The Portal (A Delphi Group Thriller Book 2) (38 page)

Finally, he wobbled to his feet and said, “We spread out to search the village, so I don’t know precisely where the others are.”

The commander looked back at one of the other men, apparently confused. The soldier uttered something that was likely a translation of what Bennet had said.

“That is the honest truth,” Bennett said.

The commander suddenly lowered his head and lifted a finger to his ear, apparently hearing something in his headset. He spoke for a couple of minutes then turned and barked an order at one of the other soldiers. The soldier turned off the light, plunging the area into darkness.

Seconds later, Bennett heard the sound of footsteps. He looked up to see three men approaching. Once they arrived, the flashlight was turned on again.

Someone spoke in American English. “What the…?”

Bennett stiffened at the sound of the voice. It was familiar, but yet the fog of the moment prevented him from recognizing who it was.

The commander turned toward the American speaker and said, “He not know where the others are. You kill him.”

“Look, that was not a part of our deal.”

Bennett’s blood froze. He realized who was speaking now. It couldn’t be true.

The Chinese commander grabbed the man by the shoulder and shoved him forward. A wave of shock passed through Bennett as he saw the face of his fellow soldier, confirming what his ears had already told him.

After a long moment of silence, Bennett asked, “What the heck is going on, Landon?”

Tocchet’s mouth trembled slightly as he spoke. “It wasn’t supposed to work like this, bro. I swear, I—”

“
What
wasn’t supposed to work like this?” Bennett shouted.

Tocchet’s eyes darted toward the Chinese commander. “They… they just wanted access to whatever it was we found down here. I—”

“Shut up,” Bennett said. “You disgust me.”

“I had no idea they were going to attack. I just figured… if there are aliens here, then why shouldn’t the world have access to that knowledge? It’s not like I was giving away state secrets.”

Bennett felt his own face flush with anger. “How much did they pay you? How much money are they giving you to betray your uniform?”

“It wasn’t just about the money!” Tocchet shouted. “I got cold feet, and then they threatened to harm Kate. That’s the honest—”

“Enough!” shouted the Chinese commander. He pointed a pistol at Tocchet. “I told you to shoot. If you don’t, then I shoot you.”

“Go ahead… do it, Landon,” Bennett hissed. After a long moment of silence, he continued. “I’ll die with pride, knowing I served my great country with distinction.”

Tocchet approached to within a few feet, his eyes moist with emotion. “Didn’t you hear me? They said they’d kill Kate. At that point I wanted out, but I couldn’t let my own wife die. It was Kate for some information… you would’ve done the same thing.”

“We could’ve helped you. No way they could’ve gotten to her had you sought help.”

Tocchet’s lip quivered slightly. “By that time I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Shut up!” the Chinese commander screamed. “You have three seconds, or I kill you!”

Tocchet turned his head slightly and fixed his gaze on the commander. Bennett thought he saw a flicker of something in the soldier’s eyes.

“Do it,” Bennett said.

Finally, Tocchet took a couple of steps back. A tear ran down his cheek.

The commander waved his pistol at Tocchet. “One…”

Tocchet raised his gun. Bennett noticed the barrel was shaking slightly.

“Kill,” the commander said.

Tocchet looked at Bennett. It was a blank stare, devoid of any emotion.

“Okay,” Tocchet said, sliding his finger over the trigger.

Bennett closed his eyes and waited. His thought only of his boxer, Ava.

“Two!” the commander screamed.

The cough of several suppressed shots rang out. Bennett grit his teeth, but the pain never came. He heard bodies falling and a few grunts.

There were two more shots, then silence.

Bennett opened his eyes slowly. Tocchet stood a few feet away, a curl of smoke twisting out of the barrel of his gun. The Chinese soldiers were sprawled out on the ground around him.

After a long pause, Tocchet spoke without moving. “I… I was having financial problems. I never thought I could…”

“We all have our own demons,” Bennett said. “You don’t have to explain.”

Tocchet turned and faced Bennett. “Please tell Kate I did it for her.”

Bennett frowned.

Tocchet dropped the rifle then pulled a pistol out of his pocket, turning it at an odd angle.

“No!” Bennett shouted, lunging toward him.

