The Mayan Codex

102

Sabir placed his right foot in Calque’s left armpit, and grabbed the Frenchman by the wrist. ‘Are you sure you’re up for this?’

‘Of course I’m…’

Sabir jerked Calque’s arm towards him before he could finish his sentence.

Calque’s face went white. Then he let out a series of expletives under his breath. He was holding his left bicep with his right hand, tight to his side.

‘Did I do it?’

Calque exhaled. ‘You did it.’

Both men were lying pretty much flat on the ground in an effort to avoid any more ricochets.

‘Let me see your stomach.’

Sabir raised his shirt.

‘Spent bullet. I though as much. You’re lucky. If that had hit you in the face you could have auditioned for Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs.’ Calque glanced across the room. ‘There’s some tequila. We need to rinse your stomach with it. Then we need to get out of here.’

‘We’re never going to get out of that front door.’

‘Then we go down. To the crystal meth laboratory they were talking about. We can hide in one of the vats if we need to. We can get out later. When things have quieted down.’

Calque crawled over to the counter and made a grab for the tequila bottle with his good arm. The firing had died down a little outside, and there was now only the occasional shot. ‘How are you feeling, Sabir?’

‘As you said. It was only a rabbit. But he must have been a big one. Someone’s got it in for my stomach, what with the datura and the odd bullet. Do you think it’s still in there?’

‘It never was in there, you fool. The ricochet just messed you up a little.’ Calque pushed Sabir back and raised his shirt. ‘You’re not going to enjoy this.’

‘I suppose this is revenge for your arm?’

‘You suppose right.’ Calque upended the bottle.

‘Oh Jesus. Jesus.’

Calque took a swig from the bottle and then handed it to Sabir.

Sabir took a long pull, and then shook his head. ‘Come on. We can’t lie here forever. Someone will come back and find us. I don’t know who I dread more. The Corpus or the drug traffickers.’

Calque stood up. ‘If we get hit now, it’s fate.’

‘Wait. Look. They left the rucksack with the codex and the crystal skull behind them. I’m taking it.’

‘Okay. Why not? We might as well die rich.’