The Seventh Pillar (9 page)

"You’ve got a hell of a voice," he said. "Reload."

She was white faced. She ejected the empty magazine and inserted another, racked the slide.

"Just like Carnegie Hall." She tried a smile. Didn't quite make it.

"I’m going down there and grab two of those rifles. Once I have them, I’m heading for those rocks on the other side." He pointed at two good sized boulders on the floor of the ravine. "After I get there, I’ll signal and you follow. I’ll give you cover if it’s needed. We have to get off this ridge. Do you know how to use this?" He held up the Mauser.

"Yes."

He took rounds from his pocket and reloaded. He worked the bolt and handed her the rifle. "You cover me. Watch the entrance to the cave. Anyone shows himself, shoot at him. It doesn’t matter if you hit him or not, just keep him busy."

"Got it."

"I’m going."

Carter scrambled down the slope, reached the first man he’d shot and grabbed his rifle on the run. He ran to the second group, took another rifle and crossed the ravine to the rocks. No one fired from the cave.

He checked the AK, took aim at the cave mouth and signaled Selena. She half slid down the slope and sprinted across. He handed her an AK and she set the Mauser on the ground.

"Selector's on full auto. Aim and pull the trigger." Your basic AK instructions.

"I know how to use it."

He looked at her, nodded. "Follow me. Keep low and ready to fire."  Carter stood and ran for the side of the cave. He heard Selena hard behind him. He caught his breath, ran to the entrance, turned the corner and hugged the wall, AK up against his cheek. He panned across, searching for movement.

The cave had a high, uneven ceiling and went far back into the mountain until daylight gave way to darkness. Boxes and crates were stacked along one side. Sleeping bags and a line of prayer rugs lay on the floor. A small camp stove sat on a large crate that served as a table. Boxes surrounded the crate like chairs.

If someone was still here, they would have been shooting by now. Carter started looking for a phone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The cave was an arsenal. The crates held ammunition and rifles. They found four RPG launchers. There were two brand new stingers in a box with US markings. They found food and water. They found two large pallets loaded with packets of white crystalline powder wrapped in plastic. Carter cut one open. He wet his finger and tasted. It numbed his tongue. He spat it out.

Cocaine, courtesy of the Cartels. Millions of dollars worth. Someone in Bogotá or wherever was going to be unhappy. Whatever else came out of this, they'd just put a dent in the drug route to Europe.

They didn’t find a phone.

Carter went back outside and searched the bodies of the men they'd killed. No phones. Nick fought off the feeling this had all been for nothing. He still couldn’t call for help. He picked up the weapons lying around in the ravine and went back to the cave.

He sat on one of the boxes and realized how tired he was and thought about Harmon, back on the mesa.

The sound of an approaching vehicle rumbled up the ravine. Carter looked out the entrance. A Toyota Land Cruiser painted in desert camouflage ground up the slope. It stopped when the driver spotted the bodies.

"It’s an army vehicle."

Selena studied the truck. "Border patrol? Out here? How would they know where this cave was?"

"They wouldn’t. Something’s not right."

After a moment a door opened. A familiar figure emerged from the passenger side, followed by two men in fatigues. Last time Carter saw them, they'd been fingering their batons in the airport security office.

"It’s Samake, with his two goons. If he knows about the cave he’s part of this. That's why he didn't want us up here. Grab your rifle and get out of sight behind that crate. Be ready to shoot if I open fire."

Selena started to say something, thought better of it and went to the crate. She rested her rifle, took aim and waited.

Samake looked around, barked an order. All three ran for cover. It was a mistake, because now he was away from his vehicle. He’d just cut off his escape route. Carter waited. It was Samake’s move.

Colonel Samake called up the ravine. "My brothers, what has happened here? It is I, Colonel Samake."

Nick kept his voice low. "I guess that clinches it," he said. Selena nodded. Her face was grim. She was angry.

"Come out, my brothers. Let me see you. I have come as we arranged."

Selena and Carter waited.

Samake and his men were behind the rocks. There was no clear shot. Samake didn’t know what to do. After a few moments he sent his men forward. They kept low, moving from boulder to boulder. They got closer to the mouth of the cave. Nick signaled Selena. Wait.

