“I was motivated, but it also took five hours… You’ll need help humping our gear. Let me send Estefan after he’s secured our prisoners. In a dead run, he could be there in ninety seconds. I’ll kill the lights and wait just outside the door where I can keep eyes on the office and the barracks. He’ll be on his way in under one mike.” Harv released the transmit button. “Watch them for a sec.”
“These two piles of pig shit aren’t going anywhere.”
“Easy, Estefan.”
Harv stepped outside, grabbed the sentry by his collar, and manhandled him up the porch steps into the office. Estefan was slicing a second cushion and testing each strip by putting one end under his boot and yanking on it. The makeshift ties were quite strong — Estefan couldn’t tear them.
Harv wanted to know something before Nathan brought Antonia over here. “Ask the girl if these are the guys who mutilated Mateo’s ear.”
“Stand by.”
“We never touched that worthless drunk,” Bean said.
Harv told him to shut up. After fifteen seconds of silence he was about to radio Nate when his ear speaker came back to life.
“She said no. The men who hurt her father came from Macanas’s compound in southern Jinotega. For what it’s worth, she says the small guy is Raven’s cousin.”
“His cousin?” Harv asked, purposely repeating aloud.
Estefan smiled, then winked at Bean.
The little man’s hateful expression returned.
“That’s what she said. His name is Raul Sanchez, and she hates his guts. She said he’s a complete asshole.”
“Yeah, we kinda gathered that. Estefan’s almost finished securing our guests.” Harv’s radio clicked.
“I’ll be right back.” Estefan ducked into the bathroom and returned a few seconds later, dabbing his lips with tissue. He shook his head. “I hate the sight of my own blood. It really pisses me off.”
“Double-time over to the motel. Switch Sigs with me — yours isn’t suppressed.” Harv also handed him an additional mag. “My laser’s set to a fifty-foot zero.”
“Not a problem,” Estefan said, taking a last look at the bound men.
Harv knew his friend wanted their roles reversed so he could have some quality time with the prisoners, but they weren’t here for that.
“Estefan’s on his way.”
“I’m ready to move out when he gets here.”
Harv killed the lights and activated his NVGs. “I can see all of you clearly. If you try anything, you’ll regret it.”
“What are we supposed to do?” Bean said. “We’re tied up, you dumbass.”
“That’s your third strike.” Harv grabbed the remaining strip of fabric and silently moved in behind Bean. In a quick motion before Bean could react, Harv looped the gag into Bean’s mouth as if using a garrote, then tied it tight. This pint-sized turd hadn’t earned any respect.
Before stepping outside, Harv decided to take a quick look inside the safe and activated the infrared feature of his goggles. Bean’s eyes reflected an eerie iridescence.
Moving silently across the pitch-black room, Harv approached the safe. He pulled the door and stared in disbelief. “Oh, man,” he whispered. “No friggin’ way…”
CHAPTER 30
“I’m outside your door,” Estefan said.
Nathan let him in. “Grab those two packs and the rifles.” Nathan looked at Antonia. “If I take that gag out and untie your hands, do you give me your word you won’t scream or try anything stupid?”
She nodded.
“Good, because it’s going to be an unpleasant experience being carried over to the lumber mill, even worse with your arms tied behind your back.”
“You don’t have to carry me.”
“Afraid I do.” Nathan cut her wrists free but left her ankles bound together with the two-foot strip. He didn’t have time to chase her all over creation. He ordered her to stand and hold still. In a fluid move, he heaved her over his right shoulder, bending her at the hips. Outside, he and Estefan pivoted their NVGs down and took off in a medium-paced jog up the street. He couldn’t ignore the sensation of her breasts bouncing against his back, and he knew she was embarrassed from being carried this way.
“You okay up there?”
“My ribs hurt.”
“Try to relax. This won’t take long.”
After fifty yards, she used her arms to encircle his waist and her wrists ended up across his groin. Although awkward, it definitely created more stability. He was tempted to say something but didn’t.
Nathan felt a good burn begin in his legs. He’d always liked physical exertion and never understood why most people tended to avoid it.
Fairly winded from hauling Antonia across five hundred yards, Nathan reached the lumber trucks and turned right.
“I’ve got you,” Harv said.
At the office, Nathan set the girl down on the top step of the porch and took a few deep breaths. “Estefan, double-time over to the barracks. Make sure no one’s home. Surveillance only. Do not engage. If you see anyone, come up on the radio. One-mike check-ins.” Nathan saw Estefan was in great shape. The three-minute jaunt hadn’t phased him. He took off and disappeared into the blackness.
Harv nodded at the open door of the office. “There’s something you need to see in there.”
“On your feet,” Nathan said to Antonia. “We’re going inside.”
“But that creep’s in there,” she whispered.
“He won’t be a problem,” Harv said. “I’m turning on the lights. NV off.”
Nathan powered his goggles off and pivoted them up.
The bound men squinted at the sudden brightness.
Harv pointed to the open safe.
“Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” Nathan asked.
“Indeed you are.”
“Unbelievable,” he said under his breath.
“It’s no wonder I had to shoot our little friend over there. Twice.”
Sitting on a thick plywood shelf, twenty-six gold bars the size of chalkboard erasers loomed like pirate’s treasure. There were six columns, stacked four high, with a seventh column containing only two bars. The ingots were pitted and crudely made, but he had no doubt they were solid gold. Unrefined, but gold just the same.
Nathan ignored the two men secured to the post and looked at Antonia. “Did you know about this?”
The bitterness in her expression told all.
“Do you still think you and Franco were going to live happily ever after?”
Staring at the safe, she pursed her lips.
He heard muffled groaning and turned. The little man with blood-soaked bandages was whipping his head back and forth in a frenzy. The other guy looked on the verge of tears. Understandable, Nathan thought. He escorted Antonia over to the safe where he could keep an eye on her. Nathan hefted a bar. “Feels like two pounds.”
“Probably one kilo each,” said Harv. “That’s a little over two pounds.”
“How many ounces is that?”
Harv thought for a moment. “I think a kilo’s around thirty-five or so.”
Nathan tried to run the calculation in his head aloud. “Twenty-six bars times thirty-five ounces, what is that?”
“There’s a calculator on the desk.”
Nathan picked it up. “If we’re right about each bar being… thirty-five ounces, then there are nine hundred ten ounces in there. Multiply that by $1,400 and you get…” Nathan made a whistle sound. “We’re looking at more than $1.2 million. That’s at spot price for gold bullion, so it’s not worth that much, but it’s still a small fortune.”
“We can’t let Macanas keep it.”
Nathan lowered his voice. “We’ll hump it into the jungle and use our special phone to take a GPS reading. What about Estefan? He’s going to want some of this.”