Buried in the Sky

by Ryan Mullaney

  In the midst of the frenzy of movement, Lincoln found April being led away with all the others, Warren's grip still on her tattooed arm, and his gun still pressed firmly to her head.

  Their eyes locked, and she mouthed one word: Go.

  One of the mercs turned his attention Lincoln's way, but Lincoln was frozen in place, unable to move, shocked to have just witnessed the last moments of Simone Cassidy's life as she tumbled over the edge of the lower waterfall, plunging down to what could have only been certain death awaiting her below.

  "You!" the merc called to Lincoln. "Come with me!"

  Still, Lincoln did not move. He had heard the command but the words did not register, nor did the threat that accompanied them as the merc lifted an assault rifle in his direction.

  "Lincoln, GO!"

  April's shout broke Lincoln from his trance. He wasted no time at all, turning toward the path leading down the mountain, and sprinting over roots and rocks as fast as his body would carry him.

  "Get back here!" The merc started after Lincoln, but ceased pursuit when Solomon yelled for them to grab Vincent, who was leaning precariously over the falls and peering down to see where Simone and the meteor fragment had fallen.

  Cloud cover blocked any hope of seeing the base of the falls. Although Vincent couldn't see the bottom, he knew it was quite a long way down, and the chance of anyone surviving the trip over the edge was extremely small.

  He felt a hand grip his arm firmly and pull him back toward where the others were gathering for the incoming chopper.

  As he drew nearer to Solomon, the two men locked eyes. "This was not the agreement," Vincent spat. He raised his voice to contend with the helicopter. "The agreement was--"

  "The agreement was that we help you retrieve the meteor fragments before anyone else," Solomon said.

  "As a contingency only, Solomon. You've violated that pact, and now you've turned to kidnapping!" He flung out his arm in the direction of Warren and April. "This is not what anyone signed you up for!"

  Solomon waved for the chopper to come closer, then turned his attention back to Vincent. "An additional contingency," he said. "If you have a problem with it, take it up with your superior. That's where the orders came from."

  Vincent shook his head in confusion. "What?"

  "This was the plan all along. Retrieve the meteor fragments at all costs."

  Vincent shifted his befuddled look from Iris to Warren. "You knew about this? You both knew?"

  Iris shrugged, wiping matted wet hair from her face. "That's why we're here, isn't it? To retrieve the fragment."

  Warren just smirked. "I improvised."

  Vincent muttered profanities, unable to comprehend how poorly their mission had been thrown together. He had been wary of hiring SWANN as backup ever since the idea was first proposed by Briony Black, and at that moment it became clear why he was not made aware of the change in agreement – he was not trusted.

  The helicopter set down on the shelf in the one spot it could fit. The landing gear balanced on the ledge of the lower falls, the chopper blades spinning dangerously close to the mountain wall connecting the upper and lower sections. The side door slid open and the whole group funneled in one by one until the last two remaining were Vincent and Solomon.

  "Don't worry," Solomon said. "I'm just as upset that she's dead as you are."

  He patted Vincent on the shoulder and climbed on board.

  With one last look toward the surging waters spilling over the edge of the mountain shelf, Vincent climbed into the helicopter. He buckled himself into a seat and watched one of the mercs tape April's mouth shut.

  The merc turned toward Vincent and pulled a fresh strip of tape from the roll, but Solomon waved it off.

  Into his headset, Solomon said, "Take us to the bottom. As close to the base of the falls as you can." He then looked at Vincent. "If anyone gets to it before we do, we have collateral."

  Vincent's eyes met April's.

  Solomon continued, "At any cost, Vincent. Even at the cost of your command. I've been sent to take over this mission, and I won't leave empty-handed."

  "You're lying." As much as Vincent wanted to believe his words, a cold truth struck deep to his core.

  "Go have a chat with your girl in the MOD back in London if you don't believe me." Solomon leaned back in his seat across from Vincent. "All truths will be revealed in time, my friend. Wait and see."

