“You more that anyone should appreciate what I am trying to do. Free the people from the bondage of oppression, both colonial and now self-inflicted by useless politicians. Like the recent Arab Spring, that tried the same thing and so magnificently failed. This isn’t for my glory, or for Mexico’s glory, it is for the right of all the oppressed peoples of Central America to live as they were meant to live. Free, with pride in their heritage, and pride in their place in the world. It is all there for the taking. All it needs is a little guidance, a little encouragement. And restoring our lost identity with the treasure your boyfriend so feverishly seeks, will rally us all together under one banner, a Mesoamerica jihad that will lead to unification.”
Javier walked up on the porch, and he and Eztli wandered a short distance away, talking. She hadn’t figured that shadowy figure out yet, but it was obvious Eztli was top dog, and Javier and Miguel his key lieutenants, and everyone else professional muscle. Javier’s expression had betrayed sympathy, maybe even compassion, perhaps there was an angle there she could exploit. Miguel now joined them, and she quickly looked away, but not before she had caught his eye. She couldn’t place if it was lust or cruelty, but his mere presence chilled her to her very soul.
“You shouldn’t even be here brother, why take the risk of all of us being on Norteamericano soil? Don’t you trust me to get this done?” Miguel asked Eztli.
“It isn’t a matter of trust, I just couldn’t miss out on this. I’ve devoted years of my life to finding proof of anything significant to illustrate Aztec dominance, and now it is so very close. Yes, I know it’s risky, but we have plenty of security, and after all I have you looking after me!” Eztli replied, hugging Miguel hard around the shoulder.
“Yes you do, and we have more men I can bring here from the safe house if needed. You said keep a low profile, so only three vehicles for now.”
Eztli wandered back toward Soba when his phone dinged with a text message. “Ah, right on time, the gringo reaches out,” he said, smiling so broadly she noticed the jade inlays of his teeth for the first time. He stared at the message on his phone, unbelieving, then held it triumphantly aloft.
“Jesús Cristobal,” he suddenly exclaimed so loudly everyone in the lodge could hear. “They’ve found it! They actually found it!” He showed a photograph to Javier then Miguel. “I knew it, we could never be denied, our legacy exists, it exists!”
He peered more carefully at the photograph, it was of a cavern, full of treasure and artifacts that even his expansive imagination had not dared to dream of. As he gaped, a text followed.
Found near Chaco Canyon. Can’t access during daylight, area too exposed. Can lead you there at night. How is Soba, how do we exchange?
Eztli had a quick conversation with Javier, Miguel, and another armed man, and formulated plans. Soba tried to overhear them, but they wandered too far away, the conversation muted. Finished, Eztli walked over to Soba, indicated for her to lift her head, and snapped a picture. He sent it with a text.
Send coordinates, will arrive at midnight. Deliver me to the cave, I will give you Soba once in it. Do not cross me, we are many and heavily armed.
When he received the coordinates back, they went into the lodge, and spread maps out on a table. Soba was brought inside and forced onto a couch in the corner, away from any doors. They all switched to speaking in Nahuatl, as was their habit when discussing important things, and she concentrated and tuned in, while trying to look disinterested.
Eztli was about to point to the map, then paused and clapped his hands, unable to contain his excitement. “Can you believe it? It’s real, it’s more than I imagined. From the picture, I can tell we can’t take it all, not tonight. We’ll remove the key pieces, document everything, and come back as many nights as it takes. We’ll leave armed guards there tonight, make sure they have enough food and water.”
“What about her, and what about this Nick, and whoever else might be there?” Miguel asked. “They might try to pull something.”
“He’s no fool, but we have her, he has no choice. Once we get the treasure, do with her as you like. But make sure Nick and whoever else is with him never leaves the cave. This can’t come to light until after we are finished, but I prefer it never comes to light at all. If I didn’t know brother, I would suspect you were a little jealous of her, being so much taller than you,” Eztli teased.
