| |
THE DOOR BUCKLED when it was blasted from its hinges and shot into the room.
Raven swiftly dropped to one knee when the door flew toward her and skimmed by a hairbreadth above her head. It clattered to the ground and skidded across the floor behind her. To discourage the planned rushed assault she expected to follow from the men outside, she fired a short burst of bullets at the doorway.
Creed arrived and took position beside her, his weapon also aimed at the gaping entrance.
“Dowse the candles and switch off your headlight,” Raven ordered, without averting her gaze from the entrance.
Creed went to carry out the order. He extinguished any remaining candles not blown out by the blast and switched off his light. The room was now shrouded in darkness.
Domenico and his men stood back when the small explosive charges positioned on the hinges detonated. The loud boom echoed through the cavern as the force of the explosions blasted the door inside the temple. Shots from inside quickly followed but the bullets whizzed harmlessly into the cavern. Deducing those inside had the entrance covered, Domenico indicated for two of his men to fire through the open doorway.
The two men moved into position, aimed their weapons at the entrance and each emptied a magazine into the Temple and reloaded when Domenico gave the order to enter.
Domenico glanced at Marco still taking refuge behind one of the large pillars. “Are you coming?”
Marco shook his head. “Not yet, let me know when it's safe.”
Barely hiding his contempt for the man, Domenico turned and followed his men into the Temple.
Ben moved through the darkness alongside the Temple wall and peeked around the corner as two of the intruders fired into the Temple's interior. With no idea if any of those inside had been hurt or killed, Ben ducked back out of sight. To help his friends he needed a weapon. Though it was dark, his glance around the cavern revealed the two men Raven had shot earlier. Their positions given away by the torches clipped to their chests shining in the darkness. He was about to head for the nearest corpse when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He froze.
Ben turned. The red glow of a cigarette in the darkness.
“You made it okay then,” Ben whispered.
“Yeah, nearly fell when the explosions went off, but I made it to the top,” he whispered back.
“We need to collect the weapons from the two men Raven shot, but we'll have to make our way through the dark without using our lights. If we move along the edge of the cavern, we should remain undetected, but ensure you keep out of the beams of the dead men's torches.”
They quickly reached the dead intruders and collected their weapons. Ben glanced at the AK-47 assault rifle Pat held. “Have you ever fired a weapon?”
“Yeah, many times, I'm a good shot,” Pat said confidently. “What about you?”
Ben remembered the last time he had fired a similar weapon. “Yes, unfortunately, they're not easy to control in my limited experience.”
Pat grinned and held the weapon across his chest. “I believe the time has come to kick these bad boys' asses.”
Ben smiled at his friend's confidence. “Okay, but follow my lead and don't fire until I say so.”
That Pat enjoyed the feel of the weapon in his hands, was evident by the big grin on his face. Ben had to admit that, unlike the one he held awkwardly, Pat's did seem to suit him.
Creed and Raven dived for cover when bullets spat through the doorway, striking the stone pillars, the back wall and sending a candlestick to the floor with a loud clatter.
Raven glanced at Creed. “They will enter as soon as the shooting stops.”
Creed checked his weapon. “How much ammo do you have left? I'm nearly out.”
“A couple of magazines, I wasn't expecting a gunfight.”
“Maybe we should retreat to the back room. It will be easier to defend than this large open space.”
The shots fell to silence. Raven assumed the men would enter shooting to keep them pinned down while they spread out. Creed's suggestion made sense. “Okay, let's go.”
She followed Creed into the Ark chamber and closed the door behind them just as shots rang out from the Temple invaders when they entered. A few bullets struck the solid door harmlessly. Raven shone her torch over the door, but there was no way of securing it. Her light searched the room they were trapped in, letting it briefly linger on the Menorah and then the Ark. “It's not the vision I imagined.”
Creed glanced at the sorry looking Ark. “Nor mine.”
Raven crossed to the golden table and the large gold Menorah. “Help me move them over to the door.”
“That won't stop them.”
“I think it will,” she replied, cryptically.
Together they strained with the weight of the large gold candelabra. They placed it on the floor, and carried the equally heavy table to the entrance, turned on its end and rested it against the door. They then dragged the Menorah over and leaned it against the table.
“Now the Ark,” Raven ordered.
Though Creed was aware the Ark's contribution to blocking the door would be minimal, he assumed Raven had a plan and followed her lead. Together they positioned the larger pieces of the ancient Ark behind the door and stepped back to find out what would happen next.
