Authors: Michelle Gagnon
Kelly found one stone at the top that looked small enough to move. She wed on it for a minute, wiggling it back and forth, grunting slightly from the effort. It finally gave, triggering a small avalanche of rubble. Kelly hopped back, narrowly avoiding having her foot crushed. She’d have to be more careful with the next one.
Getting back into position, she slid her hands into the cracks around a rock the size of a basketball.
Kelly stopped and cocked her head to the side. This time she had definitely heard something. Maybe Rodriguez had finally arrived with help—if he wasn’t in jail for setting off an explosive at the Templo Mayor. She pressed her ear against a large boulder dead center in the tunnel. A scratching sound, murmured conversation—there was definitely someone on the other side. Her heart leaped—maybe she’d be getting out of here after all.
“Hey!” she called out.
A pause, then a muffled response.
“I can’t hear you,” she yelled. “Can you get me out?”
Another muffled shout through the wall. The voice sounded male.
“What?” Kelly moved closer, closing her eyes to try to hear better.
She couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like they were yelling for her to get out of the way.
Rodriguez appeared, huffing as he staggered toward Jake.
“Thanks for the help back there,” he said. “I almost drowned.”
“I figured the vest would save you.” Jake dug frantically at the wall of rocks. “Give me a hand. I think Kelly is on the other side.”
“How the hell did that happen?” Rodriguez stepped back and perused the wall.
Jake didn’t answer. His fingers were already cut and bleeding, his breath came in short gasps. He slid his fingers into the cracks surrounding a particularly large piece of rubble, pushing with his foot against the rock below it as he heaved. After a second, it shifted. He hauled it out, dumping it on the ground next to the three he’d already removed.
“It’ll take forever to get her out that way.” Rodriguez surveyed the damage.
“You got a better idea?” Jake snapped.
“Actually, I do.” Rodriguez dropped the dry bag to the ground. Sifting inside, he brought out a chunk of gray putty. “I happen to have some C4 left.”
Jake examined it. “I don’t know much about munitions.” He scanned the ceiling. “We don’t want to bring this down on top of us.”
“We start with a little and work from there,” Rodriguez said. “Either way, it’s easier than digging through this mess.”
“She might be pinned in there. Blowing it up might kill her,” Jake said.
“That’s a risk,” Rodriguez agreed. He rubbed his chin. “I’m just worried that our federales friends will be here soon, and they’ll be less interested in helping than arresting us. If we were home, Iay wait. But here…”
Jake thought about it. Rodriguez was right. Plus they had no idea how much air Kelly had left. They had to chance it. He pressed his mouth to the wall and yelled as loud as he could, “Kelly, get back and take cover!”
As soon as she heard the order to get clear, Kelly scrambled away from the tunnel mouth and shielded her candle. Rodriguez probably had some C4 left, hopefully enough to penetrate the rubble. A puff of dust coughed out the entrance. Kelly held up the light. There was no discernible change on her side of the rock wall.
“It didn’t work!” she called out.
“Stay back, we’re trying again.” The voices were more distinct. Kelly stayed to the side of the opening, knees curled in to her chest. She covered her ears with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut.
The rumbling was louder this time. More chunks of rock broke free from the ceiling above, one landed with a crash in the center of the room. A smaller one bounced off her head, scraping her cheek on its descent.
She ignored the pain, scrambling forward as soon as the rumbling ceased. Still no change, but she distinctly heard voices on the other side. She called out, “Did it work?”
As if in response, the rock wall facing her suddenly shifted. One of the smaller stones at the top drew back and a hand appeared.
“Oh, thank God.” Kelly exhaled. She crawled up the wall with her hands, getting unsteadily to her feet.
The wall crumbled before her. The roof of the tunnel seemed stable enough, but the quicker she got through it the better. When the rubble was cleared to shoulder height, a head poked over the top. At the sight of her, Rodriguez’s face flooded with relief.
“Jesus, Jones. The situations you get yourself into.”
“We’ve got to hurry,” Kelly said. “Stefan has some sort of ritual planned.”
“One thing at a time.” Rodriguez passed something through the gap. “This should help.”
