Locsin exited the barracks and stopped one of his top soldiers. “Take ten men and sweep the compound. Make sure no other intruders are here.”
Locsin didn’t wait for an acknowledgment. He sprinted toward the warehouse.
• • •
DOLAP’S HEART was pounding at getting caught away from his chair outside Beth Anders’s room. During his guard stints in the middle of the night, he usually went off to find some food when everyone else was asleep. This was the first time anyone had seen him, and he hoped his punishment would be light after carrying out Locsin’s mission in town as ordered.
When he got to the room, he fumbled with his key in nervousness. When he inserted it, he realized with dread that it was already unlocked. He flung the door open and was aghast to find the room empty.
Now he was in a panic. If he didn’t find her, Locsin would surely take away his Typhoon dosage. And Dolap definitely couldn’t let Locsin know she was missing until he found her.
He hadn’t been away from his post for long, so she and her rescuers couldn’t have gotten far. Given her love of those stupid paintings, there was only one place she could be.
He checked his assault rifle and made sure there was a round in the chamber before going to find her.
• • •
USING A MULTI-TOOL, Juan rapidly unscrewed the housing on the nearest Kuyog while Linc kept Tagaan’s men at bay. The only reason they weren’t under constant attack was Tagaan’s desire not to damage the drones.
With the screws out, Juan pulled the housing off and carefully removed four bricks of Semtex that had been packed inside.
“Juan Cabrillo!” a voice yelled from the far end.
“Salvador Locsin!” Juan yelled back as he pressed the Semtex against the back wall. “I see you figured out I’m not dead.”
“Not yet, anyway. But you will be soon.”
“That’s big talk coming from a man who can’t even sink a ferry right. By the way, the Philippine National Police are eager to talk to you about that. They should be here anytime now.”
“Now who’s talking big?” Locsin said with a laugh. “I don’t think they sent out an assault team in the middle of a typhoon. No, it’s just you.”
“You have more enemies than you think. Ask your good friend Tagaan.”
That shut Locsin up for a moment. Juan could hear lowered voices but not what they were saying.
Gomez called on the radio. “Chairman, I’ve got bad news. Hidalgo’s course is shifting.”
“That’s the only kind of news we’re getting right now,” Linc mumbled.
“How long have we got until the eye wall is here?” Juan asked Gomez.
“Ten minutes, tops. You need to steal one of those trucks you were talking about and get back here pronto.”
Linc rolled his eyes and shook his head at Juan, who said, “We’ll work on that.”
“I’ve already got the engine spooled up. Let me know when you’re on your way. Out.”
Locsin must have gotten an answer he liked from Tagaan because he called out again. “Cabrillo, I’m done talking to you. You’re going to die either way, but if you don’t come out right now, I’ll torture Beth to death in front of you. Your choice.”
Juan nodded to Linc and they crabwalked as far from the Semtex as they could, pushing the Kuyog on the handcart so that it stayed between them and Locsin’s men.
When they reached the opposite wall, Juan yelled out, “Locsin, if you want us, you’ll have to come and get us!”
That did the trick. Locsin angrily ordered his men to make their way forward. He wanted Juan and Linc alive.
65
When Dolap was close to the trailer where the paintings were stored, he saw the door open. He quickly ducked behind one of the Humvees parked nearby. A Chinese man poked his head out and looked around before waving two women out with him—Beth Anders and a dark-haired woman carrying an assault rifle. All three had plastic tubes slung over their backs, while Beth carried another tube in her hand. Dolap immediately recognized the man as one of the two who’d gotten into a fight in Bacolod the day before.
It was like an electrical shock to his spine when Dolap suddenly realized that he must be the reason these intruders had found the cavern headquarters that had remained hidden for so long. They followed him back here somehow.
He had to atone for his mistake. He raised his rifle, flicked the safety to full auto, and indiscriminately emptied his magazine at the three of them, not caring if he hit any of the precious paintings.
Beth went down, clutching her side, and dropped the tube. The other two instantly hit the ground and returned fire, clipping Dolap in the shoulder as he dropped down behind the Humvee to reload. The wound was no more than a bee sting to him, and he slapped another mag into the assault rifle.
When he rose again, he saw the dark-haired woman drag Beth around the building while the Chinese man laid down suppressing fire. Then they were out of sight.
Dolap charged forward and picked up the tube. It was marked Picasso in Beth’s handwriting from when she had appraised each painting. He opened it to quickly check and saw that there were at least three paintings inside.
With Beth injured, he considered continuing the pursuit, but he needed to inform Locsin that there were more intruders. He went into the paintings storage trailer as he called on the radio.
“Comrade Locsin, this is Dolap. Two more people have infiltrated the cavern and have taken Beth Anders.”
“Where are they now?” Locsin demanded.
“On the other side of the compound from your location. They broke into the paintings storage trailer and took them. I’m in pursuit.”
Locsin sounded uncharacteristically panicked when he asked, “Did they take all of them?”
Dolap looked around him at the discarded tubes all over the floor and then checked the storage cabinet and found it empty. Even the eagle finial was gone. Blood dripped from his arm, but it was already starting to clot.