Domenico entered the Temple. His eyes sought out those inside but found the large room deserted. “Hold your fire,” he shouted over the thunderous bombardment. Discharged bullet casings clinked on the stone floor as the gunshot echoes died to be replaced by an eerie silence. A whistle from one of his men attracted Domenico’s attention. His glance towards the signal picked out the rope reaching up to a high window highlighted in the man's torchlight.
Domenico ordered three of his men to search outside. “And tell Marco it's safe to come in now,” he added.
Domenico focused on the door at the far end of the room as he headed for it. His men spread out and followed.
Domenico halted at the door, raised a fist and knocked. “You're trapped, so you might as well come out. If you don't, we blow the door and likely kill you in the process.”
After a few seconds of silence, he received a reply and was surprised it came from a woman.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you. We have placed the Ark of the Covenant and the Menorah against the door. Blow it, and you’ll destroy them both. Not something I believe your employer would be very pleased about.”
“Nice bluff lady, but it won't work.” He turned to Francesco. “Blow the door.”
“Cancel that order!”
Domenico sighed and turned to confront Marco. “You can't really believe the Ark and Menorah are on the other side of that door.”
“Unlike you, Domenico, I'm not willing to take that risk. Your superiors would be more than a little displeased to find out that you, through your incompetence, have destroyed two of the holiest relics ever to have existed.”
Domenico shrugged. “So how do we get inside?”
“I have no idea, that's your problem, but I do know it won't be achieved by blowing open that door. Have you tried talking to them?”
Domenico stood back and waved Marco forward. “Please, be my guest.”
Marco glared at Domenico briefly and stepped forward. “We have you surrounded.” He called out, loud enough for those on the other side of the door to hear. “You face superior numbers and firepower and have no way to escape except through this door. If you come out now, I give my word you will not be harmed.”
A few seconds of silence passed before he received his reply. “We are not as helpless as you seem to think. Try to enter, and you'll die.”
“It's a woman!” exclaimed Marco. He directed a scowl at Domenico. “You are being thwarted by a woman!”
“What makes you think she is less of a challenge than a man?”
“Because she's a woman.”
“One that is armed and by the sound of it, fearless, which is more than could be said of everyone here.”
Marco ignored the comment he knew was aimed at him. “What do you propose?”
Before Domenico could answer, gunshots from outside side-tracked his thoughts. After ordering two men to guard the door and another two to accompany him, he went to discover its cause.
Ben and Pat watched the three men exit the Temple, walk around the side of the building and after discovering the rope hanging from the window, swept their flashlights through the darkness, searching for escapees.
“Shall we shoot them?” Pat whispered.
“They're too far away. We need to bring them closer.” Ben picked up a rock and threw it a short distance away.
Though three beams of light immediately focused on the source of the disturbance, the experienced men weren't about to be caught out by such an obvious trick. They split up and moved in a wide arc out from the center of the sound to seek out who had thrown the rock.
“That didn't work as expected, did it?” Pat stated. “Shall we shoot them now?”
“Wait until they get closer. These weapons are tricky to control unless you're used to them. We stand a better chance of hitting them the nearer they are.”
“But won't that work both ways? They'll be able to hit us easier as well.”
“We have surprise on our side, and we can see them, but they have no idea where we are.”
A single shot rang out. A bullet ricocheted off the wall they were concealed behind next to Ben's head.
“I believe their greater experience is beginning to show,” said Pat. “Shall we shoot them now?”
“We can try, but be...”
Before Ben could finish the sentence, Pat had stood, fired three shots in quick succession in three different directions and ducked down again. In the silence that followed, three bodies and their weapons were heard falling to the ground.
Pat grinned. “I thought you said they were hard to control.”
Astonished, Ben peeked over the wall. Three beams of light shone on the ground, one aimed back at its owner revealed a neat bullet hole in his forehead.
Ben stared at Pat. “You shot all three with only three bullets.”
“Well, from this angle, it would've been an impossible shot to do it with less.”
Ben shook his head in amazement. “Where did you learn to shoot like that?”
“Call of Duty.”
“You were in the army?”
Pat shook his head. “No, it's a computer game.”
“So, when you said you had lots of experience with weapons, it was from playing computer games?”
Pat shrugged. “You've just seen the result of my many hours of first-person shooter mayhem, so what's the problem?”
