Curse of the Painted Lady (The Anlon Cully Chronicles Book 3)

by K Patrick Donoghue

  Anlon had never seen as imposing a monument. Bathed in the orange-red glow from above, the shadows cast down the broad, stepped pyramid took on a threatening look. The reflection of the flames bouncing off the steps seemed like fingers, encouraging Anlon to ascend. There must be over two hundred steps, he thought, as he drew closer to the base of the pyramid.

  He looked up and saw a figure staring down at him from the landing at the top of the pyramid. Arms crossed and legs anchored apart, the woman wore a white tunic. From Anlon’s vantage point, he could not see the prone figure Robles had mentioned.

  When Anlon reached the pyramid’s base, he glanced at the steep incline of the narrow steps. It would be no problem to ascend slowly, he thought. Just hope I don’t pass out or fall off before I get there! Reaching into his pocket, he felt for the beacon once more and then mounted the first step.

  The rope decline had gone off smoothly. Jennifer had been surprised Mereau was the first to land safely on the road. He had smiled at her and whispered, “Must be the enjyia!”

  She had given Mereau his first high five, then turned with Robles and took off down the road. As they ran, Robles whispered radio checks to each of the team members. Jennifer was pleased. So far, everything was going according to plan.

  About halfway to the ruins, Robles whispered for her to stop. In between labored breaths, he suggested they check their weapons before proceeding. Jennifer nodded and reached into the front pockets of her pants. The Dreylaeks were ready for action. Reaching behind her, the small sack carrying a Breylofte bounced against her hip. Check. She slid her hand down the outside of each thigh. On her right side, her hand hit the butt of the holstered Glock. On the left side, her fingers found the hilt of the commando knife.

  “All good,” she whispered. Robles held up a thumb, and off they ran. Two minutes later, they slowed again as they reached the landing zone where Anlon had disembarked. The night vision glasses were excellent. Jennifer could see amazing detail all around, including the halo of the torchlights above the tree line.

  “Follow me,” whispered Robles. He crouched low and left the road, curling around the edge of the clearing. In his hands, he brandished a semiautomatic rifle with mounted sniper scope. With commandolike stealth, he stepped silently through the scrub brush. Jennifer followed close behind, the Breylofte now gripped by both hands above her chest. When Robles was satisfied the perimeter was clear, he relayed the information to Mereau and Li, trailing behind.

  From the clearing onward, they kept to the tree line abutting the road. It slowed them down, but it provided cover. They serpentined around two bends in the road and then spotted the towering pyramid.

  Jennifer, sweating profusely, wiped perspiration from her eyelids and looked up the near-vertical slope. There was Anlon, halfway up the pyramid steps. She whispered, “There he is. How close do you think we can get?”

  Through her ear piece, Mereau asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”

  “Anlon’s a little more than halfway up. Someone’s standing at the top. Can’t see anyone else.”

  “Is there a way around the sides?”

  “Yes. The main staircase is bordered by several tiers. They’re decently hidden by trees.”

  “Good,” the huffing Mereau replied. “Pick a side, left or right. We’ll take the one you don’t choose.”

  “We’ll go right,” Robles said.

  “Go. We’re not far behind,” Li said.

  Chetumal International Airport

  General Aviation Hangar

  Antonio stared at the black and green screen. Next to him sat Katie, chewing her fingernails. A speakerphone with a solid red light glowing provided the only other illumination in the plane’s cabin.

  “Is that Anlon on the steps?” Antonio asked.

  Dylan Hollingsworth answered through the speakerphone. “Yes, it’s him. He’s got the case.”

  “All right. Give me some color, Dylan. Show me the good guys and bad guys.”

  Through the speakerphone, the sound of rapid typing could be heard. All of a sudden, the green figure ascending the pyramid turned blue, as did one of the two figures making their way around the pyramid’s right side. The second one remained green.

  “The green one on the right side has to be the SWAT guy. Turn him blue so we don’t shoot at the wrong guy,” Antonio instructed. He turned to Katie and mumbled, “Lord knows we don’t want to take out a foreign national.”

