Clive Cussler - The Solomon Curse

Vanya sneered at them. “Say what you like. This discussion is finished. It was nice knowing you. I would have enjoyed taking your money for the clinics, if that’s any consolation.”

“You won’t be able to keep your crimes secret,” Sam said. “We’ve made a find that will put Guadalcanal on the national news and have scientists swarming over the island. It’s just a matter of time until they come across your misdeeds and then you’ll be judged harshly by the same laws you believe don’t apply to you.”

“Right. Assuming the Solomon Islands government allows them access to the island. Which is doubtful at this point in light of the antiforeigner sentiment ruling the day.” She eyed Sam like an owl would a mouse. “And at some point soon I can see the caves being destroyed by demolition charges I’ve already had placed, erasing any evidence. And before long I’m going to be rich beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, so I won’t have to bother with chasing pennies from pharmaceutical companies for doing their dirty work. I’ll be a billionaire many times over, at which point all this becomes an unnecessary distraction.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Sam tried, struggling to hide the distaste he felt. “Once the caves are destroyed, there’s no proof of anything. You said so yourself.”

“True, but I don’t need a pair of multimillionaires claiming I’m the Antichrist. I’m not so provincial that I don’t understand you could stir up enough interest to drive an investigation. No, I’m afraid there’s only one way this ends. You and your colleagues must die. Think of it as a noble sacrifice, if it makes you feel any better, makes your deaths seem meaningful to you.” She checked her watch. “And now I’m afraid I have a hospital to run and politicians to counsel. Good-bye, Sam and Remi Fargo. And you — whatever your name is,” she said, eyeing Lazlo.

The nearest gunman held the iron barrier open for her and both men followed her out, shutting the heavy door and locking it behind them. The sound of the bolt sliding into place was as final as the closing of a coffin lid. As Vanya’s and the men’s footsteps echoed down the passageway, Sam and Remi shared a bleak look with Lazlo.

Sam was the first to speak. “Tell me about what you saw when they brought us in here.”

Remi collected her thoughts and eyed the door. “This cave is farther down the ridge from the one with the bodies and the one we were ambushed in. This is probably all part of the same cave system, though — maybe the fork we didn’t take when we were making our escape.”

“How far in are we?”

“We went through two smaller caves after we entered the mountain.” Remi shuddered. “The one on the other side of the door has the medical equipment and beds in it. It smelled like death.”

Sam nodded. “Think hard. Is there anything we can use, anything either of you saw, that could help us?”

Remi and Lazlo were silent for several moments and then Lazlo shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Bit of a bind this time, I’d say.”

Sam looked at Remi. “Anything at all?”

“If we could get into the next room, some of the equipment could be used as weapons. The oxygen tanks. Some of the cleansers and solvents…”

Sam grunted. “Help me up. I want to look at the door.”

Remi and Lazlo did as Sam asked and they approached the iron door, Remi supporting Sam. He ran his fingers over the hinges, examined where rust was bleeding down the seams, and gave Remi a sour look. He didn’t have to say that there was no way they could work the oversized pins loose — the door had to weigh hundreds of pounds and had been competently installed, framed by concrete rather than the softer limestone of the cave walls.

“They built quite a bunker here,” Lazlo said. “The door and the cement look old. Might have been the Japanese.”

Sam studied the metal slab. “Probably. The Japanese built a lab for their experiments and the good doctor took it over. Makes sense — if the Japanese did it correctly, they probably bored ventilation shafts and ran wiring. All Dr. Vanya had to do was step in and modify it, depending on its condition when she found—”

Sam’s rumination was interrupted by the lights shutting off with a snap, plunging the cave into darkness.

They stood frozen in the pitch black, afraid to move. A muffled thump echoed from the other side of the door, followed by silence.

“What do you think this is? Desensitization technique?” Sam whispered to Remi.

“Could be they just want to save their power for more important things than prisoners they plan to torture and kill,” Remi said.

“Doesn’t sound optimistic,” Lazlo said.

Their speculations were cut short by a scrape, followed by the bolt sliding free. They stepped back just as the heavy door swung wide, hinges creaking. The cave beyond was also dark and they couldn’t make anything out.

“Which one of you is the better shot?” a familiar voice asked from the doorway. “I managed to relieve one of the natives of his pistol, but there are more where that came from,” Leonid said.

“Leonid! You’re alive!” Lazlo whispered in surprise.

“Barely. So who’s best with a pistol?” Leonid repeated.

“Remi is,” Sam said.

“Where is she?” Leonid asked.

“I’m right here,” Remi offered from Sam’s left.

Leonid took a step into the room and held out the gun, which Remi felt for and then took from him.

“Are you hurt?” Sam asked.

“Nothing broken, but I’m not going to win any beauty contests.”

“You killed the lights?” Lazlo asked.

“Yes. Machete to the main power cable. Took three tries.”

“Where’s the machete?” Sam asked.

“Buried in a guard.” He paused. “I have a flashlight, but I don’t want to turn it on. Better to wait for the others to return and shoot at their lights.”

“I keep forgetting that you were in the Russian army,” Sam said.

“And I’ve been married three times,” said Leonid.

A glow bounced from the far end of the cave as a flashlight approached. Remi stepped in front of Sam and pointed beyond a row of beds at the oxygen tanks lined up against the wall. She held her fingers to her lips as the light drew closer and said softly to Sam, “Take cover. I’m going to close the door so they don’t see anything wrong. It might buy us a few seconds.”

“I’m coming with you,” he said.

There was no time to argue. She and Sam moved into the cave with the medical equipment, pulled the door shut, and bolted it. Remi ducked behind a wooden crate and Sam hurried to a portable monitoring system near the beds, hoping the apparatus would hide him.

They didn’t have long to wait. A flashlight appeared in the opening at the other side of the cave and they could make out three islanders toting pistols. The beam moved directly to the door, as Remi had hoped, stopping at the bolted lock. The men muttered unintelligibly among themselves and took cautious steps toward it, and both Sam and Remi held their breaths as the gunmen moved past them to the door.

Remi’s shots were as loud as cannon fire in the cave. The first caught the flashlight bearer between the shoulders and the second hit his companion as he was spinning to shoot at her. She squeezed off two more shots at the third gunman as he threw himself behind another crate. Hers missed as he fired two of his, one of which splintered the wood by her head, the other ricocheting harmlessly off the stone walls.

The flashlight lay on the ground, shining into nothingness, providing just enough illumination for Remi to make out the far crate. The gunman’s leg shot out and kicked the flashlight into the wall, shattering the bulb and plunging the cave back into darkness. Remi’s night vision took several seconds to adjust and her reaction was too slow as the gunman rolled from behind the crate, pistol in hand.