by Robyn Nyx
Rayne smiled and caressed Chase’s cheek. “You’re a soppy moose…South then?”
Chase gave Rayne a gentle shove. “You’re soppy…and yeah, south.” She shoved her Canon back into her pack and began to walk the sixty feet south.
They got to that one, deciphered and photographed it, and moved to the third one. At the fourth, Chase began to wonder exactly how many stones there might be. She’d been rooting for three, after the number of trees and the fact they were after the Golden Trinity, but it wasn’t to be.
“The distance of the directions can always be divided by three,” Chase said to no one in particular at stone number eight. She looked back at the path they’d taken. The Mayans seemed to be leading them a merry crisscross dance of directions, and Chase could feel the rising tension in the group. She’d noticed Nicolai’s grip on his rifle had moved from the handle to the trigger. As a precaution, Chase ensured she was always situated between him and Rayne.
Stone nine was located at the very edge of the clearing, and as she began to hack at the grass once more, she casually wondered about switching arms. She didn’t want to end up with one arm looking like Popeye’s while the other was a twig. She probably should’ve alternated at each stone. She noticed figures walking toward them through the jungle and ceased her progress to see who it was. Surely the three old women hadn’t decided to take matters into their own hands?
“What’s the matter?” Rayne placed her hand on Chase’s shoulder.
“Someone’s coming.” Chase pointed toward the movement in the trees.
“G and T!” Rayne jumped up from the ground.
She looked as though she was about to race forward, but Owen appeared at their side, and she stood stock-still, gripping Chase’s wrist tightly.
“What are you doing here?” Turner asked. “I told you I’d radio you when I had the Trinity.”
“Change of plan.”
Everything happened so much slower than it ever did in the movies. Owen raised his handgun to shoulder height and squeezed off one round. He adjusted and aimed again, letting off a second shot. Chase launched herself at Rayne, and they fell to the ground in super slow motion. Moments after Chase covered Rayne’s body with her own, Turner dropped to the ground beside them. A perfectly circular, ebony-black hole marked the center of his forehead, scarlet blood began to seep from it, and his mouth fell open in a frozen yell. Milliseconds later, Rich fell beside Turner, similarly and perfectly executed.
Chase looked up to see Owen grinning as nonchalantly as if he’d just shot two coconuts at a fair and was about to claim the teddy bear prize. His gun, and that of his companion, who flanked the other side of the tank twins, was trained on Effi, Nicolai, and his three goons.
“I’m going to need help carrying this immense treasure from the cave it’s hiding in onto Turner’s helicopter,” said Owen. “You have five seconds to decide whether you’d like to earn ten thousand dollars or chew on my bullets…And, go.”
Nicolai nodded to his three people, and they all lowered their weapons. “We don’t care who pays us, as long as we do get paid.”
Owen grinned. “I’m a man of my word, and I will pay for your services.”
Effi looked down at Turner and Rich, and Chase couldn’t see if she actually had any feelings for Turner, or whether it had always been for the money.
Effi raised her hands. “I’m up for the ten K.”
“Too late.” Owen patted the chest pocket of his jacket with his left hand. “I only have forty thousand.”
He shot Effi in the chest. She dropped to her knees, clutching desperately at the hole swiftly relinquishing her life. Chase watched, helpless, as Owen loosed another round into her head.
“Die already. I’m not giving out Oscars for best performance.”
Owen and his buddy laughed, and they were soon joined with nervous-sounding laughter from Nicolai and his gang.
“Chase Stinsen and Rayne Marcellus. Working together again.” Owen came to stand before them, his boots almost touching Chase’s head. “This is like a McCartney and Lennon reunion, except you’re both alive…for now. This is such a huge occasion. Let’s celebrate by finding the Golden Trinity.” He reached down, grabbed Chase’s shirt, and pulled her to her feet. “What do you say, Stinsen?”
