Taking Control: Straight Jungle Talk

True to his word, Jack had us back on the road by morning light. How he knew it was morning I am not entirely certain. The fog was thick as a blanket reminding me of wasted mornings in June when I used to sit out on the rocks in Dana Point waiting for the fog to clear, revealing the perfect blue-green of the ocean and the distant sails of ships peacefully at sea. If only the jungle smelled a little more like saltwater and seaweed I could have pretended I was back there, back home.

I pushed aside the wistful thoughts and focused on the problems at hand. In my lap, the SAT phone bounced and jiggled in sync with the terrain. The signal connection was tenuous at best, non-existent the rest of the time and if I did not know better I might have suspected some sinister force at work within the fog itself. It felt like the whole world wanted to keep us on the run with nowhere to go and no one to help. I slapped the unit as if another jar might make it miraculously work. Naturally, it did not work although the slight sting in my palm did make my frustration seem a little more manageable.

"Any luck?" Jack asked.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, hoping he noticed. If he needed to ask with me sitting right next to him and obviously not talking to anyone, then he was either a complete idiot or deaf. The latter would certainly explain a few things, like why he never seems to listen to a thing I have to say, but having spent the last several days without a break from him, I am leaning a lot more toward the former. A better question is why did Mr. Candle put this guy in charge of Q5 because so far the only thing he seems to be good at is making bad situations worse.

"It would go a lot faster if we weren't bouncing up and down like a pogo stick," Brian said from the backseat.

I glanced around behind me just in time for another hole in the road to send us bouncing. Gina's flashlight shined into my eyes for a second before she focused it back on the codex in Brian's hands. I had been so intent on the phone, I had forgotten about Brian trying to decipher more of the codex. A faint blush rose into my cheeks as I realized Jack had not been talking to me at all and it was in fact me who was the idiot. I turned my attention back to the phone, pretending I was not embarrassed despite the obvious amusement written all over Jack's smirking face.

"If you know of a smoother road around here, I'd be happy to take it," Jack said.

Gina said, "If you'd drop your speed by 10 miles per hour it would be a lot smoother."

Jack said, "And it would be smoother still if I just pulled off to the side of road and parked. Personally, I thought maybe we'd all like to make it to the border before Stratford's friends caught up with us."

"You don't have to be an ass about it," Gina said and Jack rolled his eyes, managing to give me a disgruntled look at the same time, as if I had put the words her mouth.

"Don't take it personally," I said looking back over my shoulder, "If he's not being one, he's being a pain in one."

Jack said, "Here I was beginning to think you'd forgotten all about my skill with a paddle."

"Is it still a skill if you aren't very good at it?" Brian asked.

Jack's head snapped around for a second and he said, "What do you mean?"

"I think what he's saying is," Gina said looking at me instead of Jack, "when we met V she was about as sassy as they come and yet here all these months later with you, she's actually worse."

"Hey!" I said, trying to decide whether I should be defending myself or pretending not to care.

Gina patted my arm and said, "Hate the message, not the messenger."

"If you are suggesting I've been too gentle with her," Jack said, "you're probably right."

"I'm sure all she needs is a firm hand," Gina said.

"Over your mouth," I said.

"That can be a good start," Gina said with suggestive eyebrows. "I find teasing a man's fingers with my tongue usually yields excellent results."

"Now how am I supposed to concentrate on this damn codex?" Brian asked.

"I could alleviate some of the pressure," Gina said, laying a hand on his lap.

Brian turned his head, cocking it slightly to the side. He stared at Gina with wide, disbelieving eyes that seemed to contain a mixture of shock and disapproval. Gina shrugged and started to giggle. Brian shook his head scornfully, but there was a barely suppressed smile creeping its way onto his face.

"I'd say go for it," Brian said, "but with all this bouncing around, I'm afraid I could poke your eye out."

"I don't know what you were thinking, but I was just suggesting a massage," Gina said.

Brian groaned and said, "I can do that for myself."

"But can you do it as well as Jack?" I asked.

"The two of you keep it up and I'm sure you'll find out first hand," Jack said. "What do you say Brian? You want to spank Gina or Virginia first?"

"It sounds suspiciously like that's the only way you know how to get a girl's pants off," Gina said.

"You might want to quit while yours are still on," Jack said.

"Give it a rest Jack," I said. "It's bad enough being stuck out here without you being a stick in the mud to boot."

"Last warning," Jack said, glaring at me until a large bounce returned his attention to the road.

The SAT phone beeped, taking my eyes off of Jack. It had finally established a solid connection and the phone began to ring, calling Tom's cellphone. I held the handset next to my ear and crossed my fingers hoping the connection would last long enough for me to tell Tom everything. Jack raised a question eyebrow at me and I nodded that it was working.

"Yellow," Tom said, his cheerful voice a welcome change bringing a smile to my face.

"Blue," I replied.

"V?" Tom said, "Is that you?"

"The one and only," I said. "I'm not sure how long this connection will hold so let's get down to business."

Tom said, "Right. SAT phone?"

"Yeah," I said, "Have Kyra trace our location. We're headed toward the Mexican border from Guatemala and the first thing I need you to do is get Mr. Candle on the phone with his political contacts and bribe our way into Mexico. Make sure as few people as possible know about it because we want them to tell the other party bribing them that we turned around."

"What's your ETA to the border?" Tom asked.

I tugged on Jack's sleeve and asked, "How long until we're at the border?"

Jack glanced at his wrist where his watch would normally have been, but like most of our supplies, it was gone. He furrowed his brow for a moment and grabbed the map from the dash to check distances or something. Watching him I realized I could make as good a guess as he could. I shook my head, disappointed we had nothing better to work with.

"Kyra might have a better idea than we do once she gets our position," I said into the phone. "Jack's keeping us moving around 35 miles per hour and my best guess is somewhere between two and four hours."

Tom said, "Alright we'll figure it out from here. It should not be too difficult to arrange passage, but I'm not sure Joe can make it happen in less than two hours. Can you hold up somewhere and wait for a call?"

"We've got pursuers," I said, glancing at Jack tossing the map back on the dash, looking like he was mad at me again. "They caught up with us yesterday and I can't imagine they are much more than an hour or so behind us. We stop and we'll have to deal with them again."

Hearing Tom whispering instructions to Kyra on the other end I pictured him standing behind her chair in the main room of Q5. His suit jacket would be unbuttoned as would the collar of his wrinkled white shirt. The tie would be loosened and hanging low yet somehow he would still look the complete and utter professional. His appreciative eyes would be hanging on Kyra for those extra few seconds beyond what was necessary and she would be completely oblivious to his gaze not to mention the warmth of his breath tickling the nape of her neck. For the duration of a blink my mind's eye put me in Kyra's chair, except I was anything but oblivious.

Jarring me from daydreams, Tom said, "Don't worry about it, we'll figure it out. Kyra's getting Joe on it now. What else can I do for you?"

Wine, dine, sixty-nine....oh that's not what he means is it? You would think being in the middle of the jungle and being pursued by gun toting goons bent on killing me, I would be a little more focused on the situation. Besides, Tom is not interested in me in that way and I am not into him really either. It is just all this tension making me think things like that. Yeah, that is it. So, why am I blushing?

I cleared my throat and said, "Meet me in San Cristobal Las Casas."

Tom said, "I'll reserve the honeymoon suite. Pink champagne on ice or you like something stronger?"

"Don't tease me," I said, blushing a touch hotter thinking he might have somehow read the thoughts on my mind. "Unfortunately, this will have to be all business and Jack wants you to bring the rest of the team."

