Pirate

Sam dove, scooping both his hands across the ground, grabbing two of the guns. Remi’s Night Sights were still glowing. He zeroed in on Ivan and fired twice.

Fisk turned off his flashlight, plunging them into darkness. He shot once, the muzzle flash lighting his face.

Sam fired at the light, then rolled in the direction of Victor’s body, using it as cover.

Several sharp blasts came from his right, echoing across the chamber. He glimpsed Jak in the muzzle blast. Remi snapped off a couple of rounds from the upper tunnel, taking him down.

Fisk returned fire.

Sam aimed over Victor’s body and fired back.

Remi’s gun was empty. He dropped it and used his Smith & Wesson.

He heard Fisk down the tunnel in front of him. What he wouldn’t give for a light. As if Remi had read his mind, she rolled the Stinger toward him, the aluminum casing rattling as it bounced across the floor. He felt around until he found the flashlight, his fingers grasping the cold metal. If not for Victor’s body, any lucky ricocheted round off the ground would take Sam out. Not exactly the best cover, but it would do.

He took the flashlight, reaching as far to his left as he could, shoving it under Victor’s outstretched arm. He kept his finger on the button, waiting to turn it on at the right moment. Then, raising his gun just enough to clear Victor’s body, he aimed toward the tunnel where he’d heard Fisk.

A risky plan, but they were running out of ammo. He flashed the light on, then off.

Ivan fired at it.

Sam aimed at the muzzle blast and double-tapped. A thump, then silence. Not who he was looking for, but the next-best thing.

Where are you, Fisk?

How to draw him out? He felt around for Remi’s empty Sig, found it, calling out, “Remi! Get out of here. I’m out of ammo.” He threw the gun so that it clattered across the uneven ground.

A lengthy pause, then Remi saying, “So am I. I’m going for help.”

Someone ran up the tunnel as Sam kept his aim on the lower tunnel, listening for any sound of Fisk.

Just when he wondered if the man was ever coming up, a bluish light lit up on the right side of the cavern. Alexandra holding her cell phone as she walked along the circumference.

“Get out here, you coward,” she shouted. “I’m the one you need to deal with.”

Sam watched, stunned, as she approached the tunnel Fisk had disappeared in. He glanced toward it, the darkness absolute. But then, surprising him, Fisk stepped out, saying, “You think you can steal my cipher wheel and get away with it?”

He leveled his gun at her.

Sam fired.

Fisk jerked back. He looked at Sam, shocked, as he staggered to one side, his gun falling from his hand. “You were out of ammo.”

“I lied.”

Fifty-six

I hope you haven’t gone to too much trouble searching for those caverns,” Lazlo said after Sam and Remi called to check in. “We may have sent you on a bit of a wild-goose chase.”

“No trouble at all,” Sam said, watching the multitude of cops on the premises, many of them from the firearms unit — the only officers in Great Britain authorized to carry guns. “Why?”

“Turns out, we were wrong. Definitely a fourth chamber, not cavern. In fact, we’re fairly certain the treasure can’t possibly be anywhere near Nottingham Park. I’m not sure why Nigel would have sent you there. It just doesn’t fit.”

Sam and Remi exchanged glances as they ended their call home, then looked at Nigel. “Why did you send us there?” Remi asked.

He drew his gaze from Alexandra, who was giving her statement to one of the investigators. “It was the only thing I could think of that might convince them they needed me. I’d been to the four caverns on a tour years ago during one of my university classes.” He shrugged, giving a faint smile. “I figured if I could make them believe the treasure was there and that I could take them to it…”

“It worked,” Sam said. Fisk was in custody. Ivan and Jak were dead. Alexandra had a small cut on her forehead from shrapnel but was otherwise unhurt.

Remi gave him a tired smile. “It was a good run. Getting that close to possibly solving the mystery of King John and his treasure.”

“It was. But, on the bright side, our schedule’s wide open. So where do you want to go on vacation?”

“I thought you had that all planned out?”

“I did, sort of. Where did we leave off?”

“Carmel.”

One of the investigators poked his head out of the tunnel entrance. The ivy had been pulled back and tied with a cord, giving them easy access. The investigator looked over, calling out to the two officers standing guard. They walked over, conversing quietly.

Remi leaned her head against Sam’s shoulder, watching them. “Nice shooting down there, by the way.”

“Likewise.”

One of the officers walked over, taking out his notebook. “About your pistols…”

“We have visitor permits for them,” Sam said. Handguns were prohibited in Great Britain. They’d confiscate theirs in a heartbeat, and Sam liked his Smith & Wesson. “They should be on file in London.”