by S. L. Menear
Bob said, “The point is to secure you where the Black Sun can’t find you.”
Jeff stepped closer to Bob. “I need to get my crew home as soon as our airplane’s ready. If you think it’s safer for the actors to remain in military custody, that’s your call.”
“You and your crew are as much at risk as the actors. Get a ferry crew to fly the empty airplane back to Florida. We want to keep you and the Petra group together.”
“Bob, I appreciate your concern, but we have a small airline. Sam is laid up with injuries, and two of our captains have broken bones from an auto accident. If I can’t bring my crew home, the airline will have to cancel flights and lose big money.”
“You’d be putting future flights and passengers at risk if the Black Sun continues to target this crew to locate Sam.” Bob’s voice remained steady and calm.
Lance stepped forward. “How much time are we looking at before a military solution is achieved?”
“It’s too soon to know. Our intelligence network is searching for the Black Sun’s operations base. Once we locate it, we’ll eliminate the threat. Then you can go home.”
Jeff shook his head. “No offense, but I remember how long it took to find Osama bin Laden. We can’t wait ten years. We’ll give you two days. Then we’re taking our 767 home.”
Carlene stood between Lance and Jeff. “Forget about sending me to a black site. I’m stickin’ with the Texans.”
“Me too,” Rod said.
“Let them stay with the crew and book me a flight back to England,” Jack said.
Bob glanced around the room. “How about a compromise? Everyone stays here for two days, and then we’ll assess the situation. A lot can happen in that time. Please work with me.”
Everyone turned to Jeff.
“Okay, Bob, this is a reasonable alternative to the black site. Let’s see how things play out.”
Jeff shook Bob’s hand.
Northwest Sutherland
Our pilot dropped us off near the standing stones so we could get a blood scraping. I waited until the sample was collected before touching the blood-stained stone. A vision made me scream and fall back on the cold, damp ground.
Ross crouched down. “Sam, what happened?”
I flipped up my visor to wipe my tears.
“The bastards pulled off the fingernails on Mom’s left hand!” I bit my lower lip and sobbed.
“Sorry, lass, at least her injuries aren’t life threatening. Did you see where they took her?” Ross pulled me close.
I took a deep breath. “No, only what happened here.”
A frigid northwest wind whipped through as I sat against the center stone and closed my eyes. My body tingled from the ley lines’ energy in the standing stones as I emptied my mind and waited.
The vision that came was so dark I didn’t realize at first what I was seeing. A cave with a cathedral ceiling brought back memories of my recent summer vacation in the Highlands.
I shivered and opened my eyes to Ross.
“Mother might be in the same cave where the boys were held in August.”
Ross motioned Derek over. “Are you sure, lass? That place was cordoned off after the kidnappings.”
Derek’s jaw dropped. “Loren’s in the cave where Mike and I captured the guards?”
“I’m not positive, but it’s the perfect hiding place. No one’s allowed inside, so no one will look there.” I gave Ross a pleading look. “It can’t be far from here.”
“They’ll hear us in the helicopters. We’ll have to hike up and call in the choppers after we rescue Loren.” Ross signaled for the Lynx to pick us up.
Our pilot was the one who had flown Derek’s team to the cave in August. The second helicopter followed us as we hugged the terrain during the short flight southeast over the Highlands.
We flew around the mountain and approached low, landing in a remote valley near a dirt road that led up to the cave.
Soldiers from the second Lynx leaped out, and their chopper flew east down the valley. The plan was to refuel the helicopters at the airport in Inverness while the teams attempted a rescue mission.
When I leaped out of our Lynx, Ross grabbed my arm.
“Where do you think you’re going? Get back in.”
“You might need me. Besides, I have to pee. I can’t hold it in cold weather.”
Ross clenched his jaw and glared at me. He waved the chopper away so it wouldn’t draw the attention of the men who might be in the cave.
“My job is to keep you safe. You’re not going into combat. I’ll assign one of my men to look after you. We’ll collect you on the way back.”
