by David Wood
Dane retrieved and reloaded his Walther, then finished each man with a head shot. His life no longer in immediate danger, he looked around for Kaylin. Her shotgun lay abandoned on the ground, but she was gone.
Kaylin fled from the natives with reckless abandon. She didn’t know which way she was headed, and she didn’t care. All that concerned her right now was getting away from the silent attackers who, despite their usual measured paces, could move quite fast when they wanted to.
She leapt across a fallen log and landed awkwardly. Her ankle rolled over and she went down in a heap, pain shooting up her leg. Something moved behind her, and she reached for her .380, but she was too slow. A sharp blow to the head sent flares of pain through her skull and stars swirled across her field of vision.
Strong hands hauled her to her feet, and she felt someone relieve her of her pistol and knife. She stamped down on the man’s foot, eliciting a grunt of surprise, and spun, throwing out an elbow, but she struck only air. Her injured ankle twisted beneath her as she spun, throwing her off-balance, and a blow to her stomach sent the breath shooting out of her in a rush. Before she could recover, her assailant had her by the hair, raising her head. She felt the cold pressure of steel against her throat, and she froze.
“What have we here?” A tall, blocky man with a scarred cheek, outfitted in jungle camouflage stepped in front of her. He had the bearing of a military man, his every move suggesting scarcely-contained danger. “You would be Kaylin Maxwell, Thomas Thornton’s special friend.”
She finally regained her breath, gasping and coughing, still very much mindful of the blade pressed against her throat by unseen hands. “Who are you?” she croaked.
“I represent the company who paid Doctor Thornton a lot of money to do a job. He didn’t live up to his end of the bargain, and I’m here to find out why.”
“He’s lost out here in the jungle is why, you idiot!” She didn’t know where the words came from, because she was more frightened than she had ever been in her entire life. Perhaps she had just enough of her father in her to give her a measure of courage.
The man slapped her, just hard enough to sting. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. She spat at him but he sidestepped, and slapped her again, this time on her ear. A loud pop like a bursting balloon made her ears ring.
“No more playing around. I want answers.” He drew his knife and moved in close.
“I won’t tell you anything. You’re just going to kill me anyway.”
“Oh yes. But if you tell me what I need to know, we won’t make it hurt.” He touched the tip of his knife to the corner of her eye. She squeezed her eyes closed and tried to turn her head, but he pressed the blade harder against her flesh. “Open your eyes or I’ll cut your eyelids off.” He didn’t sound the least bit annoyed with her, and that’s what convinced her he would do what he threatened. She opened her eyes to meet his cold, impassionate gaze. “Good. Now, tell me how you found this place. Did you follow us?”
“Yes. We tracked you.” It was technically true, though not the whole truth.
“How about the river? You can’t track us on water.”
Kaylin couldn’t think of what to say next. Her lips moved, but no sound would come.
“Tell me, or I take out your right eye.” The man brandished his knife.
“Fawcett’s map,” she gasped. “We followed it until we found your tracks.”
“You’re lying. We have Fawcett’s map. You couldn’t have followed it.” He grasped her right eyelid and yanked it up. She couldn’t pull her head away, no matter how she tried. The tip of his knife touched her eyeball and she broke. A swift death might have been one thing, but torture was something she wasn’t prepared to endure.”
“Okay! Okay! We also found the book.”
“The book.” The man sounded like something important was falling into place. He didn’t take the blade away from her eye, though. “Tell me everything and tell me fast, and you keep your eye.”
Tears poured down Kaylin’s face as she hastily told the man about Fawcett’s other map, and about the copy of The Lost World that one of his descendants had preserved. She was ashamed of her weakness, her moment of bravery evaporated in the face of mortal fear. She should have held on to that fighting spirit, but she couldn’t. This wasn’t like books or movies—the terror was real, the knife was real, and the possibility, no, the probability of her death was real, too. As much as she wanted to hold back information, she was too afraid.
