Chapter 22

 

The men headed to a suburb high in the hills outside of Cusco. Joe could see the red roofs of the city behind them, but his focus was on the green hills in front of him. About two miles outside a tiny village that considered itself a suburb of Cusco—if the sign was anything to go by—Ed turned the SUV into a narrow dirt road.

“There only one road into this area?” Ryan asked from the back seat.

“There’s another on the other side of the caves,” Ed said as he negotiated the bumps.

“I don’t like it,” Callum said from the passenger seat. “We’re further from the city than I thought we’d be. It means we’d be riding without cover for a good chunk of the journey.”

“The other road is better,” Ed said.

“Then why didn’t we take the other road?” Ryan asked.

“Longer. This way is faster.”

Joe kept his eyes glued to the windows while he dug out his phone. He switched it on and hit the speed dial for Julia. No answer. Joe felt the hairs on his arms stand to attention. Julia would answer her phone. It was constantly with her, in that big, bottomless bag she hauled everywhere.

He tried again, but still no answer. He cut the call and rang Elle. He got voicemail. Now his sixth sense was screaming at him. Something was wrong. He knew it. He tried Julia again. Still no answer. He’d give it another couple of minutes, and if he still couldn’t contact the women, he’d tell Callum they had to go back.

“The caves are up ahead, beyond that hill,” Ed said. “It’s said they were used during the Spanish-Incan wars. The Incas would lie in wait for the Spaniards in the crevices of the rocks.”

Something in Ed’s voice didn’t sound right. The car swerved around a curve in the road, hugging a small hill. Large rocks appeared on the landscape. The grey stones jutted out of the earth at random angles, sharp and deadly in appearance.

“You said nobody comes up here?” Callum asked, his tone perfectly level, but Joe knew him well enough to pick up that he was worried about something too.

They were all getting edgy. One glance at Ryan told Joe he was alert too. Their trained senses were flashing alarms at them, telling them something wasn’t right. But what? Joe scanned the barren landscape. If there was a threat, it was well hidden.

“Nobody comes here,” Ed answered Callum.

A buzz from Joe’s phone almost made him sag with relief, but when he looked at the text, it had come from Elle, not Julia. And what it said made his heart stop.

This is Julia. Ed’s mother never left Lima. She couldn’t have taken him to these caves. I think he called Esteban. There are men here looking for us. I think he sold us out. You are in danger.

Joe looked at his old friend as he drove them into the middle of nowhere. Was Julia right? Had Ed sold them out? Who did he trust? Ed or Julia? There was no contest. Julia would never send him that message unless she was absolutely certain.

“Callum?” Joe kept his voice even and calm. “While I remember, you got a call from Stu Creek. He said to call him back ASAP. Sounded like he was desperate.”

Joe glanced at Ryan. The man had transformed, his easy-going demeanour replaced by one of pure determination. He slipped his gun out of its holster and nodded to Joe as he did the same. They’d both gotten Joe’s crude message—they were up shit creek; get ready fast; things were going to get bad.

“I’ll give him a ring soon as I can.” Callum kept his voice neutral.

Joe felt his body tense for action. “I’d do it fast. There’s something about that guy I just don’t trust.”

“Maybe I’ll give him a call now?” Should we do something now?

“That’s a good idea,” Joe agreed.

Fast as lightning, Callum reached out and grabbed the wheel, making the car swerve suddenly to the left. Ed pulled back his elbow and hit Callum hard. The Scot dodged the blow, and it glanced off his head. Joe cocked his gun and pressed it into the side of Ed’s neck.

“How many?” he demanded.

“It’s too late.” Before they realised what Ed planned to do, he blasted the horn.

Joe used the butt of his gun to knock out the man he’d thought was a friend. Ed slumped over the wheel. Callum leaned over Ed and threw open the driver’s door. He pushed Ed out.

Callum climbed into the driver’s seat and gunned the engine as a dozen armed men emerged from the rocks. Joe ducked down as bullets flew. Ryan wound down his window and fired back.

“Um, I don’t know if I should mention this, boss,” Ryan said as he took out one of the men, “but should you be driving? On account of you not actually having any real legs and this car being a stick shift.”

