Rufus nodded. “‘Fraid so. No one I know of’s heard anything about Wade. Now what’s that Freemason shit Sofia was talkin’ about?”
“It’s a long story,” said Elisa. “Short version is it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, that’s it.”
“If you say so.” Rufus took a drink of his bourbon. “I got somethin’ else you might be interested in, though.”
“What’s that?” asked Elisa.
“Few days ago, had a smuggler pass through here. Said he’d just come from Costa Rica where he met this guy lookin’ for passage to Corbaton.”
“Corbaton?” asked Asami.
“Island in South America,” said Rufus. “Anyway, smuggler tells me this guy was goin’ there to try an’ search for something powerful. Seems they’ve seen some pretty freakish weather in the waters out there, goin’ on damn-near a month now. A fishing boat was broken in half, only one survivor.”
“Did he say anything?” asked Elisa.
“Ohhh yeah.” Rufus took another sip. “Get this: right before he was pulled under the waves, he said he saw the thing that hit the boat.”
“So what was it?”
“El martillo,” said Rufus.
Elisa sat upright at attention. Asami studied her friend’s reaction and looked searchingly into Rufus’ expressionless face.
“What am I missing?” asked Asami. “What the hell’s el martillo?”
“It’s Spanish.” Elisa’s eyes met Asami’s. “It means, ‘the hammer.’”
CHAPTER 3
Jason Shroud approached the front door of the oceanfront villa. He knocked on the wooden door and reached inside the pocket of his leather jacket, pulling out a small towel to wipe his sweat-covered face.
The door opened and Asami stood on the other side, wearing her suit. She gave Jason a once-over and scoffed. “You do realize we’re in Haiti, right?”
Jason pushed past her into the villa, taking off his jacket and revealing the twin Berettas in his shoulder holsters. “Couldn’t exactly walk around flashing these, now could I? Besides, what about you? That monkey suit can’t be too comfortable out here.”
Asami shrugged. “Heat doesn’t bother me.”
“So what’s going on?” Jason stepped from the entrance into the living room. He draped his jacket on the back of a loveseat and looked around the villa. “Elisa’s message said it was urgent. I’m guessing you found something on Wade?”
Asami shook her head. “Not quite.” She hopped over the back of the couch, landing on the cushions with a slight bounce.
Jason placed his arms on his hips and sighed. “So where is she?”
Asami stretched her arms and legs out, splaying her body across the piece of furniture. “Getting ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“To head out to Corbaton.” It was a new voice who spoke.
Jason looked up and saw Elisa emerge from the bedroom. She wore khakis, hiking boots, and a black tank top. Her brown, leather jacket was held in one hand, a duffel bag in the other.
“Yeah, you mentioned something about strange weather patterns out there,” said Jason. “So what, you think Wade is hiding out in Corbaton?”
Elisa approached the couch and set her jacket and bag by the side of it. She sat on the armrest. “No, there’s something else going on. We went to try and find some information about Wade, but no one’s seen or heard anything from him since he escaped custody.”
“Then we have to keep looking,” said Jason. “With the Thule Society eliminated, that means the Order is going to be even stronger. We can’t waste any time letting them run free.”
“This is more important,” said Elisa. “Did you look into those weather reports?”
Jason sighed and nodded. “Yeah.”
“And?”
“Some pretty weird stuff, no doubt about it. But I don’t see what it has to do with our job.”
“We’re myth hunters, Jason,” said Elisa. “Our job description is right there in the title.”
“So what are we looking at here?” asked Jason.
Elisa relayed the story she’d heard from Rufus. There wasn’t a whole lot to tell, but when it was over, Jason was still a little perplexed, his brow furrowed in thought. He took a breath and sat down in the loveseat.
“So this is all about a hammer?” asked Jason.
“Not just any hammer,” said Elisa. “A hammer that affects the weather? That fell from the sky? Covered in runes? Don’t you see what this is?”
Jason sighed. “Mjolnir.”
