burns on his face and hands attended to. He watched in grim silence as firefighters removed bodies in black bags from the overturned coach. A paramedic was dabbing at his face and the cool cloth was soothing. The policeman whose gun he’d used to break the back window was nearby also receiving treatment for burns to his face and hands. The police cars that had crashed into the coach were burnt out shells, their occupants reduced to ash. The front half of the coach was completely destroyed. The stench from it overwhelming.
A black people carrier pulled up and Dennis smiled as Natalie and Hutchinson with De Luca climbed out. De Luca surveying the aftermath of the chase. Natalie resisted the urge to run to Dennis but the relief of seeing him was plainly clear on her face. He winced as antiseptic liquid was applied to a sponge and dabbed on scratches on his brow causing them to sting. He smiled up at Natalie again as she got to him.
“Hey,” was all he said quietly.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah. Just a few scratches.”
“Is that a burn?”
“And a burn.”
De Luca was talking to the police officer in charge of the scene. He gave some instructions and then came over to the ambulance.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” Dennis replied, “Just superficial wounds.”
“I understand you saved some of the tourists from the coach. For that I thank you. Do you know how many are dead?”
“Firefighters have brought fifteen out so far and that includes the driver.”
Natalie put her hand up to her mouth.
“You’ve also lost seven of your men. Two of which were on motorcycles. You’ll find them back down the motorway.”
“Their bodies have already been recovered. Bauer’s too.”
Natalie took her hand away from her mouth.
“Bauer is dead?” she asked.
Dennis nodded.
“What happened at the church?” De Luca asked.
Dennis told him. When he finished De Luca said.
“They killed the priests?”
“Yes every last one of them.”
“May God have mercy on their souls.”
Dennis didn’t know if De Luca meant the gunmen or the priests. He didn’t bother to ask.
“I will need you to make a statement if you would please for police records.
Dennis nodded again.
“How does it end? The police report I mean.”
“They made it to Tarquinia airfield and made their escape by a Hercules transporter plane. By the time we managed to get the airforce to scramble jets it was too late. They turned out to sea almost immediately and dropped to an altitude low enough for radar to be unable to detect them. We had police on the ground but they were unable to stop them. The Hummers drove into the back of the plane and it took off.”
“I hate to say it,” Dennis said, “But I think we widely underestimated our enemy.”
“Yes.”
Then De Luca reached into his jacket pocket and took out his phone. He opened images and showed Dennis a grainy picture.
“What is it?” Dennis asked not able to make out the shapes. Natalie craned her neck to see.
“It’s the tail of the Hercules. A news helicopter caught it on camera earlier today. It has a very interesting mark on it. I wondered if you would be able to identify it.”
The image was blurred and was worse when Dennis used the touch screen to enlarge the pic.
“It looks like the SS death’s head emblem,” Natalie said.
“You think?” Dennis said turning the screen around for a better view.
“Yes. Look take the pic back to its original size. Now that looks like the same skull that was painted on the wavecrest!”
“I think you’re right.”
“What’s that?” De Luca asked.
“Three months ago we encountered Von Werner for the first time. He had a ship called the wave crest and that skull was painted on the side of it. It’s the death’s head symbol from Nazi Germany. It’s also his trademark.”
“So it was definitely him?”
“It would seem so.”
“In that case I think you’re right about our underestimating him,” De Luca said studying the burnt out coach again.
“Where does this leave us?” Dennis asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well we came here to help you catch Von Werner. Bauer, some of your men and innocent people have died. What do you want us….” Dennis gestured at Natalie and Hutchinson , “To do now?”
“There’s nothing you can do. They’ve gone. We’re trying to find out where that plane was headed. The flight number was false. We have no leads. The items stolen will most likely not turn up for sale. They will go into a private collection no doubt or be disposed of once