Chapter 111 Two Action Rookies
William, deep asleep, was jolted awake by his ringing phone. He fumbled for it on the bedside table and answered with a groggy, "Hello?"
"William, it's Sophie. Are you asleep? I'm sorry to call you so late," Sophie said.
"What the hell, what time is it? Couldn't this wait until morning?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm at Edinburgh Airport right now. I have something important to tell you. Can you come here?" Sophie's voice trembled slightly; she was clearly afraid.
"Edinburgh Airport?" William shot up in bed. "Sorry, I don't think I heard you right. Say that again. Where are you?"
Sophie, startled by his tone, stammered, "I… I just said I'm at Edinburgh Airport."
"Sophie Sonay, are you looking for trouble? Didn't I tell you to stay out of this Holy Grail business? You dare to follow me? Just you wait." With that, William hung up.
Seeing Sophie shaken by William's outburst, Langdon quickly put a comforting arm around her. "It's okay, Sophie. We'll just stay near the airport police. William wouldn't dare do anything to you here."
Sophie realized he was right and felt a little less frightened. "Okay, Langdon. Let's go buy a camera. When William gets here, you hide."
By the time they were ready, William had already rushed to the airport. Before entering, he deliberately put on a mask.
He was now famous in England. Many people recognized him, and reporters were constantly trying to get an interview. Ordinary people were curious to know if he had profited from the recent stock market disaster and how much he had made. However, William had flown to France just two days after returning to England, giving the press no chance to corner him.
His decision to wear a mask, however, frightened Langdon, who was watching from the second-floor concourse. He panicked, wondering if William really meant to harm Sophie.
When he saw William enter the airport and walk toward Sophie's location, Langdon grew anxious. Acting on impulse, he began waving his arms and shouting, "Hey! I'm over here! Over here!"
The passengers and police officers in the terminal hall all turned to look at Langdon in surprise. Several patrolmen on the second floor began running toward him.
Down on the first floor, Sophie heard Langdon shouting. Confused, she wondered why he was deviating from their plan. She turned around, spotted William in his mask, and immediately ran toward the nearest police officers.
William stared at Sophie, stunned. He glanced up at the second floor and saw Langdon excitedly talking to the police, and damn it, he was pointing right at him.
The police officers on the first floor immediately received a radio call from their colleagues upstairs.
"Copy that."
William saw several officers on the first floor unsnap their holsters and run toward him, shouting, "Police! Stand still! Don't move!"
Within seconds, he was surrounded. William didn't dare move. Airport police were a different breed from regular officers; they were trained to deal with serious threats.
He raised his hands. "My name is William Devinhill," he said. "Officers, may I reach into my coat pocket for my identification? Rest assured, I promise to move very slowly. The document is in my inner coat pocket."
The officers scrutinized him. Seeing he wasn't wearing bulky clothing that could conceal a weapon, they seemed to relax slightly. Still, one of them drew his sidearm, aimed it at William, and said, "Slowly. Any sudden moves and I will shoot. Do you understand?"
"Okay, I understand, Officer. Please be careful. I'm now slowly reaching into my coat pocket, is that alright?" William cursed Langdon and Sophie a thousand times in his head. He would definitely make them pay for this.
"Okay," the officer said, seeing William's cooperation. "You can get your identification now."
Slowly, he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew the credentials for his position as a special security consultant to the England Security Council. He held the document out for the police to see.
"Toss it over," the officer ordered.
As everyone watched nervously, William tossed the document to the officer in front of him. The officer who caught it examined the credentials, then spoke urgently into his radio.
After a minute, a response came over the radio. The officer opposite William immediately holstered his weapon and saluted. "Sorry, Chief." Then, turning to his colleagues, he ordered, "Pitt, everyone, lower your weapons! Lower your weapons!"
He then turned back to William quickly. "Chief, I need you to take off your mask so I can confirm your identity."
William took off the mask. The officer compared his face to the ID photo, then saluted again before returning the document.
William took back his credentials, his expression grim. "Detain the two who were shouting," he told the officer. "And I need a quiet room."
"Yes, Chief!" the officer said with another salute. He then shouted to his companions, "Arrest the two who made the false report! Detain them!"
