Two guards stood at each of the vessel’s gangways, keeping a watchful eye on the occasional fishermen that passed by on their way to the vessels that were farther down the pier. The guards stood at their post, smoking cigarettes and chatting occasionally to relieve their boredom. Though vigilant in their duty, the guards were oblivious to the air bubbles rising to the surface from beneath the water, as men in scuba gear moved freely from ship to ship doing their callous and premeditated work.
12
They walked in silence through the ghostly light of the lava tube, each lost in their own thoughts about the night’s bizarre occurrences: the attempt on their lives, the cave in, and the gunfight in the tunnel. And now, the startling revelation made to them by Yashiro of the mad plot to devastate the United States, made by men blinded by ambition and wealth.
Turner walked silently, thinking of how crazy things had been since his arrival in Tenerife.
These men are merciless killers, like something out of a twisted movie script, he thought as they continued on, only their footsteps softly echoing in the silence. He watched Maria walking ahead of him and a rising dread began to build. He knew that Osama’s men would not think twice about ending her life or his father’s, with no pity or remorse. “Not on my watch,” he said angrily to himself.
“Say again, Josh?” replied his Quechuan friend, who walked by his side.
“Nothing, Samuel, I’m just thinking aloud.” He looked at his father and asked, “Dad, are you still friendly with that woman from the State Department?”
“Who…Abby? I call her maybe once a week, but I’m afraid the relationship is going nowhere. She’s just too wrapped up in her work.”
“And you’re not?” Maria said with a soft chuckle, the sound of her gentle laughter sweet music to Turner’s ears.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eli retorted sourly.
“I was thinking, Dad. When we get out of here, we could use her connections at the State Department to get a warning out about Pencor’s plans. We could—”
“They’d never be able to launch an assault in time, nor could the Parliament of Tenerife,” Yashiro interrupted. “First, they would hardly take seriously a wild scheme to attack the United States from a group of archaeologists. Even if they did, it would take days to implement a plan and then carry it out,” he stated grimly.
“I will go to the Parliamentary Council myself,” Captain Saune said defensively. “They will listen to me.”
“They will do nothing until it is too late,” Yashiro argued. “You don’t understand. Osama and Pencor’s money and influence have far-reaching tentacles. You can rest assured they have bought and paid for key government officials here on Tenerife. How do you think they got the contract to replace the seismic sensors on La Palma? They have men everywhere and….”
“Quiet,” Turner said as they approached a huge lava boulder ahead of them. “I hear machinery up ahead. Wait here and I’ll check.”
He headed off in a light sprint in the direction of the sound of the machinery, becoming louder as he advanced. Coming to the side of the huge slab of basalt, he peered around its cold black surface to see lights on the walls about forty-five feet distant. As the whirring sound suddenly ceased, Turner watched as bodies were unceremoniously dropped from the opening at the top of the ladder, each of them hitting the floor with a sickening thud.
Wonder who those poor bastards were, Turner thought, tightly gripping the side arm in his hand. Just then, the sound of the mechanism started again and he could see the light from the opening in the ceiling fade as the steel door closed with a muffled boom. “All clear,” he said to the group as the cave was thrust into silence once again.
“Looks like they don’t appreciate the help around here,” Samuel said, reaching his side and seeing the bodies up ahead.
“Can you see any guards further ahead?” Saune asked, arriving next.
“None that I can see, Captain,” Turner replied. “Someone was dumping bodies down from the ceiling hatchway,” he stated coldly.
“More of Pencor and Osama’s dirty work, I assume,” Samuel said, clicking off the safety of his weapon.
“Let’s get moving before some of their goons decide to come back,” Turner said.
Rising up, they walked into the open tunnel that led to the ladder beneath the facility. Turner then gestured to Yashiro to join him at the lead. “Yashiro, I want you to lead us out of here once we check the entrance to make sure that it's clear. Are you up to it?”
“I can do it,” the Japanese scientist said with new found optimism and courage at the sudden turn of events that had snatched him from the jaws of certain death.
The group came up to the ladder beneath the trap door and Turner's earlier observations were confirmed as Yashiro looked in horror at the macabre scene before him.
“They have killed the remaining scientists. No witnesses,” he said, his voice shaking a little as he stared at the mound of bodies stacked atop each other like a grotesque pile of firewood. “That tells me they are very close to triggering the landslide. The entire process is now automated.”
The group passed the final storage bin at a quicker pace now, and towards the lava tube opening just ahead of them. “Once we clear the tunnel,” Yashiro said, “there is an old path to the right of the entrance that leads to a worn switchback pathway. It will lead to the complex’s main gate above.”
“Let’s go to night vision,” Turner said to Captain Saune and Samuel as they approached within fifteen feet of the tunnel’s exit. The three men flipped down their goggles and powered them up. Upon reaching the lava tube’s end, the three crouched down and surveyed the perimeter for any sign of activity.
Scanning the area with the night vision goggles, the men were relieved to see no movement and continued to scrutinize their surroundings. Just to their left was a conveyor belt that descended down ninety feet to what appeared to be a loading platform on a natural plateau. Turner made a mental note of the conveyor belt’s control levers located next to them. He continued his scan of the loading area far below and saw that the plateau was studded with landing lights. Sitting there were two helicopters.
“Do you see what I see, Captain?” Turner said, pointing to the sleek aircrafts as he signaled for the rest of the group to join them.
“I know where you are headed, Josh. Those are R-44 Ravens and, even though I can fly them, the Robinson only carries one pilot and two passengers. There’s no way we could get everyone out,” he said.
“I guess that will have to be Plan B,” Turner replied as he stood and directed Yashiro to lead the group in the direction of the path up to the complex’s main gate.
“Here we go with the Plan B crap again,” Samuel groaned as he and the weary group followed Turner up the pathway.
“Captain,” Turner said straightforwardly, moving ahead of the others. “If things go badly, I want you to get my father and Maria out of here in one of those helicopters. Promise me you will try.”
“I don’t think it will come to that, but I promise I will do my best.” Saune said, knowing he had come to trust and respect this man and he would do his utmost to honor his request if the need arose.
Led by Yashiro, the group started out along the narrow ledge that ran parallel to a steep, vertical drop off that descended to the bottom of the ancient caldera. Each was mindful of their steps and avoided the occasional glance into the blackness below them. They followed in single file until Yashiro, leading with a flashlight, stopped and directed them to the first switchback leading up to the Bishamon facility's main gate.