Blood Relics (A James Acton Thriller, #12) (39 page)

The man
smiled. “If it’s genuine, then it will have the blood of Christ on it. And if
it has the blood of Christ on it, then it will heal my father.”

His
father!

Now he
finally knew what this was all about. This man’s father was the reason behind
everything, a motivation he could understand, though not condone—the deaths of
so many inexcusable.

“But
what if it doesn’t work?”

“Then,
Professor, I’m afraid your wife’s time will have run out.”

Outside Paris, France

Dawson looked at the laptop and shook his head. They had been
roaming the countryside surrounding the cellphone tower for about an hour with
no luck. They had successfully pinged the phone when they first arrived, but
that had been the limit of their success.

“Still
nothing.”

“Maybe
it’s been turned off?” suggested Reading from behind the wheel.

“Could
be. If they have any inkling we’re getting close they might have implemented
additional security protocols and shut down their unsecured communications.”

Reading
frowned as he made a turn. “Then this whole effort will be in vain.”

Niner
shoved his head between the seats, looking at the laptop. “Yeah, but at least
we’re out of that damned hotel room.”

Dawson’s
phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out and took the call.

“Speak.”

“Mr.
White, this is Leroux. We’ve identified the suspect!”

Dawson
smiled. “I’m going to put you on speaker.” He tapped the button. “You’re on
with Mr. Reading and Mr. Green. Repeat what you just told me.”

“We’ve
identified the suspect. His name is Dietrich Kruger. Details on him are
sketchy, but we’ve got an address for the family home, I’m sending it to your
phone now.”

Dawson
read the text message and entered it into the car’s GPS.

“Christ,
that’s not even two minutes from here!” exclaimed Reading, checking his mirror before
pulling a U-turn.

“Excellent
work,” said Dawson. “Notify the locals and have backup sent to that location
immediately.”

“Already
done. They should be arriving on site within forty minutes.”

Niner
cursed. “Forty minutes? Even Dominos delivers faster than that.”

“Best
they could do, sorry.”

Dawson
grunted. “Forty minutes it is. White, out.”

He ended
the call as Reading drove past a large estate set a good distance back from the
road, it well lit in the early evening light. “That must be it.”

“Don’t
slow down, we don’t want to draw any attention.” Dawson pointed to a thick
grove of trees about a mile down the road. “Let’s park up there, toss the hood
up and recon the area.”

Reading
nodded, keeping his speed steady then pulling over to the side of the road once
they were safely out of the direct line of sight of the house. He pulled the
hood release as they climbed out, Dawson grabbing a set of binoculars from a
duffel bag in the backseat and heading to the trees. Taking a knee behind a
thick oak, he peered across the manicured lawn at the house. “We’ve got a good
angle on the front and left side.”

Niner
took a knee on the opposite side as Dawson heard Reading cursing at the hood,
unable to find the latch for a moment. “Some activity near the two-three
corner. Is that an ambulance?”

Dawson
adjusted his binoculars, nodding. “Yup. Looks private. They’re loading somebody
in the back.”

“Looks
pretty sick. Definitely not our guy.”

Reading
crept up behind them. “Anything?”

“We
might have found the guy they’re trying to cure.” Dawson handed the binoculars
to Reading who looked through them then nodded, handing them back.

“Any
sign of Laura?”

“Negative.
But it looks like they’re bugging out.”

Niner
rose, looking at his watch. “Our backup is still thirty-five minutes away.
These guys are going to be long gone by then.”

Reading
nodded. “Either with or without Laura.”

“If they
take her with them, we may never find her again,” said Dawson.

Niner
turned, placing his back against the tree as he inspected his weapon. “And if
they’re not taking her, they’re probably not leaving her alive.”

Reading
stood, concealed by the oak. “We have to go in, now.”

Dawson
looked at Reading. “Agreed. But covertly. We don’t know how many hostiles we’re
dealing with and we can’t risk them killing Professor Palmer. We have to reach
her before we’re discovered.”

“And a
big police operation is probably
not
the way to do that,” said Niner. He
pointed to some hedges, about five feet tall, surrounding much of the house.
“It’s almost dark. We can probably get to those trees without being noticed.”

“Agreed.
Let’s gear up.”

They
retreated to their SUV and quickly donned body armor, weapons and ammo. Within
minutes they were performing a comm check.  

Dawson
looked around, the sun almost set behind them. “Hugh, you and I will head in
fast, low, single file. Niner, you’ll watch the upper windows, warn us if
there’s any activity. If Niner spots anything, we drop and freeze until we’ve
got the all clear, understood?”

Reading
nodded. “Let’s go before the police arrive and blow this whole thing.”

Dawson
immediately set out across the grass at a quick crouch. Reading was close
behind, his breathing quickly getting labored as the older man struggled to
keep up. Dawson had read his file and had tremendous respect for him, a
decorated soldier from the Falklands War and a highly respected detective at
Scotland Yard for years.

But he
was a little out of shape.

A desk
job and nearly sixty years on the old body will do that to you.

He
glanced slightly behind him but didn’t slow down. Reading could catch his
breath once they reached the cover of the hedge, slowing down now only
increasing the risk of being spotted.

“Hold.”

Dawson
dropped to the ground at Niner’s warning, Reading grunting as he hit a moment
later.

“I’ve
got activity, second floor, one-two corner.”

Dawson
looked and could see the window, lit, somebody crossing in front of it, then
back again several times.

Packing?

“They
won’t see you with that light on. Proceed.”

Dawson
jumped to his feet, sprinting the final twenty yards, still bent over, then
dropped to a knee behind the hedge, turning back to find Reading still another
ten yards out but closing fast.

