"Turn around," the nervous man said. "And keep quiet."
Jack wiggled out from under the slab. He was dragging something heavy, straining as he pulled the object from its hiding place. His head appeared last. Once he was clear of the slab, moving the object became easier. He put both hands under the stone and tugged.
At first, the only thing visible to the rest of the men was a yellowish, narrow object about three inches wide. As Jack removed the entire, thing, everyone's eyes widened as the golden boomerang glimmered in the rays of sunlight streaking through the canopy above.
"I can't believe it," Jack said with a huge grin. He grabbed the object at both ends and held it up to the sky. "I can't believe it!"
Tommy noticed the engravings on the boomerang as Jack held it high. He sighed at the thought of this grunt getting his hands on it. They could learn much from what was carved into the precious metal. Not now.
Sean never looked back at Jack holding up the treasure. He was too busy staring into the guard's soul.
"I told you to turn around," the man's voice grew louder.
Suddenly, a deep vibrating tone echoed through the leaves. The guards simultaneously snapped their heads around to find the source of the noise, but they could see nothing.
The sound was joined by a similar one from another part of the woods. The eerie tone sent a chill up Sean's spine. He didn't let the guards know that. Another didgeridoo came to life in yet another part of the forest, completely surrounding the group in the noise.
"I told you the spirits were coming," Sean said to his guard.
Jack lowered the heavy object and looked around. He tried not to panic but couldn't find the ones responsible for the noise. He set the boomerang on top of the slab and pulled out his pistol, waving it around in all directions.
Sean's guard took a step back. His hands clutching the assault rifle trembled. "Turn around," he said in a quivering voice. "Turn around, and shut your mouth."
Sean had no intention of obeying. He used the noise to his advantage. "They're here because we disturbed a sacred place. And now they will make you pay."
"I told you to shut—"
The man's heel struck a root, and he tripped. His arms flailed wildly as he tried to keep his balance. He fell over backward and accidentally fired his weapon, sending a bullet harmlessly into the trees.
Sean pounced like a hungry lion. One step, and he jumped on the man, even before the guard's back hit the ground.
Jack saw what was happening and aimed at the American. Sean was too fast, though, and grabbed his victim by the shirt. With what little strength he had left, Sean rolled the guard over—putting him squarely between himself and Jack's weapon. Jack pulled the trigger rapidly, sending round after round into the human shield's back.
The man's face grimaced with every bullet that sank into his body until one struck his spinal cord. Then his body went totally limp. Sean felt it go heavy but managed to keep the dead man propped up.
The other four guards saw what happened and turned their attention to Sean, momentarily forgetting about Reece and Tommy. The two big men charged the guys closest to them. They both yelled like rabid wolves, driving their shoulders into the guards before they could whip their weapons around and fire.
Tommy plowed his man into the ground, landing on top of the guard with all his weight. The side of the guy's head hit the ground and dazed him for a moment. Tommy summoned the last remnants of his strength and straddled the man's chest. He pummeled the guard's face over and over again with clenched fists, each blow pushing the victim closer and closer to unconsciousness.
Six feet away, Reece had tumbled over his guy and rolled beyond him. The guard stood up and lunged at the big Aussie, who clambered up from the ground and sank a fist deep into the guard's abdomen.
The guy grunted and doubled over, but he stayed on his feet and deflected Reece's next punch, countering with his own to the Aussie's jaw.
Sean heard Jack's gun click. He was out of rounds. It wouldn't take him long to reload. Sean had to act fast. Then he noticed the other two guards taking aim at Tommy as he pounded one of the guards into oblivion.
Sean's instincts kicked in. He grabbed the knife off his human shield's belt and flipped it over. It only took Sean half a second to size up the distance between him and the guard closest to him. From his backside, he twisted his upper body and flung the blade as hard as he could.
The knife zipped through the air. The tip sank deep into tissue to the right of the gunman's shoulder blade. He yelled and fired his weapon wildly into the air as he dropped to the ground.
