the faint of heart,’ Radcliffe said. ‘If you think you’ll panic, now’s the time to say.’
‘Why are you all looking at me?’ Eric said angrily.
Jessica laid a hand on his arm to calm him. ‘We’ll be fine,’ she said to Radcliffe.
‘I’ve been shot,’ Eric said, ‘and I had a needle stuck in my bum. If that didn’t make me panic, nothing will.’
‘So, that’s what awaits us,’ Steiner said, taking over the debriefing. ‘Any questions?’
Silence ensued.
‘Excellent.’ The professor turned to the English newsreader. ‘Jessica, as discussed, you and Eric will get inside posing as aides sent by the German embassy for the arrival of the EU president, while Brett and I will masquerade as special advisors to the president, which will hopefully allow us to get as close to him as we possibly can without causing a stir.’
‘And I’ll act as an EU security specialist,’ Radcliffe said, continuing to remove his Darklight armour, ‘and will accompany Jessica and Eric.’
Steiner saw Jessica relax at the news she’d have a soldier along for the ride, albeit an unarmed one. Eric on the other hand, looked less than impressed.
‘And you’re sure Bic has got us on the system?’ Brett said.
‘I’m right here, Brett Taylor,’ Bic said. ‘Why don’t you ask me yourself?’
Brett ignored the cyberterrorist, as she was still not able to bring herself to converse with him in a civil manner. As far as she was concerned, he’d murdered Secret Service agents in cold blood during their abduction of the president, and that was something she could never forgive.
Steiner understood her fury, he felt it too, but they’d long passed the point where collateral damage was avoidable. They were fighting not just for their lives, or for the lives of every American, but for every person and living thing on the surface of the planet. ‘The needs of the many,’ he whispered to himself, as a reminder of what was at stake. Bic’s multitude of crimes would have to wait ... for now. Although, Steiner had promised himself one thing, if they ever came through this mess, the hacker would be taken to trial regardless of the help he’d given. Mass murder was always avoidable, especially for a man as skilled as he claimed.
‘We’re on the system,’ Steiner said. ‘I made sure. And as far as the security checks are concerned, we should be able to get past the first two security points without too much of a problem. It’s only when we’re inside the building that things might go wrong. That’s when Brett will contact her friend in the Secret Service.’
‘And you’re sure he’ll listen to you?’ Jessica said to Brett. ‘Just like that?’
‘We were at Quantico together before he joined the service, we go way back. If anyone will listen, he will.’
‘You’re forgetting something, Brett Taylor,’ Bic said. ‘Your friend is only there because I made sure he did not die during the abduction, even though it almost compromised the entire mission.’
Brett looked at Steiner in disbelief. ‘What does he want, a thank you for not killing one man out of twenty?’
‘If I hadn’t done what I’d done,’ Bic said, ‘we wouldn’t have captured John Henry, and they’ll all be dead anyway when the asteroid impacts. Killing a dead man isn’t a crime.’
Brett continued to ignore him, but Steiner saw her fist clench in anger and he moved to head off an altercation.
‘There could be a problem if he thinks you had anything to do with his murdered colleagues,’ Steiner said to Brett. ‘He’ll shoot first and ask questions later. If anyone had forgotten, the president put a bounty on our heads; he wants us brought to justice, dead or alive. This makes the chances of him listening to us even more remote than before we abducted him.’
‘Unless he’s seen the signs we told him to look out for,’ Bic said.
Steiner nodded. ‘That’s what we have to pray for, although regardless, when he finds out who we are, we could be back to square one in the blink of an eye.’ Steiner thought about what he’d just said and realised what they were planning was verging on the suicidal. He looked at Brett. ‘What do you think? Will you be able to convince your friend to listen?’
Brett thought for a moment and then nodded. ‘If you can convince the president, I can convince Dante. He knows I’d never aid and abet a terrorist. Or if I did, there’d be a good reason for it. He’ll hear me out, although he mustn’t know I’m with anyone else. If I’m on my own, I stand a chance. If he sees the rest of you, then,’ – she held out her hands – ‘it’s anyone’s guess.’
Steiner saw Jessica looking at the FBI agent. He knew she still didn’t trust her, but that was just another thing that couldn’t be changed. Brett was crucial to the plan. They needed her and that was that. ‘You can still back out,’ Steiner said to Jessica. ‘You can take Eric and go. No one would blame you.’
Jessica gave him one of her stares and Steiner held up his hands in defeat.
‘No one’s taking me anywhere,’ Eric said. ‘I’m not some child, I’m a grown man.’
‘Of course you are,’ Steiner said. ‘You’ve been integral to our being here. I just don’t want anyone to risk their life for no reason.’
‘Saving the world isn’t reason enough?’ Bic said.
Silence once more filled the armoured vehicle. Everyone knew what was at stake. There was nothing more to say.
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Four
Siberian-Mongolian border.
The mountain plateau.