"What are you doing? I'm a French citizen! I'm with the French police! What do you think you're doing?"
When Sophie saw the officer salute William, she knew she was in deep trouble. She quickly began shouting to the airport police that she was an officer with the French police.
Hearing Sophie's claim to be a French police officer, the airport police eased their aggression toward her slightly. Langdon, however, was not so lucky. He was forced to the ground and handcuffed.
"Your identification, ma'am. I need to see your identification," one of the officers said to Sophie.
But Sophie didn't have her ID on her; she had just been suspended.
When the airport police saw that Sophie had no ID, they immediately handcuffed her. William followed them to a detention room. After ordering the officers to leave, he teased Sophie and Langdon who were now locked inside.
"Well, well, look who it is. The famous Professor Langdon, locked up again. It seems you really aren't suited for travel outside of America. The moment you set foot in France, you're wanted by the French police. Not 24 hours later, you've managed to get yourself arrested by the Scottish police. You're in big trouble this time, my friend. You could be facing more than ten years in prison. And you too, Sophie."
"I'm sorry, William, I apologize," Langdon explained quickly. "I saw you in the mask and thought you were coming to hurt Sophie, so I created a diversion to get the police's attention."
William rolled his eyes. "Just tell me, how did you know I was coming to Edinburgh?"
Sophie explained how she had spotted him boarding the plane by chance and had then asked a colleague to investigate. She also relayed Langdon's analysis.
William looked at Langdon with new eyes. He was impressed that the professor could deduce so much from so few clues. He thought his tracks were perfectly covered, but he hadn't counted on Langdon finding the loopholes.
This revelation made him very unhappy. "You'll be held here for 48 hours before the police let you go," he said to them coolly. "Good night."
As William turned to leave, Langdon hurriedly said, "I know where you're going. You're going to Roslin, right?"
"Damn it, Langdon, shut up!" William snarled, furious that his destination had been guessed. "Say one more word, and I'll have you thrown in the darkest hole I can find, where you'll spend the rest of your life with scumbags."
Chapter 112 Rosslyn Chapel
The moment Langdon heard the words "dark jail," he knew it was not a good place. The name alone was enough to tell him that.
*God, I can't leave these two here,* William thought. If Langdon let something slip, it would be a disaster. After the events of yesterday, William had sworn to himself that he would wash his hands of Langdon and Sophie. It would be for the best if they were killed before they could cause any more trouble.
William shouted to the officers outside, and a few airport police came in. After William gave his instructions, the police handcuffed two individuals and led them away. William then escorted Langdon and Sophie out of the airport.
They sat in a taxi, and no one spoke on the way to the Four Seasons Hotel. William booked two rooms and then accompanied Langdon and Sophie to one of them. "What do you want to drink?" he asked.
Langdon and Sophie sat on the sofa. One asked for water, the other for whiskey. William took off his coat, poured two glasses of whiskey, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, and brought them over. He took one of the whiskey glasses for himself and sat down on the other sofa.
Langdon and Sophie noticed William was wearing a shoulder holster with a Glock 17 resting in it. "Is it really that dangerous?" Langdon asked nervously.
"Having a storage space is useful," William said cryptically. "I just threw the weapon in there before we went into the airport and took it out after we left." Sophie glanced at the gun. "It's not that dangerous in England, is it?"
"The work I do is dangerous," William countered. "And this," he said, tapping the holster, "is for what comes next, not for your immediate safety. This isn't a movie. The Priory won't just give up looking for the Holy Grail.
"Fortunately, I killed Teabing and Rémy. Now, only the three of us know the secret. I made a huge decision letting you go, and I never expected you to follow me here.
"Think about your grandfather and the other three Sénéchaux. You know those fanatics won't hesitate to kill. You jumped right back in when you had a chance to get out, and now you want to get off the boat again.
"Langdon, I need you to join the Priory. That's the only way I can be sure of you. Otherwise, I can only lock you away in a dark jail for the rest of your life. And as for you, Sophie, if the Priory learns your true identity, they will hunt you down. After they've squeezed every bit of value from you, those men wouldn't think twice about making you disappear. You'd better find a new name and live a quiet life."
"My God, what century are we in?" Sophie complained. "How can that happen? You're just trying to scare me, William."
