This brings a smile to his face. And honestly, I’m not sure he could function without his beloved Chip and Dale. The guy has been attached to them like a man and his dog. They are inseparable.
“What about me?” Brooks says, removing his weapons and outerwear. “I don’t have one of these fancy-schmancy backpacks.”
“You do now,” Kane says, tossing him an exact replica of mine. “We always keep a spare for each of us, just in case.”
Brooks catches the fully loaded bag, inspecting it with an impressed nod. “What’s in it?” He asks, looking to me.
“Glock G41 with MOS system,” I reply, giving him some tough guy gun-speak.
He removes the gun and nods his approval, “Get rid of the MOS-bullshit and we have a deal. I ain’t no rookie.”
This gets a roar of laughter out of Kane and Nicole who have been teasing me since day one about the modification I made to the gun. But now I get it, Kane and Brooks are pros and don’t want the help. They learned the raw way and are better for it.
“I’ll take care of it, Brooksie,” Kane says, taking the weapon. As Kane is about to sit and work on the offered pistol, I stop him.
“Wait,” I say, grabbing my pack, opening the hidden pouch containing my Glock. I flip it around, holding the barrel and hand it to Kane. He just looks down at it, unsure. “Me too, Kane. The training wheels are off.”
Kane takes the gun and nods, so does Brooks. Both men have a look of pride on their faces and not just them. I turn and find Nicole collapsed in a comfy leather chair staring at me.
“Hey Kane, remind me to call Dad when we land, okay?” I ask, about to sit. “He seemed kind of off earlier.”
“He’s probably still not feeling well,” Kane replies from further up the cabin, no doubt fiddling with the two Glock handguns. “Give the old guy a break.”
I plop down next to Nicole to find her still gazing at me. “What?” I ask, cupping my hand around hers.
She leans in close to me. “That…was so…hot,” she says with a smile, biting her lip. “My boy is truly a man.”
I lean in closer until our lips almost touch. “You ever hear of the mile-high club?”
The Smithsonian Castle
Washington D.C., USA
“Answer it.”
Dr. Boyd leaned forward and reached a shaking hand towards the receiver of his office phone. He breathed in, slowing his pulse and subsequently calming the slight tremble.
Picking it up, he put it to his ear. “Hello?”
“Dad, it’s me. We just landed in Dulles, we’ll be there in thirty minutes or so.”
Boyd was too distracted to reply to his son, having a lot on his plate at the moment.
It didn’t go unnoticed.
“Dad, you okay?”
“Yes, son. Everything is fine here,” Dr. Boyd said, snapping back into the conversation. He shook his head, clearing it. “Ben and I are just going over some notes from the Chichen Itza incident.”
“You sure, Dad?” Hank asked with obvious worry. He wasn’t one to overreact like this. “I know you haven’t been feeling well and I don’t want you to overdue it.”
You have no idea… Boyd thought, looking up from the phone and at the two men seated across from him.
“Yes, we’re okay,” he answered, doing his best to alleviate the tension in his voice. “Just call me when you’re pulling in so I can meet you in my office.” He breathed in a heavy breath. “Okay?”
The two men signed off with a quick goodbye. Boyd still feared for his son’s safety and sanity like any father would, awaiting the day it all came down on him if he wasn’t careful. Hank pushed himself to the limit day in and day out, but right now, the elder Boyd waited for something else…a potential bullet.
“Why are you doing this Frost?” Boyd angrily asked the scarred figure sitting before him and Ben. He slammed the phone down, angry at having just unwillingly set up his own son. His emotions had been bouncing between fear and anger since this whole ordeal had begun.
The two historians had accompanied “Agent Manke” back to Boyd’s office for further discussion on the matter. That’s when Frost pulled a silenced pistol on them, forcing them to sit or they would be shot and left for dead.
Frost now sat across from Boyd, but the gun wasn’t pointed at him…it was pointed at Ben. And he would do anything and everything to keep his long-time friend alive, even if that meant lying to Hank.
