She slid down at a slower pace, not understanding why he wanted her so close to the rock face until his hands grabbed her waist. She let go and he set her down on the ground. If he hadn’t pulled her, she would’ve landed in a thicket of some sort.
His fingers worked rapidly on the knots around her waist. “Quietly,” he whispered, his lips against her hair. That was when she spotted the flickering light just past the cement pads. Freed of the rope, Shawn’s arms moved lightning fast, pulling the rope until it fell completely from above and dropped at their feet. She turned around so he could stuff it back in her pack rapidly. The wind whistled so hard now she could hardly hear herself think, but she thought an engine roared nearby.
His fingers reached for her hand. “Work our way around to the control building. Stay close to the rock.”
They made it about ten feet, single file, behind prickly bushes poking into their arms and legs, when a giant beam of light bounced on the rock above them, narrowly missing them. “Shawn, they have those radios, remember? Someone down here is helping the gunmen on the plateau look for us.”
He grumbled. “Great.”
Two steps forward, the rock wall had a five-foot-tall vertical crevice, maybe two feet wide. “Can you fit in there?”
Without discussing it, he ducked, twisted sideways and stepped inside. She followed him wordlessly. The air seemed warmer and drier than she’d expect. Whether from the break in wind or the geothermal heat, she didn’t know. She didn’t care. She wanted more warmth and for her nose to stop feeling like an ice cube, despite her efforts at keeping the lower half of her face tucked in the coat. Another larger, wider crevice opened up to the left.
Shawn stepped into the space. “This way the light won’t catch us. Seems this cave winds deeper, but how about we stop here for a minute while they look?”
He guided her steps in the darkness until they fitted snugly, facing each other, in a narrow space. “I hope there aren’t any hungry animals hiding in there.”
“Do you have your Taser handy?”
She twisted to unzip the backpack and slipped the Taser into her coat pocket, but her forehead bumped against his chest in the process. She readjusted the backpack and faced him. “Sorry.”
He leaned over and kissed her forehead as if to say it was okay. She didn’t mind, though. They’d just been through a lot together and were so close to the nightmare ending. It was perfectly normal to show some sort of affection. Especially in the form of a friendly kiss to the forehead that didn’t mean anything.
The warmth of his breath moved to her cheek. Her heart jolted and her breath caught. She was scared to believe the kiss to the forehead meant more. He kissed her cheek. She closed her eyes. Just as she was about to ask him what he was doing, his lips brushed gently over her mouth.
Heat rushed through her of an entirely different kind. Her hands reached for the front of his coat and she pulled him closer. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and his kiss deepened. Light flickered through her closed eyes.
They broke apart. Where could it be coming from? Deeper within the rock wall, the light reflected a second time, except it wasn’t originating from the initial crevice they’d entered. There went their chance at talking about that kiss.
“Shawn?” she whispered. The flicker illuminated an orange cord wrapped tightly around the curve of rock. She looked down at her feet and spotted it behind her heel, weaving all the way outside. The light intensified into more of a glow around the corner. A shadow crossed it, interrupting the beam. Shawn looked at both the entrance to the cave and the corner. She imagined he was debating their options. She didn’t have anything constructive to offer.
Her mind, body and heart were reeling from the last few days, especially the past few minutes. Her skin felt raw from the wind, in a way similar to the blistering sensation from a sunburn. Ironic. She desperately wanted to change clothes or get a warm blanket. The temperature had dipped enough that the snow had stuck to her trousers in clumps, frozen, not melting but still there, ensuring she would stay chilled even with shelter over her head.
Maybe the glow around the corner meant warmth. The crevice also had flickering lights. They were trapped. The light outside definitely came from the gunmen, but the light from within was still a mystery. Shawn turned and tiptoed toward the glow. At the corner he waved her back. He removed the gun from his holster and held it up to his chin.
