“So, you guys need me to fly you somewhere? What’s the story?”
“Actually,” Emily answered, “We need you to fly us into the canyon.”
Caldwell looked surprised and confused. “Why didn’t you just get one of those tourist choppers to take you in there?”
Sean responded. “Because I don’t think they would be willing to do what we need.”
The pilot looked intrigued. “Sounds sketchy. Let’s do it.”
The group followed him over to the helicopter and climbed in, Emily taking the front seat while Sean and Adriana hopped in the back. A few minutes later they were rising slowly off the desert floor. Jim leaned the black machine forward and headed them around towards the western entrance of the canyon. “We have to take a certain flight path going in,” he said into the headset. His voice was somewhat crackly, like most radio communication devices.
The helicopter cruised along for a few minutes, running parallel to the enormous gash in the earth. Then, Jim veered to the right and the ground dropped out from under them. Awestruck by the view, Sean and Adriana looked out their respective windows in the rear. Villa was in wonder by the spectacular sight. Wyatt was a little more uneasy about the whole thing. They had gone out beyond Guano Point and were sailing past it, flying high over the Colorado River as it wound its way through the deep crevasse. Some of the tourists waved from the tour stop as they went by.
“Up ahead is Eagle Point,” Emily said into the microphone. Jim simply nodded his understanding as they drew nearer to a large, forked rock formation in the river gorge. He slightly slowed the helicopter down to make sure he didn’t pass the location. Emily pointed to the right. “Take us over there. Get us as close as you can.” Again, the pilot nodded and obeyed, guiding the flying machine to the right side of the rock ridge that jutted up from the canyon floor.
Emily looked across through the pilot’s window as the formation passed by on their left. It only took them a few minutes before they reached the spot they were looking for. “That’s it,” she said as she pointed at the enormous shape of the eagle that had been formed out of the ancient red stone. The wings of the creature stretched out in both directions of the river. The head though, was facing upstream.
Carefully, Jim inched the helicopter closer. Sean and Adriana were peeking through the cockpit windshield, trying to see if they could find a hint of anything unusual or out of place but nothing caught their eye. “What are we looking for?” Caldwell asked, turning his head slightly towards the middle of the cabin.
“We’re not real sure,” Sean replied over the hum of the cabin noise. “A cave, some Petra glyphs. Could be anything.”
“What was it that your friend said was the clue for this location?” Adriana asked.
“Mac said that the Eagle’s Wings would guide the way or something like that.” Almost in sync, the four inside the cabin turned their head upstream in the direction of where the Eagle’s head was pointing. “Can you get us over top of it?” Sean asked. “I’m talking like almost sitting on top of the head.”
Jim nodded and steered the helicopter up and over top of the rock formation. Slowly and carefully, he lowered it down as close to the rock as he could. The stone eagle was situated in a dip in the ridge, so hovering right over top of it put them at almost eye level with the pinnacle. As the four looked down the ridge they noticed it sloped slightly at an angle, like a path. Where the path ended was extraordinary. Off in the distance, several thousand feet away, they noticed a black spot on the cliff wall. Even though the end of the ridge was separated from the canyon face by a large span, from the angle they had it looked as if the ridge path led straight to the spot.
“Is that a cave?” Emily asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Sean replied.
Agents Angela Weaver and James Collack watched the black helicopter take off and circle around to the southwest towards the mouth of the canyon. Following their targets in a chopper of their own would have been foolish. Instead, they opted to be patient and see what they could observe from afar. A close listen by one of their operatives who’d been sent to the tourist center had apprised them that Wyatt and his little group had taken a shuttle out to Eagle Point. The man had done the same and got on the same bus without being compromised. He took note on Wyatt’s special interest in the eagle-shaped rock formation when they arrived at the overlook. At the last stop, Guano Point, the group hadn’t really spent any time at all looking around. Angela and James took that to mean that whatever Wyatt was looking for was around Eagle Point.
Their team had taken up a position off to the side of the tourist information center with special permission from the residing authorities. No one ever questioned high level government agents once they flashed the credentials. Access to so many restricted areas was easy.
They both held their binoculars tightly as they watched the black chopper cruise in from the southwest. “What are they doing?” James asked his partner, lowering his device for a moment.
She shook her head, still peering through her binoculars. “Not sure. But it looks like they are taking a keen interest in that area of the ridge.”
He raised his binoculars back to his face and continued staring out. Three other agents stood guard behind them making sure no curious tourists came near. Angela and James watched as the helicopter maneuvered into a position hovering over the rocky ridge. After a minute or so the helicopter lifted up a little higher and headed northeast, flying upstream over the river below. At one point, the chopper flew past their position but since they were safely a few thousand feet away, being spotted by its passengers was highly unlikely.
“What do you think?” James broke the silence again. He seemed a little on edge.
She was tired of always having to make the decisions. Even though they were of equal rank, it seemed like she’d been playing mommy to him for a while now. Sometimes she wondered how he’d gotten to the level he was at with the ignorance he displayed on an almost daily basis. She’d made little effort to withhold her frustration with his inability to kill Wyatt when he had the chance at the Venetian. How he’d let some woman sneak up on his position was still something she considered inexcusable. And just who the mystery woman was still tugged at her.
James still looked at her awaiting a response. “I’m guessing they saw something off in that direction,” she pointed towards where the helicopter had flown. “We wait to see where they land and what they’re doing. Keep our distance and observe.”
“What if they find what they’re looking for?”
A breeze picked up and played with a few loose strands of her brown hair that had escaped the neat ponytail in the back. “Then we take it from them.”
Jim lowered the aircraft down gently onto the hardened desert plateau about a hundred feet from the cliff’s edge. “Did anyone bring climbing gear?” he asked the three passengers.
“I did,” Adriana said matter-of-factly.
Sean raised both eyebrows, impressed with her preparedness.
“What made you think we would need that?” Emily prodded, as turbines above the cabin began to slow.
“Just call it a hunch,” she replied with a smirk.
She grabbed the small backpack she’d brought along and hopped down onto the ground, walking low to avoid the blowing wind of the rotors overhead.
Emily looked a little stunned.
“I like her,” Jim said as he flipped a few switches and knobs, bringing the chopper to a rest.
Sean’s former partner rolled her eyes while he chuckled under his breath.
Jim stayed with the aircraft as they made their way over to where Adriana was unpacking some thin climbing rope, rigging, and a few harnesses. She’d already set up a long stretch of rope across the dusty ground. She reached out her hand to Sean with a harness dangling loosely from it. “I think I’m gonna pass on this one,” Sean said as he put both hands in the air.