Chase swallowed and took in all the carnage around her. Owen had been there less than three minutes, and there was a dead body for each one of those minutes. Rayne slowly stood, and Chase felt stronger for her nearness. But what good was that strength when faced with this level of careless violence? “I think we’re close,” was all she could think of to say.
Owen moved closer and pressed the barrel of his gun under Chase’s chin. “You and the pretty woman are supposed to be the best treasure hunters and archeologists in the world. You’d better do more than think. You’d better know, or you’ll find yourself lying in the dirt next to this greedy, stupid prick and his dumb boyfriend.”
Chase nodded as best she could against the hard metal of Owen’s gun. Rayne had asked if this expedition was going to get worse. Owen showing up and murdering Turner without any apparent provocation definitely fell into that category. She closed her eyes briefly and tried to hold on to the disappearing thread of hope that they really were going to make it out of this alive.
Chapter Thirty-three
Rayne smiled at G&T, and they smiled back from a distance. Knowing they were here relieved some of the pressure but being in such close proximity to Owen again counterbalanced that relief. They weren’t in too bad a state considering they’d spent time with Owen, but their black eyes, cut lips, and bruised cheeks were evidence enough that they were at the mercy of a twisted and sick individual.
“Are you worried about me making good on my threat, Rayne?”
His breath brushed across her neck as she leaned over Chase to study the ninth stone. She tried to dismiss the menace behind his words as macho rhetoric. “Are you going to let us concentrate? If you want this done, you’d be better off to stand back and gives us space to do our job.” Rayne faced him with a sparky confidence she had to work hard to fake, then turned away before he could recognize the terror bubbling beneath her skin.
“Fine. We’ll talk about your future later.”
In her peripheral vision, he drummed his fingers on the hilt of his gun which he’d carelessly positioned in the front waistband of his trousers. She thought about making a lunge at him and pulling the trigger. Shooting his appendage off might make him less of a vicious dick…for the few hours before he bled to death.
“Breathe, baby,” Chase whispered. “We’ll get through this.”
Rayne wanted to believe that. She really did. And maybe, just maybe, if she hadn’t witnessed Owen’s brutal, nonchalant murder of Turner, Rich, and Effi, she could roll with that tiny ball of hope that they could get through this. But she and Chase were only useful until they found the Trinity. Christ, he was already toying with her emotions by reminding her of his threat when they’d last crossed paths.
Chase pulled her camera from her pack, and Owen practically jumped across the space between them.
“What the hell, Owen?” Chase stumbled back as Owen grabbed at her. “I’m just getting my camera.”
He tugged it from her hands and began to flick through the photos on the back screen.
“You don’t need your camera.”
Rayne put her hand on Chase’s thigh. “Leave it.”
Chase ignored her warning and stood to challenge him. “Yes, I do. I need to document this discovery.”
Owen laughed. “To what end?”
Chase frowned, as if confused by Owen’s lack of understanding. “This discovery belongs to history.”
Owen stepped into Chase’s space and poked her in the chest. “This discovery belongs to me.”
He took two steps back, threw Chase’s Canon high into the air, withdrew his gun, and shot at like it was a clay pigeon. He missed, but the camera still hit the ground with an ugly and unhe
althy thud somewhere in the grass behind them. He leveled his gun at Chase’s head.
“Think carefully about your next move, Stinsen. Maybe Rayne’s good enough to find the Trinity solo.”
Rayne tugged at Chase’s belt and pulled her backward. “Chase, please. I can’t do this alone.” Rayne didn’t mean finding the Trinity, though that was probably true too.
Chase looked down at Rayne, then across the clearing in the general direction of where Owen had tossed her camera. She stepped back, and Rayne relaxed a little.
“We head toward the cliff face and the lupuna trees,” Chase said, not looking Rayne in the eye.
“For what distance?” Rayne asked, trying to catch Chase’s gaze. Was she not looking at her because she’d chosen to back down or because Rayne had asked her to back down?
Chase gathered her things and began to walk without waiting. “Until something exciting happens.”