Jackie stayed behind him but followed his example by holding the trigger of the Taser, though she kept her hand within the coat pocket, as the dry warmth of the pocket was too tempting to give up. She kept her eyes on the opening to the outdoors, lest someone sneak up on them.
Shawn peeked his head around the corner. “Pete?” Shawn’s voice came out in a whisper. Without giving Jackie enough time to react, Shawn strode around the corner. “Pete!” He didn’t quite shout, but his loud whisper bounced around the cave.
Jackie hustled around the corner after him. A man wearing the Bureau’s winter uniform crouched in front of a light the size of a basketball, with a small chisel and a brush in his hand. Presumably, this was Pete the archaeologist. The dirt around him had been excavated into a perfectly square recessed floor, with various pots and artifacts covered in dust on their side. A squat statue roughly a foot high sat right in front of him.
The man stiffened. “Shawn?” His eyes widened, and he frowned, then straightened out of his crouch to standing.
“Are you okay?” Shawn asked. He put his gun back in the holster, but kept his hand on it as he approached. “Have they hurt you?”
“Uh...no. But you shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”
“Yeah, neither should you. How long have they had you?” Shawn shook his head, staring at the artifacts. “I knew they were looters. Come on. You can tell us on our way out.”
A space heater across the room practically put her feet on autopilot. The orange power cord had split into other extension cords. The engine sound she’d heard earlier had to be from a generator. She stood in front of the heater, as close as she could without setting her clothes on fire, as Pete set down the tools in the dirt and licked his lips. “I’ve lost track of time. Listen, they’re always watching the entrance. I don’t know how you got in, but you should leave while you have a chance.”
Shawn reached his hand out for Pete to grab. “You’re right, but you’re coming with us. We have a plan.”
Pete hesitated for half a second, and Jackie might’ve imagined it but she thought Pete glanced at Shawn’s gun before he nodded. Maybe he wanted to make sure Shawn could deliver on his promises before taking a chance at escape. She’d seen firsthand evidence that the gunmen out there—especially the bald man—had no problem killing to suit their needs. If Pete thought the safest answer was to do what the looters wanted, though, he was sorely mistaken. “I saw one of those men murder someone,” she said. “And they’ve been trying to kill me ever since, likely because I’m a witness. You’ve probably seen too much, as well, Mr. Wooledge. Give those men what you want, and they still might kill you.”
The click of a gun sent chills up her spine.
“Finally, a smart girl. I get so tired of people underestimating me. Too bad for you that you came back to test me.” The bald man, the one who’d killed the employee, aimed his weapon right at her chest.
THIRTEEN
Shawn stepped in front of Jackie in one move, his gun pointing at the man. “Bureau ranger. Drop your weapon.”
“No!” Pete waved his hands in front of Shawn.
The gunman frowned at Pete. “What are you—”
“Don’t shoot them,” Pete interrupted. “I promised I’d finish the job. If you shoot them, I’ll stop helping you. You’d have to kill me.”
The man squinted hard at Pete, his weapon still trained on Shawn, as if weighing his options. “Fine. If he puts down his weapon.”
Pete
caught Shawn’s eyes and nodded, as if he had his own plan that Shawn should follow. He felt Jackie’s fingers grasping the back of his coat. She stayed close to him, closer than usual. “Don’t do it,” she whispered.
He didn’t trust the gunman any more than Jackie did, but he also didn’t see another solution. If he tried to shoot, the gunman might still get off a shot and hit Pete or Jackie. The man stepped closer. “I agree not to kill you and the girl if you drop your weapon. What will it be?”
Shawn set down his weapon and kicked it over, hoping the man would stay away from Jackie. The man picked up the gun. “You two sit down. Against the wall.” He waved the gun at Pete. “Come here. A word.”
Jackie slipped behind Shawn and angled herself on his left side, closest to the gunman. She pressed herself so closely into his side that he had no choice but to put his right arm around her shoulder as they sank to the ground, all eyes on Pete approaching the gunman. “I don’t trust him,” she muttered, barely loud enough for Shawn to hear.
