Crusader's Gold

THIRTY ONE

Alicia later found herself inside yet another disconcerting place — a public restaurant just off Park Lane. The bar area was busy, the tables full, the noise tremendous. The stage at the far end was inviting those couples who wished to dance, the queue outside stretching around the corner. The Gold Team had been settled for a while, and were determined to remain until they’d shed some light on their current mystery.

Alicia picked at her food, a juicy steak salad. The meat was delicious, the greens splattered with some nasty acidic sauce. As she contemplated tracking down the person who’d decided the extra dressing was appropriate a familiar face approached through the throng that separated their table from the front door.

Kenzie.

Alicia half rose, the fork gripped in her hand.

Kenzie laughed as she approached, holding both hands open and giving a quick twirl to show she wasn’t armed. The skintight black jeans and high, floaty white blouse she wore publicized that not even a cellphone was hidden on her body.

“Love the jeans,” Alicia said. “But I’d work out more, love. Lose some of the fat on that ass.” As she spoke Alicia’s eyes roved the restaurant. Every face, every body was skimmed. No obvious threats registered.

Kenzie looked a little outraged. “I didn’t come here to swop insults, bitch, I came here to offer you a deal.”

The lithe-bodied, black-haired woman squeezed in next to Healey. Caitlyn gave her an obvious warning look but she only chuckled. “Steak looks good,” she said, sliding the plate from under Healey’s nose. “Do you mind?”

Healey gestured helplessly and glided over the leather to Caitlyn’s side. Kenzie picked up his knife and fork, then cut and skewered a large piece of rib eye. As she chewed she eyed both Alicia and Crouch.

Silence blanketed the table. Not even the noisy patrons nor the loud music penetrated their bubble. Crouch had an odd look on his face — one of fear mixed with disbelief and it was then that Alicia remembered the events that transpired during his old, original encounter with Daniel Riley.

He was intersecting the two, worrying over something that Kenzie — despite her maliciousness — would never do. Kenzie wanted to retire wealthy, not spend the rest of her days being hunted.

“Deal?” Alicia prompted. “Spit it out.”

“I’d rather swallow, thank you.” Kenzie still chewed the lump, cheeks working hard.

“Yeah, why doesn’t that surprise me?”

Kenzie coughed, looking sick. “Oh, you certainly know how to put a girl off her food.”

Alicia gestured toward the dance floor. “Wanna dance?”

“Are you serious?”

“You got something to say you better whisper it in my ear. We’re already too exposed out here.”

Kenzie watched the dancers. “Then let’s go.”

Alicia rose, slipped out from behind the table and held out a hand. Without missing a beat Kenzie took it and the two women walked together to the dance floor. At her back Alicia heard Healey’s strangled excuse as Caitlyn rebuked him for staring too hard. In reality the move isolated Kenzie even more, cemented the knowledge that she had no backup and put her solely in Alicia’s hands. That she had accepted was more telling to Alicia than any amount of words.

“So,” she placed her hands on Kenzie’s hips and started to move to the music, “what debauchery do you have in mind?”

Kenzie’s eyes were centimeters away. “A deal. You help me out with half of the treasure and I help you with Daniel Riley.”

“And if not?”

“I’ll have every available merc for five hundred miles at your throats.”

They moved among the other dancers, the music alive with rhythm and power, the beat that stirred Alicia’s blood.

She placed her lips close to Kenzie’s left ear. “You ever heard of Dino Rock?”

“Uh, no.”

“It’s just a reference to old rock music. But I have a friend who likes to quote it, at least he used to before one of his best friends died. I’m reminded of a line now, something like — do you do more than dance?”

Kenzie pushed away at the sight of Alicia’s smiling, knowing eyes. “Shit, stop trying to freak me out. You already have me off balance. Are we dealing or not?”

Alicia pulled Kenzie in tight. “What do you know of Daniel Riley?”

“I don’t know his past,” Kenzie admitted. “Or how he relates to you. But I do know he survived France and that he’s now in London. Anything beyond that you’re going to have to help me out first.”

“Oh, I’ll help you out.” Alicia swung Kenzie around and marched her through the throng. “If I see you again it won’t be so pleasant.”

“When I see you again it will be my blade that gets close to you, not my body.”

Alicia pushed her toward the exit and gave her a swat. “Remember. Start hitting that gym.”

Crouch was half on his feet but Alicia waved him back down. “She’s bluffing,” she said as she returned to her meal. “Wants to give us Riley info in exchange for the treasure. Forget her — what have you guys learned?”

