Murder on Masaya (Kea Wright Mysteries Book 3)

by RJ Corgan

  Francisco rocked on his knees and vomited again. Kea kept one hand in his belt and reached for the line with her other. If she remembered correctly, there would be a short window after the first eruption before the shit really hit the fan.

  “Fuck me.” Francisco rolled onto his back, still rubbing his throat. “That was brutal.”

  “If the cameras are still rolling, you’re about to make one of the most-viewed climbs in history.” She quickly threaded the line through his harness, checked it twice, seated his helmet, and hefted him into a sitting position. Then she barked an order into her comms unit.

  Francisco blinked at her groggily. “What do you mean-” with a yelp, he was hoisted abruptly into the air as the rescue team hauled from above. He made odd squawking noises as he spun up to Beta.

  “Sorry!” Kea called as he rose into the air. She quickly moved back up the path as Francisco’s stomach heaved a parting gift.

  So much for being out of the splatter zone.

  Kea switched over to the general comms. “Alphonso, see if they can cordon off a portion of the tent for Francisco, maybe clear out one of the empty storage areas.”

  With a thunderous clap, the heavens ripped apart and sent Kea diving to the ground. She cringed as the reverberations pulsed through her bones.

  “Outpost, we have lightning!” Carlos yelled over the comms. “Repeat, we have lightning. Everyone back to basecamp, get under the netting! If you’re climbing, get up as fast as you can or get down immediately!”

  Kea picked herself up and ran back down the path, using the line to keep her balance. Luis and Dominic, the only remaining members of the team who had not made the ascent, sprinted ahead of her toward the shelter of the boulders. Looking up, however, she saw that Ling was still twenty feet from the top. Exposed, a perfect target. “Get Ling up!” she yelled. “Get her up now!”

  Swallowing down the urge to flee after the others, she crouched against the base of the cliff and waited until Ling made it safely over the rim.

  A blinding flash of white lit the air. The clap of thunder was so intense, Kea felt the urge to void her bowels. “Hah,” she chortled, “beat you to it! Better luck next time, Masaya!”

  Her tendons shrieking in pain, Kea jogged down the path after the others, one hand on the line. She fell more than once, cowering as the lightning continued to spark from cloud to cloud. She kept close to the ground, often pressing her hands against the scree to keep her balance as she raced toward the safety of the boulders. No more than ten feet in diameter, lodged deep in the scree, they seemed to be continually out of reach.

  By the time Kea threw herself under the shadow of the first rock, she was trembling uncontrollably, rattled by a primal terror. Worse, she could not see any sign of the others. They must have moved further down the path, she reasoned, taking cover behind some of the larger boulders, sensibly keeping out of sight. She huddled behind her own boulder, pressing her face between her knees, trying to be as small as possible.

  A ding from her watch let her know that the video file Carter had sent had finally completed downloading. She played the video three times, just to make certain it was correct, then let out a long sigh of contentment. At least something had gone to plan.

  As the cracks of thunder grew more frequent, the light from the strikes changed in hue, the light Masaya’s plume shifting around the tumult. Amid the chaotic colors and sounds, Kea lost track of time. Her adrenaline began to fade and her attention was drawn to a particularly vicious scrape on her knee. The patch of red skin wept blood and a clear fluid, the exposed nerve endings singing with pain. Odd how such a superficial injury stung just as much as it had when she was five years old. She pulled out the miniature first aid kit she kept in the pouch on her thigh and went to work.

  I may have lost control of everything and could die at any moment, she thought, but I can at least manage a Band-Aid.

  Another deafening clap shook the air. Her exhausted fingers spilt the contents of the kit onto the ground. She swore repeatedly as she scrambled to pick the bandages out of the dirt, before remembering that she had a live microphone. “Dominic? Luis? I can’t see you. How far down did you guys go?”

  Silence.

  She switched to the general channel. “Outpost, can you get a fix on Luis and Dominic? I’m pinned down by the lightning. I need to know where they’re holed up. Over.”

