by J. R. Rain
“So, everything in there is fake?” I asked.
“Yes...well, maybe not everything, Mr. Caine. I can’t give away all my secrets, now can I?” He laughed. “But it would take a real expert to know the difference between the frauds and genuine articles.”
Whether or not we had been duped into falling for fool’s gold, or not, I instinctively knew our playtime was almost up. Despite Badri’s laughter, the anger that went into smashing the fake medallion confirmed as much. I allowed my careful gaze to wander systematically around us, looking for some avenue of escape despite the likelihood of not living long enough to utilize one if I found it.
Nothing. Not a damned exit close to us, beyond shallow cave rooms filled with boxes of guns, and older barrels of what looked like...gunpowder? It was a fluke as to how I determined this, and the only clue came from a break near the base of one of the barrels. A small pile had leaked out onto the cave floor surrounding it.
I noticed this without hearing most of what Badri had said next, although almost all of his words were directed at me. Something about our time was up, and that I could have my passport to hang onto for sentimental reasons while his men gunned us all down, as our execution was about to commence.
“Sure,” I said, almost absently. He eyed me curiously as I took my passport from him. Meanwhile, the wheels were turning furiously in my head. If I could obtain a flame—even if it came from a gun flare, or just a spark, I might have a slim chance of getting us out of this mess yet. “Thanks,” I added.
He motioned for thirteen of his henchmen to take their places in front of everyone but me, and they aimed their weapons at chest level. As for me, Badri positioned his knife as if ready to fillet my midsection. He obviously wanted to bring about prolonged suffering in my case. Regardless, in the next few moments we’d all be dead...
I happened to notice two of the gunmen were smoking cigarettes, and a third—the creep I had traded gunfire with in the treasure room’s exit to the sewer tunnel—was chewing on the butt of another. With no more time to work things out thoroughly, I rolled with the moment.
“You know, Badri...back in the day, prisoners in places like Alcatraz were given a final cigarette...a last smoke before being executed,” I said, determined to sound as calm as possible. “It was considered a courtesy of the victorious over the vanquished. I could sure use a smoke...and the damned broad who stranded us here left me without a single cigarette. What do you say...one last smoke for a dying man who’s got not much else to look forward to?”
Honestly, the way he looked at me made me think he might grab one of the assault rifles and riddle my body with bullets himself. But, after a long moment, he smiled again and chuckled, somewhat warmly this time. Perhaps he pictured the older classic movies known throughout the world...the ones featuring famous actors like Paul Newman and Steve McQueen as cons waiting to die behind bars...with one last cigarette to look forward to.
“You make a good point,” he said, finally, still chuckling. “We will allow you a fag, and then you will die a happy man, Mr. Caine? I think not, but it will allow me one more moment of amusement at your expense...Singh, come here and give Mr. Caine your fag.”
The greasy pirate approached me. He made a show of chewing on the end of the cigarette. Nice. Then, he pulled the mess out of his mouth and gave it to me, grinning wide enough to reveal those nasty gold teeth framed in decay. Only this time, I got a whiff of his horrible breath, as well. He motioned for me to put the slobbery butt between my lips before he’d light it. Yes, I expected to hurl my meager breakfast—especially when the taste was worse than the odor of the man before me. But, admirably, I kept my composure—enough to where I managed a glance at Ishi that, after years of familiarity, I hoped he understood the subtle message I sent to him.
He did.
Singh lit the cigarette, and I offered a silent prayer of thanksgiving that I only had to exhale twice to get the tip’s flame fiery hot. Then, the greatest acting feat I’ve ever attempted commenced. Pretending I had incorrectly inhaled, I doubled over, coughing. But before I grabbed at my midsection as if in a spasm, I flicked the butt through the air toward the gunpowder keg.
Now, successful looting is a lot like life. One can’t expect to make it past life’s curve balls without a backup plan...and, yes, I had one. After all, who in their right mind would count on an infinitesimal chance at success coming through with a damp cigarette traveling along an uneven mid-air course for twenty feet?
