The Treasures of Saint Germain

CHAPTER FORTY SIX

As fates balanced on a razor’s edge, as life’s patina slipped between shiny and dull, as a million unfulfilled moments and dreams passed through countless imaginations, the lofty face of the hospital building ceased its gradual slippage. Maybe a load-bearing wall held up, or a critical beam took extra weight, but the destructive process halted.

Already, ten pairs of legs were sprinting toward it.

Dahl was last, exhausted, but Hayden was at the front, stretching every sinew as she reached out for the Hawaiian. Together, they hauled him through a larger gap, Drake and Alicia and Kenzie still peering within to triple-check no one was still inside. In moments they retreated to the parking lot and then a grass bank that rose up around the boundary. Everyone collapsed onto their backs.

“We good?” Drake panted. “Anything serious?”

“Nothing a shower and a bag of painkillers won’t cure.” Dahl was already sitting up and surveying the chaotic scene. “It looks like a battle zone down there. Surgeons operating between crashed cars.” He hung his head. “I do hope we didn’t help this occur.”

“Not a chance,” Drake said. “Webb brought Amari out and with that came the insanity.”

Lauren sat up. “And we don’t know the outcome of it all.”

“Nor will we for some time,” Dahl responded.

“On the far worse, unimaginable side of all that, stands another possibility,” Hayden said. “That Webb escaped, Amari knows it, and they’re now headed for the final showdown. After this—” she looked at the wreckage “—I can’t imagine what’s next.”

The team worked on restoring their depleted reserves as they watched swarms of medics, doctors and nurses arriving to assist. Police cars motored up and filled the highways. Ambulances sped along and helicopters began to arrive. The spectacle was both uplifting at the sight of human strength and kindness, and depressing that so much effort — if not needed at the whim of a lunatic — could move mountains elsewhere.

Hayden made calls to Argento and DC. Though they knew of the catastrophe they knew little else. Eckernförde, whilst not exactly secluded, was small enough to lack a CCTV network and other security mechanisms. Drake believed Amari would not let it end there. Most likely he’d assume Webb had survived, especially since they were at the end of the quest now. The very last clue led directly to the Philosopher’s Stone, the secret of eternal life, invisibility and teleportation. Webb and Amari were both convinced it was real, and that made it real for the SPEAR team. More than anything, it was the individuals they were chasing. The rest of it was just a flame in a hurricane.

Of course, the Arab needed tracking down. Their job was far from over, even if Webb did lie beneath the rubble.

“Amari?” Dahl said.

Hayden dipped her head. “More than anything,” she said. “But the penultimate clue was here. Now we don’t know anything. I wonder if even he does.”

“Bastard has to turn up somewhere,” Smyth growled. “We’ll grind him to meat.”

Drake watched as a policeman broke away from a knot of doctors and started racing toward them. A look of urgency creased the man’s face.

“Ey up,” he said. “Here comes a cupful of trouble.”

“Aww.” Alicia seemed back to normal. “Sounds like a description of the Little Sprite.”

Mai watched the cop’s approach.

Hayden rose to meet him, Dahl too. Drake was close enough to tilt his head up and listen to what the man had to say.

“Somebody down there,” he panted, “says they know you. They want to talk.”

Drake assumed it was someone they’d helped. “Not necessary. We—”

“The woman is dying.”

The team quieted. Drake closed his eyes. “Of course.”

“She also said you’d respond quicker if I told you her name. Sabrina Balboni.”

Drake felt a catch in his throat. It was their team who had put the Italian master thief in this situation before Beau had betrayed them all. Now…

As one, they raced back down the hill on the heels of the cop. Together, they threaded carefully through the throng.

Apart, at least mentally, they surrounded a stretcher where Sabrina lay. The Italian was barely moving and showed no signs of rubble dust. Drake turned to a medic. “How?”

“A knife to the abdomen,” the man said heavily. “As if the explosion was not enough.”

Drake tried to ignore the twist in his soul and leaned over the stretcher. “Sabrina? Can you hear me, love?”

Eyelids fluttered. The black eyes were filled with pain. He could tell that Sabrina recognized him instantly though.

“Hi.”

Her lips quivered. “He… he is gone. Beau… Beau did this to me.”

Drake’s fists clenched but he beat down the rising anger and put aside Alicia’s terrible muttered curse. He had no right to ask this woman to help them again, but if Webb was loose and the Amari cult in pursuit then nowhere in the world was safe.

“Do you know where?” he asked.

“He has gone…” Sabrina broke into a fit of coughing, the wracking gasps making her grimace and starting a fresh blood flow that stained her covering. The medic stepped in. “She needs to go to a hospital.”

“How far?” Dahl asked.

The medic shrugged. “Ten minutes.”

They couldn’t take the risk. Drake leaned so close his lips almost brushed Sabrina’s forehead. “I’m sorry,” he said. “So sorry, but we need to know everything.”

“He has gone…” Sabrina said suddenly, voice strong and startling Drake. “To where Saint Germain still lives. It’s obvious really. The greatest treasure still resides with him to this very day.”

Drake drew away. “Still… still lives? What the he—?”

Hayden came in from the other side. “Where?” she pressed. “It doesn’t matter what Webb believes. Where has he gone?”

“Believes… believes he lives in the French Quarter. New Orleans. Germain has a house.”

“And the treasure?”

“Says Germain chose… French Quarter because of… diversity. Ingredients he needs. A peculiar variety, he said.” Sabrina held up a hand and Drake took it.

“Get Beau,” she breathed. “Pay him back for me.”

Alicia shouldered her way to Sabrina’s side. “That will be my job and, girl, I’m gonna earn a commendation for it.”

“Than… thank you.”

“Hey, no need to thank us,” Drake said quickly. “We’ll come to visit when we’re done.”

“Grapes.” Sabrina tried to crack a smile but all Drake saw was the paramedic’s anxious frown. “No. Wine.”

“I’ll bring an entire rack,” Drake said.

“My—” more coughing “—hero.”

“We should go.” Hayden pulled away.

“One more thing,” Sabrina said as the medic rushed to her side. “One more.” She clasped Drake’s wrist.

“Webb is at his endgame. All finishes now. His life. His vision. Everything for this. He told Beau… told him to call in and cash in all and every resource. That’s what he said.”

Drake shared a glance with Hayden. A sentence with utterly terrible connotations.

They allowed the medics to take care of Sabrina and gathered together. Hayden made the call.

“We need a fast flight to Louis Armstrong Airport,” she said. “And a fully loaded team to meet us there. All threats possible. Just put the damn city on alert.”

She headed for a police vehicle. “Finally,” she said. “Tyler Webb’s finished.”

Drake knew most people were at their most vulnerable when approaching victory.

All and every resource?

Wait until he got a taste of what the SPEAR team brought.