Rogue Angel - The Spirit Banner Part 32

Santiago had the men fan out, sending them up the mountain in search of the map room that Jeffries had mentioned in his call the night before.

Ten minutes later two of his men radioed in. They had found Jeffries.

He'd been in the water for at least six hours and his flesh had taken on the bloated look so common in drowning victims. Though, from where Ransom stood on the bank, he could see the bullet wounds in the man's back that had been the true cause of death.

Apparently Davenport's security chief, Mason Jones, must have stumbled on to the truth about Jeffries, and in the confrontation the traitor had paid the ultimate price.

Ransom didn't much care; Mason had saved him some trouble, actually. It was simply one less loose end he'd have to deal with later.

He told his men to drop the body back into the river and turned away in disinterest before the current had carried it out of sight.

He had more important things to be worrying about, like where on earth Davenport had gone?

Ransom snapped at his men, ordering them to pick up the search and find the trail. Driven by his anger and Santiago's constant bullying, it didn't take them much longer to locate the trail Davenport and his team had used to climb higher into the mountains.

The trail wasn't all that old and Ransom felt the thrill of the hunt course through his system. He knew his prey was close and if he played his cards right he might even catch up to them before nightfall. Then he would see just what Davenport was made of.

With hunger in his eyes, Ransom ordered the ground team to start following Davenport's team on foot, while he and Santiago returned to the air to provide aerial recon and additional firepower if it came to that.

As he took to the sky once more, Ransom stared down at his men as they disappeared into the forest ahead of them.

Time's almost up, Davenport, he thought with satisfaction.

Time's almost up.

O NE MINUTE NE MINUTE D D AVENPORT'S PARTY AVENPORT'S PARTY was deep in the forest and then next the trees suddenly fell back on all sides as the trail led them right into the midst of a sunlit clearing. Three other trails could be seen emerging from the forest and ending at other locations around the clearing. But the group paid the trails little mind at this point, for the small hill that rose before them, carpeted with a thick sheen of green gra.s.s, had them all entranced. was deep in the forest and then next the trees suddenly fell back on all sides as the trail led them right into the midst of a sunlit clearing. Three other trails could be seen emerging from the forest and ending at other locations around the clearing. But the group paid the trails little mind at this point, for the small hill that rose before them, carpeted with a thick sheen of green gra.s.s, had them all entranced.

Atop the hill stood twelve spirit banners, the horsehair attached to their shafts stirring in the slight breeze.

A hush fell over the group.

It was a scene out of a time long since pa.s.sed and Annja found herself wondering just how long the sulde sulde had stood there in stark relief against the eternal blue sky above, soaking up the spirit of the place. had stood there in stark relief against the eternal blue sky above, soaking up the spirit of the place.

She was entranced by the sight, so much that she didn't hear Nambai's shout until the second or third time.

He was pointing up over the hill, through the break in the trees caused by the clearing, to where the cliff face of the rising mountain behind it could be seen.

A cave entrance was visible a few hundred feet up the sheer cliff and what looked like two sulde sulde stood guard on either side of the entrance. stood guard on either side of the entrance.

Annja felt her heart go into overdrive.

The tomb of Genghis Khan. That had to be it!

Everyone was talking and shouting at once, excitement spilling through the group like wildfire, and it took Mason a few minutes to get them all calmed down.

The horse tracks in the dirt were forgotten.

They skirted the ceremonial hill, only to find the entrance of a fourth and fifth trail very close to each other directly on the other side. Mason sent Vale and Williams along the right-hand path, telling them to go down a short way and then report back, while he and Nambai did the same on the left. When everyone returned, Vale described a canyon over which stretched a rope bridge that appeared to be in disuse; many of the wooden slats were missing from the flooring and the ropes themselves seemed brittle and worn.

On the other hand, the trail Mason and Nambai had followed led to the base of the cliff they had seen from the clearing. The decision was an easy one.

A few minutes later, they all stood staring up at the cave mouth roughly one hundred feet above them. The cliff face leading up to it was almost vertical, with no obvious means of ascent short of climbing it like a spider on a wall.

"This is going to be fun," Mason muttered under his breath.

Annja laughed. "Come on, now. Don't tell me you are afraid of heights?" she said.

