The Twelve Stones (49 page)

“
Oh
,
you look worried
,
Mr. Howell.” Kline said cheerfully. “The bright side is
,
you managed to find something for me that I’ve been
seeking
for over the last fifty years. So, thank you for that!” Kline began rotating the man in his left arm, gathering momentum to discard the last lifeless body from his digging crew. “Second, you and your cohorts will be providing a much
-
needed link in the circle of life. Without you, the predators and scavengers would go hungry.” Kline released the man, using his right hand to see how far he threw him. “I’m afraid you
’ve seen
a bit too much by this point
.
H
owever
, since I do appreciate all your help….”

Red began to panic and run down the steep Mesa trail. He didn’t get far before he stumbled over some rocks. Kline simply shook his head and caught up to the blubbering foreman, lifting him up by his pants.

“
I
will
allow you to
experience
pure, natural flight
. None of that uncomfortable 767 crap.” Kline paused, “Though I must say, I believe that Virgin Atlantic really is the way God intended man to fly.”

Kline looked down, smiling cruelly at his foreman
.
“But I suppose for now, this will have to do.”

Kline spun the fat man around and round,
again building up
momentum. Red was unable to do anything
but
go
along
for the ride. The man’s strength was incredible. The faster Red spun, the more he felt like his entire body would fly apart
at any moment
. It was only seconds before Red blacked out that Kline released him flying into the air above Joshua Tree.

Like a rocket, Red flew into the darkening twilight sky. He felt the air flow over his face as he quickly gained altitude.
A
fter
only
a few terrifying moments of
screaming
ascent, Red found himself floating over the most beautiful nighttime desert scene below. He opened his eyes and looked at everything below him.

The setting sun in the far west had painted some vivid orange and red scenes for him to enjoy in his last moments as he plummeted back down to earth. It was the kind of vivid sunset colors that only God knew how to paint.

Below, the scraggly Joshua Trees dotted the landscape
.
T
he
Mesa, once so imposing from his earlier perspective
,
appeared not much more than a dot on the ground. The jagged crop of mountains ringed around
the valley from which
Kline had thrown him, and looked so small from several thousand feet above the ground. Rising in the east, a full moon illuminated his last few looks at the desert world below.

And it was then, at the pinnacle of his flight
, when
Red could see the bright lights of Los Angeles in the distance
,
that he understood.

As gravity claimed his body once again and he began tumbling inescapably back towards the ground, Red Howell smiled. He plummeted, smiling at the pleasant life that
now flashed
before his eyes. It was only in those last few seconds that Red realized just how lucky he had been.

The Mesa rushed up towards him, expanding exponentially from an insignificant dot to…

Chapter Thirty-
Six

The Hypertruck wheeled itself to a halt outside the entrance to Joshua Tree. Idling for a moment, the car
then
stopped as Scott turned it off.

“
What are you gonna do?” Scott asked. Alex had been giving directions for the last few minutes, not that they needed them. The expansive
w
hite geodesic
d
ome that covered the Mesa was visible from a few miles away.

Alex opened the door and stepped out, looking at the gigantic white dome, absentmindedly loading the clip to his pistol with 9 mm rounds.

“
I’m not really sure yet
,
” Alex answered staring at the illuminated Mesa.

“
I still can’t heal that great from a distance….” Trailing off, Alex really went through his options. “I’ve been on suicide missions before, but at least then I had a bunch of friends with some rather large guns backing me up.”

“
What? I’m not backup?” Scott asked, feigning offense.

“
You couldn’t ref a Peewee Football game without peeing your pants in fear.”

“
Those kids were mean
,
all right?” Scott hotly replied.

Alex ignored Scott, “My best bet is to sneak in, find Emily
,
and get her out safely.”

“
Then all you have to do is take out an insanely powerful billionaire with untold strength, weapons
,
and manpower
,
” Scott said sarcastically. “You really think you’re ninja enough to get all that going?
”

Alex holstered the pistol in his belt and pulled
the
collapsed MP4 rifle from the
S
heriff station arsenal from out of the rear of the Hypertruck, slapping a fresh magazine into the weapon. Sliding the action back, he made sure it was loaded and grinned at his best friend.

“
Well, I guess we’re about to find out
,
aren’t we?”

Chapter Thirty-
Seven

Emily felt weak. She had been screaming fruitlessly for the past fifteen minutes. No one had come to her rescue
,
and no one was going to come to her rescue. For the first time in her adult life, Emily wondered if she was about to die.

The door to her cave opened. The four construction
-
style klieg lights clicked on, blinding her once again.

“Hello?” Emily called out tentatively. “Whoever’s there
,
your boss already ruined the ‘
O
h
,
is somewhere here or not?’ trick for me.”

Footsteps on the gravel approached her from behind. She felt the ropes behind her being loosened, and heard a whisper
.
“We’re getting outta here. Stay close.”

She turned, expecting a
friendly face
, but instead was greeted with the black soulless eyes of Geoffrey Tate. She screamed and tried to run away. Geoffrey smiled, enjoying her resistance.