Kelly almost cried with joy at the sight of her prosthetic, a sentiment she never would have imagined a few days ago. Leaning against one of the larger boulders, she refastened it. Despite the pain in her stump, it reinvigorated her. “I’m coming over,” she called.
Kelly eased herself into the opening. She froze as the movement sent smaller stones shifting beneath her. A pair of strong hands grabbed hold beneath her armpits, yanking her through just as the rocks gave way.
“Thanks,” she said, looking down as she brushed herself off.
“Anytime.”
Kelly raised her eyes slowly to find Jake staring down at her. He didn’t look pleased. “How did the mission go?” she asked tentatively.
“Later. Right now I want to know what the hell you were thinking.”
“We should really—”
“You didn’t even call to tell me what youo.”
“I…lost my phone,” she said weakly, figuring this wasn’t a good time to bring up her brief stint in jail.
“You can get a phone in any corner store in Mexico City. You managed to call him.” He jerked a thumb toward Rodriguez, who stood off to the side looking wildly uncomfortable.
“I didn’t, actually. McLarty called Danny.”
“So you decided to go after this lunatic alone, even though—”
“Even though what?” Kelly demanded, eyes narrowing.
He wasn’t backing down, though—she saw it in his eyes. “Even though you’re crippled now. You can’t do the things you used to do. Christ, look at yourself. You’re beat to hell.” He reached out a hand and gingerly wiped her bleeding cheek. She winced.
“I almost had him,” Kelly retorted, trying not to flinch at the word “cripple.” She scanned the spit of land: the raft was gone and she couldn’t see her gun anywhere. Stefan had a fifteen-minute head start, minimum.
“We can fight about this later,” she said. “Right now we have to get out of here.”
“Back in there?” Rodriguez asked, shivering. His suit hung lank, pant cuffs dripping around his ankles.
“Unless you two found another way out,” Kelly said, looking back and forth between them. Jake was clearly enraged, she recognized the set of his jaw.
There was a groan overhead. They all froze, eyes drawn upward.
“I don’t like the way that sounded.” Rodriguez examined the ceiling. “Believe me, I hate to say it, but Kelly’s right. We have to get out of here.”
“Let’s go.” Kelly avoided Jake’s eyes as she marched back to the water’s edge.
He didn’t reply, but she heard him fall in behind her. Without giving herself time to think about it, she waded back into the current.
Forty-Two
Kelly shuddered as the water licked at her shoulders. Jake floated behind her; Rodriguez paddled clumsily in the rear. The current carried her toward another opening in the wall. Jake shone a flashlight forward, illuminating it. It was wider than the one they’d entered through.
“How long is this river?” Jake asked. “It feels like we’ve gone miles already.”
“We’re probably not even outside the city yet,” Rodriguez called from the rear. “I think it’s leading south. It’ll probably meet up with the Panuco River. Most of the city’s water drains into there.”
Kelly reached the end of the chamber first. Another rumbling sound from above, and an enormous piece of the ceiling detached and fell into the water with a resounding splash. Rodriguez yelped. The force of the wave swept her to the darkness beyond.
She fought to keep her legs up, panicked at the thought of getting her foot trapped again. Something brushed against her, then grabbed her arm. She lashed out at it.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry,” she said. “Where’s your light?”
“It went out,” Jake said flatly.
“Oh.” For some reason, Kelly wasn’t as terrified as she should have been, whirling through this black pit, buffeted by the wake caused by rocks tumbling down behind them. At least this time she wasn’t alone.
“No going back now,” Rodriguez said. “Sounds like the whole roof caved in. I hope no one tries to come after us.”
“Light up ahead,” Jake said.
He was right: Kelly made out a gleam in the distance. The current was slowing, too. The tunnel narrowed. Unexpectedly, light glinted off the walls on either side, momentarily blinding her.
It took a minute for Kelly’s eyes to adjust. When they did, she almost couldn’t process what she was seeing, it was so completely unexpected.
Syd glared down at the floor. She didn’t know what to make of the situation. She’d arrived at the hospital a half hour before, only to discover that Jake had left. The nursing staff had no idea where he’d gone. Syd had an inkling. At a time like this, there was only one reason for him to leave his brother’s side. Kelly must have gotten herself into some sort of trouble, and Jake went to save her.
