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

“But on the bright side,” Cassidy said. “If the drop’s a few hundred feet, we’ll get chance to say goodbye on the way down.”

Lucie didn’t look reassured.

Bodie knew they had no chance of outpacing the SUVs. “We chose the wrong car,” he said. “We’re not fast enough.”

Jemma was seated on the side closest to their pursuers. She wound the window down and pointed her gun out. “This might slow them down a bit.”

One shot blew out their side window and forced them to brake. Bodie tried to bury his foot through the floor, but there was no more speed or power available from the little engine. “Tires,” he said. “Shoot the tires.”

The bridge opened out ahead, two lanes of blacktop curving toward two distant mountains. The traffic was concentrated in packs, as if the cars were sticking together for safety. Bodie guessed they were less than a minute from the rearmost vehicles.

The last bright crimson streaks were already vanishing to their left when a dark shape blocked them completely. It rose from under the bridge, rotors thudding, hanging in mid-air like a giant, deadly insect. At the same time another appeared to their right, murderous and thunderous, and filled with deadly intent.

The choppers drifted inside the margins of the bridge, rotors easily passing the supports and cables high above. As one, they veered to keep pace with Bodie’s car, noses tipping toward the ground.

“Don’t worry,” Bodie breathed. “We’re almost—”

And then their pursuers showed their true colors, giving Bodie a brief moment’s insight as to who they were. The choppers flew ahead, approaching the bunch of cars Bodie had been trying to reach.

Bodie flinched as several machine guns opened fire. Bullets peppered the roofs, trunks and windshields of the cars, causing them to swerve and crash. Metal struck metal, some vehicles scraping, others ramming into two or three others. Bodie felt his knuckles tightening on the steering wheel until they were pure white.

“Utter bastards,” he whispered.

The bullets didn’t stop, their roar as loud as the helicopters’. The entire road ahead was rapidly strewn with broken and wrecked cars, shattered metal from edge to edge. Bodie let his foot fall off the gas pedal.

Two black SUVs loomed in his rearview mirror.

“Bastards,” he said again and trod hard on the brakes, gratified when one of the big SUVs skidded right to avoid a collision. The other driver stepped heavily on his own brakes, the front end dipping. Bodie didn’t let up until the Seat came to a stop. Even as it coasted, Bodie was opening the door on his side, Cassidy on hers. The moment the car stopped, they leapt out, guns up and firing.

Both SUVs’ windshields shattered, their remains covered in blood. Bullets pinged off the framework and buried themselves in leather seats.

Jemma and Yasmine jumped out to join them. Jemma concentrated her fire on the third SUV, which was still limping along at the back minus a tire.

Yasmine stared up at the helicopters. “Umm, guys...”

Bodie heard the catch of apprehension in her voice and turned. Yasmine wasn’t prone to nervousness.

He became aware of the tremendous noise and saw both helicopters hovering overhead, armed men leaning out of every door and window. A single shot, hitting the ground between his feet, drove home the fact that they were outnumbered, outgunned and outmatched.

Several SUV doors opened then to the sound of cracked frames and falling glass. More men, some wounded and all armed, climbed out.

Bodie didn’t drop his gun, nor did any of the others. The fact was, they appeared to be wanted alive. He just needed to see who was going to make the first move.

“If any of these guys is Pang,” Cassidy grated. “I’m gonna put a bullet through both his eyes.”

“This isn’t Pang,” Bodie said. “This is... something else. Something far worse.”

“Put down your guns and come quietly,” a voice said. “You will not be harmed. For now. If you fight, you will eventually lose, and we will kill every man, woman and child on this bridge.”

Bodie, sure now of who he was dealing with, knew the words were sincere. It was a faceless voice, hidden in shadows and centuries of viciousness. It was the voice of a man that always got what he wanted, the words of a shadow organization that didn’t care for humanity.

“He’s telling the truth,” Bodie said, throwing his weapon to the floor. “He’ll kill them all and not lose a second of sleep.”

The anonymous voice chuckled.

Cassidy dropped her gun and held both hands in the air. Jemma and Yasmine did the same. Lucie slid out of the back seat and stepped to Bodie’s side.

“What now?” Bodie asked.

“Now, finally, we will meet.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

The journey took more than a day.

Bodie and the others were cuffed and blindfolded before being choppered away from the bridge, thrown into a truck, and transported across land for more than an hour. On being finally dragged out of the vehicle, Bodie smelled aviation fuel and heard the high-powered whine of jet engines as they were forced up a set of steep steps onto a narrow-bodied airplane.

Nobody spoke, not even to issue instructions. Men just prodded, poked and shoved them in a general direction. Bodie lost count of the number of times he stumbled and fell, landing hard on his knees, either by striking a fixture or one of his friends, or tripping over his own feet.

The plane lifted off and the masks were lifted above their lips. They were given water and what tasted like an energy bar. Still, no words were passed.

The plane rumbled through the night, the only lighthearted moment when Bodie heard Cassidy snoring. Apart from that, the hours passed in darkness, silence and horrible anticipation.

The aircraft descended and then the