Bodie still saw the Chinese as the major threat. Their numbers may have been depleted but he knew from previous experience that they were formidable warriors. The SEALs had engaged them with knives, but one American was bleeding profusely and the other was attempting to beat a fire out on his friend’s back while continuing to fight. Bodie left Heidi to continue her search for Lucie, and loped off. Jumping a fallen crackling branch, he hit one of the Chinese from the side, bearing him to the ground. All of a sudden Jemma was there too, real courage making up for lack of skills, her weapon a thick, gnarly bough. Bodie reared away from his opponent. The Chinese soldier raised himself up… right into the bough that Jemma swung. It contacted heavily with his forehead, making instant lights out, the body falling backward with a thud.
The remaining SEALs, looking grateful, took on the final Chinese fighter.
Bodie spun in the dirt and tiny fires, the wetsuit actually helping him move. “Still got your phone?”
Jemma patted her suit. “Tucked safely away.”
“Really? Shit, I don’t wanna know where.” He surveyed the scene. Heidi dragged Lucie from underneath a flaming tree as parts of it sheared away and charred the ground all around. Lucie reeled when a spark landed in her hair and caught fire. Bodie was grabbing handfuls of water but Heidi managed to smother it, yanking Lucie upright and screaming into her face.
“Pull it together!”
She hauled Lucie away and into the clearing.
Bodie found his attention divided. So far he’d been too engaged with the Chinese to worry about the Bratva and had lost track of his own team. Cross had somehow fallen to his knees in front of Yasmine, and she was shouting into his ear. Cassidy was fighting the bald Bratva warrior. Gunn was lying prone as a heavily tattooed Bratva killer stood over him. Two Bratva soldiers were searching the remains of their camp, and Bodie wondered if they had been ordered to look for clues as to the whereabouts of Atlantis.
Bodie decided Gunn needed his help more than anyone. Cassidy could hold her own, although the bald Bratva’s fighting style made him a dangerous opponent.
Bodie darted to where Gunn was being threatened by the Bratva soldier, hammering into the man from behind and knocking him away from the still-prone Gunn. The man spun to face Bodie, raising his knife. Bodie grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted, trying to force him to drop the weapon. But the soldier was stronger than he looked and shrugged Bodie off with ease. He lunged with the knife and Bodie jumped back. He dropped and kicked out, striking the Bratva soldier’s knees. A branch from a burning tree crashed to the ground nearby, distracting the tattooed soldier. Bodie took the chance and kicked the man hard in the chest, knocking him off balance. The knife fell to the ground. The man, though winded, still reached down to grab it. Bodie raised his boot and smashed it down on top of the man’s head, laying him flat out on the ground and rendering him unconscious. Then he scooped up Gunn and checked on Cassidy.
The area all around her and the bald man, around Cross and Yasmine, burned with a hateful fury. Flames licked at their faces, their flesh, as they struggled and brawled and shifted positions. The blackest of skies outlined it all. Again, Cassidy threw a Bratva clear just as a burning branch would have landed on his squirming body, and the bald man stood down to give her a few seconds to quench her own blaze.
The Bratva were killers maybe, but respectful of a worthy opponent and with a deeply held honor code. It was what he was counting on when it came time to steal and return the statue that set them after him and Jack Pantera in the first place. He saw Yasmine had a hand around Cross’s throat now, still yelling at him. Bodie’s best guess was that she was desperate for information.
Which poor old Eli doesn’t have.
Bodie ran up to the confrontation.
“Hey, Yas,” he drawled slowly, using familiarity to gain her attention. “You two are not married yet.”
He reached out and pulled her away, releasing Cross. Yasmine spun with an open hand, slapping him across the face. Bodie stood back, watching the interaction between the two.
“Why are you even here?” Bodie asked.
“Three reasons actually. You, Atlantis, and the Rif, which relies partly on us.”
“The Rif?”
“Yes, the Rif is our home, but it has been a region of strife for many years now. We consider ourselves independent of the Moroccan government.”
“I hear of it quite often. Mostly reports centering on the fact that it ignores narcotics and other criminal trades that are the mainstays of its economy.”
“The government neglects the people. We help feed them.”
“Is that what Viktor tells you?” Cross put in. “He’s all about power, Yas. That’s why he wants Atlantis and all the incredible secrets it may contain. Just one of those secrets could be powerful enough to put the Bratva in control for many years.”
“Look, Viktor is not the boss. We work for the Frenchman called Lucien. And regarding the Rif — it is tyranny,” Yasmine said. “There is no rehabilitation. No aid. The region is devastated. What do you expect them to do? They have to survive.”
“Not in debt to criminals,” Bodie said, trying to keep her talking. Again, they’d been told the name of the real Bratva boss of the region. It was uncalled for, and surely against any rule. What was she trying to tell them?
“The government always excludes the Rif from state development plans. It is devastated. A devastated population will not lie down and die, it will fight. It will resist until social and economic development arrives. Until then…”
“I’m guessing you are originally from the Rif,” Bodie broke in, ducking as a branch exploded with the popping sound of gunfire. “But you can’t confuse a state struggle with a criminal organization. How many like you does Viktor, or Lucien, have on the payroll?”
“He wants the clue. The clue you found down there.” She nodded at the lake. “Give it to me and I can let you live.” She looked back at Bodie. Her gaze was strong, but he sensed that behind the stare she was pleading with him to go along with her proposition.
Bodie glanced around. He could see the other confrontations had continued during their discussion. The SEAL team was forcing the remaining Chinese soldier to the ground, tying his hands behind his back. Cassidy and the bald Bratva soldier had reached an impasse, both still standing, both unable to continue. The fires raged in the treetops. The scene was chaos.
“We’re evenly matched,” Bodie said. “No, we’re better than you. I recognize that you hit us without weapons and I respect that, but it was as much for you as for us. The Chinese were winning at that point.”
“We helped save you.”
Bodie made a face. “To kill us later? Not really, but you did cause confusion. Tell me, how did you know we were here? You didn’t possess any of the information.” He tried hard not to show how rattled he was, still surrounded by the Bratva. But he was grateful that Yasmine had been put in charge. At least she had reason to let them live.
For now.
Yasmine plucked at Cross’s scalp until she came up with a tiny tracker. As she did so, the thief tried, ineffectually, to bat her away. “How did you…” He seemed lost for words then, staring at her.
“Remember the hug back at the Alps?” Yasmine shrugged. “I planted it then. Precaution. Always precaution.”
Bodie scowled. “The CIA didn’t detect that?”
“Signal can be turned on and off remotely,” Yasmine said. “We just activated it a few hours after Moroccan airport CCTV scanned your faces.”