Blood Prize (18 page)

T
hey reached their first destination and Isobel considered it unremarkable. Wombat Gap didn’t appear to differ from any other turn in the track; just more sodden trees and another bracken covered clearing.

She sat with her back against a log, feeling a little nervous.

Tom, where are you? Come back … This might be my only chance to tell you …

With Noah and Surat resting around a bend below her, she sat alone waiting for Tom to come back. She assumed he went into the bush to relieve himself, but because of the wind, she couldn’t hear any movement.

She smiled when he returned and lowered himself onto the ground beside her. In a brief moment of torchlight, she noticed his breath rising in vapours as he spoke.

“How do you feel, Iz?”

“Great. I’ve run out of adrenalin and everything hurts.”

“But, no injuries?”

“No. Just sore around my knees.”

She turned just enough so that she could make out his faint profile.

“Tom, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you like me?”

“Ah …Yeah, sure.”

“I mean more than just a friend?”

“I … Is it that obvious?”

“You don’t have to try so hard, you know. I feel the same way.”

He didn’t respond for some time and she stiffened with anticipation.

“But, Iz … you’re always pushing me away?”

“Yeah, well, I’m a complicated woman.”

She tried to make out his expression, but the darkness defeated her. How could she hope to explain how she felt without the truth?

“How complicated?”

“I … Alright, here goes. I hope you don’t hate me for telling you this. Years ago, I went to a party and …”

Damn it, Noah. Great timing.

Noah appeared out of the darkness. His facial features illuminated by the lowest setting on his torch.

“How’s it going you two?”

Neither answered.

“Don’t allow yourselves to get cold. If your muscles cool down, you won’t be able to walk. We’ll head off in five minutes.”

As he strode off in Surat’s direction, she sighed and stretched out onto her back. She looked up at the sky. Between fast moving clouds and a little intermittent drizzle, she caught a brief glimpse of the stars. The view didn’t last.

“These raindrops actually feel good.”

She opened her mouth and tried to catch some of the moisture, but there wasn’t enough to swallow. She sat up; hugging her knees for balance and watched as the clouds raced by.

“Does it bother you being thought of as a criminal, Izzi?”

“No. I’m already a criminal. I earned that status before we met.”

“What are you talking about?”

“As I said. I’m a complicated woman.”

“You’re also full of surprises.”

She flinched as he leant over and tried to kiss her. His lips initially felt rough and cold and she fought against the need to pull away.

Oh God … No …

He rolled towards her; his body covering hers.

“Get off … Get off, Tom.”

She felt sickened. Panicked. She thrashed her head from side to side and pushed at him until he rolled away.

They both lay on their backs without speaking; her ears throbbing and her ribs expanding with pain as she tried to regain some control.

Oh God … Oh God … What have I done?

She could hear his heavy ragged breath. He groaned as he got to his feet and stood over her.

“Alright, I think we’re done here.”

“You shouldn’t have touched me, Tom.”

“Why the hell not. We’re adults who apparently like each other.”

“I need to explain something to you.”

“No … Enough.”

She heard him shuffle away in the darkness. She shivered. Her body feeling stiff with cold.

I’m so sorry, Tom … So, so sorry.

She started to sob.

_____________

Tom felt the heat of embarrassment on his cheeks as he eased his way through the darkness towards Noah and Surat. He also recognised the feeling in his chest.

How does she do it? I actually feel ashamed for kissing her.

Women seemed to like kissing him; all of them except the one he really wanted. He didn’t understand her.

She throws herself on me one minute and pushes me away the next.

He clenched his teeth in anger and slowly shook his head. He felt wet and cold, and an almost constant sense of alarm, yet his feelings for her created more anguish than anything else. He felt distracted to the point of debilitation, which he knew equated to extreme danger in this environment.

No matter how it feels … Don’t go there. Focus. Take control. Be strong.

He heard Noah breathing heavily and to his surprise, the sound of gunfire coming from higher up the mountain.

Tom leant closer and whispered to Noah.

“I don’t understand. Who are they shooting at?”

Even in the shadowy light, Noah’s concern seemed evident.

“The odds aren’t good that it’s Petra. That leaves Uta. She’s fighting her way down the track. There’s no other explanation I can think of.”