The last guard turned around and aimed his rifle at Sean. The dead guy Sean had used before wouldn't help him against that weapon.
He saw the gunman's finger tense on the trigger as he was about to pull it and effectively cut Sean in half. Out of nowhere, something struck the man in the neck. It protruded like a dangling white ornament made of a fuzzy material. The guard winced and grabbed at the dart. He looked around desperate to find the new assailant, but the forest was empty.
Then the poison took hold.
He started shaking as the venom worked its way through his blood, aided by the fact that he'd taken the dart squarely in the carotid artery. He clutched his neck with both hands, squeezing it with his fingers to keep the burning from going any farther. It was too late. The venom did its job quickly. The guard dropped to his knees as his throat tightened. His face reddened as he desperately tried to force air into his lungs. The last sound he made before he fell face-first into the dirt was a desperate gurgle.
Sean stole a look around into the trees. He couldn't find the shooter, and there was no trace of the blowgun. If they were an enemy, he'd be next. Something in Sean's mind told him that whoever was in the trees had no intention of hurting him.
Jack reached into his belt and grabbed a fresh magazine. His hands moved fast as Sean sprang up from the ground and charged. One thumb pressed the button that loosed the magazine from its housing. The other hand deftly brought the magazine around and slid it into the base of the weapon. Sean took one more big step, and Jack held the gun down and jerked the slide back to chamber a new round.
Sean flew through the air, yelling like a banshee. Jack raised the weapon and fired. The round whizzed past Sean's head, missing by mere inches.
The second shot never came.
Sean crashed into Jack, his weight driving the big man back against the stone slab. Jack brought the gun around to take another shot. Sean raised his forearm and blocked the move then smashed his fist into his opponent's jaw. Sean followed the blow by grabbing the gun with his other hand and twisting it at an awkward angle. Jack had no choice but to let go or have his fingers broken by the weapon.
But the big rugger wasn't done. Sean held the gun by the barrel, but a swift snap of Jack's boot sent the weapon tumbling through the air and onto the ground a dozen feet away. Sean watched the gun for a second. As he turned his attention back to the massive man, his cheek took the brunt of a heavy fist.
36
Yengo National Park
Twenty feet away, Reece grappled with the last guard. He held the barrel as the man squeezed the trigger. The weapon boomed like thunder. Leaves shook on the nearby trees. Dirt exploded on the ground with every bullet strike. Finally the weapon went silent as the two men spun around in a deadly dance.
Reece immediately recognized the gun was no longer a threat. He let go of the weapon and grabbed the guard by the shirt, yanked him forward, and planted his forehead directly into the man's nose.
The man's hand let go of the rifle. It clacked on the ground at Reece's feet. Reece repeated the move, using his strength to pull the guard at him again. This time, the disoriented guard regained his wits enough to lower his head. The two heads came together like rams' horns atop a mountain.
Reece's grip on the man's shirt loosened, and he staggered backward a few steps until he lost his balance and dropped to his butt.
The guard
looked up with blank eyes. Dark crimson blood trickled from his nostrils as he wavered in place for a second. Then he toppled over sideways, unconscious before he hit the ground.
The punch Sean took nearly knocked him out of the trench. His lower back barged into the side. Jack rushed him, but Sean was quicker and rolled out onto the ground above.
Jack jumped after him.
Sean snapped his foot out to kick Jack in the face. The attacker snatched Sean's shoe and twisted it to the right, spinning Sean in midair and sending him to the ground.
Again, Sean rolled out of the way as Jack leaped from the ditch and onto the surface. He stomped at Sean's head and missed, then tried again with the same result. Sean tumbled to safety and pushed up to his feet once more.
He sniffled and narrowed his eyes, holding his fists out in a fighting stance with his body twisted slightly. This is the man who is responsible for her death. Take your revenge.
Jack charged. Sean stepped forward. Jack jumped into the air, leading with his boot. Sean ducked to the side and chopped the bridge of his right hand squarely into Jack's midsection.
