“Strike? Don’t tell me…”
Taylor chuckled, almost too loudly. “We’re attacking. Damn right. Gonna shove that gold right up the general’s wazoo.”
“Taylor, this is the jungle, for Christ’s sake. You’d need someone who—”
“Got one. Josh, who, strangely enough, seems to really be enjoying himself. The guy knows his shit.”
Delta nodded. “But he’ll need good cover. He’ll need someone who can pick these guys off from—”
“Got him, too. Tony.”
Delta’s jaw dropped open and she stopped moving. “What?”
“Yep. Your cute boy partner packed up his toys, took a leave, and right about now is getting ready to put a bullet between some unsuspecting slob’s eyeballs.”
Delta was speechless. Carducci, here, in Costa Rica? “But how…”
“People care about you, Delta Stevens, enough to risk their lives for you. Don’t worry your pretty little head. We’ve taken care of everything.”
“Including attacking a small army?”
Taylor nodded. “Yup, and saving the village. Right now, Megan’s making her way to the mouth of the caverns.”
“Alone?”
“Yup. She figured she was the only one who could convince the hostages to leave with us.”
“You let her go alone?”
“Give her more credit than that, Delta. Megan’s one tough lady. This place doesn’t scare her anymore. She can handle herself.” Taylor quietly unzipped her bag and pulled out two broken down automatic rifles. “Here. You’ll need this.” Handing a stock and barrel to Delta, Taylor slammed hers together with a loud click, as if she had been doing it all her life. Delta stared at her, amazed at how quickly she had her weapon ready.
Taking the rifle pieces from Taylor, Delta looked at them in the moonlight. “Josh?”
Taylor nodded. “That man has some golden connections.” Slinging the rifle over her shoulder, Taylor motioned for Delta to follow. “Come on. We’re Megan’s ground cover.”
As Taylor turned to go, Delta touched her arm. “I don’t know how to thank you, Taylor.”
Taylor reached up and lightly touched Delta’s swollen cheek. “I do.”
Delta looked down into her partly shadowed face. “I’m serious. Do you realize you just killed two people back there?”
With her hand still on Delta’s cheek, Taylor whispered, “Wasn’t the first time, love, won’t be the last. Besides, anything for you. Don’t you get that yet?”
Delta realized that she hadn’t gotten anything. She hadn’t comprehended the depth of Carducci’s loyalty or the strength of Taylor’s passion. Delta had been so busy trying to right the world’s injustices that she’d missed many important opportunities to connect on a deeper level with the people she cared about.
When she got out of here, all that was going to change.
Connie was sure the men would discover Delta missing at any moment. Megan had just made her way to the outskirts of the east side of the camp, where the mouth of the caverns was. Connie was amazed at the stealth with which Megan had moved in the darkness of the jungle. Perhaps they had been here too long. Connie hoped it was not an ill omen.
The commotion started just the way Connie had predicted it would. Two men entered the trailer and immediately came flying out with the arms waving, yelling in Spanish, and trying to extinguish the torches. Connie waited for one torch to go out before quietly saying “Now,” to Carducci.
Three cracks of his rifle later, and three soldiers were down before they could even reach their weapons.
Four cracks resounded in the distance, and two more men went down onto the jungle floor, dead before their faces hit the ground.
Carducci squeezed off more rounds, taking more lives with each pull of the trigger. Even Connie was amazed by his unerring aim. SWAT, she decided, was getting much more than their money’s worth in this man.
The camp burst into chaos while men ran around looking for cover and firing wildly into the dark forest. Connie watched as the soldiers were killed or wounded by her team. They had succeeded in catching the Colombians unaware, and the surprise attack was far more successful than Connie had dared to hope.
Through the night goggles, she saw Megan leap over the first casualty of Carducci’s bullets and disappear into the caverns. This was where the plan got sticky. If Megan took too long, the general might attempt to enter the caverns for cover, possibly killing all those they had hoped to save. If the hostages became too frightened to leave or were somehow incapacitated, they would have to move to Plan B, a plan not nearly as well-devised.
