“A backup plan?”
“In my mansion, I have built a bunker where we can wait out the epidemic as it sweeps across the world. There are enough supplies there to sustain us for several months. By then, the virus will have run its course.”
Will appeared confused. “If you have that in place, why go through all the trouble to find the tree of life? You could just wait it out in the bunker.”
Lindsey smiled feebly. “Because, Will, if I don’t find the chamber and the tree of life, I will die. When you get older, you will understand what that means. If I find the tree, I can lead this world into a new age, free of chaos and crime. That bunker is meant for you and Kaba, in case I don’t make it to the tree in time.”
In a sick way, it was the greatest gift anyone had ever given Will. His benefactor had provided him and Kaba a way to survive even if they didn’t find the last chamber. It was a gesture that motivated him to see the task through to the end and find the lost Garden of Eden.
“Sir,” Kaba rushed in through the entrance of the tent, interrupting the intense conversation. “You need to see this.”
Lindsey got up out of his chair, energized by the young woman’s enthusiasm. He knew she wouldn’t burst in like that unless it was something significant he needed to see. Kaba was also not very excitable. Since he’d met her, Lindsey had never seen Kaba lose her cool over anything.
The three stepped outside into the chilly, mountain air. A thin layer of snow remained on the ground, but it was melting fast. The temperature had risen in the early parts of the morning, returning the region to its more typical climate. Above, the sky was clear, producing the brightest sun they’d seen in a while.
They all slipped on sunglasses to protect their eyes as Kaba led the small group to where some of the other men were standing near the edge of the ridge. DeGard was with the men, staring down into the valley at something.
“What is all this fuss about?” Lindsey demanded as he reached the drop off.
No one needed to answer the question. He saw what the ruckus was about. A thousand feet below, a narrow road wound its way through the mountains. On the road, two SUVs were making their way slowly through the mountain pass.
“Wyatt,” Will realized out loud.
“Get everything ready,” Lindsey ordered, still staring at the vehicles below. “They may lead us right to it.”
Chapter 49
The shot echoed through the woods behind the McElroy cabin. Helen stood stiffly in the darkness for a moment. The hand on her neck slid off, and the one holding the gun to her head dropped instantly as the man’s body collapsed to the ground. She felt something warm and wet on the side of her face and neck, and reached up to touch it with her finger. Blood.
She looked down at her attacker, but quickly turned her eyes away. A large hole penetrated the man’s forehead, and the back of his skull was completely obliterated. Before she could say or do anything, the men in the SUVs quickly exited and began opening fire on the cabin.
Joe had shot the man in the head. It was a gutsy thing to do, but it had saved her life. Now, though, he was in trouble. She grabbed her bow and hurried along the edge of the woods, back around the rear of the tool shed and farther up the property, closer to the driveway. In thirty seconds, she was behind the men firing from the protection of the SUVs.
“Sit tight, Joe,” she whispered to herself and pulled her own AR-15 around to her shoulder. “Mama’s got you.”
Inside the cabin, Joe had taken a huge gamble. He knew he was a good shot with the assault rifle, but his target was only a few inches from his wife’s head. Any slight movement and he would have shot her instead of the mercenary. Fortunately for both of them, he hadn’t missed.
As soon as he’d seen Helen was okay, he dove back into the laundry room, knowing there would be repercussions from the action. Sure enough, bullets started zipping through the shredded remains of the house. Fortunately, the thick logs the walls were made from withstood the barrage. As long as Joe stayed down, he was okay. The problem was when the men decided to come into the house. He needed to get to the trap door again. If he could get outside, he could take up a position in the tool shed and flank the men as they approached the house. They would be sitting ducks. Getting over to the trap door was a dangerous proposition, though. Even with the walls stopping most of the projectiles, he didn’t want to risk one getting through.
Suddenly, he heard the familiar sound of Helen’s assault rifle outside. The men attacking their cabin all used sound suppressed weapons. Joe and Helens were all natural. The thunderous boom of the gun shook the remaining glass fragments from the windows, sending them clacking to the floor. He smiled from his hiding place. It sounded like his wife was pissed.
From the edge of the woods, Helen picked off three of the men who were closest to her. She crouched on one knee, taking down one, then another. The men were dead before they realized what was going on. There were still several left, though. And her line of sight was blocked by the one of the vehicles. The men’s legs on the other side, however, were not.
Helen got down on her belly and lined up the first attacker. She let out a deep breath and squeezed the trigger, sending the round through the man’s kneecap and dropping him to the ground. The next bullet ceased the man’s sudden screaming permanently. By the time the mercenaries had realized what was happening, Helen had already picked off four of them.
The rest of the assault team redirected their fire to Helen’s position. She rolled behind a broad oak just as bullets began to splash the leaves and dirt around her. The men’s voices carried into the woods, barking out orders. She quickly loaded a fresh magazine into the base of her weapon and cocked it, ready to go on the attack again.
She stuck her head around the edge of the trunk when more rounds whizzed past her face, causing her to withdraw back to cover. More booming shots rang out from the front of the cabin, and she smiled. Joe was still alive.
When Joe heard Helen’s gunfire, he knew the men in the SUVs would be immediately thrown off by the flank attack. That was the chance he needed to rush over to one of the windows and take up a position. He heard their return fire, but when no more rounds were zipping through his living room, it meant they were shooting at Helen.
Joe didn’t wait another second. He popped up in the window and started spraying a hail of deadly rounds at the men in black outfits. Two had made the mistake of leaving the safety of their trucks while their other team members laid down covering fire. It would have been a good plan if Joe hadn’t been in the window.
He cut the two men down easily, leaving the only remaining six members of the hit squad scrambling for the last SUV in the line of vehicles. The slide fire on Joe’s assault rifle allowed him to fire rapid shots almost like an automatic weapon. By the time he was done, two of the three trucks had flat tires and most assuredly, severe engine damage. Now that he had gotten the men’s attention again, he thought it best to make an exit through the escape tunnel and join his wife outside.
Helen watched the attackers take cover between the two outside cars, huddling around the one in the center. Three of the remaining six continued to fire rounds towards where she had taken refuge. What they didn’t notice was that Helen had moved when Joe started firing on their position. When they were caught off guard, she sprinted from her hiding place and moved further up the driveway to get in a better position. Two of the men had started moving toward the front of the house. It seemed they had grown tired of being on the defensive. Being peppered from two sides had left them little choice but to move forward.