Lost Gems (Shark Key Adventures Book 4)

by Chris Niles

  “Not exclusively. We have a team of three in our vet clinic. One doctor and two techs. The doctor has a practice in the city, and she spends one day a week out here unless there’s an emergency. The two techs live up here and tend to the animals’ day-to-day needs.”

  He stopped in front of the next enclosure. “This is Matilda.” He pointed to a smaller brown sloth perched at about eye level. Her head popped up when she spotted her visitors, and she began a slow crawl across the branch to the wire separating human from animal. “She loves visitors, probably because when any of us come by, we can’t resist giving her a little treat.” He reached into the pocket of his loose cargo pants and pulled out a small bag of mango slices. He pushed a piece through a gap in the caging, and Matilda grabbed it with her long arms. She greedily gnawed at it, its juice dripping down her fur.

  As Kate observed her, she noticed a green tint to Matilda’s coarse coat. “What’s that?” she pointed.

  “Because of the high humidity and their slow and, well, slothful lifestyle, the animals often develop mold on their outer fur. It’s a great adaptation for them. The mold helps conceal their scent from predators, since God knows they can’t outrun anything.”

  “So, Eddie was right,” she muttered to herself.

  Colin continued around the path, introducing her to the animals and rattling off more sloth facts, until they rounded a corner. There, planted in the middle of the path with his hands on his hips, was a dark-skinned Latino man with long, dark hair dressed in olive-tree coveralls. His name tag read Jose.

  The man glared at Colin. “I’ll take it from here.”

  Colin nodded, eyes wide, then he spun and rushed back toward the welcome center.

  Kate squared her shoulders and stuck out her hand. “Kate Kingsbury with Cavil Media. It’s nice to meet you” — she deliberately looked at the name tag, then back up to his eyes — “Jose.”

  Without shaking her hand, the man nodded, pivoted on the ball of his foot, then marched around the bend and through a low gate marked “PRIVATE. Employees only.”

  A narrow path led through the jungle toward a long, rickety shack with a rusted corrugated tin roof. Raindrops dripped into a shallow trench around the perimeter, formed from years of rain dripping from the roof. Nestled into the thick foliage, Kate spotted tall chain link fencing and the unmistakable glint of razor wire, installed so long ago that the branches of the trees had wound themselves through its coils. She caught movement off to her left, a dark shadow of a form, but as she turned, all she saw were rustling leaves.

  Past the shack, the path wound around to another, newer building. A thick steel door squealed on rusting hinges when the man opened it. Beyond the door, a row of stainless steel tables filled the center of the cool, brightly lit room. A row of industrial shelving covered in boxes and bins lined the opposite wall.

  “This is the care center where we prepare meals for the animals. Though that door is the veterinarian’s office.”

  Kate played along and pulled a small notebook from her back pocket. “Right. Colin explained you have a vet on staff.”

  The man nodded. “She only comes up once a week unless there is a problem. And the techs have been sent home for the day.”

  As Kate heard the heavy door click shut behind them, Jose whirled around, caught her by the shoulders, then pinned her against the wall, a short fixed blade at her throat.

  Kate jabbed her arms up and spun around, his long hair tangled between her fingers. She yanked his head back. Kicked the back of his knees. As he went down, she grabbed his wrist. The force of his fall wrenched his shoulder from its socket. His scream echoed in the small, cold room.

  She dropped her knee on his back, his forearm tucked beneath her ankle, then tugged his other hand to the center of his spine.

  “Who are you? What is this place?”

  The man spit a wad of mucus on the tile floor. “Stop playing games, chica. We know who you are, and we want our product back.”

  Kate yanked his arm higher. “Well, you have my friend, and I want her back. When I can see that she’s alive and well, then we can talk about your stones.”

  The man twisted his head to meet Kate’s glare. “What are you talking about? She’s not with you?”