Hank had mentioned they were coming armed and ready for anything. He also mentioned they would be accompanied by an Army Ranger named J.R. Brooks. If there wasn’t so much added firepower, if Hank was coming alone, he would have somehow tried to warn him about the fake special agent’s treachery.
“Why?” Frost asked rhetorically. “All I’m doing is a job—a job that you and your son have gotten in the way of several times. This is me saying thanks.”
He smiled at the older men, his two-faced appearance making him look even more sinister.
“Plus,” Frost added, “I would oh-so-love to see my friend Jeremy again. We have some unfinished business to discuss.”
And Brooks, Boyd thought, but he’d keep that little nugget to himself for now.
“Like what?” Boyd asked, his fright and anger quickly turning to rage. He knew what happened between the two men was a hazard of the job and war, not the fault of one man.
“He left me behind after I got out of the hospital,” Frost replied, venom in his words. “I was booted from the Army and was considered a freak in many circles. I turned to killing because it was the only thing I knew I could do, and do well.”
“This…” He said, holding up a small briefcase. “This is my ticket out of this mess. If I finish the job, then my contract is over and I’m free from her wrath.”
Dr. Boyd’s eyes widened a little. “Her? You don’t mean Coaxoch do you?”
Now it was Frost’s turn to look shocked. “How do you know that name?” He asked.
“When I was on the phone with Hank, he mentioned a naked snake-woman that used otherworldly powers to bring stone to life. He said her name was Coaxoch, leader of Zero.”
Frost was about to give his rebuttal, but Boyd stopped him dead.
“Also,” Boyd said, “she’s dead. Slain by Hank himself with the help of an Atlantean sword found on Isla de Jaina.”
Frost was completely speechless at hearing that his employer and would be executioner was dead, killed by the very same weapon he saw while inside the Mayan tomb. He specifically remembered the blade because it was the instrument used to kill the older archaeologist at the dig site.
He was free.
Coaxoch was dead and he had Hank Boyd to thank, but that alone made him angrier. The fact that the seemingly indestructible little shit had inadvertently helped him was the final straw.
“Well then,” Frost said, leaning forward, voice calm and smooth. “We’ll just have to roll out the welcome mat for him and thank him properly.” He grinned a sickly smile. “Now won’t we?”
33
The Smithsonian Castle
Washington D.C., USA
The Castle isn’t exactly a castle per se, it’s just the nickname given to the Smithsonian Institution Building. The red sandstone building houses the Institution’s administrative offices. It sits directly across from the National Museum of Natural History, on the southern side of the National Mall.
I always found it interesting that James Smithson, founding donor of the Smithsonian, died without any heirs. But his death wasn’t what was interesting, it was that he stated in his will that his estate be donated only if it was used to start an educational institute.
The Castle was the first of the Smithsonian buildings constructed and was designed by James Renwick Jr. The American architect was also known for other majestic designs, including what would later be considered his finest work, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
We pull up in front of the Castle’s main entrance on Jefferson Drive and park but d
on’t get out. It’s early and traffic is light, so we still have a couple hours before the rest of D.C. wakes up. But still, Kane isn’t taking any chances. He looks back to Nicole, Olivia, and me, sitting in the back seat, Brooks sitting up front.
“Okay, this is how it’s going to work,” he starts. “Brooks and I are going to lead the way, just in case, and you guys will bring up the rear.”
Then Brooks turns around his cold stare like ice. “Watch our six and be careful. We don’t yet know if Frost or his people are here, but we need to operate as if they are. We can’t afford to take any chances.”
We silently nod as the two men open their doors and climb out. They step up to the front door and stop, each man checking in different directions for signs of anything unusual.
Seeing nothing, Kane motions for us to follow and we exit the SUV. As I get out of the rear driver side door, I look out over the Mall’s pristine lawn and breathe in, seeing the statue of Joseph Henry.
