The visitors drew up chairs in front of the chatelaine’s desk.
“So, we’re gearing up for the final showdown.” Maddie pushed her files aside and regarded the two intently. “Would it be safe to assume a double-cross?”
Griffin and Cassie both nodded gravely.
“We’ll be lucky if all Metcalf does is cheat us out of the prize,” the pythia said. “More likely he’s planning to kill us and drag Hannah back to the compound for keeps.”
“I wish I could tell you that you’re wrong, kiddo.” Maddie pursed her lips. “But based on what he’s devised for the rest of the world...” She trailed off ominously.
“Was Erik able to figure out what Metcalf is up to?” Cassie asked.
“Yup, and it’s not good.” The chatelaine gave them a recap of the diviner’s scheme to release pneumonic plague at targeted locations in every major country in the world.
Cassie and Griffin stared at her in stunned silence once she finished speaking.
“Wow.” The pythia exhaled. “This is even worse than we imagined.”
“We might still have a chance to short-circuit the plague attacks,” Maddie told them. “It’s unlikely that Metcalf will give the green light to his minions until he has the Sage Stone in his hands.”
“So, our job is to keep him from getting it in the first place,” Cassie concluded.
“Hi, guys. Welcome back.” Zach breezed into the office and took a seat on a corner of Maddie’s desk. “Sorry, I’m late. I got held up in traffic.” Oblivious to the tense mood in the room, he turned brightly to the duo. “Kudos! I heard you actually found the Sage Stone.”
“We found its location,” Griffin corrected.
“What’s the diff?” The tyro looked puzzled.
“A whole lot.” The pythia launched into an explanation of the reliquary scales protecting the artifact as well as the dangers of a cave collapse if any force was used to extract it from its hiding place.
“No matter what the risks are, we have to stop Metcalf from nabbing it,” Zach said.
“We?” Griffin raised his eyebrows.
“Maddie already told me she’s going with you to the rendezvous,” the boy said defensively. “And I’m going too.”
“Are you nuts?” Cassie stared at the tyro. “This isn’t a game, Zach. People could die.”
“I know,” he admitted in a small voice. “People like Hannah. I can’t stand by and let that happen.”
The pythia turned toward Maddie. “I can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but he’s way too young. Tell me you’re not letting him tag along.”
The chatelaine gave a resigned shrug. “Here’s the thing. During my time as ops director, I’ve managed some unruly trainees, but this kid is more trouble than a sack full of ferrets. He’s even got Erik’s record of tyro snafus beat all to hell. I swear, some days it’s like playing whack-a-mole just to keep him in line. If I forbid him to go, he’ll simply find a way to get there on his own.”
“True dat!” Zach gave an emphatic nod.
Griffin squinted at the boy. “What language are you speaking?”
Maddie continued. “We can’t have him popping up unexpectedly at the worst possible second and maybe getting us all killed in the process. At least if he’s part of the rescue party, I can keep an eye on him.”
“Bringing him with us is the lesser of two evils, I suppose,” the scrivener conceded grudgingly.
“So, how are we going to take the Nephilim down?” Zach searched their faces keenly. “What’s the plan?”
Cassie and Griffin exchanged startled glances.
“Honestly, we haven’t had a chance to think that far down the road,” the pythia said.
“Then it’s a good thing that I did,” Maddie rejoined. “For the past few days, I’ve done nothing but ponder ways to play this recovery mission.”
She paused to collect her thoughts. “Since we already know we’re walking into a trap, if we go in there with guns a-blazing everybody dies. We have to find a way to minimize the risk to Erik and Hannah knowing full well that our opponents won’t show the same restraint.”
A derisive smile played about her lips. “There’s one upside to an organization run by a tyrant. Obedient followers make lousy successors. When you hamstring a dictator, you paralyze his whole organization. That means our best strategy is to immobilize Abraham Metcalf.”
“Neat trick if you can pull it off,” Cassie said. “But how?”
