Claude gave him a stony face, almost petulant.
“Okay, we’ll try an easier one. Ed Boudreau. Where is he?”
“He took the wiki-wiki shuttle back to Waikiki.”
Drake nodded. “And where are the other two ranches?”
“Gone.” Claude’s face broke out into a smirk. “All gone.”
“That’s enough.” Alicia had been listening over Drake’s shoulder. She came around, gun leveled at Claude’s face, and gently placed a boot on Claude’s shattered elbow. An instant shriek split the air.
“We can take this as far as you want,” Drake whispered. “Nobody here is on your side, mate. We know about the terrorist attacks. Either talk or scream. It makes no difference to me.”
“Stop!” Claude’s words were almost unintelligible. “Puh… please.”
“That’s better.” Alicia eased up the pressure a little.
“I have… been with the Blood King for many, many years.” Claude spat. “But now he leaves me behind. He leaves me behind to die. To rot in the land of the pig. To cover his ass. Maybe not.” Claude struggled to sit up. “Damn.”
Every wary, Drake pulled out a handgun and lined Claude’s skull up in the sights. “Steady.”
“He will regret this.” Claude was practically fuming. “I don’t care anymore about his terrible retribution.” The sarcasm dripped in his tone. “I don’t care. There’s no more life for me now.”
“We get it.” Alicia sighed. “You hate you’re fucking boyfriend. Just answer the sexy soldier’s questions.”
Drake’s earpiece squawked. A tinny voice said, “Found the first portal device. Seems Kovalenko left it behind.”
Drake blinked and sent a fleeting look at Alicia. Why would the Blood King leave the portal device behind at a time like this?
Easy answer. He didn’t need it.
“Kovalenko’s headed beneath Diamond Head, right? To the Gates of Pele or Hell or whatever. That’s his end game, yes?”
Claude screwed his face up. “That legend he found became an obsession. A man rich beyond dreams. A man who can have whatever he wants. What does he do?”
“Obsess about something he can never have?” Alicia suggested.
“A man so clever, so resourceful, reduced to a neurotic idiot in a day. He knows there’s something under that friggin’ volcano. He always muttered that he would best Cook. That Cook had actually turned back in fear. But not Dmitry Kovalenko, not the Blood King; he would go farther.”
Even Drake felt a rush of apprehension. “Cook turned back? What the hell is down there?”
Claude shrugged, then groaned in pain. “Nobody knows. But my guess is that Kovalenko will be the first to find out. He’s on his way there now.”
Drake’s heart leapt on that information. On his way there now. There was time.
By now Mai and half-a-dozen of soldiers had drifted over to them. Everyone listened with avid attention.
Drake remembered the business at hand. “We want the ranch locations. And we want Ed Boudreau.”
Claude reeled off the information. Two more ranches, one on Kauai, the other on the Big Island. Boudreau was en route to Kauai.
“And the terrorist attacks?” Mai asked quietly. “Is that just another ruse?”
And now Claude’s face actually fell with such despair and misery that Drake’s stomach plummeted through the floor.
“No.” Claude moaned. “They’re real. They’ll hit any moment now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Ben and Karin drifted over to the window, each holding a copy of Captain Cook’s classified logs. As they read and reread the craziness therein, Ben quizzed his sister about the Blood King’s strange behavior.
“Kovalenko must have been about to embark on this journey when the portable devices were found. He’s too well prepared to have organized everything in the last few weeks.”
“Years,” Karin murmured. “Years of planning and practice and greasing the right wheels. But why did he risk this huge operation to go on a little side-jaunt to Bermuda?”
Ben shook his head at one of the passages he was reading. “Crazy stuff. Just crazy. Only one thing would make him do that, sis.”
Karin looked out at the distant ocean. “He saw something about the devices that was relevant to Diamond Head.”
“Yes, but what?”
“Well, clearly nothing too important after all.” They had been following the shaky head-cam images being broadcast from the Blood King’s ranch. They knew that the megalomaniac had left the portal device behind. “He doesn’t need it.”
