“We carry the sword,” James replied referring to a verse in the Bible. “Sometimes those who get in God’s way must be sacrificed.” Collack stood back and let the priest think for a moment.
The old man could not lie. It was against what he believed in. He only hoped that he had delayed the murderers long enough for Wyatt and his team to escape.
“The church you are looking for is the Iglesia de Maria Auxiliadora. That is probably where they have gone.” He lowered his head, knowing that with the information, his execution would be next.
Angela gave a signal with her hand like a circle in the air and the entire team started moving quickly out of the building. She then stepped back over to the still kneeling priest and pointed her gun at the top of the old man’s head. James had turned away but saw her movement out of the corner of his eye. He lunged towards her and kicked up with his right leg just as she squeezed the trigger.
Her arm jerked up into the air, the silent pop of the gun sending a round into the ceiling above. Rage filled her face but he had already grabbed her by the throat and had his own weapon pointed at the base of her skull. “What are you doing?” she asked through clenched teeth.
“We do not kill men of God,” James said with a stern voice. His grip on her neck got tighter. The rest of the team in the room stared in shocked silence.
“He’s a loose end,” Angela replied. “We leave no loose ends.” She struggled for air while she spoke.
“We do not kill men of God,” he repeated. “Do you understand?” James gave one last squeeze of her throat and shoved her away.
She staggered for a moment and bent over, trying to catch her breath. James turned and started heading for the front of the church. Angela straightened up, rage filling her face. Strands of her dark hair had come out of the ponytail she always wore and dangled around her cheeks. Then, the same muffled pop echoed through the cathedral. James stopped in his tracks. All of the other men had already left the building, not sure they wanted to see the conflict. He turned to look over his shoulder in time to see the priest fall over on his side, a thin trail of smoke tracing off the top of his bleeding skull. Angela stood defiantly, still aiming the gun at where she had fired it, a look of indignation on her face. “No!” he yelled and raised his own weapon from his side. His movement was too slow, though. Her gun was already trained on him. Two quick puffs exploded from the end of her barrel sending rounds of metal into his chest. The impact of the bullets sent him stumbling backwards. Shock filled his eyes. He could taste a sickening flavor of iron in his mouth. As he tried to regain his balance, again Collack attempted to aim his weapon but another shot puffed from her gun, this one hitting him right below the neck. This time, he collapsed on the cold stone floor. Blood spurted out of the third wound. He tried to pressure it with his hands but it was no use.
Angela walked casually over to the man who had been her partner for such a long time. She looked down at him with mock pity. “When did you become so weak?” she asked him. There was no answer as he continued to struggle with the leaking hole in his neck. He gasped for air but blood filled his lungs. He gurgled loudly as he tossed on the floor. “We made a good team,” she continued. Weaver squatted down low, watching him almost curiously. His vision began to blur as he struggled not to lose consciousness. “I was tired of you holding me back, anyway. It is so much harder to get things done when you have to check with someone else first. I always hated having to get your opinion on how to do things. I guess now I won’t have to worry about that anymore.” She stood back up and started walking away.
James Collack’s hands were sticky with blood, his neck and face were covered in it. His movements began to slow and his hands dropped down to his side. “Tell your priest I said hello if he happens to be in hell with you,” she said without looking back as she walked towards the entrance. The sound of her shoes clicked against the hard floor and echoed throughout the silence of the church. She didn’t hear the last few gurgled breaths of her partner as she passed through the giant doorway and out into the plaza.
Sean looked down from the rickety ladder. His eyes scanned the immense courtyard, unsure of what he was even searching for. From the high point of view, he could now see the pattern of the walkway that wound its way through the open space. Four stone paths began in separate corners, twisting and turning until they reached the center of the courtyard. There, the four pathways merged beneath an odd stone sculpture of a tree with two trunks. A single path led away from the sculpture towards a pair of doors on the side of the sanctuary. “Hey Tommy!” he shouted from his perch. “What’s that sculpture in the middle of the garden?”
Schultz had been investigating some of the Latin words that were inscribed, somewhat randomly, along the walls of the area. Most of the inscriptions were Bible verses talking about service to others and spreading the Gospel of Christ. “Gimme a sec,” he yelled back and started making his way through the flowers and landscaping towards the center of the commons. Wyatt watched while his friend looked over the sculpture. “Sean, I think we may have something,” Tommy finally said. “Come take a look at this.”
He descended the ladder and jogged over to the odd piece of artwork. He’d never seen anything like it. Two stone pieces, shaped like tree trunks, rose up from the ground as if they were rooted in it. The trunks were each about three feet in diameter at the base and narrowed as they twisted upward. As the trees got higher, they arched inward until eventually they joined in the middle and became one, rising still higher until the single trunk opened up with intricately detailed branches. The entire piece was impressive, standing about ten feet high.
“Notice anything odd about this tree?” Schultz asked as the other two men joined them in the center of the courtyard.
“Other than the fact that there are two trunks?” Sean replied cynically.
Tommy pointed. “There are no leaves. The tree is dead. With one little exception.”
The others followed his finger to what he was pointing at. A single piece of fruit carved from stone dangled from one of the middle branches.
“What is it?” Will spoke up.
“You don’t know what this is?” Tommy asked, a little surprised.
Will shook his head.
“El arbol de vida,” he whispered reverently. “It’s a sculpture of the tree of life.”
Chapter 56
Angela Weaver strutted out to the SUV that was sitting in front of the church. The three others waited behind it. She climbed into the driver’s seat and closed the door.
“Where is Agent Collack,” one of her mercenaries asked.
“He is staying here,” she answered coldly. The man didn’t say anything else. She added, “I’m in charge now. We need to get over to the other church, and we need to be there five minutes ago.” Her face was contorted in frustration.
She stepped on the gas and pulled away from the scene. The other SUVs with her followed suit, their drivers unaware of where they were headed.
“What about the woman who left the group earlier?” she asked as the vehicle sped along.
“Our tail lost her but we know the area she’s in,” he wasn’t happy to report the bad news.
Angela looked thoughtful. “Do we know where she was going?”
“No. Nor why.” The driver watched for her reaction out of the corner of his eye.
“Send unit three over to help out. We need to find her. She could become a useful bargaining chip at some point.”
The driver touched his earpiece and gave the order into the microphone. Immediately, the third SUV in line turned off down a side street.