"I'm going to have to have a talk with Jack," Tom said. "He's spoiling all my fun."

"Tell me about it," I said, hoping the one side of the conversation Jack was hearing was not enough for him to piece the whole thing together.

"Does this mean you've managed to get us back on the trail?" Tom asked.

"You could say that," I said, "but it's something of a narrow trail and if we aren't careful we'll be free falling off the side of a cliff."

"I guess it could be worse," Tom said, "besides, you always look good in tight spots."

"You mean tops don't you Tom?" Kyra said in the background.

Trying to stay focused on business, I said, "Have Dr. Michaels bring along everything he has on Central and South American tribes with special attention to the Mayans."

"Anything for you," Tom said, causing me to wonder if he was trying to make me blush or make Kyra jealous. Either way I suspected he was doing a damn good job of it.

"How are things on the home front?" I asked.

"You mean Mark?" Tom asked.

"No, I was wondering about your sister," I said.

Tom said, "I don't have a sister."

"That explains a lot," I said.

"One of these days you are going to find yourself skirts up over my lap," Tom said.

I said, "Promises, promises."

"You wouldn't be daring me would you?" Tom asked.

I said, "Me? Never."

"Right," Tom said as if he did not believe me. "Mark left town shortly after you did and I haven't been able to track him. I've got 24 hour surveillance on all your immediate family members, but so far it appears he must know we're on to him and he's bailed."

"So everybody is fine?" I asked.

"More or less. Your nephew is staying with your parents and your brother is working most of the night and day," Tom said. "Your sister in law probably isn't too happy but as long as she's in the Retreat she's safe enough."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," I said.

"I'm sure I could give you a little more in depth reminder when I see you," Tom said.

"Very nice of you to offer," I said, "but it's not necessary."

Tom said, "It's no trouble, really."

Jack hit a very big hole in the road sending us all bouncing and when it was over, the call had died for lack of signal. I slapped the handset into the unit with more force than was strictly necessary and said, "Damn."

"Trouble?" Jack asked.

I shook my head and replied, "No, Tom said there was no trouble."

Taking Control: Setting The Board

The stars flickered to life over our heads in the night sky. Spotting a shallow ditch, Jack steered the jeep off the main road. With Brian's help he erased the tire trail and camouflaged the jeep, making it hard to spot. None of us had any doubt we were still being followed, but since leaving the cave we had seen no evidence of our pursuers. Either we were miles ahead of them or they were biding their time until we let our guard down.

"What's the plan?" Gina asked when the two men rejoined us at the jeep.

"We need one," Jack said and Brian nodded agreement.

"We've got the phone. We should use it," I said.

Brian said, "If they don't already know our exact position, they will the second we make a call."

Jack grabbed a paper map from inside the jeep and unfolded it on the hood. After a quick look around he shined a flashlight on it while the rest of us gathered around. Gina traced her finger along the map and then tapped on a spot. She said, "We're somewhere around here."

"We don't have much choice but to keep heading toward Mexico," Brian said.

Jack nodded and said, "You can bet Stratford's people are well aware of that and with the corruption in these parts you can also bet they've paid off the right hands to have the border patrol on both sides looking for us."

"Maybe we can use that to our advantage," I said.

The three of them all turned to me like I was insane, but only Gina was brave enough. She said, "The only advantage I can see is we'll probably all end up dead before we end up in someone's prison."

"You're looking at it all wrong," I said.

Gina rolled her eyes to the stars and said, "Of course I am. We're only being hunted on three sides. What am I thinking being negative? Obviously you'll just flash your tits and we'll be home free."

"Hey," Brian said, objecting on my behalf, even though the glint in his eyes told me he was just as amused as Gina at the memory of my fight back at the survival camp.

"Not exactly what I had in mind," I said, shaking my head at the two of them, "but you've got the general idea. If they're going to play dirty, then what stops us from playing dirty too?"

Jack nodded, catching my thinking and Brian said, "How about, we're supposed to be the good guys?"

I said, "And that means it's our job to act as a counter balance to the bad guys. We don't bribe the patrols to go after Stratford's people, we bribe them to let us through, which is how things should be in the first place."

"To make it really worth their while, we let them collect on both sides," Jack said.

"How does that work?" Gina asked.

"We get them to tell Stratford's people they forced us to turn around," I said.

Jack said, "Precisely. It'll buy us enough time to regroup and head back to civilization."

"That might not be the best plan," Brian said.

"Why is that?" Jack asked.

"If I'm not mistaken," Brian said, "you are in some sort of a race with the people who are after us."

Jack said, "You could say that."

"While I was their guest I overheard a few things which at the time made very little sense to me," Brian said, his attention swaying between Jack and me, "but I've been translating this codex and things are starting to click."

"What are you saying? They've already seen this codex?" I asked.

"Not this one, but they must have gotten their hands on a text with a very similar story to tell," Brian said.

"That stuff from Easter Island," Jack said, looking at me as if it was my fault they had it.

"What's the gist of the story so far?" I asked, trying to ignore Jack before he made my blood boil.

"It talks about three distinct ages," Brian said, "Each age apparently last for five thousand years and we are in the second age, nearing its end. According to the story, at the beginning of this age, the parents of this age embarked on a journey into the mountains to a place where all knowledge from the previous age had been stored."

"Sounds like you found the Mayan equivalent of a fantasy novel," Gina said.

Brian nodded and said, "It is admittedly written in the style of folklore and I'm sure there is plenty of outright fiction in the story, but these stories do have their basis in fact. If it were just this codex I had to go off of, I might be inclined to dismiss it as nonsense, but Stratford's people were talking about a search in the Andes for some sort of library. Two separate sources suggesting a similar location have to at least give you pause to consider the possibility."

"Maybe," Gina said, "but they said this alternate text came from Easter Island which would date it as much more recent than the codex you have. Considering the questionable heritage of the original inhabitants on Easter Island you have to admit it is entirely possible the story was simply passed on through generations and territorial expansions."

"I'm not saying to run off half cocked, but if there is a possibility something like this actually exists, do you really want it to end up the hands of people like those trying to kill us?" Brian said.

"You've got a point," Gina said, conceding with a nod.

"Then we are agreed," Brian said. "We need to finish translating the codex and find this place with as much haste as possible."

"I appreciate all the two of you have done, but you guys don't have to stick around for this," I said, glancing between Brian and Gina.

Brian wrapped a supportive arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him as if to say he had no intention of leaving my side any time in the near future. The sideways smile on Gina's face said much the same thing and the hands planted on her hips seemed to be a dare for anyone to suggest anything else. I was glad to have them along for the ride, especially since I found myself having increasingly less trust in Joseph Candle and by default the people working for him, like Jack and the rest of Q5.

"Are you kidding?" Gina said. "A new Mayan codex people are willing to kill for and the possibility of seeing something that no one has seen in a four thousand years if not longer, you couldn't drag me out of this."

Brian said, "I found this codex and it's my translation that's got us on the verge of the greatest discovery of our generation if not all of time. You can't seriously think I'd just walk away and besides, I've got a feeling the safest place for me is right next to you until the whole world knows about this discovery."

"I can't say I have any objection to the two of you tagging along," Jack said, "but I would ask you to remember this is my team."

Jack's eyes were fixed on me as mine were fixed on him for a long moment. His words were meant to antagonize or more accurately, to remind me of my place under his authority. Next to me, Brian shifted his stance and I could feel the tension spreading across his arm as he struggled to keep his thoughts to himself. I followed Brian's wisdom and kept my thoughts on the matter to myself as well. There will be a time and a place to confront Jack and his ego, but this was not it.