“Or he believes he can just take it back at will.”
Behind them, coming from the operation uplink, they heard Drake shouting out the information he had gleaned so far from Claude.
Ben blinked at Karin. “He’s saying the Blood King’s already at Diamond Head. That means—”
But Karin’s unexpected scream froze the next words in his throat. He followed her gaze, narrowed his eyes, and felt his world collapse.
The black smoke of many explosions was streaming from hotel windows along Waikiki Beach.
Ignoring the tumult erupting from the offices around him, Ben raced over to the wall and turned the TV on.
His mobile rang. This time it was his father. They, too, must be watching TV.
*****
Drake and the soldiers who weren’t engaged in rounding up hostages or routing the few remaining pockets of resistance saw the coverage on their iPhones. The commander of their unit, a man called Johnson, broke out the military Android devices and spoke directly to the mobile command post back in Honolulu as events unfolded.
“Bombs have exploded in three Waikiki hotels,” the commander repeated. “Repeat. Three. Outrigger West on the beach. Kalakuau Waikiki. Ohana Wave.” The commander listened for a minute. “Seems they exploded in empty rooms, causing panic... evacuation… pretty much… chaos. Honolulu’s emergency services are stretched to breaking.”
“Is that it?” Drake actually felt some relief. It could have been much worse.
“Wait—” The commander’s face fell. “Oh no.”
*****
Ben and Karin watched in horror as the TV screen switched from scene to scene. The hotels were swiftly evacuated. Men and women ran and pushed and fell. They screamed and shielded their loved ones and wept whilst hugging their children tight. Hotel staff came after, looking hard-faced and terrified, but remaining in control. The police and firemen swept in and out of lobbies and hotel rooms and made their presence felt in front of every hotel. The TV picture panned away as a helicopter was brought in, showing the glorious view of Waikiki and the sprawling hills at its rear, the majesty of Diamond Head volcano and the world-famous sweep of Kuhio Beach, now spoiled by the stunning sight of high-rise hotels belching smoke and flames from their shattered walls and windows.
The TV screen flicked once more. Ben gasped and Karin’s heart flipped. They couldn’t even speak to each other.
A fourth hotel, in view of the world, was being invaded by masked terrorists. Anyone who stood in their way was gunned down on the sidewalk. The last man turned around and waved a fist at the hovering helicopter. Before he walked into the hotel and secured the door behind him, he shot a civilian who had been crouched down near a parked cab.
“Oh my God.” Karin’s voice was small. “What about the poor people inside?”
*****
“The Ala Moana Queen has been invaded by armed individuals,” the commander told them. “Determined. Masked. Not afraid to kill.” He turned a murderous look onto Claude. “How many more attacks are there going to be, you evil bastard?”
Claude looked terrified. “None,” he said. “On Oahu.”
Drake turned away. He had to think. He had to refocus. This was what Kovalenko wanted, for them all to be distracted. The fact was—Kovalenko knew something staggering was hidden deep below Diamond Head and was on his way to claim it.
Something that might even eclips
e the terror of these attacks.
His concentration crept back. Nothing had changed here. The attacks had been timed to perfection. They had disrupted the soldiers and the army and the emergency services all at the same time. But nothing had changed. They hadn’t found the Blood King so—
Plan B was now in operation.
Drake signaled Mai and Alicia. Hayden and Kinimaka were already close. The big Hawaiian looked shell-shocked. Drake spoke pointedly at him, “Are you up for this, Mano?”
Kinimaka almost growled. “Fucking right I am.”
“Plan B,” Drake said. “Kovalenko’s not here, so we stick to it. The rest of these soldiers will catch on in a minute. Hayden and Mai, you join the Kauai assault. Mano and Alicia, you join the Big Island assault. Get to those ranches. Save as many as you can. And Alicia…” His face turned to chiseled ice. “I’m counting on you to do murder. Make that bastard Boudreau die hard.”
Alicia nodded. It had been Drake’s idea to keep Mai and Alicia apart when they realized they would have to split their team up. He didn’t want the death of Wells and other secrets to come between saving lives and stopping the enemy.