Henry was the Smithsonian’s first secretary and an American scientist who invented the electromagnetic relay in 1835. The nine-foot bronze statue of him was dedicated in 1883 and has been there ever since, watching out over the Mall.
“Hank?” A voice says from behind.
I look back to the front entrance and see my team standing, waiting for me to accompany them.
Nicole steps forward, hand out. “Come on.”
It’s then I notice a familiar face waiting for us at the top of the stairs, just outside the front door. She’s been my dad’s secretary for the last ten-plus years, having been hired just before me. We kind of broke into the biz together.
I climb the stairs and hug the woman hard.
“Sophia, long time no see,” I say, letting her go. “How’s the family?”
Sophia Lane, a woman in her early fifties, but could easily pass for ten years younger, smiles. “They’re good, Hank. Bob is set to retire next year and the twins are off to college this fall.” She beams with pride. “It’s sure going to be a crazy year for the Lane household.”
I step aside, presenting Nicole to Sophia for the first time. “This is Nicole. I believe you were on vacation the only other time she’s been here.”
Nicole reaches out a hand, but the older woman instead envelops her in a warm embrace.
“So happy to finally meet the woman responsible for my Hank’s happiness!” She lets go, inspecting my girlfriend with a nod. Then she lowers her voice a little, but not low enough to not be heard by everyone.
“You know,” she says, glancing at me with a smirk. “Hank here talks about you twenty-four-seven. You’re all the boy ever talks about.”
I can’t see it, but I blush instantly. She isn’t lying, though, either. I just seem to talk about Nicole a lot. She’s always a topic of conversation for me, especially with her selling her home in Sweden. I guess I’m just excited that she is moving here permanently.
Nicole reacts with a raised eyebrow. “Is that so?” Then she smiles. “I hope he doesn’t swoon while he works. I’d hate for him to hurt himself because of me.”
This gets a good laugh out of Sophia, which in turn tints my rosy cheeks even darker, adding to my embarrassment. It also gets a groan of protest out of Kane.
“Alright, enough,” he says, a look of nausea on his face. “Could you please just take us to Dr. Boyd’s office before I shoot myself?”
Sophia turns and motions for us to follow her, still laughing. She truly is a wonderful woman and one I know Dad would have made a move on years ago. That is, of course, if she hadn’t been a happily married mother of two.
She leads us inside and down a corridor before reaching a locked door, which leads to the administrative offices in the building’s basement. Sophia swipes a keycard and enters, holding it open for the rest of us.
Dad recently had a lot of the rooms underground retrofitted and made into offices for myself and for some of the other people working here. They were more specifically renovated for those who were aiding us in our search for anything pertaining to Atlantis. No one knew that we had found its locations, just that Dad had a hunch and wanted it looked into.
I enter last and nod my thanks, walking beside her as she gives the rest of the group a few tidbits about the Castle’s construction and what not. We enter a less than stellar, but still well-maintained section, and come upon a closed door.
She’s about to swipe her card on what I know is my father’s office, but I stop her. “Hang on Sophia,” I say, stepping up, pulling out an identical card. “Dad had a new one made for me before I left and I haven’t been able to try it yet.”
She smiles and steps aside, moving behind me to Nicole.
“Oh, and by the way,” I say, sliding my card through the door’s reader, interrupting the two women. An audible click signifies that my new card has indeed worked. “Have you seen anything suspicious?”
“Now that you mention it…” She says as I grip the doorknob, turning it. I swing the door open and get a peek inside. Dad is behind his desk sitting in his worn leather chair and Ben is seated in front of him along with a third man, a man with a horribly scarred face.
Who’s that? I think.
“…Mr. Kane’s people sent someone ahead of you.”
But before I can verbally question the identity of the stranger, he whips a gun around at me and fires.
34
The Smithsonian Castle
Washington D.C., USA
Multiple shots ring out as I dive to the side, having seen the attack coming a split second before it did. Sophia however, blocked by my body, didn’t see it and takes two of the three rounds fired, square in the chest. The third bullet harmlessly strikes the wall behind her, sounding like a hammer pounding in a nail.
