The South African yelled out, “Lynch, the girl got loose!”
Lynch quickly entered the tower and shoved the man aside yelling, “Go get her! I see she’s got some of her father’s spirit in her. Anyway she’s not going anywhere unless she wants to jump to her death. While you’re at it, kick your stupid friend in the head for letting a girl beat him up.”
The man replied, “Yes sir!” He took off running up the stairs.
Sam made her way to the top of the tower. Just below the Death Diamond ball was a hatch that opened up to a railed platform encircling the massive tower. Sam used her shoulder to push open the iron hatch. Once through the hatch she kicked it closed with her foot. With her heel she was able to tap the latch closed locking the hatch door. It was apparent to her that the platform was there so that the inhabitants of Bermúdez would be able to do maintenance on the Death Diamond ball. As Sam walked around the platform she knew sooner or later the South Africans would break through the hatch and capture her again. She could only hope that her father and Storm would come to her rescue, not knowing that Lynch wanted the same. Sam kept circling the tower looking for her friends. She would at moments forget her dire situation and get caught up in the breathtaking view of the city. She knew that there was no place like this on earth.
Finally Lynch’s man made it to the hatch door only to discover it was locked. He turned and yelled down to Lynch, “The little tiger has locked the hatch from the other side. Do you want me to blow it open?”
Lynch smiled and replied, “Hell no! We’ve got her just where we want her anyway. The bait is now in the trap. Jamb the door so she can’t get out, and come on back down.” Lynch went back out of the tower saying to his men, “Well, mates, its looks like we’re going to have a little safari after all.” He pointed to one of his men and said, “You stand on guard at the entrance. The rest of you follow me. We’ll make ready for our prey.”
Sam had heard the voices inside the tower, but because of the thick walls she had no clue as to what was said. She was surprised that the South Africans had not tried to breach the hatch door yet. When she saw Lynch and his men leaving the tower and evaporating into the shadows of the city, it hit her. This is a trap for her rescuers. She quickly ran over to the hatch and tried to kick open the latch, but to no avail. She could tell that they had jammed it from the other side. With a horrified look on her face she turned back looking over the ancient city desperately trying to see her dad and friends so she could warn them to stay away.
The Death Trap
With the light from the Death Diamonds on again in Bermúdez the
Spinners, Storm, and Savage were beginning to wake up from their uneasy sleep. Savage was quick to take a head count to make sure no one was missing. After losing Sam while they were sleeping he would never forgive himself if one of the other Spinners went missing. Portagee, a little groggy, went over to one of the windows and snuck a peek through the shutters. They were much closer to the Death Diamond tower than any of them had realized. Portagee got an eye full when he looked up at the massive tower. Without thinking he yelled out, “Holy crap! Inspector, come here quick! Look what I see!”
Savage was there within a second. He quickly put his hand over Portagee’s mouth and whispered, “Are you trying to get us killed? What is it you’re looking at?”
Portagee pointed way up in the air and said, “Look! It’s Sam!”
Savage looked up, and his heart dropped. He groaned, “Oh, good Lord! Sam’s trapped on the top of the Death Diamond tower.”
Storm made his way over to another window to see for himself.
Before Storm could say anything Savage added, “Look, mate, we’ve got to get over there and rescue her now!”
Storm walked over to Savage saying, “I know, old buddy, but it’s a trap. We’ll be walking into the lion’s den, and we won’t be walking out.”
Savage nodded his head replying, “You’re right, but that’s my baby girl up there. We can’t just leave her there.”
Storm replied, “Time is on our side for the moment. They don’t know where we are. We’ll pick them off one at a time.”
Savage snapped back, “Storm, are you listening to yourself? These goons are trained paramilitary soldiers. You think they’re going to let us sneak up on them?”
Storm leaned over and whispered something into Savage’s ear. Savage turned back to the Spinners saying, “Boys, come over here for a minute.” The four Spinners made their way over to Storm and Savage. Savage looked at the boys and said, “We’re going to try to rescue Sam, but I want you four to wait here for us.”
Michael spoke up first, “Inspector, you need our help to rescue Sam.”
Portagee chimed in, “Yeah, he’s right sir.”
Savage replied as nicely as he could, “I appreciate your concern, boys, but we’re not going to put you in harm’s way anymore than we have to.”
Graham added, “But…”
Savage interrupted Graham saying, “But nothing. You four are going to stay here and wait for our signal.”
Keno spoke up, “We’ve got your backside, sir.”