“The diviner is in a fragile mental state. As a cure for his raging insomnia, he’s been dosing himself with some kind of opiate that makes him hallucinate. The guy is hanging onto reality by a very slender thread which we’re going to do our best to unravel.”
Maddie’s explanation was met by blank stares, so she elaborated. “We gaslight him into doubting his self-appointed destiny. Erik stumbled across some kind of goofy prediction when he was searching through Metcalf’s papers. The old man believes he was ordained by his god to possess the Sage Stone and that it will allow him to conquer the Fallen. When things go sideways because he can’t unearth the artifact, I’m betting he’ll start to fray around the edges.”
“But why wouldn’t he be able to unearth it?” Zach challenged. “I mean, you’re going to let him take first crack at opening the reliquary, right?”
“Yes, but he’ll be using his own set of artifacts to do it,” Maddie replied.
“I see.” Griffin turned toward Zach to explain. “His collection won’t work. The weight of the false relics is bound to differ, however slightly, from the originals which we possess.”
“The labrys key won’t turn in the lock if even one of those artifacts is a mismatch,” Cassie added.
“That’s what I’m counting on,” Maddie said. “After Metcalf flounders around for a while, we make him step aside, and we use the real artifacts to release the Sage Stone. I want Cassie to be the first one to touch it.”
The pythia chuckled grimly. “It ought to make his head spin when I point out that the Arkana not only collected the original Bones of the Mother and succeeded in opening the reliquary after he failed, but that we laid hands on the Sage Stone before he did.”
“We want to shake Metcalf’s confidence in his destiny to the core,” Maddie answered. “When he sees that events didn’t play out as foretold, he might fear that the Sage Stone won’t give him the power he expects. If he really is as drug-addled as gossip says, it will take him a few minutes to process all that. We know his people won’t attack unless he commands it. While they’re standing around waiting for him to give the word, we spring into action. We disable as many of his guards as we can, grab Hannah, Erik, the Sage Stone, and make a run for it.”
“I take it we’ll all be armed,” Griffin posited.
“You better believe it,” Maddie asserted.
“Even with firepower, your entire plan amounts to cut and run,” the tyro protested in disbelief.
“Here’s a wild idea,” Cassie offered. “What if the Sage Stone really does have some kind of supernatural mojo? Metcalf is staking his entire evil plot on the fact that it does. Since I’m the one who’s going to grab it first, maybe I can use it to protect us.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Maddie countered. “All those crazy stories about the mystical power of the Sage Stone are just that—stories. Nobody in the Arkana believes in that nonsense. We try to keep our feet on the ground.”
“Then how do you explain me?” Cassie objected. “The Arkana relies on a pythia’s psychic powers to find artifacts. That’s about as airy-fairy as it gets. What if magic is just science that we still haven’t found a way to measure and understand?”
Maddie rolled her eyes.
“I’m serious,” the pythia persisted. “There are things in this world that defy logic. Maybe the Sage Stone is one of them.”
“She’s right,” Griffin agreed. “Science has no rational explanation for a very long list of phenomena:
spontaneous human combustion, telekinesis, incorruptible bodies that refuse to decay hundreds of years after death, just to name a few.”
“What’s your point?” Maddie glared at the pythia with irritation.
“My point is that I don’t think the Minoans were stupid,” Cassie shot back. “They wouldn’t have gone to the extremes they did just to protect a worthless chunk of rock.”
“I’m sure its meaning was symbolic,” the chatelaine retorted.
“Not according to the accounts I’ve read,” Griffin chimed in. “Ancient sources insisted that the stone possessed unearthly powers.”
“Fine!” Maddie threw her hands up in the air. “So, maybe it can do something to help us, but I’m not willing to stake all our lives on a maybe. We need to base our strategy on known facts. We know Metcalf is mentally unbalanced and that we can poke a hole in his destined claim to the Sage Stone. We know it will take him a few minutes to recover from that upset. We know his confusion will buy us enough time to make our move. We blast the reliquary wall with bullets to force a cave-in and then get the hell out of there.”
“But that’s suicide!” Cassie cried.
