The Tomb of the Gods (Matt Drake 4) Read Online Free Page B

opened wide. “Maitime? Really?”
    “What else could it be?”
    The screen flicked onto the Hotmail website. Drake clicked the ‘Drafts’ folder and paused as three messages popped up, each one highlighted in bold to show they hadn’t been viewed.
    “They should be close copies of emails Wells sent to. . .” He paused. “A man called Andrew Black.” Drake scrolled down the body of each email. “Nothing more than a simple message,” he said with a tinge of disappointment. “ Sending latest version by snail mail, my friend. Needless to say, I know, but for all our sakes—keep it safe. Will be in touch when back.”
    “Hmm.” Mai pointed to snatch of email where Andrew Black had responded. “ Getting some Mai time, my old friend?”
    “ Hopes are high, as ever.” Wells had responded.
    Drake clicked through Wells’s online directory. An address was listed for an Andrew Black at nearby Sevenoaks in Kent. “We should follow this through. If Wells was shipping something to an old friend before leaving the country, it would be of huge importance to him.”
    Mai nodded and was about to respond when Alicia stuck her head through the front door. “Time to stop fannying around, people. The thugs just got reinforced.”
    “We’re coming.” Drake shut the PC down. “How many are there?”
    “Enough so that we may have to fight our way out of London.” Alicia grinned. “Just the way I like it.”
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Hayden instinctively ducked as the row of windows to her right exploded. Shattered glass burst across the room in a deadly wave. The two black-clad combatants walking toward them ducked and started to open fire. If the onslaught was designed to numb their senses and slow their reactions, it served its purpose. The whole team was crawling and scrambling across the polished floor, glass showering them and bullets impacting the walls behind them. One of Gates’s secret service men had managed to stay between his boss and the destruction. His body danced for the last time as it was riddled with bullets and he fell backward on top of Gates.
    Hayden rolled onto her good hip, grimacing as pain shot through her wounded side, and slipped her gun out. Before she could aim, she heard the loud report of gunfire and glanced across to see Dahl already shooting. Belmonte was on his knees behind Dahl.
    Hayden saw one of the combatants spin around as a bullet took him in the shoulder. She fired at the other, creeping forward as she did so. Her bullet struck his helmet, flipping him backward. Dahl fired again, but another of Gates’s secret service agents cried out.
    Blood sprayed from his neck, showering Hayden.
    The CIA agent loosed more bullets. Both combatants were now down. Belmonte was screaming.
    Was he hit? Hayden wondered. Gates was barely moving, but then his last surviving bodyguard was pinning him tightly to the ground.
    “Evac!” the guard shouted. “It’s a fuckin’ ambush!”
     Even now, Hayden could hardly believe her eyes. Had Russell Cayman, a DIA agent, just tried to take out a US senator? Where was the psycho getting his orders? Or was this some other kind of terrorist plot? Either way, they were screwed.
    A high, keening sound preceded the impact of something big against the side of the building. Hayden suddenly realized this was far from over and hit the deck.
    “Cover!”
    A huge explosion shook the building to its very core. Behind them, the elevator shaft groaned and shuddered. Hayden saw the elevator buckle out of shape. In another second, it shook and seemed to hang at a precarious angle.
    “No way out,” she whispered.
    “Yes!” Belmonte suddenly shouted. “Yes there is. There’s a freight elevator on the other side of the building.” He pointed across the expanse of the devastated room. “Across there.”
    He stood up, Emma cradled in his arms.
    Tears shone in the thief’s eyes.
    Hayden gasped. “Is she? Is she. . .”
    “Dead,” Belmonte said quietly. “Yes, she