He saw the hesitation in the leader’s stride, the slight uncertainty cross his features. It must have affected them all, for the Chinese team came to a full stop. Hayden lowered her own weapon and closed the gap still further.
“Can’t we find some common ground?”
A nod. “Yes, we could. But government and political leaders, terrorists and tyrants will always get in the way.”
Drake saw the sadness in the man’s face, and the absolute belief in his own words. Not a single gun, not a single barrel, was raised as the rival teams clashed hard. This was all about respect.
Drake rose, left his machine pistol on the rucksack, and met a charge head on. Fists connected with his chest and his upraised arms. A knee plowed hard into his ribs. Drake felt the air explode from his body, and fell to one knee. The assault was relentless, knees and fists hitting hard and raining down, the ferocity designed to allow him no chance of retaliation or relief. He took the pain and bided his time. Other scenes flashed by as he twisted and turned. Alicia struggled with a tall man; Hayden and Kinimaka engaged with the leader. Mai sent her opponent over her shoulder and then came down painfully on his sternum.
Drake saw the chance and seized it. Behind, he heard Torsten Dahl make the usual entrance, leaping over the top of the stairs; a big presence and impossible to ignore. Drake’s attacker paused for just an instant.
The ex-SAS man was scrambling across the ground, swinging his legs and catching his opponent at the back of the knee. He tumbled forward, falling to his knees. As he fell to Drake’s level, the Yorkshireman delivered a massive head-butt. A yell and a widening of the eyes signified how hard he’d hit. The Chinese special ops man wavered and held himself up on one hand. Drake rose and returned the favor in full — striking with knees and jabs to the head. Bruises appeared and blood flowed, but nothing life threatening.
Dahl rushed past, targeting Alicia’s opponent. The Swede hit like a bull just as Alicia struck out. Her attacker flew off his feet and came down hard on the back of his neck, shuddering, stunned. The two turned in time to see Mai knock her own opponent unconscious and then located the man with the box.
“Hey!” Alicia cried as he set eyes on them and started to run.
They took off at a sprint, but Smyth and Yorgi had already circumvented the battle. “Y’see?” Alicia said. “We have strength in numbers. I knew there was a reason we suffered so many in this bloody team.”
Up ahead, Kenzie blocked the man’s only other route — back into the mausoleum. With a grim glare now and a resigned stance, he took out the weapon he’d earlier stored away.
Drake checked the area, and saw Hayden finally subduing the team leader.
“Don’t do it!” he cried at the man. “You’re way outnumbered, pal.”
Hayden glanced up, took in the situation, and then wiped blood from her cheek. Drake now saw Altan creeping back up the steps to take a look and sighed to himself. Curiosity…
The gun remained steady, the box still held tightly, almost in a death grip. Hayden rose and held up a hand, palm out. The tall incense burner stood between herself and the man, but she moved until she had a clear line of sight.
Kenzie advanced from the rear. Smyth and Kinimaka from the side. There were no signs of panic in the soldier’s eyes, only resignation.
“Nobody died.” Hayden indicated the unconscious and groaning Chinese soldiers. “Nobody has to. Just leave the box.”
Alicia caught his attention. “And if you need a slap just to make it look good,” she said. “I’m here.”
A soldier’s mentality did not include giving up. And this guy had nowhere to go, no route of escape.
“The gun,” Drake said, “is a false hope. You know it is.”
The comment struck home, the gun hand wavering for the first time. A heavy silence stretched and Drake noticed a couple of the downed men starting to stir. “You gotta decide, pal,” he said. “Clock’s ticking.”
Almost immediately the man slipped his gun away and started to run. He aimed for Hayden and then, close to the incense burner, threw an arm against the top, hoping to topple it toward her. A dull clunk and a groan was his only reward as the object proved to be solidly fixed, but he kept on running.
Hayden waited, keeping his attention.
Alicia sprinted in from the blind side, diving and taking him in a rugby tackle around the waist. The man folded, almost broken in two, head striking Alicia’s shoulder and the box tumbling away. Hayden made a scramble for it, catching it up before too much damage was done. A quick glance affirmed the Order’s crest.
Alicia patted the unconscious man. “Told you I’d be there for you.”
The team evaluated. The Chinese were already moving. The French had to be close. A word from Hayden brought Lauren back on the line.
“Bad news, guys. The French have eyes on you and the Russians have eyes on them. Get moving!”
Bollocks!
Drake stared all the way back down the steps and along the straight path that led to the mausoleum. He saw running men, a team of four that almost certainly had to be the French. “They’re bloody good,” he said. “In real terms, that’s twice they’ve gotten to us first.”
“We should go,” Smyth said. “They’ll be on us in minutes.”
“Go where?” Alicia asked. “They’re hogging the only exit.”
Drake spied trees to the sides and lawns to the front. In real terms, the choice was limited.
“C’mon,” he said. “And Lauren, send in the chopper.”
“On its way.”
“Make it quick,” Smyth said. “Those French are fast on their feet.”
Drake took off, leading the way, assuming the Russians couldn’t be too far behind. Sadly, it couldn’t be long before somebody started shooting. They had fared well so far, seeing the best of soldier-to-soldier and man-to-man values, but the chances of such a fragile truce lasting were minimal.
Let’s face facts, if these countries wanted to work together and share the rewards, the men and women in the seats of power know full well it would be the easier way — and yet still they fight.
He slipped among the trees. The team rushed in his wake, Hayden clutching the ornate box with its so-far undiscovered secret. Dahl loitered at the back, tracking the progress of the French.
“Five minutes behind us. No sign of the Russkies. And the Chinese are waking up. Good, that might hold them all up a bit.”
“Chopper ten minutes,” Lauren informed them.
“Tell him to get his foot down,” Alicia said. “This guy’s supposed to be hot.”
“I’ll pass that on.”
Drake took the most direct route, hoping for a nice swathe of cover. The trees stretched to all sides, the ground soft and loamy, and smelling richly of the earth. Kenzie picked up a thick branch, shrugging as she ran as if to say, ‘this will have to do.’ First a long dip and then a sharp incline, and the route behind them vanished. The skies were barely visible and all sound was muted.
“I just hope nobody’s waiting for us up ahead,” Dahl said.
Kinimaka grunted, pushing hard. “Trust the listeners,” he said, clearly harking back to his CIA days. “They’re better than you think.”
Drake also saw that they were not here, on the ground, and possessed little field instinct. He scanned every horizon, confident that Dahl would be doing the same from the back. After four minutes, they briefly paused to listen.
“Bearings on that chopper?” Hayden whispered to Lauren.
The New Yorker could see their position as blinking blue blobs on a scanner. “Dead ahead. Keep going.”
All around was silent; they could be the only people in the world. Drake continued after a while, picking his steps carefully. Alicia crept along at his side, Hayden a step behind. The rest of the team now spread out to maximize their range. Weapons were drawn and held loosely.