  Vincent ran a hand through his hair, unable to come to terms with the turn of events that had just transpired. It had all happened so fast. One second, he was staring at the meteor fragment the team had been sent to retrieve, and the next thing he knew, the fragment was lost, Simone was likely killed in her tumble down the waterfall, April was taken hostage, his own command was revoked by an outsider -- and Solomon was not even British. His own country had cast him aside like yesterday's trash, and didn't even have the decency to tell him.

  But he could deal with all that. It would take some time, some self-reflection, and a good amount of whiskey to desensitize his nerves about the whole thing, but no quantity of liquor or time would dull the sense of betrayal he felt from not only his superior officer, but his lover.

  If what Solomon had said was true, that Briony Black indeed gave the orders for him to supersede Vincent's command...

  Vincent didn't want to think about it. It only made him angrier. He'd deal with it when he got back to London. Until then, he'd think about how to get out of the grasp of SWANN.

  _____

  It took Lincoln what felt like the entire day to reach the bottom of the mountain, find his way through thick growth and emerge at the base of the double-decker waterfall.

  He'd managed to avoid harm at the old temple ruin, both warrior wasps and further collapse. Neither thought had crossed his mind on the trek back down. His only concern was for Simone.

  There was no doubt in his mind that he was looking for a body, not for a living person. She'd survived hurling herself off a cliff in Mexico and leaping off the monastery perched atop a precipitous spire in Greece, but the distance from the shelf cut into the middle of the falls and the base where he stood was greater than both of her previous jumps combined.

  His heart raced not from the effort of descending the mountain but from the vision in his mind of finding Simone's shattered and lifeless form among the many large rocks in the surging waters.

  He gazed from one shore to the other, his eyes tracking the movement of the stream, but he found no body, and no meteor fragment.

  The waterfall generated enormous turbulence at its base, and part of Lincoln entertained the idea that the turbulent waters would help cushion the impact of falling from such a tremendous height, but the rational part of his brain knew that to be a lie. No human could have survived the fall. Not even Simone Cassidy.

  He stepped closer to the base of the falls, peering down into the churning white water, but that was all he could see -- churning white water. Nothing at all below its surface. Simone would have plunged below that surface and been held there by the never-ending downpour, drowning if she miraculously survived. Only this time, Lincoln would not be able to save her.

  He remembered just then that the meteor fragment had appeared to float on top of the water despite its heavy weight. Frantically, he searched the waters again but the fragment was not in sight. Not stuck between rocks, not resting on the shore, nowhere. It, too, had vanished.

  His eyes followed the direction of flow, leading away from the base of the waterfall and down a wide channel that twisted and wound its way well into the distance, deeper into the thick, sweltering jungle.

  He knew that whatever had come from above must have traveled in that direction, dead or alive. If he wanted to find Simone's body or the meteor fragment, that was the way to go.

  Without a moment's hesitation, Lincoln darted into the jungle, following the shore along the winding little river, legs pumping as fast and as hard as his body would carry him.

  On the
extraordinarily slim chance that Simone survived the plunge, she would need medical assistance at once. But even considering what he did not wish to think about -- that even the seemingly indestructible Simone did not make it down alive -- it was his responsibility as their leader to find her and bring her home.

  Leave no one behind. That was his duty, and there was no way he was leaving Peru without fulfilling that duty.

  He ran as quickly as he was able. Deeper into the jungle, the heat and stifling humidity an afterthought. At the front of his mind was a sliver of hope that Simone was still alive.

  He knew April could handle herself, that it wasn't her first time on the wrong end of a hostage situation. She was as hard as steel and wouldn't break easily, if ever. And wherever Simone ended up, the meteor fragment would not be far off. Wherever the meteor fragment was, that's where the mercenary team was going, and April with them.

  Lincoln ran hard for more kilometers than he could count, but he did not stop. He slowed down to catch his breath, but refused to pause. He had to keep moving onward, further downstream. Seconds could be the difference between life and death.

  He stopped suddenly.

  Something in the water up ahead.

