words. ‘Someone – always – got your back.’ To Baine’s surprise, his grimace turned into a crooked smile. ‘Like – now!’
A mummified skull smashed down on the mercenary’s head.
Nina stood behind him, wincing at the pain in her hand. ‘Dammit, that really hurt! Oh, crap,’ she added as Baine recovered from the shock and glared over his shoulder at her.
‘Yeah, that did fucking hurt, you bitch!’ he snarled, spitting out more blood. He turned to face Nina. Behind him, Eddie slumped to the water-covered floor, more burial artefacts clattering around him.
Nina brandished the skull, before realising that without the element of surprise it was all but useless as a weapon. She backed towards the exit. ‘Great, I had to pick frickin’ Yorick and not a gun . . .’
Baine advanced, face full of fury—
‘Oi!’ said a gravelly voice from behind him. ‘Twat!’
Baine spun – and Eddie plunged an ornate golden dagger into his stomach. The mercenary roared as the Yorkshireman twisted the tumi, forcing the blade deeper into his body.
But despite the agony, Baine wasn’t incapacitated. He caught the still winded Eddie with a savage punch, knocking him down. Another kick hammered into Eddie’s stomach, then Baine pivoted to smash his steel-capped combat boot into his face—
The skull cracked down on his head again, shattering into fragments. Baine slumped to his knees, falling forward. Eddie rolled out of the way – and the mercenary splashed down face first, driving the knife all the way into his abdomen. He let out a long, bubbling moan, then was silent. A red circle swelled in the water around him.
Eddie sat up. ‘He’s got a tumi in his tummy,’ he groaned.
Nina was too worried to complain about the terrible joke. ‘Oh my God, Eddie? Are you all right?’
‘Help me up, and we’ll see if any bits fall off.’
Nina stepped over Baine’s body. ‘Sorry about your friend,’ she said to the remaining mummies as she pulled Eddie to his feet.
With the water level dropping all the time, Macy had been able to increase her pace through the city. She had spotted first Mac, then Nina, hurrying down the hill and decided to follow them, but so far hadn’t seen any further sign of anyone. And the two gunshots she had just heard prompted her to duck into hiding. Were Pachac and his people still around?
It was obvious that Stikes and his men were leaving, though. The helicopter rose above the plaza, making a careful half-turn before heading for the cave mouth. One less set of assholes to worry about, then, but she still felt far from safe.
Macy looked cautiously around, seeing nobody, then moved out and continued down the slope. The Hind was approaching the cavern’s entrance. Once it left, she might actually be able to hear if there was anyone nearby—
She rounded a corner – and found a gun pointing at her.
Shock and fear quickly turned to relief as she realised it was Kit, who seemed equally startled. ‘Jeez!’ she gasped, unable to hold back a nervous giggle. ‘You scared me!’
For a moment, the gun remained still . . . then Kit relaxed and lowered it, ‘Sorry. Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine. Have you seen Nina or Eddie? Or Mr McCrimmon?’
‘No . . . no,’ he said, the repetition more firm. ‘Eddie went after Stikes – I’m looking for Mac.’
A flight of steps nearby led up to the tower. ‘I saw him not long ago – I think he was heading that way.’ She started towards them.
Kit shook his head firmly, moving to block her. ‘No, I saw some of Pachac’s men go up there.’ He pointed to a nearby building. ‘Wait in there and keep out of sight until it’s safe. I’ll . . . look for Mac.’
Macy reluctantly did as she was told as Kit ascended the steps. ‘Take care,’ she called to him.
He didn’t reply, or even look back.
‘How are you feeling?’ Nina asked Eddie as they left the tomb.
‘Lighter.’
‘Huh?’
‘’Cause I just had the shit kicked out of me.’
‘Very funny.’
They looked up to see the Hind clearing the cave mouth. ‘Buggeration and fuckery!’ Eddie growled. ‘Stikes got away.’
‘Well, good!’ said Nina. ‘If he’s gone, we don’t have to worry about him any more.’
‘He’s got your statues.’
‘What? Oh. Oh! God damn it!’ She scowled after the departing aircraft as it powered away. ‘Son of a bitch!’
‘Does it matter?’ Eddie asked as he started to limp back up the slope. ‘He can’t do anything with ’em, and they helped us find El Dorado