Devil's Island Page 6

  Dallas hadn’t so much as batted an eyelid. “Fine with me.”

  “Good.”

  The boulder field fizzled out. Dahl and Molokai ranged further afield, circumventing the base of the cliff face ahead. Hayden walked as close as she dared to the narrow gap that afforded them a glimpse of the island beyond.

  “Across there, somewhere, is the castle,” she said. “And the Devil. A shame we couldn’t have parachuted in closer.”

  Kinimaka squinted through the gap. “Too much noise,” he said. “We’d have alerted every savage on the island.”

  “I guess.”

  Drake came up to them. “Sorry, Mano, no matter how much you try, you’re not gonna fit through there.”

  Kinimaka flexed his muscles. “No, but you might if I shove you hard enough.”

  They smiled. Hayden turned her gaze up about two hundred feet, studying the cliff face before them. “One more climb,” she said. “I’m surprised we haven’t encountered more sentries.”

  “Don’t say that,” Alicia joined them. “It’s bad luck.”

  “How far to the castle?” Dallas asked.

  “Map’s not to scale,” Dahl said, still scanning their surrounds. “From our brief look above, I’d say the journey from west to east will take several hours.”

  “Cheers,” Drake grumbled. “A moment of pure clarity from the Great White Journey Guru.”

  “Assuming we don’t run into any islanders,” Dahl added. “Or don’t decide to feed our Yorkshire terrier to them.” He glared at Drake.

  Hayden coughed, no doubt reminded of the slice of flesh she’d been forced to consume during their Peruvian escapade. Molokai returned to the group at that point.

  “The cliffs are clear,” he said. “And so are the surrounds. Perfect time to start up.”

  Drake took a moment to arrange his gear, thinking that his fingertips and toes hadn’t recovered from the last climb yet. His knees were gashed, and his elbows strained. The upside was that the ascent hadn’t taken too long and these cliffs were roughly the same height. They also appeared to offer more in the way of handholds and actual wide ledges where they might be able to gain several feet without having to cling to the rocks like monkeys.

  All good.

  The sun was climbing now, breaching the splash of gold that stretched across the eastern skies. It wouldn’t be long before it began to beat down.

  “Let’s get this done,” he said.

  “And hope to God there’s a decent coffee shop at the top,” Alicia said.

  The team moved out, following Dahl and Molokai. They stowed weapons and tugged on climbing gloves, took a last recce around the area, and focused on the cliff faces, ready to climb.

  “Hardest part of the journey.” Dahl grinned. “The rest will be as easy as tracking an Englishman through Stockholm.”

  Drake screwed his eyes shut and wondered if the “don’t jinx it” term properly translated to Swedish. Either way, the spell had been cast.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Intent on climbing the rock face, the team reined in their surveillance, which contributed to the last-minute warning from Molokai that they were under attack.

  Drake was moving between ledges, an easy task, but heard Molokai shout and immediately looked around. The movement overbalanced him and for one dreadful moment he was tilting over a hundred-foot drop, but then he reached out, grabbed rock and pulled himself back.

  His eyes focused.

  Climbing up from below were three men. Standing on the top of the cliff they’d originally climbed, probably two hundred feet apart now, were three more men. Four others stood in the boulder field below and, above, two more stared down. Drake thought they’d just arrived from different directions. It was the only explanation that made sense.

  “Marauders,” Hayden said over the comms. “This is their territory.”

  “Agreed,” Dahl said. “Keep moving up.”

  Drake jumped to cover, landing on a ledge with a jagged, three-foot-high chunk of rock between him and the Marauders. He took another few seconds to see what kind of weapons they carried, but it was hard to make out at this distance.

  “Rifles for sure,” he said. “I can’t tell if they’re good quality though.”

  “One thing’s certain,” Dahl said. “Ours are better.”

  Holding on to the cliff with one hand and aiming his rifle with the other, the Swede loosed a quick volley at the climbers below. Bullets glanced off the rock face and zinged away.

  Drake shook his head. “Bloody show off.”

