The Society of Orion Book Five: The Tayos Caves (Colton Banyon Mystery 18)

by Gerald J Kubicki

  “Well, aren’t you a Prince Charming,” she gushed back.

  They then started back to the Hummer, but diverted over one street to stay out of the action.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Colton Banyon had planned the takedown of Fasi’s men quite well. He didn’t just want to delay the thugs — he wanted them off the street — permanently. The three phone calls made by his people were to the local police department. The final stage of the takedown was now up to Carol.

  The location Banyon had chosen for the end run on the thugs was perfect. There was a police sub-station right on the corner of Gran Colombia. It was used to detain the drunks and thieves who populated the tourist part of the city. Carol entered the station in a panic. She was dressed to look like an older peasant woman, complete with a huge nondescript colorful shawl that hid her young features. She screamed at the portly desk sergeant in Spanish as she entered.

  “The men you’re looking for, the Arab terrorists. I saw five of them go into the bazaar area,” she said in rapid fire Spanish. “I saw where they parked their cars. There are many guns in the back seats. I’m sure they will head back to the vehicles to grab their guns and start shooting. So many people will die,” she lamented. She brought her hands to her face and started to cry.

  The eyes of the sergeant went wide. He had been notified of several sightings of some very suspicious middle-eastern men. Like everyone else in the world, no one wanted to be attacked by terrorists. He didn’t attempt to find out how she knew about the crisis.

  “Show me where they parked their cars,” he stammered. Carol ran to the door with the overweight policeman right behind her speaking rapidly into the microphone clipped to his uniform. As soon as they crashed through the door, Carol pointed.

  “Those two black cars there,” she said while acting hysterical. “That’s their cars.”

  The policeman ran to look into the windows of the cars and stepped back in shock when he saw all the guns. He grabbed his microphone and soon four more policemen poured out of the station. Sirens were suddenly heard in the distance. Everyone had their guns drawn and searched for a sign of the terrorists. They didn’t have to wait long.

  ***

  Why are there so many sirens? Mohammed wondered as he and the other thugs raced to the cars. He soon found out. Two police cars skidded to a halt just as Fasi’s men sprinted around the corner and collided with the fat sergeant. It was like a bowling ball hitting the pins — they all went down.

  “Stay down and show me your hands,” the sergeant roared as he scrambled to his feet.

  Mohammed had no idea why the officer was screaming at him in Spanish, things had happened too fast. But he knew he needed to get to Ahmad Fasi. His leader had said it was an emergency. As he attempted to get up, a policeman kicked him in the back. He screamed in pain and soon become overcome with rage by the insult. He grabbed the gun in the waistband of his pants and went to bring it up to shoot. It was the last moment of his life.

  Three bullets hit him in the chest and head. His body quivered and went dead. The other men saw this and quickly showed their hands. They were promptly frisked and their illegal guns were confiscated.

  By that time, a GOE team arrived on the site. The Grupo de Operaciones Especiales team was Ecuador’s version of SWAT. They opened the trunks of the cars and found the explosives. The terrorist threat had been real, but neutralized by the brave policemen.

  Fasi’s remaining men were cuffed and sat up on the sidewalk. None had any idea how much trouble they faced from the Ecuadorian legal system. Carrying illegal guns was a felony. Holding automatic machine guns meant life in prison. And terrorism carried the death penalty.

  By the time that Mandy and Kenny found Carol. She had pulled off the shawl and fluffed out her hair. She stuffed the shawl into Mandy’s garbage bag. The three of them now looked like college students on vacation.

  “Come on,” Mandy said urgently. “Let’s get out of here before someone wants to interview you.”

  Carol pressed her earpiece. “Mission accomplished. “There is one man dead and four are in custody.”

  “Get off the street,” they all heard in their earpieces. “I want you back at the office in the mission. We need to debrief and talk about tomorrow.”

  “Slave driver,” Mandy said without pressing the earpiece. She had planned other activities in her mind.

