Death Diamonds of Bermudez (15 page)

Savage calmed down a bit and replied, “Maybe there was just one of them or maybe they wanted Sam as a hostage.”

Graham scratched his head saying, “Why would they want Sam as a hostage?”

Savage replied, “Look, we don’t have all night, but the reason is these thugs want us all together. They must have known we split up into two groups. Now if it’s ok with you two let’s go find my daughter!”

Graham and Michael both looked at each other and replied in unison, “Yes sir.”

Savage didn’t say another word. He simply walked out of the old pub determined to find his daughter. Michael and Graham ran out the door after him.

Captured

Lynch and his mercenaries were taking a short
rest at an intersection of two streets. He wanted to make sure while resting they would be able to see and be in control of all directions. Lynch had fallen asleep for just a few minutes when one of his men shook his shoulder. Lynch, a little groggy, asked, “Well, what is it, man?”

The man replied, “Sir, one of our scouts is returning.”

Lynch stood up and said, ‘It’s about bloody time.” As the scout came into sight it was clear he had brought back a prisoner. It was also clear that it was one of the teenagers.

The scout had Sam by her collar as they came within a few feet of Lynch. The scout threw her at his feet. Lynch looked down at Sam and then back at the scout saying, “Good work, man. Now give me your report. Did you kill the others?”

Before he could reply Sam stood up and said, “You’re nothing but a killer and a kidnapper. My dad and Agent Storm will find you and make you pay.”

Lynch reached down and grabbed her. While laughing he said, “Little girl, you’d better shut up. I promise you this. Your father and his mate are dead men when I find them. Oh, and by the way you’re going to help us.”

Sam kicked him in the shin as hard as she could and yelled, “You go to hell!”

Lynch grimaced in pain then backhanded her yelling, “Tie her up before I tear her up!” One of his men grabbed her and tied her hands behind her back. Lynch added, “Missy, you open your mouth one more time and I’ll shove a grenade down it.” Sam knew she had already pressed her luck with this maniac. She would keep her mouth shut for the time being. Lynch turned back to the scout and said, “Now give me that report.”

The scout replied, “Sir, I found four of them sleeping in what appeared to be an old bar.”

Lynch interrupted, “Did you kill any of them?”

The scout continued, “No, sir. It was dark, and I didn’t know who was armed. When I saw the young girl I knew she would make good bait to sucker them into a trap. So I gagged her and left as quickly as I could.”

Lynch asked, “Did anyone follow you?”

The scout replied, “No, sir. They never saw or heard me.”

Lynch smiled and said, “Bloody good, I know exactly what we’re going to do with this pretty young lady.”

One of his men asked, “What’s that?”

Lynch turned and pointed at the large
Death Diamond tower saying, “We’re going to put her where everyone in this underground city can see her. And all we’ll have to do is sit and wait.” He laughed and added, “Come on men we have a trap to set.” Lynch picked up his Uzi and headed in the direction of the Death Diamond tower. The scout grabbed Sam and shoved her in the direction of Lynch to get her to follow. The rest of Lynch’s men followed behind.

Prisoner of War

Storm, Keno
, and Portagee had been zigzagging between old structures, walls, and anything else they could hide behind to avoid being detected by Lynch and his goons. After about an hour Storm and the boys needed a rest. Storm signaled Keno and Portagee to follow him to a large stone statue of a shark. The massive statue made a safe cover for the trio to hide behind.

As the three rested, Storm whispered, “I would have thought that by now we would have run into the others. After all, we were moving in the same direction as them.”

Before Keno or Portagee could answer
, shots were ricocheting all around them. Pieces of stone from the statue were flying everywhere.

The three fell down flat on the ground covering their heads. Storm yelled out, “Well
, boys, we now know our trackers have night vision gear.” Storm directed Keno and Portagee to slide farther behind the statue. Storm turned to the boys and said, “Stay here no matter what. Without night vision gear our goose is cooked.” He handed Keno the Uzi and said, “Hang on to this until I get back.”

Keno with a concerned look on his face said, “But
, Agent Storm, you can’t go out there without a weapon.”

Storm replied, “Don’t worry. I’m not, but if I take that Uzi with me I’m a dead man.” Without saying another word he stood up and walked out in the open with his hands behind his head. Storm yelled, “Don’t shoot! I surrender.” As soon as he finished, a shot rang out. The bullet ripped through Storm’s left arm. Storm dropped to the ground in pain. Portagee and Keno were just about to run out to help Storm. Storm saw this and said, “Stay there; I’ll be fine.” Storm stood back up and yelled out, “You gutless bastard! Shooting an unarmed man! I thought you were a solider, not a coward.”

A few seconds later a man stepped out of the darkness and walked towards Storm. It was one of the scouts. As he drew near to Storm he said, “I am a soldier, mate, and I’m here to take you prisoner or kill you. What will it be?”

Storm reached into his back pocket and pulled out the jungle knife he had recovered earlier. The scout looked at the knife and laughed. He then said, “You better toss that over to me before I take it away from you and gut you with it.”

Storm looked down at the knife and back at the South African saying, “I guess you’re right. Here you go.” Storm flipped the knife straight up in the air. No sooner had it left his hand and before the South African could react, Storm spun around three hundred sixty degrees. With his right foot extending straight out he kicked the knife with his foot. The velocity from the kick was so great the South African didn’t have a chance. Before he could react the knife was embedded in his heart. The South African dropped to his knees and then bent backward collapsing to the ground on his back. Storm walked over and took his Uzi and his jungle knife. He looked at the dead South African and said, “Damn, I ruined his night vision.” He turned back to Keno and Portagee and said, “Come on, boys, we’d better get our butts out of here.” The boys quickly ran out to Storm.