  Molokai copied Dahl’s example, but Drake wasn’t the accomplished climber they both appeared to be. He ducked out, lined the men on the opposite cliff up in his sights and loosed four quick shots. Instantly, they split, leaping aside and rolling to the floor. He didn’t think he’d hit anyone.

  “Climb,” Dahl urged.

  The team reached for the handholds, dragging themselves up the rock face, finding a toe hold or a finger crevice, holding for a moment before lunging up to the next safe ledge. Drake was fifth in line with Alicia and Kenzie close by. Dallas was last. Gunfire rang out through the valley and bullets flew. Drake took a quick glance around, losing focus on the climb. Those coming up in their wake were about forty feet below but firing as they came. Rock climbing would come easy to them. The ones on the ground were chancing pot shots. Those on the opposite cliff were kneeling, placing rifles over their shoulders and taking aim.

  “Cover!” he cried.

  He hunched up, unable to find a safe ledge. Around him the others did the same. Bullets impacted close to Kenzie’s head and to the right of Alicia’s backpack. The sound of gunfire echoed between opposing cliff faces, rebounding and growing louder. More came.

  Drake heaved himself up, one toe-hold to another and then launched his body at a ledge. It was wide, enabling him to roll onto it and into the cliff. He hit hard but safely. A bullet slammed into the rock where his body had just been. More shots rang out.

  He rose to a kneeling position, gun nestled against his shoulder. Covering fire needed to be laid down. He alternated between all three enemy positions, giving them something to think about. In another minute, Alicia joined him and Kinimaka was firing from somewhere above.

  They were about fifty feet from the cliff top.

  Dahl and Molokai were keeping those above at bay. For a moment there was a standoff, but Drake knew they couldn’t stay here. The Swede leaned out precariously, trying to improve his chances of a kill-shot, but almost overbalanced when a bullet fired from the opposite ridge shattered rocks to his left.

  Dahl bellowed for better cover.

  Kenzie and Dallas leapt and rolled to safety further along the same ledge as Drake and the others. Together, they all leaned over and loosed a deadly volley of hundreds of bullets that smashed down among the enemy. The mini-canyon vibrated with tremendous noise.

  Drake was pleased to see men scattering and ducking for cover. He scanned the next fifty feet upward. “Watch my back!” he cried.

  Leaping for a handhold, he brought his feet up fast and launched himself upward through the air. The gun swiped him about the face, but he ignored it. One more jump and he reached a higher ledge—eight feet closer to safety. Relying on Dahl and Molokai, he leaned out and aimed down, keeping the men below occupied.

  Alicia and Hayden followed his ascent, landing half a minute later.

  “Good move.”

  “There’s another ledge ten feet above us. Same again?”

  “Let’s wait for Mano and the others first.” Hayden glared straight down the craggy rock face. “The climbers are closing quite quickly.”

  Drake glanced down. They were only twenty feet below, ascending rapidly but shrewdly too, almost always hugging the rock, keeping it between them and enemy fire. Drake tried a couple of potshots, missed and almost got his own head blown off in the process.

  “We’ll deal with them in a minute.”

  Alicia and the others rolled over into rel
ative safety, landing on the ledge and grabbing handholds to stay secure.

  “Anyone tagged one of them yet?” she panted.

  “Nope,” Drake answered. “But on the plus side they haven’t tagged any of us either.”

  “Well, I got shot during the last mission,” Alicia said. “I’ll take a pass on this one.”

  “I got shot twice on the last one,” Drake pointed out. “No way am I catching a bullet this time.”

  Dahl’s dry voice came over the comms. “That’s because you’re shit, mate.”

  Drake deigned to remain silent. They laid down fire as Dahl and Molokai climbed to the next ledge, and then looked ten more feet up.

  “Ready?” Hayden asked.

  Drake was. Taking a deep breath and steadying his weapons, he reached up for the first handhold but froze in shock when Dahl cried out, “Grenade!”

  The word didn’t compute. Up here? But he’d never question Dahl. Knowing the ledge was directly beneath him he folded, hitting the rock and covering up. An explosion battered his eardrums seconds later; shrapnel pinged against rocks, striking just over his head and against the short rock wall that protected them.