  Something familiar.

  Lincoln ran toward the shore and jumped into the water, swimming toward the floating olive green fabric in the middle of the river.

  He grabbed for it, lifting it out of the water and recognizing it as Simone's boonie hat.

  Squeezing the hat in his fist, he searched all around, but there was no Simone. Just her hat.

  He dove below the surface, but she was not there either. No Simone and no meteor fragment.

  Slamming his fist into the water's surface, Lincoln cursed and swam to shore. He stood on the bank, boonie hat in hand and a heavy feeling in his chest.

  He didn't know if this was a good sign or bad. He only knew that he had to keep moving.

  14.

  Gocta Cataracts, Amazonas, Peru

  The SWANN helicopter landed a quarter of a kilometer from the base of the waterfall -- the nearest clearing wide enough to land safely.

  The door slid open and the mercenary unit spilled out with weapons ready, on the move toward the base of the falls. Iris followed.

  Neither Warren nor April exited the chopper. They remained in their seats as Solomon shut the door and the chopper's blades slowed down. He escorted Vincent away from the vehicle and into the jungle, following the same path as the mercs.

  "I need your help," Solomon said.

  "Aye, that's quite funny." Vincent stopped walking and fixed Solomon with a smirk. "You seem to have everything figured out, chap. What do you need me for?"

  Solomon stepped toward Vincent. "I need you to deliver a message."

  "Deliver it yourself. I don't work for you."

  Solomon tilted his head. "Do you work for Briony Black, hm? Would you still listen to her?"

  Vincent turned his eyes away, not wishing to address that line of questioning.

  "Your options seem limited, Vincent. That's why I'm giving you an opportunity. You're going to go back to America and deliver a message. Tell Clark Bannicheck exactly what happened, and that you'll do anything in your power to help him and his team, whatever's left of them, to find the third fragment. Then you will do that, and deliver the fragment to me. In exchange, April Farren will be released safe and unharmed. But she will be exchanged for nothing but the third fragment. Do you understand? Nothing."

  Vincent met Solomon's eyes. "You expect me to just do that, eh?"

  "I expect you to make a decision." Solomon turned and resumed walking. "You're free to make whatever decision you wish, and live with the consequences of that decision, as I am free to determine what those consequences will be."

  Vincent started after Solomon. "They won't buy it."

  "Sell them on the idea and they will."

  "They'll ask for proof that April is alive and unharmed. How do I know she will be?"

  Solomon spun abruptly, staring down Vincent at point-blank range. "How do I know that Simone is alive? All I can do, in the face of odds so unlikely, is hope. There are very few certainties in life, Vincent. But as much as I want this whole operation to have some importance at the end of the day, I can't make that a reality. I just have to hope."

  Vincent scoffed. "That's it, then, eh? You just want to kill the treasure huntress yourself, not let that fall into the hands of Mother Nature. It gives you a feeling of superiority, doesn't it? Makes you feel strong."

  A grin came to Solomon's face. "You actually think I want her dead?" His laugh echoed in the jungle. "What would be the point of all this if she wasn't around any longer? No, I need her. I need her alive. She's the reason I have the funding I do now, the resources, the manpower and arms. The more relics she digs up, the more those resources will grow, and the stronger our team will be." He put a hand on Vincent's shoulder. "I was once naive like you, Vincent, but now I see the forest, not just the trees."

  With a pat on Vincent's back, Solomon resumed walking.

  He continued, "I spent the better part of a year chasing down Simone Winifred Cassidy with the intention of ending her life. But then I met her. I learned the depths of her motivation, and the strength she possesses. She's tough in a way most people aren't. Too tough to be an adversary. In business, there are assets and liabilities. I can't afford for her to be a liability. She needs to be an asset."

  "The way I see it," Vincent said, "you're too incompetent to find these treasures on your own, so you have her do it. Is that right?"

  Solomon glanced over his shoulder to Vincent. "That's absolutely right. My weakness is her strength. She finds what I need, and then I take it."

