TEMPLARS QUEST: LUCEM SANCTAM (THE TEMPLARS QUEST CHRONICLES: A Historical Mystery Book 3)

by Thomas H. Ward

  “What about you, Pablo, do you know your way around the canyon?”

  “No. I usually stay on top.”

  “So, you know your way around the rim of the canyon.”

  “Yeah, that’s right, the rim.”

  “Why did Aba go into the Grand Canyon in the past? What was he looking for?”

  “Gold and treasure. There’s a lot of gold you can mine if you can find it.”

  “Has he ever found any treasure?” I asked.

  “No, but the Indians tell a lot of stories about ancient treasures hidden in a cave somewhere. But no one has ever found any.”

  “So, Aba goes mining for gold. Do they have mining equipment and climbing gear?

  “Hey, I’m telling you everything. You’re not gonna kill me, right?”

  “That’s right, Pablo I won’t kill you. Just keep talking. What trail do they usually take down?”

  “Man, my hands are numb. Come on and loosen these cuffs up, please.”

  Maggie said, “Hey Pablo, I might have to cut those hands off due to lack of circulation. Then you can’t pick that big nose of yours.” Maggie laughed, thinking that was funny, but so did I.

  I cut the cuffs off to make him feel better, so he’d talk more about his buddies. “You feel better now?”

  “Yeah, thanks a lot.”

  Maggie said, “If you make any sudden moves, little creep, I’ll cut your ugly head off.”

  “What trail do they usually take into the canyon?” I asked.

  Pablo replied, “Usually they take the Bright Angel Trail because it is wide enough to use the ATVs. But sometimes they use the South Kaibab Trail and go on foot.”

  “They got ATVs. That’s a good idea.”

  “Yeah. It beats the hell out of hiking. The trip up is a killer. We used mules until they all died, or the Indians ate them.”

  “I’ve hiked down the canyon, so I know all about it. How many ATVs do they have?” I asked.

  “Hey, how about some water?”Pablo asked.

  “When we’re done here I’ll give you some. I asked you, how many ATVs do they have?”

  Pablo, who was on his knees, sitting on the floor said, “How about letting me sit in a chair.”

  “Answer the question Pablo. You’re starting to piss me off, and you don’t wanna piss me off or there’s no deal.”

  “Ok Boss. They got five ATVs. What else do you wanna know?”

  “Since you’re an expert on the canyon rim, how many trails lead into the canyon?”

  “Crap, I don’t know. A few of them are small and steep, like goat trails. The major trails are: Bright Angel, which is the only one wide enough for an ATV, Hermit Trail, South Kaibab Trail, which is steep, and North Kaibab Trail, which is on the north rim. They never use the North Kaibab trail because it’s too far away.”

  Checking the time, I saw it was almost 3 am. I was tried and we needed to get some rest. We couldn’t sleep in this room because of the stinking bloody mess and dead bodies.

  I said, “Pablo, that’s enough questions for now. I want you to drag the bodies outside about 200 feet away and then clean up this room.”

  Pablo objected, “Hey man, that’s not my job.”

  After I hit him in the head with my gun barrel, he came around to my line of thinking. I ordered Maggie to watch him. I said, “If he tries anything funny, blow his head off.”

  “Don’t worry, I will,” Maggie said. “What are you gonna do, Jack?”

  “I’m gonna have a smoke and a drink.”

  I had just lit up a smoke, when Pete walked in the room, followed by Captain Baldwin and Adam. “The Captain wants me to destroy any surveillance equipment in case they got us on video.”

  “Go ahead, Pete. Have at it; I’m taking a break.”

  Baldwin saw Pablo dragging out the first body. “What’s he doing?”

  “I got him cleaning up the room so we can rest here for a few hours.”

  “Did you get any good intel?”

  “Yeah, I did. I found out they probably entered the canyon on Bright Angel Trail and they use ATVs. That’s smart thinking, because it beats the hell out of hiking the canyon. Oh, I almost forgot. They sent fifteen men to the canyon.”

  “That’s not good. There’s fifteen more of these guys we have to deal with. Using ATVs is a good idea. Where are we going to get ATVs from?”

