by Alehandro
As they handcuffed Hawkins, De Leon”s attention suddenly shifted to people in the burning hangar. He motioned to one of his men. ‘We need to find a way to get in there!’
One of the soldiers protested. “But captain…the building is burning!”
“Find a way!” De Leon barked.
“And you expect me to trust you?” Madrid yelled. “Explain why I should not shoot you right here and now?”
“I specifically instructed her to notify De Leon that you were here in Yucatan. That is most likely him out there right now. If you stay he will arrest you. If you unlock the chains from my legs and untie the ropes from my hands I’ll take you with me.”
“And exactly who is going to rescue us?”
“I also instructed my wife to get another person to rescue me. I have a friend who flies helicopters. Hurry! Make your choice!”
Seeing no other viable option at hand, Madrid took the keys from his pocket and unlocked Chauncy’s legs and proceeded to untie his hands.
As flaming debris fell around them they scrambled through the door and into the Humvee. Madrid handed Chauncy the keys and in seconds they were tearing down the dirt path. With headlights off, the early morning light was just enough to show Chauncy the road. Slamming through ruts and potholes Chauncy could feel bruises and scrapes and trickles of blood all over his body.
“Where to?” Madrid growled over the roar of the engine.
Chauncy glanced at the GPS unit built into the dashboard. “If we are to be rescued it is going to be on high ground. We should go towards the pyramids of Chichen Itza!”
Madrid frantically typed the information into the GPS system.
“Captain! Madrid is gone!” Arturo yelled.
“Call for backup, Arturo, and stay with Hawkins until it arrives,” De Leon pointed to three of his soldiers. “You three, come with me!”
He ran to his helicopter as the rotors started moving. De Leon noticed a blip on his screen indicating that there was a transmitter on board the Humvee from Chauncy.
Charlie’s helicopter sputtered but didn’t start. Kelly turned to look at Charlie, who shrugged. Shrugging also, Kelly tried again. This time the engine caught and the rotors started spinning.
“Aaaalllright!” Kelly yelled over the loud engine noise.
“Gonna hafta fly low to avoid radar, Kelly,” Charlie reminded him.
Kelly shot a look behind him at his comrade. “I fly, you gun, right?”
After another thumbs-up from his new co-pilot, Marlo, they lifted off. Anita, seated near the winch, watched the tracking monitor for Chauncy’s signal.
Skimming the treetops, they crossed the border into Mexico.
De Leon sat uncomfortably, despite his ultramodern helicopter. They had lost track of Chauncy’s transmitter, so De Leon had spent the last few minutes fiddling with the equipment.
The blip came on the screen again. “There he is!” De Leon shouted as he pointed to the device. “East!”
As they turned toward the pyramids of Chichen Itza, a small plume of dust the Hummer was making in its trail was visible.
De Leon pointed. “And there they are!”
Kelly looked down at the jungle and shuddered. He could hear the screams, “Come back, come back.”
He shook his head trying to dislodge the phantoms of the past.
He felt Marlo’s comforting hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, buddy, relax, relax.”
He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, forcing back the voices, the memories. He smiled weakly at his co-pilot. “Yeah.”
Anita had her eyes glued to the screen. “I see something! It’s definitely a blip, but it keeps disappearing! It’s Chauncy, but he needs to get to higher ground, but where can he go? This area of Yucatan is all flat topography.”
“He’s catching up with us!” Madrid exclaimed as he spied De Leon”s helicopter. With grim determination, he put his pistol down and reached into the rear of the Humvee. A moment later he retrieved a green metal box and pulled out a shoulder rocket launcher.
Chauncy glanced in the rear view mirror and saw De Leon”s helicopter swoop down like an eagle after its prey. Two Mini-Guns from the sides of his helicopter opened fire in perfect unison, spitting a barrage of bullets. The slugs slammed into the dirt, kicking up a considerable amount of dust.
A nearly deafening roar caught Chauncy off guard as Madrid fired a rocket from the sunroof of the vehicle. The aircraft veered off course and barely avoided the deadly missile.
De Leon looked at his gunner. “Can you stop them without killing the passengers in the vehicle?”
“The target’s path is erratic, sir. I can’t guarantee it!”
