Chasing The Dawn (Luke Temple - Book 2) (Luke Temple Series) (39 page)

Luke set off toward the idling bike. With one wave of the Sig Sauer the man moved back inside and flicked off the lights. The engine roared and whined, propelling the bike forward;
balance, throttle and feel.

To get round to the other side of the cathedral where the BMW had driven out of the square Luke had no choice but to drive back past the gunman’s position. Without thought he took the bike back past the small garden, lowering himself against the expectant barrage.

It never came.

Luke throttled the engine and moved round the cathedral, passing Delvechi’s stiffening corpse and the clock tower.

Without warning a man came crashing out of a doorway to Luke’s right. The man dived onto one knee and took aim with what looked like a Tavor bullpup assault rifle; its short frame and thick holding were easy to spot.

Luke was travelling fast. In a fluid motion he pulled up the Sig Sauer and let off a shot, but his speed caused it to travel high. He leaned the bike slightly away in an arc and let off another shot. This time it passed straight through the man’s heart, throwing him backwards onto the cold floor. Luke gunned the engine and tore across the square.

A few moments later, he flew out onto a wide space that was covered in temporary building cabins and orange barriers. The BMW was now pulling away north along a tree-lined road.

He followed them but the faster he went the more the cold bit hard at his extremities.

His presence was no secret, it was gone midnight and there was no one else on the roads. The BMW flicked on its brakes and a familiar thud of automatic fire came hurtling towards him, creating a metallic symphony as the bullets sprayed all over the railings. Luke pulled out the Sig Sauer and began returning fire until finally he heard nothing but an empty click.
Shit.

Process and reassess.
Now his only option was to close the distance and see if he could take the car off the road.

Suddenly the car’s rear window shattered and a hail of bullets filled the air. A millisecond later a bullet buried itself into the motorbike’s gold and black casing. Luke could feel his control disappear and he knew he was in trouble. Trying to minimise impact he made the split-second decision to roll the bike and slide onto the ground. The heat was the most vivid sensation; the world was whipping around him. Sparks from the bike shot out in all directions as it careered out of the alleyway and ploughed into the wall, swiftly followed by a rolling Luke Temple.

Luke’s leg shot with pain, but as he regained his bearings he was amazed that all he carried were a few scratches. He thanked the cold for numbing his body. He looked around in the direction of the BMW but saw nothing. Luke knew these guys were professionals; they would want to confirm he was dead – he needed to move.

No sooner had he had the thought than he saw headlights turning back onto the road. The nearest place to hide was a green silo bin stood against the wall. Luke climbed up and threw himself inside, sliding the lid shut.

Tiny holes let in the headlights as the car slowly cruised past. It stopped and a door opened. The footsteps walked around slowly, inspecting the scene. Luke was convinced the lid would fly open any second. After much walking, he heard the door shut and the car sped away, heading south.

Move Luke, move!

Pulling back the lid, he dropped onto the road, gritting his teeth against the pain in his leg. He couldn’t lose them. Moving over to a small white Fiat, he threw his elbow through the window and yanked open the door. Outmanned and out-armed the odds were fully stacked against him, but he slammed the accelerator to the floor and steadied his breathing.

Chung Su glanced out of the window. She caught the moon through a rare break in the cloud; it was a brilliant white circle covering the exquisite natural beauty of the Gran Sasso in a pale light. They were driving along a motorway that was leading them directly to the heart of the range.

A beautiful image of home … Chung Su’s grandfather was walking beside her across the field. They were walking with nowhere in mind, wandering the rich lush greenery of the southern provinces, a beautiful moon lighting their path, a strong wind rolling unobstructed from the North Pacific and the Sea of Japan. Her grandfather held her hand tight as he looked around and took a deep breath, his slight frame and tattered clothes not detracting from the fire in his eyes, the gateway to his curiosity and love of life … the curiosity instilled in Chung Su.

