Page 64 of The Guardian

I assumed Vega was not aware of who we really were. Rain and I had faced death and looked it in the eye many times in our line of work. We were well trained and would not hesitate to kill to protect Maya and her family. In reality, Maya herself had looked death in the eye as well in order to protect the twins.

The determined looks we wore seemed to satisfy Vega today however, as she said nothing more then led the way out.

We did get a short ride in the cage boat as I referred to it. Then Vega pulled it up to another alcove and revved it enough to slide it up onto the beach under some heavy trees. It hid the contraption quite well as she parked it with great skill.

We then trekked it on foot. The jungle seemed even thicker here. The heat was almost unbearable as the thick humidity made it hard to breathe properly. And yes, the mosquitos were the size of freaking tennis balls here.

After an hour or so, Vega stopped to raise her hand.

We halted and knelt like she did. Then we heard voices speaking in rapid Spanish. I only caught a few words that I understood. Families, beer and money. I decided to keep hush and wait until the three linguists with me could translate.

After about ten minutes the voices stopped. I heard some rustling sounds and then nothing.

Vega looked back at us to whisper, “They were a few of the League. They seem unaware that anything is amiss.”

“Da, they could not wait for it to be done with. They spoke about afterward. Beer, women and going home,” Rain explained to me.

Vega snapped her gaze over to Rain. “You speak Spanish?”

He gave her a nod.

If only she knew he spoke three or four languages. But I remained silent as did Maya.

We stayed where we were all afternoon. We drank just enough bottled water to keep our mouths from being like cotton. The waiting was torture. I knew my job and expected this part to be a bit of hell. But with the occasional appearances of snakes, the sounds of wild animals catching their prey and the relentless monster-like insects, I mused that there were new hells that the devil could think up from this violent environment.

Poor Maya nodded off as the heat was somewhat oppressive. It did seem cooler where we hid though. Deep under the foliage.

I closed my eyes but no sleep came to me. I knew I wouldn’t be doing that until we had Maya’s family safe on that jet.

Finally, the day had gone and the sun dipped into the atmosphere.

Seemingly unbothered by the horrendous elements here, Vega had sat the entire time while peeking through the underbrush. The woman was formidable. She reminded me of… I paused. Women in Special Ops. Trained, disciplined and deadly. I looked up to catch Rain’s gaze.

He gave me a slow nod.

I realized he had figured it out as well, but what did this mean? Her being with the law. It had to be a help to us, I hoped. Better than her being…a criminal element.

Maya was awake now. She stared at Vega and whispered to her, “Are you going to fight too?” Leave it to her to just ask honest questions.

Vega turned to look at her. “If I have to.”

Good answer.

After another hour it got truly dark. Except there were torches being lit in the area Vega had been watching.

“The star?” Maya asked Vega about the seven pointed star they had symbolizing the ritual.

Shaking her head, she whispered back, “They have set it up on the plateau rock.”

I decided to tell Vega the plan, “Look, there will be men in black with gold X’s on their masks. They will be killing everyone who is in on this. We will be springing forward to get her family.”

Vega again showed no expression on her face as she replied, “My people will be rescuing the other victims. There are five.”

“Your people?” Maya asked.

“Her team,” I said and looked at Vega. “We figured you out and we are glad you are here.”

“Been under for two years,” Vega acknowledged as she did not look surprised at being discovered either.