“I’ll call him right now,” Sofia said.
“Good,” Rick said. He pointed to Luis. “They’ve already attacked both you and Javier, looking for information. They’ll have no qualms about doing it again. We’ve gotta get a move on.”
* * *
They met up with Javier twenty minutes later. Luckily, they’d managed to get most of the supplies they needed. They all piled into Javier’s truck, with Rick riding shotgun. They stopped at a gas station to fuel up, and then changed into their camouflage clothing, with long sleeves and pants to protect their skin, and sturdy hiking boots. They grabbed a few extra snacks and bottles of water for the trip. It had been decided that Javier would get them as close as they dared on the road near the location he’d last seen Diego. From there, he’d hide the truck and they’d go the rest of the way on foot.
The nervous and scared, yet determined, foursome headed out onto the highway, for the long, almost four hour drive east from Cuenca, nearly all the way to the border with Peru. Into the rainforest and into the unknown. Hoping against hope that all was not already lost...
CHAPTER 9
Oz watched his men heading out from their encampment, deep in the rainforest of Ecuador, to do some scouting. His team were consummate professionals, but he could tell the tension was mounting. They knew they were getting closer and that it was only a matter of time until they would find their ultimate destination. They needed a few more puzzle pieces and all would be theirs.
Oz was part of a global organization that was ever on the hunt for new weapons, and any and all sources of power that could be adapted into weaponry, technological inventions, and more. They had operatives everywhere. Certain code words would attract their attention—powerful, ancient artifacts, secret knowledge from the distant past, hidden portals leading to areas of strange phenomenon, people gaining unexplained, and sometimes unnatural abilities, even shades of the supernatural.
Not long ago, they’d caught wind of mystical occurrences in this specific region of Ecuador. Superstitious whispers abounded regarding mystifying events relating to a trove of once lost ancient artifacts... the fabled Crespi tablets and a mysterious metal library. There were even rumors of unexplained disappearances of people who were supposedly out near the protected and restricted Tayos Caves system—disappearances due to some hidden power related to this metal library, or so the rumors went.
After doing extensive research, Ares had sent a team of men, led by Oz, out to investigate. Once in Ecuador, they had done their recon. They planted people in select places to listen and learn, bribed people as needed, and then acted swiftly when they found information of particular interest to them. They were unconcerned by the pockets of resistance they’d encountered so far. They had effective ways of quieting resistance.
Now, Oz had brought a small team out into the Ecuadorian jungle, leaving behind a few operatives in the city of Cuenca, with whom they remained in radio contact. His team was heading towards the Tayos Caves system. All signs pointed to the elusive metal library being in this area. They were determined to find and take control of it, at any cost.
Oz walked to the edge of their jungle encampment. The night was warm, with a soft breeze on the humid air, and it was alive with shrieks and rustles. A light drizzle came down, hitting his face. He closed his eyes, relishing the smell of lush foliage kissed by rain. He loved the night. It was when he felt most alive. He rarely slept anyways, but now with the adrenaline pumping through him, his mind raced with how various scenarios might play out in the hours or days ahead. He was ready for any of them. He was eager to engage. Waiting was never his strong suit when he was this close to his prize.
He thought about how being out here was like dancing on the edge of a knife. One wrong move, one bad decision and you may not live to get it right the next time. He relished the adrenaline rush of being on the hunt. Of seeking prey. Of seizing that which was there for the taking. He revered the strong and powerful overcoming the weak, taking whatever they needed, whatever they desired. Out here in the jungle, life was more honest, more blunt, more brutal, less merciful. As it should be. Their company name, Ares, which meant God of War in ancient Greek, was appropriate. Life was a battle, and others and their hidden treasures were meant to be conquered. It was simply the natural order of things.
Oz looked up at the jungle canopy above. Only a few stars were visible beyond the thick foliage. They were getting close. He could feel it. Possessing these artifacts, bringing them to Ares headquarters, would launch his career to dizzying new heights. He’d be able to rise to the level of the top shot callers and gain all the perks, privileges, and powers that came with it. He had long held plans of what he would do with that power...
He would be respected, feared, dominant, powerful. Everything he had not been as a young child; teased and bullied mercilessly for years because he was smaller than the others and because he stuttered. It had been an excruciatingly difficult time in his life. It didn’t help that his father had abandoned him and his mother when he was
