Two hours later it was full dark, and they were all back behind the pine woods on the rough rock shelf above the blue hole.
Along the ridge of the water hole, the mercenaries made an actual campfire, and there were chairs and a folding table with coffee and radios on it. Behind the table was Gannon’s Gator as well as another 4x4 quad they had in the back of the van.
It looked almost like they were on safari or something.
They had done a better job of setting up shop than he and the Aussie geology professor had done, Gannon thought as he sat there. And they had been there for over two weeks.
Beside Gannon sitting on the uncomfortable rock were Ruby and Stick and Little Jorge. Reyland was seated to their right about five feet away on one of the camp chairs.
As they sat silently in the firelight, Gannon busied himself by vividly wondering how the skin of Reyland’s neck would feel in the palms of his bound hands.
He was still quietly staring and imagining when there was a sudden loud splash from the water below.
“He’s right. It’s like a damn maze under there, boss,” Blackbeard suddenly called up from the hole’s pond-like surface. “There are tunnels at every damn turn. We could be here for months. Shit, years!”
Reyland turned in the campfire’s light.
“You sneaky little prick,” he said, flinging the dregs of his coffee thermos at Gannon across the firelight.
“You’re wasting your time,” Gannon said as he chinned coffee off his face onto his shirt. “Just send me down already. I know exactly where it is.”
“I think this cop is playing games, boss,” he heard Blackbeard call up from the water hole. “There’s so much silt in the water you can hardly see even with a flashlight. I think he’s lying. I don’t think there’s shit down there.”
Gannon took a relieved breath as he heard this. Twenty minutes before as the mercenary suited up and went under alone, Gannon had started worrying that maybe the son of a bitch might actually come across the bag by sheer luck.
Guess not, dumbass, he thought.
“You hearing me, boss?” Blackbeard called up.
“Shut up,” Reyland said, staring at Gannon.
“I know you have a map. Where is it?” he said.
“I already told you. I had a map, but I burned it after I hid everything,” Gannon explained. Which was actually true.
Reyland wrinkled his large brow as he leaned back in the folding camp chair, thinking.
In the silence, the only sound was Emerson sitting at another chair behind Reyland, typing at his computer.
Gannon looked across the limestone rim of the hole to where Sunglasses and El Mighty Mouse stood strapping what looked like fully automatic M4 military rifles. They carried them with a casual ease up before them in the position known as high ready. Butt tight to shoulder, elbows in, trigger finger against the receiver.
Textbook, Gannon thought, watching them. Professional.
“What are you looking at?” El Mighty Mouse said to him as Reyland finally nodded.
“Boys, new plan,” Reyland said, pointing at Ruby. “Take the woman and take her clothes off and tie her to that palm tree there.”
“Wait for me, fellas,” Blackbeard yelled from the water. “Toss me another rope. C’mon. You can’t start the fun without me.”
“If you touch her,” Gannon said, calmly shaking his head, “if you touch any of us, you never get it back.”
“Who are you kidding?” said Sunglasses. “Your girlfriend will be squealing so loud, you’ll tell us the moon is made of queso dip to make it stop.”
“The only thing you’ll get out of hurting me or my friends,” Gannon said, squinting at Reyland, “will be the joy of me making sure you never find what you’re looking for. Ever.”
“Oh, listen to this, boys. Supercop here is going to stand up to torture. We’ve got a tough guy here among us,” Sunglasses announced.
Gannon’s smile was almost wistful in the firelight.
“I’m not that tough,” he said, staring at the water.
Gannon’s smile evaporated as he stared at the man level in his aviator sunglasses.
“I’m just tougher than you,” he said.
“Sit your silly ass down,” El Mighty Mouse said to the mercenary as he started to come around the rim of the hole at Gannon.
Gannon turned to Reyland.
“I said I would get what you need. Untie me, and I’ll go get it.”
“Maybe this information is time sensitive,” Reyland said. “Maybe I don’t care as long as it stays buried.”
“And all those diamonds?” Gannon said, staring at him. “Are they time sensitive, too?”
“Diamonds? What diamonds?” El Mighty Mouse said.
Gannon looked over at him and then back at Reyland and smiled.
“You didn’t tell him?” Gannon said. “Oh, wow. You didn’t, did you? He doesn’t know. And here I thought all you guys were friends.”
“What diamonds?” El Mighty Mouse said again.
“I mean, the money is nothing,” Gannon continued. “Two point eight million. What’s that? Chump change. The stones down in that cave are worth ten, twenty—who knows, maybe thirty—times that.”
El Mighty Mouse looked at Gannon, then back at Reyland.
“Is that true?” he said.
“No. I don’t know. Maybe,” Reyland said, putting up his hands. “You think they tell me everything, Tommy? Was I on the damn plane?”
“It’s true,” Gannon said. “There’s a fortune down there.”
Gannon strained to hide his elation as El Mighty Mouse walked over and knelt. There was a quick metallic snick of a knife and then the zip ties were cut from his wrists.
“You win,” he said to Gannon. “We won’t touch the girl. Put your shit on. You’re going down with our boys to find it.”