Death Diamonds of Bermudez Read online

  As Savage’s light shown down on the tunnel floor Keno spoke up, “Man, look at those footprints.”

  Storm looked down and said, “These prints are fairly fresh, maybe a day or two old. I wonder who’s been down here?”

  Keno replied, “That’s easy. It’s my best friend, Portagee, and I bet the two other sets of prints are Sam’s and Michael’s.”

  Savage spoke up, “Well, now we know they weren’t kidnapped. They must have escaped through the tunnel just like we did. Only now we’re all going to have company. We better get the hell out of here. The South Africans will probably be following us soon.”

  Storm said, “Savage, you take the lead with the flashlight, and I’ll bring up the rear.”

  Savage snapped back, “Where in the bloody hell have I heard that before?” He then said, “Catch.” Throwing Storm’s pistol back to him saying, “You might need it more back here.”

  Storm said, “Thanks.” He tucked the pistol under his belt. He picked up the shovel and started trying to obscure most of the tracks that had been made. Storm thought this was probably futile, but maybe it might buy them some time. Both Storm and Savage knew that the South Africans with their paramilitary background were probably excellent trackers. They knew they would not lose them, but maybe they could mislead them or at least slow them down. After walking along down the tunnel, Storm yelled to the others, “You guys keep going and I’m going to wait and give theses thugs something to think about. Don’t worry I’ll catch up.”

  Savage turned back to look at Storm and said, “You sure about that, mate?”

  Storm replied, “Yeah, I’m sure. Now get moving.” Savage, Keno and Graham slowly made their way down the tunnel and out of Storm’s sight.

  Meanwhile back above ground one of Lynch’s men was getting impatient. He yelled out, “Let me go down there and see what happened to them. They may be dead or could be getting away.”

  Lynch snapped back, “Sit your ass down before I shove your head into that hole. When Van Eck arrives we’ll get our orders.” It didn’t take long before Van Eck and twelve more South Africans arrived at the Boer cemetery. Lynch was first to speak, “It’s been an hour since they vanished down that tunnel.”

  Van Eck said, “Well, men, it’s time we got moving and I mean all of us. I have a feeling that the Death Diamonds are somewhere down in that tunnel waiting for us. He pointed to two of his men and said, “You two go first. Give us the all clear signal, and we’ll be right behind you.”

  One after another the two thugs dropped into the tunnel. Each one stood up flashing their lights around. They saw nothing. One of them yelled back up to the others, “All clear, sir.”

  To their surprise they heard a distant voice saying, “Are you sure? The ghosts of the Boers have been disturbed.”

  The two South Africans appeared confused. They both fired their pistols through the dark in the direction of the voice. Storm was almost hit by their fire and began firing back. Storm was lucky he could see their body outlines from the moonlight above them. Storm was an excellent marksman. With a few shots he had shot and killed both South Africans.

  Back above ground Van Eck and Lynch heard nothing after the shooting stopped. Van Eck was pissed. He had just lost two good men. He turned to Lynch and said, “I hope that tunnel can withstand a concussion grenade because I want that bastard who fired on us dead.” Van Eck yelled, “Do it!”

  Lynch yanked out the grenade from his vest and pulled the pin. Then he yelled out, “Fire in the hole.” As he tossed the grenade into the tunnel the South Africans all hit the dirt to avoid any debris that might backfire out of the tunnel.

  Storm looked up after hearing something hit the tunnel floor and begin rolling down towards him. Storm sat there for a few seconds trying to think what the hell that was. Then it struck him like a lightning bolt. He yelled out, “Grenade!” But it was too late. After running just a few feet the grenade exploded sending Storm through the air head over heels.

  In the meantime Savage heard the explosion. He looked at the boys saying, “Keep moving, and don’t wait on me. Go find your friends, and we’ll find you.” Keno and Graham took off on down the tunnel as fast as they could. Savage went running `in the direction of Storm. After about one hundred yards he tripped over Storm’s lifeless body.

  Savage started shaking him and yelling, “Come on, mate. Your bloody head’s still attached. You must be alive. These goons are going to be on top of us soon if we don’t get moving.” At this point Savage didn’t even know if Storm was alive. He finally grabbed his wrist and could feel a strong pulse. As best as Savage could tell, Storm must have been knocked out cold from the explosion. With the exception of a few scratches and grenade fragments stuck in his flack jacket, he must be alright. Savage reached down grabbing Storm by the arms and hoisted him over his shoulder. As he staggered down the tunnel all he could think of was, “Boy, I am too old for this.” He just kept hoping Storm would wake up. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Storm started moaning. Savage stopped and set him down.

  Storm opened his eyes and said, “What the hell happened? Did a freight train come roaring down that tunnel?”

  Savage laughed saying, “You bloody idiot, a concussion grenade bit your ass. Are you alright?”