“Yes, she is now, but we’ll see when I get done with her.” Miguel looked at Soba and smiled, and she tried to shyly smile back and then look away. It wasn’t easy.
“Javier, we will take everything to the safe house,” Eztli commanded. “It may take us three or four nights to clear out the cave, we’ll know better once we are there. I want the cross-border shipments to be split up, we can’t risk losing everything in one or two large batches. Do whatever it takes to bring our legacy safely home.”
“I’m used to sneaking things north of the border, not south,” Javier joked. “But consider it done, I will make the necessary arrangements,” he said, stealing a glance at Soba, fear for her in his eyes.
It was later afternoon when the Zuni called Ahaiyuta showed up with two others. Nick could see that he was angry, and evidently not just at Lonan’s death. Ahaiyuta looked apologetically at Nick, and firmly shook his hand.
“I thought we would be more, that everyone who talked so loudly about avenging the death of Lonan would join us. But suddenly everyone has a reason not to come, they turn to squaws, the death of an old man not so important to them. It may be just us three here now, but we carry fury in our hearts.”
“And we shall put it to good use,” Nick replied. “Numbers aren’t what’s important tonight, coordination and planning are. This is Atsa, he knows exactly what needs to be done. Follow him, he will explain everything and show you where to go.”
Later, when Atsa and the three Zuni had settled into their positions, Nick used his radio to ask everyone to try their cell phones one more time to ensure that they were in a dead zone. No one, from their camp site to the access road to the route to the cavern, could pick up anything.
“Good, we can communicate by the two-way radios, maybe they aren’t as prepared. But let’s assume they will be,” Nick said, as Bidzii and Charlie gathered around a map of the area. He was about to continue when they all saw another truck driving toward them, a cloud of dust in its wake, and he smiled when he finally recognized it. The odds were heavily tilted against them, it would be a good night to have an Apache on their side.
“Guys, this is Killian, we went to school together. Irish name, Apache heart, a story for another time,” Nick said, grabbing him by one shoulder. “Huddle in man, we’re making our final preparations.”
Bidzii pointed to the access road. “They will have to leave whatever vehicles they bring in about here, where Nick will meet them. They will probably leave someone behind there to guard them.”
“I’m guessing they will cover the entrance to the cave with someone too,” Charlie added. “But there is no way any electronic comm system is going to penetrate into that mesa, the cave is too far back. If we can break them apart, string them out, get those in the cave isolated from the others, I like our odds a whole lot better.”
Nick studied the topographical map, looking at elevations and lines of sight. “Bidzii, you know how I want you positioned. Charlie, you’re going to be at the entrance of the cave, I’ll signal to you with a flashlight when I am with Soba. Morse code, password ‘Shaman.’ No signal, no Soba, and you stay hidden. At that point assume I’m dead, and then it’s up to you guys.”
Nick turned and looked at Killian. “We need someone to run things from the east edge of the mesa, looking down on the valley, across to Atlatl cave. There are the remains of an Anasazi great house here, called Tsin Kletsin. Go there by this route and work your way west to this ridge. You will be the one person who can see everything going on, at least up to the cave entrance under the alcove. You should have a good view from up there.”
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Nick explained in detail his role, how he was mission control if things went awry, and what to do in every scenario he could think of. “You’re the one guy who is ex-military out of this whole crew,” Nick said, knowing Killian had served in the army after they had met in college. “If it hits the fan, help them keep it together man.”
Killian nodded, and walked to the back of his truck. He carefully opened a long industrial looking case and pulled out what looked like a sniper’s rifle. He screwed in a scope, threw ammo into a backpack, and patted the gun.
“Now you will see how my brothers and I got so good at poaching,” Killian chuckled. “A little insurance for tonight.’ Nick smiled at him gratefully.
“OK, radio silence from here on out everyone, use your earpieces only,” Nick broadcast to the team. “Killian will be up on the ridge overlooking everything. He is the only one who will communicate from here on out. I can’t thank you all enough for being here. Hunker down, eat something and stay hydrated, then stay concealed. Good luck, you know what to do.”
