Crusader's Gold

TWENTY NINE

Kenzie wondered silently as to the perils of folly. She had found it relatively easy tracking Crouch to France, but after the fiasco back in Vienna she’d had to quell a little revolt. The men of her inner circle helped, those who survived, and she put her survival down to the ruthlessness with which she had subdued the rebels.

Pacing a hotel room, she waited for news.

Windows looked out across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, the view not even a small distraction for Kenzie. She lived to acquire wealth and desirable objects, not to stare at them. Since arriving in France she had recruited more men, and another to listen to the newcomers’ conversations, a little mole. It was her way. She kept order and she kept her life. Everything was good.

Except for Crouch and his little band of brothers.

In a normal world they might even elude her, but this was not normal, this was her world. Kenzie had kept it quiet even among her inner circle, but one of the men she employed was a previous Ninth Division operative. Battered, bruised and left for dead in the ruins of the old HQ he had risen disgruntled, resentful, and sought out some extreme alternative employment. After bumbling around for several months he had been brought to her attention. Kenzie recognized the potential and snapped him up in a minute — ex-government employees always came in useful.

Three men shared the hotel room with her, two of the three remaining members of her inner circle and the Ninth Division traitor — Jaden Sheppard. The latter was privy to several of Michael Crouch’s lines of contact and was monitoring them all.

“London,” Sheppard told her. “We couldn’t find them in France but I know where they will be in London.”

Kenzie stared sightlessly out of the window. “When? Are they already in the air?”

Sheppard nodded. “Even if we left right now we’d be two hours behind them.”

“Luckily,” she stared hard at him, “I have people in London. Ancient relics are big business among the city’s greedy bankers and businessmen. Crouch can’t have found his treasure yet…” she tailed off, her mind flicking back through the years and to the events that had led her to this. Once a loyal operative of Mossad she broke hard and went rogue when an op went wrong. The fallout had killed a man she loved and, later, her family. At twenty eight she had seen the faults inherent in government, officials on the take, and people who should be looking out for her, mentors, superiors, equals, reveling in all their squalid dishonesties. Breaking from her heart to her brain she made the decision to work only for herself and to never trust one single person ever again.

There was a knock at the door, an intrusion. One of her acolytes rose, checked through the peep-hole, and opened it. Her missing inner-circle member entered looking a bit red in the face.

“Everything okay?” Kenzie asked.

“Aye,” the rough-looking Scotsman growled. “Everything’s great. Just a wee problem to sort, that’s all.”

“More dissension among the ranks?”

“You got it, Kenzie. New boy by the name of Gilmore. Thinks he’s gonna be running the whole crew soon enough, he does.”

“Of course. There’s always one. Always. Did you make an example of him?”

“Not yet. Thought I’d check with you first. Don’t wanna run afoul of that blade ye always keep handy.”

Kenzie eyed the shining, curved blade close at hand. The weapon gave her power over all aspects of her life — it was a deterrent, a life-giver, a confidence restorer and a menacing threat. It was her backbone in life, her perversion in passion, her twisted child.

The katana was all. It should be worshipped. Knowing what would happen she reached out and held it high, expecting her men to bow their heads and smiling when they did so.

“Make arrangements to fly straight to London,” she said. “And let Gilmore run his mouth for now. We’ll deal with him in the UK and it’ll hit any would-be insurgents all the harder.”

The Scotsman looked happy, a rare event outside payday. The thought made her think of the very near future when they caught Crouch in the act of uncovering millions of dollars worth of riches. It made her think of the worship, respect and loyalty it would implant into her men. It made her think of other things she could aspire to do outside this world of backstabbers and thieves.

It made her dream. She sliced the katana through a series of complicated moves.

The future was at her doorstep. All she had to do was cross the threshold.