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“Keep your eyes sharp anyway,” I order the men. “Move out.”
The four remaining groups approach the collection of buildings a little faster than I would generally encourage. I don’t hold them back because, deep down, I know there’s no point. We won’t be saving anybody tonight.
Reaching the tallest building, I clock Zach climbing down the side wall. He jogs over, shaking his head. The other teams show discipline enough to remain where they are, so I gesture for Zach to report over the radio for all to hear.
“We spotted bodies. Fourteen. All arranged Army style. These would be the insurgents Heathman’s men took down. Beyond that, there’s no movement. Lights are visible in the cave.”
“I don’t hear a generator. They must have buried wiring from one of these buildings,” Maxen says.
“What does that matter?” Avara asks.
Aaron answers, “These guys wouldn’t run off and leave a working generator. Besides, a running generator confirms someone’s inside. Wired power could mean anything.”
“None of that matters at this point,” I explain. “We’re going in, regardless. Sergeant, I want a group keeping watch outside the cave entrance. The rest of you can advance behind us at a spacing of thirty feet or so to maintain radio contact as long as possible. None of us know how deep this thing runs, and I don’t want anyone getting lost, so no branching off.”
That last part was directed toward my team. “Maxen, the five of us will stick together unless the cave splits off before we find anything.”
Maxen stares into the cave, his gaze analyzing, “Keep your NV ready and shoot out the lights if you run into trouble. Even if there’s not enough light bleed for the scopes to work, you’re better off blind than dead.”
As one, we approach the opening roughly shaped like an upside-down teardrop leaning to one side. Avara’s men break off into their assigned positions as my team leads the way inside.
The initial hollow reaches a height of only about nine feet. I’d estimate the width to be about twenty feet, and I can’t see the end. Several rocky projections along the length conceal the back wall or what could be access to additional tunnels.
This cave is nothing like the ones in the mountains near my home. In Tennessee, our caves are wet, full of water-smoothed rocks, bulbous stalagmites, and sometimes, waterfalls. This cavern is dry, dusty, and full of jagged rock formations.
Brock steps toward one of the larger formations with his rifle up. I take three steps to the left and see what caught his attention. Army-issue boots. Brock advances a few more steps, and his shoulders tense. He turns toward me and reports, “It’s Heathman.”
And just like that, it’s confirmed that this is no longer a rescue but a recovery mission. I don’t expect to find a single man alive. “Keep moving. Avara’s got eight more men to account for, plus the two treasury agents.”
Following Maxen’s lead, we advance deeper into the cavern, finding that the most prominent outcropping of rocks hid a passage. We pass through the access single-file due to its size, leaving the Army guys in place as planned. They’re still our radio relay but now have the added job of securing the colonel’s body.
The hidden passage is only three feet wide and low enough that we all have to duck to keep from dragging our heads against the top. Halfway through, the path curves slightly to the right. Upon making the turn, I glance past Maxen into another cavern smaller than the first.
The grizzly scene at the end of the tunnel is an overwhelming sight. Grabbing onto Maxen’s shoulder, I drop to a knee with my head bowed. “Zach,” I begin, voice almost a whisper. “Go get Avara.”
Maxen lays a hand on my back, and the four of us hold still until Zach has exited the tunnel. “All right, guys. Let’s get this over with.”
The four of us cross the final ten feet of the small passage and stand up to survey the carnage. The floor is littered with bodies, all of them American. By my count, we’re still missing four. That means we press on. Two more openings branch off from this room, so the four of us will split up and take them simultaneously.
“Hold on,” Brock commands sharply.
All eyes focus his way to see him turning in a circle to study the scene. I don’t know what he sees, but the man was a cop, so I’ll respect his intuition. “What is it?”
“Something’s not right.”
He points out some of the bodies toward the front of the room. “The position of these bodies. These guys were guarding the entrance but had no cover to hide behind.”
Brock turns around, pointing next to the ones in the rear of the room. “These are a mirror image of the others. These guys were turned around to face an attack from deeper inside the cave.”
“How? These men weren’t trained to operate in caves, but Bastien and Chelsea were. Even if the army had failed to clear the storage area, our people had to guard it for several hours before FinCEN showed up,” Aaron points out.
Brock runs his gloved fingers through his hair and studies the cavern's walls. “Could there be a secondary entrance?”
“There’s no way,” Aaron answers. “The cliff face is too tall, and the base of this rock is at least a mile wide.”
“That has to mean that either the raid team missed something big or that some of them were dirty,” Brock surmises. “The only way to find out which is to account for the missing bodies.”
Zach’s voice sounds in the tunnel again, and I rush over to intercept him and Avara. The sergeant stands upright and looks around, totally speechless. Avara’s face reddens to the point that I’m afraid he’s about to lose his shit. “Avara,” I say softly to get his attention.