  The door at the end of the room crashed open. Kate spun toward the noise then froze as a woman stomped into the room.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Gloria Rojas shivered as she swept into the tiled room and kicked the little blonde woman in the chest. Her body flew backward and slammed into the steel table mounted along the wall. Jose scrambled to his feet and rubbed his shoulder.

  Three more of Gloria’s men streamed into the room. Two of them grabbed the blonde by her armpits and the third punched her hard in the gut. Her knees bent and her body crumpled as she tried to curl in on itself, but she simply dangled where the two men held her.

  Jose circled her, jaw tight, face red.

  No harm in letting him have a moment. Gloria nodded to the two guards.

  Jose stopped directly in front of the woman, then spat in her face. She recoiled. He caught her chin with a right hook. Her head snapped back. As it rolled forward, he punched her again and again.

  Gloria finally grew bored and waved to the third guard to stop him.

  “Enough, Jose. I need her to be able to speak.”

  The guard stepped in between Jose and the blonde, caught his next swing, then spun him around and pushed him toward the exit. Jose stomped from the room, slamming the door behind him.

  The woman’s body still hung from the two men, but now her face was covered in blood and sweat. The third man scrambled around to secure her hands behind her back. They set her back on her feet. As soon as she caught her footing, she straightened, dropped her weight, and executed a perfect side-kick, catching the third guard in the back.

  The first man grabbed her by both arms and hoisted her up. The second man grabbed a short length of fencepost. He dropped into a batter’s stance and swung, connecting to her leg with a crunch. Her scream filled the room as he dropped the post then punched her in the kidney. She crumpled, spitting blood on the tile with a grunt.

  The guard dropped her on a stainless steel table in the center of the room and pulled on her arms. She kicked weakly with her remaining good leg, but the other two guards grabbed a leg each, yanked her ankles together, ignoring her screams as they wrapped them tightly with tape then pushed her onto her side on the table.

  She thrashed, then slowed, then finally gave up and lay still on the table. After a moment, she wrenched her eyes open.

  Gloria met the woman’s stare. Where she expected to see defeat, instead the woman’s eyes were hard. Defiant, even.

  “I have something you want.”

  Gloria’s eyebrows rose. “What’s that?”

  “Not until you show me my friend.”

  Gloria took a step backward. Then the pieces fell into place. “I think perhaps we may have started off, how do you say it, on the wrong foot?” She circled the long table. “Perhaps we have more in common than we think, you and me.”

  “I doubt that,” the blonde spat.

  “Can we start again? My name is Gloria. And you are…”

  “An interested party.” The woman’s speech was slurred, and a trickle of blood dripped out of the corner of her swelling lips.

  Gloria smirked. “All right, Party Girl. We can play your game. But please know, I like to win. Perhaps we can make this one we both win together, if you’ll just listen.”

  The woman shifted her weight but kept her eyes on Gloria.

  “You are looking for your friend. Shelby Ellis. You think I took her. But, in fact, I’m looking for her, too. She took something that belonged to me. But you say you have something I want. Which means perhaps she didn’t run with my package after all. If she didn’t run, and I don’t have her, then I know who does. The Irishman.”

  The woman’s chin tilted forward. Gloria had her attention.

&nbs
p; “The Irishman?”

  “Good. Yes. The Irishman. He owns the mine just up the slope. He’s been disrupting our operations for years. But this is the first time he’s kidnapped one of our couriers.”

  The woman snorted. “You mean the mine owner you’ve been stealing from?”

  Gloria clucked her tongue. “Please. I do hope you can see this from my perspective. It might be the only way to save your friend. If he hasn’t already killed her.”

  The woman’s eyes flicked up toward the ceiling, then back to Gloria.

  Gloria’s cheek pulled up in a wry smile. “He hasn’t killed her yet, has he? Because he hasn’t gotten what he really wants.” She watched the woman’s reaction. “The stones. I’m right, aren’t I? You have them. You were willing to trade them for your friend’s life, except you went to the wrong place. And now, we have a common goal. So, perhaps, we can both win. Now, can we start over? I am Gloria, and you are…”

  She watched as the woman collapsed back down to the cold surface of the table.