"With that in mind," Jack said, "I would ask the three of you to refrain from mentioning anything about Olivia to Gene. Let me break the news to him at a more appropriate time and place."

"He deserves to know," I said, objecting not just for Dr. Michael's rights, but also for the guilt on my conscience. However badly the news would be received it could only be worse by keeping it a secret, even if it was only for a short time.

Jack said, "He also deserves to be able to grieve in peace and that's not a realistic option here and now."

Brian said, "I'm not sure we have time to meet up with the rest of your team anyway."

"Without them, we don't have a chance of pulling this off," Jack said.

"If we arrange to meet your team someplace, we're going to tip off our pursuers as to what we are doing," Brian said.

"Not necessarily," I said and Brian let go of me to get a better look at my face. "We just need to mislead them on the phone."

"Considering they know what we know, I can't see why they'd buy a ruse," Brian said.

I said, "Because they won't know it's one. They have no idea what the codex says. We have every advantage and all we need to do is make sure the alternative mission sounds more than a little plausible."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Brian asked.

"Do you have any idea what mountains the codex is referring to?" I asked and Brian said, "Yeah, it's got to be somewhere in the Andes."

Gina said, "That doesn't make any sense."

"Why is that?" Jack asked.

Gina said, "Because the Mayan territory didn't stretch that far south."

"That's true enough," Brian said, "but the Mayans history predates their own culture and the myths referred to within the codex belong to another civilization predating their own. I could be wrong, but there are striking similarities between the story here and the mythology surrounding the rise of the Inca Empire."

"Wait a second," I said. "Maybe I got my dates confused, but I thought the Inca Empire didn't come about until much later than the Mayan?"

"No, you're right," Brian said, "The Mayans were around three thousand years before the Incas and technically speaking the Mayan civilization still persists today."

"I'm confused," I said.

Brian said, "Archeologists have theorized for years that the Mayan civilization was built from a merging of many tribes that banded together in order to share various skills and resources. That a story from Mayan mythology could make it's way into the foundations of another civilization so much further south is not only proof a trading network much larger than previously suspected, but also suggests that the roots of the civilization could be equally vast."

Jack said, "Not that I'm not enjoying the history lesson, but how does this translate into the place we are looking for is in the Andes?"

Brian said, "The connection is indirect, but it is logical. The codex states the mountain is far from the Mayan territory and in the land of the Condor. Mayans referred to southern lands as being of the condor and northern lands as being of the eagle. From that description the Andes fits the bill, but the Inca mythology also speaks of great leaders traveling into the mountains and in that case we know the mountains referred to are indeed the Andes. It would seem obvious the Inca mythology is essentially a distortion of the Mayan. Combine that with our pursuers looking for the same thing in the Andes and it seems almost certain the Andes are it."

"It wouldn't be the first time our friends were looking in the wrong place," I said.

"The Andes cover a lot of territory, but I'm positive that's the mountain range being referred to," Brian said.

"Alright," I said leaning on the jeep and suppressing a yawn. "We head north into Mexico like we said before then and we have the team prepare permits for an excavation at one of the lesser known Mayan ruins in the region."

"They'll never buy it," Brian said.

Gina said, "They will if I schedule a news conference on the site for a couple days after we are supposed to arrive."

"I like the way you think," Jack said, with a smile on his face.

"It will only buy us a few days at best," Brian said.

"It's better than nothing," I said giving his shoulder a supportive squeeze. "If the codex can narrow our search any better then we might stand a good chance of beating them out before they even realize we're competition."

Jack nodded and said, "Now we've got a plan. Let's get some rest and get back on the road at first light. We'll call Tom and get everything rolling as soon we're back moving."

Taking Control: Shades Of Truth

There was absolute silence, painful and pressured, like being underwater. Illuminated by moonlight, Olivia stood naked on the edge of a cliff. Her arms spread beside her, open, empty palms facing me. She smiled, sympathetically nodding at me and the unwavering gun gripped in my cold hand, pointing at her. A few feet away, Dr. Gene Michaels watched us, seemingly more interested in a long folded scroll in his hands. Behind me, Joseph Candle stood close enough for me to feel the ice of his breath on my ear.

"Trust me," Olivia said and Dr. Michaels nodded.

In my ear, Joseph Candle whispered, "Kill her," and my finger twitched on the trigger.

"Things are not what they seem," She said and the world shifted.

I was naked and Olivia wore my clothes. The gun remained in my hand, pointed at Olivia. Joseph Candle stood beside me, sour disappointment adorning his face. Behind me the cliff ended and below was nothing except darkness. Dr. Michaels held a portion of the scroll up for me to see a single name written on the pages, over and over; Allison. Olivia shrugged.

"It's a trick," Joseph Candle said.

Olivia said, "The choice is yours."

Out of thin air and darkness, the child-like form of my grandmother appeared beside me, opposite Joseph Candle. She surveyed the situation, looking exceptionally long over the edge of the cliff and shaking her head at me. A carefree smile on her face attempted to hide the lines of concern and fear threatening to overwhelm. She looked from Joseph Candle to Dr. Michaels to Olivia before her eyes settled once more on me.

"I still don't know what you are going to do," She said.

"She'll make the wrong choice," Olivia said. "She always does."

"You know what you have to do," Joseph Candle said.

"You don't have to do anything," Dr. Michaels said.

"Nothing is a choice too," My grandmother said.

Olivia smiled. The world spun around in a vicious circle. I closed my eye against the dizziness, but nothing changed.

"She'll kill us all," Joseph Candle said and Olivia pointed a gun at him. "Trust me," She said.

My finger closed around the trigger. Silence returned as the bullet flew through the air, but instead of Olivia, it impacted against my own chest. I stumbled backward, off the edge of the cliff and fell. Swallowed by darkness, I felt nothing, not even the rush of air. I tumbled in a free fall, up and down as confused as right and wrong.

"We're here," Brian said, his strong hand ripping me from the darkness of my nightmares.

Shielding my eyes from the warm light of the morning sun, I glanced around from the backseat of the jeep. A few feet away Jack and Gina pretended to be interested in the landscape giving Brian and me the semblance of privacy. Brian offered support via a sympathetic smile, but written in his eyes was a lack of understanding. Given the circumstances and everything leading us to where we were, I understood his confusion more than I understood what I was feeling inside. Olivia had left me with few choices and with all she had done I had no cause to be plagued with regret for my own actions, but with or without, I could not escape the hollow pit within me nor the tiny voice in buried deep in my thoughts. What if I was wrong?

"Are you alright?" Brian asked, helping me climb out of the jeep.

Straightening my clothes, as if the act would actually help their sorry state, I nodded my head and said, "Fine. The codex is here?"

Brian nodded and said, "And my SAT phone."

"Then what are we waiting for?" I said.

"You," Jack said walking over to join us with Gina following him a few steps behind. "Everything alright?"

Ignoring Jack, I kept my attention on Brian and said, "Let's go."

Brian adjusted the weight of his backpack and turned to the jungle beyond us. Jack grabbed my arm and turned me to him, forcing me to look him in the eye. Any thoughts I might have entertained about our troubles being forgotten were quickly silenced at the sight of the storm brewing in his dark pupils. I could feel his frustration pulsing in the grip of his hand and simultaneously I could feel my patience slipping away.

"What?" I said.

He glared at my boldness a moment longer before he said, "Nothing. Forget it."

Shaking my head, I jerked my arm from Jack's hold and followed Brian into the thickness of the jungle. The path sloped down at a steep angle and we weaved back and forth to avoid tumbling down. Brian kept the pace quick and we all followed with the only sounds being the trampling of our movements and the unseen animals sensing our intrusion into their domain. I focused on the journey to keep my thoughts from straying into the dark abyss of guilt and conscience.

