Treasure of Babylon, page 10
part #2 of Avalon Adventure Series
“Tell me about it!” Riley said.
The man clambered up from his position until he was sitting with his back against the ice wall. For a few seconds he was still again, and then he leaned forward and peered over the edge of the crevasse. Seeing Riley and Decker within arm’s reach, his eyes opened in surprise. He raised his submachine gun and aimed it at them, but Riley was close enough to reach out and grab the weapon’s muzzle before he started firing.
The man resisted, wrenching the gun back and trying to turn the barrel into Riley’s body as he prepared to rip him in half with some devastating automatic fire. The Australian was a move ahead and powered a left hook into the man’s right temple, blasting his head back into the ice wall.
As the man’s skull cracked against the blue ice, he squeezed his gun-hand and pulled the trigger back. The muzzle flashed in the darkness of the crevasse and raked a neat line of holes in the ice on the far side. Riley cursed, pushing the gun’s barrel back with the back of his right arm while delivering a second hefty whack to the man’s jaw, this time knocking him out. As he slumped back down on his ledge, Riley snatched the weapon and heaved himself beside the unconscious gunman.
“Come on, mate,” he said. “We’re almost outta here.”
16
Decker and Riley took a few seconds until they were sure the coast was clear again and emerged from the crevasse. They were almost at the institute’s main complex now and sprinted through the half-light until they were at the base of one of the building’s walls.
“Up we go, mate,” Riley said, and made his hands into a cradle. “I’ll give you a leg up, as the vicar said to the verger.”
“Can’t you take anything seriously?”
“Me? No way, mate! That’s the fastest way to the grave. Now get on top of this fuckin’ wall.”
Decker stepped into Riley’s hands and the Australian boosted him up. When he was safely in position he leaned down and gave Riley a hand, pulling him up beside him. It was almost full night now, and their breath formed into thick clouds in front of their faces as they surveyed the building in front of them.
A man walked below them in the courtyard they had just crossed. He had a rifle slung over his shoulder, and they both ducked down to avoid him. He turned and walked back toward a smaller building they guessed was some sort of security office and then began to crouch-walk along the roof-line once again. Both men knew what losing their footing at this height would mean, and the ice encrusted on the apex of the roof made slipping and falling even more likely than usual.
They made their way along the roof-line until they reached the section where the cantilevered extension joined with the main part of the building and some metal steps ran up to the next floor. Somewhere below them in the front courtyard they heard the sound of men talking and laughing.
Lowering themselves down again until their profiles merged with the roof, Decker peered down to his left and saw two more men with rifles over their shoulders as they lit cigarettes. One of them waved the match out and tossed it into a snow-bank at the side of the circular drive and then wandered down toward the main gate.
“Lena’s bang on time, mate.”
Decker nodded but said nothing.
They made fast progress up the circular, metal steps and were on the next level of the compound within a few short seconds. Dark now, and with the full moon rising above the mountain ridge-line to the east, they knew they were harder to see and this gave them the confidence to move faster.
They reached the top of the steps and found themselves on the top floor of the compound, standing on a balcony that ran the length of the main building on its northern side. The windows were all shut firmly against the bitter cold, but a door at the end of the decking promised better results. Decker could see from the chairs, tables and ashtrays that this was a space used by the inhabitants to come for a break and a smoke, and he had a hunch the door might be in such regular use that it would be unlocked.
He was right, and breathed a sigh of relief. Forcing a window or door could easily trigger an alarm and then everything would come crashing down in a hurry. They stepped inside out of the cold and emerged into what looked like some sort of canteen area.
The Church of the Sacred Light was a secretive institution but he guessed the headquarters building would staff at least a hundred people during business hours, so a canteen made sense. Luckily, the late hour meant there was no one around, but he noticed that the interior lights were on. He walked over to the electric kettle and touched the side of it with the back of his fingers.
“And?” Riley said.
The American nodded. “Still warm, so someone’s on the night shift.”
“Maybe that cowbag Moser herself – or even Kurz.”
Maybe, thought Decker. He almost wished it were true so he could dish out a little thank you for what he had done to Selena beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre back in Jerusalem. He noticed on the wall above the kettle a fire-safety plan of the building. Neither man spoke much German, but both could work out what the big red arrow pointing to the canteen meant: SIE SIND HIER.
“You are here,” Riley whispered. “Gotta love German efficiency, mate. They’ve even given us a free map to help us kick their arses.”
Decker sighed as the Australian ripped the plan off the wall of the small kitchen area. “They’re Austrians.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
They studied the plan and tried to work out where various rooms were using their high school German. “This way,” Decker said at last.
Checking through the glass panel of an internal fire door, Decker pushed it open to reveal a short corridor running parallel to the balcony outside. On the right, a long window ran the length of the corridor giving spectacular views of the Alps beyond, but both men were more interested in the doors on the left. They opened the last door to reveal a flight of stairs, and silently made their way down to the lower level where the offices were located.
Hearing someone approach, they ducked into an empty office. Riley peered through the crack in the door. “It’s that bastard Lechner! I can take him out now!”
