His screams were cut off, his mouth filling with freezing cold water as he crashed into an underground river. Eyes open he couldn't see a thing and felt the currents pulling at him, moving him along like an escalator. Nate kicked up, or what he hoped was up, until he emerged from the water with a gasp and spat out a mouthful of water. The river was pitch black and a sense of vertigo hit Nate, but he felt himself moving along with the water in an unknown direction.
The tunnel was a roar of water that echoed and crashed in his ears and off the walls then he felt a sudden drop, like he was on a rollercoaster ride that hit a dip, and he felt himself heading downwards. When the river straightened again, he laughed, relief filling his body knowing he had escaped, for now anyway.
He kicked, trying to keep himself afloat while holding hands up near his face to protect his head against any low hanging rock and drifted with the current, now and again he would curse when his elbow or knee smacked into an unseen rock. Eventually the current slowed and levelled out and a faint speck of light appeared in the distance. Nate swam towards it, his body cold and aching.
The light grew brighter and eventually Nate was able to see where he was. It was an underground limestone cavern, similar to the other areas under the church. Stalactites hung from the roof, mere inches away from his head, slowly dripping water into the lake. The lake covered the entire room, about 100 meters in diameter.
Not knowing whether the mercs sent anyone down after him, they probably did, albeit not headfirst down the trap door, Nate hurried to the other side where the light filtered through. As he approached, he saw that there was a gap in the wall leading outside, like an overflow outlet when the water gets too high, which explained why the cavern wasn't completely flooded.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he grabbed on to the edge and looked out. He was greeted with overgrown bushes and trees, but beyond, in the setting sun, was the vista of the Vistula river and southern Tyniec. He looked over the edge where trees dotted the moderate decline of about thirty meters where it joined to the Vistula River running past. It would be easy enough to make his way down but he needed to find Sully, which meant he had to go up.
He groaned at the thought and climbed over the lip of the underground lake and took stock of himself. He felt like he'd been hit with a battering ram. Was that a grenade that blew up down there? Why the hell would they bring grenades to an underground, potentially unstable cavern? Some people had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
He also had no weapon. He checked his pockets. His phone was still there, he pulled it out and tried it but it was broken, probably waterlogged. He tossed it aside. No phone, no gun and he was battered and bruised, but on the bright side he had no major injuries.
Oh, and he was freezing cold. A chill wind blew and he felt it through his clothes and into his bones.
"All right get Sully. Get the hell out of here. Get warm. Really really warm. That's the plan."
He looked up. The Abbey loomed over him like a parent over a cowering child. It was a sheer cliff face, cragged and rough, enough handholds for him to get up though it wouldn't be easy. He sighed, of course it wouldn't be. It never was.
"Good plan, Nate. Good plan" he mumbled and began climbing up the face of the cliff.
By the time Nate climbed up the cliff the sun was almost set, only a glimpse of it to be seen on the horizon, thankfully the rain had cleared, and the remaining clouds scattered amongst the sky. He found himself outside the southeast corner of the Abbey. It was where the two-storey restaurant and guesthouse were located and also meant Nate was on the wrong side.
The Abbey was well lit, light pouring out the windows of the restaurant as well as outdoor lamps strewn the wall. Nate had two choices: make his way to the driveway on the North side or climb the walls and get on to the roof.
He considered both options, getting to the driveway was risky because of the steep drop off the cliff and being dark he wasn't sure of the footing, but it would be slightly quicker.
Otherwise, he could climb to the roof, there looked to be a route using the windowsills and protruding stones, but it would be slower, and time was short. He had no idea if the mercs were still around.
Ultimately, he decided that strolling through the front gate probably wouldn't be a good idea and from the roof he could assess the situation a bit better.
And who knows, maybe they all left.
"Yeah right" he said, grabbing hold of the windowsill and began climbing.
The sun had fully set by the time he reached the red roof. The red tiles were slick with rain which made his footing precarious as he crept to the other side of the roof that overlooked the courtyard.
The courtyard was lit by Victorian style lamp posts and Nate could see three black sedans and two black SUVs parked haphazardly near the entrance to the St Peter and Paul Church. No other cars or buses were visible.
There were two mercs roaming around, guns holstered and two more at the Abbey entrance who looked to be acting as security if anyone came up the main drive. Nate moved to the far side of the gabled roof to stay out of view and silently moved around the perimeter of the Abbey until he reached the cloister.
The cloister and attached courtyard were empty, the doors to the church closed. He approached the edge of the gable and dropped down into the courtyard. He headed for the church door and just as he reached it, the door opened.
Nate backed himself against the wall, shielded by the open door and watched a merc come outside, cigarette in his mouth and gun holstered in a thigh holster.
The merc moved to his left, lighting his cigarette and Nate snuck up behind him, placed his arm around his throat, and his other hand pressed his head forward putting the merc in a choke hold.
After a moment, he slumped unconscious to the ground and Nate dragged him into a dark corner of the cloister. He pulled the P99 from the mercs holster and an ammo clip and also two grenades.
