Free Matt Drake 14 - The Treasures of Saint Germain by David Leadbeater

heard Kinimaka’s whisper, “You gave her the job you wanted.”
    And Hayden’s reply, “Leave it, Mano.”
    Kenzie returned, an injured look on her face. “I honestly believe they don’t know anything.” The merc crawled along at her side, unable to stand.
    Smyth surged forward, muttering angrily. Clearly, the soldier had had enough of waiting in the wings. His victim struck out, but Smyth subdued him with a simple punch. A broken rib and jaw soon followed, the soldier’s anger getting the best of him.
    As Kinimaka leapt in to pull him away an aggrieved voice shouted, “Dubai! They’re in Dubai, but that’s all I know!”
    Smyth paused and so did Kinimaka. The soldier stepped away. Lauren caught his shoulder.
    “What was that?” she hissed. “You scared me.”
    Smyth turned away.
    “Now you’re scaring me more.”
    “Interesting,” Smyth said. “That I scare you more than a Pythian terrorist.”
    “Oh, give it a rest. And hey, you’d better not have hurt him before we left.”
    Smyth looked like he wished otherwise.
    “You’d better not hurt him, Smyth.”
    “And how could I do that?” Smyth rumbled. “He’s in lockdown.”
    Lauren clammed up, staring up at the skies.
    Drake was busy wondering if he’d heard correctly and nodded at Yorgi. “He said Dubai, right?”
    The Russian widened his eyes. “Oh, dah. I heard that too.”
    “That just makes everything weirder,” Dahl stated. “Dubai? I mean how do you connect that with . . . this?”
    “Guys, we have to focus,” Hayden urged them all. “Right now, Webb is in the wind and we’re nowhere.”
    “He’s getting desperate though,” Beau said quietly. “Webb. The man I guarded and worked for all those months would not make mistakes like this unless . . .”
    “What?” Smyth cut in quickly.
    “He is nearing the end. Anxious. Webb is almost at his ultimate goal.”
    “And, I’d like to point out,” Hayden said. “That’s something else we’re practically clueless about.”
    “Chemistry. Versailles palace. Transylvania. What’s the connection?” Dahl shrugged.
    Hayden brandished the cellphone. “Let’s head out,” she said. “There’s nothing more here for us to do. Get some rest guys, because when this all plays out I’ve a feeling we’re gonna need it.”
     
    *
     
    Argento came through the old fashioned way. He called Hayden and she called the team together, and they traipsed down from their hastily acquired rooms to a cold, empty conference room. They all sat about the dusty table, staring at the bare floor and shivering, watching the windows grow brighter as dawn began to rise.
    “You mentioned he’d get desperate.” Hayden nodded at Beau. “You were right. Webb is now on the trail of something else, another part of the quest. The guy’s injured, hounded by whoever those mercs are working for, and now hunted by us. Not to mention half of Europe.”
    Beau nodded. “He has no choice.”
    “He also knows the Dubai-run group will be waiting for him at every stop,” Drake pointed out. “I hope he’s a sniveling bloody wreck.”
    “Not Webb,” Beau said. “He truly believes he is owed something. The man will assume he’s able to dodge bullets until this is over.”
    Hayden laid her cellphone on the table and hit the speaker. “Go, Armand.”
    The Italian Interpol agent let loose in characteristic fashion. “So, this Webb, he is running around like a boy chasing a mouse, yes? He seems to be following a trail, a map maybe, who knows? But until Versailles he kept it all very quiet, on the down-low as you Americans say.”
    Hayden nodded agreeably. Drake stared at Alicia and then at Dahl, eyes wide and lips about to start flapping. Then the Swede chuckled. “Now,” he said. “Now you see what it’s like.”
    Argento’s word-storm never abated. “So he’s back on the map, this Tyler Webb. Most wanted scum-sucker in the world, you say. I say there’s worse, but it matters little. Ever heard of the