The Project 02 - The Lance

alert."
    Selena was angry. "You've made a big mistake, you Nazi cretin."
    Greenwood laughed. "Oh, no, I don't think so, Doctor Connor. You're the one who made the mistake. You should never have meddled in things that didn't concern you. But it all works out well in the end."
    She heard steps on the stairs. Others began filing into the room. They were dressed like Greenwood in white robes with the black sun on the left breast. Only Greenwood bore the band around his sleeve. Selena recognized Smothers and Earlston. She was shocked to see a man she'd watched countless times anchoring the evening news.
    The last one to enter the room was a blond man in his mid twenties. He examined her as if she were an interesting but loathsome bug.
    "A beautiful specimen, Father."
    "Yes. She even has good Aryan bloodlines, but she is a traitor to her race. She is perfect for our needs. For His need."
    Selena didn't like the way Greenwood said that.
    "This is my son, Frederick, Doctor Connor. Frederick did a wonderful job in Jerusalem, don't you think? Frederick is here because you succeeded in removing General Dysart. The number of the Council must be preserved. He's a bit young for such responsibility, but I'm sure he'll grow into the task."
    "Robes are out of style, Greenwood. I read that Hitler used to dress up when he was little. Are you carrying on the tradition? Didn't you get enough play time in mommy's clothes?"
    Greenwood's face reddened. He stepped forward and slapped her, hard. Selena's head slammed back against the wall.
    "Go to your place, Frederick. We begin."
    Blood trickled from Selena's mouth. Greenwood stood in front of the carved chair. The others took their seats. From his robe, Greenwood withdrew a book. The cover was black, emblazoned with the SS insignia in silver. He began reading aloud in a slow and measured cadence. It took Selena a moment to realize he was speaking in the old Germanic tongue, the language of the runes. A ripple of fear moved through her as she recognized the ritual Arslanian had encoded on his flash drive. The torches flickered.
    Nick , she thought, where the hell are you?

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

    Nick's ear felt like it was on fire. Selena would never be late like this. He couldn't raise her.
    Lamont, Ronnie, Stephanie and Nick were in a McDonald's in downtown DC. It was a safe bet no one would look for them there. Even so, Ronnie had his black box out. It sat in the middle of the cardboard containers of hamburgers and fries. It was going on 8:40. Selena was over an hour and a half late.
    Stephanie said, "I got the trace on the email to Dysart. About commanding him. It's Greenwood. We were right about him. He's the one running the show."
    It was Halloween, the last night of October. A scattering of teens in bizarre costumes sat at tables nearby. Across the room, four sullen bikers in leather jackets and dirty jeans eyed Stephanie. Lamont gave them a cold look. They went back to whatever they'd been talking about.
    Nick dipped a fry in ketchup, set it down. The slick surface of the table felt cold under his fingers.
    "Selena's in trouble." It was a physical feeling, a bad feeling.
    Stephanie's phone rang. She answered, listened, disconnected.
    "That was someone I sent to her hotel. They found a waiter stuffed in a maintenance closet on Selena's floor, unconscious. His uniform was missing. Her key was still in the door slot of the room. Someone's grabbed her."
    Nick felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.
    "Where would they take her?" Ronnie ate the last bite of his Big Mac.
    "I can think of one way to find out," Nick said. "We grab Greenwood. He'll know." He thought about how he would question him. "I can persuade him to tell us."
    "Back to his house?"
    "Yes."
    Stephanie glanced over at a teen dressed as a vampire.
    Her face paled. "Nick! That rite Heydrich wrote down. It's Halloween. In the old religions, it was the most powerful night for magic. A night of sacrifice."
    It registered on everyone at the same time.
    "Selena. They're going to sacrifice her, perform that ritual." Nick crushed the plastic cup of soda he held in his hand.
    "There can't be much time," Ronnie said. "I've got my stash in the Hummer."
    Ronnie's black Hummer had a concealed compartment in the back. He had weapons, ammunition and a variety of useful things for an emergency.
    Nick nodded. "You, me and Lamont. Someone has to work the political and legal angles if this goes bad." He turned to Stephanie. "That's you,