“The hammer of Thor,” said Elisa.
He shook his head. “I don’t know…”
“Think about it, okay?” Elisa clasped her hands together, fingers pointed at Jason. “Whatever the Order’s up to, it’s big. There’s a war coming, we know that. We had to destroy the Spear of Destiny to keep it out of the wrong hands. Now we find out we’ve got Mjolnir in play? It could be a powerful weapon in our arsenal.”
Jason shook his head. “Look, I get that you want to build up our arsenal. But is this really the best way to do it? Corbaton isn’t exactly the best vacation spot in the world. Carlos Sandoval is a ruthless dictator. Going into a place like that…we’d be on our own.”
Asami groaned from the couch. She pulled herself into a sitting position. “Not all of us need a secret society as back-up, Shroud.”
“To do this you will,” said Jason. “I can’t condone something like this, not when we’re—”
“What? ‘So close’?” Elisa scoffed, placing her hands on her thighs. “We’re not close to catching Wade, not even slightly. He’s more resourceful than you realize and we’re going to need every bit of help we can get if we have a prayer of taking him on.”
Jason looked at the ground for a moment. He raised his gaze to meet Elisa’s and shifted in the loveseat, leaning forward. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”
Elisa blinked. “What do you mean?”
“There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of weapons that we could go after. But something about Mjolnir is grabbing your attention. What is it?”
Elisa opened her mouth, but Asami chimed in before she could speak. “Look, we’re doing this, okay?”
“Excuse me?” asked Jason, his attention now fixed on the Japanese changeling.
Asami stood from the couch and approached Jason. She stood in front of his chair, staring down at him with her hands on her hips. “You heard me. We’ve agreed to freelance for the Freemasons, but we’re not beholden to you. If we want to go on a job, then we go on a job, with or without your consent. So I’m giving you an option—you can either tag along with us, or you can go back to your little mountain base and wait for our postcard.”
Jason leaned back into the chair, staring into Asami’s eyes. A smile started to creep at the corner of his lips. “You two are made for each other, you know that? Taking turns on who’s the most stubborn.”
“That’s not an answer.” Elisa rose from the armrest, now staring down at Jason as well. “Do you want to come along or not?”
Jason sighed. “I suppose our leads have run pretty dry. And the hammer could be a useful weapon.” He stood. “Okay, I’ll make some calls. Tell my people to be on the lookout for any Order activity. And then I’ll see about getting us into Corbaton.”
Elisa smiled. “Thanks, Jason.”
Jason picked up his jacket and pulled it on, concealing his handguns beneath the leather. “Don’t thank me yet. This isn’t going to be easy.”
“It never is.”
“I’ll give you a call once the preparations have been made.” Jason gave a nod to each of the women before showing himself back to the front door.
Once he left, Elisa turned and faced her partner. “What was that about?”
Asami laid back down on the couch, stretching out once more. “What was what about?”
“I was about to tell Jason about your experience in Hokkaido,” said Elisa. “The Wild Hunt? Odin? Any of this ringing
any bells?”
Asami sat up and glared at Elisa, her eyes flashing with anger. “Do you really think I’d forget something like that?”
“Why didn’t you want Jason to know? Odin appears to you and not long after, his son’s hammer touches down on Earth. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“It’s like I told you before, I don’t trust the Freemasons.”
“It was your idea to hook up with them.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m going to start spilling my secrets to ‘em.” Asami leaned back against the armrest. “I just wanna keep some things close to the vest, that’s all. If it turns out we can trust them, then great. Until then, I’m gonna play things cautiously.”
Elisa sighed. “They could help us. Maybe give us some clue as to what’s coming.”
Asami laughed. “Please, they don’t know shit. They can’t even find Wade. Just trust me, okay?”
Elisa took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re lucky I need you.”
Asami grinned. “And you’re lucky I tolerate you.”
CHAPTER 4
Rain poured down from the sky, the small plane struggling in the midst of the heavy wind as it flew across the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, heading towards an island just off the coast of Argentina.
