The words of Damian’s various instructors paraded through his mind as he lay in wait. Even though he was sure his teammates would come here to the airport, assuming that really was them he’d seen on the cliffs, searching for five men who were trained to stay invisible wasn’t going to be easy.
A total of five aircraft were currently on the ground: a four-passenger Cessna, two medium-sized passenger planes, and two helicopters. The planes were parked at the far end of the runway; the helicopters were off to one side of the airport, over two hundred yards away. That area was huge when considering who he was searching for.
Forcing himself to be logical, he discounted the Cessna as being inadequate for their needs. He wavered between the other options. The passenger planes were large enough to carry them all out of here, but so was the larger of the two helicopters.
“What would I do?” Damian asked himself. He couldn’t cover the entire airport by himself, and he knew his best chance of finding his squad was to wait for them at their destination, so he headed for the largest helicopter, the same one he had chartered for tomorrow. While the planes had enough space to carry them home, they also needed a runway to land. The versatility of the helicopter made it the better choice.
Keeping to the trees near the airport, he made his way to the helicopters. Each step was painfully slow as he checked for underbrush and anything that would make a sound before putting his foot down. He knew his squad would be doing the same thing, but they were more experienced and undoubtedly faster.
A man emerged from a structure nearby. His easy gait and lack of awareness of his surroundings told Damian he was some sort of employee.
Cautious, Damian stopped. Realizing a single person wouldn’t deter his teammates, he willed his rapid heartbeat to slow.
He continued to skirt along the edge of the trees. The man did a cursory check of the helicopters before heading across the field for the village. With any luck, he was closing up shop.
Damian didn’t see any other signs of life at the airport. If he remembered correctly, airplanes didn’t fly in and out of Canaima at night, partly because of the remoteness of the airport and partly because tourists wanted the chance to see the falls when they flew overhead.
The man continued forward, disappearing down a path at the edge of the airport building.
As soon as the footsteps faded, the airport fell silent until a second man walked outside. Damian identified him as a security guard making his regular rounds.
The man was clearly bored. His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, and his head was down as though his entire focus was on the ground three feet in front of him. Occasionally, he slowed long enough to kick a pebble in his path.
A light drizzle began, the splatter of raindrops providing some background noise.
Damian watched the man make his loop down the runway, stopping to check on each of the airplanes before swinging by the helicopter pad and then heading back to the airport’s main building.
He went inside, presumably to take a break and get out of the rain. Damian crept forward, his eyes scanning the area for any sign of his team. He had to be able to pick out at least one.
He studied the helicopter in front of him, trying to determine what they would do. With the security guard nearby, they wouldn’t want to open the door for fear that the cockpit light would draw attention.
Disabling that light would be the first order of business, at least for him. Locating the panel where they would have to access the electrical system of the aircraft, Damian lowered himself beneath the helicopter, lying on the ground beside the runner.
When the security guard made his next pass, he had to remind himself to keep his breathing slow and easy. Thirty minutes ticked by excruciatingly slowly.
The security guard disappeared inside again. As soon as the door clicked closed, he heard it—the faint crunch of a palm frond, barely audible.
Damian stayed where he was, his eyes still scanning. Several more minutes ticked by before he finally saw what he was looking for. A pair of U.S. Navy–issued boots approaching his position.
He wasn’t sure he had ever seen Seth more surprised than when he leaned down to access the helicopter panel and found Damian lying in wait.
“It’s Damian,” he said quietly.
“How did you find us?” Seth asked, stunned.
“I guessed.”
“That was one heck of a guess!”
“I have this helicopter chartered for tomorrow, and I have a room at the village.” Damian slid out from under the helicopter. He could just make out someone at the edge of the trees twenty yards away. From his height and build, Damian identified him as Jay.
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Still out there.” The airport door opened. Seth fell silent but signaled for Damian to follow him, and they both headed for cover.
Damian fought the urge to hurry. As soon as they reached cover, Damian started to head for the village, but Jay stopped him. He pointed to a spot a short distance away where he could just make out several large gas containers. “What should we do with these?”
“Are those filled with fuel?”
