"Nothing..." he said under his breath.
She gave him an odd look. "Whatever. The driver called Miles, and they've moved to a lodge closer to where the mines are, so that's where we're going."
"Okay," Ian replied, and they started the trip.
__________
"Who was that?" Jason asked Miles when he got off the phone. He turned to face him, tapping the phone against his palm.
"Two of the guys are coming back. Kevin and Hayden left already."
"So, Zoe is coming back?"
"Yeah."
"That's not a good idea," Daphne, the other girl in the group, interjected. "She's just going to slow us down."
"We can't stop her from coming. She was hired," Jason said.
"We're going underground. What if she goes into labor?" she protested.
"She's not even showing yet. Relax," Nicholas said, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, it should be fine..." Miles said, although he did not sound sure of himself at all.
All they had to do that day was rest until the next day, when the first part of their plans would start. Miles still could not get the thought of that farmer bleeding to death out of his head. It seemed like the locals hated outsiders. He wondered how long it would take for them to be attacked by the same people.
He turned to look at his team. Some of them were chatting while others sat alone. His gaze fell on Jody, and they were safe because of her. He tried not to bring himself to think of what would have happened if she hadn't been there to perform that creepy little ritual. Funny how she was one of the people he didn't want on the team when Doug showed him the list.
"They're here," Jody said as a Jeep pulled into the lodge's driveway. They all watched through the window as Ian got down and tried to help Zoe down, but she swatted his hand away and got down by herself. She looked up through the window and made eye contact with Miles, who immediately turned away.
They returned to their normal activities as the two walked up to the door, trying to seem as casual as possible.
"Hi," Zoe greeted as she pushed the door open.
They all looked up at her with faux surprise.
"Wow, you're back?" Daphne asked, sounding both phony and sarcastic. Zoe glanced at her but gave no reply, and she just walked up to Miles, who was trying to avoid eye contact. She turned her neck and saw that Ian was already talking and mixing with the others. It annoyed her that she was being treated like an unwanted fly simply because she was pregnant.
"Miles, I know that you were caught off guard by my...condition, but I can't leave even if you want me to. I'm doing this for both my child and me, so I'll appreciate it if you stopped acting like I have some sort of contagious disease." Zoe started off gently but ended up getting more agitated than she intended.
Miles scratched the back of his head and grinned at her. "Yeah, I'm sorry," he told her and, in a louder voice, said, "Welcome back, both of you. I'll let the others fill you in on what we learned from Jason's doctor friend Samuel. So, get some rest because we start digging tomorrow."
He left the living room for his office to call Doug, who insisted that he checked in with him each day consistently. Miles told him about all the details of the fight and what happened with Jody, and how most of them tried to leave, but only two ended up taking the thousand-dollar deal. He considered asking Doug about Zoe's condition and whether or not he was aware that the woman was pregnant, but he decided against it because it might cost her. They ended the call on an oddly pleasant note, and Miles decided to get some sleep because the next day would be hectic.
__________
They all woke up early, and no one could sleep with the thought of everything they had to do that day. Miles was the first to wake up, and he called the others to join him in the living room.
"Good morning, everyone. I hope you all had a good night's rest because we have quite a lot to get done today. But first, breakfast," he announced with a smile, and a small, dark-skinned woman skipped out of the kitchen toward them.
"This is Mena, and she's going to be our in-house chef for the whole of our stay."
"Hello everyone!" she chirped and received a chorus of hellos. She made them a hearty breakfast of baked beans, bread, mashed potatoes with sausages, and orange juice. They all ate their fill and left the lodge in two Jeeps.
"The first thing we've got to do is create an entrance into those caves. We can't do that on our own, so I already hired some locals who operate heavy machinery. They're going to use a dredger to drill open an entrance for us. You guys are to stay and supervise while I do some investigation. We can handle that, yes?" Miles said into his walkie-talkie and looked at Zoe, who was riding in the same car with him. She rolled her eyes and looked away. They all responded positively.
"Always keep your comms on you at all times, so if anything is happening, everyone knows about it. Got that?"
"Yes, sir," they chorused.
"Good." Miles felt like the morning had started well.
Nicholas was mumbling prayers under his breath, and the others just sat in silence as they drove through the rocky terrain. When they finally reached the site, the dredger and its operators were already there.
Miles gave them the go-ahead to start working. He dropped off the team, put Jason in charge, and drove off to go and speak with the locals in town.
As he drove slowly through the small town, he was surprised just how calm it was, given that there was bloody chaos just the day before. The best place to get information was a marketplace. There were more farmers' markets than grocery stores in the town, so he parked near one and decided to shop for fresh vegetables.
"Good morning," he said to a young woman who was behind a vegetable shed, scribbling something on a note. He put his most charming smile on his face. Miles knew he was good-looking, and he knew how much easier it was to get people to talk to you when you were good-looking.
She looked up and made eye contact with him, then looked back down, carrying on with her scribbling.
"Can I help you?" Her voice was curt, almost dismissive.
He was a bit off-put, but his smile did not falter.
