“They’re not called kings,” Gunn said. “Novice. Minerval. That kind of—”
“Dude, they’re all fucking baboons to me,” Cassidy said. “King or not, they’re gonna be kissing the end of my boot.”
“The final path?” Bodie repeated, groaning as he sought to sit up now and all the aches and pains caught fire. “Hold that thought,” he told Jeff. “Cross. Throw me that bottle of pain killers.”
He caught it, swallowed some down, then decided on a few more. Finally, he nodded at Jeff. “Go on.”
“It’s twenty feet below the Olympia train station and arrow straight,” Jeff said.
Bodie’s mind worked in a stealthy way and he caught on immediately. “A tunnel?”
“Yep. The Illuminati built a tunnel underneath the busy train station so that members could come and go as often as they liked, as covertly as they liked, and as easily as they liked. It’s genius, really.”
“And Hunt knew this how?”
“The expelled member of course. Thomas Kilby.”
“Incredible,” Heidi said. “They expel a man and expect him not to harbor a grudge. Overconfident, egotistical asses.”
“Hey,” Cassidy grumbled. “Do not insult the ass.”
“Yeah, sorry.”
“So what’s next?” Gunn put the journal down, and turned to the window where a fresh dawn was just starting to take fire.
“It all comes down to this,” Bodie said. “We take them down now. Hit ’em hard and make them pay for every horrific act they ever did. And Heidi?”
The CIA agent looked over. “Yeah?”
“Face to face now. After that we part ways. Job done. Debt paid. Are we agreed?”
“Debt paid.” Heidi nodded in agreement, then held his gaze. “But that still leaves you all as criminals.”
“Crap, you’re kidding me?”
“I’ll agree to debt paid, Bodie, but you owe me more than that. The crimes you’ve committed. Some of the most audacious and clever in the world. If you’re not working for the government one way…” She paused. “You will be another.”
Bodie kept his temper. Jemma leaned over to Gunn. “She means in prison.”
“I know that!”
“After all this…” Cross appealed.
Heidi never once stopped looking at Bodie. “What’s it gonna be, Flash?”
He winced. “Flash?”
“Every time you open that mouth.”
“ ’Kinell,” Cassidy grumbled. “Can you two just go get a friggin’ room? Work it out.”
Bodie lay back. “Not in this life.”
“Or in your dreams.” Heidi pressed a button to consult with the pilot.
“C’mon, Bodie,” Cassidy said. “It’s as clear as that black microbe on your front molar. You two are into each other.”
“Any more of that talk,” Bodie said. “And you’ll be taking the quick way down to Olympia. Understood?”
Cassidy turned away, smiling.
Heidi announced the next news to the whole plane. “We’re about to start descending. You master thieves got any idea how to break into a secret HQ that’s been unnoticed for centuries and probably guarded by hundreds of elite warriors?”
Bodie couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, CIA,” he said. “Yeah, I’ve got a few.”
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
Xavier Von Gothe stood tall before the brethren, exalted, worshipped. He wore a goat’s head and brandished a dagger that dripped blood. The ritual was complete, the victim dead. He started off the chant, an invocation to their dark master. The brethren took it up, masters and novices among them, so many gathered for the fight.
If it came to that.
Xavier ended the black mass with a prayer and a silent offering to the Great Dragon. He walked around the altar and shrugged out of his robes. He moved over to a podium and left the victim lying there in full sight, something to ponder over for those that might even now be questioning their allegiance.
“If they come,” he shouted. “Are we ready?”
A shout went up, a roar. Xavier didn’t agree with stirring up the crowd this way; didn’t agree that they should be allowed to see him so closely. But needs must. Only one man stood above him — the High Minerval — and he had ordered Xavier to perform this task.
“If we are set upon,” he said. “We will use everything we have to protect this, our home. Our museum. Our sanctuary.” As he spoke he was picturing the secret escape route and other lodges they had dotted around the world. “The Order of the Illuminati,” he said. “Is a great, evergreen tree. You can smite it, you can hack at it, you can even sometimes chop it down, but a branch will always grow back. It is eternal.”
The cheers flooded the chamber that lay two floors below the impressive headquarters his ancestors had built in the hills to the east of Olympia train station. It had been a well-chosen site — the hills rugged and inhospitable and already hollowed out by underground streams. Once chosen, they had made sure no planning permissions were ever granted, no invitations extended. The placement was both fortunate and perfect.
The statue simply had to be brought here, back home, where it belonged. His ancestors knew that too.
Xavier raised both hands once more, riding the crescendo. “We will battle to the last man. Blood for blood. And the Great Dragon will fight with us! We cannot lose! Now protect your home, rise up, rise up and fight!”
His gaze swept the assemblage, satisfied. Close by were Typhon and Calypso, his closest commanders, one thick-set and hard, the other tall, willowy and deadly. Even closer at hand was Baltasar, the man he had sent out to collect the map, the best of the best, leader of the Hoods.
We are the Illuminati. We cannot lose.
CHAPTER FORTY SIX
Family is a sense of belonging.
Bodie felt it now, watching his team prepare for… what? Battle? An assault? Death? They were a highly covert infiltration team that also happened to know how to fight. Bodie could see how they were perfect for the job, but remained unhappy being forced into the job they were about to do.
“Don’t worry,” Cassidy told him in inimitable style. “I can get us through this.”
Bodie nodded. “You gonna make it, Eli?”
Cross scowled. “I’m forty-three, boss, not being forced to come out of retirement.”
Jemma shuffled the sheaves of paper she was working on. “Almost done. Yeah, we’re blind into the HQ, but we all know what a tunnel looks like.”
“And how to hack a way into it.” Gunn’s fingers weaved a magical network upon his laptop’s keys.
“And you, Bodie?” Heidi saw him watching over all. “You happy with the assault?”
“That’s your word,” Bodie said. “A government agent calls this an assault; I call it a masterful insinuation.”
“Yeah, the only thing assaulted here’s gonna be your penchant for shock and awe,” Cassidy said. “Real agents do it noiselessly.”
Heidi allowed a smile. “Sounds like you got a bumper sticker right there.”
“We’re waiting for a bit more gear,” Bodie said. “Should be ready for tonight. Sunset.”
They toiled away, fetching pictures of the Olympia train station up and figuring out a good approach. Of course, the Illuminati knew they were coming but this time there would be no event. Nothing would possibly be risked inside their own HQ, Bodie was sure of it.
Hours passed. Food and drink were brought. The Rangers were introduced and sat around the hotel room, checking and rechecking weapons. Focused and deadly, Bodie was glad they were on his side and not hunting him down. Jemma worked her maps, her figures, reworking the plan. Gunn helped her with information that might be stored privately online, including material that might exist on the dark web. Heidi made a point of missing that part, making a private call to her family back home. Bodie remembered she had an ex-husband and a daughter that refused to speak to her. He didn’t know the details, but to see the CIA agent now, busting a gut to save innocent people, made him sorry and sad.