Chase Baker and the Da Vinci Divinity (A Chase Baker Thriller Series Book 6) Read Online Free Page B

kidnapping?
    A new photograph takes up half the
screen. It’s what I recognize as the black flag of ISIS or what some might
refer to as ISIL. On the other half of the screen is a video of the black clad
radical Islamists in action, driving through some portion of a bombed out and
concrete shattered Iraq, or maybe Syria, in heavy equipment ripped off from the
retreating US Army.
    “I’m sure you recognize this band
of thugs,” Andrea says.
    I nod.
    “And I’m sure you recognize these
people also,” she adds.
    Next up, on the left half of the
screen, is Vladimir Putin standing before the Russian national flag and, on the
right, a video of Russian forces invading what I take to be the Crimea in the
Baltics.
    “And, finally, these nice
individuals as well.”
    Putin and his flag are replaced by
the Ayatollah Khomeini who stands at a podium, his fist raised defiantly in the
air, the Iranian national flag blowing in the wind behind him. On the video
beside the robed and bearded Islamist leader, Iran Kud forces working side by
side the Russians to take out Syrian Rebel forces. Forces backed by NATO attempting
to oust the current dictator-in-chief, Assad.
    “Yup, it’s the more recent big
three of global malcontent,” I say.
    Next, the digital screen lights up
with video of fighter jets taking out targets, troops firing from trenches, the
remains of a Russian jetliner blown out of the sky over the Sanai by an ISIS
IED made out of a soda can, a Russian fighter jet being fired upon and downed by
Turkish forces, US special forces liberating a stone house, dragging a
terrorist out by the head of his hair, ISIS members blowing up precious
antiquities and archaeological sites in Iraq. The Paris November ISIS terrorist
attack, bodies strewn outside a café, President Obama addressing a press
conference looking both defeated and angry.
    The video goes on and on.
    “What’s your point?” I say, my eyes
shifting from Andrea to the now quiet, but still tense, Deputy Inspector Millen
and back to Andrea again.
    “You’re not the type to mince
words, Chase,” she says. “So, I’ll just say it. At present, the world order, or
sit rep, as DI Millen likes to say, is molto fucked up. World War Three is
literally at our doorstep while an isolationist United States of America and
our NATO allies pretty much sit back and watch it all play out.”
    “Okay,” I say, “I’m not going to
get into why you kidnapped me, Andrea. But I am wondering what the connection
is between Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance, and our new and improved enemies.”
    Millen leans forward.
    “We’re undergoing a new Renaissance,
Mr. Baker,” he says. “You see, for Russia and Iran, in particular, this is a
new age of enlightenment. A new age of financial riches, national pride,
political strength on the world stage, and a rapidly growing military might.
You might even include the Chinese and North Korea in the mix, but, for now,
let’s focus on what we know to be true.”
    “Okay,” I say, “I’m with you there.
Unless NATO makes a concerted effort to stop these emerging powers now, there’s
no telling what damage they can do.”
    “Chase, if things continue the way
they are going, it’s not hard to imagine the Iranian or Russian or even, God
forbid, the ISIS flag hanging over number ten Down Street within a year.”
    We sit in a heavy, ear-piercing
silence for a few long beats while the violence on the screen is replaced with
a sea of refugees fleeing war-torn Syria.
    “So, tell me, Andrea, what do you
want from me … besides my body?”
    “Have you ever heard of da Vinci’s
cave?” she says.
    The words strike home, because I
have heard of the cave, and I tell her so.
    “It’s the stuff of legend,” I add. “The
story goes that a young da Vinci stumbled upon it one day while tending to his
father’s sheep. Being the ever-curious kid, he entered into the cave only to be
confronted with