  Nothing.

  Which made no sense.

  Kea frowned then realized the Wi-Fi was down again.

  Because of course it would be.

  Did the receiver get fried by the lightning?

  She was out of the line of sight of the radios, so no one on Beta could reach her until she moved out from beneath the overhang. Which would expose her to the fury of the Masaya’s light show.

  At least, she thought, I can swear all I want.

  She realized that she only had two options: remain in the comparative safety of the boulder and wait for the storm to clear and the others to show up, or go further back down into the crater and see if Dominic and Luis had gotten into trouble.

  What could possibly have gone wrong?

  Yeah, right.

  “I hate all of you,” Kea whispered, half-hoping they could hear her.

  After tending to her knee, she took a moment to orientate herself. She hadn’t heard any heavenly crashes for almost two minutes, but she knew it could start up again at any time.

  It was risky, but she could follow Dominic and Luis. If she could move, that was. She had already pushed her body to the limit and was running on fumes. Her chest screamed with every movement and her abdominals were plotting a coup to get her to lay down and lie still.

  She peaked around the boulder.

  Still no sign of the others.

  She called out to them but heard no response other than a rolling rumble of thunder.

  Something was seriously wrong.

  She decided to leave her pack, as she would be coming back the same way eventually. She uncoupled the small go bag from the top of the pack, and loaded it with a flask of water, some protein bars, and a proper first aid kit. Then, Kea crept out from behind the shadow of her boulder. As if afraid of waking a sleeping giant, she darted as fast as she could to the shelter of the next rock.

  Its shadow was empty, as was the next.

  The last was empty too.

  Kea hesitated, reluctant to break cover as lightning continued to spark erratically above her head. Then she heard a cry echo up from the crater below. Swearing, she grabbed the line and started jogging down the path toward the screams.

  Chapter 16

  LING SCRABBLED onto Beta level and frantically uncoupled her ascenders. Tossing them to the ground, terror sent her sprinting across the flat plain. Despite Carlos yelling at her to keep down, Ling ran full pelt toward the safety of the tent. The wire netting perimeter passed in a blur and she collapsed at Carlos’ feet. He grabbed her by the pack and hauled her inside the tent.

  She let his profanities pour across her back as she sank to her knees. Pulling off her helmet, her hair spread around her face in a curtain, providing a moment of privacy while she fought to quell her rising panic.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought. Never show that you’ve lost control. Focus and breathe. Take a moment, collect, and move on.

  Carlos moved to help her rise, but she waved him off. “I’m fine, thank you.”

  She pushed herself up and stalked into the main chamber where the paramedics were re-examining their patients. The other team members were either lying on their backs or sitting in clumps, silent as the lightning storm flared around them. The yellow and black fabric of the geodesic dome shivered in the wind, illuminating whenever the storm sparked a new strike.

  “We’re safe in here,” Carlos reassured everyone. “The tent frame will conduct away the electricity, but we’ll have to wait it out.”

  Sharvil’s voice pinged a query over the comms. Before Carlos could reply, Ling cut in. “Dominic, Lu
is, and Kea are still down there,” she reported. “They know enough to take cover. If the cameras get any clear shots, shunt the feeds to me.” She turned back to Carlos. “There was no one else down there, right?”

  Carlos shook his head.

  Something in his eyes made him turn away. Something he wasn’t telling her.

  Just like everyone else on this damned expedition, Ling thought.

  Her gaze danced from one member to another. She had studied all their files, knew more details about them than she did about her own family.

  Not one of them would meet her eyes for more than a moment.

  She had warned Deshi before taking this assignment. Not only would she be considered an outsider, but as a representative of Freedom Unlimited, they would see her as the enemy. They would keep things from her, even if they had nothing of value to hide.

