Eventually, and after passing a well-lit guard station, they emerged into a square-shaped courtyard, open to the skies above but surrounded by walls. Bodie tried to take in the architecture, any carvings or worded signs that might point to the location of this place, but he saw nothing. Maybe it was the weariness preventing his brain from focusing. Maybe it was the quiet fear he felt for the safety of his friends. He just wanted this long journey to be done.
Minutes later it was.
The hooded men led them to a heavy wooden door with reinforced steel strapping, opened it and pushed them inside. Bodie found himself in a dungeon, a rock-walled space consisting of nothing but a stone floor, a bale of straw and one high window that looked back across whatever sea they’d traversed to get here.
The heavy door slammed behind them.
Bodie walked over to a corner and sank to his haunches. Cassidy fought the bale of straw for a while, dividing it into five, then dragging those pieces across the floor for the team to lie down on.
Bodie studied the wet walls, the frigidly cold floor, the high-ceiling and moonlit window before sending a mournful glance across at his team. “What the hell have we gotten ourselves involved with now?”
“Clearly this isn’t the CIA, or Pang,” Jemma said. “This is way too weird even for them. And Heidi wouldn’t let them do this to us.”
“Heidi works for the American government,” Bodie reminded her. “And since we made the decision to leave her behind, we can’t assume anything.”
Jemma nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Lucie and Yasmine were sitting upright and studying their surroundings. Yasmine muttered something about climbing up to the window, but Bodie wasn’t up for it.
“Let’s all get some rest first,” he suggested. “Because we have no idea what tomorrow will bring. I’m sure that journey will be nothing compared to what’s coming.”
“You sound like you might know what we’re up against,” Yasmine prodded.
But Bodie was too tired. Too worn, bruised and worried to start up any kind of meaningful conversation. Without another word he laid down his head and fell asleep, wanting only to leave this dreadful new reality for the next few hours.
Tomorrow... the Illuminati would reveal their fate.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Through the dungeon’s high window, a little ray of light had started to shine.
“That really rubs it in,” Cassidy said, rolling her neck to ease the aching.
“I think that’s the idea,” Bodie said, looking up. “Increasing the prisoner’s sense of defeat and desolation.”
Cassidy looked at him. “That’s cruel.”
“Well, so are some prisoners. Windows are a reminder of everything they’ve lost. At least... it would be if they could see out.”
Bodie stretched then walked over to the eastern wall. The window was about eighteen feet high, but the wall was jagged and rough. Bodie figured he or Jemma could make it with ease.
“Is it worth the risk?” Cassidy read his mind. “We know it faces east.”
Bodie frowned. “It’d help us figure out where in the world we are so, yeah, it’s worth the risk. Give me a boost.”
“I’ll do it.” Jemma was already running at the wall, eyes searching every nook and cranny. She leapt, toes finding a delve in the wall, fingers gripping an irregular outcrop. Bodie watched her, a wry look on his face.
“Yeah, that’ll be faster.”
It took Jemma about twelve seconds to reach the lip of the high window and another three to find secure foot- and handholds. When she lifted her head to look out, she gave a long, low whistle.
“Bright blue sea, the coastline swings to left and right. Just cliffs to the right but a distant town to the left. Kind of juts out into the sea. Definitely European, but too far away to be clearer than that. No sunrise, so we’re on the west coast.”
“You don’t recognize the town?” Lucie asked.
“I’ve never been there before, I don’t think...” Jemma hesitated.
“To be honest,” Bodie knew what she was thinking, “we visited a lot of places under cover of darkness.”
Thieves often did, he thought. But that was then... this was a whole different ballgame.
“It looks vaguely familiar,” Jemma mused. “But, like I said... too far away.”
Twenty seconds later she was back on the ground. “Did you check the bars?” Bodie asked as an afterthought, slightly embarrassed.
“Crap!” Jemma exclaimed in frustration, but then shook her head at his ridiculous question. “Of course I did. Solid as this rock, wherever it is. Western Europe’s a big chunk of land.”
Bodie nodded, looking at the others. “Whoever they are... they went big. Attacking us in Mexico with no care for collateral damage. Transporting us here. And this... castle. I think I know who we’re dealing with.”
Cassidy nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment there came a rattling sound from outside their door. Bodie turned, half expecting to see a dog with the key in its mouth, but a few more seconds of rattling led only to a hooded figure presenting itself.
“Step outside.”
Bodie figured the accent was also European, although that was as far as his skills went. Taking a deep breath, and wondering how the hell his team had gone from creeping around London to living a quieter life in Mexico to this hellhole in such a short span of time, Bodie stepped out of the dungeon into a crisp morning.
The sun was rising in front of his eyes, peeking over the top of the courtyard walls. For a moment he felt its warmth like a blessing, but then saw the group of hooded men waiting for them and fought a surge of negativity. Just standing here, he spotted two dozen armed men, and realized they were in a major
