The Fifth Kingdom

by Caridad Piñeiro

  She loved Bill. Sometime during the course of the last few days and with the tender nights they had spent, she had fallen in love with him. Which made today a scary proposition for multiple reasons.

  Deanna was afraid of meeting her mother and possibly revealing the secret that had cost her mother so much.

  But she equally feared what might happen to all of them if things turned violent.

  Bill must have sensed the tension that had entered her body since he gave her waist a reassuring squeeze and met her gaze, offering up an encouraging smile.

  She returned the grin, forcing fear away because it could be too debilitating. She needed to focus on the plan and keep her head during what might be a difficult day.

  The van was waiting for them at the curb and Lopez slid open the back door for them. As Deanna climbed in, she noted the assorted pieces of climbing and camping equipment at the far back of the vehicle. The equipment looked well used, making her wonder if Lopez and the guide were just what they said, but then she caught a quick look on Bill’s face.

  His features had hardened as the driver had turned. Deanna understood why as something came to her from the various notes they had exchanged—the guide was the younger brother of the head of the local Primera Mexica cell. She recognized the man’s face from the intelligence the embassy attaché had provided.

  “Diego Ramirez,” the guide said and offered a handshake.

  “Bill Gonzalez,” Bill said in introduction, using his alias. Gonzalez in Spanish was like Smith in English, making it that much more difficult for someone to track him down via that assumed name.

  “Deanna Vasquez,” she said as she shook the man’s hand, then settled back onto the bench seat beside Bill.

  From his place up front, Lopez asked, “So where are we going today?”

  Deanna gave him the name of the small town at the edge of the large hillside range where her mother believed Montezuma’s burial spot was located. “I understand it’s about a two-hour ride from here to the town. Then it’s another hour or so on foot from the town to Miranda’s base camp.”

  “An hour or two without traffic, Doctora. Hopefully we won’t have too much congestion,” Lopez said and buckled up as the driver pulled away from the hotel.

  The guide turned the van onto the busy Paseo de la Reforma on their way to one of the many roadways passing through the sprawling city. But with nearly twenty million inhabitants, many on their way to work, the traffic was stop-and-go along the street and not much better on the highway.

  During their trek through the city limits, Lopez identified various sites of interest, explaining about their historic significance. Acting as any tour guide would under the circumstances. “This area is part of the outer edges of the UNESCO World Heritage site because of the many historic structures in the city center.”

  “All Aztec?” Bill asked, playing the role of the curious tourist.

  “Some Aztec. The Spanish destroyed the Templo Mayor and other structures in the early 1500s, but an assortment of earthquakes and excavations have revealed them beneath the colonial buildings the Spanish erected,” Deanna explained.

  Bill nodded and listened while Lopez provided information, but once traffic opened up on the roadway, silence took hold. Beside him Deanna slowly dropped off to sleep, lulled by the motion of the van and the quiet.

  He remained alert, keeping his eyes open for anything unusual. Slightly uneasy as he saw Lopez pull out his smartphone and tap out a message to someone. Bill had little doubt that Lopez was providing the name of the town to which they were headed. If the PM cell’s hideout was located anywhere within the limits of Mexico City, they would need to be on the move with Miranda as well in order to meet them at that spot.

  At least they had that one advantage as Bill had already arranged for his people to be in the area and ready to move out to the disguised location of Miranda’s camp. Just in case, he had also inserted GPS devices into the straps of both his and Deanna’s knapsacks. If anything happened to the rendezvous they had planned with his men and local law enforcement, the intelligence attaché and remainder of the team would hopefully be able to track them.

  Half closing his eyes, he faked that he was asleep as well. Lopez peered back at them regularly and texted some more, making Bill wonder just what PM had planned for their meeting with Miranda.

  Miranda, he thought. He hoped he was not wrong to assume that she was still alive. Despite Deanna’s concerns about being reunited with her mother, he sensed it was something that she had to do in order to move onto the next stage of her life.

  And what about you? his inner voice challenged. In all the years that he had been working for the CIA, he had never used those resources to discover more about what had happened to his parents. They were part of a painful past and had no place in his future. Or at least that’s what he had told himself for years. Seeing the mirror of his own pain in Deanna had made him wonder about his parents in the last few days. Whether they were dead or alive. What his mother, who had always tried to protect him from his father’s rages, looked like now if she was still alive.

  Driving his thoughts back to the mission because if it was unsuccessful there would be no future, he ran through all the possible scenarios for what might happen in the next few hours. Preparing himself mentally for how to protect Deanna and her mother.

  When the van jerked to a halt barely an hour after they cleared the worst of the Mexico City traffic, Deanna was startled from sleep.

  “We’re here, but it’s almost lunchtime. Will it be much longer to the location of the camp?” Lopez asked.

  “It’s about three miles or so from here. About an hour on foot along a hillside trail,” Deanna said.

  Turning in his seat, Diego said, “Which one? There are many dangerous footpaths through this area and I’d like to have the right equipment for the hike.”

  “Why don’t you show them the map?” Bill prompted as planned.

  With a nod, Deanna reached down and opened her leather pack. She removed the map they had doctored with the false location. She spread it wide on her lap and traced the trail they would take with her index finger.

