They were hoping that the creatures would attack again tonight so that they could weaken them significantly; giving a retaliatory attack on the chateau every chance of succeeding. Drake leaned forward as Hayden listened to Crowe’s reply.
A minute passed and then she ended the call without another word.
“Shit.”
“We’re heading out?” Smyth asked without emotion.
Hayden pinched the bridge of her nose. “This thing in Egypt is just too big now. Escalating every day, she says.”
“Horsemen?” Dahl asked. “Earth’s corners?”
“Yeah, and I thought the bloody planet was round. We’ve been ordered to report back to DC, hand this off, and make plans for Egypt.”
Drake swallowed as eight pairs of villagers’ eyes switched between him and Dahl and Hayden. “Bollocks.”
The team made eye contact. Kinimaka, Yorgi, Alicia and Mai came up and listened as Hayden repeated herself. Nobody looked impressed. Drake felt an upsurge of sentiment, of empathy. Right from the beginning he’d harbored a feeling that they were in the right place at the right time. The villages of Kimbiri, Nuno and Quillabiri confirmed he was right, along with the farmsteads scattered all around. Right now, it felt like a giant hook was trying to tear him away from where he wanted to be.
“If we skipped heading back to DC,” Kinimaka said. “And went straight to Egypt, that would save us a day or so.”
“There is no question,” Mai said without moving. “That I am staying.”
Hayden threw a much troubled expression at them. “I understand. I’m with you. But, as ever, we go where the trouble is worse. Where the threat’s deeper. And right now that’s not here.”
“I will stay,” the Japanese woman said again.
“And what if thousands then die in Egypt? Hundreds of thousands?”
The dilemma ate at Drake. In dispassionate terms there was no right answer, but in real, human terms the solution was only too clear. And the other huge conundrum was the person in charge — the team ought to follow her lead.
Hayden eyed the mountains that stood resolute and indifferent all around them. These ancient places had felt the steps of Inca kings, Spanish conquistadors, Asian nomads who crossed the Bering Strait over fifteen thousand years ago. They had been home to one of the oldest civilizations in the known history of the world. They had echoed to the roar of dinosaurs, withstood a hundred thousand earthquakes. In them, she found strength.
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said softly, her face twisted in anxiety as she waved away the team’s protests. “We’re going to DC and that’s the end of the matter.”
Alicia straightened as Mai glared. Drake gritted his teeth to stop an outburst. He felt Dahl bristling alongside him.
Hayden wasn’t finished. “As long as I lead the SPEAR team, we follow what Crowe says. Not following orders is incredibly dangerous for all of us. If anything went wrong they’d probably use us as the scapegoats.”
Drake hadn’t thought of that but he did know governments had no qualms about throwing ultimately loyal and highly successful agents to the wolves when it suited them. Mai clicked her tongue.
“You care about that?”
Hayden forced herself to challenge the stare. “Y’know, Mai, I guess I don’t. I guess when I think straight for a minute, there could be a way around this. It’s a way I’ve been considering for a few days now. But whoever leads is gonna be in the worst danger of their lives.”
“I don’t care,” Mai said.
Drake stepped forward. “Let Hayden speak.”
Mai whirled. “Why? Do you think we should leave too? Has your new girlfriend beaten your integrity down to her own levels?”
Alicia whistled very softly. “That’s a very dangerous thing to say.”
Hayden tried again. “I’m your boss,” she spoke up. “Like it or not. That’s the way it is. Life’s beating us all down at the moment, Mai, so quit your whining and your disputes and friggin’ listen. There ain’t nothing more dangerous than going into the lion’s den and since I’m boss — I’ll be doing it.”
Drake was at a momentary loss. “Not sure I understand, love.”
“We don’t know how the battle will turn out. We don’t even know if they’ll come tonight, or tomorrow night. We don’t know which village or home they’ll hit. We do know attacking the chateau’s suicidal. And we do know that Dantanion’s recruiting.”
Drake measured the words, still not seeing it. Dahl turned, confused, as Kenzie let out a little gasp.
“Hayden Jaye,” she said. “Considering what we know, that’s one of the boldest plans I ever heard.”
Kinimaka thrust out a hand as if to comfort Hayden, then managed to stop himself at the last moment. Still, he appeared distraught.
Dantanion’s recruiting. Finally, it hit him. “You’re saying you’re going into the Cannibal King’s lair as a recruit? Fuck that.”
“It’s a way in. The only way I can see. And Crowe will be forced to capitulate if you say they took me. It’ll give us a few days of breathing room.”
“But… but… you know what they do in there, right?”
“Well, I sure know they don’t play reindeer games.”
“Hayden,” Kinimaka could barely contain himself. “You’ll be alone. Unarmed. Among more than a hundred enemy soldiers. Monsters. No way of rescue. No communications. No friends. It’s… suicide. Knowing their ways, it could be worse than suicide, I think.”
“Yeah, well, you keep wanting me to change, Mano. Something big, I heard you say, to make me see things a better way. That right? Well, lucky you. Lucky all of you. I am still the boss and this is the plan. Let’s make it happen.”
For once in his life, Drake didn’t know what to say. The team clearly all felt the same — even Mai who might be thinking she’d just bullied Hayden into taking the most incredible risk. It was at that point that a group of men and women strolled up, clad in their colorful robes, with big smiles on their faces.
“Soldiers,” one of them said. “We bring you this. We… make… you this.”
They stood aside to show what two of them were carrying — a rich platter of food: meats, breads, fruit.
“We want you… stay strong. Thank you… for helping us. For training us.”
Drake swallowed the lump in his throat, turned away.
“And this too,” another said, holding a tiny bottle tied around the top and containing a dark liquid. “It is love aid. Make man focus. Make him stronger and last longer.” Her eyes twinkled.
Alicia almost tripped over her own feet she moved so fast. “I’ll take that.”
Drake found his voice. “Steady on, love. It’s not like we need any of that. Is it?”
Kenzie stroked Dahl’s shoulder. “Certainly Torst doesn’t need it.”
“How would you know?” Dahl said quickly, uncomfortably, and then added, “But of course I don’t.”
Alicia raised an eyebrow at Mai. “Oh, oh. Looks like lil Spritey wants to stamp her wickle foot.”
Smyth turned away and Yorgi moved around to Hayden’s side. Drake and Dahl accepted the offering and the entire team sat down in the short grass alongside the smiling villagers, their jackets fastened and collars turned up, side by side, to enjoy one last gorgeous meal as a team.
One by one the soldiers all quietly offered to change places with Hayden.
But she only stared hard into the gaps between the mountains as if the next ordeal was going to be one worth facing.
CHAPTER THIRTY
It took only a matter of hours to find Bruno again. A cog in a chain as brutal and controlling as the Cusco Militia could hardly wander far from its assigned position. After all, the machine only ran productively when all of its parts worked and stayed together. Cusco itself was a noisy den of activity, outdoor markets buzzing with life and making a killing on coca and muna leaves — magic leaves that helped alleviate the symptoms of a new tourist’s altitude sickness.