Ross called a soldier over. “Chris, stay with Sam. Hide her in the trees near the dirt road and keep her safe.”
“Aye, Captain, I’ll protect her.”
I leaned into Chris. “We’ll follow them a little way up the road. Then I’ll cut into the brush so I can pee. Wait for me on the dirt road and don’t expect me to do my business in thirty seconds like you men do.”
“So how long do you need? Two minutes?”
“I’ll need plenty of time to loosen my holster and sheath straps so I can pull down my pants, do my thing, dry off, pull up my pants—you get the idea. Give me ten minutes. Otherwise, I’ll stress over you finding me with my pants down.”
“Ten minutes? Really?” Chris looked baffled.
“At least. I have to find a good place to squat first. Don’t rush me. We have plenty of time before the teams return.”
“All right, lass, but don’t stray too far. If anything happens to you, Ross will skin me alive.”
We followed Ross up the road until he stopped to gather his men for a quick briefing.
I trotted into the trees where I accomplished my pee-pee mission in record time. I sneaked up to catch Ross’s conversation with Derek at the end of the briefing.
“Sam and Loren aren’t going to be happy about being held in a MI6 safe house under guard. Loren will want to be at Duncan’s side, but she won’t be safe until we find the Black Sun’s base and neutralize them,” Ross said.
“Aye, the DSF said they attacked the people from Sam’s Petra tour in Naples, which proves they’ll target anyone who might know where Sam’s hiding. Her family, crew, and passengers are in danger.”
I slipped away and ran for the narrow trail I had taken on the motorcycle with Charlie in August. The timing would be close, but my way was shorter. If I ran hard, I would get there first. Failure was not an option. I bolted up the mountain.
Charlie and I never told anyone about the back entrance to the cave. It was too narrow for men to crawl through, and its opening into the cavern was hidden by rocks we had rolled into place after our escape.
Before I entered the cave, I took a couple of minutes to catch my breath so I wouldn’t make noise while crawling inside. This time would be even scarier without night-vision gear. I couldn’t let my claustrophobia stop me. Mom needed me. I blocked the fear from my mind and focused on the mission.
Time was short, so I forged ahead into the pitch-black cave on my hands and knees. My only consolation—only one passage. I couldn’t get lost.
In minutes, I found the end and moved a rock enough to see inside the lighted cavern. Two guards sat at the far end. Mom was tethered beneath my vantage point, four feet above the cavern floor.
Gunfire erupted outside.
The guards jumped up and pulled their weapons.
“Hans, stay with the prisoner. If they make it past me, kill her.”
A guard ran into the passage to the main entrance.
Hans focused on the dark passage leading outside, instead of my mother, who was tied to a bracket fixed to the stone wall.
Ross’s team was probably seconds away from charging in.
The guard had a Kevlar vest, so I rested my pistol on a rock, took careful aim, and put a bullet into the back of his head before he could turn around.
I moved the bigger rocks and dropped down beside Mom.
&nbs
p; “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll get you out of here!”
“Sam!”
I cut her loose with my combat knife, coiled the rope, and shoved it into my cargo pocket.
“You have to be quiet and do exactly what I say. When I boost you up into that opening, crawl as fast as you can until you’re outside. I’ll be right behind you. Go!”
I boosted her into the passage, then grabbed the dead guard’s cell phone, turned it off, and pocketed it.
Inside the narrow passage, I moved the rocks back in place to obscure the exit.
Nineteen
Earlier, Ross scanned the summit fifty feet above the cave. No enemy helicopter. He sent a man around the west side to climb to the top and check for guards while the teams hid in the forest. There were no vehicles, and the only sound was the cold wind rustling the trees.
The climber called Ross. “No guards up here. The summit above the cave has a level area where our helicopters can land later.”
“Their chopper may have dropped them off there. Guards could be hiding in the shadows inside the cave entrance. The helicopter that took Loren had room for four men plus her and the pilot. Drop a rock in front of the cave to see if we can lure them out,” Ross whispered into his mike.