"Ask Langdon how many dark places there are in this world," William said, "and how dark the means of the powerful have been throughout history."
Sophie looked at Langdon, who nodded grimly. "William, that was in the past," Langdon said. "The Holy See is very different now. It has no secular power anymore. They're just a religious organization, not nearly so dangerous."
William laughed as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"What's so funny?" Langdon asked. "Am I wrong? The Holy See is a shadow of its former self. People today might care about God and their faith, but they don't care about the Vatican."
"Alright, maybe you're right," William conceded. "But did you already forget meeting a fanatic like Teabing yesterday? Do people like him care if the world descends into chaos? To them, their cause is all that matters. How many people in the world believe in God? People have grown accustomed to the idea that God is divine. I can't imagine what would happen if believers suddenly learned that the 'divine' was merely mortal. When people's faith collapses, what will this world become?"
"Then why protect the Holy Grail?" Sophie asked. "Why not just destroy it?"
The question caught William off guard. That was a good point. Why go through all this trouble to protect the Grail when destroying it would ensure peace? He shook his head. "I don't know. Ask Professor Langdon."
Langdon considered this. "I don't know for sure," he said. "Historically, the Templar Knights used the Holy Grail as a shield to blackmail the Holy See. The Priory today is probably just trying to protect it. The historical value of the Grail is immense, and the Priory has been its guardian for a thousand years."
William wasn't entirely convinced by Langdon's explanation. But whatever the reason, the Grail itself was a destructive force, one worthy of protection. It was like an ideological nuclear bomb—the ultimate trump card.
"Alright," William said, standing up. "Langdon, Sophie, go get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll go to Rosslyn Chapel and see what's there."
"Okay. See you tomorrow. Good night, William."
After William saw them to their doors, he washed up and went to sleep. None of them had any idea that their trip to Edinburgh had been tracked. More than a dozen mercenaries had followed them and were now lying in wait outside the hotel.
The next morning, after breakfast, they took a car provided by the hotel and drove to Rosslyn Chapel, seven miles away.
None of the three noticed a small, quiet hummingbird helicopter flying seven or eight hundred meters above them.
Two kilometers behind them, four SUVs full of sixteen heavily armed mercenaries followed their route to Rosslyn Chapel. The men were equipped with AKs and MP5s.
They were clearly professionals, though surprisingly, they weren't particularly bloodthirsty—at least, they held no personal animosity toward their targets yet.
William's mental senses could only scan up to a kilometer, so the helicopter remained undetected.
Although he periodically checked the rearview mirror, watching to see if they were being followed, this new group of mercenaries was far more advanced than those he had faced before. He never thought to look for a helicopter tracking them from above.
"Chief, judging by their route, it looks like they're heading to Rosslyn Chapel," one of the mercenaries said to his leader. "What would those three be doing at a church?"
"I don't care what they're doing. The employer is paying us $2 million to recover what the three targets have found. Don't make a move until we see the real thing. Understood?"
"Understood, Chief!"
It took half an hour to reach Rosslyn Chapel. The church wasn't large or world-famous, and it was no longer used for local worship, so it received very few visitors.
It was not yet nine in the morning, and the chapel was empty of tourists. The only person inside was a young staff member in a casual suit and glasses.
William dropped a 100-pound note into the chapel's donation box, and the young man paid them no mind.
As they walked into Rosslyn Chapel, Sophie gazed at the intricate stone carvings and pillars. A memory slowly surfaced—she had been here with her parents as a child, on the very day of the car accident that killed them.
"I've been here before," Sophie said, her face pale. "My God... it was the day of my family's car accident."
William and Langdon knew at once they had come to the right place. This had to be where the Holy Grail was hidden. Sophie spotted a staircase off to the side. "Here," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "You can go down here."
The three of them descended into the basement, where they found numerous tomb carvings of Templar Knights. William located a locked door and forced it open. Stepping inside, Langdon's eyes fell on the paintings covering the walls.
"These are by Leonardo da Vinci!" Langdon exclaimed. "My God, how can there be so many of his paintings here?"