“My fake legs are going to kick your arse once we get out of here.” Callum thrust the car into reverse.

“Sorry I mentioned it,” Ryan muttered as he took another shot.

The car bolted backwards. Callum held on to the passenger seat headrest as he navigated by looking out of the back window. Joe held on tight. They were tossed up into the air and came down hard on a large clump of grass.

“How many?” Callum asked.

“At least ten, not counting Ed.” The words twisted in Joe’s gut.

“Put it out of your mind,” Callum ordered. “Deal with it later. Right now we need to focus on the facts. We’re outnumbered. Outgunned. And this car is crap.”

As if to prove his statement, the car hit a ridge and went sailing through the air before landing with a crash against one of the huge grey rocks.

Joe shook his head to clear it. “Anybody injured?”

“Does a serious case of whiplash count?” Ryan scrambled out of his door.

“Whiney wee fart,” Callum said as he climbed out and hunkered down beside the car. “Right, we’re miles out of the city, but there was that wee village a ways back, the one Ed called a suburb.”

“Not sure we can trust Ed’s information anymore.” Ryan peeked over the ridge.

“Like it matters if it’s a suburb or not. Will you stop messing around and focus?”

Joe wondered if he should step between the two men. “Plan?”

“We head to the village,” Callum said. “If we get a chance, we take one of their guys with us. I have a few questions for him.”

Joe inclined his head towards Callum’s prosthetic legs. “You gonna manage this terrain?”

“I bloody well have to, don’t I?”

“I’ll take point, you follow. Ry? You bring up the rear.”

“No prob,” Ryan said. “We’ve got incoming. They’re still a distance away, but moving fast.” He grinned at them. “Better run, boys.”

They took off at a pace Joe knew must have been murder on Callum’s damaged legs, but he never slowed or said a word of complaint. Joe led them into a maze of rock formations that looked like slabs of concrete reaching for the sky.

“Anybody else feel like they’re an extra in Planet of the Apes?” Ryan said.

They squeezed through the narrow passageways and clambered over the boulders in their path. Without comm units, they had to rely on hand signals to communicate. Silence was the key. And although their pace was slower than Joe would have taken it alone, Callum didn’t make a sound.

They heard men move through the natural maze behind them, getting closer. Scrambling over a series of rocks, they made their way towards a wide gap in the wall of stone. Through the gap were open fields and distant houses.

“I see a road,” Joe mouthed.

“How far?” Callum mouthed back.

“Fifteen minutes’ run.”

Callum set his jaw. He grabbed the rock to his left to haul himself up over the boulders in their path. As he put his weight on the top of the stone in front of him, his foot slid. He fell forward. Joe was close enough to catch him before he hit the rock. But he wasn’t fast enough to stop Callum’s leg from getting wedged between two huge boulders.

Voices were getting closer. They were running out of time. Callum tugged at his leg, but it didn’t move. Ryan tried to lever it out, but it was wedged tight.

“Leave me,” Callum ordered.

“Don’t be an ass,” Joe said. “Unstrap the leg. We’ll carry you.”

“Too heavy. I’ll slow you down. Can’t risk it. Give me your backup ammo and I’ll hold them off while you sprint for the road.”

“To hell with that.” Ryan produced a flip knife from his pocket and sliced through Callum’s jeans. As soon as he saw the prosthetic straps, he sliced through those too.

For a second, Joe thought Callum was going to kill Ryan.

“We don’t leave anyone behind,” Ryan said. “We’re all for one and one for all. We’re the bloody musketeers.”

Joe cracked a smile as he thrust his shoulder under Callum’s arm. “Hold on. You’ve got one leg; you can still take your weight. I’ll balance you out.”

Grim and furious, Callum did as he was told. They ran as best they could, with Ryan watching their backs. If they were slow before, now they were crawling. But they made it through the opening in the rocks and into the field.

“Bushes,” Callum said. “We have to go low.”

They rushed for the first set of bushes that could cover them.

They were hidden just as Esteban’s men emerged from the rocky maze.

 

 

“Is it safe now?” Patricia whispered into the blackness.

“I don’t know,” Julia said. “I haven’t heard anything for a while, but they could be waiting for us. We’ll give it a little more time.” For once in her life, sitting in a small space in the dark wasn’t a relaxing experience.