“Not all of the paintings,” he said into the radio. “I have the Picasso and a couple of others in one of the tubes.”
“You’re sure it’s the Picasso?”
“Yes, comrade. The intruders are armed, so I’ll need more men to help me search for them.”
“No! Bring the paintings to me at once. I’m in the warehouse.”
“Yes, comrade. I’m on my way.”
• • •
JUAN HAD BEEN listening to the conversation between Locsin and Dolap over the radio he’d taken from the dead guard. He didn’t know why the paintings were so important to Locsin, but the communist leader seemed desperate to get them.
But Juan and Linc had more pressing problems. Specifically, the forty or so men who were currently inching their way through the rows of Kuyog drones. None of them had a clear shot yet, but it wouldn’t be long before they did.
As they crouched behind the partially dismantled Kuyog they were using for cover, Juan said to Linc, “You ready?”
Linc had the crossbow on his back and now held his assault rifle. He snapped the 40mm grenade into the under-barrel launcher, took a breath, and nodded. “Let’s cause a mess.”
Juan smiled and aimed his own M4 at the bricks of Semtex against the rear wall on the other side of the warehouse. It was a common mistake in movies that rifle rounds could set off extremely stable plastic explosives, but he wasn’t going to shoot bullets at it. He had his own grenade launcher.
They needed an escape route, and all their breaching charges were back in the Semtex storehouse, which was why Juan had raided the Kuyog for its payload. He squeezed the trigger, and the grenade hit the pile of Semtex dead center. The grenade itself wasn’t powerful enough to blow a hole in the wall, but its explosion acted as a detonator for the plastique.
The resulting blast knocked the wind out of Juan’s l
ungs and ripped a huge hole in the building’s exterior, but the job wasn’t done yet. Linc quickly recovered and leaned over the Kuyog to aim at the Kuyog closest to the front of the warehouse.
He fired, and the grenade lofted over the heads of the men interspersed amongst the dozens of drones filling the warehouse. Then he and Juan ran for their newly created exit route.
The shell hit the Kuyog dead center and exploded, setting off the Semtex inside the drone. It blew up in a fiery eruption that began a chain reaction, with one Kuyog after the other exploding like a synchronized fireworks display.
Locsin’s men, horrified to realize what was happening, ran for their lives, but the efficient arrangement of the Kuyogs meant they had no chance. The last thing Juan saw as he plunged through the exit was the insurgents disappearing in the white-hot flames and deadly shrapnel.
Linc and Juan ran toward the empty vastness of the cavern, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the warehouse as possible.
The explosions from the warehouse were coming so fast now that they seemed to meld together until finally the whole building blew apart, tossing girders and pieces of metal high into the air before being reduced to rubble. The concussion was so powerful that it knocked them off their feet, and, as he was falling, Juan really didn’t know if this was his last moment on earth.
66
Tagaan blinked his eyes as he regained consciousness. For a few seconds, he didn’t know where he was. Then he saw that he was close to the truck with the Typhoon supply inside. He must have been thrown far from the warehouse in the explosion.
Now he remembered that he had been right by the entrance with Locsin, trying to deflect the suspicion that Cabrillo had cast upon him. Knowing that Locsin would interrogate him further when the situation was under control, Tagaan had been backing out of the building as the first Kuyog exploded. His shirt was full of tiny holes where bits of the building had pierced his skin, but none of them seemed to have done real damage.
He pushed himself up and felt a sharp cramp in his calf, the first time he’d felt any significant pain since he began taking the drug. He looked down to see what could have caused it and went cold when he saw that his left foot was gone below the ankle.
Although it throbbed, the pain was manageable, but he had to get out of the cavern. His future here was over. If Locsin didn’t kill him, the police would no doubt be raiding the place as soon as Hidalgo had passed.
He looked up to see the first hint of daybreak through the hole in the cave roof. They were still in the eye of the storm. If he could get out now, he could get to a safe hideaway and tend to his leg. With the huge supply of Typhoon in the truck, maybe his foot would even grow back. He’d heard of salamanders regrowing lost limbs, so it might be possible.
He didn’t worry about putting on a tourniquet. The blood was no longer gushing from his leg and would soon stop flowing completely.
He crawled over to the truck and pulled himself up. He opened the rear door just to make sure the Typhoon was still inside. He counted the barrels and saw that all nine were there. He quickly opened the closest one and saw the cardboard piece holding the pressed flower. He took it and closed the door, then hopped to the driver’s seat.
The keys were in the ignition. He started the truck and patted the remote detonator in his pocket.
Sure that he had everything he needed, he shifted the automatic transmission into drive and accelerated toward the entrance tunnel.
• • •
JUAN SHOOK HIS HEAD as he sat up. Linc was doing the same.
“You all right?” Juan asked him. He worked his jaw to try to get the ringing in his ears to stop.
Linc winced. “I’ll need about four hundred ice packs when we get back to the Oregon, but I’ll live.”
Then two noises added to the sounds of the burning warehouse. One was the exchange of gunfire echoing through the cavern, which made it difficult to tell where it was coming from. The other was the sound of a truck speeding away.
