by Bobby Akart
When he left the house, he’d planned on finding his way to the barn to uncover one of the stolen vehicles and make his way to the highway. After running for fifteen minutes, he realized that he’d missed the trail that led to the barn closest to the northern boundary of the property, and his fear prevented him from doubling back to locate it.
As an alternative, he recalled a place that he’d discovered when he first came to the lodge with his father. With a final check on his pursuers, he crossed the one-lane country road and approached a steep hill that overlooked the east end of Kutztown. At the bottom of the hill was the entrance to a local geological attraction known as Crystal Cave.
The historic site—which was now surrounded by hiking trails, a picnic park, and even an eighteen-hole miniature golf course—was a favorite weekend destination of travelers, who enjoyed ice cream, geological souvenirs like collectible minerals, and exploring caves.
During Jonathan’s first visit to Crystal Cave, his governess took him through the attraction the same way other families were accustomed to doing. But Jonathan was an explorer and he had his father’s penchant for finding alternative means to doing things. He’d roamed the state preserve adjacent to the Schwartz property and eventually expanded his day trips to the land surrounding Crystal Cave. Tonight, with his life depending on it, Jonathan would find out if his memory of those childhood days served him well.
It did.
He located the narrow dark hole that entered the side of the steep hill overlooking the miniature golf course. The first time he found it, curiosity had led him inside. It was his courage, however, that allowed him to ignore the total darkness and the fear of the unknown and venture farther. He was rewarded with the discovery of a new void, a space large enough for a dozen people, that contained a small underground pond created by rain runoff.
This became his special place. A cavern in which he could come to be alone with his thoughts, without the pressure of his father trying to teach him the ways of the world or an overbearing governess beating him over the head about his manners.
Unlike his first adventure in the cave, when he had nothing more than a pack of matches to create light, he had a flashlight this time. He pointed the light into the hole and smiled as the familiarity of his hiding spot appeared to be unchanged. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he dropped onto his butt and slid through the grass until he was able to slowly drop himself into the cave.
The natural void in the ground, formed by the weathering of rock and the water runoff from the hillside, was no longer undisturbed, as he’d found it many years ago. Although it had not been incorporated into the Crystal Cave attraction, it had been discovered by local kids.
The inside was littered with cigarette butts, beer cans, and girlie magazines. Articles of clothing, empty wallets, and trash were strewn about. The once beautiful natural formation had not only been desecrated with graffiti on the cavern walls, but it smelled and looked like a partially emptied dumpster.
Jonathan shook his head in disgust as the fond memories of a place he’d learned to love as a kid were now ruined. However, it still could serve its original purpose—a hiding spot from those who wanted to control him or, in this case, kill him.
He caught his breath and then used his flashlight to get reacquainted with the interior of the cave. Appearing throughout the cavern were a variety of stalagmites, drapery formations, and calcite crystals, all geologic wonders that he’d learned about as he became more fascinated with caves in general.
He made his way deeper into the cave and found a canopy-like formation that he’d often used as a bed to sleep. He shook his head in disgust as he found an old mattress on the rock slab underneath the canopy. Using two fingers, he grabbed the mattress by the cording and dragged it out into the middle of the room.
Jonathan was ready to get settled in, comforted in knowing that they’d never find him. He felt for his handgun in his pocket and pulled it out. Then he stretched out on the rocky floor under the canopy and placed the weapon on his belly, allowing his breathing to cause the gun to rise and fall in a rhythmic motion.
Jonathan was ready to think about his future and how he was prepared to take a chance and reach out to his security team now. He had no other place to go since the lodge had been discovered by whoever was pursuing him. Once this imminent threat had passed, and his pursuers moved on, he’d reach out to his team and order them to take him to safety.
He was tired of running and hiding. Besides, that was his father’s way, not his. However, Schwartz couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was nearby—stalking, searching.
Hunting.
