Beyond Top Secret: A Zach Taylor Adventure Read online

  Prepared as best they could, Zach and Linda got into the white SUV and belched their way into town. Driving down Main street the store with the gold sign beckoned for them as if it had over-sized neon arrows flashing to announce its presence. They parked down the street from the store, Zach squeezed Linda’s hand, and said, “We’ll be fine.”

  “I certainly hope so.”

  Zach leaned over and kissed Linda on the cheek, and opened the car door. As they walked towards the store sweat poured from Zach’s forehead like an afternoon rain shower. His heart pounded so hard he was sure a passerby could hear it. He thought he would throw up at any moment. When they reached the store, they were met by Jose and the other man that was with him at the house earlier. The men seemed friendly and welcomed Zach and Linda then directed them to get into the Mercedes. Each man held a blindfold and set of headphones. Jose said, “Sorry about this, but you need to be deaf and blind for the trip to Mr. Montenegro’s. I hope you don’t mind.” The men climbed into the car, and they headed away from the store.

  Chapter 16

  Venezuela

  Zach was intent on building a mental map of their journey and logged every turn and how many seconds they spent on each leg of the route. So far, he had what he thought was a good grasp of their path; north on highway ten for fifteen seconds, a left turn onto a dirt road for five seconds; at that point, his sense of direction fell apart. They were now apparently driving in a circle as the car was continually veering left. The vehicle circled for precisely twenty seconds before it straightened out and was again on a dirt road. They went another five seconds before making a right turn onto a paved road. Zach had to give the driver credit, between speeding up and slowing down and the circle routine he had become disoriented. Since Zach did not know how large the circle was, it made calculations more difficult. But if given enough time Zach felt he could eventually retrace their path, but it would not be as easy as he originally anticipated.

  When the car came to a stop, Zach was sure they were not inside the compound, based on the satellite images he had seen. The feel of the roads they had traveled would have been visible in the photos. There was also the fact the recon of the compound did not identify any trails or entrances for car access. Is the lunch not being held at the complex? Zach wondered.

  The midday heat rushed into the air-conditioned car when the rear doors opened. When pulled from the vehicle, it was an insignificant event for Zach. Unfortunately, Linda had to deal with a man who had a passion for breasts as he manhandled her out of the vehicle. For fear of a possible worse invasion, she tried to ignore his fascination as best she could. With Rafael’s men pushing and directing, the blindfolded Zach and Linda did their best Frankenstein impression’s as they walked towards an unknown destination.

  The ground beneath them bounced slightly as the two were pulled to a stop by their escorts. A dropping sensation overtook Zach’s senses, and he knew they were in an elevator of some kind. After a brief ride, the floor let out a shuddering vibration as the downward trip came to a stop. Within seconds the air against his skin was notably colder than what he had experienced when pulled from the car. For Zach, the only logical answer was a door had been opened into an underground room. Again they were pushed forward and after a few steps pushed down. Both Zach and Linda groped around until they discovered a seat beneath them. The forward movement told Zach they were in an open frame vehicle. Based on the feel of the ride and their perceived rate of travel Zach was sure this was something akin to a golf cart. Zach had been counting seconds when their forward motion stopped. By his trivia knowledge, he knew the average speed of a golf cart, which meant they had traveled underground for approximately two miles.

  Clay had completed his sweep of the immediate area, had finished with the door and headed towards the SUV. He stopped so fast he almost fell on his face. Clay swirled around. There was noise coming from the door. He ducked out of sight and watched as the door swung inward. Armed men appeared once the gap between the wall and door was wide enough for a body to pass through There were a total of six men, all carrying M16’s. The soldiers fanned out. Clay’s only thought was someone on the team had been spotted, and the soldiers were outside to hunt them down. Then it dawned on him maybe he was the one who had been detected and buried himself deeper into the vegetation. As he watched, the guards’ action stumped him, or more specifically their inaction. They weren’t looking for anyone. The soldiers were guarding an open door. The question was why.

