by Martha Carr
Peyton joined her, sitting in a chair across from her. “Why the warm and fuzzy over the locale?”
“Fewer murderous cartels running around in Canada, let alone Nova Scotia.”
“If you leave out the eighteen-million-dollar maple syrup mafia. Some pretty murderous Mrs. Butterworths.”
“I’ll make a note to steer clear of pancakes while I’m there.”
“I’ve confirmed there is another group on the move, and they’ve brought along some nasty help. A bunch of thugs calling themselves mercs.”
“A little hired help doesn’t bother me. If I kill someone like that, at least I’m not gonna end up with half a country on my ass.”
Peyton snorted, sitting cross legged in a chair. “What’s so special about Oak Island?”
“Back in 1795, a teenage boy claimed he saw some mysterious lights coming from the island. That was the great era of piracy. Treasure was being squirreled away all over the map. This kid heads over and finds a circular hole cut into a rock wall, big enough for say, a thin man with a peg leg to crawl into it. He comes back with his crew, figuring it might be pirate treasure and they go to town on it. They find evidence that the original hole was manmade but jack shit for all their work.”
“Not exactly a stunning example of treasure hunting.”
“There’s more. A legend grew about the place.”
“Rumors run amok.”
“Pretty much. Other people came to try their luck and, eventually years later, 90 feet down from that original hole, some treasure seekers found a stone with mysterious symbols on it. No one could decode them, but that didn’t stop the people who found it from keeping it from the public. People spent a lot of time digging in what came to be known as the Money Pit, convinced they would find some pirate booty. People dug so many holes and shafts to find treasure and to drain out water from looking for treasure that the original site’s long since lost.”
“But you think you have a good idea where it is?”
Peyton flipped his hand back and forth in the air. “Our client provided some survey data that gives me a good idea, yeah.”
“My plan is to investigate, secure the site and excavate if necessary.”
Peyton scratched the day-old growth on his chin. “This seems pretty straightforward, except the whole mercenary and weaponry thing. But no one’s found anything in over two-hundred years?”
“Lots of people have searched, a few have even died, but no one really found anything important. Occasionally someone claimed they found a gold coin or some shit like that, but not much was really confirmed other than coconuts and that stone. Hell, even Teddy Roosevelt took a swing at the place.”
“Coconuts? Aren’t those on islands anyway?”
“Not Canadian islands.”
“Good point.” A confused look spread over Peyton’s face. “Another gold hunt, then? Pirate treasure. Arrrrgh… Someone had to do it.”
Shay grinned. “I’m not after the gold this time. The important thing here is that mysterious stone.”
“What about it?”
“The symbols aren’t so mysterious.”
Peyton leaned forward, his forehead wrinkling. “They aren’t?”
“Our client came into possession of the original stone some years back. They have a large collection of curiosities. He’s learned a few things about them.”
“Anything we can use?” Peyton rested his chin in his hand.
“The reason no one could translate them or figure out what they mean is because they belong to a language that never existed on this planet. They’re from a lost Oriceran language.”
Peyton lifted off his seat in excitement. “The mysterious lights?”
“I’m guessing someone from Oriceran was opening a portal, which means there’s a good chance there’s still an Oriceran artifact there. The client’s information said there should be another matching stone.”
Peyton looked away for a moment, lost in thought. “I wonder what it does.”
“Don’t know. Don’t care. Only care about the million and the boost to my rep.”
“You honestly don’t care about a magical artifact? Untold powers?”
Shay gave a hard shake to her head. “Look, my policy is to only use tools I understand. An artifact with instructions in a language I don’t understand doesn’t strike me as something I want to mess around with. When the day comes, and I find a magic trinket that’s worth more to me as a tool than a payday, then I’ll worry about it.” She stood and raised her arms over her head, stretching her back. “For now, I need to do more background checks to make sure this shit isn’t a trap.”
Peyton grinned, looking too damn smug for a man in his position. “Already did. This is clean. It’s a good job.”
Shay looked down at him and shook her head. “I’m glad you did, but it’s still not good enough.”
“You still don’t trust me. Be nice to know what that might look like.”
“Trust is a moving target. You’re earning your points, but no, I’m not ready to risk my life on you yet. Keep this up, though and that day will come.”
“Look at you. Offering me a little ray of hope.”
“It took so little.”
“Still counts, sister.”
“Always brushing against the line.” Shay winked. “I’ll tell you this, Peyton. Going after the client first like you suggested is making this a lot easier. Next on the agenda is figuring out what to bring. How many guns, if I need any special protection from magic.”
“You need more than one gun?”
“This time, I know I’m gonna have a few dance partners, and I don’t want to have to stop to reload.” Shay got up to grab her phone. “Might bring my rocket launcher.”
“It’s one small rock. Don’t want to blow up the profits,” Peyton called after her.
18
Shay crept through the forest, her AR googles set to night-vision mode. The old Money Pit tourist site wasn’t far away, but the owners of the island had stopped allowing visitors ten years back, after a tourist died falling down the exposed pit.
Maybe that’s just a cover story. Hope that doesn’t mean those assholes already found the stone.
