Darkest Night

by James Cherry

  Marty asked impatiently, “Well, where did he go?”

  Ayako replied, “Just as we suspected, Peru.”

  “So, everyone have their passports?” Bo asked.

  As one, the team checked their pockets and produced their passports.

  Without another word, Bo quickly ushered the team into the taxis and ordered the drivers to the airport.

  Chapter 19

  The team landed at the Lima Airport without incident, and Bo was surprised that they had made it. He had really expected trouble at the airport when they purchased their tickets, but the government hadn’t flagged them in the system like he thought they would. But deep down inside he had a feeling that they were being tracked, and could have been stopped at any time. But for some reason, they had been let go, and that nagging thought at the back of his mind bothered him tremendously.

  But dwelling upon the issue wasn’t helping the matter currently at hand, so Bo pushed the thought from his mind, and began scouring city for a local pilot that was willing to undertake the journey. He had no idea where Doctor Burch had headed, so the team had made their made their best educated guess. They chose Santa Lucia, which was the closest town to the densest population of dragons, and was the best place to start their search.

  After inquiring at a small airport, located near the fringes of the city, Bo finally managed to find one pilot willing to make the journey. But the price was such that the team did not have the available cash for the transaction. So Bo hurried back into the city to meet everyone at a prearranged location.

  Carter, Marty, Chin, and Ayako all sat quietly around a table in a small café. Bo joined the group, and immediately relayed the information he had gathered. With everyone short of cash, Ayako offered the use of her credit card, but that only led the team into a debate.

  “Using the card would just leave a trail for the military to follow,” Marty stated.

  “What other choice do we have?” replied Ayako.

  Doctor Chin sat back in his seat and shook his head in wide-eyed alarm. He grumbled, “I don’t like it, I don’t like it at all. Isn’t there any other way?”

  Carter calmly took a sip of his cola before saying, “I think the military already knows we are here.”

  “Yes, it was just too easy to get out of the United States,” Bo replied. “I think we were let go.”

  Marty stated, “We just stayed one step ahead of the government, that’s all.”

  Bo explained, “The government can flag anyone at any time, and that would stop any attempt to use public transportation. They also didn’t freeze our bank accounts, which they could have easily done as well. The fact is that we weren’t stopped and we were allowed to withdrawal money, so that leads me to believe that they let us go.”

  “Then the issue of using my credit card is a moot point,” stated Ayako.

  Bo only nodded in response.

  ***

  In the end, the purchase was made using Ayako’s credit card, and the pilot then guided the team to his small, rickety, twin engine plane. The flight didn’t take long, and soon the Santa Lucia airstrip became visible on the horizon. The airstrip was a rocky and overgrown hazard, but the pilot skillfully landed the plane without incident. The group emerged from the plane a bit shaken, but none the worse for wear.

  After conferring for a while, they agreed to immediately disperse amongst the small town in order to try and find out if the doctor had been there.

  Marty lucked up at the first place he stopped. After asking around in broken Spanish, an elderly grocer replied that a fat foreigner with a scarred face had inquired about a reputable guide, and that he had sent him to a local man named Alejandro.

  Marty quickly wrote down the directions to Alejandro’s home, and without offering any thanks, rushed to that location.

  The home was a shanty, typical of the area, and the yard was full of debris and worse . . . children. Marty warily eyed the kids, unsure if he really wanted to approach the home or not. But remembering the importance of his mission, he steeled his resolve and quickly walked through the yard and to the front door. Knocking on the flimsy wooden door, he turned his head to observe the children again. They were seemingly oblivious to his presence, so he let out a slow breath in relief.

  A young man of about twenty years of age opened the door and stared in apparent astonishment.

  Marty introduced himself, and was pleasantly surprised that the man understood English fairly well, although his accent was so heavy he had a hard time understanding him.

  In the brief conversation, Marty found out that his name was Alejandro, and he was the eldest of six sons. He also found out that Alejandro was unwilling to be a guide, but he offered the services of his younger brother, Luis, for a sum of fifty American dollars.

