The Templar's Quest Part 39

Pumped up on adrenaline, the goon thrashed violently, clawing Finn's wrists with his huge boxer-size paws. Locked in a ferocious embrace, the two of them slammed against the concrete wall.

'It's six thirty!' Kate screamed. 'You have to stop the experiment!'

Hearing that, Finn spared a quick glance. Kate was yanking on Ivo Uhlemann's arm, while Aisquith was frantically trying to open the door that led to the Vril Generator.

'Yes! Yes! It's happening!' Uhlemann shouted jubilantly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Finn saw a luminous blue haze surrounding the Grail.

s.h.i.t!

Jaw clenched tight, Finn squeezed for all he was worth on the chauffeur's thick, muscle-roped neck ... But it was like squeezing a d.a.m.ned tree trunk.

86.

0630 hours Standing in front of the steel door that led to the Vril Generator, Caedmon turned his head and peered through the plate-gla.s.s window.

A blue phosph.o.r.escent corona had completely enveloped the Grail.

Christ! The energy fusion has already begun!

Having tried all three of the hacked security codes with no luck Caedmon rushed over to Dr Uhlemann.

'There's no time to waste! Give me the security code to bypa.s.s the lock!'

Ignoring his shouted demand, the German scientist pressed both palms to the gla.s.s part.i.tion as he gazed through the gla.s.s. 'Soon! Soon! Soon!' he chanted, his rheumy eyes gleaming with excitement. Obsessed with his creation, he was oblivious to the danger.

Kate, standing on the other side of Dr Uhlemann, urgently tugged on his arm. 'You have to stop the experiment!'

A loud crackling sound reverberated from the other side of the gla.s.s as blue sparks began to fly frenetically off the stone. The crackling was near-deafening, Caedmon afraid that his eardrums were about to burst. A jagged blue streak arced through the air, the stench of ozone filling the chamber, the ambient temperature rapidly escalating.

Caedmon could feel his body vibrate painfully, as though his internal organs were being agitated from within.

'The generator must be shut down this instant!' he hollered.

'No!'

Caedmon spun on his heel and grabbed a wooden-backed chair. Biting back an agonized bellow of pain, he slammed it against the gla.s.s part.i.tion.

A wasted effort, the safety gla.s.s too thick to penetrate.

Just then, the energy fusion produced myriad streamers, each branching out from the Grail into hundreds of thin blue filaments that streaked ominously in every direction.

'For Christ's sake!' Caedmon yelled, barely audible over the shrill cacophony. 'Give me the code, you b.l.o.o.d.y contemptible '

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three gun shots were fired in quick succession, the gla.s.s part.i.tion immediately shattering.

A split-second later, a ragged blue bolt of current ripped free from the Grail and struck Ivo Uhlemann square in the chest. The force of the blow hurtled him ten feet through the air, the German careening into the concrete block wall at the back of the room.

Caedmon heaved the chair through the open part.i.tion dislodging the Grail from the crystal matrix.

In an instant, all went eerily silent.

'It's over,' he murmured, his shoulders slumping in relief. 'The experiment has been stopped.'

He turned his head. McGuire stood over the dead Myrmidon, the Ruger clutched in his hand. Gracelessly sprawled on the floor, the bald brute's neck was bent at an unnatural angle. Grim-faced, the commando charged towards the video camera that was set on a nearby tripod. Grabbing the camera with his free hand, he flung it against the concrete wall, the device smashing on impact.

'Uhlemann's buddies were watching the proceedings on a live video feed,' he said by way of explanation. 'So we better hustle before they send in the reinforcements.'

'My G.o.d ... I feel like I just came through a war zone,' Kate gasped, a sh.e.l.l-shocked expression on her face.

Indeed, the floor was littered with bodies.

Caedmon glanced dispa.s.sionately at the crumpled figure of Ivo Uhlemann.

'Jaysus,' McGuire softly swore as he examined the body. 'Not only did the Vril force blow a gaping hole clean through him, but it carbonized the skin around the wound.' Stepping away from the dead German, he shook his head in disgust. 'Although I gotta tell you, I don't have an ounce to spare for any of 'em.'

'Nor I,' Caedmon seconded.

'Me, three,' Kate whispered.

McGuire checked his watch. 'We still need to stick to the game plan and destroy the Vril Generator. And we don't have a whole h.e.l.luva lot of time to do it.'

'I'll climb through the part.i.tion and retrieve the Grail,' Caedmon informed him.

The commando clamped a hand on his left shoulder, stopping him in mid-stride. 'No way are we taking that stone with us,' he bluntly informed Caedmon, a determined look in his eyes. 'I don't want to be running this same op again next year. If the Grail does what everyone claims it can do, every military in the world will be vying for it. h.e.l.l, look what it did Ivo Meister.'

'I'll make certain that it's safeguarded.'

'You're good, buddy, but you're just one man. Trust me. You won't be able to safeguard that d.a.m.ned thing once the Powers-That-Be catch wind of it. The gold will melt in the explosion.'

Rendering the Grail worthless.

Caedmon turned and stared at the legendary stone gleaming on the concrete floor. Beckoning. Parzival's Lapis Exillis. The same stone sought by the Knights Templar.

And the scientists of the Third Reich.

Knowing that McGuire spoke the truth, Caedmon nodded his head in resignation. 'Right. Let's destroy the chamber and get the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l out of here.'