The counter was a good one. But not good enough.
Jack landed on his feet and whirled around, whipping another kick into the middle of Sean's back. Sean grunted from the dull surge of pain. He reacted with a jab. Jack blocked the punch and swung a roundhouse into Sean's jaw, knocking him sideways a couple of feet.
The world spun in Sean's eyes. He put out both hands to steady his balance. Another fist smashed into his jaw and sent him stumbling backward.
Sean was losing, and he didn't know if he could win. The big former athlete almost seemed as if the blows Sean delivered had no effect. His body was weak from lack of food and water. No, he told himself. It can't end here. Not like this.
As Jack stalked toward his prey, Sean's blurry mind drifted back to a thought he'd had a moment before. Could he beat the big former athlete? That's right. Jack's career ended because of a bad knee injury.
Just feet away from where Sean wavered, Jack pulled a big knife out of his belt and held it out menacingly.
"Time for you to join your sheila," he said with a sinister grin on his face.
He flipped the grip around in his hand and raised the weapon over his shoulder.
Sean clenched every muscle in his body to make the world steady again, and as Jack brought the tip of the blade down at the American's neck, Sean sidestepped, lifted his foot, and jammed his heel down into the side of Jack's knee.
The joint gave way under the force of Sean's weight. Jack buckled and fell to the ground amid a series of howls. He grabbed at the wounded appendage with both hands, his face contorted in agony.
Sean kept his balance enough to bend down and pick up the knife. He looked at it for a second and then stared down at the big man. Tommy and Reece watched from the other side of the clearing as Sean crouched behind Jack and pulled him up onto his backside. The American wrapped his arm around the man's neck and pressed the edge of the blade against the skin. A thin cut opened, oozing droplets of blood.
"Do it," Jack said. "It won't bring her back."
"No," Sean said. "It won't."
He jerked the knife to his right and shoved the man back to the ground.
For a moment, Reece and Tommy thought Sean had slit the man's throat. Then they heard Jack laughing as Sean walked away, back toward the giant stone slab. He tossed the knife into the woods and sighed.
"You don't have the guts, do you, Wyatt? You're just a coward!" Jack clawed at the ground and noticed the pistol he'd lost just moments before. He reached out to the weapon. His fingers dragged across the grip before a nail caught the edge of the magazine and pulled it closer. Jack sat up and raised the pistol, aiming straight at Sean's back.
Tommy saw the threat, and his eyes lit up with fear. "Sssssean!" he shouted.
Sean stopped, though he didn't turn around. He didn't need to. He could feel the gun pointed at him. For a moment, he wondered when the gunshot was coming. Instead, a low thump came from behind. It was followed by a thud on the ground.
Sean slowly twisted his head and looked back over his shoulder. Jack was facedown in the dirt. His body twitched for a few seconds and then became completely still. The knife Sean had tossed into the woods protruded from the back of his neck.
An apparition stood twenty feet behind him.
Adriana smiled.
For a long moment Sean didn't know if his imagination was running wild on him or if what he saw was real. Tears filled his eyes, and he nearly dropped to the ground.
"I..."
"Thought I was dead?" She walked slowly toward him. Her ponytail bobbed with every step.
"How? I couldn't find you in the river."
Reece and Tommy struggled to their feet and stared with unbelieving eyes as Adriana approached Sean.
She stopped close to him.
He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tighter than he'd ever squeezed anything in his life.
"Easy," she said. "Bullet wound, remember?"
"Oh yeah," he said, sniffling. "Sorry."
"It's okay."
He shook his head. "I don't understand. I saw you get shot. You fell in the water."
"I know," she said. "The bullet went right through. I was lucky. Don't get me wrong, I had to get the wound closed. And I should probably see a doctor pretty soon. But I'll be okay."
"Where did you go? I looked all over the river."
