“You guys notice you can’t hear the birds anymore?” Sean asked just above a whisper.
“Now that you mention it,” Tommy said. “Yeah. That’s kind of creepy.”
Pablo had a fearful look on his face. “We shouldn’t be here. This is a place of death. I tried to tell you two not to come here. We should leave.”
He started to get up, but Sean put his hand on Pablo’s back and kept him down low. “If you go now, they’ll see you.” Sean eyed him with tempered disdain. Up until this point, Pablo had seemed somewhat brave. And he’d acted with military precision to take out Martinez’s men at the waterfall. The sudden look of panic in the man’s eyes was disconcerting.
“Remember why we’re here,” Sean added.
Pablo let out a sigh. His head turned back and forth as he lowered his body to the ground. “I was wrong to help you. This place is cursed. None of us should be here. This place has been untouched for centuries. Why do you think that is? Evil spirits are at work here. We mustn’t disturb them.”
“They’re not spirits,” Sean said, pointing into a tree close to the one where they’d seen the leg a few minutes before. “They’re just men.”
Pablo followed Sean’s finger until he saw the target in the branches. Two legs were wrapped around a tree trunk, with feet planted on two opposing limbs. The person’s arms also encircled the tree, but they couldn’t see the face. Only shoulders and appendages.
“That’s no ghost,” Sean reiterated. “It’s just a man. I’ve seen tribal types like this before. They prey on your fear. That’s their power. Other than that, they’re just people.”
“So what, you want to waltz down there and eliminate ’em?” Tommy asked. “Looks like an ambush if you ask me.”
Sean agreed with his friend’s assessment; it smelled like a trap. For that to be the case, though, the men in the trees below would have to know they were coming. How could they? Then again, it was possible that these “ghosts” had been watching them since they arrived in that part of the rain forest. There was no telling how long they’d been under surveillance.
“We need a plan,” Sean said.
“You’re usually the one who comes up with that.”
“I know. Feel free to chip in whenever.”
“You’ve done well enough to keep us alive this long. No need to change now.”
Pablo listened to the back-and-forth conversation between the two and finally decided to cut in. “If you’re going to do this, you need a diversion.”
Sean and Tommy looked at each other and then at Pablo.
“We’ve used those before,” Sean said. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“One of you could run down the hill and get their attention. Then you run back as fast as you can to draw them in.”
“Draw them into what?” Tommy asked.
“To our own trap. We can take them out when they follow you back to here or wherever we set up.”
It was a good idea in theory except for one problem.
“That’s great,” Sean said, “but running back up that hill will be tough. This thing is a small mountain.” He motioned to the ridge.
“Well, if you guys have any ideas, I’m open to suggestions.”
Tommy stared up into the treetops with wide, glazed-over eyes. “Guys. I think we can forget that plan.”
“Why?” Sean and Pablo asked in tandem.
“Because they’re looking right at us.”
The other two men followed Tommy’s gaze up into the trees and realized what had him spooked. Dozens of men with paint covering most of their bodies and faces were standing on tree branches high above. Several had bows and arrows. Others had blowguns held to their mouths, aimed at the trespassers below.
“What do we do?” Pablo whispered. He couldn’t hide the sudden returning fear in his voice.
“Retreat,” Sean said. “I’ll cover you. Go. Now!”
He dug in, took aim up into the canopy, and opened fire. The other two didn’t need to be told twice. They sprang from their positions and ran back down the trail. Their retreat was short-lived. Darts and arrows flew in a barrage, sinking into the ground around them.
“They’ve got us pinned down!” Tommy shouted as he dove for cover behind a dead tree to the side of the trail.
Pablo hurled himself in the other direction behind a huge stump.
Sean hit one of the men in the leg, taking out a huge chunk of flesh. The man howled and fell from his high position and hit the ground with a thud. Sean took aim at a bowman as he loosed an arrow. There was barely time to roll out of the way as the arrow thumped. The second the tip hit the dirt a few inches from Sean’s side, he straightened his aim and fired another shot.
