by SJ Hailey
Archer had triggered his set of traps moments later, the team of five men were further away, but the sixty-degree field of fire from the claymore ensured they all died immediately, horribly. Raining steel finished them, just as small raindrops began to fall, the jungle cleansing itself of blood, by the following day the bodies would be meals for many creatures, and the vegetation shredded by the shrapnel would heal.
Jacob thought he heard a noise over the constant humming of the complex, ‘Has the top hatch had been closed? We do not want any unannounced visitors.’ Osvaldo Roderigo checked a display, ‘No it has not, I will see to it.’
He flicked a series of switches to secure the complex, ‘the hatch will stay closed now, until we are finished.
Mastasson had reached the outer hatch, Archer’s bullets having the same effect as the ones fired at Jacob, none.
He was metres from his goal, he saw the hatch move. It was closing. He urged Katherine forward with a gesture of his combat blade, and she complied knowing a knife may penetrate where bullets could not. Laurent’s body was still in the hatch, his eyes still, staring. The hatch jammed as Mastasson clambered in behind Katherine, stepping over Laurent’s corpse which was slowing the hatch’s closure as it attempted to push him ahead of it, ‘First time you have been helpful in a while Christophe.’
Mastasson pulled the body back down into the hatch, allowing it to close fully sealing them inside. The lifeless corpse flopped down the stairs, like a discarded toy doll, coming to rest at the bottom of the staircase.
‘Katherine if you would lead the way, I will be right behind you.’
Archer saw Katherine disappear inside the hatch, and it close behind them. Mastasson‘s knife at the back of her neck. He was not concerned, Jacob was there he would look after her, as he had all their lives. He focused on the task ahead, taking out Enzi’s men without losing his own.
Jones saw the explosions and smoke from the two teams he had sent out, and correctly presumed they had been ambushed, he shouted orders that everyone else hold their positions, to avoid more losses. He checked the immediate vicinity for trip wires and mines, but with the jungle terrain it was less easy to see compared to sandy Mabalia, he was more likely to trigger a mine than locate and disarm one. The storm overhead was darkening, it was almost like dusk. He had not anticipating being here after nightfall. All his men crouched down and waited for the next attack. Many of them were not as brave as they boasted, he could see their eyes betraying them, they were not to be relied upon.
Archer noticed the lack of return fire, and could see with the optics on his M4 that Enzi’s men had hunkered down.
He crawled over to a wired intercom, taking advice from Osvaldo Roderigo, they knew their conventional radios would be disabled by the storm. Michael and Teddy had cobbled together a set of four wired intercoms, the cable running between them buried in the undergrowth, and secured with rocks. Archer was amused that the extremely simple technology was more effective than satellite phones and encrypted radios. He put the earpiece in, and spoke quietly into the microphone, ‘Going to plan so far Debs?’
She was with Michael, guarding him, their main line of defence relying upon him, ‘Yes, but if they go off book, our people may not be able to react effectively. Do you want Michael to do his thing?’
‘Let them wait a few minutes, sweat it out, put them on edge.’
‘Agreed, they will fire at anything, and we can re-check their positions from that. Can you get the drop on Enzi?’
‘Not from here, well protected and behind cover, I will go around and try and flank him.’
‘Let me get these ready to go, I will take out the boat crews, see you back here?’
‘No I will stay until everyone is out of the hatch, leave without me, I will get out with Katherine.’
‘But she is in the complex?’
‘You know her, she will be out and flying away in no time.’
‘True. Later.’
Securing the communications kit back in its watertight box, Archer moved off to travel halfway round the crater wall, and take out Enzi.
Thorpe watched Archer leave through night vision goggles, but that was not his target or mission. He signalled two of his men to follow Archer, and the rest to circle wide around to cut off Enzi, Jones and the remaining men.
FORTY
La gente de la luz azul were all performing their tasks. Kevin was intently focused on his display inside the obelisk. Jacob watched the circle in the floor between the obelisks, it was glowing. He could see three concentric sets of crystals, he was sure the floor was black last time he was here. The outer ring had the smallest stones, the size of golf balls, hundreds of them set within the black stone. The second ring had crystals the size of grapefruits and less frequent, but the centre stone had just five the size of watermelons, all were faintly glowing.
Osvaldo Roderigo came over to him, ‘You see the three circles, watch them closely, and don’t move from this spot.’
As Jacob obeyed he stared at the floor, and then the most spectacular and unexplainable sight so far began.
Out in the jungle Archer had line of sight with Enzi, he got a good position. The only visible sign of his presence was the barrel of his suppressed M4 rifle peeping from under a leaf. The storm intensified and provided excellent cover, the noise of thunder and lightning almost constant, the rain beating onto the vegetation, shaking the leaves. He took aim at one of the hired guns, fired once, hit his forehead and dropped him back into the waiting arms of the jungle.
