The Secret Crown (2010) (31 page)

‘… the gorge … shortly.’

Jones smiled when he heard the word
gorge
. It was a message from Payne. ‘You’re breaking up. Please repeat. Over.’

Thirty seconds passed before Payne tried again. This time his transmission was much clearer. ‘We’re leaving … gorge now. We’ll be there shortly.’

‘Glad to hear it. How big is the guest list?’

‘Two.’

‘Stay alert. A civilian just tried to take us out.’

‘Civilians in play. Check.’

‘See ya soon. Over and out.’

Jones opened the door to the cockpit and was about to climb inside when he heard a loud rumble behind him. He turned and spotted the source of the sound. The snowcat with its tank-like tracks was pulling away from the station. Huber was standing in the back with his G36, surveying the car park like a gunner on an armoured fighting vehicle.

Suddenly Bavaria resembled Baghdad. Minus the sand and those pesky terrorists.

Jones added to the tumult by starting the helicopter. The whooshing of the blades and the roar of the turbines fuelled the adrenaline that surged through his body. A few years had passed since he had flown a chopper overseas, and that had been in Italy while trying to evade the Milanese police during his first archaeological mission. Less than twenty-four hours later, he and Payne toured the Ulster Archives for the very first time. Since then, Jones had logged hundreds of hours of flight time at military bases across the
US
as part of an agreement he had reached with the Pentagon. He used their equipment, and they used him as a consultant.

With the helicopter ready to go, Jones hopped out of the cockpit and greeted Huber at the side door. The driver of the snowcat, a young man in his early twenties, parked the vehicle thirty feet away since he wasn’t sure if it would fit under the chopper blades. Then he climbed out of the cabin and walked to the back without having to be asked or threatened. Either the kid had a huge set of marbles, or he had been scared into submission at the cableway.

Huber leaned close and shouted into Jones’s ear. ‘I heard your transmission. When our friends arrive, we’re gonna be too heavy.’

Jones shouted back. ‘That’s not your problem. Load the chopper.’

Huber nodded and hustled to get Kaiser.

Jones could see Payne and Richter in the distance. They were hoofing it across a small courtyard that led to the Olympic ski stadium. By Jones’s calculations, their journey had covered approximately two miles over harsh terrain. After all that running, they deserved a lounge chair and a bottle of water, not a dose of bad news. Unfortunately, that’s what Jones would greet them with. Because of weight restrictions, there wasn’t room for them on the chopper. Even if they dumped the pilot, one of them would be left behind. Originally, Jones had planned to stick around with Payne, but that was no longer possible because of the pilot’s death.

Payne and Richter were out of breath when they reached the chopper. While gasping for air, Payne pointed to Krause, who was crumpled in a puddle of blood. ‘What happened?’

Jones answered. ‘He killed the pilot, so I took him out.’

‘Fair enough. Where’s Petr?’

‘Don’t know. He never came back from Schachen.’

‘Did you try his radio?’

‘He doesn’t have one.’

Payne shook his head. ‘I meant chopper to chopper.’

‘Didn’t want to risk it. Too many ears.’

‘What’s our status?’

‘Bird’s ready to fly, but we’re too heavy.’

‘By how much?’

‘Two men.’

He took it in stride. ‘You flying?’

Jones shrugged. ‘I’m the only one who can.’

Payne nodded and pointed at Huber, who was loading the last crate into the chopper. ‘How’s your guard? Is he any good?’

‘Yeah, why?’

‘If you’re making me walk, we need to trade. I get Huber, you get Richter.’

‘Why?’

‘Long story. I’ll tell you later.’

‘Hold up! Is there something I should know?’

Payne nodded. ‘Keep Richter away from witnesses.’

Jones waved Huber over to explain the situation. Suddenly the downdraught around them increased, as did the roar of the turbines. Worried that something was wrong, Jones turned towards the cockpit and spotted the culprit fifty feet away. The extra wind and noise were coming from Ulster’s helicopter, which was hovering nearby and preparing to land. The sound of its approach had been masked completely until it was almost on top of them.

Payne smiled when he saw the chopper. His escape just got a whole lot easier. ‘Where are we headed?’

Jones answered. ‘Some warehouse in Austria. Huber knows where.’

‘Then try to keep up.’

‘Not a problem.’

Payne patted Huber on his shoulder. ‘You’re with me. Richter stays with Kaiser.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Is everything loaded?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Then follow me.’

Payne led the way to the other chopper where they were met by Ulster. As bubbly as ever, he greeted each of them with a hearty handshake.

‘What took you so long?’ Payne asked.

Ulster apologized. ‘Sorry about the delay. We ran into a small problem.’

Payne slammed the hatch shut, then collapsed into one of the leather seats where he planned on snoozing until they got to Austria. Compared to the belly of Kaiser’s chopper, they would be flying in style. ‘A problem? What kind of problem?’

Before he could answer, Heidi waved at Payne from the front seat. ‘Hey, Jon.’

Ulster smiled sheepishly. ‘A female problem.’

Even though Payne had enjoyed chatting with Heidi at the King’s House on Schachen, he was noticeably upset by her presence in the chopper.

He growled at Ulster. ‘What in the hell is she doing here?’

Ulster lowered his eyes in shame. ‘I’m sorry, Jonathon. I had no choice.’

‘Of course you had a choice! You could have left her on the mountain.’

Heidi spoke up. ‘Actually, no he couldn’t.’

Payne glared at her. ‘Am I talking to you?’

Heidi glared back. ‘Well, you are
now
, which is how it should have been all along. If you’re mad at me, yell at me. Don’t take it out on Petr.’

Ulster shrugged but said nothing.

Payne lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘Petr, what is she doing here?’

