“That’s incredible,” Banyon responded. “But it is too big to fit on any of our fingers.”
“You have several women who could wear it as a bracelet,” the monk replied. “We have used it before.”
“You are an interesting man,” Banyon muttered.
“Now hurry,” the monk ordered.
“I’ll leave the Coles, Steve and Mandy here,” Banyon told the monk.
“I’m heading to the belfry for a better view. It will be dawn soon,” the monk replied as he hurried down the hallway.
Chapter Nineteen
“How long before we reach the Salesian mission?” Carl Walther demanded. He sat next to the driver of the pickup truck containing five of his men. A second truck followed with the rest of his troops.
“Just over the ridge,” his man replied. “We’ll be in the open meadow, but only a one minute away from the front door, especially at this speed.”
“Good,” Carl replied evilly. “I want to surprise them.” He went back to cleaning his weapon.
As they passed over the ridge, the driver shouted. “Look at those angry looking clouds over the mission. They look very menacing.”
Carl Walther looked up. “Clouds of doom for the people in that mission compound,” he said and laughed insanely. Then he went back to cleaning his gun.
“Something is happening,” the driver suddenly screamed and attempted to brake. “Son-of-a-bitch, it’s a tornado and it’s heading right for us.”
“We don’t get tornados here,” Walther told the driver just as the high winds slammed into the two trucks.
Chapter Twenty
About ten miles away from the mission, Banyon, Loni and Maya sat in the Hummer at the front edge of the Walther compound. Banyon asked Wolf if the way was clear. The spirit told him there were two armed guards outside in the back of the house drinking beer. Banyon decided to go in on foot. Loni held one of the handguns and Banyon toted a machine gun.
There had been a disagreement about who would go inside the building and grab the Orion Codex. Loni was usually the one who snuck into buildings, but Maya reasoned that Loni might not recognize the codex and argued that she should go. Banyon had settled the argument for them by noting that the ring fit Maya’s wrist better even though it didn’t.
***
When they were near the front door, they crouched behind a bush on the sparse landscape. Banyon handed out earpieces and told them the plan.
“Loni and I will position ourselves on each side of the door in case there is trouble. Maya, once you are inside don’t hesitate. Father Bartholomew said the codex is on a table in the corner of the dining room. Once you grab it, turn the ring and get out of there.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m coming out so you can start running,” Maya told them. “I may have to turn off the weapon to run though.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Loni said impatiently.
***
As soon as Maya entered the house she realized that it was very dark inside. There was just some weak light coming from a hallway which led to the back of the house. The front area was completely dark. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness while moving to the center of the entranceway. She knew the room she was looking for was on her left, but the darkness seemed impenetrable. She had not brought a flashlight.
Soon she spotted a light switch and was debating whether or not she should turn it on when a door at the edge of the hallway flew open and a man carrying a machine gun stepped out.
He had his head down while attempting to stuff his manhood back into his pants as he left the bathroom. Maya froze in place. The man stood facing her as he completed his task. When he raised his head he saw her lovely silhouette a few feet in front of him. He reacted immediately.
“Intruder,” he screamed in German alerting the other guard that someone was in the house.
Maya quickly stepped forward and kicked the man in his groin. He bent over in pain. Maya reached for the light switch and turned it on. She ran into the dining room area. She spied the codex and rushed for it. With horror she realized the man had recovered and had managed to grab her arm — just as she latched onto the large codex. She swung the heavy book and hit him in the head, stunning him for long enough for her to turn the ring.
A clear oval-shaped bubble suddenly engulfed Maya and the codex. It had appeared so fast that the man attacking her lost his hand. He had been reaching for Maya when the shield severed his arm up to the elbow. It bounced around in the bottom of the shield. Maya was horrified and screamed.
“Open the door,” she yelled into the earpiece once she recovered, but quickly realized the shield also prevented any sound from entering — or leaving. Banyon could not hear her.
Her next terrifying thought was; how will I open the door to get out of here?
She was a foot from the front door when the other armed guard entered the room and began firing his machine gun at her. The bullets just bounced off of the shield like rain. The first man, despite a mortal wound, was also firing his machine gun.
She immediately changed course and headed back to the dining room knowing Banyon and Loni would hear the shooting and come through the door firing.
Maya backed into a corner and stood there as bullets pinged off the shield. Her diversion worked. The front door flew open and Loni stepped into the hallway. Her first shot caught the shooter square in the forehead. Her second shot hit the man with the severed arm in the chest. It was suddenly very quiet in the building.
Maya turned the ring and shouted, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” As she sprinted towards the door, the severed arm clunked to the floor.
***
A half hour later, Carl Walther and his three remaining men entered the compound and noticed the front door was open. They had survived the tornado and had managed to turn one of the trucks upright and decided their attack was over.
Walther’s entered the building and after a few seconds, he screamed. “Banyon!”
