So far no shooting. Instead, they were just getting drenched. The rain had soaked through to the skin long ago, and now he was walking in puddles that used to be his boots.
If anything, Brandt wanted this to go well so they could just get out of the damned rain.
They met mid-complex which meant they were right in Davidson’s kill zone. Nothing made Brandt feel safer than being under the sniper’s watchful eye.
When they got close enough, Brandt extended a hand. The tall lean man who was representing the Rab-talia glared at Brandt then at his hand. In the end, he took it and gave a firm shake.
The man spoke a language that Brandt didn’t recognize, however Stark’s mother’s translation program kept up nearly with real time.
“For people who swear only the best of intentions,” the computer stated in Brandt’s ear, “You show up in the middle of the night, well-armed.”
“My apologies,” Brandt said. Sallah translated for him. “We have just come from Iran.”
The man’s eyebrow went up. “You mean the gas line that ruptured? Such a sad accident.”
“Yes, yes it was,” Brandt stated.
The man looked to Sallah and gave a curt nod. “What are the Foremen doing with American military?”
Sallah bowed his head. “You know of what we seek. They are a means to an end.”
Good to know.
* * *
Rebecca stepped forward. “Do you know of Dr. Chen?” she asked, trusting that Stark’s mother’s program was translating properly. Her ancient Assyrian was a little rusty.
The man nodded.
“His entire drilling team was killed after they stumbled upon an ancient relic. We are trying to walk this information forward.”
“To what end?” the man asked.
Rebecca had to pause. Normally the answer would have rolled off her tongue. Because, of course, they were trying to thwart a cult from destroying the world. But here she was standing next to a cult member. The Foremen, to her knowledge had not shot at them or threatened the world with annihilation.
“Did you not understand me?” the man asked.
“No, no, I understood,” Rebecca replied.
This was when she needed to think quickly on her feet.
“Dr. Chen’s note made it seem like his finding had world-devastating effects. And all of his party were killed, so that seems to reinforce the notion we should investigate what Dr. Chen found.”
The man searched her eyes, staring directly into them. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but Rebecca did not flinch.
“Guys, there is movement. They are setting up an armed perimeter,” Bunny informed them.
She tried not to let concern reach her face. “So may we discuss how the Rab-talia can help us fulfill our goal?”
It was the man’s turn to pause.
There was an uncomfortable silence as the rain poured down.
“Bring your men in and we will talk.”
Brandt shook his head. “You are a warrior, sir. You know I cannot allow my entire party to enter a hostile compound.”
“We have them on infrared already,” the man stated.
“Good for you. Then you won’t mind them staying out here then,” Brandt responded.
“Let them enjoy the rain,” the man replied, urging the trio into the house.
For some reason Brandt felt like Davidson and the others were the lucky ones.
* * *
Rebecca walked into the house behind Sallah. From the outside the structure looked like a large boring box, however the inside was richly appointed.
There were wall length murals, thick tapestry, and tile floors. All along the shelves and decorative tables, were small ancient Assyrian artifacts. Rebecca was sure these small trinkets would fetch millions at the auction house. This must have been a sliver of the treasures the Rab-talia had collected over the millennia.
Their host stopped them and indicated down a long hallway. “You may freshen up in any of the rooms down there. The women have set out dry clothes for you.”
Brandt shrugged. “If it is all the same to you, we’re fine and would like to get this dialogue started.”
“If your culture is anything like ours,” the man’s translated words rang in Rebecca’s ear. “The woman rule, and if they don’t want you dripping on our rugs, then you cannot drip on our rugs.”
Rebecca grinned. For a ruler of an ancient sect, he kind of had a sense of humor.
Brandt bowed his head. There was no arguing with that logic.
Hand-in-hand they walked down the hallway. Brandt opened the first door they found. She nodded to Sallah who entered the room opposite.
“You go first,” Brandt said as he nodded to the shower in the corner of the room.
“What? You don’t want to join me?” Rebecca teased.
“Under any other circumstance, babe, you know it.”
She smiled as she slipped out of her wet clothes, which was easier said than done. Her soaking tee-shirt had to be pried off her back. But soon she was ready for the shower. She turned the bronze nob until the water steamed out of the fixture.
Stepping into the heat, Rebecca sighed. She hadn’t felt this good since she’d left home.
Home. She was starting to miss her babies. When you were on the run, it was easy to put them to the back of your mind. But now, in relative safety she missed how the twins snuggled up on either side of her. How Kasa would bully her way into the middle and take up Rebecca’s lap. Or how their hair smelled after their baths.
She thought of all of this as she soaked up the heat.
Then Brandt, naked, showing off all his warrior scars, stepped into the water with her.
“I thought you couldn’t be distracted?”
Brandt grinned. “I rigged the door to explode if anyone tried to come in.”
Of course he had.
He wrapped his strong arms around her. Even in the middle of this fiasco her body still responded.
“We can’t take too long,” Rebecca murmured as Brandt kissed up her neck.
“Hey, if you don’t mind a quickie, I certainly won’t.”