The sun set in its usual spectacular fashion on the canyon, some of the tourists cheering and applauding as it finally blinked completely out, the horizon of the west mesa fading to orange then deep purple. A curtain of stars started to emerge as the view to the east turned darker, the headlights of the last day trippers leaving the park scattering like fireflies in the distance. Killian could see a few fires and lanterns at camp sites a little north of him from his concealed vantage point. He stayed alert, concentrating on the service route in front of him parallel to the west mesa, and the cavern hidden within it. As the night turned to black the moon slowly rose, and elongated shadows crept silently across the valley floor. It was close to 11 p.m., and he used his night vision scope to search up and down the route, looking for any early arrivers or a possible scouting party. So far, nothing.
Nick stood alone on the service route opposite Atlatl Cave, nervously pacing, checking his watch. He looked up and down the service route and avoided glancing where he knew Killian was stationed. He was unarmed and had no radio on him. He knew he would be searched, there was no sense in it. He had to put his faith in the others, and to the hand of fate, there was only so much they could plan for. “What was it that Prussian von Moltke had said?” Nick mused. “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” He looked down the road and heard a noise. “The enemy cometh.”
Killian spied a single vehicle slowly working its way down the access road from the camp sites to the north, only its running lights on. Of course, they must have come in with the tourists, and hidden and mingled with the crowd. That would be their scout, he thought. He followed it through his scope and reached for the two-way.
“One vehicle approaching,” he let the team know.
He couldn’t hear the vehicle, it was too far off, but it made steady progress toward where Nick was stationed. A faint whirring sound far off in the distance to his left briefly distracted him, and he shifted his scope to see if he could see anything. There was nothing, and the sound faded as quickly as it had come. He looked back at the vehicle, it was a little further down the road now, and saw that Nick was looking in that direction. The soft sound started again, it seemed to have shifted in front of him, below the crest of the ridge, carried up on air currents. A jarring realization hit him and he jumped up with his rifle just as a black drone rose directly in front of him. As he turned there was a single muffled shot in back of him, the last thing he ever heard, and a bullet entered the base of his brain and tore out through his forehead.
The black Escalade stopped for a moment, as though indecisive, and then continued on toward Nick. He squinted in the darkness, unable to make out anyone within it. Finally, it pulled up to him and turned off the running lights and motor. Four heavily armed men emerged, saying nothing. Two approached him, one putting a pistol to his head, the other frisking him heavy handedly from head to foot. The other two spread out, examining the area through the night vision goggles they wore. They nodded back to the one who had frisked Nick, he in turn touching an earpiece. “He’s clean, only a phone and a flashlight.”
A gray Chevy Suburban and a dark green Ford Expedition now made their way along the same access route to where Nick waited. He had zip ties put on his wrists and was forced to his knees. The two guards watching Nick lit cigarillos and talked quietly, flicking the matches at him for amusement. When the other two trucks finally pulled up, they cut the chatter and came to something close to resembling attention. Three men piled out of the Chevy, the one named Miguel evidently in charge. Miguel pointed to the hood, and one of the men put a computer tablet there and they both looked at its screen and then looked up, as a whirring noise flew over them, toward the cave. Miguel walked over to Nick and grabbed him by the hair, looked into his face, then spit on the ground.
Three more men emerged from the Expedition, and automatically took up positions on the perimeter. Finally Soba and one other man stepped out of the truck and approached Nick. Nick got off his knees, and Soba ran to him, sobbing. They both had their hands tied, so she leaned into him and put her face to his ear.
“Thirteen of them, they plan to kill us in the cave,” she whispered, then started fake crying again.
Miguel immediately pulled her off Nick, and roughly pushed her away. Nick had been discretely and carefully tallying the cartel members and came up with eleven between the three vehicles. That meant there were two jackals out stalking in the night, and they had eyes in the sky.
For God’s sake, be careful, Killian, he thought. We need you.
