looking for this.”
Dial took the map from Payne and studied it in the beam of the headlight. He instantly recognized the geography of Mount Athos. “Is this a
Payne nodded. “The man who killed my colleague was a hit man who used to work for the FSB. When I questioned him, he said he’d been hired by someone with a Mediterranean accent. We assumed he might be Greek, but we don’t know that for sure.”
“Why Greek?”
“Because the treasure is Greek. That is, if it even exists.”
Payne gave him a quick summary of the story of Richard Byrd, Heinrich Schliemann, and the possible existence of the lost throne. In addition, he filled him in on all the other treasures that could have been removed from Constantinople before the fire, everything from gold relics to ancient manuscripts.
“I think you’re right,” Dial said. “Our two matters are probably related.”
“I know. So what are we going to do about it?”
Dial gave the question some thought. “As far as I’m concerned, Interpol is here for one reason only: to catch the men who killed the monks. Everything else is a nonissue to me.”
Payne nodded in appreciation. “Glad to hear it.”
“And,” Dial said as he pointed at the map, “since my suspects seem to be heading toward this location, it might be nice if we could tag along with you.”
“That’s fine with me. Unless . . .”
“Unless what?”
“Unless the kid is going to be a problem.”
“You mean Marcus? He won’t be a problem at all. D.J. just saved his life. I really doubt he’s going to ask to see your visitor’s pass.”
Payne smiled. “Good. Because there’s one other thing I’ve been keeping from you. And it’s kind of hard to explain. . . .”
71
Payne asked Allison to step out of the shadows where she had been ordered to wait.
Dial stared at her in disbelief. He wasn’t expecting Payne’s big surprise to be a female. “You brought a
Payne ignored the comment. “Nick, this is Allison. She was with Richard Byrd when he was killed in Russia. She goes wherever I go until this thing is done.”
Dial nodded in understanding. “Nice to meet you, Allison.”
She smiled and shook his hand. “You too.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your friend.”
“Thanks.”
“Okay,” Payne said, cutting them off. “Now that the introductions are out of the way, we’d better get moving. The longer we stand around, the more time we waste.”
Jones walked toward Dial and handed him a radio. “I got this from Petros. You should update the guards and tell them to stay below this ridgeline. We’ll leave the headlights on as a beacon.”
“Wait,” Dial said, “isn’t that counterproductive? Obviously, the Spartans have made it this far. It stands to reason that they’re ahead of us.”
“Some probably are,” Jones explained. “But so far, we’ve killed four soldiers who seemed pretty intent on stopping us from climbing this mountain. My guess is there are more Spartans down there, lying in wait. Let the guards worry about those guys. We can take care of the rest.”
The Spartan scout listened from the nearby trees, and then ran off to warn Apollo.
If they stopped this group of five, who were only a few minutes behind, they would have all the time they needed to locate the book. But that task would be tougher than it sounded, because these soldiers seemed to be far more competent than the other guards. The two largest men had already killed four hoplites in the last hour. Normally, it was the Spartans who showed such efficiency in battle, not their opponents.
Of course, if there was one thing the Spartans enjoyed, it was a worthy adversary.
Payne led the way, followed by Dial, Allison, Andropoulos, and Jones. They trudged single file up the steep terrain, with enough space between them to lessen the effects of a sneak attack. If a Spartan leapt out of a tree, he would only be able to attack one person in Payne’s group before someone got off a gunshot. At least that was Payne’s rationale. The truth was that in all of his years of soldiering he had never faced an opponent who preferred ancient weaponry to guns.
It forced him to view things from a whole new perspective.
Twenty minutes after leaving the motorcycles, the group came across a narrow chasm in the center of a long ridge. Payne and Jones shined their flashlights along the steep rock face, searching for an easier way around it, while the other three members of their party caught their breath. The temperature had started to drop, and the minor injuries that Dial and Andropoulos had suffered in their bike crash had started to take their toll. Their breathing had become labored, not only because of the thinning air but because their ribs had been bruised in the fall.
None of the three spoke as they took turns gulping bottled water.
Meanwhile, Jones caught up to Payne along the ridge. “What do you think?”
“We either go through here or walk a half-mile out of the way.”
Jones nodded. “We have to be careful. A smart soldier would use this to his advantage.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
The two of them walked back and joined the others. Jones explained to them what needed to be done. “This is a classic choke point. We need to pass through it as quickly as possible. Jon will go first, followed by Nick, and so on. Once you climb through, be on full alert.”
While the others got ready, Payne pulled Allison aside.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” she answered. “Tired, but fine.”
“Well, you’re doing great. Just keep it up.”
She smiled in appreciation.
“Do you understand what we need you to do here?”
“Climb through and be ready to move.”
“Simple enough, huh?”
“I think I can handle it.”
“For the next few minutes, can you do me a small favor?”
She nodded. “Sure. What did you have in mind?”
Payne pulled out the gun they had taken from Petros. “Can you carry this for me?”
She stared at the weapon with disdain in her eyes.
“Listen,” he said, “I know you’re not comfortable with guns. Up until now I haven’t given you one because I’ve seen the way you’ve looked at mine. But here’s the problem. For the next few minutes, our numbers will be cut in half. If we’re going to be attacked, this is where they’re going to do it. Tactically speaking, I need to do whatever I can to strengthen our odds. That means I need everyone to be armed.”
“Well,” she said, “since you put it like that, how can a gal resist?”
Apollo knew he was outnumbered. His scout had warned him of that. But the beauty of his plan-which was similar to King Leonidas’s tactic to hold off thousands of Persians in the Battle of Thermopylae- was that he wouldn’t have to fight all his opponents at once. He would wait until their numbers were divided, then he would attack.
Instead of five against three, he would fight them three against three.
Then he would pick off the others when they rushed into the fray.
