Near Dark (Scot Harvath #20) - Brad Thor Page 0,125
he may be coming out the other gate. Have her move to the causeway and watch for him there.”
“Roger that,” Nicholas responded, keying out a quick text.
But no sooner had he sent it than Aubertin changed his route. “Heads up,” he said to Harvath. “He just turned right.”
“What do you mean, he turned right?”
“On Les Fanils. He should have turned left to get to the gate. He didn’t. He turned right.”
At a stand of trees, Harvath escaped the sea of frenzied people to check the map Dominique had given him earlier in the day. One glance told him all he needed to know. “He’s headed to the beach.”
“Is he crazy?” Nicholas asked. “The tide’s coming in. He’ll never make it to the mainland.”
“I don’t think he’s headed for the mainland,” Harvath replied, wishing that he had the drone overhead. “I think he’s worried about the exits and is looking for someplace to hide, here on the island.”
“If you’re right, there are only two places I can see that he might be headed to. A pair of structures—the Chapelle Saint-Aubert, or just past it, something smaller called the Fontaine Saint-Aubert.”
“It should be pretty easy for you to figure out which one. As soon as he stops you can relay the—”
“Hold on,” Nicholas said, interrupting him. “We just lost the signal.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. It was there and then it wasn’t. It’s completely gone.”
Harvath could see the tide coming in. “He ditched the phone.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that’s what I would have done.”
“I’ll pull Sølvi then and have her back you up.”
“Negative,” Harvath replied. “I want her to remain at the causeway. This could be a ruse.”
“Okay,” said Nicholas. “Good copy. Be careful.”
* * *
The tide at Mont-Saint-Michel swept in so quickly, it was said to arrive as fast as a galloping horse.
Already, it was lapping up the deserted beach and splashing against the rocky promontory upon which the tiny stone Chapel of Saint-Aubert had been built.
Harvath moved rapidly, hugging the boulder-strewn hillside, hoping that if a gunfight did break out, there was enough cover to protect him.
Up ahead, a narrow set of steps had been carved out of the natural granite of the promontory and led up to the chapel. With high walls on both sides, it was a death chute. Anyone standing above could fire down and he wouldn’t have a chance. Stepping into the rising water, he approached the structure from behind.
The sheer face of the promontory was slick with moisture, making it hard to get any purchase. But once he found a fissure he could wedge the toe of his boot into, he made quick work of it.
Halfway up, there was an old metal ladder bolted to the stone. Carefully, he tested his weight on it. Confident that it would hold, he used it to speed the rest of his climb.
The rear of the chapel, where the building faced the sea, had no windows whatsoever. On its east and west sides, beneath the slate-covered roof, the windows were too high to peer into and the stones too smooth to scale. Even if he could make it up that high, he didn’t know how good his view through the leaded glass would be. Perhaps he could have detected a human form of some sort inside, but if Aubertin was sitting completely motionless it would have been tough. His only choice was going to be the lone entrance.
Creeping around the chapel, he climbed over its low wall, and arrived at a weathered gray door and an arrow-slit-style window. Drawing his pistol, he made sure not to cast a shadow.
He stood for several moments, watching for movement, and didn’t see any. Approaching the old wooden door with its rusted iron rivets, he strained for any sound coming from inside. All he could hear was the wind and the rush of the tide. Making ready, he reached for the door handle.
CHAPTER 52
The door was locked. Whether it had been locked from the outside because Mont-Saint-Michel didn’t want anyone in there at night, or whether the assassin had done it from within, he only had one way of knowing. Standing back, he raised his boot and slammed it home.
The wood splintered and the door flew open as Harvath spun and pressed himself up against the stone exterior outside. Standing in the doorway, he would have made an easy target.
As it was, no shots were fired. He risked a quick look inside. The chapel was empty. That left only one place Aubertin could be.