Edge of Tomorrow (53 page)

Tony and his crew were armed with handguns
with silencers. One man, called Becco, was armed with a Russian
AK-47 and stayed with the boat to cover their escape. Tony crept
through the garden outside the west door. He placed plastic
explosives in strategic places on the door at 5:56 P.M. Gunny and
Lexus Six were in their Jeep in front of the castle, hidden in the
trees, when Gunny saw the flash on his portable display.

He spoke into his boom mike, “Lexus Two, this
is Lexus One. I just got an alarm in Sector G; that’s the west door
that leads to the large dining room. Could you check it out?”

“Roger, Lexus One. I’ll take a look,” replied
Lexus Two as he crept slowly from his position at the northwest
corner of the castle.

As Lexus Two moved to check the alarm, Syd
was talking animatedly with Sara and accidentally spilled her drink
on her blouse.

“Shit!” she exclaimed. “I’m so clumsy! I’ll
run upstairs and change. Be right back.”

“OK. Nothing worse than soggy tits,” laughed
Sara.

She dashed upstairs and slipped off her
blouse and bra and was washing the vodka and tonic off her chest
when she heard the explosions which blew down the door. It was 5:58
P.M.

When he heard the explosion, Lexus Two
rose up and saw five men rushing toward the gaping hole where the
door had been. He also saw a man near the moat holding an assault
rifle. He relayed this information to Gunny as he raised his MP-5,
pointed it at the group, switched to automatic fire, and squeezed
the trigger. The leading four men made it through the opening, but
the last man was flung into the bushes by the force of the stream
of 10mm slugs. Becco, the
catenari
guarding the boat, raised his AK-47 and pointed it at Lexus
Two, but he was too slow. The bullets from the MP-5 tore him nearly
in half and threw his body into the rubber boat.

Lexus Two reported, “Two down, but four made
it into the castle. Sorry, Gunny.”

“OK, Lexus Two! Seal that door off! Don’t let
any of those assholes out alive!” yelled Gunny.

Gunny called Coffer aboard Shadow-4 at 5:59
to report what was happening.

“Hang on, Gunny. Let me tell Hatch so we can
get him on board and get to the castle,” said Coffer.

A minute later, Hatch called Gunny and said,
“Gunny! Call Sara on her Blue Phone and warn her. She and Syd are
in there—probably wondering what the fuck’s going on! We’ll be
there in six or seven minutes if we haul ass. Seal the exits, then
go in and protect the women!”

“Wilco, Hatch.”

Gunny gave orders to his crew to seal off the
castle, but to stay alert for other intruders in case there were
more of them. He called the Lexus compound and asked Carmelo to
bring Lexus Seven and Eight to the castle. He ordered Lexus Six to
monitor the alarm screen, then he dialed Sara’s number. She
answered on the first ring.

“What the fuck is happening?” she exclaimed
into the phone, guessing that someone was calling to brief her on
the explosion.Gunny briefed her quickly.

“Shit! How could this happen, Gunny? I
thought this place was sealed off tighter than an old maid’s cunt!”
yelled Sara.

“Sorry, Major! I think they came in on the
moat, and they blew the door just as we detected them!” replied
Gunny.

“OK, Gunny! What’s done is done. Syd went
upstairs a few minutes ago. I don’t know where Teresa is—probably
in her room. Gina and her crew are probably in the back section in
their quarters. This sucks, Gunny! If there are four of those
fuckers in here somewhere, I’d better get moving! I’m going to the
comm room. I’ll get a headset so I can stay in touch. There’s a
weapons storage case in there so I’ll arm myself. Tell everyone
that Syd and Teresa won’t have direct communications with Lexus, so
be careful who you shoot. I’ll be in touch.”

She hung up, ran to the door, and looked down
the hallway. She didn’t see anyone, so she made a dash down the
hall toward the Communications and Computer Room.

Syd had no idea what was happening, but
she quickly dried her chest, put on a clean bra, then pulled on a
black tee shirt which said “HARVARD” on the back in gold letters.
She didn’t know what the explosion was, but remembering the sniper
attack, she assumed it could be an assault by the
catenari
. She decided to be cautious
until she knew for sure exactly what was happening. She wished she
had a weapon, but she didn’t. She opened the door and peered out,
looking up and down the hall, seeing no one.

