Something tingled in his hindbrain, some sixth sense of caution. He paused, just before the opening and moved his head to shine his light left and right again. He could almost see the entire small, square space, except for the nearest wall and the two corners closest to him. He would only be able to see those spaces once he emerged from the cramped tunnel, which he was suddenly reluctant to do. If someone was waiting just inside, he would be rather compromised as he tried to pull himself in. Compromised enough, at least, for that person to get the jump on him.
But he couldn’t leave the place unchecked. Could he wait out whoever might be in there? Maybe, but if there wasn’t anyone inside he’d be here forever. He had heard one gunshot already, so either Mr. Landvik or Jarn had run into some drama, but that didn’t mean all of them were caught. Or even the most important one, Rose Black herself. And Levi knew very well she could handle herself if necessary. He would have to take a chance, but not without a distraction.
He set himself up for a fast scoot into the room, legs braced up underneath his hips, one hand hovering ready to grab the edge and pull himself forward. Quick as he could, he thrust his gun hand out into the room and fired quickly, two shots hard left, two shots hard right, then launched himself into the room. Anyone waiting either side of the opening would surely have caught at least one of those bullets.
Something heavy landed on him. Levi’s breath was forced from him in an explosive rush, his flashlight skittering away across the rock floor. He flailed, reflexively pulling the trigger of his pistol again, sending bullets ricocheting around the tiny space, the sound deafening, pounding his eardrums. Something smashed into his skull and everything went black.
Chapter 57
Crowley stood in shock, checking himself all over. The bloody idiot had fired so many bullets, surely he was struck somewhere. His calf still burned from the flesh wound he had caught back in that warehouse. He really didn’t want any more injuries. He had used the hammer to strike out a handhold above the tunnel and hung there one handed waiting for the thug to emerge, so he had avoided the man’s first attempts to shoot either side of the opening. But the fool had taken so long thinking about his plan that Crowley had nearly fallen from numb fingertips.
Thankfully the man emerged just before Crowley’s grip gave way and he had managed to fall onto the thug’s back. More wild gunshots started pinging around until Crowley had caved the man’s head in with Mjolnir. He wondered how long it had been since the hammer had been used in battle. It seemed to sing in his hand, thrumming with renewed energy, almost pulling at his grip like it wanted more skulls to crush.
Crowley’s jacket had a couple of fresh holes and a hot line burned along his right outer thigh where a bullet had grazed him, but it barely bled. Almost more a burn than a wound. He had been lucky once again.
He took the man’s gun from his limp hand and ejected the magazine to check the remaining ammo. Three bullets left. Better than nothing, and better than a knife. He crawled quickly from the secret chamber and hurried back along the passageway, fearing for his friends. The single shot he had heard before was concerning enough, but now the multiple shots fired by his victim would have taken away any element of surprise he might have had. But he had to get to them, try to help them. He hefted the hammer, somewhat comforted by the bargaining power it ought to buy him. Though he was reluctant to let it go, this amazing thing that surely would set the historical and scientific worlds on fire once it was revealed.
He put out his phone light and pocketed it, clipped Mjolnir against the wall periodically as he hurried back up toward the cavern. Its sparks and flashes helped to light his way while he kept the pistol in his right hand. He felt the thing humming, storing up energy every time it struck a surface, charging itself, aching for battle.
He slowed as the tunnel began to narrow again, knowing he would have to crawl the last couple of hundred meters on hands and knees again. He was mightily sick of cramped, cold stony places. He kept the pistol in one hand, crawling on his knees and the elbow of his gun hand, careful to keep Mjolnir clear of the rock with his left hand. He didn’t want sparks and flashes to give him away now in case anyone was waiting in the cavern ahead. He might have a chance to squeeze off a couple of shots if he was quiet enough.
Finally nearing the end of his crawl, he paused near the mouth of the passageway. In the light of a slowly moving flashlight he saw two sets of feet.
“Come out very slowly, Mr. Crowley,” Landvik said, his voice tight. “And if I see a weapon, Miss Black dies.”
Chapter 58
Crowley closed his eyes and swallowed. This was a bad place to be, with Landvik in complete control. He slipped the pistol into the back of his belt, and pulled his jacket over it. The man wouldn’t see it, but no way was Crowley leaving it behind. The one bargaining chip he had was the hammer, and he would have to try to leverage that.
“I’m coming out. I do have a weapon, but I think you might be quite interested to see this one. Just stay cool, okay?”
He crawled out of the low tunnel, careful to hold Mjolnir ahead of himself in plain sight. He heard Rose’s sharp intake of breath and Landvik’s sigh of pleasure. He stood slowly, holding the hammer in front like a shield.
Landvik stood behind Rose, one arm around her neck, holding her tightly to his chest. That hand held a flashlight, blindingly bright as it swept across Crowley’s face, making him blink rapidly. Landvik’s other hand held an automatic pistol, the barrel pressed to Rose’s temple. Rose had both hands on the arm around her throat, like she would pull it away any moment, though Crowley doubted she would have the strength to do so in that compromised position. He saw blood on Landvik’s hand, a slash in the flesh of his wrist. Rose had not been captured without a fight and had cut him, but he had subdued her nonetheless. Her lower lip was bruised and swollen, her left eye blackening, the same side as the grubby Band-Aid on her cheek. And both her eyes were wide with fear.
Landvik’s eyes were wide too, though avaricious. There was no fear in him. “You found it!”
Crowley lifted Mjolnir, an unnecessary confirmation of Landvik’s words. “Let Rose go and I’ll give it to you.”
Landvik grinned, shook his head. “Hammer first.”
“Don’t believe him!” Rose said. “He’ll kill us both once he has it. You know he will.”
Crowley nodded. He knew she spoke the truth. Landvik would gladly shoot them and leave them down here to probably never be found. Their bones would remain as mute testimony to their failure. But he couldn’t see any other possibility. He measured up the odds, tried to play through the possibilities in his mind. No way he could draw and fire the pistol before Landvik killed Rose. Even if Crowley also killed Landvik, Rose would be just as dead and that was the worst failure, something he simply couldn’t allow. Besides, the way Rose was being used as a shield made it a hell of a risky shot, even though Crowley’s marksmanship was pretty top notch. In the weird low torchlight as well, he couldn’t guarantee a hit, let alone a kill. And still, Landvik would pull the trigger in reflex.
“Fine, the hammer is yours.” He took a step forward and Landvik dragged Rose back a step.