by Shawn Keys
Kaylee complained again as she stood up, but her strength was returning fast. Zahn and her together supported Angelica as they left. The pansalve was still knitting her injuries as they picked their way through the underbrush toward the next subdivision.
Chapter 14
Zahn crept his SUV over a rock bulging from the rough mountain trail. He was second in the small chain of jeeps lurching slowly up the goat path. Edging over another ridge, the vehicle in front of him grinded to a stop. Zahn didn’t even use the brakes, letting the slope and bumpy terrain drag him to a halt. That gave time for Ash in the rear vehicle to stop without risk of smashing into his rear bumper.
He creaked open his door on sandy hinges that needed oil badly after the dusty afternoon adventure. They were old, off-road monsters on loan. Their guides had sworn that anything less wouldn’t make the climb. After seeing the trail, Zahn agreed.
From the first jeep, Hoki Chatto squeezed out of the front seat. Wedging a wide-brimmed hat onto his brow, he ambled back to meet Zahn near his rear bumper. “Here we are, then.”
We’re where? The middle of nowhere? Zahn looked around. They were at the top of a ridge where the ground widened onto a broken but mostly level plateau. Their convoy had spent the last hour picking their way up the only path possible without a hefty set of climbing gear. All around them was the half-sand, half-rock mountain terrain common in southern California. Tufts of hardy grass and other plants that thrived in arid land poked up from around the sun-blasted rock. Higher up, he could see the difficult path continue through a fissure in the mountainside.
Zahn turned back to Hoki. The man was pure-blood First Nations, didn’t seem to take any crap or nonsense, and had been reasonably helpful despite them being outsiders crawling over his tribe’s lands. Zahn had liked him immediately. Seemed like a strange time to get weird. “I admit, not what I expected.”
Hoki leaned against the roof and snorted. “You told me you didn’t know anything about my people’s burial traditions.”
“True.”
“Then guessing what our graveyards look like is kind of silly.”
Got me there , Zahn admitted.
By then, the other car doors were opening .
Angelica and Kaylee joined him from the back seat of his jeep. They were all dressed in matching dark jeans and rugged plaid shirts meant for mountain climbing. More and more, they were looking like a real team. It was a little strange to see them with ballistic glasses stretched over their eyes since none of them normally wore corrective lenses. But the benefit was that they could see a virtual image of a compass, map details and other data Heather fed them.
From the third SUV, Ash’s team emerged. Her trio of mercenaries fanned out to bracket the caravan, close enough to hear the conversation but watching the angles. Ash pried open the passenger door and helped Carter out onto the rocks.
The older man stomped over. Ash shadowed him, ready to catch him at any moment if he stumbled. Carter scowled and chased her away. “I’m not an invalid!”
“Of course, Sir.” She retreated a couple inches, but still lingered.
Zahn whispered to his lovers, “Am I wrong, or is her concern a lot more than you get from an employee?”
Angelica murmured, “Maybe there’s a survival clause in the contract. All of this risking her life, and if he dies, she gets nothing.”
“Sound like the kind of contract Ash would sign?”
Kaylee shook her head. “No way. Think we’re missing something between them.”
“Heather?” Zahn whispered over the radio circuit.
The disembodied voice of their overwatching lover responded, “I’ll look. ”
Zahn asked, “By the way, how’s our bird doing?” He had launched a small drone halfway up the mountain. It didn’t have much beyond a small camera. They could only buy so much on the open market within a day. But it was sturdy, large enough to fly in the mountain wind, and had enough power to last half-a-day even at full use.
Heather sounded pleased, “Good connection, and the controls are easy. It’s still going to take a lot of practice to smooth out my flying and video capturing, but it’s a lot of fun. I set it down up the hill a ways to save the batteries until I really need it. ”
“Have fun with it.”
A few seconds later, Carter and Ash joined their small circle .
Zahn noted, “Surprised you came, old man. Thought Ash was going to take point on this.”
Carter shrugged. “She’s going in. I can’t go scrambling through old caves any more. But I wanted to be here.” He didn’t explain more.