  “We’ll have to go to Flagstaff or maybe even Phoenix to find them. Believe me, we’ll need them to go into the canyon. Hiking in by foot is a bitch. Besides, if we find any treasure we’ll need ATVs to carry it out.”

  “So tomorrow we go hunting for ATVs?”

  I nodded my head. “Yeah, we have a lot of time before the solstice occurs. We could just rest here for a few days.”

  “Yes, we could do that, but what if the law comes around and finds us here with these dead bodies?”

  “Good point, George. That wouldn’t look too good.”

  “I say we stay here today and tonight. Then move out tomorrow and find the ATVs.”

  “Ok, I agree, George. “By the way, what did you do with the bodies outside?”

  “My men put them in the garage, out of sight.”

  Pablo was dragging out the last body. Maggie followed him out the door. I heard her tell him. “Come on, you little shit, move it.”

  Pete approached Captain Baldwin. “Sir, I destroyed all the video equipment, as you ordered.”

  I took a swig of JD and lit another smoke. Baldwin said, “Jack, that stuff is gonna kill you someday.”

  “We all die of something. You can’t live forever,” I replied.

  Maggie came back in with Pablo and he mopped the blood off the floor and cleaned the walls, as best as he could. Maggie took him back outside to empty the bloody bucket and clean the mop.

  About thirty minutes later, Maggie came back inside, but there was no Pablo. I asked, “What happened to Pablo?”

  “Oh, he tried to escape, so I killed him.”

  Baldwin said, “I didn’t hear any shots.”

  Maggie unsheathed her Barong showing the blood-stained blade. “I don’t need a gun to kill a piece of shit like him.” She gave a smile of self- satisfaction.

  Baldwin and Pete gazed at her wearing a skin-tight black SWAT outfit. She was one sexy woman gladiator, or I should say Amazon Warrior. But she is also deadly as a Black Widow Spider. Pete said, “No wonder you like her on your team, Jack.”

  Maggie and I think so much alike. She knew I wanted her to kill Pablo. I promised him I wouldn’t and I’m a man of my word. She saved me from having to give the order. It was like she was reading my mind.

  I said, “Good job, Maggie. Here, you need a drink.” I handed her the bottle of JD. She took three big chugs and let out a loud belch.

  I must admit that Maggie is a little blood thirsty. She likes to use the blade because I assume it gives her a feeling of power. She likes to watch the scumbags suffer before they die. I can’t say anything bad about what she does. I’m just glad she’s on my side.

  I’m not sorry that we killed all these dirtbags. It actually made me feel good knowing Adam was safe and some his kidnappers were dead, which gave me closure.

  It was almost 5 am. I said, “Adam, let’s get some rest. Go out to the truck and bring in our gear and sleeping bags. After that, take the dogs for a walk. They missed you.”

  After a few hours of sleep I woke up, made some coffee, and went outside for a smoke. Adam and Maggie were still asleep so I tried not to make too much noise. I walked over to the pit that the bodies were thrown into. Pablo’s head was sitting on top of a rock, marking the spot. Maggie had a sense of humor alright, even if it is a little sick.

  The Warriors were all awake, including George, who approached me. He said, “They have two cars here, so my men disabled them just in case anyone comes back.”

  “So what’s the plan today?” I asked.

  “We have to do maintenance on the trucks. Change the oil and so forth. That will take most
of the day. Also, I want everyone to clean their equipment and weapons. Then we just relax and rest up.”

  “Then tomorrow we can go to Flagstaff and find some ATVs. By the way, we also need rope and climbing gear.”

  “Roger that. Climbing gear is a good idea,” Baldwin said.

  I wondered, would we run into any trouble in Flagstaff?

  MAY 28, 2026

  FLAGSTAFF

  The Templar Warriors and I were up before the break of dawn. I heard the coyotes howling during the night, meaning they had found the bodies. Yesterday the vultures, ravens, and ants were feasting, now it was the coyotes turn.

  As I was drinking a coffee, Baldwin said, “I suggest we burn those bodies.”

  As I lit up a smoke I said, “Yeah, go ahead, but it will stink.”

  “When we’re ready to leave we’ll lit them up using some gas. We checked our gas supply and we need to top off our tanks. Maybe we can find a station in Flagstaff.”

