The Betrayed Series: Ultimate Omnibus Collection With EXCLUSIVE Post-Shiva Short Story (150 page)

“Just keep an eye out,” Brandt warned Levont as he moved them down the hill. This side was decidedly easier on the calves as they made their way to the town. He set Vakasa down but grabbed her by the back of the shirt as she went to run ahead to Levont.

Despite the down-turned lips when Rebecca held out her palm, Vakasa took it, swinging their locked hands up and down.

As they approached the tree line, Levont stopped and checked out the area again. “Still clear.
Way
clear.”

Great. Somehow they had stumbled into a ghost town.

“Lopez, find us a car.”

Unlike his usual bravado, Lopez hesitated, glancing up and down the empty street. “Yeah, um…This could take a while.”

“Just do it,” Brandt ordered. “Davidson, find a perch.”

“Will do,” Davidson said as he headed up a tree. Guess he was going native, finding an actual perch.

“Levont, take us in,” Brandt ordered, gripping his gun tight.

* * *

“There it is again!” Stark announced, pointing on the map to where the last high-frequency burst had originated.

“Cuellar,” Prenner read aloud. “What are they doing in Cuellar?”

“Hell if I know,” Bunny breathed out. Even with Stark hacking into the Stanford University database, they really didn’t have much more information regarding Rebecca’s stay in the Basque region. She was all about the blood samples and the genealogies. Not so big on giving details of where she had stayed or sites she had visited.

And now Cuellar? That didn’t even show up on her spreadsheet.

Worse, the Disciples were being tipped off by…Bunny couldn’t bring herself to say it. They were being tipped off by someone
inside
their team. Did Brandt suspect? Did they know that a traitor walked amongst them? Or was perched above them?

“We’ve got to mobilize the local police or something,” Bunny suggested. It might get them all arrested, but at this point, it was probably better than the alternative. They could sort out the mess later.

“That’s weird,” Emily said, hanging up a call, then redialing. Bunny could hear the phone ring through without being answered. “No one at the Cuellar police station is picking up.”

Bunny looked to the Google map that showed only static streets and points of interest. What in the hell was going on in Cuellar?

* * *

Rebecca kept tight hold of Vakasa’s hand as they crossed the street. It really was eerie. There wasn’t a soul to be found.

“Ouch,” the little girl complained. Perhaps Rebecca had been holding on a bit too tight. She loosened her grip, only slightly, as they approached the church. The flying buttresses were unusual enough in such a small church. At ground level? They were rare. Abutting a
mudejar
aspe? Downright unique. Instead of just a semicircular stone wall, this church’s nave was covered in brick in such a way that it appeared the wall had many windows. It was only an illusion, though. The wall was solid brick.

Such an odd fusion of Islamic and Christian architecture. But that was Spain for you. So many cultures had come through the region, even as far as the Basque region, and each had left its mark on the culture and the architecture.

Levont disappeared around the curved wall, only to return within seconds. “The church looks clear.”

Swiftly, they entered the shelter of the church. Even though it didn’t seem like there were any prying eyes on the street, with the Disciples, you just never knew. Inside, they found the church empty. It clearly no longer served worshippers and was maintained as a museum. Which was fine by Rebecca. Less furniture to move.

“Where do you think the cross is hidden?” Brandt asked after Levont swept the area.

“I am guessing it will be in the rectory, similar to the monastery and—”

Before Rebecca could finish her sentence, the little girl slipped her grasp and was off, running through the doorway, ducking under Levont’s attempt to grab her.

“No!” Rebecca yelled after her, but the kid didn’t even swivel her head as she streaked down the long hallway. They were all on her heels as she entered the rectory. Vakasa stopped abruptly, kneeling down onto the wooden floor. She patted a plank.

Brandt looked to Rebecca. “As good a place as any to start.”

Talli knelt down beside Vakasa and began tugging on the boards. Brandt leaned over to Rebecca. “We are going to have to get that kid a leash.”

She nudged him with her elbow but regretted the motion as he flinched. It was so easy to try to put the trauma of the last few days behind them. Unfortunately, their flesh wasn’t quite as over it.

* * *

Still nursing a rib, Brandt watched as Talli struggled with the floorboard. Seriously? When they got home, the guy was going on protein powder for his muscles and vitamin A for his aim.