  Storm stood up checking himself over and with an upset look on his face said, “Yeah, I’m alright, but I must have lost my damn pistol back there in the explosion.”

  Savage replied, “Not to worry, mate, I’ve still got my night stick.”

  Storm snapped back, “Oh, that’s a load off my mind. A nightstick is a good counter defense for grenades, pistols, and automatic weapons.”

  Savage added, “All right, all right, mate. Let’s get our butts out of here before those paramilitary goons are on top of us.” Storm and Savage made their way down the tunnel as fast as they could, trying to catch up with Keno and Graham.

  Back on the surface the smoke had finally cleared enough so that Van Eck and Lynch could see into the tunnel again. Van Eck yelled, “Get someone down into that hole and make sure the coast is clear.”

  Lynch replied, “Roger that, boss.” He turned to one of the men and said, “It’s your number, mate. Get your butt through that opening and signal to me that all is clear.” The man accepted the order and slid down the side of the pit until he dropped out of sight through the black hole. After a few minutes he signaled back through the tunnel opening that the site was clear.

  Lynch turned to Van Eck and said, “All clear, boss.”

  Van Eck replied, “Good, let’s get this mission over. The sooner we’re done, the sooner Volkstaat becomes a reality.” One after another each man slid down through the tunnel opening and dropped out of sight. Van Eck yelled down to Lynch, “I’ve changed my mind. You don’t need me down there. Keep me posted, Lynch, with the hi-frequency GPS communicator.” This communicator would work anywhere. Nothing could block its transmission. Van Eck and one of his men walked away from the pit making their way back to their boat. On the way back Van Eck detoured to the east side of the island. He was looking for the patrol boat Storm and Savage had used. Finally after about twenty minutes they found the hidden cove. Van Eck turned to his man and said, “Go down there, and cut that boat loose.” His goon did as he was told. As he shoved the boat out into the sound Van Eck pulled a grenade from his pocket. He pulled the pin and flipped the grenade into the boat. The grenade exploded almost as soon as it landed in the patrol boat. The explosion must have blown a three foot hole in the bottom of the boat. The burning boat sank into the sound within minutes.

  Van Eck laughed as he turned away from the sinking boat and said, “By the time our mission is completed no one will have a clue what happened.” He laughed again and walked back to the other side of the small island where his boat was docked.

  The Chase is on

  Graham and Keno were still navigating their way down the long narrow tunnel as best as they could. The dangerous rocky jagged terrain made the go
ing slow. Finally, they stopped to take a brief rest and between the huffing and puffing Keno said, “Doesn’t that sound like something following us?”

  Graham listened for awhile and responded, “It sounds more like someone chasing us. We’d better get our butts moving.”

  Keno quickly asked, “Are you sure it’s not Inspector Savage and Agent Storm?”

  As Graham signaled Keno to follow him he replied, “Maybe so, but we need to find some cover to hide behind first just to make sure.” The two kept moving knowing that someone behind them was quickly closing the gap on them.

  Many miles ahead of Graham and Keno their fellow Spinners, Sam, Michael, and Portagee were still trying to find a way out of the cavern. Although water was not a problem they were all getting very hungry. Michael spoke first and said, “You guys better look out, I’m so hungry that if I see something moving, get out of my way because I’m going to eat it.

  Sam replied, “You better think about that. What if you see a spider or cockroach next?”

  Portagee interrupted them by saying, “Forget the cockroachs. Look here; it’s a bunch of mushrooms growing.”

  Michael asked, “How can you tell the difference between a mushroom and a poisonous toadstool?”

  Portagee quipped in saying, “Oh, that’s easy, Michael. You’ll take a bite out of one, and we’ll all wait thirty minutes. Then if you don’t get sick or die, we’ll know they’re fine to eat.”

  With his face turning red, Michael said, “Portagee, bite me!”

  Sam laughed and said, “Come on, Michael. Portagee was only kidding. I do think we should exclude mushrooms from our diet though. Maybe we can find a fish trapped in a water pool. ” They all agreed that was a good idea and kept looking for some type of food source.

  Meanwhile back at the tunnel entrance Lynch and his thugs were checking over their weapons and supplies. Lynch did a quick inspection man by man. After the inspection Lynch barked out, “Men, this is our mission. This is why we’re here in Bermuda. Somewhere down this tunnel is where we will complete this mission. No one, do you hear me? No one will stop us! Do you understand?”

  The men in unison yelled back, “Yes sir!”

  Lynch replied, “Very good.” He went on to say, “We have limited resources, so use them wisely.” Lynch was right. For a paramilitary assault force, they were not very well equipped. They did have multiple semi-automatic pistols and several Uzi sub-machine guns and grenades, plus the most vicious-looking jagged military knives one could imagine.

  One of Lynch’s men asked, ‘Sir, may I have permission to speak?”

  Lynch replied, “Go ahead.”

