Death Diamonds of Bermudez (11 page)

Lynch flipped open his
GPS communicator. He clicked the button on the side and said, “Van Eck, this is Lynch. Come in.”

Van Eck clicked his GPS back and said, “You idiot! Don’t use our names over this channel.”

Lynch clicked back, “Sorry, boss. It won’t happen again.”

Van Eck clicked back, “So what in the hell do you want?”

Lynch clicked again, “We’re in a huge cave. The cave floor is littered with diamonds, and the walls are loaded with rich veins of gold and silver. What do you want us to do?”

Van Eck clicked back, “What about the Spinners and the cops?”

Lynch clicked, “They’ve eluded us so far.”

V
ery irritated, Van Eck clicked back, “Eliminate them and then come back for the diamonds. Take your time, Lynch. There’s a massive gale force storm that’s just struck the island. It’s going to last for several days. There will be no one going outside looking for any missing persons for quite some time. If just one of them escapes our mission is in jeopardy. So make sure that doesn’t happen. Call me when you finish them all off, and I’ll signal the
trawler to Long Island.”

Lynch clicked, “Roger that, out.” He closed the GPS and walked over to Klaw who was pointing down to the floor. Lynch then said, “Well, what is it?”

Klaw replied, “Look at the way this mud on the floor was smeared. We must have hit one of them when we were firing through the tunnel blockage.”

Lynch snapped back, “So where’s the body? Where’s the blood?”

Klaw added, “I don’t know, but it appears by the heavy imprints that one of them was getting help trying to walk. Their tracks all head off in that direction.”

Lynch replied, “You take one of the men and move out. We’ll look around for some more clues then catch up to you.” Klaw and one of the other thugs left the group following the trail left by Storm and Savage.

The Ambush

Meanwhile Storm and Savage were checking out the natural terrain of the cavern looking for ways that Mother Nature might come to their aid. While they were checking out the cavern Storm said, “Our only chance with paramilitary killers is to even the odds.”

Savage looked at Storm and said, “How in the bloody hell are we going to do that, mate? These goons have all the advantages. They’ve got the numbers and the weapons, not to mention they’re jungle fighters.”

Storm smiled at Savage saying
, “Come on, man. We’ve got the brains.”

Savage interrupted him saying, “Oh yeah, that’s what you say to someone who’s just about ready to get their butts kicked.”

Storm replied, “No really. I
f we can just overtake one of them we’ll at least have one weapon.”

Savage nodded his head in agreement and said, “Then we have to separate one of them from the group and hope no one notices, but how?” The two quit talking and kept looking for that opportunity. Finally Savage signaled to Storm pointing in the direction of the cavern wall. The two walked over to the spot where Savage had indicated.

Storm looked at Savage saying
, “We both know what has to be done, so let’s get at it.” Savage agreed, and both men went quietly to work. Both men knew precisely what to do.

Klaw and his fellow South African were quickly closing the gap on Storm and Savage. No matter how Storm and Savage tried to conceal their tracks, Klaw could see through it. Finally, at a junction in an old trail Klaw stopped and said, “Look here, mate. The two coppers have split up. They must think we’ll let one of them get away.”

The other man said, “Well, Klaw, what do you want to do?”

Klaw in a gruff voice said, “I want you to shut up and do what I tell you!” The other man just stood there in silence waiting for his order.

Klaw pointed over to a tunnel entrance on the side wall of the cavern and said, “You track the cop who went into that tunnel, but be damn careful. He might be waiting for you in the dark. I’ll follow the other one.”

The other man asked, “Do you want me to capture him or kill him?”

Klaw smiled and said, “Blast his ass to hell!” He turned away leaving the man and headed down his trail. The other man pulled out his Uzi and cocked back the firing lever. He mounted his flashlight to the top of the Uzi and headed for the tunnel. As the goon got closer to the tunnel he became a bit apprehensive. The entrance to the tunnel was beginning to look like a devil’s head. The walls around the tunnel were sharp stones in the shape of a head. On top of the head were two large
stalagmites growing upward like horns. And to make matters worse there were several stalactites growing downwards like sharp jagged teeth.

Klaw had been right. Savage was waiting for the goon just inside the tunnel concealed in the dark shadows. Just as the goon stepped into the doorway of the tunnel Savage stepped out of the darkness holding his night stick in front of him. The goon laughed and said, “You fool! Do you think that stick is going to stop my Uzi from cutting you in half?”

Savage replied showing no emotion, “No, but I think those bloody teeth above you will bite you in the ass.” The startled goon flinched for a second and looked straight up at the devil’s teeth. Before he could look down Savage threw his night stick aside as hard as he could striking two stalactites at their base. They immediately broke free. The first one dropped implanting itself into the chest of the goon. The other drove itself through his foot. The goon was screaming bloody murder and began firing his Uzi in all directions. Savage fell backwards trying to hide behind some rocks to avoid the bullets. It was all over in seconds. The goon was dead.

Klaw had heard the firing and was convinced that his man had killed Storm or Savage. He was now ready to find the other copper.

Savage walked over to the dead South African picking up his Uzi, his bag of bullet clips, and his hunting knife. He started to walk off, but remembered he had forgotten something---his nightstick. He walked back over and picked it up. Savage tucked it in his belt and walked off in the direction of Klaw.

