The Last Second (A Brit in the FBI #6)(98)

He said quietly, “It’s beautiful. Wish we were sitting on a beach watching this, champagne in hand.”

Mike said, “You and me both, maybe you feeding me some grapes. Weren’t we supposed to be having our last day in Rome right now?” She gave a manic grin, and shrugged. “Oh well. Come on, one more flight and we’re there.”

When they were in position. Mike tied the rappelling hook to the staircase, and they shimmied up the remainder of the dome’s exterior. It was like climbing a cracked-open eggshell, if the eggshell had a square wainscoting pattern on it, the edges of which were excellent foot-and handholds. It took a few minutes to scale the dome, but they finally reached the open top and looked down.

There was a massive telescope above a reclined chair. The room was brightly lit, but empty, as far as they could see.

Mike said, “No guards. We can go in.”

Nicholas nodded and wrapped the rope around his arm, positioning himself to give Mike the first ride down. She grabbed the rope and set her feet. She was about to go when he yanked back on the rope and she sailed out of position and slammed facefirst on the roof.

Nicholas whispered, “Sorry. Door opened.”

They scrambled back to the edge of the opening. As they watched, a tall red-headed woman stepped into the room. It was Kiera Byrne. She scanned the grounds and looked up, but Mike had swung back out of sight. She was looking for intruders. Not good.

They heard a loud click, then gears started grinding and the roof began to close.

“Crap. Nicholas, we have to go in now.”

“Lia, advise.”

“Guys, she’s still in there. She’s walking the periphery, she’s out of my sight now.”

“The roof is closing, we don’t have a choice. I don’t see any other way in.”

Lia said, “Wait, I can see her again. She’s returned to the door.”

Mike snuck a glance over the edge. The side of the roof they were on was sliding inward, shortening their rope. “We gotta go, Nicholas. Now. Or we’ll end up jumping.”

He nodded once, and she slung her M4 back into place, put one hand on the trigger in case she had to come in shooting, secured her other on the rope.

“I’m right behind you,” he said, and she started in.

Byrne was just getting through the door when Mike started down. She held her breath and prayed, sliding closer and closer, and she knew the rope was going to run out with ten feet to go, fifteen now—as the roof’s two halves slid closer together. No help for it, she had to jump.

She tried to land quietly, and nearly managed it even with all the gear and a fifteen-foot drop onto the white tile floor, but the mud on her boots gave her away. She slipped as she landed, clanking hard to the tiles. Byrne, already aware someone had gotten inside the gates, heard her and whirled around.

Nicholas landed next to Mike and got off three shots. Byrne was already shouting for the guards as she disappeared out the door, slamming it behind her. A wailing, high-pitched alarm sounded.

The roof closed, and the Klaxon shriek grew louder. They were inside, yes, but they’d lost the element of surprise.

“Nicholas, is there another way out of here?”

“I don’t know. Blueprints, Lia? Anything?”

Adam came across their comms. “I see only one door, but what I found is old, Nicholas, looks like a prototype.”

Nicholas said a few choice words. Mike said, “We gotta go, she’s going to come back with an army.”

“Keep to the walls.”

They ran across the room to the nearest wall, then made their way to the door. Nicholas counted down from three, put his hand on the knob.

“Here goes nothing.” He flung open the door.

The hallway exploded in gunfire.





CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT


T-MINUS 10 MINUTES

Kiera ran into the control center, yelling. “We have to go, Nevaeh, we have to get you out of here. They’re inside. They want to stop you, stop the countdown. I don’t know who they are, I saw only an armed man and woman in the observatory. They’re here to kill you, I know it. We must leave.”

Nevaeh smiled at her. “Calm yourself, Kiera. Only ten minutes now and everything will be over. They can’t do anything. Wait, you’ll see. And I have this.” Nevaeh reached a hand into a hidden pocket of her toga and managed to pull out the Heaven Stone with both hands. “Don’t worry, with the stone, I am untouchable. I am immortal. Let them come. It won’t matter.”

Kiera looked at the ugly dark stone now weighing down Nevaeh’s hands, clasped beneath it to hold it. However, hadn’t its weight ripped open the toga? This was supposed to be the Holy Grail? It was nothing, a stupid rock, but how could it weigh so very much? Nothing made sense. She finally faced that her mentor, her lover, the single person she’d willingly give her life for, was insane. Kiera thought of all the conversations she’d transcribed when Nevaeh was in her sensory deprivation chamber—all one-sided—but with pauses, like Nevaeh was listening to someone talk back to her. The Numen? These aliens Nevaeh believed in utterly? Believed they were coming for her once she set off the nuke? But if they were real, why couldn’t Kiera hear them? And now, Nevaeh truly believed this ridiculous hunk of rock meant something important, like immortality?

Still, Kiera loved her, wanted to save her. She shook her shoulders. “Listen to me, there are two teams outside, and the man and woman who’ve managed to infiltrate through the roof. It’s my fault, my fault. I worried and so I went back to double-check the roof was closed and they were already in. The only thing that matters now is your safety. Not the nuke, not this bloody stone. Whatever you believe it is, whatever Broussard believes it is, it can’t help you, can’t help us. The stone—it’s too heavy to take. Leave it. It doesn’t matter. Come now, you must.”