William paid no attention to the paintings. He was reciting the words of the final clue in his mind: *The Holy Grail 'neath ancient Roslin waits... She rests at last beneath the starry skies.*
Roslin had been found. The masters' loving art was here as well. William looked up at the ceiling and saw that it was engraved with countless stars. He then looked down at the carpet beneath their feet, which was decorated with a large moon. "Let's move this," he said to the others.
After Langdon and Sophie stepped aside, William pulled back the carpet. Beneath it, inlaid in the floor, was the seal of the Priory of Sion: the fleur-de-lis and their coat of arms. Taking a deep breath, William pulled on the seal, and a section of the floor slid away, revealing a hidden tunnel.
Chapter 113 You Are the One Being Protected
The three of them sucked in a sharp breath. The secret was truly well-hidden. If William hadn't known those specific sentences, no one would have ever suspected that another secret room existed within this one.
William took the lead, walking down into the hidden chamber. As he entered, he immediately saw a vase on the left side of the room. In it was a single red rose.
"This vase is quite nice," he commented.
Langdon and Sophie followed him in, their eyes also falling on the vase and the red rose. "She was here," Langdon murmured. "Just like when they were searching for the Holy Grail 600 years ago. A rose would be placed wherever the Grail rested. We just missed it. Was the Grail found, or did the Priory hide it somewhere else?"
William shook his head. "I don't know."
"Then what *do* you know? You knew about the room above and this secret chamber. A normal person wouldn't see a Da Vinci painting in a secret room and ignore it like you did. William, what clues do you have? Tell us. Maybe we can help you figure this out," Langdon pressed.
William wasn't swayed by Langdon's words. He wouldn't tell anyone what he knew right now. Even if he hadn't found it yet, he could take his time searching. The Church had been around for millennia.
*A masterpiece dedicated to the master, she rests in dreams, looking up at the starry sky.* That part of the riddle was solved. There was a Da Vinci oil painting in the secret room, and Da Vinci was definitely a master. However, William still hadn't figured out the line: *The Holy Grail guards the Yimen*. He hadn't found anything in Roslin Chapel or this secret room that corresponded to that sentence. What did it mean? Solving it was the key to finding the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene.
After pondering for a long time in the chamber, William walked over to a data cabinet and began looking through some of the files inside. As he read, a look of surprise appeared on his face. He turned to Sophie and asked, "Sophie, for what reason did your relationship with your grandfather, Jacques Saunière, become so strained that you stopped speaking to each other?"
"Why do you ask?" Sophie replied, puzzled. Seeing that William was just looking at her, waiting, she sighed and said reluctantly, "When I was young, I wanted to find out the cause of the car accident that killed my parents and brother, but Saunière never allowed me to look into it. I didn't listen and searched his study anyway."
"He found me one day, and we had a huge fight. In the end, he locked me in my room and wouldn't let me out. Then, one rainy night, I discovered Saunière was holding some kind of gathering. Many people were there, wearing hooded robes and golden masks. I was terrified. We barely spoke after that. Once I went to university, I moved out to live on my own. We might not have said a single word to each other in a year."
Langdon exclaimed, "My God, I understand. That ritual… it might have been the ceremony they've held for thousands of years to communicate with the God of Light."
Sophie asked in astonishment, "How can there be a ritual like that? It was disgusting. A group of people just stood around watching… it made me sick."
"Well, it is quite extreme," Langdon said, shaking his head. "According to Teabing, Mary Magdalene bore a daughter for the God of Light. This girl was both royalty and the last sacred descendant in the world. Therefore, some practitioners of the hidden faith believe this ceremony can be used to communicate with the God of Light. There are many such rituals in history; records of them exist on various continents, from Persia and Rome to ancient India. It's no wonder the Holy See has always considered them pagans. The Church is afraid of pagans making contact with the God of Light through this ritual."
Hearing Langdon's explanation, Sophie fell silent. She had always thought her grandfather, Saunière, was some kind of pervert.
"William, does this have something to do with Sophie?" Langdon asked.
William picked up a few old newspapers and showed them to Sophie and Langdon, pointing to the front page of one. "Sophie, is this a photo of your whole family?"
Sophie looked at the photo with a sad expression. "Yes, these are my parents and my little brother. They died in a car accident. I was the only one who survived. My grandfather brought me to his house after that."
