Alicia smashed a man on the bridge of the nose, watched him wobble before crashing to the ground, then rubbed the back of her spine against Kenzie’s.
“Hey girlfriend. You ain’t gonna shoot anyone out here. You’ve been outplayed.”
Kenzie didn’t move. “No. Not now. But I do see this treasure hunting game as a way of making money, far better than my previous drab existence of looting in the Middle East and fighting over a slab of ancient fucking rubble. And I will pursue you hard. Next time, you won’t be so lucky.”
“I don’t need luck.” Alicia pushed away from her, swiping another man as she spun. “I have skills. We were all well trained.”
“And you think I wasn’t?” Kenzie actually looked hurt. “The Mossad train the best, Alicia Myles. Remember that. And I was the cream of the crop.”
Alicia noticed several passersby now staring, one man already tugging out a cellphone. “You need to get the hell out of here,” she told Kenzie. “Before you’re arrested by the Turkish police. You’ll also be best served by forgetting you ever heard of our little team.”
Kenzie snarled a little, eyes still set to frostbite. “You won’t get rid of me that easily.”
Alicia grinned happily. “Oh, I should hope the fuck not! We’ll call this a skirmish. A fracas.” She smashed a heel into Kenzie’s midriff, sending her grunting backwards, then spun fast with a high kick that noisily cricked the tendons in a merc’s neck. Holding onto the gun, she waded amongst the remaining men with Russo beside her.
“Don’t hold back, will ya?” he muttered with mock anger.
“Not in my nature.” Alicia fought hand-to-hand, jabbing, deflecting and reversing blows with two of Kenzie’s men. Crouch came back around the side of the coach, struggling to fight off three adversaries with Caitlyn’s help. The newcomer was being coached by Healey in their down time but still had a long, long way to go. Even as Alicia glanced over Caitlyn took a blow to the temple that staggered her. Healey noticed and almost yelped in anguish, tearing away from his current opponent to jump to her aid. Alicia gave chase, but found her way suddenly blocked by a returning Kenzie.
“Get you next time, Myles.”
The Israeli sent a parting shot at Alicia’s ribs, fast and arrow-straight and impossible to block. Alicia felt the impact, grimacing, knowing — as Kenzie had wanted her to — that here was a vicious, capable opponent. She exhaled carefully, ribs bruised.
“Only if you buy a set of muscles, bitch. I’ve had hugs that hurt more than that tap.”
Kenzie struck again, not blinking, not conveying any kind of tell.
Alicia backed away this time, feeling the other woman’s knuckles graze past her cheek. Now at her back she sensed another enemy, turned briefly and saw a tall bearded man reaching for her. As his fingers grabbed her throat she copied Kenzie’s move of moments earlier — this time feeling the fracturing of bones.
“A lesson,” she breathed and slipped away.
Kenzie barked an order, for the first time, it seemed, aware of the loitering passersby and the many visible cellphones. Her men rallied around, careful to conceal what weapons they still carried and started to slip away.
Alicia slipped to Crouch’s side, inventorying their new cache and confident they had secured at least three Uzis. “So we’re not going to be alone on our quest,” she said.
“Never thought we would be.” Crouch gave her a resigned smile. “If a legitimate search for buried treasure does one thing it always draws the rats from their burrows.”
Caitlyn gasped a little as Healey applied a pack of tissues soaked in cold bottled water to the raw swelling on her temple. “At least she’s not totally ruthless,” the Englishwoman said. “And not totally competent.”
Alicia stared after the already departed woman. “I’m reserving judgment,” she said. “That little antic felt almost like a shot across the bows. An opening challenge. If she’s as seasoned as she says she is and a veteran of the Middle East she’ll be more than ruthless. But, hey, it could be worse.”
Crouch grimaced as if recalling some of the worse enemies he’d come across in thirty years of soldiering. “Absolutely. We could have it much, much worse. Is everyone okay?”
The team spoke up. Even Naz joined in, wary but now looking much relieved. Alicia clapped him on the shoulder.
“So now you know what treasure hunting’s all about, how about you get to the good stuff?”
SIX
Later that day the team checked into a Best Western at random, knowing a dogged enemy could still track them but still mindful not to make the task too easy. After the rooms were scanned and bags dumped the team met downstairs for drinks and snacks. Beyond the marble tiled lobby with its domed chandelier and highly polished paneling lay a compact rest area, complete with easy chairs and plush couches. The walls were covered in studded leather and the floors deeply carpeted. Drinks and canapés could be ordered from remote controls housed in the seats’ armrests. Crouch shook his head at the advanced yet sterile technology.
“One more step away from human interaction,” he said. “First texting, then scrolling mobiles and now a computer-controlled waitress.”
“I like it,” Caitlyn said. “Progress is not possible without change.”
“Change is not always progress,” Crouch countered. “As said Henry Ford.”
“Didn’t he design the Model T?”
“Yup. And he made sure you could order it in any color so long as that color was black.”
The team settled unevenly, sprawling on the couches or throwing legs over the armchairs. Russo first waved Alicia away, but then good-naturedly cleared a pile of pillows to the side. Alicia gave him a sidelong glance.
“Chivalry is not dead.”
“Oh it is. I just figure to put you between me and the lobby. Just in case your crazy friend finds us and takes a pot shot.”
Alicia patted the hidden Uzi. “Kenzie? What? You don’t like strong women?”
“Oh I love ‘em. Just not with armies at their backs and a sackful of Uzis.”
Crouch leaned toward them. “Whatever you think of her, this Kenzie person presents us with a unique problem. Our success has already spawned a complex conundrum. How does a specialized team hunt down ancient artifacts without attracting the attention of those who would destroy or steal or hold them for ransom? Truth be told it’s not difficult to track anyone — even us — if you have the right tools.”
“It’s not like you can hop over to these places under the radar,” Caitlyn said, playing with her hair. “They require investigation. Exploring.”
“And quite often the cooperation of locals,” Crouch said. “As you know I do have my contacts, but they’re contacts built over many, many years. My guess is, even these men and women are not infallible.”
“Don’t worry,” Alicia said. “Whether they’re your contacts or not I still wouldn’t trust them.”
Crouch made a face as if he wasn’t quite sure how to take that.
Naz also leaned forward, stealing their attention. “I was not done. When the crazy treasure seeker attacked I was not done. My thought process on learning that the Hercules had joined the Horses in Constantinople went straight to Enrico Dandolo, if you remember? As you now know he was the forty-second Doge of Venice and a particularly distinctive, exceptional man. Blinded in his sixties or seventies he then went on, at age ninety, to lead the Fourth Crusade and even later a foray against the Bulgarians. He died in 1205.”
“The year after Constantinople was sacked,” Crouch said.
“Yes. After successfully relocating the Horses of St. Mark from the quadriga atop the ancient Hippodrome to St. Mark’s Basilica.”