Suddenly, the camp went totally dark and, to everyone’s surprise, no one was firing back.
“What the fuck?” Carducci exclaimed, not moving his eye from the scope. “They’ve disappeared.”
Connie watched through the goggles as the soldiers uncovered foxholes and disappeared down inside.
“That son of a bitch was expecting trouble,” Connie said, as the last soldier vanished.
“We got nothin’ now,” Carducci said, relaxing his finger on the trigger. “Not unless we move closer.”
“Where’s Megan?” Connie growled, looking at the entrance to the caverns.
“She comes out in the next thirty seconds, or we’re in deep shit.” Carducci checked his ammunition and waited for Connie’s orders.
Connie lowered the night goggles and looked at Carducci. “You got to keep them down in those holes.”
Carducci nodded. “Will do. There’s only one problem.”
Connie waited.
“I don’t think these are foxholes.”
Connie looked back at the top of the pits. “What do you mean?”
“Not one guy’s looked up since they dropped in. That’s not normal.”
Connie could only stare as the realization of her miscalculation hit her. “Oh my god, Tony…”
Carducci nodded. “Shit! They’ve gone underground.”
Connie stared hard at the foxholes, willing herself to see what she could not. Had they managed to dig foxholes that led to underground caverns, and had evaded them? She couldn’t even bring herself to think about what that meant to their rescue efforts.
“If they’ve escaped to underground tunnels, we’re fucked!”
Everyone stared at the jungle floor, afraid that they may have fallen into a trap they might never escape from.
At first, Siobhan didn’t recognize her, since the light from the torches was dim and the shadows were deep. It wasn’t until Megan stood next to a lit torch that Siobhan accepted that it really was her old tent mate, and saw that she was alone.
“Megan?” Siobhan blinked hard and squinted.
“I promised you I’d be back, and here I am.”
Siobhan’s eyes grew wide. “But how…”
“Long story. Right now, we have to get out of here.”
Nodding slowly, Siobhan looked around. “We?”
“Remember those two friends I was telling you about?”
Her face registered surprise, and Siobhan took Megan’s hand. “They’re here? Now?”
Megan nodded.
“Is that why all the gunfire?”
“Yes. Listen, Siobhan, we have to move quickly. I need you to gather everyone up and move to the mouth of the cavern.”
“But… we were told…”
“I don’t care what you were told, Siobhan. You have to trust me! If you want to live, you’re going to have to get moving!” Turning to a small group huddled in the corner, Megan realized these people did not trust her.
And why should they?
Megan had received preferential treatment at the hands of their captor. She had been given better food, days off, even a bath. They had every right to be suspicious of her.
Every right.
Only now was not the time to exercise that right.
Turning to the group, she held her hands out in supplication. “Listen to me, all of you. My friends and I returned to
rescue you. If you want to get out of here alive, to go home and see your loved ones, then you must follow me outside.”
“There are soldiers…” one voice called out.
“Who told us they would shoot on sight.”
Megan held her hands up. “Listen to me! Those gunshots you hear are my friends. We—”
“How do we know who won outside?”
“How do we know you’re not part of his plan?”
“Whore!”
Megan shook her head. Maybe she deserved that, maybe she didn’t. It didn’t really matter. What mattered was getting these people to safety. “Don’t you understand? You’ll die tonight if—”
“Why should we believe a whore?”
“Yeah!”
“Yeah! You and Zahn could be in this together!”
“Please,” Megan’s voice was pleading.
But the voices rose louder, and Megan cast a hopeless look toward Siobhan. “My friends are risking their lives for you, goddamn it!”
Siobhan looked from Megan to the others and back to Megan, the fear firmly embedded in her eyes.
“Siobhan, you saw me escape. Why would I have come back, if not to save you? I promised, don’t you remember?”
Slowly, Siobhan nodded. “Yes.”