  Drake glanced up in time to see one of the men above throw a second grenade into the air. This one fell fast. He ducked again, but the explosion occurred a few feet below them, shattering rock. Dahl and Molokai clung to their handholds as best they could.

  Would they try another? Drake didn’t think so. There was too much chance involved. They could kill their own climbing men. Moving fast, he took a quick recce below and across the gap. Nothing much had changed. Without pause and somewhat recklessly, he leapt for a handhold and pulled himself up to the next ledge. Now, he was only twenty feet from the top.

  He paused, waiting. Alicia and Hayden started up, covered by Kinimaka. Kenzie and Dallas were further to the right, covering each other. He fired a burst at the ground, but it was far away now. He didn’t expect to hit anyone. A savage gust of wind tore at his chest, almost physically moving him. He wiped sweat from his eyes.

  Welcome to Devil’s fucking Island, he thought.

  All three men on the opposite cliff were firing. Drake ignored them. They were idiots thinking they could score a hit from that distance. Below, Alicia and Hayden grabbed handholds but then the enemy climbers appeared over the ledge, leaping up and dragging at the two women’s backpacks to pull them off the cliff. Drake put his rifle to his shoulder, its sight to his right eye. Below, Alicia fell at the feet of her opponent; Hayden followed suit with hers.

  Kinimaka had spun and was trying to draw a bead on the two enemy Marauders. Unable to get a clean shot, he holstered the weapon and pounded along the narrow ledge. Drake switched his vision between both women, waiting for a chance.

  Alicia hit the ground hard, her breath stolen away. By the time she recovered, a boot was stamping on her face, drawing blood from her nose. She elbowed it away, reached for her gun, but then her opponent landed on her stomach, knees first, driving even more air out of her. Alicia raised her arms for cover. A knife flashed down, and glanced away from her wrist protection. The Marauder overbalanced. She heaved him to the right then launched her body straight at him, meeting him face to face for the first time.

  A hardened merc. A warrior that had survived out here for years.

  Hayden fought a similar battle, scrabbling around the ledge and trading blows that were never going to be effective in the enclosed space. She knocked a knife from her opponent’s hand and then fell on top of it, kicked away a sidearm as he whipped it out of a holster. He punched her in the face, drawing blood.

  Then Kinimaka hit at full pelt. Hayden’s opponent flew helplessly, arms caught underneath him. He hit the ground on his face, smashing bone. Kinimaka landed on him, smashing more, grinding broken bones together. The man screamed. Kinimaka rose and came down with a knife, burying it through the nape of the man’s neck.

  Hayden rose. Alicia fought on her knees, struggling to match her opponent’s strength and using his weight against him. As he missed with one heavy blow, she swung him so that his back faced the long drop. When he re-launched his body at her she jumped into the air, then kicked out, unleashing every ounce of strength in her body. The soles of her feet struck the man in the chest and sent him flying over the ledge and into space.

  His scream followed him down.

  Drake kept watch. There had been three climbers.

  Without waiting, Hayden and Alicia began their ascent, joining him in less than a minute. Kinimaka waited. Kenzie and Dallas appeared further to the right. Dahl and Molokai were at a stalemate, unable to climb higher as the two Marauders up top hounded them.

  Kinimaka abandoned his ledge and started up. Drake saw the third climber then, just creeping over the top, and sent a well-placed bullet between his eyes. This time there were no screams as the man fell.

  But that left the two men at the summit. It wouldn’t be long before they realized they were clear to throw grenades again. Drake said as much through the comms and then leapt at the rock wall, climbing fast. Dahl and Molokai concentrated their bullets up there, and were joined by Kenzie and Dallas.

  Alicia and Hayden followed Drake, with Kinimaka moving slower to cover them.

  Again, Drake climbed with abandon, trying to forget he wasn’t the best climber in the group. Twelve feet from the top, and then eight. Alicia hot on his trail. Hayden to the left. It’s a race, he thought, to calm the nerves. A team challenge. When he was four feet from the summit one of the Marauders saw him.