Rayne caught up easily, and she gave Chase a gentle push. “Hey, what’s with you? Are you keeping me in the dark for a reason?”
Chase glanced sideways and looked irritated, but her brow relaxed and she smiled. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take this shit out on you…I just feel so fucking helpless.”
“I know, baby, me too.” Rayne wanted to stop Chase and pull her into an embrace. She wanted the power to think of a place and be there instantly, away from this situation and the pervading sense of hopelessness. “But we’re better side by side. You know that, right? You know that we’re stronger when we face something and work it out together.”
Chase nodded and stood a little straighter. “At least we know where your tank twins are now.”
Chase motioned behind her to G&T. They were bound together with their hands behind their backs, and Owen’s buddy prodded them forward from behind. Rayne wondered about the rage simmering in them. They’d left the military behind with the expectation that being in a hostage situation again would be unlikely. They probably wanted to rip out their captors’ throats with their bare hands, if such a thing were possible. She’d watched some guy do it in a movie once, but she wasn’t convinced it could be done in real life. “I wonder how Tonyck’s coping with Effi’s death? They’d gotten close.”
Chase gave a short laugh and shook her head. “I wouldn’t imagine she’ll lose any sleep over it. Effi used her to get what she wanted, and that’s never a nice feeling, regardless of what becomes of the person who used you.”
Rayne looked away and focused on the lupuna trees ahead. It seemed like Chase might be referencing what had happened in Florida, and she didn’t want to engage in that conversation and have it dragged up again. It really felt like they’d moved on.
Chase touched Rayne’s forearm gently. “No.”
Rayne waited for more, but nothing came. “No, what?”
Chase grinned. “No, I wasn’t thinking about Florida. That’s in the past, Rayne, and I’m not about to start dredging it up again. I’m all about moving forward.”
Chase stumbled, and Rayne turned to see Owen behind her.
“Less talking, more hunting. Find me the Trinity, or I start shooting again.” He nodded toward G&T. “I’ll start by putting one of your dumb animals out of their misery, the really stupid one who fell for that black chick’s charms.”
Tonyck gave no visible reaction, of course. There was no way she’d give Owen any pleasure from that. Rayne winked at her, and she returned the gesture. Owen nodded to his cohort, who smacked the butt of his gun against Tonyck’s head. She staggered forward but didn’t lose her footing. Ginn tumbled with her but also managed to stay upright.
“You should keep that smug smile off your face, or I’ll be throwing your dead body on top of your would-be girlfriend and setting fire to you both.” Owen snarled, and his fingers twitched against his gun.
Rayne looked back at the path ahead. Owen clearly had control issues over his violent tendencies, so they needed to avoid provoking him. Chase threw her a warning, wide-eyed glance as if to say the same thing.
“Okay, take it easy, Owen,” Chase said and held her hands up in an effort to placate him. “I promise we’re doing everything we can to get you to the Trinity.”
Owen clenched his jaw and waved them on. “Good. Then let’s go.”
Chase turned and continued walking, always looking at the ground intently.
“What are you looking for? More stones?” Rayne asked.
She didn’t look up. “I don’t think so. The last stone implied it was just that, the last stone. But between that and the trees…where’s the cave? We walked along the cliff face, and we didn’t find anything. And now we’re less than a hundred feet away from the trees again.” Chase lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m beginning to wonder if this is the ‘disappointment’ the old women were talking about. Maybe they knew that even after finding all the trees and following all the clues we still wouldn’t be able to find the Trinity.” Chase scratched at her head through her ball cap. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? That’s how a treasure stays hidden and undiscovered for over seven hundred years. You make it absolutely impossible to find.”
“Then why provide a map at all?” Rayne asked though Chase had a point. “The Mayans went to a lot of trouble with hiding the three artifacts in the trees, and not just laying the stones, but carving them. And if our theory is correct about the treasure being moved on a reasonably regular basis, then there must be a way to it.”
