“I suppose,” Sean strained to talk through clenched teeth as he pulled, “it would be out of the question to take the holy water out?”
“Probably,” Tommy answered sarcastically as he continued to push with all his strength. The heavy stone basin started to move slightly, sliding on the smooth carpet surface.
“Keep pushing guys, we almost have it,” Sean announced.
A deep rumble echoed through the floor beneath them as they moved the object.
After a few more seconds of heaving, Tommy looked down and saw an opening where the base of the container had been. It was a small, round hole about six inches in diameter. He and the others stopped heaving as they all noticed the same strange cavity in the floor.
Tommy got down on his hands and knees and tried to peer into the dark space.
“See anything?” Sean asked as he and the others crowded around the little area.
Schultz said nothing. Instead, he reached his hand into the opening. The others silently watched, mesmerized by the moment, the sound of the rain the only noise filling the facility. Tommy’s arm was into the hole up to his elbow and he was feeling around for something.
“Is there anything in there?” Will asked, eagerly.
This time Schultz nodded. A second later he pulled his hand out. Firmly gripped within it was a simple wooden cylinder, about six inches long and two inches in diameter. The surface of the caramel colored, round container was smooth; there appeared to be a cap on one end. Tommy inspected the piece thoroughly before looking again at what had first caught his eye on the lid of the cylinder. Some numbers and letters had been burned into the top reading, “II Kings 5:10.”
Sean was already on it, looking up the information on his phone.
Mauricio had decided to wander over to the window to take a look outside and check on his men. It was hard to see through the downpour. Both guards had taken shelter in the black SUVs. Then, across the other side of the plaza, headlights from three vehicles came into view. They looked like they were in a hurry. No doubt it was the team of agents that had been watching them before. “Gentlemen,” he announced in a serious tone. “We have company.”
Hunter was about to make his move towards the first guard when he saw the beams from the headlights coming from behind. He figured it would only be a matter of time until the group of assassins caught up, though he thought it would take them a little longer. Now he was caught in the middle with nowhere to run. The trucks whipped into the square and were coming around the corner. He had to act fast. So he did the only thing he could think of. He dove underneath the nearest vehicle. Since he was already soaking wet from the monsoon-like rain, he didn’t care that he was lying in a puddle. He just hoped that between the rain, the curb, and the SUV, no one would see him under there. The first vehicle in line pulled up about thirty feet behind just after he scuffled underneath.
“Stop right here,” Angela commanded. The driver obeyed, halting the SUV immediately. Two black trucks were parked directly in front of them. She couldn’t believe their luck. Somehow they’d managed to catch up.
It looked that the vehicle closest to them had someone inside, the faintly dark silhouette was somewhat distinct, even with the blurring of the falling rain. She quickly surveyed the building’s exterior. Without any prior planning, they wouldn’t be able to cover all of the exits. The church facility was too large and there were too many possibilities. Splitting up and searching the building was their best move. “We’ll have to split up and search the place,” she said to the driver who was obviously awaiting instructions. She touched her earpiece and spoke into her microphone. “Team, this is Agent Weaver. I am in charge now. Our plan of attack is to go in through the front and split up by vehicle. My group will go forward and search the sanctuary and anything else straight ahead. We need Schultz alive. Kill the others.” She divided up the remaining men into two groups. Group one, she ordered to search the left part of the building. The other half were to go left.
“Don’t we have one of our own with them?” the driver asked.
“Not anymore,” she said coldly.
Will noticed the headlight beams flash on the walls and stepped over to the window. A quick look through revealed the three vehicles pulling in behind their own. He’d wondered how long it would take Angela and James to catch up. He watched as the group in the last vehicle opened their doors and stepped out into the rainy night.
Mauricio pulled his gun from inside his jacket. He touched an earpiece and said something quickly in Spanish, then cracked open the front door.
“We need to hurry, gentlemen,” he stated the obvious.
“Got any more of those secret passages?” Sean asked, only a little hopeful.
His big friend turned around for a second, smiling at the sarcastic remark. “Not this time, amigo.”
Sean stepped quickly to the door and looked out at the scene in the street. Without warning, Mauricio’s guard in the second SUV opened his door and fired his weapon at towards the new vehicles. A round caught one of the men in the stomach, sending him to his knees. The man behind the fallen assailant froze momentarily before lurching behind the second truck in their caravan. Mauricio’s guard in the front vehicle poked out of the driver’s side of his car and squeezed off four shots. One of the bullets caught a target’s shoulder and the man fell backwards behind the cover of his SUV.
Maurico had an excellent vantage point in the doorway of the church. Calmly, he raised his weapon and aimed.
All hell had broken loose and there wasn’t a thing that Hunter Carlson could do about it. He had his gun in hand, ready to fire in any direction. Bullet casings fell near him onto the wet pavement as the guard in the car above continued to lay down a consistent barrage towards the newcomers. He watched as one man took a bullet in the stomach and collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. Then, he saw three others jump behind one of the other trucks behind his position. He could see their legs and feet but not much else. A different sounding gun fired from the direction of the church. Hunter looked back and saw one of the attackers who’d taken cover behind the second car had fallen to the pavement. The man wasn’t moving. A shot rang out again and another of the men fell backwards but managed to scramble to the other side of the car. Unfortunately for him, more rounds were coming from the driver’s side of the SUV in front of his position and he was cut down almost instantly.
Angela felt a wave of panic for the first time in a long while. She ducked down just before a bullet pierced the windshield directly in front of her and thudded into her seat’s headrest, rupturing the black leather. Everything had turned to chaos in just a few seconds. Why weren’t her men in the other trucks firing back? As if hearing her silent question, the doors in the second truck opened and a barrage of rounds were unleashed at the two guards.
The men in the second truck were more careful than the other group, making sure they used their car doors as shields from onslaught. One man fired shots towards the church, shattering one of the windows. Then the men in the back seat of Weaver’s vehicle opened up their doors and started firing. The two guards had maximized the element of surprise but now they were out-gunned and out-numbered. What had been a precise pre-emptive attack had turned into firing blindly from the cover of their vehicles in an attempt to keep the attackers at bay.
Angela sat back up cautiously, her own weapon in hand. She opened up her door slightly to assume a safe attack position. “Finish them,” she ordered. She raised her weapon and found the front passenger’s seat of the car in directly ahead of her in her sights.