The base of the valley was home to a dry riverbed. Surrounded by the dense overgrowth of humid jungle, it looked strangely out of place. Following the riverbed for a short distance, Brian led us to an opening in wet, mossy rocks, obviously carved by the receded waters of the riverbed. Pulling a flashlight from his pack, Brian squeezed through the opening and then turned to give me a hand getting through.

On hands and knees we crawled through a short tunnel into a large open cavern. Brian helped Gina and I out of the tunnel. Naturally, Jack declined any assistance. Brian lit a single torch against the wall and the cavern flickered into eerie life. A black pool of water with a perfectly calm surface sat in the middle of the cavern. An odor reminiscent of clay burning in a kiln tickled my nostrils as I breathed in the stale air. I shuddered at the dream-like familiarity of the scene.

"It's just over here," Brian said walking to a pile of rocks beside the water.

We all followed him to the waterside. My eyes drifted toward the water. Our reflections peered back at me through the calm black and then a flutter of white behind us spun me around to seek out the source. Jack whirled around at the same time, pulling out his gun and aiming it into the shadows just beyond the light of the flickering torch. The sound of rock and dirt being pushed aside emanated from the shadows and an old woman's laugh echoed around the chamber.

"Put that thing away, Jack," The woman said, revealing herself in the torch light. "We both know you won't use it."

I recognized her instantly even though I had decided she had been nothing more than a hallucination. Her reappearance was less of a surprise to me than the fact everyone else could see her. Jack lowered his gun after appraising her for a moment. Other than the white stick held in her hand like a walking stick, she was unarmed and nonthreatening. The way she looked at Jack told me she knew him and well, but the suspicion on Jack's face suggested he was looking at a stranger.

"You two know each other?" I asked, glancing between them.

"No," Jack said.

"In a manner of speaking, I know all of you," The old woman said, her eyes landing on me and boring through me. "Of course I know you most of all."

"Who are you? What do you want?" I asked.

She said, "It's enough to know that I have walked your path and you have a chance to make a difference. All I want is for you to have that chance."

"I don't think we should be waiting around here," Gina said, stepping forward turning our attention back to Brian and the pile of rocks.

"She's right," The old woman said, looking back toward the tunnel we had entered from. "You are still being pursued and time is short. The codex will lead you where you need to go, but know now the answers you seek may not be the ones you wish to find."

"If you know something, why not just tell me?" I said.

"Because you won't believe the truth until you learn it for yourself," She said.

A rock tumbled into the water behind me making a splash and whipping my head around to stare at Brian. He shrugged and held up an intricately carved box. The carvings caught my attention and kept it as I studied what appeared to be a woman marked with a "V". Brian caught my gaze and nodded his head.

He said, "I guess you can see why I thought of you."

A noise behind me emanating from the tunnel leading into the chamber, spun me around. The old woman turned toward the tunnel and started walking toward it glancing back at me and the others as she approached it.

"There is another way out," She said. "Follow the far wall around behind the water and you'll find the path. I will hold them as long as I can, but you must hurry."

"Better if you just come with us," Jack said. "You can't last long enough to matter."

Gunshots erupted into the chamber for the tunnel and two men rolled out of it into the open. The old woman swung her stick knocking both the men off their feet even as Jack raised his gun. She rammed the stick into the forehead of the first man, leaving him out cold where he had landed on the ground. The second got off a wild shot, but a moment later her stick sent his gun flying straight up in the air. She bashed him into unconsciousness, dropped her stick and caught the gun out of the air before I could even blink. Jack looked just as stunned as I felt, his gun aimed at the already disabled men.

"Go now. I can't hold them forever," She said.

Brian and Gina were already scrambling along the back wall along the edge of the water. Jack and I exchanged a look which told me he did not like the situation anymore than I did. He turned to head out and I tuned to follow, but something made me look back one more time as Brian and Gina disappeared in the escape tunnel the old woman had directed us toward. Blood seeped through the old woman's white rags. The wild shot had not been wild enough.

"Come with us," I said, pleading for her to choose life over death as if it were my own soul at risk.

She fired off three shots into the tunnel and said, "I chose my path a long time ago. You can save me, but not here, not now."

"I don't understand," I said.

"You will," She said ducking for cover as a hail of gunfire erupted from the tunnel. "The codex will show you the path. Follow it until it's time to make your own. Now go!"

I hesitated a moment longer, but as another barrage of gunfire erupted into the cavern and the ceiling began to crumble, I realized there was nothing I could do. My feet ran for the exit even as my mind searched for an argument to stay. The tunnel's entrance collapsed just after I entered, shaking me out of a melancholy I could not explain. I ran to catch up with the others and barely made it to them before they reached the exit back into the jungle.

We climbed out into the sunlight only a few feet from the jeep. It was unguarded, probably because like us, they had assumed there was only way in or out of the cave and we were supposedly trapped inside. Jack jumped behind the wheel and Gina scrambled into the front seat next to him while Brian and I climbed into the back. Brian laid the box containing the codex into my hands and Jack sped us away from our pursuers and into an uncertain future.

Choosing Corners: Blaze Of Glory

My eyes snapped open to the sound of voices carried on the wind. I was sitting in the middle of the jungle, a small clearing overlooking a camp that was too large for the name but too small to be anything else. Shaking off disorientation, I crawled to my knees and peered through foliage at the camp and the people wandering inside of it. Blinking I recalled an old woman with long white hair and silver eyes, but it felt like a dream from a long time ago. Had she snapped her fingers and brought me to Olivia's camp or had I walked, deliriously through the jungle, finding my way by the grace of fate and a blatant trail easily followed by the blind?

The gun still rested in my hand and my last two extra clips remained tucked in the waistband of my ragged skirt. Looking down at myself, I was a mess. Dry cleaning probably was not going to cut it, but what do you expect when you go hiking in the jungle wearing business clothes? I pulled my tangled hair back and retied it behind me, watching the camp and wondering what I was going to do.

Olivia was definitely waiting for me to make an attempt to free my friends. The question was what did she expect me to do? That meant I needed a plan and then I needed a plan that made it looked like I was following my plan while actually doing something different. Complicated? No, not at all. It ought to be a walk in the park, or jungle if you prefer. I prefer the park, I think. Yeah, parks are much nicer, plus they do not usually have armed guards. Well unless you are in New York, but that's a whole other story.

What would Olivia expect me to do? Walk in the front gate? Okay, it is not really a gate but whatever you want to call the entrance. Probably not exactly what she would be expecting, but would she buy it? Right up until, things started going wrong, I guess. What could possibly go wrong if I walked in the front? I mean for her, not for me. Obviously, being a painted target in the middle of everyone's gun sight would be a problem for me that could go wrong seven ways from Sunday. Yeah, walking in the front sounds pretty dumb.

Let us see here, I know; What would Tom do? Call in an air strike and blow everything up. Yep, that sounds about like Tom. Casualties? Acceptable losses. On the plus side, with Jack gone, I would be team leader. I wonder if that would put an end to my probation? Knowing Mrs. Anderson, probably not. Besides, the lack of major benefits, there is also the problem, I do not have anyway to call in the air strike, nor would I even know how if I did have the capability. I guess that will not work.

"Inventory," I said to myself. Twenty-four bullets, one handgun, one ruined business suit, a pair of muddy heels, one semi-functional, but filthy body, a rubber band holding hair out of the way, and a pair of earrings. Patting myself down to make sure I had not forgot anything, I discovered a book of matches which were mostly soaked. If I was lucky I might get a spark out of one of them, but I would not want to bet my life on it. Unless, I was missing something big, I did not have the tools necessary to mount a two front assault.

