The Relic Hunters

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

The chase was on; the battle lines drawn. There was nothing the Hood wouldn’t do; nothing his masters would not do. Their vehicle burned and raged with flames; two civilians lay hurt and groaning, luckily none worse than that. Eli Cross was down and unmoving, and Heidi was the first to make it to his side.

Bodie changed the mag, kept an eye on the main windows and all the other windows around it.

Shit, we still don’t have comms.

It would have been good about now to be able to communicate fast and efficiently. Behind him, Cassidy ran to Heidi’s side and the two women bent low over Cross.

Gunn, Jemma and Jeff looked around the side of a broken car. Their SUV was a ragged mess, smoking. Bodie watched the abandoned building like a hawk, torn between wanting to rush inside and track the Hood down, and the need to run over to Cross’s side. As he studied every blank space, every deep recess, a shout rang out.

“He’s okay!” Heidi sounded extremely relieved.

“Yeah,” Cassidy shouted, also reassured. “Just needed a nap.”

Bodie closed his eyes for half a second, the anxiety sloughing away. In another moment Heidi was at his shoulder.

“Anything?”

“Nope. I’m guessing he took off.”

“Yeah, me too. This chaos will enable us to slip away though.”

Bodie regarded her, surprised but then understanding. Nobody was badly hurt. The Hood, if it was their Hood, was close. Nothing had changed.

“That car?” He nodded at a nearby old Audi with many seats.

“That car.” Heidi nodded. “Round up the crew.”

In the aftermath of the attack, the team were quiet and a little subdued. Everyone except Gunn and Jeff was expecting another attack and actively scanning every side street, every pedestrian and the clouds themselves. The old Audi went well, high on mileage but fast and comfortable enough, German engineering not letting them down. The town soon fell behind, the sirens and police with it, and there was no sign of the Hood.

And yet, he had to be somewhere ahead, driving the same road, passing the same signs. As the hours passed it became clear there would be no imminent attack, but the team remained on high alert.

“That waypoint?” Heidi said as they rolled along the highway. “Say it again.”

Jeff had been dozing, but now wiped his mouth self-consciously and sat up. “We returned something new to Spartacus and 1776.”

“And you’re sure that means Bavaria. We’re pinning a whole lot on your guesswork.”

“I honestly can’t think of anything else it might mean.”

Heidi stared at him. “Well, that’s more sensible than it sounds. At least you’ve tried.”

“I have.”

Cassidy patted his knee. “Don’t worry, man. As soon as she thinks you’re useless she won’t throw you out of the car,” A pause. “That’ll be me.”

Jeff’s smile included an unmistakable rictus of fear. Heidi didn’t break eye contact. “Of course, Bavaria’s not just Neuschwanstein Castle, as many think. It’s a big place.”

Jeff gulped. “I’ll get right on that.”

Bodie saw his team on edge, out of their comfort zone. Jemma had nothing to plan; Gunn had nothing to steal. Cassidy had nothing to punch or distract. Gunn was letting Jeff read up on Bavaria. As for him? What did he feel?

An odd sensation. A warmth toward the CIA agent, which was totally unfounded and totally unlike him. Yes, given his past he quietly craved friendship, but people had to jump through an awful lot of hoops to gain it; many jobs and many years and many life-threatening situations.

Heidi had gone a long way to gaining it already.

Outside of their comfort zone, the whole team had struggled more than a little. Even Bodie, who excelled at anything remotely connected to “secret acquirements”. So far, they had chased and fought and chased again. Who knew what they might meet in Bavaria? Of course, they were the expendable team — easily shunned and blamed by the US government.

It didn’t feel right. Bodie knew he should be on high alert, beyond high, but the events of the past few weeks had knocked his radar out of kilter. A smooth and relatively easy job turned on its head through the betrayal of his old mentor, the time in prison, the shock rescue by the CIA, the shocking news that the Illuminati were a real threat and the terrible revelations of what they did to maintain their mantle of secrecy. Then, the quest for an ancient wonder thought to have perished centuries ago.

They passed through Hungary, entered Austria and headed for Vienna. It was there where Heidi had organized the local CIA outpost to have an unmarked and fully-kitted-out vehicle ready for them. It would transport them to Germany and their final leg to Bavaria. The issue now was not to arrive before the Hood, it was to find the next waypoint clue before the Illuminati. For only that would lead them on.

A sign flashed by: Vienna—10 kilometers.

“How’s it coming, Jeff?” Heidi asked.

“Sorry, it’s coming along okay. Getting bogged down in their idea of a ‘one world government’ and attempts to start and use the Napoleonic Wars as a means to force the Congress of Vienna, which brought about the League of Nations — their attempt to engineer this world government. Russia held out though, as you remember, and the League of Nations wasn’t formed. Close call there.”

