Temple of the Gods

He glanced back at the storeroom to check the prisoners—

The waiter was aiming a gun at him.

The window shattered as he fired. The bullet struck Amsel’s temple, blasting away a chunk of skin and bone and brain.

Glas’s men broke through their stunned horror and whirled to shoot Sophia—

Gunfire filled the room — but not from the commandos’ MP7s. Instead it came from beneath the thin cloths covering the catering trolleys by the dumbwaiter, and high in the shadows of the rafters. The men were cut down by a storm of bullets from all angles, mottled red starbursts exploding over the whites of their camouflage gear.

Eddie’s training had kicked in automatically when Sophia fired. He shoved Nina and Larry down between two members of the Group, diving on top to shield them. The assault ceased. He lifted his head, feeling the weight of the MP7 against his side… but knew raising it would be suicide.

He now understood Stikes’s confidence. The entire meeting had been a trap, intended to draw Glas out of hiding — with Sophia’s collaboration both encouraging the Dane to take the bait and keeping the mercenary leader informed of his actions. The men guarding the hotel’s exterior had been mere decoys, sacrificial bait; those concealed in the Alpine Lounge were the real defenders, keeping out of sight until they received a signal to act.

Stikes stood. ‘Excellent work, everyone,’ he told his forces as they emerged from hiding, climbing out from under the trolleys and descending on lines from the overhead beams. All dressed entirely in black, they also wore helmets with mirrored visors to protect them from the effects of the stun grenades. ‘Well done.’

Face quivering with fright and fury, Warden rounded on him. ‘What did you do? What the fuck just happened?’ A glob of spittle flew from his lips with the profanity, landing on Stikes’s chest.

The Englishman looked down at it with mild distaste before wiping it away. ‘I just removed all the obstacles to the Group’s plan.’

‘But, but…’ He jabbed a finger at Gorchakov’s corpse. ‘We could all have been killed! Why didn’t you tell us? You risked all our lives!’

‘If I had told you,’ said Stikes, as if explaining to a child, ‘you would all have been too confident, which would have given away the trap. Your fear had to be genuine to bring Glas here. You must admit, it worked.’

‘But Anisim is dead!’ protested Brannigan.

‘If he hadn’t gone for the gun, he would have survived. It’s regrettable, but I’m afraid it was his own fault. And besides,’ he said loudly, raising a hand to overcome the vocal objections from around the table, ‘you have emergency measures to ensure that if a member dies, their interests remain under the Group’s control. I suggest you activate them as soon as possible.’

‘We should have you fired,’ growled Meerkrieger. ‘No, we should have you shot!’

‘I’m surprised at your attitude,’ said Stikes smugly. He gestured to a pair of his men, who roughly pulled Eddie, Nina and Larry to their feet, confiscating the MP7 and the case. ‘We have the statues, we have Dr Wilde… and Glas has been eliminated as a threat.’

‘Not quite yet,’ said Sophia. Glas was writhing in his chair, both hands squeezed against his stomach wound in a futile attempt to stem the bleeding. He tried to speak, blood bubbling in his mouth. ‘I’m sorry, Harald, I didn’t quite catch that. A little louder, please?’

‘Why?’ gasped Glas. ‘Why did you… do it? I saved you — I protected you!’

‘You used me!’ she snapped, striding round his wheelchair to stand before him. ‘You’d wanted me for years, and then you finally had me — as your slave. Your harem girl.’

‘No, that… wasn’t—’

‘Oh, you made it very clear what would happen if I didn’t do exactly as I was told. I could either obey you or go back to prison — or worse.’

Despite the pain, Glas managed to shake his head. ‘No, that’s… not true. I–I loved you!’

‘Love?’ she said scathingly. ‘You loved me in exactly the same way that you loved those coins and stamps in your precious collection! I was just one item amongst all the rest to you, something to make other people jealous because they couldn’t own it.’ She bared her perfect white teeth. ‘Well, nobody owns me, and nobody uses me. Goodbye, Harald!’

‘No, Sophia—’

She fired six rapid shots into Glas’s chest. The crippled billionaire flailed with each impact, then slumped over an armrest, twitching.

The shocked silence in the room was finally broken by Nina. ‘That’s got to bump the list up to fifty per cent.’

Warden clenched his hands together to stop them from trembling. ‘Stikes, I… I assume this was something else you chose not to tell us?’

‘Of course,’ Stikes replied. ‘The only reason Sophia went on the run with Glas was that she had no choice. But she contacted me in secret whenever she had the opportunity, and together we set all of this up.’

‘And you trust her?’ There was disbelief in his voice.

‘Completely. You see, Sophia and I weren’t merely working together. We have a more… intimate relationship.’ He smirked at Sophia, who in return kissed him.

Eddie made a gagging noise. ‘For God’s sake! The two people I hate most in the world, and they’re shagging each other? That’s fucking disgusting.’

Nina was equally appalled by the revelation. ‘That’s about as revolting a picture as Genghis Khan getting it on with… with Margaret Thatcher!’

‘You’ve just seen a man murdered,’ said Larry, voice shaky, ‘and this is what makes you both want to throw up?’

Warden ignored them. ‘Just because you’re… involved, that doesn’t mean she’s reliable,’ he told Stikes. ‘We all know her reputation. She acts solely for her own interests, not anyone else’s.’

‘In this case, Sophia’s interests and the Group’s are perfectly aligned,’ Stikes responded. ‘She’s actually a very firm believer in the plan.’

‘Absolutely,’ said Sophia, smiling. ‘There are those who deserve simply by their superior nature to rule, and then there are…’ She turned her gaze to Eddie. ‘The little people.’

‘Oh, fuck off,’ he replied. ‘Just ’cause you think you’re better than everybody else doesn’t mean you actually are. You’re a stuck-up, selfish bitch with a superiority complex. Who can’t play the low notes on a piano any more.’

Oddly, it was the last silly insult that erased her smile. She clenched her left hand into a partial fist, the two prosthetic fingers jutting stiffly from it. ‘You know, Eddie, so many of the bad things in my life are directly attributable to you. I think it’s high time I paid you back for them.’

‘Being married to you was like punishment in advance, so we’re square.’

‘Ha ha,’ she said, scathing enough to strip paint. She advanced on him, raising the gun. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time.’

‘Just a moment, Sophia,’ said Stikes. ‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to kill Chase.’ A malevolent smile. ‘For old times’ sake.’

She glowered at him. ‘Excuse me, Alexander? I think I have the greater right.’

‘I had to serve with him.’

‘I had to sleep with him.’

‘Anyone else want to join in?’ Eddie asked of the room — using the opportunity to assess his chances of either fleeing or grabbing a weapon. Neither option seemed likely to succeed. None of Stikes’s men were close enough for him to reach without being shot down, and the exits were even further away.

The doors, at least. There might be another way out — if he could get to it…

‘All right, I think that trumps mine,’ Stikes admitted. ‘Very well. Enjoy it.’

‘Oh, I absolutely will,’ Sophia said. She brought up the Glock again—

Nina moved to block her line of fire. ‘You’ll have to go through me.’

The smile returned. ‘Two for the price of one? Excellent.’