  Despite the tent’s rank odor, not having to wear the mask and goggles was a tremendous relief. Free of its cloying embrace, she could finally see the expressions of the other team members. Since they had found the Delta team, their faces had been hidden behind their masks or the darkness of the cavern. Ling could only judge them by their communication chatter. In the safety of the Beta tent, she could at last read their expressions. Better yet, free of the bulky suits, she could also read the movement of their arms and gestures.

  For someone like Ling, it was as if the lights had been switched on.

  Blanca looked completely out of sorts. She kept a hand pressed to the side of her neck as if rubbing out a knot, undoubtedly a nervous tick. Fear for her partner – or partners, Ling corrected herself. The woman certainly appeared to be in mourning, although the visible connections between Blanca and Francisco had thrown Ling off at first. Was the woman so distraught over Francisco’s condition? Unlikely. The tent was the safest place they had been since the descent began. Although messy, Francisco could be lifted out, and if properly hydrated, he would be fine. As for Emilio, Ling would have expected the woman to seem more dazed or exhibit signs of shock. She was clearly worried about something else, but what?

  To be fair, Ling considered, Kea and the others were still trapped by the storm below and the volcano they were sitting inside was threatening to erupt.

  Ling sighed. She never usually had to juggle so many variables when evaluating patients in her office.

  She turned her attention to Alphonso. As the project manager, he saw, or at least, heard everything. He stood in the entranceway, stroking the small cross that hung from a chain around his neck. She noted his hunched back and clenched jaw.

  Again, with three team members still down below, she couldn’t blame him for being worried. However, something about him was definitely amiss.

  Ling had initially written off studying Simon and the other three paramedics too closely, as they had only been added at the last minute in response to the rockfall. However, few paramedics would be trained sufficiently for this type of rescue. She needed to see if they had been called in to assist earlier Outpost expeditions. She added it to her list of things to do.

  The others on Kea’s team certainly had a checkered past, why not them as well?

  Ling had also suspected Kea had been knee-deep in the situation, however, her revelation of being hunted by Amirah’s company had thrown Ling off balance.

  It’s like going fishing for trout and landing a shopping cart instead.

  Even so, Kea was acting oddly. Certainly, the woman had overreacted to Ling’s arrival. While it had been exactly that sort of dramatic display that had led Ling to dismiss Kea as a lover, Kea’s knee-jerk hatred seemed overplayed.

  After her illness today, however, Ling had seen something else. It was as if Kea had been broken by the virus, and her true self laid bare.

  What Ling had seen in the woman was worrying. It troubled her so much, in fact, that when Luis had offered to take care of Kea, Ling had jumped at the chance to help her climb out. However, so many hours of lingering over Kea, watching the woman shit, piss, and barf had been too much.

  Forcing herself to remain calm, she skimmed the faces of the expedition members once more. Nothing stood out as helpful. She had looked at every member of the expedition a hundred times.

  Every member …

  The thought niggled.

  What was the name that Kea had mentioned on the climb up?

  Alisha.

  She toggled her comms to a private channel. “Sharvil, can you send me the personnel files of everyone on the previous Masaya expeditions?”

  CARTER FOLLOWED Bree into the Outpost’s command center. On the central screen, the cameras showed a lightning storm.

  “What is happening?” Carter asked.

  While the others ignored him, Bree beckoned him over to her station. “Electrical activity. Most of them are stranded on Beta.”

  “When you say most …”

  Bree knew where he was going. “Kea and two of the others didn’t make it up.”

  Onscreen, a manic snarl of lightning bolts illuminated the crater. Carter flinched at the sight. “Are they going to be safe in there?”

  “The team at basecamp should be fine. As for the others, hopefully they can find shelter,” Bree said unconvincingly. She handed him a tablet from a stack on her desk. “You can watch on one of these. They’re keyed up to both the news feeds as well as the cameras we have on Alpha. Can’t see any sign of them right now, although the steam shifts so often it’s hard to see anything. If they’re smart, they’ve taken cover.”

  Carter tucked one into his back pocket. “How long do you think the storm will last?”