“She’s following us? She can’t come back.”

“No. She doesn’t want to.”

“Then why would she put herself in danger’s way?”

“You can’t compare her to other human beings, Tom. She doesn’t feel fear like us. She doesn’t know if we have the Prize, but she’ll attack now nonetheless. If she doesn’t get it, she’ll take the next best thing … You.”

Tom felt a lump in his throat.

“This must be what paranoia feels like; everyone’s out to get me.”

“I’m afraid so, Tom. If she gets past Vogel, we’ll have to kill her to stop her.”

“Looks like we’re in for a pleasant evening.”

Great conversation. Who wants a truth like that?

His truth created fear in all of its forms. The future seemed impossible. To get off this mountain, they needed to outrun Vogel, keep Uta at bay and break through the Assembly SRP defences at the base of the mountain. If they achieved this, they still required a disappearing act to evade capture and a miracle to find the Prize.

Tom closed his eyes and attempted to focus on Noah’s mindless confidence technique; tricking his brain into believing that he could exist amongst so much chaos.

He heard Noah groan as he raised himself from the ground.

“Alright team, this is it. From here on, we’re in danger of running into their forward placements. Tom, you and Isobel, are to stay at least ten metres behind and use whatever natural light to watch me for directions. Absolutely no speaking from here on.”

Without another word, the group moved into formation; Surat controlling the rear, Tom and Isobel the middle and Noah further forward, taking the point.

They reached Tobias Gap, their next rest stop, without incident.

Tom considered the cutting just as indistinct as the previous rest stop, or any other part of this difficult terrain. He sat down just as Noah began to rise.

“Alright. Time to go. Same formation. No talking.”

Tom didn’t even have time to normalise his breathing. He moved forward and passed Isobel; making sure he gained the front position so he didn’t have to keep seeing the faint shape of her body.

Don’t think, just act. Focus on Noah and nothing else.

His empty mind technique failed. Moments seemed exaggerated into hours. Thoughts kept creeping in; her kiss, the feel of her body and strangely, his father’s broken watch. In time it became the dominant thought. Something about it troubled him.

This doesn’t make sense … Unless?

It occurred to him that the remaining hand might be a clue. His father performed tasks in a precise and measured way; a man that didn’t do anything without a specific reason.

Why would he leave it to me in such poor shape? There must be more to this than the storage chip we found in the mechanism, yet the missing hand seems far too obvious.

He heard a low and urgent voice.

Noah?

“Stop. Wait.”

In the few moments of their stoppage, Tom felt his sweat turn cold and he started to shiver. As he rubbed himself for warmth, he perceived movement in the forest beside him.

“Noah. Quick. To your left.”

A blood-soaked creature sprang out from the fern scrub; her movements so fast that nobody in the G11’s found time to react.

Uta.

No-one moved. Uta held the group within the sweeping arc of her weapon’s rapid side to side movement. The barrel communicating her threat, far better than any words.

“Fox. You. Here. Now.”

She pointed the weapon at Surat and her facial expression twisted into a bloodied scowl.

“Sir … Rat. You self-important prick. Say goodbye to your friends.”

Surat dived headlong for cover, but the force of the bullets tore him apart and destroyed his life. With a thump, he tumbled amongst the bracken beyond their view.

“I always wanted to kill that idiot.”

Tom grabbed Isobel by the arm and pulled her behind him. He glanced back at Uta. Her grin looked like it belonged to a blooded skull.

“Time to wave bye-bye, Noah. You’re about to become a corpse.”

T
he chairman scrutinised the other six dapper men sitting around the table. They appeared grotesque, with old stone-hard faces, beak like noses and enormous jowls. Their horrible expressions amused him. They reminded him of a sentry of gargoyles, employed by the Church to scare away the devil and all of his imps.

I know your collective mind.

Their eyes and lower jaws appeared to be the only part of their anatomy to move; each making use of a stiff demeanour and a formal set of manners, as a well-constructed facade.

You can’t hide your black hearts from me.

Their stoic faces disguised all thought from those that didn’t know better; concealing any hint of emotion.

Good. They honour their true Gods; money, power and title.

He felt relieved. The group cast their vote and to a man, they agreed, but the chairman knew that none felt happy with the decision.

