Crystal Clear (16 page)

Even the air
stilled
as the team pulled their ATV’s to a stop at a trailhead not far from the top of the cave entrance.  Far enough away that the sound of the ATV’s wouldn’t alert the guards, but they could see work lights shining on the path that led down in the mouth
of the tunnel.  O
ne guard
stood
at the top holding what looked like
a semi-automatic.  The team
partially covered by the pin
e boughs of the thick trees, they
observe
d
without being observed.  Cindy got off her ATV, and grabbed her .22 with a silencer. 

“Be right back.”  Halverson nodded and the other two followed his lead.  They watched as she disappeared into the shadows, blending in with her environment.  After a few moments, they saw the guard jerk and silently fall to the ground.

Patrick gave Jack
a look, “Silent
, but deadly.
I like it.”

“Hands off, she’s mine.”  Jack quietly shot back. 

Cindy appeared next to them as if from thin air. 

“’Kay let’s go.  Guard one down.  Looks like there is ano
ther one at the tunnel entrance, w
ho wants it?” 

Halverson grinned, and got off his machine.
 
“My
turn, if I can’t blow things up;
at least I can get some kill time in.”  Halverson patted the knife at his side and started off. 

She shivered.  That man liked to kill things too much. 

The team gathered guns and knives strapping them on to pockets and straps. They fol
lowed at a discrete distance, g
iving Halverson all the room he would need to do his job.  The man was cocky for sure.  Instead of sneaking up on the guy, he walked right up to him and engaged him in conversation. 

Cindy couldn’t tell what he was saying, but the guard nodded and turned to go inside.  Halverson didn’t hesitate
. H
e reached around and slit the guard
's throat
.  He placed the man at the side of
the tunnel entrance and motioned to the team. 

All
clear.
..

They moved up sliding along the cliff wall to the entrance.  Cindy grimaced as bits of debris fell down the collar of her forestry officer uniform. 

Definitely not battle gear
, she thought. 

The entrance to the cave sent
a chill down her spine as they neared the stairway.  The rickety appearance of the wood added to Cindy’s apprehension. Getting out of this alive would be tricky. 

The ma
in cavern was dusky at best. A
s they descended
into the tube Cindy noticed
ice spears that formed above and below the
m.  The sharpened points shone in what light was available. T
hey seemed to scream danger, and Cindy was ready to listen. 

Patrick walked just ahead of her. A
s they neared the first stretch of tubing he pulled out his Maglight.  Aiming it near the floor closest to him, he gestured for th
em all to do the same.  D
arker than
midnight
in this part of the c
ave;
there was no way for them to aim their lights higher to see further than five feet in front of them
,
without giving away their position. 

Too bad,
she thought.

Cindy tried
not to shiver from the cold.  The stretches of tunnel they pass
ed
through seemed clear other than some cement bags and scaffolding that made it appear as though the tunnels were actually being worked on. 

Jaguar had a good set up here.  It was a shame they ha
d to take out such a cool super-
secret base.  Cindy grinned to herself.  Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing after all.  The dim light ahead indicated that they approach
ed
the sand gardens where the first set of generators was located.  They could hear grunts a
nd commands coming from the cove
just ahead. 

Turning off their flashlights, Jack silently moved to the front
of the line and indicated
they all position themselves against the wall.  Cindy
,
familiar with this tactical method,
quickly formed up.  Her frown returned when she felt the cold
wall behind her. G
oosebumps rose on her arms and the hair on her neck stood up.  It was an unpleasant sensation. 

No one
watch
ed
the tunnel entrance.  The posted guard had his back to them as he viewed the fight going on in the area directly in front of them.  They must be using this as a training room.  Several other men were lined up waiting for their turn and watching the match intently. 

Jack moved with stealth and dispatched the man on guard without a sound.  He started to move forward to the last man in the line, and was just behind him when one of the men in the ring noticed him.

“Behind you!  Look out!” The man yelled from his position on the ground.  The man in front of Jack turned, but not in time.  Jack buried his knife in the man’s chest cavity, and he dropped to the floor like a dead weight.

Everything happened quickly then.  The men
in the room tried to rush Jack. The team moved in
behind him and joined the fight. 

Cindy was glad for all the hours she had spent with Lucy and Kevin training in hand to hand.  Obviously these men had done their homework on the tunnel, none of them pulled a gun
, though many of them had military
issue
combat
knives ou
t and ready to dice them up
. 

The two men in the “ring” jumped out. T
he big one started to advance toward her.  He really was ugly with a scar running down the length of one cheek and sweat dripping from his face despite the cold.  They obviously took their training seriously. 

Cindy smiled, cocked her head to the side and got in her stance a
s she waited for him to advance. H
er knife braced against her forearm.  She leveled her
gaze at the man, and his combat-
ready expression wavered.  Cindy learned a long time ago that personal confidence often threw off your opponent. 

