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“Holy crap, Nico! Holy. Freaking. Crap.”
Beneath the floorboards of Nico and Vivianna’s apartment above the restaurant were three long containers about the size of guitar cases, but the one Bones opened contained something a little more powerful than a Fender Stratocaster.
“I feel like Antonio Banderas!”
“I loved Mask of Zorro!” Nico exclaimed.
“I liked him as Puss in Boots,” Jessie added.
Bones closed his eyes, deflated. “Just drop it. I really don’t want to shoot either of you.”
Jessie and Nico just stared at him, still not understanding the reference or his irritated reaction.
“El Mariachi? Guitar case full of guns? Any of this ring a bell?”
Heads shook.
“Neither of you have heard of Desperado?”
They both shrugged.
He rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the weapon in his hands.
The Franchi SPAS-15 resembled an assault rifle, but was in fact a semi-automatic shotgun. Next to it were four Berretta 92FS pistols. Bones took two of the handguns along with four extra mags. One gun, along with two mags, went to Jessie, who looked a little unsure. Nevertheless, she accepted the weapon and additional ammo, ready to roll.
Not that the 9mm rounds will do anything, he thought, recalling how they only pissed off the king earlier. Still... They’re better than nothing.
Looking very comfortable with his Berretta ARX 160 assault rifle, Nico opened the third and final case. Inside was an assortment of stuff, including holsters, grenades, and several packets of Semtex plastic explosives.
“Take it all,” Bones said, pointing to the mustard-colored bricks. “If we can’t kill the king, we’ll need to bury him deep.”
Bones glanced at Rose who quietly sat in the corner of the room, knees to her chest. She was staying on her own decision. Bones didn’t even have to tell her to.
He looked back at Nico. “Anything else you can tell us about them? They don’t see well from what I can tell.”
He nodded. “A lifetime of darkness has made his eyesight poor, but his other senses are better than yours or mine. Unfortunately, I have not been able to acquire anything in the way of night vision equipment.”
“It means we’ll have to be extra careful when on his home turf,” Bones replied. “Topside, he’s a sitting duck, out of his element. But down there...” He didn’t need to finish. Nico understood better than anyone.
“What happens to Cabras after this is over?” Jessie asked. “Will the mayor resign since there isn’t anything to protect anymore?”
“You think Giolito will want that even if this threat is neutralized?” Bones was honestly curious.
“Why wouldn’t he?” Nico asked.
“In my experience, men with power will do anything to stay in power. If after Cabras is saved and becomes a normal town, what happens if someone more qualified and better-connected runs against Giolito in the next election?”
“He’s in total control right now,” Jessie added. “He’d lose that control if all this vanishes.”
Nico didn’t look like he was buying it but the look on his face gave away that he was at least considering it. “So, you are saying Leonardo would rather have this creature remain over his town’s future?”
“And safety,” Jessie added.
“Who says he’d tell anyone?” Bones said. “If I were him, I’d continue to do things the same way. He’d only have your family to persuade. You may not be with him but are your brothers? What about your wife—his sister?”
Nico sneered. “I know Vivianna well enough to know she wants that thing dead. If Leonardo tries to turn her against me...” He didn’t finish. Instead, he shouldered the pack full of explosives. Nico was ready to move.
“You have any rope?” Bones asked, thinking as he spoke.
Nico nodded, nostrils flared.
“Good, because we now lack most of a ladder thanks to our new friend.”
Nico left the room, giving Bones a moment with Jessie.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said to her, honestly a little afraid for her. “Rose probably wouldn’t mind the company.”
For a moment, she looked relieved by the offer, but then her expression hardened, and she stood tall. “I’m fine.”
He grinned. “Yes... Yes, you are.”
“God...” She looked at Nico as he reentered the room, coiled rope in hand. “Do Italian soldiers act like this before going out on a mission?”
Nico shook his head. “Didn’t think so.”
Bones grinned again, accepting the offered rope. “Ain’t nobody like me but me.”
They exited quietly down the rear stairs and headed back to the dig site.
Circling around from the south, Bones and Nico led the way while Jessie, handgun gripped tightly, brought up the rear. It was the same path they’d taken earlier that day. Now, close to midnight, the streets were empty, the town silent. Bones could hear the gentle breeze over the water to the west, giving him an idea.
“Can they swim?”
Nico looked at him. “What?”
“The king...can the giants swim? I don’t remember reading that they could.”
Nico shrugged. “I don’t think so. It would make sense if they could not, though. Homer’s Odyssey said they stayed on shore and hurled large rocks into the water.”
“Sure sounds like they can’t,” Jessie commented. She’d been silent since leaving Nico’s place. “If they could, they probably would’ve just swam out to the ships and finished them off.”
Plan B, Bones thought. But he wasn’t so sure they’d be able to lure him out to sea.
They slowly crept up to the pit and peeked over the precipice. The ladder to Bones’ surprise was still somewhat intact. Its uppermost anchors were still attached to the ground above. The base of the ladder was what was ripped free during the king’s assault. After thirty seconds of waiting and watching, Bones unfurled the rope and tied off an end around the closest light post he could find. He’d use the ladder until he couldn’t. Cautiously, he made his way below.