“After you get past the last landmark,” she gasped, “which we don’t have…”
“We already have it,” the man snapped. “Go on.”
Tears trickled down her face. She tried to summon the courage to resist, but the razor sharp knife hovering inches from her eye made that impossible.
“You have to follow the path of five steps…”
Chapter 23
Dane heard voices up ahead, and saw someone or something moving away from him. He crept forward, his Walther at the ready.
“Do whatever you want to her,” a voice called, “but make it fast. Meet me beneath the stone outcropping.”
Her? That had to mean Kaylin. His suspicions were confirmed moments later when he heard her cry out. Moving quickly and silently, he caught a glimpse of blonde hair, and heard her whimper.
“Easy. You don’t want me to cut you, do you?” The heavily accented English had to belong to one of the guides with ScanoGen’s group. Careful not to be spotted, Dane ducked behind a tree and peered around it.
Kaylin was being held by a tall, dark-skinned man. In one hand, he had a knife pressed to her throat, and was pulling up her shirt with the other. Half of his head was obscured by Kaylin’s. It was a small target, but it would be enough if he was fast.
He stepped out, Walther in a two-handed grip. The man spotted him and froze for a split-second. That was enough.
Dane’s first bullet took him in the eye, and Kaylin pushed the dead man’s body away as he fell. Weeping, she ran to Dane, who swept her up in his arms and held her tight.
“We’ve got to get behind cover,” he whispered, moving backward. “We don’t know who might be coming. There’s the natives, and now these guys to contend with. Are they ScanoGen?”
Kaylin nodded. “Maddock, I’m sorry, but I told them about the Path of Five Steps. That guy, he was going to cut my eye out. I’m so sorry.”
“It couldn’t be helped.” He pulled her close. Their one advantage over ScanoGen was now gone, but he couldn’t expect Kaylin to hold up under threat of torture. It was stupid to have brought her here in the first place, no matter what she said.
“I did lie to him about one of the steps. The one about Rome. That might help. I just couldn’t do more. I was so afraid he could tell I was lying. I’m so sorry.” There was a longing in her eyes, and he knew she wanted him to tell her all was forgiven.
He managed a sympathetic nod. “What matters is you’re all right. We need to find the others quickly. Did they take your gun?”
“I think the dead guy has it.”
Hastily, they retrieved Kaylin’s knife and pistol from the dead guide. As she tucked the knife back into its sheath, they heard the sound of many feet shuffling through the underbrush, coming right toward them.
“It’s those zombie native freaks,” she hissed. “They must have heard the sound of your gunshot.”
“Let’s go, and be sure to stay with me this time.” Dane took her by the hand and together they took off in the direction of the waterfall.
Bones trained his M16 on the figure hiding behind the bush. It wasn’t one of the natives, but an attractive woman with short, black hair and skin the color of dark chocolate. She was dressed in fatigues and armed with a Makarov. This must be Tam, the ostensible leader of the ScanoGen group. She was good with a handgun. Bones had already watched her put a bullet through the skull of a charging native at fifty feet.
Of course, she was no SEAL. Bones was now twenty feet away from her an
d she had no idea he was there. He could take her out any time, but it suited him to let her waste her bullets taking out the natives while he waited here by the foot of the waterfall for Maddock and the others to arrive.
Also, something told him there was more to this girl than met the eye. He kept coming back to the fact that she’d set Andy free instead of killing him. Also, Andy implied that the ScanoGen crew didn’t truly accept her as a leader. Something was stinky in Dodge, or however the saying went. Perhaps there was a rift in the ScanoGen group—one big enough for him to worm his way into. He decided to take a chance.
“Don’t move a muscle.” He kept his tone low, just loud enough for her to hear. She didn’t flinch. She kept her body still and turned her eyes in the direction of his voice. “Don’t even think about it, sweetheart,” Bones added. “Doc freakin’ Holliday isn’t that fast.”
