CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX #2
Luna watched the eight green blobs closing in on her friends and desperately wanted to hear Boone’s voice.
Of course, she understood that wasn’t possible and would sooner die than bring danger down on any of them.
Instead, she took a deep breath to calm herself, tapped into the inner strength he’d helped her recognize, and focused on providing the team with the best information possible.
“Four tangos moving along the row of rose bushes on the north side, now crossing through the cleared path.” She recognized it from the photo Cole had sent her. “Eddie and Cole, the other four are approximately one klick behind you now.” She continued, “They’re all spreading out and—”
What the hell?
“I lost one of the heat signatures. About fifty yards from the northwest side of the ruins.” She zoomed in, enhanced the image, but still couldn’t locate it. Dammit. “Cole and Eddie, the other three tangos are still moving in your direction.”
“We’ve made it to the main burial chamber.” Boone’s voice echoed off the stone walls, and his flashlight beam circled the room. “There appear to be five separate openings.”
“This one is collapsed in on itself and is totally blocked.” Lucas pointed his flashlight at one and moved closer so Luna could see what they were dealing with.
From what little she could see, it looked like the cave-in happened a long time ago.
“There’s no way the girls are behind there.” Boone verbalized what she’d been thinking.
“Keep looking.” Cole’s direction was deadly calm. “We’ll take care of our visitors.”
“Roger that.” Lucas faced Boone, and his flashlight illuminated part of his face, and she found it oddly comforting. “It might be faster if we split up.”
“You start with that one. I’ll start here.” Boone pointed his light toward one on his left, then to the one on the right. “If we don’t find anything, come back out and move to the next one.”
They were just heading into their respective tunnels when gunshots rang out.
Luna’s attention flew to the body-cam monitors.
“Returning fire.” Cole’s tone remained level, as if he were sitting in his living room watching television instead of engaging in a firefight.
Thwip. Thwip. She heard the distinctive sound of suppressed fire from a sniper rifle.
“Two down, one heading toward the front of the tomb.” Calliope’s matter-of-factness was a testament to her skill and training. “Shit, I don’t have a shot.”
Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.
“Three down,” Viking said. “Fourth guy is heading your way, Hawk.”
“I see him.” He pivoted in the direction of the threat with his gun raised in front of him and waited. The bushes rustled and a man appeared, holding a rifle of some sort. Hawk whistled, and the man spun toward him.
Boom! Boom!
The force of the shots threw the tango back against a tree, and he slid to the ground.
“Clear,” Hawk said.
“Luna, how we lookin’?” Cole asked.
She scanned the area. “One heat signature, near the entrance to the tomb.”
“I see him.” Viking was perched almost directly above him.
Thwip.
“All clear.” Luna scanned the area. “Still no sign of the eighth tango.”
Where the hell could he have gone?
If he was dead, the body would still emit a heat signature until it cooled to the ambient temperature. Even then, it could take anywhere from twelve to twenty-four hours for that to happen.
The guys slowly stood from where they’d been concealed.
“Viking, remain in position and keep your eyes open for more tangos,” Cole said. “Calliope, come down, and you and Eddie make sure our visitors are no longer a threat. Hawk, you’re with me to find that missing tango.”
They all acknowledged Cole’s orders and set about following them. He jogged over to meet Hawk, and they headed in the direction of where their mysterious tango disappeared.
Calliope scurried down the tree and helped Eddie secure the men on the ground with zip ties. Didn’t matter that every single one of them were dead.
“Nothing here.” Boone’s flashlight beam cut through the dust floating in the air of the narrow tunnel, and he swept it from one side to the other, then up and down and over the floor of the empty chamber. “Heading back.”
He jogged back in the direction he started.
“Same here.” The view from Lucas’s camera was nearly identical.
They stepped out of their tunnels and briefly appeared in each other’s cameras before moving to the remaining two tunnels.
“Wait,” Lucas stopped. “Did you hear that?”
Luna turned up the volume and strained to hear.
Boone and Lucas slowly and quietly moved around the circular space.
“There.” Boone pointed at one of the tunnels. “It’s coming from this one.”
They both entered the tunnel and started moving quickly and stealthily toward the sound, their flashlight beams pointed at the ground.
As they progressed deeper into the tunnel, Luna noticed a dim light coming from the far end. They extinguished their flashlights, the tunnel went dark, and they quieted their steps.
She could barely make out the sound of a man’s voice but couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Boone and Lucas closed the space to the opening and stood across from each other with their backs against the tunnel walls.
He held up three fingers.
Luna held her breath as he dropped them one at a time.
Three.
Two.
One.
Both men reacted at the same time and swung their rifles toward the noise.