“We making a stop on the way or something?” Sean asked.
The car in front of them stopped abruptly in front of an old church. The bell tower had a hole in the side, and parts of the roof were also missing.
The driver halted the car behind the other and then spun around quickly, pointing a pistol into the back seat. He moved the weapon from one man to the other until both doors opened.
“Seems a little over the top, even for Emily,” Tommy said.
“Emily wasn’t the one who bailed us out,” Sean said.
“Yeah, I know. I was kidding. The question is, who did?”
They got their answer momentarily.
“Out of the car,” a voice said from outside Sean’s side.
Sean obeyed and eased out of his seat slowly. He planted his feet on the asphalt and looked around, taking quick inventory of his surroundings and the men who’d taken him and the others captive.
He saw Adriana and June getting out of the other car. They appeared to be fine, though it was hard to tell in the weak moonlight.
The blond man from before appeared in the doorway of the church, along with his bandaged companion.
“Oh hey. It’s you again. So nice to see a friendly face. Thank you so much for bailing us out of jail. I really appreciate it.” Sean’s sarcasm didn’t sit well with the blond, but the guy let it go.
Instead, he ordered the others to take them inside. “Make sure you don’t take your eyes off of them,” he added.
Sean counted nine men. Coincidence? he thought.
“June, you okay?” Tommy asked as he was being ushered into the old stone building.
She nodded, though she was clearly not happy.
The two women were taken in right behind the men, separated by some of the blond’s crew.
Once inside, the last man slammed the heavy wooden door shut.
The Americans were taken through the foyer and into the main sanctuary. They made their way down the nave and hung a left, moving into an antechamber where an open door led down a flight of stairs into the basement. The building smelled like rusty metal, old wood, and damp stone. It couldn’t have been used in more than a decade or two, a relic from a time long ago.
“They have power in here?” Tommy asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs lit by small candle-shaped bulbs fixed to the walls.
“If I had to guess, we’re about to see what this place really is,” Sean said.
“Quiet,” the man directly behind them ordered.
They reached another metal door, this one painted black with rivets around the edge. A single light hung from the low ceiling.
The man in front flipped open a steel panel to the left of the door, revealing a fingerprint scanner. He pressed his thumb to the screen and the device lit up bright blue. A line passed over the thumb going up and then down again. Then a green light on the side blinked. A second later, an unseen mechanism clicked inside the door, and it swung open.
“Pretty high-tech stuff for an abandoned church,” Sean said.
“I told you to be quiet,” the same guy from before snapped.
He shoved Sean through the door. Tommy was pushed in next. They were more courteous to the women, allowing them to walk through the opening voluntarily, albeit with a sense of urgency.
Inside, the next room was like walking into a million-dollar government bunker. High-definition flatscreens hung from the walls. Half a dozen computers were busily downloading information at workstations in various places. A glass window in the back that stretched from one side of the room to the other protected what looked like a conference room on the other side, accessible through a glass door at the other end.
Another door on the far side was the only other way in or out. From the looks of it, Sean guessed it led to the bathroom or a kitchen area.
“Nice digs,” Sean said as he finished taking in the scene.
The man behind him shoved him forward toward a chair. “Sit down.”
Sean didn’t wait to be told twice. In spite of the guns being pointed at them by seven of the men, he still didn’t get the sense that he and his friends were going to be executed. If these guys — whoever they were — wanted the Americans dead, they could have done it long ago.
Tommy found an empty chair close to June and sat down. Adriana did the same, sitting close to Sean.
“One big happy family,” Adriana said.
“Good to see some things don’t change,” Sean quipped.
“I have to say,” the blond started, “you certainly don’t seem to respect the trouble you’ve gotten yourselves into.”
Sean rolled his shoulders. “I’ve seen worse. But I meant what I said.”
“Which was?”
“This place is nice. Seriously, who funds this? Are those computers pulling intel from rotating floating proxies?”
“Mr. Wyatt, you have no idea who we are. Do you?”
Sean’s head moved slowly back and forth. “You finally gonna tell us or just keep playing Mr. Secret?”
“We are the Brotherhood of the Sword. For thousands of years we have protected what it is you seek. So you can see why I would be somewhat irritated at your recent actions.”
“Oh, so you’re some kind of secret society. Okay, well, that makes sense.”
“A secret society seeks to gain an advantage over others in some way. We seek only to protect something of great power, something that you would expose to the world. That, Mr. Wyatt, we cannot abide.”
“You know what, I’m gonna go ahead and hit the pause button right there, friend. First off, you can call me Sean. This whole Mr. Wyatt thing is a little worn. Usually, it’s the bad guys that say stuff like that. Super cheesy when they do, by the way. And while maybe you’re just trying to be respectful, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me by my dad’s moniker.”
“Very well, Sean. Since I’m certain you can’t appreciate the gravity of what we’re dealing with here, I’m going to fill you in.”
“This should be good,” Tommy said.
The man behind him shoved him in the back, catching Tommy off guard. He snapped his head around threateningly but said nothing.
The blond went on. “We have been protecting this secret for a thousand years, and we cannot have you four—”
“I’m sorry,” Sean interrupted. “We didn’t catch your name.”
The irritation on the man’s reddened face couldn’t have been more obvious. “Who I am doesn’t matter.”
“Well, it’s just that I like to know who’s lecturing me, that’s all. Or would you just like me to call you professor.”
“Baldwin. My name is Baldwin.”
Tommy’s eyes narrowed. “That’s no relation to the Baldwins of Jerusalem, is it?” he joked.
Baldwin’s face remained stoic. “I’m a direct descendant of the kings of Jerusalem.”
Tommy’s playful smirk disappeared as he realized the man was serious.
“Whoa, seriously?” Sean said, raising both eyebrows. “I thought that lineage was gone a long time ago.”
Baldwin shook his head slowly. “We have remained in the shadows, watching over the sword of my forefathers for generations.”
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Tommy said. “You guys are a secret society, protecting Excalibur from the world. And you, the leader, are a direct descendant of the Crusader kings of Jerusalem?”
Baldwin responded with a slow nod.
“Wow! I mean, that is heavy!”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Sean agreed. “How do you deal with that kind of pressure? Seriously. That’s gotta be tough.”
“Yes. It is. And thanks to you two, there are a group of North Koreans on the sword’s trail.”