  Bree tapped another monitor and brought up a digital display of the weather system. “Probably an hour or two at most. Winds are picking up speed as the system moves on. We should be able to lift most of them out before …”

  “The eruption?”

  “I was going to say sunset, but yes, we hope to get them up before any activity changes.” Bree turned as the pounding on the outer doors grew in volume. “What on earth is that?”

  To Carter, the thudding sounded like a tactical ram. The door wouldn’t hold for long. “Just another storm …”

  Carter broke off as Deshi started yelling into his phone. After listening for a few minutes, Carter bent closer to Bree. “You wouldn’t have anything handy we could use to barricade the doors, would you? A spare sofa, chest of drawers, or possibly a moat?”

  THE SMELL inside the tent was overpowering. The mix of exertion, the gases of Masaya, and the confines of the tent had created a unique odor that Ling would rather forget. Thankfully, someone had relocated Francisco into a side tunnel, but it did little to stifle the sounds. Ling pulled her shirt up over her nose, preferring her own stench to inhaling everyone else’s.

  Sparks of lightning arced maniacally within the crater and the cracks of thunder were rumbled back-to-back. If the tent had been struck, and Ling imagined that it had, there was no damage, which was a good sign. She had tried to use her laptop to get something productive done, but the crashing waves of thunder meant that she couldn’t focus. She sent a couple of requests to Qīngxī de yǐngxiàng, the company’s tech division, then sat in the lotus position, focusing on her breathing, trying to remain centered, to find the still point.

  She quickly discovered that attempting to meditate in the center of a volcanic lightning storm was less than ideal.

  Nevertheless, she felt better.

  She opened a comms channel to Deshi. After a few moments of no response, she pinged Sharvil instead.

  “Is it urgent, or can I place you on a brief hold?” Sharvil answered, as if she were dropping her car off for an oil change.

  “Are you shitting me?” Ling exploded. “I’m sitting in an electrical storm inside a volcano-”

  “I’m aware of that.”

  Sharvil was becoming bolder as the hours wore on, Ling noted, and she wasn’t a fan. It mattered little, however. She would replace him as soon as the rest of the Freedom Unlimited team arrived. Whi
le they had to move quickly yesterday due to the rockfall, the rest of the staff would be in place within a week. Then she could be rid of him. “I need to speak to Deshi.”

  “He’s a bit busy …”

  “Now!”

  After a long moment of silence, Deshi picked up. “While you were down there, we received another threat calling for an attack against the canal unless we shut down operations immediately. Did you find any connection to our missing ‘package?’”

  Ling knew he was referring to explosives that had gone missing from one of Freedom Unlimited’s mines. While the employee had been fired, an investigation revealed that the miner had been in touch with a Salvar la Tierra, a network of environmental extremists, as well as at least one member of the Masaya expedition.

  “Doubtful,” Ling hedged. “It wouldn’t have taken more than a small amount to set off the rockfall. Nothing like what got stolen, however. Besides, our own people have reassured me that there’s no seismic trace of any explosives.”

  She decided against mentioning Kea’s rant of how moronic a concept it would be to bring explosives into an active volcano – it had been Deshi’s hunt, she was just following orders.

  “Having said that, I am convinced everyone here is lying to me about something,” she said bitterly. “It is possible that Emilio was connected to Salvar la Tierra, however, that’s a literal dead end. I’ve requested our techs to check to see if Blanca and Francisco had any financial connection to Salvar la Tierra. Other than that, it’s been difficult to do any research. I feel like I’ve stepped into a production of Macbeth, except everyone is speaking in a different language.”

  An e-mail chimed. The subject line read, “Alisha.” She double-clicked, then groaned at the number of files attached. Not a quick read. She scanned the headlines.

  “Well, if it was Emilio,” Deshi continued, “our problem is solved.”

  Ling knew from her husband’s tone that he had more bad news to impart. “I’m sensing there’s a ‘But?’”

  “Qīngxī de yǐngxiàng’s firewall caught several encrypted messages being sent from inside the crater.”