Just past the cockpit was a small passenger area. Elisa and Asami sat next to each other with their backs to the cockpit. Jason was across from them, a table separating them and a paper map spread out on its surface.
“Corbaton is big on isolation. They watch the ports and airspace non-stop, almost impossible to get in undetected. Hence the need to parachute in.” Jason tapped the image of Corbaton on the map. “This is the area we’re heading towards. It’s mostly jungle so with any luck, we should be able to avoid any sort of conflict with Sandoval’s men.”
“And once we’re there, what’s our plan for finding the hammer?” asked Asami.
Jason looked up at Elisa. “That’s your department.”
“I’ve got some theories.” Elisa took a pen of her own and drew a large circle in the water, not far from Corbaton’s coastline. “This is presumably where Mjolnir touched down. So that’s probably where we’ll find it.”
“Unless someone else got to it first,” said Jason.
Asami reached across the table and smacked his head. “I’m the cynical one, okay? Don’t steal my thing.”
Jason grunted and rubbed the spot where she hit him. It wasn’t very hard, but enough to sting.
“If someone else has gotten their hands on the hammer, then that will actually make it easier to find,” said Elisa. “That much power, it’d be hard to hide it.”
“At least we don’t gotta worry about anyone bad getting their hands on it,” said Asami. “You’ve gotta be worthy to lift it.”
Elisa and Jason exchanged glances and suppressed chuckles. Asami cast her eyes back and forth between the two of them.
“What? What’s so funny?”
The two broke into laughter.
Asami narrowed her eyes—although she loved mocking others, she had a somewhat thin skin when it came to receiving the same treatment. “What?” There was a flash of power within her burning eyes.
Elisa placed a hand on her partner’s shoulder. “Anyone can lift the hammer. It’s got nothing to do with being worthy. Those movies and the comics they’re based on took a lot of liberties.”
“And here I would’ve thought a mythological creature would know something like that,” said Jason.
Asami turned her glare on him. “I don’t exactly spend a whole lotta time reading up on Norse mythology, okay? Ask me about Japanese or Chinese myths, I can rattle things off ’til the end of time.”
“Anyway, back to the matter at hand,” said Elisa. “Once we land, we find ourselves a boat and get over to that area. Provided we keep a low profile, there’s no reason Sandoval or anyone else will suspect that these freak weather patterns are anything other than global warming.”
“So you’re saying it’s gonna be easy?” asked Asami.
“Hell no,” said Jason. “Sandoval’s forces are merciless, so keeping quiet is going to be tough, especially when we go out to sea. There’s also no Freemason presence down there, so we’ll be completely on our own. And even then, we’ve got the weather to deal with. The storm we’re flying in right now? It’s nothing compared to the kind of readings I found around our search area.”
“Any good news?” asked Asami.
“Maybe,” said Jason. “Sandoval’s pretty busy trying to put down a rebellion. Hopefully, they’ll keep him distracted long enough for us to get in, get the hammer, and get out.”
“Hey, guys?”
The voice of the pilot called through the open cockpit door. Jason stood and approached the cockpit, looking at the pilot, who kept his eyes focused on the windshield. Visibility was difficult through the constant barrage of rain.
“The weather’s pretty bad, I think this is as close as I can get you,” he said.
Jason frowned. “Okay, thanks. See if you can get us just a little bit closer, we’ll prepare to jump.”
The pilot cautioned a quick look over his shoulder. “Good luck, Agent Shroud.”
Jason returned to the passenger area and walked past Elisa and Asami. “We gotta move.”
Elisa folded the map and stuck it in the inside pocket of her leather jacket. She and Asami stood and followed Jason to the rear of the plane. They donned their parachute gear and Jason hit the button for the rear hatch to open.
They watched as the seawater blurred below them. They waited just long enough until they saw Corbaton come into view. They knew the pilot couldn’t fly too far inland, not without running the risk of alerting Corbaton’s military.
