The Schliemann Legacy (22 page)

David's love of Israel overwhelmed Katrina. In her mind, the pictures she had seen of the countryside took on a new glow. She could see David's Israel. She closed her eyes and listened to his faraway voice.

"Israel is a study in contrasts. The Negev is my favorite area. The desert teems with life, if you know how to find it. Though I could never become a farmer, my father instilled in me the love and respect of the desolate countryside. The heat is deadly at times, but I learned to survive in the desert. How to hide and how to be found.

"Some of the mountains in the north have snow on them for most of the year. Or there is Mount Carmel, outside Haifa. The view of the bay is incredible. You look down over the Bahai temple set against the blue water of the Mediterranean. The huge golden dome shines like a glittering jewel amid the gardens and green trees. The sight can leave you speechless."

Katrina looked up at David's peaceful face and thought she could see tears reflected in his gray eyes. She found herself tempted to kiss him. She quickly dismissed the notion and turned the wick of the lamp down.

In the darkness, Katrina drifted off to sleep wondering what it would be like to follow David to Israel, to leave Greece forever and spend the rest of her life with this strangely sensitive man.

Chapter 26 - THEFT

Kadner's compound was a large square bordered on three sides by jungle with the river edge forming the fourth side. An electrified fence surrounded the perimeter. The jungle was cut back from the fence to create an open space for twenty feet. Men equipped with G3 rifles and British Model 1500 Night Sight scopes occupied the guard towers at each corner of the compound. David, crouching behind a stand of ferns, recognized the layout from his time in the concentration camps.

The estate house, a two story, pillared mansion, sat in the center of the compound facing the river. Behind the house, the wild beauty of the jungle was incorporated into an exquisite tropical garden. A large pool area bordered one side and a helicopter pad on the other.

David was nearly invisible in green and brown camouflage gear, his face covered by the same mottled colors. Katrina, dressed likewise, appeared beside him like a spirit. Her carefully chosen footfalls produced no sound. Breathing silently through her mouth, she knelt beside David, grabbed his arm, and tugged lightly.

They moved deeper into the jungle. Away from the compound, David dropped on the shade dappled ground. Sweat ran down the sides of his face and dripped into his hair. Next to him, Katrina stretched her cramped muscles.

They had arrived at the camp just past noon and had made several circuits of the grounds to confirm Mardinaud's information. Finding no significant deviation, they proceeded with their original plan, setting the mortars and special light show necessary for the assault. They would attack in the half dusk when the guards' own vision and night scopes were the most ineffective.

The household staff had left shortly after dinner, the locals returning to their village down river. According to Mardinaud's information, sixteen men and two dogs remained as a guard detail inside the compound. Eight men patrolled the estate - four in the towers, two around the grounds, and two in the house. The rest would spend the evening in the small building edged near the helicopter pad. The mortars would take care of that half of the security force.

"What do you think?" Katrina asked.

David rose on his elbows. "We have a chance," he said. "These guys aren't trained military. They're just a bunch of thugs. What about the helicopters?"

"We could use one of them, but they also offer a perfect means of escape for someone else. We could lose Kadner. Might be wise to take them out."

David nodded. He had considered the possibility himself. They would attack through the garden behind the house. They would be at the house, and opposite the landing pad, in one minute. Two well thrown grenades would take care of the helicopters before anyone had a chance to take off. "We'll take out the helicopters and leave by the river or the way we came," he said.

Katrina busied herself checking the ammunition of her Uzi and used a spring-loaded device to repack loose rounds into several spare clips. David watched the last vestiges of the sun sink lower into the sky and replayed the plan in his mind. Untrained as they might be, Kadner's men outnumbered them; their timing must be precise.

One mistake and they would be dead.

* * * * *

Duman watched Kadner and Bitkowski through the bedroom window as he had for most of the day. Kadner had not appeared until late afternoon, but Viktor had spent the morning checking the helicopters, again. Then he had practiced hand-to-hand combat with the Cartel guards. The old German was surprisingly good, but Duman noticed he was at least a full head taller than all his handpicked Latino opponents.