Chase sighed. “You’re right. I know that you’re right. And I do think that our theory stands the test of logic. But maybe I’m missing something. Maybe what we think we know about the Mayan language isn’t as accurate as we believe it is, and because of that, I’m misinterpreting vital logograms and words.”
Rayne grinned when she felt the hardness of rock underfoot. “Or maybe you’ve interpreted everything with one hundred percent accuracy, and you’re standing over the entrance to the cave right now.”
Chase stopped and narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
Rayne pointed to the ground beneath her feet before she knelt and began to pull the grass aside. As she did so, she uncovered a triangular-shaped stone with more carvings.
“Oh my God!” Chase dropped to her knees and took Rayne’s face in her hands. “We’re nearly there.”
“Get on with it.” Owen stepped into view. “I want to be out of here and buying my own island before dark.”
Once again, Owen’s interruption brought home the stark reality of their situation and squashed the momentary joy of coming one step closer to the Golden Trinity. Rayne didn’t bother to look up. “What does it say?”
Chase was already dusting off the soil and dirt after hacking the grass down.
“Belief…hurdle.” Chase took off her ball cap and ruffled her hair, slick with sweat from the humidity. She looked around and shook her head. “Believe that this is the final hurdle? When it isn’t…Have we missed something on the map? Maybe we need to take a look at the original.”
Rayne put her hand on Chase’s knee to stop her from rising. “Wait. What if you were a little bit right about common understanding of the Mayan language not being completely accurate?”
“Nuance?” Chase nodded quickly, catching on to Rayne’s train of thought. “Differences in the style of scribes?”
“Exactly. Synonyms,” Rayne said. “Think of the English language where one word can mean three things, or there are fifteen words for the same thing. There’s no way to know that the Mayan language has been translated perfectly, just as you say.”
“Okay. Belief, conviction.” Chase pulled her cap back on and continued to dust off the stone.
“Principle, code.”
“Acceptance, trust.”
As Chase worked out the hundreds of years of growth that had settled within the intricate lines of the carvings, Rayne saw a god. “K’awiil.”
Chase looked up and frowned. “What?”
Rayne pressed her finger to the logogram Chase had just compl
etely cleared. “The god K’awiil was the principal deity of the Maya royal line. Can you see how one foot isn’t a foot and is actually an open-mouthed serpent? He personified abundance, usually thought to be agricultural abundance. But we’re talking about the Golden Trinity, an abundance of treasure for the gods. Giving to them, instead of the other way around.”
“God equals faith…A leap, not a hurdle, of faith.” Chase grinned, but it soon faded. “To where?”
Rayne shook her head. “That’s the faith part, silly. We’re not on the top of the cliff where the leap would be obvious. I think you have to run, leap off the stone…and have faith.”
“What about speed? And weight? And stride length? There are so many variables.”
“Faith, baby.”
Chase sighed as she stood and took her climbing rope from her shoulder. She fashioned a rope harness around her waist and thighs. “I’m going to need Tonyck and Ginn to hold the other end when I jump.”
Owen laughed. “Jump where?”
Chase shrugged. “I guess we’ll see. But I’m about a hundred and fifty-five pounds, and I need those two to anchor me if this leap of faith sees me dropping hell-bound.”
Owen raised his eyebrows but nodded at his buddy, and in turn, he untied their hands from behind their backs and retied them at the front before he shoved G&T forward to Chase.
“Are you doing okay?” Rayne expected nothing more than they’d given her when she asked the same question before.
“Stop worrying about us, lady boss,” said Tonyck. “Just concentrate on working with Stinse to get the Trinity.”
The subtext was clear. Get the Trinity, then we’ll make a break for it. Owen and five goons. Nicolai and his gang were saying nothing, but their presence was menacing enough. The odds would’ve been manageable if not for the presence of guns and Owen’s apparent glee in using them. A leap of faith. Rayne hoped the Trinity would provide the solution to their problem.