None could refuse such an offer, but the cost …?

The price meant granting a monster the power to rule the spiritual world. In return, they elevated themselves to the summit of Mount Olympus; he like Zeus and six other man-made Gods to rule the physical world as they liked, yet each man suffered his decision with anxious unease, like smelling wood-smoke deep within a forest.

With a slight tilt of his head, Antonio Costa, Chairman of the Assembly of the True Faith, motioned for his assistant to attend him.

“Keep the cardinal waiting. A little stress might minimise the cost of our negotiations.”

Antonio turned and concentrated on the other six members of the Assembly. Breaking a long-standing protocol, he revealed his palpable distaste for the cardinal to every member of the gathering.

He smiled at their astonished expressions.

“You see my feelings on this matter, gentlemen, as I clearly know yours.”

He spat the words at them, like unwanted phlegm.

“I have no doubt that the man can deliver his promise, but we will need to perform miracles to keep him in line. If we give our power to this black-hearted cardinal, we will no longer be behind the scenes. Instead, we’ll be exposed in our holy quest, for all to see.”

Antonio held back his smile, as the small balding man rose to address the board. Secretly he considered him the antagonist of the group; the one bringing hostility to the table at every opportunity.

“This is a perilous situation. What do you propose, Mr Chairman?”

“I propose nothing. I am just stating the obvious. When this endeavour begins, we will have to control the environment like never before. This means eliminating any opposing us. We must take every measure to win our rightful place in God’s plan for humanity, despite the probable toll. Remember gentleman, men have fought many wars for God. Body counts don’t matter, only victory does.”

“And how will we control the cardinal?”

“With all of our means. He can’t pass wind unless we have caused it to happen.”

“Mr Chairman, is this feasible? Once he holds the high ground, it will be much more difficult to apply our influence.”

“We have the man-power inside the Vatican. We will monitor his every movement, his every word; day and night. I am more than confident that we can control him.”

“And, what of the Prize, Mr Chairman. In the wrong hands …?”

“Yes. Even from the holiest of positions, the Black Cardinal will answer to us, unless he gets his hands on the Prize. If that occurred, we would become unnecessary and you know what that would mean.”

After a long silence, the balding man rose once again to speak.

“This Fox situation requires permanent closure, Mr Chairman. It’s time to remove the threat.”

“Yes. I have given this a lot of thought and I agree. It’s time.”

The chairman swallowed down his repugnance. He didn’t agree, but what choice did he have?

“The Fox situation is dangerous, given our involvement with the cardinal. If you are all in agreement, I will order a thorough clean-up operation. We’ll simply remove all of the other parties, including Vogel. I have reason to believe that duplicity already exists as far as he is concerned.”

“And, the priest …?”

The chairman suppressed a need to groan.

“Everyone involved in an operational sense will have to be eliminated, including Fox and the priest.”

He struggled to hold back his feelings regarding the priest, the man he once knew like a son. Yet, hadn’t God given his Son for the greater good?

“If the Prize isn’t recovered, there is always going to be the danger that it will resurface at a later and more inappropriate moment. Once the order is made, both the players and the Prize are mere rumour.”

“And how soon can this be achieved, Mr Chairman?”

The bald man continued to test him.

Stay focused. Stay strong.

“Ah, clever. Very clever. You have scratched the surface and discovered our new dilemma. We’ve lost contact with Vogel … For the moment.”

“We’ve lost contact? Surely this is dangerous?”

“We’ve lost contact, not control. This situation presents little danger to our endeavours.”

A dangerous lie. Divert their attention. Focus on their success.

“I suggest that we wait for a renewed connection and then send in our clean-up crew without alerting him.”

Antonio took a deep breath and tried to let go of some of his tension.

“I have already taken the liberty of finding a replacement for our head of security. I’ll present him as soon as possible. Are we agreed so far, gentleman?”

The Assembly board cast their vote without betraying the slightest trace of emotion. Seven expressionless nods confirmed Vogel’s fate. The same warrant included the termination notice for Tom Fox, Isobel Kite and all of the G11 team.

“Gentlemen, it’s time to bring in our black-hearted cardinal. We’re about to make him God’s holiest living man and His leader on earth.”