Shay winced as she caught sight of a bright light. She squeezed her eyes shut and flipped her googles up. She took a few deep breaths and slowly opened her eyes.
Darkness had cloaked the island, but someone turned on massive floodlights around the main pit area.
“Damn, already here and set up,” Shay whispered. “Good thing I moved quickly on this one.”
Her background check found that the Alpha Explorers Treasure Hunting Company was on the island, along with some hired mercenary muscles. Alpha Explorers were rich-boy wannabes more than real tomb raiders, but they had a professional level of ruthlessness.
More than a few treasure hunters and tomb raiders had ended up dead when sniffing around Alpha Explorers sites, but the members possessed enough influence and savvy to avoid any prosecution so far.
Shay didn’t give two shits about the treasure hunters. Her focus was on their muscle, six mercenaries, many of them veteran special forces operators out of South Africa. An online rumor was circulating that an elderly Witch was working with them, as well. That was a lot of muscle for an old Oriceran stone.
Shay darted from tree to tree, keeping her movements low and precise. There were no drones visible in the air, but that didn’t mean they weren’t floating in the darkness. Once she closed on the site, she could easily deploy jammers, but that required her to first get close enough and avoid getting shot. The minute the jammers went on, the competition would know she was there. Need to be ready for that moment. It’s all about the planning.
Maybe having someone watching my back wouldn’t be so bad.
Not like either one of them had a lot of choices. Tech-Genius wouldn’t last five seconds in the field, and she couldn’t take out a help wanted ad for an evil genius who’s easy to get along with, won’t steal her
stuff and can keep a secret.
Not a lot of people out there like that. Peyton came with the added bonus of having no where else to go.
A nearby bush rustled, and Shay silently whipped out her 9mm from one of her shoulder holsters. Yellow eyes gleamed back at her, and a fox padded out from the bush, running off into the night.
“That’s right. I have the gun and the opposable thumbs. You better run. What do you have? Teeth and rabies?” Shay winced. “Okay, that’s actually a good weapon.”
Shay continued moving toward the flood lights in a low crouch, listening for any chatter. She caught murmurs on the wind as she covered the acres still separating her from the flood lights, but still couldn’t make anything out.
She came to the edge of the trees and the lights to a main area surrounding the Money Pit. Several large buildings in various states of disrepair stood near the perimeter. Weed-infested gravel and dirt fields stretched out beyond the buildings, leading to a fenced area where the actual pit lay.
Formerly fenced area was a better description. Only about a fourth of the fencing remained standing, the rest of it was bent over or completely collapsed.
Shay could make out two men in camouflage with tactical harnesses and assault rifles patrolling the perimeter of the semi-fenced area. One other man in a khaki jacket stood within the fence line, standing near a small covered area. Three other mercenaries were spread out on the other side. Shay didn’t see anyone resembling a Witch and wondered if the intel was bogus.
The covered area was over the current main entrance to the pit. Over the centuries different holes were dug and filled in, and for most people, it was hard to pinpoint the probable source of the treasure.
Shay’s intel was on point locating the site. Her major problem was going to be securing the site.
A rumbling, grinding noise bellowed from the pit area, and Shay’s heart rate kicked up.
I swear if you guys woke up some sort of ancient demon, I hope it eats you all, balls first.
After a few seconds, Shay realized she wasn’t hearing a yowling demon, but some sort of drill. She grinned, resting back on her heels.
Okay, you want to dig it up for me. That works, too.
The only question was knowing if Alpha Explorers knew where to find the stone. If they did, a little snatch and grab didn’t bother Shay. The bastards didn’t get permission to dig on the island any more than she had.
Shay flipped her AR googles back down and turned on normal binocular mode. Her magnified vision revealed the Alpha Explorers didn’t appear to be digging in the existing pit hole, but instead had started their own sloping tunnel nearby. The hole was massive, easily ten feet in diameter, and the large cable running down the tunnel suggested they brought serious equipment with them.
The cables connected to a massive array of batteries sitting in the back of a large military-style flatbed truck. After thirty seconds, the awful grinding yowl halted, lingering in the forest echoes.
They must have a good reason to do that. Like they know exactly where to look.
A buzz sounded above Shay. They have drones.
The six mercenaries suddenly were gesticulating wildly, pointing in her general direction. The two treasure hunters fled into the hole without looking back.
That ends the major stealth portion of tonight’s program. Knew I should have used the jammer sooner.
Shay gave a hard tap to a silver bracelet on her wrist, turning on the jammer. The buzzing stopped as two drones fell from the sky and crashed to the ground and the lights were doused. She whipped out her 9mm and darted toward one of the nearby buildings.
Shouts filled the night air, along with heavy footfalls on the gravel. Several shots rang out and bullets whizzed into the forest near her position.
Shoot first and search pockets later, huh? If that’s the way you want to play it, let’s do this, bitches.
Shay pressed her back up against a wall, her gun ready. Six opponents, well-trained and well-armed, but even if they did spot her with their drones, they didn’t know what kind of backup she brought with her.