But it was too late. Tocchet shoved the barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

OSAK SLID THE knife back into his loincloth then extended his hand.

Zane smiled at him.

The boy helped Zane rise to his feet. He staggered for a moment, still woozy from the blow to his head. Osak grabbed his arm to steady him.

“Good grief.” Zane looked over at the Chinese soldier, who was lying a few feet away. Even though he’d known the man was large, the distraction of the fight had prevented him from seeing how truly massive he was.

Osak pointed and said something Zane didn’t understand.

“I agree,” he replied facetiously. “He’s the biggest man I’ve ever seen too.”

Osak stepped over and pushed at the body with his foot, as if making sure he was truly dead.

Zane walked over to the boy and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

Osak met his gaze, and there seemed to be understanding in the boy’s eyes.

Zane looked at his watch then frowned. He was running late. Looking around, he realized he’d lost almost everything during the fight. His visor, his gun, his pack.

“Come.” Zane gestured for the boy to follow him.

Zane passed through the gate and returned to the street. He turned in every direction, but the fog and rock piles would make it almost impossible to find any of his belongings. As he started to walk off, his foot struck something, sending it skittering across the ground. He moved in the direction of the sound then crouched and patted the ground. Soon his fingers closed around the barrel of a pistol.

“At least I’ll have something.”

He stood. He could probably find his pack and rifle if he took the time, but time was the very thing he didn’t have.

He turned to Osak. “Follow me.”

Osak’s brow furrowed in confusion, but he fell in behind the operative.

Several minutes later, they arrived at the rendezvous point. Zane motioned for Osak to join him under the cover of a tree with low, overhanging branches. He didn’t want to take the chance of getting ambushed again.

Once they were hidden, Zane looked at Osak. “We wait for Brett, Bennett, and Jorge.”

“Jorge,” Osak said with a smile.

Zane turned back toward the street. Nothing moved. The only noise came from the jungle about a hundred yards away. It concerned him that none of the other three were here yet. Had they misunderstood his instructions? That didn’t seem possible. The radios had been functioning well when he’d given them, and they’d all agreed to meet back here in fifteen minutes.

He glanced at his watch. It had been about half an hour since their last conversation. Bennett had been positioned just uphill, so he should have been the first to arrive. Brett said that it would take him and Artur fifteen minutes, which meant they should be here as well.

Zane ran a hand through his long locks. He had no choice. He needed to find the other team. The women and civilians had to be his top priority.

Turning his head slightly, he whispered, “We go down.”

Hearing nothing in response, Zane turned completely around. Osak was no longer there.

He let out a groan of frustration. Apparently the independence bug had bitten his indigenous friend again. At least he knew the boy would be safe. He was probably better equipped to survive out here than anyone, even someone carrying a gun.

After checking for movement one last time, Zane stole across the intersection. Once on the other side, he found a trail that led downhill. He’d seen it when they’d arrived earlier. This one was steeper than the others they’d traveled, forcing him to slow his pace considerably.

About ten minutes later, he came to a halt not far from the valley floor. He thought he heard something just ahead, so he ducked behind a tree on the right side of the path.

As he waited, his eyes caught something about twenty yards away. The movement was slight, a shifting shadow behind a bush.

Suddenly a familiar voice carried up the slope. “Zane?”

Brett.

Zane stepped from behind the tree and moved quickly down the slope. Soon Brett came into view, standing in the middle of the trail. As Zane drew near, another figured appeared out of the shadows.
Jorge.

“That’s a good way to get yourself killed,” Zane said. “I thought you were a jungle cat.”

“Couldn’t be sure it was you. The fog is too thick to see much of anything right now.” Brett looked Zane over. “What happened?”

“Long story. I had a run-in with another one of our Chinese friends. It’s why I was late.”

Brett nodded. “We even tried to raise both of you on the radio.”

“I lost mine in the fight. I’m assuming Bennett never responded?”

“No,” Brett replied. “In fact, the radio isn’t functioning at all now. The signal is dead. Nothing.”

Zane’s eyes narrowed. “Strange.”

“Anyway, after waiting for a while, we realized that the others might need help, so we—”

“No, you did the right thing. The safety of the civilians trumps everything.”