  “Kate. Kate Kingsbury.”

  Gloria crouched in front of the table. “Thank you, Miss Kingsbury. Now I think we can have a civilized discussion.”

  Kingsbury’s eyes flitted down toward her broken body. “It’s a little late for civilized, don’t you think?”

  “Oh, it’s never too late. This can all be bygones. You give me the stones, and—”

  “And then you’ll still kill my friend.”

  Gloria shook her head. “Where’s your faith?”

  “I know more about the Rojas than you think. And I know the last thing I should do is trust you.”

  “You don’t have much choice, now, do you? The way I see it, you either give us the stones, or you die right here.”

  “You won’t kill me. You want the stones.”

  Gloria grinned. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’d like the stones back. But a certain amount of loss is to be expected in this business. Even so, with every loss, we send a message to the rest of our organization. I’d rather get the Irishman, of course. But I think your head would still be a fair trade. So, you have a choice. Help me, or don’t. Whether you get your friend back or not sort of depends on you.”

  Kingsbury dropped her head back on the table and closed her eyes.

  As Gloria rose to her feet and turned to the three guards, the door crashed open and six men with assault rifles breached the room in military formation.

  “Hands up! Where we can see them.” English.

  One of her guards rushed forward. A deafening burst of gunfire exploded from one of the weapons, and the man’s body crumpled to the tile.

  Gloria stumbled backwards as her two remaining cowardly guards slowly lifted their hands and the thick, ruddy man known as the Irishman sauntered into the room.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Kate lay on the cold metal table contemplating her options. There was no doubt in her mind that this woman, Gloria Rojas, was willing to kill her. Kate had overestimated her bargaining position.

  Still, even if she turned over the emeralds, it was no guarantee Shelby would survive. In fact, it was even less likely if Rojas already had what she wanted. Kate was in a corner. And for the first time in her life, she couldn’t see a way out.

  As she drifted away from consciousness, she heard Tony’s voice, her mind offering a last small comfort before the inevitable. Ahead of her, in the distance, she saw his face. His soft blond curls and scruffy chin. The softness in his eyes—the eyes she had finally learned to trust. A sharp pain shot across her cheek and she formed a last smile.

  But then a burst of gunfire jerked her back to the cold table. Kate wrenched open an eye. There, in front of her, stood Tony, William, and four other men holding military weapons.

  An older white man with red cheeks swept into the room between the two flanks of warriors.

  “Gloria.” The man’s soft tenor carried the hint of a European accent.

  Kate heard the click of the tall woman’s heels scrambling toward the back of the room.

  “Gloria, please. Don’t make me hurt another of your men.”

  Gloria’s voice shook. “You will regret this.”

  The man with the accent smiled. “I don’t think so.” Then he turned and nodded to Tony.

  Tony and William slung their rifles across their backs and rushed toward the table.

  “Kate, are you—”

  “I’m okay.”

  As William tore away the tape around Kate’s ankles, Tony pitched forward, blinking. “No, honey. You’re anything but okay. Can you sit?” He helped her up, then lifted her off the table. As she set weight down on her left foot, she screamed.

  “Alrighty, then.” Tony scooped her up, shoulders in one arm, knees draped across the other, then sprinted behind the line of the Irishman’s gunmen, with William following close behind.

  Flying down the path in Tony’s arms, every cell in Kate’s body screamed. Her broken leg dangled, catching on the branches of the thick trees as they raced down the narrow path. Behind them, Kate heard the rustle and thump of several men running behind her. As they passed through the little welcome vestibule, she heard shouts. Quick bursts of gunfire. Then they leapt into a van. Tony draped Kate across the back seat. She heard more people pile in, then, “Go! Go! Go!” as the van’s door slid across its rails and latched with a heavy thunk.

  The wheels beneath her spun in the dirt and gravel. As they caught traction, glass showered down around her.

  “Get down!”