"But that's not what the newspaper says. Look here." William pointed to a line in the article. "The paper reported that a family of four had a car accident in England. Two adults, a 6-year-old boy, and a 4-year-old girl."
"But I'm alive and well, aren't I?" Sophie asked, confused.
"Sophie, perhaps your surname isn't Saunière at all," William said softly. "And Jacques Saunière isn't your grandfather. He's just your guardian."
"That's impossible. Saunière is my grandfather. He pulled me from the wreck and took me to the hospital. I lived with him for twenty-eight years. How could he not be my grandfather?" Sophie asked in disbelief.
"Then do you have any memories of you and Jacques Saunière from before you were four years old, Sophie?"
The question made Sophie stop and think. It seemed she really didn't have any memories of him from that time. "Maybe it's because I was too young," she offered weakly.
"No, Sophie. Your name isn't Sophie Saunière. It's Sophie Saint-Clair, a descendant of the oldest royal family in France. We were all wrong. Jacques Saunière wasn't protecting the Holy Grail. He was protecting *you*, Princess Sophie."
"You are the last descendant of the God of Light in this world. The car accident when you were a child was probably no accident at all. The people of the Priory must have discovered something, but the 'accident' happened before they could warn your family. In the end, all they could do was fake your death and conceal your identity."
"You were raised by the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. Sophie, *you* are the secret. The Priory has always been protecting you, because only your existence can prove that Mary Magdalene, the Holy Grail, has living descendants."
"This is impossible… this is impossible," Sophie whispered, completely stunned by William's words. She sank to the floor beside a pillar, clutching her head with her hands.
After reading the documents himself, Langdon said seriously, "I'm sorry, Sophie, but I'm afraid it's true. The only question now is, where is the Holy Grail?" He looked at William.
William shook his head. "With the deaths of Jacques Saunière and the other three sénéchaux, I'm afraid no one in the world knows where the Holy Grail is anymore. In fact, it might be better if no one ever finds her. The Church today is different from the Church of hundreds or thousands of years ago."
"It no longer holds worldly power; its only role is to guide believers toward good. People no longer need the Holy Grail to keep the Church of Light in check. Wouldn't it be better to let her rest in peace in some forgotten corner of the world?"
Langdon nodded in agreement. "You're right. That way, there will be no trouble. A collapse of faith is no joke. It would benefit none of us."
"Let's go," William said. "There's no reason to stay here any longer."
Sophie and Langdon nodded. But before they left, William shamelessly picked up the vase that had held the Holy Grail's rose. Under the contemptuous gazes of the other two, he tucked it under his arm.
"This vase has to be an antique," he declared. "I'm taking it home to keep it safe."
Langdon covered his forehead, speechless at William's greedy display. He didn't have the heart to shatter William's dream. In his expert opinion, the vase wasn't an antique at all; it looked like it was a dozen years old at most.
*Oh, well,* Langdon thought with a private smirk. *It won't be a bad thing to see the look on William's face when he finds out the vase is just a modern imitation.*
Chapter 114 Retired W Group Members
When William, Langdon, and Sophie emerged from the underground chamber, they found more than a dozen people waiting in Rosslyn Chapel. The group consisted of men and women, both old and young. William immediately moved to protect Langdon and Sophie, raising his Glock 17 and shouting, "Who are you?"
An old woman with a full head of white hair stepped out from the crowd. "Do not be nervous, children of the Devevil family," she said. "We are known by many names—protectors, guardians, the Knights Templar, and a hidden order."
"What?" The three of them were shocked. They had only just arrived at Rosslyn Chapel, and yet members of this English association had already found them.
The old woman looked at Sophie with a kind expression. "Sophie, I never imagined you would be so grown up. It was I who sent you away twenty-eight years ago. I never expected that when we met again... Sophie, I must tell you, though it pained me to do so at the time, I am your grandmother."
William, Langdon, and Sophie stared at the old woman, recalling the information they had just discovered in the chamber below. It all seemed to make sense. After all, Sophie was the last descendant; it was only natural that she would be protected.
"Thank you, William," the old woman said, turning to him. "And thank you for bringing Sophie back to England. If Henry knew everything you've done, he would be very pleased. Now, William, let this gentleman take you aside. He has a great deal he wishes to tell you. As for you, Professor Langdon, please take a rest with this other gentleman for a while. It will give an old woman like me a chance to chat with my granddaughter."
