Templar's Quest

88

Like he was a launched ballistic missile, Finn charged out of the third-floor stairwell, hung a Louie, and ran towards the library.

‘The laboratory is two doors down from the library.’

‘Two Doors Down’ – one of his favourite Dolly Parton songs.

Finn smiled, everything going according to plan. Soon it would all be over. And when he’d completed the mission, he planned on sweeping little Katie right off her feet.

His smile widened. He wasn’t supposed to let his emotions flare during a mission. But what the hell? This was his last op. Once he cleared himself of the murder charges, he was going to put in for a transfer to Fort Bragg. Get himself a cushy position as a Delta Force training instructor. And while he didn’t want to get ahead of himself, he was feeling pretty confident that Kate would sign up for the move.

Arriving at the second door, Finn peered at the mezzanine below – Aisquith and Kate were already at the exit, about to make good their escape. Perfect.

Ripping open the flap on his cargo pants, he removed Uhlemann’s severed index finger, using the hem of his T-shirt to wipe off the excess blood. That done, he placed the fleshy tip on to the biometric reader.

A white light flared. An instant later, the bolt on the door popped open.

‘In like Finn,’ he chortled, riding a little happy high. He flung the butchered finger aside and opened the door. ‘I love it when the op goes without a hitch.’

Stepping across the threshold, he hit the light switch. A row of fluorescent bulbs washed the laboratory in antiseptic bright light.

‘There it is, the Flux Capacitor.’ But unlike the DeLorean time machine from the Back to the Future movie, this was the real deal. Not some contrived Hollywood invention.

He strode over to the glass enclosure. The remaining pipe bombs will definitely do the trick.

In a big-ass hurry, Finn went down on bent knee in front of the enclosure. He then carefully removed the last three bombs from his Go Bag and lined them up directly in front of the heavy-duty glass. Retrieving the cigarette lighter from his breast pocket, he quickly lit all three fuses.

Okay, boys and girls. ‘It’s home from work we go.’

Lurching to his feet, he rushed over to the door … Only to draw up short an instant later.

Seeing the metal security panel attached to the side of the doorframe, Finn’s heart skidded. Full stop. Little Katie forgot to mention that there was a biometric security lock on both sides of the laboratory door, Uhlemann’s severed finger now on the other side of the locked door.

Ah, shit.