Heidi heard the question and yelled over Ulster’s shoulder. ‘You’re doing it again! Talk to me, Jon. Not Petr.’

Payne gently pushed Ulster back into his seat and focused his attention on Heidi. ‘Fine! I’ll talk to you directly since you’re not giving me any other choice. Why in the hell are you on this chopper?’

‘Why? Because I figured out what you’re doing.’

‘Really? And what the hell is that?’

She smirked. ‘You’re looking for the black swan treasure.’

Payne took a deep breath and leaned back in his seat. After staying silent for a few seconds, he turned towards Huber, who was sitting next to him. Both of them were covered in blood and grime after spending the last hour fighting for their lives. ‘Can you believe this shit? She’s yelling at me after everything we just went through.
This
is why I’m not married.’

Huber shook his head. ‘Typical woman.’

Heidi reacted instantly. The comment upset her so much she nearly jumped out of the front seat to get in Huber’s face. The only things that kept her in place were her shoulder harness and the reprimand from the pilot, who was trying to fly the chopper out of the valley.

Huber laughed at her behaviour. ‘The defence rests.’

She twisted in her seat and pointed at Huber. ‘I don’t like you.’

Huber shrugged and closed his eyes. ‘The feeling’s mutual.’

Then she pointed at Payne. ‘And I expected more from you.’

He pointed at himself. ‘You expected more from
me
? What the hell does that mean?’

‘You were so nice and sweet up at the house. Now you’re acting like a jerk.’

Payne took another deep breath, trying to calm the anger that was bubbling inside. Adrenaline from the battlefield was still flowing through his veins, making it difficult to control his emotions. It was one of the reasons the
US
military had instituted a cool-down period before missions were debriefed. ‘Listen, I don’t know what you said or did to con your way onto this chopper, but you don’t know jack shit about what we’re doing.’

‘Sure, I do!’ she snapped. ‘You’re looking for a treasure, just like the one you found in Greece. Trust me, Jon, I know all about you, David and Petr. I know
everything
.’

For Payne, that was the final straw. He simply couldn’t take any more of her chirping. So he leapt out of his seat, pushed his way past Ulster who was sitting in the middle row, and knelt in the aisle behind Heidi. From his position on the floor, he pointed at the blood on the front of his shirt. ‘You
think
you know everything, huh? Do you know about Collins? He was minding his own business, driving our
ATV
through the woods, when a gunman shot him in the side of the head. The bullet ploughed through his skull and brain, killing him instantly.’

She gulped at the description.

He pointed at a different stain. ‘Then there was Lange. Do you know about Lange? Ten seconds after Collins died, Lange was killed by automatic fire from an assault rifle. Hit him right in the throat. Good soldier, that Lange. He lost his life while trying to save ours.’

‘Hooah!’ Huber said from the back.

‘Then there was Schneider. Do you know what happened to Schneider? I’m going to guess you don’t because
I
don’t even know what happened to Schneider. One minute he was calling in a status report, the next he wasn’t. Just like that, his radio went silent. Of course, we’re assuming he’s dead because his weapon was the one that killed Lange!’

Her face turned ashen as horror filled her eyes. ‘Why are you telling me this?’

‘
Why?
Because you think this is a game. You
think
we’re looking for a treasure! We’re not looking for a fucking treasure. We’re trying to leave Germany before someone else gets killed. And guess what? Since you managed to talk your way onto the escape chopper, you’re coming with us - whether you want to or not.’

She nodded but said nothing.

Payne was about to return to his seat when he thought of one final thing to say. When he spoke, his voice was much calmer than a moment before. ‘So, you want to know why I’m angry and acting like a jerk? It’s
not
because I hate you. It’s because you talked your way into something that you know nothing about. Now your life is in danger like the rest of us. I wish that wasn’t the case - I truly do. But those are the cards we’ve been dealt, and we have no choice but to play them.’

She grimaced at the poker analogy. Somehow it seemed fitting.

He pointed towards the rear of the chopper. ‘Now, unless you have something else to say, I’m going back there to decompress. After the morning I’ve had, I’m pretty sure I’ve earned it.’

When Payne opened his eyes, the chopper was on the ground somewhere in Austria. He didn’t know where and didn’t really care as long as they were safe. Glancing out of the open hatch, he saw Jones standing in the middle of a spacious hangar. Crates filled a third of the place while the rest of it was empty. From the looks of things, they were in one of Kaiser’s storage facilities.

Payne stood, stretched and felt like a new man. Although the loss of life had taken an emotional toll, it was the two-mile sprint that had wiped him out.

Jones saw him and approached. ‘Look who’s back from the dead.’

‘How long was I out?’

‘Unfortunately, you missed Christmas.’

‘Did you get me something nice?’

‘A sweater made from reindeer fur. You’ll love it!’

Payne smiled. ‘How’s Kaiser doing?’

‘He’s okay. He’s on his way to some private medical facility that’s on retainer. Huber and Richter just left. They pulled out about five minutes ago.’

‘Why didn’t you wake me?’

Jones laughed. ‘Why? Because I heard you had a hissy fit on the way here. Petr thought it might be best if we let you rest.’

Payne shook his head. ‘Give me a break. I didn’t have a hissy fit. I gave an impassioned account of our current status. No more, no less.’

‘Like I said, a
hissy fit
!’

‘Whatever.’

Jones patted him on the back. ‘I have to admit, I was kind of surprised when I saw Heidi. That’s a curveball I didn’t expect.’

‘The question is, what do we do with her?’

Jones made sure no one else was listening. ‘I’ll tell you what I’d like to do to her. That girl is gorgeous!’

‘For the record, I said
with
her. I didn’t say
to
her.’