“I can’t see you, but I can tell where you are by the sound of your voice. I put enough bullets in the air, one of them will hit you.”
“Look, chick,” Bones said, knowing how much women hated being addressed that way. “First of all, we can sit and talk all day and my concentration won’t lapse one bit. That’s a promise. Second, you’ll have a bullet in your skull at the first sudden movement you make. Now, open your hand and let the gun drop.”
She grimaced, but did as she was told.
“Good, now put your hands on top of your head.
“I’ve never let anyone sneak up on me like that,” she said as she slowly followed Bones’s instructions. “I must be sleep-deprived.”
“Don’t let it bother you. It’s all part of the training.” He loved this girl’s calm demeanor, but it also made her dangerous.
“I’m guessing you’re either Maddock or Bonebrake.”
“Why the hell does Maddock always get top billing? I’m the badass.”
She smirked. “Look, I know you won’t believe me, but I’m F.B.I. I’m on your side.”
“Bull. If you’re F.B.I., what are you doing in a foreign country?”
“I’m a plant inside ScanoGen. Have been for a long time. My primary assignment is domestic. My orders were to find out all I can about a shadow organization that’s funding them and other groups, but I failed. I worked my way up through the organization and all I got was a name. The Dominion.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Bones’s blood ran cold. It couldn’t possibly be true, but then again, neither could it be a coincidence. “Do you mean the Deseret Dominion?”
“That’s one small segment of a nationwide organization. I’m surprised you’ve heard of them. That cell has been quiet for a while.”
“Maddock and I sort of had something to do with that.” He probably shouldn’t have made that admission, but he couldn’t help himself.
“You’re kidding me.” Her eyes were wide with surprise. “Is this a joke to mess with me?” He had finally rattled her, though only a little bit.
“Nope. If you convince me not to kill you, I’ll tell you all about it when we get out of here.” He realized he had already decided to let her live, and he hoped he wasn’t making a mistake.
“My cards are on the table.” Her voice was calm and he detected no deception. “I’ve done my job the best I can, and tried not to do too much harm along the way. ScanoGen ordered me to kill a man, Thornton’s colleague, but I let him go instead, although he doesn’t stand much of a chance out there if I don’t get back to him quick.”
“We found him and he’s all right. We sent him back with an armed guide.” Something occurred to Bones. “You said your primary job was to investigate the Dominion. What else were you supposed to do?”
“To find out the truth behind Project Pan,” she replied glumly, “and either steal the science behind it for the government, or put a permanent stop to it.”
“What is Project Pan?”
“Something the Dominion hired ScanoGen to do. I don’t know exactly what it is, but we believe it has a military application, and that it’s somehow related to modifying the human brain.”
“You mean like turning soldiers into semi-zombies that can’t feel pain and keep on coming at you until you blow them apart or blow their heads off?”
“Maybe.” She gave a sad smile “All I know for certain is Thomas Thornton claimed that he knew where to find the key, and I’m sure it lies somewhere beyond that waterfall. Look, I can’t offer you any proof, but I’m telling you the truth. Take away all my weapons if you like. Do whatever you need to do to feel safe around a little girl like me, but let me come with you. While we’re sitting here chatting, Kennedy and what’s left of the ScanoGen guys are getting a head start.”
“All right,” Bones said. He moved to her side, pocketed her Makarov and relieved her of her knife and spare clips. His eyes fell on a strange-looking weapon lying nearby. “What is this?”
“Personal Halting and Stimulation Response rifle. PHaSR for short. Some call it a dazzle gun. It temporarily blinds your enemy. I tried it on the zombie things, but they just stopped and sniffed the air and came after me again like they were hunting dogs or something.”