The man rushed her, relying on his physical strength to bring her down.  She sidestepped and let him run into the wall behind her.  Turning as she did so, she plunged the knife in to his side.  He roared in outrage and shoved back.

Cindy stumbled.  Her knife still buried in his side,
he advanced toward her again, stalking her across the open space of the sand gardens. 

She
tr
ied
desperately not to trip over the small cones formed by thousands of years of dripping water, but it was difficult. 

The man extrac
ted the blade from his side, his grin
pure evil.  He rushed again, this time with the knife in his hand.  Cindy tried to dodge, but a cone got in the way and she fell.  The man followed her down, and she grabbed the hand holding her knife.
She struggled to keep the blade
away from her, but the man was strong, and he kept inching it toward her throat. 

She felt the cold of the metal start to slide against her skin, but he didn’t have the right a
ngle, the flat of the blade
press
ed
onto her neck.  All he would have to do is turn the blade.  She locked her eyes on his and all she saw reflected there was pure
hatred.  This man was a fanatic
. 

A shadow move behind him
and his full weight suddenly dropped on her, roughly shoved to the side.  Jack stood over her, his handsome face alight with adrenaline and the rush you can only get from a good fight.

“That’s the last of them in this section.”  He looked around. “I’m almost positive they heard us further down the tunnel, but since this is obviously the training area, the noises may be normal to them.  Especially since no weapons were fired.  We may be in luck.” 

Cindy nodded and accepted the
hand up.  She turned and glanced
at the man that had almost killed her.  She really needed to stop picking the biggest of the bunch.

“That’s twice now I’ve saved your
life,” Jack
c
a
m
e up behind her and placed
his arms on her shoulders. 

She turned.
“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to find some way to pay you back.”  She tilted her head to the side, “Later.” She whispered. 

Someone close by made a coughing sound. 

“Will you two stop already, not all of us have a girl to kiss on.” 

Cindy and Jack grinned at Patrick. 

“Same pattern.  The next section should be the electronics division.  That will be where we need to go.”  Jack gave orders like he was born to it. 

Cindy cleared her throat and Jack turned to look at her.

She motioned to her
USB
pouch, “I’ll need some time on the equipment if we can swing it.  I need to find out if they have shared any of the information.  I’m sure they have had time by now to download anything they needed from the box.” 

The men nodded as one understanding. 

“Right then, Halverson, Patrick, and I’ll take out anyone in the way, and you head for the equipment.”  Jack motioned with his hand, and Cindy agreed.  They formed up again against the side of the next tunnel. 

By this time
, Cindy
practically shiver
ed
from the cold and damp.  Rolling around in the sand with the big guy di
dn’t help matters any either. S
he was dreadfully uncomfortable. 

Perhaps the van wasn’t such a bad place after all,
she mused as they moved down to the next cell area. 
At least it was warm
.

The tunnel darkened again and stayed that way for some time, what was only minutes seemed to stretch on in the dark, cold interior of the lava tube.  The chill deepened the further down they got.  Cindy tried to keep her teeth from chattering together.  She pushed her thoughts further into the mission, the claustrophobia pressed down on her.

This might be fun for some people to come visit, but it wouldn’t be her first choice.  Slowl
y, a light formed ahead.  It
bright
ened
in the pitch dark that surrounded it, and the team all turned
off their flashlights with a gesture
from Jack who had taken the lead.  They approached as before against the wall, relying on the people inside the occupied area being distracted with wh
atever nefarious plans they
work
ed
on.

Cindy hoped they had not sent the information on to another base yet, and her part in the mission would be done.  She placed a hand on Jack’s arm stilling him.  She signaled to indicate that they should listen for a moment
. S
he wanted to know if they had sent the information already.

The tall, lanky man standing next to the computer terminal gestured to
wards the tunnel where they
st
ood
, “Don’t you think we should check things out?” 

The other man
,
who was short and round
,
reminded Cindy of a weasel as he replied, “No, that’s the training field, it is bound to get noisy.  We have to expect things like that.  This isn’t the lab back at home base, not everything is as cut and dried here.  Without the boss present, there isn’t as much order.  We don’t have to like it, that’s just the way it is.”  He hissed and turned back to the computer screen. 

The lanky man stood behind him looking over his shoulder.
“How’s it coming?  You’ve been working at it for hours n
ow.” the whine in his voice
obvious.

“Patience.
..
  I almost have it, and…there.”  He motioned toward the screen, “Done!  All that’s left is to transmit the codes.” 

Cindy tapped Jack’s arm and he nodded.  As one they entered the small cavern.

“Stop right there.”  The rat man’s hand froze over the keyboard, his other hand on the mouse.  He turned an evil grin at Cindy, and she could see the yellowing on his teeth from one too many cigarettes.   

EEEWWWW
!!  She glanced to Jack
who began to move forward.

R
at man let his finger descend on the left mouse button. 

The computer s
creen made a ding sound and stated
loudly in
a monochromatic voice
like a death knoll to her career, “Your message has been sent.”