  And more importantly, Luis had been the one who had guided the doctor into the mountains, and had just returned the day before.

  Luis was a spry young man, appearing to be in his late teens. He was eager to go, but didn’t speak much English at all, so communication would be a problem. Handing Luis fifty dollars, the young man accepted with a smile and rushed off to prepare for the journey into the Andes Mountains.

  Marty left the shack, and searched around town in order to round up the rest of the team. As the town wasn’t very large, he was able to find everyone without much of a problem. After telling the team of his success, Bo then led them to a small store that sold outdoor gear and outfitting equipment.

  Marty watched in amusement as the team spent most of their remaining money on tents, shovels, food, canteens, hand held radios, and other essentials for the trip. He didn’t want to carry so much stuff, so settled upon a mosquito net, sleeping bag, and a canteen. He would just let the other fools carry the bulk of the weight.

  Once the gear was purchased, the only thing left to buy was a couple of guns. Bo and Carter had eagerly accepted the mission of locating firearms and scrounged the town in an attempt to purchase any kind of gun. But after an exhaustive and futile search, they returned empty handed.

  Once the team was geared up and ready to go, Marty led them back to Luis's home, and after a short introduction, the team headed off into the mountains.

  To Marty, the trip was long and arduous as most of the team members were out of shape and were unsuited for the rigors of the journey. The result was frequent lengthy stops, which suited Marty just fine.

  The guide unerringly led them deeper into the mountains, through thick patches of brush and trees, and over rocky outcroppings. They traveled for two days in a steady incline, camping out under the thick copses of trees at night, and moving through clear rocky areas by day.

  As they trudged through a low area full of scrub brush and tall gnarly trees, Marty began whistling a sour tune. A sudden urgent command from Bo caused Marty to stop, and he looked at Bo questioningly.

  “Down,” Bo directed again.

  The entire team dropped to the ground without question and Bo rolled into the brush, completely vanishing from sight. Carter crouched low and suddenly sprang into the dense foliage. A shout echoed through the brush and a single report of a gunshot soon followed.

  Ayako screamed in panic, “Carter!”

  ***

  Carter emerged from the brush with his hands raised in the air and a look of disdain upon his face. His arm bled freely from a grazing shot, the blood slowly trickling down to his elbow, and dripping onto the ground. A soldier clad in full battle gear soon emerged from the brush with his rifle trained upon Carter.

  Carter spat on the ground and said, “Damn it, Franklin. If I had a weapon I would have killed you before you knew what hit you.”

  The soldier smiled and replied, “Perhaps Carter, but what about the rest of my team? They would have shot you dead before you took two steps.”

  Carter lowered his head in defeat and replied, “I guess you got me, now what?”

  Doctor Chin asked in puzzlement, “Carter, how do you know this man?”

  Ca
rter turned to Doctor Chin and said, “I used to be in the Spec Ops and I trained side by side with this man on numerous occasions." Turning in place in a slow circle he shouted, “Okay guys, come on out. I know the rest of you are out there somewhere.”

  In response, five soldiers seemingly appeared out of nowhere and stepped from the brush.

  Carter turned back to Franklin and asked, “Well, you never answered me, now what happens to us?”

  “As for your guide here,” he said, raising his chin at Luis, “He can go.”

  Luis, taking the hint, scampered away in terror and vanished into the underbrush.

  “As for the rest of you, you will be taken to base camp about two clicks from here. There you will be turned over to the colonel and I don’t know what he has planned for you,” said Franklin.

  Carter asked, “Where is General Crowell?”

  Franklin replied, “I don’t know.”

  Carter probed again, “Is he back at the Lab?”

  Franklin looked at Carter with astonishment and said, “You don’t know?” When Carter shook his head in confusion, he continued, “The entire staff of scientists and soldiers from the Green Facility Research Lab was killed in a plane crash two days ago.”

  “The general wasn’t on that plane?” Carter asked.

  “No, no one knows where he is,” replied Franklin.

