She skidded to a stop as the first squad car rounded the corner and turned into the parking area in front of the building.
Erika deftly slung the bag over her shoulder as she opened the sedan’s door and slid inside. The engine revved to life, and Erika stole a quick look through the windshield.
Tara was standing in front of the building with her hands up and the pistol at her feet. Erika shook her head and cracked a devilish smile.
She pulled out of the parking space and did a U-turn, heading in the opposite direction.
No sooner had she steered the car onto another street and left IAA headquarters out of sight than two more squad cars pulled in behind her with their blue lights flashing brightly.
Escape, it seemed, wasn’t going to be as easy as she hoped.
Chapter 20
Chiapas
Cool mist poured over the men as they shuffled their feet sideways toward the back of the waterfall. Their clothes had gotten soaked in no time.
“Reminds me of Australia,” Tommy said as he inched his way to the left with one of the guards just in front of him. “Remember?”
“How could I forget?” Sean asked.
Flashlight beams played off the water in the pool below their feet. Occasional stray beams flashed across the face of the white foam falling from above.
The crashing sound of the waterfall was overwhelming and only grew louder with every step.
Martinez yelled something from his position on the wall, three men down, but the Americans couldn’t hear him over the noise.
They kept moving, an inch or two at a time with their heels hanging over the narrow ledge, their hands pressed firmly against the wet rock wall. Tommy’s nose nearly rubbed the stone as he moved. None of the men wanted to fall in the water even though they were already wet.
Falling would delay things, and moving across the shelf was slow and methodical. But no one wanted to start over, and considering Martinez’s trigger-happy posse, they might not get a do-over if Sean or Tommy fell.
The first guard disappeared behind the falling white water. Tommy followed and found the narrow edge and saw it turned into a wide landing with a shallow cavity cut into the rock. The next guard arrived, and then Sean stepped into the little alcove. He rubbed a hand through his hair and shook off the water.
The ground was wet, but most of the mist billowed out away from the rocks.
Martinez and the rest of his men made it onto the landing and stopped for a second to look around.
“Where is it?” Martinez asked the second he was on secure footing. He searched the shallow alcove, but there was nothing of interest.
“Looks like you two gringos lied to me,” he said, raising his weapon and pointing it straight at Sean’s forehead. “Maybe I won’t ransom you two after all. I think killing you might give me more satisfaction after you wasted my time this evening.”
“You can do that,” Sean said. “Honestly, I’d appreciate it if you did. I’m getting a little tired of your attitude and your lack of patience.”
Martinez barely shook his head, gazing at Sean in disbelief. “There’s no treasure. So, either you lied, or you’re too late. Either way, there’s nothing here.” He lowered his weapon and pointed it at Sean’s foot. “Maybe I just take off one of your toes as punishment.”
“Up there,” Tommy interrupted. He didn’t know if Martinez was really going to blow off Sean’s toe or not, but he figured it was as good a time as any to let the drug smuggler know their mission wasn’t over yet.
“What?” Martinez asked. Then he followed Tommy’s eyes up the rock wall to a place where there was another indentation in the stone. Above that one were two smaller cavities.
“This is just the chin of the skull,” Tommy explained. “The eyes and mouth are up there. The riddle said the next clue is in the mouth of the Devil’s Falls. If there’s anything to be found in this place, it’s up there.”
Martinez eyed the rocks carefully. It would be a dangerous climb, and only a few men could manage it at once. From his initial assessment, he picked out two routes with enough ledges and grips for a person to scale the wall. The stone, however, was wet and would definitely be slippery. He turned to the two men standing closest to him and ordered them to go up to the next opening.
The men obeyed, slung their weapons behind their backs, and began the ascent. Martinez had picked the two skinniest guys, but from the way they scaled the wall it might have been because they had climbing experience. The two easily made it up to the opening in less than four minutes.
Sean and Tommy were impressed but wondered what the smuggler was trying to do.
The two men disappeared inside the mouth of the cavity. They were gone for a few minutes, their lights dancing around on the outer edge of the entrance or waving across the falling water now and then.
They reappeared, motioning excitedly for the others to come up.
Martinez wasn’t so sure just yet. “What did you find?” he yelled in Spanish.
“Markings,” the one on the left said. “Strange markings. We don’t know what it means.”
“Another cipher,” Sean whispered, more to himself than anyone else.
Martinez turned to the Americans with a scowl on his face. “What is that supposed to mean? Markings? Do you know what they’re talking about?”
Tommy shook his head slowly. “No, but if you let us up there, we might be able to figure it out.”
“You said there was a treasure here. You said this was the place.” The drug smuggler waved his gun around recklessly at the prisoners. “You know what I think?”
“Good hygiene is overrated?” Sean said with a smirk that begged to be slapped off his face.
Martinez ignored the barb, possibly because he didn’t understand the context. “I think you two are trying to stall for time. Maybe you believe someone is going to come rescue you or come to take us out. I have news for you, amigo. No one is coming. No one is going to stop us. So, tell me where the treasure is or I start shooting.”
