Horror filled the cop’s eyes as he immediately started grasping at the mortal wound. Han-Jae pulled the knife out of his victim’s throat and in a deft move unlatched the dying man’s weapon from its holster.
Han-Jae twisted and kicked the man out onto the road as blood seeped through the cop’s fingers.
With no time to waste, Han-Jae slid out of the car and stepped toward the one behind him carrying his other two men. The cop inside scrambled to open his door. Han-Jae raised the weapon and fired several shots through the windshield. They ripped holes in the glass, some catching the cop in the vest and two tearing through his neck. Han-Jae moved fast, stalking around the open door and firing one more round, this one into the side of the cop’s head.
Cars slammed on their brakes at the horrific scene taking place right in front of them.
Han-Jae opened the back door of the second car and ushered his men to the lead vehicle. He waved the gun around at some of the cars stopped on the bridge and then fired a shot into the front tires of the two holding up traffic.
People screamed. Some got out of their cars and took off running in the other direction. A woman scrambled into the backseat of her car to protect her child.
When the other two men had packed into the squad car, Han-Jae turned and jogged back to the open driver’s side door.
The cop he’d stabbed in the neck was lying completely still on the road several feet away, covered in thick crimson liquid.
Han-Jae ran over and grabbed the cuff keys off the dead man’s belt then scurried back to the car.
He tossed the keys into the back and then hopped in the front, shifted into drive, and sped away. They would need to find a safe house. Preferably somewhere out of the country.
With the blood of two cops on their hands, everyone in Germany would be looking for them.
13
Cologne
Sean stared at the cinder block wall from the narrow bench in the middle of the room. Tommy had been pacing around for the better part of the last hour. There was no way to know exactly how much time had passed since they’d arrived in the holding tank. A clock on the wall just outside the cell was just beyond their field of vision.
Not that it mattered. The North Koreans had been apprehended, which was definitely a good thing. The only question rattling around in Sean’s mind was how in the world the other two guys had disappeared.
They’d each been allowed to make a phone call. Sean used his to call Emily. She had a useful way of getting him out of trouble like this from time to time. He hoped she wouldn’t be upset. Then again, if she was, she’d get over it. She always did.
“I hope the girls are okay,” Tommy said for the fifth time in twenty minutes.
The women had been taken to a different holding area, as was protocol.
“I’m sure they’re fine. Speaking of, what was that from your girl? Did you see how she handled herself?”
Tommy nodded. “Yeah, I don’t know where that came from.”
“You don’t sound happy about it.”
He shrugged and continued gazing at the floor with his elbows on his knees and his hands folded. “It just means there’s something weird about her. For once, I’d just like to meet a normal girl. You know?”
“Something weird about her?”
“I mean she’s probably a member of a gang or a spy or something else. You remember the Japanese girl, don’t you?”
“How could I forget?”
Tommy had met a girl he believed was interested while they were on a mission in Japan. She’d turned out to be the leader of the Yakuza, an underworld crime syndicate that had spread across the country.
“Look, Schultzie,” Sean said, “you need to realize something very important about women.”
“They’re all crazy?”
Sean guffawed at the comment. “No, although some definitely are. What I mean is, there is no such thing as normal. Everyone’s got a little weirdness to them. That’s just the result of life. After all, life isn’t normal.”
“I hope you’re not saying I should have still gone after the Japanese chick.”
Sean smirked. “No, you were right to let that one go. Pretty sure she’s in a supermax security prison somewhere. But June seems like a nice person. And honestly, it doesn’t hurt to have a woman who can kick a little butt on your side. Adriana’s bailed me out lots of times.”
Tommy relented with a nod. “That’s true.”
“Yeah. I mean, maybe June’s taken some kickboxing classes or something. Women have to be able to defend themselves these days. Heck, if I had a daughter, I’d teach her everything I know.”
“I guess.”
Footsteps clicked on the floor in the hall outside the cell.
“Wyatt and Schultz,” a man’s voice said in a thick German accent. A second later, a rotund cop appeared with a ring of keys dangling off his belt. “You have a car waiting for you outside. Try not to cause any more trouble while you’re here in Germany.”
The door unlocked automatically and slid to the left.
Sean and Tommy thanked the cop and walked by, heading down the hall the way they’d been brought before. Sean kept his eyes forward as he spoke. “If the door opens automatically, I wonder what all those keys are for.”
“Just shut up, and keep walking unless you want to get thrown back in there.”
“Roger that.”
They made their way through the maze of corridors until they reached another set of bars. Once more, something buzzed inside the walls, and a moment later the barred door slid to the side.
When they were on the steps of the jail, the two Americans took a deep breath and exhaled. A black Mercedes sat on the street right beneath the steps. A man in sunglasses and black jacket and pants was standing next to the rear door with hands folded.
He reached over and opened the back door, motioning for the two to get in.
“Looks like Emily hooked us up this time,” Tommy said.
Sean smiled, albeit suspiciously. “Yeah. I’ll be sure to send her a thank-you bouquet.”