Zahn didn’t press him. “Fair enough.” He turned back to Hoki. “You were saying?”
Hoki chewed on a toothpick, still leaning on his jeep. He didn’t seem overly impressed with the professional hardness of Ash’s men any more than Zahn’s air of quiet competence. “Yeah, so you shouldn’t have been looking for a graveyard in the first place.”
Zahn was confused. “Our information came from a family member, and we specifically asked her for the location of her family’s tomb.”
Hoki nodded. “Yeah, I know who you are talking about. As soon as you described her, pretty much had to be one of the two living granddaughters of Titala Longwater. Their mother fled the reservation rather than get caught by the family curse.”
“Curse?”
Hoki nodded, then pointed up into the perilous break in the mountain face. “That crevice has swallowed eighty or ninety people, depending on what records you keep. Not to mention the ones who never admitted they were going in. Might be another dozen missing persons in there.”
“And Sambo’s family?”
He shrugged. “That fissure became known as their Family’s Tomb. Some resisted going, but it was like wanderlust. Crept into some early in life. Some late. But eventually, they all got it in their mind to see how deep that hole goes. None came out. Titala was the last to go in. Her daughter left and never came back. Didn’t keep any connections here. Clean cut to sever the curse’s hold.”
“How’d you know about Sambo and her sister?”
“Her sister’s name is Kate, and she reached out to learn about her heritage. Never came to visit, but we’ve traded emails.” He shrugged. “Point is, you aren’t looking for a graveyard. You’re looking for that doorway into hell. Some say it’s a real curse. Others say it’s an impossible rock cliff that swallows even well-prepared climbers.”
Angelica smiled at him in thanks. “We appreciate the warning. I know you probably think we’re being foolish, but we can’t turn back.”
Hoki returned her warm smile, not the least bit star-struck. He didn’t seem like a fan of movies, not showing any recognition. “Everyone who’s ever gone in has probably said something like that.” He chuckled, then added, “Remember my price?”
Kaylee answered, “$1000 and a favor.”
“All up front.”
Carter interjected, “Even the favor?” He was clearly used to people holding favors over his head for a while.
But Hoki only nodded. “Yessir. See, if you make it down there and start finding our missing people, I want to remind you we haven’t forgotten them. They are still our ancestors. We’d appreciate it if you didn’t go robbing their corpses and stuff.”
Zahn nodded respectfully. “Figure that’s the least we can promise.”
Hoki added, “Which brings us to part two.” He held out a bag filled with ID chips. “Take these geo-tags. Mark them. If you make it back out, maybe the curse is broken. We can mount an expedition to pull them out and bury them properly.”
“Why haven’t you already?”
Hoki snorted. “Do I look like I’m in a rush to die by death curse? Go get nibbled on by evil spirits if you want. This isn’t sacred ground to us. It’s a pure unholy mess as far as I’m concerned. Hope you prove me wrong when you climb back out.”
Zahn smirked. “Fair enough.”
A choppy drone hummed through the air. Then, another.
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Kaylee looked confused. “What is that?”
The mercenary Ash had called Mike shouted, “Helicopters! From the south!”
Zahn gritted his teeth. “Seriously? How the hell did he find us way out here? We didn’t leave a trail he could have followed!”
Angelica asked with concern, “Sambo?”
Carter shook his head. “After you told us what happened, I pulled a few strings and made sure they were under protective custody until this ended. If they had been attacked, I’d know about it.”
Zahn spun back toward Hoki. “Get out of here. Now! I don’t want you getting caught in this crossfire. This madman will take you out just to get rid of witnesses. Don’t ask who we’re talking about. No names. No information. You don’t know anything. Get it?”
Hoki looked angry. “This guy is coming onto our lands! I should call in the tribal police chief! He’s the law around here!”
Zahn tried to sound calm. “I know you’re trying to help. But he’s bringing enough fire power to fight back. Please Hoki. We’ll keep our promise. But let us handle this. None of your people need to die over this. Leave us outsiders to sort out our own mess.”
