Darling Wildfire (Red Rabbit #2)

75

THERON

Looking out of the helo, I scanned the terrain below us. It was mountainous and densely forested with hardly a break in the trees. We weren’t going to fly anywhere close to the lake in order not to alert the security presence there. I looked over at Nyx, Atlas and Lachlan. I could see the readiness I was so familiar with on Atlas’ face and the set of Nyx’s jaw told me he was dialed in and already in go mode.

“DZ coming up in two,”

Mads said over the radio.

“West, do you copy?” I asked.

“Loud and clear,” he said.

Knight picked up the drone he’d sent with us and powered it on, adjusting a few settings.

“Drone is live,” he said.

A small gap in the trees appeared below us and the bird hovered there. I looked down. It couldn’t even be considered a clearing but would work. Knight strapped the drone to his chest while Atlas released the rope.

“Ready when you are,”

Mads said.

Atlas dropped down the rope, followed by Nyx, Knight and Lachlan. I went last and as soon as I hit the ground the helo dipped off, the sound of the rotors disappearing quickly. Knight launched the drone and I signaled for the others to fall into line.

Based on the maps we would head south towards the lake and loop around to where the caves were on the west bank. The lake was steep on most sides with the forest encroaching on it aggressively. This was why it was so dangerous to dive there—trees would fall into the water and sink to the bottom forming a layer of logs waiting to trap even the most experienced divers. The rumors of the gold we’d found online said the treasure had fallen below this level to the sand below but no one was able to reach it. Now we knew better and if the map was accurate, we weren’t headed into the lake.

The forest was alive with birdsong but the ground was dense with underbrush and our pace was slow and tedious. We’d been on the ground for about an hour when I signaled for a halt. I heard something through the trees and signaled as much.

“First guard house is a hundred yards east of you,”

West said in my ear.

I turned to the men and motioned for Nyx and Knight to come with me and Lachlan and Atlas to sweep around, merging on them from two sides. Lachlan and Atlas disappeared silently into the trees and Nyx and I continued to advance.

“Man, these guys look bored,”

West said. “Two outside—guns are propped against the cabin. Scanner shows three, maybe four inside. Little over-staffed if you ask me.”

I made it to the edge of the treeline and saw a crude cabin in a clearing. Two of the guards were throwing a football around, their banter filtering through the trees to us. I couldn’t see much through the dingy window to confirm what West said but I wasn’t worried about it.

“Lach, Atlas—take out the two outside, Nyx and I will head into the house. Knight watch the treeline. Knives only.”

“Copy,”

Atlas murmured.

“Go,” I said.

I circled around the house, went up to the back door and inched it open. I signaled to Nyx—two at the table, one in bed, another looking out the window.

I crept inside. I stood behind the man at the window and a floorboard creaked. He went to turn, but I already had a hand around his throat, covering his mouth and then my knife was shoved up into his head, killing him. The second man lunged up from the table with a shout, lurching towards his gun. Nyx had already dispatched his partner at the table and was on the one in bed just as I neatly slammed the last one against the wall and killed him quickly.

We walked outside and Knight fell into step with us. Lachlan and Atlas faced the forest, the other two men dead at their feet.

“Move out.”

I headed back towards the trees and we swept into the shadows as silently as we’d arrived.

“Second guard house, mile out to the east,”

West said. “This is a barracks—I count twelve men.”

I signaled to move closer. This building was better constructed and there were two vehicles parked along one side. There wasn’t anyone outside so Nyx, Knight and I quickly made our way to the door while Atlas and Lachlan circled to the other side. I poked my head up to look through the window and signaled to Nyx and Knight.

Five.

I pulled the door open and we rushed inside. The men jumped up in surprise but Nyx and I had already dispatched one each before they could even draw their guns. I rushed one, shooting him in the head quickly, then stabbed another as he pointed his gun at my face.

We advanced down the hallway.

I heard the occasional shout from the other end of the building but otherwise it was quiet. Knight and I went into the first room where two men were sleeping. I shoved my knife into the first one’s neck while Knight did the same to the other then we moved on.