Klaw was still tracking Storm and he felt he was getting very close to his prey. Storm had stopped by the shark pool that the Spinners had found some time earlier. He could see footprints all around the pool. He now knew the Spinners were still alive. As he walked around the pool a voice spoke up and startled him. It was Klaw gloating, “Your times up, mate. The Grim Reaper is here to claim you, boy! “

Storm got pissed. He said, “There you stupid South Africans go calling me a boy again.”

Klaw laughed and said, “Who gives a damn? You’re going to be a dead boy in a few minutes.”

Storm snapped back, “Why don’t you put down that Uzi and have a fair fight with me, you bastard.”

Klaw replied, “What do you mean by a fair fight, boy?”

Storm was getting more upset by the minute. He added, “Listen, you baboon. I’ll take you on bare-handed, and you can use that gut-gutter you call a knife.”

Klaw dropped the Uzi and ripped his massive knife out of the sheaf. He started swinging it wildly at Storm screaming out, “You got a deal, dead man!”

Storm spun around surprising Klaw with his right foot connecting to his jaw. Klaw stumbled backwards a few feet, but bounced back like nothing had happened. He lunged at Storm catching his right arm with the huge knife blade. Storm backed off momentarily, but quickly responded with a left karate chop to Klaw’s throat. Klaw grabbed at his throat coughing and choking. Klaw now knew he was in a fight for his life. He bent down and picked up a small boulder throwing it at Storm. The boulder hit Storm in the chest knocking him flat on his back leaving him slightly stunned with his head hanging over the edge of the shark pool. Klaw jumped on the top of Storm. He tried to shove his knife into Storm’s chest, but Storm caught his wrist preventing himself from being stabbed. Klaw started punching Storm’s face with his free fist. He yelled at Storm, “I’m going to kill you now, boy.”

To Klaw’s surprise he heard an Uzi lever click behind him and a voice said, “The only boy I know in this cavern is you.” Klaw turned his head around to see who it was. At that moment Storm kneed him in the groin then grabbed him by the shoulders and threw Klaw over his head into the shark pool. Within seconds the sharks attacked, and the pool turned blood red.

Savage bent down and helped Storm up to his feet saying, “You bloody well had me worried for a minute, Storm.”

Storm snapped back, “Well, old buddy, I was saving Klaw for you, but your old body couldn’t get here fast enough.”

Savage laughed and said, “You better watch your mouth, mate, or I just might feed you to the sharks! Although they’re probably not hungry now.” Both men laughed as they walked off from the pool. At least they now had two Uzis with ammunition and two less goons to deal with. As they left the area Storm and Savage failed to notice a bloody body crawling out of the pool.

The Reunion

Sam, Michael
, and Portagee were closing in on what appeared to be the end of the cavern. While they were walking Michael said, “It looks to me like we’ve walked into a dead end.”

Portagee replied, “That’s great. Now we’ll be trapped like rats when the South Africans find us.”

Sam chimed in, “Don’t give up yet, guys. We’re not there yet. Who knows what we’ll find?” The three kept walking towards the end of the cavern. One thing they all noticed was that they now felt a cool breeze coming from their backsides.

As they arrived at what they thought was the end of the line, Michael spotted a set of stairs that went up about twenty feet. The stairs must have been about twenty feet wide and made out of limestone. Michael looked at the stairs saying, “These stairs look ancient. Look at the ornate etchings in the steps.”

Portagee and Sam went over to look at the steps. Sam added, “This is weird. These etchings look like ancient Greek or Roman carvings.”

Portagee replied, “Well, who wants to go up the steps and see what’s at the top?”

They all agreed to go. As they went up the steps, they heard someone coming from behind them in the cavern. Michael turned to the others and whispered, “Quick! Jump over to the side of the stairs, and we’ll duck down and hide.” The three slipped over the side without making a sound and waited. They were all sure that the South Africans had finally caught up to them. The sounds of footsteps were getting closer and closer. Not knowing who it might be, they were making no sounds. Michael finally signaled to the other two that he was going to take a peek over the stair step. As he stood up someone grabbed him and jerked him up onto the stairs. Michael yelled out, “Oh, crap!” Sam and Portagee looked at each other not knowing what to do.

All of a sudden they heard a voice saying, “Are you two going to stay down there all day?” Portagee and Sam looked up, and to their surprise it was Keno with Graham and Michael looking over his shoulders. Keno reached down with both hands and said, “Grab hold.” Both Portagee and Sam took one of Keno’s hands, and he pulled them both up to the stairs with one jerk.

Sam screamed out, “Where have you two been? We thought the South Africans were right behind us. Instead it was you two.”

Graham replied, “Well, Sam, I hate to burst your bubble, but those goons are right behind us. Didn’t you hear the gun fire and explosion?”

Portagee spoke up, “Yeah, we did hear a faint explosion.”

Sam interrupted saying, “What about my dad and Agent Storm?”

Keno replied, “They’re behind us somewhere. They were trying to slow down or stop the South Africans.”

Graham asked, “So what now? It’s looks like we’re at a dead end.”