*****
Hayden slowed her pace as she reached the road. The path Schwartz left in the tall grasses of the field continued directly to that point and appeared to pick up on the other side. But she needed to wait for Alpha, who was a couple of hundred yards behind her.
She turned to flash the light toward him, and he waved his back and forth to acknowledge her signal. While she waited, she moved across the street with her rifle at low ready in case Schwartz planned to ambush them. Until now, she and Alpha had chased after the man without considering the fact that he could have easily stopped, found effective cover, and fired upon them at an opportune moment. After a quick glance around, she returned to the field to wait for Alpha.
Alpha finally caught up and did his best to avoid looking winded. Hayden knew better and gave the big man an opportunity to recover.
“He crossed here,” she whispered before she led him across the road. A stand of arborvitae trees lined the road, partially blocking the view of the steep hill beyond. Boulders, glossy from the nighttime moisture, and knee-high grasses speckled the landscape on the hillside until a dramatic drop-off appeared just as the flashlight’s reach ended. Hayden added, “Then the tracks suddenly stop.”
“Do you think he jumped off the cliff?” asked Alpha as he fully recovered from the pursuit.
“Well, he certainly headed straight for it,” she whispered back.
Alpha shouldered his rifle and Hayden did as well. He raked his light between the trees and then followed the broken grasses down the steep slope. Once he cleared the other side, he swept his light over the ground. He stepped forward for a closer look, then pointed at the knocked-down grasses.
“Footprints,” she said, dropping to a knee next to them. “The grass around them is still popping up. It hasn’t been long.”
She rose and unholstered her sidearm. They were close and her senses told her that they might have Schwartz cornered, if he hadn’t opted for suicide by cliff-diving.
Hayden moved ahead, careful to keep her footing. Alpha covered her with his rifle, but she kept her handgun at the ready just in case. The tracks continued down the hill and she shined her light forward to gauge her distance from the cliff that was looming ahead. Step by ginger step, she inched closer to the ledge, and then the footsteps ended.
Hayden stopped and flashed her light all around them, panning the grass, looking for the telltale signs of Schwartz heading in a different direction. Puzzled, she shrugged and continued on, a few inches at a time, until the grasses flattened out. The footstep-sized path suddenly became a couple of feet wide.
She mimicked the action, sitting down and sliding forward using her heels as brakes to avoid slipping downward. That was when she saw the opening. A small, man-sized space where the smashed-down grasses ended. She secured her position and turned to Alpha.
Using hand signals, she indicated he should be quiet, and then she pointed at her eyes and down to the ground several feet ahead of where she sat.
Alpha leaned forward and saw the dark void in the grass. He nodded his acknowledgment. Schwartz had gone underground—literally and figuratively.
Hayden started to inch back up the hill, but she began to slide. The wet grass was causing her difficulty and she began to lose her footing. Alpha quickly reached forward and grabbed the back of her tactical vest. Using the biceps that
enabled him to do sixty-pound dumbbell curls in the gym with ease, he tugged her backwards until she was safely by his side.
She mouthed the words thank you and then motioned for them to step several yards back up the hill, where they could talk.
“I wonder if we could roll one of those boulders down the hill and plug up the hole,” said Alpha, laughing under his breath.
“Nice thought, but it won’t work,” said Hayden. “He obviously knew about this place. There’s no evidence that he had to search. He came straight for the cave’s entrance, dropped to the ground, and slid in.”
“So let’s go get him,” said Alpha, who stood a little taller and readied his rifle.
“Not a good idea,” said Hayden. “I have experience with caves, and not all of them good. First of all, he knows what’s down there, and we don’t. If he’s armed, we could be facing a gun barrel the moment we step foot at the bottom.”
“I’ll take my chances,” said Alpha, showing his typical machismo.
“No, Alpha. Listen to me. There could also be a way out. It’s not unusual for these types of openings to be created from water runoff. I think we’re on top of Crystal Cave, the local geologic-formation-turned-amusement-park. He might have run out the lower entrance.”