Cardinal Avery Cantrell paced his tent in agitation, his head bowed in prayer. Outside, cold winds continued to swirl and whistle, their icy grasp seeking to pry open the fabric shelter to expose the occupant within.
The tent flap opened, sending an icy blast swirling around Avery’s legs. The Irish cardinal shivered and said, ‘How is she?’
‘She’ll live.’ Ruben closed the flap behind him and slid back the hood on his monk’s habit. ‘She was lucky to have escaped Konstantin and his knights. That she found us as well is a miracle. Any longer ...’
Avery sighed in relief. ‘I want you to oversee her care personally.’ He held out a small case. ‘This is her new supply of drugs.’
Ruben looked at them, but didn’t take them. ‘I cannot.’
Avery frowned. ‘Cannot, or will not?’
‘You know why I must keep my distance.’
‘I took the same vow,’ Avery said. ‘I understand your reticence, but I would not ask if it was not necessary. If Konstantin and his followers return, we must be prepared.’
Ruben glared at his cardinal. ‘You cannot understand. Our circumstances are different.’
Avery nodded. ‘Your youth makes it difficult, yes, but—’
‘There is an attraction,’ Ruben said, his words spoken with deep reluctance.
Ave
ry arched a brow. ‘Yours, or hers?’
‘I fear it’s mutual.’
‘Then think of it as a test of your faith. I’m asking you to care for her, not bathe her.’
Ruben’s jaw clenched in anger. ‘Do not ask this of me.’
‘I must and I do.’ Avery held out the drugs.
Ruben fixed his superior with a penetrating stare, and then snatched the case from his hand and swept from the tent.
♦
Sarah tossed and turned in her bed, the talons of delirium dragging her deeper into feverish nightmare. Something touched her brow and she cried out in fear. Sweat beaded her skin and her eyes flared open to stare, unseeing, into Ruben’s piercing green eyes.
The monk daubed at her brow with a damp cloth, his expression filled with concern.
Sarah grasped his wrist, making him flinch.
‘Don’t leave me,’ she said, sounding terrified, ‘not again.’
Ruben gazed down at her and said nothing.
‘Riley?’ She reached out to touch Ruben’s face. ‘Don’t leave me. I can’t go on without you.’
Ruben knew the Riley she spoke of was dead and he took her hand in his, his expression pained. ‘I won’t leave you, Sarah. You’re safe now.’
Sarah relaxed back onto her pillow, her eyelids slipped shut and her breathing eased. She pulled his hand to her chest and whispered, ‘I love you.’
Ruben tensed at the words and then stroked the hair out of her eyes with his free hand as she sank back into sleep. ‘I won’t leave you,’ he said, gazing down at her. ‘Not yet.’
Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Five
Sarah awoke with a groan and sat up in her bed. She felt a pull on her chest and opened her shirt to find her wound had been stitched.
‘You were lucky it didn’t go deeper.’
She hastily closed her top and looked round to find Ruben sitting on the floor nearby.
‘What are you doing in here?’ She looked around the tent, which was larger than the one she’d previously occupied. It was dark outside, the small light next to her bed casting a weak glow over the interior of the fabric walls. ‘Where am I?’
‘Cardinal Cantrell has given up his tent for your care.’
Her eyes narrowed. ‘Who stitched my wound?’
‘I did.’
Sarah pulled her blankets up around her. He’s seen you naked, she thought, what do you care if he saw your chest? She looked at his bewhiskered face. It looked like he hadn’t washed in a week and his dirty brown hair was once more tied into a loose ponytail.
‘Trust me,’ he said, ‘it was not my idea.’
‘I don’t care. I need to find my friends.’ She struggled to rise and fell onto the floor.
He got up to help her and she shrugged him off. ‘I can do it!’
She continued to struggle to stand up and when that failed, she paused for breath and then attempted to get back into bed, but she was so weak she was unable to do so, and gave up trying.
He held out his hand and Sarah sighed, grasped it and allowed herself to be helped.
‘How long have I been out?’
‘Nearly two days.’
When she didn’t speak again he said, ‘How did you escape?’
She looked at him with suspicion.
‘You talked in your sleep,’ he said, by way of explanation.
‘You’ve been here this whole time?’
He stood up, looking uncomfortable. ‘Do you want water?’
She nodded and he left the tent and returned soon after with a flask.
Sarah sipped the icy liquid and asked herself how far she could trust this man, this monk. She knew she couldn’t trust him fully, he worked for the Vatican, but he was Avery’s man and no fan of Zinetti, which was a big plus in her book. She paused and then decided she didn’t have much to lose. ‘Zinetti has my friends.’
Ruben looked at her. ‘Why would you think that?’
‘Konstantin told me.’
‘And you believed him?’
‘He had no reason to lie. If he’d killed them, he would have told me.’
Ruben stared at her.
‘The cardinal isn’t what he seems,’ Sarah said. ‘You told me to listen to my instincts, you must have felt it.’