  The three young people climbed into the Hummer and headed back to the mission.

  Part Three

  Information

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The four team members from the hotel portion of the Fasi plan were now back at the mission and holding a meeting with the monks in Father Hector’s old office. Banyon explained that Ahmad Fasi would no longer be after the Tayos caves. He then handed Father Bartholomew a list of items they would need for their trip into the jungle the next day. He also gave him a pile of money to purchase the items.

  “What time do you intend to leave in the morning?” Father Michael asked.

  “As early as possible,” Banyon replied knowing it would take them a day and a half to get to the hidden entrance to the Tayos caves.

  “Before you leave tomorrow,” Father Thomas interrupted. “You need to visit the secret treasure room and decide what to do with the separate pile of artifacts, remember them?”

  “Oh, yes,” Banyon remarked as he remembered. “I’ll do that first thing then.”

  “I’m going with you,” Loni immediately said.

  “Me too,” Steve added.

  “It’s just going to be me,” Banyon responded. “That’s what Father Hector said.”

  “I’m going too,” Maya argued. “There might be some very interesting artifacts there. I am a certified archeologist you know.”

  Father Thomas settled the disagreement. “We can only accommodate three of you.”

  “Okay, Steve, I need you here to supervise the loading of our supplies anyway,” Banyon reasoned.

  “Take some pictures,” Steve responded with sadness.

  “We’ll meet here in the office at 8:00 A.M. then,” Banyon told the monks.

  ***

  After the monks left, Steve immediately asked a question. “What do you think that separate pile of stuff is all about?”

  “I’m not sure,” Banyon admitted. “But it should only take a few minutes to find out tomorrow.”

  “Well, at least we won’t have to worry about Ahmad Fasi trying to kill us anymore,” Steve said cheerfully. On the way back to the mission, Banyon had explained how they had roughed up the Arab and how they had left him tied to a chair.

  “Oh, we’re not done with him yet,” Banyon replied evenly.

  “What are you talking about?” Steve asked suspiciously. He couldn’t believe his ears.

  “He escaped,” Loni told him. “I didn’t tie the ropes very tightly,” she admitted with a smile.

  “You let him escape? Why would you do that?” Steve was incredulous.

  “We wanted him to escape,” Banyon told Steve.

  “Now you’ve completely lost me,” Steve said scratching his head. “Are you saying we put together this whole elaborate scheme and then let him go?”

  “Actually, yes,” Maya said.

  “I don’t get it. He has eleven more Orion weapons and knows who we are. He could come after us again. He is very dangerous,” Steve the security expert said.

  “We’ll know it if he mounts any attack and we’ll be prepared,” Banyon explained.

  “How?” Steve was starting to panic from the lunacy he was hearing.

  “I haven’t had time to explain how we can use Wolf,” Banyon informed him to calm Steve down. “You see, Wolf can track a person in real time. He does it 24/7 and can report all their moves to me. We’ll know if he tries anything.”

  “So, is Wolf watching Ahmad Fasi right now?” Steve asked.

  “As of a few minutes ago, Fasi is currently in his private jet and heading back to Morocco,” Banyon repli
ed.

  “And that is good — how?” Steve asked in confusion.

  “We don’t know where he has hidden the remaining eleven weapons,” Banyon explained. “Also, we need to know how powerful they are so we can find ways to defeat them.”

  “We believe he has them stashed underground in some vault and surely will go there and collect the weapons. He probably will keep them on his person from now on,” Loni explained.

  “So if Wolf is so powerful, why can’t he see where the weapons are right now?” Steve quickly asked.

  “Wolf has some limitations,” Banyon admitted. “He can’t trace anything electronic like a phone call or an email. We use Timmy for that. He also can’t see underground unless he is tracking a person. He conducts his searches by tracking the energy trail that all living things emit. A piece of metal hidden underground doesn’t give off any energy to track.”

