Chapter Twenty-Eight:

Firefight

Daylight.

It flooded his eyes a second before his shoulder met dirt. Despite the rough landing that sent pain throughout his body at the impact, Vin Tanner didn't mind one damn bit. Above him, blue skies held court to white clouds sailing languidly across its expanse told Vin they had passed through the eye of the needle from whatever realm they had just been. Beside him, he heard Buck uttering a groan at his own similarly abrupt landing and when Vin lifted his head, realised they were lying on the ground on the top of a mountain.

Surrounding him on all sides was the ocean the seven sailed to reach the Desertas islands, and the ground he was presently lying against, was its tallest peak. By the positioning of the sun above, Vin knew it was past midday and the amber veil rising from the horizon heralded the evening to come. Blinking away the sunspots in his eyes, Vin sat up shakily, his head still spinning at how they came to be in this place, when his last recollection was of the big black emptiness and the things lurking in it, in pursuit.

"You okay lad?"

Vin lifted his eyes and saw Riley extending a hand towards him to help him to his feet. The sharpshooter was still unsteady enough to accept the offer, and he saw Josiah giving Buck the same assistance. Rubbing his eyes to clear his muddled thoughts, Vin nodded in gratitude to the older man and surveyed their surroundings.

As seen earlier, they were on the top of the tallest point in the islands, on a patch of green that was framed by a ring of rocks, spaced an equal distance from each other to indicate immediately the formation was not natural. Vin recalled seeing Stonehenge, having been dragged to the place by Josiah and Nathan when they first visited England. It was a miserably wet and gloomy day, but Vin had to admit, the site bore a remarkable similarity to the formation in front of them now.

"We just showed up here?" He asked Josiah and Riley, who were first through.

"Yeah," Josiah nodded, staring at a fixed point over the edge and not looking at them. "I think this place was how they got in our out of whatever craziness we just experienced."

"Soft Places," Vin mused, recalling that Arab's description.

"Soft places?" Riley stared at him, still trying to wrap his mind around what they experienced. His very Catholic upbringing told him such places could not exist, but he had seen enough in the last year to have such steadfast beliefs challenged.

"Yeah," Vin nodded. "Navajo medicine men say its the spaces between worlds, like the hollows between walls."

"Normally I say it's hooey," Buck rubbed the back of his head, "but after what we just went through, I'm just going to call it weird shit and leave it at that."

"You've got a way with words," Riley managed a smile. "But right now, it will do."

"What about Chris and the others?" Buck asked, and even though he did not mention him by name, it was JD whom Buck was most concerned about. As it was, he still grappled with the horror of what they witnessed in that dark abyss. Buck did not know which was worse, the Minotaur or the nameless terror that had almost torn them apart a few minutes ago. The idea that JD could be facing something far worse in the search for the Aegis was more than Buck could stand.

"Chris Larabee can take care of himself," Josiah assured the pilot, perfectly aware the source of Buck's anxiety was JD. Chris Larabee could handle any situation, of this Josiah had no doubt, but JD was still a novice to this life he'd taken up when he signed on with them. While JD proved himself on many occasions, the truth of it was, JD still had a lot to learn. "And anyone else with him."

Buck blinked, realising Riley was similarly concerned about Julia Pemberton, whom all three of them understood by now, was not just his partner but also his friend. There was no mistaking the almost paternal affection Riley had for the lady.

"Yeah, we shouldn't worry," he said, slapping Riley's arm with assurance. "I'm sure that little lady is fine."

"Of course she is," Riley shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed his concern for Julia was noticed. "I sometimes forget she's saved my arse more times than I can count, but I promised her Da to keep her safe. After what we just ran into, I'm praying to Jesus she and your lot haven't run into something worse."

"Yeah," Josiah frowned at the thought because if Chris was still on the trail of the Aegis, that was a genuine possibility. "We gotta have faith brother. Faith in them."

"Damn straight," Buck added his voice to Josiah's comment and took it to heart himself. The older man was right, he had to have faith in Chris, Ezra and Nathan to get JD, Mary and Julia back to them safely.