“That’s so terrible,” Jemma said. “And terrifying.”

“But it’s by no means the worst,” Jeff said. “They also worked out a blueprint for three world wars that would end with one world government by the end of the twentieth century. Yep, we’re now in the twenty-first, but the first two have been proven consistent with documents found, and the third war was designed to be fought between political Zionists and leaders of the Muslim world. It would drain the international community so badly they would have to form a single world government. Does any of that sound familiar?”

Bodie knew it did. “And they planned this before the First World War?”

Jeff nodded. “Their strategies failed short term so they went long.”

“Jeff,” Heidi said with a hint of warning.

“Ah, yes. Adam Weishaupt founded the Order of Illuminati in Ingolstadt on 1 May 1776. It’s not known if he indoctrinated members of an already existing group but it is known that he pulled from the Freemasons. Interestingly, at an early age he rebelled against the Jesuit religion and later began a large library collection dedicated to the education of scholars. He read every ancient manuscript he could get hold of and also became interested in the occult. He became obsessed with the Pyramid of Giza, convinced that it was an ancient temple of initiation.”

“Why is that interesting?” Cassidy asked.

“Because it is one of the ancient wonders, and also appears on the American dollar bill, along with countless other Illuminati symbols. Even the order of the Illuminati was fashioned in the shape of a pyramid — leader to seconds to lesser ranks. He once wrote ‘sin is only that which is hurtful, and if the profit is greater than the damage it becomes a virtue.’” Jeff shrugged. “He’s saying if violence is the answer, the way to further the order’s goals, then it must be done.”

“Quite open from the beginning then,” Jemma pointed out.

“Called ‘the profoundest conspirator that ever existed,’ Weishaupt ended up fleeing Ingolstadt, scared for his life, and fled to Gotha, where he couldn’t help but continue his manipulations. Of course, Weishaupt and thus the Illuminati are often accused of devil worship too, which leads us back to the major symbol of their hold over America — the dollar bill.”

“I heard this before,” Cross said. “Thirteen this and thirteen that, right? The all-seeing eye of the Great Architect — Lucifer?”

“That’s not the prize though, my friend. Not by a long way.”

They all stared at Jeff, even Cross who was driving.

“So,” Heidi said. “What is?”

“There is a date inscribed into base of the pyramid of every dollar bill,” Jeff smiled. “MDCCLXXVI.”

“And that is…?”

“1776,” Jeff said. “The very date the Illuminati were formed.”

Bodie blinked. “That’s some fucking coincidence.”

“Or not.” Jeff smiled wider. “When you see everything else. The eye. The thirteen stars. The thirteen letters. Thirteen arrows. Thirteen leaves. Thirteen layers of brick. It goes on.”

Vienna surrounded them, busy streets and graceful, old buildings, tourists and coffee shops and the world’s best bakeries. Bodie saw none of it, focusing on Jeff.

“The best trick Lucifer ever did was to convince the public that he didn’t exist,” Jeff said. “And, recently, through Hollywood and fiction, the Illuminati have done exactly the same.”

Bodie thought about it. Jeff was making sense, in a round-about way. Still, the archaeologist hadn’t answered Heidi’s principal question.

“The next waypoint,” he said. “Where will it be?”

“Where Adam Weishaupt spent most of his time. Either the University of Ingolstadt or Gotha. Look, as I said before, the map isn’t fully rounded off. It points to all of the old archaeologist’s investigations. Looking for the statue, guided by the Illuminati member that was expelled, he started with Bavaria. He says the name Spartacus, which leads me to believe it’s not Gotha, because Weishaupt formed the order in Ingolstadt. I’m leaning toward the university.”

Heidi tapped cross on the shoulder and pointed toward a side street. “Down there. We’ll change cars and get straight back on the road. If we want to reach the first waypoint fast we can’t afford luxuries.”

Bodie saw the absolute sense of driving instead of flying, of keeping it low profile instead of high risk. Once, though, just once, he wished low-profile meant high-luxury.

“Don’t worry.” Heidi saw his face. “Bavaria ain’t that far away now.”

Cassidy looked pale. “Can we eat? I need food, woman. Real food.”

“Yeah, sure, there’s a burger stand over the road from the safe house.”

Cassidy went even paler. “Are you kidding? Do I look like a girl that queues at a burger van?”

“Hard to say. I’m that girl. Is that a problem?”

Gunn laughed. “Cassidy is high society. Big maintenance. She thinks McDonalds is a farm.”

“You think that?” Cassidy turned on Gunn. “Then you don’t know me at all.”

The car slowed. Men in suits appeared outside a recessed door. Heidi reached for the handle. “Let’s move.”