The Relic Hunters

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Bodie saw the gunman — one of the Special Forces guys that had rescued him — lean out of their chopper and take aim. The Hood ran for shelter. Bullets stitched the rooftop, chasing his heels. Bodie thought quickly and turned to Heidi.

“Might as well take him down.”

“I don’t want to be a party to this,” she said. “First they send choppers and now we won’t stand down. The innocent — they suffer. Not the men that pass down those orders.”

“We keep it up here,” Bodie said. “We can do that.”

More gunfire rang out. Screams rose from the streets below. The Hood was hidden behind a wall, keeping close watch on them. Bodie knew the next decision was a big one.

He would help Heidi then. He was still a civilian, and could do what had to be done without ethically tainting her.

Bodie strode toward the Hood, Cassidy at his side. Their chopper was maneuvering around for a better shot, almost overhead now and buffeting the air so loudly it was hard to think. Bodie heard a hiss and then a devastating explosion followed by Heidi’s scream.

“It’s coming down on top of you!”

Their chopper was hit and losing altitude, the engine note dropping, stalling, the entire mass tilting and freefalling toward the roof. It hadn’t been much higher than the roof, which in some ways was a blessing, in others a curse. Both soldiers managed to jump out and land safely. The pilot had no time to react. Bodie and Cassidy rolled to the side of the roof, teetering over the edge, but out of the way of the initial impact. The chopper crashed with a sound like the collapse of a mountain. Debris bounded and sprayed and darted everywhere like mini cannonballs and lethal blades.

Cassidy curled like a ball. Bodie made an effort to cover her, saw a rotor blade scythe past his own head and bury itself meters deep in a wall opposite, then caught the redhead as she carelessly fell over the edge of the building. He grabbed her arm, pulled her to safety.

Cassidy looked up. “What?”

“You didn’t realize you fell off the building?”

A pile of rubble undulated toward them like a wave. Bodie and Cassidy scrambled out of the way, heels struck as metal and concrete tumbled over the edge. By now, as he looked up, Bodie could see the attack choppers assembling overhead and a thick rope tumbling down from one.

The Hood was alert, watching for his chance.

Heidi removed her gun. The answer was the Gatling-gun crescendo of multiple weapons, churning up the roof all around her. The only reason they missed was the shifting pile of rubble that still constituted the downed chopper, and the leaping flames that covered its wreckage.

The Hood ran, chasing the slowly shifting rope. Cassidy was closest and fittest and took off like an unleashed hell hound. Snarling, bloodied, she chased the Hood down, risking it all and coming at him with everything she had. At the last moment, as they came together, he leaped and caught hold of the rope. The chopper was already moving and the swing took him away from her. Cassidy leapt past, hit the ground, rolled and turned on one knee, scowling with purpose. The rope swung faster, gaining momentum, the Hood climbing so fast he defied gravity, already halfway up to the chopper’s doors.

Cassidy ran again. The other choppers started to drift away, but tracked her and Heidi in case weapons were drawn. No more shots were fired. This was a hastily planned evacuation then, rather than an event. A favor called in. A reluctant service perhaps by somebody that wanted to be owed something. That would explain the choppers without markings and their unwillingness to cause havoc.

Bodie watched Cassidy. She mounted the wreckage and used it as a springboard, launching her body through the air and catching hold of the rope. The chopper was rising now, veering away, taking her with it. Cassidy clung on, dragged wildly by the rope, swinging across the rooftop. The Hood reached the doors and was dragged inside. Cassidy hung on tight, swept in a wide arc, her feet three meters above the roof. At the same time the other choppers started to move away, heading back the way they came. A man leaned out and aimed a weapon down. The shot missed Cassidy by a wide margin. He tried again, but then Heidi whipped her Glock out and sent a bullet clanging off the metal beside his head. The man flinched and vanished back inside.

Bodie sprinted for the base of the rope. If he could steady it at least, maybe Cassidy could climb up or down or wherever she planned to go. By now though the chopper was in full voice, powered to the max. It swooped up and away, Cassidy still in tow, and then the rope was severed, cut away from the chopper as it flew.

The rope collapsed. Its momentum made the bottom flick up and away. Cassidy let go in mid-air, propelled off the roof, across the gap between buildings and hard onto the next roof. Rolling, she kept her arms and legs together, stopping about midway, bruised and battered but still alive.

Weakly, she raised a hand.

Heidi came up to Bodie’s shoulder. “The asshole escaped. For now.”

“For now?” Bodie echoed. “He has helicopters now. He’s gone.”

Heidi shook her head. “No. Helos are traceable. They’re big. Brash. Noisy. Everything our friend and the Illuminati don’t want. I also think they’re not a part of the secret society, but loners perhaps, so their owner will not wish them compromised. They won’t want to attract any more attention.”

“So you’re saying they’ll — what? Drop him off?” Bodie kept a careful eye on Cassidy as the redhead pulled herself upright. All seemed in good working order.

“One thing I can’t knock you for,” Heidi said. “Trying. Man, you guys got a lot of heart, I’ll give you that.”

“Want to know our secret?” Bodie smiled at Cassidy and knew instinctively that Cross would be waiting in the street below, Jemma and Gunn probably on their way up.

Heidi nodded and returned the smile.

“We belong. Together. Our team has a sense of belonging, of togetherness.”

“Even Gunn?”

Bodie shook his head with a touch of sadness. “Yeah, even that asshole. Even bloody Gunn.”