'You also have to destroy the CTC device,' Kate informed them.

In unison, both he and McGuire swung their heads in her direction.

'What?' they jointly exclaimed.

'It's the working prototype for the Seven's time machine. Doctor Uhlemann showed it to me. While I'm not a scientist, I'm fairly certain that it will work!'

'Provided you have the Vril force to power it.' Caedmon nodded at the crystal matrix. 'Which will be impossible to create without a functioning generator.'

'The crystal matrix is just one way to generate the Vril force,' Kate countered. 'What if there are multiple ways to create it?'

Caedmon turned to the commando. 'She has a valid point.'

'Okay,' McGuire said, persuaded. 'I've got enough pipe bombs to destroy both the Vril Generator and this CTC device. Where's the time machine located?'

'Upstairs on the third floor. The laboratory is two doors down from the library.'

'Gotcha.'

Kate's brows suddenly knitted together. 'But you're not going to be able to get into the lab.'

'Why not!?' Both Caedmon and McGuire again exclaimed in unison.

'The door to the laboratory is secured with a biometric device. It requires a fingerprint scan to unlock the door. And Doctor Uhlemann is no longer '

'Which finger?' the commando interjected.

'Right index.'

'Then I'd better retrieve my KA-BAR knife.' Without a backward glance, McGuire charged over to the door that led to the maintenance engineering room, propping it open with a chair.

Belatedly realizing what the commando intended to do, Kate's eyes opened wide, a horrified expression on her face. 'Oh, my G.o.d! We can't let him '

'I can a.s.sure you that Doctor Uhlemann won't feel a thing.' Moreover, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d has it coming.

A few moments later, McGuire returned to the viewing chamber, his Go Bag slung over his shoulder and a business-like knife gripped in his right hand. 'This is the plan: I'll toss three bombs through the part.i.tion then run upstairs to the third floor. I'll wait to enter the lab until the two of you are clear and free of the mezzanine.'

Kate placed a hand on McGuire's chest. 'Finn, please be '

'Don't worry, Katie. I'll be just fine,' he said rea.s.suringly. 'I'm doing what I was put on this earth to do. Improvise, utilize, then haul a.s.s.' His lips curved in a c.o.c.ky grin. 'It's what I do best.'

'Second best,' Kate whispered. Going up on her tiptoes, she lovingly kissed him full on the lips.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, McGuire pulled her close. Suddenly feeling like an unwanted intruder, Caedmon discreetly turned his head.

'Aisquith's a stand-up guy. He'll get you out of here,' McGuire said a few moments later.

Her grey-blue eyes glistening with unshed tears, Kate rushed out of the viewing chamber. Just as Caedmon was about to follow her, McGuire grabbed hold of his left arm, preventing him from leaving.

'You get her out of here safely or you die trying.'

Caedmon put a hand on the other man's shoulder. 'You have my word.'

'If I don't make it out alive, I want you to take care of Kate,' McGuire told him in a gruff, emotion-laden voice. 'And if you don't, I will seriously haunt your a.s.s.'

'Consider it done.'

McGuire smiled, visibly relieved. 'Good. Now get the h.e.l.l out of here. I got work to do.'

87.

Caedmon yanked open the door at the top of the steps, motioning for Kate to precede him.

'Ladies first,' he said, his lips twisted in a semblance of a smile.

Kate wasn't fooled for a minute he was in a tremendous amount of pain. The bandage on his head was completely saturated with blood and his right jacket sleeve had a large b.l.o.o.d.y splotch. She had no idea how Caedmon had come by his wounds, but it was obvious that he needed immediate medical attention.

Free and clear of the stairwell, the two of them sprinted across the low-lit mezzanine. Two shadows charging through the penumbra.

Heart pounding, Kate pushed herself to keep up with Caedmon's long-legged stride. Although the temperature inside the atrium was downright frigid, she was heated from the exertion. Stress, combined with lack of food and sleep, was sapping what little energy she had left. To prevent herself from stumbling, she focused on keeping her arms and legs coordinated.

Worried that Finn might run into trouble, she spared a quick glance over her shoulder. She hoped to G.o.d that Dr Uhlemann's a.s.sociates didn't send armed reinforcements to ambush him. She didn't know a lot about pipe bombs other than the fact that they were incredibly volatile and dangerous to handle. If he got caught in a firefight, it might trigger an unintended explosion.

As if to prove that very point, a loud blast suddenly thundered in the level below them, Kate feeling the reverberations in her spinal column. A few seconds later, a second bomb detonated. And then a third.

'Excellent!' Caedmon exclaimed. 'McGuire has ignited the first three bombs.'

A few moments later, they arrived at the exit door, both of them slightly out of breath.

'b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l! Who puts a security lock on both sides of the door?' Caedmon gestured to the numeric pad affixed to the right side of the door jamb. 'Luckily, I have the access code.'

He keyed in a six-digit number.

'd.a.m.n ... I must have mis-keyed.' He tried again, slower this time.

When nothing happened, Kate asked the obvious question. 'Why isn't the door unlocking?'

'I have no idea. Not to fear.' Caedmon absently patted her arm. 'I have two other codes. I'm sure one of them will work.'

Despite his a.s.surance, she literally crossed her fingers as she watched him carefully key in a second numeric code.

Six attempts later, Caedmon turned to her and delivered the bad news. 'It would appear that we're locked in.'

Kate gasped. Swayed. Saw spots in front of her eyes.