It is simple I guess. Obviously, I need to acquire more inventory. So, what kind of things would it be nice to have? A tank, definitely tops the list, but I think it might take awhile to get one. A platoon of trained soldiers, would be nice also, but yeah, not too likely in this life. Grenades, now there is something those guards have on them, that I could really use. How do I get what they have? Oh yeah, simple, I take it from them. I am sure if I explain my need, they will be happy to hand the stuff over. Okay, I might have to be a little more persuasive, or damn near lethal, but let us not talk about that possibility.

Other things I need then; A knife might come in handy, a few extra rounds for my gun, maybe another gun or two, something in the fully automatic family would be nice, and a better idea of how that camp is laid out. Yeah that ought to do it. The biggest obstacle is actually the fact Olivia knows I am coming. As soon things get started, she will know it is me and be waiting. No matter how much I plan and project, her plan would still be in place and she would probably be thinking a few steps ahead of me because as she said herself, she had all the cards.

Nodding to myself in the darkness, I got my feet under me and started moving around the perimeter of the camp. It was on the edge of a ravine, far below a river ran through it. The camp had three primary structures, all portable and all large enough to hold twenty to thirty people. The outside perimeter was guarded by a roving patrol of four guards. Each guard had a belt with three grenades, an automatic rifle with a spare clip, a handgun with a spare clip and a flashlight.

Watching the three tents, I quickly noted that two of them had people coming and going freely from them while the third had two guards posted at the entrance and nobody was coming or going. It seemed the obvious location of my friends, but with Olivia, it could easily be a ruse meant to draw me into an ambush. I needed to confirm their location before moving in on the camp, but I was at a loss as to how to do it.

The guards' patrol route overlapped leaving no part of the perimeter unprotected for more than a few seconds and even in those seconds it was possible to be seen if the flashlight were directed properly. In order to confirm my suspicions, I would have to take out two guards in silence and even then it would leave with me hardly anytime to readjust if I was wrong. No, I needed another way.

Returning to the small clearing, I considered the possibilities once again. There were just simply too many of them. I could not possibly take on an army and expect to come out victorious. Maybe with Tom or Jack at my side, it would be different, but on my own I was out matched and there was no point in denying it. I might as well pull out and go home because anything else was just... Wait a second. Pull out. That sounds promising.

I grabbed the book of matches and stared at them as a real plan started to form inside my head. Finding dry brush in a jungle is like finding water in a desert, but if you know where to look, well it is just like finding that water. I gathered, twigs and dead grass into a pile in the middle of my clearing. A spark was all I needed by the matches were not in the best of shape after the last couple of days and I knew exactly how they felt. "All or nothing," I said and grabbed all the matches into a bundle, ripping them along the striking surface. Nothing happened. I took a deep breath and tried once more.

Three sparks flew from the matches onto the grass and with some careful huffing a fire began to burn. I eject the mostly spent clip from my gun and dropped it in the middle of my flammable pile. Slapping a fresh clip into the gun, I moved quickly off to the side of the camp before the smoke and light attracted attention from the guards. I waited impatiently near the back of the tent I suspected held my friends and hoped I would be lucky enough to be right.

One of the guards on the other side of the perimeter started shouting and point at the fire I had started. A moment later, all but one of the guards on the perimeter were heading out to the fire and a group of men stood waiting at the entrance into the camp. They knew it was me of course, but they could not possibly know what I had planned. I hoped that was the case at least. As the guards approached the fire, it finally got hot enough to explode the bullets I had left behind. Just like I planned it, every man at the entrance of the camp went running to join their comrades at the fire, assuming I was there somewhere in the foliage, shooting at them. I smiled.

It was working perfectly until I noticed the remaining perimeter guard had not followed everyone else. He was in fact, staring at me, nearly face to face with me as I moved toward the tent. I almost froze, but he opened his mouth to yell and I could not possibly allow him to do that. Reflexes took control and I slammed my shoulder into his midsection as hard as I could, knocking the wind from him. As he doubled over, gasping for air, I swung the butt of my gun into the back of his head, dropping him to the ground, out cold.

Nervously, I glanced around wondering if anyone else was lurking nearby. Seeing no one, I took his grenades, knife, gun and spare clip. The rifle might have been helpful but it was too bulky and it would only slow me down when I needed speed. I ran to the tent and sliced a peek hole into the back of it. Inside, I saw Jack, Gina, and Brian, all tied up and under the supervision of a single guard. At last, something was going right.

For a half second I considered slicing a door and going straight in, but I realized it would take very little for the guard inside to have a lot more goons on us and I could not guarantee silencing him fast enough. I shook my head as I realized what I had to do. Ridiculous, ironic, stupid, whatever you call it, I was going to enter right through the front. I glanced in the distance, confirming the bulk of the goons were still searching the far off clearing and surrounding area for me. Walking quickly I rounded the side and entered the camp, shooting at the two guards still at the door of the tent holding my friends. The scrambled for cover diving behind nearby supply crates.

Hearing commotion from the large tent on my other side, I pulled the pin from the first grenade and tossed it at the tent's doorway. The explosion sent a wave of heat through the air, kissing my cheek as I kept walking toward my goal. The tent collapsed and its material caught fire, causing those inside to panic and try to get out anyway they could. The door to the tent holding my friend flapped open and the inside guard stuck his head out the opening. Quickening my pace, I readjusted my grip on my gun and introduced it to the guard's nose.

He fell backward, stumbling away from me with a bloody nose. I pushed my way through the opening and kicked him hard where it counts. He dropped to his knees, shock in his eyes, not much different than Gina or Jack's who were watching me. Swinging the gun again, I knocked him out cold with a slap to the side of the head. An instant later I had the knife in my hand and cut the ropes off Jack and Gina, followed by Brian.

"About time you got here," Brian said, admiring my handiwork on the floor.

"Sorry, I was a little delayed by the weather," I said with a smile. "We need to get out of here, because there are a lot more guards on their way back here right now."

They all nodded and Jack grabbed the rifle from his formed guard and passed the handgun and spare clip to Gina. I handed Brian my extra gun and a spare clip. Jack said, "What's your plan?"

"There are two jeeps just outside," I said. "We take one and disable the other, but we've got to move quick."

Jack said, "Right," And headed out the door. The rest of us followed as Jack cleared the way with cover fire, keeping the few goons who realized where we were at bay. Brian moved to check the jeeps quickly and called out, "We'll take this one."

I nodded to him and moved to the other jeep. "I'll take care of this one," I said. Brian jumped behind the wheel of the one we were taking and turned the ignition. Gina slipped in the seat next to him keeping her eyes on the surrounding area. Jack kept firing in short spurts, conserving ammo and keeping the goons pinned down. I slipped behind my wheel and turned ignition. A quick search lent me a crowbar which I jammed the accelerator down with and then I slipped the jeep into gear, aiming toward the third large tent and consequently the ravine beyond. As it moved, I jumped out and rolled on the ground.

The jeep drove itself straight into the tent, but it seemed it was mostly empty. I turned back to the others and ran toward them when Olivia appeared in front of them with a gun in each hand, one pointed at Brian and the other at Jack. She looked pissed and that is to say more so than normal. I guess turning her camp into a campfire was not exactly the kind of trap she had in mind for me.

