Leah glanced around the motor pool. There were currently fewer vehicles in the bays than she’d seen at any other time. Tanks, armored cars, jeeps, andmotorcycles made up the inventory.
“I’ll do my best, chief,” she said. Then she twisted the accelerator, let offthe clutch, and lifted her foot as she shot forward.
She raced through an underground tunnel wide enough for the military tanks. Two-point-four miles later, she arrived at a security checkpoint manned by a dozen men wearing the same kind of armor she had on.
“Leah Creasey?” one of the men asked.
“Yes.” Leah rested on her left foot and leaned the motorcycle.
“Special dispatch.”
Leah knew the man was reading the orders on his HUD. “Yes.”
“Do you know the area?” the man asked.
Leah pulled down a map overlay of the area. The tunnel let out into an underground parking garage. “Yes.”
“Have a safe trip.”
“Thank you.”
The man signaled the others and they checked the monitors outside the false wall. When they were satisfied there were no spying demon eyes, they opened the wall.
The security chief tossed Leah a quick salute.
Leah twisted the throttle and raced out into the parking garage. Seconds later she was racing through London’s broken streets as if the hounds of Hellwere after her. And, at times, they were.
Hours later, Leah parked the motorcycle under a tree deep within the woods. She took one of the petrol tanks from the rear of the bike and topped off the tank. Anytime she stopped shemade that her first order of business. Running out of fuel while fleeing demons wasn’t a pleasant prospect.
Then she changed her communications array to the frequency Simon’s Templarstronghold monitored and attempted to contact them. Almost instantly she was put through to Danielle.
“Where are you?” Danielle demanded.
“Only a few miles from the stronghold,” Leah answered. “I thought I mightcall before I just came in.” She noticed the tension in Danielle’s face andvoice even before her suit’s analysis programming kicked into play to confirmit.
“That’s a good thing. Did you have any luck with the manuscript?”
“Yes. I’ve got a copy of it with me.”
Relief showed on Danielle’s face and eased some of the fatigue etched there.“Stay where you are. I have your location. I’ll have a team bring you in.”
“I could come in by myself.”
“In case you’re not alone.”
Leah peered around the empty woods. “Who else would be here?”
“Hopefully, no one. But just in case.”
Irritation chafed at Leah. She suddenly felt more vulnerable in the woods. “What’s going on, Danielle?”
“We’ll tell you when we have you.”
When we have you? Leah didn’t care for the sound of that. “You’ll tell menow or I’ll be gone before anyone can reach me. Where’s Simon?”
Danielle took a breath and let it out. “While you were gone, Simon was luredback to the Templar Underground by High Seat Booth. Now Booth has him. We just received a ransom demand. Either we bring Booth the Goetia manuscriptor he’ll stake Simon out for the demons to have.”
Leah threw her leg back over the motorcycle. “Clear me through, Danielle. Idon’t want to wait on your escort.” She keyed the engine to life.
Terrence Booth, Leah knew from previous encounters with the man, was a despicable lout. Adding liar and conniver to the list wasn’t a hardship. She’ddetested him from the moment she’d met him, almost as quickly as she’d come totrust Simon Cross.
It was hard to accept the two men came from the same environs and heritage.
Leah stared at the frozen image of Simon chained to a chair in a small room. His head sagged forward on his chest. He was either unconscious or drugged into a stupor.
For all you know, he’s already dead and Booth shot this of his corpse. Leah tried to forget that thought had ever crossed her mind but it was impossible. Concentrate on the fact that he’s alive. If he’s not
She couldn’t finish. If Simon wasn’t alive, it was already too late.
Booth’s message had been short and to the point. She played the last of itback.
Booth stood in front of the vidcam in full armor. His faceplate was translucent to show his features. Simon sat in the background, stripped of his armor and chains binding his chest, arms, and legs.
“I know you have the Goetia manuscript,” Booth said. “I’ve sent meninto Akehurst Sanitarium to retrieve it after Professor Macomber told me about it. I found your handiwork. So either you produce the manuscript by sunrise tomorrow or I stake Cross out as demonbait.”
The vid blanked.
Leah made herself breathe out. A headache crashed like blazes between her temples. She hated thinking about what might have happened if she’d gotten herfreedom any later than she had. “Did anyone talk to Booth?”
“I did.” Nathan sat on the other side of the comm control room. He waspensive and had a hard time sitting still. “If I’d been in the same room withhim, I’d have kicked his bloody teeth down his bloody throat.”
“If that would get Simon back, I’d be all for it,” Leah replied. “Until wehave that guarantee, we’re not going to choose that course of action.”
“If he’s hurt Simon, I’m going to kill him.”
“Calm heads win battles,” Wertham stated from the corner. “Not young hearts.”The old Templar sat quietly at the back of the room. “If Lord Cross is alive,we’ll get him back. If not, then we’ll see to his vengeance.”
“Can you call Booth back?” Leah asked.
“We don’t know,” Danielle said. “At the time there didn’t seem to be muchpoint in it. We figured the less said, the better. We didn’t want to admit thatwe didn’t have the manuscript.”
“When did Booth take Simon into custody?”
“Early this morning,” Wertham said. “Before first light.”
“Why did he go with him?”
“Booth offered a Flag of Honor,” Nathan said.
“Tell me again what that is.”
Nathan did. “I asked Simon not to go. I offered to go in his stead. But hewouldn’t hear of it.”
“Why?” To Leah the decision sounded foolish.
“Because Booth played Simon,” Danielle said. “He knew that by offering Simon a Flag of Honor he was essentially presentingSimon a chance to
