Blindside (Michael Bennett 12)

With my new burst of energy, Natalie was having a hard time keeping up with me now as we raced through the church and past the altar. I had a little difficulty remembering the exact path to the hidden corridor Father Marty had shown me earlier that day, but after some turns and a couple of fruitless shoves against the wall, I found the right panel. I shoved it hard, and the entryway to the hidden corridor opened. When Natalie hesitated, I pulled her into the tight passage. There was no time to be subtle.

We hustled down the narrow hallway, as dark as it had been the last time I’d traversed it. My knee started to scream at me again. I had a hop-limp in my run now, but it wasn’t much farther. I could hear Natalie taking deep breaths. The stress and accident had taken a lot out of both of us. I hoped it was having the same effect on the men chasing us.

Natalie said, “I hate enclosed spaces. I’m having a hard time catching my breath.”

“You and me both. But we can’t stop now.”

We finally came to the long sequence of steps that I knew would lead us to the bottom of the hill. The stairway was even darker here and Natalie hesitated.

I didn’t have time to argue as I gently pulled her along. I held her hand the entire descent. Finally we were at the base of the stairs.

I burst through the last door into the darkness of the Estonian night.

Standing by the open door, I froze when I heard something.

The Dutch killers were in the corridor and still chasing us.

CHAPTER 84

CHRISTOPH SPRAWLED IN the smashed Volkswagen for a few more moments. All he heard were the sounds of metal creaking and something sizzling on the hot engine block. He could feel his toes and his fingers and move his head. He called it a win. When he’d driven along the street leading to the church and seen Bennett and Natalie getting into the car by the curb, something inside him had snapped.

He’d wanted—no, needed—to see them dead. He’d never experienced this feeling. Not naked, premeditated murderous urges.

He and Ollie were slow to move. He saw Natalie and Bennett struggle out of the other car. He tried his door, but it was jammed shut. There was nothing he could do. Christoph screamed in frustration and slammed his shoulder against the door. Finally it started to give.

Ollie stirred next to him. Then he seemed to snap into alertness. His first words were “Are you insane? You could’ve killed us.”

Christoph’s eyes were fixed on Bennett. “Get moving. They’ll escape if we don’t get to them now.”

As soon as Christoph stepped out onto the sidewalk, his legs gave way for a moment. He had to steady himself on the car.

On the other side of the vehicle, Ollie managed to stand up, and he took a moment to check himself. He said, “My ribs are cracked. It hurts like a son of a bitch. Satisfied?”

Christoph had almost tuned him out completely. He marched toward the priest, now trying to move quickly away from the church with a young man.

Ollie caught up to Christoph and put a hand on his shoulder. He had to wheeze for a moment because he was having difficulty breathing. “I’m not about to threaten a priest,” he said. “We know they’re in the church. We’ll figure out where they went.” With some effort, Ollie managed to turn him toward the front door of the church.

Inside, without any pews to look under, they were quickly able to tell that no one was inside the nave.

Ollie, walking along slowly because of his injuries, said, “Back here and toward the offices.”

Christoph followed his partner down a long hallway. Ollie mumbled, “This place is built on a hill. I’ll bet there’s a way to get downstairs and out the back.”

Christoph grumbled and pulled out his knife. He didn’t want to be surprised by this cop again.

CHAPTER 85

THERE WAS ALMOST no light at the bottom of the hill behind the church. I was startled when I looked straight up and saw the night filled with stars. It wasn’t easy to see any constellations in New York. On the other hand, I would know where to get help in New York. Help I could trust.

We were outside but not safe. When we reached a narrow road, we broke into a jog. I kept looking over my shoulder at the church sitting up on the hill. I didn’t know what to expect: someone shooting at us from the top or someone chasing us along the road.

We had to walk back up two flights of concrete stairs built into the hillside to get to the main streets of the surrounding neighborhood. This was our best chance to disappear.

Natalie said, “I recognize the area. We’re in Sikupilli.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“I just know where we are. There’s a lake and a park just over there. There should be some thick bushes. Somewhere we can hide.”