揓esus to the Pharisees,?he said. 揑nspirational. But that does not apply to me.?
揟hen how about this? I hope you rot in hell.?
Fuentes chuckled and shook his head at her impertinence.
A gunshot rang out.
Kelsey assessed the situation.
Friar Dwight was trying to lock an aim on Nick, swinging the gun back and forth, but the fight was making that hard. Nick and the other friar were tangled up and Dwight seemed unsure when and where to fire. His attention was totally on the brawl, so she used that moment of his confusion梩he gun be damned梩o rush forward and leap onto Dwight抯 back.
Taking them both down to the hard ground.
Nick caught movement to his right and pivoted away from Rice long enough to see Kelsey attacking Dwight, who held a gun.
Damn. He needed to get over there.
Fast.
So he swung off the ball of his left foot and slammed his right heel into Rice抯 chest. He followed with an elbow to the throat that sent the friar gasping for air and reeling back into the trunk of a tree. He then landed another kick, this time to the kidneys, which brought a yelp of pain. One more punch to the bloodied face and Rice went down.
Not moving. Done.
He whirled and felt as if caught in the midst of a kaleidoscope, everything around him changing shape by the second. He swiped away the sweat that stung his eyes, then a blast of energy exploded him into action and he rushed to where Kelsey and Dwight were wrestling on the ground. Dwight still held the gun, which he kicked from the man抯 grasp as the right hand swung upward. A round cracked off as it flew through the air, the bullet heading into the trees. He reached down and ended the struggle, grabbing Dwight by his jacket and yanking him up to his feet.
Kelsey twisted out of his clutch.
揈nough,?he yelled at Dwight.
The tall friar wrenched himself free and was about to engage when his body jerked forward, as though hit from behind. Dwight抯 eyes went wide and his legs started to cave. The body went limp and folded to the ground. Behind him, Kelsey stood, holding a rock the size of a softball, which she抎 used, two-handed, to take the man down.
揧ou could have killed him,?he said to her.
She tossed the rock aside.
揋od forgive me, but I wish I had.?
Fuentes did not move, keeping the altar between him and the maidens beyond. Why had Rice fired a shot? What was wrong? He stared out into the rocky cleft, open sky, and trees beyond the pews.
A man appeared.
Medium height and build. Brown wavy hair. Clean-shaven. A gun in his right hand. The canvas bag Rice left with in the other.
The newcomer stopped where the pews began.
揂nd you are??he called out.
揘ick Lee.?
The man who抎 intervened in Ghent. From the United Nations. He抎 not made any calls to New York because he genuinely did not think it an issue. Clearly a miscalculation on his part.
揥here is Friar Rice??he asked.
揢nconscious,?Lee said. 揂long with Dwight. It抯 just you and me now.?
Nick stood at the rear of the church, fifty feet away from Fuentes who remained by the raised altar. Sister Claire stood off to Fuentes抯 right. The other maidens were seated in between, their attention varying between him and Fuentes.
揟his does not concern the United Nations,?Fuentes said. 揧ou have no business here.?
揑抎 say I do. You put a gun to Sister Deal抯 head. That makes this my business.?
揂nd what is she to you??
揂 woman I almost married.?
Fuentes stayed behind the altar. 揌ow gallant. But, again, this is not your concern.?
Nick raised his arm and displayed the canvas bag. 揑 found these in Rice抯 backpack. They important to you??
That grabbed the cardinal抯 attention. Which had been the whole idea of bringing them. Outside, Kelsey had given him the CliffsNotes version of what was going on. So it did not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the tomb had been destroyed and the bones removed. He抎 also retrieved the weapons from Rice and Dwight. His 搉o guns?rule seemed a bit foolish at the moment.
So he kept one.
Which he raised and aimed at the altar.
揧ou抮e done.?
Fuentes could not believe what he was hearing. After all that had gone right, now this.
He had to act.
So he dropped down behind the altar, drew his own weapon, and aimed it straight at Lee. He had cover. Lee did not.
One shot would end this.
揑 am not in any mood to be played with,?he said. 揑抣l shoot you dead, then get those bones back myself.?
Kelsey had stayed to the shadows and slipped into the rock church at the far end of the cleft, away from the main route inside that bisected the pews. She toted the knapsack. Nick had told her to remain hidden and let him handle it with Fuentes. He抎 said he was betting that Fuentes would not shoot anybody with so many witnesses.