During the melee, Captain Saune focused single-mindedly on getting to the detonator plug and removing it from the C-4 pack before it could kill them all. He had just pulled the plug successfully when he heard the sound of gunfire. He spun around to see the one Yakuza soldier fall to the ground. He then eyed the leader of the group scrambling for the satchel containing the C-4 and, most likely, the remote detonator switch.
Being too far from the man to be of any use, he yelled, “Stop him, he's going for the detonator switch!”
“Put the gun down or I’ll blow us all into oblivion,” the Yakuza leader hissed, now holding the detonator in his hand and backing away from the group towards the narrow entrance of the cave. “You,” he said, pointing to Saune, “get back over there with the rest of them.”
Turner could see Saune giving him a look that said take the shot as he slowly made his way over beside Maria, Eli and the private, who were all still bound hand and foot.
Saune glared helplessly at the Japanese man holding the remote switch in his right hand. He desperately looked for a way to reach him, but knew he would never get to him in time.
Turner, still wearing the ski mask, stood there with his 45 raised and leveled at the antagonist, hoping to stall him long enough to allow Samuel the needed time to make it through.
“What do you expect to accomplish by this?” Turner asked the mercenary, hoping for a few precious moments.
“I’ll give you five seconds to drop the gun,” the man snarled, obviously rattled by the recent turn of events.
“Are you looking for these?” a voice asked from the shadows behind him as a shower of detonator plugs came raining down around the startled assailant.
Samuel walked into the light of the cave with his hunting knife in hand just as Turner ripped off his ski mask, grinning like the Cheshire cat while giving his friend a thumbs-up sign.
“Josh, thank God you and Samuel are here,” Maria said as tears of relief rolled down her cheeks.
“Hello, Son,” Eli said weakly. “I was hoping for a nicer reception for you.”
The reunion was short-lived, however. The Yakuza soldier pressed the detonator switch in his hand, causing the small plugs scattered about to pop like a string of fire crackers. Luckily, there was no explosion.
“You know, pal, you shouldn’t play with fireworks. You could get hurt,” Samuel said, scoring a verbal direct hit on the mercenary, who was now infuriated by his ill fortune.
“I think you owe us an explanation as to who you are, and why you want to kill us,” Turner said, lowering his gun as Samuel walked past him to cut the ties off the three remaining captives.
“I will tell you nothing,” he said, throwing down the detonator switch and knowing he had only one option left to him. “You might as well kill me.”
The mercenary realized now that he might still complete his assignment. He raised his hands in mock surrender with the satchel still in his left hand. He then slowly bent over and lowered the satchel to the ground.
What Turner couldn't see was the military M-67 fragmentation grenade in the satchel. Though not as powerful as the C-4, it was effective up to forty-five feet. The mercenary's moment to act came in a split-second when he saw Turner looking toward his father and Samuel preoccupied with cutting the rest of the captives loose. With quick reflexes, he deftly reached into the satchel and pulled out the grenade. Pulling the pin, he launched himself towards the narrow chamber leading out.
Captain Saune, being the only one to see the action, raised the alarm. “Josh, he has a grenade!”
“Everyone get down!” Turner yelled as he swiftly swung around and wildly fired off three rounds at the shadowy figure. With all three missing their mark, he watched as the figure disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel. Seeing the grenade pin lying on the cave floor, he instinctively threw himself over his father as Maria, Samuel, and the rest hit the ground covering their heads.
The ear-splitting explosion that ripped through the cavern was followed by another deafening sound as tons of rock and basalt came crashing down into the tunnel. A cloud of dust and debris was thrown up, effectively sealing them inside the ancient tomb.
A strange, muted silence pervaded the ancient lava tube as dust and debris began settling to the floor of the cave. Only the dancing shadow of a lantern light that flickered in the gloom gave hint to any sign of life.
After leaving Turner and Samuel to trek to the site, Paulo managed to turn the Land Rover about and was heading back down the gravel access road towards the main highway to obtain help. He never noticed the black SUV that pulled out behind him with its lights out when he passed the access road leading to the summit where the Bishamon facility was located.
I’ll go to the police outpost in Guimar, he thought as the ominous SUV moved closer and closer behind his vehicle. He sped around the many treacherous curves leading down from the summit with no clue as to the unexpected visitors that were approaching him from behind. Paulo cursed himself for leaving the satellite phone at the camp when he set off earlier to retrieve Turner and Samuel at the ferry landing.
As he rounded one of the sharp curves, he felt a sudden jarring thud in the back of the rover as the lights of the SUV suddenly illuminated. With his vehicle immediately accelerating out of control, he found himself careening helplessly toward an embankment overlooking a four hundred foot drop to its rock-strewn bottom.
Paulo screamed in terror as the Land Rover was forcibly pushed over the precipice. The vehicle plummeted end-over-end down the rocky cliff face, exploding in a fireball when it hit the bottom of the ravine.
Still conscious in the flaming wreckage, Paulo felt the heat increasing around him. He tried to move in a desperate attempt to escape the conflagration, but found he was pinned within the vehicle. He shrieked in unimaginable pain as uncaring ears listened and watched from high above. The two men, satisfied with their gruesome handy work, headed back to the black SUV.
“We’re lucky to have seen this vehicle leaving the site,” the one man said, lighting a cigarette as the two went back to their vehicle. “Osama would have been extremely angry if anyone would have escaped before we had the opportunity to remove the bodies from outside of the cave.”
“Osama will never know, will he?” the other man said casually as the ominous black SUV headed back to the dig site to clean up the gruesome remains of the soldiers killed during the assault, and to extricate the assault team.
Back in the dim light of the lava tube, a stunned Josh Turner raised his head and looked about as the dust and debris finally began settle. His ears still rang loudly from the grenade explosion.
“Is everyone alright?” he asked, brushing the dust from his hair.
“We’re okay, Josh,” Samuel answered as he and Maria rose up off the floor of the cave.
“Fine here as well,” Captain Saune said as he and his man rose quickly and headed over to what had moments ago been their only way out.
“Are you okay, Dad?” he asked, rising up on his knee and helping his father.
“Other than being a bit woozy from that mad man whacking me on the noggin, I’m alright,” Eli replied as he picked up his hat. “Good to see you and Samuel again, Son. Your timing is impeccable.”