As the two friends neared the bottom step, Sean paused. “Where are the girls?” he asked the driver.
The tall man answered by pointing at a similar car at the end of the street.
“So I guess we’re going to follow them?”
The man nodded. “That’s what I was told,” he said in a heavy accent.
“Great,” Tommy said. “Where we going? Hotel?”
“Arrangements have been made for your accommodations. That’s all I know for now.”
The two Americans accepted the answer and slid into the car’s backseat. The driver closed the door behind them and hurried around to the driver’s side.
“He looks a little like Lurch, doesn’t he?” Tommy whispered before the driver got in.
“Shh. Be nice. Just be grateful we’re out of jail. We owe Emily big time.”
“You can say that again. She even hooked us up with a place to stay. Talk about going above and beyond.”
The driver got in the car and pulled out onto the street. The two passengers didn’t think much of the locks automatically engaging since so many models across so many brands had the same feature.
Both Americans watched the people and buildings go by as the drive steered the car through the streets and eventually away from downtown and across the Rhine, back toward the heart of Germany.
“We’re not staying in town?” Tommy asked.
“You are, but Cologne has some nicer places on the other side of the river. We’ll be there shortly.”
Once more, the passengers accepted the explanation.
Sean wondered why the girls couldn’t have ridden with them. It would have been a little cramped, but not bad.
Out of the main part of the city, the driver took the second exit and continued driving another ten minutes until they reached an industrial area. Hollowed-out steel mills, decrepit warehouses, and decaying factories littered the landscape. A few a
bandoned houses lay scattered around the perimeter. Some of the buildings looked like they’d been bombed. Given the location, that was entirely possible. Many German buildings were never repaired after World War II.
“We making a stop on the way or something?” Sean asked.
The car in front of them stopped abruptly in front of an old church. The bell tower had a hole in the side, and parts of the roof were also missing.
The driver halted the car behind the other and then spun around quickly, pointing a pistol into the back seat. He moved the weapon from one man to the other until both doors opened.
“Seems a little over the top, even for Emily,” Tommy said.
“Emily wasn’t the one who bailed us out,” Sean said.
“Yeah, I know. I was kidding. The question is, who did?”
They got their answer momentarily.
“Out of the car,” a voice said from outside Sean’s side.
Sean obeyed and eased out of his seat slowly. He planted his feet on the asphalt and looked around, taking quick inventory of his surroundings and the men who’d taken him and the others captive.
He saw Adriana and June getting out of the other car. They appeared to be fine, though it was hard to tell in the weak moonlight.
The blond man from before appeared in the doorway of the church, along with his bandaged companion.
“Oh hey. It’s you again. So nice to see a friendly face. Thank you so much for bailing us out of jail. I really appreciate it.” Sean’s sarcasm didn’t sit well with the blond, but the guy let it go.
Instead, he ordered the others to take them inside. “Make sure you don’t take your eyes off of them,” he added.
Sean counted nine men. Coincidence? he thought.
“June, you okay?” Tommy asked as he was being ushered into the old stone building.
She nodded, though she was clearly not happy.
The two women were taken in right behind the men, separated by some of the blond’s crew.
Once inside, the last man slammed the heavy wooden door shut.
The Americans were taken through the foyer and into the main sanctuary. They made their way down the nave and hung a left, moving into an antechamber where an open door led down a flight of stairs into the basement. The building smelled like rusty metal, old wood, and damp stone. It couldn’t have been used in more than a decade or two, a relic from a time long ago.
“They have power in here?” Tommy asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs lit by small candle-shaped bulbs fixed to the walls.
“If I had to guess, we’re about to see what this place really is,” Sean said.
“Quiet,” the man directly behind them ordered.
They reached another metal door, this one painted black with rivets around the edge. A single light hung from the low ceiling.
The man in front flipped open a steel panel to the left of the door, revealing a fingerprint scanner. He pressed his thumb to the screen and the device lit up bright blue. A line passed over the thumb going up and then down again. Then a green light on the side blinked. A second later, an unseen mechanism clicked inside the door, and it swung open.
“Pretty high-tech stuff for an abandoned church,” Sean said.
“I told you to be quiet,” the same guy from before snapped.
He shoved Sean through the door. Tommy was pushed in next. They were more courteous to the women, allowing them to walk through the opening voluntarily, albeit with a sense of urgency.
Inside, the next room was like walking into a million-dollar government bunker. High-definition flatscreens hung from the walls. Half a dozen computers were busily downloading information at workstations in various places. A glass window in the back that stretched from one side of the room to the other protected what looked like a conference room on the other side, accessible through a glass door at the other end.
Another door on the far side was the only other way in or out. From the looks of it, Sean guessed it led to the bathroom or a kitchen area.
“Nice digs,” Sean said as he finished taking in the scene.
The man behind him shoved him forward toward a chair. “Sit down.”
