The Labyrinth Key

by Christopher Cartwright

  Josh glanced at Ethan. “I don’t know if Ethan told you, but I’m a lawyer. I know a lot of people. Some of them are…” He waved his hand back and forth. “On the other side of the tracks, shall we say.” For the first time he looked Sam in the face without trying to hide anything. “Ethan told you about her. I know he did. And I found out from her what she was up to. She tells me, keeps me in the loop because she knows the more information I have, the safer I am.” He shook his head. “I wish she wouldn’t because it’s dangerous as hell for her. The only thing that keeps her safe is that everyone in the crew knows I’m true to my word. Or, that I have been so far.” He fiddled with his coffee cup in a sudden show of vulnerability. “Because she’s still in there. She told me there’s a man who wants these keys. He didn’t tell her why, but that’s what they’re after.” He looked at them levelly. “She’s still in there. She’s my kid sister and I’ll do anything to get her out. Seems like a fair trade – some stupid ancient stone keys for a life.”

  Sam didn’t reply. That seemed a little dramatic. But, he reflected, it was very likely true.

  Josh glanced at him. “Like I said, there is a way. I have a guy ready to receive a call, but I need you to know something.”

  “Which is?”

  “We get one shot at this. It’s not like you can just walk out and try again. If we go in for this, it’s going to take everything you’ve got and there’s a good chance that everything you’ve got might not be enough. Though it will be enough,” he added, as Sam opened his mouth, “if you’re as good as he says you are- but there isn’t much wiggle room for slipping up.” He grinned, but his eyes were serious. “Like, no room, actually.”

  Sam leaned forward on the table. “I’m in.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ethan shake his head.

  Josh glanced between them, then reached for his pocket. Sam tensed, but he just pulled out a pack of cigarettes and tapped one out like a pro. “Listen, bud.” Josh slid the cigarette in between his lips and lit it. “This isn’t about if you die or not. If they get a glimpse of your face, never mind a picture or a corpse, everyone you’ve ever interacted with is dead. Family, friends, all of them.”

  Sam glanced between them. “That’s ridiculous. There’s no way they would spend that many resources on what amounts to a nobody.”

  Ethan grabbed Sam’s arm. His eyes bore into Sam’s. “He’s serious, Sam.” said Ethan. “These men are connected.” He didn’t look away. “You know they are.”

  Sam fixed Josh with a steady stare. “I’ve seen what they can do. I need these keys. If they get the second two, they’ll be unstoppable.” Sam took a deep breath. “I’m ready. It’s you who has to decide. She’s your sister.”

  “Don’t.”

  Josh looked around as if people were watching. Ethan looked around too. There was nothing but tourists and now the influx of the early brunch crowd, which could hide anyone. Sam fought to keep his hands on the table, to not scratch his neck.

  Finally, Josh drained his coffee and pushed to his feet. He hadn’t even asked if they wanted anything to drink, Sam thought. “I’ll be right back.”

  Sam raised his brows. “Where are you going?”

  Josh grinned, but his eyes were haunted. “I’m going to make a call. Make a man an offer he can’t refuse.”

  Sam watched him walk off into the crowd and loiter near the parking meters. Sam checked his watch; they had ten minutes left before they had to go feed their meter. Josh spoke into the phone while watching Ethan’s car.

  Ethan turned from watching him to Sam as Sam watched Josh. He saw a similar expression on the other man’s face – a resolute determination. “You ever done this before?”

  “Just part of the job,” replied Ethan, with a hard look in his eyes.

  Ethan’s hands remained steady on the table and not for the first time Sam wondered what exactly had happened in this boy’s past. Before Sam had a chance to ask him about it, Josh reappeared, pocketing his phone with the ease of a man who spent most of his life staring at a screen. That was really quick, Sam thought.

  Josh sat down; his shoulders hunched. His face was closed, and he was deep in thought. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again and fiddled with a ring on his right hand – a flat black stone set in silver. It’s a nice piece, Sam thought. He wondered at its significance.

  Sam briefly considered speaking first, then closed his mouth again and decided to wait.