  A few seconds later, the green figure turned blue. Another two green figures appeared on the screen, a few hundred yards behind. As they crossed the road and angled for the left side of the pyramid, Dylan turned them blue also. “That’s all the good guys.”

  “What about the case?” Antonio asked.

  “Hold on,” Dylan said.

  On the screen, an orange dot appeared beside the blue figure on the stairs. Antonio winked at Katie. “Mereau slipped a beacon in the case for me.”

  A dozen keyboard clicks later, Antonio saw one of the green figures on top of the pyramid turn red. The other figure, stationary and prone, changed color to pink. Dylan said, “I’m assuming the one on the ground is Pebbles. I’ve marked her appropriately.”

  “Yeah,” Antonio said. “Can’t imagine Muran would lie down at a moment like this. Anyone else?”

  “Drone’s not picking up any other heat signatures, but there’s a lot of interference from the pyramid’s stone blocks. I’ll take it up a bit higher and circle the area.”

  “Okay, but don’t go too high. Stay in firing range, and make sure you lock in the red bogey before you take it up,” Antonio said. Turning to Katie, he smiled. “Muran’s in for it now.”

  Structure II, Calakmul Mayan Complex

  Anlon stopped a second time to catch his breath. He kept his eyes focused upward, as looking down induced vertigo. On the narrow steps, any wobble might send him and the case tumbling down. He wondered if that was part of Muran’s plan — get him to the top, then blast him over the precipice and down the stone staircase.

  The figure at the top of the pyramid had moved back from view as Anlon drew closer to the summit. He was close enough now that he could hear the torches whip in the wind above the treetops.

  Finally, he stepped foot on the landing. Panting heavily, he looked ahead. The landing had several rectangular blocks positioned in a square around a central courtyard. In this courtyard, an oblong stone block rested at the center. On it, Pebbles was laid out. She was blindfolded and wore a white tunic. Her hands were bound and rested atop her stomach. Her feet were bound as well. Torches lined both the inner and outer walls of the courtyard, casting wavelike projections of orange and red over Pebbles.

  Behind Pebbles stood a woman. It was not Muran. And Anlon recognized her immediately.

  Mereau turned to Li. “Will you trust me?”

  The frightened FBI agent nodded and closed her eyes. Mereau hummed on the Breylofte and Li rose into the air. She cupped her hand over her mouth and bit down on her tongue to stifle the scream that begged to come out. Though she was terrified, she was amazed with Mereau’s touch. It felt as if a giant had pinched her by the collar and lifted her silently and swiftly a hundred feet in the air, then placed her down as gently as she normally stepped out of bed.

  When she landed, her eyes opened. The pyramid summit was still another fifty feet above, but in the shadows provided by the trees, Li was hidden from view. She turned to look down the slope for Mereau, only to find him standing beside her. He winked and raised a finger to his lips. Moving close to Li, Mereau whispered, “Stay here.”

  A moment later, she watched him take a running start and blow on the bowl-shaped Stone. He vaulted in the air and disappeared into the darkness on the side of the pyramid.

  “Jonesey?”

  “Ow ya goin, Dr. Cully,” Jonesey said, her mouth twisted into a mocking smile.

  Anlon stepped forward, his eyes locked on Pebbles. He was surprised she hadn’t reacted to the sound of his voice. Her mouth was open b
ut she hadn’t turned her head toward him. In fact, she hadn’t moved at all. Not even a twitch. Was she asleep? Had they drugged her?

  “That’s close enough,” Jonesey said, her outstretched hand signaling Anlon to stop. In it, she clutched a Dreylaek. Anlon looked down and spied the companion Stone cupped in the palm of her other hand.

  “Pebbles? It’s me. Are you okay?” Anlon asked. Pebbles didn’t reply. He looked at her more closely and saw red splotches around her neck. Looking up at Jonesey, Anlon asked, “What have you done to her?”

  “You have the Sinethals?” Jonesey asked, her voice now devoid of the Australian accent.

  Anlon felt dizzy. What was going on? What was wrong with Pebbles? What was Jonesey doing here? Where was Muran? His heart thudded violently. His eyes darted around. The case in his hand felt as heavy as an elephant. He took a step backward, teetering slightly as he neared the edge of the landing. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  “Talk to me, Pebbles. Say something,” Anlon said.