  "How well is that working out for you?" Vincent's sarcasm was evident.

  Solomon smiled. "You'll see when we reach the base of the waterfall."

  A grim uncertainty fell over Vincent as he hiked the jungle path on the heels of Solomon.

  He thought about what he could do to get away. Solomon's back was turned. On purpose. The man would welcome an attack, it seemed.

  It was too obvious. Vincent knew he couldn't take the risk to learn the consequences. He had to press on, toward the waterfall, toward whatever discovery awaited at the bottom.

  _____

  With his legs burning and no breath left in his lungs, Lincoln stopped running.

  He slowed to a jog, then to a walk, and then he collapsed to his knees. Kneeling in the dirt with sweat raining down from his forehead, he fell over onto his back and stared up at the bright blue, cloudless sky.

  No matter how hard he willed himself to get up, he had reached his limit of exhaustion. His body would not cooperate with his desire to keep moving, to find Simone and the meteor fragment.

  He had been running for hours, judging by how dry his throat felt and how desperately he needed water. He checked his phone for the time, but his focus went to the one bar of service he did not have earlier.

  Pushing himself up to a sitting position, Lincoln dialed Clark Bannicheck.

  "Lincoln. Do you have it?" Clark was careful not to mention their objective over the phone.

  "No," Lincoln choked out, coughing from thirst. "Gone." It was all he could muster.

  "Gone?" Clark's voice fell gravely silent.

  Huffing for breath, Lincoln said, "Simone grabbed it. She … she fell."

  "Fell? What do you mean, she fell?"

  Lincoln searched for words, but he couldn't speak them.

  "Lincoln," Clark said in a calm tone. "Tell me what happened."

  Lincoln drew a deep breath to settle himself. "We found the fragment. Simone tried to stop it from spilling over the edge of a waterfall. They both went down."

  The pause in the men's conversation teemed with unspoken thoughts and feelings, like a moment of silence for those who have been taken by a great tragedy.

  Lincoln continued, "The British hired backup. They took April."

  Clark's voice turned on
a dime, shifting from calm to concerned. "April has been captured?"

  "Affirmative. I'm out here by myself, out near Chachapoyas, I think. I don't know. I've been following the river looking for..." Simone still alive? Or a body? "Looking for something, anything."

  Lincoln listened to Clark speaking to someone away from the phone. He thought he heard Clark say something to the effect of eliminating all access for Farren, April -- a phrase he'd heard in the not-too-distant past, the last time April was captured.

  "I want you to get to the airport in Chachapoyas," Clark said when he returned to the phone. "I'll arrange a flight to return you to Florida."

  With renewed energy, Lincoln pushed himself up to his feet. "What about Simone? We can't just leave her."

  "If she's alive, she'll find her way," Clark said. "If not, there is not much we can do."

  Lincoln shook his head, not having it. "We don't leave anyone behind. And if she is alive, she won't be in any shape to make it back to civilization. We have to find her, Clark. We have to."

  The only reply was silence.

  "She has the fragment," Lincoln said, trying a new approach to convince Clark to let him stay. "It's too heavy for one person to lift. The British will find it and take it if we don't bring it back."

  With a dry throat and bated breath, Lincoln listened, waiting for Clark's reply.

  What followed felt like an eternity, as if Lincoln could sense his chances of finding Simone or the meteor fragment slipping away with each bead of sweat that rolled down his forehead.

  Finally, Clark said, "Do you trust Simone?"

  "Yes."

  "Then I'm asking you to put your trust in her right now, Lincoln. Trust that she is alive, and that she will make it back."

  "What about the fragment?"

  "There's still a third one out there, and I think we're close to pinpointing its location," Clark said. "Regretfully, we might have to give this one up for the moment, but if we find the third, we will have something to bargain with. Also, April is with the British team. She can still provide information as to where they might be hiding the second fragment if they find it. I need you here, Lincoln, for when the third fragment is located. We can't afford to waste a day getting you to the other side of the world. That needs to happen right away."