• • •

Tony, Sonny, Primo, and Roberto had made it
safely into the castle after the door was blown. Rocco and Becco
had not been as lucky. Lexus Two had taken care of them. Tony was
still stunned at the sudden appearance of the man with the
automatic weapon. He would have to find that letter quickly, then
shoot his way back to the boat. Lucchese would not allow failure,
and Tony had never failed him. The letter had to be found. Glancing
at his plan of the castle, he told Sonny to go to the second floor
and search the east wing, Roberto to the second floor west wing,
and Primo to go to the first floor east wing. He saved the first
floor west wing for himself. If they were fruitless in their
search, they would go to the servant’s quarters next. They split up
and began their search.

• • •

Sara reached the Comm/Computer Room and
opened the armory cabinet. The first thing she did was don a
headset and establish contact with the Lexus team. She put a
military utility belt around her waist, and as she hung equipment
on it—two stun grenades, a holstered .45-caliber semiautomatic
pistol, ammunition clips—she dialed Syd’s room phone. There was no
answer.

“Shit! Where are you, Syd?”

• • •

Syd had slipped into the hall and moved
toward the stairs at the north end of the hallway. She stayed
against the east side of the hall, slipping around each suit of
armor and waiting a bit before preceding to the next gap. She did
not hear the phone ringing in her chambers. She had progressed by
three suits of armor when she saw Roberto’s head appear in the
stairwell. She tried to become paint on the wall as she hid behind
a suit of armor. Her heart was pounding so loud that she was sure
the man who emerged into the hall could hear it.

Shit, shit, shit! Now what do I do? I don’t
think he saw me! I need a weapon! Anna, help me! Where is Dr. Z.
when I need her?

She took a shallow breath and moved her head
slightly to the left. It came into contact with something on the
wall. She moved her eyes as far as she could to the left, but
couldn’t see what the object was. She turned her head slowly and
saw the dagger in its jeweled scabbard attached to the wall.

Can I get that without divulging my
location? I have to try! It’s certainly better than no weapon at
all!

She raised her left arm, sucking in her chest
as much as she could, and got a hold on the handle of the dagger
and pulled outward. It popped off the wall, making a snapping
sound. She took in a deep breath and held it. Roberto stopped in
his tracks and listened, looking down the dim hall. He didn’t see
anything except the ghostly forms of the armored knights of
yore.

“Who’s there?” he yelled in Italian.

As his voice echoed down the hall, Syd slid
the dagger from its scabbard, hoping it was not a movie prop. It
had a seven inch blade, sharp on both sides. It was not a fake! She
pushed the scabbard under her belt and took another shallow breath
as Roberto started down the hall again. Sweat had formed on her
brow and under her arms, and she was trembling. Her wet, black
shirt was sticking to her body.

I must do something fast or I’m dead! Can I
make a dash for the secret door at the south end of the hall
without getting shot? I could dodge in and out of the suits of
armor, using them for cover. Then I could get into the secret
passage. There are some handguns in the cabinet at the top of the
tower. Otherwise, I have to face this guy with just this knife!
Even Anna Klein always had a gun as backup!

She heard the man yell something in Italian
again. He sounded closer. She heard a door close. He was searching
the rooms as he came down toward her. She moved slowly to the left
toward the next suit of armor. The shield on the wall scraped her
back and she felt a sharp pain as she tried desperately to remain
unseen as long as she could. She glanced back to her right in the
direction of the approaching stalker and did not see him yet. The
hallway lights were on, but they were, fortunately, very dim.

Think of something, Syd!

• • •

Sara hung up the phone, wondering where Syd
was.

She must have heard the explosion! She
hasn’t a clue as to what’s going on! I’ve got to find her and give
her a weapon!

Sara added some night vision goggles to her
belt and stuck a 9mm Beretta under her belt to give to Syd if she
could find her. She opened the door and peeked into the hall, the
MP-5 at the ready, 3-shot mode selected. The hall was empty so Sara
slipped into it and moved quickly to the south stairway, the one
that led up to the tower. She went quickly to the first landing and
checked the next flight of stairs. They were empty. She slowly
ascended to the second floor and checked again for intruders. Still
no one in sight.