The man sat next to him and just in front did not even see him fall; the rainfall and noise hid his departure. If he had been aware he would not have been next. With the two outermost guards removed, Archer took out two more guards. There were no more visible targets. He presumed that Enzi and Jones were using the wall for cover, and were not going to put their heads up. He would have to get around below them or closer for a shot. Archer took out a laser pointer, and aimed it straight at Debra’s position, flashing it twice over her head. She saw the light and fired off a flare to illuminate the darkened area near Enzi’s position.
‘Michael, time to let your lethal toys loose.’
Enzi was surprised as the parachute flare sailed down. He hid his face, and covered his eyes to protect his night vision. He knew that looking up could impede his eyes for long enough for an attack, his heart rate increased, and he moved next to Jones to whisper orders, but no attack came. The flare disappeared and then a mass of gunfire came in from two positions, three short bursts, hitting all the wall area in front of them, the small arms fire lighting up on the other side of the complex. He looked over in the new light, but saw no perimeter guards. Enzi hit Jones with his pistol grip, ‘You were meant to secure this place!’
‘I did, but their force is larger than I thought possible, they are just scientists!’
‘Check your men and get us out of here!’
‘What about the amulets!’
‘They are no use to me if I’m dead! We retreat, regroup and then attack.’
Jones moved over to his outer guards, keeping low and found them missing, he looked back at Enzi and decided on his only option.
The floor glowed brightly; the three circles began to lift as one from the floor, moving slowly, an unseen hand straining to push them up from the ground. They continued to ascend up to the roof, where their glow revealed an opening ready to welcome them. Jacob watched them silently during the minutes it took them to reach their goal, as they came to a rest twenty metres above, at the apex of the chamber.
He looked back to see where they had come from and stepped forward towards the edge, feeling light headed and almost falling in, Osvaldo Roderigo pulled him back.
‘There is a strong magnetic field, it is what holds the keystone in place above.’
‘I felt it, like I was drunk, or oxygen starved.’
‘It affects different people in different ways.’
‘And it is localised?’
&nb
sp; ‘Yes, comes out from directly below and controls the height and angle of the keystone.’
‘And it affects nothing else around the area?’
‘No nothing else, you can carry metal objects no issue.’
Jacob had never known a magnetic field that is so specific.’
‘Do you want to see what is below? Now it is active different to last time.’
‘Of course, I am very inquisitive, you know that.’
Osvaldo Roderigo led the way, a staircase opened up four metres from the obelisk square, the floor separating into individual pieces, building the staircase. Jacob stepped confidently after Osvaldo Roderigo to the chamber below, leaving the obelisk operators engrossed in their tasks. He did not see Mastasson’s face appearing behind Katherine in the doorway, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
The bursts of fire were short lived, Enzi noticed that they stopped when his men returned fire, holding their weapons over their heads and firing from cover. He took the advantage and had his men run across the top of the wall to gain ground, a risky exposed move, but he was not concerned with their safety, only his own.
Michael was answering the frustrated Debra, ‘The robots are working, its weapons must have jammed!’
‘Well un-jam them, use its arms or something.’
Michael wrestled with the controls of the two malfunctioning robots, adjusting the cameras to see the problem. The feeds coming to his laptop, he could see clearly and not give away his position. The robots were placed at key points around the crater to appear like their force was more substantial and distributed than it actually was. The ruse had worked and Enzi’s men were confused and distracted by the fire the robots had briefly issued. As he checked one had a round jammed, the other had dropped the weapon, its smaller arms unable to withstand the pounding.
He concentrated on the robot with the jam, knowing the smaller robot would only drop the weapon again as soon as it fired. Using Debra’s guidance to clear the chamber and reload, manipulating the arms with rapid dexterity. This took some minutes and he could see Enzi’s men cautiously gaining ground, as he altered the camera feeds to his headset.
‘Come on Michael, they are almost on us, we need cover fire.’
‘I am going as fast as I can; I am not proficient with weapons!’
He used the controls to slap the high capacity cylinder magazine home with the robots other arm. Then placed the gun back into its temporary mounting on the track-bed. His sight camera showed Enzi’s men only metres away.
‘The other one is dead, we have an exposed flank.’
Debra knew what to do, and told Michael to keep firing as long as he could.
Michael was not a violent man, he had always seen solving problems as a peaceful past time, but now he was different. These people had killed his friends for no reason other than personal gain, and now they threatened once more. He put the gun on semi-automatic fire, and released an arc of bullets across the path of the approaching men. Debra moved across to catch them in a cross fire from a few yards to Michael’s right, putting a whole magazine into the enemy party.
Enzi was observing his orders being carried out, from a safe distance as usual, he saw his men be cut down by a hail of fire from two directions, falling very close to the firing point. He now only had four men left, those around him and Jones. ever-reliable Jones. He turned to issue him with instruction, but could not see him in the darkness.
‘Jones! Where are you? Answer me!’
Jones could not reply, as he was moving rapidly through the jungle, not bothering with minimising his noise, the thunderstorm building and raging overhead disguising his snapping and rustling passage. The rain slid easily off his shaved head, running into his eyes, but he did not reduce his pace. He was taking a wide path to get to the helicopter; he had already prepared the area with some weapons in reserve. He would serve Chui Enzi no more.