  Carter chuckled and said, “Well we were at that Lab, and had we stayed there, we would have most likely been on that plane. Don’t you think it’s a bit of a coincidence that everyone who had contact with the dragon research died in that mysterious plane crash.”

  Franklin nodded thoughtfully for a moment before saying, “It does seem like some covert shit, I’ll give you that. Smells like some shit the CIA would pull.”

  “I don’t think the CIA is involved, this is military black ops all the way,” replied Carter.

  Franklin shrugged and said, “Doesn’t really concern me, I have my orders.” He turned away but paused, and as if in afterthought he asked, “Carter, where is Bo?”

  Carter looked to the ground in mock sadness. He replied solemnly, “Bo died yesterday, he fell off a cliff.”

  Franklin threw back his head and laughed. “Nice try but I know he is alive. It doesn't matter, we know his tactics. He will shadow us to the base camp and it will only be a matter of time before we catch him." Franklin turned to the team, waved his hand, and said, “Move out.”

  The two-kilometer hike to the base camp took several hours over the rough terrain and the tired and haggard group managed to arrive just after dark. The team was split up and placed under heavy guard in separate tents.

  It wasn’t long before a familiar face appeared through the flap of Marty’s tent.

  It was Colonel Ron Haymond.

  Marty sat up in his cot and scowled in disdain. He growled, “Fuck you, shit-head? No, fuck you, shit-head!”

  Ron’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and then he laughed. “So, I guess my receptionist gave you my message?" Ron said, and his smile disappeared as he suddenly took on a more serious look. He continued, “Marty, the reason I am here is to help you.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Ron turned around and motioned to someone behind him. Ayako, Doctor Chin, Carter, and Doctor Burch filed into the tent.

  Marty shouted, "Doc!" And he jumped up and rushed to the grinning doctor, but stopped short of embracing him. He stood awkwardly in front of Doctor Burch and asked, "How did you get here?"

  Doctor Burch grabbed Marty, pulled him into an embrace, and slapped him on the back. Marty hung limply for a second before returning the embrace, somewhat less enthusiastically.

  Marty didn’t think the doctor was ever going to let go, but finally the doctor pulled back and said, "Damn good to see you, Marty. How did I get here? The same way you did. The Special Forces guys captured me yesterday."

  Marty cut his eyes toward Ron and growled, "And Ron says he has been helping us. Smells like another set-up to me."

  Ron shook his head and said, “Everyone listen, General Crowell has ordered your deaths and I just cannot be a part of that.”

  “Yeah right,” Marty muttered in response.

  “Your team learned too much about the dragons, and the general has too much at stake to let your team to live. So, he arranged the plane crash at the Green Facility Research Lab, and your team was supposed to have been on that plane. I did not want any of you dying so I slipped a file onto Doctor Burch’s computer so that he would find it and attempt an escape. And I also counted on the rest of you finding your way out as well,” Ron explained.

  Knowing that he was marked for death had a sudden and profound impact upon Marty and he sat down heavily upon his cot as his knees grew weak and wobbly. He asked, “You placed that information where we could see it?” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before saying, “Bo and Carter did think that it was highly unlikely that the military would leave sensitive information where everyone could view it.”

  “Yes, it was me. I wanted you all out of there but couldn’t directly interfere as the general would have had me killed if he found out I was helping you. Not only did I place that data where Doctor Burch could find it, I arranged for the facility to be lightly guarded during your stay, as I knew that Bo and Carter would be able to handle a couple of guards without any difficulty.” He paused for a moment to let the information sink in before continuing, “When I learned you stole a helicopter and a private jet, I kept the military off your backs. I delayed putting your names on the no-fly list so that you could get out of the country, and arranged for your bank accounts to remain unfrozen so that you all could access your cash.”

  Doctor Burch asked, "So it was you that arranged my escape from the hospital where my mother is staying?"

  Ron smiled and replied, "One of my operatives wrapped his head in bandages and ran out of the front door, and was detained by the general’s men.” He shrugged and said, “We had to maintain appearances so that the general would think we were doing his bidding."