Sean didn’t have to think long about what to say. “Let us go up there,” he said. “If those markings are anything like the ones that led us here, it would mean we’re really close. The treasure could be anywhere around here, even down in that water.” He motioned to the natural pool under the falls.
The other men standing around all looked down into the water, their eyes filled with curiosity. Even though they didn’t speak English, they picked up enough to get the gist.
The drug smuggler wasn’t stupid. He had the look of someone who’d grown up in a tough situation, possibly even on the streets. Even if he hadn’t, the streets had probably taught him a few things, and getting into the cartel game only further enhanced his experience. There’d be no fooling him.
“I asked you two if the treasure was here, and you said yes.”
“To be fair, there’s no way we could have known that for sure,” Tommy said. “I mean, if we knew exactly where it was then we’d probably have retrieved it already.”
“That or you’re lying.” Martinez pointed his weapon at Tommy’s right knee.
“Take it easy,” Sean said. “We’re not lying. Let us go up there and read what’s engraved on the rocks. We might be able to figure it out—and if we do, there will be more money and power than you’ve ever imagined.”
Sean was speaking to the guy’s desires now. These types were almost always the same. They wanted to live like kings. The cartel money was great, but the power and respect that came with being in charge was what really motivated Martinez.
“I have money. And power.” Martinez turned to his men and then back to the Americans. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you two are leading me into a trap or some kind of ambush.”
“How in the world would we be setting you up for an ambush?” Tommy asked. “You took all our gear. We haven’t been in contact with anyone. And if you had enough money and power, why would you have come out here with us in the first place?”
/>
He made a good point, one with which Martinez couldn’t argue.
“Come up there with us,” Sean said. “Climb to the skull’s mouth, and we’ll show you.”
The man thought about it for another minute before making his decision. “Fine,” he relented. Then he looked at the other men around him. “Keep your weapons on them. If one of them even so much as slips, shoot him in the back.”
“That’s a little extreme,” Sean commented. “Okay for me to start climbing now?” Martinez gave a slow nod and moved over to the right where the other man had gone up the rocks.
He stuffed his pistol back in the holster and reached up to the first ledge. Sean also started up, cautiously pulling himself higher as he scaled the wall. Just above fifteen feet high, he stopped looking back down at the onlookers and focused exclusively on the next grip and foothold. A slip from here would either get him shot or break some major bones. Neither sounded like a good idea.
Sean reached the top ledge a few seconds before his captor and slapped his hand onto the moist landing, relieved to be done with the tiring work. The two men at the top rushed over to help pull up their boss, leaving Sean to scramble over the lip on his own.
He stood up and moved away from the edge, the old fear of heights doing its best to make him dizzy.
He looked into the recess but couldn’t see what the men had found since it was nearly pitch dark.
“You!” Martinez yelled down at Tommy once he was safely above. “Climb!”
The other men below jabbed Tommy with their rifles, urging him to hurry.
“Fine. Take it easy.” Tommy put both hands in the air as he stepped to the wall.
Tommy had no trouble making the climb. His workout routine included lots of pull-ups, rowing, and several other back and arm exercises that made doing something like this a breeze.
It hadn’t always been that way. Tommy had to overcome some personal challenges to get into shape, but he’d done it in an amazingly short period of time and was now able to endure almost any physical challenge.
Sean stuck out a hand to help his friend over the lip and hoisted Tommy up to the landing.
Tommy slapped his pants and then looked around the half room cut into the rock.
The two guards were shining their lights into the back, pointing at something in the corner.
“It’s back there?” Sean asked in Spanish.
One of the men looked at his boss and then nodded.
“May we?”
Martinez gave a nod and then motioned for his men to keep a close watch on the Americans. As the other four made their way back to the rear of the little cave, Martinez stole a quick glance over the edge at his men below to make sure they were still in position. Seeing them standing there looking up at him, he acknowledged them with a short wave and then hurried to catch up to the others.
The dome-shaped cavern only went back about thirty feet, maybe a little more. Centuries ago, it may have been used as a shelter by some of the locals, although with so much mist floating in from the falls it would have been difficult to keep things dry.
The men had to bend down a little to keep from hitting their heads on the back of the cave. Sean tilted his head to the side and looked up at the rock where the guards were shining their lights.
Martinez and his men were distracted, so Sean took a second to put his hand in his pocket to make sure the remote detonator was still there. He felt the smooth metal device and then took his hand out again so as not to raise suspicion.
He looked up again at the bizarre symbols on the wall. They were the same style as the ones they’d found before.
“I need one of you to take a picture with your phone,” Tommy said.
Martinez looked at him like he was crazy. “What?”
“You guys have cell phones down here, right? I mean, I doubt you have coverage, but surely you have the devices.”
The drug smuggler’s scowl remained in place like a permanently irritated statue. Then he reached into his pocket and fished out a cell phone.
“What picture would you like me to take?” Martinez asked.
