Carpathian (73 page)

“I thought we had agreed to allow me to recover the treasure. You were not to be here.”

Zallas removed the cigar from his mouth and saw that the rain had killed it cold and then angrily tossed it into the flowing water that was quickly becoming a lake.

“Yes, plans change. I was content to sit it out and wait for my reward, but that luxury changed when ten of my men were slaughtered down at the castle while trying to detain the not so innocent Americans. It was a god-awful mess and an insult to me personally and I’m here to see that the people responsible for it pay dearly, NATO be damned.” Zallas flinched and ducked when a close strike of lightning sent a small tingle of electricity through their shoes.

Ben-Nevin saw that it would be no use in arguing with the idiot so instead he turned and made for the hidden passage to the City of Moses and its treasure rooms.

19

PATINAS PASS

The first gunshots echoed off the stone walls of the large staircase. The first few rounds were fired blindly at the fleeing villagers as they scrambled down the stairs in a mad flight to escape the unknown attackers. Two of the 82nd Airborne sergeants and three of the locals took up station at the first large bend in the staircase.

The two Uzis in the hands of the engineers would be useless in just twelve shots apiece. Besides, combat engineers were excellent shots with a regular M-16 or 14, but an Uzi? They fully expected to be wiped out in a matter of seconds. The sergeants both looked at the ancient long doubled-barreled nine-gauge shotguns held by the three bearded Gypsy farmers and then they looked away, not very confident of their rearguard action to protect the villagers. The Americans figured since they didn’t know who was who in this case they would stick with the families that had fed and sheltered them. Besides they actually liked the Gypsy clan for no other reason than they treated them as family. Yes, when in doubt just be a good guy.

The first man to breach the wide corner was startled to see the bearded men along with two uniformed men waiting for them. His eyes widened in startled wakefulness as the first Gypsy standing over one over the sergeants fired not just one, but both barrels into the man’s chest sending him flying backward into the stone wall where blood and gore splattered in a wide arch.

The Gypsy cackled as he broke the nine-gauge open and tossed the still smoking shells onto the floor and then easily pushed in two more.

“I think you enjoyed that too much, cowboy,” the sergeant said as another blast of the shotgun silenced him.

One more man went down as the second Gypsy in line had opened up on the intruders.

The second sergeant fired the Uzi and bullets sprayed everywhere but where he had aimed.

“Damn it!” the man shouted at his poor accuracy.

The third Gypsy farmer said something loudly as he stepped around the sergeant, obviously cursing his poor aim, and fired his shotgun. The pellets struck another of Ben-Nevin’s men, spinning him backward. Then the old man suddenly grabbed his face and went down. The bullet hole was clean and precisely in the center of his head.

The first sheep man checked his friend and then angrily stood and discharged both barrels into the stairwell. Then he yelled something Romanian and turned to the Americans.

“We run now,” he said and then took off. The Americans exchanged startled looks and then followed suit, running as fast as their feet could carry them down the long flight of stairs.

*   *   *

Jack heard the gunfire coming from somewhere ahead. In the darkness of the trench that had been dug by the Golia he could barely discern the walls much less the end of the excavation. The walls had closed in so tight he had been forced to extinguish the torch, as it was in danger of choking them all to death.

“Uh, oh, it sounds like someone may have company,” Ryan said from his position at the rear of the line.

“Damn it, Jack, Alice and Niles are in there!” Sarah said as she inadvertently tried to push Jack faster than was able to go.

“Hey, hey, if you push any more we’re going to get ourselves wedged in here,” Collins said as he tried to move faster

Suddenly he broke into an open space and he saw a light in the distance. As he stepped forward in the darkness he just hoped he wasn’t heading for a precipice he couldn’t see.

“Colonel, I don’t think we’re alone in here,” said Pete Golding as he too stepped into the open space.

“Yeah, well let’s not wait around until we get surprised by something else that comes straight from a nightmare,” Jack said as he grabbed Sarah’s hand and moved down the passage toward the light.