  “They’re in a drug lab,” Josh said. “Along a remote jungle section of the Yucatan, in Mexico.”

  “So we can just fly over there, steal the Labyrinth Keys and rescue your sister—does that sound about right?”

  “Sure, that is, if the people with all the guns paid to make sure the cartel’s millions of dollars’ worth of drugs don’t disappear and don’t kill you in the process.”

  “That doesn’t sound so dangerous,” Sam said. “I know people in the DOJ. I’m sure you know people in the DOJ. I can put in a call.” He had been about to say the secretary of defense, then thought better of it. No use putting all his cards on the table just yet. He still didn’t know how much Ethan had shared. “We’ll get the feds to back us. We can bust down a drug lab, easy. They want to bring down the cartel just as much as us.”

  “No! Not the feds.” Josh’s eyes were wild and then he got himself under icy control. “If the cartel gets one whiff that this is an outside job, it’s going to be worse. So much worse you don’t even want to think about it.”

  Ethan broke in with a steady stare. “He’s right, Sam. If they think the government is involved, it becomes an issue of national security.”

  Sam slapped the table. “It already is an issue of national security!” He threw up his hands. “We’ve got the firepower of the biggest army on the planet on our side and you don’t want to use them?”

  “Not with her life on the line!”

  “What firepower?”

  The two men spoke together and glares sliced around the table in tense silence. What Josh hadn’t said – would never say, because he was a macho man who wanted Sam to think he’d made his peace with it, was that if the feds got involved, they’d kill his sister for sure.

  He was probably right.

  Standoff.

  Finally, Josh raised his hands, almost in apology, and looked Sam straight in the face. “It’s in the Lacandon Jungle,” he said, and Sam realized why he was reluctant now. His heart sank. The remote location meant two things. The cartel had enough money and enough motivation to put the drug lab in the middle of nowhere. That meant that they had some serious resources lying around. Second, if they pursued them, it wasn’t like they could lure them to some public location where they might easily get the jump on them. No. Here, Sam’s team would be walking in blindly, entering the cartel’s home territory without any real chance of recon. No. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  Sam glanced again at Josh and was struck by the cautious hope in his eyes beneath the bravado, beneath the fear. He glanced at Ethan, confirming his suspicions. Josh didn’t give a shit about the American population or protecting the president. The only reason Josh was helping them was to rescue his own sister.

  Sam stood up. His chair shrieked. “Let’s do it.”

  Josh stood, startled, and Ethan did the same. Sam reached out his hand to the lawyer, who took it after a moment, his eyes full of gratitude. Sam grinned at him, trying to be reassuring. When he looked at Ethan, the thanks in his eyes, the faith, made him stronger. Maybe it would be okay. They’d be walking into a death trap, but maybe, just maybe, they’d pull off the impossible.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  On board the USS George Washington, Gulf of Mexico

  The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey sat in the middle of the liftoff pad in all its magnificent beauty.

  It was shaped like an airplane yet was the size of a helicopter. It had two huge propellers on the ends of its wings. The true novelty of the vehicle, however, was that the propellers rotated u
p and down. This allowed for vertical take offs, which basically meant the Osprey was both a helicopter and a plane, and at the same time.

  Needless to say, it was Sam’s favorite thing. He was very excited that he was getting to run an actual mission with it. It made the almost certain death risk worth it. Well, almost.

  The roar from the propellers deafened him as he, Ethan, and Josh jogged across the tarmac and clattered up the shaky steps and into the Osprey. As they entered, waiting soldiers in non-descript uniforms handed them the headsets that they would wear during the flight. Sam settled them over his painful ears with gratitude.

  As Sam slipped his on, Ethan tapped him on the shoulder and gestured to two seats at the center of the craft. Sam made his way down the narrow aisle and strapped himself in.

  He had to admit: The Osprey was even better inside. He’d never seen such classy engineering. The seatbelts were designed so that they would never break during a crash yet could be released instantly with the click of a button. He wondered what Tom would have had to say about her.

  Tom. He wished Tom were here to save his ass in this.