Caitlyn spoke rapidly, probably wanting to regain Healey’s full attention, “London’s two triumphal arches, Wellington and Marble, have remarkably parallel histories. Both were designed and built as great entrances to Buckingham Palace and to commemorate victory over Napoleon. Both were later moved to different positions and both were marooned on large traffic islands. The Wellington Arch is indeed hollow and houses a museum though it too housed a police station until 1992.”

“The statue simply can’t he housed in the arches,” Crouch told her. “Now that we’ve seen them in the flesh, they’re too public. That leaves—”

“Beneath?” she ventured.

“Well, I was going to say ‘a different location that’s somehow tied to the arches’. But…” he tailed off, thoughtful.

“You’d have a major problem,” Healey said. “There’s more than a fair chance the underground runs under Hyde Park Corner.”

“A problem,” Crouch said carefully. “Or an opportunity.”

“When was the underground built?” Healey asked.

“That doesn’t matter,” Crouch said. “The statue can clearly be moved quite easily if you know how and have the appropriate wherewithal. It could have had multiple locations during its time here.”

“We need to revisit both arches and check for tunnels,” Alicia said. “But in the meantime I suggest we get out of here. Kenzie isn’t as crazy as Riley but she’s still a bloody loon.”

“And pissed off,” Crouch agreed. He signaled for and settled the bill. The team rose and stretched, then filed out of the restaurant, feeling the tepid air breezing down London’s busy streets. The nightlife was well and truly abuzz on such a balmy night in the capital. Alicia saw groups standing outside pubs with beers in hand, lining the streets; parents carrying sleepy children whilst they pushed empty strollers; stylishly dressed ladies prancing by on high heels, weighed down by many bags sporting the names Gucci, Harrods and French Connection. She watched the crowds.

“We should mingle,” she said. “And find a hotel.”

“There’s always The Ritz.” Crouch indicated a golden spectacle further up Piccadilly.

Alicia laughed. “Yeah, right. We’ll all feel right at home there. I was thinking something a little less snobby.”

Crouch cast his eye down toward Hyde Park Corner and the Wellington Arch. “Well, there’s always Knightsbridge—”

And then Kenzie was back, full in their faces, with an unpleasant crowd of mercenaries at her side.

“Go get ‘em boys.”

Alicia moved faster. The lag between spotting Kenzie, analyzing her superiority in numbers, and spotting an escape route was entirely non-existent. The big red double-decker had pulled up three minutes ago to disgorge its passengers and registered immediately on her radar. Now, as the last person jumped off and others prepared to board she raced forward to the edge of the curb.

“Get back!” she cried. “Away from the bus!”

A large youth with spiky hair proceeded to quickly guffaw and clown his way to a set of bruised testicles and was left groaning on the floor. His hard-learned lesson dissuaded most of the others. Alicia dragged the driver clear as Crouch pulled Caitlyn up the low step. The driver then proved useful as a projectile to dissuade the first merc, Alicia yelling sorry in his wake. Russo and Healey reached the bus as Crouch slid behind the wheel, revving hard. Alicia threw the driver’s ragged backpack at the merc closest to Russo, sending him reeling. Healey jumped up.

Crouch engaged the gears and floored the gas pedal. Russo’s face took on a look of panic as he ran. A merc grabbed his throat from behind only to be swatted aside like a fruit fly. Alicia leaned out the open door. Mercs were already chasing the bus and there was a rear door too. Most were angling toward that. Alicia knew she should go and defend their weakness down there but she would never leave a team member behind.

If Russo failed to climb aboard she would jump clear and help him.

“C’mon Rob!” she shouted. “It’s not hard to catch a bloody bus!”

Crouch eased up for a moment. Russo caught hold of the pole and heaved, Alicia tugging at his enormous arm as hard as she could. The behemoth was suddenly aboard and Alicia turned her attention to the men swarming up the narrow aisle from the back of the bus.

“Drive!” she shouted. “Don’t let any more of these bastards get on board.”

Crouch floored it, motoring up Piccadilly with The Ritz ironically now approaching on the right. Alicia met the first merc head on, catching a blow on the shoulder as she fought for his gun. A bullet went off, flashing overhead and exiting the front bulkhead. Kenzie clearly had no more qualms about gunfire in public areas, or at least her new underlings didn’t.

Alicia broke the wrist and caught the gun, firing into her opponent’s chest. Russo launched his entire bulk from the first row of seats, splashing down onto two more. Alicia fired at a fourth. Still more came

“Fucking servants of Kenzie,” she complained. “Like friggin’ cockroaches.”

“You make them sound demonic.” Healey fought to her left, engaging a merc on that row of seats. “Behold, the servants of Kenzie!”