Chapter Twenty-One
When Colton Banyon, Loni and Maya returned to the Salesian mission, they found only Father Hector was still awake. The rest of the people, including his team had gone to bed. He handed the monk the codex and told him to place it in the vault for now.
“You need to get some sleep,” Father Hector said. “I will stand guard until you wake up.”
“Why is everyone sleeping?” Loni asked.
“Because you will need the rest,” the monk evasively replied.
Banyon suddenly felt there was another plan afoot by the devious monk. “Why?” He asked.
“Because tomorrow afternoon you are leaving for the jungles,” the old man replied. “To find the Tayos caves.”
“Why so soon?” Maya asked.
“Because I sent Father Bartholomew back to the German compound with a message that you were heading out tomorrow,” the old monk replied.
Banyon knew from talking to Wolf on the way back that Carl Walther was still alive and had revenge on his mind.
“What the hell?” Loni exclaimed with anger. “If he catches us in the jungle we will have to fight and we only have two machine guns, a sniper rifle and two hand guns. He might bring twenty armed men. We’ll all die.”
“Actually, I expect he will have thirty armed men,” the monk responded.
“Have you lost your mind?” Banyon shouted in anger.
“Not at all,” the monk uttered indignantly. “We must eliminate all the German supremacists. It is safest to do that in the jungle otherwise no one is safe in Ecuador.”
“But it is not safe for us,” Loni spat back.
“You will be perfectly safe as long as you follow my plan.”
“Your plan? What plan?” Banyon roared.
The monk ignored Banyon’s rant. Instead he pulled a talisman from his pocket and offered it to Banyon. “This is another Orion weapon that I possess. It is named Call. He then went on to explain his plan.
Chapter Twenty-Two
> It was well after noon when Colton Banyon finally woke up. He looked around the small room and noticed that all the bunk beds were empty. They were freshly made up with clean sheets. Was I so tired I didn’t even hear them get up?
He bolted out of bed and quickly realized he was naked except for his underwear. His clothes were laid out on the floor all cleaned and pressed. Was I drugged?
He quickly dressed and went off to find his team. He found them outside the front of the building loading the Hummer. There were provisions, ropes, tents and everything else they needed to head into the jungle in search of the Tayos caves. Loni saw him and ran over.
“You’re finally up sleepy head,” She grinned and hugged him tightly.
“What’s going on?” He asked in a groggy voice.
“We’re getting ready to leave. Isn’t it exciting? The monks went into town early this morning and bought all the things we’ll need for our trip,” she said like they were going on vacation.
“The monks are helping?” Banyon uttered.
“Look, I even have a new satchel to carry the Orion weapons.” She stood back and showed off a large brown leather purse. It hung from her small waist. A long belt loped over her shoulder to hold it in place. “Maya has one too for the Orion Codex.”
“Does the rest of the team know where we are going and why?”
“Of course,” she replied. “Father Hector met with us and gave us precise directions a little while ago. He said he couldn’t wait for you to get up.”
“Does the team know about the Germans and the danger we face in the jungle?” Banyon was in total confusion. It seemed like Father Hector was taking control of his team.
“Colt, he explained his plan to us last night. Don’t you remember?” Loni said sweetly.
“I remember, but then I think the wine made me sleepy,” he replied while he thought about it.
“Yeah, you fell asleep, we practically had to carry you to bed,” Loni explained. “Anyway, we’re almost ready to go. Do you want to get something to eat first? The monks have set up a buffet in the kitchen.”
On the way to the kitchen, Banyon stopped off at the bathroom. It was deserted.
“Wolf, was I drugged last night?”
“No, you were just tired,” the spirit replied.
“Are the Germans heading for the jungles? And do they intend to try to kill us?”
“Yes,” the spirit said. “But you will have a three hour head start and will be able to set up your ambush.”
“Ambush? What ambush?”
“The one to stop the Germans, of course,” Wolf answered. “Father Hector went over it last night. Don’t you remember, or were you already asleep?”
“Can you fill me in?” Banyon asked.
“Well, of course,” Wolf said. He then told Banyon about the plan.
“What do you think about Father Hector’s plan?”
“The society has used the Call weapon with excellent results in the past, so I am confident it will work.”
“What are you talking about?” Banyon asked in bewilderment.
“It happened in 1848 in Salt Lake City,” Wolf responded. “And the reason Neil Armstrong visited Ecuador in 1976.”
Before Banyon could ask another question, the door to the bathroom flew open and several children came bustling into the room. Banyon decided to question Wolf later and left the room.
Chapter Twenty-Three
At 2:00 P.M. sharp, everything was ready. Banyon’s team was brisling with excitement and itching to start their adventure. The lure of vast riches was almost too much to bear. The fact that thirty well-armed Germans were chasing them didn’t seem to bother any of them except Colton Banyon.