An important fact of human battlefield psychology Shay learned from her time as a hitman was that most people make the obvious mistake of assuming their tactics, strategies, and beliefs will be reflected by their enemies. Commanders in battle situations tended to assume their enemies have similar sized forces, if not more. After all, it only makes sense for someone to attack six men using six men.
It was old school training, tried and true and easy to exploit.
It would make the mercenaries cautious, and as she finished them off, she could all but depend on them to panic and overestimate the level of opposition.
This was progressing nicely.
Shay yanked out two frag grenades and tossed them in opposite directions, away from the path of charging mercenaries.
A chorus of shouts erupted. “Grenades!”
A smile was on her lips as the loud explosions cut through the night.
More heavy footfalls followed, as the men broke into two groups, just as Shay expected. She jerked around the corner and fired off several rounds. An unfortunate mercenary needed to work on his point-to-point movement. Two of Shay’s bullets caught him, and he went down with a yelp.
Shay tossed one of her two remaining frag grenades toward the man. Her two smoke grenades would be saved for when they could be more useful. Another scream signaled she had wounded another man. Four left.
Shay ducked low and ran in the opposite direction, standing upright and firing as she cleared the wall. Two surprised mercenaries fell back, blood blossoming over their chests. Shay hit the ground and rolled, quickly springing back on her feet. A third mercenary made the mistake of charging, spraying his gun on full auto, hoping suppression would save him.
Shay downed him with a single shot between the eyes. One left.
She swapped a new magazine into her pistol.
“Need to hire better quality mercenaries,” she murmured. The thugs had gotten lazy with unarmed treasure hunters. They weren’t making the ex-killer break a sweat.
Shay jogged to the side of the building, listening for footsteps or gunshots, but not hearing anything. A crack of a branch sounded from behind her. She spun around and put three quick rounds into the final mercenary as he turned a corner. He fell to the ground, his eyes wide in surprise.
“Sorry, pal. Just business. You were trying to kill me and I got the job done first. Better luck in the next lifetime.”
Shay kept close to the wall. Just because she’d only spotted six men didn’t mean more weren’t out there. A quick sprint to the end of the wall and a dash between the last two buildings left her convinced she’d killed all the defenders.
The Alpha Explorers didn’t have to die, provided they didn’t get clever. She kept her gun raised and jogged toward their new hole. Movement near the edge of the large metal pipe leading to the older pit caught her attention, and she pivoted.
A single pale hand gripped the edge of the pit. Another hand followed.
Shay groaned. “And here comes the damned Japanese ghost. Fuck.”
No Japanese ghost presented itself. Instead a beautiful long-haired platinum blonde woman with crystal blue eyes crested the pit. She wore a white leather jacket, white jeans, and white boots. The anti-Shay.
Something familiar about the outfit tugged at the edge of Shay’s memory, but she couldn’t quite place it.
“Got no beef with you, sister,” Shay shouted, her gun up. “Just put your hands on your head, lie down, and I’ll zip tie you. I’ll go on my way, and you get to live.”
“You killed all those men,” the woman said, her voice soft and tinged with a noticeable Russian accent. The accent combined with the outfit only poked at Shay’s mind more.
Should I recognize this woman?
“To be fair, they tried to kill me first.”
“It’s impressive, I must admit, for anyone to take on six men.”
Shay shrugged. �
��Just a normal Wednesday. On the ground now, before my finger gets twitchy.”
The woman shot a faint smile at Shay as she noticed the blue crystal wand in her right hand and the six tiny blue stones orbiting the woman’s legs.
“Oh fuck,” Shay groaned.
“You know who I am, yes?”
Shay took a step back. “Yulia Solokova. Sometimes you go by Snegurka or the Snow Maiden.”
“Those are my names, but do know what I am?”
“A tarted-up Ice Witch.”
Yulia let out a soft laugh. “You are very well informed. You’ve come, I assume, to steal my clients’ treasure?”
“I’ve come to recover an artifact, which doesn’t belong to your clients. You can walk away. I’m not here to kill people. Old job.”
The Witch clucked her tongue. “Nor am I, but here we are, yes? I will give this one chance, a professional courtesy to walk away…” She frowned. “You know me, but I don’t know you. What is your name?”
“I don’t do names. Too messy if both of us live. Someone might track me down to kill me later. Sorry.”
Shay kept her finger hovering over the trigger but did everything she could to keep her face neutral. She’d heard of the mercenary Witch. Even though Snegurka wasn’t paid to kill, more than a few men and women had perished at the end of her wand.
For the first time in a long time, Shay didn’t know if she was in a fight she could win.
The two women stared at each other in silence, the seconds passing, neither daring to even blink.
Shay pulled the trigger three times in rapid succession. The three bullets dropped to the ground in front of the Witch, all encased in ice.
Yulia whipped up her wand and shouted something in Russian. The blue stones whipped in front of the wand and an encircled blue hexagonal pattern of light appeared out of nowhere. Seven long, thin ice spears shot toward Shay.
Shay jerked to the side and returned fire, but ice shard after pointed ice shard kept firing her way. Only her long experience in evasive training allowed her the erratic movement to escape behind a nearby shack without any of the ice spears landing on their target. Her ass.