“Sure, and raise the alarm before we even get what we want.”
Riley accepted the point, and after Lechner had jogged up the stairs they moved forward into the management section of the institute. “Over there,” Decker said, pointing to a heavy oak door at the end of the corridor. They drew nearer. Screwed to the door’s upper panel, a shiny brass plate read: DIREKTOR URSULA MOSER.
“Bingo,” Riley said.
Decker slowed his breath and pulled Golan’s Jericho from his belt. “Here goes nothing.”
He knocked on the door and waited for a response, but none came. He exchanged a look with Riley, who shrugged his shoulders. “Mate, what are we fuckin’ waiting for? Go in!”
Decker opened the door and the two men stepped inside the office. It was a large, traditional space in stark contrast to the ultra-postmodern design of the building itself. Soft, studded leather seats positioned either side of a crackling fire gave the impression of someone’s private drawing room rather than the nerve center of a religious organization. Across the other side of the room was a hardwood desk the size of a small aircraft carrier. It was covered in papers and telephones, and behind it on the wall was a reproduction of Pompeo Batoni’s The Crucifixion.
Riley stared up at it and gulped. “Wow.”
Decker was drawn to the painting too. The 1762 image struck awe into his heart, and the mood was finished off with the solemn clicking of the large antique grandfather clock standing beside a door leading to an anteroom. He scratched his head and took a step closer to the image. “We need to get out of here.”
He made his way over to the desk and started rifling through the papers in no particular order.
“What are you looking for?” Riley asked.
He shrugged. “How the hell should I know? Just anything that might help. We know Kurz took whatever was inside the Angel and we know he brought it here, or at least, we know he was supposed to bring here… wait.”
“What is it?” Riley asked.
Decker jabbed a thumb at the anteroom door. “I hear faint voices on the other side of this door.”
They opened the door, expecting to find Moser and Kurz, but instead they found themselves in another long corridor. “They’re down here.”
They walked along the corridor until they reached the top of a large spiral staircase and peering over the edge they saw the woman from Golan’s photo with another man they didn’t recognize. They were standing at the bottom of the stairs and it looked like their conversation was coming to an end.
“That’s Moser, all right,” Decker said.
Ursula Moser was not what Decker had expected. The photo had shown almost no detail, and when Golan had first mentioned the name he had, perhaps unfairly, visualized an old, squat woman with short hair and a face like a well-worn leather seat. Instead, she was lithe and fit and much younger – maybe even younger than him. Her blonde hair was tied back in a neat, professional pony tail and two arctic-blue eyes hovered above a slim aquiline nose. The portrait was finished off with the most beautiful cherry lips he had ever seen.
Turning to face Riley, he saw she had made roughly the same impact on the young Australian too, and he had to nudge him gently in the ribs to stop him drooling. “Way outta your league, corporal.”
“I think she might be one or two above yours too, mate.”
“And you say that like you could get her just like that.” Decker emphasized his point by gently snapping his fingers.
“I’m not saying I could get her just like that, mate. Just saying that I’m not sure the juice would be worth the squeeze, if you catch my drift.”
Decker rolled his eyes. “Wonder who the dude is?”
“Search me but looks like he might be holding what we’re looking for, in which case, it’s playtime.” He started rummaging around in his bag and pulled out a small device that looked like a camera.
“What the hell is that?”
“My little box of tricks.”
“And what’s inside it?”
“Well, let me introduce you to a Spectra Laser Mic. It can hear through windows or walls, but I’m just praying it didn’t get damaged when I took that tumble into the ice cave.”
He quickly set it up, slipped on some headphones and directed the invisible beam down at their conversation. “Hang on – I’m getting something. It’s from inside the Angel,” he whispered. “The bloke’s some kind of archaeologist and he’s calling it a key.”
Now, another man walked into view and joined Moser and the archaeologist.
“There’s that bastard, Kurz,” said Riley as he tracked the Austrian gunman across the hallway. He approached Moser and the two of them spoke in German for a few moments. For a second, things started to agitated but then Moser raised her voice and that seemed to settle the matter. The unknown man said goodbye and headed for the entrance at the end of the hall, and Moser and Kurz stepped through the door at the base of the stairs and walked into a large room.
“Bugger it sideways,” Riley said. “They’re out of the mic’s beam We have to get closer.”
They made their way down the stairs until they reached the hall. Slipping into the room opposite the room Moser and Kurz were in, Riley readjusted the beam.
Kurz moved over to one of the leather chairs by the fire while Moser walked to the drinks cabinet and momentarily slipped out of sight. Riley heard her dropping ice into some glasses and then the sound of splashing liquid. She returned a few seconds later and walked over to Kurz. Handing him one of the glasses, she sat in the chair opposite him and each took a drink. A moment of peace followed, and then she started to speak.
“We getting all this?” Decker said.
Riley nodded. “It’s all being recorded, and Diana speaks some German. With luck we’ll get something about what this key does.”
“Stand up, and raise your hands.”