“Huh. Usually you colonials are the ones meddling.” With grudging respect, he went for his door. “Maybe I don’t want any part of this. Hope you survive this, friend. I really do.” He jumped into his seat and set off down the trail as fast as the rough terrain would allow.
Ash exhaled with relief. “One less thing to deal with.”
Zahn shrugged, “Odds are good he’ll bring back a SWAT team or something anyway. Guy like that won’t leave this alone. My only hope is he’ll be gone long enough to get back only in time to be picking up the pieces.”
Ash nodded, then asked her men, “You have them sighted yet?”
Gord called out, “Yeah, just over that peak on the left! See them?”
They all turned to look. One by one, they picked out the two approaching helicopters.
Mike locked and loaded his assault rifle. “Should I try and take him out of the air?”
Jake objected, “They haven’t shot at us yet. They could have all kinds of artillery onboard. If we start, they’ll fire back, and we’re the sitting ducks.”
Ash yelled, “Hold fire!” Then, she looked to Zahn, “Should we get into the tomb? Let them follow us in?”
Zahn grimaced. “If they follow, we’ll be sandwiched between deadly traps and automatic weapons. If they stay out here, then they’ll be waiting for us when we come out. No. We need to deal with this now, whatever happens.”
Angelica pointed, “We should get to the entrance. That way we have the option to go in and they can’t hold it ransom.”
Kaylee added, “And there’s lots of boulders around it. Good cover, right?”
Zahn flashed them a smile. “Love you both.” He called to the others, “Take cover near the entrance! Then we’ll see if Lars is willing to talk.”
The group moved, ducking behind various bits of stone. Ash and her small cohort checked their various guns and settled into comfortable firing postures. It was a strong defensive position. Zahn figured they were as ready as they could be. Now, we just have to wait and see what curve balls Lars flings at us.
The helicopters continued inbound. Zahn could see their tactical doors open with machine guns mounted on the side. Yeah, they still have the edge in firepower. But we’re not helpless this time.
Despite their advantage, the helicopters didn’t open fire. They circled once, then picked two relatively level patches to land. One was significantly closer and to the right, while the other perched another fifty yards distant to the left.
From each helo, a small stream of four mercenaries poured out. The eight mercs fanned over the hillside, selecting vantage points from which that could pepper the group with bullets from a bunch of angles. But they still didn’t fire.
The passenger door on the closer aircraft opened and Lars swung his long legs to the ground. His movements were stiff; the shoulder Zahn had hit with a bullet was secured with a sling and enough bandages to lock the joint in place. Prying off his earphones, Lars took long strides across the broken ground. He kept coming until within easy shouting distance. He spent a moment picking out the various faces hidden behind the rocks.
Then, he sneered at them. He didn’t look like a man at a disadvantage. “Much more civil than last time, right?”
Zahn snapped a round into his pistol to make a point. He had brought a few extra magazines this time around. Wasting a few rounds trying to hit him from this distance might be fun. “We can change that in a hurry.”
Lars’ eyes narrowed. “Don’t be hasty, boy. Rash decisions have a way of getting people killed.” He smirked. “And if the shooting starts, you might be surprised at what direction the bullets come from.”
The key turned in Zahn’s mind; the truth was unlocked. Shit shit shit shit shit …
He pulled back behind cover and thumped his forehead against the rock hard enough to hurt a little.
Concerned, Angelica tucked up next to him. “What?”
Zahn growled, “We’ve been sold out.”
“What? By who?”
“I don’t know.” Then he shot an accusing stare at Ash, who was concealed on his other side. “One of your men is a fucking traitor.”
Confusion reigned on Ash’s face. Then, anger flashed. “How dare you! Any of you could have done this!”
Zahn flared right back, “Bullshit!” He didn’t even pause to think about this from her perspective, since Angelica and Kaylee were strangers to her. They didn’t have time to chase shadows. He knew both women were innocent. Their bonds of trust and love ran too deep. Besides, there are other reasons it has to be one of yours, Ash. “Lars worked for your boss. One of his lap-dogs stayed behind to fool you.”
