“She wants to see a real man.” Dahl flexed a few muscles. “Leave the poor girl alone.”
“And they’re mine,” Kenzie said with a salacious smile. “Or soon will be.”
Dahl found a space to sit and watch the TV. “Don’t bet on it, Kenzie.”
Hayden raised a hand to shush them as the reporter wound up.
“So here we are; just a few hours until this unknown group threaten to unleash some kind of warning attack on the countries of Egypt, Turkey and Greece. A source in the Egyptian government tells us that, so far, they have been unable to unearth any information on the so-called FrameHub organization threatening to send at least two countries back to the dark ages.”
Hayden checked her own weapons. “That’s what we’d be involved with if we were still operational.”
“Don’t fret,” Dahl said. “I’m sure they’ll have someone working on it. Another team.”
“That’s what worries me too,” Hayden said. “They shut us down, disavowed us all. How many other teams have they disowned?”
Drake hadn’t thought of that. “You’re think there may be more?”
“Well, we surely can’t think we’re the only ones. That’d be naïve. I’m thinking if we could contact them…” She let the idea hang.
Crouch was listening. “I could help with that,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything that supports such a theory, but I agree it’s unwise to assume you are the only ones. I’ll make some calls.” He slid out his cell and flicked at the screen a few times.
“Well a little more information now. As you know I tasked a couple of contacts with finding out more of this FrameHub. They might be new to the world, but they’re an old unit, together at least two years. Apparently they’re made up of super-geeks and, by turns, considered myths and then supposedly proven bona fide. Nobody has ever proven their existence. Nobody has even met anyone involved—” Crouch paused, looked up with an expression of exasperation on his face. “Nobody has ever met anybody who’s met anybody involved. They’re ghosts, people, just ghosts.”
“Put ’em on a shelf,” Alicia said. “And we’ll exorcize ’em later. Is everyone ready?”
Crouch’s face changed instantly to excitement. “Moving out?”
“Yeah, and let’s make this one quick. The last thing we want is those mercs turning up in such a busy place. And the same goes for Luther.”
The team grabbed water and snacks and headed straight for the door.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Hatshepsut’s Temple is an ancient funerary shrine situated on the west bank of the Nile, close to the Valley of the Kings and dedicated to Amun, the Egyptian sun god. Its beauty is unmatched, one of the most outstanding monuments that remains on the earth today. Drake heard Crouch state all this and more, but didn’t fully understand until he saw it with his own eyes.
He stopped in his tracks, stunned. First, he noticed the enormous cliffs rearing up behind, sandy colored, as if tasked to protect the ancient shrine. The building itself, whilst huge, was dwarfed by the cliffs and the bright blue spread of sky above. Drake saw three levels, a wide ramp leading up to the second. Rows and rows of pillars fronted the shrine, evoking a sense of classical architecture. The ramp and the second level were crammed with tourists and the noise level swelled as they approached.
“Any ideas where to look?” Kinimaka asked.
Crouch shook his head. “We may only get one crack at this. Time is short. Don’t rush, just cover every square inch, and—” he tapped the side of his head “—call in the moment you find something.”
Drake took a moment to stand at the top of the ramp, turn, and study the crowd behind them. Nothing suspicious presented himself so he turned toward the pillars and the darker, cooler areas within. It took a while for his eyes to adjust and then he started paying close attention to the walls, the ceiling, the pillars, just as before. The area back there was narrow, thankfully so as it gave them less ground to cover. The floor consisted of smooth, seemingly haphazard paving, gray in color, and what few depictions there were on the bodies of the pillars were worn and hard to make out. Still, Drake saw nothing even remotely looking like a capstone.
The team completed the outer sweep and moved into the inner courtyard, seeing another row of pillars and tired, sandy walls full of depictions. Again they split up and walked across to study every inch.
Drake kept an eye on the tourists and the locals, noting that Smyth and Kenzie were doing the same. The atmosphere inside was low-key and pleasant, everyone knowing what to expect and quietly awed by the ancient construction. The day stretched out ahead of them.
“Is this weird?” Alicia asked.
Drake frowned. “Is what weird?”
“Us. Like this. I mean… fugitives? Really? I know I’ve been on the run most of my life but not like this. Every uniform, every cop I see, even the sound of an approaching siren — it’s all suddenly a concern, you know?”
“I get it.” Drake nodded. “And if it wasn’t for Michael needing our help we’d be on top of it by now. I’m sure we would, love—”
“We don’t even know who burned us,” she interrupted. “Or why. Crowe would be a good place to start.”
“True, but I don’t think she’s behind it all. At worst, she’s compliant. Either way, they need taking down. Especially, as Hayden suggested, there may be more teams.”
Alicia nodded at that. “It would be naïve to think we’re the only ones affected.”
“We’ll get there,” Drake assured her with a clear, open look. “We will.”
“I know.” Alicia turned her attention to the wall and the pictures there. Drake stayed close, again scanning the crowd. A quick flick of the comms and a chat assured him that everyone was where they should be.
Crouch spoke up then. “Nothing here, I’m afraid. We should head down. Try the lower level.”
The team agreed, heading for the ramp again with its central stairs. It was mid-afternoon by now, the tourists out in full flow and the sunshine as hot as it was going to get. They took their time descending, broke out water and snacks, then looked at the lower row of pillars that stood before them.
A few minutes later they were in that shade again, searching, hoping to find the lost symbol.
Drake heard a distant roar, dull at first but gradually growing louder. It wasn’t the approach of anything airborne, nor a powerful car. It was something else.
“You hear that?” He turned and shaded his eyes, staring back toward the road and parking areas.
The approaching roar was not alone. Several engine notes could be heard.
“My ears tell me that’s a Ducati Panigale,” Drake said. “Anyone else?”
“It’s a motorbike, Drake.” Alicia shook her head. “You’re such a child sometimes.”
“Hey…”
Crouch was alongside him now. “It is a Panigale,” he said. “And an MV Augusta if I’m not mistaken. Others too. And they’re headed straight for the bloody ramp!”
Drake knew it couldn’t be a coincidence. The riders were large, double-teamed, the bikes the fastest of their kind on the planet that day. Five of them — ten men — and they were headed straight across the car park directly through two masses of tourists, sending them diving and screaming out of the way.
“What is this?” Hayden asked in surprise. “An assault? Here? Surely not.”
“Well, whatever it is, we should prepare.” Crouch unslung his backpack.
Drake scanned for guards, knowing the Egyptians would be entirely on their toes when it came to something like this. “The security?” he breathed. “It’s all gone. There were armed police there.” He pointed. “And there. A couple of undercovers I spotted too. But… now…”