Another thought occurred to Joe, interrupting the ones about his wife and her mysterious past.
“But will they know we hacked into their system? I guess what I’m asking is, will someone be able to track where the order came from?”
Her face became slightly more serious.“ Maybe. That is always a possibility. That is why we need to move fast. I doubt anyone at Biosure will notice, but I’d rather not chance it. We will have to act quickly and get a sample of whatever that stuff is over to Jenny.”
“Did I say you were good?” Joe smiled broadly from behind his beard. “I mean, you are really good.”
“Thank you. Now, we need to think about how to navigate that building,” she stated in a thick southern drawl.
“Right.”
Her expression turned serious as she switched back to the computer screen. The huge list of addresses on the manifest stared back at her. “I just hope we get to this in time.”
Chapter 27
The helicopters cruised over the border separating the two countries. Patches of snow dotted the plains in a few places. It had been a warmer season than the region was accustomed to. Even so, there had been a few snowstorms that had come through a little earlier than usual leaving traces of white in spots where the sun didn’t shine as long.
It hadn’t taken long to fly from the dramatic slopes of Ararat Mountain to the rolling plains of Armenia. The silhouette of the strange monastery rose up in the distance, almost as if it had been carved out of the hill on which it sat.
Lindsey had ordered the two pilots to swoop around and approach Khor Virap from the south. As the helicopters passed by the ancient site to the west, it seemed the lonely monastery was fairly empty. Seeing any vehicles was fairly difficult from the safe distance they maintained, but Lindsey had insisted they approach with caution. In the back of his mind, he continued thinking that it was still possible someone else might be on the same trail. And he didn’t want to spook anyone.
The pilots steered the flying machines around and landed them in a field near a small parking lot at the base of the hill. The occupants noticed a small guard shack at the foot of a narrow driveway that wound its way up to the top where a thick, rock wall wrapped around the premises. Engines began to shut down as the group exited the cabins and headed towards the flimsy gate.
A smiling monk appeared in the doorway of the shack, wearing dark robes and matching shoes. The priest welcomed the group in his native Armenia. There were a few other words he fired off, but no one in the group understood.
“Do you speak English?” Lndsey asked gruffly.
The monk ignored the older man’s rude demeanor, continuing to speak with a smile. “Of course,” he said in a strained accent. “Welcome to Khor Virap. Are you here to worship or just see the site? We will be having a service in a few hours.”
“We just want to take a look around,” Will answered for his employer.
“Very well,” the monk kept smiling. “It is rare that we get many visitors this time of year. Your group is the second in the last few hours. This must be a first.” He beamed at Lindsey with an overly-eager grin.
The young priest turned to open the gate, but Lindsey grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. The gesture was the first thing that had taken the stupid smile off the monk’s face since Lindsey had laid eyes on him.
“Wait. You’ve had other visitors today?” the old man demanded.
The monk nodded, shaking the thin layer of brown hair that rimmed a shiny, pale head. “Yes,” the smile returned. “I believe they are Americans like you. You are American, yes?” He raised an expectant eyebrow.
Will’s eyes narrowed. “These visitors…did they have a woman with them, and an older man?”
“Yes,” the monk confirmed emphatically. “Do you know them? I can take you to where they are if you like. I believe they are viewing the—”
“No,” Lindsey cut him off before the monk could finish. “I think we may have to come back later.”
The monk seemed confused, momentarily. “So, you do not wish to see the chapel?”
Again Lindsey insisted. “We will return at a later time. Thank you.” He turned around and started walking towards where the helicopters were sitting.
DeGard was just as confused as the priest, unsure of why they were leaving. “You have them right where you want them. What is it you plan to do? Are you going to force them to give you whatever they have found?” he questioned insistently.
Lindsey ignored the query and motioned for Will and Kaba to come close as they walked away from the still gawking monk. The two sped up and leaned in close, listening carefully to his employer’s instructions.
“Get rid of the monk. Tell the men to grab their weapons. We will surround the chapel, and when Wyatt and his friends leave, kill them. Kill them all.”
Will nodded and turned around, heading back towards where the young monk was standing while Kaba sprinted in the direction of the helicopters.
As he neared the young monk, Will put his arm around him and ushered the young man towards the little guard shack. To the naïve witness, it would have appeared Will was sharing a secret or maybe a request with the priest. As soon as the two disappeared from sight into the confines of shack, there were a few faint pops. A moment later, Will reappeared in the doorway, concealing his pistol within his wool pea coat.
The other mercenaries were already following Kaba back from the helicopters, trailed by Lindsey who had added a black trench coat over the top of his other layers. A cold breeze rolled across the plains, cutting through to the bone. Will imagined the old man must have been affected by it more than anyone in the group. But Lindsey was driven, and would not accept failure, even if that meant personally overseeing the mission through to the end.
They walked through the gate, marching up the hill towards the entrance to the fortress. The wind picked up the farther they went up the hill. When they reached the top, Lindsey and DeGard were holding their coats tight against their torsos to keep warm.
“I wonder where their transportation is,” Will wondered in a low voice through clenched teeth. He pressed his hand against the gun in his coat, anticipating that his revenge was close at hand. It was time to end this little game once, and for all. Wyatt had been lucky before, but his luck was about to run out.
Kaba scanned the area, searching for movement. “No sign of their cars. Maybe they left.”
“That priest said they were still here,” he disagreed. “There’s only one way in and one way out. If they had left, that monk would have seen it.”
As they neared the entrance to the monastery, another monk greeted them with a hearty smile. Lindsey nodded at Will who stepped in front and put his arm around the shoulders of the monk, much the same way he had the young man at the gate. Repeating what he had done before ascending the hill, Will took the priest into a doorway just on the inside of the wall. He re-emerged a few moments later, alone.
He gave a quick look at Lindsey then motioned for the other men to follow his lead. Will kept his gun concealed within the folds of his jacket as he ducked into a corner of the entryway into the courtyard of the fortress. Across the way, the entrance to the chapel stood quietly. A quick scan of the area revealed no other visitors. He assessed that the monks must have been somewhere else on the premises. The bitter wind picked up again and funneled through the archway where he and the other men were standing. Kaba looked at him from the other side of the portal, waiting for an order.
Lindsey and DeGard watched from a short distance as their team moved swiftly through the archway and into the courtyard, checking every corner before taking up positions surrounding the entrance to the church.