* * *
They hit the ground, bouncing off the pavement so hard that Rebecca’s stomach flared with pain as the seat belt cut into her midriff. The second touchdown wasn’t much better. The wheels squealed as they fishtailed across the highway. Then it seemed they straightened and slowed. She let out a sigh of relief, but it was premature.
“Oh, crap! We’re cartwheeling!”
Rebecca did not have time to ask what that meant as the nose hit the ground, causing the body of the plane to tumble nose over tail. The thin strap on her belt was nowhere near strong enough to hold her. She tried to cling to the broken material, but it slipped from her grasp as she landed hard against the ceiling, then fell the floor, then crashed into the ceiling as the conference room and back half of the plane broke off.
Smoke and fire filled the cabin as the emergency oxygen masks tumbled from the ceiling, and still they cartwheeled.
Her leg hit someone, but she could not be sure whom. Finally the plane’s body came to rest. The metal creaked all around her as thick smoke billowed out of the open end of the plane. Rebecca had to check her limbs to be sure they were all still intact.
“Everyone out!” she heard Brandt yell from behind her.
Choking, she scrambled out of the cabin as fire licked at her heels. Stumbling forward, Rebecca was thrown to the pavement as the plane exploded into a fireball.
Grime streaked her face as she found Lochum, his head in his hands. He held only a tiny fragment of shattered ulna between his fingers. Svengurd was already helping Davidson put his dislocated shoulder back in. She searched the surrounding pavement aflame with debris. Where was Brandt? Lopez?
“Damn it!”
That was Brandt. She turned to find him going through the wreckage, pulling out completely demolished weapons. He threw down a mangled assault rifle, looking so despondent that Rebecca burst into tears.
Lopez came around the debris. “What’s everyone so bummed about?” He pointed just off the freeway to a structure flooded with streetlights that glowed even more brightly than their crackling plane.
“There’s an Audi dealership right there.”
CHAPTER 20
Island in the Sea of Marmara
Tok sipped at his hibiscus tea. Dressed in a monk’s robe, he appreciated the coarse cloth against his scraped and bruised skin. The wild, watery ride through Budapest’s cave system had left them all marked. It would be weeks before the tender skin over his scarred hand healed. His left cochlear implant occasionally squealed unprovoked. Once debriefed, he would have the medical team assess the damage.
Blowing to cool the hot liquid, Tok looked out over the Marmara Sea. The waters were tranquil this morning, unlike his heart. True, they had recovered most of James’ remains, but Lochum had eluded his grasp. The professor’s group had executed an escape worthy of respect, but it galled Tok to think the blasphemer lived after all that Lochum had desecrated. So much had been lost in Budapest that Tok’s heart ached.
But his pain amounted to little consequence. After the Knot’s scholars deciphered the bones, it would be only a matter of hours until they determined Lochum’s next move and intercepted him, one last time. There would be time to grieve later.
Petir entered the terrace, his footsteps quick against the granite floor. Tok enjoyed one last sip of the syrupy tea before he turned to his mentor. By the set to his shoulder, the older man clearly had a destination in mind. Tok did not welcome a long plane ride that would cramp his already-taxed muscles, but he would gladly accept the discomfort if it brought him closer to Lochum.
He stood in greeting, but Petir shook his head. “I would remain seated, Master.”
Tok looked into his mentor’s winnowed face. It was not like Petir to be overly dramatic. “Out with it.”
“They are here,” his mentor said, slowly. Carefully.
“Here?”
The old man nodded repeatedly. “In Istanbul. Right across the sea.”
Tok could not imagine what Petir meant. “Who is here?”
“Lochum. His team. They drive in from the north.”
Tok felt his legs shake of their own accord. “But, why? James’ bones speak of the Eternal City, Rome. Why would they come here?”
Petir shrugged. “I do not bear such knowledge, but I do know your older brother lives.”
This news made Tok gain his feet. “Are you certain?”
“It was he who signaled their location.”
