Lea’s phone rang again. “Eden.”
Hawke sighed. “Something tells me he’s not going to like our report.”
Lea told him about Alex’s report and then flicked the phone to speaker. They all heard Eden’s upper-class English voice as he said, “And something tells me you’re not going to like what I have for you, either.”
Hawke braced himself. “We can take it, Rich.”
“I can confirm everything Alex has told you, and there’s more bad news. Things are moving fast. Faulkner’s freezing our assets wherever they can find them,” Eden said grimly.
“Our money?” Scarlet asked.
He nodded. “We need money for everything we do, from paying for jet fuel to bribing officials to buying weapons and ammo. Without money we’re powerless.”
“A good job you have Nikolai on your team, my friends,” the Russian said. “I never needed money to get whatever I wanted in life. You tell me what you want and I get it.”
Reaper gave him a hefty pat on the back. “Merci, mon ami.”
But it’s not going to be enough, Hawke thought. Nikolai might be able to use his skills to acquire them food or hotel rooms, hire cars or gasoline, but he was going to struggle when it came to providing private jets or submachine guns or fake passports. Still, it was better than nothing.
“Thanks, Kolya,” Hawke said. “We appreciate it.”
“Stealing food to survive?” Zeke said. “Shit, I thought this was going to be like James Bond and now you say we’re eating out of trash cans.”
Nikolai tutted. “Never! Not with me around.”
“And not with me around, either,” Hawke said, steeling himself for the oncoming battle. “We’ve been through too much together to be starved like rats and snuffed out by a scumbag like Faulkner.”
When the room’s heavy bakelite telephone rang, everyone jumped. Lea was closest. She picked up the phone between the beds and spoke in hushed tones for a few moments before hanging up and turning to the others. “That was the front desk. They say our cards have been rejected. They say we have an hour to pay for the rooms or they’re going to throw us out.”
A grim silence filled the room.
Scarlet was first to speak. “So it’s already started.”
“What cash have we got?” Hawke asked.
They turned out their pockets and threw it on the bed.
Ryan scanned the pile in a few seconds. “Less than a thousand bucks US.”
Kamala stared at the messy jumble of bills and coins scattered in a heap all over the bed and gasped. “How does he do that?”
“Don’t go there,” Lea said.
Lexi blew out a breath of frustration. “That’s not going to take us very far.”
Nikolai took off his gold ring. “This is worth two thousand.”
“And this watch is a thousand euros,” Reaper said as he unbuckled the strap.
Lexi took off a ring. “Maybe a thousand… I can’t stop thinking about Alex.”
“I still can’t believe she said we’re on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives list,” Lea said. “That’s not just public enemy number one in the USA, but the entire world.”
“What — us versus the entire world’s military?” Ryan said. “That seems a little unfair.”
“He’s right,” Scarlet said. “They don’t stand a chance.”
“So what do we do now?” Zeke asked.
“Yeah,” Ryan said. “What do we do about Alex and Jack Brooke?”
Reaper gave a long Gallic shrug and started to search through the pockets of his denim jacket for his tobacco tin. “The answer is obvious, mes amis.”
“More than obvious,” Hawke said, his jaw tightening. “We go and get them, is what.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Land of the Gods represents the closing chapter in the ECHO team’s latest struggle and the beginning of a new adventure which has been a long time in the making. Ever since Faulkner’s first appearance in The Aztec Prophecy back in September 2016, I’ve been developing the storyline of his seizing power and isolating the ECHO team, starting with his destruction of their HQ on Elysium in The Secret of Atlantis two months later.
Planning long arcs like this is challenging but a lot of fun and it’s great finally to be able to roll it out. I hope this is working in a way that you enjoy, and keen-eyed readers might have noticed a few loose ends that might have to be tied up in the future. With this in mind, Hawke’s brand new adventure begins with The Orpheus Legacy, a lean, superfast thriller which releases in early 2019, and I’m looking forward to you being able to get into a brand new adventure!
Also on the way are the adrenaline-fueled Raiders series, continuing like a rocket in The Apocalypse Code, and Cairo Sloane’s second installment The Gods of Death, which is also screeching towards us like a runaway train. In other projects, I’ll also be working hard to release the third Avalon Adventure before the year gets too old. I’m starting to miss Decker and the rest of his crew.
As ever, if you enjoyed this book, please leave a review & until next time, Dear Mystery Reader
Rob
JOE HAWKE WILL RETURN IN THE ORPHEUS LEGACY
If you would like to stay up to date with new releases and other information from Rob Jones, simply click on the following link to his website and join his newsletter.
Other Books by Rob Jones:
The Vault of Poseidon (Joe Hawke #1)
Thunder God (Joe Hawke #2)
The Tomb of Eternity (Joe Hawke #3)
The Curse of Medusa (Joe Hawke #4)
Valhalla Gold (Joe Hawke #5)
The Aztec Prophecy (Joe Hawke #6)
The Secret of Atlantis (Joe Hawke #7)
The Lost City (Joe Hawke #8)
The Sword of Fire (Joe Hawke #9)
The King’s Tomb (Joe Hawke #10)
Land of the Gods (Joe Hawke #11)
Plagues of the Seven Angels (Cairo Sloane #1)
The Hunt for Shambhala (An Avalon Adventure #1)
Treasure of Babylon (An Avalon Adventure #2)
The Raiders (The Raiders #1)
The Armageddon Protocol (A Harry Bane Thriller #1)
The Orpheus Legacy (Joe Hawke #12)
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