Outside the open tailgate of the SUV, the desert was still, almost perfectly silent.
"Some kind of sign would be good," he said. "Or at least some comfort."
None came.
He waited another five minutes in silence and then said, "If you're there, I just wish you'd fix this for me."
Then he remembered back to a time when he was in training, only weeks before he became a full-time Axis agent. One of his superiors put him through a drill that seemed almost impossible.
It was meant to be difficult as a way to weed out the lesser recruits. In fact, it was so strenuous, only 3 percent of people in the training program made it through.
"Are we going to encounter anything this tough out in the real world?" Sean asked.
His trainer stared through him into his soul. The man never blinked, never cracked a smile as he spoke. "You will experience much more difficult things than this out in the field."
Sean had found that difficult to believe at the time. "Tougher than this?"
The trainer nodded. "Far worse. We put our recruits through this for two reasons. One, to test mental and physical fortitude. If you're captured in the field, you have to be able to resist torture of both kinds: mind and body."
"And the other reason?"
"We are higher beings," the man said. "We cannot depend on luck or external forces to help us. You have been given a conscious mind that determines your fate every single moment of every day you will live."
Sean considered the man's words. "So what you're saying is, don't hope for a miracle."
"Not at all," the man shook his head. "What I'm saying is, don't hope for one to come from somewhere else. Everything you need is readily available to you at all times."
Sean's mind snapped back to Reece's SUV. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Outside, a light breeze rolled across the outback and blew cool, dry air into the truck. Sean wasn't sure if it was the sign he was looking for, but he'd take it.
Utter exhaustion took hold of him and pulled him down into the darkness where emotions no longer held sway. His eyes closed, and Sean fell into a deeper sleep than he'd had in a week.
Chapter 32
Tommy woke up at the sound of his phone vibrating on the nylon floor next to his sleeping bag. He reached over and took a look at the screen. His eyes were still blurry, and it took a moment for them to adjust before he could read it.
"Voicemail from Tara," he said. "Can't believe I have service out here."
He tapped the button and listened to the message.
"Hey, Tommy, it's Tara. Just wanted to let you guys know that we kept digging around but couldn't find out any more information about the people behind the credit card tracking. Sorry we couldn't be more help."
"That's disappointing," Tommy muttered.
He pressed his finger to the screen to listen to the second message from Tara.
"Oh, I almost forgot. The one piece of information we were able to obtain was that the credit card company recently went through a big merger. They were acquired by an oil company based in Australia. That company was also in the news lately for a major tragedy. Apparently, the entire board of directors was killed in a horrific elevator accident a few days ago. Only one of the men survived because he stayed behind to get some work done in his office. Now he controls pretty much everything. Seems a little fishy to me. Not sure if it helps, but his name is Bernard Holmes. Might want to check it out if you get the chance."
A rush of excitement coursed through Tommy's veins. It was a reach, but at least it was something. Up until now, they'd had nothing to go on.
If Tara's hunch was right, though, they may have just found the man behind it all.
Tommy thought about it again. Holmes's company acquires credit card company. Tara didn't say when exactly that happened. However, if this Holmes character was one of the principal owners, he'd have access to people who could put tracking tabs on certain cards.
The fact that twelve men from the board of directors were killed recently — while Holmes was left unharmed — also smacked of conspiracy. Was it a coincidence that when the entire board died, he got everything? Couldn't be.
Tommy would need more information. He tapped the screen again to return the call to Tara. A warning appeared on the screen. He was out of service. He should have noticed a moment before that he only had one bar. Out here in the bush, cell service would be spotty at best.
Still brimming with the new information, Tommy unzipped the sleeping bag and then the tent entrance. He slipped on his shoes and then unzipped the vestibule. He couldn't contain what he'd just learned and started yammering before he climbed out.
"Sean, Reece. Wake up. I just got a voicemail from Tara." He nearly shouted as the words spilled out of his mouth. "She seems to think some wealthy oil guy named Bernard…" Tommy stopped in mid-sentence as he stood up from the tent and realized he was not alone.
He looked around the campsite at the strange faces.
Six men wearing tan military-style gear with assault rifles surrounded the tents and vehicle, covering every escape point. Two of them held Sean and Reece at gunpoint. One of the six was standing next to Reece's SUV. He had a different look than the rest, cleaner. Tommy immediately identified him as the leader.
A second later, that suspicion was confirmed when the man spoke. "You were saying?"
Tommy didn't respond.
"Seems like you said you knew who was behind all this. That's unfortunate. Mr. Holmes would much prefer to keep his identity anonymous with this little operation. Not good for public relations."
The guy spoke with a sharp Australian accent. He had an athletic build, probably a former athlete turned goon because of a past injury.
"I see you met my friends," Tommy motioned to the others.
"Sorry, Schultzie," Sean said. "I don't know what happened to me. I never sleep like that."
Tommy couldn't believe these guys got the drop on Sean. He must have been completely exhausted for that to happen. Sean was always up early, and he was a light sleeper — something that Tommy assumed he'd picked up during his time working for Axis.
"If you would be so kind as to join your friends over there," the guy in charge said, "we were just about to execute them."
Tommy trudged over to where the other two were standing and took his place next to Sean. He didn't say anything to his friend about sleeping late into the morning. He'd just lost the most important person in his life. Tommy knew what that felt like. Those same emotions had racked his body for weeks after his parents were killed.
One of the other men stepped over and raised a pistol to the back of Tommy's head.
Right about now would be when Sean pulled some kind of miracle out of his rear, putting his super spy skills to work to take out all six of the bad guys, Tommy thought. His friend, however, didn't move. He just stared straight ahead with a blank look on his face.
"I know you," Reece said as he glared at the man in charge. "You're Jack Robinson. I used to cheer for you back in the day when you played rugby."
Jack fired a cynical smile at Reece. "Well, it's always nice to meet a fan. Unfortunately, those days are long gone, and I have to kill you now."
"What was it that happened?" Reece tried to keep the conversation going. "Blew out your knee and never recovered, right? ACL injury to the left knee?"
"That's right. After that injury, I was never the same. Luckily for me, I picked up some other work. And it pays much better. Now, as much as I appreciate this trip down memory lane, we have to be killing you. There's a treasure to find, and our employer is quite intent to get it soon." Jack turned and stepped away to keep from getting splattered with blood.