  “Once Fasi recovers the weapons, Wolf will be able to identify them and Maya can look them up in the Orion Codex. We can then find a way to defeat them,” Loni said.

  “Why can’t you just turn them off?” Steve logically asked.

  “Most of the weapons can only be turned off if they are within about twenty feet of the chanter,” Maya responded. “We can’t guarantee we will ever get that close to Fasi.”

  “So you see,” Banyon reasoned. “The right thing to do was let him think he got away. We’ll visit him when he least expects it, probably in about ten days when the rest of the Patel clan is available.”

  “You are more devious than Father Hector,” Steve suddenly yelled with admiration.

  “You’re making me blush,” Banyon responded with a smile.

  “But wait,” Steve quickly shouted. “So who else is Wolf following?”

  “Everyone on the team,” Loni explained.

  “So he is watching me all day every day? Is he watching everything I do?”

  “Heather too,” Maya said with a mischievous grin.

  “In fact,” Banyon added. “He has been watching you, Heather and Mandy for about a year now. It was part of the vetting process we put you through before we invited you onto the team.”

  “I…I,” Steve stuttered.

  “Relax, Steve,” Loni said. “You’ll get used to it. It’s not like he is a pervert or anything.”

  Hmm, I wonder about that,” Colton Banyon thought.

  ***

  By the time Mandy and the Cole’s entered the office the team had finished their debriefing. Banyon had each of them detail their experiences and then moved on. He didn’t want to discuss anything about Wolf while the Coles were in the room.

  “Let’s work on our plans for tomorrow,” he said.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Colton Banyon’s eyes opened at 7:00 A.M. He rolled out of bed and noticed that the other bunks were all empty. Even Loni had vacated the bunk room. He only wore boxer shorts and decided to stretch out — no one was in the room. As he turned back to the bed to retrieve his pants he found himself looking straight into Maya’s beautiful large brown eyes. She was still on the bunk above where he had slept. A white sheet covered about half of her mocha colored nude body. There was a pout on her lips.

  “You owe me a hug,” she said in a husky voice and started to uncoil her body like a snake. Her long legs soon draped over the side of the bunk. As she sat up the sheet slid away.

  “I do?” he responded with a gulp. She had clearly been waiting for him to get up.

  “Yes, you do,” she answered seductively. “You and Loni kept me up a good portion of last night and then Kenny and Mandy added to my misery. We’ve been away from civilization for too long Colt. I need you to hug me.”

  Banyon was no prude. He and Maya along with her two sisters had been lovers before he met and settled down with Loni, but that was a long time ago. Since then Maya had kept her distance and had finally met the father of her son Greg Gamble. She truly loved him. He was killed while on a case about two years ago. As far as Banyon knew she had been alone since then.

  “I can do that,” he said compassionately.

  “Help me down,” she ordered. Banyon put his hands on her sleek slender hips and she fell against his nearly nude body, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her body was warm and excited.

  He hugged her tightly, but broke it off after a minute. “Maya, I can’t,” he said shamefully.

  “I know, but all this danger and adventure is very seductive. And then you made me tease all those men yesterday in that short dress. It has put me in a mood,” she said sadly. Women had often blamed Banyon for things he couldn’t control.

  Banyon realized that Loni and Mandy had felt the same way last night. In fact, so had he. And now they were heading out for the biggest adventure of all. He came to the realization that sexual tension would soon be on the rise among the team.

  As he broke away and grabbed his pants he said. “Why don’t you stay in the same tent as Loni and me on this trip?”

  ***

  Banyon went into the bathroom and took a cold shower. He shaved and dressed in tan cargo shorts and a white tee shirt which he took from his travel bag in the bathroom. He felt like he was ready to start the next adventure.

  He wandered outside into the bright beautiful morning. The sky was clear and the temperature was already in the eighties. A table had been set up with coffee and Danish just outside the door. Banyon busied himself with making a cup of coffee. When he was done, he turned around and spilled his coffee on his shirt.