  “Beautiful, isn’t she?” Josh had to shout to be heard over the headset.

  “How’d you notice?” Sam could feel himself bellowing but it sounded like a whisper. He realized that Ethan and Josh were both looking at him. He suddenly felt self-conscious.

  “Everyone is surprised their first time.” Ethan said with a grin, speaking with the ease of a man so used to life and death situations that he was able to roll with just about anything; content with taking the good as it came. “Consider it a treat. I had to pull a bunch of strings to get this for us.” He strapped himself in next to Sam while Josh made his seat across the aisle. “Definitely worth it.”

  The rumble of the engines couldn’t be described yet reminded Sam of a lion’s roar he’d heard in Africa a while back. Sam gripped the arm rests and ran through the plan.

  “Loaded. Lifting off.” Sam heard the pilot’s voice over his headset. He checked his gun one more time. He would usually be fine with a pistol, just in case, but Josh had insisted that everyone be armed to the teeth. As a result, Sam had a Kevlar vest and throat guard, fireproof pants, two belts of ammo strapped across his chest, with the entire ensemble topped off with two pistols, couple of knives, and a handful of grenades. All in total, Sam probably had hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment on him. He’d never worn this much firepower in his life. It felt heavy.

  He turned to Ethan.

  “How long was it again?” asked Sam. But Josh answered.

  “Ride’s going to be four hours, but we’ll be notified when we hit air space over JUNGLE.” He braced his elbows on his knees and leaned toward the two men who were putting their lives on the line with him. “When we get that far, the pilot’s going to shut off the engines and glide in until we hit X-Factor.” He glanced at Ethan. “What about landing?”

  “If the pilot has to, he’ll turn the engines back on. But this guy’s good. I’ve seen him coast to a stop on a dime in the desert. We all took bets.” He flipped his lighter. “Hopefully that’ll catch them unaware.”

  Sam nodded. It was smart to make sure that no one could hear them when they flew in. He looked out the window. Finally, the base had faded into the trees and all he could see was green below.

  It was a tense four hours and they each spent it all inside their own thoughts. Ethan triple checked his weapons. Josh spent time on his phone. For his part, Sam stared out the window, lost in the past, lost in the future and what he hoped was coming.

  When he looked out of the window, all he saw was clouds. For a moment he was taken aback, and then realized that the pilot was forcing the Osprey to go as high as possible so they’d get the most distance out of the glide.

  “You think we’re all going to make it?” asked Ethan unexpectedly.

  “What can we do, besides believe it?” Josh shot back. Sam agreed with a wry grin. They couldn’t do anything besides trust themselves.

  He nodded at Josh. “She’s his sister, trapped in a life of terror and lies.” He glanced at Ethan. “She’s your friend.” Ethan glanced away. “And I’m trying to stop criminals from unlocking ancient secrets that will let them take over the world.” He spread his hands. “If those aren’t good reasons, I don’t know what are. We’re all the best at what we do.” Sam sent Ethan a reassuring smile. “We’ll make it out, trust me.”

  Ethan nodded, but Sam could see that he was still nervous. Sam remembered what he had learned from his marine training—being brave, especially in a military setting, didn’t mean you didn’t feel fear. It meant that even in the face of fear, you could operate perfectly and Sam was confident Ethan would perform.

  “Starting gliding sequence.” The pilot’s voice shook Sam out of his trance. They glanced at him.

  Sam held up his hands. “Let’s run through the plan. We glide in. Team A covers the doorways, team B comes in toward the inside.”

  Josh nodded. “Mia says there’s a room they’ve set up to store their hoard. Gonzales likes to go in there and preen. She says that’s where the keys will be.”

  “Guarded?”

  “Mia said there’s two men at all times, but sometimes they’re in a good mood.” He threw up his hands. “Whatever that means. Now. Mia is going to be in there; she set up a meeting with Carlos—”

  Ethan turned on him, stunned. “You ASSHOLE. You put her in there? Straight in the line of fire?”

