crossbows, longbows, knives, and spears. Most of them had the ability to see at night just as well as they could by day. They had encountered no intrusions from this trail for over a month. Tonight, that was going to change.
Sound carried well through the draw. They heard movement before they first saw them. They counted twenty men, dressed in protective suits, and armed with automatic rifles. As they made their way down to the valley‘s floor, they systematically disabled, or averted, each of the traps that were set on the trail. When they came near to the bottom, it was evident by their movements that they saw the building and were not surprised in finding it. Four men had moved in pairs to encircle it, while the others remained in the draw.
As soon as the soldiers started their assault on the structure, silent bolts from the large crossbows greeted them. The silence was broken when one of the falling soldiers pulled the trigger on his weapon. A burst of ammunition flew harmlessly into the air as he crashed into the ground, but the sound resonated clearly in the night. The remainder of the soldiers did not know what had happened, and were reluctant to move as they did not see anybody else in the area. They started using hand signals to communicate with one another as bright flashes rained in around them. At first, it was surreal when they noticed the flaming arrows and did not feel they posed any significant threat. That moment passed, however, when the reality of the danger set in. Everywhere in the draw, except for the path itself, there were piles of tumbleweeds, pine branches, and other brush scattered about. The fire soaked arrows quickly set the area ablaze. The pine branches were the worst with their pitch exploding as they succumbed to the flames.
With that came the smoke. Once they realized there was no place else to go and visibility was not on their side, they made their retreat as fast as they were able. Several members had suffered falls and burns as they were not able to escape the fire unscathed. They would now be exposed to the environment. When they reached the rim, there was only one decision that could be made. They would return to the mountain and report what had happened.
The sound of the automatic gunfire could be heard throughout the valley. When people came out of their homes, light from the raging fire could be seen reflecting off the night sky. When Bishop joined Weston and the others who were standing near him, he said, “I think you better get ready. It looks like it’s already starting.”
Weston agreed, having already decided that himself, “We’ll go to Mezzo at first light,” he said to those around him. “Sasha will set up defenses here, both from the outside, and inside, in case we have to give ground and fall back to here, and I will take eighty men along to Mezzo.”
The men understood and made preparations to leave. Not one of them slept that night.
All eight warriors watched their retreat. When they knew it would be impossible for the intruders to return, they went to the four bodies lying on the ground. They kept to a safe distance as they looked over the bodies. One of them was still alive with a bolt protruding from his shoulder. He was face down but still had his hand on his weapon. “We can see you are alive. If you try to move your weapon, you will be killed. It is your choice,” one of the warriors said.
The soldier remained still. He was not sure if they were telling the truth, or bluffing. He decided to stay still a while longer and see what would happen. That lasted until the moment he felt the point of a metal blade at the base of his skull.
“Alright, I give up,” he said as he lifted his hand away from the weapon.
They helped him to his feet, removed his tactical harness, and all other objects he carried. He complained about the movement and the pain it cause his shoulder. They were unconcerned. After that, they removed his headgear.
“Hey,” he protested,” I need that….”
“Not in here you don’t,” the same warrior said. He then turned to his men and instructed them to remove everything from the other bodies. The bodies themselves would eventually be taken to the rim, but the clothes and equipment would go to Mezzo with the prisoner. They tied his hands behind his back, soliciting even further cries of pain. Three of them were tasked to transport the prisoner, and the other supplies to the village, while the others remained to secure the area.
Not long after they brought the prisoner and the confiscated equipment into the village, Weston arrived along with his reinforcements. He was directed to the village center where Dr. Ramirez was attending to the wounded soldier, with Bishop accompanying him. When the soldier recognized Bishop he broke his silence, “Chief, what are you doing here?”
“Trying to right a wrong; how about you?” he challenged.
Something in the way he said it made the soldier think he was not going to get any special treatment from his old boss. He remained where he was and said nothing more. By this time, professor Bayek had arrived and noticed the prisoner. Bishop turned to him as he walked in and thought he detected a sign of recognition between the two men. Weston walked over to the soldier after first talking to the men who had brought him there. They gave a detailed accounting of the events from the previous night before they left Mezzo to return to their responsibilities.
“What’s your name,” he started by asking.
The soldier said nothing.
“Peterson. His name’s Peterson,” Bishop supplied.
The soldier looked at Bishop in disgust.
“Okay Peterson,” Weston continued, “I don’t know if you realize this or not, but there isn’t much you can count on out here. You can either be useful to us or not. It is up to you,” he said evenly.
He remained silent.
“How did you know where to look for each of the traps we had placed on that trail?”
He did not answer.
“Why did you try to come into the valley through that area instead of just trying to establish contact with us here?”
Still no answer.
While Weston was questioning the prisoner, Bishop was paying close attention to Bayek. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable. He also detected a sign of recognition, which had passed between him and the prisoner after that last question. Bishop heard Weston say something else before he decided it was time to intervene.
“How is the boy? Have you hurt him,” Bishop asked in a conversational manner as he turned from his examination of Bayek to give his full attention to his former subordinate.
Thinking this was one question he could answer, and maybe get a bargaining chip in the process, he said, “He’s fine for now. But I don’t know what they will do if you harm me.”
Bishop smiled at him.
“Weston. You are questioning the wrong man,” he stated flatly.
Weston looked at him in confusion. Bishop pointed to Bayek and said, “Ask him.”
Professor Bayek’s eyes went wide at the statement. “I don’t know what he is talking about. I told you, I escaped, Stephan didn’t.”
“Yeah,” Bishop said, “But the only people who would know about you and the boy would be those who captured you and possibly a few people on the inside. That means the two of you,” Bishop said indicating both Bayek and their prisoner “have met already. It also means that somehow they knew how to get past the security measures, and know where the path of least resistance would be. I think you are a liar Bayek. You didn’t escape, they let you go.”
Professor Bayek was having a hard time organizing his thoughts as the weight of the allegations being made descended upon him. He could see it just as clearly in the eyes of the others.
“Let’s have the truth,” Weston said. “You might as well tell us why and save us all the time and trouble.”
When it was clear he could not hide it any longer, he confessed. “They have medicine, we don’t. They said they wouldn’t hurt Stephan or any of the rest of us. They said if they could find a way in, and take us by surprise, no one would get hurt and we could prevent any unnecessary bloodshed.”
“You’ve betrayed us,” Weston said.
“I’m responsible for saving the lives of many of the people in this valley,” Bayek responded self- righteously.
