At the same time.
Jack, Ada, and Elsa led the Earl's men toward the Desert Inn.
"Flying Eagle, will they head there too?" Ada asked.
"Probably. According to this map, the route to the military base passes the Desert Inn. They'll stop there."
"Only…" Jack hesitated. He didn't want to bring the two of them into this. But the Earl had ordered it, and he couldn't refuse.
He had no confidence he could handle that crew. Every one of them felt dangerous—some even more than him. The Earl's men were capable, but compared to those people, they were completely out of their depth.
"It's only a matter of execution. Don't worry," Ada said. "We've brought more than ten men, all armed. I don't believe they can overwhelm us. This gold belongs to the United Nations—we have to secure it."
Jack said nothing. The doubt was new to him.
Two hours later.
Cole and his team reached the Desert Inn.
When the inn's Middle Eastern owner saw the armoured Hummer roll in, he rushed out to greet them. "Welcome, honoured guests."
"Four rooms," Cole said, peeling off two thousand dollars and handing it across.
"Of course, sir."
The owner led them upstairs. Cole took one room. Peach another. Yin Yang shared with Adolf. Christmas bunked with Simon.
After they dropped their gear, they regrouped in the inn's restaurant—Adolf excluded. Cole didn't bother explaining. The old man's legs were gone, his wheelchair was in the Hummer, and he wasn't sprinting anywhere. The system only required that he reach the base alive; it didn't say "comfortable." If someone took a shot, Cole would keep him breathing—and that was it.
"Sir, are you also chasing the gold?" the owner asked as he set down plates.
"There must be a lot of seekers these days," Cole said. "Your place must do well."
The innkeeper smiled. In a one-stop rest point on the edge of a desert, with high room rates, pricier food, and a side trade in gossip at a hundred a piece—he did just fine.
"Small business, small business. Do you require information?"
"No. I need eyes for a man—Asian, thirties, prominent nose." Cole slid a thousand dollars onto the menu. "You see him, you tell me immediately."
"No problem. Enjoy."
As soon as he left, Peach asked, "Do you think the big-nose will come?"
"He won't give up that easily," Cole said.
Yin Yang grinned. "I like him. Good movement. If he shows again, I'll test him."
Cole smirked. On screen, Jack was always the king of improvisation—give him a ladder or a stool and he'd dismantle a room. Against a pure technician he might lose on form, but with props he was murderous. He wouldn't mind seeing the match-up.
On the road outside, Jack and his group arrived at the Desert Inn.
The owner spotted him instantly—Asian face, big nose, unmistakeable.
Jack clocked the armoured Hummer parked nearby. "They're already here," he said, frowning.
"That's fine," Ada said. "We grab the key and go straight to the base."
"I'd advise against suicide," Jack shot back. "I won't be able to save you."
He no longer felt like the film version of himself. Any sentiment for Ada had burned away; now she and Elsa felt like deadweight.
Inside the restaurant, the owner hurried back to Cole with the news of Jack's arrival.
Cole nodded, counted out five thousand dollars, and told him to bring Jack to his room.
"Yin Yang, you wanted to try him—your window's open," Cole said. "Christmas, Simon—take the Count's other men outside and put them down."
Peach's shoulders sagged; she regretted ever getting in Cole's truck. Now there wasn't even an option to get out.
"You'll be fine," Cole said, sipping his wine. "Do exactly what I say and you'll be safe."
Peach could only nod.
Cole, Yin Yang, and Peach moved to Cole's room to wait.
Outside, the proprietor cheerfully guided Jack and the two women toward the door.
He didn't care what Cole intended; the desert ate people every day. If the money was right, he'd oblige.
At the threshold, the owner smiled. "Sir, this is your room. Ladies, yours is next—"
Jack seized the owner and pressed a pistol to his waist.
"Flying Eagle, what is it?" Elsa whispered.
"Have you ever seen a hotel room lit before the guest checks in?" Jack tilted his chin toward the thin band of light under the door. "Stay with me. Don't wander."
He was almost certain Cole and his people were inside.
"Come in and have a chat."
The familiar voice floated through the door.
Hearing it, Jack frowned, opened the door, and walked in....