  Another bullet pierced the roof of the van, and stuffing filled the air as a volley of fire tore the back of the seat open. As the van rounded a hairpin turn, Kate tried to open her eyes. She felt a weird cold mist in her nose, then her vision filled with black dots, spinning in front of her eyes and quickly drawing closer to the center of her vision and drawing her into blackness.

  The first thing Kate heard as she came to was the low drone of an engine. She felt a hard, flat, surface softly vibrating below her. Her eyes still closed, she scanned her body, taking inventory of the myriad aches and pains. As she twitched her face, then released, a dull ache crossed her left cheek. A slight tilt of her head revealed an ache from the base of her skull through both shoulders. She tried to roll, but a sharp pain in her side stopped the movement. She tried to wiggle her toes. Nothing. She scanned up her calves. Knees. Thighs. Still nothing.

  Her pulse raced and she tried to open her mouth, but no sound came. She panted, each breath shallower than the last. Until she felt firm hands on her shoulders.

  “Kate. Shhh. It’s okay. Hold still. Breathe.”

  She fought one eye open and a blurry image of Tony’s curls filled her view. His head turned. His forehead and the bridge of his nose had turned a deep green, with thick yellowing edges. His blue eyes were bloodshot and puffy.

  She sucked in a breath. Then another. “What happened?” The words spilled from her throat like a rockslide, all gravelly and rough.

  “You’re safe now. We’re in the air. You’re banged up, but you’re going to be okay.”

  “I —”

  “Shh. There’ll be plenty of time to talk when we get back home. For now, go back to sleep.”

  “What about—”

  “Kate, it’s okay. I’m here, too.” At the sound of the familiar, high voice, Kate wrenched her other eye open and forced her head to turn. From the right front seat, beside William, a tiny woman with thick brown hair twisted and smiled at her.

  “Shelby,” Kate croaked.

  “Thank you for coming for me. But it turns out, we came for you instead.” Shelby grinned. Across the tiny aisle, the ruddy man with the Irish accent sat in the other seat. Kate let her eyelids drop closed again.

  “It hurts to hold my eyes open, but can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

  Tony sat down on the floor and cradled her head in his lap.

  “This is all my fault.” Shelby’s sharp trill cut the drone of the plane’s engines. Kat
e winced at the sound, and Tony gently stroked from her temples through her hair to the crown of her head. The soft, repetitive motion soothed her as she listened.

  “It all started from a big misunderstanding. I got in the wrong Uber, and here we are.”

  “Well, love, there were a few steps in between.” The Irish lilt added.

  “This is Tim, by the way. Tim Keane.”

  “They call me the Irishman.”

  “The mining Keane?” Kate whispered. “How…”

  Tony gently pressed his finger to her lips. “Shh. We’ll explain more later. But Keane has ears all over Bogota. He heard the Rojas were planning to ambush you, and he knew he couldn’t get you out and back home without some help. So, Shelby called us.”

  “But—”

  “Later. I know it doesn’t make sense right now, but you need to rest.”

  William’s voice filled the cabin. “We’ll be landing in Kingston for fuel soon, and I’ve got a doctor friend who’s standing by, Kate. Tony’s got you pretty stable, but I want someone to give you a quick look while he can.”

  Kate felt a sharp prick in her arm, then she drifted back to sleep.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Kate’s eyelids lay closed to the soft light. Beneath her, she felt a soft cloud of blankets and pillows and the gentle rocking of home. With her first conscious breath, she smelled the briny air and the faint lingering scent of wet dog. But as she pulled a deeper breath through her lungs, a sharp shot of pain ripped through her ribs.

  The hull beneath her dipped, then she felt a hand and hot breath on her shoulder. She ripped one eye open. A long, black nose and deep brown eyes filled most of her vision. Whiskey gently dipped his head and nudged her cheek with his cold nose, then whimpered.

  “It’s okay boy. Down.”

  Tony’s whisper brushed across Kate’s face. She pulled her left eye open and rolled her head to the left.

  “Hey, there. Don’t try to move, okay? You’re gonna need a little time before—”