The two girls in the back continued chatting, not even realizing Shay had taken a call.
“As far as I can tell, no,” Peyton responded. “This is more about someone being really interested in history. They want the figurines for a private collection and are willing to pay a hundred thousand for their retrieval. The figurines are pretty small, so it’s not like they would be worth that much even if they were melted down, and they couldn’t identify them other than to mention they represent Oriceran races.”
Shay nibbled her lip. Even without taking a supersonic flight, she could set off in the morning, easily get to Oregon, do the job, and get back before dinner time.
Peyton was right. A mere six-figure payday generally wasn’t usually worth it anymore, but sometimes you just picked up the quarter on the sidewalk in front of you.
“Any legends associated with the caves? Hostile frog guys? Giant spiders that eat people? Ghosts? Cave-protecting death cults?
Peyton laughed. “Nope, nothing credible. The main thing is getting to the location. Requires some cave diving, and you have to know exactly where you’re going.”
“And the client happens to know exactly where I need to go?”
“Yeah, because they sent someone in before. They drowned, but they managed to get off a little emergency drone transponder.”
Shay snickered. “At least they’re honest about the danger. Okay, tell the client I’ll take the job. Just have to drop off Lily and Alison at Warehouse Two, then I’ll go gear up at Warehouse Three.”
“Lily and Alison together?” Peyton groaned.
“What? Do you suddenly have a problem with them?”
“No, it’s just that I don’t know if I can survive two teenage girls.”
Chapter Seventeen
The good news was Shay hadn’t run into any frogmen, death cultists, or giant spiders. The bad news was the earthy and humid stench that clung to everything inside the cave filled her nostrils and made her want to gag.
The tomb raider continued wading through stagnant water filled with algae, insects, and who knew what disgusting parasites. She’d been in many caves in her short career as a tomb raider, and they never got any less annoying.
She slapped at the water. “Why can’t I go after pirate treasure buried on a tropical island?”
The glamorous life of a tomb raider. Look at me, I’m wading through nature’s sewage pipe. The area’s arid, but this cave isn’t. Nice how that shit works out. It’s like a big joke at my expense.
Her diving equipment hung heavy on her back. From what the client had told Peyton, it’d be a good thirty minutes of walking before she hit the actual point of diving. She’d been walking almost that long. She couldn’t verify anything with her assistant, though, since her communications had died once she was five minutes into the cave.
Something brushed against her leg.
Shay frowned. She had a needle gun hanging from her belt in case she needed to deliver a little underwater death, but taking on some monster in dark cave water struck her as high on the list of bad ideas. She just needed to find the damned figurines and get the hell out of there before some mud octopus ate her.
Gold. Everyone likes gold. Even early humans liked the shiny metal. What the hell is it about gold?
The splashes of water echoed as she made her way deeper into the tightening cave system.
Her headlamp and wrist light illuminated the rippling water and moist cave walls covered with fungus, moss, and algae. Life always found a way. A disgusting way, but still a way.
The flow of the water picked up as she approached a deep opening. She could hear the sound of rushing water below.
Almost there. Time to gear up, I guess.
Shay lowered her mask and connected her tanks and oxygen lines. She took a moment to equalize the pressure in her system before grabbing a coiled nylon line off her belt. The tomb raider found an outcropping to tie the line off to before using it to slowly climb into the dark rushing water below.
She hissed as the current caught her leg. Her heart sped up, but she took a few deep breaths and kept moving down. She wouldn’t be swept away as long as she held onto the line, and even if she were, she had oxygen.
I can swim against the current. It wouldn’t be fun, but I could do it.
Shay took a few deep breaths.
Good thing I’m not afraid of dark spaces or water.
An image invaded her mind, tumbling logs in a deadly maze. She winced.
Sure, she’d almost been buried alive on her first real tomb raid, but she’d gotten her revenge on the lake later with the help of Daniel Goldstein sponsoring a return to the lake.
Is that what I need? A bunch of CIA money and a full team? Screw that. I’ve done tons of underwater raids since then. This isn’t such a bad deal, and the past doesn’t predict the future. I can do this.
Shay continued her descent, the current weakening as she moved deeper into the dark, watery abyss. She had plenty of air left, and not a single hostile monster, animal, or human had come anywhere near her, unless she was counting the giardia in the water.
She was feeling pretty relaxed, even bored, when she saw a hand.
Shay kept hold of her nylon line with her left hand and raised her needle gun with her right, her heart pounding.
Well, at least I’m not gonna die in my kitchen.
The tomb raider aimed the weapon but didn’t fire. The gloved hand was waving. No. Not waving—it was moving with the slow underwater current.
She shifted her head to illuminate the rest of her new friend. A half-rotted corpse stared back at her.
Shay took a deep breath, trying to keep the bile down. She hooked the needle gun back onto her belt and took in the disturbing sight.
Fuck. Guess I found the poor bastard who tried to find the figurines before me.
The man’s legs had been pinned by rock and