Much as Syd hated to admit it, the thought bothered her. Not that she expected the other night to mean anything. They’d both just been letting off steam in the middle of a tense operation. She’d done the same dozens of times all over the world, couldn’t even remember half the men’s faces now. On the ride back to Mexico City, she’d prepared a speech in case Jake thought it meant more. Gotta think of the business, she’d say brusquely. Probably better that it not happen again, just a one-time thing.
The fact that it hadn’t even occurred to him to call with an update on Mark was peeving, however. And she wasn’t much in the mood to give that speech anymore. She’d prefer to shake him hard and demand to know why he was wasting his time with Kelly. The Feeb had been irritating enough before she lost her leg. Syd figured Jake was sticking with her out of pity, that sooner or later it would fall apart of its own accord. But that was taking longer than expected.
Not that she cared, she reminded herself. None of her business either way.
She looked up to find Maltz standing beside her. He’d emerged from the battle unscathed, which was a relief. She still felt guilty for what had happened to him last summer.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Jake’s gone, huh?”
Syd shrugged. “Not my problem.”
“Sure,” Maltz said. “Nurse says Mark’ll be out of surgery soon. You want coffee?”
“Please. Cream, no sugar.” Syd sank down in a chair. Her eyes smarted as she watched Maltz limp down the hallway. Raising a hand to her cheek, she was startled to discover it was wet. Hurriedly Syd wiped away the tears.
Forty-Three
“Holy crap,” Rodriguez said.
Kelly was inclined to agree. “Where are we?”
The underground river had terminated in a long, metal tube that shot her out into the open. She was now floating in the middle of a canal. Twenty feet away, a brightly painted flat-bottomed boat filled with people drifted along, guided by what appeared to be a gondolier. After what they had just been through, surreal didn’t even begin to describe it.
“Believe it or not, I actually know,” Rodriguez groaned. “Lago Xochimilco.”
“Lago what?” Jake swam a few strokes to pull up beside them. The gondolier had swung his boat around and was paddling toward them. A few of the passengers were snapping photos.
“Lago Xochimilco. They held the rowing competitions here during the 1968 Olympics.” Rodriguez glanced around. “Kind of like the canals in San Antonio. That boat is called a trajinera. My parents took me to a great restaurant here once. Best taco I ever had in my life.”
The boat pulled up alongside them, and the gondolier yelled something. Rodriguez replied, and an oar was extended. He shoved his dry bag over the side, then awkwardly climbed on board.
“What are you doing?” Kelly asked.
“We can rent a boat. I’m done nearly drowning today.” Rodriguez shook his head like a dog, spraying the nearby tourists with droplets.
Kelly let herself be hauled aboard. She dripped muddy water on the deck as a dozen passengers gaped openly at her.
“What the hell happened to you, sweetie?” asked a woman with a strong Texas drawl. She was dressed in a green fleece jacket and cowboy hat.
“Long story,” Kelly grumbled.
“Here. Take my jacket.” She stripped it off, handing it to Kelly.
“I can’t—”
“Sure you can. Ugliest thing I own, but it’s warm. I was gonna leave it here anyway.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Kelly took the jacket and slipped it on. Even over her wet clothes, it helped.
Rodriguez was conferring with the gondolier. Kelly saw him surreptitiously flash his creds. After a minute, he came over to where she and Jake shivered in silence.
“He’s going to have a friend bring around a trajinera for us.”
“Did he see anyone matching Stefan’s description?”
Rodriguez shook his head. “This is his first trip of the dhe’d ask around, though. Any idea where Stefan was headed?”
“He said something about the time and date of the ritual being important.”
“So you’re thinking he won’t wait until next month.”
“I don’t think so.” Kelly shook her head. “We should check that calendar again, see if there are any Aztec rituals associated with today.”
“I’ll call McLarty, see if he can get someone on that. Maybe he can convince the locals to put out a BOLO, too.” Rodriguez dug a cell phone out of his dry bag.
The tourists shifted restlessly in their seats.
“I hope they’ll give some of our money back,” one woman complained, glaring at Kelly accusingly. “You know, we paid for a full hour.”
“Hell, this is a lot more interesting than I thought it’d be,” the Texan drawled, winking at Kelly. “I was half asleep before this.”
The other woman grumbled but looked away.