“Yeah. It’s never a good idea to commandeer a vehicle without making sure it’s ready to go first.” Jay held up a long coil of rope. “Or a way to accomplish our objective.”
“Camouflage all of that beneath some of those palm leaves. We’ll need it all tomorrow,” Seth told him. The men quickly hid their supplies. Seth motioned for Damian to take the lead as they headed through the strip of jungle between the airport and the resort. Keeping to the shadows, they made their way forward, determined to stay unheard and unseen.
* * *
Paige couldn’t sleep. She sat in one of the cushioned wicker chairs, her elbows on her knees, her hands steepled in prayer, praying Damian would come back safely.
She heard the doorknob rattle and sat up straight. The latch opened and relief poured through her when Damian walked through the door followed by Seth and Jay.
Both men were covered with dirt and grime, and it was obvious from the pungent smell they carried that they hadn’t had a real shower in days.
“I can’t believe you found them.”
“That makes two of us,” Seth said with a sense of wonder.
Jay closed the door behind them.
“Where is everyone else? Are they okay?” Paige asked.
“If you consider being stranded on a mountain fine, then, yeah, they’re great,” Seth said.
Damian motioned to the chairs. “Why don’t we sit down and talk.”
“First, I need food,” Jay insisted.
“I’ll go get you something,” Paige offered. She could see Damian hesitating. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just say we want a romantic dinner in our room.”
“That’s a great idea, but I’ll go. You can fill them in as well as I can. Probably better.” Damian headed for the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Paige sat back down and motioned for them to make themselves comfortable.
Seth took the seat across from her and looked around the room. “Where’s Vanessa? Is she here with you? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s in Maracaibo right now. She was following what we believe is a diamond payment from the drug cartel to someone working in one of the big oil companies.”
“Why is she in the field?”
“Amy told her you were missing, and then the CIA’s deputy director of operations asked her to go back undercover. We think someone was using you as bait to draw her out,” Paige said. “We still don’t understand why, but we’re pretty sure we know who. We’ve been able to trace one diamond payment back to Morenta. It looks like he’s the one who set you up.”
Seth rubbed both hands over his face. “He would certainly have the resources to do it.”
“Vanessa found a clue that indicates another diamond exchange is supposed to happen day after tomorrow. That’s why she stayed behind in Maracaibo. She thought she might be able to use the courier to find you.”
“When is the exchange supposed to happen?”
“Nine in the morning,” Paige said. “So what exactly happened with you guys?”
“First tell me what you know about Vanessa while we wait for Damian,” Seth insisted.
Paige filled him in on how someone had been waiting for Vanessa when she arrived in Maracaibo and how she’d been followed ever since. “I wish I could figure out a motivation for why they’re trying to get to Vanessa,” Paige said. “It seems so extreme to hijack an entire squad of navy SEALs and then murder their pilot.”
“What?” Seth straightened, his entire body suddenly alert. “What happened to the pilot?”
“Amy told us the doctor estimates the pilot was killed about half an hour after he returned to the ship.”
“Any idea of who did it?”
“A couple people left the ship before the pilot’s body was discovered. We don’t have any direct evidence connecting him, but one of the people who took that transport hasn’t been seen since.”
“Who is he?”
“Terrance Gunning. He’s a civilian contractor.”
“Any leads off him?”
“Not that I know of.”
Paige continued to bring him up to date, relaying the events of when Vanessa had been followed near her hotel and how that man had also been killed.
Jay spoke up for the first time. “It sounds like somebody is using local hires to do their dirty work and then tying up loose ends before they can get traced back to him.”
“I have to think Gunning is one of the people behind this since he hasn’t shown up dead,” Seth said.
Paige nodded. “We also think Andrea Kemper may be involved. She was CIA until she faked her own death several months ago. She was undercover as a low-level employee for Morenta. She also used to date Gunning.”
“Any idea why she would fake her own death?”
“None. Again, it comes back to motive. We need to know what is driving these people. What is so important that they’ll go to such extremes and even kill to get to Vanessa?”
“I wish I knew,” Seth said.
They speculated until Damian arrived a few minutes later with food and a couple bags from the gift shop.
“I picked up some clothes for you guys. No offense, but you could both use a shower.”