‘I’ve been with Cardinal Zinetti the entire trip. I would have seen your friends when we arrived at this site. Konstantin is a murderer, you know that.’
‘You didn’t answer my question.’
‘I didn’t know you’d asked one.’
Sarah glared at him, before a shout from outside the tent made her glance in its direction.
Other shouting could be heard soon after and Ruben jumped up and disappeared outside.
The commotion continued and Sarah felt her frustration rising. I need to be outside searching for Trish and Jason, not stuck in bed like an invalid.
She struggled to keep her calm, while the disturbance outside quietened, the shouts fading into the distance.
As she waited for news in the ensuing silence, minutes turned into hours and Ruben failed to return.
Still lying on her bed, having tried and failed numerous times to get up again, Sarah made one more attempt and this time her body responded. Her strength was finally returning. She reached out for the plate of food at her bedside, suddenly ravenous.
After eating her fill, she glanced to where Ruben had been sitting and saw her medicine pouch lying on the ground. She wriggled to the edge of the bed, reached out and touched it with her fingertips. It was just out of reach and she growled in annoyance. She stretched and felt her stitches give. Her hand gained purchase and she dragged the pouch across the ground and opened it. An array of blue vials had replaced her previous batch and she extracted the syringe and quickly administered her dose. She sighed as the pain in her body retreated and a wave of energy surged through her system.
A small patch of blood seeped through her white shirt, but she didn’t care. She had what she needed, that was all that mattered.
A few minutes later, Ruben finally returned to the tent to find Sarah standing up.
‘What was going on earlier?’ she said, zipping up her Deep Reach jacket to hide the bloodspot.
He looked at her in surprise and then glanced down at the needle and syringe. ‘There was an accident.’
‘Accident?’
‘You shouldn’t be out of bed. Those drugs will restrict your healing.’
‘I’m fine.’ She took a step forward, felt light-headed and fell backwards.
Ruben caught her and pulled her upright.
She leaned against his powerful chest as she regained her equilibrium and the dizziness passed. She looked up at him and her heartbeat quickened as he gazed back at her. Such beautiful eyes, she thought, such sad, beautiful eyes. The moment between them continued and, not for the first time, she wondered how such a man became a servant of God. His grip on her shoulders increased and Sarah knew she should pull away, but something kept her rooted to the spot. She ran her hand up his arm and Ruben’s pupils dilated and he leant forward, moving closer ... and closer still.
His lips brushed against hers and she opened her mouth as they shared a lingering kiss.
He touched her face with a trembling hand and then let out a growl of anger and pushed her away.
‘Never,’ – he pointed at her – ‘do that again.’
She opened her mouth to speak, but he’d already gone. ‘You kissed me,’ she said, touching her chest to calm herself. She frowned and looked down at the drugs. What’s in that stuff? she thought, feeling flustered and wondering why Ruben had such an effect on her. She recalled their encounter back in the Vatican shower complex, which she’d thought was a one-off aberration, but she knew whenever he was around she felt a strange kind of distraction. An image of Ruben’s naked body popped into her mind. She flushed, brushed back her hair and steadied herself, trying to forget his tender kiss. She screwed up her face, as her body continued to resist. It wasn’t something ea
sily forgotten.
Sarah sat down on the bed, suddenly feeling exhausted, despite her recent infusion of drugs. She held out her hand, which trembled, and she realised she needed another shot. She picked up the syringe and injected another vial into her arm, then lay back down on the bed and closed her eyes.
Thoughts swirled around her head like a dream and her breathing slowed as she drifted back into the arms of sleep, a final vision of Ruben’s dangerous, piercing green eyes filling her mind like a kaleidoscopic fantasy.
♦
Sarah woke with a start and sat up in bed. She touched her lips as she relived the kiss and allowed herself a smile before remembering why she was there: to find Trish and Jason. What are you doing? she thought. Your friends could be in mortal danger and you’re mooning around over some guy you barely know! A guy she knew had taken a vow of celibacy. What’s wrong with you!! Her erotic desires vanished.
She held out her hand and saw blood on her fingertips. She glanced down at her chest and realised she must have been picking at the wound in her sleep. The good thing was her extremities no longer trembled, although she realised she’d had no symptoms when she’d awoken the time before. They must have administered it when I was out. She frowned. Ruben said it would restrict my healing; are they trying to keep me weak? Disturbed by the notion, her thoughts returned to Zinetti and her brow furrowed in anger.
Feeling stronger by the second, Sarah picked up a flashlight and left the tent behind to emerge into darkness. There was no sign of the Swiss guards, Ruben, nor Chen or any of her explorers. A thin carpet of snow covered the ground and dense mist blocked out the stars and swirled around the Mongolian dig site like a phantom. Dim lights dotted the walkways between the tents and excavation pits, the majority of which remained shrouded from view save for the occasional break in the cloud-like gloom.
Ancient Origins: Books 4 - 6 (Ancient Origins Boxset Book 2) Page 89
