“Yeah. That verse from Matthew again.” Tommy said. His eyes had begun adjusting, and he could see Sean was holding something. “What’s that?”
“A key.”
“Key? To what?”
“I’m not sure. But our friend here probably won’t tell us anything until he wakes up.”
Sean noticed something on the spotter’s wrist and lifted the limp hand to get a better view. “Now that’s interesting.”
“What?” Adriana moved closer and looked over his shoulder. Then she saw what he was examining. “The other guy had one of those, too. It was on the same wrist.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded. “One hundred percent. I noticed it when he put the knife to my throat.”
Tommy helped June onto her feet, and the two made their way over to the others.
“They could have killed us, but they didn’t. Why?” Tommy said. “No one would have noticed back here. Not for a while, anyway.”
“Adriana said they have matching tattoos, just like this one,” Sean answered. “That can mean only one thing.”
“They’re not North Korean?”
Sean snorted a forced laugh. “That, too.”
“They’re part of a secret society,” Adriana said.
“Which means now we’re facing two foes.”
The faint sound of sirens whined in the distance.
“Three if you count the police,” Tommy said. “I doubt they’d appreciate us here with this unconscious guy.”
“Probably not,” Sean agreed. “And I’d rather not answer any of their questions right now.”
“You’re just going to leave him here?” June asked, finally able to speak after several minutes of stunned silence.
Tommy and Sean glanced at each other and then up at her. They answered simultaneously. “Absolutely.”
“Where do we go next?” Adriana asked.
Neither of the men had an immediate answer.
“Right now, we just need to get out of here,” Sean said finally. “Quick, out that way.” He pointed to the side thoroughfare leading out to the next street.
The four hurried to the sidewalk and then slowed down to appear less conspicuous.
Sean’s eyes darted in all directions, keeping a lookout for more trouble.
“We should go to Cologne,” Tommy said as the group turned right and meandered down the sidewalk. “We can investigate the sculpture of the Nine Worthies and see if there’s a clue.”
“Sounds like as good a plan as any,” Sean said.
Chapter 9
“What do you mean there’s another piece in play?” Min-Woo’s voice was full of fury. “How did someone else find out about it?”
“I’m not sure, sir. We’re working on it.” Han-Jae’s face remained like stone as he stared into the alley.
The police showed up only minutes after the Americans left. He’d watched as the man on the ground was scooped up and taken away in an ambulance. If it was a crime scene, it was the sloppiest one Han-Jae had ever seen, and he’d observed plenty during his time as an operative in Europe.
“Well, you need to find out soon. The Chairman has grown suspicious of our activities. If we are going to strike, it must be soon. I cannot risk doing this without the sword.”
“I understand, sir. I intend to find out exactly who these meddlers are. When I do, they will be dead. As will the Americans.”
“Good. Don’t call me until it is done.”
The call went dead, and Han-Jae slid it back into his pocket. Two of his assets were standing behind him, leaning casually against the wall of a building opposite of the alley. Another one was across the street, taking a look around to make sure everyone was gone.
Han-Jae waited for the man to wave them over. When he did, Han-Jae motioned with a nod of his head for the other two to follow him across.
The three men joined the fourth and walked into the alley, leaving one just on the outer edge to keep watch.
Han-Jae took point, leading the other two to the far end of the narrow street. Their nostrils filled with the stench of garbage. Multiple bins were nearly overflowing with trash, stuffed by the restaurants and cafes on either side of the alley.
Something metal clanked on the ground around the corner, causing the two men with Han-Jae to draw their weapons and take aim in the general vicinity. They poked their heads around the building to make sure it was clear and found the source of the noise. A bird was pecking away at a nearly empty can on the pavement.
The operative on the left turned and gave the all-clear nod to his superior, then took up a position at the corner just like the guy at the other end.
Han-Jae stood in the middle of the alley for a moment, looking around for a clue as to who the mysterious gunmen were who attacked the Americans. He understood why the general was upset. New players in the game could mean additional problems. Then again, it could also work to their advantage. If these new men took out Wyatt and the others, the path to the sword would be clear.
The sun cracked through the gray soup above and for a moment sprayed rays of light on the world below. Something flashed on the ground, catching Han-Jae’s eye. He frowned and took a few steps over to where he’d noticed the anomaly. Bending over, he discovered a burn mark surrounded by tiny pieces of metal. He picked one of the fragments up and held it up to the sunlight.
“What is it?” the man closest to him asked.
Han-Jae had watched the interaction between the Americans and the two strange gunmen. He’d seen the flash bang go off from across the street, far enough away that it only blunted his vision for a moment.
“Just pieces left from the device that man used to get away.”
“What’s next?”
Han-Jae looked out the other end of the alley at the people passing by on the street. “Let’s see where our American friends are going now.”
Chapter 10
“Please, just talk to me,” Tommy begged. “You have to understand, I didn’t know any of that was going to happen.”
June had been silent during the entire car ride to Cologne. Fortunately, it wasn’t that far away. With very little traffic, the drive took less than an hour. June stared out the window at the approaching city.
The massive twin spires of the Cologne Cathedral dominated the skyline of the town next to the Rhine. At over five hundred feet tall, the cathedral’s twin spires were the tallest twin varieties in the world, and second only to Ulm Minster in the south of the country.
Cologne Cathedral was Germany’s most popular landmark, boasting twenty thousand visitors per day. During World War II, people had to be warned not to try to make pilgrimages after the United States took over that section of the city. Snipers still plagued the area even though the war was all but over.
“June?” Tommy said after a minute or two of waiting. “You okay?”
“Construction on that cathedral started in 1248. They didn’t finish it until 1880.”
That wasn’t an answer to Tommy’s question, but it was a start.
“What took them so long?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably resources. It was ongoing for about two hundred years until they stopped in the late 1400s. Then it just sat there for four hundred years until they started up again in the 1800s.”
He reached out and put his arm around her shoulders, wary she might shrink away again.
She sniffled. “I’m fine. I just didn’t think when I woke up this morning I’d have a gun pointed at me. Twice.”
“I know. And I am so, so sorry. If I had known that might happen, I would have never involved you.”
She forced a smile onto her face. “It’s okay. Really. It’s not your fault. You’re here doing your thing. People get mugged all the time. It could have happened to anyone anywhere.”