  The answer Clay got was mind-boggling. Just as the Phoenix rose from the ashes, four figures rose from the vegetation. At that moment in time, all cognizant reasoning vanished from Clay’s brain. He looked on as two of the four wore headphones, were blindfolded, and pushed forward. Clay’s brain re-engaged, and the details of what he watched gelled. The blindfolded duo was Zach and Linda being escorted towards the open door. In a hushed tone, Clay radioed the team, and said, “Houston we have a problem.”

  In a calm and composed voice, Phil responded, “What’s your situation Clay?”

  “Zach and Linda are being escorted inside the compound under duress, by the looks of things they can’t see or hear. What should I do?”

  “Are you still by the door? Where did they come from? For now, just continue to observe,” Phil said, in rapid succession.

  “Yes, I’m by the door, and you aren’t going to believe this, but they came out of the ground.”

  “What? You sure you’re not suffering from Malaria-induced confusion?”

  “No, no, I know what I saw. Once the company is gone, I will investigate. What about Zach and Linda?”

  “Zach thinks they will be safe and I agree. Just sit tight.”

  Clay watched as Zach and Linda made the awkward sightless walk into the compound. Within minutes, the door closed, and there were no signs that what he saw even happened. Clay rushed to where they had come from only to find a solid floor of vegetation. He lacked the tools to dig through the plants and did a mental inventory of the SUV’s contents. There was a machete in the rear of the SUV. In a mad sprint, he ran back to the SUV, rummaged through the rear and produced his forgotten tool.

  Back at the sight of the mystery, Clay plunged the machete into the ground, nothing. He knew something had to be there, and in a deliberate pattern, he continued to thrust the blade into the earth. It was on his fifth attempt when the machete met resistance, and a resounding thunk confirmed the existence of something more than jungle floor. Torn between what he wanted to do and what he knew he should do, Clay sat staring at the ground beneath him. Logic trumped curiosity. Clay knew if he dug up the ground it would expose their presence in the area, so he decided on the next best thing, radioed Chris, and said, “Have any extra video equipment on you?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do. Brought spares in case of malfunctions, why do you ask?”

  “I need two here like yesterday. We need to get the video up and running in less time than it takes to have lunch with Rafael.”

  “Be there in a flash.”

  In what seemed fast to Chris and an eternity to Clay the equipment arrived. Secured in the ground at the point of the thunk, Chris used the machete as the focal point for the cameras. He scanned the area and found two trees that would be home to the equipment. Chris had become adept at tree climbing, with all his recent experience, and had both cameras up and running in no time. Satisfied with the job, they gathered up all signs of their presence and headed back to where Chris had left off.

  Once inside the compound, the escorts removed the headphones and blindfolds from Zach and Linda. With her sight restored Linda looked at the manhandling culprit in a way that told him death would be too easy on him. His reaction, being in a position of power currently, was to return the glare with a devilish grin and wink. She recognized the futility of her thoughts and moved closer to Zach. They followed the escorts to the main house where they were offered a seat in a waiting room and told that lunch would be in a few minutes. Zach reflected on
the pointless actions taken to disorient them on the trip here. All the driving in circles was meaningless if one paid attention to the facts. What he knew was that within a two-mile radius of the compound there would be an elevator entrance. With most of the area inaccessible to a vehicle, finding an elevator, a Mercedes could drive up to should be a simple process. His thoughts were interrupted when a beautiful young Latin woman announced lunch was served.

  The decorations along the hallway and in the dining hall made it apparent Rafael wanted to project an image of sophisticated wealth. All the artwork on display appeared to be original pieces, and there was an abundance being displayed. The dining hall itself was massive, and in the middle of the room sat a long dining table with seating for seventeen. There were eight chairs on each side of the table. The head of the table had what was as close to a throne as anything Zach had seen. A large, dark complected man sat on the throne and welcomed their arrival. The fourth chair down on the right side was where Zach was asked to take a seat, and Linda was placed on the left side directly opposite Zach. Zach wondered if the distance between Rafael and his guests held some hidden message. “Thank you for having us to lunch,” Zach said.

