The Illuminati Sanctum (The Relic Hunters 6) David Leadbeater (new reading .txt) 📖

the hard ground at a run, angling for a distant stand of trees. They’d rehearsed this escape, never believing they’d need to use it and especially so soon. Bodie took a last look back at the ranch house and, surprisingly, felt a pang of loss.

“They won’t find anything,” Jemma said, mistakenly thinking he was worried about leaving breadcrumbs. “No clues anyway.”

Bodie nodded. They couldn’t see the approaching vehicles anymore, the ranch house being a large obstacle between them. He focused on the distant trees again and concentrated on making them come closer, faster. The women ran to left and right, faces grim but determined.

A deep, resonating reverberation brought Bodie up short. The noise was followed by a shocking sight. Two helicopters appeared over the treeline ahead and made a beeline toward the running relic hunters.

The team pulled up short. “Bollocks,” Bodie cursed. “We either start shooting or go back to the house.”

“House is defendable,” Cassidy said. “We’re sitting ducks out here.”

Men leaned out of the helicopters as the birds flew lower, noses drifting toward the ground. Bodie swore when he saw weapons in the men’s hands.

“Shit, that’s not—”

Gunfire erupted from the skies. Bullets thudded into the ground close to where the relic hunters stood, galvanizing them into action. Bodie spun and sprinted back toward the house, the women keeping pace. Earth and grass flew under their feet, some thick clumps almost sending Lucie flying before Cassidy steadied her arm. Bodie felt the impact of bullets through his pounding boots.

“That’s not Pang,” he shouted. “The CIA wouldn’t do this.”

“Not so sure,” Cassidy yelled back. “We pissed them off with all those false leads.”

Bodie wouldn’t accept that Heidi, or even Pang, would shoot first and ask questions later, but kept running, and soon approached the wooden deck surrounding their house. Bullets peppered the earth and the wooden walls, the heavy reverberations of the helicopter’s rotors drifting ever closer.

“Clearly, they’re not shooting to kill,” Cassidy pointed out. “Or else they’re fucking terrible marksmen. Get in!”

The rear door was open. Bodie paused as everyone rushed through, then dashed inside and swung it hard back against the frame before locking it.

For a moment the entire team stood staring at each other.

“What the hell is this?” Jemma asked.

Bodie listened as the helicopters settled to the rear and several vehicles slewed to a stop outside the front.

“We’re about to find out.”

CHAPTER NINE

“Down the hatch,” Bodie said quickly.

The gunfire had stopped. Only one reason for that, Bodie thought. Their enemy didn’t want to risk killing them. On the one hand it was an uplifting thought, but on the other quite sobering.

Who are they?

Cassidy ran through the kitchen and turned left into a side room they’d been using as a tech center. Computers and laptops sat on desks along with a PlayStation and two Nintendo Switches. A widescreen TV was tuned to Sky News.

Bodie ignored it all to help Cassidy heave at a thick rug at the center of the wooden floor. The rug was stuck down, but came free when they tugged harder. As soon as it was clear, Jemma fell to her knees beside an old iron ring set into the floor.

Together, they pulled the door upward, revealing a brand new set of wooden steps leading down into darkness. Cassidy descended first, at pace, followed by Jemma, Lucie and then Yasmine. Bodie rolled up the rug before hiding it in a cupboard so that their pursuers wouldn’t immediately see how they’d escaped—it wouldn’t afford them much time but every second helped—and then proceeded down the steps, pulling the door down after him.

Cassidy had already grabbed one of the flashlights they’d laid at intervals along the passage. The tunnel wasn’t pretty by any means, but it was serviceable. Bodie picked up another flashlight and switched it on as they knelt down and shuffled their way to the east.

They’d laid foam mats along the floor to save their knees, and fastened towels where appropriate to warn of dangerous protrusions. Bodie felt claustrophobic and hot, and took a long, deep breath. Ahead, Cassidy made her slow way toward the exit.

The tunnel ran for several hundred yards. All the way, Bodie was hoping it was long enough to clear the choppers. Rivers of dirt trickled down the walls and fell across their backs before hitting the floor. Bodie followed Yasmine, keeping a constant eye to their rear.

Unless they were extremely unlucky, it would take their enemies a while to discover the tunnel.

Cassidy reached the far end and signaled to make ready. She pushed upward at a wooden trapdoor covered in grass sod and dirt. The rectangle blended with the surrounding landscape and was necessarily heavy. Cassidy heaved with all her strength, climbing the steps one at a time, until the exit was open.

Moving as quickly as possible, they escaped the cramped tunnel into the evening, drawing fresh air deep into their lungs. Bodie emerged to find the others lying flat on their stomachs.

One of the helicopter’s rear ends stood just ten feet away.

It was close. Under the big, steel bodies, Bodie could see legs approaching the house but couldn’t tell if the choppers still held their pilots.

Yasmine wriggled around until she was facing the other direction. “Crawl to the trees,” she murmured. “We have time.”

Bodie was about to agree but Cassidy rolled in front of them.

“No,” she said. “We take the fight to them.”

“Meaning what?” Lucie asked. “We’re badly outnumbered.”

“I mean the fastest way out of here, that’s what...” Cassidy pointed at the rumbling choppers with their swirling rotors.

“You want to nick one?” Bodie asked with surprise.

“If that means steal, then yes,” Cassidy said. “Or commandeer, probably. Let’s go.”

Cassidy scrambled away, but Bodie caught her ankle. “Is that wise? We’re not trained soldiers. And we don’t have Pang to help.