Everyone seemed to be paying attention, and nobody had puked, so Gonzalez moved on. “The most important rules in cave diving are: don’t panic and don’t lose the line,” she said as she held up her cave reel of braided nylon cord. “Whenever we move in the cave, I will go first and let out line from this reel as I go. You will follow me, gently looping your fingers around the line. Don’t grab the line! Don’t pull on the line! Just follow it! If you break the line or the line gets cut because you are messing with it, people may die!”
Miller was not looking so good. Lewis could see beads of sweat streaming down the professor’s face despite the early morning chill. Caution was important, but extreme apprehension could make the situation worse. “You’ll do fine, Doc,” he whispered, giving Miller a pat on the back. “I’ll be right behind you if anything goes wrong. Like Jennifer said: just stay on the line.”
“Let’s get everyone down to their tarp,” Gonzalez continued. “We’ll make final adjustments and I’ll answer any questions before we try a test dive.”
As the team members spread out to find which pile of gear was theirs, Lewis heard the thumping of rotor blades coming up the canyon. Seconds later, the black helicopter from yesterday appeared; the doors were open and a dark silhouette leaned out each side. Stonewood cursed then yelled to his men, “Get ready!”
Lewis was about to ask what that meant when he heard the distinct sound of automatic rifle fire coming from the helicopter. Seconds later, the boat’s windshield erupted into shards of glass as bullets pounded the boat randomly, eventually concentrating on the engine compartment. Lewis and most of the others dove behind some rocks for cover; Craig used his body to shield Stonewood.
Lou had followed Stonewood’s other men to the tents, and his rapid pistol fire from the doorway of the largest tent drew the helicopter’s attention. Lewis could see Captain Bob and another of Stonewood’s men working their way behind the tents with pistols drawn. The situation was out of control, but Lewis felt this might be his only chance.
Samantha had pure terror in her eyes as she crawled up to Lewis, asking in a pleading voice, “Do you have a weapon?”
Lewis was able to stifle his rising fears, putting his mind to work. As he peeked over the rock at the helicopter, he replied, “Well… I used to have a speargun, but I used that to shoot a log.” Lewis’s eyes settled on the boat less than 20 feet away; it should have what he needed. “I’m going for the boat!” he hollered over the mayhem as he sprang from their hiding spot and sprinted off. Pierre and Gonzalez followed right behind, each diving into the back of the boat and scrambling into the perceived shelter of the cabin.
Lewis went right to the flare gun he’d seen in the side cubby. He opened it, making sure it was loaded before grabbing two additional flares out of one of the cup holders. “This may not be the safest place,” Lewis said, tilting his head towards a series of bullet holes in the ceiling.
Gonzalez looked a little skeptical when she noticed the flare gun. “Signaling for help? I don’t think anybody will make it in time.”
“I agree, but I figured being armed would improve our odds a bit.”
Pierre seemed to be enjoying the adrenaline but his eyes showed true fear. “A flare hardly evens things up.”
Lewis winked, and then peered out the side window, noting that Lou and two others were down — dead or injured, he couldn’t tell. At that moment, Captain Bob leapt from behind one of the tents, firing at the tail rotor. It was a valiant effort, but the gunman on the left side was too quick; a short burst of gunfire toppled the captain in his tracks.
Lewis knew that it was now or never. He shot the first flare straight into the air as a distraction, before quickly reloading and diving through the remains of the front window onto the bow. The helicopter pilot followed the movement of the flare, rotating the aircraft towards the flash, giving Lewis just the angle he needed. The left gunman spotted Lewis as he began to raise the flare gun towards the open doorway. The gunman raised his rifle, lining the sights up with Lewis’s skull. His eyes widened in a final surprise as Lewis’s flare beat him to the punch, bouncing off the gunman’s forehead before erupting against the ceiling of the helicopter’s cabin.
The explosion startled the pilot, causing him to jerk the helicopter back over the river. Smoke filled the entire cabin, obscuring the pilot’s view as he struggled to regain control. The tail rotor barely missed Lewis, who was still standing on the bow of the boat, as the helicopter circled wildly. Lewis jumped from the boat and watched as the wounded chopper’s next circle was wider and more out of control. The third loop brought it directly into the opposite wall of the canyon, where it exploded into a giant fireball, knocking everyone to the ground and raining flaming debris into the river.
Lewis rolled onto his side and sat up, scanning the scene around him. Gonzalez and Pierre were peering over the side of the boat; both looking a little shell-shocked, but basically okay. The group that had remained hidden behind the rocks was now on the move. Miller and Samantha were leading the way to the boat, with Stonewood following a ways back in a low crouch. Craig had gone the other way and was approaching the tents.
Lewis got up and ran across the sand to meet Craig. Exchanging a worried glance, they approached the first body. It was Lou. Lewis checked for a pulse but found none. It didn’t take long to confirm that Captain Bob and the others were dead as well. Lewis and Craig were outraged at the needless killings, but the target of each man’s outrage was markedly different. Craig cursed the flaming black helicopter and its former occupants. Lewis turned back towards the boat.
“Stonewood!” Lewis bellowed, “look what your ridiculous timeline and greed have done!”
Stonewood remained in a state of total shock, huddled against the side of the boat, staring at the remains of the helicopter and unable to speak. His gaze slowly shifted towards Lewis, who had grabbed him by the shoulders, shoving him against the side of the boat. Lewis felt like strangling the idiot who had gotten them all into this, but paused when he heard a new sound coming from down the canyon.
Craig’s head whipped around as he heard it too. Jet boats were coming up the river fast; it didn’t seem likely they were a welcoming party. Craig checked his pistol, finding it out of bullets. Lewis released Stonewood, who collapsed back into the sand. There wasn’t much time.
“Gas cans!” Lewis shouted to Pierre and Gonzalez, pointing to two metal jerry cans bungeed to the back of the boat. Gonzalez was quick to react. She unhooked the cord and lifted both cans out to Lewis, who immediately removed the caps and tossed the cans into the river.
At that moment, two jet boats, with gunmen already in firing positions on the front decks, rounded the bend in the river. They would reach the beach in a matter of seconds.
Even if the boat itself was no longer functional, Pierre didn’t understand the logic behind throwing away the extra fuel. Was it that Lewis just didn’t want to share with the assassins after they had killed everyone? The plan made sense, however, when he saw Lewis raise the flare gun, firing his last remaining flare into the spreading pool of gasoline. The approaching boats had no choice but to turn and retreat as a wall of flame chased them back down the river.