“So you got jumped by another soldier?”

Zane nodded. “He looked like some sort of bizarre scientific experiment gone wrong. I’m still not sure if he was even a man.”

“That’s two notches for Watson tonight,” Brett said.

“Had our indigenous friend not come along, I wouldn’t have survived the second one.”

Brett frowned. “Osak? Where is he?”

“Gone. He took off again to who knows where.”

Brett looked back toward the village. “What do you think happened to Bennett?”

“I have no idea. He should’ve been the first one back. I’m hoping he’s just holed up somewhere, hiding from the Chinese.” He turned and looked down the path. “Who knows, maybe he had the same idea we did.”

“We need to get moving,” Jorge said.

Zane nodded. He was right. They’d talked long enough. “Where are we exactly?”

“The valley floor is about thirty or forty yards ahead,” Brett said.

“There’s a large clearing down there,” Jorge added, “just like the girl said.”

“Let’s go,” Zane said.

Several minutes later, they arrived at the clearing. Zane had never seen fog so thick in his life. It was like trying to move through a burning house.

Jorge looked around, clearly uncomfortable. “We could run into someone and not know until it’s too late.”

“If anyone else is down here, then they’re dealing with the same issues we are,” Zane said. “And my guess is that the Chinese are still up in the village.” He looked down the line of trees. “Speaking of which, let’s get moving.”

Using Rebecca’s directions, he led them south along the edge of the clearing. The fog limited visibility to anywhere from ten feet to fifty yards. Zane wished he still had his visor, although he realized it wouldn’t be able to detect the Chinese.

Jorge suddenly stopped. “What’s that noise?”

Zane paused and looked at him. “What noise?”

The Brazilian pointed toward the trees on their right. “You don’t hear that buzzing?”

Brett looked up. “He’s right.”

Zane suddenly realized what they were referring to. A steady hum was coming from the rainforest. He’d been so focused on threats inside the clearing that he hadn’t noticed it before.

“It sounds like cicadas, only more intense,” Brett said. “Reminds me of standing under one of those transformers in the summer as a kid.”

As he moved his eyes across the canopy, Zane noticed an orb bouncing in and out of the foliage. Is that what was making the sound? Was it some form of communication? “I wish we had time to figure it out, but we don’t.” He gave them the signal to move out.

After a few more minutes of walking, the jungle rose up in front of them, marking the end of the clearing.

“We’re here,” Jorge said.

Zane pointed to their left. “Rebecca said the trail to the temple was on this end. Let’s see what we can find.”

The three continued along the edge of the woods, looking for any breaks in the dense foliage. Jorge took the lead, followed by Zane and Brett.

Two minutes later, the Brazilian gave a low whistle and pointed to something just ahead. When Zane arrived, Jorge turned his flashlight on briefly, illuminating a path that ran south through the trees.

“Bingo,” Brett said.

Jorge turned off the light. “This has to be it.”

Zane nodded. “I agree. Let’s…” His eyes locked on something just down the line of trees.

“What’s wrong?” Brett asked.

Zane continued to stare. When the fog had swirled away moments earlier, he could have sworn he’d seen a figure moving north away from the jungle.

“Zane, what’s wrong?” Brett asked again.

“I’m not sure,” he whispered.

“Was it someone from the other team?” Brett asked.

“I don’t think so. I think it was a person, but it might have been an animal.”

Brett removed his pistol. “Let’s go have a look.”

Zane looked at him. “No, I want both of you to head to the temple. I’ll catch up in just a sec.”

“We’re not going to just let you run out there on your own.”

Zane held up a hand. “It was probably nothing, but I need to go check it out.”

“He’s right, we don’t need to split up again,” Jorge said.

“It won’t take long,” Zane replied. “I’ll figure out what it was, and if it was nothing, I’ll catch up with you guys in a couple of minutes.”

Brett was about to say something, but Zane nodded at the trail. “Go! Two minutes… I promise.”

And with that, Zane turned and sprinted off into the fog. He didn’t like separating either, but he had no choice. He needed them to continue in the search for the other team, but unless he was going crazy, he knew he’d just seen someone walking.