Sometimes her husband’s ideas weren’t all wrong.
* * *
Bunny flipped through all of the surveillance audio they had collected. Stark’s mother’s translation program was freaking unbelievable. It gave a nearly real time stream of dialogue. She could understand everything that was being said inside that house. All the houses really. Most people didn’t realize that nearly all modern cell phones could be turned into microphones with very little effort.
“It’s been twenty minutes,” Stark groaned. How can a shower take twenty minutes?”
Bunny raised one eyebrow, cocking her head to the side. Her meaning clear. Think it through, dude.
“What?” Stark challenged.
Bunny raised the other eyebrow. Come on, don’t make me say it.
Stark still looked confused.
“Son, they are a married couple.”
“So, does the state of matrimony result in long showers?”
Even his mother sighed. “Married Couple.”
“Oh!” Stark exclaimed, his lips forming a perfect “O,” as his cheeks blushed. “Really? Right now? In the middle of all of this?”
Bunny could understand Stark’s confusion. She didn’t think that she and Davidson would be doing anything but talking strategy at this point, but Brandt and Rebecca were old hands at this. But really? In the house of the Rab-talia?
Those two had nerves of steel.
Which was good because the Rab-talia were putting the screws to them.
Finally the line clicked back on.
“Turn the video to on, on your phone and we’ll have two way communications,” Stark said, sounding a little reserved for him.
“There you go,” Rebecca said.
A picture of her drying her hair came on. “But how am I going to see you?” Rebecca asked.
“Turn on your television
,” Stark stated.
* * *
Skeptically Brandt turned on the TV. But sure enough it was Bunny, Stark and his mother on the screen. He was glad he’d wrapped a towel around his waist. He thought he’d go to the other side of the room to pull on his dry clothes.
“Status update?” Brandt asked.
“The Rab-talia have sent out men to out-flank the team, but they only sent two men each, so we’re not too worried,” Stark stated.
Glad their tech support thought so. “You’ve kept the men in the loop?”
Bunny nodded. “They know exactly where their guards are in case things go side-ways quickly.”
“And in this house?”
“We got lucky,” Stark commented. “It looks like their leader didn’t wake up the entire household. There are ten figures moving about the house. Many look to be women preparing a meal.”
So the Rab-talia were holding to their agreement.
It was still early though.
“Any blow back from Iran?” Brandt asked.
Bunny shook her head. “They got caught with their pants down. They are selling the gas pipe explosion and everyone else is acting like they buy it.”
He was glad Iran was being sensible rather than declaring war on the world. Of course, now that their hidden nuclear missiles were destroyed, they weren’t exactly in a position to be super aggressive.
Brandt wondered, who helped them with the missiles? The Russians? Chinese? Time would tell. Whoever was the quietest about this explosion was probably the culprit.
But that wasn’t his concern. Figuring out what in the Hell Sallah was doing and trying to stay alive in the Rab-talia stronghold were his priorities.
Brandt turned around to find his wife in a beautiful deep green tunic, cinched at the waist with a bronze belt. She looked like an exotic dancer.
“Don’t smile too much. You’re basically wearing the same thing,” Rebecca stated holding out a red tunic.
“A dress, are you freaking kidding me?”
* * *
Rebecca chuckled. “It is traditional Assyrian clothing. You could insult our hosts if you don’t wear it.”
Brandt took the tunic and held it up to the light, turning it over and over as his frown got deeper and deeper.
“What are you going to wear? Those?” Rebecca asked indicating to his wet clothes in a pile next to the shower.
Still frowning, Brandt pulled the tunic over his head. “I look ridiculous.”
Rebecca came over and tied his waist with a golden belt. Not gold colored, but a golden belt. “You look like a king, my darling.”
Brandt’s expression still looked sullen.
She patted him on the back. “Come on, buck up.”
“I think he looks majestic,” Stark said in her ear.
That only made Brandt’s frown deeper.
A knock came at the door. Brandt hustled over to disarm the safeguard. Probably best not to blow up their hosts.
He opened the door to find a woman in a yellow dress, her head bent. “King Xexes will see you.”
“King?” Brandt whispered to Rebecca.
“More than likely,” she explained quietly, smiling at the woman and urging Brandt out the door.
From the other side of the hall, Sallah exited in a blue tunic with a silver belt. He joined them as they walked down the narrow hall to the main entrance. Again Rebecca was impressed by the width and breadth of the Assyrian collection.
Guess it was good to be related to one of the world's greatest ancient civilizations.
They continued on to a large dining hall. The walls were covered with, what Rebecca could only assume were original authentic Assyrian tapestries. The dinnerware was gold and silver, again probably pure precious metal.
The table was piled high with ancient Assyrian staples. Dotted along the table were large heaping bowls of white rice. As Rebecca recalled, the Assyrians ate family style.
There was beef stew she believed was called shirweh. There were small appetizers as well. Bureks, small rolls filled with fried egg and chicken.
Brandt and she were seated next to one another. One of the women poured Brandt a drink out of a golden Arak. Before she could warn him, he gulped down the liquid, then sputtered, his face turning red.