  Josh threw up his hands as if he wished it weren’t so. “You think I had a say? You’ve met her!” Ethan glowered, but apparently this rang true. “Listen.” Josh ran his hand through his hair. “It’s the best I can do! She’ll be safe with him. He trusts her. He won’t expect it to be a lead-on. He’s a bragger. He’ll want to gloat about their success, talk about the next phase of the mission. She said she’ll keep him there until we get past the guards.”

  “How the hell is she going to do that?”

  Josh grinned. “She’s a smooth talker. Trust me. That’s the least of our worries.”

  “How are we going to get in?”

  “My man on the inside is going to poison the morning brew. Nothing serious, but enough to knock out as many as he can. He’s got others lined up who’ll create a diversion. It’s not going to get them totally out of the way but should give us a chance to find and get in through the cracks. Get to the treasure room, get the keys…” He shrugged. “Take as many of them out as we can. Get Mia. Get out.”

  “What happens to Carlos?”

  “We’ll have to deal with him.”

  Silence for a moment. Then the static interrupted, announcing their descent.

  They looked at each other.

  “And the entrance?”

  Ethan cocked his weapon. “We’ve all got silencers, don’t we? Let’s use them.”

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  The jungle was hot and humid and, not for the first time, Sam thought he was going to die. That he’d come all this way to extract two keys to save the world seemed utterly ridiculous. But he knew it was for more than that. There was an innocent girl in there, and this was to end a battle that he’d gotten involved in fifteen years ago that he’d never wanted to fight in the first place.

  Sam checked his weapons as the pilot guided them closer to the trees, silent as death. It was time to end this.

  Beside him he saw Ethan doing the same and grinned.

  The Osprey set down in the jungle, almost vertically. Almost like a hovercraft straight out of science fiction. She was without a doubt, hands-down the coolest ride he’d ever encountered. He turned to Ethan as they unbuckled. “This ride alone almost makes it fucking worth it.” He rarely swore. It’s the nerves, he thought, and got a grip on himself. Nerves made you nervous; they couldn’t afford to be nervous.

  He pulled himself deep into his mind and set the controls. They’d already made it out. It was already finished, Carlos dead, the cartel beaten, Mia rescued, the
keys regained. It was a visualization technique he’d developed back in the army- almost like a copy and paste of reality. He never really knew if it worked, but it helped ground him and it made him feel centered, focused.

  In his mind, Sam released the keys as the plane touched down.

  Ethan gave him the thumbs up and they swarmed off the plane and down the shaky steps. It was completely silent – just jungle sounds and the soft metallic creak of their feet on the stairs. A sharp contrast to when they’d boarded back on board the USS George Washington.

  The dense jungle pressed in close and Sam and Ethan both turned to Josh, who had the GPS map on his phone. He gestured forward and they fell in line behind. Josh took point as discussed; in the off chance they were spotted he could say he was coming to speak with the boss. He’d make something up, he’d said.

  But the plan wasn’t to be spotted. They stuck to the shadows as they crept along. Sam didn’t see any cameras, but it didn’t mean they weren’t any. They were banking on the fact that so few people knew of this location and the general remoteness of it to put the cartel at an advantage: They didn’t expect attack. People who didn’t expect to be attacked got lazy. Sam hoped to God they got lazy.

  Regardless, he knew going in that they couldn’t leave anyone alive.

  They also couldn’t be seen. Couldn't be recognized. He scratched at the mask covering his face, sweating in the heat. It was a pain in the ass and dangerous but couldn’t be avoided. If it was true- and he knew it was true- that the cartel could track them down and make their lives miserably long or miserably short- then they couldn’t take the chance of being recognized.

  “How far?” He whispered at Ethan’s back, ahead of him.

  “Two hundred yards.” Ethan was deep within himself, on high alert, like a jungle cat stalking prey. Sam remembered that feeling of power himself.

  They continued on.

  The plan was for Josh to introduce them at the gate- they were collectors who had information about the last two keys. Once they were through, the team behind would take out the guards and Josh’s man on the inside would take care of the security cameras. Sam, Josh, and Ethan would head for the treasure room and take out the boss, where Mia was supposed to be detaining him.