Secure in rappelling gear and hidden behind boulders above the cave, the soldier dropped a big stone. It bounced and rolled close to the entrance.
Two guards stepped out and looked up. Ross’s team took them out with head shots and hid their bodies behind the trees.
“Team Two, hold your positions in the trees. Derek and I will wait on either side of the entrance. Let’s see if anyone else comes out before we sneak inside.”
Ross and his men waited.
A third guard ran to the entrance and stopped. When he cautiously stepped out to look for the missing guards, Ross kicked the weapon out of his hand. He tried to yell a warning, but Derek reached around from behind him and slit his throat.
A gunshot reverberated from inside the cave.
“Team Two, guard the entrance. Team One, follow me.” Ross and Derek rushed through the long winding cave to the cavern entrance where Ross almost tripped over a dead guard.
“Looks empty. Where is she?” Ross said.
Team One arrived and spread out to search every dark corner.
Derek paused at the bracket fixed into the rock wall. “Ross, over here.”
Ross joined him. “What?”
Derek pointed at blood drops and a brass casing beneath the bracket. “Someone cut her loose and shot the guard.”
“Where the bloody hell is she? There’s only one way out,” Ross said, exasperated.
“Maybe not. Remember Petra. Call Chris so you can ask Sam.”
Ross jogged outside and called Chris.
“Uh, sorry, Captain, I can’t find her. She stepped away for a pee and never came back. I’ve been hunting for her ever since. She seems to have vanished like she did last August.”
“Get your sorry arse up here. Now!” Ross took a breath and tried to calm down. Think.
He decided to call Laird Moncreiffe. “James, I need to speak to Charlie. It’s an emergency.”
“Hang on, I’ll get him.”
The excited voice of the twelve-year-old boy came over the phone. “Hello, Captain Sinclair.”
“I have a bit of an emergency where you and Sam rescued the kidnapped lads in that cave. Is there another way out of the big cavern?”
“Aye, there’s a narrow passage above the bracket in the stone. We rolled rocks in front of the opening to hide it from the kidnappers. Your men are probably too big to crawl through it, but if you turn left out of the main entrance and hike around the mountain, you’ll find it.”
“Thanks, Charlie, you’ve been a big help.” Ross pocketed his phone as he ran through a mental inventory of his men. Even the shorter ones had broad shoulders and barrel chests. He jogged back to the cavern.
“Sam has vanished. I called Charlie. He said there’s another passage above the bracket.”
As Ross searched for an opening, a puff of air blew past his face. “Here!”
He pulled out rocks and dropped them on the cavern floor.
Derek shined a flashlight into the passage. “Looks too narrow for us. A woman would fit through there. Maybe Loren remembered Sam telling her about this secret passage.”
“No, Sam crawled through there, shot the guard, and rescued her mother. That brass you found was from a 9-mil Sig like the one I gave Sam.”
“Why would she do this?” Derek looked perplexed.
“I don’t know. Last August, her brothers told me she always has a good reason for everything. It can’t be that she didn’t trust us to rescue her mother. This has to be about something else. We need to double-time it east around the mountain to where this passage exits.” Ross led his men out of the cavern.
Chris ran up to him. “Ross, I’m so sorry.”
“Stay here and watch the cave in case they come back.” Ross ran east into the trees.
His teams fanned out and found the passage’s exit in fifteen minutes. No sign of Loren or Sam, though.
Derek jogged up to Ross. “There’s a hiking trail on the other side of these boulders. It leads down the mountain.”
“That must be where they went. Let’s go.”
“Hurry, Mom, we have to get down this mountain before they find the secret passage!”
Mom stumbled over roots, rocks, and ruts in the trail, but she kept going.
Fifteen minutes later, we ran out of the trees across from the old church I had used to hide the children in August. I had hoped the same van was still there, but the driveway was empty.