Beltrano barked an order to the man sat on Chung Su’s left. Setting the gun down on the floor the man leant under the empty passenger seat and produced a black case, resting it on his lap. The case was sleek with no markings. The man pressed down on two metallic clasps and the case flicked open. The interior was lined with thick black plastic, hardened and shaped into two separate compartments. Chung Su audibly gasped at the contents … in one compartment sat a large medical syringe; in the other sat three test-tube-sized capsules.

They are going to kill me.

Chung Su felt Beltrano’s hands grip hard around her arms. She let out a scream and tried to fight him off … it was useless. She watched as the man lifted out the syringe, pushed in a capsule, and flicked out the air. Chung Su thrashed as he came closer. Beltrano tightened his grip, and shouted in her ear, “Keep struggling, Miss Chung, and you will die.”

Chung Su was panting hard, tears started to fall. The man shifted closer, and in two swift movements lifted her arm and sank the needle into a vein in the crux. There was a pinching pain and then as he pushed down on the syringe a cold sensation started to rush up her arm. Chung Su felt a wave of nausea. Almost instantly her eyesight started to blur; her limbs were going numb, first her arms, then her legs. Her body felt as though it was being lifted away. The world was moving slowly. Her head fell back and the ice cold air rushed in over her face. Rolling her head forward she could feel the world slipping away; the car steamed ahead, a giant tunnel eating them up. The last thing Chung Su was aware of was the loud roar of the car engine…then there was nothing.

***

The burning smell reached its crescendo; Luke thought the tiny engine would catch fire at any moment. He had managed to hunt down the BMW but the moment they had hit the A24 Viadotto Temperino the more powerful BMW had opened up the throttle and really started to push the limits.

Luke was too experienced to try and stick like glue to Beltrano; he only needed to keep them in view without raising alarm. His leg was starting to throb and he knew when he had a chance to check it he would more than likely see blood seeping from the wound
. Can’t fix it, can’t worry about it.

Eventually the BMW reached the Galleria Gran Sasso, the tunnel that led them out onto the L’Aquilla side of the range. It was very tricky to tail a car in a tunnel in the dead of night so Luke had to drop back, losing the vehicle at points on the bends.

They both emerged back into the night and the road began to skim the northern point of L’Aquilla. Up ahead Luke saw the BMW slow, and without indicating turn right off the road into what seemed like a track.

As Luke passed he saw the BMW bouncing over a poorly made access road. He stopped just past the turning and watched as the BMW came to a stop next to a large metal circular structure seemingly painted onto the hillside. After a moment, to Luke’s surprise, the circle began to slide open, revealing a gaping hole. The BMW disappeared into the earth. A moment later the metallic circle slid back and shut tight.

Luke banged the steering wheel in frustration. He processed all the details, replaying Chung Su’s words; replaying Beltrano’s words …
time is running out.
Chung Su would still be alive. There was no way anyone would go to the trouble of taking her just to kill her. But Luke had to keep a bigger objective in mind,
the experiment!
Beltrano was part of the Iranian cell that was operating in Teramo, and it was fantastically frightening to think how far they had penetrated. But Luke did now have a crucial detail; the BMW had just shown him where the second laboratory was located …
under L’Aquilla
. The lesson Chung Su had given him in the hotel room played on his mind. If the experiment was unleashed then the whole area would again be devastated. But far graver was the notion of the Iranians getting their hands on the knowledge for an eternal energy source … it didn’t bear thinking about.

Banging the steering wheel again, he told himself to get a grip, and to get to work.
Do I call Davison? Call for a full-scale attack?
He instantly dismissed the idea; there were far too many complications to call in the cavalry, and besides he knew in his heart Davison would put Group 9’s interests first.

Davison …

Luke remembered the last call he had with Davison before they got to Brun’s.
One thing I can do for you is provide some accessories.
Luke’s mind reconstructed the address he had been given.
Corso San Giorgio, 36, IT64100.