I’ll go check the west wing and see if I can
find Syd.

She spoke quietly into her boom mike, “Gunny,
Sara. I’m on the second floor, east wing, top of the south stairs.
I haven’t seen anything yet. I’m going to see if I can find Syd.
She didn’t answer her fucking phone.”

“Roger, Major. The castle is sealed up and
I’ve sent for backup. Carmelo and Lexus Seven and Eight are on
their way here from the compound, as is Shadow-4 from Rome. I’m on
the first floor, east side. Oops, I see something!”

Unfortunately for Syd, Sara decided to check
Teresa’s room first while she was in the east wing. It was just
four doors down the hall. She moved quietly toward Teresa’s
quarters.

• • •

Down on the first floor, Primo wended his way
to the east wing hallway, looking for any servants who might be
there. He looked forward to torturing someone to make them tell him
where the letter was. He didn’t know what the letter was, but he
liked the torturing part. He knew the kitchen was back there
somewhere. He had been told that there could be some Mafia soldiers
here, so he had to be careful. He turned the corner with his
Beretta leading the way and was surprised when he saw not a servant
or Mafia soldier, but a man in camos holding an MP-5.

“Shit!” he said just before three 10mm lead
slugs hit his face.

Gunny moved swiftly to Primo’s body and made
sure he was dead. He was—most of his head was missing.

“Lexus team, this is Lexus One. I got one in
the east wing, first floor. I’m preceding south to check the rest
of this area,” announced Gunny.

“Gunny, Sara here. I’m checking Teresa’s room
before going to Syd’s chambers. East wing, second floor.”

“Roger, Major. Be careful. We know there are
at least three more of those bastards in here somewhere.”

• • •

As Syd watched for the oncoming killer, her
eyes fell on the shield on which she had scraped her back. In the
center of the shield was a small spike protruding from a green
cross. There was blood on the spike.

No wonder that hurt so bad! A friggin’
spike! Well, I won’t die of blood poisoning. I won’t live long
enough for that! If I can get behind that asshole, maybe the knife
will be enough. Could he possibly walk right by me without seeing
me? Not likely! Think, Syd!

Then a light bulb went off in her head!
Sara had said all of the shields with
green
on them were entrances to the secret
passageway! Could this be one? She looked behind the shield and saw
the small metal ring.

Yes!

She turned and faced the wall, hoping her
butt was not sticking out too far, and pulled the ring. The door
slid smoothly open and she slipped in and closed the door, finding
herself in complete darkness.

Thank you, Anna! You were always a better
survivor than Syd! Now, let’s get that bastard!

She ran her hand along the wall and finally
found the light switch, then switched on the dim lights. She ran a
forearm over her brow to clear off some of the sweat. She finally
noticed that her tee shirt was soaked through with sweat. She could
not remember a closer call in her entire MOSSAD career. Of course,
she was always well-prepared and well-armed then. She put the
dagger back in the scabbard under her belt and tried to regulate
her breathing. She was slowly calming down, but she wished Hatch
was there to hold her and tell her everything would be all
right.

Now what, Dr. Z.? What would Sara expect the
notorious Z. to do now? Where is Sara? Did they get her yet? Do I
go to the tower and get armed, or do I try and take this fucker out
right now, before he can hurt anyone? Will he come back this way
after he clears the hall, or go on to the east wing? God! Teresa’s
room is over there! I can’t take the time to go to the tower! I’ve
got to take him out now, somehow! Hmm.

• • •

Sara reached Teresa’s door and found it ajar,
open about six inches. She could hear voices coming from the room.
She checked her MP-5 and selected two-shot bursts, safety off.

Sonny had found Teresa alone in her room
cowering on the bed. The explosion had frightened and confused her,
and she had forgotten to lock her door. When she claimed to know
nothing about a letter, he had hit her in the face and ripped her
blouse off.

“Tell me where it is, cunt, or you’ll be very
sorry!” he yelled in Italian.

“I can’t! I don’t know anything about any
letter!” she sobbed, her arms across her bare breasts, her mouth
bleeding.