“He has no control over me,” an agitated Alton Burr stated, clenching his fist. “I can go wherever and whenever I please.”
“You’re up to your eye balls in this little escapade now, Burr,” Eli said, really annoyed with the little man’s arrogance.
“He’s right, Mr. Burr,” Turner said. “They will not allow any witnesses to live at this point in the game, including you. You can take to the bank the fact that they have run the tags on the jeep you left at the quarry and found it to be a rental. It won’t take rocket science to get your name and locate where you're staying. Yes, you could leave, but you wouldn’t live to see the sunset,” he said as a dejected Burr just huffed and sat down on the warm asphalt.
“Can’t we just go to the police and explain the situation?” Maria asked, frustrated that they had come so far and been through so much, only to hit a dead end.
“That’s the last thing we should do,” Yashiro said. “Osama’s men would show up the moment they knew where we had been taken. They are sworn to serve and even die for him, so killing a few local police officers in order to eliminate us is a minor inconvenience to them.”
“We need outside help at this point. We must contact the U.S. government somehow,” Turner said as he watched Saune and Sergeant Ortega leaving the office and coming their way.
“Secure your weapon, Private Carmen,” Ortega ordered.
“But, Sergeant, we must report this to the Island Administrator.”
“We are not reporting anything, Private,” the sergeant barked to his subordinate, as the private hastily put his side-arm back into its holster.
“Looks like you were successful in explaining the situation, Captain,” Turner said, relieved for the moment.
“I’ve explained the context of what is happening and we're going to do whatever we can to help you,” Saune said with a gleam in his eye. “I can have an assault team armed and ready to go by 1600 hours. Can you be at this address by then?” he asked, handing Turner a slip of paper with an address written down on it. “We can’t remain here too long. I’m sure they'll probably have an idea where we have landed by now.”
“I had a feeling it was gonna come down to us,” Turner said, knowing they could all wind up dead before the day was out. “Samuel and I will meet you then, but first, I want to get Maria, Dad, and the others to a safe place. We’ll try to contact the U.S. government somehow, and then get back to you and your men.”
“I’m going with you,” Yashiro said boldly. “I’ve helped create this nightmare and I’m going to try to help dismantle it. You will need me to gain access to the complex, and I am the only one who can successfully manipulate the Interferometer frequencies. That is, if we get there in time.”
“He’s right about that, Josh,” Samuel said. “We may have to knock on the front door if all else fails.”
“Sergeant, go get the satellite phones in my office, along with my spare side arm and ammo belt,” Saune said as Ortega quickly hurried back to the facility. “We can keep in contact that way, Josh. You can also use it to make contact with your government and get the warning out,” Saune said, tossing a set of keys to Samuel. “Take my van; it’s parked alongside of the building. I’ll go with Ortega.”
“It’s 10:30 now. That should give us time to get to your father’s place at the university.” Turner said to Maria, looking at his watch as Samuel sprinted off to retrieve the vehicle.
“Don’t take any unnecessary risks, Josh. By now you can be sure that the Tenerife authorities and Osama’s men are looking for you,” Saune said. Sergeant Ortega returned, carrying two Global Star satellite phones. He handed one to Turner, along with a military issue 45-automatic and fresh ammo belt.
“Don’t worry, Captain, we’ll see you in a few hours,” Turner responded as Samuel pulled up to the group in an old, white 1992 Ford F-150 van.
“The bus is leaving folks. All aboard,” Samuel yelled out the driver’s window. The weary entourage climbed in the side sliding door. Saune and Ortega waved, and then headed back to the building to retrieve their weapons from the arms locker.
The short ride to La Laguna and the University of San Fernando was uneventful, with each of the van’s occupants suspiciously eyeing the other vehicles on the highway as they wound through the busy streets. At one point, they all slouched down as a police cruiser passed by in the other direction with its sirens blaring loudly.
La Laguna, Tenerife’s original capitol, was now a busy university town, with old narrow checkerboard streets crisscrossing through the city. It offered a distinct charm with many historical homes dating back to the 1500s.
Professor Carlos Santiago’s home was situated just a short walk from the main campus. Built in 1906, the Casa Del Luga originally served as the university library until 1975 when it was then converted to living quarters for university faculty. The traditional Spanish-Colonial architecture was beautifully accented with lavishly designed entrance portals and rustic wooden balconies off the second floor, which offered a commanding view of the snowy heights of Mt. Teide.
Carlos Santiago nervously paced the floor of the home’s vast study, when he noticed the van coming up the tree-shrouded driveway. He had been worried sick about his daughter after learning that morning of the police manhunt for her and the archeology team. Hoping for some news of their well-being, he quickly ran outside to greet the vehicle as it came to a stop near the stone patio. To his relief, he saw Maria emerging from the back of the van, along with the Turners.
“Maria! Thank God you are alright,” he cried, as he ran to embrace his daughter.
“I’m fine, Father,” she replied as she returned his hug. The rest of the group filed up to them on the patio steps, with Alton Burr slowly exiting the van last.
“We need to get inside, Carlos,” Turner said, cautiously eyeing a car that passed by the driveway.
“Yes, by all means, come this way,” he said, motioning the group towards the beautiful two hundred year old hand-made oak doors. He led them inside to the copious study that served as a meeting room.
The study was a cornucopia of Spanish décor, with an abundance of island paintings by local artists and tastefully fitted with numerous hand-crafted high-backed chairs. Contiguous to the old stone fireplace were the last remnants of the library, consisting of a vast assortment of books dating back to the 1600s. All of this was accented by the beautiful hard wood floors that creaked as they strolled across the room.
“Please, sit,” Santiago said as his housekeeper, Julia, came into the study. I’ll have Julia prepare you some nourishment. You must be famished.” He then nodded to his housekeeper, who quickly headed off into the kitchen to prepare a meal.
“Thank you, Carlos,” Eli said as he sat wearily into the comfortable chair. “I’d almost forgotten how hungry I was. So much has happened in the last twelve hours,” he said, rubbing the back of his aching neck. “I take it you have heard the news reports?”
“Yes, Eli. The police arrived earlier this morning, about an hour ago, inquiring if I had heard from any of you. A short time later, I was visited by two men driving a black vehicle, who also wanted to know where you were. They were definitely not the local authorities, and I gathered from their dialogue with each other that they were Japanese,” he said.
“It's our new friends from Bishamon, near our excavation site, Carlos. It didn’t take them long to figure out where we could find shelter. I'm sure they're visiting the university as well,” Turner said.
“You can be assured they will check every place more than once,” Yashiro stated as he looked nervously out the window towards the street.