Free The Spirit Banner by Alex Archer Page B

loud siren began blaring throughout the house.

Annja cast a questioning look at her companions.

"We've got an intruder," Mason said, by way of reply, as he crossed the room and disappeared through the door.

Davenport and Annja quickly followed.

Out in the hallway they found Mason surrounded by a handful of hard-looking men who had apparently appeared out of thin air. Or at least it seemed that way to Annja, who up until now hadn't seen even a hint that a security team was present, never mind active.

"Sitrep," Mason said to the tall black man who was helping him slip into a ballistic vest.

"We've got a breach along the south wall. Davis's panic button went off just over sixty seconds ago. I tripped the alarm and assembled the team as per SOP."

"Good job, Jeffries. Any idea who or what we're up against?"

The other man shook his head. "The motion sensors never went off, which means the video feed wasn't activated. At this point, all we have is the lack of response from Katter and the active signal from Davis, which doesn't tell us a whole hell of a lot."

Mason turned to face Davenport. "Without knowing what we're facing, I have to suggest that you take cover in the secure room until this is over, sir."

The trusted friend had reverted back into the loyal employee, Annja noted. And it appeared that Davenport was more than willing to listen to him, too. She had long suspected that Mason was more than just Davenport's assistant and she felt some small sense of satisfaction that her hunch had proven correct.

One of the security team members stepped to Davenport's side, gun drawn and eyes on alert. "This way, sir," he said, indicating the hallway to the left.

Curious about what was going on, but not wanting to get in the way of what appeared to be a well-organized response, Annja chose to follow Davenport. Probably gets half a dozen death threats a week, considering how rich he is, she thought. Besides, if he was the target, at least she was there to protect him.

She was halfway down the hall when a sudden thought stopped her dead in her tracks.

The journal.

Whoever they are, they're after the journal, she was sure of it.

She turned it over once or twice in her head, testing it for accuracy, and finally decided that her hunch was right. They were after the journal. She didn't know how she knew it; she just did.

Turning, she charged back down the hall, headed for the staircase in the foyer that would take her to the second floor. She didn't know how someone could have learned of the journal, nor who might be after it. But that didn't matter. Right now all she cared about was imposing herself between the artifact and whoever it was that had come to claim it.

"Annja! Annja, wait!"

Davenport's calls echoed down the hallway after her, but she ignored them, intent on her objective. She hit the staircase and took the steps two at a time, her gaze directed above, watching for intruders, as she rapidly made her way to the top.

When she reached the second-floor landing, she flattened herself against the wall, settled into a crouch and peeked around the corner at knee height. If someone was there, she didn't want to stick her face right in their sights.

The hall was empty, however.

"Annja!"

She spun around to find Davenport coming up the steps, calling her name, his bodyguard a few steps behind and obviously not very happy about the current situation. Annja wasn't, either. She silenced him with a sharp wave of her hand and gestured for him to join her against the wall.

"What are you doing?" he asked in an urgent whisper, once he'd done what she'd asked. "Mason told us to get under cover."

"We need to check on Curran's diary."

Davenport processed that for a second. "You don't think…"

"Yeah, I do think. Now stay here and let me check things out." She turned to look at the bodyguard. "Make sure he listens, understand?"

The security agent nodded.

She straightened up and took a deep breath. Rounding the corner, she