The round hit the bowman in the chest and sent him flying backward from the tree limb, down to his death forty feet below.
More darts and arrows followed, and Sean had to scramble to take cover behind a big tree to his right. He looked down at Pablo and Tommy and saw they were trapped as well.
Sean spun around and fired a few wild shots into the canopy before returning to the temporary safety of the tree. In the brief moment he’d looked out from behind the trunk, he saw something terrifying. Dozens more painted men were swinging his way via thick vines. Others were charging up the hill, yelling something in a tongue he didn’t understand. He pivoted around again and opened fire at the men coming in through the air. One took a bullet in the shoulder. Another took a shot to the chest. Both fell to the earth and writhed in a heap while the battle continued around them.
Then Tommy and Pablo opened fire. Tommy was more selective, only firing one or two shots at a time to keep the weapon balanced and accurate. Pablo, on the other hand, emptied his first magazine in less than ten seconds. The recoil drove the muzzle up every time he squeezed the trigger, sending rounds of hot metal sailing through the green leaves above.
Out of sheer luck, Pablo struck one of them in the head and caused another two to jump clear of the hailstorm, which proved fatal for one and rendered the other immobilized from shattered bones in his legs and pelvis.
“What’s it looking like on your end?” Tommy shouted up to Sean thirty feet away.
“We’re not going to have enough rounds!” Sean yelled back. “There are more of them coming!”
“Not good!”
Sean spun around and squeezed off another shot, missing the target by a few feet before he had to return to cover as the tribesmen kept firing their ancient but deadly projectiles.
He knew there was only one option. Looking down from above his companions, he saw that the reinforcements weren’t coming from the other direction, only over the ridge.
Sean made a quick decision. “We have to make a run for the truck!” he shouted. “I’ll cover you two! Get through the initial wave, and then cover me, taking them out from behind!”
“You sure about that?” Tommy yelled back as he fired another shot from his cover behind the dead log. “They’ll pick us off! There are too many of them!”
Sean knew his friend was probably right, but it was their only chance. They couldn’t make a run into the basin. That would put them right in the teeth of the enemy.
“No other choice, Schultzie! Too many the other way, and if we don’t make a move now they’ll have us surrounded on all sides in no time!”
Sean spun around again and fired. This time, he let several rounds loose, spraying a deadly hail of metal at the enemy. Two more of the attackers fell from trees. Then Sean altered his aim toward the men on the ground, who were closing in fast. Several of them carried old spears that looked like they were from the Stone Age. He knew the tips were probably poisoned, as were the blow darts and possibly the arrows.
One nick of the skin from one of those things, and death would come quickly and painfully.
Sean ejected the magazine from his weapon and rapidly loaded a new one. He chambered the first round and took aim at the onrushing attackers who were bearing down in a hurry. The wea
pon’s muzzle flashed as Sean fired round after round at the desperate charge.
He dropped six of the crazed men in seconds. Another popped around his tree, holding a dagger menacingly in one hand. The guy screamed some inaudible word and started to bring the tip of the blade down toward Sean’s neck. Sean swung the butt of his gun around and struck the man in the gut. As the injured attacker doubled over, Sean raised his weapon and hit the guy on the back of the head with the same part of the gun, dropping him to the ground and rendering him instantly unconscious.
Another look down in the basin was all Sean needed. The painted warriors were swarming like ants rushing out of a kicked anthill.
“Get back to the SUV!” he shouted.
He fired into the trees to give Tommy and Pablo time to escape. The targets ducked behind tree trunks or danced side to side to avoid being hit. One lost his balance and fell to the ground headfirst. His body twitched next to the trail as Tommy and Pablo ran by it at a full sprint.
Suddenly, gunfire erupted from somewhere else in the woods.
The painted men in the trees fell one after another all around.
