Chapter 37
“This is a shortcut,” Robert grunted, as he lowered himself onto the first tilted slab of black rock on the other side of the edge.
“Those guys probably took the long way around because it’s easier, and they had a prisoner to wrangle.
I’ve climbed down this cliff before. There’s a pool halfway down that fills up from the waves.
Makes a nice bathtub. Just step exactly where I step, and don’t fall off. ”
Easier said than done. The lava made for a rough surface, and it was hard to determine what would be a good handhold and what might crumble away to the touch. He watched how Robert moved and tried to imitate the way he tested each step before he committed the weight of his body to it.
Robert was a big guy, both taller and heavier than Lincoln, but he moved with a smooth grace and control that Lincoln couldn’t begin to attempt. He was happy just to stay on his feet, or at least not tumble willy-nilly down the cliff.
“Forgot to mention, better say a quick prayer to TūTū Pele,” Robert said after they’d made it a few yards down. “This is her realm.”
“The volcano goddess?”
“The goddess of fire, volcanos, lightning, wind. She created all this. It was molten lava a thousand years ago. Show some respect.”
“Gotcha.” Maybe in his old life he would have scoffed at the idea of taking a volcano goddess seriously.
But now, as he trusted his life to the support of the hardened magma, he muttered, “If you please, TūTū Pele, please allow us to reach the bottom without killing ourselves. My purpose is worthy.”
Robert grunted as he made a crouching leap onto a piece of pahoehoe lava, the smooth kind, the size of a banquet table.
He turned and waited for Lincoln. “This is the hardest part right here. There’s a crevice you gotta jump over.
Don’t miss or you might end up in a lava tunnel. Ain’t no getting you out of that.”
Great. A lava tunnel. Lincoln glanced down to the shore and saw the Zodiac zooming toward the beach. It looked like a raiding party, it had so many gun-wielding military types onboard.
Even if they made it to the beach before the Zodiac, did they have any chance against so much firepower? Would it be smarter to call in his own mini-army to rescue Rory later on?
No. He had a plan. He just had to execute it.
He jumped. As he soared through the air, he felt weightless for a moment, suspended between place and time, before and after, then and now.
Then he crashed onto the table-like rock, hitting his knee hard.
He started to slip down. When he looked—big mistake—he saw nothing but a deep, dark, endless crack below.
He shivered in horror at the thought of getting stuck down there.
Robert grabbed him by the arm and hauled him the rest of the way up the rock. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Lincoln ignored the pain in his knee. “Thank you.”
“We say mahalo. Or mahalo nui loa, extra big thanks.”
Lincoln let out a breathless laugh. “Mahalo nui loa, man. That was close.”
“Nah, I got you. You good? Ready to go?”
“Yes.” From this new vantage point, he squinted down at the beach below. He could see Rory now, held by two armed men as they waited for the Zodiac to reach the shore. “Is that the path there?” He pointed to what could almost be a trail that wound its way through rocks.
“Yeah, that’s the best route. It’s got some loose little stuff, like gravel, so you gotta watch you don’t slip and fall on your ass.”
Lincoln nodded. “I got it from here. Thanks for getting me this far. Mahalo,” he added.
“You sure?” Robert looked surprised.
“Yes. I don’t want anyone else in danger from all this. It’s my gig. And just in case someone decides to make trouble for the rest, I’d rather have you up there with them.”
“You mean Zara.” Robert grinned.
“Yes, of course Zara, but the others too. I’ll never forget how you all took care of me.”
“Lincoln Log, you’re a good man. Maybe you don’t even believe that, but you are.”
Lincoln wasn’t sure that any words of praise had ever meant so much to him. Although he’d been unconscious at the time, Robert had rescued him from both of his plane crashes. He felt a real need to be worthy of his efforts. “I plan to do my best,” he said. “Wish me luck, man.”
And he climbed off the table onto the next tumble of rocks, aiming for that slender, possibly imaginary trail.
By the time he reached flat ground, his feet were bleeding from an unknown number of cuts; he wouldn’t know how many until he could sit down and take a look.
But he could see why Robert had recommended going barefoot.
Several times, only the grip of his toes curling on the rocks had kept him from catapulting down.
The “trail” had dumped him into a cranny between two boulder-sized rocks, so he was out of sight of Rory and his captors. The sand was black here, unlike on the Kona side, and rough under his wounded feet.
Surprise wasn’t part of his plan, so he simply inhaled a deep breath and stepped from behind the shelter of the rock.
“I’m Lincoln Kerr,” he called, nice and loud, raising his hands in the air.
The two guards spun around, nearly toppling Rory into the sand.
“Tell Tanaka I have a deal for him. Tell him now, on your comms.”
“Lincoln, what the fuck are you doing?” Blood dripped from a cut on Rory’s eyebrow and his upper lip was swelling, but other than that, he looked uninjured.
“Let him go,” Lincoln told the guards. “I know everything Rory knows, but he can’t make a deal. I can and I will. Tell Tanaka.”
It was a gamble. Tanaka must have come after Rory because he hoped Rory had information about the CHUM. Lincoln needed to offer the man something more than that to keep Rory out of his hands.
“What deal?” Rory yelled. “Fuck that.”
One of the guards wrenched Rory’s arm behind his back, while the other stepped a few feet away to talk on his satellite phone. Lincoln caught Rory’s eye and tried to send him reassuring thoughts.
“We should just take you both,” growled the guard still on Rory duty.
“You could. I’m unarmed. But for any deal, this part is non-negotiable. You let Rory go and you take me.”
“What are you up to, Lincoln?” Rory asked furiously. “What deal are you talking about?”
“The kind that keeps you alive.”
Of course Rory would have questions. He had every right to. But Lincoln didn’t want to reveal any more than that. He schooled his face to reveal nothing; he had to hope Rory would trust him.
“What about you?” Rory demanded. “They beat you to a pulp last time. I’m pretty sure those same guys are on that boat itching to do it again.”
“They can.” Lincoln raised his voice. “But the last thing Tanaka wants is for me to die. My death would mean my father would get Higher Ground and everything it has developed. Did you hear that?” he called to the guard. “KiYun Chun will get everything. Make sure Tanaka understands.”
A few interminable moments later, the guard released Rory and gave him a little shove toward Lincoln. Lincoln stepped forward, still keeping his hands in the air to prove he wasn’t trying to torpedo this exchange.
“Keep everyone safe,” he murmured to Rory as they passed each other.
“Don’t sell us out,” Rory growled in response. “Don’t be a fucking billionaire. This is bigger than that.”
“I get it. Trust me.”
Their gazes held. He still couldn’t tell if Rory believed him, and he couldn’t blame Rory for that. His track record wasn’t great, but there was only one way to change that trajectory.
“Tell Zara…” Lincoln shook his head, not sure anything he wanted to say was appropriate.
“Whatever it is, you can tell her yourself as soon as you get back.” Rory gave him a smile, lopsided from some minor swelling. “I gotta say, being in love looks good on you. Now where’s the quickest way up?”
Lincoln pointed out the trail, then limped toward the guards, who were yelling at him impatiently.
He did what they said and climbed into the Zodiac as soon as it was able to beach, if you could call it that.
More accurately, it got wedged between two rocks a few feet from shore while the guard beckoned for him to get in.
At least the salty ocean water felt good on his bloody feet. Who was the goddess of the ocean again, Pele’s sister? Nāmaka, he remembered. Just in case, he muttered a quick prayer to her as the Zodiac skidded across the waves toward the high-powered yacht awaiting them.