Now, the two men sat on a small bench in the garden, talking with their heads close together. Duman suspected he was the topic of conversation and instinctively stepped back when they looked up at his darkened window. Hearing his bedroom door open, he dropped the heavy curtain and turned to find Helene standing in the spill of light from the hallway. The outline of her body was visible beneath her thin robe.

She closed the door behind her and snapped on the overhead light. "He's still at the end of the hall. I made sure he watched me the whole way here."

"Good." Duman tossed her a towel as she slipped out of the robe. "Put this on. Make sure he's not looking this way when I come out."

"Don't worry. He'll have better things to do than watch for you." She wrapped the short towel around her. "At least, he's one of the cute ones," she said as she waved to him and left the room.

Through the crack in the partially open door, Duman watched her walk toward the guard posted ten feet down the hall. Helene walked past the man, giving him a glimpse of the slight swell of her buttocks beneath the edge of the towel before she turned to face him.

"He doesn't want me," she said.

The guard regarded her silently. She let the towel drop to the floor. "Can you imagine him not wanting this?"

She knelt and unzipped the stunned man's pants. The surprised guard looked left and right before taking her head in his hands and guiding her mouth forward.

He did not hear Duman approaching from behind. Duman pulled a stiletto from a wrist sheath and slid the blade through the nape of the man's neck. The guard straightened as the knife entered his brain. Then, his body fell limply into Duman's arms. When Duman propped him against the wall, a small amount of blood welled from the wound.

Helene stood up and spat on the carpet. "I've never seen a dead body before," she whispered, staring down at the guard. She spat again.

They returned to Helene's room where she changed into a dark blue zippered jumpsuit before they slipped quietly down the back stairway. At the top of the basement steps, Duman gave a signal and Helene began speaking loudly.

"Come on, I want to show you the music room. I play quite well."

She took hold of Duman's hand and pulled him down the steps. A guard posted at the wide, double doors leading to the concert room snapped to attention and held up his hand. "I'm sorry, Señorita Kadner," he said as they approached. "My orders are that nobody goes into this room."

Helene pouted and clenched her fists at her sides. She stomped her foot like a spoiled child and her voice rose to an angry whine. "Look," she said, shaking a finger at the guard, "I live here, too. I want to play for my friend."

"You will have to consult your grandfather, Señorita. I have my orders."

Looking embarrassed, Duman came up behind Helene and gently pulled her back. "Don't worry, Helene," he said. "We can do it later. I'll talk to your grandfather. We don't want to get this man in trouble."

He smiled at the guard and the man relaxed, happy to avoid a scene. Duman placed a friendly hand on the unsuspecting guard's shoulder. The stiletto blade slipped between the man's ribs, stopping his heart in mid-beat. The guard slumped to the ground.

Duman kicked the corpse aside, pulled out a set of lock picks, and worked on the handle set in the double doors. Helene stared at the dead man. Duman had the door open in seconds and dragged the guard's body inside.

Helene walked to the piano and played the notes Kadner had played the night before. She took perverse pleasure in the thought that the same music lessons she despised and her Grandfather insisted on, had facilitated her betrayal of the old man. When she heard the soft hiss, she stepped back and tried to push the piano. Duman brushed her away and easily shoved the piano off the subterranean entrance. He sped down the steps to the vault door, recognizing the digital lock from Mardinaud's description. He snapped a mechanical device beside the keypad in the door and flipped a small switch. Lights flickered on the device until the space age safecracker signaled with a single tone. The door slid open and the light came on inside.

Duman had planned to quickly pack the artifacts but was unprepared for their beauty. A long appreciative sigh escaped his lips as he hefted the large shield in front of him and held it against his chest. He thought about the warrior who had held it last. Setting the shield aside, he ran his hand over the other pieces. For several moments, he was lost in images of ancient times, so lost he hardly noticed when Helene placed the delicate diadem around her head. Then, she toasted herself by banging two golden goblets together.