"Yes," she nodded, "I'm sorry about that. When I fell back into the water, I thought I was going to die. It only took me a few seconds before I realized the wound wasn't as bad as I suspected. If he'd been using a bigger-caliber bullet, I might not be standing here. I went under the surface and swam back to the waterfall. I hid there and waited.
"It was a trick to plug the wounds. I had to tear off part of my sports bra. Getting the blood to stop in the back was harder due to the angle, but I managed. Will be a while before I use this arm much."
Tommy and Reece had joined them and listened to her tale.
"You three disappeared, so I waited for the shooter and the others to come down. That one over there," she motioned at Jack, "killed the sniper. When they left, I followed them, tracking them all the way here. I had a little help with the wound from some friends. They burned it shut for me, which by the way, is excruciating."
"Friends?" Tommy asked. He still couldn't believe she was standing there in front of them.
Adriana flashed a sly grin and nodded. "Yes." She waved a hand at the forest and suddenly dozens of dark faces marked with white paint appeared. Some of the men held didgeridoos. Others carried boomerangs. "I knew I would need help since I was outnumbered and still not fully recovered. So I found some people I knew wouldn't be happy about bad guys like them desecrating a sacred place. They were more than willing to oblige. Their only stipulation was that they wouldn't harm anyone personally."
The realization hit Reece. "So they were the ones playing the didgeridoos."
"So much for your spirits," Tommy said.
"They offered to help," Adriana continued. "The instruments were their idea."
One of the Aborigine men stepped forward, separating himself from the others. He wore blue jeans and a gray T-shirt. His black hair hung down just below his ears. One white line streaked from his forehead down his nose. His cheeks were covered in dots and white lines.
He stopped six feet away from the group and paused. "Me and the others would like to thank you for your help in putting a stop to whatever these blokes had planned," he said in a sharp Aussie accent.
"You're welcome," Sean said. "They were going to try to use that golden boomerang to force the sale of tribal lands."
The tribesman looked puzzled. "Land? Is that what this was about? There's plenty of land all over the continent."
"Not with oil in it, there's not. Seems that their boss," Sean gave a nod at Jack, "found a good bit of oil in some Aborigine land in South Australia. He
figured if he had the sacred boomerang, the owners would be more apt to listen to a proposal."
The tribesman listened and then pursed his lips together. "Well then, it's a good thing you all came along."
Tommy was about to burst from all the questions in his mind. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude, but what are you going to do with the boomerang?"
"Why? You one of them treasure hunters?" the tribesman asked.
"No," Tommy shook his head vehemently. "I run an archaeological agency. Studying ancient cultures is one of my passions."
"Isn't the study of ancient cultures anthropology?"
Sean and Reece both snorted a laugh.
Tommy blushed. "Well...yes, but we do a bit of both."
"I'm just funnin' with ya, mate. To answer your question, we're going to put the boomerang back where it belongs—where the creator put it in the first place. It must stay there until he returns. If you'd like to have a look at it before we return it, be our guest."
Tommy's eyes lit up. "Oh thank you. Thank you so much. I'll just take a few...oh right. No pictures."
The tribesman's eyes gleamed with mischief. "That's right, mate. No pictures."
37
Adelaide
"You sure you don't want to stick around a bit longer?" Reece asked as he took a big sip of the golden beer.
He and the other three sat around a patio table overlooking Downtown Adelaide. They'd just finished a big meal at one of the nicer places in town. That didn't stop Reece from having a few rounds.
"We have to get going," Tommy said. "They're clearing out the rubble from our building this week. I'll be meeting with the architects next week to start looking through designs for the new facility."
"What about you two?" Reece said to Sean and Adriana. "Also heading back to the States?"
"Yeah," Sean said with a nod. "Need to get back and recuperate. Plus I want to spend some time alone with her." He squeezed Adriana's hand and offered her a loving smile. He'd almost lost her twice now. Letting go was something he'd put off as long as possible.
The Sean Wyatt Series Box Set 4 Page 26