“Just have your men shine the light on these carvings and take a few pictures.”
“Why am I doing this?”
“When we get back to the camp, we’ll need to analyze them and make sure we understand where to go next.” Tommy lied, but he did it in an extremely convincing way.
Martinez sighed and relented. He took several quick photos and then shoved the phone back into his pocket.
Sean noted that the guy didn’t lock his device.
“Now what? You two going to find another way to waste my time?”
“No,” Sean said. “It will be easier to make notes and analyze these writings with our gear back in the camp.”
Martinez motioned for the Americans to head back to the edge. The two guards followed close behind. When they got to the lip of the landing, the leader looked down over the ledge to where his men had been standing just a few minutes before.
His face instantly twisted with a frown. The men were gone.
Chapter 21
Atlanta
Erika knew she had to get out of the city. Downtown would be on lockdown within minutes. All the narrow streets and corridors would be closed off, and the cops would squeeze her in like a boa constrictor.
She stepped on the gas and accelerated up over a hill toward the city’s center. Peachtree Street would be the most open, the best option, but there would also be the risk of regular traffic there, even at this hour of the night. Her best bet would be to make a break for the interstate, though that came with its own set of problems.
Once there, she’d have no way of getting off until she ran out of gas or found an exit that wasn’t blocked by the police. The latter would be unlikely since the cops would radio ahead to every exit and have a blockade in place for just such a maneuver.
Right on cue, she reached a line of stopped cars filling all the lanes running north on Peachtree Street toward Buckhead. She cut the wheel to the right and turned onto 14th going east.
The car zoomed down the hill. Old businesses and abandoned buildings whirred by. A few pedestrians stared in wonder at the speeding sedan and the squad cars pursuing it.
Erika glanced back in her mirror at the flashing blue lights. Up ahead, she saw the reflection of similar lights bouncing off the brick buildings on a perpendicular side street.
“Reinforcements,” she muttered.
In a few seconds, the cops would pull into the intersection ahead, effectively blocking off her escape. She noticed a gravel parking lot to the right. Without knowing anything about the lot, she immediately guessed there had to be another way in and out.
Erika took the chance and pulled the emergency brake while she spun the steering wheel to the right. The car fishtailed expertly into the parking lot entrance. She corrected the steering easily and accelerated into the dusty gravel lot while one of the squad cars behind her slammed on the brakes and missed the turn. The other car’s driver saw her maneuver and was able to slow down in time.
She’d already increased the gap between her vehicle and the cops, but that could change in a hurry, especially since they had radios. She jammed the gas pedal and sent gravel and dust shooting out behind her.
The lot was filled with old school buses, fire trucks, electric company vans, and decommissioned government vehicles that had been retired long ago.
Erika jerked the wheel to the right and slid her car between two US Postal Service Jeeps. She stepped on the gas again and surged through on the other side as the cop behind her had to slam on the brakes, back up, and hurry to try to make up ground.
A quick turn of the wheel and Erika was heading toward the back of the lot again. She stole a glance in the rearview mirror. She could see more blue lights reflecting off the buildings and old vehicles behind her.
The squad car reappeared, now farther behind. She reached the end of the row of vehicles and turned the whee
l sharply to the left. This time, she shot by the last car in the row and rocketed across the aisle toward a series of rows. The lot was larger than she’d anticipated, covering several acres of junked vehicles. The place was a labyrinth—a huge maze of metal, rubber, and glass. Dust plumed into the air behind Erika’s car as she kept racing toward a hill on the other side.
The lot was in a sort of basin, surrounded on three sides by a ridge that wrapped around the property all the way to the main entrance. A chain-link fence protected the property with barbwire pointing out over it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t another exit as she’d initially believed and the hill was slightly too steep for her to hit it head on. The front bumper of her car would dig straight into the dirt and grass, and her little escape would come to a sudden and painful halt.
Two more cop cars appeared in the rearview mirror, joining the first pursuer. Then she had an idea. She couldn’t hit the hill directly, but it was sloped just enough that if she steered onto it at the right angle, she could drive up it.
It was her only hope—that or try to lose the cops in the maze. That could only work for so long until they blocked off every possible turn. It wouldn’t take them much time to figure out she was trapped. Then it would become a waiting game.
She flipped the wheel to the right. Gravel spat out from the back wheels amid more dust clouds. The back end swung one way and then the other before she expertly corrected the steering again.
Erika kept her foot on the gas as she veered the car toward the steep embankment. If she’d missed her guess, her getaway was going to end much sooner than she planned.
The left wheel hit the hill. She gunned it through the gradual curve until both left-side wheels were on the grass. The car was tilted at a sharp angle to the side. Then she felt the right side wheels leave the gravel. Instinctively, she leaned her body to the left, as if that would keep the car from flipping over on its side.
Up ahead, the end of the parking lot approached rapidly. If she was going to get out, she’d have to make her move now or crash violently into the oncoming embankment.
The Fourth Prophecy Page 16
