SEALs of Honor: Hawk

by Dale Mayer

  “Billy and Travis,” she said instantly. “Bullies and local rich boys.”

  “So rich they have to steal?” He saw it often. Rich kids who figured the rules didn’t apply to them. Only Canford wasn’t a hotspot for the rich. Although the condos on the lake were changing that. If Billy and Travis were examples of the new arrivals he wasn’t impressed.

  “Something like that. Billy’s father is buying up land throughout the area right now.” She shrugged. “Lots of people are selling and lots are holding out. Causing a big division in opinion locally.”

  “The one kid mentioned his father was buying the store from Gordon.”

  Eva shook her head violently. “No, Gordon was very against that, and he’d been offered a decent price. But he wouldn’t have anything to do with it as Tom, the father, planned to give the store to his son, Travis. Mia felt the same way.”

  “I agree with Gordon.” Hawk glanced behind him. “But I wonder how she’s going to feel about that now.”

  Chapter 2

  Mia dropped the rope she’d wound to a coil by her feet. She’d been doing search and rescue training for months now, but the spelunking was beyond the normal training. She’d been out practicing on her own ever since she’d realized she needed more experience with all the tourist business increasing. The accidents were increasing too. Not a good scenario. More trained personnel were needed.

  She searched the gloomy circle of light produced by her headlight. One of the biggest lessons everyone needed to learn was that no one went into the caves alone. Including her. She had both the Bangor brothers with her. And a couple of other search and rescue volunteers all wanting to improve their skills. There was nothing worse than coming up against a lack of training when lives were in jeopardy.

  “How is that arm of yours doing, Mia?” Paul asked.

  She gave the arm in question a good shake. “It’s holding up well.” In fact, she was really pleased with it. It had been a good six months since she’d injured it during a bad climb. Months of recovery and therapy and she was back outside as normal. Even so, the arm was a shade weaker than she’d like. Strength was mandatory. During an emergency, weakness was a detriment.

  She had to regain the full muscle mass.

  “Make sure you don’t overdo it, today,” Peter warned from behind his brother. “It’s easy to do.”

  “I know.” She shook out both arms then grinned. “They feel good.”

  “Then let’s go. This system has some interesting caves further up. Let’s get at it.”

  “I’ll lead.” She dropped to her knees and crawled through the tunnel, pulling the rope behind her. The others would follow. They’d been down here for a couple of hours already. Time wise they had about another hour then they’d have to turn back. This was the furthest she’d come so it was a success as far as she was concerned.

  The return journey should be faster. Good thing. She didn’t really enjoy this hobby. And forced herself in here on the premise of work a related skill set. In truth she was a little creeped out being down here in the dark with several tons of dirt ready to come down on her at any moment.

  Another reason for being here now. To face that fear.

  She’d rather be home to help her friend Eva with the chores. The chores were too much for her on her own. And in truth, Mia enjoyed being around the horses and other animals. She’d been living in the trailer on Eva’s property for three months now. A setup that suited both women. Eva needed the cash, and Mia was looking for a place close by but not in her father’s house. They only had each other left in family outside of distant or estranged relatives and they were close, but she needed her on space.

  A clod of dirt fell down in front of her nose, raising a plume of dust to float up her nostrils. She coughed several times then cleared her throat several more times. She struggled to pull her water bottle forward so she could take a drink. Only it wasn’t possible given the confines of the small tunnel. There was nothing else to do but carry on. She crawled forward, still coughing slightly. When she made it through to another cavern, she shifted off to the side, yanked on her rope a couple of times and pulled her water bottle clear. After a long drink, she settled back down against the dirt wall and waited for the others to come along. She’d never been in this section before and knew a lot of this area was full of unchartered caves.

  It didn’t take long for Peter to poke his head through the whole. He skimmed forward on his stomach. She laughed. “If you gain any more weight, you’re going to have trouble getting through to the next cave.”

  He gave a rustic laugh as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his shirt and pants. “I’m a while off of that fate.”

  She grinned. “I can just imagine,” she said in a mocking voice. “Help 911. There’s a rotund man stuck underground. He’s caught in the tunnels between the caves. You’ll need a large back hoe to rescue him.”

  “Hey, it’s not that bad.” And in truth it wasn’t, but she loved to tease him. It was almost expected. He’d known her since she was in diapers. He’d been teasing her for just as long.

  Paul popped his head through next. “Hey. Are we carrying on again, or is this as far as we’re going?”

  Peter took a look at his watch. “Time is short. We’re going to need to return soon.” He pulled out his map and checked the cave chart system. “We have options. There is another exit close to here, but we’d have to walk up hill to the vehicles. There’s a lot more territory we’d enjoy covering given the time, maybe that’s an idea for next trip. We could enter close by and pick up from here.”

  “I’m good to do that, but for today, this is probably as far as we can go.” She took another long drink of water and surveyed the huge cavern they were in. This was one of the major destinations in the system. It was fascinating if a little scary to be this deep underground.