Storm patted Keno on the back saying, “Now that’s the right attitude. You guys need to stay out of sight, and keep your heads down.” Storm bent down and picked up two Uzis from a bathing bench. He kept one and tossed the other one to Savage.
Savage acted surprised and asked, “What the hell did you do that for? I’ve already got one Uzi.”
Storm laughed and said, “Well, old man, you’re going to need all the fire power you can muster.”
Savage’s face turned red. He cocked both Uzis and yelled out, “Let’s go kick some butt, mate!”
Storm fired back, “Slow down, buddy. I need a head start. Don’t you go anywhere for about five minutes. Oh, and whatever you do, don’t get your butt shot off.” He gave Savage a thumbs up and walked out the back door of the bathhouse.
Savage waited five minutes then without saying a word left through the front door. He tried to stay in the shadows as long as he could hoping that Lynch and his goons hadn’t seen him yet. Savage found himself within one hundred yards of the Death Diamond tower, and he had yet seen a trace of any of the South Africans. He was now at the point of no return. There was no cover for him from where he stood and the tower. Savage knew they were waiting for him. He just hoped that Storm was ready with the cover. Savage took a deep breath and yelled out, “God save the queen!” Savage wasted no time. He charged the tower like Teddy Roosevelt charging up San Juan Hill. Holding both arms straight out firing both Uzis as he spun around in all directions, he ran towards the tower. At the half way point, one of Lynch’s goons stepped out from behind a small building and took aim at Savage from behind. Just as he was about to squeeze off a round, a bullet pierced his head. The South African was dead before he hit the ground.
From his hiding place, Storm said to himself, “There’s one for the good guys.”
Another bullet came out of nowhere striking Savage’s hand causing him to drop the Uzi. Storm yelled out, “Damn it! Where in the hell did that shot come from?”
Savage kept on firing. As he came within twenty feet of the tower door his Uzi’s clip was empty. He stopped to pull out a new clip from his flack jacket when a voice spoke out, “Drop your weapon, mate, or I’ll put my next shot through your head.”
Savage knew his luck had just run out. He dropped the Uzi and looked straight up in the air to check to see if Sam was alright. She smiled at him. As Savage lowered his head down, he received a crushing blow to his chin. Savage was flat on his back before he knew what had hit him. It was Lynch, that monster of a man, towering over Savage like another tower. Savage shook his head knocking the cob webs out and said, “That was a lucky blow, mate. I’ll be up before the count of ten, and I’ll be glad to put you in your place.
Lynch smiled as he cocked back his Uzi and said, “The only thing you’re going to do is watch your daughter die if you’re not careful.” Lynch stepped back
a couple of feet and added, “Now get your butt off the ground, and call your bloody friends here. Remember we’ve got you all surrounded.”
Savage stood back up wiping himself off saying, “You’ve got nothing, mate.”
Lynch was getting pissed. He pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Savage’s forehead yelling, “Your friend is about to take a bullet in the head. You’ve got to the count of five before I blow his head off.” He cocked the hammer back on his pistol with his thumb and yelled, “One.”
Before he could get to the count of two, Storm threw his Uzi out into the open and screamed, “Hold your fire, big boy!” He stepped out from behind a stone wall with his hands in the air. Within seconds the other South Africans came out from hiding with their weapons all trained on Storm. Storm looked around and said, “I wish I knew where you all were a few minutes ago.”
Lynch yelled, “You shut your mouth.” He signaled the others to bring Storm to him. Lynch looked Storm in the eyes and said, “Where are the boys? I want them too.”
Storm replied, “Are you crazy? We sent them packing back up the tunnel hours ago. Soon we’ll have the Bermuda Police Force down here in swarms.”
Lynch laughed, “First of all, you’re lying. Secondly, if they did get away I don’t give a damn. We’ll kill whoever shows up.”
Storm added, “I don’t think the Bermuda Government, or for that matter, the US Government is going to let you leave with any of this wealth.”
Lynch had heard about enough from Storm. He reached down at Storm and grabbed him by his flack jacket. He raised him over his head and threw him as hard as he could at the massive tower. Storm hit the tower and crumpled to its base like a sack of potatoes. Lynch pointed to two of his men ordering, “You two search every building within three block radius of here and see if you can find those kids.” He turned to his other men and ordered, “Get these two in the tower where we can keep an eye on them.”
Savage went over and helped Storm get back to his feet. As they walked over to the doorway Savage asked, “Are you alright, mate?”
Limping a bit Storm said, “My pride is hurt more than anything. I let that big bastard pick me up and toss me around.” He looked at Savage and added, “What about you? That hand of yours is bleeding pretty bad.”