Jack dove behind the jeep as she pulled her triggers. Dust floated in the air where he had been and her bullet whizzed through it into the darkness and beyond. Brian ducked into Gina's lap causing her to drop her gun as Olivia's other bullet shattered the jeep's windshield. Brian shifted the jeep into gear and drove it blindly at Olivia, but she jumped out of the way without much effort.

The absence of the jeep left Jack in the open with Olivia taking double aim at him. Jack scrambled on top of the fallen and burning tent disappearing into smoke and flames. Being out of her direct line, Olivia glared at me a moment before running off to find Jack. Obviously, she considered him the biggest threat, but she should have known I would not just leave him to her.

I ran after her, noticing the goons who had stupidly ran to my little fire were starting to realize they were needed back at their camp. Time was running out and if we did not get out soon, we never would. I round the outer edge of the camp and found Olivia with Jack in her sights. He was dropping his rifle because she had him and there was nothing he could do. I raised my gun and aimed at her. "Drop it," I said.

Olivia turned her head to me and said, "I can't do that. Put your gun down or I'll put Jack down for good. That is the only way this is going to happen."

Jack started to go for his rifle again with her attention on me, but she caught his movement out of the corner of her eye and she spun back on him. She was going to kill him and there was only one thing I could do to stop her. My breath caught in my chest as shadowy advice from dreams or somewhere beyond echoed in my ears. Make a choice, even not choosing was choosing and so I chose. My finger squeezed the trigger and Olivia spun away from Jack and back toward me, her mouth open, as the impact of the bullet ripped through her body. She fell down on one knee, blinking at me and then, with great effort, she pushed herself back up on her feet and brought her guns swinging toward me. I pulled the trigger again and once again send her reeling backward, teetering on the edge of the ravine. A moment later she was gone, slipped off the edge and all that remained was Jack and I.

I stared numbly at the empty space where Olivia had been. The gun still rested firmly in my grip, as the scene replayed itself in my mind. There had been no other choice, she had left me no options, her or Jack, kill or be killed. The look in her eyes was not what I expected, no evil glare or hatred beaming through to calm soul, nothing but pure and total shock. Jack's hand gripped my shoulder, shaking me from the moment back into the now.

"We have to go," He said. There was sympathy in his tone, understanding in his voice. Can a choice be both right and wrong?

Brian and Gina arrived with the jeep, spinning it around directly in front of us and beckoning us aboard. We ran and jumped into the back as an army of goons ran toward us. Jack stood up, bracing himself between the back of Gina's seat and the safety roll bars while sending a spray of bullets into the oncoming army. The scattered like roaches, diving back into the crevices from which they had come.

Miles away, the sun rising on a new day, Jack rested a hand on my knee and offered a smile. Brian had pulled over to rest for a few minutes while he studied the map to set our direction. "I hid the codex before they got to me," He said. "I memorized the GPS coordinates and if this map is accurate I think I can get us there by tomorrow nightfall."

I nodded. "Tomorrow is good enough," I said.

"We could all use a little rest before moving on," Jack said. Brian and Gina nodded and moved off from the jeep a short distance. I started to get up and stretch myself, but Jack's hand held me back. He said, "She didn't give you a choice."

"I know," I said, faking a smile.

"Gene will understand," He said looking into my eyes, "I'll make sure of it."

"You know about them?" I said, surprised because I thought Dr. Michaels was too embarrassed to admit it to anyone else unless I forced it.

"He told us," Jack said, "He wanted his daughter back, but he knew the risks and he knew she wouldn't make it easy."

I blinked. The world suddenly turned upside down as Jack's statement filtered its way through my brain. His daughter. Dr. Michaels' daughter. Olivia was his daughter. I killed Olivia. I killed Dr. Michaels' daughter. Tears spilled onto my cheeks and Jack pulled me to him, but I was alone.

Choosing Corners: Before The Storm

Wind rushed through my hair as I fell. The feeling of utter freedom washed over me as adrenaline pumped through my veins. In another life I would have closed my eyes and waited for the end of everything to splash over me. I was no long that person though, and I faced my future with eyes wide open and no intention of waiting for anything. My hand caught hold of the vine I had spotted from above and grasped it tight enough to slow my descent.

Feeling the rubbery plant begin to burn the skin in my hand I released and kicked against the rocks beside the waterfall, sending me into the branches of a waiting tree and clutching its trunk, dangling far above the ground, but safely alive. Holding tight, I watched my gun tumble and fall to a stop on the ground far below. Looking up, I saw a shocked Olivia looking down at me and shaking her head in disbelief.

"She's alive," Olivia shouted, "Find me another way down there, now!"

I smiled feeling almost impressed with myself. Patting myself on the back would have to wait for another time because as much as I wanted to rest, Olivia was not about to give up. Careful not to fall, I wormed my way down the tree until I was standing on solid ground once more. My gun lay on the other side of the raging river and after a moment's consideration I decided it was important enough to go after. I was already soaked anyway, so what is a little more water?

I looked down the river a little ways and spotted just what I needed; A fallen tree, bridging the two sides. Hurrying along, I tried to recall the map of the region to decide where to head next. Jack had apparently escaped as well, which meant he would be making his own way toward our rendezvous, at least if he was doing as we planned. There was still the slight possibility he would see this SNAFU as a good reason to bail out and head home. He certainly did not believe Brian was an innocent in everything.

Cautiously, I tight walked across the slippery trunk over the raging river enjoying its cool spray against my skin. The humid climate of the jungle was enough to make me daydream of deserts. My clothes were soaked through and through but even before that, they had been stuck to my skin like tack paper. In the distance, I could hear the sound of engines roaring as jeeps raced to find a way down to my location. With any luck, one of them was Jack, but I could not count on it. I grabbed my gun and tucked it back into my waistband after checking the clip and engaging the safety.

Getting my bearings, I realized it was still morning and that meant the sun was to the east. Heading east would bring me back to the road and the road was the only sure way I had of not getting lost. Of course, it was also the easiest way to be found by Olivia and her goons. The river was heading east and fast, but without a boat it was risky to attempt using it. Listening to the engines getting closer, I knew I had to make a decision. The river called to me like a siren as I stared at it, wishing I had a raft, or even a rubber donut.

I needed another option. The river or the jungle was just not much of a choice. Either too slow or too fast and even though I was crazy enough to jump off the edge of a cliff, I was not really into death defying stunts. My eyes turned toward the splash of the waterfall and then I looked up to see there was no longer anyone watching me. Walking on the edge of the river, I approached the sheet of falling water, squinting to see beyond it as I recalled the water inside Fu Xi's vault. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and stepped through the water.

Not really expecting to find anything but solid rock behind the fall, I was surprised when my head found open space. I opened my eyes and discovered a small cave above four feet above the bottom of the river. Quickly I pulled myself up the ledge and out of the water into the narrow tunnel. There was light coming from inside someplace, flickering like a fire on the walls. The waterfall completely hid it all from the outside world. The light could mean I was not alone, but the cave seemed my best chance to avoid Olivia and she would most likely think I had used the river to head back toward the main road. If I waited long enough, I could catch up with them and they would be looking in all the wrong places for me.

I backed away from the water making sure I was far enough away that some stray glance into the fall would not reveal me hiding. The roar of the waterfall was almost all I could hear at first, but as I became accustomed to the cave's echoes, I could hear the engine sounds once more. They stopped close by and I could hear the trampling of goons, searching the local area for any signs of me or where I had gone. I held my breath, hoping they would make the assumption I needed them to make.

"What have you found," Olivia said, apparently arriving late to the scene.

"Nothing," A man replied.

"There has to be something," Olivia said.

"Maybe she used the river," Another man said.

"Possible, but unlikely," Olivia said. "She only takes risks she can control."

