The Cathari Treasure (Cameron Kincaid) (8 page)

Marie wrapped her arms around
Nicole.  “Nicole, ouvrez vos yeux, ouvrez vos yeux!  Open your eyes,
let me see you!”

Nicole did open her eyes,
leaving her hands on the sides of her head.  “What happened?” asked Nicole,
“Everything was so loud, then no sound.”

Cameron helped them to their
feet, “It was the club,” he gestured back.  “They blew up the club.”

Marie now realized for the first
time that La Sirène Bleue was in flames.  She put her hand on Cameron’s
shoulder to push him aside, “Glenda.  We have to go back.”  Cameron
put his arms around her and held her, shielding her from the fate of her
friend.  She pushed at his chest with her forearms, “We have to go, she
needs our help.”

“There is nothing we can do,”
said Cameron.  “We have to get out of here.”

Nicole was composed.  She
took Marie by the shoulders and pulled her back toward her.  “Mister
Kincaid is right.  She has gone to the next life.  We must go.”

Marie pulled her arms from
Cameron’s chest and pressed her wrists against her forehead.  “You are
right,” said Marie.  Her tone lowered, her hysteria passed.  “We must
go.”

Cameron turned back to view the
burning building.  Two more smaller explosions murmured from within the
club, the second causing a tall flume to shoot out above.

“I don’t see anybody.  They
must think we were in the club.  Let’s go now before they start snooping
around.”

* * *
* *

Montreal

“Are you back in the city?”
asked Claude.

“I am in a city alright but not New
York,” said Cameron.

“Oh, you are still in Boston.”

“Actually, I left Boston, and my
Mercedes this morning.”

“So where are you?”

“Would you believe I’m walking
the streets of Montreal?”

“I love Montreal.  What the
hell are you doing there?”

“The hits just keep on
coming.  After I talked to you in this morning in Boston…”

Claude had answered the phone
expecting Cameron to tell him he had returned to New York.  Cameron
explained to him that was far from the case.  As Cameron led the women
along the side streets toward the hotel he briefed Claude about the skinny
tie-dyed man, the car chase across the Zakim Bridge, the bus ride to Montreal,
and then finally the fate of Glenda and La Sirène Bleue.  Then, as Marie
and Nicole whispered prayers by his side, Cameron told Claude what he knew
about what he had been drawn into.

After hearing Cameron’s account
of the day’s adventure, Claude was momentarily silent.  Then Claude asked,
“All of that since we spoke this morning?”

“I tell you, what happened here
was exactly like what happened to us in Tangier ten years ago,” said Cameron.

“I don’t like the sound of this
Rex Mundi, and I think you are right, it all sounds too familiar.  This
all adds up to only bad news,” said Claude.

“I’m sure you’re right, but I
gave Marie and Nicole my word that I would get them to safety.  I need to
see this through to the end, whatever that means.”

“It might mean your end my
friend.  My advice to you is to tread lightly.”  Cameron heard Claude
sigh, and then Claude continued, “Can I help you?  Would you like me to
come to Montreal?”

 “Thanks Claude, you don’t
need to come up here.  I need you to keep things together until I get
back.”

“Of course.”

“There is one thing you can do
though,” said Cameron.

“I will call him,” said Claude,
“as soon as I am off the phone with you.”

“Ha, ha.  You don’t miss a
trick.”

Claude knew that Cameron needed
Pepe, a friend from their time together in the Legion.  Pepe lived in
Montreal and Claude could easily find most anyone he and Cameron had served
with.

“Find a safe place to wait for
the call,” said Claude.

“Thanks Claude.  I’ll hang
tight until then.”

Cameron finished the call and
then looked at the battery indicator on his phone.  The Mercedes charged
the cell phone’s battery when the phone was plugged into the car.  Cameron
did not have another way to charge the phone, and now a day out, the battery
was already half gone.  Cameron decided he would wait for the call from
Pepe and then go silent, using the phone sparingly until he needed to reach out
again.

