by Martha Carr
She moved the control forward and watched the drone lift into the sky under the careful control of her fingers. She kept it low and near the ground, moving off at nearly a right angle from her original driving direction. The buzzing whir of the drone’s propellers filled the air high above the desert, as if the world’s largest and angriest mosquito had decided to invade the desert.
Her pursuers gradually grew closer as her shit-eating grin grew and she kept her attention focused on the drone’s camera feed. A rock-strewn canyon appeared.
“Perfect.”
Shay brought the drone to a halt, hovering as she pushed the control forward and the small drone lifted in a straight line from where it was. Three hundred feet would work for her plan. She only hoped somebody in the approaching Escalade was paying attention.
Her gaze cut to a large red button on the bottom right of the app display. She tapped the screen. “Let’s do this.”
A bright red flare dropped from the drone and ignited, burning in the distance. Shay waited a few more seconds and dropped the other flare. She disabled the drone’s engine and chuckled as the ground rushed up to the drone in the camera feed.
FEED LOST.
Shay winced, suddenly realizing she was technically renting the drone. “Guess I’ll have to pay for that. Next time I’ll get a backup. Still working the bugs out of the system.”
She brought up her binoculars and watched the Escalade. The vehicle remained still.
“Come on, asshole. Take the fucking bait. Just assume I’m some stupid gringo who got lost and come over to save me or kill me or whatever you have planned. I don’t have time for twenty questions or a gun fight.”
Shay licked her lips. The dry air surrounding her continued to draw all the moisture out of her body.
The Escalade swerved to the right and peeled off toward the drone’s location.
Shay quietly golf clapped. “And the Oscar goes to Shay Carson for best use of a drone in a chase scene.”
Shay drove on through the desert, this time without a tail and parked her Land Rover a hundred miles further west. She hadn’t spotted anyone else following her for a while and a quick check with binoculars only confirmed that. She didn’t want to risk sending a drone up into the sky for a larger survey. There were few things that screamed “I AM HERE, ASSHOLES” more than a drone suddenly flying around the middle of nowhere. After all, she’d depended on that logic to bait her pursuers.
The terrain had become impassable even for her four-wheel-drive vehicle, meaning the last leg of her journey involved a combination of climbing and hiking.
“This is why I train on the course,” Shay muttered.
No convenient mountain path presented itself as she closed in on the coordinates. Now that she was farther up the mountains, the cacti had given way to sparse shrubs and bushes. She wasn’t seeing much life of any kind, other than the occasional lizard scuttling away from her or a buzzard circling in the distance.
“I’m not dead yet, motherfuckers,” Shay said, after seeing her fourth buzzard. She flipped off the bird. “You don’t get an early meal.”
Her sunglasses and safari hat spared her eyes most of the sun, but even her light clothing could only do so much to protect her from the heat. The cold waters of the alpine lake wer looking rather nice in comparison.
Sweating as she gave thanks one more time for those hard workouts in Warehouse One, Shay finally reached a sheer cliff leading to a deep canyon. A small ledge protruded from the cliff wall about one hundred feet down. She looked up at the rock face easily picking out small handholds and picturing the direction she would need to take.
“You’ve got this, tomb raider.”
13
Shay let out a quiet cheer as her feet landed on the ledge. A frown quickly followed as she glanced over her shoulder into the distance where the setting sun painted the sky an intense orange-red.
Temperature’s about to do a radical drop on me. Fair enough, I saw this coming. I won’t be getting back to town before dark.
Shay may have become a tomb raider, but the part of her that was used to being a calculating killer still assessed every situation, looking for the flaws. There was a constant checklist running in her head when she was on a job.
She wasn’t standing in front of an obvious opening to a cave. That would have been too much to expect. That was the hard lesson Shay was learning on the job.
A shimmering field covered the narrow entrance, fading from opaque to translucent. She picked up a pebble and tossed it at the field. Nothing happened.
Just don’t start an earthquake, please.
She reached out with a gloved hand to touch it. Again, nothing happened.
“Huh… promising...”
Shay took a deep breath and held it as she stepped through the field. No burning pain or piercing noises. She didn’t get turned into a harpy or flung into the cavern. As far as she could tell, nothing happened.
Okay, that’s… not what I expected, but not going to complain about not getting zapped with magic.
She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone. Fuck me. The phone is off. Several attempts to turn it on failed. She’d charged it in the car and used low-power mode on her hike to ensure she would have plenty of power remaining.
Furrowing her brow, Shay reached down to a belt pouch and grabbed a small electric flashlight. She flipped it on, but no beam came out.
“Okay, perfect. Some sort of electrical dampening field or some shit. Found the magic.” She considered her options calmly. Her AR googles would be useless, and if she moved too far away from the cave mouth, she’d lose the remaining light.
With few options, Shay walked farther into the narrow cave. The sound of something scratching the wall echoed from deeper in the cave.
Son of a bitch… What the fuck was that?
Shay pulled out her gun in one swift, smooth motion.
At least this baby doesn’t require any electricity.
