Bill Craig Emerald Death (epub)

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.“Is there another way out of here?” Shotsky asked, spinning Degiorno around to face him.Sweat was pouring down the Italian’s face.“The roof,” Degiorno gasped.His bulk was not made for running, especially in the African heat.“Lead the way,” Gregor Shotsky shoved him towards the door.“Dad,” Bridget said, trying to tug loose and head back down the stairs.“The Padre will be fine, Bridget,” Hannigan reassured her.“He wanted me to get you out of here and away from trouble.”…But he wished he were as confident as he sounded.Actually, he had no idea if the priest would escape the raid on the bar, but he intended to make sure that the girl got out and was safe from harm.He followed Shotsky and Degiorno until the four of them burst out onto the roof of The Broken Tusk.The sunlight was blinding after the dim interior of the bar, forcing Hannigan and the others to squint their eyes in order to see.The gunfire from below was louder now as it echoed up from the street.Hannigan moved to the edge of the roof and peeked over.The soldiers weren’t government troops at all, at least not from the Belgian government.They were wearing khaki uniforms with red armbands emblazoned with a white circle centered below a black swastika.Nazis! Nazis storm troopers were raiding the mercenary meeting place.But what on earth for?Hannigan ducked back away from the edge of the roof as bullets began to chew at the parapet.He spun towards Shotsky and the fat Italian.“Those are Nazis down there! Does this have to with your big job, Degiorno?”Hannigan crossed the distance in two steps, grabbing the man by the lapels of his white tropical weight suit jacket.“They want the map!” Degiorno stammered in reply.“I didn’t realize that they knew I had made a copy of it.It leads to a hidden treasure deep within the Congo - in pygmy country!”“Treasure?” the other three asked in unison, disbelief written across their faces.“A mystic gemstone of some sort.” Degiorno replied, his face a beet red.“They want it for their leader, Adolf Hitler.”“Hitler? That upstart?” Hannigan asked in disbelief.“He seeks a great many occult artifacts.He apparently believes that with their aid, Nazi Germany will become invincible.”“You seem to know a lot about the guy,” Hannigan snarled.“It’s my job to know who I am dealing with,” the Italian replied.“Personally, I think the monetary value of the gem far outweighs its alleged mystic value.I want it for the money.That’s why I was hiring men to send after it.”Bullets chopped through the doorway leading to the roof from the bar.“I think maybe we should get the heck out of here,” Hannigan said, drawing the Colt from under his vest.“A sound idea, Michael,” Shotsky added.“Then let’s do it!” Hannigan snapped.He fired at the door just as a booted foot sent it swinging open.The Nazi that had kicked it flew backwards into the stairwell.“Run!”The four ran towards the edge of the roof and jumped into space.Their stomachs lurched as they hung suspended over the long drop then settled with unpleasant abruptness as they landed on the adjacent roof.Hannigan fired out the magazine in his pistol to keep the Nazis down until they reached a door leading down into the building.Gunfire pummeled the wooden door as Hannigan threw it shut behind him, exploding into splinters as heavy lead slugs chewed it to pieces.“They must want this mystic rock pretty bad!” He shouted over the din.“Maybe these Nazi guys aren't such pushovers after all!”He buttoned the magazine out of his Colt and slammed a fresh one home.He was careful to pocket the empty magazine; he had a couple boxes of rounds in his duffel, but he had a feeling finding replacement magazines for the American-made Colt would be next to impossible in Africa.He charged down the stairs eager to catch the others, but found Bridget stopped behind Gregor and Degiorno who stood arguing in the center of an intersecting hallway.“We don’t have time for this!” he snapped, shouldering his way through them and grabbing Bridget’s wrist to drag her along behind him.*****Bridget gave only a token resistance before following him… so far Mike Hannigan had kept her alive.Not that she needed any man's help.She didn’t have the heart to tell Hannigan - who imagined himself the chivalrous knight, rescuing a damsel in distress - that her adopted father had taught her the mysterious Oriental martial art he called “Te-lo.” She could kill with nearly any part of her body if threatened.Still, she liked the young American, and wanted to see what he had in mind.She was worried about her adopted father, but knew that Niles McKenzie could take care of himself.If anyone could elude the Nazis, it was her dad.Hannigan kicked open a door and half-dragged her into the room.She could hear shouts from the floors below them and knew that some of the soldiers were entering this building from the ground floor.She shot a glance over her shoulder and saw the other two men following.Hannigan released his tight grip on her wrist and ran for the balcony.He slipped outside for a moment and then waved for the others to follow.There was a balcony on the next building about six feet away.Bridget risked a glance at the street below.No Nazis yet.“We need to get across this,” Hannigan said, upping the safety on his pistol and stuffing it into his waistband.“How?” Degiorno demanded, gasping for breath.“Gregor?” Hannigan gave his former shipmate a hard look, and the Russian nodded quickly.Almost before she realized what was happening, Bridget saw them each grab one of the Italian’s arms and run towards the edge of the balcony.She gasped in horror as they threw him over the edge of the balcony.A loud bleat of fear escaped from the Italian’s mouth as he flew through the air and then crashed down on the opposing balcony.Hannigan turned to look at her.“I don't need any help, thanks.” She gave a flip of her ponytail, and then broke into a run and jumped, planting one foot on the balcony rail and pushing off, launching herself into space.She landed on the fat Italian with a thud, driving the breath from his lungs [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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