Ben shook his head. “No problem, none whatsoever.” He glanced over at the Temple entrance. “They will have heard the shots inside, so we had better make our move before they come to investigate.”
“Shall I take the lead?”
“Yes, my sharpshooting friend, I think that would be an excellent idea.”
When Lazzaro, Arrigo, and Domenico stepped through the entrance, a shot rang out. Domenico grabbed the nearest man, Arrigo, by the collar and dragged him back inside as a second shot echoed around the cavern.
Caught off balance by the abrupt change of direction, Arrigo tripped to the ground.
Lazzaro collapsed in a lifeless heap. A hole where his right eye had been revealed the bullets' entry point.
Arrigo put a hand to his ear bloodied ear to find the top half missing. Domenico had saved his life. “Thanks.”
Domenic glanced at their dead comrade. “You're welcome, but Lazzaro wasn't so lucky. Whoever they are, they now have weapons; ours by the sound of it. My guess is it's those who escaped through the window.” He peered through the doorway but saw no sign of the shooters. “From the shots we heard earlier, I assume the others have suffered the same fate as Lazzaro.”
Arrigo climbed to his feet. “Whoever’s responsible, they've reduced our numbers to four, plus Marco.”
“For all the good he is,” spat Domenico. “That's one man I wouldn't mind losing to a bullet. Keep the entrance covered, and I'll send Battista to join you while I work out our next plan of action.”
“Did you get them?” called out Marco when Domenico entered.
“No, I didn't get them. They killed Lazzaro and probably the others. Battista, join Arrigo guarding the entrance.”
Battista left to carry out the command.
“Do I need to remind you, Domenico, that it's your job to keep me safe and you've already lost over half of your men? I thought you were an expert at this.”
Domenico resisted the urge to punch Marco. “I underestimated our quarry, but it won't be a mistake I’ll’ make again.”
“It had better not, because if I don't complete my mission, you will have his wrath brought down upon you, and we both know how harsh that can be.”
“Your problem, Marco, is that you worry too much.” Domenico's glance around the room lingered on the rope hanging from the window before turning to Francesco. “Do you think you can climb that?”
Francesco glanced at the rope and nodded.
“Climb out, come around behind those out there and kill them.”
Francesco slipped off his backpack of explosives, looped the strap of his weapon over a shoulder, walked over to the rope and began his climb.
“We still have that woman to deal with, Domenico,” Marco reminded.
Domenico handed Marco his weapon and picked up the bag of explosives. “I'm working on it.”
“You can't blow up the door, you'll destroy the relics.”
“I have no intention of blowing the door.” Domenico carried the bag over to the wall dividing the Ark room from the main Temple room, three meters from the door, and knelt. “I plan to make my own entrance.”
Ben peered at the Temple doorway scorched from the recent explosion. “They'll have the entrance guarded now, so it will be suicide to try and enter that way.”
“I agree. You wait here and be ready to act when I give the signal.” Pat rushed off into the darkness.
“What signal?” Ben called out after him.
“You'll know it when you hear it,” replied Pat.
What the hell is he up to now? Ben kept his still unfired weapon trained on the Temple entrance and waited.
Francesco wasn't used to such strenuous activity and panted heavily with the exertion of hauling his body up the rope. He glanced up. Two more meters and he'll be at the window. With a grunt, he hoisted his tired body upwards. When he was near enough, he reached out, grabbed the window ledge and climbed into the opening. His look of relief turned to one of surprise when he saw a blond-haired man hanging from the rope below the window outside. Before he could react, the man grabbed his hair and smashed his head against the wall. Hovering on the edge of unconsciousness, Francesco was yanked through the opening. He experienced a falling sensation and then nothing.
Pat watched the man plummet.
Francesco’s neck bent at an unnatural angle when his head impacted with the ground before the rest of his body crumpled and then lay still.
Before climbing through the window, Pat listened for any tell-tale signs from inside that the sudden exit of their comrade had been noticed by the other intruders. Confident it hadn't, he peered over the lip of the opening. In the dimly lit room below he spotted two men. One, armed with an assault rifle, stood by the door to the Ark room, the other man, who appeared unarmed, knelt by the wall with his body hiding his purpose. A glance at the entrance revealed the two men guarding it. They would have to be taken care of first. Slowly and silently, he hauled himself into the opening and sat with one leg straddling either side of the wall. He cautiously slipped the weapon from his shoulder and aimed at one of the men by the entrance. Two shots in quick succession echoed around the room. Two corpses fell to the floor.
