Shiva (60 page)

Brandt took the binoculars and surveyed the streets. There weren
’
t people, cars, children, trucks. Not even a dog. He passed the binoculars to Rebecca.

“
Any idea what
’
s going on?
”

She shook her head
.
“
Maybe it
’
s a Spain-
specific holiday?
”

Whatever it was
,
Brandt didn
’
t like it. He liked normal. He liked routine. This was anything but. However
,
they couldn
’
t stand here with their knees knocking together. They needed to get on with it.

“
Just keep an eye out,
”
Brandt warned Levont as he moved
them
down the hill. This side was decidedly easier on the calves as they made their way to the town. He set Vakasa down but grabbed her by the back of the shirt as she went to run ahead to Levont.

Despite the down
-
turned lips when Rebecca held out her palm, Vakasa took it, swinging their locked hands up and down.

As they approached the tree line, Levont stopped and checked out the area again.
“
Still clear.
Way
clear.
”

Great. Somehow they had stumbled into a ghost town.

“
Lopez
, f
ind us a car.
”

Unlike his usual bravado, Lopez hesitated, glancing up and down the empty street.
“
Yeah, um…
T
his could take a while.
”

“
Just do it,
”
Brandt ordered.
“
Davidson
,
find a perch.
”

“
Will do,
”
Davidson said as he headed up a tree. Guess he was going native, finding an actual perch.

“
Levont, take us in
,
”
Brandt ordered, gripping his gun tight.

* * *

“
There it is again!
”
Stark announced, pointing on the map to where the last high
-
frequency burst
had
originated
.

“
Cuellar,
”
Prenner read aloud.
“
What are they doing in Cuellar?
”

“
Hell if I know,
”
Bunny breathed out. Even with Stark hacking into the Stanford University database, they really didn
’
t have much more information regarding Rebecca
’
s stay in the Basque region. She was all about the blood samples and the genealogies. Not so big on giving details of where she
had
stayed or sites she
had
visited.

And now Cuellar? That didn
’
t even show up on her spreadsheet.

Worse, the Disciples
were being tipped off by
…
Bunny couldn
’
t bring herself to say it. They were being tipped off by someone
inside
their team. Did Brandt
suspect? Did they know that a traitor walked amongst them? Or was perched above them?

“
We
’
ve got to mobilize the local police or something,
”
Bunny suggested. It might get them all arrested, but at this point
,
it was probably better than the alternative. They could sort out the mess later.

“
That
’
s weird,
”
Emily said, hanging up a call
,
then redialing. Bunny could hear the phone ring through without being answered.
“
No one at the
Cuellar
police station is picking up.
”

Bunny looked to the
G
oogle map that showed only static streets and points of interest. What in the hell was going on in Cuellar?

* * *

Rebecca kept tight hold of Vakasa
’
s hand as they crossed the street. It really was eerie. There wasn
’
t a soul to be found.

“
Ouch,
”
the little girl complained. Perhaps Rebecca had been holding on a bit too tight. She loosened her grip, only slightly
,
as they approached the church. The flying buttresses were unusual enough in such a small church. At ground level? They were rare. Abutting a
mudejar
aspe? Downright unique. Instead of just a semicircular stone wall, this church
’
s nave
w
as covered in brick in such a way that it appeared the wall had many windows. It was only an illusion
,
though. The wall was solid brick.

Such an odd fusion of Islamic and Christian architecture.
But that was Spain for you. So
many cultures had come through the region, even as far as the Basque region, and each
had
left
its
mark on the culture and the architecture.

Levont disappeared around the curved wall
,
only to return within seconds.
“
The church looks clear.
”

Swiftly
,
they entered the shelter of the church. Even though it didn
’
t seem like there were any prying eyes
on the street
, with the Disciples, you just never knew. Inside
,
they found the church empty. It clearly no longer served worshippers and was maintained as a museum. Which was fine by Rebecca. Less furniture to move.

“
Where do you think the cross is hidden
?
”
Brandt asked after Levont swept the area.