Mentally, De Leon flipped a coin. He turned to his gunner. “Do your best.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Slamming into the dirt just in front of the Humvee, the rocket sent the vehicle flying in a cloud of dirt. It seemed to hang in the air before crunching to the ground on its side, coming to a stop completely upside down.
Chauncy was surprised at how difficult it was to unbuckle the seatbelt while hanging upside down. He scrambled through the broken windshield, coughing and wheezing in the cloud of dust. Madrid must have done the same, but Chauncy’s attention was on the pyramid right in front of them.
“We have to get up there!” he shouted to Madrid who was rummaging through the debris inside the Hummer. “We need to get to higher ground if our rescuers are going to spot us.” ]
“Not yet we don’t!” Madrid shouted back.
To Chauncy’s horror, the drug lord leaned against the wrecked vehicle with the rocket launcher on his shoulder. The missile screamed toward the helicopter, found its target, and caused the tail rotor to disappear in a ball of flame.
“Tail rotor’s gone!” the pilot shouted over the sirens and alarms.
De Leon didn’t need the pilot’s warning. Without the tail rotor, the helicopter yielded to the laws of physics and began spinning toward the ground.
Squinting his eyes against the nauseating blur of the outside world, De Leon noticed that the pilot was wrestling the aircraft toward the jungle. The vegetation would absorb the impact - or so the theory went. Within seconds the theory was tested as the helicopter hit the treetops.
With is heart beating fast with excitement, Chauncy watched in amazement as the helicopter ripped through the vegetation. Dirt flew as the rotors hit the ground, cutting deep furrows into the jungle floor. Another half spin and it stopped. He shook his head, hoping that no one had been killed. Turning his mind away from the unpleasant possibilities, he started toward the pyramid.
“Not so fast Mr. Rollock!” Madrid”s pistol was pointed straight at Chauncy’s head. ‘For your sake, I hope you don’t have any tricks up your sleeve.’
Chauncy frantically pointed to the pyramid. “I already told you we have to climb to higher ground so they can locate us. The park isn’t open to the tourists yet. Let’s go before the place gets crowded!”
Running through the brush they entered the fairground and ran toward the pyramid. Chauncy pushed the metal guard railing out of the way and motioned for Madrid to begin climbing. The climb was arduous since the steps were steep, Chauncy could hear Madrid gasping for breath, his face covered in sweat.
Anita’s eyes widened in surprise as the blip blinked on her screen again. “I see the signal. It’s much stronger now,” she shouted over the engine noise. “Go west Kelly, go west!”
Kelly adjusted course. Charlie pointed at the pyramid. “That’s Chichen Itza.”
De Leon coughed and blinked his eyes against the stinging smoke. The helicopter was lying on its side. Grabbing his seat firmly with one hand, he unbuckled his seatbelt and slowly lowered himself to what had once been the side of his personal helicopter.
Smoke began to fill the cockpit. The pilot was unconscious or dead. De Leon made his way through the wreckage to the cabin. He checked for a pulse and was relieved to find one. Cutting loose the pilot’s seatbelt, he hea
ved him onto his shoulder and carried him out of the burning aircraft.
The gunner was lying in a pool of fuel, but he was alive as well. De Leon moved the man out and laid him on the grass next to the pilot. Wiping his brow, De Leon glanced at the pyramid. Chauncy and Madrid were starting to climb it. He turned toward the helicopter, but the third soldier was staggering out on his own. De Leon instructed him to care for the others while he ran back into the helicopter.
He rummaged through cases of weapons, all the time aware of the approaching flames. Coughing and near blind, he grabbed a sniper rifle and a round of ammunition.
As he stepped from the wreck, the first fuel tank exploded. De Leon went hurling into the air and landed on his back. Regaining consciousness seconds later he looked up at the third soldier.
“There is another helicopter approaching, sir! It is still far away, but I can hear its rotors!” the soldier said.
De Leon struggled to stand.
“Your leg, sir. That doesn’t look good. Let me help.”
“No!” De Leon snapped. “Look after the others. That’s an order, soldier!”
Using the rifle as a crutch, De Leon shuffled toward the pyramid. Moments later, the second fuel tank exploded in a ball of fire and black smoke. De Leon didn’t even spare a backward glance. He was focused. His target was ahead of him.
