Bones of Angels by Christopher Forrest

“I’ve got my book,” she said to Hawkeye. “Do you have one?”
    Hawkeye made no reply.
     

Chapter 17
     
    Mont St. Michel
    Off the Coast of France
     
    Charles Whittington’s hands were tied to the wooden spindles of a straight-back chair. His face was haggard and bloody. He’d been given no food and only an occasional sip of water.
    Reynard paced back and forth in the small monastic cell like a demon. “How do I activate the bones?” he said, his voice urgent and angry. “What prayer must I say?  What ritual must I perform to reanimate the Archangel?  Tell me!”
    “You’re a fool,” Charles said weakly.
    Reynard slapped Charles across the face, then backhanded him. The priest’s knuckles drew blood from Charles’ upper lip.
    “You do not understand the Codex Angelorum.”
    “Don’t mock me, Professor!  I can read like anyone else.”
    “Then you should be able to gather all the information you need by yourself,” Charles said.
    Reynard commenced beating Charles again. The savagery of his blows spoke of a man consumed by his mission.
    Altitude: Fifteen Thousand Feet
    Off the Coast of France
     
    Hawkeye, Tank, DJ, and Shooter plummeted to earth, having jumped from Titan Global’s C-17 Gobemaster in the night sky above the island of Mont St. Michel. Air screamed past their rigid bodies, arms flat against their sides, as they dove toward the earth. They were engaged in a HALO jump — High Altitude, Low Opening — in attempt to land on the rocky coastline surrounding the old monastery and cathedral. They knew that Father Reynard and his acolytes were already there.
    At an altitude of one thousand meters, the Titan force deployed their stealth Gryphon gliders, virtual wings made of lightweight carbon.
    “How does it feel to be gliding like an angel, Hawkeye?” Shooter asked over her COM set.
    The team leader ignored the barb.
    “Circle the island as we continue descending,” Hawkeye ordered. “Aim for the southern coast. This chunk of rock doesn’t have much of a landing zone, but the south shore is our best chance to land on something relatively flat.”
    “Think they’re expecting company?” asked DJ, who was spiraling down toward the island.
    “They know Quiz and I were at Whittington Manor,” Hawkeye replied. “If Reynard’s got any savvy — and he obviously does — he’ll be waiting for us.”
    “Never a dull moment,” said Tank.
    “Titan Six doesn’t do dull,” Hawkeye said.
    Ops Center
    Aboard the Alamiranta
     
    “I show over two hundred human occupants of the island,” said Touchdown from the Ops Center.
    “My kind of odds,” said Hawkeye. “I’ll take the action.”
    Catherine Caine allowed a brief smile to cross her face. “He may be a bit irreverent,” she said, “but his moxie is what I pay him for.”
    Mont St. Michel
    Off the Coast of France
     
    “Open chutes!” Hawkeye ordered.
    Three gray chutes deployed a mere five hundred feet above the coast, the glider wings falling away.
    “A bullet just tore through my sleeve!” Tank said.
    “Lookouts are posted on dozens of walls surrounding the monastery,” said Shooter.
    “They’re firing on us,” DJ said. “Always good to have a welcoming committee.”
    “You’re back in the saddle again, DJ,” said Hawkeye. “How does it feel?”
    “Like adrenaline with a little bourbon thrown in!”
    “It’s S and R when we hit the beach,” said Hawkeye.         
    S and R stood for Scatter and Rumble, indicating that the Titan team would not gather together upon landing. They would fan out and return enemy fire immediately.
    “Boots on the ground,” Shooter declared.
    “Ditto,” said DJ, scrambling for the nearest outcropping of rocks.
    “Shit!” cried Tank, his right leg wedged inside a deep crevice formed by several formations of basalt.
    Hawkeye landed and dropped to his belly on a mixture of rocks, gravel, and sand.
    “Got my leg free, but I think I sprained my ankle,” said