“Okay, let’s get going,” Banyon said and clapped his hands. “Steve you drive, Maya you navigate and sit in the front.”
“I’m an expert navigator,” Carol quickly pointed out.
“Alright you navigate then,” Banyon agreed.
The travelers climbed into the Hummer for the four hour trip down the moderate slope from the center of the country to the Amazon rainforest on the eastern edge of Ecuador. There was only one road which headed into the jungle from Cuenca. At some point, they would leave the road for the caves.
Just as Banyon was climbing into his seat, Father Hector appeared.
“A word,” he uttered and waved Banyon to the side.
Their animated discussion was keenly observed by the people in the Hummer. Banyon was kicking dirt and waving his arms in the air, everyone could see that he was very upset. Father Hector was patiently talking and trying to calm Banyon down by using his hands. Eventually, Banyon showed a sign of resignation and defeat. The two men hugged and Banyon returned to take his seat in the Hummer.
“What was that about?” Loni quickly asked.
“I don’t want to talk right now,” Banyon responded. “I need to think some things through first.”
The four monks and Father Hector stood in a row and waved goodbye to the Hummer as it left the mission.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Meanwhile, Colonel Carl Walther was inspecting his small military convoy. He walked along the six battered trucks making sure they were all in running condition while kicking the tires. If one of them broke down on the trip, he knew it would jeopardize his goal.
A huge unlit Cuban cigar filled his mouth. He wore military camouflage fatigues and a red beret on his head. He was armed with two handguns which road high on his hips. He felt a leader should look the part and patterned is attire after heroes he had seen in movies about Vietnam.
“Make sure the two mortars are not in the same truck,” he ordered as he pointed to the back of one of the vehicles.
“Why?” one of the thirty men standing around asked. “We’re all going to the same place.”
“In case something happens to one of the trucks we will still have one left,” he replied.
“Should we divide up the grenades too?” the man asked nervously. He was just beginning to realize that the jungle was a dangerous place.
“That was going to be my next order,” the colonel muttered as he lit the huge cigar.
“I believe that we are ready then,” another German man said. “All the provisions are loaded.”
“We leave in two hours.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
As the Banyon expedition traveled down into the vast Amazon basin, the temperature quickly shot up from a moderate seventy degrees to over ninety. The travelers began to shed clothes and toss them into the back of the Hummer. Soon they all were dressed in just shorts and clinging tops.
The air suddenly became very heavy with humidity and the smell of rotting vegetation became stronger as they drove deeper into the jungle. The foliage along the side of the road became denser. The trees got taller and the road got bumpier.
Everyone was chattering away about visiting the largest jungle on the planet. Loni was reading from a brochure one of the monks had given her. Banyon sat beside her, but said nothing.
“It says here that about eighty percent of all the foods we eat originally came from the rainforest,” she told everyone. “That includes: coffee, tomatoes, potatoes and even corn.”
“I’ve read somewhere that many medicines are coming from the plants in the jungle too,” Mandy said.
“That’s right,” Loni agreed. “According to this brochure, over twenty-five percent of the medicines we use today originated from plants in the Amazon rainforest. And scientists have only tested about one percent of the millions of different plants here.”
“What about animals?” Maya asked.
“Over half of the world’s animal species live in the rainforest,” Loni offered.
“But aren’t the rainforests in the world shrinking?” Carol inquired.
“Not shrinking,” Loni answered. “The rainforests are being deforested to make farmland. At the rate of one and a half acres per second I might add.”
“That can’t be good!” Carol excla
imed.
“Stop the car,” Banyon suddenly roared. “I have several things to tell all of you.”
***
Once they had pulled off the road, the travelers piled out of the Hummer and congregated in a semi-circle around the back of the vehicle. There was a look of concern on their faces. The excitement of the adventure was suddenly washed away. Something was wrong.
“I need a few minutes to collect my thoughts,” Banyon explained. “Just wait here.” He then went off into the foliage.
When he was far enough away from the road, Banyon asked Wolf a question.
“Is what Father Hector told me true?”
“He doesn’t lie, but he does at times omit some things,” the spirit replied.
“So the Germans will have mortars and grenades?
“Yes,” Wolf answered.
“And what about the Tayos caves? Is that also true?”
“Yes, I’m afraid what he told you is also true.”
“So the only reason we are heading into the jungle is to put a stop to the German threat. Is that right?”
“Father Hector is a devious man with a strong desire to help humanity,” Wolf answered. “I would not tell your team about the caves though. Let them find out for themselves after the confrontation with the Germans,” Wolf advised.
“What about the Orion weapons?” Banyon next asked. “Should I explain how to use them to everyone?”
“From what Father Hector told you, you will have more than enough work in the future concerning protecting the weapons. You need people to help you,” Wolf responded. “Yes, you should tell them.”
“Then I know what to do,” Banyon replied and headed back to the road.
***
The Society of Orion: The Orion Codex Page 6
