The Belial Library (The Belial Series) (14 page)

Henry gestured towards Patrick who was tending to the wounded tribesman a few feet away.  “Probably for the best.  I don’t think Patrick would be up for cold-blooded murder, even against that guy.”

Patrick spoke to the wounded man, clasping his hand and nodding before walking over to Jake and Henry.  He gestured to the man Jake had just questioned. “What are you going to do with that one?”

“We were just
discussing that,” Henry said.

Patrick narrowed his eyes.  “We should probably j
ust put a bullet in his head.”

Jake stared at him in shock.

Anger laced Patrick’s words.  “But I suppose we should let him live.  I’m not helping him, though.  God help me, if I go near him, I may kill him myself.”

“He told us the rest of his men left about three hours ago, heading towards the river. It looks like Laney and Jen escaped wit
h the tribesmen,” Jake said.  

A small smile crept across Patrick’s face.  “That’s my girl.  Let’s hope they keep a
head of them until we arrive.”

Jake nodded.  He was thinking the same thing.

The sun was gone.  What little light was left would be gone within thirty minutes. Jake wanted to keep going, but it would be suicide.  They didn't know the terrain.  The group ahead of them could have easily set traps to cover their trail.  “The day’s gone.  We need to set up camp and get out at dawn." 

He caught sight of Jordan and Mike walking through the rubble, checking each of the bodies.  He nodded towards
them.  “What are they doing?”

“Looking for Jen,” Henry said.
              Jake inhaled sharply. 
Damn
.  “I’ll tell them.”  

Henry put his hand on his arm to stop him.  “Jake, they need to be sure she’
s not here.  Let’s help them.”

Jake nodded, giving instructions to the rest of the team to check the bodies to make sure Jen and Laney weren't among them.  He left Henry to set up camp. 

Then he headed over to Jordan, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find her.  That guy said they left.  They're not here.  But we'll check, make sure.”

Jordan nodded, but his eyes were haunted.  He continued moving through the bodies without a word.  Other members of the team
spanned out to help search.  

Patrick stopped next to Jake, his hands shaking.  “Jake, I know we need to move quickly in the morning, but I’d like to administer the last rites to these people.  And I'd like to do a quick search in the morning, make
sure I didn't miss anyone.”

Jake looked around.  Patrick was right.  They didn't have time for burials, but last rites were the least they could do.  He nodded.  “Okay, but at fi
rst light, we're out of here.”

Henry surveyed the damage around him.  “I’ll stay with Patrick and we’ll catch up with you.  These p
eople deserve a little peace.”

“Okay," Jake agreed be
fore re-joining in the search.

Jake worked his way through the bodies and destruction in the fading light.  A few times, his gut clenched when he saw a dark-haired woman, but none had been Jen.  And none of the bodies had long red hair. 

Darkness fell and he stopped, surveying the sight.  These attackers had been ruthless.    And they were after Laney.  He closed his eyes. 

Hold on a little longer, Laney.  I'm right behind you
. 

CHAPTER 29

Dawn crept through the sky when Hugo halted the men.  They’d searched into the night, using night-vision goggles.  It had been slow and frustrating. 

The natives had been more adept than he’d expected.  They’d set a number of false trails.  Each mistaken path fueled his anger more.  Before last night, he’d intended to kill them.  But now, he was going to enjoy it. 

One of his scouts came running up to him. “Sir, the trail ends just ahead at a cave entrance.”

Hugo grunted.  “Any sign of the natives?”

“Lots of footprints and a trail leads inside the cave.  The scouts didn’t hear anything inside, but we haven’t done a complete search yet.”

“Initiate a search and set up a perimeter.  Let me know when you’ve found them.” He dismissed the man and continued through the foliage.  In another fifty yards, he stepped out of the river. 

He’d checked the map earlier and knew it was the Pastaza River. Looking towards the cave entrance, he noted footsteps led straight to the rock face.  No footprints led away from the spot.  They disappeared right here.

He looked around, not liking it.  This was simply too easy. 

He shook his head.  Of course, they were just a bunch of barely clothed savages.  They probably didn't have the brainpower to get out of a locked room.  Nonetheless, he motioned to the group of five men that stood silently behind him waiting for his orders. 

A short, muscular man stepped forward.  “Sir?”

“Take your men and head upstream two clicks.  Make sure they didn’t leave this spot.  Contact tango team and have them do the same downstream.”

The man gave him a crisp nod.  “Yes, sir.”  With a sharp turn, he walked back to his men.  Hugo nodded his approval.  His men were well trained.  They obeyed without question.

Of course, they were well compensated for that discipline.  He watched as another group of ten entered the cave, their weapons held at the ready.  A wise precaution. 

These savages might be slow, but they’d proven to be innovative fighters.  He scowled as he thought of the tree village fight.  It had been a royal cluster fuck.  He'd been taken unaware by the ingenuity of the tribe.  The forest was their turf and they’d used it to their advantage. 

Eventually he’d prevailed, but not before losing almost a quarter of his men.  And not before his quarry had scurried away. He wouldn’t underestimate them again.

Branches broke behind him and he felt his anger rise.  His scowl deepened as he turned in time to see Warren stumble from the forest, tripping over some underbrush.  His face was a mass of bruises, his nose hidden by bandages, and his fingers splinted.  The man was a complete embarrassment.  How his family had let him live to this age was a complete mystery to Hugo.  He would have strangled him in his bassinet. 

He turned away, dismissing Junior from his thoughts.  He raised his radio to his lips.  “Alpha team report.”

“Sir, we’ve made it through the main cavern.  The space is huge.  No sign of the natives.”

“Keep searching.  Out.”