  Crap!

  He jumped, his body in mid-air for entire seconds, then reached out and grabbed an outcrop at the very top of the cliff. Luckily, both hands caught it and he hauled his body upward. But a quick glance at the Marauder told him the man was already aiming his gun.

  Shots rifled his body. Blood gouted. The Marauder fell dead, killed by one of the others. Drake heaved himself over the top.

  To be faced by the second man.

  Holding two grenades.

  “Fuck off!” Drake was close enough to kick out the man’s knees, hearing cartilage pop. There was a scream, then the body struck the ground. Both grenades bounced out of his hands, springs snapping free, the pineapple-shaped bombs rolling away. Drake grabbed one and threw it away from his team and over the cliff, but he couldn’t do anything about the second.

  “Cover!”

  It took every precious moment of time to grab hold of the fallen Marauder and pull hard, putting the man’s body between Drake and the grenade.

  The explosions were simultaneous. Drake felt his opponent riddled with shrapnel, heard the deadly fragments impacting against a flak jacket but also hitting the exposed face and legs. The man died hard. Drake kicked him away and rose to his knees.

  Alicia rolled over the top, closely followed by Hayden. Both had their guns ready, unsure what they would find. Drake saw, across the gap, that the men on the opposite ridge were hustling away.

  They would be back.

  “Tell the others it’s clear,” he panted. “We should get away from these cliffs as fast as we can. We got lucky.”

  “Don’t celebrate yet,” Hayden said as she waved the others up. “That valley down there belongs to the Scavengers—the worst of the worst. And we’re crossing it next.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Karin Blake chased after Mai and Luther as they raced out of the cavern. The big military blade in her hand didn’t feel right—the entire situation was surreal. Luther was shrugging into a backpack, loaded with supplies. Dino was at her back, carrying a similar blade.

  How the hell had it come to this?

  Their captors had freed them back in the large cave, only to tell them they had a five-minute head start, after which fourteen mercenaries and four trophy hunter civilians would come tearing down the passageways, seeking their heads. They also mentioned that the cave system they traversed was part of a volcano and that the only way out was up.

  Mai was running at the front. Luth
er called out to her: “Don’t forget, they set traps ahead.”

  The Japanese woman didn’t answer. The tunnel ran level for a while, its rock walls smooth as if formed by rushing water. Or lava?

  The way was lit by the occasional torch set into the rock face above their heads. Soon, they would have to stop to take stock of the backpack’s contents, but first Karin assumed Mai wanted to put as much distance between them and their pursuers as possible.

  Gunshots signaled the start of the pursuit. Karin ducked her head but needn’t have bothered. The passage twisted sharp right ahead and then to the left before they were running straight again.

  At the next turn, Mai stopped. Luther flung the pack to the floor, crouched and unstrapped it. He muttered a quick inventory.

  “Four bottles of water. Lots of snack bars. Chocolate. Big flashlight and four smaller ones, all functional. Length of rope. A few pitons.” He shrugged. “That’s about it.”

  Mai kept quiet, moving away to urge them on. As she ran down the passageway, Karin turned to stare at Dino, assessing the man. He’d taken a few knocks back at the estate where they’d been captured.

  When Wu died.

  Karin forced the thought and the image aside. It couldn’t help her now. She heard Luther cautioning Mai against going too fast—the climb would take many hours—and felt the pace slow a little.

  “You okay?” she asked her closest friend.

  “Yeah, fine. Still better than you.”

  “Stop that shit for a minute, will you? Are you in pain?”

  “I don’t think it’s shit.” Dino panted as he ran and talked. “Just healthy competition. And, if you must know, I took a few hits to the shins and ankles when I went down. Just bruising, but it hurts like a bastard.”

  “Shake it off.” Karin turned as the passage headed down.

  “All right, Taylor.”

  She shook her head. Dino was nothing if he wasn’t always ribbing her, trying to get a rise. They were intensely competitive and, until now, she’d believed that a good thing. She just hoped it wouldn’t force the crazy Italian-American to do something stupid.