  Jonesey moved around Pebbles and stood between her and Anlon. “Open the case, show me the Sinethals.”

  He set the case down and anchored in position in front of it. “No. Not until I know she’s all right. What did you do? Did you drug her?”

  “Not exactly,” Jonesey said. “Now, open the case.”

  Anger swelled inside Anlon, chasing away every scintilla of anxiety. As he glared at Jonesey, visions of the meeting to view Sinclair’s tapestry filled his mind. Anlon recalled Jonesey questioning him about Malinyah’s Sinethal, and her expertise in the mythology associated with Aramu Muru. Obviously, her interest in both went far beyond academic curiosity. It had been a setup. Had Sinclair known? Had he been in on it, or had he been duped, too?

  “Elton Sinclair part of your scheme?” Anlon asked.

  Jonesey began to scrape the Dreylaeks together.

  “Where’s Muran?” Anlon asked.

  From behind, Anlon heard the sound of shaking leaves and a thud. When he turned toward the sounds, his heel bumped into the case, knocking it over the edge of the landing. As the case began to tumble down the stairs, gunfire cut through the air.

  Chetumal International Airport

  “Holy shit!” Dylan called out through the speakerphone.

  Antonio flinched as a leaping figure appeared from nowhere onto one of the lower tiers. The green blur immediately attacked the blue figure crouching on the tier’s ledge. Katie gasped.

  “Mark the bogey, damn it!” Antonio yelled at the phone.

  The green blur turned red.

  “Turn the AI on, now!” Antonio said.

  Keyboard clicks. “On autofire?”

  Antonio hesitated, watching the confrontation unfold. He saw the orange dot bounce down the stairs, passing the tier where the newly tagged red bogey stood over a fallen blue figure. Flashes of green obscured the red-blue tandem. Across the staircase, Antonio’s eye caught two more blue figures. One leapt onto the staircase, rushing toward the scuffle on the far side. The other one chased after the orange dot. Darting his eyes up, Antonio saw Anlon’s figure collide with the red bogey on the pyramid summit. Both fell onto the pink figure.

  “Hold up,” Antonio said. “They’re too bunched up. Keep it on manual, but get ready to fire on my mark.”

  Structure II, Calakmul Mayan Complex

  Jennifer was within twenty feet of the summit when she heard the “oof.” She popped her head up and saw a blur of white disappear behind the far side of the staircase. Bright flashes lit up the trees, accompanied by the boom of gunfire. A second later, a shiny, spinning object crossed her field of vision. Before she could react, Robles was already on the staircase, rushing toward the gunfire. Jennifer shot a look up at the landing. There was no one there. Snapping her head back down the stairs, she caught a glimpse of the steel case as it twirled off the steps and into the darkness. She hopped from the tier’s ledge onto the stairs and headed after the case.

  She never saw Robles fly backward over the side of the pyramid, nor did she hear the scream as Muran fired a flaming bolt into Li. Jennifer was completely unaware Anlon had pried loose the Dreylaeks from Kora’s grip, using one of the cookie-sized Stones to pound Muran’s accomplice unconscious. With singular focus, Jennifer scampered down the steps, keeping her eyes trained on the spot where the case had disappeared.

  As she neared the spot, the case came into view. It was perched on the ledge of a lower tier. When she was within three steps, she crouched down and jumped over the side. She landed awkwardly and rolled onto the ledge. A thud followed close behind. Jennifer scampered to her feet and found herself face to face with The Painted Lady.

  Chetumal International Airport

  “Fire!” Antonio said, pounding the desk.

  The black-green screen, and the colored blotches moving upon it, disappeared behind a blinding flash. When the flash subsided, a smoky green haze hovered over the lower tier. As the haze began to clear, Antonio saw only a stationary blue figure on the ledge. The red bogey and orange dot were gone.

  “Where’d they go? Did we get a hit?” Antonio asked Dylan.

  “We hit something,” Dylan said.

