Piranha

“I see you,” Linda replied. “We’re on our way.”

Seconds later, a piercing howl preceded the impact of a rocket from the PIG. It blew apart the second armored vehicle. Two down, two to go.

From farther in the distance came the sound of another ca

Two of the shells smashed right through its windshield and another took off part of the hood. Eric gu

The Ratel didn’t pursue, likely expecting an ambush as soon as it was exposed. It waited out of range, its main gun trained on the spot where the PIG would have to come out.

It was a standoff.

“Linda, how’s Max’s baby doing,” Eddie said.

“He’s going to have a co

“That doesn’t sound so good. Maybe we should—”

“Hold on,” Linda said, “something’s happening.”

The smoke was lifting, and Linc could make out the central part of the cement plant. He raised his binoculars and could see armed mercenaries kicking and pushing scores of bedraggled men in tattered clothes from one of the buildings, assembling them in two rows in front of the plant. He estimated there were sixty of them in all. The fourth armored vehicle took up position behind them.

“Who are those guys?” Linc asked under his breath.

“Forced labor,” Eddie said. “Believe me, I know it when I see it.” Linc knew that wasn’t an exaggeration because Eddie had experienced it firsthand.

The factory’s PA system squealed. “Linda Ross,” said a Creole-accented voice that had to be Hector Bazin, “you know who I am. And I know where you and your men are.”

Eddie and Linc looked at each other. Kensit had spotted Linda with his neutrino telescope.

“Your assault is futile. Tell Cabrillo and the rest of his men to stand down from this pointless gesture.”

“At least he doesn’t know where the rest of the team is,” Linc said.

“I have placed a call to the Haitian National Police,” Bazin continued. “They will be here with a hundred more men within twenty minutes. Leave now or you will all be killed. If you attempt to continue your attack, you will have to go through these i

“Can you take him out?” Eddie asked Linda.

“Negative,” she said. “MacD doesn’t have a shot. Bazin hasn’t revealed himself.”

“Leave now or die,” Bazin said. Another squeal signaled the end of the a

“We gotta give the Chairman more time,” Linc said.

“I don’t think the part about the police is a bluff,” Eddie said. “He could very well have a whole battalion on his payroll. I don’t see many options for us unless we can get in there somehow, but the foliage stops long before we could get to the factory grounds.”

Linc looked at the motionless Ratel and had a brainstorm.

“Kensit doesn’t know where you and I are, right?”

Eddie frowned at him. “It doesn’t seem so.”

“Then we can sneak into the cement plant if we can get inside that Ratel.”

Eddie’s eyes flicked to the armored vehicle and then back to Linc in sudden comprehension.

“Return of the Jedi?”

“Right. Where Chewie and Han take control of the Walker and trick the base commander outside. If we can get inside the Ratel, we can do the same thing. Drive right up to them, take out the other one before they know it’s us, and wipe out the rest of them with that big bad ca

“I like it,” Eddie said. “Now we just have to figure out a way to get over to it without them seeing us.”

“Maybe we can bring it to us,” Linc said. He activated his radio. “Linda, don’t say anything. We heard everything Bazin said and we’ve got a plan. I hope you’ve seen Return of the Jedi.”

As Juan and Trono swam, the reading on the Geiger counter grew stronger, far below dangerous levels but enough to guide them in the right direction. Still, they ran into dead ends and passages that were too tight to traverse, requiring backtracking that significantly cut into the time they had left. If they didn’t turn back soon, they wouldn’t have enough air to make the trip. This was why cave diving is considered one of the deadliest sports in the world.

They reached an air pocket and surfaced. There was just enough room for both of their heads.

“How’s your air?” Juan asked.

“Getting close to the halfway mark.”

“Me too. The radiation signature is strengthening, but I can’t tell how far we have to go. At least we’re going up. If we don’t surface anywhere else in the next five minutes, you’re going back.”

“You mean, we’re going back.”

“Kensit’s pla

“Then I’m going with you. If you think we can make it, that’s good enough for me.”

Juan saw that Trono wasn’t going to let him continue on by himself no matter what he said, so he didn’t argue.

“All right. If we don’t find some dry floor in five minutes, we’ll turn around.”

They put their masks back on and kept going. Juan tried to imagine Gunther Lutzen climbing through these caves over a hundred years ago with nothing more than some rope and a lantern and carrying his bulky camera with him the entire way. He might have explored the caves for weeks before happening upon the one that would prove his theories correct.

Five minutes later, Juan still saw no sign that they were coming up into the cavern Lutzen called Oz. He continued going past where he should, counting on his and Trono’s ability to conserve more air on the way out than they’d consumed on the way in.

The risk paid off when his light reflected off a mirror sheen where water met air. He kicked toward it, hoping it wasn’t merely another tiny air pocket.

He poked his head from the water and instead of his regulator being muffled by the closeness of a bubble, its rasp echoed off widely spaced walls and a high ceiling.

He removed his mouthpiece, did a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn, and saw no signs of light. He signaled Trono. They crawled out onto the damp limestone and shed all their scuba gear except the wetsuits. They unslung their MP-5 submachine guns, equipped with suppressors, which were reliable close-quarters weapons ideal for the underground setting. After shaking water out of the barrels and receivers, they continued following the path set by the Geiger counter.

The winding caves often split off in multiple directions, but each time only one showed a stronger radiation signature. It was after the third intersection that Juan spotted a glimmer of light in the distance. He kept his hooded flashlight pointed at the floor so that it wouldn’t be seen as they approached.

When they got within fifty yards, Juan noticed that his light was starting to be reflected by green crystals embedded in the limestone walls and ceiling around them. This must have been where Lutzen had taken his photo of crystals.