“Maybe not,” the chatelaine said. “We can position ourselves near the exit tunnel beforehand. At least some of us should make it out alive.”
“You do realize that the only quick escape from that mountain is by helicopter,” Griffin ventured.
“The Arkana has its own air support division,” the chatelaine informed them.
“We do?” Cassie and Zach both said in unison.
“We do,” Maddie confirmed.
“You never let us use company helicopters on our missions,” the pythia complained. “We had to rent them.”
“That’s because ours are for emergency airlift only. Like the one we’re planning now. I’ll arrange an armed escort to make sure our chopper gets in and out of that place—assuming there are any survivors.”
“Say we do get out of there alive,” Zach said. “Metcalf might do the same.”
“But he won’t have the Sage Stone which means we’ll have averted a global catastrophe,” the chatelaine pointed out.
Zach ignored her comment and forged ahead. “But he’ll make it his number one priority to hunt us down and take the artifact back.”
“That means the Arkana will have to go dark after all.” The pythia frowned. “Griffin and I tried so hard to keep that from happening.”
“Sorry, kiddo,” Maddie said. “The upside is that we shouldn’t have to stay dark for very long. Metcalf is a frail old man. His crazy scheme to destroy the world should die with him in a few short years.”
Griffin sighed. “Hiding underground until he snuffs it is hardly an ideal solution.”
The four lapsed into a glum silence, pondering their limited options.
“Let me get this straight,” Zach finally said. “We walk into a trap and snag the Sage Stone which will piss off an old geezer with a plague-wielding army. Then we trigger a cave collapse, and, assuming any of us escape, we run for our lives. Is that it? That’s all we’ve got going for us?”
“That plus maybe a magic rock,” Cassie murmured.
“Forget about the magic rock already!” Maddie groaned and rubbed her eyes. “The little we’ve got is all we’re gonna get. We have to find a way to make it work!”
***
Leroy Hunt drove up to the gates of the main compound. The guards in the sentry tower knew better than to detain him. They opened the barrier and waved him forward. He parked near the front doors and strode through them like he owned the place. The cowboy reasoned that the glad tidings he was about to deliver had earned him an all-access pass. One of Metcalf’s kids told him the old man was in his prayer closet. Hunt already knew the way to that room too. He knocked briefly and then took the liberty of letting himself in.
The preacher glanced up from his bible stand by the window. “Hello, Mr. Hunt.”
The cowboy blinked in surprise at the old man’s decline since their last meeting. Metcalf looked as broken down as ten miles of bad road. Leroy thought it was a good thing the codger was already wearing a funeral suit because it would save the undertaker some time.
Hunt removed his hat and gave a hopeful smile.
“I assume from this unseemly interruption that you have something urgent to report?” Metcalf rasped in a reedy voice.
“Yessir, I do.” The cowboy wavered, glancing around the room suspiciously. “You ain’t got no phones in here, do you?”
“Of course not. This chamber is for private prayer, not for transacting business.”
“Good. A feller can’t be too careful. I lost track of how many phones Mr. Big put a tracer on. Best we talk private, man to man.”
Without being invited, Hunt took a seat below the dour portrait of Metcalf’s predecessor.
The old man shuffled across the room and lowered himself into the chair opposite, waiting testily for an explanation.
Hunt immediately obliged. “After I plugged that little foreign doc like you wanted, I went back to tailin’ the kid I told you about. The one who might lead us to Mr. Big.”
“And?”
“And I struck pay dirt, boss. I got to the boy’s house with the early bird this mornin’. When he lit out for parts unknown, I followed and caught me a worm. The kid led me straight to their hideout. You’d never guess where it is in a million years.”
“I have never enjoyed guessing games.” Metcalf tapped an impatient finger on the table top.
“Well, sir. They’re operatin’ from an old schoolhouse tucked away back in the woods. It’s even farther out in the sticks than this place is.”