  Structure II, Calakmul Mayan Complex

  With the firefight raging below, Anlon dragged Pebbles behind the back wall of the courtyard. He whisked off the blindfold and saw her blank-faced stare. He shook her shoulders and called her name. Pebbles’ head lolled to the side. He took hold of her chin and jostled her head. “Pebbles, God damn it! Wake up!”

  No reaction.

  Cursing, Anlon looked around for a means of escape. Behind the pyramid landing, he noticed another, taller structure. He squinted through the glow of courtyard torchlight to spy a way down from the landing and found himself staring at a sheer drop of at least twenty feet. Looking again at the other structure, Anlon realized it was part of the same pyramid — a second summit connected to the landing where he stood by a walkway below. In order to reach the walkway leading to the second peak, he would have to carry Pebbles down the pyramid’s main staircase to the next closest tier. Cursing again, he picked up Pebbles and made for the staircase.

  He reentered the courtyard from the backside and snaked around the slab where Pebbles had been laid out. He stepped over Jonesey’s motionless body and exited between the blocks bordering the main staircase. A flaming bolt struck the steps a few feet away, exploding the stone block into shards that raked Anlon and Pebbles. He spun away from the debris and sought cover behind one of the blocks, hugging Pebbles against his chest.

  A shrill voice called out, “Enough! Or your woman’s mind is gone forever!”

  Chetumal International Airport

  “There she is!” Dylan said. “Should I fire again?”

  “Damn! That bitch just won’t die!” Antonio said. The “f” of “fire” hissed through his teeth as a blue blur soared from the darkness, landing on the steps between Anlon and the red bogey below. Antonio said, “Hold your fire.”

  To the left of the red bogey, a blue figure huddled on a ledge. Below, and to the right, Antonio saw another blue figure begin to move. The orange dot was still nowhere in sight. The fourth blue figure was missing as well.

  “Move the drone behind our bogey,” Antonio instructed. Once accomplished, Muran was surrounded on four sides. Antonio said, “Let’s see you get out of this.”

  Structure II, Calakmul Mayan Complex

  Hidden by the shadow of the main staircase, Li propped her back against the wall of the upper tier. One hand covered the bleeding hole through her body armor. The other trembling hand clutched her government-issued, Model 23 Glock. She heard a woman’s voice call out. “Enough! Or your woman’s mind is gone forever!”

  She bit her lip as she raised up to peer over the wall. Before she could focus her gaze in the direction of the woman’s voice, her eyes sensed movement above. It was just a flutter at first, just a speck in the black sky. Then a shadow crossed overhead, followed by a thump. A moment later, a male
voice, Mereau’s voice, said, “Sae ut dote, Muran.” It is over, Muran.

  Anlon slid down the block, his eyes blurred by dust from the exploding step. He lowered Pebbles to the stone floor on the landing and used the sleeve of his T-shirt to wipe away the debris. Woozy, he squinted through watery eyes at Pebbles. Her expression was unchanged.

  He then heard Mereau speak. Where he’d come from, Anlon couldn’t tell. Nor did he understand what the man had said to Muran. But he knew Mereau was close by, and his voice was firm. Anlon remembered the beacon in his pocket and pulled it out.

  From below, he heard Muran reply to Mereau. “Ah, the hero-captain arrives. I’m afraid you’re too late.”

  Rising up, Anlon cupped the beacon and shimmied along the block. Just as he prepared to peek around the corner, he froze. Jonesey was gone!

  “Mereau,” he shouted, “look out for the other one.”

  Anlon remembered he had stashed her Dreylaeks in his back pocket after braining her with one of them. He put away the beacon and retrieved the Stones. Ruing his inexperience with the weapon, Anlon started to grind them together. No time like the present, he thought.

  Mereau looked down on the sneering Muran. Half her white tunic was covered in blood, and red rivulets trickled down her legs. Around her neck was a lanyard, holding a swaying Breylofte. She warmed Dreylaeks in her palms.

  The Munuorian captain stood his ground, Breylofte at the ready. To Muran, he said, “Surrender your weapons. You are no match for me.”

  “Don’t be so sure, old man,” she said. Raising her head, Muran shouted, “Kora? Kora come out. Join me. They won’t do anything while we have the girl’s mind.”