I took a moment to catch my breath. “Come on, Mom.”
We ran to the church, and I used my combat knife to jimmy the ancient lock.
“Mom, run into the bathroom and wash your hands so your wounds don’t get infected. I’ll wait by the door. Hurry!” I looked out the door and saw a lone horse grazing in a pasture.
I rushed to the ladies’ room where Mom was drying her hands. She grimaced when the paper towels brushed her left fingers.
“I’m sorry you’re hurting, but we have to escape this valley fast. Let’s go!”
We headed for the pasture.
When a brisk wind funneled through the valley, I grabbed Mom’s arm. “Is your short coat warm enough?”
“Yes, it’s heavy wool. I think I’m too scared to be cold anyway.” She squeezed my arm.
Midway along the dirt road, we found the pasture gate. I whistled, and the horse walked near us. We lured him closer with handfuls of long grass from along the fence.
Mom held his halter and petted him while I tied the rope I had saved from the cave to the rings on his halter. I positioned him beside the wood fence for easy mounting and helped Mom up behind me.
“Hang on, Mom, we’re going to that isolated grass-strip airport where I took the Cub in August.” I urged the horse into a canter.
When we neared the hangars, Mom said, “It looks deserted, no vehicles or sounds of activity.”
“Probably because it’s a weekday.” I pulled the lead ropes, and the horse slowed to a trot.
“Should we be worried about security guards?” Mom asked.
“No guards. A remote grass airport in the Highlands with small general aviation airplanes wouldn’t be considered a target for terrorists.” I glanced over my shoulder for Ross’s men but saw no one.
We trotted past the open T-hangars in search of a fast airplane. A Swearingen SX300 stood proud in the center hangar. I tied the horse to a support pole between the hangars and helped Mom down.
We entered the hangar, which was shaped like a T with the widest part open and the sides and back enclosed. The aircraft was backed in for the tail to fit in the narrow end.
I forced open a lockbox on the wall with my combat knife, took the aircraft keys, and unlocked the canopy. Not many pilots had the skill to fly this high-performance two-seat rocket. My la
te father had owned one, and it flew like a fighter.
I was relieved to see the aircraft’s fuel tanks were full, a common practice to prevent condensation. The GPS navigation unit in the instrument panel made planning the flight easy when I switched on the battery power and checked for the nearest airport to York with the runway length and facilities necessary to execute my plan.
I pulled off my helmet and stashed it behind the seats.
“Climb in, Mom. This is like the one Dad had. Sit in the left seat. It’s designed for the pilot to fly from the right side. I’ll be right back. I need to check something.”
I walked outside where she couldn’t see or hear me and pulled out the mobile phone I had taken from the guard in the cave. I turned it on and punched in a number I had memorized recently.
When I finished the brief call, I selected the only number programmed into the phone. A man with a German accent answered.
“Hello, my name’s Samantha Starr. I think you’re looking for me. I’d like to make a deal.” I told him my plan, and he agreed. I left the phone turned on atop the wheel chocks I had moved to the side wall in the hangar.
After I untied the airplane, I strapped in and found a logbook in the map compartment. I left a note for the owner there and wrote one for Ross, which I tore out and pocketed.
The 300-hp Lycoming engine started on the first try. I checked the wind sock and taxied for a takeoff to the northeast. We thundered down the grass runway and shot into the sky.
I continued straight over the valley until we reached a safe altitude to clear the peaks. The Lynx helicopters were low in the distance as I turned south and hugged the mountains. I set the cruise speed at 250 knots and headed for England.
I had to fly under radar and avoid obstacles. The sun was nearing the horizon. It would be a race to complete the flight before nightfall.
“Sam, I’m afraid to ask…. Did Duncan die?”
“Duncan survived the surgery and is expected to recover. I’m taking you to see him. He’s at the York hospital.”
“Oh, thank God! I was so worried about him.”
“Mom, I’m so sorry about your hand. They tortured you to find me. This was my fault.” I bit my lip.