Marco jumped in fright from the sudden gunshots and directed his eyes at the entrance, thinking it had been Francesco and Battista who had fired their weapons. When he saw the two men collapse to the ground, he realized his assumption had been false. When another shot rang out, he dodged behind a stone pillar and hid.
Domenico didn't look at the door when the shots rang out; his trained hearing told him exactly where the shots had originated from. He rolled to one side a split second before a bullet struck the wall after passing through the space his head had just vacated. He grabbed the gun from its holster as he rolled and in one swift movement aimed it at the man in the window and fired.
The stone chip dislodged from the edge of the opening that struck Pat's cheek, drew blood. Aware he was a sitting duck in his current position, Pat did the only thing he could to save his life; he threw himself out of the window. Three bullets struck the edge of the window in his wake. As he fell, he wrapped a leg around the rope and slid headfirst down its length. As he reached the bottom, he placed his hands and the rifle they gripped, on the ground and rolled into a standing position. After a glance around, he cursed, “Damn! That was the coolest move ever and no one around to see it.” He ran to the front of the Temple.
Ben heard two shots inside the Temple and glimpsed two flashes from the high window, briefly highlighting Pat's form. Assuming it was the signal he'd been expecting, he ran for the entrance. Trusting that Pat had killed those guarding it, he rushed inside. The two dead sentries inside the doorway proved his faith in Pat hadn't been misplaced. The rifle he held uncomfortably turned to point at a man climbing to his feet at the far end of the room. “Drop your weapon, or I'll shoot.”
Domenico realized he had been thwarted. Whoever these people are, they were professionals. He glared at the man by the entrance with the rifle trained on him and dropped his weapon.
Ben sighed in relief when the man's weapon clattered to the floor and cautiously approached. “Put your hands up!”
“Fuck off!” was Domenico's reply.
Ben was more than a little surprised by the man's refusal to obey. “What?”
“I'm not putting my hands up.”
“But I have a gun, you have to.”
“Or what, you'll shoot me? You’re going to anyway. I would if the roles were reversed, so why would I degrade myself even further by sticking my arms in the air like an idiot.” Where the fuck was the spineless Marco and why doesn't he make a move on the man?
Ben's confidence was fading fast. “Okay, but no sudden moves.”
“What like this?” Domenico suddenly reached into a pocket, pulled out a packet of cigarettes and smiled when he lit one and took a long drag.
Ben risked a quick glance up at the window, but Pat was absent from the opening. “Did you kill him?”
Domenico shrugged and smiled. “Hard to tell, though I did try. Hopefully, a bullet or two found its target and Blondie's head.”
A hiss, followed by the chink of a bottle top striking the floor, brought a smile to Ben’s lips.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but you're a lousy shot. They all missed.”
Domenico glanced at Pat, who leaned casually against a pillar by the entrance and shrugged. “Shit happens.”
When Pat walked the length of the Temple and stood beside Ben, Marco made his move.
Marco had cowered behind the pillar as he tried to drum up the courage to shoot the man holding Domenico at gunpoint. Though he'd practiced with weapons at a firing range before embarking on this mission, he wasn't a great shot. However, if he could catch the man by surprise, maybe the threat of the rifle would be enough to gain the upper hand until Domenico could kill him. When he was about to enact his plan, the arrival of a second man stayed his hand. Any confidence he had in reserve had quickly disappeared while he waited to see what would happen. As the new arrival walked toward his friend, he knew it had to be now or never. Marco stepped out from behind the pillar, aimed his weapon and fired. There was no explosion of a bullet leaving the barrel, only a dull click.
All turned to look at Marco.
Domenico had not trusted Marco to panic if something happened and, so to avoid being accidentally shot, he had put the safety on before handing him the weapon. It was a wise decision as he was standing in the idiot's direct line of fire. If Marco had sprayed the two men with bullets, he would have been caught in the crossfire.
When Pat instinctively turned his head to look at Marco, he swung out his arm holding the half-drunk bottle of beer and let it fly.
As Marco struggled to find the safety catch, the bottle struck him on the forehead; he collapsed to the floor unconscious. The bottle smashed when it hit the floor beside him.
Domenico took advantage of the distraction, and as he dived behind the nearest stone pillar, he slipped a hand in his pocket and pressed the detonate button.
The explosion shook the building.
Ben and Pat were knocked to the floor by the blast wave and narrowly escaped being hit by pieces of masonry flying through the room.