Langdon nodded in agreement. "Of course, madam." He then followed an older man who gestured for him.
William was stunned to see the man motioning to him: Harry Hart, the mentor from that spy movie. No wonder Harry had given him such a peculiar look when they last met.
Now he understood. Harry Hart must have been a member of his grandfather Henry's team. William nodded at Harry and followed him out of Rosslyn Chapel.
Walking to a cluster of stone pillars behind the chapel, William saw more than a dozen middle-aged people waiting for him. Among them, he recognized the figure of Uncle Long.
Seeing the unassuming man standing there made William feel a bit dazed. This damn movie world was a complete hodgepodge.
Harry Hart spoke to William. "William, all of us here were part of the W Group under Henry. We came to see you today to let you know that you have relatives in this world besides your mother. If you ever run into any difficulties, you can come to us."
William shook his head. "Thank you for coming to see me, but I can't disturb your lives. Henry certainly wouldn't have wanted me to recruit you again. You all have your own lives now—families and children. It would be selfish of me to interfere."
He continued, "Of course, if any of you are in trouble, you can come to me. I plan to buy a large estate in Oxford, and you would be welcome to live there. Since you've already retired, you should enjoy that retirement in peace."
William had no intention of recruiting these people. Who knew what they were really thinking? He didn't believe he possessed some kind of kingly aura that would inspire them to pledge fealty at the mere sight of him. Besides, these men had been retired for ten years. People who have been out of the field for that long are not suited for special operations. Furthermore, William had no interest in the W Group itself. While it came with many benefits, it also brought a great deal of trouble. All he truly needed was the special operational authority it granted.
As soon as William finished speaking, he could feel the tension in the air dissipate. Many of the men broke into relaxed smiles, and their gazes toward him grew warmer.
Uncle Long, in particular, looked as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, his face crinkling into a broad smile. Seeing William look his way, Uncle Long's smile widened, and he nodded happily.
Harry Hart nodded as well, a slight smile on his face. "That's for the best, William. A few of us are still active in the special services community. We all know you're a wealthy man, but we'll be sure to speak up if we need help."
Harry then turned to a stout, plain-faced middle-aged man who had been standing quietly. "Carlos, will you need any help dealing with those mercenaries following William?"
Carlos shook his head with a confident smile. "No need. It's been a while since I've handled a gun, but a dozen or so mercenaries are nothing to worry about." With a final smile, he walked away.
"What? Someone's tracking me?" William asked, looking at Harry in surprise.
Harry didn't answer directly. Instead, he addressed the other men. "Alright, you can all go. Let us know if you run into any trouble. We're all in this together, and if one of us can't handle something, the rest of us will carry the burden. Besides, our new leader is a very rich man now. You must have heard about what William did during the stock market disaster. I'm sure he would be willing to provide you with work."
Hearing this, what could William say? Providing jobs wasn't the same as supporting them completely. Besides, Harry had called him their leader. Although it was in name only, these men had served under his grandfather Henry. They might be older and their strength might have declined, but they could certainly handle common thugs.
If men like these lived on his estate, its security would improve immensely. So, William said with a smile, "No problem. I'd be happy to offer you work, and you are all welcome to live in Oxford."
"Haha, great! I'll be sure to come looking for a job if I need one, William."
After some lighthearted conversation, the men said their goodbyes to William. They had arrived with heavy hearts but left with cheerful spirits. Their impression of Henry's successor was a good one.
Once everyone else had departed, Harry Hart said to William, "I have to go too. I need to get back to the Secret Service academy so no one gets suspicious."
"Alright, Harry. Thank you. Let me know if you ever need me."
"You too, William," Harry replied, handing him a slip of paper. "This is Carlos's phone number. You can find him if you need him. He was the best marksman we had. His skill with a gun is astonishing; no one could escape his sights. If you get the chance, you should ask him for some pointers. I think he'd be happy to teach you."
William wondered to himself if anyone's shooting skills could possibly compare to what the system had taught him.
Noticing William's doubtful expression, Harry Hart smiled. "Come on, I'll show you Carlos in action."