Jacob moved down the steps and could see an identical set of stairs across the chamber, leading back up. In front of him embedded in the floor was a dome, made of black stone with a walkway cut into it, a single groove a metre wide. Above the dome was the hole that the keystone had left when it ascended, and he could just see the glow of the obelisks above. In the centre of the room, exactly in the centre in fact, was a black cylinder, hovering two metres over the black dome. Jacob could see it was not attached to anything, just floating free in the room, a hole in the bottom of it.
‘That is where the fifth amulet rests Jacob, in that cylinder.’
‘What is holding it in place?’
‘We presume magnetism like the keystone.’
‘And the hole is for the amulet?’
‘Yes, as I told you before the fifth holder places their amulet in there and receives the power of the complex.’
‘That would be me then!’
A familiar voice caused Jacob to spin around, and he was confronted by an unexpected sight. Standing at the bottom of the steps was Mastasson, a knife to Katherine’s neck and an annoyingly familiar smug smile across his face.
‘Hello Jacob, you should have killed me when you had the chance.’
‘I am better than you, not a murderer.’
‘Katherine may disagree with you.’
Michael had done his job. There were no soldiers left that their sensors could see. Debra told him to get back to the boats, the storm overhead was raging, with multiple lightning strikes crackling around them, small fires visible on the hills from their contact. She grabbed him by the collar, ignoring his protests at leaving his robots.
‘They will be here when we come back, but we have to go now!’
She half dragged him down the wall, he began to run back to the river, and was met by his beloved Evelyn. She and Juan had taken out the guards minutes earlier. Juan had started the boat, ensuring a full tank of fuel for both boats from the reserves on-board
Evelyn was still holding her rifle, aiming behind them for any hostiles, ‘Hello Michael, finished being a soldier for the day?’
‘I will leave that job to the experts.’
Debra spoke out, ‘He is too modest, he covered your back while we left, good job.’
Evelyn kissed Michael on the cheek and nodded to Debra. She was greeting Juan, ‘You really know how to handle yourself.’
‘Well coming from you Debra, I accept the compliment. ‘
Debra untied the bowline, Juan took the small fire-team back down river to the Arcadia, riding the increased river flow to the sea.
Archer could not hear the boat leaving, but knew from a glance at his watch on the underside of his wrist that Debra and company had left. He could see Enzi now, just down the wall, only metres away. He settled in position, ready to take out the small remaining team and their master, he took aim, then he felt the barrel of the rifle in the back of his neck.
Jones had reached the Osprey not realising it was on his route. He saw an opportunity he lingered long enough to ensure his improvised plan was set. He looked back to ensure he was not pursued and then continued on to what was now his helicopter. There sitting on the grass the rain cascading over its sleek black body was the Alligator. This one he did not object to meeting in the jungle, he clambered into the cockpit, and began to familiarise himself. Jones had flown a helicopter before, but not a military one, he wanted to check he was comfortable with the controls before risking conflict.
Katherine was staring in disbelief at Jacob, ‘Well can you answer me?’
Mastasson loved the conflict he had created, ‘Well Jacob tell her how her mother died, go on!’
Jacob face was conflicted, ‘It is complicated Katherine, but now is not the time.’
Her rage overrode logic and she refused to comply stepping forward to Jacob, Mastasson allowed her freedom.
Jacob looked her in the eye, attempted to touch her shoulder, but she hesitated looking him in the eye and then shunned his concern.
He attempted to calm her down, ‘You see Katherine, we had targeted k
nown drug dealers and were taking them out in surgical strikes as part of the war on drugs in the eighties.’
‘And what have my parents got to do with that?’
‘They were wrongly identified as dealers, enroute to a meet, they were killed by a missile strike on their car.’
‘So you have lied to me all this time!’
‘I did not lie, I told you they died in a car accident, but not what caused it.’
‘Does not matter how you dress it up! You lied!’
Mastasson was laughing to himself by the doorway.
‘You can shut up Mastasson, you supplied the intelligence which targeted them in the first place!’
‘I did Jacob, but you acted on it, so it is your fault!’
‘No it is not! You wanted them dead, because her father was aware of your other activities and threatened to report you!’
‘That’s a lie!’
‘It’s not, he knew about your issues in Fort Clayton, and was going to turn you in, so you targeted him before he could give evidence.’
Katherine now saw the reason, she calmed down, letting her sense of family override blind rage, realising Mastasson’s tactic. What she knew of Jacob and her father, fitted better than cold-blooded murder. She winked at Jacob, ‘So you are just trying to cover your ass!’ and she smacked him across the face, hard enough to be audible. Jacob looked hurt, and probably was. Katherine packed a punch, he had taught her well. The army had taught her better.
‘I want nothing more to do with you!’
‘But Katherine I was just trying to protect you.’
She stepped back towards Mastasson, who had relaxed since he arrived, that was his first mistake.
