“Thanks, I missed you too.”
“Have you been able to get everything Ryan asked for?”
Cardinal nodded. “My gear is in the office.”
“What did you hire for me?”
“Oh, you’ll love it,” said Cardinal smiling. “I had some trouble finding one you were rated on, but I was able to rent a Bell 212 Twin Huey from a local oil company.”
Yuri smiled. “Good work, Gordon.”
“Come on, we need to get going. Your helicopter is waiting for you a few kilometers down the road. I have a rental car out back.” Holding up his still-bandaged right arm, he said, “You drive.”
“Where is Sam?” asked Yuri, looking around the hangar.
“Doing her best to blend in.”
Yuri shook his head and joined Cardinal as he strolled back to the office to pick up his gear.
Ten kilometers away, the Hummers sped down the road, oblivious to a battered-looking silver Jeep Wrangler following them at a discreet distance. Dressed in cargo pants, a T-shirt, and cowboy hat, Sam quickly glanced at her disguise in the rearview mirror and grinned to herself. It wasn’t her usual attire, but it was an outfit she could get used to. Watching her speed and distance, Sam was playing it cool. As soon as she learned where the Hummers were going, she intended to keep on driving, double back, and then call O’Reilly back in Polaris Headquarters, so he could inform Homeland Security. She knew that Donaldson was tracking them via their cell phones, but Sam knew to call in anyway just in case there had been changes to the plan. At least, that’s how they had planned it. However, Sam was an old hand and knew that any plan, no matter how well thought out, never survived contact with the enemy.
45
The drive from the airport took less than thirty minutes through the dry Texas countryside.
Mitchell tried to query the blonde-haired man about where they were going, but only received stony silence from the man. Riding beside him was a bull of a man who sat there impassively, with a pistol jammed into Mitchell's ribs, reminding him not to do anything foolish.
Soon the vehicles turned off the main road and headed down a dirt track that meandered past several farms before eventually coming to the rundown home belonging to Phillip Farragut. They stopped behind the home. Mitchell was surprised to see that there were least a dozen SUVs, jeeps, and trucks of all sizes parked in neat rows. The farm was far enough back from the road that anyone passing by would have a hard time seeing the ramshackle wooden home, let alone any of the vehicles.
“Out,” bluntly ordered the blond-haired man.
Mitchell got out and brought a hand to his eyes to block out the glare from the sun. He looked about, but couldn’t see anything that would have made him, or anyone else, think that something nefarious was going on. Aside from the parked vehicles, the land behind the farmhouse was empty. He was truly puzzled.
A couple of seconds later, Jackson and Satomi walked over to Mitchell. By the looks upon their faces, they were as mystified as he was as to what was going on.
“Come with me,” ordered the blonde-haired man.
With a shrug of his shoulders, Mitchell, followed closely by Jackson, and Atsuko fell into line with Cypher’s guards as they led them behind a barn that was slanted so far over that it looked like it was going to collapse at any moment. As they came around the corner of the barn, Mitchell saw two men dressed in military-style camouflage fatigues blocking the entrance to the cavern. In their hands were U.S. Army M-4 carbines.
The sounds of men and machines working feverishly echoed up and out of the earth.
Mitchell stepped onto the stairs and then began to descend down into the earth. He felt the cool air of the cavern on his skin. It was a welcome relief from the stiflingly hot air above.
Mitchell looked out into the massive cavern and cursed to himself. He hadn’t expected that they were going to be taken deep underground. His only hope was that Sam found out where they were and quickly alerted the authorities, or they didn’t stand a hope in hell of getting out of the cavern alive. Mitchell was amazed to see a tall oil derrick inside the cavern. Men in dust-covered blue coveralls scurried back and forth around the derrick. Powered by several generators, bright lights illuminated the entire cave. As he got lower, his curiosity grew. He could see that the men working around the derrick were all Asian, while the men guarding the site were all Cypher’s men.
At the bottom off the stairs, the blonde-haired man led them to the derrick. He raised his hand to stop Mitchell and his people from coming any closer. The mercenary left them under guard while he walked over to a group of men huddled over a worktable.
Mitchell could see the blonde-haired man talking to a man in a charcoal-gray suit. The man stood at least six feet tall, with short blonde hair above his narrow face. His ice-blue eyes fixed on Mitchell, studying him.
With a grin on his face, Mitchell stared back. For a moment, the two alpha males glared back at one another, as if challenging the other one to a fight for dominance.
“Mister Mitchell, I presume?”
“Yes,” said Mitchell bluntly.
“We met once before, quite briefly, when you blasted your way out of my factory in Mongolia. Therefore, please allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Gabriel Cypher, and I am so glad to finally meet you in the flesh. You have proven to be quite a tenacious individual, Mister Mitchell.”
“Tenacious… normally people just call me a pain in the ass.”
Cypher shook his head at the remark and then looked over at Jackson. “Then you must be Daniel’s father.”
“I am, and I would like to see my boy,” replied Jackson.
“Of course, Mister Jackson. What kind of host would I be if I did not let you see your son?” With a snap of his fingers, a couple of guards moved over beside Jackson and led him away.
“Ah, Atsuko, it is so nice to see you again,” said Cypher, his words cold as if spoken by a serpent.
“Gabriel, you’re a monster. You tried to kill my father and me. Why?” said Atsuko angrily. Tears filled her eyes.
“It was nothing personal, my love. It was all purely business-related. I’m sure you understand.”
“How dare you use the word love when you speak to me,” snapped Atsuko. “You don’t know the meaning of the word. Gabriel Cypher only cares about Gabriel Cypher.”
She stepped forward and brought her hand back to slap Cypher’s face. Mitchell grabbed her arm and held it tight.
The sound of weapons being readied filled the air.
Mitchell saw at least four men with their weapons trained on Atsuko. “Don’t; he’s not worth it,” said Mitchell calmly into Atsuko’s ear.
Fighting the vortex of emotions racing through her heart, Atsuko took a deep breath, stepped back and then slowly lowered her hand.
“Take her over to the boy and tell the guards to keep a close eye on her as well,” said Cypher to the blond-haired guard.
Nodding, the man pointed to a table about fifty meters away, where Jackson’s son was sitting. With a malicious look still burning in her eyes, Atsuko turned and followed the man.
Cypher smiled. “Now, Mister Mitchell, you are no fool. You must realize that I cannot allow any of you to ever leave this cavern alive.”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” replied Mitchell.
“It is only fitting that Mister Jackson has the opportunity to be with his son at the end, don’t you think?”
Mitchell resisted the burning urge to smash his fist into Cypher’s throat, killing him. The only problem was that his goons would cut him down as well. Staying alive for as long as possible was their only key to salvation. He glanced over at the derrick and saw what looked like a torpedo suspended underneath.