  Mandy, Loni, Carol, Maya and Heather, who had just arrived, were all dressed in skimpy bikinis. Loni saw him and rushed over.

  “It’s almost eight o’clock Colt. I’m so excited about visiting the secret treasure room,” she gushed.

  “Why are you all wearing bathing suits?” He managed to utter.

  “Oh, didn’t you hear. Kenny found a short cut to the caves. He said it’ll only take us a few hours to get there so we dressed for the day.”

  Oh boy, Banyon thought. I may not make it through this adventure. Then he noticed Kenny and Steve who were loading the Hummer. They both were bare-chested and wore swimming trunks.

  “I need to talk to Heather,” he croaked.

  “Steve and I have already talked to Mandy and Heather about Wolf,” Loni said.

  “I need to talk to her about something else,” Banyon replied. He waved to Heather and she sauntered over to him with a smile on her pretty face. She wore the red and white striped suit that Banyon had seen before on Lake Mead.

  “What’s up boss,” she said showing perfectly white teeth.

  “We are all equal on the team,” he reminded her. He got right to the point. “I need you to do something.”

  “I’ll do anything for you Colt,” she replied. Banyon was sure she said it in a sexy manner. I’m losing my mind.

  “After we leave the Tayos caves, I want you to ‘Freud-a-size’ the Coles. I don’t want them to remember anything about Ahmad Fasi or anything they have learned about the Orion weapons. Can you do that?”

  “What about the treasures that we find?”

  “They are going to be our advance party when we go after new treasure, but nothing more. Do you understand?”

  “I’ll take care of them Colt,” she answered as she fluttered her long eyelashes.

  Father Thomas was suddenly by Banyon’s side. “It’s time to go,” he said solemnly.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “We will need to go past the classrooms and through the chapel,” Father Thomas explained. “The women will need to cover up their nakedness,” he said piously. He handed the women two small monk robes.

  “Oh goodie,” Maya said sarcastically as she wrapped the smock around her body. “Now I can be a monk and remain celibate too.”

  Loni stared at Maya, but said nothing.

  “Follow me,” the monk said.

  They entered the building and proceeded down the long hallway. They made a left turn and traveled past several classrooms. The roo
ms were brimming with young children already in classes. They entered the chapel and walked past the pulpit.

  When they reached the back wall Father Thomas grabbed a statue that was positioned on a pedestal against the wall. He turned it clockwise and a wooden panel silently slid open. It revealed a dark metal door. He inserted a large key and unlocked it. When he opened the door the monk hit a light switch located just inside the doorway. Banyon saw a concrete walkway which led down into the earth. A hand rail was imbedded in the concrete. It looked very new to Banyon.

  As they headed down the incline, Father Thomas explained. “This is not the original room where Father Crespi hid his treasures. When we remodeled the chapel a few years ago, Father Hector had this room added. It was planned as a shelter for the children in case something threatened the mission. About a year ago he asked us to move all the treasures into it. We have since added a second shelter for the children. It was placed nearer to the classrooms.”

  “Not much security,” Loni noted.

  “We’ve always believed in secrecy over security,” the monk replied. “Besides the room has been cloaked up until Father Hector died.”

  Soon the tunnel ended at a much larger and thicker metal door. It had two locks. The monk proceeded to unlock it using another set of keys.

  “Colt, it would take me maybe a minute to break into this place,” Loni said with alarm.

  “I believe you,” Banyon replied.

  The large door opened inward and Father Thomas turned on another light switch as they entered.

  “My God,” Loni screeched. “I should have brought my sunglasses.”

  The room was about forty feet long and about forty feet wide. Piled everywhere were artifacts that glistened in the bright lights. The glow from the gold and other shiny metals gave the room an aura of warmth.

  “Look at this,” Maya said excitedly as she raced to a pile of gold panels. “They’re solid gold,” she gushed. She began to frantically look through the stack.