I glance up to see her slam into the adjacent wall, staying upright on her feet. In shock, she looks down at her bleeding chest and then to me. A look of confusion is stitched across her face, followed by one of recognition as she realizes what just happened. Then, as if gravity itself triples in strength, she’s pulled down by an invisible force, leaving a streak of red on the wall.
Clutching her chest with both hands, she comes to a stop at eye level with me and smiles. She blinks twice and then stares straight through me. Dead.
“No!” A scream rips through the corridor, originating from the office… Dad’s voice.
I can hear a commotion going on around me and can sense a flurry of motion just outside the office door. But I don’t care. All I can do is stare.
Sophia Lane, the closest thing I have to family outside of my father, is dead, shot by the man who on more than a couple occasions has tried to kill me and those I care for.
Frost.
I stand, draw my gun, turning towards the open door. I calmly stroll up to the doorway, passing right through it like it was just another day, and raise my Glock. My laser sight, a toy I added, blinks to life and appears on the forehead of the man who has caused my family so much pain and anguish over these last few months.
“John Frost,” I coolly say.
The other man just smiles a sickly grin and replies, “Hank Boyd. We finally meet and under such a precarious circumstance.”
It’s then I look down and see his gun to my father’s temple, finger on the trigger, ready to blow his brains across the room. I slightly balk at the sight, but don’t lower my gun. Kane and Brooks step into the room around me, their weapons drawn as well.
“Damnit, Frost!” Kane shouts, glancing back to Sophia’s body. Nicole and Olivia are crouched next to the dead woman, unsuccessfully checking for a pulse. “What the hell is the matter with you, you fucking psycho!”
Brooks stays as silent as ever, gun steady, finger slowly tightening on the trigger. But before he can squeeze off a shot, I intervene. “Brooks, stand down. Not until my father is clear.”
If the man hears me I have no hint, except when I see the pressure on his index finger lessen. But his aim, like mine and Kane’s, never wavers, neither does the
steel in his voice.
“Put the gun down, John,” he says through gritted teeth. “There is only one way out of here alive for you and that only happens if you drop your weapon. If you pull that trigger, you will die.”
I take the standoff as an opportunity to scan the room. Ben, thank God, is alive and huddled behind the chair he was just occupying.
“Ben,” I say, causing the man to flinch. “Leave.”
As he stands, still gripped by fear, I turn my attention back to Frost. He doesn’t so much as give Ben a second look as the Israeli historian slides out of the room and around the corner. Once, safely out of harm’s way, I hear him audibly gasp for air and collapse on the ground.
“Why her?” I ask Frost, motioning to Sophia. “She had nothing to do with this.”
Frost shrugs his shoulders. “I was aiming for you as you opened the door. I guess you shouldn’t have jumped out of the way. She’d still be alive if you had just been a good boy and died.”
I tighten my finger around the trigger of my Glock at his callousness. This was a wonderful woman, not a piece of furniture.
“Dad, you okay?” I ask, looking down to him for the first time. Tears are streaking down his face as he stares out at Sophia’s body. His eyes flick to mine and then back to his secretary and friend.
“Well boys,” Frost says. “It’s been fun, but I really do need to go. I wasn’t exactly expecting this type of showing, especially that of Mr. Brooks.” He smiles, looking at the man. “How are you these days, J.R.?”
“Peachy,” Brooks says, his finger tightening on the trigger once more.
“Ah, Ah, Ah, Brooksie,” Frost says, mockingly warning the Ranger. “You wouldn’t want my finger to slip and redecorate the walls of this office, would you?”
Thankfully, Brooks does indeed stand down, relenting the death grip he has on my other gun’s trigger. The only thing that doesn’t concede is the seething rage building within the man. If this guy’s top actually pops, he might even make Mt. Kane look like a crappy science fair volcano.
Mayan Darkness (A Hank Boyd Adventure Book 2) (The Hank Boyd Adventures) Page 17