Kelly was the first to notice the fireball. “Uh, oh - something is a happening over there and I don’t think it’s a barbecue,” he said, pointing toward the smoke.
Anita’s eyes widened. “That’s where Chauncy is!”
Kelly dipped the helicopter’s nose and they picked up speed.
Madrid dropped to his knees. “I can’t go any further. Stop. Stop,” he said, his face pale and sickly as he waved his gun.
“We can’t stop. Look!” Chauncy said as he pointed down the pyramid.
Madrid looked down at the jungle floor. That could only be Gustavo De Leon. The sun glinted off the weapon he held.
Madrid”s breaths were rasping and harsh. His clothes were drenched. But the thought of getting shot by De Leon was enough to put him back on his feet. The stress, the heat, the humidity, the exertion - it was more than he could bear. His legs were numb. His heart hammered.
Shielding his eyes from the sun, Chauncy scanned the horizon for the helicopter. “Here they come!” he shouted.
Madrid felt a sharp pain in his chest.
De Leon gasped in pain as his leg gave out. Climbing the pyramid was impossible. Crouching on his good knee, he lifted the rifle and aimed.
The helicopter approached Chichen Itza. The strange assortment of buildings that had once been the hallmark of a powerful civilization were now little more than tourist attractions. Testimony to that were the multiple hotels that were nearby.
“There!” Marlo shouted, pointing at the pyramid. “See? Looks like two people climbing, and I’ll bet one of them is Chauncy!”
The helicopter reached the top of the pyramid at the same time as the climbers did. It was too narrow to land. In its center was a stele, a tall platform rising toward the heavens.
“I’m going to have to lower the cable!” Anita shouted. “And bring both of them up.”
“Both? I thought we were only bringin’ one guy up!” Charlie shouted.
“We have an extra ‘guest’ - that other guy is Jose Padilla Madrid,” Anita said.
“No way Jose, he ain’t coming aboard my chopper!” Charlie shouted. He slapped Kelly on the shoulder. “Turn this chopper around and head back to Belize!”
“No!” Anita said. “We came to get Chauncy!”
Charlie gave Anita an evil glare. “Look, lady! It’s bad enough I crossed the Mexican border with guns on my airship. Now you want me to board a drug lord? That was never part of my agreement! Do you understand? I ain’t going to no Mexican prison, ya hear?”
Anita glared at Charlie. “That’s my husband! You get him right now!”
“Well guess what? This is my chopper!” Charlie retorted.
“I just ordered you to get Chauncy!” Anita yelled back.
Charlie simply sneered at her and turned his attention back to Kelly. “I said take this chopper back to Belize, Kelly.”
Anita grabbed Charlie’s shirtsleeve. She changed her demeanor and softened her voice. “Look, we came this far to get Chauncy; we can’t turn back now. You are in too deep anyway. I have enough money to bail all of us out of prison. I will plead our case to the consulate if we get arrested. If you don’t take Madrid, he will kill him. Please, Charlie, please!”
“She’s right, Charlie,” Marlo said. “Madrid’s pointing a gun at Chauncy. We better cooperate or he may kill him.’
Charlie looked down at the pyramid, then he snarled. Making a motion with his hand he instructed Anita to lower the cable.
The winch’s motor growled as it slowly unraveled the cable down toward the two desperate men. Then, without warning the winch stopped.
Anita had a horrified expression. “Charlie! The winch isn’t working!”
For a quick second Charlie seemed motionless as he stared at the winch.
Madrid motioned Chauncy away from the cable. As he reached for the cable, a shot echoed across the pyramids. Madrid dropped his gun, grabbed his arm and cried out in pain.
He swayed about like a drunken man. The pain from the bullet wound was drowned out by the roaring pain in his chest. His heart seemed to beat in time with the helicopter rotors above him: thump…thump…thump…. He grabbed again for the cable. He missed, crumpling to his knees.
Chauncy tried to grab the wind-whipped cable as it flayed around, it seeming to toy with him as he attempted to grasp at it. After a few attempts he finally caught it.
Madrid raised his head to look up at Chauncy. “Well, it looks like you outsmarted me, in the end.”