Luke had been a Group 9 operative long enough to know that if Davison said
accessories
then he meant weaponry. International barriers were never a problem for his handler. At this stage, he was left with only one option … assault the laboratory and destroy the experiment. The time for delicacy was over, he would have to strike back.

Saturday 17
^th
November

He pressed his palm against the ice-cold concrete, closing his eyes; he fought the excitement rising within. He had now been awake for two days straight but his pulse beat through the very walls around him; there was no tiredness, just a lust for the event that now sat hours away … his destiny.

He took in a lungful of recycled air, reluctant to open his eyes in case his heartbeat dropped. As they flashed open he was again bathed in the aquatic blue light stretching out before him.

She is here …

The anticipation was linked to his pride; the fact that she was now there with him allowed him to flex his ego, to show someone who had shared his struggle that he had achieved the impossible …
He achieved the impossible through me
. He did not see her as an enemy; she was merely a fellow enlightened soldier against the hypocrisy and the devil’s own will, and she would make the ultimate sacrifice for her country. He was partly jealous that she would make that ultimate sacrifice for the cause, but he had a bigger purpose. He knew there was risk in bringing her down to the depths; he had been strongly advised against it but he knew it was right, it was fate, and she needed to see the end.

He began his favourite walk along the long concrete corridor. Soon it would be a walk he would do for the last time. He stroked his fingertips along the wall; soon there would be no laboratory at all. Behind the rock throughout the complex were multiple high explosives powerful enough to collapse the whole structure. He smiled at the poetic irony of the decision to blow up the laboratory;
behind something that seems so solid is something so destructive.
That applied to his whole life. It was now time to step out from behind the mask, the final experiment, the final step. He tried hard to fight the pride but it reared its head.
We stand before the ocean in its vastness, and for the first time we will hold control over the tides.

He strolled into the brightly lit station and Sarah came running over. They were the only two people in the large arrival hall. He wanted to say something but Sarah pressed her lips tightly to his.

He took her hand and began walking towards the stairs leading up and out of the station. They had only managed two steps when the crack of a gunshot echoed around the empty expanse. Suddenly, Sarah’s hand was no longer in his. Bullets began to flash around the station, the sounds of fizzing velocity and the sharp clangs of metal against the walls; he couldn’t see any gunmen but the bullets kept coming. Panic gripped his heart, Sarah would be hit any second.

The low rhythm of an approaching train started up. Where was she?

The train rhythm was getting faster and louder. His panic reached breaking point. There she was, frozen to the spot amid the hail of bullets. He had to reach her.

The train became deafening, his heart was thumping against his chest. Five more steps. He could see her eyes; tears filled them.

He was only two steps away, Sarah was screaming his name: “Alex, Alex, Alex!” Then the world around them exploded into a fireball. Her shrill scream filled his ears as the darkness enveloped them.

Luke jolted awake and scrambled to get to his feet. As he stood, his head cracked off a low ceiling. The small space held a deep stench of paint and tar. His eyes slowly dilated and a small sliver of daylight assisted identification …
a
Portakabin.

Luke had arrived at the address Davison had given him in the depth of night.
Corso San Giorgio, 36, 64100.
The entrance was a solid oak door with an ornately carved stone archway curving overhead. Within the stone arch were four carved letters
A.R.D.M.
Luke had no idea what the letters stood for but it was clear this building was purposefully understated.

There was no way he could check into any hotel or apartment while he waited for dawn to break. After the evening’s carnage, law enforcement would be crawling all over Teramo. The nearby Portakabin would be good enough.

Stretching out his limbs, Luke could feel the familiar cold. Pushing open the flimsy door, a brilliant white light hit his eyes, causing him to raise his hand. There had been a heavy snowfall during the early hours and it now glistened in the morning sun.

Luke saw little activity in the shops as he headed to his destination. A few people inside were standing and chatting but they appeared to be staff. Drawing level with the arched
A.R.D.M.
there was no sign of life. He continued on past and walked twenty metres further, arriving at a pillared restaurant which was still locked up. He leant on the cold stone and observed …
nothing.