Mason did his best to ignore her, which Annja found even funnier.

Williams, the most experienced climber in the group, was pulling wrapped coils of rope out of his pack when Annja moved to join him and offer a.s.sistance. They discussed the route they intended to take and the gear they were going to use to protect the route on the way up. Once they were both satisfied, they got under way, with Annja leading and setting the protection and Williams belaying her.

The climb itself went very quickly.

There was no ledge to speak of in front of the cave entrance so Annja was forced to enter the cave mouth in order to find a place to set the anchors for the rope. The sunlight coming in from outside illuminated the first ten or so feet of the tunnel, allowing her to see what she was doing and secure the rope properly so that the others could make the climb up to the cavern. She could also see that the tunnel continued deep into the mountainside. As she turned back toward the entrance she discovered a group of torches piled on the floor to the left side of the entrance.

Annja leaned out of the cave mouth and waved to the others below, indicating it was okay for them to use the rope to climb up. While she waited for them, she lit one of the torches and moved a short distance down the tunnel, her excitement almost palpable in the narrow confines of the pa.s.sage.

As it turned out, there was only so far she could go.

About forty feet in, she discovered two ma.s.sive wooden doors blocking the pa.s.sage, each one reinforced with several bands of iron that ran horizontally across them. Annja guessed that they probably weighed several hundred pounds each. By the light of her torch she could see that the stone on either side of the doors had been carved with excruciating detail, reminding Annja of any number of the Buddhist temples they had pa.s.sed during their trip across the country-especially the one at Shankh. The carvings were obviously old but, protected from the harsh Mongolian winds in the depths of the tunnel, they stood out in stark relief.

The doors looked as if they had stood undisturbed for centuries.

Provided you ignored the footprints that led up to the doors. Clearly, someone had been here before them, Annja realized.

Recently, too, by the look of it.

O UTSIDE AT THE BASE UTSIDE AT THE BASE of the cliff, Mason stood on belay, waiting for Davenport to be hauled up by the others who were already in the cave mouth above. Davenport had never climbed before, and given that he was one of the world's wealthiest men, no one dared take a chance at letting him do so now. Mason had helped him get into a harness and then had secured the ropes to the hooks on the harness using carabiners. When everything was ready, Mason gave the signal and Williams and Vale began to pull the rope up hand over hand. of the cliff, Mason stood on belay, waiting for Davenport to be hauled up by the others who were already in the cave mouth above. Davenport had never climbed before, and given that he was one of the world's wealthiest men, no one dared take a chance at letting him do so now. Mason had helped him get into a harness and then had secured the ropes to the hooks on the harness using carabiners. When everything was ready, Mason gave the signal and Williams and Vale began to pull the rope up hand over hand.

Once Davenport was safely at the top, the rope was dropped back down and Mason tied himself off just as he'd been shown. After that it was simply a matter of watching where he put his hands and feet as he climbed up the wall. Despite Annja's jeering earlier, he'd done his fair share of climbing and rappelling in the service, so he wasn't bad at it. He just didn't like it, that was all.

Partway up the wall a faint sound at the edge of his hearing caught his attention. Mason made sure his feet and hands were firmly planted and secured, then turned slightly to look back over his shoulder at the mountain splayed out below them.

The view was phenomenal, giving him a good look down the forested mountainside they had just spent several hours climbing earlier that afternoon. The trees were a vibrant green from this height and he could even see the blue waters of the Onon, the Tuul and the Kerulen rivers as they spread out from the spot where they had camped the night before.

He waited but the sound didn't come again.

He returned to his climb, finis.h.i.+ng the last few dozen yards and then helping Vale coil the rope behind them. There was no sense giving anyone else any clues as to where they had gone, but they left the rope anch.o.r.ed and set so that they could deploy it quickly when it was time to go back down.

Vale lit a torch of his own and disappeared down the tunnel after the others, but Mason stopped for a moment and looked out at the valley below for another moment, his ears straining.

Nothing.

He shrugged, deciding that what he'd heard earlier had only been his imagination, and set off down the tunnel.

But as he did so, the sound he'd heard earlier followed him in his mind.

It was the sound of a distant helicopter.