The figure with Soba now walked over to the tablet and stared at it, talked with the men, and looked hard at Nick.
“I am Eztli. Thank you for finding this most precious legacy of my ancestors. Our drone shows someone at the cave entrance, who is it?”
“My brother. We have been guarding the treasure since we found it, awaiting you. And Soba.”
“Yes, well I can tell you we captured your friend on the ridge over there. Try anything else, and you will be an only child. One without a girlfriend. Miguel here is only too anxious to take you apart, let’s not give him a reason, shall we?”
Nick tried to keep his poker face, but already his plan was disintegrating. “OK. Can I signal my brother that Soba is here, that we are coming? Because if he doesn’t get that signal, explosives are rigged to bring the face of the Mesa down, and not only will it seal the cave, it will draw a whole lot of unwanted attention.”
Eztli pondered for a moment but decided against making threats. Time was ticking away, and there was no telling what measures desperate men might take to deprive him of his destiny. He had to give them hope, at least until he fully controlled the situation, and had the treasure within his actual grasp.
“Agreed,” he replied.
Eztli then turned to Miguel, and in Nahuatl told him to scout ahead, verify the treasure was there, and then signal for the rest to follow once the coast was clear. When they were all in the cave, they could figure out how many nights it would take to evacuate it. Miguel nodded, pointed to two men, and grabbed Nick by the scruff of the neck and pushed him toward the mesa. After Nick had blinked his predetermined signal to Charlie, he led them along the faint deer trail, toward an unknown fate.
Arriving at the entrance to Atlatl Cave, Miguel eyed Charlie, and waved him down. He then put a gun to his head, and waited while one of his men frisked him, and then put zip ties around his hands. His two men then checked all around the edges of the cave, but could find no detonator, explosive devices or wires.
“Just as I thought, a bluff, so pathetically predictable. You, wait here with this gringo, we’re going in to check it out. If we’re not back in twenty minutes, kill him, then tell Eztli to kill the Navajo whore,” he said, and turned to Nick. “You lead, rabbit. The clock is ticking.”
Miguel, Nick and one other man went into the far back of the alcove, to the small tunnel opening. Nick then led the way with a flashlight, proceeding as fast
as he could, stumbling occasionally, conscience of the countdown he was up against. Working his way up and down the narrow tunnel and finally zigzagging through the last turns, he squeezed through, onto the top steps of the cavern. Miguel came next, sweating heavily, the other man left to stand guard from above.
“Que mierda,” Miguel exclaimed as the light of their flashlights slowly illuminated different parts of the cavern. He wandered briefly, reaching out and touching a few relics, then came back to the stairs.
“I never really believed in it, but it is so. Pablo, stay here with this one and guard him. I’ll get the others. If he gives you any trouble, kill him.”
Nick checked his watch, 11 minutes in, and looked at Miguel anxiously. Miguel tapped his earpiece and tried to communicate with the man he had left outside with Charlie, but only got static, the walls of the mesa too thick to permit any electronic communication. Miguel frowned, then worked his way back to the entrance as fast as his out of shape legs could carry him. Charlie finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard him coming and saw that the man who had been guarding him, nervously fingering his gun, finally back down. Miguel emerged winded, waved his flashlight to the trucks, and called Eztli.
“The explosives were a ruse, the entrance is clear. But in the cave, it is as he said, as the photograph showed. Simply magnificent brother, I can’t even begin to describe it.”
“Then it is as I thought, as we all hoped. We will take key pieces with us tonight, and then finish in stages to avoid suspicion. We’ll leave guards in there like we discussed. I am on my way to you, destiny awaits us all.”
Eztli instructed men to remain with the trucks, both to stand guard and to move them if needed, even to four wheel over to the cave entrance in an emergency. But that would be only as a last resort, for it would reveal their activity and leave an obvious path that something serious was going on at Atlatl Cave. He gently pushed Soba ahead of him.
Aztec Odyssey Page 36