Sean didn’t wait to be told twice. In spite of the guns being pointed at them by seven of the men, he still didn’t get the sense that he and his friends were going to be executed. If these guys—whoever they were—wanted the Americans dead, they could have done it long ago.
Tommy found an empty chair close to June and sat down. Adriana did the same, sitting close to Sean.
“One big happy family,” Adriana said.
“Good to see some things don’t change,” Sean quipped.
“I have to say,” the blond started, “you certainly don’t seem to respect the trouble you’ve gotten yourselves into.”
Sean rolled his shoulders. “I’ve seen worse. But I meant what I said.”
“Which was?”
“This place is nice. Seriously, who funds this? Are those computers pulling intel from rotating floating proxies?”
“Mr. Wyatt, you have no idea who we are. Do you?”
Sean’s head moved slowly back and forth. “You finally gonna tell us or just keep playing Mr. Secret?”
“We are the Brotherhood of the Sword. For thousands of years we have protected what it is you seek. So you can see why I would be somewhat irritated at your recent actions.”
“Oh, so you’re some kind of secret society. Okay, well, that makes sense.”
“A secret society seeks to gain an advantage over others in some way. We seek only to protect something of great power, something that you would expose to the world. That, Mr. Wyatt, we cannot abide.”
“You know what, I’m gonna go ahead and hit the pause button right there, friend. First off, you can call me Sean. This whole Mr. Wyatt thing is a little worn. Usually, it’s the bad guys that say stuff like that. Super cheesy when they do, by the way. And while maybe you’re just trying to be respectful, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me by my dad’s moniker.”
“Very well, Sean. Since I’m certain you can’t appreciate the gravity of what we’re dealing with here, I’m going to fill you in.”
“This should be good,” Tommy said.
The man behind him shoved him in the back, catching Tommy off guard. He snapped his head around threateningly but said nothing.
The blond went on. “We have been protecting this secret for a thousand years, and we cannot have you four—”
“I’m sorry,” Sean interrupted. “We didn’t catch your name.”
The irritation on the man’s reddened face couldn’t have been more obvious. “Who I am doesn’t matter.”
“Well, it’s just that I like to know who’s lecturing me, that’s all. Or would you just like me to call you professor.”
“Baldwin. My name is Baldwin.”
Tommy’s eyes narrowed. “That’s no relation to the Baldwins of Jerusalem, is it?” he joked.
Baldwin’s face remained stoic. “I’m a direct descendant of the kings of Jerusalem.”
Tommy’s playful smirk disappeared as he realized the man was serious.
“Whoa, seriously?” Sean said, raising both eyebrows. “I thought that lineage was gone a long time ago.”
Baldwin shook his head slowly. “We have remained in the shadows, watching over the sword of my forefathers for generations.”
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Tommy said. “You guys are a secret society, protecting Excalibur from the world. And you, the leader, are a direct descendant of the Crusader kings of Jerusalem?”
Baldwin responded with a slow nod.
“Wow! I mean, that is heavy!”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Sean agreed. “How do you deal with that kind of pressure? Seriously. That’s gotta be tough.”
“Yes. It is. And thanks to you two, there are a group of North Koreans on the sword’s trail.”
Adriana frowned. “Wait a minute. The North Koreans were arrested, same as
us. I saw the police taking them away.”
“Yes,” Baldwin said. “They were arrested. And subsequently they escaped. They never reached the station. Two cops were killed in the process.”
“What?” Sean said. The mood in the room turned serious all of a sudden. “How is that possible?”
“We’re not sure. But just in case you think I’m lying, here’s the headline.”
He pressed a button on a small remote in his hand, and the biggest screen on the back wall switched to a local newspaper. The headline corroborated Baldwin’s story: Two dead in escape plot.
“How is that possible?” June asked.
“You four need to understand something. The Brotherhood represents good in this world. We are protectors of a powerful relic that, if in the wrong hands, could bring about the end of the world.”
Sean was dubious. “I’m sorry, man. But I have trouble believing one sword could cause that much trouble in a world of air forces and tanks and navies. Not to mention the armed public, in America of course.”
“You really don’t understand what you’re looking for. Do you?”
“I guess not. I thought we were looking for the sword of King Arthur.”
Baldwin shook his head. “Arthur was only one of many who held the sword.”
“Yes, we know that,” Tommy cut in. “There were eight others.”
“No. There were more than that. Many more.”
The puzzled looks on the faces of the four Americans told the blond man to keep talking.
Baldwin stepped around behind one of the workstations in the center of the room, putting the large screen directly behind him. “Long ago, our world was hit with a barrage of meteors. Many burned up in the atmosphere. One, however, made it through our planet’s natural shield and struck the Earth. Hundreds of years passed before anyone found it.”
“Joshua,” Tommy said in a reverent tone.
“Very good,” Baldwin said. “Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and all the way to the border of Canaan. But he was not allowed to lead the people into the promised land. That task was passed to his apprentice, Joshua.”
The Sean Wyatt Series Box Set 4 Page 37