  “I’m sure we can. What time you wanna move out?” I asked.

  “How about 9 am?”

  “That’s fine by me. I’ll pass the word.”

  I took the dogs out the front door for a walk while Maggie and Adam were still asleep. They were sniffing the air and could smell the bloody bodies. I kept them away from the killing pit. You never know, one of those coyotes might have rabies.

  I felt sorry for Adolf and Freda because this trip has been hard on them. Big dogs like these don’t really like riding in a truck all day. But they never complain and just do their job. Dogs are great friends and these are the best of the best.

  After feeding them each an MRE, I made some breakfast for myself. I sliced up a can of Spam, heating it up until it was golden brown, using a small one burner camp stove. I popped open a can of mixed fruit, opened a box of soda crackers, and sat down in a corner to enjoy my breakfast. I washed it down with a can of beer. Man that was good stuff.

  Adolf and Freda smelled the Spam and came over, tails wagging, begging for some. I told them sit. With that Adolf let out a couple of barks, waking everyone up. I opened another can and gave them each half. They didn’t even chew it, but wolfed it down in one bite.

  Maggie, still in her sleeping bag, said, “That smells good. Whatcha cooking?”

  “Fried Spam, you want some?”

  “Yeah!”

  Adam piped up, “Hey, I want some, too.”

  “Maggie, that was a good idea buying these can goods.”

  “Of course, I always have good ideas,” she said.

  I threw them each a can of fruit and cooked up some more Spam. I commented, “After eating, get ready to roll out. We’re going to Flagstaff today.”

  Pulling out my map, I turned the pages to find Flagstaff. One time, in my distant past, I wanted to live in Flagstaff. It’s a great location that has snowy winters, but also long warm summers.

  Here’s what I know about Flagstaff. It’s only an hour and a half from the south rim of the canyon or about 80 miles. At 7,000 feet elevation, it is located near the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in America, up against the San Francisco Peaks. Flagstaff is surrounded by extinct volcanoes in Coconino National Forest.

  Population used to be around 69,000 people, with about ten percent being Native Americans. The story goes that Lumberjacks celebrating the 4th of July in 1876 hoisted a US Flag on top of a tall ponderosa pine. They named the little town Flagstaff. The city was actually founded in 1881. Since this was a major pass to proceed west, the railroad came in 1882 and the city slowly grew.

  We rolled out of Wupakti Ruins at 9 am sharp. We followed the north route on Loop Road out of the ruins and turned south on Route 89, which took us directly into Flagstaff. It connects with Alt. 40, which is the same as the old Route 66.

  Observing the map, only four major roads run into Flagstaff, making it easy to protect. Sure enough, at the intersection of 89 and Alt. 40, there was a roadblock set up by the Flagstaff Police, along with a few Sheriff Deputies.

  As we rolled to a stop, it occurred to me that I didn’t know what to tell them. They would certainly ask us what we were doing here in four armored Hums with M2 machine guns.

  Baldwin’s Hummer was first in line. I picked up the radio. “Hey George, what are we gonna tell them? We can’t tell them we’re looking for treasure in the canyon.”

  “You’re right about that. Think fast.”

  Maggie said, “Just tell them we’re looking for nomad bandits who stole military equipment and weapons.”

  “Damn good idea, Maggie. Here, tell that to George,” as I handed her the radio. She repeated her idea to Baldwin as I stepped out of the truck to greet the officers with Captain Baldwin.

  Moving up to his truck, he got out and we slowly approached the roadblock. The six officers were gawking at our convoy and Hummers. I said, “Let me do the talking. But jump in anytime you want to.”

  With M16 rifles pointed at us, we both held our hands up in the air. We left our M4 carbines in the trucks. However, just looking at our body armor and gear, it appeared that we were some type of special military tactical unit.

  One officer stepped forward, about 20 feet, to meet us. He said, “Morning, gentlemen. What can we do for you?” Judging by the stripes on his sleeve, he was a Police Sergeant.

  I replied, “Morning Officer. My name is Jack Gunn and this is Captain Baldwin. We’re just passing through Flagstaff. We need to obtain some supplies and fuel.”

  “Are you with the military?”

