“Friendlies? What does that mean?” He leaned close to Ophelia. “I don’t care what he says. Be ready to move.”
There were four vehicles in the convoy, each one carrying four men; sixteen men in all. Hodges wondered if it would be enough. All of them, with the exception of Gutierrez, had been with Hodges on Isla del Caño, and all were hungry for payback, but there had been even more of them when they had gone after Chapman and his friends on that island. Gutierrez was confident of success and his own ability to lead the men in combat — evidently, he had attended some kind of elite commando school run by former Delta Force guys. In his mind, he was the next best thing to Rambo — but Hodges wasn’t sure exactly how Gutierrez’s plan of action was much different than the one they had used on Isla del Caño, other than the fact that they wouldn’t have any air support. There were other parts of the plan that concerned him as well.
“Isla del Caño was remote,” he had told Gutierrez, “and Costa Rica doesn’t have a military, so we knew we wouldn’t have to worry about local intervention. That’s not going to be the case at Delphi.”
“It’s been taken care of,” was all Gutierrez would say on the subject. “Don’t worry. It’s not your responsibility anymore.”
Hodges’ dislike for Gutierrez was growing; the billionaire was going to get them arrested. Or killed.
The convoy stopped on the roadside near the museum and the men began piling out. Gutierrez gathered them together for a final check of equipment and a review of the objectives. When directed to, Hodges lowered his night vision device over his eye and turned it on. The world was immediately rendered in pale green, with bright blobs from streetlights and the lights of the nearby city at the edge of his vision. He could clearly see the rest of the assault team; with their NV goggles in place, each man looked like some kind of cyborg from a science fiction movie. The effect was even more pronounced when pencil-thin laser beams began crisscrossing the darkness as each man checked the aiming devices attached to their suppressed nine-millimeter machine pistols. Hodges touched the trigger of his own weapon and saw a beam lance out from the end of the barrel.
“Weapons hot. All units move out.” Gutierrez’s voice sounded from Hodges’ earbuds. This guy watches too many movies, Hodges thought.
The shooters spread out and began creeping up the hill, fanning out around the museum building. The latest report they gotten from their contact at the hotel was that Chapman and Ophelia Doerner had headed out for an after-hours visit to the archaeological site. That would make what they were about to do a little easier, even if Ophelia was surrounded by her bodyguards. There was no word on the whereabouts of Jade or Dorion, but as Gutierrez had said, one thing at a time.
He followed Gutierrez up the path behind the museum. They were both walking slowly, careful not to betray their presence with the crunch of a boot on gravel or the rustle of grass. The laser beams and infrared light marked the location of the rest of the team.
Despite Gutierrez’s ersatz expertise, Hodges felt his pessimism begin to lift. In Costa Rica, they had sacrificed the element of surprise, giving Chapman time to mount a defense. This time, they would strike quickly with no warning, and their superior technology would give them the edge over the unsuspecting targets.
As if to echo his rising confidence, a voice sounded in his ear. “I see them. They’re at some kind of old temple ruin with five pillars.”
Hodges searched the hillside to find the indicated spot. From behind a cluster of evergreen trees, a laser beam was pointing into the sky, waving back and forth as a beacon to mark the location.
“I see you,” Gutierrez said over the radio. “Converge on that location. Quietly,” he emphasized. “And wait for my signal.”
“What about Ophelia?” asked Hodges.
Gutierrez turned to him. “She’s a dangerous fanatic,” he snorted. “Her brother will thank me for getting rid of her.”
The lights continued getting closer, resolving into four distinct sources; handheld flashlights illuminating the path down which the approaching party moved. One of the beams came up and briefly flitted across the waiting forms of Professor and Ophelia.
“There you are,” called out a familiar voice.
“Jade?”
The group closed the distance quickly and in the ambient light, Professor quickly picked out Jade and Dorion, as well as the team of bodyguards that had left with them in England.
“Did you start without us?” Jade asked.
“Started and finished,” he replied. “Nothing happened.”
Dorion looked even more disappointed than Ophelia. “Well, I suppose it was too much to hope for.”
“I think whatever power was here, whatever lingered after the Phoenicians took the Omphalos across the ocean, has long since dissipated.”
“It’s a dead end,” sighed Ophelia.
Jade looked at her, then at Professor. “Hey, cheer up kids. The day wasn’t a complete wash out.” She held up a small transparent orb, about the size of a racquetball, for inspection.
“You got it?” Professor was astounded. “John Dee’s Shew Stone?”
Jade shrugged a little. “Well, that’s what its former owner seemed to think.”
“Former…Jade, did you steal this?”
Jade put on an expression of mock umbrage. “Steal? I retrieved it.” She quickly recounted the outcome of the stopover in London. “And once we’re done with it, I’ll make sure it gets returned to the Science Museum.”
“And did it, you know, show you anything?”
Jade’s jaw slid sideways in irritation. “No. Not really. I didn’t get a chance to look at any of the Dee manuscripts in Roche’s collection. There are probably some others at museums and libraries in London, but it’s probably not a good idea to go back there, at least for a little while.”
“We’ve made real progress here,” Ophelia said, regaining some of her earlier passion. “We can’t stop looking now.”
“Maybe we should just take a step back,” Professor suggested. “Who knows what we’ll see after a good night’s sleep?”
Ophelia ignored him. “What if we tried using the Shew Stone here?” She stuck out a hand. “Let me try?”
Jade shrugged and proffered the orb. Ophelia clutched at it greedily and then started back along the path to the sanctuary. Dorion quickly followed after her.
“Think it’ll work?” Jade asked.
“Not really.”
“So what do we do next? I mean after you and,” she nodded suggestively in the direction the others had gone, “sleep on it?”
“Really, Jade?”
She laughed and took his arm. “Come on. Let’s go watch the show.”
They found Dorion and Ophelia huddled together on the ruins of Apollo’s temple, caressing the Shew Stone.
“Reminds me of the Graeae,” Jade remarked. “Those Greek witches, squabbling over who would get to use their Eye next.”
“We seem to be short one witch. Maybe you should join them.”
Jade made a face at him. After a few minutes, she leaned close and spoke in a sotto voice. “How long are we going to let them go at this?”
“They’ve got to get tired eventually.”
Suddenly one of the bodyguards on the far side of the ruin crumpled to the ground. Professor was instantly alert, poised for action, but before he could make a move, another man was down. He leaped forward into the ruins and grabbed Dorion and Ophelia, dragging them back to where Jade stood, still uncomprehending.
“Up the hill!” He shouted. “Run!”
NINETEEN
Jade knew better than to ask questions. She ran.