“Let’s chase him down, then,” insisted Alpha, who was anxious to catch the elusive Mr. Schwartz.
“If he knows his way around, it’s most likely he’s escaped already. We no longer have a way to track him.”
“What do you suggest?” asked Alpha.
“Let’s flush him out,” she replied. “Between us, we’ve got six smoke grenades. We’ll drop them in, one at a time, until he can’t breathe or freaks out. Whichever comes first is fine with me.”
Alpha stifled a hearty laugh. “I like it, Foxy. That’s hard-core.”
She slapped his chest rig and turned back toward the cavern’s entrance. She ignited the first of her three smoke grenades, made sure that it was billowing gray smoke, and tossed it down the hole.
Then they waited.
At first, the sound was barely detectable. Hayden strained to listen, thinking she heard an indiscernible cough.
She ignited another grenade and let it sail downward. The stick-shaped smoke bomb bounced off the rock walls and tumbled downward until a thud could be heard.
Smoke was not coming out of the hole, which began to concern Hayden. There might be another entrance to the cave, and the slight winds could be carrying the smoke out well below their field of vision.
Again she listened.
There! She heard it that time. A hacking sound. Schwartz was down there, and he wasn’t able to hide his inability to breathe.
She turned to Alpha and provided him a devious grin. She cracked open her last smoke grenade and tossed it down the hole with more strength, hoping that it would find its way deeper into the cave.
Hayden was tired of fooling with this guy. Like a relay runner holding her outstretched hand behind her back for a baton, she waited as Alpha placed another smoke grenade in it. This time she issued a warning to Schwartz.
“All right, Schwartz!” she shouted into the hole. “There’s plenty more of that headed your way. Why don’t you just come on out and we’ll work this out?”
“Screw you!” he shouted at Hayden.
She shook her head and mumbled, “Well, that was rude.” She snapped the smoke grenade and tossed it down. This time, she used a lobbing motion so the grenade fell down the shaft without touching the walls. She was trying to vary her techniques to fill the entire cavern with smoke.
Schwartz no longer tried to cover up his inability to breathe. The coughing sounds grew louder.
Hayden turned around. “I think he’s coming up.”
Alpha readied his rifle and took up a shooting stance. He waited for Schwartz to emerge from the hole. However, it wasn’t his head that appeared first.
Schwartz fired several bullets through the opening. Hayden instinctively fell backwards as the whizzing sound of the rounds flew past her head.
Schwartz’s attempt to fire wildly in their direction angered Alpha, who let out a guttural growl and pointed his rifle barrel downward, unleashing a barrage of automatic gunfire into the cave.
When he released the trigger, the sounds of bullets ricocheting off the rock walls could still be heard as smoke began to billow out of the hole.
“No more! Please, no more!”
Hayden stood and retreated from the cave’s entrance a few paces. “Well, it’s about time.”
Alpha shouted into the cave, “Come on out, jerk-off. Put the gun in your pocket. I don’t want some kid to stumble across it.”
Thirty seconds later, their target emerged from the cave, one empty hand at a time. A ricochet had grazed his cheek, opening a gash that gushed blood onto his jacket.
“Don’t shoot! I did as you asked. The gun’s in my right jacket pocket.”
Schwartz climbed out of the hole, and Alpha grabbed his right arm and pulled Schwartz up the hill and away from the hole. Hayden quickly searched his pockets and found the gun, which she removed before tucking it into her cargo pants’ pocket.
“Stand up!” ordered Alpha.
Schwartz managed to get to his feet and began to turn around when Alpha shoved him in the back.
“Turn around and walk up the hill! Don’t run, or you’ll die!”
Schwartz tried to bargain. “Listen, I have a lot of money. Whatever they pay you, I’ll double it. No, I’ll triple—”
“Shut up!” shouted Hayden. “We don’t want your dirty money. Keep walking or I’ll shoot you just for the hell of it!”