  As the last person made his way through the tunnel, she stood up, checked that everyone was okay and in good health. Then she took a short walk around the cave. Interesting place. There were other tunnels in the system. All headed off in various directions. Fascinating. She could spend days down here and still not explore them all. It would be dead easy to get lost. And that was something she had no intention doing.

  There were available maps of the caves that had been charted, but the GPS points were listed with the realization anything electronic was not dependable underground. Although many enthusiasts were trying to shift wholly to digital cave surveying, it was hit or miss at best. And in the dark, shadows lying long in the cavern, she knew how easy it was to get turned around.

  And that was often what brought her down here. People who’d lost their way and needed help to get back to the surface. So far, they’d been lucky. No fatalities.

  If they were leaving soon, she wanted to take a moment and explore. There was something almost alien about these caves. So huge, so empty, and yet you knew they weren’t completely empty when something scurried away into the dark. The air was stale, stagnant yet cool with a mysterious unknown quality to the place. She didn’t know what to think of it. She’d been in many caves in the last year, but not like this. Not this deep. Not this far away from the sunlight. In a way it was the sunlight that she missed. The caves themselves to her were like old musty basements. Someplace she needed to go but hated the cramped shadowy spaces that hid more than they revealed.

  It was never going to be her hobby.

  As long as she learned to do rescues down here for when she was needed to help out, then she was good to not come for pleasure. And based on that…she’d better take a serious look around in case she never returned. She wandered the perimeter of the cave, marveling at the sheer size of the room. Her boots clinked on something metallic. She bent down and found a shell casing. Interesting. Not a good place for shooting practice. She glanced around, but there was no sign of anything having been shot. Still, casings meant people and people meant litter. She slipped it into her pocket. Each of the caves in the system had its own name
. She’d forgotten which she was in. They went on and on like a hidden ring of pearls.

  There were nooks and crannies that were impossible to see until she was right beside them. There were fallen rocks making the walking treacherous and dirt fell off the roof enough times to remind her they were miles underground with tons of dirt and rock above her head and nothing but more dirt and rock holding it all up.

  A freaky thought.

  After completing one loop around the cave, noting at least three places where tunnels appeared to head off in different directions she walked slowly back to the others. There was no water in this cave, she’d seen some in others, but as she walked across the dusty center she could see the ground was softer and might get waterlogged during different seasons as groundwater rose.

  Who’d like to scramble on their belly through tunnels running with water? Not her.

  “I’d like to spend a couple of days down here. It’s so quiet. So close to Mother Nature. Like being back in the womb again,” Mike said. “Anyone else?”

  Mike was part of the local spelunking club and had contributed to the mapping of this cave system. But his comment made her stomach churn.

  She shook her head. “Not me.”

  “We could check out those other exits and see where they go. Spend a weekend camping down here,” he added enthusiastically.

  She smiled. “Nah, that’s your department.” He was a nice enough guy, but she had no plans to spend a weekend down here eating dirt. Partly because as nice as he was, she was afraid he was attempting to turn their casual relationship to something more. And that she wasn’t into.

  He asked a couple of other people. As their responses weren’t as negative as Mia’s, she was happy to hear he’d likely get a group together of other enthusiasts.

  “Time.” John stood up. “Let’s go everyone.”

  She led the way back, again, needing to find a level of comfort with having ropes between her feet and her pack dragging against the dirt roof above her head. The sensation of dirt constantly falling on her head. Worse was the fear. Of having it all come down. Of being buried alive. Of never being found. Closing her eyes briefly, she shoved all the self-defeating thoughts to the back of her mind. It was why she was here. Learning. Practicing. So in an emergency when others were filled with those kinds of thoughts, she could help.

  Loose dirt fell on her shoulders, pinging off her hard hat. Lord it was hard to stay calm at times.

  She wished she had elbow pads. They were coming up to the even lower section of the tunnel and she had to snake forward on her belly.

  The opening to the second cave was up ahead. Grateful, figuring she’d eaten enough dirt for one day, she pulled herself through the last narrow pinch to where she could come upon her knees then crawl the rest of the way. As she stood up, she took several deep breaths. Thank God that part was over.

  She was starting to really hate being down here. Out came her water bottle again and she finished the last of it. She had two more bottles in her car but hadn’t carried a second with her.

  The others were at the entrance behind her. She watched and waited as Paul got to his feet.

  “That’s quite a trip, isn’t it?” He said with a big grin.

  “I’m wondering who was so crazy as to crawl into a hole like that in the first place,” she muttered. “Especially considering he couldn’t see light at the other end.”

  Jason laughed. “Men have been exploring since time began. It’s what they do.”

  “Yeah, that’s why women stayed home with the babies. It was way better than that.” She motioned to the small tunnel she’d made it out of.

  “You looked to be handling it better this time,” Peter said, studying her face. “Was it better?”

  She laughed. “It was. But it’s never going to be my favorite sport.”

  “Good enough. It’s not for everyone.” Mike stood up and stretched his arms high over his head. “For me, it’s more about the finding of new spaces. And that often means going into small shitty ones to find the big glorious ones.”

  “Understood.” She watched as the others arrived, mentally counting the numbers to be sure they were all there. An old habit. “Are we ready to head to the vehicles?”