Vin however, did not weigh in.

His silence drew Josiah's attention, and as the one-time man of God stared at the sharpshooter, Josiah noticed Vin had not even registered their conversation. Instead, as Josiah approached Vin, who was standing with his back to them, he saw Vin's gaze was fixed on the ocean beyond the stone ring surrounding them. Now that Josiah took a closer look, he realised Vin's expression was grave. After what they had just escaped, Josiah couldn't imagine what could be the cause until he saw what Vin was looking at.

A German U-boat.

"Hell," Vin cursed. The one glimpse of that metal leviathan was more than enough to chase the residual effects of that Other Place from his thoughts as a more grounded enemy appeared before their eyes.

"What?" Buck immediately snapped to, and both he and Riley joined Vin and Josiah at the edge.

The U-Boat was holding the position a short distance from the bow of the Magellan, the tug Ezra had procured them to get here. A trio of inflatable boats was spreading out from the submarine with one heading directly for the Magellan while the others continued towards the island. Each vessel was occupied by at least a half dozen men, and though he couldn't see her, Vin knew Isabella Krauss was with them.

"Well, I suppose it was too much to hope they wouldn't find us," Riley sighed. "I'll bet a year's pay to King George that one of their bastard spies spotted us when we landed in Madeira. They've got people everywhere these days."

"Doesn't matter," Josiah shrugged. "They're here, and they know so are we."

"So what do we do?" Buck asked, shifting his gaze to Vin. "We still got to find Chris and the others."

Vin dropped his gaze to the ground, wanting badly to go find the rest of their company but the truth was, they had a more pressing problem to deal with. Those Nazis were going to scour the island until they found their quarry. At this point, the most sensible thing to do was to run but running meant leaving their friends behind, and with a submarine, any distance they put between them and the island was a moot point.

"We fight."

"Fight?" Buck gave him a look. "You sure?"

"We can't run, that thing will blow us out of the water even if we managed to get to the Magellan and there's not enough island for us to hide out for long. Besides, if Chris and the others get out the same way we did, they're going to end up in the hands of those bastards. They ain't seen us yet, and we got the high ground so I say we reduce their number while we can."

"He's right," Riley nodded in agreement. "That model U-boat holds about 25 crew. If we can cut them down to size, they won't have enough men to sail out of here, and we might stand a fighting chance against them."

"It's a plan," Josiah nodded in approval. "We still have a decent amount of ammo. We used most of the smaller stuff while we were in the maze."

It was true. They expended a lot of firepower with their small arms because of the lack of time to reload, but they still had more than enough bullets for the rifles and Vin knew himself, how much damage he could do with his own Winchester.

"Alright," Vin nodded, "let's see where they intend to make landfall and give them a surprise when they get to shore."

"Yeah," Buck grinned, preferring to fight an enemy he could understand, not the creatures they had been faced with a while ago. He hoped Chris was looking after JD because the idea of the kid being torn apart in the hell they narrowly escaped was too terrible to imagine. However, he had confidence in his oldest friend to keep the boy safe. "Nothing I like more than surprises."

"Unless it's an eight-year-old kid, right?" Josiah couldn't help remark, reminding Buck if he planned on getting anywhere with the fair Miss Recillos, he had a pretty formidable obstacle to overcome first.

Buck glared at him. "Very funny."


To say the involvement of Chris Larabee's team in the search for the Aegis had complicated matters considerably was a gross understatement.

Like that troublesome archaeology professor who seemed to appear in the most inopportune places, Larabee's team was proving to be just as equally annoying. The retrieval of the Aegis should have been concluded by now. Yet at every turn, the Reich was thwarted by the American interlopers. Isabella Krauss was becoming properly sick of it.

As she rode in one of the three inflatable boats or Mitte schlauchboot as Commander Bucholz so proudly told her, carrying a complement of half a dozen men and their equipment, she was eager to finish this business once and for all. Heading towards the shore, she saw one of the boats approaching the tug the Americans had used to make the journey from Madeira. They certainly wouldn't need it for a return trip because she was determined to ensure none of the pigs left the Desertas Islands alive.