No surprise. He didn’t trust the gunman, either. If he’d killed Bob, the associate field manager, and Darrell, the detectorist, there’d be nothing to prevent him from killing all of them once they were out of an area that could ricochet bullets. Jackie moved her right arm diagonally to her left shoulder and grabbed his hand that was resting there, as if she wanted to hold hands.
The motion surprised him but he eagerly held her hand. He hoped with one squeeze she understood how sorry he was that he’d failed. His declaration that he’d only rely on himself, that unconditional love wasn’t for him, seemed so foolish now. He’d wasted his time shielding himself, under the delusion that as long as he took care of the land, he’d be satisfied enough. Two days of time with Jackie, the woman who despite the years gone by still knew him best, and his heart felt renewed and desperate to have a chance to live life to its fullest. But there was nothing in his own wisdom that he could do. They’d lost and would have to rely only on God and the hope that the gunman would make a mistake.
Jackie didn’t seem to get any of that sentiment from their brief moment of handholding. In fact, she seemed annoyed. She tugged at his fingers, sliding his hand down the side of her arm. He finally understood what she was trying to communicate when she placed his hand at the side of her waist. His fingers brushed against the hard plastic outline of something in her pocket.
The Taser! She was trying to get his hand close to her pocket where she’d placed the Taser. She tilted her head and looked up at him with questions in her eyes. He couldn’t explain the problem without the gunman hearing, though. If the man still had a gun pointed at one of them, using the Taser inside the cave would be too dangerous. The man might be able to get a bullet or two off, especially if he was facing them, before hitting the ground.
“Get back to work,” the man barked at Pete. Pete turned around, his eyes flashing with anger, but he didn’t reply as he walked back toward them. The man stepped forward. “Just so you know, Carl and Spencer are on their way back here with the trailer. The blizzard has arrived and is intensifying by the minute, so this will be the final trip. No exceptions. If you know what’s good for you—” his eyes darted to Shawn and Jackie before returning to Pete “—have them help.”
Pete set his jaw and turned to stare at the gunman an unusually long time. The gunman raised an eyebrow, as if unsure how to make Pete do what he wanted for a moment. “I’m going to check on Carl’s progress,” the man said. “But I’ll be right at the entrance.” He waved the second gun at Shawn. “Anything suspicious and I get trigger-happy.”
The moment the man had turned his back on them, Pete knelt down, as if to start working on the antiquities again, but he whispered to Shawn. “His satellite phone doesn’t work in the cave—the rock walls are too thick unless he gets close to the entrance. While he’s busy you can tell me—what’s your plan to escape? Is it ruined now since he got your gun? Is backup on the way?”
Shawn blinked, unsure of what to say that wouldn’t dash all hope. He needed Pete to stay positive and focused and not try anything stupid. Being held at gunpoint pretty much changed everything, though.
“Before we tell you,” Jackie hastily said, “what surprises might we be dealing with? How did you end up here, anyway?”
“Jackie?” That same look of distrust she’d flashed at him all those years ago appeared in her eyes now, except it was aimed at Pete. And why did she insinuate they still had a plan to escape? With a gunman blocking their only route, there was little chance they could get to the control room anymore and call for help. Even if they were able to stealthily take away the man’s satellite phone, they would need to get outside for it to work.
“He can tell us while he works.” Jackie leaned forward, away from the rock wall, and offered a small, encouraging smile to Pete. Shawn was baffled at her response but stayed silent.
Pete looked over his shoulder, making sure the gunman was still far enough away. “You know Bob Hutchison, the associate field manager?”
Shawn felt a little sick. “Not well,” he said. Though it was enough to recognize the man’s profile, dead, in Jackie’s car.
“During the feasibility and impact study required before approving the geothermal permit, he found this place. He apparently realized what he’d stumbled on—”
“And what’s that?” Jackie asked.