“Jay, you can go first,” Seth offered.
“Really?” Jay stood up, not giving Seth a chance to change his mind. He took the clothes Damian offered and headed for the bathroom.
Turning his attention back to Damian, Seth said, “Explain to me what the plan is with the helicopter.”
Damian motioned to Paige. “I slipped some extra money to the guy at the reservation desk to say the flight was full. I told him I wanted privacy when I proposed to my girlfriend over Angel Falls.”
Seth looked from Paige to Damian. “Well, that was quick.”
“Don’t start.” Damian shook his head.
“I have the coordinates for where we left the rest of the guys. I want you, Jay, and Paige to go pick them up.”
“Shouldn’t we call Kel and have him send a helicopter in to get them?” Paige asked.
“After someone tried to kill us the other day, I don’t think a night extraction is going to work, especially since they don’t have any comm gear,” Seth explained. “They’ll need to see us coming, and a navy chopper can’t come here in broad daylight.”
“That’s true, but why do you want the rest of us to get them? Where are you going to be?” Damian asked.
“I’m going to be a tourist flying back to Maracaibo.”
“Why don’t you just wait and come with the rest of us?”
“I don’t want to wait that long. I have to make sure Vanessa is okay, and I don’t like the idea of her staking out that diamond exchange alone.”
“She said she was going to call Warren and get some backup.”
“No offense to the CIA, but I’ll feel a lot more comfortable knowing I’m the one backing her up.”
“I suppose I can understand that,” Paige said.
“There may be one glitch in your plan. You’re assuming there’s a flight out tomorrow.”
“We’ve been using the flights in and out to guide us here. It looks like a flight arrives every day about noon and then leaves around two.” Seth looked at Damian hopefully. “Any chance you have extra cash? Ideally, I can buy my ticket before you guys leave tomorrow and make sure there really is a flight.”
“I have cash.” Paige stood up and disappeared into her room. She returned a moment later with the remaining currency Ghost had given her and laid it out on the table. “Take what you need.”
Seth counted out enough bills to pay for his ticket a couple times over. “Thanks, Paige. I’ll make sure I get you a receipt.”
“Do you want me to write down where Vanessa is staying?”
“No,” Seth and Damian said in unison.
When she looked at them, confused, Damian explained. “We don’t want anything in writing that someone might be able to use to find her.”
Damian then gave Seth the location of the hotel and her room number.
“Do you want her phone number too?” Paige asked.
“I don’t have a phone to call her with,” Seth said, sitting up straighter. “Do you have a way to call her now?”
“She’s been keeping her phone off most of the time, and unfortunately, there’s no cell phone service here, and we don’t have a satellite phone,” Paige said.
“Here. You can use my cell phone to access the hotel’s Internet.” Damian handed his phone to Seth.
“That’s a good idea. I can send her a message in case she does turn on her phone. Otherwise, I’ll catch up with her tomorrow.”
“What do you want us to do after we retrieve the rest of the squad?” Damian asked while Seth attempted to access the Internet.
“Meet me in Maracaibo.”
“In a stolen helicopter?”
“Good point. You may have to be creative on this one.” Seth paused long enough to type in a short message to Vanessa. After he sent it, he looked up at Damian. “We can sneak in again tonight to make sure it’s fully fueled. With the extra fuel we have hidden, that would ensure you could make it all the way without stopping.”
“Actually, I already took care of that. I told the guy I wanted to be able to stay up as long as possible in case I lost my nerve and needed extra time.”
“Good thinking.”
“I do what I can,” Damian said. “We will probably have to set down somewhere, though, and wait until nightfall to travel. Otherwise, it’s too likely the wrong people will notice us.”
Jay emerged a few minutes later looking like a new person. “It’s all yours, Seth.” He looked from one bedroom door to the other. “Which bunk is mine?”
“Paige is in that room over there, so I guess you guys are bunking with me.”
Jay walked in, immediately flopping onto the nearest bed. Seth looked inside as well and gave Damian a cocky look. “I hope you like hammocks.”
“What? I was here first.”
“Yeah, but I outrank you.”
Damian sighed. “That you do.”