“Here I am, then, just as I promised. And I brought help with me.”
As Siobhan nodded, the fear seemed to dissipate, replaced by a look of understanding and acceptance. “Then it’s true?”
“Yes! And there isn’t much time. We must get out of here quickly!” To the others, Megan cried, “Follow me.” Taking Siobhan’s hand, Megan started for the mouth of the cavern. Only two other women were behind them as they turned and started toward the entrance to the cave.
“Are we really going to be free, Megan?” Siobhan asked, casting a doubtful eye toward the dark forest.
Megan did not look back at Siobhan. “I sure as hell hope so.”
Delta watched the mouth of the cave in desperation. “Where the hell are they?”
“Keep your shorts on, sweetie. That cave could go on for hundreds of yards, and she doesn’t even know where they are. Give her time.”
Hefting the HK against her shoulder, Delta felt an all-too-familiar pang in her gut. Something was wrong. She knew it as plainly as she knew her name.
“We don’t have time. We have to get down there.”
Taylor shook her head. “No way. Connie made it clear…”
“That we what? Wait forever? Come on, Taylor, something’s not right.”
Suddenly, a single shot reverberated through the air.
“What in the hell?” Delta squinted through the dark.
“Someone made a run at the cavern,” Taylor said, also squinted in the dark. After years of looking for valuables in the darkness of people’s homes, Taylor had the best night vision of anyone she knew. “And your wonder boy dropped him in his tracks. Damn, he’s good.”
Delta felt too cut off, too isolated from the others. She was blinded by the near darkness, frustrated by the waiting, and too conscious of the warning flares bursting in her stomach. If someone had made a break for the cavern, they were after something.
“Why would one of them try to get to the cavern?”
Taylor didn’t answer. Instead, she squinted more until she could make out the action at the mouth of the cavern.
“Oh no,” Taylor said, dropping her rifle. “Come on!” As fast as their legs could propel them through the dense underbrush, they ran toward the cavern, Delta plowing quickly past Taylor when she saw what it was the soldier was going for.
“Come on, Taylor, we have to get to it before they do!” Delta pumped her arms faster and harder as she scrambled down the hill and into the camp just as one of her guys took out one of theirs trying to make it to the mouth of the cavern.
“There goes another,” Connie cried, seeing a soldier jump from his foxhole and run toward the cavern. This time, the other men in the hole shot into the jungle darkness to cover him.
Carducci inhaled before slowly letting his breath out and squeezing the hair trigger of his rifle. Five steps from the foxhole, the soldier’s chest blew out, and he collapsed.
“What the fuck are they doing?” Carducci asked, not taking his eyes from the scope. Connie whipped the goggles to her right and saw Delta and Taylor rushing closer to the camp. Then, she swung the goggles back to the mouth of the cavern, searching for some reason why the soldiers had left the safety of their foxholes.
“I don’t know, but Delta does. She’s making a break for the cavern.”
“Shit! She knows something we don’t.”
“Oh my god,” Connie muttered when her eyes fell on a small box nearly invisible at the mouth of the cave.
“What?”
Connie peered hard into the goggles. “Those men are trying to get to a detonation device sitting in the front of the cave.
“Damn it! You don’t think Delta will…”
“If she does, Tony, she’ll set off the blast. Delta doesn’t know squat about explosives.”
“Then, what is she thinking? What’s she going to try to do?”
“I have no idea. But if she messes with that detonator, they’re all as good as dead.”
With thirty yards to go, a crash of gunfire exploded around the camp, and all Delta could do was hope Carducci was laying ground cover for them. If it wasn’t Carducci and Josh firing, there was no way in hell she and Taylor would make it to the cave.
Turning on the final burst of speed she had left, Delta sprinted into the open and leaped over the dead soldiers. Quite suddenly, she found herself inside the cave, her lungs heaving in and out, working for much-needed oxygen.
“Well?” came Taylor’s voice behind her, startling her. “You gonna unplug that thing? We don’t have all day.”
