Read Online The Lucifer Code by Charles Brokaw - Free Book Online
Authors: Charles Brokaw
Tags: Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers, Kidnapping, Archaeologists, Adventure fiction, Code and Cipher Stories, Linguists, Scrolls, Istanbul (Turkey), John - Manuscripts
Ads: Link
about whatever had brought them together. The tense and strident tones in their voices told her that. They didn’t speak in English, which was frustrating because Cleena wished she knew what they were talking about. Several of them kept glancing in her direction, and she was all too aware that she was the only woman among them.
The comfortable weight of the pistol she had picked up during the fire fight rested at her back. Her right hand was never far from the weapon. The men knew that. They had the watchful eyes of trained killers.
‘Hey,’ Cleena said interrupting them.
The man turned and looked at her, but said nothing.
‘I don’t mean to bust up your little tea party,’ she said, ‘but I want my money and I want to get gone from this place. In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a huge dragnet going on throughout the city right now. I need to get out before it closes in on me.’
For a moment, the men continued staring at her without speaking. The whole experience was creepy and just a tad threatening.
‘Anyone?’ Cleena prompted.
One of the men stood and approached her. Cleena’s hand slid down slightly to grip the butt of the pistol.
‘Please accept my apologies, Miss MacKenna.’ The man looked like he was in his thirties, dark skinned and dark haired. Lean and handsome, he could’ve been a ladies’ man if he’d wanted to be. But there was something that burned in his eyes that told Cleena he would never be satisfied with anything as trivial as that. ‘My name is Qayin. Given the circumstances, I must ask you to be a little patient with us. Things did not go as we had planned.’
‘Things did not go as I had planned either.’ Cleena put an edge on her words. ‘You should be grateful that I don’t ask you for a bonus on this job.’
‘I’m sure something can be arranged quite soon,’ Qayin told her confidently. ‘You went far beyond what was expected of you.’
That gave Cleena a bad feeling. No one in her line of work ever offered a bonus.
‘If you’ll be patient just a little bit longer,’ Qayin said, ‘I’m certain you’ll be taken care of.’
Cleena made herself nod. She resolved to get out of the catacombs at the first opportunity. Screw the money. It was apparent to her she wasn’t going to get the balance of the payment. Either they would simply stiff her or they would try to put a bullet between her eyes. The bullet was looking more and more likely.
Qayin’s eyes were cold and she wondered if he could read her thoughts. But he left her there and went back to the group. Most of the argument seemed to revolve round a notebook the men kept passing back and forth. It was obviously handmade. The leather binding was hand-stitched and the paper had a lot of rag content. Cleena knew about rag content in paper because she had dabbled in counterfeit currency.
Brigid’s next year of college at Cambridge was coming up soon and Cleena’s nest egg had dwindled over the winter because business had been slow and payments not as good. The recession was causing cutbacks even in crime. No matter what it took, Cleena was determined that her sister would get the chance to lead a legal and successful life. When she’d taken the call about the linguistics professor from Harvard, Cleena had thought the job was a gift. The money was well into six figures. She hadn’t had many of those lucrative deals lately.
And you didn’t get one this time, either . Cleena cursed her luck.
The man had the book open again. They moved one of the lanterns closer to the pages. Even from across the room, Cleena could see the designs that filled the space, but she didn’t know what they were or what they signified. However, since she had helped kidnap a noted linguistics scholar, she would have bet Brigid’s next year’s college tuition that the man expected the professor to read that page.
Qayin sighed in exasperation and ran a long-fingered hand through his hair. His suit jacket moved back just enough
The comfortable weight of the pistol she had picked up during the fire fight rested at her back. Her right hand was never far from the weapon. The men knew that. They had the watchful eyes of trained killers.
‘Hey,’ Cleena said interrupting them.
The man turned and looked at her, but said nothing.
‘I don’t mean to bust up your little tea party,’ she said, ‘but I want my money and I want to get gone from this place. In case you’ve forgotten, there’s a huge dragnet going on throughout the city right now. I need to get out before it closes in on me.’
For a moment, the men continued staring at her without speaking. The whole experience was creepy and just a tad threatening.
‘Anyone?’ Cleena prompted.
One of the men stood and approached her. Cleena’s hand slid down slightly to grip the butt of the pistol.
‘Please accept my apologies, Miss MacKenna.’ The man looked like he was in his thirties, dark skinned and dark haired. Lean and handsome, he could’ve been a ladies’ man if he’d wanted to be. But there was something that burned in his eyes that told Cleena he would never be satisfied with anything as trivial as that. ‘My name is Qayin. Given the circumstances, I must ask you to be a little patient with us. Things did not go as we had planned.’
‘Things did not go as I had planned either.’ Cleena put an edge on her words. ‘You should be grateful that I don’t ask you for a bonus on this job.’
‘I’m sure something can be arranged quite soon,’ Qayin told her confidently. ‘You went far beyond what was expected of you.’
That gave Cleena a bad feeling. No one in her line of work ever offered a bonus.
‘If you’ll be patient just a little bit longer,’ Qayin said, ‘I’m certain you’ll be taken care of.’
Cleena made herself nod. She resolved to get out of the catacombs at the first opportunity. Screw the money. It was apparent to her she wasn’t going to get the balance of the payment. Either they would simply stiff her or they would try to put a bullet between her eyes. The bullet was looking more and more likely.
Qayin’s eyes were cold and she wondered if he could read her thoughts. But he left her there and went back to the group. Most of the argument seemed to revolve round a notebook the men kept passing back and forth. It was obviously handmade. The leather binding was hand-stitched and the paper had a lot of rag content. Cleena knew about rag content in paper because she had dabbled in counterfeit currency.
Brigid’s next year of college at Cambridge was coming up soon and Cleena’s nest egg had dwindled over the winter because business had been slow and payments not as good. The recession was causing cutbacks even in crime. No matter what it took, Cleena was determined that her sister would get the chance to lead a legal and successful life. When she’d taken the call about the linguistics professor from Harvard, Cleena had thought the job was a gift. The money was well into six figures. She hadn’t had many of those lucrative deals lately.
And you didn’t get one this time, either . Cleena cursed her luck.
The man had the book open again. They moved one of the lanterns closer to the pages. Even from across the room, Cleena could see the designs that filled the space, but she didn’t know what they were or what they signified. However, since she had helped kidnap a noted linguistics scholar, she would have bet Brigid’s next year’s college tuition that the man expected the professor to read that page.
Qayin sighed in exasperation and ran a long-fingered hand through his hair. His suit jacket moved back just enough
Similar Books
