Alicia lined them up. “Hold up. Don’t move.”
Hard faces stared back at her, but nobody moved. The men stood holding their various implements.
Crouch waved his gun at them. “Drop ’em.”
“C’mon, man,” an American voice drawled. “She told us to stay put. Who’s in charge around here? The skirt or the dude?”
Alicia fired a bullet through the gap in between his legs. “Call me a skirt again and the wedding veg come off.”
The grim exterior suddenly became a pale wreck. “Um, yeah, no worries…”
Crouch emerged as the men clearly recalculated. It was unlucky then that, from another alcove, a gun appeared.
Alicia shouted. Healey, behind her, fired. The distraction gave the three diggers chance to make their moves. Healey’s bullet glanced off the brick wall, sending sharp shards into the owner of the gun and forcing him to drop it. Alicia shot into the body mass of the first digger as he drew a weapon and the other two leapt away, dragging their packs after them.
Russo shouted down the short passageway. “We may have a problem here.”
Alicia grunted. “We ain’t exactly chatting over tea and biscuits, Rob.”
“Yeah? Do they have anti-tank missiles?”
She stayed calm. “Oh, I don’t know, let me ask one of them.”
Her bullet missed by millimeters.
Crouch was staring at her, clearly concerned and shocked. “Looks like Jensen’s following up on what he said. He now wants us as badly as he wants the treasure.”
“Shit.”
Alicia waved Healey and Caitlyn past and into cover and then paced back down toward Russo and the cathedral entrance. Staying flat against the wall, she peered out. She counted eight now, two of whom carried rocket launchers. The rest looked to be toting the usual collection of AKs and H&Ks but she thought she spied several hand grenades too.
“Looks like Jensen has access to the proper hardware after all.”
“So now you believe me?”
“Oh stop panicking. It’s only a fucking rocket launcher. We’ve faced far worse.”
“Only…” Russo shook his head. “Shit, Myles, what the hell is it like to be inside your head?”
“Not as much fun as being inside my pants. But hey, we’ll save that for later.” Alicia considered trying to pick off the RPG-carrying men, but couldn’t be certain what their orders might be. Fire if fired upon? And there were other men who might pick the weapons up. She held off, watching their progress.
“You think they set this up as an ambush?”
Russo grunted. “Had to be. Jensen knew we’d come and they’re prepared. I just wonder what his overall aim is. Aren’t we at the final clue?”
“Looks like he’s given up on Morgan’s booty. And now he’s after ours.”
Alicia watched the approaching men and read their patterns. Soon they would come within an acceptable range. Behind, shots rang out and Crouch yelled for the enemy to stand down. Only a volley of gunfire greeted his call.
“See you on the other side, Robster.”
Surprisingly, she ran out into the open, gun up, but she knew what she was doing. One of the low, ruined walls afforded good cover and it gave her and Russo a much better line of sight. She skidded in, dropping low and kept her head down as a salvo of bullets smashed into the old bricks. The grass was bone dry and emanated an earthy smell this close to her nose. With an eye on Russo she waited for his nod, then inched her head up and carefully squeezed off three rounds. One man fell dead. Another twisted, wounded in the shoulder. She ducked as men returned fire, but then Russo opened up and felled another.
Already they were down to five and one wounded.
Alicia rolled further down the length of the wall. Russo signaled that a man was running at her but then had to duck inside as men turned weapons upon him. She slithered a bit further and then rose, gun aimed steady.
She experienced a shock. The man coming for her at full pelt held one of the grenade launchers and it was loaded. Before Alicia could do anything, he loosed the missile at the place she had originally been. Alicia had seconds to roll even further, then tucked her body into the fetal position, hugging the wall as closely as possible. An explosion rocked the entire site. A plume of black earth and shattered brick blasted past the side of the cathedral.
Alicia still gripped her gun, and felt the blast wave pass by. The direction of the explosion was at a right-angle to her, so none of the deadly debris came close. But earth, grass and fragments of brick soon began to rain down.
In the midst of it, Alicia rose and fired hard into the mass of her attacker. The rocket launcher flew high and he flew straight back, blood erupting from his chest. Behind him came another man, this one toting a rifle, and Alicia took him down with a single headshot.
Three remaining, one wounded.
Alicia ducked once more, head pounding and ears ringing from the explosion. The shattered earth lay to her right, a black swathe of destruction delved from the cathedral’s hallowed grounds. She wondered briefly if Jensen was there and where he might be hiding.
A thought occurred.
Then, Crouch and the others came sprinting out of the cathedral. Alicia hesitated, caught between necessities, but her team came first. Crouch was already seeking her out.
“Lots more of them round back,” he shouted, face scared. “Too many.”
Healey followed, pushing Caitlyn hard. Bullets fizzed past them, striking brick and stone, and blasting through empty air. So many impact dust plumes sprang up that a gray cloud swirled through the air. Russo, forced out of cover, joined the wild sprint, now all out of options.
Alicia felt a blast of desperation. No way could they all sprint like that together and not take a bullet. It was a matter of seconds, a wild card race. She could only guess at how many mercs gave chase, but she knew it was a damn sight too many.
Without a moment’s hesitation, without any doubt, she put the team first. Lunging over the wall, she kicked the dead merc aside and hauled up his missile launcher. A man fired at her and she returned the bullet with her left hand, hefting the metal tube with her right.
Then she dropped her own gun, wrenched a grenade out of the merc’s backpack and loaded the launcher.
She sighted on the ancient cathedral.
And pulled the trigger.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Crouch, Healey, Caitlyn and Russo ran headlong and desperately away from Panama Viejo’s centuries-old cathedral, moving so fast they were practically tripping themselves and finding it hard to balance. Bullets created a tracery among them. Lady Luck shone her bright light. But even that would not have been enough if Alicia hadn’t acted within seconds. Healey felt fire along his leg, saw Crouch stumble as a lead missile cut through the strap of his pack. It was that close.
Then, to his left, Healey saw Alicia’s intention.
Fuuuuuu… ran through his head even as he ran for his life.
With Caitlyn directly before him and flat even ground, he turned his head to watch as Alicia depressed the rocket launcher’s trigger and let loose the grenade. A streak of white smoke denoted the bomb’s trail and then it struck the side of the cathedral with stunning force. The entire wall buckled. A hole blasted through the side. An explosion rocked the dying day. Healey leaped as the entire structure wobbled.