Not a man or woman listening moved a muscle.
Hayden smiled. Everyone was scared, but they stayed anyway. She nodded toward her boss. “The US Secretary of Defense would like to say something.”
Jonathan Gates didn’t move, but his voice carried around the room. “I can only reinforce what Agent Jaye has already told you. The tomb is vital. The remaining eight Pieces of Odin, now in Stuttgart, are vital. Russell Cayman is vital, and if at all possible needs to be captured alive. We don’t know”—he paused—“if the eyes of authority consider us the bad guys here. But we’re monitoring the news services and nothing has come up so maybe someone, somewhere, has our backs. There’s a group — calls itself the Shadow Elite — who think they own the world. Let’s shake it up and show ’em who it really belongs to. The people.”
A cheer went up. Drake could hardly imagine the variety of characters a man like Gates could enlist to find the Shadow Elite. Something would shake loose soon. When Gates stopped speaking and the room started to mobilize for their short journey to the tomb, Drake drifted over to Ben and Karin.
“You two nailed down the tomb’s location, I hear. Not bad for a head banger and a dropout.”
Ben’s face fell. “Don’t remind me, mate. Just don’t remind me.” He sounded suicidal.
Drake blinked rapidly at Karin. “His nappy rash flared up again?”
Karin smirked. “Worse than ever. But on top of that, he’s just heard that, in his absence, the band released their CD when they came out of police protection and have been invited to guest at a festival near Leeds.”
“Isn’t that good news, mate?”
“Not when I’m here,” Ben whined, “saving the world.”
“Worse thing is—” Karin couldn’t contain herself any longer. “The festival’s being headlined by Ben’s two favorite groups. Pretty Reckless and Evanescence.”
Drake whistled. “Bummer. Don’t worry. Maybe the world will have ended by then.”
Ben glared at him. “I thought you, at least, would understand.”
“Life’s tough, Ben.” Drake cast a sideways glance at Hayden. “And if you don’t realize that pretty soon, you’re gonna find out in a way that’ll cut you off at the knees.” Drake turned away, an old memory of Kennedy playing through his head. “Stick to working the internet, Blakey.”
Karin put a hand on his shoulder as he made to walk away. “There’s something else bothering him too. Well, both of us. This Shadow Elite — we found literally bugger all about them on the net. Not a trace nor a trail. Not even a sniff of digital footprints.”
Drake nodded. “I understand.” Ben and Karin working together could crack into the NSA without breaking a sweat. He walked them over to where Hayden, Mai and Alicia were talking. “Now, if you’re up for it, there’s the last tomb of the gods to raid.”
Hayden heard his last comment as they approached. She looked up, eyes hard. “You’d better be up for it. You think you’ve gone through hell so far? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
PART 2
The tomb, the thief and the train
CHAPTER TWELVE
The industrial city of Singen in Southern Germany had no idea of the storm that was set to strike. Sitting pretty and picturesque under a clear, blue sky, surrounded by forests, lakes and mountains, and overlooked by the landmark it was made famous for — the volcanic stub on which was built a fortress, now ruined — it basked in dangerous ignorance.
Some of the world’s most ruthless men and women approached. Some were already there.
They made the trip in less than an hour. During that time Drake, Alicia, Mai and Dahl swapped stories and jokes to help alleviate the tension. Drake kept half an ear on the conversation, but concentrated mainly on checking the gear he’d been issued back at the safe house. Of course, as always, Dahl had chosen that particular place for a major reason. Not only was it an SSG facility, it was also a military bunker and stored enough weaponry to outfit a small army. SIG and Glock pistols, American M16’s, and M4 Carbines. Pump-action shotguns, rocket launchers, grenades and flares.
Alicia and even Mai had approached the stash eagerly, like kids at Christmas, but Drake had grabbed the bare minimum, while making sure both Ben and Karin were outfitted with easy-to-use “point and click” handguns. At first, he had tried persuading them to stay behind, or at least stay hidden.
Ben had shaken his head immediately. Karin, in the way of a close sister, had put his thoughts into words. “We’ve come this far. We might be scared, but we’re doing it anyway.”
Drake looked at them, looked at them all. “That’s what makes a hero.”
“My life,” Karin said, “hadn’t been worth living, until I chased a madman down a black hole in a tropical paradise. Until then…I purposely destroyed my life.”
“Why would you do that?” Drake had asked.
Karin had shaken her head. “I lost my faith in people. Even now, I can’t find it. I just…can’t.”
“We’ll try to help.” Drake said to her, painfully aware that two months ago his words would have been trust me. I’ll save you. But not now. Not ever again.
“Like I said, we’re coming with you.”
Now Drake began to prepare himself mentally for what was to come. Their toughest battle yet. The streets of Singen streamed past, the stump of Hohentwiel now commanding the horizon. Lush fields, stands of green trees and a few houses encircled the volcanic stub and its old castle and, as they drew closer, something else.
Something completely out of place.
The chatter began to fire up the airwaves almost immediately. “I see three choppers, sir. All military.” A voice from the lead car.
Dahl’s voice. “Markings?”
“Sir, I think you should know this first. They’re just landing. Men are e-vaccing as I speak. I think we should consider an immediate strike.”
A stunned silence followed. Drake’s adrenalin spiked and he caught a look that flashed between Alicia and Mai. They were up for it too. They all nodded at Dahl.
“We hit them before they can set up,” Drake said. “Before they can prepare, settle, or plan. That way, even though we came second, we still have the element of surprise.”
“Strike through their lines.” Mai joined in. “Break through, outflank them, and decimate. We’ll come upon those already inside the tomb without warning.”
Alicia scowled. “In an ideal world, little sprite.”
Dahl was already speaking into the walkie. “Plan is a go. We do this now. No delay.”
“Lock and load.” Hayden’s voice came over the walkie. “Nothing changes. We hit them harder, that’s all. Remember, this is one of the most important military strikes in living memory. We’re talking about a third tomb of the gods and a possible doomsday device being acquired by an unknown group. We simply cannot afford to fail. ”
The military convoy picked up speed as it left the city and approached the old volcano. They made final weapons checks, clicked live ammo into place and tried to attain the mental focus it was going to take to win the day.
At the base of the steep hill, they abandoned the vehicles and took to the trees. Beneath the priceless cover, the special multinational force hotfooted its way to the volcano’s summit.
“We aim for the choppers.” Dahl breathed into the throat-mics. “Cayman and his men either found the entrance or made one. It wouldn’t be too risky with the proper GPRS systems.”