“Did you hear that?” Elle whispered.

They were silent, straining to hear. Julia was about to tell Elle she’d imagined it when she heard a scraping sound. They froze, each of them trying to become invisible in the dark stairwell.

“It’s probably a rat,” Patricia said hopefully.

“Big rat,” Elle said. “Maybe we should go back out into the chapel.”

It was time to confess. “I don’t know how to open the door from the inside,” Julia said.

There was a heavy silence.

“Get out your gun,” Elle said at last. “Give it to me. You two sit behind me and I’ll shoot anyone who comes at us.”

“Have you used a gun before?” Julia whispered.

“No. Have you?”

“No. Gran, have you?”

“Do I look like Wyatt Earp?”

There was another pause. “Does anyone know how to switch the safety off?” Elle asked. “It won’t fire with it on.”

Julia and Patricia made muffled groaning sounds.

“If you don’t know how to work a gun, why do you have one?” Elle was beginning to sound irate.

“Joe made me take it. He asked if I knew how it worked. I said yes, because I thought he meant the theory of the thing. I know how it works in theory, but I don’t know how to handle one practically. Before I could explain that, he was gone.”

“I’m going to talk to your mother when we get out of here,” Patricia said. “Between this and your taste in underwear, you may as well have been raised by gorillas in the wild.”

“Shh!” Elle said. “I think I hear footsteps.”

They didn’t have to strain to hear them this time. There were footsteps and they were getting closer. Julia held the gun tight. She wouldn’t be able to fire it, but she could throw it at whoever turned up.

“Señorita Collins?” a female whispered. “Are you there? It is Maria, from management.”

“Maria?” Julia stage-whispered, hoping it wouldn’t travel through the painting into the chapel.

A beam from a flashlight appeared. The holder aimed it up the stairs before turning it on herself. Julia almost cried at the sight.

“Come.” Maria motioned with her hand. “I saw you come in here and knew you must have been hiding. I will show you the way out.”

The women didn’t have to be told twice. They practically tumbled down the stairs in their eagerness to get to Maria.

“Thank you, Maria,” Julia said. “For this and for calling to warn us.”

“De nada. Follow me. Stay close—there are holes in the floor in some places. I will take you to one of the hidden exits. I have a key. It will take you out to a corridor inside the church of Las Damas De Nuestro Señor.”

“Part of the old convent?” Julia said.

“Si. The monks and nuns used to meet up through this secret tunnel. There were many miraculous births in the convent. It was very famous for it.” There was amusement in the brave woman’s voice.

“Have the men gone?” Julia said. “The ones chasing us?”

“I think they have gone from the hotel, but they could have someone watching. That’s why it’s safer to go this way. These are not good men, señorita. They are well known for doing some very bad things.”

“I know.” Julia placed a hand on Maria’s arm. “We can’t thank you enough.”

“It is the right thing to do.” They’d reached a heavy wooden door that was centuries old and warped with time.

Maria produced a massive iron key and turned the lock. The door didn’t make a sound when it opened. “We keep all doors in good condition,” she explained. “You never know when you will need them.” The door opened onto a dark passageway. “Take my flashlight. I can find my way out from here in the dark. It is not so far.”

Julia gratefully accepted the gift.

“Follow this corridor to the end, where you will find stairs. At the top of the stairs there are two doors. Take the left one. It will take you through the back of the church to the outer door. You will be able to get a taxi on the street there.”

“The rest of our group?” Julia’s stomach clenched at the thought of Joe walking into another trap.

“We have people waiting to intercept them before they approach. And we will pack up your belongings and send them to your home address.” Maria hesitated. “I don’t think we can mail the mummy.” She sounded so apologetic that Julia almost laughed.

“You might want to hand that over to a local museum. They’ll find a good home for it.”

“Si, this I will do.”

“Thank you, for everything.” Julia reached out and squeezed Maria’s hand.

“I wish you well and hope you stay safe,” Maria said.

Julia stepped into the corridor and waited for the others to follow. Patricia stopped at Maria and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Watch the mail, young lady. There will be a huge tip coming your way.”