They turned to see the truck that had been parked near the front of the still-intact factory tearing across the compound. Tagaan was driving, and he wasn’t waiting for anyone else.
“That’s the one with the Typhoon inside,” Linc said.
Three nearby Humvees were in flames, but one looked undamaged. Juan pointed to it and said, “We can’t let him get away with the drug. Tail him, and stay in touch. We’ll intercept you after we get back to the helicopter.”
Linc nodded and sprinted to the Humvee.
Juan stood. “Eddie, what’s your status?”
“Juan, this is Beth” came the reply, amid intermittent three-shot reports of assault rifles in the background. “Eddie and Raven are busy right now shooting people.”
“How many?”
“A lot. I don’t think they’re real happy about you blowing up the place. Are you all right?”
“Tell Eddie we’re fine. Where are you?”
“I don’t know exactly. I think we’re on the other side of this complex from you.”
“I’m on my way.”
“I don’t think we’re going anywhere. Just follow the gunshots.”
Juan picked up his M4 and ran along the side of the burning warehouse as Linc got the Humvee started. He gunned it just as Tagaan disappeared into the tunnel.
• • •
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR, Tagaan could see a Humvee giving chase. That might be one of his men, but he couldn’t take the chance.
When he got to the entrance, he didn’t even slow down. The guards didn’t move as he sped toward them and he realized it was because each had a hole in his head.
He rammed the gates and they went flying into the jungle as the hood of the truck crunched from the impact. It had been modified to travel muddy roads, with a more powerful engine and bigger tires, so Tagaan knew it could take the punishment.
Once he was clear of the entrance and speeding down the road, he fished the detonator from his pocket and pushed the button.
• • •
LINC HAD HIS FOOT mashed to the floor as the Humvee rocketed into the tunnel. Then the light at the end of the tunnel vanished.
A split second later, the roar of an explosion rattled the Humvee, and Linc stood on the brakes. He came to a stop, and a roiling cloud of dust soon enveloped him.
He activated his comm link. “More bad news, Chairman.”
“Don’t tell me that explosion was you.”
“Almost. Tagaan blew the front entrance. We’re stuck in here.”
“Not necessarily,” the Chairman said. “But, first, Eddie, Raven, and Beth are pinned down. We can give them an advantage with the night vision goggles for at least a few minutes before dawn comes. Remember the diesel generator?”
Linc did indeed. He threw the Humvee in reverse. “I’ll help contribute to the mayhem.”
He backed out of the tunnel. When he was in the clear, he had a good view of the huge generator and the diesel tanker feeding it fuel.
He picked up his M4 and loaded another grenade into the launcher. He rammed it closed and fired at the tanker.
When the grenade hit the truck, it went up with a satisfying boom of thunder. A second later, the generator next to it blew up as well, and all the electric lights in the cavern went out.
• • •
“GOOD JOB, LINC,” Juan said over the radio. “I’ll meet you where Eddie and the others are.”
He stopped at the center stalagmite pillar and called Gomez.
“This is the Chairman,” Juan said. “We need immediate extraction.”
“Gotcha. Where?”
“Inside the cavern. We’re locked in.”
“Sorry, Chairman, did you say ‘inside the cavern’?” Gomez asked with disbelief.
“There’s a hole in the roof. Plenty big for you. We’ll be
on the side of the cave that isn’t burning.”
“Sure! Landing inside a cave? I do it all the time. This should be interesting. See you soon.”
The gunshots were more sporadic now, so killing the electricity must have slowed down the attackers. The only remaining light was from the warehouse and truck fires. Juan was about to join the fray when he spotted a beaten-up plastic tube lying on the ground.
The Picasso.
He was bending to pick it up when he was tackled from behind. The night vision goggles were knocked from his head, the assault rifle went flying. Juan rolled to avoid being pinned to the ground. He leapt up into a fighting stance and was confronted with a bloodied and bruised man. It had to be Dolap. It looked like he’d been caught on the fringes of the warehouse explosion.
Dolap, backlit by the fire, didn’t bother looking for the assault rifle. He drew a wicked-looking knife the size of a bayonet and launched himself at Juan.
Juan fell back, as if off balance, and put his prosthetic leg up in a defensive posture as Dolap landed on him, reaching out with the knife until the blade was only inches from Juan’s neck. Juan gripped Dolap’s wrist and pushed with his foot against Dolap’s chest, but he couldn’t budge the powerfully built man. The knife edged closer.
Juan reached to his combat leg and found the hidden trigger that controlled the single-shot slug in his heel.
Just as he felt the blade digging into his skin, he activated the secret gun.
The shotgun shell blasted from his artificial foot and into Dolap’s chest. It must have pierced his heart, although it took a moment for the brain to register. Dolap went limp and toppled to the ground.
Juan stood, picked up the Picasso tube, and slung it over his shoulder. His goggles were toast, from hitting the ground, so he began to search for the assault rifle in the deep shadows.
Movement from the warehouse caught his eye, and he saw a figure climbing out of the ashes of the demolished building like a phoenix rising. Locsin’s skin was charred, and his clothes hung in tatters, but he seemed to shrug off the severe wounds and raised a radio to his face.