While she had to admit tracking them across the globe had taken the burden of deciphering the Aegis's final location off her shoulders, she still wanted them eliminated for good. It was easy enough to accomplish thanks to the Reich's ever-expanding network of spies at her disposal. All it had taken was one informant to sight their arrival in Madeira for Isabella to be made aware of it.

Within hours of receiving the report, the nearest U-boat in the area was dispatched to take up the duties of the vessel damaged in Marsa Matruh, ready to intercept Larabee and his conspirators when he emerged from wherever it was the Aegis was hidden. Isabella intended to be there when he appeared so she could steal his prize from right under his nose, and put a bullet between his eyes.

As the inflatable neared the shore, the beach awaiting them on the main island was a dark grey shale, far removed from the more pristine white of its smaller counterparts. Craggy hills frowned upon them and cast a shadow across the stretch of coastline that seemed to make the place even gloomier. She wondered where Larabee and his men were led in search of the Aegis.

The tug was abandoned in a small cove. Further investigation revealed there was nothing to indicate where its crew had gone. There was no opening, no sign of a grotto or any kind of subterranean passage that would provide a clear path once the Americans entered the narrow passage. It was odd. In the end, she assumed Larabee was attempting to hide the craft from them and left her men on the boat, with orders to afford the Americans the proper reception if they managed to return to it beneath the notice of the shore party.

White foam broke up against the pebble shore as the tide rushed in and as the craft continued to close the distance to land, seabirds took to the air at their approach, squawking their indignation at their presence. No one lived on this island except the seabirds, the feral animals brought here by mariners of the past such as rodents and goats, not to mention the seals who chose its many bays to breed.

Isabella supposed this barren scab of rock was the perfect hiding place for the Aegis.

The scientist in her did not buy into the nonsense the Aegis could turn armies to stone. Nothing she collected for the Fuhrer had proved capable of exhibiting any supernatural power, but what it did have, was symbolism. The Reich had ridden to power by capturing the imagination of its people and making them believe patriotic fervour and unquestioning belief was the path to some grand destiny of cosmic making. The Fuhrer wielding the Aegis would aid that belief until it became full-blown zealotry. Such power could be used to capture the world.

"Marler," she regarded her SS minder in all this. "When we reach the shore, spread out. This island is small, we should be able to locate the Americans easily."

Marler's expression remained impassive even though she knew behind his vacant eyes, he was seething. He looked as dark as his leather coat, the clothing of choice for the growing Gestapo arm of the Reich it seemed, and she knew he was personally affronted at how much trouble acquiring Larabee had proved to be.

"And when we find them?"

"It depends," she said thoughtfully as the inflatable started to shudder with the chop of the receding tide. "If they have the Aegis, take it and kill them. If not, kill everyone except Larabee, the boy and the woman. We don't need the others, and their number is too large to secure. The woman can be useful if Larabee refuses to talk."

A little smile curled Mahler's lips, and inwardly, Isabella shuddered at the pleasure behind that sinister smirk. It was not that she objected to his 'interrogation' techniques when dealing with women, but the pleasure he took in it. Torture was a tool. When it was used for gratification, it was dangerous, and she had a feeling if Mahler had not found an outlet for his sadism through the Gestapo, he would have likely done it as a serial murderer.

The crew began disembarking the instant the first boat approached the shore, with her men setting foot on the coast leaving footprints in the sand from their jackboots. Two of them had started to pull the craft further into the beach when the crack of gunfire came out of nowhere, startling them all. The initial gunshot killed one of the men carrying the boat, his life ending with a splatter of blood across his chest before he fell into the vessel. More shots fired then, snapping the rest of the Germans out of their shock and into action.

Someone had the presence of mind to shout a warning. "Scharfschütze!*"

Isabelle was pulled to the deck by the Marler as the soldiers in the boat with them, took up their weapons and returned fired in aid of their besieged comrades.

