That Cleansing Fire - Part Three
Cade waited with Riley at the foot of the aircraft stairs while Olsen went to get the rental car. While they waited, they helped the pilot unload the four larges cases of equipment they had brought with them from the cargo area of the plane. Each case was locked tightly and was sealed with the emblem of the Holy See, making them the sovereign territory of the Vatican itself, off limits to all but their intended recipients. It was the same type of diplomatic protection afforded to the staff members of a foreign nation’s embassy and it allowed the Order to move cargo of all types, including firearms, explosives, and supernatural artifacts, about the country with little to no resistance from the authorities. If the authorities couldn’t see what was in the box, they certainly couldn’t prevent it from arriving at its destination.
Olsen pulled up next to the aircraft behind the wheel of a black Ford Explorer. Cade and Riley quickly loaded the gear into the rear of the vehicle before climbing inside. A few moments later the three of them were speeding out of the airport gate.
Not knowing what had happened to Bishop, Cade had no choice but to assume the safe house was compromised. Instead of going there as had been originally planned, Cade had Olsen drive around for a while until they found a run down Holiday Inn on the outskirts of town. Cade went inside and got them three interconnecting rooms on the ground floor in the back of the hotel, where their comings and goings would be mainly unobserved. Olsen parked the truck in front of the door to the center room and they made short work of unloading the equipment.
Ten minutes later they met in Cade’s room. After a brief discussion, it was decided that they would go to the safe house first, in the hopes that Bishop might simply be injured and unable to make contact. If he were not there, they would do a thorough search of the premises in case he had left a message or some other clue as to his whereabouts. If, after that, they still came up empty handed, they would then try to make contact with the church pastor who had first requested assistance. All three of them agreed that the pastor himself might be compromised, or worse, in on the problem from the beginning, so any trip to the church would be treated as a journey into hostile territory. They would secure the premises first and ask their questions later.
Just after sunset, the three of them suited up. Each team member pulled on a set of white ceramic body armor that had been blessed by the Holy Father himself and displayed the red cross of the Templars prominently across the chest. In a shoulder holster, each man carried a standard issue HK Mark 23 .45 caliber handgun, complete with a 12 round magazine, a flash suppressor, and laser-targeting device. A combat knife was either affixed to their belts or in a calf sheath on the outside of their boots. Two spare magazines were affixed with Velcro to their left wrists. Their swords, held in tear-resistant nylon sheaths, were slung across their backs, the hilt of the weapon extending just beyond the right shoulder for easy access in the heat of combat. Lightweight Kevlar tactical helmets with built in communications gear went on their heads.
In addition to the pistol, each man carried his choice of personal weapons. For Riley, it was a Mossberg 590 12 gauge combat shotgun. He was also the team demolitions expert, so he also carried an assortment of plastic explosives and detonators in the chest webbing he wore over his armor. Olsen carried an HK MP5 compact submachine gun, though on occasion he would swap that for a Barrett Light .50 caliber sniper rifle if the situation demanded it. Bishop had been an expert with all kinds of throwing knives. Cade was the only one who didn’t carry anything in addition to his standard pistol.
His other, more esoteric abilities were all he needed.
When they were ready, they left the hotel behind and climbed once more into their vehicle.
* * *
The safe house was located in a quiet, residential neighborhood on the south side of town. A thick stretch of woods occupied the right hand side of the street, while several older homes occupied the left. Cade had Olsen drive down the street slowly, occasionally using his high beams to illuminate the house numbers painted on the sides of the mailboxes before moving on again. To the casual observer, it would look as if the men in the car were looking for a particular address. In reality, Cade and Riley were using the time to study the target property, noting entry and egress routes and watching for motion behind the darkened windows that faced out onto the street.
After passing the house once and not finding anything obviously amiss, Cade had Olsen drive around the block and pull over to the side of the road in the shadows beneath a stretch of trees, where Cade and Riley slipped out of the vehicle.
The night was dark, the sky above covered with a thick curtain of heavy storm clouds and with the rise of the moon still a half hour away, which would help them in their effort to remain concealed. Keeping to the shadows, the two men made their way back down the block until they were hidden in the woods directly opposite the front door of the safe house. Cade clicked his mike twice, giving the signal that they were in position. A moment later Olsen came back down the street in the Explorer and parked along the curb in front of the house. He flipped on the interior light and pretended to study a map.
His companions watched the house carefully, looking for any reaction to Olsen’ presence, but none came.
So far, so good.
Cade clicked his mike again.
Upon receiving the signal, Olsen turned off the interior light and exited the vehicle, the map held in his left hand, leaving his right hand, his weapon hand, free. Olsen walked up the front walk and rang the doorbell. The plan called for him to ask for directions to the airport if someone answered the door, while Cade and Riley covered him from the street. If no one answered, Olsen would signal to the others and they would advance on the house themselves, at which point they would enter the home with the key Bishop had previously sent to them.
Cade watched tensely as Olsen headed up the walk. This was the dangerous part of the plan; if Olsen was attacked and dragged inside the house before the others could get to him, he would be on his own with his companions locked outside, unable to help.
Olsen waited a moment after ringing the bell and then, after receiving no answer, rang it again. When it went unanswered the second time, he stepped off the front steps, checked the street one time to be certain no one unexpected was watching, and then walked around the side of the house, headed for the rear.
Cade and Riley crossed the street and found him waiting at the back door of the house, key in hand. The two men moved into position and Cade signaled for Olsen to go ahead and open the door.
Inside, the house was dark. Using hand signals again, Cade indicated they were to do a search. The three of them fanned out and went the small dwelling with the aid of their flashlights, but didn’t find Bishop. The refrigerator and shelves were stocked with food and several city maps lay on the coffee table in the living room next to the briefcase containing Bishop’s communications equipment, evidence that he had been here, but that was all.
There were no clues as to what had happened to him.
Or where he was now.
They were going to have to check out the church.
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