"I see no one," one called. "The cave is empty." He stood up, a sign of lousy training. A man with a rifle and a uniform, not a soldier. The second policeman stood.

Carter opened up. Selena began firing.

The AK 47 is a formidable weapon. The rounds ripped into the two men and shredded them. They jerked and spun like marionettes in the hands of a lunatic puppeteer and fell backwards.

"Hey Colonel," Carter called. "Why don’t you throw down your weapon and stand up."

"Depp?" Carter heard anger in his voice.

"Catch any flies lately, Samake? Stand up, you bastard. We can wait all day if we have to. But I don’t want to. We’ve got an RPG here. That rock won’t help you. You’ve got five minutes."

Nick let him think about it. "Selena, get one of those launchers."

She went over to a crate, took out a launcher, pulled several rounds out and brought everything over.

"Keep him covered."

"My pleasure." She took up her position. Carter set his rifle down, loaded the RPG.

Samake called out. "I am a Colonel in my country’s security services. I came to arrest these terrorists. You have killed two of my men. Perhaps you were frightened. Stop this foolishness and we will talk. It is not too late."

Carter took aim beyond Samake and fired. The rocket boosted grenade sailed over Samake's head and detonated thirty yards behind him.

"Next one is right on you, Samake. Stand up."

He stood, slowly.

"Throw down your weapon."

Samake tossed his submachine gun to the side. He had a holster on his belt.

"The pistol, too. Be careful."

Samake lifted the flap and took out the pistol and dropped it on the ground. His face was angry.

"Good boy. Now put your hands up and walk toward the cave."

Samake scowled, but did as he was told. When he was ten yards away, Carter stopped him.

"That’s far enough."

He set the launcher down, picked up the AK and stepped into the sunlight.

"Depp." Samake held his hands out. "You and your friend can be rich. Let me make you rich."

"How would you do that on your salary?"

Samake laughed, a deep, rolling laugh. "There is white gold in that cave, Mister Depp. Cocaine. Enough to make us both very rich. We can both retire to somewhere we enjoy."

"I have to think about that. You have a phone, Samake?"

"In my shirt pocket."

"Take it out and set it on the ground. Use your left hand."

Samake lowered his left hand and reached into his pocket. He took out the phone and bent over to set it on the ground. Then he moved, fast for a big man. He dropped his right arm and reached behind him.

Selena shot him. The bullets staggered Samake backwards. He fell.

She stood up, lowered her rifle. "He was going for a gun. Stupid, greedy man."

Samake lay sprawled on his side in the dirt, his mouth filled with blood. Nick walked over and rolled him onto his back. A pistol fell from his hand. Carter picked up the phone and handed it to Selena.

"Call Stephanie," he said.

Carter went back into the cave and found a flashlight. He walked past the pallets of cocaine. He kept walking, looking for anything that could lead him to the truck from Sudan. At the back of the cave he came to a pile of loose rocks scattered on the rough stone floor and a low opening. He stooped and entered.

He was in a natural rock chamber. On the floor were scattered pieces of crumbling fabric showing a faded green. A few bits of old wood, dark brown. Scrapes on the floor. Something was written on the dun colored rock.

He went back outside, back to the front.

"Stephanie is sending a chopper to the plateau," Selena said. "There's a Ranger detachment here, advisors."

"Come look at this." Nick led her back into the chamber. He pointed at the writing on the wall.

القيامة

"What does this say?"

Selena looked at the writing. "Judgement."

She picked up a piece of green cloth. It fell apart in her hands. "This cloth is old. See the bits of wood? That manuscript said there was a relic of Muhammad. It must have been here"

"Well it's not here now."

"It could be in that truck."

"Another reason to find it."

The made their way back to the front. "Look for anything useful. Papers, notes, anything that might give us information."

They searched the cave. Carter found a laptop computer and took it.

Selena called out. "I found something. Used pill bottles, prescriptions for Bausari. I think they're cancer drugs."

"Good, take them. We'll analyze it later. Anything else?"

"No."