“A schoolhouse?” The preacher’s bushy eyebrows shot upward
“It ain’t no ordinary schoolhouse neither, boss. Near as I can tell, it’s just a front to cover some big doings underground.” Leroy scratched his head as a new thought struck him. “I always been meanin’ to ask why you all favor burrows so much. You Nephilim got that lab and the shooting range. And Mr. Big’s crew has got Lord knows what stashed in their bunker. Why is that?”
“I don’t care to speculate about the building habits of my enemies,” the old man protested in exasperation. “Are you quite sure this place is their headquarters?”
“A hundred per cent, boss.”
“Very good, Mr. Hunt.” The preacher allowed a tinge of approval to creep into his voice. “I want you to make note of the geographic coordinates of their lair.”
“What you got in mind to do? You can’t send a team with guns. Mr. Big would lock that place down tighter than bark on a tree.”
“Nothing as obvious as that, Mr. Hunt. I want you to go back to that den of thieves and find its surface structures.”
“Come again?’
“An underground facility must have air ducts that vent to the surface. You will identify the precise locations of these and bring that information back to me.”
“I get it,” Hun chuckled. “You gonna send some of your boys around to drop some bug spray inside that hornet’s nest?”
“Yes. I’ll arrange for a few chosen men to handle the task. They will act in concert with the rest of my Argus agents. All will strike on the very day I claim the Sage Stone. As dawn breaks in each far-flung location, my men will go forth to execute their orders.”
“Ain’t you gonna wait til you got the last doodad in your hands first?” The cowboy registered puzzlement.
“No, Mr. Hunt. The archangel Phanuel came to me in a vision and counseled me not to hesitate. He reminded me that we walk by faith and not by sight. For me to delay until I possess the Sage Stone would prove that I have no trust in the fulfillment of the prophecy. So, to demonstrate my conviction, I have given orders that the first toxins are to be released upon our easternmost targets hours before I hold the artifact in my hands. Phanuel says that this gesture will guarantee divine favor. It is of the utmost importance that the Lord smiles upon o
ur endeavors, Mr. Hunt.”
“I ain’t a prayin’ man, boss, as you well know. But I’ll say amen to that and a hearty hallelujah.” Hunt gave a wicked grin. “It’s payback time for Mr. Big.”
Chapter 46—Suicide Mission
Joshua paced around the underground training facility as he waited for his confederates to arrive. It had been months since he’d visited this place. The target range was still utilized for practice by the compound security staff but, now that everyone had gone through basic training, the bunker no longer hosted groups of marksmen on a daily basis. Its isolated location and infrequent use made it a convenient place to hatch a conspiracy. Joshua’s abrupt excommunication had left him with limited options.
On the evening he’d first converted Enoch and Lemuel to his cause, he couldn’t fully explain his plan to them because he didn’t have one. He needed time to map out a strategy and a place to think. To that end, he ordered his acolytes to take him to the nearest ATM. Fortunately, his father hadn’t yet cut off his banking access. Joshua withdrew all the money from his travel account and took cash advances on several credit cards. Then he instructed his followers to drive him to a rental agency where he could hire a car of his own. Afterward, he checked himself into a motel about twenty miles from the compound and started evolving a strategy.
As the details took shape, Joshua realized he would need more manpower than Enoch and Lemuel to carry out his scheme. He considered various members of the Order of Argus who might be ripe to join his faction. Two stood out—Shem and Paul. Both were squarely-built, stolid men in their late-30s. Their massive physiques and dull expressions projected an utter lack of brain power. It was precisely this quality which attracted Joshua’s notice. Unimaginative men always made the best followers.
The spymaster instructed Enoch and Lemuel to sound out these two prospects. When asked for their opinions about the spymaster’s hasty excommunication, they both expressed dismay. When they were told of the diviner’s secret intention to attack the Fallen, their dismay turned to outright horror. They agreed that such a course was utter folly. After that, it was an easy matter for Enoch and Lemuel to persuade them that a better alternative existed. While his two original followers were busy indoctrinating the new recruits, Joshua had been hard at work refining the specifics of his plan. He felt quite confident that the five of them could pull it off.
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