“Sweet!” Bones hefted the high-tech weapon. It was bulkier than a machine gun, and looked a bit like something you’d see in a science fiction movie. “I’ll have to save this for Corey. He loves to get his Star Wars on!” He looked at down at his new pseudo-ally. “I am sorry about disarming you. You understand, don’t you?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Tam looked up, turning her large brown eyes and bright smile on him. “I can take my weapons back from you any time I like.”
“Bring it on any time.” Although he was only ninety-seven percent sure she wasn’t going to try to kill him, Bones couldn’t help but like this girl. “My friends and I are to meet up here. If they agree to it, you can come along.” He had to laugh. He could only imagine what Maddock was going to say.
Chapter 24
Dane was not sure what to make of this new development, but he trusted Bones’s judgment, and his own instincts told him that Tam was all right. He didn’t know what to think about her claim that she was investigating the Dominion. What were the odds that name would crop up again? Until she proved herself, however, he was going to watch her closely.
He heard a rustling over the sound of the waterfall, and turned to see Matt and Willis come into view, the former supporting the latter’s weight. Willis’s right pants leg was soaked with blood.
“He caught a spear in the thigh,” Matt grunted as he helped his friend ease down onto a nearby rock. “It looks worse than it is, I think.”
“Says you.” Willis winced as Bones ripped open the gash in the fabric in order to get a better look. “How come it’s always the black man that has to die first? Tell me that, any of y’all.”
“You’re not dead. If you were, you wouldn’t be so freakin’ talkative.” Bones chastised. They stood guard as Matt hastily cleaned, dressed, and bandaged the wound. “I’d stitch it up, but that would take a while, and there’s no telling when those natives will be back.”
“I think we just ran out of time!” Dane had spotted movement in the distance. Shadowy forms were coming their way, and that meant danger, whether it was the natives or ScanoGen who were on their trail. “Let’s get to the waterfall. Even if Tam’s wrong about that being the last landmark, that will cut down on the approaches they can take to get to us.”
They picked their way across the narrow, rocky path that ran between the base of the cliff and the dark pool fed by the waterfall. Cool mist coated their faces and made the way slick. Dane put Tam in the front so he could see if she tried anything. Willis refused further help, and managed the trek reasonably well, though Dane was worried about his comrade. Bones had confided in him that the wound was deep, and would require better attention than the quick treatment Matt had given it.
As they drew close to the waterfall, Dane could see that the cliff face was hollowed out behind it. Hope rising, he urged Tam to quicken her pace befor
e they were spotted. Skirting a head-high boulder, they stepped behind the curtain of water into a cave ten feet across running twenty feet back into the rock. Light filtering through the water cast the place in a flickering glow, and made it easy to see what awaited them inside the cave.
A giant skull was carved into the back wall. The mouth, nose, and eye sockets were all large enough for a person to crawl through. The irregular light sent shadows wavering across its surface, seeming to bring it to life.
“Wicked,” Bones observed as he, bringing up the rear, entered the cavern.
“This is it.” Tam put her hands on her hips and stared at the huge stone skull. She seemed to have already forgotten her position as a prisoner amongst a group of armed captors. “The problem is, I don’t know where we go from here. Fawcett’s map only takes us this far. It’s entirely possible this is rigged so that someone who doesn’t know the trick gets it.” She dragged a finger across her throat and made a squelching noise.
“I think, for safety’s sake, we should assume that’s the case,” Dane said. “We can help you here. You see, we found Fawcett’s personal copy of The Lost World.” He grinned at Tam’s look of surprise. “Now we need the Path of Five Steps. Kaylin, what’s the first one?” He hoped that by asking her to contribute, even in a small way, he could assuage some of her guilt at surrendering their secret.
“All about me I see enemies. Rome, the scent your funeral pyres is the finest perfume.”
“Weird.” Matt frowned. “Couldn’t they just say, ‘Push this button and go here’?”
“You have definitely been spending too much time with Bones.” Kaylin shook her head. “Remember, this is a combined translation from Fawcett and a native. It’s not going to be crystal clear, especially if it was some sort of secret code.”
