Other than a nose full of water, Lewis and the girls were fine. A few pieces of burning wood now sizzled in the water, but the explosives Samantha still held had been protected enough to remain intact. Everyone’s ears were ringing as they stood back up, looking at each other with dazed expressions.
Knowing there was no time to waste, Lewis took the shirt containing their makeshift weaponry and began climbing the ladder. Luckily, the rung-less section of the ladder was short enough that Lewis was still able to climb to the top, keeping his feet on the outsides of the remaining rungs as he sped upward. He did his best to combine speed and safety, knowing he had to get to the top fast to defend their position against the gunmen above, but he also didn’t want to blow himself up while climbing.
The scene above was close to apocalyptic. When Lewis tossed the dynamite into the inferno, much of the cabin’s shell was actually still standing. The explosion, however, had thrown the burning logs outward, creating a full circle of destruction. Two of Pierre’s men, one of whom was the helicopter pilot, had been directly in the path of one of the largest logs and were now dead. The four remaining gunmen were burned and battered but managed to miss the majority of the destruction because they were lying behind a rock pile when the mayhem started. That didn’t stop them from spotting Lewis’s head when he poked it out of the now-exposed entrance to the mine shaft.
A wave of bullets stormed towards the hatchway as Lewis ducked back inside, nearly falling off the ladder due to his quick movement. Gonzalez, who was working her way up behind Lewis, was stretching to get past the section without rungs when the ladder jolted sideways, sending her back into the water. Samantha grabbed the ladder, steadying it before Lewis and the explosives did a swan dive of their own. “Are you okay?” Lewis called down.
He didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he pulled the last unaltered stick of dynamite from the makeshift pack and threw it up through the opening, aiming for the spot he had last seen the gunmen. It turned out to be a fairly decent shot for someone who wasn’t able to see his target; the dynamite directly impacting the front of the largest rock in the enemy hideout. The explosion didn’t take out any of the remaining gunmen but it served Lewis’s purpose, causing enough of a distraction for him to climb out of the shaft and find shelter behind an adjacent mound of dirt and rocks.
The battle of the rock piles began. Two of Pierre’s men immediately rushed towards Lewis, firing wildly as they ran. Lewis pulled the first loaded shovel blade from his pack, grabbing it by the tip. Swinging the blade through the air, he brought it down hard on the top of one of the rocks in front of him. The unstable dynamite inside the shovel exploded on contact, sending a deadly shower of rocks forward as the blade kicked back, nearly breaking Lewis’s wrist before he could let go.
The impact with the rock created the equivalent of a massive shotgun blast, the small rock fragments acting like giant BBs as they spread out, creating a swath of destruction. The approaching gunmen were immediately cut down by the rock storm, both sustaining multiple fatal wounds. The final two members of Pierre’s crew watched in shock, unable to comprehend the strange heavy artillery Lewis seemed to possess.
Lewis peered over the rocks to survey the damage, instantly drawing fire from one of the gunmen providing cover for his companion who was rapidly circling around to Lewis’s left. These two seemed more experienced and disciplined than the rest of the crew, and they would be very difficult to beat if they worked together. The gunmen were yelling back and forth in a foreign language, maybe Russian, as they took turns firing in Lewis’s direction, the steady gunfire keeping him pinned down.
Two experienced soldiers versus two customized shovels didn’t seem like a fair fight. Letting the attackers get set up wasn’t going to improve his odds, so Lewis decided to act immediately. The moment the gunfire paused, Lewis threw one of the explosive blades in a high arching toss, aiming for the guy who was circling to his left. A booming explosion followed by a loud yelp told Lewis his toss was on the mark.
Unfortunately, a renewed round of yelling also revealed both attackers were still alive. Lewis could not understand the words being said but he suspected that the discussion centered on the makeshift weapon that had taken the man’s left pinky off. Surely they were figuring out their quarry was not as well armed as they may have expected.
Picking up the pace of the rhythmic gunfire, the assailants took turns firing, covering for each other as they moved forward. Lewis was crouched in a ball, forcing his body into the small shelter provided by the rocks. Time was running out. He clutched the last remaining shovel to his chest, trying to come up with a plan to take out both men with the final weapon. His only real option seemed to be to wait until his attackers were close before detonating the explosives, hoping to take out everyone and, at least, save Gonzalez and Samantha. The gunmen were almost upon him when a shout drew their attention back towards the remains of the cabin.
Gonzalez had climbed out of the shaft and was now running towards the river, yelling as she ran. The ploy worked. Both gunmen spun towards the noise, tracking the source with their rifles. Lewis lunged at the closest man, who was the one down to a single pinky. Swinging the blade as he moved forward, Lewis aimed directly at the assassin’s heavily-scarred face. The gunman caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, quickly sidestepping the blow while knocking the shovel blade to the ground. Lewis was amazed when the blade landed without exploding, having fallen into a small patch of soft sand. Seizing the window of opportunity provided by Lewis’s shock, the brute launched a quick counterattack with the butt of his rifle. Lewis regained his senses in time to spin his head away, just enough to turn what would have been a direct hit into a glancing blow off the left side of his head. He swung his arm up in a defensive motion, knocking the rifle away as both men tumbled to the ground in a heap of kicks and punches.
The other gunman had remained focused on Gonzalez’s bolting figure. He fired a short three-round burst, knocking the beautiful cave diver to the ground in a heap. Before the final bullet casing even hit the ground, the gray-haired gunman was spinning back towards where his nine-fingered friend and Lewis were wrestling on the ground. He smiled an evil grin when he saw his friend had gained the upper hand and was now on top of the man who had caused them so much trouble.
Lewis was able to land a hard punch to his assailant’s temple that would have rendered a weaker man unconscious. This was clearly not the man’s first skirmish as he instantly recovered, swiftly pulling a knife from a sheath on his chest. He swung the knife in a powerful arc towards Lewis’s face. Lewis detected the motion in time to reach up, grabbing the man’s arm with his right hand while shoving hard with his left. This resulted in a twisting motion that spun his attacker sideways. In one smooth motion, Lewis rolled with the man, spinning the knife-bearing arm around and plunging the blade into the commando’s chest, killing him on the spot. Knowing the man’s partner was still behind him, Lewis immediately withdrew the blade and stood, spinning around as he rose.
He was too late. The growling figure was less than fifteen feet away, gun barrel trained on Lewis’s skull. The gunman uttered a few unintelligible words in his native language before saying in accented English, “Drop it.” He gestured towards the knife in Lewis’s right hand. Fifteen feet was too far. Lewis would be cut down before he made it even half way, yet he knew he was dead if he didn’t do something.