They closed the door to Maria’s tinkling laugh.

The corridor was much longer than Julia thought it would be. They didn’t say a word until they started climbing the stone stairs to the convent chapel.

“Anyone else thinking about those randy nuns and monks?” Elle said.

They pushed through the door Maria had told them to take and found themselves behind the pulpit in the chapel. The exit was on the left, and Julia couldn’t help but notice that the women’s chapel wasn’t anywhere near as ornate as the men’s. Maybe they didn’t have as much money to decorate, seeing as they had all those extra mouths to feed? She tried to busy her mind thinking about living in a place like this, but it made no difference—it kept steering her back to Joe.

Had he gotten her message? Was he safe? Was he hurt? Her stomach spasmed at the thought, and she reminded herself that Joe knew what he was doing. He was trained, experienced and smart. She had to trust in him and believe he’d be fine.

Rushing across the chapel, they pushed through the exit onto a busy street. There was a line of taxis waiting, and they climbed into the back of the first one.

Once inside, the three women looked at each other.

“Where are we going?” Elle said.

“I don’t know,” Julia said. “I think the men will probably check the hotels.”

“The central plaza,” Patricia said. “It’s always busy, and we can hole up in the cathedral, or one of the restaurants and bars.”

When they readily agreed, Patricia told the driver to head to the Plaza de Armas. As soon as he drove into the traffic, the women ducked down to hide. Julia pulled out her phone. She had to make sure Joe had got her text. She had to make sure he was safe. Joe was out in the middle of nowhere with a man he thought was his friend, but who’d allied himself to Carlos Esteban.

She tapped his image on the screen of her phone as they rushed through the busy streets.

 

 

Joe, Callum and Ryan were hunkered down behind a copse of prickly bushes, their guns trained on the men who poured from between the giant slabs of rock. Seven, Joe noted. They’d reduced them by three and there was no sign of Ed. Whether that meant he was elsewhere or his new comrades had turned on him, Joe didn’t know.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Callum signal at him.

We hide. Wait.

Joe nodded his agreement. They sure as hell couldn’t run for it. He watched as Esteban’s men spread out, shouting out to each other, not even trying to keep quiet. They thought they had the upper hand. Joe liked to think they didn’t. As some of the men made their way off in the opposite direction, the number who were close enough to be an immediate threat was reduced.

Things were looking up.

And then his phone rang.

He scrambled for it and shut it off, but it was too late. Esteban’s men were running towards them.

“I’ll hold them off,” Callum said. “You two circle around. Take out as many as you can.”

Joe and Ryan didn’t have to be told twice. They ran, crouching low, in opposite directions, flanking their enemy, as Callum started to fire. Their boss was lying flat on his belly, firing with his arms out in front of him, making himself as small a target as possible.

Joe moved fast and silent, his breath eerily steady, his heartbeat calm. He was trained for this and he had confidence in his experience. He came up on the first man as he ran down a steep verge. Joe slipped his gun into the waistband of his jeans and pulled his knife out from a sheath strapped to his shin. He pounced on the man, attacking from behind, one hand covering his mouth as the other stabbed up and into his heart. A sharp, perfectly placed strike. He lowered the man to the ground and moved on to the next one.

Gunfire rang out. Esteban’s men were focused on dodging bullets and getting to Callum’s hiding spot. It never occurred to them that their prey wasn’t waiting for them. It was clear this so-called army of Esteban’s weren’t trained. They might have been experienced in violence and blood, but they didn’t think strategically.

Joe took out another two men, while Callum’s bullets caught two more. One was writhing on the ground holding his leg. Joe crouched as he ran over to the man. He knocked him out and took his gun.

“Behind you!” The call came from the other side of the bloody field.

Joe spun and shot.

Hitting Ed square in the chest.

Ed looked down at the wound. The gun in his hand fell to the grass. Ed followed, his knees hitting the earth with a thud.

“Joe?” His eyes began to glaze over.

“Why, Ed? Why, dammit?” Joe caught his one-time friend and lowered him to the ground. He ripped off his own t-shirt and wadded it up, holding it to the wound. But he knew his efforts were futile. It was a lethal shot. “Tell me why, old friend.”