Isabella swore.

Those damn Americans!


Vin fired again.

This time, he pinned a target attempting to take aim at the edge of the cliff where he, Buck, Josiah and Riley were using for cover. One of the Krauts managed to land a shot near them, but all the bullet did, aside from impacting harmlessly against the ground, was to spit dirt and dust in their direction. It did nothing to hinder their continued assault on the enemy. Vin knew their advantage would last just long enough for the Germans to escape the range of their weapons, but in those precious few minutes, he and the others could do plenty of damage.

Within a minute of the first gunshot, he and Riley managed to put down most of the first inflatables compliment. Riley, who had come to their aid along with Julia Pemberton during the climax of the affair with the Erran, proved himself a formidable shot, enough to gain Vin's respect. The space around the craft was covered with bodies, the tide threatening to sweep one or two out to sea, while the occupants of the second raft were returning enough fire for Vin to know this advantage would not last for much longer.

Buck retreated from the edge, immediately scanning the terrain to see which direction the enemy would come when they finally discovered where the sniper fire was coming from. There was only one path from the beach to the ring of stones the four of them had found themselves after the maze. It was steep, and a little bit treacherous, but the Krauts were plenty mad, and Buck had no illusions they would want to avenge their fallen comrades. Fortunately, it was not the only way off the hill.

While the others continued to shoot, Buck saw a few of the sons of bitches making their way across the beach, evading the sniper fire using the large rocks planted throughout the beach. Once they reached the trail shrouded by trees and angled steeply enough for any sniper to have difficulty getting a clear shot, there was nothing to stop them from closing the distance.

"We better decide if we're staying," Buck hollered at Vin over the sound of gunfire. "Cause they're on their way!"

Vin could see this himself, and although it went against the grain, he had been aiming for Krauss. He could see her in the second boat, being kept low so he couldn't get a clear shot of her in his crosshairs. It was not in his habit to shoot a woman, but after seeing how Adashir Shah's sister had nearly gutted JD during the affair with the Erran, he was not going to let outdated chivalry hold back the need to put down a dangerous enemy.

Besides, after what the woman threatened to do to JD, Vin would lose no sleep putting a bullet in the bitch.

The soldiers on the craft with her were the source of most of the returning fire and Vin shifted his aim, targeting not the men but the inflatable itself. A single shot was all that was needed. He didn't have to hear the burst of air at the puncture because the reaction of those on board was enough. As it began to deflate, some of the Krauts tried to retain their balance while others simply went overboard, pre-empting their eventual submergence into the water.

"Nice shot," Josiah remarked in between gunfire. A few of the Krauts had managed to reach the cliff, skirting along the wall to reach the trail leading to them. "Maybe that will cool them off."

"I wouldn't count on it," Riley said grimly, gesturing to the craft that had been moored to the Magellan. "I think they're about to get reinforcements."

The occupants of the third inflatable, well beyond the range of their guns, were paddling back to the submarine. No doubt, when the Krauts got there, they would alert the rest of their comrades to the assault on the beach. Vin knew the Germans had enough guns and ammunition to outlast the four of them, not to mention men to wield those weapons. Buck was right, it was time to get moving while they still could.

"Alright, let's get going. We've got to find a place to hold up until they find us and it ain't gonna be here." Vin swept his gaze across the plateau and saw it lacking in any formations capable of providing cover, other than the ring of stones which was inadequate for the purpose. Particularly against an enemy on even ground with a great deal more firepower. "If Chris and the others have to come through here the same way we did, they'll be walking into a war zone. We've got to lead these bastards away from here and hope Chris can catch up with us when he gets out."

If he gets out, Vin thought silently.

By now, Vin was convinced Chris and the rest of their friends were trapped in the same void they had just escaped. Nor did Vin have any doubt Josiah and Buck would storm the gates of oblivion to help him get them back. However, none of that could be achieved until they dealt with Isabella Krauss and her Nazis.

Once and for all.

*sniper