Claude’s high-pitched voice drew Drake’s attention. “Kovalenko funded attacks on Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island just to draw your attention. To divide and conquer you. You cannot beat this man. He’s prepared for years.”
Matt Drake lifted his weapons. “That’s why I’m gonna follow him through the Gates of Hell and feed him to the fucking Devil.” He walked toward the supply chopper. “C’mon, people. Load up.”
*****
Ben spun quickly as his mobile rang. It was Drake
“Ready?”
“Hi, Matt. Are you sure? Are we really going?”
“We’re really going. Right now. Did you get what you need from Daniel Belmonte?”
“Yes. But he’s a bit of a wan—”
“Good. Did you pinpoint the nearest lava tube entrance?”
“Yes. There’s a fenced-off compound about two miles from Diamond Head. The Hawaiian government fenced off every known entrance the same way. Most times, it doesn’t stop even a determined kid from getting in.”
“Nothing does. Listen, Ben. Grab Karin and get someone to drive you to that lava tube. Text me the coordinates. Do it now.”
“Are you serious? We don’t have a clue what’s down there. And this trap system? It’s beyond brutal.”
“Man up, Ben. Or, as Def Leppard put it—Let’s get rocked.”
Ben put his cell on the table and let out a long breath. Karin put a hand on his shoulder. They both looked at the TV. The presenter’s voice was strained.
“. . .this is terrorism on a scale never seen before.”
“Drake’s right,” Ben said. “We’re at war. We need to take down our enemies’ Commander-in-Chief.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Drake rounded up the eight Delta Team members who’d been assigned to him in the event a deep-cave exploration became necessary. They were the relative veterans of the squad, the most experienced, and every man had at one time, in some godforsaken place, run his own op.
Before they loaded onto the chopper, Drake took a moment out with his friends. The Blood King had already divided the Hawaiian and government forces and now he was about to divide them.
“Stay safe.” Drake met everyone’s eyes in turn. Hayden. Mai. Alicia. Kinimaka. “We have to spend one more night in hell, but we’ll all be free tomorrow.”
There were nods and a grunt from Mano.
“Believe it,” Drake said and held out his hand. Four other hands bumped it. “Just stay alive, guys.”
With that, he turned and jogged over to the waiting chopper. The Delta squad had been finalizing equipment preparations and now took their seats as he climbed aboard. “Ay up, lads.” His Yorkshire accent was strong. “Ready to take this vodka-swilling pig apart?”
“Booyah!”
“Shag it.” Drake motioned to the pilot who lifted them into the air. He took a last look back at the ranch and saw his friends still standing in the same circle, watching him go.
Would he ever see them all alive again?
If he did, there would be some major reckonings to have. Some apologies he would have to make. Some terrible realities he would have to accept. But with Kovalenko dead—it would be easier. Kennedy would be avenged, if not saved. And now that he was firmly on the Blood King’s trail, his spirits were already soaring that little bit higher.
But the final reckoning between Mai and Alicia might well yet turn all that upside down. Something huge was between them, something terrible. And whatever it was, it involved Drake. And Wells.
It didn’t take long for the chopper to arrive at Ben’s coordinates. The pilot landed them on a flat piece of land about a hundred yards shy of the tiny compound. Drake saw Ben and Karin already sat with their backs against the high fence. Their faces were pure white with strain.
He needed to be the old Drake for a while. This mission needed Ben Blake at his best, at his frostiest, and if Ben was firing on all four cylinders, then Karin would feed off that. The mission’s success depended on all of them being on the best form of their lives.
Drake signaled the Delta soldiers, exited the chopper surrounded by violent buffets of air, and jogged up to Ben and Karin. “All good?” he shouted. “You brought the logs?”
Ben nodded, still a bit unsure how to treat his old friend. Karin started tying her hair back. “We’re fully loaded, Drake. I hope you’ve brought some bloody good back up.”