“What part of
‘
nowhere for you to go
’
don’t you understand?” Geoffrey Tate said patronizingly. “You’re coming with me.”

“No
,
I’m not!”
s
he shrieked as she kicked and scratched at her kidnapper. She wasn’t a
bout to go down without a fight –
and hopefully
,
not without
establishing
some evidence for the CSI techs that might eventually find her body.

“I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice.” Tate threw he
r forward, withdrawing the flat-
paneled needle gun that had paralyzed her earlier. A chill ran down Emily’s spine when she saw the pistol in Geoffrey’s hand. There would be a better time to fight. She wouldn’t be able to do anything if he stuck her with one of those damned needles again.

“Very well
,
” Emily replied haughtily as she began smoothing the wrinkles that had formed during the last few hours out of her dress. “Where are we going?”

Geoffrey extended his arm
,
politely showing Emily the door. She pushed it open and nearly ran into Christina. Bursting into tears, she threw herself into Emily’s arms.

“Shh,” Emily whispered to her friend. “We’ll be outta here in no time.” She continued stroking her friend’s raven black hair as her eyes shot daggers at Geoffrey Tate. “What did you do to her?”

“Nothing,” Geoffrey replied bored. “She’s just emotional. This way
,
please.”

Geoffrey led them down a narrow path down the Mesa
,
towards the gaping hole Kline’s equipment had torn into the side of the mountain only a few hours before.

Looking over her shoulder, Emily saw that they had been keeping her in an abandoned mine exploration shaft. It was a technique used in the early days of prospecting the
W
est. Huge caverns were cut or dynamited into mountains in the hope of finding valuable veins of gold or silver. Many caverns in the area were often abandoned, most collapsing within a few months of their
having
be
en
built.

Reaching the end of the path, Geoffrey stepped over several of the day workers
’
dead bodies
, which
had been stacked outside the cavern's entrance. Geoffrey sighed. Kline’s predilection for disposing of people associated with this project would make him nervous if Geoffrey didn’t know exactly
how valuable he’d become to his boss over the last day and a half.

Emily squeaked in terror as she realized what they were walking over
.
Christina remained silent, her eyes unmoving and her face blank to the horrific scene around them. Her mind had simply shut down, unwilling to accept the horrible reality of being kidnapped and marked for death. Completely catatonic, Christina allowed herself to be led down into the mineshaft as they stepped over the dead workmen’s bodies.

“Shouldn’t we wear a helmet or something?” Emily managed
,
a few yards in
to
the freshly dug mine. Around them, a dull murmur, a sound they weren’t quite able to make out
,
was persistent in the air.

“I don’t think it matters much
.
D
o
you?” Geoffrey said dryly. “Keep moving.”

Geoffrey led them down deeper into the tunnel. Emily and Christina clutched each other tightly as the bright construction lights behind them began to fade out of sight. Further in the tunnel, the three of them hear
d
the sound of running water. Geoffrey grunted and flashed his light on the wall.

“
Go deep enough
,
and you’ll hit water eventually.” Tate continued walking. “Come along
,
now.”

Emily hesitated for a moment as she watched the water drip down the wall in front of her. It seemed to soak out from the wall trickling down the slick tunnel walls, as opposed to coming from some particular source. Emily couldn’t shake the feeling
that
the Mesa was bleeding.

“Hey!” Geoffrey barked, as he turned to see where Emily had gone. “Get going
.
Mr. Kline is waiting for you.”

Emily walked slowly towards Geoffrey, her face still defiant. “Or what? You’ll kill us?”

“There’s always this,” Geoffrey replied softly, showing the flat panel of the gun.

Frustrated, Emily spat at Geoffrey’s face, which he dodged easily. Suddenly, he was in front of her, grasping her throat.

“You don’t want to anger me.” Geoffrey said quietly. “I know Mr. Kline asked for me to deliver you to him alive and in one piece, but personally,” Geoffrey said, sucking the air in between his teeth making his words hiss in her ear, “Personally, I’d rather be done with you here and now. The man trusts my judgment; you know what that word is
,
right?
‘
Trust
’
?”

Geoffrey spun Emily against the tunnel walls
,
bracing her against the hard rock. Stars exploded in her head as she fought to stay conscious. Enraged, she struggled against the man’s iron grip. There was no going anywhere for the moment, but still, that was no reason to let the son of a bitch win.

“Remember that word
,
‘
trust
’
?” Geoffrey was beginning to enjoy himself. Emily was completely paralyzed and within his control. The power he felt at the moment was intoxicating.

His smile turned evil, “You see, my employer trusts me implicitly, which means if I tell him you gave me problems, no matter how badly he might need you, he still trusts me to do have done the right thing with his best interests in mind.”

Geoffrey now understood why his boss allowed himself moments like this one. The power he felt was incredible. Her entire life, the whole of her continued existence was now resting in a choice that lay alone with Geoffrey in this moment. Kill her? Or deliver her to Kline? The thought of killing her, feeling her life slip away under his grip
,
was beginning to take over, and Tate began rationalizing the excuses he would give Kline when he arrived without her. His eyes narrowed. After losing to Alex all day, this triumph would be an incredible release.