The Orpheus Legacy

CHAPTER FOUR

Guy Francken was a heavily built man in his sixties who walked with a cane. His square, tanned face reflected a lifetime of adventure and treasure-hunting in its lines, scars and crow’s feet but his slow and painful walk told the world his best days were behind him. In a casual but confident manner he showed his guests into his opulent home and closed the door with a gentle click.

“This way,” he said in heavily accented English. “We can talk through here.”

They followed him along a cool corridor. For a few moments the only sound was the brass ferule at the tip of his cane striking the smooth tiles. When they reached the main room, he waved his cane in the air vaguely in the direction of some soft chairs. “In here. We talk in here.”

The main living space of the apartment was an enormous and luxuriously appointed lounge. Dual aspect, a long balcony stretched along the northern side and offered a breathtaking view of the entire city center. As the others settled into their seats, Lea took a few seconds to stare out over the Acropolis to her left. Mount Lycabettus was further away to her right, shimmering in the heat haze.

Francken sighed and collapsed into his chair. Looking over the team, they could see he was counting them. “There are more of you than I thought there would be.”

Lea turned. “Our number is our strength.”

He weighed up her words. “I suppose so, but you’re nearly as big as the crew on board the Electra. They’re good men…” his face clouded over. “They were good men before they all got murdered by those thieving bastard criminals.”

“How many men made the attack?” Hawke asked.

“That I cannot tell you at the moment. But I can say that by all accounts, the raid was a savage display of brutality. The captain of the ship was a good friend of mine as well as a partner in our treasure hunting business. He was on the radio to me when they stormed the bridge. I heard them gun him down. The gunfire and the screams will haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life.”

“Who were the mercenaries you hired to protect the treasure?”

“A team of British and American men based in London. They were expensive but very good, which only goes to show how dangerous these thieves really are. Captain Jagger and his men didn’t know what hit them and now they’re all dead to a man.”

Hawke’s eyes darted across to Francken. “You mean Matt Jagger, former Grenadier Guards officer?”

Francken nodded. “You knew him?”

“Yes, but not well. We served together on some joint exercises a long time ago and met socially once or twice. He was a good man.”

Lea touched his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

Hawke lowered his voice. “Left the army under a bit of cloud after an altercation with a senior officer. He tried to appeal but got fucked off at the high port.”

“Eh?” Ryan said.

“SBS expression,” Hawke said.

Scarlet sighed. “SAS.”

“SBS.”

“SAS.”

Hawke made a face and looked at Ryan. “Means he ran into a spot of bother. Anyway, I knew his wife Emily. They have two kids, two girls.”

Francken gripped the arm of his chair. “I’m sorry, but they are without a father now. He was shot and killed along with the rest of his team while on board the Electra. He was simply following my orders to protect the treasure under any circumstances.”

The smiling, happy faces of Emily Jagger and her two girls rose in Hawke’s mind and he felt a surge of anger rise within him. The last time he had seen them was during a barbecue in their Cornish garden. Now their lives were destroyed.

Before he could speak, Francken coughed and sat up straighter in his chair. “I am very sorry for your loss, but if I hire you this cannot be a revenge mission. I need a team with clear heads to retrieve what was stolen from me.”

“We understand, sir,” Lea said.

“Good,” he growled. “Commander Sooke tells me you’re the best independent Special Ops team in the world and I expect you to live up to his words. This could very well be the most important mission you have ever done. I cannot begin to tell you how dangerous this treasure could turn out to be, or at least what it could lead to.”

“And what is this treasure?” Lea asked.

He paused, reluctant to tell them more.

Lea kept her voice calm and level. “We need to know, Mr Francken. At least if we’re to stand a chance of getting it back for you, sir.”

After another long, awkward pause, the Belgian treasure hunter finally spoke. “You have heard of Orpheus?”

“The legendary Greek musician?” Lea said.

He nodded once.

“And prophet,” Ryan threw in.

“Indeed,” Francken said. “And prophet. Along with his visit to the Greek Underworld, he is most well-known for possessing a golden lyre, and it is that small musical instrument which I raised from the seabed a few days ago.”

Lea and Hawke exchanged a glance. “That’s what the men stole?” she asked.

“Yes, and you are going to retrieve it for me.”

“Wait,” Kamala said. “I know some pretty crazy shit happens around you guys, but Orpheus wasn’t real. You just said it yourself — he was a legend, right?”

“You’ll get the full briefing later,” Lea said. “Just take our word for it right now. He was real.”

“As real as those crazy dudes we fought in the Citadel?” Zeke asked.

“As real as that,” Ryan said, and turned to Francken. “And so was his lyre, right?”

“Very real,” the old man said. “The captain of the Electra sent a live feed to me as it was pulled from the surface of the Aegean. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“This is blowing my mind,” Kamala said. “I know I’ve only known you guys a few days but why haven’t you told me about this before?”

“Trust,” Hawke said flatly. “Now we trust you.”

She looked both hurt and honored at the same time. “All right, I can handle this. Let’s start with why this lyre is so important?”

Francken pushed up out of his chair and walked across to the window. Leaning on his cane, he knew they were all waiting for him to answer. When he did, his words were wrapped in a thick layer of disappointment. “For now, I cannot tell you.”

“Not good enough,” Hawke said. “We can’t put ourselves in harm’s way without knowing the full story.”

He turned and offered a conciliatory smile. “I will tell you this — the lyre itself is not dangerous. You will not be harmed in the act of retrieving it. You and the rest of your team are not in danger from the lyre. When you return it to me — when I know I can trust you, I will tell you what makes it so dangerous.”

“I’m not sure I like this,” Lea said.

A murmur of agreement rippled around the team.

“Accept my terms, or I will find another team to retrieve the lyre.” Francken shrugged and walked back from the window. “And from what I hear, you are having some serious cash flow problems at the moment.”

“We’ll accept your terms,” Hawke said. “And the pay is one million US dollars?”

A brief nod. “Exactly.”

“All right, then to business,” Hawke said. “Is there any way we can see the CCTV footage from the Electra?”

Francken gave his head a sullen shake. “Not unless you have a way to access the Greek legal system. All CCTV footage from the attack was taken from the ship by the police and is now in the court system waiting until it can be used in evidence in any trial.”

“Not a great start,” Ryan said.

“No,” said Hawke. “If we had access to the footage we might be able to identify some of the men behind the attack.”

“They were wearing masks,” Francken said.

“A glimpse of the boat they were using, or any of their weapons could help,” Hawke said. “But without access to the CCTV we don’t have any leads at all.”

“And we can’t just call up Rich or Alex this time,” Lea said with a sigh. “So we’re on our own.”

“Hey, we have me,” Ryan said.

Scarlet let out a mock sigh. “Totally on our own, then.”

“Any ideas?” Lexi asked.

“Yes,” Francken said. “I have an idea, but you will have to go to the hospital. All of Captain Jagger’s team and most of my ship’s crew were killed except one — a very brave sailor and fellow treasure hunter I have known for many years. He name is Spyros Markides and he is in the Intensive Care Unit of Laiko General Hospital, not far from here.”

Lea felt a wave of hope. “Is he conscious?”

“Last time I heard, yes. He can talk.”

“Does he speak English?” Ryan asked.

“Of course.”

“Looks like we just got our first break,” Lea said.

Hawke nodded and smiled. If Markides could offer a lucid recollection of the raid, they might just get the clue they needed to find out who had perpetrated it. “So it does.”