"The ladder is still strong enough to hold,” Bones said, halfway down. Then, it creaked. He looked up. “For now...”
Once down, Bones covered the entrance to the tunnel while Jessie and Nico joined him one at a time. There, they knelt and listened, just in case the giant was near and waiting for them.
After a tense moment of nothing, Bones stood and started into the passage, lighting their way with the tactical flashlight mounted to the rails of the SPAS-15. Nico’s rifle was similarly equipped, and Jessie carried Bones’ Maglite. She also kept the pistol drawn, but down next to her thigh.
“In we go,” Bones muttered.
"Creepy, huh?” Jessie whispered. The still air making her soft words sound like they had been shouted.
Bones shrugged. “It’s not that bad.” He glanced over at Jessie who had a horrified look on her face. “What?” he asked. “I’m terribly desensitized, you know.”
Even though he meant it in jest, he realized it was the actual truth. Things like this felt pretty normal to him now and he wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.
He tried for something more inspiring. “If it bleeds, we can kill it.”
That got a reply out of Nico. “Predator, very good. I read about that film in the Schwarzenegger Presidential Library.”
“Huh?” Jessie said. “Arnold wasn’t the—”
Bones smiled. “It’s from Demolition Man.” He nodded, as they entered the second tomb, impressed. “My man has good taste in movies... Even if he doesn’t know who El Mariachi is.”
“If you two don’t shut up,” Jessie hissed, “I’ll have to lick your asses.”
They both stopped and turned. Jessie’s expression was defiant. “See,” she said, “I know Stallone movies too. My mind just happens to be on something else. I’m sorry I don’t know who the guitar case guy is. Sue me for being a baby when these movies came out!”
Bones held up his hand for her to calm down and couldn’t help himself. “Okay, look, just do me a favor and,” his eyes shot to Nico, “take a moment and be well.”
Nico tried in vain to hold back laughter.
Jessie put the gun under her armpit and rubbed her face with both hands. “Ugh, someone put me back in the fridge...”
That got a laugh from both men and Jessie soon joined in. With the Demolition Man quotes out of the way, and a little of the tension lessened, they continued toward the queen’s burial chamber.
A guttural roar echoed around them, freezing them in place. Bones responded by tightening the shotgun to his shoulder. Nico spun to watch their rear, putting Jessie in between himself and Bones.
Then, nothing. It was as quiet as before.
“Where is he?” Jessie asked.
“The sound. It seems to come from everywhere,” Nico replied.
They moved on, passing the dead man and continuing to the entry to the throne room. A few fires still lit the large space, but most were nothing more than scattered cinders.
"Someone seems slightly miffed,” Bones muttered under his breath.
Jessie stepped up next to him. “Well, at least we know which way he went.”
"He is not used to his prey escaping him,” Nico said from behind. Bones and Jessie turned. “We must be extra careful.”
“Thanks for telling us now, Nicky,” Bones said, facing the room again.
Bones inhaled deeply and picked up on a scent that he didn’t like. While the room was filled with the bones of the dead and a thick blanket of smoke, it wasn’t either of those that he smelled, it was him, or rather, Rose’s perfume. Would the king remember that scent? If so, how would he react?
Nothing I can do about it now.
After scanning the room, Bones quickly descended the giant-sized stairs to the bottom, the others following right behind him.
“See anyone?” Jessie asked quietly.
Bones knew what she meant. This was where they had left Santi, Giolito, and Vivianna to face the king’s rage. Even though he knew it was the right thing to do at the time, he still felt bad about leaving them behind.
He shook his head.
After a quick survey of the room, Nico started up the east steps.
“Are we even sure they went that way?” Bones asked, looking for a trail to follow. The king had scattered bones all over the previously cleared paths encircling the throne, making it next to impossible to tell which paths had been trod.
“Yes,” Nico replied, confident. “They know that the only way out is east beneath city hall. It’s how we came in.”
“What about the dig site?” Bones asked, confused. He knelt and wiped his hand across the floor.
“No. They know better than to follow behind him.”
Bones looked back up the north and south tunnels, still unsure. “And those?” He glanced over his shoulder to Nico. “They go anywhere we should know about?”
Nico shook his head. “The northern tunnel is the one we collapsed to trap the Laestrygonians underground. The south leads around to the east, bypassing the giant’s domain, but it is a long and difficult passage. The quickest route back to safety is the one we have always used, even though it means going through the giant’s home.”
“Tell me about the eastern exit,” Bones said.
“It is man-made,” Nico said. “My father helped build it—too small for a giant to fit through. They broke through rock beneath city hall and built a hidden entrance below, so that we could minister to the needs of the Laestrygonians.”
“What can we expect when we get there?” Bones asked.
Nico’s face fell. “It is probably better that you see it with your own eyes.”
Bones eyed Jessie who shrugged.
Satisfied with the half-explanation, Bones moved to the foot of the eastern staircase and immediately found what he was looking for. A set of large disturbances could be seen in the bones in front of the first step. The giant had most definitely come this way, crushing the skeletal remains beneath his feet, but he also saw smaller prints mixed in, carrying the dust along with them.
“East it is.”