The Assyrians liked their alcoholic drinks and made them strong. Like putting-hair-on-your-chest strong.
The rest of the dinner party chuckled as Brandt reached for the water, taking a small sip before chugging down the entire pitcher.
Rebecca grabbed a few crackers then piled one high with halaweh, a sesame seed and pistachio paste. It was heavenly.
For living out in the boondocks in a primitive-looking compound, these Rab-talias were really living the life.
More dishes were coming out of the kitchen as they sat and ate.
There was too much food, and too many types to even think to try them all.
Finally when everyone’s bellies were full, the King tossed his napkin on his dish, then patted his belly.
“Good, eh?” the translation said into her ear.
“Very, very delicious,” she said, Sallah translating for her. “Thank you very much for the honor.”
Brandt was still gnawing on some chicken bones. It turned out the Assyrians had something very similar to hot wings. Her husband had stopped exploring the cuisine after discovering that. He’d found what he liked and eaten a plateful of them.
“Now that we have broken bread, what is it that you wish from us, knowing we will never reveal the secret abode of the ancient Assyrians?”
“And we would never want you to.”
The King did not seem to believe her fully, but hopefully time would bring him around to the conclusion she was telling the truth.
“We have no interest in your gold. We just need to know if there is any other ancient Assyrian meaning to eighty x eighty x eighty.”
CHAPTER 9
Davidson watched as the rain came down, somehow harder than it had before. Just his luck, the tree he had perched in was a pine. The needles provided no real protection.
But this was what he was trained for. To sit, patiently, alert yet relaxed until his target presented itself. They never said it would always be pleasant. That was for sure.
He had monitored the conversation, which didn't seem to be going all that great. Nobody was pulling guns though, so it wasn't going horribly. Bunny had kept him apprised of the Rab-talia’s movements.
There were two men “guarding” him. Really the men had been so noisy that Davidson didn't need Bunny’s help, however it was nice to confirm the enemy’s exact position. If any fighting started, he would take those two out first.
Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
“Perhaps it is best if I show you,” the Assyrian King stated.
“Perhaps it would be,” Rebecca replied.
There were some soft shuffling sounds as the dinner party broke up. There didn't seem to any tension in the air and Brandt certainly wasn't giving any of the distress words. Maybe they could pull this off.
Rebecca and Brandt seem to be going along voluntarily. And there was not a peep out of Sallah.
Davidson took advantage of the lull in the conversation, and swung his scope to survey the entire complex. Lopez had gotten into the garage and not left. Prenner had taken up a position behind a woodpile. Each of his teammates also had their shadow guards who really hadn’t moved since dinner.
All the rest of the building seemed quiet, that wasn't surprising since it was the middle of the night. Still though, the sun would rise soon and Davidson imagined the complex would get very busy.
Brandt and Rebecca needed to get the answers before this place became Grand Central Station, or before the entire complex flooded.
* * *
Brandt felt odd walking down stone stairs with a dress on. There was way more ventilation then he was used to. The King, however, seemed perfectly comfortable in a dress and sandals.
They w
ere traveling by torchlight down a long stone staircase. That was no surprise. Apparently all great treasures were kept underground.
Finally, they reached the landing to find a gilded door. The King opened it and it swung freely. What they found impressed even Brandt. Shelves were stacked to the ceiling of the cavern, holding gems, gold, silver, and all manner of wealth.
Not even in King Solomon’s tomb had there been such opulence. Rebecca’s feet stalled in front of him. She spun around in a tight circle trying to take it all in. Brandt didn't even bother to try. He knew it would take him days to simply count the items let alone figure out their value.
“Is the clue in here?” Rebecca asked, wonder in her voice.
The King waved a dismissive hand at the room. “These? These are simply trinkets.”
Seriously? Trinkets? Brandt really didn't want to know what this man considered a treasure.
They traveled through this room of wonder and eventually arrived at the other side of the large cavern. Another gilded door awaited them.
What in the world could be behind there?
* * *
Rebecca had to admit that she was trembling just a little bit. She wanted to stop and photo catalog all of the amazing artifacts in the cavern they stood. It was like King Tut’s tomb only 10,000 times larger. It would be the archaeological discovery of all time.
There was just that niggling little detail, that she had sworn to the King that she didn't care about his gold. Dammit.
King Xexes opened the next gilded door, which led to another staircase. They traveled quickly down it, their sandals making a soft scuffing sound. As the torch in the King's hand crackled.
They arrived at another landing and yet another golden door that could have put all three of her kids through college. This one seemed heavier and more difficult for the King to open.
What lay beyond the door made Rebecca gasp. The king, however, seemed quite used to it all and strode forward. She could barely get her feet to walk over the threshold of the Temple.
The cavern was huge and contained what look like an ancient Assyrian temple. It was mind blowing, well for an archaeologist. It was as if she had stepped back in time.
The 3rd Cycle of the Betrayed Series Collection: Extremely Controversial Historical Thrillers (Betrayed Series Boxed set) Page 10