With ruthless precision we efficiently and quickly cleared the building room by room until we met up with Atlas and Lachlan in the middle. We made our way outside and I motioned for everyone to spread out and clear the rest of the area. I didn’t want anyone raising the alarm early.

“Knight, rig the trips in the road,” I said.

Once done, we headed off through the trees in search of the caves.

We got to the caves that overlooked the lake and while Atlas kept watch, the others followed me into the mouth of the largest opening. I pulled out my flashlight and followed the winding path down into the darkness. We searched and searched but an hour passed and we still hadn’t come upon any gold. When one passageway became too narrow to continue, we doubled back and chose another tunnel.

Another hour passed.

“Are you guys lost?”

Atlas asked. The comms connection crackled with static as we ventured deeper under the rock. None of us found it funny. It was claustrophobic and oppressively quiet underground.

After the third hour, my frustration grew and I stopped to gather my bearings. We’d explored the majority of the passages that branched off of this cave with nothing to show for it besides us growing increasingly more dusty as the minutes ticked on.

“There’s another cave entrance a few yards from where we came in,”

Lachlan said. “We’ll check that one.”

Another few hours of cave exploration passed.

I was beginning to think the map was wrong until my flashlight swept over a wall and I saw a large fissure extending high above our heads. I almost walked past it, but something made me stop and I examined it further. It wasn’t a fissure, someone had caused a cave in.

“Here,” I said.

I handed the light to Knight while I climbed up the boulders and peered through the gap in the stone.

“We need to get back there,” I said.

Together we moved enough rocks to allow us to squeeze through to the other side. The passage was narrow and claustrophobic but it quickly widened into a shelf overlooking a pool that glistened darkly a few feet below us. A dim glow emanated from crystals on the ceiling, casting a blue sheen on the water revealing what we’d been looking for.

At the bottom of the pool, our beams of light caught on the trove gleaming in the depths.

Gold bars.

“Bingo,”

Nyx said excitedly.

“I’ll be honest—I was worried it didn’t exist,”

Lachlan said ruefully.

“Well, let’s get swimming,”

Knight said. “Nyx, Lach—widen the passage. North and I can start diving.”

I stripped off my gear and put on a waterproof headlamp and goggles that had been a random afterthought—a ‘just in case’ I was now glad to have. I dove into the water with Knight following. It was deeper than it appeared, maybe about ten or eleven feet deep. I got to the bottom and swept the light over the sandy floor. My excitement flared and I looked up at Knight giving him a thumbs up—there were hundreds of boxes down here.

I ripped one open and gold bars flashed. Now we just had to get it all out and we didn’t have a lot of time. I surfaced and grabbed the rope we’d brought.

Knight’s head popped up next to me. “It’s beautiful—there’s a lot there.”

“Yeah, we have a lot of work to do.”

We worked quickly raising crates of gold bars from the bottom of the pool.

The boxes were stamped with all manner of World War II distinguishers. Knight and I took turns diving while Nyx and Lachlan pulled up the boxes and an hour later we had a fair haul clogging the ledge. We loaded the truck with as many crates as we could and drove out to an overgrown landing strip we’d designated as the extraction point.

“Two minutes,”

Mads said over comms.

We heard the chopper overhead and a net dropped down. We loaded the crates and Mads flew away. We repeated this process a few more times before darkness fell. We called a halt for the night and made camp near the caves.

“Movement in the main compound,”

West said. “They’re getting ready for the shift change.”

“Don’t these people report in or something?”

Knight muttered.

Lachlan chuckled. “It’s a good thing they’re so lax. It’s giving us plenty of time.”

We’d retreated into the cave a ways so we could light a small stove we’d brought. I sat with my back against the wall, waiting for West’s report.

“They know something’s wrong,”

West’s voice came over comms.

“Sleep in shifts,”

I ordered. “We’re up and moving in—”

An explosion boomed through the forest. It was so powerful it brought a sprinkle of dirt and pebbles down on our heads. It was the trips Knight had set. I glared over at Knight who looked at me sheepishly and shrugged.

“Oops…”

“Fucking Pyro,”

I muttered.