by Dale Mayer
“Take a left.” His low deep voice startled her out of her reverie. Instinctively she followed his orders. She made her way around a bend, through a dip, then back up again.
“Left again.”
Cutting a hard left, she came around a thick stand of brush and stopped. His black Jeep was parked in front of her. She started to shake with relief. Stupid really, they were a long way away from being safe.
She ran forward and tried to open the passenger door and realized of course it was locked. She raced back to Hawk, but he was already around the corner. He shifted her father’s weight and dug the keys out of his pocket. He pushed the unlock button and she heard the locks disengage. She opened the door and hovered as he lowered her father to the back seat. He struggled with the straps for a long moment then had him buckled in. She saw what he’d done and raced to the other side to repeat it. Coming back around, she hopped into the front seat.
Hawk took his place behind the wheel and with a quick glance around, fired up the engine. Her panic rose as she heard the roar of the engine. They were going to be seen. Caught.
They had to hurry, but Hawk was moving slowly, carefully as he backed out of the hiding spot. Then he was down the driveway and turning onto the main road. He stopped.
“Go, go,” she cried. “We’re almost safe.”
A big badass looking truck roared toward them. And came to a braking stop beside them. With windows rolled down, she realized it was a friend of Hawks. And good Lord what a friend. Huge, filling the cab and making the truck look just the perfect size for him. His face was hard. Lean. And damn cold.
A second man, smaller, leaner, sat in the shadows on the far side. She couldn’t make out his features.
The conversation was curt and short. Then Hawk raced forward. She spun to see if his friend was following. But he turned into the driveway and hopped out.
“Didn’t you warn them?”
Hawk looked at her in surprise. “About what?”
“The gunmen? The weapons’ cache. That they hurt my father. Tried to kidnap me.” She couldn’t help herself. Her voice rose to a yell at the end.
“Oh that. They know.”
Silence.
“So why are they getting out. We need to get help.”
“Honey,” he drawled, a smile on his face confusing her all the more. “They are the best damn help you’ll ever get. They are part of my team.”
She sat back. “They are SEALs?”
He nodded.
She swallowed. “But…”
“They know what they are heading into. I’ll be going back as soon as I get your father to safety and you to the police.”
Her mouth snapped shut. “I’m staying at the hospital. The sheriff can go there.”
She felt his glance but stared mutely outside.
“You don’t like the sheriff?”
“I don’t know him,” she said stiffly. “But it’s not like they have anything to do with us.”
“Maybe they haven’t been around because there hasn’t been any reason to be around.”
“True.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing specific. I just don’t like him.”
He nodded and stayed quiet. Good. She really didn’t want to explain the entire town’s vantage point of the local law enforcement. He was right in that there was no need to have the law any closer and in fact, she was damn glad there wasn’t as then she’d have to see them more often. She had no idea where the grudge came from. Well, maybe she did at that. Her father. Because he sold guns. That was likely to have set him against the authorities a long time ago, and that road had just never straightened up. He really didn’t like the current sheriff. Called him a pompous ass. So yeah, she likely had been influenced by her father.
She twisted in her seat and glanced back to check on him. His breathing was shallow. Hoarse. He didn’t look very good. Stretching out a hand, she reached out and stroked his arm. His skin was cool. She bit her lip, tears coming to her eyes. He’d been through so damn much lately. It was hard not to wonder if he’d hit the final hurdle.
The hospital was a good half hour away. They could have called the ambulance, but she knew it was often slower than driving straight through on their own.
“Swede has called the hospital. They are expected us.” He pulled into the turning lane at the traffic light.
“Swede?”
“The one driving the truck back there.”
“Oh. Is he Swedish?”
“No. He’s actually Norwegian.”
“That makes no sense.”
He laughed. “His nickname comes from a completely different source than his heritage.”
She wanted to ask what that was but the hospital was just ahead. He pulled up outside the emergency doors. They opened and two men with a gurney raced out. Before she’d had a chance to explain, her father was loaded up and wheeled inside.
“You must have pull to make them jump like that,” she muttered.
“It’s all about knowing what to say,” he said comfortably. “Go deal with the paperwork. I’m heading back.”
“Back?”
He nodded, his face set in grim lines. “Back to your father’s house. We need to capture those bastards before they can do any more damage.”
And just like that he was gone.
*
There was no sign of Swede’s truck when he pulled into Gordon’s driveway. Then Hawk didn’t really expect there to be any. His friend was too damn smart for that. Not to mention he loved that truck. There was no way he’d put it in harms way if he could avoid it.
Now Shadow, his passenger, well he couldn’t be seen at the best of times. Hawk parked the Jeep where he’d parked it before and got out. Within seconds there was a loud Hawk’s call overhead. He responded with a low key one of his own. The men converged on him.
“No sign of the truck. We’ve called it in.”
“It was missing a plate when I saw it,” Hawk mentioned.
“If they are smart they will have put one on by now. The license plate off Gordon’s truck is missing. The authorities are watching for it.”
“Anything left behind?”
