Drake winced as the barrel pressed deeper.
Ramses studied Alicia. “You want to kill me. You want to be free. You hope your friends will come to save you. It is understandable. Well, none of that will happen. First, we will talk.”
“Torture will get you nowhere,” Alicia snapped. “You will never break us.”
Ramses looked affronted. “Torture? That is not what I do. I am a prince, madam. No, we will talk between ourselves and then, when dawn arrives, we will throw you from the battlements. That is all.”
“That’s all?” Drake repeated. “Easy for you to say.”
Alicia was shaking her head. “Madam? I thought you said you wouldn’t torture me?”
Ramses let out a deep booming laugh that fairly rattled the windows. A moment later a servant arrived, dressed in white, carrying a silver platter. Ramses chose three separate hors d’oeuvres and a proffered napkin. He waited whilst the servant poured him a chilled glass of white wine.
“Conti Montrachet,” he breathed, savoring the taste. “A vice, I am afraid.”
“Oh, wow,” Alicia retorted. “We’re so alike.”
Drake winced at that. If they had until morning to fashion an escape there was hope. But a pissed off terrorist prince might very quickly change his mind.
“So,” he stepped in fast. “What do you and Tyler Webb have in common?”
“Webb?” Ramses chewed slowly, contemplatively. “The Pythians were his brainchild, his new cabal. The man is a psychopath, deranged, unhinged, and was always meant to fail. He is alone now, searching for something he will never find. A myth. A fable. He will not last long.”
“But he is alive?” Drake pressed.
Ramses hollered out a laugh. “Of course. He escaped the Amazon as did I. There were many fail-safes around that camp and Webb, I’m afraid, insisted on knowing all of them.”
“Can I ask,” Alicia put in, “why the hell you’re still here? You know the rest of our team are out there, probably calling on the Peruvian Special Forces for help.” She squinted. “If they have one. But nevertheless, they’re coming for you, big boy.”
Ramses frowned a little. “I think you will find I own most of Peru’s authorities, along with Brazil’s. Nobody is coming for me. And as for your friends — let them come.” More laughter.
Drake enjoyed the bullishness, but not the underlying confidence. “What is Webb searching for?”
“Truly, I have no idea. Saint Germain or some such. Perhaps he wants to grind bones to make his bread. The man is a true monster.”
“How can you say that?” Alicia sat up. “Having ordered a nuclear detonation.”
“Our definitions differ.” Ramses stared right into her eyes. “But I see you are going to be of no use to me. This conversation will now end and enable me to turn to more pressing matters.”
Drake felt the gun barrel dig in a little harder before being pulled away. Yes, Akatash was a sadist No surprise there.
“I’ve changed my mind,” Ramses said as he walked out. “No mercy for them. Slit their throats now.”
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
Hayden chafed as they waited for the backup she’d hastily arranged but it soon arrived in the form of two big military choppers, sent swiftly from the nearest airbase and consequently equipped to fly in the Peruvian mountains, both filled with the requested backup in the form of military men. Other forms of swift transport were on full alert, ready to whisk the SPEAR team anywhere and, in particular, to New York. Over half an hour had already passed since they realized Drake and Alicia had been taken captive, but the newly arrived choppers had lifted off some time before that, during the chase, tracking Hayden’s chopper through GPS and attempting to rendezvous in the air. When Dahl, Mai and Beau realized Drake and Alicia were lost they had headed quickly toward the area they saw Hayden had landed. The team were distressed and consumed with guilt, but wise enough to remember that time was the issue. They wasted none of it, going over options for an assault at the same time as hoping they were far enough away for Ramses not to consider initiating an attack of his own.
Smyth favored the full frontal. “I call it, ‘the Miley approach’,” he said. “Attack the castle walls, the gates, the bridge, take the fuckers out.”
Hayden looked up at the mountains from their hideaway deep within a stand of trees about a mile from the castle. “Well there’s no way of getting in through the back entrance,” she said. “That’s a sheer rock face behind the castle.”
“Tunnels?” Dahl suggested. “All castles have them. Caves. Concealed entrances. I bet Ramses has several escape routes.”
Hayden nodded. “A good bet.”
Kinimaka studied the castle and its environs through powerful field-glasses. “Nothing obvious up there.”
Kenzie snorted, shaking her head. “As if they would stick a label on it—‘secret entrance three hundred yards’.”
Lauren laid a hand on the Hawaiian’s shoulder. “Keep looking, Mano. You will get nowhere if you don’t at least try.” She shot a hard gaze at Kenzie.
Beauregard then walked up to the group. “I could infiltrate the castle. Alone.”
Dahl glared. “How? It’s all rock up there. No trees or hills or wooden barricades. They have guards every few feet, spotters and snipers too.”
“I have my ways. I can get inside. Alone.”
Hayden checked her watch. “Beau, do it. Go now. You’re our backup, and please hurry.”
The Frenchman slipped away, just another shadow among many.
Dahl bit his lip. “They’ll be waiting for him. I don’t like it. They know we’re coming.”
“And that is our answer,” Yorgi said. “It is. We have to do the thing they least expect. It is a thief’s maxim. His… um, slogan. What is it that they don’t expect?”
Hayden again stared at the sheer cliff face that towered above the rear of the castle. “That we would come straight down that.”
Smyth growled. “That’s because it’s impossible.”
“Yesssss…” Hayden turned. “But maybe there’s another way.”
“We don’t need all these men,” Dahl said suddenly, eyes wide with adrenalin. “The unexpected already landed right in our laps.”
Five minutes later the soldiers were ready to move out and attempt one of the most dangerous rescues of their careers. Both Lauren and Yorgi would be left behind, since this was considered a full-on combat mission, and they still had Robert Price to guard. The newly arrived big birds whirled and roared, no doubt seen by those watching from the castle, but that worked in nicely with the plan, as they would see only what initially happened. Dahl fine-tuned it, much to Hayden’s dismay — to allow the Mad Swede to tweak any plan was adding an infinite amount of danger to it, but at least he did check that the local choppers were fully equipped with all they needed before setting off.
Dahl looked toward the castle once more before they started. “Hold on, my friends,” he said. “We’re coming for you.”
Then he joined Hayden, Kinimaka and Smyth in a fast sprint toward the whirlybirds. They clambered on and tried not to notice the deep concern written across the pilot’s face.
“He doesn’t speak English apparently.” Hayden confirmed. “I’m actually quite pleased about that. The guys who came with him are convinced we’re gonna die.”
Kinimaka frowned. “And why don’t you want him to speak English??”
“He might be able to talk me out of this.”
Kenzie squeezed in next to Dahl. “The soldiers don’t sound too happy with your plan.”
“Just buckle up and hold on. These choppers are used for this kind of thing all the time. Drill and repeat. Drill and repeat. Those guys will be here when we get back.”