The sound of sirens filled the
streets as emergency vehicles fleeted to the remnants of La Sirène Bleue. 
Cameron, Marie, and Nicole had walked three blocks away from the club before
circling back downtown toward the hotel to wait for Pepe’s call.

Though the day had been long,
the evening was still young.  Back on the avenue, couples and small groups
were as they had been when the three so pleasantly left the hotel only a short
time before.

When they walked into the lobby
Marie, wide eyed and jaw open, took in Cameron and Nicole under the
light.  “We look a mess,” said Marie.  She reached up and tucked
Cameron’s shirt collar back below his blazer.  “Shall we meet in the
restaurant?”

“That would be fine,” said
Cameron.  He forced a smile back at Marie and Nicole, not only for their
sake, also for his own.  “I’ll see you in there in a few minutes.”

* * *
* *

Pepe

With a swagger and a nod to the
hostess, Pepe Laroque entered the hotel restaurant.  He proceeded to the
table in the back of the restaurant where the light was lowest.  Cameron,
Marie, and Nicole were at the table waiting for him.  As Pepe approached
the table he opened his arms to Cameron.  “Mon ami Cameron,” said Pepe in
his deep French accent, and the two embraced and traded kisses on each cheek.

“Retirement is treating you well
my old friend,” said Cameron.  He was referring to the paunch Pepe had
developed that was mostly hidden by his black sweater and sport coat. 
Pepe was not
fat,
still his short height betrayed his
girth.

“It is a good life,” said Pepe
placing both hands on his belly, “We cannot all be eternally trim, like the
Dragon Chef.”

Cameron brushed his finger
across his nose, “You heard that.”

“I heard.”

Cameron gestured to the
table.  “May I introduce Marie and Nicole,” said Cameron.  “Marie,
Nicole, this is my dear old friend Pepe.”

“Bonsoir Monsieur Pepe, Je suis
heureux de vous rencontrer,” said Marie.

“Bonsoir,” said Nicole.

“Bonsoir Mesdames enchanté,”
said Pepe, a gleam in his eye.  “Let us just say I am a dear friend, not
so old.”

“Have a seat,” said Cameron.

“You have picked rough company,”
said Pepe as he took his seat.

“I kind of fell into this,” said
Cameron.

“I was speaking to the
ladies.”  Pepe raised his eyebrows and leaned slightly toward Marie and
Nicole, “Beware of this one I tell you.  In all of the years I have known
him, he is never far from falling it seems.”

Nicole giggled at Pepe’s
exaggerated cavalier manner and Marie kindly released a subtle smile, a compliment
on her part.

Pepe waived over the
waiter.  “Garcon, une autre carafe de vin s'il vous plait,” said Pepe and
then, having ordered wine, he was quick to business.  “When old Claude
called I was expecting that you or he would be in town for a visit.  Then
I said to myself, Pepe, it is something up with Kincaid.  And to be
sure.”  Pepe opened his eyes wide.

“So Claude has filled you in?”
asked Cameron.

“I know nothing really.  I
do not want to know.”  His pleasant grin shifted to a sneer and his tone to
low and sarcastic, “But I did like that little jazz club that disappeared
tonight.”

Marie dropped her eyes to the
table.  Pepe squinted at Marie, pursed his lip, let the corners of his
mouth turn up, and then said, “But a little adventure is good for the
blood.”  Pepe winked at Cameron, “Anything you need my friend.”

The waiter brought over a carafe
of wine for the table, “Merci,” they each said softly, almost in unison.

Cameron raised his glass to
Pepe, “There really is nothing to tell, not now anyway.  But we need to
get to Toronto, and we need your help.”

Pepe slipped his hand into his
sport coat, produced a set of keys and a ticket to the hotel garage, and placed
them on the table.  “Take my car,” said Pepe.  “It’s a Chevy. 
It is not as nice as your Mercedes if I remember.  But it will serve you
nicely.”

Marie pulled the envelope that
Glenda had given her from her handbag.  “How much do you need?  We do
not have much but it is all for you if you like.”