  “May I?” Lopez queried and at her nod, took the map from her and shared it with Diego. The two men spoke lowly and in Spanish, their words quick and clipped, making it impossible for Bill to clearly hear what was being said.

  But with a sharp nod, Lopez folded the map back up and returned it to Deanna.

  “Diego will need to pack a few things for this trail, but before that, what if we grab a bite? It took some time to get here and it is lunchtime,” Lopez stressed again and glanced at his watch to emphasize the point.

  Bill quickly looked at his watch, appreciating that with the traffic the trip had taken well over three hours. The grumble of Deanna’s stomach beside him confirmed that a meal might be good. But Lopez might also be stalling to delay them. “Actually, I’m not all that hungry at the moment. What if we get something to go?” he said and thankfully Deanna picked up on his vibes.

  “That’s a great idea. I’m sure my mother would appreciate something other than camp rations for a change,” Deanna suggested.

  The two men in the front shared uneasy glances, but then Lopez nodded. “There is a restaurant about a mile from here that is just meters from the mouth of the trail we must take. We can bring the food with us.”

  He wagged his finger in the driver’s face, pointing out the general direction of the restaurant. It took only a few minutes to reach it and after they had parked and exited the vehicle, Bill lingered by the back door, slightly hunched over.

  “Are you okay?” Deanna asked, laying a hand along his arm. Concern obvious on her face.

  “Just a cramp from sitting. I just need to stretch. Why not go with Dr. Lopez and order while I do that?” he said and once again, she was quick to understand that he needed time away from Lopez’s scrutiny.

  As Lopez and Deanna walked over to the counter of the roadside cantina, t
he driver leaned against the fender of the van and took out a cigarette. Lit it and then sucked in a deep pull of smoke that he released in a long stream. He offered Bill another cigarette from the pack, but Bill declined.

  Instead he stretched slowly, watching for signs of activity along the roadway or on the nearby streets. As he paced a step or two while still stretching, he finally saw an encouraging sign—a 4x4 vehicle with about half a dozen Mexican soldiers and one of his men in the passenger seat. The vehicle was a block away on a side street and turned away from where he stood, but not before he had a brief moment of eye contact with his man.

  The plan was in place.

  They were going to proceed on foot to the location of the alleged base camp. His colleague and the Mexican authorities were going to enter the area through a rarely used dirt road, one of about half a dozen through the hillside. Once they were close to the location, his man was also to signal for air support to make sure the PM members could not leave the area.

  That was if everything went according to plan, Bill thought, staring out the window of the cantina where Lopez and Deanna appeared to be ordering up a feast considering how long it was taking. It worried him because the longer they took the more likely it was that the PM members could establish a stronger position at the location. If they got settled and armed before Bill’s people did, it could prove deadly. So far, however, he had not seen Lopez or Diego texting anyone to provide the location of the camp.

  He looked at his watch and as he did so, Diego asked, “Something wrong, Mr. Gonzalez?”

  “We have a dinner appointment tonight. It’s not until nine, but at this pace we may not make it back in time.”

  Diego only shrugged and took another long pull on his cigarette and Bill suspected that the other man knew they might not ever make it back.

  When Deanna shot a look at him, he picked up his hand and pointed at his watch, making his concerns obvious. Just to reinforce his role of the harried fiancé, he called out, “Dinner tonight. Remember?”

  “I remember,” she shouted in response and leaned forward, said something to the young girl behind the counter at the cantina. With a smile, the woman went into a flurry of action, gathering up a number of items and placing them in a bag that she passed over the counter to Deanna in exchange for a large wad of pesos.

  “Finally,” Bill mumbled beneath his breath and Diego chuckled.

  “It is never good to rush a woman, mi amigo.”

  “Except into bed,” Bill replied and a smoke-husky laugh burst from the guide.

  Deanna arrived seconds later with the bag, but nothing could keep the aromatic smells from leaching out and perfuming the air around them.

  Too bad such amazing food would go to waste.

  Bill didn’t fail to miss the worried look Diego and Lopez exchanged before Lopez said, “Why don’t you get your things ready? Diego and I will gather up what we need for the hike.”

  The two men walked together to the back of the van, but a too long moment passed before they opened the rear door and even then, only Diego was visible. Bill stretched his arm into the van, ignoring the pain along his ribs as he did so. He tried to get a glimpse of what Lopez was doing, but was unable to do so as he grabbed the straps of the two backpacks and pulled them toward him.

  He handed Deanna her knapsack and then jerked his head in the direction of the rear of the vehicle. “Why don’t you get the lunch packed away in here?”

  Deanna took her backpack while Bill slung his over his shoulders and headed to the rear of the van. When he rounded the open door, Diego jumped with surprise and Lopez suddenly spurted out from behind the protection of the door on the driver side, one hand tucked behind him.

  “Do you need help with anything?” Bill asked, but both men merely shook their heads. Then Diego handed a small bag to Lopez who took it with his visible hand, still keeping the other behind his back.

  “We’re almost ready,” Diego replied and then scooped up another satchel, but also some rope as well.