  “You’re more than welcome, and I apologize for all the cloak and dagger getting you here. It seems I have a lot of enemies that would die for a chance to get in here, so I designed the entrance to deter unwanted guests,” Rafael responded.

  “I can only imagine, it looks like there’s a lot here a thief would love to get their hands on,” Zach said. He tried to conceal any indication he knew what Rafael did.

  “Very true. Look let me get to the point, I’m sure you’re wondering why I invited you here. I make a point of knowing what’s going on around here and your names came to my attention. So what brings you to the area, and more importantly why did you have the helicopter try and fly above my home?"

  “We didn’t mean to fly over your place. We wanted to see John Adam’s place from the air and got off course. As far as why we are here. We are going to shoot an adventure show of free climbing Mount Roraima, that’s what I do for a living. We have the government’s permission to do the show.”

  Linda interjected, pulled her phone from her pocket, and said, “I can show you some scenes from our other shows, I have them on my ph ...”

  “Portable video viewer,” Zach said, interrupting.

  Realizing phones like theirs weren’t generally available, Linda picked up on Zach’s words and continued, “Yes, in the business we call it a ‘PVV.’ This one is a prototype that the television network is currently experimenting with. Would you like to see some film clips from other adventures?”

  Motioning for Linda to come to him, Rafael said, “Yes, let me take a look.”

  Linda rose and approached Rafael, as soon as she was within arms reach, Rafael snatched the phone from her hand, examined it, and said, “How do make this thing work?”

  “Well, that was rude, if you don’t mind giving me my PVV back I’ll show you.”

  Unapologetically Rafael gave Linda the phone, and said, “Here.”

  Tapping the screen, Linda picked a clip from the Sahara show, and started the video, holding the display where Rafael could see, she said, “This is us in Africa, Zach did a solo trek into the Sahara desert.”

  Again, Rafael grabbed the phone from Linda’s hand and was fascinated by what he was seeing. It wasn’t the show he found interesting, it was the device, and said, “I need one of these, will you get me one?”

  “As I said, it’s a prototype, but once they are in production, I promise I will have one sent to you.”

  “Great,” he handed the phone back to Linda and did a backward flip of his hand, letting Linda know it was time for her to return to her seat.

  Impressed by how well Linda handled the situation, Zach winked at her, and then looked at Rafael, and said, “That’s what I do for a living, and now we are going to film a show here.”

  “I see, so what made you pick this location?”

  “A couple of things; first the beauty of the area will look good on TV, and then the historical significance of the geological structures gives Linda more to talk about during the show.”

  “Yes, you’re right, it should make for a good show,” as two young women approached the table with plates in hand, “ah good, lunch is here I hope you like Venezuelan food,”

  Linda said, “I’ve never had it, but I’m sure it is delicious.”

  “You’re in luck. I have an excellent cook so your first experience with our cuisine will be the best you can find.”

  Once their meals were in front of them, the conversation was minimal as the ate lunch. Occasionally Zach would comment on different adventures he had been on, to help reinforce the reason they were in Rafael’s part of the world. Zach wanted to make sure Rafael saw this as just another one of the adventures they filmed. While it seemed Rafael was accepting the legitimacy of the show, he sensed Rafael questioned the whole helicopter story. What Zach found surprising was that except for the initial question there had been no followup about the helicopter. Rafael didn’t even mention the fact he fired at the chopper. Either as an apology for a nervous guard who made a mistake or as a warning that the next time it would have a more deadly ending.

  Putting himself in Rafael’s shoes, Zach thought about what he would be thinking if he were Rafael; I would think they were checking out the compound for another purpose. I would not mention the helicopter incident again until I knew what their motive was. I would lift fingerprints from the dishes and use my contacts to find out who they were.