  The man continued, “I know what to do if either Storm or Savage get in the way of accomplishing our mission, but what about the kids?”

  Lynch yelled back, “I will only tell you this once. If anyone at all gets in the way of us and our mission, they will be eliminated no matter what. Do all of you understand that?”

  The entire group responded, “Sir, yes sir.”

  Lynch replied, “Let’s move out! Klaw, you take the lead and the rest of you fall out behind him at ten foot intervals.” The small group of mercenaries moved out with Lynch bringing up the rear.

  Several hours later, Graham and Keno found themselves at what appeared to be a blocked part of the tunnel rocks, wood planks, and old dead brush from flood waters over the years. Keno pointed out to Graham, “Look, I can see light through the cracks in the debris.”

  Graham added, “It looks to me that with a little work we can get through this, and then maybe we’re home free.”

  Keno replied, “You’re right. Michael, Sam, and Portagee must have gone through this already. They must be home by now.” As they were slowly climbing through the debris Keno heard something behind them. He reached forward and tapped Graham on his shoulder whispering, “Stop moving. Someone’s coming up right behind us.” Both boys tried to conceal themselves in the dead brush hoping that it was Savage and Storm and not the South Africans. As the two Spinners tried to stay in a frozen state they could tell that whoever was following them was not at the tunnel blockage. Graham was thinking to himself as he heard the debris being moved away that this might be the end for him and Keno. Just at that moment the brush he was hiding behind was abruptly moved, exposing him. Before he could move a bright light blinded him. All Graham could yell out was, “Don’t shoot!”

  A voice on the other side of the bright light replied, “Not to worry, mate. We lost our pistol, but I might beat you to death with my night stick.” Savage started laughing as he reached through the brush and helped Graham to his feet.

  Graham finally got another word out saying, “Thank the Lord it was you, Inspector. I thought it was the South Africans.”

  Savage replied, “Don’t feel too at ease. Those bloody killers are not far behind us.”

  Storm chimed in, “What’s the light over there that I see through all this mess? Back up the tunnel we thought it was you boys using your flashlights!”

  Keno added, “No sir, it wasn’t us. We think it’s the way back out of this tunnel.”

  As Storm began weaving through the debris he said, “Well, let’s find out and get clear of this mess.”

  Savage added, “You guys go first, and I’ll try to move these boards and brush around to slow our mercenaries down.” Savage tried to walk backwards ripping down everything he could hoping to slow Lynch down. As he backed out of the debris and into the clear he bumped into the back of Storm. Savage yelled out, ‘What the hell did you stop for?”

  Storm tapped on Savage’s shoulder and said, “I think you better turn around and look at this.”

  Savage said, “Yeah, yeah.” He was at a loss for words though when he turned around and saw what the others were already looking at. The four were now looking at the same mammoth cavern that the other Spinners had seen a day or so ago.

  The walls of the cavern were gleaming brilliantly from the gold, silver, diamonds and crystals. The four were almost blinded from the display.

  Storm was first to speak saying, “Well, we now know what the South Africans are looking for.”

  Savage added, “You got that bloody right! These self-proclaimed Boers solders won’t be taking any prisoners either.” No sooner had Savage quit speaking than bullet fire ripped through the debris.

  Storm yelled out, “Drop to the cave floor as fast as you can. Keno was hit almost instantly. His large body dropped to the cave floor with the thud of a boulder. He lay on his back motionless with no signs of life.

  Savage was closest to Keno. He crawled on his belly over to the lifeless body. Savage shook Keno’s side saying, “Wake up, mate! You’ll be alright.”

  Graham whispered over to Savage asking, “How do you know he’s going to be alright?”

  Savage whispered back, “Well, he’s going to be sore. Thank goodness he was hit in the chest.” Savage lifted up Keno’s flack jacket to make sure the bullet was lodged in it and not in Keno’s chest. Savage turned to the others and said, “The flack jacket saved his life. He’s just stunned and got the wind knocked out of him. He’ll come around in a minute.”

  While Graham and Savage were tending to Keno, Storm had crawled over to the edge of the debris. He could see that there were old ropes from a ship and a fairly large area of tar that must have been washed into the tunnel from the ocean. With all the old dried sticks and brush mingled together he had an idea. He pushed some of the rope and dried sticks down into the tar. While he was trying to avoid the random bullets being fired through the debris, he pulled out some matches and lit the tar-coated rope. It took a couple of minutes, but the tar and debris finally caught fire. The clogged entrance to the cavern was quickly filled with smoke and fire. The South Africans were caught off guard from the turn of events. To make matters worse for them, they were on higher ground and the dense smoke was flowing up the tunnel like a chimney. Lynch yelled at his men, “Cease firing! The smoke is too thick. We’re wasting our ammunition.” L
ynch had no choice but to move his men back up the tunnel to escape the smoke.