Chauncy made fist at Madrid. “No, Dr. Sova did, I was only a disciple of his.”
Madrid nodded in agreement, then closed his eyes and toppled backward down the steep stairs of the pyramid.
Charlie quickly rummaged through an old toolbox and pulled out a rusty wrench. “Get back!” he yelled as he swung the wrench with all his might at the winch motor. A loud clanging sound reverberated in the cabin as the winch came back to life. Chauncy wrapped the cable around his wrists, then with much concentration, he snaked the cable around his ankles too. The cable commenced to pull Chauncy upwards to the helicopter.
“Let’s go Kelly!” Marlo shouted.
But Kelly was back in Vietnam, voices screaming from the jungle. He could feel the bullet wound; feel the blood running down his arm. Come back! Come back! the voices cried in his mind. I can’t leave them here in the jungle to die….
A hard slap on his shoulder brought him back to reality. “Let’s move it soldier!” Marlo shouted. “Move-move-move, we have the man we came for!”
Nodding weakly, Kelly pushed the throttle forward and turned the helicopter toward Belize.
As the jeep slid to a halt, Arturo jumped out and ran to where De Leon lay. “Are you all right? What happened?”
De Leon waved his hand to where Madrid”s broken body lay. Hotel personnel were running to the fairground to see what the commotion was all about. They had horrified expressions when they saw a corpse on the grass surrounded by officials.
De Leon ignored the excited voices in the background as he addressed Arturo. “Today, we killed a big cucaracha. But soon another cucaracha will take his place and the game will start all over again.” He sighed. “You know what, Arturo? I hope to God that I am not here when that happens.”
Chapter Eleven
Two days later the atmosphere was festive at the outdoor bar of a hotel in Belize. Loud conversations were punctuated by laughter. Up in the corner a TV broadcast a 24-hour sports channel. A warm breeze blew puffy clouds across the sky and brought with it the exotic scents of the jungle. Of all the guests that were enjoying themselves, seven had particular reason to celebrate. Chauncy, Anita, Troy, Marlo,
Gloria, Kelly and Charlie were near the bar, laughing and talking.
Chauncy was seated in a large, comfortable chair. An oversized sombrero and thick sunglasses would have been comical if it hadn’t been for the bandages that were visible wherever his shirt and shorts did not cover. There wasn’t a single muscle in his body that didn’t hurt, despite loads of painkillers. The doctors had forbidden alcohol; so he sipped an enormous iced tea.
Anita was at his right side, clinging to a small spot on his arm where there were no bandages. Troy was on his left. Chauncy could smell something delicious sizzling on the outdoor barbecue. All in all, life was good.
He gave his wife a tender kiss. He had been in too much pain during the helicopter ride to be coherent, and after that he had been the exclusive property of the doctors, so this was the first time in twenty-four hours that he was able to truly talk to his family and friends.
“Thank you, my love. It was a shot in the dark, but I had hoped you’d figure out the message in the video I sent you.”
She smiled. “You taught me everything dear; I simply followed your lead.”
Marlo came over, a large smile on his face. “Good to see you again Chauncy - especially good to see you all in one piece!”
“You think so?” Chauncy chided.
Marlo’s smile grew larger as he gripped his friend’s hand. “You know what, I’ve been thinking about something. Every time we travel together, it seems we always get into some kind of trouble. Next time, Gloria and I are going on vacation without you.”
A hearty laugh broke out amongst the group. Kelly grabbed Marlo’s shoulder and grinned at him. “Hey man, thank you so much. I think I’m cured man, ya know what I mean? I can handle the jungle now! And you, Chauncy, do me a favor would ya? Stop getting in so much trouble.”
Chauncy shrugged. “I’ll do what I can, but no promises.”
“Here you go, Charlie” Anita said, as she fluttered a check at him.
Charlie grinned from ear to ear.
“Well, rich man, what are you going to spend this on?” Anita asked.
“Well I’ve got some helicopters to repair. And I’ll have to spruce the place up a little if I’m going to convince Kelly to come hang out now that he’s okay with the jungle again,” he said, putting his arm around Kelly. “Come on, we’ve got some plans to make.” Charlie and Kelly walked toward the pool.
