Bodie’s muscles were stretched to breaking point, Cassidy’s grim face stared up at him as she dangled helplessly below.
He held on.
The chopper rose and rose, finding calmer air. When, finally, Bodie felt Jemma’s helping hands, he hauled Cassidy inside the craft. Sitting forward, he tried to catch his breath but was totally spent. The altitude, the relentless pursuit, the battle—it had all exhausted him.
Yasmine, still hanging on to the outside of the bird, yelled at the pilot. “What are you waiting for? Get us the fuck out of here!”
Bodie still struggled to speak. “Not Base Camp,” he managed. “India, preferably.”
The man nodded, but even as he sighed and smiled at Cassidy, Bodie saw that they weren’t out of this yet.
Nimrod’s helicopter was turning to face them.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
They tried to kill the pilot first.
Bullets struck the cockpit. The man tugged at the collective, swinging the chopper away, screaming curses at men who, until recently, he’d been swapping jokes with. That said, Bodie saw only Hoods in Nimrod’s chopper.
“Stay facing them,” he urged. “If you run, they’ll chase and shoot our engines.”
Yasmine added her will to the standoff, leaning out the far door and sending several bullets flying.
The other pilot flinched, swerving his own bird to the right. Seconds later, both helicopters hovered, rotors whirling, as the fresh snow settled below and the roar of the avalanche subsided.
“They have another chopper,” Jemma said.
“I know, but it’s not here. Maybe it left with the ore for safety.”
Cassidy pulled herself upright, still breathing hard. “We can’t stay here all day.”
Bodie shouted at the pilot to perform a quick maneuver, to dip low and shoot underneath the other craft.
The man looked at him as if he were mad, but Bodie leveled the gun at his head.
A second later their bird was falling, then flying underneath Nimrod’s before arcing around at an angle. Their unexpected move brought them out behind the other chopper just as its pilot reacted.
Yasmine opened fire. Jemma scooted for the other door, leaned out and joined her.
Their bullets raked Nimrod’s chopper, shattering windows and killing at least two men. Blood sprayed the insides, even flew out the window into the freezing air.
“Quick, before they decide what to do.” Bodie pointed to the east. “Just go.”
Their pilot needed no further urging, swooping down and then gathering speed as he flew low over the smaller serrated peaks. Bodie swiveled and watched their enemy, prepared for any change of course the chopper might make, but Nimrod’s craft just hung in the sky as if those on board were checking its continued viability... or perhaps waiting for orders.
Bodie didn’t relax. He breathed deeply, checked his body for wounds, and gulped down water. He ate and made sure the others followed his lead.
Apart from aches, bruises and scratches, Lucie complaining about a twisted ankle, and Cassidy lamenting a pulled shoulder muscle, they were no more the worse for wear than they had been since escaping the Illuminati stronghold.
Lucie produced the plastic bag out of her backpack and showed it to them. “All for five ounces of ore,” she muttered. “I hope it’s worth it.”
“Five down, and five to go,” Jemma said.
Lucie didn’t look pleased. “And they have the advantage of already knowing where the crucible is.”
“We slowed them down once, in Algeria,” Bodie said. “We can do it again. Have faith.”
“I’d rather have the crucible,” Lucie muttered. “It will be vital.”
“I’d rather know what the reward is, to be honest,” Jemma said. “I mean, the prophecy finishes: ‘To reap the reward of the Ishtari, and reign through His glorious power.’ The Illuminati are taking that as literally ruling the world. So I ask you—what kind of reward could possibly enable its benefactor to rule the world?”
Bodie stared at her. “Crap, that’s a good point.”
“Listen, guys,” Cassidy said. “We gotta focus. There are still five shrines to find before we get to the crucible. And we gotta beat that fuckhead Nimrod to them.”
Bodie stared out the window at the stunning mountainous vistas passing below. “Buffalo Lake, Canada,” he said. “I forget the other four.”
“No you don’t,” Jemma laughed. “You just wanna change the Hades subject. And the other four are Hawaii, Easter Island, Stonehenge and—”
“Loch Ness,” Bodie finished. “I’ve never been. I think we should start in Scotland.”
“It’s a long way,” Lucie said dubiously. “It’ll be a long time before we arrive.”
“No way,” Bodie said, feeling a sense of optimism. “Don’t worry, people. We’ll be relic hunting again before you know it.”
The helicopter thundered toward the western skies.
THE END
Here ends Book One of the Illuminati Duology. I hope you enjoyed the start of the adventure and are looking forward to the finale—The Illuminati Deluge, to be released in September 2021. I’m aware that some readers don’t enjoy waiting for the second part of a long story, and that’s why I made it clear in the book title and description that this was the first of a two-part series so that those readers could pick copies up after they’re both available.
In other news, my next release—in June—is the TENTH ANNIVERSARY Matt Drake novel, a milestone book that celebrates ten years of Matt Drake and friends getting themselves into trouble. For the first time, I can reveal here and now that the Relic Hunters will appear in that book.
Until then, stay safe! See you in June!
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