  At Bill’s questioning look, the guide replied, “There was a small earthquake several months back. It’s opened up some fissures in the area that we may need to cross.”

  Bill nodded and then went back to Deanna’s side. Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, “Lopez texted them. I’m sure of it.”

  “I know, Bill. We’ll be back in time for the dinner,” she said in loud and exasperated tones to warn him of the approach of the other men.

  Bill peered over his shoulder at the two. They seemed innocuous enough at the moment, but he could not let his guard down. And they could not delay any longer. His people were already on the way and now that Lopez had most certainly given the location of the camp to his PM cell, they would be heading there also.

  “Then I guess it’s time we got going.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Deanna plodded along the dusty trail, sandwiched between the guide and Lopez in the front and Bill taking up the rear. The familiar weight of her pack, filled with her first aid kit and other essentials, comforted her as did the slight ridge beneath one strap—the GPS device Bill had installed.

  She had slathered her face with a high SPF lotion earlier that morning and donned a broad-brimmed hat from her pack, but it did little to dispel the midday heat from the rays of the sun beating down on them. Even though she wore a tank top and a sleeveless utility vest, sweat trickled down the middle of her back and pooled at the base of her spine. Drenched the waistband of her pants, which rubbed against the skin beneath.

  She lost her footing once on a treacherous slope littered with bits of rock and loose soil, evidence of the recent quake in the area. But before she fell, Bill was there, gently grasping her arm to offer support. His skin hot and damp against hers. As she peered at him, he offered a brief, comforting grin.

  His skin glistened with sweat and the baseball cap he had donned—a beat-up Mets one with frayed edges that testified to its age—had done nothing to block the worst of the sun. His skin was already growing red in spots.

  “You should put on more lotion,” she said and gently ran her hand along the shadowed roughness of the beard beginning to emerge along his cheeks.

  “When we reach your mom,” he replied and they continued on, their pace steady while they traveled the remaining mile to the location. The ground beneath their feet was hard as rock and their steps kicked up motes of dust in the arid landscaping. The hillside was dotted with low-growing piñon pine and an assortment of cacti, some in bloom, but Deanna really couldn’t appreciate the sights along the trail. She was too filled with anxiety about what would happen when they arrived at their location.

  So she plodded on, occasionally taking a look back at Bill, but if he had any concerns, they weren’t evident on his face. When their gazes connected, he’d offer her a reassuring smile, trying to keep her calm. Trying to keep her mind from the inevitable meeting with her mother.

  Miranda had been blindfolded and gagged, her hands tied behind her back as soon as she was pulled from the room, keeping her in the dark about where they were going. All she knew was that they had herded her to some kind of vehicle. Something trucky given the less than smooth ride along the roadways.

  She had not known the location of where she was being held captive, but had guessed that it was somewhere in the Mexico City limits. Given Javier’s comment that they were going to meet Deanna, she assumed it would take a few hours to reach the location.

  She assumed correctly. They traveled along the roads for a couple of hours before turning off onto a bumpier roadway. When the vehicle lurched from side to side and bounced hard enough to jar her teeth together, she tried to stabilize herself without the use of her hands. It was a losing battle. She was tossed against the men on either side of her, who sometimes responded with a sharp elbow as punishment.

  The longer they were on the road the more the heat grew as the sun beat down on them. The dust the vehicle kicked up clogged her nose, making it difficult to breathe
thanks to the gag in her mouth.

  Finally the vehicle came to a halt and with a sharp pull, someone yanked off the blindfold and removed the gag, allowing her to suck in a breath of clean fresh air. Then another man pulled out a wicked-looking eight-inch knife which glinted silver-blue in the summer sun. With a sneer, he brought the knife directly above her heart, but then he moved behind her swiftly and cut loose the ties binding her hands.

  Javier jumped from a second vehicle several feet away and swaggered back to where she sat. When he arrived at her side, he raised his hand and offered her his assistance from the 4x4.

  “Where are we?” she asked, trying to orient herself along the hillside. The Jeeps were parked beside some large outcroppings of rock for cover and while they looked familiar, the spot was a distance away from the mouth of the arroyo which led to the entrance to Montezuma’s burial site.

  “Come now, Miranda. Isn’t it a little too late to play this game?” Javier warned, obviously believing that they were at the location where she’d had one of her base camps.

  “Aren’t you the one playing games, Javier?” Miranda asked, pulling back her shoulders as she perused the landscape again, searching not only for other signs to place the location, but for a glimpse of her daughter.

  Javier laughed and shook his head. “You don’t believe that your daughter is on the way?”

  “Why would she be? We haven’t had a relationship in years,” she said and stared up the hillside as a speck of something came over the ridge. She focused on that area, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. Her heart racing as the specks sharpened and she realized it was four people, including a woman.

  Deanna, she thought, hoping that their reunion would not be fleeting.

  Deanna wasn’t sure what to expect when they came around the sharp edge of the ridge trail on which they had been traveling. She stopped to peer down the hillside to where two 4x4s were parked by some large rocks. The vehicles were filled with people which she knew wasn’t a good thing as Bill laid a hand on her waist to hold her back.