William followed Harry to his car. When Harry opened the door, William saw an array of display screens inside, showing multiple feeds of fully armed men ambushing them in the nearby woods. Was this a satellite feed?
"Don't worry, this is on a private satellite line. I'll delete the recording completely when this is over. Pick whatever equipment you like, and we'll go assist Carlos."
William chose a Barrett sniper rifle and a modified M1911 with a double-stack magazine from Harry's car. They synchronized their intercoms, grabbed a pair of binoculars, and used the cover of the stone pillars to quietly make their way to a small hill.
Hiding behind a tree, William raised the binoculars and looked in the direction Harry pointed. He spotted the figures of several mercenaries. After a few minutes of careful observation, he used his system-enhanced vision and soon identified no fewer than ten of them, all observing the chapel through their own optics.
Suddenly, through his binoculars, William saw one of the mercenaries collapse, a spray of blood erupting from his temple.
William's jaw dropped in surprise. From his vantage point, he could see that the mercenary had been in excellent cover. It would have been impossible to get a clear shot from close range; you would need to be sniping from a high elevation.
Unless the bullet could curve.
*Curve?* William was stunned by the thought, just as another mercenary's head exploded from a bullet that had arrived at an impossible angle.
My God, he thought, no wonder Mrs. M was so desperate to find Henry's W Group. Carlos alone was this powerful. If she had the entire team at her command, she could kill anyone she wanted.
Chapter 115: 780m Sniper
The other mercenaries in the woods were shocked by the two nearly simultaneous shots. "Enemy attack! Take cover!" they yelled, scrambling for safety and lying on the ground to observe their surroundings carefully.
After searching for a few minutes, they still couldn't find any sign of the enemy. As the seconds ticked by, the mercenaries began to panic. Although their three teams had been temporarily assembled for this mission, they were all veterans of the mercenary world. Yet, someone had silently picked off two of their men before they could even spot the attacker.
The sound of the M1911 shots confirmed the enemy was nearby, but they still couldn't find a trace of the attacker.
After a few minutes of stalemate, the mercenary captain had no choice but to take a risk and give an order. "Hant, Luo Bo, it's up to you two now. Be careful, this opponent is a professional."
Ten seconds later, two acknowledgments came through the captain's headset: "Understood."
Hant and Luo Bo were the two fastest assault specialists on their team. Everyone understood the captain's meaning: he wanted Hant and Luo Bo to act as bait to lure the enemy into firing.
Hant and Luo Bo also understood the captain's intent. Without hesitation, they crouched low, carefully observing their surroundings. After more than ten seconds, they reported back: "I'm ready." "Same here."
"Very good," the captain said. "The opponent is likely a lone assassin. Otherwise, he wouldn't be trying to pin us down with just an M1911. As long as we can locate him, we can kill him."
"Hant, you move towards Hunter's last position. Luo Bo, you move eastward. Mark and Stan, do you see that hill in the distance? After Hant and Luo Bo make their move, you head for that hill. The high ground there will be a good vantage point for you to snipe the enemy. Everyone else, provide covering fire. If you see anything, shoot immediately. Is that clear?"
"Understood," everyone replied.
"I'll count you down. 3, 2, 1, move!"
Upon hearing the command, Hant and Luo Bo immediately bolted, staying low as they moved quickly. Two seconds later, the two snipers broke from cover and sprinted towards the small hill in the distance.
Hant and Luo Bo reached their designated positions, but the opponent never fired a shot. This sent a chill down the spines of the mercenaries still in the woods; their enemy hadn't taken the bait at all.
"This is trouble," the captain cursed inwardly. The opponent had to be a top-tier professional with extensive experience. He wasn't falling for such a simple trick. Fortunately, Mark and Stan had made it out of the woods and were running towards the hill.
As long as Mark and Stan got into position, they could observe the area and find the opponent. If even they couldn't find him from the hill, the captain thought, they would have no choice but to retreat. What kind of cursed mission was this?
William and Harry were already on that hill. Through his scope, Harry saw two men with sniper rifles running toward them. "William, it looks like this group has some pros. This terrain isn't good for Carlos. We need to help him."