Exactly. Me neither.
Anyway, when I stood back up, I had my Baretta in hand. It didn’t matter if the gun was operational or not, as long as I got the barrel into Badri’s neck and my body behind him before he could stab me. From there, he’d be my bitch, and everyone would have to play by Nick Caine’s rules instead of Badri Dumbass’s whims, who fell for a ruse he should’ve sensed was coming.
Things worked out even better than I envisioned. I eluded his dagger’s serrated edge without incurring any cuts—not even to my Hindi garb that he’d made fun of. And, just as I pulled around him, a loud explosion erupted from the shallow cave where the smoldering cigarette had landed.
Chapter Twelve
“Don’t fucking try anything or your brains will decorate the stalactites!” I hissed in Badri’s right ear from behind. I shoved the barrel of the Baretta deeper into his neck to where I was certain it brought a painful sting. “Tell all of your men to throw their weapons into your damned sewer...do it now!”
Everyone was in shock, cowering slack-jawed from both my turning the tables on our malevolent host and the explosion that had ignited the tents closest to the gunpowder. Flames were spreading across the other kegs, and at any moment a much bigger explosion would follow.
Naturally, the part of me grateful for the prolonged stay on Planet Earth urged me to get us all out of this place quickly. It certainly meant the rest of the victims in our group had to immediately become aggressors.
“Okay...I will tell them,” he whined, acting demure for a moment. But then he tried to squirm out of my grasp to where he could stab me with his dagger. I eluded his latest swipe and shoved the gun harder into his neck.
“Ishi, cut off his hands,” I said.
Ishi immediately withdrew his own trusty knife.
“Wait, stop!”
“This ain’t like the movies where you’ll hear an audible gun click to let you know I mean business. My gun’s safety is already released and the Beretta’s ready to fire at any time. So the next time you try to filet me, or do anything else I’m likely to frown upon, your spirit will be watching your body and what’s left of your head fall to the ground before the devil carts your sorry ass off to hell. Do you understand me?”
One of my wordier threats, I know, but it seemed to do the trick. This time Badri nodded emphatically and then shouted in his preferred gibberish to his stunned crew, who seemed alarmed by the sudden panic in his tone. I continued to apply pressure to the sensitive area between his throat and ear until every last one of the bastards tossed their weapons into the dark waters of the local latrine. Meanwhile, his stubbornness cost us precious seconds...a second explosion erupted from another gunpowder keg.
“Ishi, come over here quickly! Help me tie this asshole’s hands!” I twisted Badri’s dagger from his hand and kicked it away once it landed on the cave floor. Now that the stakes were evened out, the unarmed gunmen received a bevy of kicks and punches from the ladies in our group. Gotta like gals with some spunk. “Norema...you and your lovely comrades need to keep showing these guys the same kindness you extended to Ishi and me yesterday. You got that?”
“Yes...I’ve got that,” she replied, smiling for the first time since before we left the lagoon.
She delivered a sucker punch to the gut of the one named Singh, dropping him to his knees, and when he looked up at her in hurt surprise she spit in his face. It was a bit more than what I expected, and I worried for a moment he might retaliate and start a brawl complicating our escape pl
ans. Not to mention we’d likely be blown to smithereens if we didn’t get out of there right away. To my surprise the pirate cowered from her, as if seriously afraid of what she might do next. Bad men without weapons are often reduced to cowards groveling for mercy.
“Aafreen, it’s time for you to lead us out of here,” I said, watching the fire in the cave quickly spread to another shallow cave with wooden slats sticking out of it. “Take us to the boat you told us about before Badri so rudely interrupted our journey!”
The kid and his cohorts looked greatly relieved by the turn of events, and Dinesh had gathered the two younger boys from Badri’s palace. Two more explosions nearly sent us all diving into the sewer. Small rocks and dust clouds descended on us from the cavern’s ceiling, bringing to mind the porous tunnel walls we encountered earlier. Stability could be a concern, especially when shaken by powerful explosions. I had counted more than twenty aged barrels that likely held gunpowder in the adjacent cave room, and there could be even more in the other cave. Fire and dark smoke were billowing out of both caves. Surely, we had less than a minute before a much bigger explosion hastened the destruction of this place.