Savage replied, “It’s just a flesh wound. I’ll be fine.”
Once in the door the South African slammed the iron door behind them. Storm looked back at the door and said, “They don’t seem too worried about us. They didn’t even tie us up.”
Savage was on a bee-line for the stairs. As he climbed up the stairs he shouted back, “That’s good because I’m going to get my daughter.”
Spinners to the Rescue
Michael, Graham, Keno, and Portagee had been watching the chain of events through the gaps in the shutters on the windows of the bath house. They knew that with the South Africans searching for them house to house they would not be safe in their current hiding place.
Portagee turned to his friends and said in a low tone said, “Guys, what are we going to do?”
Keno added, “We need to get out of here first. Then we can decide what to do. We’re no good to our friends if we get caught.”
Michael jumped into the conversation saying, “Enough talk! Let’s get our butts out of here right now.”
Graham added, “The back door is still clear. Let’s go. We can regroup at the canal.” One after another the Spinners exited out of the bath house trying their best to not leave any tracks for the South Africans to follow. The boys weaved their way in and out of the shadows on their way to the canal.
After fifteen minutes the Spinners had safely made their way to the canal. Once down on the walkway of the canal Michael said, “We’re kind of exposed on this walkway. We’ve got to get under that bridge before those goons spot us.” In a mad sprint the Spinners high-tailed it for the security of the old cobble stone bridge.
Meanwhile back at the Death Diamond tower Storm stayed by the iron door making sure there were no surprises. Savage was now at the top of the stairs. He pounded on the hatch and yelled, “Sam, can you hear me? Are you alright?”
Sam yelled back, “Daddy, I’m fine. Can you open the hatch? It’s unlocked from my side.”
Savage was getting frustrated with the hatch. He yelled, “This damn hatch is still stuck.”
Storm yelled up to Savage, “We don’t have all day. Do you want me to come up and open the hatch for you?”
Savage snapped back, “Storm, you stay out of this. I don’t need you to rescue my daughter.” Savage kicked and kicked at the lever. Finally the rusty old lever flipped down, and the hatch opened.
Sam shot through the opening like a rocket. Savage quickly cut the plastic bands which had held her hands behind her back. She gave her dad a bear hug saying, “Daddy, I was so worried about you.”
Savage smiled and replied, “Not half as worried as I was about you.” He took her by the hand and said, “Let’s get back on ground level and see if we can figure out how to get out of here.”
Sam smiled and answered, “Yes, boss.”
By the time they made it back down to Storm they could tell he was trying to listen through the iron door. Storm waved them over to the door whispering, “Listen, Lynch must have some hi-tech phone that can be transmitted and received from down here. I think he’s getting ready to call Van Eck right now.”
Storm was right. On the other side of the door Lynch had just told his men to shut up while he was trying to call Van Eck.
Lynch flipped his GPS communicator open and waited for the call to reach Van Eck. After a short wait Van Eck answered, “I can tell by the map on my screen you’ve not moved very far. Well, what’s going on? ”
Lynch replied back, “We hit the Mother Lode! I’m looking up at a Death Diamond ball that’s lighting up the entire cavern. There must be a billion dollars worth of Death Diamonds inserted into the ball. We’re going to need some help getting these diamonds out of here.”
Van Eck replied, “Have you captured those kids and the coppers? You can use them to help with the load.”
Lynch smiled and said, “They won’t be of any help.” He went on to say, “We got the coppers and one of the kids locked up. Two of my best men are out looking for the others.”
Van Eck added, “Good job, once you’re done with them you know what to do.”
Lynch laughed and continued to talk, “Believe me, I’ll cut them all in half.”
Van Eck was now on cloud nine. He knew his dream of an independent Boer Nation could now become a reality. Yes, his Boer ancestors would be proud of him. Van Eck replied, “Good, keep me posted.” He closed his communicator and walked back into his cottage.
Savage looked at Storm and said, “There’s no way in hell I’m going to help that bloody bastard with those diamonds. As soon as they’re done with us, we’re dead men.”
Storm replied, “I agree, but we may not have a choice.” As the two walked around Storm looked down at the open trap doors and said, “That’s one hell of a current down there. I wonder where all that water’s going.”
Savage pointed down to the water and added, “Look, that channel is only half full of water. There’s air down there and maybe an escape route.”
Sam interrupted by saying, “Don’t get too excited, Daddy. I’m pretty sure that the water level rises with the tide. When the water level rises the trap doors shut. I don’t think I want to be down there at high tide.”
Death Diamonds of Bermudez Page 12