Swede shook his head. “Nothing in the house. Nothing in the shed. Any idea where the bombs were cached?”
“No. In a cave. Somewhere. And this place is riddled with them. The area is popular with spelunkers from all over the world.”
“Then they could be anywhere,” Shadow said in a low voice. “This area is mapped. We’ll need to grab a copy and look for the most likely option.”
Hawk’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Mia. He answered the call. “How’s your father?”
“Alive, thanks to you,” she answered quietly. “Thank you. Are your friends okay?”
Hawk’s gaze slipped across Swede and Shadow’s faces. “Both of them are standing in front of me. The truck was gone when they arrived, so the gunmen snuck out while we were going cross country.”
“Damn.”
“We’ll find them. The authorities have been notified.”
“I know. Look. It’s probably nothing, but I was caving this morning and thought I saw something. At the time it didn’t occur to me it was important, and I was with a group of six of us so didn’t think about it much until I heard the gunmen talking about the missing cache.”
“That makes sense but what does that have to do with the cave and whatever you saw?”
“I saw a bullet casing,” she said. “I even picked it up. Just never said anything because we were leaving right away.”
“What kind of bullet?” he asked, his voice hard.
“I’m not sure,” she said apologetically. “I think it was from a rifle.”
“That’s a military gun.” Hawk’s gaze locked on Swede. Both his friends had frozen as he listened to Mia’s voice. “Do they know you found it?”
“I don’t think so. Unless they were watching me.” Her voice rose. “They couldn’t have
been in the cave watching me, could they?”
“I doubt it. Chances are they’d have shot you if they had.”
“But there were six of us,” she reminded him. “If one person went missing that was one thing. Six is quite a different story.”
He pondered that. “Did they ask you about guns while you were captive?”
“Not really. He did search me, but not very thoroughly. I had the bullet in my jeans pocket with my cellphone and he didn’t take that either.”
“That’s odd.” It’s one of the first things he’d have removed.
“That’s how Eva heard the conversation. Remember.”
“Yeah, I do. We’re going to see if we can find that bomb cache the men were talking about. Especially if today is delivery day.”
“Let me come.”
“No,” he said instantly. “There’s no way. You stay with your father.”
“I know the cave system. If there is anything to find, I can help you find it. I was training for search and rescue missions for the spelunkers here. The place is a maze.”
“Still not happening,” he said. “You were in trouble, now you’re safe.”
“But you’re not going to be if you go in alone.”
Humor tinged his voice as he replied, “I’m pretty sure we can find our way.”
Frustrated silence filled the line. “And if I have to come and rescue you?”
He laughed. “That’s not going to happen.”
“But I can show you where I found the bullet. That will save time so you’ll know where to start.”
He frowned. “You can tell me where you found it.”
“Hardly.”
“You could.”
“Okay.” And she proceeded to rattle off the sting of caves she’d gone through and where she’d found the bullet. At least approximately. “There, does that help?”
He frowned thinking about it. “You could mark it on the map.”
“I could, but then you’d have to come here and then go back down there.”
“I’m sure you can scan it in and email it,” he said.
“Damn it, why won’t you let me go?”
“It’s too dangerous.” Hawk held the phone away from his ear as she let out a yell of frustration.
“If it’s dangerous for me, how is it not dangerous for you?”
“It might be dangerous for us, but we’re used to it.”
Silence. “Do you really think doing search and rescue work is not dangerous?”
“You’re not up against guns on a regular basis and we are.”
“I’ve handled guns since I was old enough to carry one.”
“But you still got yourself captured,” he reminded her. “We can’t afford to look after you.”
That earned him a cursing. He grinned, she was too much fun to piss off but he had to go. “Send me a map of the cave system and give us an idea where to start.”
And he clicked the phone off.
“Who is that?” Shadow asked.
“Mia. She’s Eva’s best friend and Gordon’s daughter.”
“Little Mia,” Swede asked in astonishment. “Did I hear she’s doing search and rescue work?”
Hawk nodded. “And she’s not so little now.”
“What was that about a bullet?”
He explained to the men. “We need a map of the system then we can get going and take a look.” Swede looked up at the sky. “And the sooner the better. The weather is turning. We need to gear up if we’re going un-derground.”
“From where?”
Hawk opened his phone. “Mia, we need gear.”
“And?”
“Does your father have any in his house? I don’t want to just help myself without asking you,” he said awkwardly.
“You saved his life, I don’t think he’d mind if you borrowed stuff from the house or the shop to go save the world,” she said and hung up.
He couldn’t place the sounds he’d heard in the background while she’d been talking on the phone. He filled the others in and started toward the shed. “Let’s check in here first.”
“We already have. There’s not much but overstock from the store.”
“Any guns or ammo left?”
They shook their heads. “Not sure what all was here to begin with, but it’s been pretty well emptied out.”
Hawk took a quick glance around. Nodded and turned to the house. “We can go through the store if we need more.”
“Let’s hope he has the headlamps. A trip into town to buy equipment is going to slow us down.”
