“Yeah, yeah, Tweacle. Now for fuc—”
Dahl squeezed until the jawbone creaked. “Do you understand?”
A big goon then muscled his way in right next to Dahl. The three men stared hard at each other, unspoken comments flashing between them. Dahl kept his hold on Treacle, then flicked the vase high into the air.
“Kenzie.”
Acting fast, she sprang around the car, eyes on the revolving relic. Dahl threw Treacle into the small space between the front of the Maserati and the back of the AC Cobra, then took hold of the big goon and threw him down there too. Out of sight they fought and struggled.
Kenzie pushed a bodyguard aside, never once taking her eyes off the priceless possession. As it tumbled down toward her outstretched hands she had to slide across the front of the sports car, gliding across the paintwork, to catch the object and then slid down the other side onto two feet.
The vase was intact. Dahl had an arm around the big man’s throat and was bearing down on Treacle, keeping both of them pinned. Cords stood out in his muscles. Kenzie showed the vase to the rest of the goon squad.
“Don’t move.”
Hidden from almost all prying eyes, Dahl smashed the big bodyguard’s face into the Cobra’s stainless steel exhaust, giving him an impression to be proud of, then rolled him underneath the car. He dragged Treacle upright with a grip around the neck. Pain lit the criminal’s eyes. Sweat rolled down his face.
“We’re leaving now,” Dahl whispered venomously. “Don’t forget what I said.”
He jumped into the driver’s side as Kenzie ran around the car and opened the passenger side.
“The vase!” Treacle wailed, and trigger-fingers became clearly itchy.
“I’ll leave it by the curb.” Kenzie pointed to the other side of the square. “Best be quick.”
Dahl gunned the engine, sending the Maserati drifting around the arc directly in front of the casino and then slowing for Kenzie to place the vase in the road. Then they blasted away, heading for another hill and another street lined by designer boutiques.
“Where to?” Kenzie shouted, trying to catch her breath.
“Well, we’re done,” Dahl said, watching the road ahead and the rearview for signs of pursuit. “We have all the information we’re gonna get. I guess it’s time to rejoin the team.”
Kenzie felt a surge of disappointment. She’d never say it aloud, but had enjoyed the last few days with the Swede, working together and building their bond. She’d privately hoped it might last a bit longer.
“You sure? We could try to find another buyer.”
“Peru is clearly the place to go,” Dahl said. “And the team are there already. No doubt taking it easy in the mountains. Playing soccer with the villagers. Dantanion is out there somewhere, and the Gold Room. It’s time to learn about the Inca treasure and seek out this cult. The action’s only just begun, Kenzie.”
Ah, so he was thinking she was worried life might become boring.
“Great,” she said, sitting back. “Good to hear it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
In darkness, they waited.
Drake stared at the mountains, purple and huge and stained by drifting shadows. Breezes played across his face with icy fingers. No flickering lights met his gaze, no shaded insanity loomed large, but he knew — knew in his soul — that the monsters were coming.
Dantanion the Mountain Demon would send them.
He crouched atop a low roof, watching the ways into Kimbiri. Alicia crouched by his side.
“This has to be the creepiest op we’ve ever been on,” she said softly.
“They’re just people,” Drake said. “Nothing more or less.”
“You’re kidding? They’re bloody cannibals.”
“Well, yes, I guess. It’s not something you come across every day.”
Alicia shifted. “Now that’s one stupid statement, Drakey. I thought cannibalism died out years ago.”
“The Incas used to practice it. Aztecs too. It’s not like we’re in the wrong place.”
“I’d really like to be in the wrong place. Just this once.”
Kinimaka occupied the same roof as them. “This is for the people that live in Kimbiri,” he said. “We could head up to the mountains, camp there. Reccy for days. But who would help the villagers then?”
“Same people who’ve been helping them all along,” Alicia muttered. “No-bloody-one.”
“If they come, they’ll be better prepared this time,” Drake pointed out.
“Oh, that helps.” Alicia shook her head, patting her H&K for the eighth time. “Man, do I hate spiders.”
“They’re not—”
“Whatever. Just glad I got me this can of Raid.”
She held up a blue can she’d bought in Cusco earlier that day.
Drake laughed as he had when she’d purchased it. “So it’s a spray or shoot situation?”
“Later maybe. Let’s get the fighting over with first.”
Shadows deepened. A crescent moon rose over a far peak, casting a silvery glow. The trio shivered up on the roof. Directly across they saw figures move: Hayden and Smyth. Another roof concealed Mai and Yorgi. They could not be more ready for an attack.
Villagers manned other vantage points. Those that couldn’t fight were tucked away safely in the only basement in town. Kimbiri was ready.
Drake saw movement first, just a huddle of shapes flowing over a rise in the distance. At first he thought his eyes might be deceiving him, but Kinimaka spoke out too.
“They’re coming.”
Alicia petted her rifle. “If I see pointy teeth I’m gonna scream.”
Drake smiled to himself, unable to imagine Alicia Myles being scared of anything. But then everyone had a skeleton or two in their closet — and the SPEAR team more than that if Webb’s statement was anything to go by. They hadn’t had time to sit down and discuss it yet, and nobody had been forthcoming. Was there worse to come? Quite possibly depending on Smyth and the murder of Joshua.
He switched the distractions off. Good news was better to dwell on anyway. They’d received a message today from the Mad Swede. Both he and Kenzie were on their way to Peru with information. Drake looked forward to seeing the big idiot again, but only because it gave him someone to take the piss out of.
His earpiece crackled. “Enemy sighted about a mile off.”
“Got ’em,” he said. “Remember, we don’t know what to expect this time.”
Flickering torches illuminated the outskirts of the village. It had been weeks since the power died here; and nobody came to help. Villagers had tried in vain to locate the problem, but it seemed something more fundamental might have happened. Someone in Cusco wanted Kimbiri forgotten.
Drake saw the first shadows slink into the light like creeping wolves, a limb stretching at a time, bodies low to the ground. Nothing appeared to have changed — black clothing stretched over all flesh including the skull. Limbs moved awkwardly as if each was about to break. The spidery movements gave every watcher an involuntary shiver.
“God help us,” Mai said over the comms.
Drake watched closely. The team stood at the center of a moral dilemma. No shots had been fired. No proof was evident. An individual had tried to carry off a villager last time — but that didn’t give a soldier free rein to fire upon the group. So far, all they were guilty of doing was a bit of crooked crawling. And looking shifty, he thought. Behind the main large group which had paused as it approached the flickering lights, a line of black-cloaked individuals walked normally. These carried the lights, and probably illuminated the way down the mountain passes. Of course, their faces could not be seen inside the cowls — which were mere black holes that could lead to a new kind of insanity. The line they made was twenty strong, and they did not move.