Tok gripped the table to keep himself steady. Each time he fired upon Lochum’s team he risked killing the man who had become a brother.
For Tok was not the only orphan found that fateful year. Whereas he had been plucked from the marketplace in Cairo, his brother had been found in the slums of Chicago. The two were raised under Petir’s watchful eye, but they had been separated as teens. Tok to learn the craft of stealth and torture, his brother to join the American Armed Forces in order to infiltrate Special Ops. With the Knot’s connections, it had not been a roll of the dice that sent Brandt’s team to Ecuador.
After their plane had been downed in Bulgaria, Tok had feared the worst. Neither of them feared death. Each welcomed it if it brought them closer to their Savior, but to think that he had killed his own brother gave him pause. How many times he had wished he could contact him, but they could not take the risk. His deeply hidden mole could only communicate with them using a passive wire loop, not the reverse, not even to make sure he still lived. But now the world was aright. “Did he say where they were headed?”
“The Hagia Sophia.”
It made no sense. If there was one place in all of Turkey that had been explored for ancient remains, it had been that church. What did Lochum hope to accomplish there? What had his own scholars missed that the professor had found?
Normally Tok might brood over such an oversight, but with his brother alive, he only rejoiced. Soon, Lochum’s threat would come to an end, and the Knot’s secret would be safe once again, and their family would be reunited.
* * *
Brandt studied Svengurd’s reflection in the rearview mirror. The man seemed asleep, but he also seemed a lot of things. Like loyal and dependable, but Brandt began to have his doubts.
Granted, the Knot might have been taking potshots at any private planes leaving Budapest, but the sergeant doubted it. So far their strikes had been swift and precise. As much as he loathed the idea, the evidence kept piling up that one of his men was a traitor.
Now it fell upon Brandt to figure out which one. Lopez was nearly immune from scrutiny, since he had pulled their asses out of the fire too many times to count. A second delay in his reflexes would have led to their capture or death a couple of times over. Like now, they were nearly flying over the highway to Istanbul as quickly as they could have in a plane. He could have easily shaved off a few miles per hour and no one would have noticed. Instead they had set some kind of land speed record across Europe.
Which left Davidson and Svengurd. It wasn’t his affection for the kid that eliminated him from suspicion. It was the fact that the private had never been alone. Back at the hangar, Davidson was either with the team or with Monroe. The time he spent suspended in midair by the chain didn’t count. However, after the firefight, Svengurd had gone out alone to secure the perimeter and again when he fetched the getaway car.
So this tall Norwegian was the only one with the opportunity to betray their location. Brandt had tried to keep the corporal under wraps since they arrived in Budapest, but that was a little hard to do with your point man.
Brandt’s fist formed on its own. He yearned to confront the corporal, but how could he? To cast such a shadow upon one of them would doom the entire squad. It was neither skill nor duty that kept them alive, but trust. Even if Svengurd proved innocent, the taint would never fade. Brandt needed hard proof before he spoke his misgivings.
Svengurd must have sensed his gaze, for he opened his eyes. “Need something, Sarge?”
“Nah. Just making sure
you were taking some shut-eye.”
“You ordered it, so I did it,” the corporal said as he closed his eyes.
How Brandt wished he could believe that.
* * *
Lochum had allowed the gentle vibration of the car to lull him to sleep, but awoke as Lopez laid on the horn, and laid on it some more.
“Seriously! Goat carts in the streets! Don’t harness ’em if you can’t control ’em!”
The professor blinked several times to orient himself. It was early morning, as Istanbul ended its slumber. As always, they had made good time. Approaching from the northwest, they angled toward the city’s historic district.
Turkey could boast of its rich Jewish, Christian, and Islamic influences. It had been the capital of the Byzantine, Roman, and Ottoman empires, but its most compelling attraction was that it was the only country in the world to straddle two continents. Even the city, Istanbul, shared its country’s schizophrenia. The Bosphorus, a narrow finger of water, cut through the heart of the city and divided it in two.