"I certainly hope so. I'm visiting, and I was wondering what delicacies are best here and how I can make them."
"Really?" she responded in mock amazement, then turned to face the other farmers and spoke rapidly in their language. They all laughed in response, and so did she. She met him again with a mocking smile.
"Tell me, umlungu, is it a recipe you want or information about the mines?"
He was taken aback by her brashness, feeling as though his good looks had failed him. He cleared his throat and pocketed his hands.
"Wh-What if I do?"
"It will cost you two thousand rand, no less."
"Two thousand?" Miles exclaimed.
"It's much, is it? You're lucky. If you had met Kagiso over there, he'd charge you five thousand. Do you think you're the first foreigner to come here? You're not." Her voice was a bit harsh, almost accusing. Two thousand rand was nearly one hundred fifty dollars; he spent more on a haircut in the States, but it was a lot in that part of the world.
He clenched his jaw and looked around him, and the other farmers were watching. He turned to face her again, sighed, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He counted ten R200 and handed it to her.
"Eeiii, inkcithoenkulu," she giggled and recounted the money before putting it in her bra. She was all smiles now and proceeded to tell him there was only one survivor of the accident that had happened at the mine and that he was still around. She gave him the man's name, the hospital he was still being treated at, and gave him some vegetables "on the house."
Miles left the place unsatisfied, knowing he had given too much money and gotten too little information for it. The drive to the hospital included him tightening and loosening his grip on the steering wheel and muttering curses under his breath. He hated being cheated on more than anything.
The hospital staff w
as more forthcoming than that woman was. They explained that the man had seizures sometimes and had to be brought into the hospital from time to time. The collapse that long ago affected his mental capacity so much and caused those seizures.
"To be honest with you, Mr. Langa is a loner. Plus, he's always ready to tell anyone willing to listen what happened," the doctor in charge told Miles as they walked to Langa's ward. "Although no one here really wants to listen." They stopped and stared into the ward through a glass barrier. The man on the hospital bed looked thin and tired, and he had tubes sticking in and out of him as well as an oxygen mask over his face.
"Why not?" Miles asked, and the doctor looked at him like he was Hitler reborn.
"It was a dark time in this town's history, Mr. Miles, a very dark time. No one likes to remember dark times...well, except for those that weren't there to witness them," he responded with a forced smile.
Miles nodded, feeling like a fool.
"Well, his condition has improved, and you should be able to speak to him by tomorrow."
"Thank you, Doctor." Miles was grateful and left the hospital to go back to the mines, where he was pleased to see that work had moved at an impressive pace.
"How far along are we?" Miles asked Jason, who approached him as he got down from the Jeep.
"I'd say we're making pretty good progress. The locals said they're stopping work by six no matter what."
"That's alright. We'll continue tomorrow."
Jason nodded and jogged back to the rest of the team. Miles searched for Zoe and saw that she was working with the rest. He couldn't help but be worried about her, but he knew she was stubborn and would pull through just to spite them all.
Miles stayed with them for the rest of the process until the local dredgers stopped at precisely 6 p.m. They all packed up their things and left one after the other.
"What do you guys want to do?" Miles asked as they walked to the Jeeps, all of them completely exhausted.
"I feel like it's only appropriate that we celebrate our groundbreaking. It only gets tougher from here," Jason suggested.
The others seconded the idea. One of the locals had told them about a pub near their lodge, so they stopped there on the way.
"Now this is more like it," Ian announced and found himself an open booth where the others sat.
"I guess we're all having beers, right?" Ian asked, beckoning a waitress.
"Not me," Zoe said.
"Or me," Hakeem added. They looked at each other and smiled.
"Okay...anyone else?" Ian asked, but no one else spoke, so they got six beers. Zoe ordered water with lemon, and Hakeem ordered a Coke.
"So," Miles started when they had all settled down, "I went around town looking for information. Had to give a substantial amount of bribe for it, but I found someone who can tell us more about what happened at the mines."
"Really? Who?" Jason asked.
"His name is Langa, and he's a local. He's in that hospital, and I couldn't speak with him today, but I was asked to return tomorrow. Hopefully, I get something useful out of him."
"Oh, that's great," Jason responded. They ordered chicken wings and ate and drank while they chatted. Miles was glad to see that they were bonding, and the tension from before was gone.
It was 9:30 by the time they were leaving the pub. Zoe and Hakeem had to drive the Jeeps since they were the only ones who did not drink. Even Miles got slightly tipsy. When they got home, everyone went straight to sleep.
__________
The next day, Miles was the last person to leave the house. He had instructed the others to go before him since he planned to head straight to the hospital to talk to the former miner.
Mena fixed him a super greasy breakfast to soak up the alcohol he had consumed the night before. He ate it with glee and thanked her, then left the lodge.
The day was slightly drizzly, and he wondered if that would affect the dredging. So far, so good, the mining was moving at a consistent pace. He hoped that it continued that way. Then he remembered he did not call Doug the night before. He would have an earful later, but he could not worry about that at that moment.