“
I am guessing it will be in the rectory, similar to the monastery and
—
”

Before Rebecca could finish her sentence, the little girl slipped her grasp and was off, running through the doorway, ducking under Levont
’
s attempt to grab her.

“
No!
”
Rebecca yelled after her, but the kid didn
’
t even swivel her head as she streaked down the long hallway. They were all
on
her heel
s as she entered the rectory. Vakasa
stopped abruptly, kneeling down onto the wooden floor. She patted a plank.

Brandt looked to Rebecca.
“
As g
ood a place
as any
to start.
”

Talli knelt down beside Vakasa and began tugging on the boards. Brandt leaned over to Rebecca.
“
We are going to have to get that kid a leash.
”

She nudged him with her elbow but regretted the motion as he flinched. It was so easy to try
to
put the trauma of the last few days behind them. Unfortunately
,
their flesh wa
sn
’
t quite as over it
.

* * *

Still nursing a rib, Brandt watched as Talli struggled
with the floorboard. Seriously?
When they got home
,
the guy was going on protein powder for his muscles and vitamin A for his aim.

“
Talli,
”
he finally said
,
“
y
ou keep Vakasa back.
”
As the supposed sniper urged the little girl away from the board, Brandt knelt to the floor. He would have landed on his good knee, except he really didn
’
t have a good knee at this point.

Brandt flipped open his service knife and used it to pry away at the seam between the boards. It took a little bit of leverage, but the wood plank popped up
,
revealing a dirt-lined space. And there glistened a silver cross.

Just as Brandt
’
s fingers closed around the crucifix, the sound of clapping filled the room.

“
Jolly good show, mate.
”

Brandt tossed the cross to Rebecca as he drew his sidearm, leveling it at the intruder. He knew
who
it was before the sandy
-
haired man entered the room.

“
Vanderwalt, you do not want any part of this.
”

The MI-5 agent walked in as casually as if he were joining Brandt at a pub.
“
Ah, but you see
,
I
’
ve been waiting for this for quite some while. I just need the girl and the artifacts, including the latest cross.
”

Brandt didn
’
t even have time to figure out how Vanderwalt
had
found them or what his angle was here
.
H
e just needed to get into a better shooting position.

“
Chap, don
’
t bother,
”
Walt said
,
indicating to the three thugs that lined up behind him in the hallway.
“
I brought company. Now
,
hand over the girl and the items
,
and we will be on our way.
”

“
Her name is Vakasa,
”
Re
becca stated beside Brandt,
hands shaking as tears glistened in her eyes.

“
Ah, the always lovely Dr. Monroe. Do not worry. I plan to take good care of her.
”

“
Once she suits your purpose?
”
Brandt asked
,
pretty much knowing the answer.

Walt shrugged.
“
Promotions are hard to come by these days.
”

“
You fucking…
”
Brandt didn
’
t waste his breath. The guy had been as close to a friend as a covert operative could have outside his unit. To think that eating grubs together wouldn
’
t bond you for life. At least not when career trajectories got in the way.
He should have known something was up when Vanderwalt showed up personally in Egypt. A little too
-
white-gloved service
,
even for MI-5.

A ping sounded from behind him.

Vanderwalt
drew his weapon.
“
What are you playing at?
”

Was that Davidson? Then another ping and a piece of brick flew across the room. A bullet chased after it
,
nearly catching Talli in the ear. The man danced away, lowering himself and the girl
to
the floor.

Not Davidson
,
then.

“
That is not us,
”
Brandt answered
,
ducking down.

No, it was t
he Disciples. More accurately
,
the Disciples
’
sniper.

Walt smiled that crooked
—
actual
ly
crooked
—
smile of his.
“
As a kicker
,
I have a way out of here that avoids the sniper.
”
As another bullet whizzed into the room, shattering against the far wall.
“
I will allow you to follow us, but only if you give us the girl and the artifacts.
Your call.
”

Brandt was so busy calculating the odds
of him being able to get to all three of Vanderwalt
’
s thugs before he got taken down that
he
had
nearly missed
the part where Rebecca
toss
ed
the two crosses to Walt
,
along with the Star of Da
vid. Walt frowned.
“
And the
pieces of map.
”