Domenico hadn’t remained unscathed by the explosion he'd set in motion. The blast wave bounced off the sidewall and slammed him against the pillar he had sheltered behind. He did though recover quickly. Ignoring the pain from a nasty gash in his side, compliments of a piece of flying masonry, he picked himself up from the floor, rushed over to the weapon knocked from Ben's hand and quickly brought it to bear on Pat as he stood. Domenico smiled and squeezed the trigger.
A shot rang out.
A body fell to the floor.
Raven, closely followed by Creed, stepped through the jagged hole blown in the wall as the dust settled. She glanced at Pat helping Ben to his feet and then at the large hole in the back of Domenico's head her bullet had caused.
“Are there anymore?” Raven asked as she glanced warily around the room for signs of the enemy.
Ben shook his head. “Pat took care of them all.”
She glanced at the German in surprise. “Good, then I suggest we leave before anyone else arrives.”
As they left the Temple, Creed spied one of the intruder's rucksacks, which had been blown across the room by the explosion. Recognizing the C4 explosive and detonators that had spilled out, he walked over, stuffed them back into the bag and took it with him when he rejoined the others. He noticed Raven, who had paused to watch him, raise her eyebrows questionably. “To seal this place,” he explained. “Then the Vatican won't find it so easy to get their greedy hands on the relics.”
Raven nodded her approval and walked out of the Temple.
When they arrived at the shaft that led above ground, Raven told the others to wait while she went to check if anyone was up above guarding the entrance. When she had almost arrived at the top, faint voices from above alerted her there were at least two men up there. Her arm was a blur when it reached for her gun and sent a bullet heading for the inquisitive man who peered over the lip of the hole. Projectile and flesh met with expected results, and the dead man fell into the hole.
Raven pressed herself tight to the wall when the body sped by her. “Look out below,” she warned.
Ben, Pat, and Creed dodged back as the body crumpled to the ground where they'd been standing.
Raven remained still with her gun aimed at the hole above, but no one else appeared. She glimpsed something out of the corner of her eye; a tiny blinking green light. Her worried gaze around the shaft detected more. The men above ground had rigged it with explosives while the others had investigated the Temple to seal it upon their return. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to fathom that after hearing gunshots and then the arrival of those their comrades had gone to kill that they were never going to return. They would blow the shaft and seal it forever.
Raven let go of the rope.
She landed surefootedly beside the dead man.
“Run!” she ordered. “They're going to blow the shaft.”
They reacted immediately and dashed along the tunnel. When they reached the next shaft, an explosion erupted.
Pat and Creed slid down the rope as the shock blast reached them.
Ben and Raven saw the cloud of dust rolling towards them at the head of the blast wave funneled through the passage. If it caught them, it would slam them against the rock.
Raven pushed Ben towards the hole. “Jump!”
Ben jumped into the shaft.
Raven followed.
The full force of the blast swept across the top of the hole and slammed into the dead end a short distance farther on. Searching for another outlet to expend its force, the blast wave poured into the hole.
Ben and Raven pressed their feet against the side of the shaft in an attempt to slow their descent as they grabbed the rope. They both hit the ground awkwardly as the explosive force swept over them.
By the time the shockwave reached them, Creed and Pat had fled farther along the passage. To escape its full force, they dropped to the ground and pressed their bodies to the floor. Wind, dust and small pieces of debris washed over them.
When the blast had expended its force, and the dust began to settle, silence followed.
Pat and Creed hurried back to the shaft to see how the others had fared. They arrived to see Ben lying on top of Raven, presumably to protect her from the blast.
Creed grinned. “It’s okay, Ben, the danger's over. You can get off her now.”
Ben glanced at him. “Are you sure, there may be a secondary blast. Maybe its best I remain like this for a while longer.” He smiled.
Raven pushed him off and jumped to her feet. “The only secondary blast coming your way will be from my gun. I still haven't decided what to do about you yet.”
Ben grinned at her. “I'm confident you'll make the right decision.”
“What do we do now?” Creed asked, helping Ben to his feet. “The explosion must have blocked our only exit.”
“I'll go take a look at the damage.” Pat climbed up the rope and returned a few moments later. “It's totally blocked.”
“Then we're trapped,” Creed stated.
“What about that water-filled tunnel we came across earlier?” Ben asked. “It might be another way out.”
Creed thought it was worth a try. “Well, we all know what the alternative is...”
“The Temple becomes our tomb!” stated Pat, ominously.