Tommy and Pablo skidded to a stop and dropped to their knees, desperately looking around to find the source of the new shooters.
Sean heard more guns popping to his right and left. He didn’t have to look long to see where it was coming from. Men in dark green tactical gear were positioned around the outside of the circle the tribesmen had formed around their targets. Now they were exposed from behind with nowhere to run.
“Americans?” Sean said to himself, wondering what the newcomers were doing there.
As long as they were both shooting at the same enemy, he didn’t care. Sean spun around and continued to fire as the painted men now tried to turn and run.
The men in the trees behind Sean’s position were wiped out in short order as Tommy and Pablo continued the fight, picking them off from the trail while the new support took out the enemy from the side.
When there were no more targets, Tommy and Pablo turned around and returned to Sean’s position next to the tree. Emboldened by the sudden change in fortune, the three pushed ahead, forcing the attackers back into the jungle.
The men in the tactical gear charged forward, taking the top of the ridge in a broad line that spanned several hundred feet. The fleeing targets disappeared into the dense foliage, though most of them were strewn about the forest floor. A few were still alive, writhing in pain in the dirt. The vast majority were lying still.
Sean stepped over to one of the dead men and knelt down beside him. The warpaint was fresh. Then he noticed something in the man’s tattered clothing. He reached in and pulled out a tiny bag of white powder. Initially, he’d felt guilty about shooting at what he figured was an indigenous tribe. After all, they were just protecting their land. Now Sean realized that wasn’t what they were guarding. They were working for a cartel. Which one, Sean had no idea.
One of the gunmen, a guy in a green hat with a thick, black beard turned toward Sean and put a hand up. “You Sean Wyatt?” he asked.
Sean’s forehead wrinkled as he tried to place the man’s face. “Yeah. I’m sorry, I don’t think I know you.”
“You don’t. Name’s Kirk. Todd Kirk. We’re here with Lilian Pike.”
Chapter 35
Chiapas
The smoke from the gunfight still hung thick in the air as Sean watched Lilian Pike stride confidently up the hill. She looked nothing like before when she was dressed in her stately business suit with hair neatly brushed. If she had makeup on, it was minimal.
She had a hat similar to the one Kirk and the rest of his team wore. Her clothes were only slightly different, a black tank top with a green long-sleeve button-up over it and matching pants. Unlike the rest, she only carried a pistol on her hip and no tactical backpack.
“That was quick,” Sean said with a hint of suspicion in his tone.
Lilian was honest in her response. “I was already in Mexico when I received your message.”
Sean frowned, confused. “Already in Mexico. Why? You on vacation?”
“I knew the general area where you were and wanted to be able to lend assistance if needed.” She surveyed the battlefield littered with the bodies of the so-called ghosts. “From the looks of it, I’d say that was a good call on my part.”
“Indeed.”
Tommy and Pablo stood next to Sean with their weapons hanging from their shoulders.
“I see you picked up another member of your group,” she said, motioning to Pablo. “Is he with your agency?”
“No, ma’am,” Tommy said. “Pablo is local. We thought it might be wise to have someone with us who knows the lay of the land since Sean and I haven’t been through this area.” He hoped she bought the lie.
“Good thinking,” Lilian said.
She looked around as the rest of her men swept the area to make sure there were no more stragglers.
“So, where’s this temple?” she asked. “Your message suggested it was here.”
“We figure it’s down in the basin,” Sean pointed in that direction. “Apparently, those men were guarding it.”
“There has to be something important down there if all those guys were willing to die for it,” Tommy added.
“You haven’t found it yet?” Lilian asked, sounding a little disappointed and surprised.
“No, but that means you’ll be here when we do. By our calculations, it should be in the center of that giant bowl.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” she asked. “I don’t want to spend more time in this jungle than I have to. Just because I grew up in the country doesn’t mean I want to be this far off the grid.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tommy said. “Follow me.”
He motioned down the trail leading into the basin, but Lilian stopped him. “Why don’t you let two of my men lead the way?”