Pete flashed Shawn a questioning look as if asking why he should talk to Jackie. He was tempted to apologize for her natural journalistic tendencies, but he’d give her a few more minutes because her instinct seemed right. The more they knew about what they were dealing with, the better they could plan an escape. Though they were running out of time. If those ATVs turned around off the plateau and came back on the corridor path, they had minutes to spare before more gunmen arrived.
“An Oregon Trail campsite,” Pete answered. “For whatever reason, maybe illness, lightening their load or an ambush outside of the cave, they left a vast number of items behind. Once the looters Bob had hired started digging, though, we found an entirely new layer underneath.” He gestured behind him. “Tribal antiquities. Untouched stonework—I’d have to guess from the 1300s.”
Pete’s eyes lit up. “If this weren’t for looters, I’d be thrilled at the discovery. I’m not ready to say which tribe, but I know enough to recognize this statue is the crowning jewel. At least half a million dollars for her alone. I’ve almost got her free.” Pete blinked rapidly. “Anyway, Bob realized the dig was bigger than anticipated, so he started sabotaging the construction to give him more time without being discovered. I got curious, found out what he was doing, and before I knew it, I was a hostage.”
“How many other looters? Gunmen, specifically,” Shawn asked.
Pete shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. They kept me working.”
“We know there’s three for sure.” The radio squawked, and Shawn held a finger over his mouth for a moment to listen, but he couldn’t hear the conversation at the edge of the cave. Frustration built. “Have you counted more?”
“Did you know the assistant field manager was murdered?” Jackie interjected.
Pete raised an eyebrow, but it seemed more out of irritation than surprise. “Like I said, the site was more lucrative than Bob realized. The looters disagreed with how he was managing things and killed him.” He turned to Shawn. “It was a sad day.”
Jackie leaned forward, away from Shawn’s arm. “So the storm approaching worked in their favor, right? They knew the park and all the roads would be closed. They could make multiple trips with the trailer and ATVs and never be spotted or tracked. Up until the storm, during the construction, they’d been stashing everything at your field trailer, right? Which is perfect, because no one would suspect artifacts in a Bureau trailer would be stolen property.”
Pete shifted uncomfortably. “They took me hostage. I don’t know what they were doing or planning.”
Shawn nodded. “So the three gunmen we’ve spotted is all you know about?”
“Yes, yes, that sounds right.”
“You didn’t know what they were doing in your own field trailer?” Jackie placed her left hand down on the ground and moved to a crouched position. “The sabotage has been going on quite some time, so the looting had to have started before that. Right? That’s what you said.”
“They weren’t at my field trailer before this storm.” He shrugged. “When are you going to answer my question? Is help on the way?”
“What about the boss?” she fired back.
Shawn’s pulse raced at the way she was questioning him, almost as if it was more an interrogation than an interview. A crunch of shoes on rocks pulled his attention. The gunman rounded the corner and walked toward them, carrying a radio in one hand and a gun in the other.
“Or maybe I’m looking at the boss.” Jackie lowered her voice to a whisper. “Let’s speak plainly. There’s no way you think we’re getting out of here alive, is there, Pete?”
Shawn reared back. “Jackie, the man’s a hostage and my friend—” But the moment he said the words, pieces that hadn’t made sense started clicking into place. Was she really insinuating that Pete was the one in charge of the looting? Could it be true?
He had a sinking feeling that it was too late to matter. A bullet cracked through the air. A sharp searing pain threw him backward and he slammed against the dirt floor, gasping for air.
* * *
Jackie sprinted forward. The Taser had met the mark. She hadn’t realized the gunman would be able to get off a shot when the darts made contact, but at least he’d been way off on his aim. Five seconds. She had only five seconds to disarm him.
She shoved the Taser in her pocket and stomped on the man’s wrist until he released the gun. Then she kicked it away. She leaned forward and grabbed the gun he’d taken from Shawn, which he’d stuck in his front waistband. She then leaped five feet away to pick up the kicked gun before the man could move to attack her.
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