Piranha

“What’s he pla

They hesitated again, but Juan could see that they knew. They backed up some more as if trying to edge their way toward the exit to make a run for it.

“Tell me,” he growled. “Now!”

“Okay, okay,” one of the techs said, his hands raised in supplication. “He’s going to shoot down—”

A torrent of bullets tore into the chests of both techs. They came from the direction of the man-made tu

Juan and Trono scrambled behind one of the selenium pillars. Juan barely brushed against it and the razor edge ripped his fatigues. Diving for cover was not going to be an attractive option in this cave.

In the reflection of a huge crystal, Juan could see that it was Bazin who had killed the two techs. He was hunched over the console, typing with one hand while training his Uzi in their direction with the other. An RPG was propped against the console next to him.

Juan motioned for Trono to try to flank him at the tu

“I know what you’re doing, Cabrillo,” Bazin called out. “I’d try to flank me, too. It won’t work.”

“Why?” Juan replied. “Because Kensit is telling you where we are?”

“It’s an incredible advantage, isn’t it?”

“I know my people are outside. You can’t escape.”

“I’d be more worried about this bomb if I were you.”

Juan watched him typing and realized what he was enabling. “Have you got yourselves an old-fashioned self-destruct mechanism there?”

“It’s state-of-the-art,” Bazin said. “I suggest you go back the same way you came in here if you don’t want to self-destruct as well.” He made one last press with a flourish and said, “There. Au revoir, mon capitaine.”

Bazin picked up the RPG and backed away slowly, but Juan had no intention of letting him get away. He didn’t have a direct shot at Bazin, but he wouldn’t have taken it anyway. He needed Bazin alive to tell him what Kensit’s target was.

He waited until Bazin was under a crystal stalactite dangling above like a chandelier. He unloaded his entire thirty-round magazine into it, showering Bazin with shards that cut him in a hundred places.

Bazin dropped the RPG to shield himself from further mutilation, but he kept hold of the submachine gun, shooting wildly in Juan’s direction. Blood gushed over his eyes. When the hammer clicked on an empty chamber, Juan rushed him.

He expected Trono to do the same, but more gunshots came from the tu

Juan slammed into Bazin, throwing him to the metal flooring. Bazin leaned over and Juan gave him a solid punch to the kidneys.

What he forgot was that Bazin knew more about Juan than most any other opponent ever had.

While Bazin was absorbing Juan’s punches, he grabbed for Juan’s prosthetic leg. Bazin knew exactly how the combat version was strapped on and yanked at the buckles holding it to Juan’s calf. It came free, sending Juan tumbling over. He was able to grab it away from Bazin, but giving chase would be impossible now.

Bazin wiped his eyes clear, scrabbled over to the Uzi, and popped the magazine out. Before Juan could snap the combat leg open to retrieve his Colt Defender, Bazin sprinted across the cave to find cover where he could reload and then finish Juan off.

Juan fired as Bazin retreated to keep him from ducking behind the closest crystal column. He thought he nicked Bazin in the leg just as he ran into the passageway where Juan and Trono had entered from the underwater cavern.

Juan heard the distinctive click of a magazine being rammed home and noticed that now he was the one under the chandelier of doom. If Bazin tried the same trick of firing into the cave ceiling, Juan would be a sitting duck.

Even though he wanted Bazin alive, Juan didn’t have a choice. He rolled over and snatched up the RPG. Balancing himself on his stump, he aimed at the passageway and pulled the trigger.

The RPG lanced out on a tongue of fire and struck the ceiling, sending a rain of limestone down and collapsing the entire opening. When the haze cleared, there was no doubt that the passageway to the underwater entrance had been completely sealed. Bazin was gone.

Even as he was pulling the trigger, Juan thought that firing the RPG might set off a chain reaction of ceiling collapses. He held his breath as many of the huge crystals trembled and cracked. A few fragments fell harmlessly, then all was quiet.

Juan rushed to reattach his leg and help Trono fend off the remaining mercenaries, but as soon as he had it back on and was standing, he realized that the gunfire had ceased.

Trono cautiously emerged from behind the pillar.

“Special delivery for Juan Cabrillo!” yelled Linc’s baritone from inside the tu

“Come on in!” Juan yelled back. “We’re starving.”

Linc strode forward into the light and his jaw dropped to his chest as his gaze quickly took in the spectacle of Sentinel and the giant crystals of the Oz cave.

“That must have been what we looked like when we got here,” Juan said to Trono.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him speechless before,” Trono replied.

“Is everything buttoned-up out there?” Juan asked Linc.

“Five remaining men gave up after seeing the rest of their buddies go down. It’s a mess. Bazin had sixty men digging tu

A disheveled but proud Haitian was escorted in by Eddie. After gawking at the cave, he shook hands with a firm grip when he was introduced to Juan.

“Jacques Duval, deputy commander of the Haitian National Police,” he said. “I understand you are the one I can thank for this rescue.”

“You’ve got a whole team to thank,” Juan said. “I’m not the Lone Ranger. Come to think of it, even the Lone Ranger wasn’t the Lone Ranger. Not with Tonto around to save his skin all the time.”

Duval cocked his head in confusion, not understanding the American allusion. “Where is Hector Bazin?”

Juan pointed to the tons of fallen rock on the other side of the cave. “Buried in there.”

Duval nodded, both rueful and satisfied. “It had to be done. Thank you again. Now I must go and take command of the police that think they are coming to save Hector.”

“Will they listen to you?”

“What choice will they have? There’s no one else left here to command them.”

He turned on his heel and strode away.

“Tough guy,” Juan said.

“Other than some water,” Eddie said, “he didn’t ask for anything for himself, just for his men.”

Juan nodded in understanding. He would have done the same. Those kinds of leaders usually win out over men like Bazin in the end.

“Get Eric in here,” he said. “We’ve got another problem.”

Two minutes later, Linc and Eddie were back outside, and Eric was sitting at the Sentinel console trying to ascertain how to deactivate the self-destruct, whose timer was already down to fifty-three minutes.

“Can you disable it?” Juan asked.

Eric shook his head. “I’d be afraid to try. Kensit could have it booby-trapped to explode if the wrong code is entered.”

“What about pulling the plug?”

“No good. The outside power is already gone, and it looks like the battery backup is integral to the machine. Any attempt to disengage electrical power might also set it off. I’m afraid there’s no way to prevent the explosion.”

Juan ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated that they were out of options.