The scratching grew in volume as she lifted her weapon. Her eyes widened, despite her training as a writhing black mass rushed right toward her. She squeezed off several rounds, only to be greeted by a choir of inhuman shrieks. The mass closed in on her.
At least I’m not dying in my fucking kitchen.
Her heart thundering, she dropped down, hoping to avoid the attack. Shrieks echoed over the narrow cave. As it poured over her the sound broke up into a pattern of high pitched squeaks along with another noise… the flutter of wings. Shay lay on her back, watching as a continuous stream of hundreds of bats rushed overhead and out of the cave in the waning light.
“Beautiful…” she whispered.
The horde of bats exited the cave as Shay sat up and rose to her feet, her core muscles taut as she whispered, “thank you” that so many animals flew over her without one of them crapping on her. It’s the small things.
It was getting difficult for Shay to see her hand in front of her face. She fished out a thin, flashlight that easily fit in a small pocket carried for just this kind of occasion. It ran on stored energy that wasn’t affected by the dampeners but provided a dimmer light. Better than nothing. It provided just enough push back against the inky darkness swallowing the deeper parts of the cave.
Shay pushed, spelunking further into the hillside, rubbing her chilly shoulders through her jacket as she rounded a corner in the cave. The heat of the desert was a distant memory as the dipping sun combined with the cool air of the underground cave surrounded her.
Her travels brought her to a wider underground chamber. Several long, vertical, tight narrow cracks led farther into the cave, but no human, not even a child, could fit into them. She suspected the bats were making good use of them.
Shay moved the flashlight back and forth to illuminate different parts of the chamber. The strong beam of light revealed four rotting wooden chests. Her heart beat faster with excitement even as her training kicked in and she took in the data, assessing the situation.
She mar
ched over to the nearest chest and set down her backpack, pulling out a pair of lined gloves. No electrical shocks this time. She tapped on the lid as the wood crumbled into small, jagged pieces. A stronger push moved the entire lid off the chest.
“That’s what I like to see.”
The bars of gold inside gleamed in the light of her flashlight.
Shay took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
Preparation and persistence meets opportunity.
Shay grinned as she moved the light around to get a better look. “Found you, you bastards.” Not so fast. “Now what sort of whacked-out magic is protecting you?”
She slowly reached down, gritting her teeth and waiting for the pain. No guarantee the gloves would protect her from anything.
Nothing zapped her. No earthquakes shook the area. No portals opened to another world. She picked up a single gold bar, enjoying the heft of the valuable metal.
Shay flipped it over, looking for the miner’s mark Abbot had sent in an email. A circle containing a stylized P set in a bull over the shining sun sat embedded in the back of the bar.
“Congratulations, Greg,” Shay whispered. “You’re about to get a lot fucking richer.”
Quick removal of the other chest lids revealed more gold, and near the fourth chest, Shay’s breath caught as she spotted words clumsily carved into the rock wall above and behind the chest.
The Spanish was a little old-fashioned, but she could still get the gist of the story. The survivors believed the massacre of the Peralta family was a sign from God. A curse on the gold and the Apache that hunted them down were his instrument. The survivors hid the gold to protect people from the curse and used a spell to hide the entrance.
“Somebody in that family was a Witch.” Shay rested back on her heels. A connection to Oriceran and magic.
“Greed blinds a man to the truth. Well played. Have to appreciate a good riddle.”
She burst out laughing, the sound echoing around the cave chamber. “I did it… I fucking did it.” Money and a reputation. Not a bad day’s work.
Shay knew from her old line of work. Sometimes a massacre was just a bad fucking day.
“Of course, if this gold is cursed, Greg Abbot will find out soon enough. But trust me, I’m not dying from any ancient fucking curse.”
Shay stood and stretched her arms out to the sides. The cargo drone would do most of the work on the longer trip from the cave to the car, but she still had to move all the gold past the dampening field and out in the open.
“Time for me to get in an extra workout and grab some gold. Ancient Witch, I thank you for the spell that kept this hidden till I could get here…”
Exhausted from her long day, Shay slept in the Land Rover overnight after loading the gold into the back, figuring the tarp would be enough protection from a prying drone or anyone using binoculars to survey the area. By the time she was on the last trip her arms were shaking from the effort, but nothing was going to stop her from getting every last bar. Financial bullshit, officially over.
Arrangements for a private plane were made before she left Los Angeles, setting up the last stage of the job to be easy compared to lifting hundreds of pounds of gold. Last stage of the journey was to get to the airport, load up the gold, and fly back to L.A. Straight forward as firing a gun, assuming she didn’t run into more random assholes in Escalades with their own firepower.
The rising sun woke her up early and she set out for town, chewing on a Lara bar as she drove, grateful for a trip free of any Escalades.
But, the minute she hit the edge of town, she spotted a shiny black Cadillac tagging along behind her.
Little late to the party.
Shay frowned into her rearview mirror, checking their distance and scanning the roadside for anyone looking in her direction. She needed to know if there was a general plan in motion or one random car following her.
A troublesome concern of magic filtered into Shay’s mind. There were rumors all over the dark web of the cartels hiring necromancers, especially the cartels with members who worshipped Santa Muerte.