Schwartz stumbled up the hill, regained his footing, and then walked again, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
Chapter 43
Schwartz Lodge
Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Cort stoked the fire, which was now putting out a tremendous amount of heat. The bright flames lit up the room, casting eerie shadows on the post and beam construction. Two Queen Anne chairs had been placed on either side of the hearth, separated by a table that held a couple of bottles of brandy, two filled glasses of the spirit, and a .357 Magnum handgun. Sitting in the chairs were Briscoe, whose lacerated scalp was laid open, and Schwartz, whose cut face only emitted a trickle of blood, which added to that which had dried on his cheek. Both men were cuffed at their feet and ankles with zip-tie restraints.
“What are you gonna do with us?” asked Schwartz, the only one of the two who was sufficiently coherent to speak. Briscoe, although alert and apparently comprehending what was going on, was unable to speak for some reason, likely from the blow to his head.
Not that it matters.
Alpha and the rest of the team stood near the bar, their arms resting on their weapons slung in front of them. Delta broke away from the group to stand near the doors leading toward the deck. He’d already expressed concern to the group that the gunfire would be noticed by the locals, and county deputies were probably being dispatched.
Nonetheless, the group stood by silently. This was Cort’s show and they were prepared to let him play it out.
Cort looked into the faces of the men and women who’d loyally followed him into the Pennsylvania woods in search of the people who’d ordered the attack on the Haven. The last person he approached was Alpha, who spoke from the heart.
“I know what you’re about to do. Cort, listen to me. You’ll never forget what’s about to happen. The looks in their eyes, the last words spoken, the feeling in your gut.”
Cort raised his hand. “I get it.”
“No, seriously. When I say forever, I mean forever. Every one of us has killed before, including Foxy, who ran over that guy in Richmond. Death is death, whether by gunshot or SUV or whatever else you might have in mind. You will live with this for the rest of your life. Are you ready for that?”
Cort patted Alpha on the shoulder and smiled. “This has to end. Now it’s up to me.”
“Guys, I hear siren
s way off in the distance,” interrupted Delta. “They might be responding to something else, but I doubt it.”
Cort turned to address his captives, speaking to Jonathan first. “This is the beginning of the end of the civil war that has been brewing for decades,” began Cort. “You and your father have been instrumental in funding the tools of discontent, from the media to the anarchists who have infiltrated America. Your father will die in prison, and you will die right here and now.”
Schwartz was defiant as he challenged Cort. “By who? You? You’re the one who’s gonna kill me? Who the hell are you anyway?”
Cort was a changed man. The attack on the Haven and the subsequent kidnapping of Hannah, ordered by one of these men, or both, was not going to go unpunished.
“There is no justice except frontier justice,” began Cort. “You two wanted a civil war, just like the eighteen hundreds, right? Well, this is how justice was administered back in the day.”
Cort moved forward and picked up a glass of brandy. He swirled the spirit around in the glass and took a swig. Then he picked up the handgun, the heavy weight surprising him.
“Wait a minute,” said Schwartz, who was trying every angle to live through the day or buy time. “I know you. You’re Cortland, Trowbridge’s son-in-law. You’re no killer.”
Cort allowed a devious, smug laugh. “True, on both counts.”
“Well, your daddy-in-law, mister Southern boy, is no different than me or the vegetable over there,” said Jonathan as he nodded in Briscoe’s direction. “This whole plan was his idea, I’m told. So you gonna go kill him next?”
“He has to make his own peace,” Cort shot back. “You’re here to pay for what you did to my daughter and my friends. There’ll be no judge and jury for you, Schwartz. Only justice.”
“You don’t have the balls to shoot me, Cortland. You don’t get your hands dirty, just like Trowbridge.”
“Just like you, Schwartz, I command an army. But unlike you, my army believes in the Constitution and America and everything our nation stands for. I aim to restore the freedoms and ideals upon which our nation was founded.”