“Follow me and Kintu!” shouted Aafreen, brushing past the pirates who eyed him angrily. He had gained confidence from the gun given to him by one of the younger boys. “We’ll take the path I told you about. If we leave now, we can make it out in time!”
“You’ll never get away with this!” whispered our angered captive, hoarsely, after I eased the barrel against his neck. In the dimness, I saw the tattooed bruise from the 9mm barrel. “I have powerful friends who will hunt you down in California, Nicholas Caine!”
Suddenly, an immense explosion far greater than the others shook the tunnel walls severe enough to make them creak, as if a collapse was pending. Only a fool would believe they weren’t about to collapse.
“That’s Nick Caine, and hopefully they’ll call me in advance when they decide to stop by for a visit.” I spun Badri around and punched him full in the face, perhaps harder than I’d ever hit anyone.
He flopped straight to his back. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to admire my handiwork, literally, as Ishi was now dragging me away.
“Let’s get the hell out of the truck,” he said, as we scrambled behind the others.
“Dodge,” I said, struggling to keep up. “The hell out of Dodge.”
“Same thing,” said Ishi.
“No, it’s not—”
“The boat is straight ahead of us!” shouted Norema, excitedly, looking back at us. Nearly everyone had made it to the beach. “It’s—Oh my God, Nick and Ishi—watch out!”
Her look of elation turned to terror as we prepared to exit the tunnel’s widening mouth. We’d reach salvation in just a moment. But, even before her warning, I felt a powerful draft coming up fast from behind us...a draft heated to the point of excruciating pain. A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed a huge fireball was on its way.
I grabbed Ishi and pulled him with me as I leaped. We almost made it, perhaps even unscathed...But then the final explosion sent us flying through the air. Flying into daylight.
Chapter Thirteen
Hard to tell how long I was dazed.
My first waking impression was the smell of something burnt mixed with my previous stench when I raised my hand to shield the brightness hurting my eyes. Lying on my back in the sand, I heard the ocean’s waves beyond my head, maybe twenty feet away.
“Nick...can you hear me?”
It was Norema calling to me, and as I removed my arm from my eyes the brightness eased. Her shadowed form was coming into view, and she sounded much closer.
“I think he’s coming to, Ishi,” she said. My little buddy joined her inside my direct view, along with Aafreen. They all gazed down at me. At least they were smiling. In light of what we’d dealt with during the past twenty-four hours, I took this as a good sign. “Can you sit up?”
“I think so.” I gingerly raised myself to a sitting position. I faced the tunnel’s mouth that bore scorch marks from the blast. In front of it sat Badri and his dirty dozen, huddled closely together. Kintu and Dinesh guarded them at gunpoint. “How long was I out?”
“Almost an hour,” said Ishi. “They say I was out for nearly twenty minutes.” He sounded proud, as if his younger stamina had just successfully kicked mine soundly, as obviously it had done.
“An hour, huh? What about the boat?”
“We are loading it now,” said Norema. Her smile faded slightly. “There isn’t room for everyone. Either our sons must stay behind, or...”
She didn’t finish. I stood up, feeling a sharp pain in my back. An affirmative nod from Ishi told me how I’d landed awkwardly when blown out of the tunnel. I must’ve tweaked it, giving me something to distract my thoughts from what Norema’s words meant. I looked toward the small yacht anchored next to the shore. Beautiful boat that must’ve belonged to some poor sap...maybe part of the wonderful sewer system as described by Badri.
“Ishi and I will stay,” I said, after he shrugged his shoulders to say it was my decision to make. It could turn out to be his death sentence, and mine, too. But from the look on Ishi’s face I knew he couldn’t live with himself either, if these three kids were left behind.
Ishi nodded. “A good choice, kemosabe.”
