The Atlantis Cipher

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Jemma struck out as the Chinese came for her, but two men dragged her away from Alessandro. Two others grabbed the Italian and Lucie, and pulled them aggressively toward the van. Bodie was running so fast he was practically airborne. Striking Jemma’s adversaries before they knew what was happening, he sent both of them sprawling to the ground.

Bodie landed well, rolled, then came face-to-face with one of the felled Chinese soldiers. The eyes under the mask were unreadable. Bodie made a wild swing, putting all his remaining strength into it.

Cassidy looked up, still wheezing hard, to see the Bratva being ground down by her two previous opponents. One man was already limping badly, another labored with one eye fully closed. The only way she’d stood a chance was to show them her ability to street-fight raw and dirty — a trait they became wary of very quickly. The Bratva might think they were street fighters, but they weren’t even close to her league.

Still hanging her head, she looked to the left. It was the noise of the van’s engine that had roused her. Now she saw Bodie struggling with the soldier he’d just taken a swing at and Jemma on the ground. Jemma looked out of it, exhausted. She saw Alessandro and Lucie being manhandled into the van. She remembered all too well what had happened to Carl Kirke.

Cross fell before her, groaning in agony, but she ignored it. Worse, she used his frame to push herself upright, then gingerly tested her limbs.

All there.

That was enough. She stumbled into the road, came up behind the van, and slipped around it. Sliding open the door, she took stock of what was inside.

A driver and a passenger, screaming at their comrades to hurry. Lucie lying prone, shocked by the sudden opening of the door, hands bound but legs still kicking. Cassidy gritted her teeth, just as shocked at the incongruous sight of Lucie’s ripped signature woolly sweater as much as the blood and scrapes all over her exposed skin.

The Chinese soldier tying Lucie’s feet together glared at Cassidy. She bared her teeth, grabbed Lucie under the arms, and hauled her out, dropping her unceremoniously onto the street. By the time Cassidy came back up, the soldier’s feet were in her face. He was holding on to the roof of the van, swinging his legs, and the underside of his boots filled her vision. They connected solidly, made her see stars, and flung her backward over Lucie and onto the concrete path.

The van door slid shut with a deafening clang.

On the other side, Bodie saw Cassidy kicked away and then the doors slammed shut. Alessandro was still inside. The Chinese then ran for and piled into the front seat, doubling up. Bodie was on his feet, but the van was already moving.

Civilians and tourists jumped out of the way. Bodie saw that the Bratva soldiers had quit fighting and that Yasmine had hauled Cross up by the front of his shirt and was squeezing the man’s throat.

Gotta be hallucinating.

But no. Her words came clearly through the comms as her lips brushed the older man’s.

“I’m in charge now. He put me in charge of this and said if I fail he will throw me naked to the wolves. You caused this. You. It was fine before you came, before you spoiled my life yet again. Get in my way and I will kill you all.”

As if to prove her point, she brought up a sharp knee between Cross’s legs. When she let go, he slithered to the ground like a boneless snake, unable to move. She glared at Bodie once, tight faced, unhappy, and then ordered her men out of there.

What the hell just happened?

Bodie saw the van screaming away. Chasing it was out of the question. With limbs shrieking, joints pounding, and his equilibrium shot to shit, he set about rounding up the rest of the crew.

Barely conscious, they limped away from the scene.