By the time he arrived at the hospital, the drizzle had turned into proper rainfall. His worry about the mine increased. He parked his car and jogged to the hospital.
"Good evening. I'm here for Langa. I saw Dr. Joseph yesterday, and we spoke about—"
"Oh…" The attendant he was speaking to interrupted him and looked at her colleague. "You weren't informed?"
"Informed about what?" Miles's heart skipped a few beats. He had a couple of missed calls and unreplied texts on his phone that he did not want to worry about just yet.
"Mr. Miles," the doctor spotted him from afar and called out. Miles turned to face him and saw that his face was solemn and drawn. Miles walked up to him, and they exchanged pleasantries.
"I'm sorry, but Langa passed away late last night. I tried calling the number you gave me, but it was not going through."
"He passed away? How?" Miles was stunned because, according to the doctor, he was stable. Which killed him in twelve hours?
The news shocked Miles very profoundly. He could not hear anything else the doctor said. He thanked him and walked out of the hospital, then let the rain soak him as he walked to the Jeep. Once he got inside, he tried to collect himself again. There was no way there wasn't foul play. His phone buzzed in his pocket.
"Hello?" he answered. It was Doug. Miles felt a bit of relief to hear his voice. He proceeded to tell him everything that had happened.
11
Chapter Eleven
North Johannesburg
South Africa
A blue pickup truck, with the company logo boldly printed on the sides, pulled up in front of the lodge. Miles came out, tapped on the vehicle's body twice, and the driver continued eastward on the dusty road. Members of his team were relaxing at a porch close to a guava tree. Their voices were eclipsed by the sounds of Caribbean music playing from a big stereo. Nicholas was saying something, apparently making fun of one of the men that tried to imitate a salsa dance while the others laughed so hard, it made Miles wonder if he should still tell them what he saw at the hospital.
He stood still for some time and covered up his thought with a smile before going into the lodge. Nicholas had spotted Miles. He left the others to check on their captain.
Miles sank into a chair in his small room. Those people might still be alive if words hadn't fallen in the wrong ears. He could try to fish out where the leak was; he couldn't afford to work with people he couldn't trust.
Nicholas entered after a tap on the door. Miles sighed as he saw him. Even though he wanted some time alone, he couldn't resist the joy exuding dwarf the infectious smile he spread as he walked in. He liked having Nicholas around. Everyone did. Nicholas had a way of drowning the sadness out of any space he found himself.
"Signor?" Nicholas said in his thick Spanish accent. He communicated with Miles in fluent Spanish. "Why didn't you join us?"
"Wasn’t in the mood, sorry," Miles replied in Spanish.
"Did you leave the mood in America? Listen, I know we are on the job, but you need to start blending with folks. Happiness doesn't kill."
"Well, it does," Miles sighed and sniffed. "I threw myself into the happiness that you're speaking of last night, and today, two lives were lost."
"What? What do you mean?"
"We have a mole amongst us. Well, not in our team anyway. Someone from Jason's team must have heard me say something about a survivor at the hospital. I went there today, and their corpses have already been deposited at the morgue. Listen, I'm telling you this in trust. This might be a job to most of you, but it's more than that to me. Many would do anything to ensure our mission here doesn't end well. I have no idea what is waiting for us inside that cave."
"Have you told Jason of this?"
"No, you're the only one, Nick."
___________
Xhosa Hill
<
br /> North Johannesburg, South Africa
The beautiful sunny intrusion through the window, the taste of cocoa, the greenness outside, and the colorful sky might have been nature trying to remind Miles and his team to hope. Of course, by now, a few others would have heard the rumor of a mole. Miles could tell from the distrusting glances that his team was beginning to cast on anything un-American that passed by. Even Jason wasn't spared such glances as he came by to inform Miles of the progress report.
"Hey, they made a hole; a few centimeters, but it's wide enough."
"Thanks," Miles replied.
Miles, Hayden, and Jody accompanied Jason to inspect the progress that the dredgers had made. The hole was wide enough for two people to pass through, but it wasn't safe yet. The dredgers and other heavy-duty vehicle operators continued to work on it until Jason asked them to stop. The cave had been left in ruins after their rescue operations.
Miles and the others entered the cleared tunnel. They were a few feet into the tunnel when Miles held Hayden back.
"You're not going in there without a safety helmet," Miles said aloud, but when he had drawn close to him, he whispered some instructions to him.
Jason had no safety helmet too, but it didn't bother Miles. Some passages were narrow because of several obstructions. It would take weeks to dredge through the passages thoroughly. But every wait was a risk.
Jody found a surveillance camera in between two large pieces of rocks. She reached her hands for it to force it out.
"Wait," Jason said, pulling one of the rocks apart to ease the removal.
Jody didn't waste time handing it over to Miles.
"Where is the storage unit for this?" Miles asked.
"Follow me." They followed Jason out of the tunnel and continued toward a building that looked like a warehouse. The colossal iron door was left ajar. As soon as Jason opened the door fully, Hayden came out, almost colliding with Jason.
The Lost Treasure of the Aztec Kings Page 10
