The Crimson Dagger - Vatican Knights Series 23 (2020), Rick Jones [free ebooks for android txt] 📗

Nibbling on his lower lip and then shaking his head disapprovingly, Abd-al-Mumin admonished himself for his shortcomings. Knowing that Khalifa was now by Allah’s side in Paradise provided him with little comfort. He was still in the land of the living with much to do.

As regrets washed through him on so many levels, such as the loss of his friend and that the mission had been compromised, he continued to pray over the Spear of Destiny. When, he asked himself, will I feel Your power or Your greatness?

His answer came by the way of distant sirens and fading wails.

* * *

Big Brother was expanding to all territories and to all nations. Along the streetlamps and intersections, along the avenues and boulevards, CCTV cameras were everywhere. From the moment the van moved away from the front of the Hofburg Palace, it was also captured going from one set of lenses to another to create a trackable path that would eventually lead the authorities to the Kristallpalast.

So far, the Holy Lance was doing little to aid in Abd-al-Mumin’s escape.

CHAPTER TEN

Lakeside Cabin in Maryland

As soon as the sun had set in Maryland, Shari Cohen was standing on the deck that overlooked the lake. The loons and mallards that were normally a part of the scenery were gone, which made Shari wonder where they went when the sky drew dark. Then she looked skyward at the pinpoint lights and noted the constellations. There was Cassiopeia, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Cepheus and Draco, all configurations that had stood the test of time. Then she wondered if her relationship with Kimball could weather through the hardships that came with any pairing. She knew that she made him happy. The fence was merely a symbol of Kimball’s vision of the suburban American Dream—the white-picket fence around a residential home, one-point-six children, simple employment, a barking dog who forever and playfully bounds about in the backyard, and family barbeques. But all of these were false imaginings. The surrounding fence did not appear appropriate for a log cabin. In fact, it was out of place and somewhat unpleasant to look at.

Shari winced as a sharp pain pierced her side, one that was sharp and agonizingly hot.

Gathering herself after taking a deep breath, Shari questioned whether Kimball’s dream was living up to his imagination, or if they were falling through the cracks. He was a man who always lived on the divide between two worlds—that between Darkness and Light, or a similar area between her and his team. She offered him both, believing he deserved to find happiness after years of suffering through tribulations that most men would never experience in a lifetime. To see him smile and fully content gave her innumerous pleasure. And this was her reward.

Another sting of pain, one that was sharp enough to cause her to bend over at the waist. As the pain subsided, she took another long breath and exhaled with an equally long sigh. The pains to both sides were coming quicker, the cramps bone deep and sometimes lingering longer than the norm.

On the railing of the deck where she had placed her cellphone, the faceplate lit up. When she went to grab it, immeasurable pain struck her side as though someone had run her through with a longsword. Starpoint bursts of light sparked in her field of vision. Then her ability to see began to fade as the edges surrounding her peripheral sight started to close in. When she reached for the cellphone as her sight dimmed, she ended up knocking it off the railing and to the deck. The phone continued to shrill, though its sound faded as if the device had been falling inside a deep well, the ringtone diminishing as she began to lose consciousness. Then her world became completely black as she fell to the deck. Though she lay unconscious and would have no recollection of the pain that coursed through her had been mercifully numbed, Shari could still hear her phone ringing from a far-away land. Though she remained deep within this darkness, she also managed to take with her a sweet memory. The last thing she recalled throughout her gradual fade into oblivion was a single word that spoke volumes as it popped up on the phone’s screen: KIMBALL.

As the screen eventually fell blank and the phone stopped vibrating, the constellations stood sentinel and watched over Shari from above.

* * *

The call had eventually gone to Shari’s voicemail, leaving Kimball to stare at his phone wondering. He had called Shari on two occasions and received no calls in return, which made him wonder if he had angered her in any way. But he quickly pushed this aside because she, in fact, had given her blessings for him to return to the Vatican. Still, he felt a certain unease. In Rome, it was just after midnight, whereas in Maryland the sun had set an hour before. She should have been available.

Setting the phone on the nightstand, he did not turn it off. Should he fall asleep and should she call, then he would make himself available to her. But as his eyes grew heavy and weighted with fatigue, as the time change started to get to him, Kimball finally fell asleep.

The call he was waiting for, the call he hoped to receive, never came.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Kristallpalast

Vienna, Austria

By the time the van pulled within the vicinity of the hotel’s docking bay in the rear, about fifty feet away, Abd-al-Mumin’s team had already changed to a more casual dress to blend in. During the return trip, they had also broken down their military hardware and secured them inside their rucksacks.

After vacating the van, Abd-al-Mumin’s unit entered the hotel through different entryways so as not to cast suspicious looks from hotel staff. Abd-al-Mumin entered through the hotel lobby. Ghazi and Zamir ventured through the side entrance to use the stairway. And Talib and Qusay had