As Jack neared the light he saw that it was just a round hole and it looked recently dug. He smelled the ripe richness of the dirt and knew that the Golia had been hard at work in the temple. Collins eased his head out and saw that he was in a large room with three boxes and golden depictions of Egyptian or some other deities in relief on the walls. Jack eased out of the hole and then helped Sarah. Outside the enclosure the gunfire continued, sporadically at first and then a thunderous exchange. Collins released Sarah’s hand and then pulled the stolen nine-millimeter from his wet and muddy pants. He waited for Ryan and Pete to do the same.

“You have the extra weapons we took off those wonderful people?” he asked as he handed one of the Glocks to Sarah, who charged the weapon and then looked at the colonel.

Ryan took the lead as was fast becoming his custom under Jack’s training. The gunfire started again and then the sound of men shouting in Romanian and then in another unknown language. Ryan peeked out of the column doorway just as several women and children broke from a large empty stairwell toward a city the likes of which Ryan had never imagined was possible to build. As they all watched the small group was covered from a location they couldn’t see from their vantage point. The group of villagers made it to cover as one last running circle of men broke from the high stairwell and headed down a ramp toward the strange city below. Ryan and Jack saw three other men break into the open and they were firing down at the running men before them.

Jack looked to the right at whoever had been covering the women and children, but whoever that was was not covering this group. Perhaps they were out of ammunition.

“Cover fire, Mr. Ryan,” he said calmly as he trained the front sight of his nine-millimeter on the second group and fired. Ryan opened up at the same time. Bullets struck the three men almost simultaneously and they went down, one even sliding on the ramp so far that he went right off the edge two hundred feet down to the stone floor. The first three men made it to the bottom of the ramp and then broke through the opening and into the city, running for the far cover where the others had vanished.

“Let’s go,” Jack said as he headed to the right taking cover as far as he could along the columned temple. He made it to the end and then saw the huddled masses of the villagers and then he saw Niles, Mendenhall, Everett, and Charlie Ellenshaw as they hunkered low along the trim lines of the smallest of the three pyramids. It looked as though they had empty weapons lying beside them and were now holding the most ancient shotguns he had ever seen. He shook his head and broke cover.

Collins didn’t make it three steps with the others close behind when the entire upper gallery above them came alive with gunfire. Bullets struck every inch of the city as close to 120 automatic weapons opened up at once. Jack waited and then pushed the others ahead of them until they had cover behind the first pyramid.

“That was close,” Jason said as he ejected the clip of his Glock and made sure there were still rounds inside before slipping it back in. “But I have to admit to not minding shooting those bastards for what they did to Gina.”

“Yeah, I reckon they have some killing coming their way for that,” Jack said as he straightened and looked around as the gunfire eased off to nothing. He then sprinted to the next pyramid and then finally to the third where he slid in next to Captain Everett. Ryan and Pete hurried and took up position next to Will and Charlie Ellenshaw.

“Have a good time at the resort?” Carl asked Jack as he broke open an ancient-looking cardboard box of shotgun shells and spread them on the ground for easy access.

Collins shook his head. “You bet, we were just in the mud spa as you can see,” Jack said as he tossed Everett one of the extra Glocks.

“Liar, I know for a fact that you were locked up inside a rather nice hotel room with hot food and a wet bar. What was that room, the Dr. Frankenstein Suite?”

“I think you’re going have to explain to me how you pulled that one off, Captain,” Jack said as the truth of what they saw at the hotel was just confirmed by Everett himself.

“Nah, it’s a SEAL thing, Jack,” Carl said and then raised the Glock to take aim at the men who were again starting to filter out onto the gallery ledge.

Charlie Ellenshaw was sitting and making sure the assailants weren’t getting ready to charge the city when he turned away from his view of the gallery long enough to look at Pete Golding.

“So you’re all done partying at the resort and thought you would finally go to work?” he asked in a nonjoking manner.

“If you knew what we have been through, Charles, you would not be looking so smug. Do you know there are werewolves out there?”

“Really, just wait until you see what’s in here, I fairly think that you will shit yourself, Dr. Golding.”