"You're not going to find her," Gina said, a taunting to her tone that made me smile.

"I think she crossed here," A man said.

"Going where?" Olivia asked.

"Back toward where you are," He said.

Olivia said, "To retrieve her weapon. Then where did she go?"

"Into the water," Another man said.

"I don't buy it," Olivia said. "The river's a bad option. Too many variables and not enough control."

"She was scared and running," A man said, "Maybe she thought the risk was her only option."

Gina laughed. "She set you up. She was better than you at camp and she's still better than you now," She said.

"None of you," Olivia said, "You most of all, know what you're involved in."

"Just knowing it vexes you is good enough for me," Gina said.

"Obviously, she had a plan," Olivia said, "And you know at least some of it."

"Yeah, it involved pissing you off," Gina said, "I think she succeeded on that point already, and then rescuing Brian from your evil clutches."

"If you knew the difference between good and evil, you'd be rooting for me to find Virginia before it's too late," Olivia said.

"I don't think Tanya would agree," Gina said.

"That was an unfortunate mistake," Olivia said.

"Because it proved who you are?" Gina said.

"No," Olivia said, "Because it cast doubt on what we are."

A radio squawked and Olivia said, "Stratford here, go ahead."

"We've got Barker," The radio voice said.

"Alive?" Olivia said.

"He unconscious, but he'll live," The radio responded.

"Excellent work," Olivia said. "Head back to camp."

The radio said, "Copy that."

"Everybody pack it up," Olivia ordered.

"What about West?" A man said.

"We're holding all the cards," Olivia said. "She'll come to us."

Moments later the engines roared back to life and then began to fade in the distance as they drove away. I remained huddled in my cave, hugging my knees to my chest. Focusing on breathing, I considered the situation carefully. Jack was either free and waiting for me at the rendezvous, meaning Olivia suspected I was nearby and did her little radio show for my benefit or he had been captured and incapacitated. Heading to the rendezvous point myself was either a waste of time, a trap, or the only way I was going to get any help. The last possibility was good, but the other two were less than exciting.

Olivia was right, I would come to them. I could not easily leave the jungle and get help, a general lack of transportation being the first obstacle and time being the second. She would leave and easy to track trail, but if I did not show quickly, it would lead to nowhere. I closed my eyes trying to force new possibilities to open themselves up to my mind. Every direction seemed like a sure way to lose and this was a battle I could not afford to lose. Maybe my grandmother had been right when she told me to turn back and forget about Brian. It was beginning to look more and more like the trap had been laid very carefully with me in mind and if Brian was not a willing participant he was close enough to it, that it might not matter in the end.

The sound of a pebble falling, echoed within the cave and snapped my eyes back open. I looked back into the depth of the cave and stared once more at the flickering light. Maybe there was another possibility and maybe it was with the light. Pulling out my gun, I began the slow process of crawling down the tunnel toward the light and its unknown source. Every movement I made seemed to echo louder and louder the farther I went, but if someone was paying attention they gave me no sign.

At the end of the tunnel, the cave opened into a larger chamber, not huge, but large enough to stand upright. In the center of the room a small camp fire burning, ventilated by a stone window into the jungle on the other side of the cave. Sitting next to the fire, an old woman sat quietly warming her hands by the fire. Her long white hair draped over her like a dress falling to the floor. I stepped into the opening and she smiled up at me with silver eyes that seemed to reflect the firelight straight into me.

"I didn't mean to startle you," I said, doubting she would even understand me.

"I was beginning to think you would never come inside," She said, her voice raspy as if she had smoked her whole life.

"You speak English," I said.

"As do you," She said with a laugh.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, although a hundred other questions were floating in my head as well.

"I could well ask you the same," She said, gesturing for me to join her by the fire. "It matters little though, our journeys have brought us here and that is sufficient."

I hesitated a moment and then shrugged. She was no stranger than Joseph Candle in her responses and something told me, she was no threat to me. It was even possible she might be able to help. I sat down, cross-legged next to her. The warmth I expected to overwhelm me from the fire was strikingly absent and instead I found myself feeling cooler and more comfortable instead of less.

"You are lost," She said and I raised an eyebrow wondering if I was supposed react in awe at her conclusion. She laughed and said, "Not in the jungle, but inside yourself. You are trapped on the way from the person you were to the person you are supposed to become."

"What do you know of me?" I asked, not certain I truly wished to know.

"You have yet to choose your path," She said.

"My friends are in danger, I should go," I said.

She said, "There are indeed, but more than your friends are at stake. The path you choose will effect all those who came before and all those yet to come."

The words sounded familiar. She looked nothing like my ethereal grandmother, but her words were as cryptic and the subject seemed much the same. Remembering the crystal and its ability to alter her appearance in variations of its light, I wondered if this was another apparition of her, acting as if she were a convenient guide with knowledge to help me, but shrouded in mystery. She saw the thoughts in my eyes and shook her head ever so slightly.

"In the end it is only you who can decide. I am not the one of whom you think, but we have met before and we will again. Time is short though and I cannot risk helping you more," She said and the fire crackled as her finger snapped. The cave and the fire disappeared and we were sitting in the jungle, the sun setting on the horizon and darkness falling around us.

She said, "You must choose a path and do it quickly because not deciding is a choice as well."

"Who are you?" I asked, wondering if I could believe my eyes or ears or if sanity had snapped from my head entirely.

"It's only natural you should stumble on your journey, but if you remain true to yourself, you will find your way," She said and disappeared into the darkness, leaving me alone.

Choosing Corners: Bound For A Fall

The plan was to wait. It was simple, so simple it should have been easy to stick with, but I should have known better. When was the last time things went the way they were supposed to go? I might have to go as far back as the fifth grade to answer that one, but being covered in jungle foliage and mud, trips down memory lane will just have to wait. They had Gina which was fine, I mean that was just part of the plan. Ben pointing out Jack's general location on the hillside opposite me, was not.

It started with a dozen of Olivia's goons sweeping toward the slope. I expected Jack would just quietly slip away, crawling through undergrowth until he was far enough away, no one would believe he had ever been close at all. Instead, Jack waiting until they were almost on top of his location and then he started shooting. How he managed to take ten of them out before they even knew he was there, particularly since they were looking for him, I do not know. Watching from my vantage, I realized when it came to Jack, I did not really know anything about his past. It was intertwined with Tom's in some manner and Tom was a military man through and through, but what did the make Jack? Dangerous, but what kind of dangerous?

The thoughts were running through my head, watching Jack run, exchanging fire with the two goons remaining. They were probably outmatched by Jack, but they did have the advantage of numbers, and he was on the run up the hill with limited hard cover. A sound of twigs and crisp leaves crunching caught my attention and I suddenly became aware I was being stalked myself. It was too late of course, but I was beginning to think I should have let Jack cut out Ben's eyes at the very least.

I rolled over in my dirt bed just in time to find a rifle barrel in my face. I could smell the faint remains of alcohol from it's last cleaning as it wavered in front of my nose. The man holding it seemed to want me to do something. I was not listening though. Jack would have liked that at least. Without thinking, I kicked my legs underneath alcohol, rifle goon and sent him rolling down hill. I did not wait to see where he landed.

Running uphill is a little like waving a flag and asking to be shot. Jack might have had a chance going up and away but my only chance was straight or down and I was at least bright enough to know it. I caught sight of another goon ahead and to my left as I leapt from my hiding place. He was a little slow noticing me, but I will bet he got a good look as I ran passed while he rolled into that giant tree trunk with a new hole in his leg. Obviously, I did not stick around to know for certain.