Ed started to smile and then coughed. Blood trickled from his lips. “Money.”

“Money?” Joe wanted to roar at the stupidity.

“You don’t live here.” Ed’s voice was barely a croak. “It’s hard here without enough money.”

“Damn, Ed, you’re a lawyer. You aren’t selling trash from the city dump.”

Ed tried to shake his head, but couldn’t. “Corrupt. Everything corrupt. Need money to live well. Need money to buy…favours…to…be…happy…here…”

And then he was gone. Joe stared at the man he’d trusted, not only with his life, but the life of the woman he loved. A man who came from the same background as he did, who’d been trained in honour. A man who should have stood for something. Who could have stood for something. Instead, he’d sold himself for nothing.

“Joe,” Ryan said flatly.

“I’m coming.” Joe stood, feeling as though the air around him was pushing him back down.

Ryan was several feet behind Joe. There was blood on his hands. He gave Joe a look that was far too understanding.

“You had no choice.”

Joe jerked his chin up. That didn’t make it any easier. He looked down at Ed’s body. It was wrong to leave him lying in a field. Every cell of his being wanted to carry him back to Lima for a proper burial.

“You can’t,” Ryan said, reading his mind.

With no vehicle, Callum incapacitated and who knew how many more of Esteban’s men out there, they couldn’t afford to take Ed with them.

“This wasn’t him,” Joe said. “The Ed I knew, back in the corps, wouldn’t have sold us out.”

Ryan clasped Joe’s shoulder. “I liked him.”

“Yeah.” Joe ran a hand down his face. “He was the one who told me that honour wasn’t a code for a marine—it was his soul.”

He clenched his fists, angry at Ed. Angry at the choices he’d made and the actions he’d forced Joe to take. Angry at the waste of a good man. A waste that would haunt Joe for the rest of his life.

“He lost his soul.” Joe looked at Ed one last time. “I’ll come back for you.”

Ryan didn’t say anything.

“Let’s go.” Joe would deal with his guilt and the ghosts that followed him later. There was nothing else he could do for Ed now.

They jogged to the bush where Callum lay flat on his back. “Out of ammo.” He held up his gun.

“You okay?” Joe leaned down to help him up.

“No. The bastards shot my leg.”

Ryan and Joe stilled, both of them looking down. There was no blood.

“Did they get the plastic part, Callum?” Ryan asked sweetly.

“Shut up.”

Of course, Ryan didn’t shut up. “I’d think you’d be happy that they didn’t hit the bit that’s still attached to you. The bit that bleeds. Remember that bit?”

“If I didn’t only have one leg, I’d kick your arse.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Ryan put his shoulder under Callum’s arm and took his weight. “Isn’t there a really bad joke about a man with one leg?”

“Do. Not. Go. There.”

“Maybe once this is all over we can stop off in the States on the way home and grab some dinner at IHOP?”

“You want to be fired, don’t you?”

“I’ve just thought of something else,” Ryan said with a wide grin. “Shouldn’t a guy in your position have bulletproof legs? Oh! Wait! You could get them made with compartments and store stuff in them.” Ryan looked awestruck. “Dude, you could be the Bionic Man. Or even better—Inspector Gadget.”

“That’s it, you’re fired. Consider yourself out of a job.” From the ferocity of Callum’s growling voice, Ryan was lucky Callum didn’t just shoot him.

“Boss, you fire somebody during every one of our ops. We consider it a sign of affection.”

“This is only our second bloody op!”

“Yeah, and how many people have you fired and rehired so far? I’m the fifth.” He patted Callum’s chest. “You have issues. You might want to see a counsellor.”

Joe tuned them out as they walked towards the road, leaving a field of death and a man who’d been a friend, behind them.

He dug his phone out to see who’d called. It was Julia. Joe put the phone to his ear to hear the voicemail she’d left. It started with, “We’re okay, don’t worry,” and went downhill from there.

“We need to speed things up. The women were attacked at the hotel. They got out and they’re hiding in plain sight with the other tourists. You two get a move on and I’ll get us a car.” He ran towards the dirt road and the small village beyond.

Nothing mattered to him more than getting to Julia. She needed him. And Joe desperately needed her.