  Zach felt confident his assumptions about Rafael’s line of thinking were close to reality. What Zach hoped for, was confirmation of their identities would quell Rafael’s suspicions. Finished with their meal, Zach said, “Thank you so much for lunch, it was delicious, and I hate to be rude, but Linda and I still have a lot of work to do to get ready for the adventure. Would you mind getting us back to our vehicle?”

  Linda added, “The lunch was delightful, I will make sure to add Venezuelan food to my list of options when deciding what to have for dinner.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it, and be sure and send me one of those devices as soon as you can.”

  “I promise, as soon as they are in production I will have one sent to you. Where should I have it sent?”

  “Just send it to Las Claritas with my name on the package, and I will get it.”

  Trying to put an end to the conversation, Zach said, “Thanks again, but we do need to get going.”

  “It was a pleasure meeting both of you, but sorry to say, you go back the same way you came in.”

  Rafael got up from the table, walked over to Zach and gave him a bone-crushing handshake. The gracious host tone of voice was gone when he said, “Be careful, if you take another helicopter ride that dares to enter my airspace, my guards may get nervous and shoot you down. It would be a shame if this were your last adventure. I hope I am making myself perfectly clear.”

  “Loud and clear,” Zach replied.

  They were escorted out of the dining hall and ushered through a door onto the courtyard. At the door was Jose and his companion, both holding blindfolds, and headphones. After retracing the same route, the car came to a stop. When the blindfolds and headphones were removed, they found themselves parked right behind the SUV. Exiting the rear seat of the Mercedes, Zach and Linda briskly walked to their vehicle not saying a word.

  Once inside the SUV Zach said, “Great recovery on the phone issue, that was a rather unpleasant ending to the lunch. I don’t think he bought the helicopter story, and I’d bet he lifted our fingerprints to run a background check.”

  “That’s okay right?”

  “Sure, as long as you don’t have any deep dark secrets hidden in your past. You don’t do you?”

  “Nope, I’m a good girl,” she said, with a wink.

  “Let’s just hope he drops it once he gets a confirmation that we are who we say we are.”
r />   “Any ideas on what he thinks we were doing in the helicopter?”

  “My guess is, he thinks we are international thieves and were trying to case the place. As far as I’m concerned, there are a lot worse things he could be thinking, but it probably means his guards will be more alert than usual.”

  “I hadn't thought of that.”

  “As long as the team got everything set up we’ll find out soon enough.” Zach put the SUV in gear, and they headed for the house.

  Chapter 17

  Venezuela

  Everyone was in the home theater when Zach and Linda returned from their lunch with Rafael. Some watched feeds from the video equipment, some listened to feeds from the audio equipment, and Ray and Chris fidgeted with the receivers. Upon seeing the two enter, they all stopped what they were doing and started whooping, and hollering. Unaware the team had seen them on a video replay, Zach thought the welcome was a little too exuberant. “Guys, we were just gone for lunch, knock it off,” Zach said.

  The team settled down, and Zach reviewed the current situation. He explained the bogus road trip to try and disorient them, the tunnel leading into the compound, and the new requirement to retrieve the weapon used against the helicopter. Then he pulled up the satellite image and drew a two-mile radius with the complex as the epicenter. It didn’t take long for them all to see the proverbial giant red ‘you are here’ arrow pointing directly at the town. There were no other logical locations for an elevator along the entire perimeter of the circle, and Zach had a good idea of its exact location.

  For Zach, the real question was did it matter, it’s not like they were going to pop up inside the compound, get the weapon and destroy the munitions without incident. Being blindfolded, Zach didn’t know the tunnel ended outside the compound. When Clay showed Zach the video from the tunnel cameras, he was initially confused by where it ended. Upon reflection, Zach realized the strategic advantage of the design. Rafael must have wanted to eliminate any access to the compound from inside the wall. An impenetrable wall with a single access point would make a ground assault almost impossible. Add to that an air defense system, and you had a recipe for one of the most secure facilities one could imagine.