Free The Tomb of the Gods (Matt Drake 4) by David Leadbeater Page A

click” handguns. At first, he had tried persuading them to stay behind, or at least stay hidden.
    Ben had shaken his head immediately. Karin, in the way of a close sister, had put his thoughts into words. “We’ve come this far. We might be scared, but we’re doing it anyway.”
    Drake looked at them, looked at them all. “That’s what makes a hero.”
    “My life,” Karin said, “hadn’t been worth living, until I chased a madman down a black hole in a tropical paradise. Until then. . .I purposely destroyed my life.”
    “Why would you do that?” Drake had asked.
    Karin had shaken her head. “I lost my faith in people. Even now, I can’t find it. I just...can’t.”
    “We’ll try to help.” Drake said to her, painfully aware that two months ago his words would have been trust me. I’ll save you. But not now. Not ever again.
    “Like I said, we’re coming with you.”
    Now Drake began to prepare himself mentally for what was to come. Their toughest battle yet. The streets of Singen streamed past, the stump of Hohentwiel now commanding the horizon. Lush fields, stands of green trees and a few houses encircled the volcanic stub and its old castle and, as they drew closer, something else.
    Something completely out of place.
    The chatter began to fire up the airwaves almost immediately. “I see three choppers, sir. All military.” A voice from the lead car.
    Dahl’s voice. “Markings?”
    “Sir, I think you should know this first. They’re just landing. Men are e-vaccing as I speak. I think we should consider an immediate strike.”
    A stunned silence followed. Drake’s adrenalin spiked and he caught a look that flashed between Alicia and Mai. They were up for it too. They all nodded at Dahl.
    “We hit them before they can set up,” Drake said. “Before they can prepare, settle, or plan. That way, even though we came second, we still have the element of surprise.”
    “Strike through their lines.” Mai joined in. “Break through, outflank them, and decimate. We’ll come upon those already inside the tomb without warning.”
    Alicia scowled. “In an ideal world, little sprite.”
    Dahl was already speaking into the walkie. “Plan is a go. We do this now. No delay.”
    “Lock and load.” Hayden’s voice came over the walkie. “Nothing changes. We hit them harder, that’s all. Remember, this is one of the most important military strikes in living memory. We’re talking about a third tomb of the gods and a possible doomsday device being acquired by an unknown group. We simply cannot afford to fail. ”
    The military convoy picked up speed as it left the city and approached the old volcano. They made final weapons checks, clicked live ammo into place and tried to attain the mental focus it was going to take to win the day.
    At the base of the steep hill, they abandoned the vehicles and took to the trees. Beneath the priceless cover, the special multinational force hotfooted its way to the volcano’s summit.
    “We aim for the choppers.” Dahl breathed into the throat-mics. “Cayman and his men either found the entrance or made one. It wouldn’t be too risky with the proper GPRS systems.”
    Drake remembered that ground-penetrating radar was the Swede’s specialty. He listened to the chatter but eyeballed every inch of the surrounding hostile territory as he ran. The competence of the people around him gave him confidence. He was used to venturing into the unknown and striking a supposedly superior target. Though Kennedy’s death had been avenged and even now the Blood King, Dmitry Kovalenko, was suffering in prison for all his terrible sins, Drake couldn’t help but look forward to the dark violence that was to come. He had been forced to embrace it for Kennedy.
    It would always be a part of him.
    A deep rumble came from up above. The ground shook for a few seconds and in between small gaps in the trees, he strained to see a plume of spreading smoke. Cayman and his men had made their