Duman heard the dull clunk and wheeled to face her. He snatched the two goblets out of her hands. "Be careful," he said. "These aren't toys."

He turned away in disgust and saw three packing crates stacked against the wall. A precaution against an emergency evacuation, he presumed.

Duman started pulling the treasure out of the cases while Helene gently set them into the Styrofoam packing. He ignored the pikes lining the walls - the shafts were too difficult to dismantle. They organized the treasure by metal. The golden items fit easily in one crate and he made a large 'X' on the top with the tip of his stiletto. If, for some reason, he could only have one box, he would take this one, he decided. He slipped his hands through the rope handles and picked up two of the crates himself, leaving the third for Helene.

They wound their way up the stairs and arrived unseen at the back entrance near the helicopter pad. They waited impatiently for more darkness. Duman had not missed the irony of the theft; a Turk was now stealing the treasure from a German. He chuckled to himself. Heinrich Schliemann would be rolling over in his grave. Helene was flexing her hands from the strain of carrying the crate. He hoped she would make it to the helicopter.

Duman glanced at his watch. "It's time," he whispered. "I'm going to set the fuse. You wait here. As soon as the explosive goes off, we'll make a run for the helicopters. The guards shouldn't see us in all the confusion. You ready?"

Helene smiled and he kissed her gently on the cheek. As he turned to run upstairs, he heard the whistle of the first incoming mortar.

Chapter 27 - CONVERGING PLANS

The first mortar hit directly on target. The guard tower closest to the helicopters exploded, hurling lumber across the cement pad. David cupped his hand over the luminous display of his watch and counted off the seconds. He thumbed a second switch on the detonation panel to send a radio signal to a second mortar. A short whistle preceded the resounding thump as the mortar landed, making a two foot crater at the base of the tower to his left. Two wooden supports leaned dangerously. The guard slid off the slanted platform and tumbled to the ground. The back section of the fence was now unprotected.

As soon as she heard the first explosion, Katrina flicked one bank of switches and three more mortars whistled through the air. She could not see the impact points, but the sudden glow on the other side of the house confirmed they'd found their target. The long structure housing the off duty guards was in flames. A separate explosion blew apart the arms storage.

She flipped the remaining switches and waited. Nothing happened. She thumbed them back and forth and swore under her breath. As a last resort, she pressed a button and bright magnesium flares exploded along the south and north sides of the compound. A guard screamed as the magnified light seared his retina. She knew the man's night vision would not return for several minutes.

Powerful searchlights suddenly illuminated the compound as David crept beside her.

"The two towers by the river?" he asked.

"The mortars didn't fire."

"Don't worry about it."

"But..."

"Slight revision is all," David said. "We can take out the guards if need be."

They could hear the hum of the electrified fence over the sound of the blasting siren. David pressed a green button on his panel, producing an explosion along the south side of the house. Sparks from the exploded transformer flew high into the air and showered the grass next to the house. The hum of the fence died.

Katrina picked up a large set of wire cutters and began to rise, but David pulled her back down and pointed toward the garden. Two armed men knelt among the flowers and rapidly scanned the area around the garden. David sighted their silhouettes through his riflescope, his finger resting on the trigger. He watched the taller man point toward the helicopter pad. One of the engines revved. The two men opened fire on the helicopter and sprinted for the landing pad.

David froze, his finger still on the trigger.

* * * * *

Duman watched the flaming splinters scatter over the helicopter pad as the guard tower exploded. A guard lay near the fence, his inert body burning with a low, steady flame. Duman could smell smoke through the open door and heard several other explosions.

He made sure Helene was ready before hefting the two heavy crates. As they ran for the largest chopper, another explosion blew out the guard's quarters.

Helene dropped her crate and opened the door of the Hynes 5. While Helene primed the engine as Duman had taught her, Duman muscled the cartons into the back. He slipped into the pilot's seat and pressed the starter. The blades rotated slowly.