These guys came with enough munitions to start a war. He approached the door to the church and peered inside.
Sully was at the crossing on his knees, head bowed while two mercs roamed the room, talking. A third was bent over the altar reading something, the folio laying disregarded on the altar next to him There were portable lights setup around the entrance to the underground tunnel and Nate guessed these three were tasked with guarding the entrance, as well as Sully.
They were well prepared to say the least.
Realising he wasn't going to win a fair fight, Nate pulled out one of the grenades and tossed it into the church near Sully.
"What the hell" he yelped and dived behind a pew.
The merc guarding Sully saw the grenade, cried out and dived for cover as well. While he was diving for cover, Nate rushed in, gun pointed at the merc at the altar, who turned around to see what was going on, and pulled the trigger.
The merc went down and Nate yelled out, "Sully! Out the door, now."
"Nate, what the hell?"
"Just do it" he yelled reaching the altar and stuffing the pages in the folio and slinging it over his shoulder. He pulled out the downed mercs P99 and just as he turned to follow Sully, bullets peppered the choir and ambulatory and Nate dived over the altar and took cover.
"Crap!" he said and fired off some shots.
Two more mercs had entered via the main entrance and split, spreading themselves between the two rows of pews, covering Nate from all angles and preventing him from escaping through the transept door.
He fired again but the mercs had safe cover behind the pews and they only had to keep him pinned down until the others came running.
"Nate!"
Peering around the edge of the altar, he saw Sully against the wall of the transept.
"Pass me a gun!"
Nate gathered the P99 he dropped when he dived over the altar and tossed it to Sully who caught it and started firing at the two mercs in the right pew. Both went down and Nate fired on the other two who went down soon after.
"Let's get the hell out of here" Sully said.
"Hang on" Nate replied and hurried over to the door leading to the tunnel. He grabbed the door and closed it. Bullets rang out from below and thudded into the door.
The doors to the church burst open again and more mercs flooded into the room, Nate sprinted from across the crossing to the transept door just as they opened fire. Chips of stone and marble spat at him and they both burst through the transept door and into the cloister.
Nate grabbed his last grenade and pulled the pin, dropped it at the church door and continued running through the courtyard to the other side of the cloister. They pushed the door open and entered the corridor leading to the museum just as the grenade exploded, the church windows shattering, and the transept door blown off his hingers.
The hall was empty, and they rounded the corner, finding the museum. Sully pulled the door open just as they heard shouts from behind them and bullets thudded into the wall and door.
Nate fired blindly back, emptying his clip. He reloaded as they entered the darkened museum.
"Who the hell are they guys, Nate?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
The door behind them burst open and shots rang out from both sides. Nate and Sully fired at the door, the mercs silhouetted against the corridor lights, while they retreated.
Two mercs fell as they entered the room and two others pulled back behind either side of the door. This momentary delay gave Nate and Sully time to hurry to the back of the museum where the curios were located.
Glass cases shattered behind them and bullets buzzed around like deadly flies but they turned the corner and burst through the glass double doors of the museum.
They were greeted with a rush of cold air, their breath clouding in front of them as they hurried down the carpark.
Behind them they heard the remaining mercs exit the museum and begin firing after them. Nate indicated to Sully to follow him and they ducked in between an SUV and sedan. Bullets pinged off the metal and they returned fire.
"I'm out" Sully said.
"I'm not far off either" Nate replied, down to his last few bullets. "See if there are any keys in these cars."
While Sully went from car to car searching for keys, Nate peppered the mercs with bullets. They had taken cover behind a low-lying brick wall and had no ability to take proper aim before Nate could fire back at them. So, they were blind firing and not even close to hitting him.
"Nate! Over here!"
He looked over and saw Sully at one of the SVUs, door open and waving him over. Nate blindly fired the remaining bullets while he ran across the carpark to the SUV. He pulled the door open and climbed in, while Sully got into the driver's seat.
Bullets pinged off the car's hood and windshield but didn't shatter.
Bulletproof cars? Who are these guys?
"Go! Go!" Nate shouted.
The engine roared to life and Sully slammed on the accelerator and they drove straight for the mercs. The SUV careened through the low-lying brick wall and ploughed into the stone wall of the Monastery.
Nate groaned and got out of the car. The entire front had crumpled in and the engine ticked once, twice before dying. The headlights, somehow, remained on.
He looked behind him to see the crumpled remains of the two mercs who didn't have time to get out of the way of the SUV.
"Christ Sully. I meant get out of here, not run them down!" he said.
Sully pushed his door; it gave a half-hearted protest before giving way and he climbed out. He had a smear of blood from a cut on his forehead but otherwise looked ok.
"You alright, kid?"
"Yeah, just a few cuts and bruises."
"Good, then let's get the hell out of here before the cops come, or worse, more of their friends."
Nate rubbed his forehead, this had been a long day, "Yeah, good idea."
He grabbed the folio and they hurried out of the courtyard. In the distance the first police siren could be heard.