The Grecian Manifesto (29 page)

He let out a scream of agony,
still thrashing around in the darkness. The sound was brief, though, as another
of the sea’s killing machines tore into his torso and pulled Bourdon under the
water.

Sean had calculated his swing
perfectly. He’d climbed up onto the pedestal and risked kicking the invisible
target. His foot swung low, increasing the likelihood of making contact. From
the feel of it, he was fairly certain he’d hit the killer squarely under his
chin.

He turned on his light, and
Tommy followed suit, bringing the room back into pale illumination once more.
Sean got down from his perch and shined his light into the trap. The seawater was
stained red with blood.

Tommy stepped close and looked
down into the cavity. “I thought you said the sharks in these parts never
attacked humans. They just killed two people!”

Sean shrugged. “Yeah, but they
were bad people.”

Tommy just shook his head.

The two shifted their gaze to
the antikythera sitting on the cubed plinth. Along the edge of the deadly trapdoor,
two lips stood out from either side of the floor.

“Here,” Sean said, handing his
flashlight to Tommy. “Hold this.”

Tommy did as he was told and
kept both lights shining in front of Sean as he carefully put the outer edge of
both feet on the lips of the crevasse. He inched his way forward, legs spread
apart in an upside down V-shape as he shimmied his way toward the shining metal
object. It was a slow process with a horrifying death waiting below, but Sean
made it safely to the other side of the trapdoor and planted both feet on the
square surface surrounding the marble altar. He stared at the object for a moment,
praying silently that Caesar had left no other traps to be triggered. Sean’s
fingers touched the cold, metal surface. He gazed at the intricate inner
workings of gears and arms, not unlike the innards of a clock. Odd symbols were
etched into three wheels that stood out from the rest of the device. He
remembered what the president had said about those characters. The meaning of
them had never been released to the public.

As his hands wrapped around the
antikythera, his mind started wondering if he should indeed give it to Gikas.
Up until now, he’d been making it up as he went along. The curious part of him
wondered how the thing worked. The archaeologist in him wanted to turn one of
the wheels and change the alignment of the symbols to see what would happen,
but he didn’t have time. An idea sparked in his mind. Perhaps he and Tommy
wouldn’t have to hand over the Eye of Zeus after all.

He picked up the bronze object,
surprised at how light it felt in his hands, and tucked it under one arm like a
football.

“Is it heavy?” Tommy asked,
concerned that Sean would drop it or not be able to make it back across the
span.

“No, I got it,” Sean said.

“It’s a shame we have to give
it to that madman. But there isn’t any other way, I suppose.”

Sean shook his head as he began
to slide his feet back onto the two lips of stone and work his way across the
watery hole. “No, there is another way.”

Northwestern Greece

“It might work,” Tommy said
with a hint of doubt in his voice.

The two friends stood on the
deck of the rental boat with their scuba gear still attached. Swimming out of
the underwater cavern had been easy enough, only taking them a few minutes to
get back up to the surface.

On the horizon, the sun eased its
way toward the sea. Sunset was coming soon. Sean wished they could wait to
implement his plan under the cover of darkness, adding stealth to the element
of surprise.

“It has to work,” Sean said.

“Look.” Tommy pointed around
the edge of the island. “Just like you said. The yacht’s turning around and
coming this way.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Sean
asked. “Makes no sense to stay parked out there when they could sit next to our
boat and wait for their prize to come to them.”

“I hadn’t thought about that.”

The white yacht gradually came
about and pointed its nose right at the Americans’ position.

“You don’t think they saw us,
do you?” Tommy sounded slightly worried.

“Not yet, but we need to get
back in the water before they do.”

Tommy didn’t wait for the
order. He slipped his mask back on and switched on the air for his tank. Sean
did the same and slung a black satchel over his shoulder. The two dropped back
in the water and disappeared from view.

Ten minutes later, the larger
boat eased next to the cabin cruiser. The yacht’s captain didn’t lower the
anchor, instead electing to keep the ship under his direct control. On the
starboard deck, two guards with sunglasses and submachine guns paced in
opposite directions, keeping ever-watchful eyes on the sea.

They never expected two men to
emerge from the water onto the rear of the boat. Sean and Tommy quietly pulled
themselves onto the narrow swim deck attached the hull. Careful not to make too
much noise, they slipped out of their dive gear and peeked over the edge of the
aft railing. One guard stood alone, staring off at the other island a mile or
so away. Taking the knife Tommy had kept from the dead guard in the cavern,
Sean slid over the railing and onto the aft deck. He felt an old energy
creeping into his body. It was the same thing he’d felt on countless Axis
missions all over the world. The sensation had kept him alert and quick, two
things that were absolute essentials for a field agent. Fortunately for him,
the guard wasn’t nearly as alert.

Sean grabbed the man’s mouth
and jabbed the tip of the blade through the back of his neck. The guard’s
struggle weakened almost instantly. Sean lowered the body to the deck slowly so
as not to draw any unwanted attention.