  “Yes, we’re on a mission to recover stolen military equipment and weapons for the Army Rangers. We’re tracking some terrorists.”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Believe or not, we’re from Florida. We’re based at Fort Desoto.”

  “Never heard of it.” The officer turned around and yelled to his men, “Anyone ever hear of a Fort Desoto?” No one answered.

  Captain Baldwin said, “It’s a secret Ranger base located on Tocabaga Island. I suppose you never heard of that either.”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  I pulled out the letter Captain Sessions gave me, which was on official Army Ranger letter head. I said, “Here Officer, read this,” as I handed it to him.

  After reading it, he replied, “Ok, that’s all well and good, but exactly what do you want and where are you going?”

  Baldwin spoke up. “We need fuel, supplies, and some equipment.”

  “What kind of equipment?”

  “We need to buy at least five ATVs.”

  “Ok, but where are you going?”

  This bullshit questioning was starting to piss me off, but I had to keep my cool.

  “I said, “We’re heading north, towards the canyon.”

  The officer said, “Is that where the bad guys went?”

  “Yes, that’s right. They went in that direction.”

  The officer glared at me while still holding my letter. “How in the hell do you know that?”

  Jumping in the conversation, Baldwin said, “We know that because a satellite is tracking them.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty impressive. What kind of equipment and weapons did you say they stole?” The officer had a cocky attitude. He was a cop whose power had gone to his head. I knew how to handle this guy.

  I changed the subject. “What’s your name?” I leaned in to read is his nametag. “Officer Stevens. Look we didn’t say what they took because it’s classified. If we told you, we’d have to kill you. Only the Captain and I know what it is. Our men don’t even know.”

  Steven’s jaw dropped. He said, “Holy shit! It’s a nuke, I bet. Some of those terrorists got hold of a nuke, didn’t they.”

  “Hey, I didn’t’ say that.”

  “You don’t have to. I’ll be right back. Let me talk to the Chief.”

  As Stevens walked back, he huddled up with his men and then got on a radio, which I assumed linked him to the Chief of Police. Baldwin whispered, “Smart move, Jack.”

  Officer Stevens return
ed and advised, “The Chief says to give you whatever you want and for us to fully co-operate.”

  “That’s great,” I said.

  “Yeah, whatever you need is on the Flagstaff Police Department.”

  “We really appreciate that, but it’s not necessary,” Baldwin said.

  “My Chief insisted that it’s on us. Thanks for coming here to help protect Flagstaff. Now, if you follow me, we’ll put you up at the Flagstaff Hotel until we can obtain those ATVs. On the way, there’s a Mobile station if you need to refuel. Here’s my name card. Just tell them to bill the Police Department. Use this to buy anything you need.”

  I took his card and thanked him. Returning to our vehicles, we mounted up and followed him to the hotel. On the way, we made a stop and topped off our tanks.

  Flagstaff seemed to be a city that was under control. There was law and order here and most citizens I saw carried some type of weapon. That made me feel better and confident that we wouldn’t have any trouble here.

  While refueling, Officer Stevens commented, “We have two ATV stores here. One is a Polaris store that sells ATVs and snowmobiles. The other is owned by a guy named Joe and he sells different brands. You got any idea on the size and type you need?”

  After thinking for a minute I replied, “Actually, we need something small, like a Polaris two-seater sportsmen. We want them in black, Army green, or brown. No bright colors. If possible, we’d like five of them along with trailers so we can haul them.”

  “By the way, why do you need the ATVs?”

  “The terrorists have five ATVs. If they go off road, we have to follow them. We suspect that’s what they’re gonna do.”

  “What else do you need?”

  “Climbing gear,” I told him.

  “There’s a sporting goods store near the hotel that carries climbing stuff.”

  We finished refueling and pulled into the hotel parking lot, 20 minutes later. Captain Baldwin set up security to protect our trucks. Officer Stevens took off, along with Pete, to purchase the ATVs. Jeff went to the sporting goods store to obtain climbing gear. The rest of us checked into the apparently empty hotel.

  I showed the police name card for payment and the clerk didn’t bat an eye until I signed in as Jack Gunn, Special Forces. He curiously studied us. We acquired twelve rooms, all on the ground floor near the trucks. The clerk did ask how long we were going to stay. I told him one or two nights, at most.