William agreed. That monstrous guy, Carlos, was definitely a super assassin. Curving bullets? William had only ever seen something like that in a movie. Was it possible this guy had a son named Wesley? Could the Fraternity of Assassins actually exist? "Understood," William said, quickly lying down behind the trunk of a tree and raising his Barrett. He adjusted the scope, chambered a round, and aimed at one of the two snipers running in an S-pattern.
Just before he could adjust his aim and fire, William saw the sniper he was targeting suddenly collapse to the ground. His combat training kicked in, and he instinctively swiveled his muzzle, only to see the second sniper also drop, shot through the head.
Seeing the two snipers fall, William felt a cold dread. This was well beyond the effective range of a handgun. The two men were at least 50 meters from the woods when they fell, and they had been running toward William's position, meaning the shots had to have come from the woods behind them. Did Carlos do that?
Harry crawled over to William and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't just stare, William. Support Carlos. The enemy is closing in on him. I'll be your spotter."
Harry's words snapped William back to reality. He quickly focused his mind and aimed the Barrett toward the mercenaries who were advancing on Carlos's position.
Harry asked, "Are you ready?"
"OK."
Harry, using his binoculars to track the mercenaries, called out, "Wind speed 2, distance 780 meters. Blue beret, holding an AK."
William adjusted the sights on his Barrett. "Target locked."
"Steady. 770 meters. He's about to enter your line of sight. Fire at will."
William stared through the scope, took a deep breath, and recalled all the sniper training he'd received from the system. He hadn't attempted a shot from nearly 800 meters before. Activating his wide-area perception, he gently placed his finger on the trigger.
A second later, the man in the blue beret stepped out from the cover of the woods. William steadily pulled the trigger. A deafening "BANG" echoed through the air. A moment later, he saw the blue-bereted man get thrown backward, lifeless.
The mercenaries advancing on Carlos froze when they saw their comrade fall, then heard the distant crack of a sniper rifle. They were all veterans; they knew from the sound that a sniper was a long way off.
Carlos also heard the shot. Seeing his opponents all take cover, he immediately realized his backup had arrived. He twisted, stood up, and aimed his pistol at a mercenary hiding behind a tree. He fired, sending the bullet in a curving arc that bypassed the tree and struck the mercenary in the head.
Without even checking to see if his shot had landed, Carlos used the opportunity to move to a new position behind another tree.
As he moved, he heard one of the enemy mercenaries shout, "Take cover, take cover! Hunter is dead! Hunter is dead!"
Soon, another panicked voice yelled, "Spotter, where is the sniper? Did anyone see the sniper?"
Because the mercenaries were all hiding, William couldn't get a clear shot, so he kept scanning the area with his scope.
A few seconds later, he heard Harry say, "786 meters. Adjust two centimeters. Lower the muzzle one degree. Behind the rock. His head is exposed."
Following Harry's instructions, William quickly located a head peeking out from behind a large rock. The man was carefully scanning the 30-degree slope where William and Harry were positioned.
"Okay, I see him, Harry," William said, adjusting the Barrett. Because he was on high ground, he had to lower the muzzle to hit the target. Looking through the scope with his right eye, William lined up the crosshairs on the neck of the exposed mercenary and fired steadily.
"BANG!" A second later, the man's head was gone.
Harry, watching through his binoculars, saw the target go down. "Hit! Nice shot, William," he said happily. "Next one, 773 meters. No adjustment needed. He's behind the third tree on the left."
The Barrett could penetrate trees and walls at up to 1000 meters. William made the adjustment and fired again. "BANG!" The man hiding behind the tree was struck by the penetrating bullet and a shower of splintered wood. He screamed and collapsed forward, howling in agony.
Although the bullet had pierced the tree, its velocity was reduced, so the wound wasn't immediately fatal. The mercenary probably wished it had been. He was covered in fine wounds from the wood splinters and lay on the ground wailing for several dozen seconds before he finally died.
Three of their comrades had been sniped by William and five had been killed by Carlos. In just a few minutes, half of the 16-man mercenary team was dead. The remaining eight were terrified. The team leader lay behind a large rock, muttering to himself, "God, what kind of mission did I take? Two million isn't even enough to cover the death benefits. This is a huge loss. I have to ask the employer for more money. I have to."
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