*   *   *

Stanus was the last of the Golia to leave the temple. The young were all safe and secure five miles from the pass and well out of harm’s way. Stanus had even snarled and bit until every adult was safe and well away from the temple on this night of nights. The long-laid plans of the Jeddah and Golia were now coming to fruition and although the great animal could not connect the intricacies of the scheme, it knew that Madam Korvesky’s plan was the only hope for the wolf-kind. Now remained only Mikla, the younger sibling of Stanus, who was the last to enter the cave system that the Golia had discovered many centuries before and kept the location secret even from the Gypsy queen.

Mikla was on all fours as it would have been considered a challenge if Mikla confronted Stanus on two legs. Mikla was paying his brother the respect due, but he was refusing to join the other Golia in hiding inside the caves. Mikla whined and then took a tentative step toward Stanus, who held his ground but made no aggressive move to stop the now fully healed and rested Mikla. Soon the two giant wolves were nose-to-nose and it was Stanus who moved his yellow eyes to his brother and then for the first time in both the Golia’s long lives they connected as leaders of the pack. Stanus was letting Mikla know that he respected the way Mikla had traveled with the old one, and for saving the life of the young princess. Stanus snorted and then dipped his head and playfully slapped its near twin along the jawline. Mikla jumped up and then brought both paws down onto the back of Stanus and then the two wolves rolled on the floor as other Golia watched the strange exhibition between the brothers from the safety of the cave.

Stanus stopped playing in the mud and rain and then the large alpha slowly untwined himself from his younger brother. With one last look back at the caves where the clan of Golia was now hidden, Stanus and Mikla broke away at full speed toward the temple shaking the ground as their eight-hundred-pound bodies came into contact with the earth.

The hour of the werewolf was close at hand.

*   *   *

Outside on the main road a lone figure stepped into the falling rain and ventured a look up into the swirling storm. Janos Vajic was dressed in black Nomex and carried a submachine gun strapped across his back. He saw that no one was near the village of Patinas and just hoped the wind and the rain allowed the drop to happen without getting anyone killed. He quickly set up the tripod that had been strapped to his back and then placed a small black box in a slot at the top. He raised a small compartment lid and dialed in a series of coordinates. Soon a bright green laser light shot straight into the sky and then the beam adjusted itself as it vanished into the clouds. As he watched, the laser beam started to move back and forth at ever increasing speed. It formed a fanlike illusion as it vanished into the storm. The laser was creating a cone for the HALO jumpers to follow if and when the beam broke free of the swirling mass of clouds.

The laser system was only the backup for their GPS system each man carried on his arm as he flew at breakneck speed through the air toward the ground at over four hundred miles per hour.

As Janos watched he heard a pop that sounded loud even over the crash of thunder. Then he saw the first chute as it broke clear of the clouds only two hundred feet above his head. The man braced himself and then slammed into the road and then rolled as he tried to break his momentum. Then he slipped and fell facefirst into the mud.

“That was bloody graceful,” cursed the first man down as Janos ran to assist him with his chute and harness. As he did the now familiar loud pops of deploying canopies sounded overhead as the rest of the Ramesses strike team made it through the storm.

Major Donny Mendohlson shrugged out of the heavy gear and then tossed his oxygen system on the discarded equipment.

“Sergeant Major, gather the gear and destroy it, please,” he said as he made sure his weapon was ready to fire. He looked up when Janos Vajic stepped up to him and nodded.

“I take it you’re Demetrius?” the major asked as he waved his men into position making sure that light discipline was maintained.

“Actually I’m Captain—”

“Please, let’s keep this on a first-name basis, my first name is ‘don’t ask.’ That way,” he looked over at Janos and smiled widely, “we can remain friends.”

“Did you bring
everything
?” Janos asked.

The young major quickly looked at his watch and then replaced his gloves.

“If the air force is worth a damn at navigation we should be getting a letter from home right about now,” he said as he pointed toward the sky.

Janos looked from the raging storm to the young commando. Then he heard the last loud pop of the night and saw the small bright red parachute as it broke cloud cover and landed squarely in the center of town where it was quickly wrestled into submission before the storm could snatch the parachute away. Lord only knew what route it took to get here from the C-130 and then because of all of the GPS math involved in figuring air currents and wind shear he was amazed the package had arrived at all.