But today they sought only the European section of the city, with its ancient churches and mosques. The other side of the Bosphorus waterline, the Asian side of the city, was mainly commercial with entire swaths of industrial growth. Turkey had embraced Western modernization, and Istanbul was the shining gem in their First World hopes.
As the sun continued to rise, Lochum could make out the Golden Horn in the far distance. The freshwater estuary was named for the beautiful color it reflected at sunrise and sunset. Tall arches from the Galata Bridge glimmered in the early morning light.
This peninsula had been home to populations as diverse as Greek city-states and Jewish refugees from the Spanish Inquisition. Nearly every great Western civilization had at one point crossed the Golden Horn to plant its flag in Istanbul’s fertile soil.
But with any luck they would not have even have to cross that historic bridge. They hoped that everything they needed would be found within the Hagia Sophia. They were still too far to see the high spires or giant dome, but Lochum knew it was there, calling his name.
Why, then, did Lopez just turn left at the intersection?
“This is not the way,” Lochum said as his back complained loudly when he leaned over the Audi’s backseat. The plane crash and subsequent acrobatics had taken their toll.
Brandt shrugged. “We’ve got a stop to make first.”
Anger soothed his aching joints. “There is nowhere that is more important than—”
He stopped mid-sentence as the sergeant turned to meet his gaze. The man had a black eye that extended to his hairline and a lip cut so deeply that Lochum could make out the throbbing of a blood vessel barely beneath the surface. Yet for all his injuries, Brandt seemed the stronger for them.
“We’re going to Misir Carsisi to pick up some supplies, and that’s final.”
Settling back in his seat, Lochum fumed at being spoken to in such a manner, but was wise enough not to test the sergeant’s current mood.
Still his mind chewed on the problem. Misir Carsisi? The Spice Market? Why would the soldier want to go condiment shopping? Granted, the enormous outdoor market embodied the perfect mixture of ancient tradition and modern capitalism, but it was nowhere near the Hagia Sophia.
“What in the world would that man need from the Bazaar?” he whispered to Rebecca. “The Hagia Sophia is the country’s most-visited tourist monument, after all. I am sure they have snacks galore.”
Rebecca elbowed his sore ribs. “He’s got his reasons.”
“Please,” he hissed. “Since you know him so well, would you divine them for me?”
She spoke in a hushed tone. “When is the last time you saw him without a weapon?”
The professor looked up abruptly. The soldiers were unarmed. All their material possessions had been lost in the crash. What good were soldiers without guns?
“Then why risk the most crime-infested part of Istanbul?” Clearly, Brandt had been hit too hard in the head. “Is he an idiot, or simply reckless?”
“Didn’t you just answer the question for yourself?”
The professor opened his mouth, then realized his student was correct. Where better to find a criminal’s tools than where criminals resided? They were not purchasing condiments but semiautomatics.
Satisfied they were not on a fool’s errand, Lochum carefully studied the small fragment of bone they had left. How tragic. Guns could be replaced, but the words inscribed on James were lost to history. He stroked the ragged surface. What else might he have learned of James’ life?
What he held was tangible proof they were all real. They all lived and breathed and eventually died, as any men would.
Rebecca must have misread his mood, for she patted his arm. “No matter what happens, your work will be lauded for generations to come.”
Kind words, only he was no longer concerned with such things. Now, he wished only to tell the true story of Jesus’ life. Good, bad, human, or divine, he wanted the world to know their savior.
It seemed even at his advanced age that he had the capacity to grow.
Rebecca handed him a page of their transcription that she had somehow managed to salvage from the fire. “Rudolph and Martin will be especially pleased with your findings.”
Rebecca referred to the scholars who had diligently translated the Gospel of Judas. Much of the bones’ writings supported the authors’ assertion that Jesus and Judas were closer than brothers and that no betrayal had occurred, only an agreement between the two friends.
Which only supported Lochum’s theory. By choosing the moment of the betrayal, Jesus could have ensured his plan’s success.