There was a cave at the end of the valley with a stream running through it. I remembered it from the map, it was one of the reasons Jack liked the location. The cave opened out on the other side to a waterfall dumping into a river. In the event things went bad, it was an alternate escape route with a way of covering a lot of territory quickly. Granted, river rafting without a raft can be a little difficult, but it sure beats the odds of living with an extra hole in the head.

My single gunshot seemed to attract goons to me like moths to a flickering blue light. Too bad I am not quite as lethal to goons as that light is to moths, but I was not ready to throw in the towel. Bullets whizzed passed my head as I took a sudden turn down hill. Okay, fine, I stumbled with fortunate results, but I will not be admitting it later. I tumbled down the side of the slope barely managing to get my feet under me again as I came to a sliding stop a few feet above the valley floor and the trickle of creek water running toward the cave.

The slip put me ahead of the goons and I ran like the wind to stay ahead. More like a gentle breeze I guess, but they were not any faster, I swear. I squeezed off blind rounds at the jungle behind me. Those aloe plants and banana trees will not ever hurt anyone again.

Nearing the cave, I ran the last few feet to the valley floor at an angle and jumped the creek to the other side. The rocks beneath my feet were wet and smooth, but I kept my balance by moving quickly on my toes. Rustling on the slope, turned my head to watch one of the goons sliding down the slope on his back, shooting wildly in my direction. Bullets splashed all around me and bounced on rocks at my feet as I kept going.

The entrance to the cave was small and only traversable though the creek. It was not my first choice to get soaked to the skin without a change of clothes, but it seemed a bit more rational than waiting around to get shot. I fired a wild shot behind me that somehow sent wild slide goon crashing into the creek, his gun dropped into the water. Wading through the water I disappeared into the cave and hoped we were too far north for piranhas as unseen things brushed passed my legs.

I should have suspected, it's not like the creek made sense as the source for a massive waterfall, but I was still a bit surprised to find a rushing river joining with my creek in the middle of the cave. The joining of the two waters nearly threw me from my feet. I grabbed hold of rocks along the wall of the cave to steady myself. Behind me I heard the splash of water signifying the pursuit of more than a single goon and they were getting closer. Up ahead I could see daylight and I pushed on toward it, hoping there would be a safe way down which would offer me a secure place to avoid my pursuers or at least hold them at bay until I came up with a better plan than running away.

Reaching the end of the cave, I held onto the rock and stared in disbelief. The water flowed straight out of the cave and dropped straight down to a raging river far below. I will not bother estimating the height because the lush greenery and splashing water created an illusion making everything seem much better. The splashing behind me slowed and I knew I was out of options.

I turned around to find Olivia smugly smiling at me. Her gun was not even pointed at me, just threatening the water. We stood perfectly still, her goons stopped and waiting a few feet behind her. She shook her head and said, "It doesn't have to be this way."

"You cheated me," I said, glancing back behind me.

She laughed and said, "You never expected me to bring Brian out here. I know you aren't that foolish."

"Maybe," I said. "Maybe I wanted to give you one last chance to prove you are better than you seem."

Olivia took a step closer to me, the sunlight illuminating her in the water like a silver spotlight. My gun followed her movement, my finger quivering on the trigger as instinct and morality fought a battle for my soul. I wanted to hate her, hate everything about her, but she was more complicated than that. Much as I did not want to admit it, she scared me. My psyche understood, the differences between us were not as great as I wished and the circumstances leading us to opposite side could have easily led us to the same place and even friendship, or at least mutual respect.

"You're not a killer," She said, nodding at my gun.

"But you are," I said.

She shook her head and said, "No. If we wanted you dead, we could have killed you a long time ago."

"What do you want with me?" I asked, knowing the answer I wanted would never come from her lips.

"Not what Joey wants," She said.

Looking down the waterfall and then back at Olivia, I said, "How do you know what Joey wants?"

"Put the gun away and come with me," She said, "He'll explain everything."

"Who?" I asked, although I suspected I already knew.

"We weren't sure about you before, after Bad Land," She said.

"You tried to kill me," I said.

"I can understand how you might see it that way," Olivia said, taking another step closer to me.

I had no place to go. The gun wavered in my hand, a part of me wanted to trust her and forget the past. It was possible we had simply misunderstood each other, but the rest of me knew that was just an excuse to take the easy way out. I knew there were gaps in my understanding of the world we were dancing in, but I also knew she was dangerous and half truths were her way of taking the lead.

"Another step and my finger's going to squeeze on this trigger," I said.

"No, it won't," She said, but she stopped anyway.

"If you expect me to trust you, I'm going to need a little more than cryptic answers and warnings," I said.

"They aren't mine to give," Olivia said. "I know you have no reason to believe me, but I've been in your shoes. The hardest thing to do is trust someone, when everything that's happened to you has only proven you can only trust yourself."

"I've already given you all the chances I can afford to give," I said, "But I'll give you one last chance, tell me where you're keeping Brian."

"I'll take you to him," Olivia said, holding out her hand to me, "You can keep your gun if it makes you feel safer. You've got no place else to go."

"I tell you what," I said wondering if she might be sincere, "You send your goons away and you, me and Gina will all go together. Just the three of us. If you are telling the truth you have my word that I'll listen to anything you have to say."

Olivia looked behind her at the men at her back. The look in her eyes suggested she was actually considering my proposal, a possibility I had not really expected. She thought she knew me, knew what I would do, what I was capable of doing and she was weighing that knowledge against herself and her agenda. She asked me to trust her, but when I asked her to trust me, she was hesitant. It was all I really needed to see to know she was not completely on the level with me. She believed what she was doing was right, but she also believed I would have a difference of opinion with her when faced with the full disclosure. It was written pure as daylight on her face.

"What about Jack?" Olivia said.

I shook my head and said, "What about him?"

"What will he do if he sees you with me? Will he ambush us on the road?" Olivia said looking pointedly at my gun, "Will you do what it takes to stop him if he won't cooperate?"

"So he got away," I said, feeling a little relieved that there was still a chance he might save me.

"Did you really expect anything else?" She said.

"He does always seem to escape you, doesn't he?" I said.

She nodded. "He's a shark, in or out of water," She said.

"If you're on the level, I can get him to play along," I said.

Olivia laughed, her amusement echoing in the cave like a choir to the singing of rushing water. She said, "You've been at odds with Jack Barker since the day you met him and no matter what you do or say, you will never, ever influence him to do anything he does not already want to do."

"So he's your excuse?" I said, shaking my head.

"I don't need an excuse," Olivia said, "You're going to have to make a choice, trust me or don't. We aren't going to do this halfway. I don't have to be your enemy, but only you can decide which way it's going to be."

"Give me a good reason to trust you and I will," I said, gripping tight to the rock as the water seemed to increase it's downward flow.

Olivia steadied herself against the opposite edge as well. Her eyes looked out the cave to the jungle beyond before settling back on me. "I could have shot you instead of talking," She said as if the single action were proof her intentions had always been positive. "This would all be over with and I certainly would not be giving you the chance to kill me."

I felt the weight of the gun in my hand at her words. She was right when she said I was not a killer. It had happened in the course of events, but even with survival as justification the ghosts still haunted me. I could no more simply shoot her for standing in my way than I could shoot myself. She knew me too well and I realized that was the problem, that was the reason I was trapped.

"You aren't really trusting me," I said looking at the men behind her, "You are following orders you don't understand anymore than I do. We're on opposite sides of the river and there are no bridges between us."

"We can build one," She said. "Trust me, nothing is as it seems."

I smiled and nodded. "You're right," I said and then I did what she never could have anticipated, I turned and jumped.