  They all nodded. Peter fell into step beside her as they walked through the midsize cavern leading to the first cave in the system and the way back out. She rolled her shoulders and gently massaged her neck.

  “How’s the arm?”

  She smiled. It was a common question these days. “It’s all good.”

  The walk to the sunshine and green woods was easy from that point on. Once outside and a good distance away from the cliff rising behind her, she turned on her phone and checked her messages. And froze.

  “Shit.”

  *

  “I’ve just contacted Mia,” Eva said. “She’ll get the message when she’s got cell reception again.”

  “Did she find the cave with the weapon stash?”

  Eva shook her head. “No. She likely doesn’t know about it yet.”

  He nodded. “She will soon.” He motioned toward the office where Gordon’s body lay. “I’ve called the sheriff. But no one has shown up yet.”

  “He’s probably thinking anything to do with Gordon’s general store is small potatoes compared to what else he might be dealing with. Besides, we’re still a law unto ourselves. The sheriff rarely comes here unless we make life really ugly for them.”

  “So things haven’t changed much.” Hawk remembered being a little wild growing up in the country where the only thing to do was the single bar at night. But he’d been into hunting, horses and women, even back then. Now he came for the peace and countryside and the sheer lack of people. He lived and worked in close confines to the extent his team were brothers. Friends, but more family. They knew each other like he’d never known anyone else, and he found a sense of camaraderie that hadn’t been in his life experience up until then. Now he didn’t want to do without it – them. They were who he depended on in life. But at night, it was nice to have someone to love, to hold.

  He’d met Mia a couple of times but didn’t know her. She was his sister’s best friend but that relationship had only been close in the years after he’d left. Now he remembered her as a redhead with braces and a face covered in freckles. He had to admit the freckles fascinated him. But she was likely after a stay home kind of guy. So many were.

  And he was anything but.

  His gaze went to his watch then strayed to the office. Gordon needed to be taken care of. Damn it. Leaving him like that ate at him.

  He hadn’t seen Gordon much in the last five years, but he’d been a good man. He hadn’t deserved this.

  “Are you sure it’s Gordon?” Mia asked suddenly. “He’s not been doing much walking. It doesn’t make any sense that would be him.” She spun around. “In fact, I haven’t seen him for a few months, so I’m not sure how ambulatory he is…”

  Her words caught him by surprise. Ambulatory? He spun around to ask her when the sounds of a vehicle screaming into the parking distracted them both. He raced to the window to look out.

  A blue Ford, beat up and covered in dust, drove to the front steps and came to a screeching stop.

  A tall lean redhead hopped out, a braid swinging down her back. Mia.

  Chapter 3

  Mia bolted out of her truck, slamming the door in her panic. She jumped the stairs to her father’s general store and shoved the door open hard. She ran inside, her heart pounding in fear, a sweaty itch all over her body. Please let the message be wrong. Please let her father be okay. They had their problems but he was all she had. And she so wasn’t ready to lose him.

  Her wild dash ended against a solid wall of muscle and arms restraining her.

  Still panicked, she acted instinctively and brought her arm up, her elbow to his throat, her knee automatically lifting as she twisted.

  And just as suddenly she was grabbed, spun and held immobile against a heavily m
uscled chest, his voice calm and clear as he said, “I’m not going to hurt you. You need to calm down.”

  She stilled. Then twisted so she could look at his face. And recognized him. Her shoulders sagged. Eva’s brother. “Hawk?”

  “Yes, it’s me. Are you going to stop trying to desex me?”

  The arms held her firm. She nodded once. He dropped his arms and stepped back. She still trembled, her mind screaming at her to ask him about her father. A sound burst through from the back office.

  Eva.

  Eva with tears running down her face at the sight of her friend. Mia shook her head. “Please tell me you were wrong. That he’s fine.”

  Eva shook her head and ran to hug Mia. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “It looks like it’s him.”

  “No, oh no.” Mia burst into tears, her arms tight around Eva. “Please not.”

  She stared at him, looking for confirmation.

  He nodded once.

  “Oh.” She shoved her fist into her mouth to hold back her cries.

  “I found him.” Hawk’s harsh voice cut through the air. “He’s been shot through the head in his office.”

  She gave a small scream and pivoted to look in the direction of the door. Then slowly approached, she opened the door and stopped at the sight of a blanket shrouded body on the floor. Tears flooding her gaze, she slowly sank beside him, her heart breaking. With a shaking hand she reached out to pull the blanket back. And cried out in shock. “Oh my God. It’s not my father.”

  “What?” Hawk roared.

  Hawk and Eva ran to her side.

  “No, it’s my Uncle Gerry.”

  “Really? Holy shit.” Eva dropped and wrapped her arms around her friend. “It’s horrible to think this is a good thing, but…”

  “This is a good thing.”

  “Since when did Gordon have a brother?” Hawk demanded. He squatted beside the body and rolled it over slightly so he could see the face and confirm her words. “Damn, I’m so sorry. I thought this man had a little less hair, but I haven’t seen Gordon in quite a while.