I sighed. Looters with a conscious. It’s a terrible thing.
“You all should get going,” I said, rubbing my head, “since I’ve got a hunch Badri has more than just this band of pirates working for him.”
“You are correct, Mr. Caine,” said Badri, standing up despite the close proximity of Kintu’s rifle pointed at his face. He grinned with more malice than before. Apparently the hour I’d lost had been a productively meditative one for him. “I have two crews out patrolling the surrounding waters today. When they see the boat fleeing toward the north, they will cut it off. Depending on their mood, they’ll either kill the infidels, or bring them back for me to personally take care of.”
Either option sounded pretty shitty to me. If Badri was bluffing, Norema and the others could find a safe refuge on one of the other islands, and perhaps protection, too. However, if Badri was telling the truth...
“You had better leave now...we’ll help you finish getting loaded up,” I said.
Norema likely shared my optimism that Badri was full of shit, and his threats exaggerated. The fact the pirates had only traded bullets with me after I fired the first shot, back when we first entered the tunnel from the Treasure room, formed the basis for my notion. It boiled down to consistency. Human beings are almost always a predictable lot. Pirates on the water wouldn’t shoot right away—not until the yacht was too far for them to catch—or, so I hoped.
“We will send someone back here for you,” she promised, motioning for Kintu and Aafreen to join her at the boat. “But you should return to your side of the island. It’s safer to wait there. Call it a hunch.”
“Fine,” I said, knowing how accurate her hunches—or intuition—had been thus far. “Send them to where our original campsite was before your ladies and the pirate assholes raided the place. Besides, there might be a bottle of rum that you and they missed.”
She chuckled and handed me my passport and driver’s license. “Don’t lose these, and in the future be careful where you bury them,” she said. “Goodbye, Nick. I hope you find the happiness you long for.”
What a strange thing to say! Well, maybe not when considering what I’d learned about this unique and enchanting woman in the past twenty-four hours. She reminded me of Marie in so many ways, and from that association alone, I knew I’d miss her.
She gave me a warm hug—one that made me a little self-conscious since she still smelled amazing, and I smelled like Badri’s sewer.
“Goodbye, Ishi,” she said, touching his arm. She motioned toward me. “Take care of him, okay? Perhaps we will all meet again in happier times.”
With tear-filled eyes, she moved quickly over t
o where her gals and their three wayward kids awaited. There was a momentary discussion on whether to leave the firearms with us, but given Badri’s confidence in his pirate-patrolled waters, I decided it might be one bluff better not left to chance.
“I’ve still got my Beretta,” I said, pointing to Ishi, who was now brandishing it. I must’ve dropped everything when I became airborne. “Just send someone as soon as you can, okay, doll?”
“I will, Nick!” she called out, embracing her son again as they boarded the boat together. The two of them waved to us, along with everyone else. A bon voyage that struck me as ironic when considering the initial hostile greeting we’d received from the ladies yesterday, and their sons that morning.
“What’s so funny, boss?” Ishi asked me, after the yacht pulled out of the cove and moved toward deeper water. I had been smiling, but now chuckled.
“Wonders never cease,” I said.
In the absence of our attention, Badri’s men had removed the bonds from his hands, and the group of twenty-five seething miscreants stealthily approached us. But they misjudged Ishi’s prowess with a gun, and when he brandished the Beretta menacingly, all of them cowered back to their previous spot outside the tunnel entrance. No one wanted to chance an unlucky bullet.
I took the opportunity to try and wash away the foulness from my hands and forearms in the cove’s shallow water. While standing in small waves up to my knees, I happened to notice a piece of parchment, one written upon long ago. It floated on the water near where the yacht had rested moments earlier.
What in the...my treasure map?! No way!
Keep in mind that I’d all but given up on the map’s verifiability after being duped by Badri’s fool’s gold in his imitation treasure room. Yet, why have such an elaborate ruse if there wasn’t a real horde of treasure resting somewhere on the island? After all, Badri had hinted at this possibility.