Delta shook her head. “Can’t. I don’t know diddly about explosives. If I did something wrong, I could blow us all up.”
“Great. Now what?” Taylor asked, pulling out a standard River Valley Police Department six cell flashlight from her bag and flicking it on, illuminating the cavern room where they stood.
“We grab Megan and get out of here before someone reaches that thing.” Delta hefted the HK to her shoulder and threaded her finger through the trigger guard. She was not about to be ambushed inside the cave.
“Can I ask if you’re sure you know what you’re doing, love?” Taylor stuck the flashlight under one arm before also readying her rifle.
Delta shook her head. “You can ask, but the only answer is I’m improvising. Want to bail?”
“And leave the love of my life to uncertainty? I think not. Come on, babe, I’ve come this far, don’t doubt me now.”
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Delta grinned at Taylor. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Let’s get Megan and get the hell out of here. I’m ready for a shower. This place really stinks.”
Delta nodded, carefully picking her way about fifty yards into the cave, when intensive gunfire rang out from its ¡ mouth. Delta’s gut told her everything she didn’t want to know. Grabbing Taylor’s hand, Delta started running.
“Don’t let go!” Delta yelled above the distinct pinging sound of bullets ricocheting against the rocks of the cave walls.
A few more shots rang out, and Delta pushed harder, trying to get as far away as possible from imminent danger. As she pushed her legs and lungs to their limits, Delta felt the explosion before she heard it.
The first explosion brought rocks tumbling down in front of the opening. Huge, two-ton, three-ton boulders fell heavily from above as the sides of the cavern collapsed in on itself, instantly blocking the cavern’s opening. With Taylor’s hand in hers, Delta ran through the tunnel in a panicked attempt to escape the succeeding blasts she was sure would come. It was as if the boulders falling behind them were nipping at their heels, chasing them deeper into the dark catacombs. Blast after blast rang in Delta’s ears, each one coming closer until a fina
l blast sounded directly above them. The deafening roar sounded like thunder crashing inside the cave. Air, choked with dust, became unbreathable, and Delta pulled her shirt up around her nose as a filter.
“Hang on!” Delta yelled, as the stone walls gave way after an eternity of sleep. The sound of crumbling stone filled her eardrums.
As an oven-sized boulder nicked past her shoulder, Delta felt Taylor’s hand slip from her own. Knocked off her feet by the tumbling rocks, Delta covered her head and lay in a fetal position while boulders, and sediment pounded. Losing in her struggle to stay conscious, the last thing she heard before blacking out was Megan screaming, “Delta!”
“Delta!” Connie cried, seeing the cavern collapse in on itself. “Oh my god! No! Delta!” Before Connie could take off, Carducci grabbed her by one arm, mindful of her martial arts skills, but determined to stop her from running down to the cave.
“You’ll be killed, Connie!”
Connie struggled to free her arm, but Carducci held on with all his might. “I don’t care! Let me go, goddamn it! Delta!”
Carducci wrapped his meaty arms more tightly around Connie and pulled her closer to him. “You may not care, but there’s a baby who does!”
Connie kicked out at him, striking a blow that would have felled a lesser man than Tony Carducci. “She’s in there!” Connie’s body shook violently, but Carducci didn’t let go.
“And we’re out here! We’re alive, Connie, and we need to stay that way. Delta needs us to stay that way. Listen to me!” Carducci squeezed Connie even harder, waiting for her to pull one of her patented maneuvers few could walk away from.
Before Connie could respond, a loud crashing noise startled them, and as Carducci reached for his rifle, Connie shook off his grasp and ran right into Josh and Sal.
“Whoa, Connie, where the hell you going?” Josh asked, holding her biceps in his large hands. Josh knew Connie’s famed ability to take down men his size, but that was the least of his worries now. He needed to keep her panic from spreading.
Storm Surge (Delta Stevens Crime Logs Book 6) Page 15