As soon as they had
reached Storm a voice said, “Mates, I think you better not move another inch.”

Storm snapped back as took his Uzi off safety, “I may not able to see you, but I just killed one of your buddies. You’re next if you come any closer.”

Storm looked into the darkness
. Someone in the shadows was moving his direction. As the figure cleared the shadows the voice said, “You bloody well better get that arm looked at the way you’re holding it.”

Even
with his pain Storm smiled saying, “You old goat! I thought we’d lost you.” Storm walked over to Savage and gave him a bear hug. Storm looked around only seeing Graham and Michael. He asked, “Where’s Sam?”

Savage got a little choked up and finally replied, “Those bloody bastards have her. They kidnapped her when we were sleeping.” He looked at Storm’s arm and added, “Come on, guys. We’re sitting ducks here. Let’s move inside until daylight and fix that arm up while we’re waiting.”

They walked down the street and found what appeared to be an ancient bathhouse. Once inside Storm turned to Michael saying, “You take the first shift and let us know if you see or hear anything.” He handed Michael the Uzi and said, “Don’t go crazy with this; only fire off a warning shot if you have to. Then get out of the doorway and find us.”

Michael nodded his head and said, “Yes sir, Inspector.” The group left Michael and went on inside to find a resting spot.

After sitting down Savage looked at Storm’s arm. Savage ripped off a sleeve from his shirt and wrapped it tightly over Storm’s wound. After he finished he said, “Good news, mate. The bullet passed clean through your arm. With this bandage you’re as good as new.”

Storm smiled as best as he could and replied, “Thanks, I’m sure your old sweaty shirtsleeve will keep the flies away.” Both men laughed and then sat back relaxing, not saying another word.

In the meantime, Lynch and his men had reached the Death Diamond tower. Lynch had heard the gunfire and assumed his man had made a kill. As one of his goons brought Sam forward he said, “Did you hear that shot awhile ago, honey? Well, one of your friends is now deader than a door nail.”

Sam shook her head and said, “You’re the one who’d better take a head count, you sleaze bag.”

Lynch looked her square in the eyes and said, “Missy, you’d better be careful. Your daddy’s not here to help you, and I just might break your pretty little neck.” He looked over at one of his men and ordered, “You know what to do. Take her away.”

The man replied, “Yes sir.” Lynch’s goon shoved Sam in the direction of an iron door at the bottom of the base of the Death Diamond tower. As the two walked through the doorway of the tower Sam was amazed at the awesome sight she saw.

The
tower was hollow with a spiral staircase slowing finding its way to the Death Diamond ball. Running up the middle of the tower was a hollow iron tube that must have been twenty feet in diameter. What Sam did not know was that the in the hollow tube was a series of huge glass magnifying lenses that increased any light that passed through thousands of times. Below them what appeared to be a floor was really two half circle trap doors. The ancient inhabitants of this city discovered that a strong ocean current was running under the cavern. The high tides from the ocean directly impacted the currents twice a day. When the currents were at high tide the trap doors were forced close. Somehow the ancients had harnessed the powerful rays of the sun through reflective lenses on the ocean floor that must have adjusted with the rotation of the earth to stay in alignment with the sun. When those trap doors dropped open at low tide the rays blasted through the Death Diamonds lighting up the entire city in seconds. For thousands of years the Death Diamonds had regulated night and day just as reliably as the sun and moon have in their orbits.

A
s Sam and her captor climbed their way up the spiral stone staircase that wrapped around the inside wall of the tower, the trap doors below dropped open and a sudden laser burst of light shot through the tower causing the Death Diamonds to illuminate the entire city in a matter of seconds. The sudden flash of light startled the South African. Sam turned to him and shoved her shoulder into his chest as hard as she could. The South African went tumbling down the stairs backwards head over heel. He finally skidded to a stop on the stairs and was out cold. Sam knew she only had a few minutes to make her escape, but her hands were still tied behind her back. She would have a hard time getting around the South African blocking the stairs, so her only choice was to go up. As she started up the stairs, another one of Lynch’s men walked through the tower doorway and saw the man down and Sam scurrying up the stairs.

The South African yelled out, “Lynch, the girl got loose!”

Lynch quickly entered the tower and shoved the man aside yelling, “Go get her! I see she’s got some of her father’s spirit in her. Anyway she’s not going anywhere unless she wants to jump to her death. While you’re at it, kick your stupid friend in the head for letting a girl beat him up.”

The man replied, “Yes sir!” He took off running up the stairs.

Sam made her way to the top of the
tower. Just below the Death Diamond ball was a hatch that opened up to a railed platform encircling the massive tower. Sam used her shoulder to push open the iron hatch. Once through the hatch she kicked it closed with her foot. With her heel she was able to tap the latch closed locking the hatch door. It was apparent to her that the platform was there so that the inhabitants of
Bermúdez would be able to do maintenance on the Death Diamond ball. As Sam walked around the platform she knew sooner or later the South Africans would break through the hatch and capture her again. She could only hope that her father and Storm would come to her rescue, not knowing that Lynch wanted the same. Sam kept circling the tower looking for her friends. She would at moments forget her dire situation and get caught up in the breathtaking view of the city. She knew that there was no place like this on earth.