“They are demonic,” Alicia said simply as another merc launched himself up the bus’s center aisle.

“We ain’t servants,” one of the mercs blustered. “We are our own men, freelancing to Bridget McKenzie.”

“No, mate.” Alicia said. “You’re serving her in more ways than you can imagine and she’s only gonna get worse.”

Alicia smashed him to the ground, ducked as a gun was raised at the far end — one last merc alone. Healey and Russo fought to both sides. Crouch swung the bus intentionally hard down St James’s street, cutting off a popular black saloon car with a grin.

“See how you like it.”

Caitlyn blocked the way into Crouch’s little cab, holding a pistol that had scooted across the floor and landed at her feet. Fateful perhaps, but lucky too. Her first shot blasted above a merc’s head, coming nowhere near him but making him hesitate until Healey had a chance to engage. Caitlyn breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted to do was—

The merc struggled out of Healey’s grasp, leaving him trapped between two seats and unable to give chase. Caitlyn saw the smirk stretched across the attacking man’s face and knew instantly that he’d read her mind.

I can’t shoot, can’t even hurt someone in cold blood. Not like this.

As she vacillated the merc closed the gap. Up close he wasted no time swatting her aside as if she were no more than an annoying fly. Alicia saw it happen, saw the fear on Caitlyn’s face, fear mixed with embarrassment. She fell away, crashing into the front seat and tumbling head over heels.

The merc had a clear run at Crouch.

Crouch knew it. As the man lunged he jerked the bus wildly, trying to throw him off balance. Suddenly the bus was swerving, tipping. Crouch had it up on two wheels as it swung around a corner. Everyone tumbled, shouting in surprise. Alicia thought she could smell burning rubber. Her vision tilted, the road ahead now slanted at an acute angle. The bus wrestled for traction, for stability. Still it tipped, almost at the point of no return, hurtling along and leaning over the oncoming cars. Alicia threw herself to the other side, hoping the weight might help, and saw Russo do the same. All she could do was hang on as physics played its part.

Crouch feathered the throttle, turning the wheel minutely to give the bus every chance to right itself. The merc pressed against his shoulder as if glued. A moment passed when all balance was equal and even the slightest gust of wind might have sealed their fate. Then the scales tipped and the bus began to come back down onto all four wheels, slowly as if savoring the moment. The merc squealed as he fell away and crashed in a heap against the door. Crouch saw a great chance.

Slapping at a button he hoped it would open the door whilst the bus was in motion. Luckily it did and the merc fell away into the night. Caitlyn clutched a pole to her chest as if she might never let go.

Alicia tumbled as the bus crashed down onto all four tires, but so did the merc she fought. Crashing to the floor he kept hold of his gun, now several seats in front of her and closer to Caitlyn.

“Don’t be an amateur!” she cried at the young woman. “Help us!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“Oh, that really helps.”

Caitlyn now struggled to her feet, still waving the gun.

Alicia leapt up onto the back of the first seat and jumped from row to row, heading toward the back of the bus, her footing firm and sure. The merc scrambled. Behind her, Russo slammed his opponent against the side window, shattering the glass in the overlarge pane. Despite a groan of agony the man still fought against Russo. Crouch roared past a dawdling Micra, much to the surprise and disgust of its occupants, and turned hard left onto Pall Mall. Alicia missed her step and crashed to the floor.

“Oh, come on!”

The merc gasped too, striking his head against a pole. Russo finished his opponent off with an elbow. Healey took advantage when Crouch’s driving caused his enemy to lose a pretty good chokehold and ended the fight, coughing hard.

Alicia rose and jumped over the final row of seats, at last face to face with her adversary. His gun lay on the floor at his own feet.

Alicia grinned. “Suddenly feeling inadequate are we?”

The merc struck. At that moment Crouch slammed on the brakes and swerved to the curb, veering across yet another car. Both the merc and Alicia fell in a heap, tangled together. The man was big and wore a heavy jacket that puffed him up even more. It also served to hamper his movements. Alicia struck hard at his ribs and liver, but the jacket protected him from every blow. Underneath, she twisted and jack-knifed her body, throwing him aside.

He came up with the gun aimed at her face.

Russo stepped in, slamming a boot at his neck and breaking bones. Alicia sighed and looked up at the big man.

“I had him.”

Russo nodded and held out a hand. “I know. But you don’t need to worry about it. Because you have friends.”

Crouch’s voice filled the bus. “We should get out of here now. Before the police decide to lock us up.”

Alicia took Russo’s hand and allowed herself to be lifted to her feet. “Cheers, Rob.”

“Any time.”