Pepe held his palm to the
envelope, “Please,” said Pepe, “You I forgive, Cameron knows better.”  He
reached back into his jacket pocket, pulled out a small notebook, and tore away
a page.  He held the paper up with one hand and fiddled with the key ring
on the table with the other.  When Pepe found the key he was looking for
he dangled the key ring next to the paper.  “This is the address to a
cabin I have on Lake Ontario, and this round key opens the side door. 
Stop there on your way to rest for the night.”  He looked at the three of
them and then under his breath said, “It will do you some good.  You look
like you need it.”

“Merci Monsieur,” said Marie.

Pepe smiled, toasted them with a
nod, and then took a drink.  “Under the seat you will find a friend.”

“I have a gun,” said Cameron.

Pepe chuckled, “Of course you
do, only you would bring one across the border in these times.”  Pepe’s
eyes went stern, “One can never have too many.”  Cameron nodded his head
in agreement.  Their long shared history in the Legion had taught them
that armament was not something to be missed when needed.

When the wine was finished, Pepe
walked them to the door.  “If you need anything call me, and try to return
my car in one piece.”

“You are a true friend Pepe.”

Pepe grabbed Cameron’s shoulders
and placed a kiss on each cheek, “Viva Legionne.”

Cameron peered deeply into
Pepe’s eyes, “The Legion is our strength.”

* * *
* *

Highway 401

Pepe was right in that the old
Chevy was not the Mercedes.  The numbing hum of the engine muted out all
else in the car.  Pepe was also right that Cameron had always put himself
close to trouble, inviting trouble by daring convention.  Few Americans
join the French Foreign Legion and Cameron had been one of them.

Apart from French officers, only
a quarter of the ranks of the French Foreign Legion are French, the rest are
foreign nationals from countries such as Bosnia, Germany, England, and even the
United States of America.  Though the romantic idea of adventure seeking
may have an underlying truth for some and the idea of running from something
appealing to others, the harsh realities of the Legion are for elite
professional soldiers signing on for the esprit de corps unique to the Legion
or for the chance of citizenship awarded after five years of service.

During candidate selection in
Aubagne, Cameron pushed for a position in Corsica, home of the elite Second
Foreign Parachute Regiment.  That merely to try out for the elite unit
meant signing a longer hitch in the Legion with no guarantee of being accepted in
the regiment was of no consequence to Cameron.  The training almost killed
Cameron, still he landed a dragon badge, and if he was looking for trouble
there was no shortage during his time as a commando.

Marie and Nicole were both
asleep before they escaped the lights of the Montreal.  Cameron tilted the
rearview mirror to check on Nicole.  She was sunk down in the back seat,
her head impossibly tilted against the armrest.

Gazing at the young woman,
barely a woman, sleeping in the back seat Cameron knew he was far removed from
the covert operations of his days as a soldier.  Those years and that life
were put behind him when he moved to New York and opened Le Dragon Vert with
Claude where he would become known as the Dragon Chef.

This was a new kind of trouble
and Cameron was not sure that he understood.  He asked himself why were
these people after such a sweet young woman?  What kind of treasure could
be driving such madness?  And the Rex Mundi themselves, why had he not
heard of them before?  Cameron thought back, maybe he had confronted the
Rex Mundi under another name, another guise.  He certainly performed many
missions against questionable shadowy groups and clandestine men.  Cameron
himself was not alien to the fervor of cult mentality.  ‘Viva Legionne’,
‘The Legion is our strength’.  Cameron had accepted his role some would
call mercenary and never wasted a moment on the moral hazards of his
actions.  To dwell on the morality of his actions, to question his orders,
Cameron never saw the point.  Cameron always believed he was fighting the
good fight.  He felt that way now.  Cameron knew in his heart that he
was one of the good guys.  To Cameron that meant that if the Rex Mundi
were fighting the bad fight, they were the bad guys.  Though Cameron may
have left the Legion, he felt as compelled now as ever to fight the good fight,
to defeat the bad guys like the Rex
Mundi, that
much
remained the same.