“What are we waiting for?” asked Elisa, donning a pair of goggles. She ran for the hatch and jumped, bringing her arms and legs together as she rocketed towards the ground below.
Jason watched her go and Asami patted him on the shoulder. “What can I say? She lives for this.” Asami jumped out next, following her partner down.
Jason was the last one to jump. Once in the air, he brought his legs and arms together, flying straight down, face-first. Asami and Elisa were a little ahead of him.
The winds were powerful, blowing the trio from side to side. They extended their limbs when necessary, trying as best they could to somewhat guide their descent. The only illumination in the dark, storm-covered sky was provided by the frequent flashes of lightning in the clouds above.
Elisa wiped the rain from her goggles, staring out to see the treetops of the jungle quickly approaching. She reached for the ripcord and pulled, the chute blowing out her pack and catching the wind.
She looked over her shoulder to see that Asami and Jason had followed suit and released their chutes as well. Elisa had a momentary concern as she was carried towards the ground, her hands using the risers to control the descent. The last time she used a parachute was when they went after the Thule Society at Wewelsburg Castle and hers was quickly riddled with bullet holes. Elisa hoped history wasn’t going to repeat itself.
She directed her parachute, moving for the treetops. Elisa’s feet went through the foliage that served as a kind of ceiling and she could see the ground below. The chute caught on the branches, bringing her to a sudden stop. Elisa drew a kukri from the sheath behind her back and cut the cables, allowing her to drop down to the ground.
Asami and Jason followed suit, Asami using a clawed finger to free herself from the chute and Jason using a knife. They both landed near Elisa and the three took a moment to regroup.
The storm wasn’t as bad once they were on the island and had some shelter from the trees. The thunder now sounded more distant and the rain and wind had been reduced to little more than a light drizzle and a cool breeze. They took stock of their supplies in order to prepare for the next leg of their journey.
Elisa took off her goggles and pulled a compass from her pocket. She pointed off in one direction. “It’s a five
-mile hike to get out of the jungle, that should take us to a road.” She’d memorized the map of the route they’d need in preparation for this mission. “The road’s where we’ll be the most exposed. Might be some checkpoints or military vehicles. If we can stay out of sight, maybe catch a ride, we can get to the port and find a boat.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Asami took off her fedora and fanned it out, trying as best she could to get some of the water off it. She placed it back on her head in defeat. “Shall we?”
Elisa took point, walking ahead of the group. Asami and Jason stayed close to her, following her lead through the foliage of the jungle. They hiked for about two miles through the wet soil when Asami suddenly grabbed Elisa’s shoulder and pulled her to a stop.
The myth hunter was only stunned for a moment. She’d learned long ago to trust her partner’s extra-human senses. “What is it?” Elisa kept her voice a whisper.
Reddish-orange fur emerged from Asami’s pores as her transformation started to overtake her. “We’re not alone.”
She pulled Elisa into cover and Jason followed suit. Elisa saw that he already had his Berettas at the ready and Elisa drew her twin kukri to be just as prepared. Asami pointed through the foliage and Elisa saw what the kitsune had smelled.
A platoon of soldiers walked through the jungle, moving in the direction Elisa and her friends had come from. And in their hands were automatic rifles.
CHAPTER 5
Elisa looked to her side to see Asami had fully transformed. The kitsune’s legs were coiled, ready to spring at a moment’s notice. Elisa laid a hand on her partner’s shoulder, a signal for her to stay down for the time being.
The soldiers wore the khaki uniforms of Corbaton, with the nation’s flag emblazoned on their shoulders. They carried automatic rifles—Russian-made, by the looks of it—although they held them in relaxed grips. Elisa assumed that this was simply a routine patrol for them. If they played this right, they could escape without engaging the soldiers.
Elisa looked across at Jason, who was crouched with his guns ready. But the look he flashed the myth hunter indicated he was thinking the same thing as her—patience, and maybe this could end without bloodshed.
Hammer of the Gods (The Myth Hunter Book 5) Page 2