Going through Gordon’s house yielded very little. A few water bottles but that was all.
“He wasn’t into caves apparently.”
“He was a hunting nut.”
Shadow nodded. “We need to check the store.”
A screeching sound of brakes slamming hard had them all running for cover.
An old dilapidated truck pulled into the driveway and drove up to the house. Mia hopped out. “Thanks Cory.” She motioned to her truck. “I’ll be fine now.”
The driver waved and with a squeal as his gears shifted, backed down the driveway.
She turned to face them. And kicked her chin up a notch.
Chapter 8
“I’ve called the Bangor brothers. They are dropping off a couple of sets of harnesses,” she rushed to say before Hawk could interrupt and yell at her. Her gaze went from one man to the other. “If we leave now we’ll have a few hours of daylight. In the caves, time won’t matter as it’s all darkness anyway. We won’t be hampered by a lack of daylight.”
She stepped forward and held out her hand. “You must be Swede.”
Swede shook her hand and nodded.
With her hand still outstretched, she walked to Shadow. “I’m Mia. Thank you for helping.”
Shadow, quiet as ever, stepped forward and with a soft drawl said, “My pleasure. I’m sorry about your father. He’s a good man.”
And that was when she realized these men had met her father. Not just Hawk but the others as well. “He is a good man,” she whispered. “He didn’t deserve this.”
“And your uncle?” Shadow asked. “What can you tell us about him?”
She shrugged. “Not much. He and my father were estranged for over thirty years. Then all of a sudden he shows up wanting to make peace. Dad never thought anything of it. He opened his door and let him back into his house and his life.”
Shadow nodded. “What did your uncle do for a living?”
“Apparently he was down on his luck when he showed up at Dad’s house. Part of the reason he let him in, I think. Dad has always been a softie.”
“And then he started working at the store?” Shadow asked.
She nodded. “It gave me more time as I’d been helping out a lot more since Dad’s accident.”
His voice quiet, Hawk said, “How did the accident happen?”
“He was driving on the highway and some idiot ran him off the road.”
The three men exchanged glances. She frowned. “What are you thinking?”
“That it was all a little too convenient,” Swede suggested.
“In what way?”
“He gets run off the road, your father is injured, a long lost brother shows up needing work and before you know it there’s a cache of weapons found and all hell breaks loose.”
The thoughts ran through her mind. “Do you think Gerry was helping with bombs?”
“Was he the type?” Hawk asked curiously. “You haven’t said anything as to what he was like. Or not like. How did you feel when he showed up?”
“I was happy for Dad’s sake. But…” She stopped, hating to say anything against the dead man.
“But what?” prompted Swede.
“But… I didn’t like him. I didn’t like the avariciousness I heard from his everyday words or his constant assessing looks at my father, the shop, the house. As if to say if something happened to Dad, he’d be happy to step into his shoes. But
he’d never fill them.” She ran a hand through her hair. “He wasn’t half the man Dad is.”
The others nodded. “Then for the moment we’ll assume he had something to do with this as the one terrorist implied. That his death was a falling out among thieves.”
“What a thought.”
“Have you any better hypothesis?”
Shadow’s soft voice belied something else entirely. A sidelong glance his way confirmed her initial impression. That man handled danger like a baker handled bread dough.
And Swede. The big man looked like he’d used full size trees as toothpicks and snap them in half when he was done. But Hawk, there was something so implacable in his visage, she wondered if he wasn’t the most dan-gerous. “No,” she said in a quiet voice. “I don’t have a clue what’s going on.”
A car drove in as she finished speaking. “That’s Paul.” She walked over and talked to her friend. He got out and unloaded the gear from the trunk. “Thanks for this, Paul.”
He nodded. “Not an issue. Bring it back when you’re done.” She smiled her thanks as he pulled away.
Once he was out of sight, she turned to the others. “Ready?”
A scant half hour later, she was directing them to the turn off she’d taken first thing in the morning. The shadows from the tall trees cast the entrance in darkness. Only she’d been here many times over. She turned on her headlamp and led the way in. They were fully geared for anything, and like this morning, she hoped for nothing but a nice hike. If they were so lucky.
As they walked, she studied the men and realized they moved easily, fit and with lethal smoothness. Like Hawk, they made no noise as they walked.
In contrast, she felt like an elephant with every step she took. No matter how much she tried, the leaves still crackled under her feet.
“You’re trying too hard. Instead of walking on the ground,” Hawk said, correctly interpreting her frustration, “step inside the ground and be one with it.”
She stopped and considered what he was saying then closed her eyes and stepped again. Her steps were softer. More in tune. Good. Well, better at least.
They entered the first cave, and she took the lead across the same cavernous space she’d walked this morning. And led them to the other cave and on and on. By the time they were at the tunnel, and she had to squirm through on her belly, she was comfortable with her companions’ skill. They took to this like they likely took to every other challenge. Although Swede might find this part of the journey a little small. “This next section is tight,” she warned. “So suck in your guts.”