Shay could kill a man or woman with ease. She didn’t know if she could take down a zombie.
“Motherfucking zombies.”
Back in the states, the bounty hunters kept the worst excesses of magic threats in check. Large cities in Mexico were also safe enough, but the rural cartel-controlled zones were their own empire where the rules were known to change and often involved dark magic.
Stay cool, Shay. No zombies driving the Cadillac. They tend to walk in groups at their prey.
A shudder passed through Shay despite the hot desert air.
She drove on for a few more blocks, making a sudden hard turn into a narrow street in the opposite direction of the airport. Leading mercenaries straight to the plane wasn’t going to happen. The money she paid the pilot didn’t include staying grounded in the face of oncoming cartel enforcers.
The Cadillac turned onto the street after her. Not even trying to hide what you’re doing. Shay was relieved. Their arrogance was going to be easier to deal with than a well thought out plan. She could still make the plane on time.
“Not the first morons to underestimate me. Let’s play…”
Shay slowed the vehicle and turned into a small dirt lot, waiting. The Cadillac pulled into the lot and slowed to a stop. All four doors opened, and three very large Mexican men in dark suits and sun glasses, stepped out, along with one tall, hulking woman. All of them wore holsters on their belt and were carrying automatic weapons.
At least they aren’t zombies.
Shay didn’t kill her engine. She opened her door and hopped out of the car, offering the group a smile.
“Can I help you?” she asked in Spanish. “I noticed your car following me.” Her tone was calm and measured. If they had known her better, they would have recognized the warning and gotten back in the car. It was nothing personal. Shay was reverting to her old instincts in her former business. Take it all in as data. Look for the kill moment.
“You’re gonna give us your Land Rover, bitch,” one of the men said, patting the side of his holster.
“Who are you and why should I give you anything?”
He sneered. “We’re from the Nuevo Gulf Cartel. You’re in our territory without our permission. That makes us think you’re trying to steal from us.”
“I haven’t stolen anything from the cartel.”
“We’re not very good at taking someone’s word for anything, bitch.”
Shay’s gaze darted between each of the men. They’d already made a fatal miscalculation by not shooting when she first got out of the car. The only question she had left was whether they recognized who she was. That would present serious problems if she let them live.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. Her voice was still an icy calm, her eyes narrowing in the bright morning sunlight. “I was just hiking in the mountains. I didn’t steal anything from the Nuevo Gulf.”
“Lying will make all of this worse.” The man glared at her, glancing back at the others in the group. A man with a bushy moustache hanging down past his chin gave him a subtle nod.
The leader of the group. Interesting. He’s letting this mouthpiece speak for him to throw me off. Clever. Shay noticed the family resemblance between the leader and the large, muscular woman next to him. Family that fights together. I can respect that.
“You think you can run drugs in our territory without us knowing? Without our fucking permission?”
The man’s voice came out in a low growl. “Turn over the truck and maybe you can leave this town alive.” His finger moved toward the trigger as the others spread out, moving to her sides.
Now or never.
Killing four cartel members wasn’t exactly on the checklist for keeping a low profile, but they were leaving her no choice. Well, almost no choice.
“Have it your way,” Shay shouted in Spanish. Her hand had been resting on her belt, easily c
overing a sonic grenade that fit in the palm of her hand. She pulled it off her belt, dislodging the pin and threw it into the center of the group. The distance was just far enough that the blast knocked her back without taking her out.
It was all the time she needed.
The leader was down on the ground but already rolling over, his gun raised as Shay put a bullet in the side of his head, just above his ear. One down.
The woman let out an angry battle cry and pointed her gun. Shay picked her off as the next man’s eyes widened in recognition. Too bad. I was still on the fence about the last two. Not anymore.
Shay kept her gun moving, taking a kill shot, no negotiations left. “Sorry, guys. I can’t let the wrong people find out I’m still alive.” She smashed their phones with the butt of her gun and removed the SD cards, ensuring the destruction of any surveillance photos. She carefully picked up any shell casings and the remains of the grenade leaving no evidence that might somehow tie back to her.
At the last moment she fired a bullet into the GPS in the Cadillac, making it harder for anyone to find the bodies any time soon.
Shay walked away satisfied, turning to give a wave to the crumpled figures as she headed back to her vehicle. “And I have a flight to catch.” She left the bodies for the vultures and the beetles common to the desert to devour. By the time the cartel discovered whatever was left, Shay would be long gone
Not a bad day’s work for a dead woman.
14
Shay got the gold transported back to the States and safely delivered without another hitch. She gave the pilot a bonus and went home to sleep, leaving Peyton a text that the mission was a success.
She turned the ringer off on her phone even as she saw the texts back from him asking for more details. That will have to wait.
She flipped her phone face down and passed out on her bed, grateful to be in air conditioning under a comforter on her specially-made mattress. Her reward for sleeping in a rental car.
It wasn’t till the next morning before she got up and made herself go to Warehouse One and work out, running the circuit. It was tempting to cut it short but that’s how tomb raiders ended up dead. She had seen how her training paid off in the desert.