Delta soldiers crowded all around them. Drake clapped one man—a big, bearded individual with neck-tattoos and arms like a biker. “This is my new friend, call sign- Komodo, and this is his team. Team, meet my old friends, Ben and Karin Blake.”
There were nods and grunts all around. Two of the soldiers got busy breaking through the token padlock that prevented folk from taking a trip down one of Hawaii’s famous lava tubes. In a few minutes, they stepped back, and the gates stood open.
Drake strode into the compound. A concrete platform led up to a metal door, securely locked. A high stanchion stood to the right, at the top of which a rotating CCTV camera surveyed the area. Komodo waved the same two soldiers forward to take care of the door.
“You guys got any clue to what me and my men are about to walk into?” Komodo’s gravelly voice made Ben start.
“In the words of Robert Baden-Powell,” Ben said. “Be prepared.”
Karin added, “For anything.”
Ben said, “It’s the boy scout motto.”
Komodo shook his head and muttered “Geeks” under his breath.
Ben fell in behind the rough-looking soldier. “Why do they call you Komodo anyway? Is your bite poisonous?”
Drake interrupted before the Delta captain could reply. “They may call this a lava tube, but it’s still a plain, old-fashioned tunnel. I won’t insult you by stating the usual protocols, but I will tell you this. Watch for booby traps. The Blood King is all about big displays and separation techniques. If he can isolate us, we’re dead.”
Drake led the way, motioning for Ben to come next and Karin to follow Komodo. The small guardhouse held nothing but a pair of large lockers and a dusty phone. It smelled of must and dampness and resonated with a deep, primordial silence that hung in the air ahead. Drake walked forward and soon found out why.
The lava tube entrance was at their feet, a vast hole leading down into the creeping darkness.
“How far down is that?” Komodo came forward and dropped a glow stick. The device flickered and rolled for a few seconds before clunking onto solid rock. “Not far. Secure a few ropes, men. Hustle.”
Whilst the soldiers worked, Drake listened as best he could. No sounds echoed up from the inky blackness. He guessed they were a few hours behind Kovalenko, but he intended to catch up quick.
Once they had descended and had planted their feet firmly on the lava tube’s smooth floor, Drake got his bearings and led the wa
y toward Diamond Head. The tube narrowed and dipped and undulated. Even the Delta team sometimes lost their footing or scraped their heads due to the unpredictability of the volcanic shaft. Twice, it turned sharply, making Drake panic until he realized the gentle curve was always in the direction of Diamond Head.
He kept his eye on the rangefinder. The subterranean dark closed in on them from all sides. “Lights forward,” Drake suddenly said and stopped.
Something had rushed out of the darkness. A blast of cold air from below. He paused and studied the gargantuan hole ahead. Komodo came up and dropped another glow stick.
This time it fell for about fifteen feet.
“All right. Komodo, you and your team get set up. Ben, Karin, let’s have a look at those logs.”
Whilst the Delta team erected a sturdy tripod over the jagged hole, Drake swiftly read through the footnotes. His eyes widened before he had finished the first page and he let out a long breath.
“Bloody hell. I think we need bigger guns.”
Ben raised an eyebrow. “It’s not bullets we’ll need down there. It’s brains.”
“Well, luckily, I have both.” Drake lifted his gun. “I guess if we need to listen to some crappy music along the way, we’ll turn to you.”
“Balls. I have Fleetwood Mac on my iPod now.”
“I’m shocked. Which version?”
“There’s more than one?”
Drake shook his head. “I guess all babies have to start their education somewhere.” He winked at Karin. “How we doing, Komodo?”
“All done.”
Drake stepped forward, grabbed the rope attached to the tripod, and repelled down the strangely glowing tube. Once his boots hit the bottom, he tugged and the others came sliding down one by one. Karin, a trained athlete, managed the descent with ease. Ben struggled a little, but he was fit and young and eventually landed without breaking too much of a sweat.
“Onward.” Drake set off quickly in the direction of Diamond Head. “Stay alert. We’re getting close.”
The Gates of Hell (Matt Drake 3) Page 13