  The doctor asked, "So why didn’t you help me directly? Why all the subterfuge?"

  Ron stated, "As I’ve said, we had to maintain appearances. We needed to deceive the general’s operatives into thinking you escaped on your own. I just couldn’t show my hand at that point, as it was too early in the game.” Ron suddenly grinned and said, “Oh, by the way, the taxi driver just happened to be one of my men as well."

  Carter scowled and said, "So why did you put me away in an institution and not just kill me?"

  "I did not want to kill you or anyone else. I placed you into the mental hospital in order to save your life. You talked way too much to anyone who would listen and the only way to shut you up was to discredit you. I had to put you somewhere where no one would believe your stories."

  Carter asked, "So what about Bo? Why didn’t you put him in a mental institution?"

  "As I said once before, he did not talk to anyone except the military. He didn't run his mouth like you did. Besides, I needed Bo to join us on our expedition. I needed someone with military training that could protect the team until the data was collected. I needed someone who had already seen the flying creatures and knew how to fight them, and Bo was perfect for the job."

  The doctor closed his eyes in an effort to contain his anger and he took a deep breath. Opening his eyes he said, "Everything you have told me seems to make sense. It all fits together now.”

  Ron nodded in affirmation.

  Marty wasn’t convinced though, and he stared at Ron with suspicion. He said, “How can we believe you though? You have lied and deceived us so much, I am not sure that I would know the truth if it hit me in the face.”

  “Marty, I am telling the truth. Would you like for me to hit you in the face?" Ron said in jest, and he continued, "As an act of good faith I am letting all of you keep the data Doctor Chin had copied so that when we get Stateside we can all testify against General Crowell.”

  Carter said, “How di
d you know we copied the data?” Waving a hand in dismissal he said, “Anyway, we don't have the CD's on us. We each stashed our copy in a safe place, and we never told one another where we hid our copies."

  Ron nodded and said, "Very smart of you, now keep that information to yourselves and don't tell anyone. As to how I knew you copied it, well, it's my job to know."

  Marty asked with genuine interest, "So just who the hell is General Crowell anyway?”

  Ron leaned close to Marty and replied, “He is the head of Project Raptor, which is an ultra-secret military organization. They are pretty much an assassination team, and from what I gather, they perform covert operations all over the world. I can’t tell you more than that because I don't even know for sure.”

  Marty’s face paled at the thought and he asked, “So why in the hell do they want to kill us? We really don’t know that much.”

  Ron took a deep breath and said, “Marty, you all know more than you should. What I am about to tell you will explain everything from the beginning."

  Ron paused and stared at the team for a long moment as if a struggle were taking place within his mind. He took a deep breath and said, "When Colonel Crowell heard of the incident with his Delta Force Bravo Team in Afghanistan,” He waved his hand towards Carter. “That’s Bo and Carter's former team,” he explained for the benefit of the others, then continued, “he began to take an interest in the dragons. Colonel Crowell started an investigation on the matter and had learned a great deal on the dragons. Once he was promoted, General Crowell managed to convince some powerful people in the government to place him in charge of the continuing investigation, and thus, Project Raptor was born. He then financed six teams to capture dragons, and they succeeded. A total of two adults and seven young were captured and I was given the task of putting together a seventh team of dispensable civilian scientists, whose deaths would not be missed. This seventh team's mission, your mission, was a minor one as it was to study the young dragons feeding patterns so that we could fill in some gaps in data. Once the general had learned all he needed to know about the dragons, he arranged to have you killed in various accidents. When I found out about the plan to dispense of your team, I moved to protect all of you. So I did not steal the Mexico data, as I knew that it would buy your team some time. And it worked, as the general couldn’t eliminate you as long as you had that evidence. He had no way of knowing where the evidence was hidden and to whom it had been sent. You see, I had reported to the general that you had hidden it away and I was unable to get to it. But once he found out where the copies had been sent, he had all of those scientists killed. Each and every one of them died within days of receiving the evidence, and all were by mysterious accidents or apparent natural causes."