He clicked off the radio and frowned.  This didn’t feel right.  Damn it.  The area was quiet, with trees lining either side of the embankments.  The cave itself was sitting high up on about twenty feet of rock face.  All footprints led directly to the cave.  He stepped onto the rock plateau. 

He walked to the edge, staring down the river.  Of course, if they’d walked in the river, there'd be no trace of them.  It would only look like they’d stopped here.  His radio came to life.  “Alpha to base.”

“Go ahead, Alpha.”

“Sir, we’ve found, well, it seems to be a gold skeleton in a side room of the cave.”

Hugo jolted at the words.  Perhaps he was wrong.  Perhaps this was the site they were looking for.

“ Can you remove it?”

“It’s in a glass case of some type.  Do you want me to break it?”

He heard a gasp behind him. 

Deveraux ran over to him.  “No. Absolutely not.”

Hugo met Deveraux’s gaze as he spoke into the radio.  “Yes.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Deveraux yelled.  “That is a priceless artifact.”

“Yeah, with a priceless treasure inside.  But you know what?  I’m betting I could find a price I’m happy to trade it for.”

“You’re a barbarian.”

Hugo narrowed his eyes, his tone lowered.  “Be careful how you speak to me, Professor.  Not everybody needs to return from this trip.”

Deveraux paled.  His next words had a tremor in them.  “It’s just an unnecessary destruction.  I’m sure I could find a way to open the case and retrieve the skeleton without harming it.”

“Well, the next thing we find, I’ll give you a crack at.”

Deveraux nodded, turning away. He paused in mid-step, swinging back to Hugo.  “Wait.  Are you saying that’s all they’ve found?”

Hugo nodded, eyeing the concern on the archaeologist’s face.  “Yes.  A giant room and then an alcove off it with the gold skeleton.”

“That’s not right.  Do you have the coordinates of where we are?”

Hugo pulled out his GPS and rattled off the location.  "78’ 13’ degrees West and –"

“3’ 6’ degrees South.”  Deveraux finished for him.

“Correct.  How did you know that?”

Deveraux closed his eyes.  “We’re at the wrong spot.  This is the Tayos Cave.” 

"What the hell’s the Tayos Cave?"

"Back in 1976 a man named Stan Hall led a group of explorers to try and find the Atlantis library.   They never found it.  They did find the Tayos Cave along with a few ancient artifacts.  And, of course, they found the tunnel system that runs underneath almost all of Ecuador."

“So it could connect to the cave we’re looking for?”  Hugo asked.

“Yes, but it would be almost impossible to find.  The tunnel system that links them has never been mapped, nor even fully explored.  It’s also supposed to be booby trapped by the Incans.”

A panicked voice squawked out of the radio.  “Sir.”

“Report,” Hugo barked, an uneasy feeling stealing over him.

“Sir, I have six men down.”

“What the hell happened?’

“I’m not sure.  We were heading through one of the tunnels when all of a sudden some sort of chemical sprayed out from the walls.  Four of us were able to get clear.  But the other six…”

“Yes?”

“They’re dead, sir.”

Hugo gripped the radio.  “Clear out.  Get everyone out of the tunnels.”

“Sir, what about the men?  Should we retrieve their bodies?”

“No.  Leave them.”

There was a pause over the radio.  “Yes, sir.”

Hugo turned to the professor.  “Seems you were right, Professor.  Although an earlier warning would have saved my men and some time.”

Deveraux blanched.  “I couldn’t have known.  You wouldn’t give me a GPS.  How was I to know where we are?”

“Out of my sight, Professor, before I decide to let you see the Incans’ work up close and in person.”

Deveraux scurried away, casting a worried look over his shoulder. 

More men down.  He didn’t mind their deaths.  He did, however, mind the feeling that someone has gotten the best of him. 

“Schedderton.” He barked.

His second in command ran forward, stopping in front of him.  “Sir.”

“We’re going to have to split the group.  You’ll lead your group downstream.  I’ll take the other one upstream.  Bravo and tango teams are already scouting ahead.  Our target has moved on.  We need to run them to ground.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed.”  Hugo stalked towards the riverbank.  He would track them down.  And they would pay for making him search.

CHAPTER 30

Laney slept hard.  When she woke, she felt like she’d aged overnight.  Everything ached. 

Jen let out a small groan from the hammock next to her.  Laney smiled, feeling a little better that Jen was also struggling. 
At least she’s not a superhuman
. 

Starting at the thought, Laney stared at Jen.  Jen hadn’t mentioned her arm since the village.  Nana had given her a new shirt, which covered her wound, so Laney couldn’t tell if it had healed. 

Jen turned to Laney with a grimace.  “I feel like crap.”

Laney laughed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts as she disentangled herself from the hammock. “Same here.” Jen as a superhuman.  Hunger and exhaustion must be messing with her brain.  She was Jen, not one of them. 

A woman walked up and handed them each a mango and a piece of dried meat.  They nodded their thanks.  And then the group started moving into the forest. 

Laney rubbed the back of her neck.  "Here we go again." 

"It can't be as long a walk as yesterday.  Can it?" Jen asked. 

Laney stretched out her legs before following the Shuar into the trees.  "I really hope not.”  She looked around.  “I wonder how the tribespeople they left to defend out backs are faring.”

“We haven’t heard any gunfire, so I’m hoping that’s a good sign.”

Those were the last words they spoke until the sun was high in the sky.  A river could be heard up ahead.

“We must be getting close,” Jen whispered.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Laney said.

They stepped out of the forest and onto a rock shelf.  The river spanned fifty feet across.  A towering wall of rock, at least a hundred feet high, bordered the river on the opposite bank.  Elena and Eddie played along the riverbank with some of the other children.