Tommy started to protest and tell her he and his associates could take care of themselves, but then he decided against it. What was the point?
“Sure,” he said with a thick reluctance in his voice.
Kirk and one of the other men stepped in front of Tommy as the group proceeded down the trail.
Sean didn’t let on, but he counted ten men with the congresswoman. Quite a bit of firepower she’d brought with her. That meant she’d not come to Mexico for a quiet getaway. This trip was all business. What he didn’t understand was why she’d come at all. Recovering lost items or finding where they were hidden was Sean and Tommy’s job. It was why she’d hired them in the first place. She didn’t seem like the type that would venture into a dangerous jungle in search of ancient ruins or artifacts. Something didn’t feel right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Tommy and the others led the way down the trail, through the last remains of acrid gun smoke and past the dead ghosts lying here and there, until they reached the bottom of the hill. A shallow stream cut through the jungle, winding its way between trees through a ditch that divided the foot of the ridge from the rest of the basin.
Sean kept his eyes peeled as the procession crossed the creek, venturing deeper into the forest. They’d not taken out all the ghosts during the fight, and it was likely the painted men had taken up new defensive positions. All the tribesmen needed was for the intruders to mentally switch off for a few seconds to launch a new attack.
Taking a blow dart or arrow in the chest was the last thing Sean wanted at that moment—at any moment. He was glad to see Pike’s men were taking every precaution, sweeping every possible angle as they pushed forward.
Sean tucked into line just behind his friend with Pablo behind him. “So, Kirk, how’d you get into the mess? Former beret? Navy SEAL?”
“Army ranger,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Been doing private security for about three years now. My team is made up of guys from all kinds of backgrounds. Most of them have been in the military. A few were with government agencies, much like yourself.”
Se
an couldn’t tell, but it almost sounded like Kirk had a hint of disdain in his voice. He didn’t infer too much from it. This was no time to be petty.
They marched for ten minutes before Tommy, his hand shooting up, halted the group. He motioned for the others to stop. He peered into the jungle through the thick foliage. There was no sign of a temple or anything that even looked remotely like it could have been an ancient holy place.
“We need to split up,” Tommy said. “We’ll be able to search faster if we spread out.”
“That will also make us susceptible,” Kirk whispered. “We took out most of those…whatever those guys were.” He motioned over his shoulder where the fight had taken place. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t more of them regrouping somewhere. I’d suggest we stick together, just to be safe.”
Tommy understood. “Fine, but at the very least we need to go wide, cover as much ground as possible.”
He turned to Sean. “Let me see the diary.”
Sean produced the little book and handed it to his friend. Tommy flipped through the pages until he came to the point where the three symbols were drawn around the three dots.
“Look for anything that resembles one of these symbols,” he whispered to Kirk, who signaled the order to his troops. Tommy held up the page so everyone could see.
“Symbols?” Lilian murmured. “Where?”
Tommy shook his head. “I don’t know. Just be on the lookout for them. If you find one, it’s a good bet we’re getting close to the temple.”
Lilian took a long look at the page and then turned to Kirk. “You heard him. Spread out. Stay close to each other, but open up your ranks.” She smacked a mosquito on her arm. “I want to get out of this place ASAP.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kirk said with a hint of reluctance in his voice. He turned to the rest of the men.
Sean watched as Kirk signaled the group to fan out. One of the men in the group had kept his head down since they’d arrived, concealing his face. Sean hadn’t really paid much attention to each member of Pike’s security team, but now that they were splitting up, this one stood out. He wore a black scarf over his face and an olive green hat pulled down low. His figure, however, was different. Underneath the tactical vest and gear, that soldier was slightly smaller, lither than the others. Sean watched closely, doing his best not to look like he was watching closely. While the group divided into a staggered, diagonal line across the jungle, he saw the mystery soldier’s eyes as he tipped his head up.
The Fourth Prophecy Page 26