Ash fumed. “Not going to suspect me too?”
Zahn huffed. “I would, but he tried to kill you right along with the rest of us at the headquarters. Those nightmares would have eaten you, too. Think about it. Pure coincidence that you go report to the boss, and right then Lars ventures out to that lighthouse and lets your scryers find him? Nah, I figure that clears you. Or, you’re crazy.”
Lars had had enough waiting. “I can hear you buzzing back there. Enough, already. One of your men is in my pocket. Deal with it.”
Zahn gave one last accusing look Ash’s way, then yelled back, “So now what? Hail of bullets back and forth and see who survives?”
Lars snorted. “If I were you, I’d hold out for something better. That won’t end well.”
“You’re the one wearing one of my bullets in your shoulder.”
That killed the sneer on Lars’ face. Only dark murder remained. “Playing the smart-ass, huh? Time to wipe the smile off your face.” He gestured back at the second helicopter.
The tactical doors opened again. Three soldiers exited, bustling two women along with them. Both were in casual attire that didn’t quite match, as if they had been forcefully plucked from their beds and dressed by idiots who didn’t know style. One was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair going grey, while the other was a woman of color carrying a little extra weight and a naturally friendly face. Both were terrified as the men harried them across the rocky ground until close enough to hear them crying. The soldiers pushed both of them to their knees on a ragged patch of grass.
Zahn didn’t need to hear the anguish from his lovers to know what was going on.
It came anyway.
Angelica nearly ran out from behind cover. Zahn had to hold to her back. She screamed out, “Mom! Mom !”
Realizing what was happening, it was Ash and Carter who latched onto Kaylee before she could run out and give Lars another hostage. “Mama? Wha – what are you doing here? You bastards ! Leave my Mama alone!”
Zahn rose his voice above theirs, trying to limit the emotional influence. “You’ve reached a new fucking low, Lars!”
Lars just laughed back. “What, you think
my mole only fed me details on the relic? Ash recognized your new, famous friends. After you shot your way out of that cottage, I knew I might need a little leverage if you hung around town. Had them plucked from their homes late last night.”
Zahn beat a fist against the rock. This is not good. He whispered into his ear-bud, “Heather, they can’t know about you yet. But check your family. And check the rest of Angelica’s and Kaylee’s family. Make sure there are no more surprises. Alright?”
“On it, Zahn. Put another hole in that jerk for me, when you get to it. ”
That done, Zahn called out, “So what’s the play here, Lars? I’m not going to let you hurt them. Still hungry for that hail of bullets? Because you can bet I’ll put you down first!”
His smirk twisted his lips in mocking humor. “If I wanted a fire-fight, I wouldn’t be out here in front. You meet my demands, and these two can walk out of here safely. You all can!” He gestured at the soldiers. “Go on, let them speak.”
The merc above Angelica’s mother nudged her with his gun tip. “Go on, Nora. Talk to your daughter.”
Nora Laviolette was trying to stay composed, but the whole situation was beyond anything in her otherwise normal life. Angelica had said she had done everything possible to protect her mother from the public eye. But her few run-ins with the paparazzi didn’t match having a gun muzzle jabbed into her skull. She whimpered once, then recovered enough to cry out, “’Gelica, dear? I don’t understand. What…”
Another tap from the muzzle broke her down again.
Angelica cried back, “It’s alright, Mom! Just stay calm! We’re going to fix this!” She lowered her voice, hissing at Zahn, “We need to fix this! Let me shoot him!”
But Lars wasn’t waiting. He gestured for the next soldier to prod Kaylee’s mother.
Which the soldier did. “Go on, Regina. Have your turn.”
The goading had an opposite effect on the rotund woman. She glared daggers up at her captor. Then Regina yelled out, “Don’t listen to anything these liars say, Kaya baby! Punch ‘em in the eye!”
The soldier barked at her and rammed his rifle butt between her shoulders to knock the wind out of her reply.