Tommy joined him onboard,
holding a Berretta in one hand. Sean slid the knife back into the sheath he’d
confiscated earlier and brandishing the newly dead guard’s weapon in its place.
A pop startled the two men, and a piece of the wooden railing exploded into
splinters. Tommy and Sean both ducked instinctively, but they were in the open
with no cover in sight.

The gun fired again, and Sean
rolled to the starboard side, spotting where the shots were coming from. He
squeezed the trigger four times. Two bullets plunked into the back part of the
cabin, one went into the horizon, and another landed at the feet of the guard
he was targeting.

The guard fired again, causing
Sean to roll back to his left, where Tommy was scrambling to get up. More shots
came from the port side of the boat, ripping the deck and railing to shreds.
The only thing saving the Americans was the fact that the boat continued to
rock back and forth, making accuracy with a firearm a huge problem.

“Follow me,” Sean said and dove
toward the cabin, closing the gap between him and the attacker.

The yacht suddenly lurched
forward, throwing the Americans off balance for a moment.

“You aren’t going at them?”
Tommy shouted, but it was too late. His friend was already making his move. He
had no choice but to follow. “This is a bad idea!” he yelled, tucking in close
behind Sean.

“No choice now. Gikas knows
we’re on board.”

The two dived and rolled into
the back of the cabin, which provided them with a moment of cover from the
barrage of bullets. The moment ended quickly, though, as guards stepped around
both sides with weapons drawn. Both men fired simultaneously at the sight of
one another, sending multiple rounds into each man’s chest. They realized too
late that they were firing on their own men. One of the guards collapsed to the
deck, while the other stumbled backward and flipped over the railing into the
sea.

Sean and Tommy exchanged a
shrug.

“There’s no way you planned
that,” Tommy said insistently. He shook his head in haughty derision.

“Not exactly like that, no.”

“You didn’t plan it at all,”
Tommy pushed.

“Can we please talk about this
later? We have to find Gikas.”

Footsteps pounded the deck as
more men ran down the aisle toward the back of the yacht. Sean reached up and
grabbed the handle of a door. It wouldn’t budge.

“Okay,” he said, glancing at
his weapon. “Like I always say, the best defense is a good offense.”

Tommy’s eyebrows lowered,
knowing what his friend had in mind.

Sean popped up and spun around
the corner of the cabin, gun extended in front of him. He fired repeatedly at
the row of guards rushing too quickly toward him. They never had a chance, one
dropping, then the next, until there was a pile of three bodies heaped onto the
walkway. Sean tossed the gun into the water and grabbed two from the dead hands
of the mercenaries. Securing the satchel around his shoulder, he pushed on.

As Sean continued rapidly but
cautiously down the walkway, a door on the side of the cabin suddenly opened. A
hand holding a black pistol stuck through the opening, but Sean’s reaction was
too fast. He grabbed the wrist attached to the hand with the gun and yanked it
hard. Caught off guard, the armed attacker flew out the door, slamming into the
railing. The gun fired, punching a splintery hole in the wooden deck. Sean
twisted the man’s arm around and then brought it forward over his own and
pulled down. The appendage snapped, causing the henchman to scream in pain.
Tommy lunged at him and punched the guy in the neck with his elbow. The yelling
came to an abrupt halt once the man’s throat was crushed. He clutched at it
with his only remaining good hand as he stumbled clumsily over the railing and
into the sea.

Tommy shook his head and
hurried after his friend. “So, your plan was charge?” he said as the two moved
up the gangway.

Another man in black appeared
on the roof just above them, taking aim at the two intruders. However, Tommy
was quicker and unleashed a volley of three bullets, two of which struck the
villain in the center of his torso. The man clutched his shirt as he fell over
the upper railing and splashed into the water below.

“Seems to be working just fine,
thank you,” Sean said in a tone smacking with contempt.

Something creaked suddenly
above and behind where Tommy was standing. He didn’t have time to react as
another guard dropped down from the roof on top of him. Sean pointed the barrel
at the attacker and squeezed the trigger as he pinned Tommy to the deck, but
the weapon clicked. He was out of bullets.

The guard and Tommy rolled a
few feet toward the aft deck, locked in a deadly struggle. Sean took a step to
aid his friend when another guard swooped in from above, crashing into him from
behind. The guard’s elbow dug deep into Sean’s collarbone on impact, sending a
surge of new pain through his body as he collapsed to the floor. Unlike Tommy’s
assailant, the one coming after Sean wasn’t able to grab onto anything, keeping
the two separate for a moment.

It was only the briefest of
moments, however, as the man in the black outfit came barreling at Sean,
readying to strike him in the face with a heavy boot. Sean rolled out of the
way with the narrowest of margins, bumping to a stop against Tommy’s side.

