Or jungle.
He had spent many a hot, sweaty week on exercise in the dense, steamy jungles of Papua New Guinea, just off Australia’s north coast. The PNG Government had a long-standing arrangement with Canberra to allow the Australian Defence Force to train on their territory and Riley had been up there on many occasions, sometime pitted against other Special Forces guys. All good fun, mate. No problem.
But today he had problems.
While he could spend all day playing with the Snake King and his men if he was on his own, only Mitch Decker had any serious jungle time under his belt. Charlie was a soldier, but he was a former military policeman with mostly urban experience. As for Selena, Atticus and Diana or Acosta… they would stand zero chance in a place like this if they got lost or injured, and both were a serious possibility if a firefight broke out.
He marched on, chatting with his friends but always keeping an eye out for trouble. Hours later, they reached their destination and he gave a silent prayer of thanks. Up ahead, Decker made the lake shore first and took cover behind a giant fan palm as he scanned the area for any sign of Danvers and his men. The Avalon was still bobbing about on the surface, badly damaged from the initial attack but from the look of things, not suffering any further problems.
“All right,” the American said, breaking cover. “We’ve got a lot of work to do if we’re going to get the Avalon into the air again. I’ll get my tools from the cargo hold. Then we get airborne, rescue Atticus and secure the capstone.”
Selena put her hands on her hips and blew some hair out of her eyes. “But where the hell do we start? We don’t have a clue where they’ve gone!”
Charlie grinned and shook his phone. “We might not, but I know a man who might.”
25
Havana, Cuba
The short flight over the dark blue waters of the Caribbean Sea was mostly smooth and enjoyable, even in a vintage plane designed and built long before many of the comforts brought by modern aviation. They flew through the hottest part of the day and crossed into Cuban airspace just as the sun was starting to sink behind them. As the hypnotic hum of the old radial engines lulled the others to sleep, Selena stared through her window and watched the sunset light endless sugarcane fields a deep, welcoming amber.
She gave a quiet sigh and felt the aircraft begin its descent. The agricultural landscape of the island’s western provinces slowly melted into farms then villages then conurbations. Lines of tobacco bushes on the rich red soil of Pinar del Rio were smoothly replaced by jumbles of buildings connected by quiet country roads. Further to the south, a heat shimmer rippled over the Mayabeque hills, already distorted by the blue haze of twilight.
Charlie’s MI5 contact had easily tracked Nathaniel Danvers and his team back to Comitán where they had boarded a private flight to Havana. None of them knew why. They doubted Atticus would have sent them on a wild goose chase to Cuba in pursuit of a fictional book of incantations, so there had to be another reason.
Whatever it was, they had little choice but to follow and rescue him. Luckily, Decker had an old buddy from his days in the US Marines who lived in Havana. That meant a warm welcome, good food and soft beds. He had also promised to use his local knowledge of the island to help them track Atticus and the capstone down.
“Ready for the off?”
She turned and saw Riley. The young Australian was standing in the aisle, but leaning casually on the headrest of the seat beside her. As usual, he had brought his wide, toothy smile along with him. Top three buttons of his shirt open, revealing his dog tags and hanging loosely from his tanned wrist, frayed leather surfing bracelets.
She smiled back. “Don’t let Captain Mitch see you wandering around on final approach.”
“I know,” he said with a laugh. “He might put me on a charge.”
On the other side of the aisle, Diana huffed out a cynical sigh.
“Di?” Riley asked. “Did you just make a noise like a small rodent breaking wind?”
She put down her book and glared at him. “No, not at all. I agree with you about Mitch.”
He furrowed his brow in confusion. “You do?”
“Of course,” she said, returning to her book and arching an eyebrow. “What an irritation it is having a responsible, sensible man at the controls of our plane.”
“I walked right into that one.”
“Yes, you did. Now sit down and buckle up like a good little boy and stop being so silly.”
He puffed out his chest. “You think us SAS guys sit down and buckle up?”
She shrugged. “What would your sergeant tell you to do when your plane was coming into land?”
“To sit down and buckle up, of course.” He slammed down next to her and reached around for the belt. “That’s what I like about you, Di. You’re down to earth. You call a spade a spade.”
From the cabin, she heard Decker moaning. “Buckle up, Riley!”
“On it, Cap!”
Decker groaned again. “All I wanted was just a…”
“Just a quiet cargo business,” Selena called back. “I know. I know.”
The American gave a weary laugh. “Okay everyone, we’re about to hit the deck.”
*
A short drive from the airport and they were pulling up outside Decker’s buddy’s place in Cojímar. It was modest but beautiful and offered a great sea view. When Decker rang the bell, they noticed the front door was already open. Decker and Selena exchanged a glance, fearing the worst.
Decker poked his head through the gap.