“They’re going to go berserk that Judas was present when Jesus cast out the demons from Mary Magdalene.” She read further down the scorched page. “Do you take this to mean that Judas had a congenital limp?”
Lochum shook his head. “No, you misinterpreted the conjunctive verb in the second stanza. The line states he had a childhood injury to the right leg that did not heal correctly.”
But he realized that she already knew that. Rebecca had given him the opportunity to chide her. Something she knew always brightened his mood. He patted her shoulder. “I’m fine. Truly, ’Becca.”
“Yeah, well, you might be, but she, I’m not so sure about,” Brandt said turning to face Rebecca as Lopez parked the car on the steep hill across from the Spice Bazaar. “At least not after you hear my plan.”
* * *
Rebecca nearly tripped yet again on her shiny new high heels. Davidson caught her elbow. “Remember, you were born to wear Prada.”
She, however, wasn’t so sure as she tried navigating the cobblestones of the open market in three-inch stilettos. Rebecca hadn’t worn heels since Lochum stopped buying them for her. Dressed in a tartan skirt and silk blouse, she felt just as much in costume as Brandt’s gladiator gear, but Davidson looked simply sophisticated in an Armani suit and Gucci loafers.
Acting as rich, naïve Irish tourists, it seemed al-Qaida wasn’t too pissed off at the Emerald Isle, they strolled without fear of a random terrorist attack, making their way through the tangle of stalls.
The market assaulted the senses. Spices filled overflowing bins. Saffron, chilies, and turmeric overwhelmed the scent of fresh lavender, sunflower, and sesame. Adding to the mix were a thousand other spices she couldn’t even begin to name.
Spaced between the condiments were open-air grills that cooked your favorite dish with the spices just purchased from the stall next door. Occasionally visitors would pass a table with the most pungent of odors. Medicinal powders brought from the Far East.
Punctuating the smells were the vendors’ shouts. They called out to shoppers and fought loudly with one another. This was one of the few places in the world where one could buy a Persian rug and freshly cut cinnamon bark right next to one another.
Through all of this, they browsed, feigning interest in some daffodil blossoms for a tea or chopped cloves. As t
hey drew deeper and deeper into the market, Rebecca became more and more tense.
A loud cry carried over the chaos. At first she cringed, but then realized it was just the call to prayers from the Yeni Cami, or the New Mosque, just a short block away. From the minaret above, the muezzin, or caller of prayer, beckoning all believers to the mosque.
Rebecca looked at her Tiffany watch and was again struck by the number of diamonds surrounding the face. Where Davidson and Svengurd had come up with this expensive bit of couture in such a short time, she didn’t know, but the bejeweled hands told her this was the call to midday prayers.
In a wave, merchants pulled out their small ceremonial rugs and faced toward Mecca. They were deeply religious in Istanbul, but also extremely pragmatic. The bustling tourist trade did not afford five hours a day away from their stalls. Once done praising Allah, the men rolled up their carpets and were back to hawking their wares within minutes.
In this interlude, Rebecca noticed that sprinkled throughout the Bazaar were vendors of kitschy tourist baubles. Davidson guided them toward one.
The private spoke in broken Turkish, even though she knew full well he was fluent in the language. “Do you sell, I mean ‘tasflyet.’ Gold. ‘altin.’ Ring.” He indicated Rebecca’s fourth finger. “Cal. Cal.”
The fully bearded man nodded his head vigorously. “No. No.”
Since they both looked confused, the merchant continued. “I no have but my cousin. He have many beautiful rings for the lady.”
“I want kalite. Quality.” He pointed to the bling on her wrist. “Expensive. Pahalilik.” Davidson winked at the man. “She’s worth it.”
The merchant bobbed his head. “Very nice. Make proud at the club!”
“Excellent.”
Everything seemed routine as the man’s wife took over the stall and he escorted them toward the back of the market, but Davidson grabbed her hand and spoke so low that only she could hear. “Stay close.”
30 Pieces of Silver: An Extremely Controversial Historical Thriller Page 25