Decker felt his stomach turn. He looked over his shoulder to see Lechner standing in front of a retracting bookcase. Riley had not heard the Austrian because of the headphones, so Decker tapped him on the shoulder.
“What is it, mate?”
Decker jabbed another thumb behind him, and Riley turned his head slowly. “Aw, fuck it. Secret door’s not fair, mate.”
Lechner cocked his gun. “Shut up and turn that laser off.”
“Easy, mate.”
“You know what happens now?”
“Don’t tell me,” Riley said. “You have ways of making me talk?”
“You’re going to meet the Direcktor.”
17
To say Ursula Moser was surprised when Lechner marched the two invaders into the room was an understatement. Even Kurz looked shocked and rose from his chair by the fire as the prisoners drew closer.
“What the hell is this?” Moser said.
“Found them through there, listening to everything you were saying on this.” He threw the Spectra laser onto the floor and it landed with a smashing sound.
Riley winced. “Jesus, mate! That cost an arm and a leg.”
“Silence!” Moser said. “And leave us, Lechner.”
Lechner gave Moser Golan’s Jericho and left the room.
“These are the men I told you about,” Kurz said. “Bloch nearly killed the tall one on the Western Wall.”
Moser studied the two men as if they were exhibits in an insect house. “So, you are the men who have been causing me so much trouble. You should have accepted our offer of employment back in Jerusalem. If you had, we could be working together to find the Ark, but now you must die, and I will still find what I’m looking for.”
“I like a lady who knows her mind,” Decker said.
“And I like a man with sophistication, so that rules you out.”
Decker was about to reply when Riley dropped to his knees and pulled the rug out from under Kurz. The Austrian commando fell back and cracked his head on the mantelpiece, giving the Australian enough time to grab his gun and train it on Moser.
The Austrian woman reached for the Jericho on the mantelpiece but was too late.
“Hand it over, Fräulein,” Riley said. He was holding Kurz’s gun firmly in his right hand and aiming it squarely at Moser’s head. “You move an inch and you’re dead.”
She obeyed and released the gun. It thumped down on the rug.
“Now kick it over to my friend.”
The Austrian kicked the pistol across the rug toward Decker, who snatched it up and checked the mag. Clicking it back into place, he gave Riley a quick nod and then aimed the gun at Moser.
“What do you want?” she said icily. “Is this some kind of robbery?”
Riley laughed. “You’re the thieves, not us.”
Moser glanced at Kurz and gave him a look that would have struck fear into even the toughest of men. She ranted at him in German for a few seconds before Decker hushed her down. “That’s enough!”
“It seems my colleague here has been stupid enough to bring you into the heart of our organization. This is most regrettable and he will be dealt with later for it.”
“Where is it?” Decker said flatly, still training Golan’s gun on her.
“Where is what?” Moser said.
“You’re stalling for time, and making me angry,” Decker said. “You know what I’m talking about, Direktor Moser. Your man here stole something from inside the Angel of God and replaced it with a falafel menu. Very funny, by the way.”
Kurz scowled.
“And we want it back.”
She gave a cold, hateful smirk. “Ah, now I understand. You require me to give up the contents of the Angel of God – but what I don’t understand is why you think I would do that?”
“Because I’ll shoot you if you don’t,” Riley said, He fired a shot into the fire and blasted burning wood and sparks all over the rug. Kurz desperately stamped them out with his boot. “You get the next in between the eyes, Moser. Where’s the object?”
“Very well.” Moser slipped a small metal object from her pocket and held it in the air in front of their faces. It sparkled in the low light of the fire. “Is this what you seek?”
“I reckon so,” Riley said, beckoning with the fingers of his free hand. “Hand it over.”
She hesitated. “But do you know what this is?”
Decker frowned. “My first guess is a key.”
“Doesn’t look too much like a key,” Riley said. “The small end looks wrong.”
“The bit,” Decker said.
“Eh?”
“The other end of the key is called the bit. You hold the bow, then you have the shaft or shank, and then the bit is on the end that goes in the lock.”
“Jesus, mate,” Riley said with a wry smile. “I bet you’re a lot fun at the Trivial Pursuit table.”
Decker shrugged. “Uncle was a locksmith.”
“Ah.”
“It is a key, I assure you,” Moser said, ending the banter. “It is the object Kurz here found inside the Angel of God.”
They heard the door open and Decker and Riley turned and saw the archaeologist. He was in the open doorway, holding a lit cigar in one hand and looked bemused to find them standing in the room holding guns.
“Get in here,” Riley said.
“Not so fast,” said a voice from behind the archaeologist.
Decker was shocked to see Selena and Diana enter the room with a blade at Selena’s throat. Kai Bloch pushed them deeper into the room and glared at them. “Drop your guns or I’ll slit her throat.”
“What is this,” Riley asked. “Musical guns?”
Decker stared at the combat knife with dread. The second’s hesitation was enough for the others to act. Kurz moved like lightning, smashing the gun from Riley’s hand while Moser reached out and pulled an ornament on the mantelpiece. It was a lever, and now the bookcase behind her swivelled open to reveal a secret passageway.
“I found them in a car out the front,” Bloch said.