He looked at the neat bundles of cocaine and stacks of arms and ammo. Selena watched him. Five large cans of gasoline were stacked on one side of the cave. Carter opened the cans one by one and poured gas on the cocaine, the crates of ammunition, the weapons.

"Time to go," he said. He backed out of the cave, trailing gasoline behind him from the last can, down the ravine. It made a dark trail against the yellow rock of the ravine.

"Get in the Toyota and start it up." Selena climbed into Samake's truck. The keys were in the ignition. She started it, backed up and turned so it faced down the slope.

Nick tossed a match at the trail of gas and watched it catch. He jumped into the truck.

"Go!" He slammed his hand on the dash. Selena threw it in gear and they bounced down the trail. They were around the corner when the cave blew. A series of thunderous detonations ripped the air as the munitions exploded. Rocks rained down on the truck.

They took Samake’s Toyota back to the foot of the mesa and scrambled to the top. Harmon had tossed off his cover. His bedding was soaked in blood. He was white, white as February snow, all the color gone from his skin. His breath came in long, harsh shudders. His eyelids twitched.

"Ah, shit," Nick said. "He's bleeding out." He raised his voice. "Joe. Look at me. Open your eyes. Come on, buddy. Chopper’s on the way. You gotta hold on."

Harmon's eyelids fluttered open. He turned his head and focused on Carter's face. It wasn't Nick he was seeing.

"Dad," he said. "You’re here."

"I’m here." Carter felt cold, cold fingers grip his chest. His throat closed up.

"Hey," Harmon whispered. "We had good times."

"Yeah, we did. We’ll have more. Hold on."

Harmon coughed. "Just when I thought I was out…," he said. Then he said, "Oh, fuck."

His fingers relaxed and his hand fell away.

A distant beat of rotors echoed across the brittle sky. Carter looked down at Harmon's body. What a waste, he thought. Another meaningless death in a fucked up war. It made him angry.

He wanted to be anywhere except here. He wanted to kill every fucking terrorist asshole who thought it was fine to murder everyone who didn’t believe in his shitty seventh century fantasy. He wanted to wipe every one of them off the face of the earth.

If he could find him, he'd start with Bausari.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A day later Nick and Selena had Stephanie on a secure speakerphone at the US embassy in Bamako. Carter had sent the computer from the cave on to Washington. New sat phones were coming in the next pouch.

"The truck went into Mauritania. We picked them up just over the border but lost them again. I want you to find it. They have to be heading for the coast."

Steph was in Director mode.

"What kind of truck is it?" Selena asked.

"Typical, two and a half tons, square cab, desert colors, like an army truck. Open bed with a canvas cover. There aren't any distinguishing marks on it. Sudanese plates, but they might have changed them. Do you have a map of the region?"

"Yes." Carter spread it out on a long table in front of him.

"From Mali they headed west into Mauritania. There’s nothing there but sand and rock. It's flat, they could drive it. It’s not that far to a town called Bir Moghrain. That’s the first place they could pick up what passes for a paved road. Once on the highway they wouldn’t stand out, like in the desert. They’d just be another truck in traffic."

Carter traced routes with his finger. Stephanie went on.

"They could leave the highway and go overland toward the ocean. Or they could go all the way to the capitol and drive north or south along the coast. A rendezvous with a ship off the coast is the only thing that makes sense. Otherwise they'd have gone up into Algeria. They could turn west at Bir Moghrain into the Western Sahara region, but I don't think they'll do that. The region is disputed and there are lots of border guards and armed patrols. My guess is they’ll opt for the long way."

Stephanie paused. "The country along the north coast is especially dangerous, so watch yourself if you go up there. It’s completely lawless, controlled by AQIM. There are frequent murders. No one's safe."

"Sounds like a wonderful place." Carter pulled on his ear.

"Most western countries have travel advisories against going to Mauritania at all. I think you should start at the Capitol, Nouakchott. You can go north or south from there."

"We need weapons. There's one pistol between us."

"I'm on top of that. Go to Nouakchott, check into a hotel. You'll be met. Then you'll have weapons and a vehicle."

"Why not send in those rangers?"