Sean didn’t have time to ask
how his friend was fairing in his fight, but in the two-second glance he’d
taken it appeared that the two were locked in a grappling stalemate. Pushing
himself up from the deck, Sean slid to the left as his attacker swung his foot
again. This time when he missed, he struck the man on top of Tommy squarely in
the ribs. The man grunted at the blow, and his arms weakened for a split
second, giving Tommy the momentary advantage he needed to break the deadlock.
He rolled the man over, straddling his torso with a constricting leg grip.

Tommy unleashed a flurry of
punches, landing punishing strikes across the man’s jaw with his fists. The
muscular guard put up his elbows to block the attack and managed to use his
weight to roll over again, tumbling Tommy back to the corner of the main cabin.

Sean steadied himself for
another advance from his henchman. The man whipped out a knife from his belt
and held it at length, brandishing it menacingly. It wasn’t the first time Sean
had been in a knife fight without a knife. His years of training and experience
taught him one important thing when it came to that kind of situation: Always
let the man with the weapon make the first move. He’d seen some of his
colleagues make the mistake of going on the offensive when they were unarmed in
hand-to-hand combat. The reasoning behind letting the armed opponent take the
offensive was that momentum could be used as a weapon against them. Knowing
this, Sean waited patiently, faking a move to the left, then back to the right,
leading the dance but letting the guard think he was in control. Even thought
the thickly muscled attacker had the advantage, a look of doubt revealed itself
behind his focused, snarling face.

He didn’t let the man realize
it, but as they continued their dance, Sean made sure to keep the distance
exactly where he wanted it, close enough to tempt an attack, but far enough
away to stay safe. Sean watched his opponent’s eyes closely for the tell that
would signal the man’s intent. It was just like playing poker, something in
which Sean was also extremely proficient. The guard’s cheek twitched ever so
slightly, signaling his intentions. It was followed by a fierce lunge and swipe
of the blade at Sean’s chest. He deftly took a short step back and grabbed the
man’s wrist. As planned, he pulled the guard toward him, using the man’s
forward momentum to reel him in like a hooked fish. The next move happened so
fast the guard didn’t have half a second to react. Sean pressed his left elbow
into the crook of the attacker’s arm, and the other elbow against his forearm.
The combination caused the strong man’s arm to bend backward instantly, sending
the tip of his blade deep into the base of his own neck. He gasped at the
sudden pain of the mortal blow and immediately attempted to retract the knife
from his body. Sean released the man, letting his momentum carry him to the
railing. Just as the guard jerked the weapon from his throat, Sean jumped into
the air and sent his heel into the middle of the man’s back with a flying
sidekick. The body flipped over the railing and into the sea with a splash.
Sean only glanced at the water for a second before turning his attention back
to Tommy in time to see his friend’s opponent charging wildly across the deck,
intent on planting a broad shoulder into his target’s midsection.

Tommy staggered for a second,
but steadied himself in time to take a quick sidestep and shove the guard headfirst
into a metal container near the railing. The man’s progress halted with a heavy
thud, and he collapsed to the deck. Sean hurried over to where Tommy stood and
looked down at the unconscious guard. He glanced up at his friend, who nodded.
The two men grabbed the guard by his feet and ankles and tossed him into the
sea. The body disappeared into the foamy white wake behind the yacht.

Sean led the way back toward
the front of the boat, reaching down to grab his gun from the deck as they
moved along the narrow walkway.

They reached the front of the
cabin and the door to where Gikas had brought them before. Sean was about to
open the portal when a familiar voice halted them in their tracks.

“Stop right there, gentlemen. I
think you’ve gone far enough.”

The sound sent chills through
the Americans’ spines, and the hair raised on their necks. Sean and Tommy
turned their heads cautiously to see the silhouette of Dimitris Gikas standing
on the bow of the ship. The gun in his hand pressed hard into the side of Adriana’s
head. Her hands and feet were still bound together. Gikas’s free hand was
wrapped around her shoulder, holding her tight.

“I have to admit, Sean, taking
out all my guards like that, pretty impressive.”

Sean ignored the comment. “Let
her go, Gikas.”

“Give me the device, and I will
let her go. It really is that simple. Or do not, and I will splatter her brains
across the Ionian Sea.”

“You kill her, I kill you,”
Sean said menacingly. He extended his weapon, pointing the barrel straight at
the Greek’s head.

“Which is why I do not want to
kill her,” Gikas said in an ironic tone. “I assume the device is in that bag
you have there?”

“That’s right.”

“Good. Now, what did you do with
Teo and his men? I assume they are dead?”

“You’re two for two.”

Gikas shrugged. “Well, I can
always find more mercenaries. Thanks to the wars you Americans wage, there are
highly trained soldiers for hire all over the world. Now,” he waved his free
hand at Sean, “put the bag down, and I will let your woman go.”

Tommy kept his gun trained on
the Greek, staring at him through narrow slits. “No funny business, Gikas. We
will blow you to kingdom come.”

“You have my word, gentlemen.
All I want is the device. Now please, put it on the deck over there.”