“Talli,” he finally said, “you keep Vakasa back.” As the supposed sniper urged the little girl away from the board, Brandt knelt to the floor. He would have landed on his good knee, except he really didn’t have a good knee at this point.

Brandt flipped open his service knife and used it to pry away at the seam between the boards. It took a little bit of leverage, but the wood plank popped up, revealing a dirt-lined space. And there glistened a silver cross.

Just as Brandt’s fingers closed around the crucifix, the sound of clapping filled the room.

“Jolly good show, mate.”

Brandt tossed the cross to Rebecca as he drew his sidearm, leveling it at the intruder. He knew who it was before the sandy-haired man entered the room.

“Vanderwalt, you do not want any part of this.”

The MI-5 agent walked in as casually as if he were joining Brandt at a pub. “Ah, but you see, I’ve been waiting for this for quite some while. I just need the girl and the artifacts, including the latest cross.”

Brandt didn’t even have time to figure out how Vanderwalt had found them or what his angle was here. He just needed to get into a better shooting position.

“Chap, don’t bother,” Walt said, indicating to the three thugs that lined up behind him in the hallway. “I brought company. Now, hand over the girl and the items, and we will be on our way.”

“Her name is Vakasa,” Rebecca stated beside Brandt, hands shaking as tears glistened in her eyes.

“Ah, the always lovely Dr. Monroe. Do not worry. I plan to take good care of her.”

“Once she suits your purpose?” Brandt asked, pretty much knowing the answer.

Walt shrugged. “Promotions are hard to come by these days.”

“You fucking…” Brandt didn’t waste his breath. The guy had been as close to a friend as a covert operative could have outside his unit. To think that eating grubs together wouldn’t bond you for life. At least not when career trajectories got in the way. He should have known something was up when Vanderwalt showed up personally in Egypt. A little too-white-gloved service, even for MI-5.

A ping sounded from behind him.

Vanderwalt drew his weapon. “What are you playing at?”

Was that Davidson? Then another ping and a piece of brick flew across the room. A bullet chased after it, nearly catching Talli in the ear. The man danced away, lowering himself and the girl to the floor.

Not Davidson, then.

“That is not us,” Brandt answered, ducking down.

No, it was the Disciples. More accurately, the Disciples’ sniper.

Walt smiled that crooked—actually
crooked
—smile of his. “As a kicker, I have a way out of here that avoids the sniper.” As another bullet whizzed into the room, shattering against the far wall. “I will allow you to follow us, but only if you give us the girl and the artifacts. Your call.”

Brandt was so busy calculating the odds of him being able to get to all three of Vanderwalt’s thugs before he got taken down that he had nearly missed the part where Rebecca tossed the two crosses to Walt, along with the Star of David. Walt frowned. “And the pieces of map.”

Rebecca complied. The die was cast. Brandt couldn’t do anything to stop her. What was her plan? She had one, right? She had to have one. One that was better than a shoot-out in an enclosed stone church.

“The girl,” Walt said, his hand out.

Talli, though, wouldn’t let go of the girl. “Talli…” Brandt warned. “Give her over.”

“No,” the man said, shaking his head vigorously.

Great. Perfect time for Talli to get all brave.

“I’m done,” the sniper said, still ducked down under the window.

“Just give me the girl,” Walt warned.

But Talli just kept shaking his head. “I want out.”

What the hell was he talking about? “Out of what?” Brandt asked.

Surprisingly, Talli turned to Walt. “I want out.” Talli pointed to Brandt and Rebecca. “They are insane. You said you would pull me whenever I asked.”

“Pull you?” Brandt growled, a bitter realization growing. One he didn’t want to admit, but one that made a whole lot of sense. “Talli, you fucking traitor.”

Walt sighed. “If it is any consolation, that is not
Talli
.”

Brandt nearly got clipped by a bullet as he just stood there. Rebecca tugged Brandt back, jarring him out of his shock.

“Then who the fuck is he?” Brandt demanded.

“It is a long story, chap, told over a warm beer.”

“Try me,
now
,” Brandt said, clutching his gun as the Disciples’ bullets began chipping away at another window. Damn, how he wanted to take Talli down right about now. Consequences be damned. You would think after being betrayed so often it would take the sting out of it. Think again.