He
dropped onto all fours, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. “I’ve got to
get back in shape. Interpol is killing me.”

Dawson
smiled. “You’re doing fine. I do this all day every day and you kept up. Take a
moment to catch your breath then we’ll go around to the back, see if we can
find a way in there.” He activated his comm as he pulled out his binoculars.
“We’re in position. I’ll cover you.”

“Roger
that.”

Dawson
glanced over his shoulder and could barely pick out Niner in the dusk. Raising
his binoculars he scanned the windows, watching for any onlookers, finding
none. Moments later Niner slid in beside them, barely breathing heavy.

Dawson
looked at Reading. “Good to go?”

Reading
nodded. “What I’d give to be twenty years younger.”

“And as
handsome as me,” added Niner.

Reading
shook his head. “No, I couldn’t stand to be so short.”

Dawson
punched Niner on the shoulder, hard. “Owned.”

Niner
dropped his head. “I need a hug.”

“Well,
you’re not getting one from me,” replied Dawson as he rose and hurried along
the hedge toward the back of the house, the loading of the ambulance and
several cars continuing only yards away.

Dawson
stifled a laugh as Reading rebuffed Niner as well. “Don’t look at me with love
in your eyes.”

When
Dawson reached the far corner of the hedge he had a clear view of the rear of
the house, no one in sight and several doors appearing unguarded. Reading and
Niner reached his position and he pointed to several gaps in the hedge that
allowed access to the backyard featuring a large pool and tennis court.

“Keep
low and fast. We need to clear those gaps without being seen. We’ll go side-by-side
so there’s only one thing to see at a time, not three, understood?”

Nods.

“Then
let’s go.”

Reading
took up position to his left, Niner to his, and Dawson motioned for them to
advance. The three men quickly passed the first gap, almost ten feet wide,
Dawson keeping an eye on the activity to their right, his heart pounding a
little harder until the hedge blocked his view once again. The next gap was at
the rear of the house, out of view of those in the parking area, meaning the
only risk now was anyone inside the house that might be looking.

“There’s
a door,” whispered Reading. “It’s not much farther than the next cover.”

Dawson
nodded, Reading right. He turned to Niner. “See if you can open it, watch out
for alarms.”

Niner
nodded and sprinted toward the door.

And was
immediately lit up by several security lights on motion detectors.

Shots
rang out moments later.

Laura bolted upright in her bed, immediately regretting it as
excruciating pain raced through her body. She grabbed at her stomach, resisting
the urge to lie back down, her movement then only needing repeating. Another
burst of gunfire eliminated any doubt as to what she had just heard and she realized
her time had come.

Either
they’re eliminating witnesses, or someone’s here to rescue me.

Either
way she knew she wasn’t safe just lying in this bed.

Swinging
her legs over the edge, her bare feet touched the cold ceramic floor sending
shivers up and down her body. Reaching under the pillow she retrieved her phone
and Heinrich’s car keys then tentatively pushed the curtain aside revealing an
empty lab.

Out
the doors and to the right.

She took
a step toward the doors when she felt something tug at her arm. She looked and
cursed, the IV needle still inserted, connected to a stand with a dextrose
drip. Stepping back toward the stand she nearly collapsed with the pain,
reaching forward and grabbing the metal contraption, steadying herself.

She
looked at the base of it, on wheels, and rather than free herself, instead
grabbed it with both hands, using it as a support as she slowly made her way to
the doors that should lead to the hallway Dr. Heinrich had described.

Another
stab of pain radiated through her entire body causing her to gasp aloud as she
slowly slid down the IV stand toward the floor.

I
can’t make it!

Dr. Heinrich looked toward the rear of the house as the security
team raced toward the blazing lights, somebody shouting about intruders. Gunfire
erupted, several short bursts, causing him to jump into the back of the
ambulance, Herr Kruger sedated on a stretcher, his wife holding his hand. The
doors slammed shut behind him and within seconds the ambulance pulled away,
every single bump in the gravel driveway being felt, shocks apparently an
afterthought in the design.

His
phone rang and he answered it after grabbing onto the side of the stretcher for
balance.

“Hello?”

“It’s
Dietrich. I’ve got it!”

Heinrich’s
eyes popped wide as he looked over at Mrs. Kruger. “The spear? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.
And I’ve got a sealed jar that’s supposed to have a sponge used to clean his
body.”

Heinrich
shook his head as he looked at the failing man’s vital signs. They were weak
and thready. If he had any hope he would have to be exposed to the blood without
delay. “When can you get the relics to me?”

“We’re
in the air now, should be landing in less than two hours. How long will it take
for you to do your part?”

“More
time than I think we have. We’re evacuating to the backup location now; there’s
intruders on the property.”

“The
police?”

“I don’t
know, I didn’t see them, but there’s gunfire.”

Dietrich
cursed. “If it were police you’d know. It’s that damned Professor Acton and his
friends. Where’s Professor Palmer?”

“We had
to leave her behind.”

There
was a pause then a chilling reply. “I want her dead.”

Heinrich’s
chest tightened as he turned away from Mrs. Kruger who was now listening
intently. “You don’t need to do that. You have what you were looking for. Let
her be.”

The
phone went dead.

Niner hit the deck as two shots cracked behind him, the lone guard
who had rounded the corner first dropped by one of his team. He didn’t bother
looking to see who, instead jumping to his feet and sprinting toward the door,
their hoped for element of surprise shot. Time was of the essence, Professor
Palmer now in serious danger. Reaching the double doors that led to the side of
the large stone patio, he kicked hard at the center, his entire body left
ringing as what were obviously reinforced doors didn’t budge.