Walt sighed. “Ibel here was SRR on a joint mission with Talli’s unit in Dakuh.”

“SRR?” Brandt repeated. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. They are surveillance personnel. You sent me out into the field with a
fake
sniper?”

“Honestly, chap, I didn’t mean to. Ibel was just there. Talli and the rest were killed. Talli had no family.” The Brit sounded almost remorseful.
Almost
. “We had the perfect opportunity to insert one of ours into the American Special Forces. You would have done the same.”

Brandt snorted. “Send you out without perimeter support? Have you fucking lost your mind?” And here he thought he knew Vanderwalt.

“Now, wait,” Walt retorted. “We were going to have him fake an injury to get him off sniper duty, but
you
requested him.”

“Because he was graded an A-one sniper, you jackass.”

“Yes, well…” Walt conceded. “That was unfortunate.”

All of the various scenarios played out in Brandt’s mind. How fucking frequently Talli’s lack of skills had endangered their lives. Rebecca’s life. Vakasa’s life. Walt had played Russian roulette with them all.

“But now we must be off,” Vanderwalt announced, waving Talli and Vakasa over to him. “My men will have shoot-on-sight orders, so give us a two minute head start. Then you can blend in with the crowd.”

What crowd?

Before Brandt could ask, Levont chimed in. “But wait. I don’t get it.” The beefy point man turned to Talli. “Why do you want to leave the team?”

“Levont…”

“What? I mean, really,
why
?”

Walt waved the question away and ushered Talli and Vakasa down the hallway. Rebecca took a step forward. Brandt grabbed her by the wrist, but it turned out he didn’t need to.

“Vakasa,” she said, “we are right behind you.”

The girl smiled, holding Talli’s hand. “Ta-ta.”

She then skipped on after Vanderwalt, heedless of the danger she was in.

This was going to be the longest 120 seconds of his fucking life.

* * *

Rebecca ducked her head as the sniper punched through another window. He peppered the wall with shots. Although, none seemed necessarily aimed at them. Weird.

“One hundred fifteen,” Levont counted down.

You could tell each second was eating at the point man. He itched to move out. But not more than Brandt. He wouldn’t look at her. Wouldn’t hold her hand. Wouldn’t talk about it. He’d gone full-on caveman mode. There was his job, and then there was “making things right.” She didn’t care about any of that. She only cared about that little girl she’d made a promise to.

“One hundred twenty,” Levont announced as he burst through the door and headed down the hallway Vanderwalt had taken. Three of the team, now down from five. It didn’t feel right, yet they rapidly found what must have been a storage room. A trapdoor was propped open. At the least, Vanderwalt hadn’t been lying about that.

Levont shone his light down the rickety staircase. “Looks a little sketchy.”

Rebecca shook her head, urging him down. “It was built during World War Two,” she explained, but Brandt still frowned. “While Spain was essentially neutral, it became a massive underground for Jews escaping from Eastern Europe.” When neither man seemed to get it, she continued. “And while the Vatican was also supposedly neutral, Catholic churches were a major sanctuary and transfer stations. Now, can we go?”

Brandt gave the nod, and Levont headed down. “Clear, at least as far as I can see.”

Rebecca hurried down the rickety stairs, with Brandt on her heels. The tunnel stretched out into the distance. Levont started at a quick walk, then picked it up to a trot. Rebecca breathed in the stale air through her nose and out through her mouth. It seemed like they were running into oblivion, as the tunnel just kept stretching out farther and farther away from the church. Exactly how far was the exit? Then as light could be seen farther down, Levont kicked them up into an all-out run, only slowing as they reached a door, cracked open an inch.

Even though the men barely seemed taxed, Rebecca was winded, trying to catch her breath as Levont tested the door. A strange roar came from the other side. The point man jerked open the door, revealing…well, the crowd that Vanderwalt had promised them.

All of the missing people were
here
, at the center of the town. They were shouting and waving Spanish flags in the air. Like she had guessed. It must have been some Spanish holiday. Which clearly everyone and his brother were attending.

“Time to get lost in the crowd,” Brandt stated, urging her toward the revelers. He then whispered in her ear. “Tell me you know where they are taking her.”