Emerald Buddha

Chapter 52

The Piper bumped through rough air coming off the Myanmar hills as it headed west. Joe hummed to himself as he changed altitude to stay below any radar but above easy shooting range from below. He’d warned them that he might have to take drastic evasive measures at any moment, so they’d stayed strapped in for the trip. The only positive was that he’d estimated a total flight time of less than thirty minutes, and they were now nearing their destination.

“There they are,” Allie said, pointing to their right at the pair of karst formations. “The twin sisters.”

Drake nodded beside her, his complexion slightly pale from the jostling of the plane.

Joe dropped another five hundred feet as they approached the road they planned to use as an improvised airstrip, and after several tense minutes, he called out, “Thar she blows!”

Spencer eyed the narrow beige ribbon dubiously. “You can land on that?”

“It does look kinda tight, doesn’t it?” Joe acceded.

“What’s the wingspan on this? Thirty-something feet?”

“’Bout that.”

“That’s narrower.”

“Hopefully it widens some.”

“If not?” Drake asked from the rear seat.

“Then we set down wherever we can. Just means we’ll need to walk more.” Joe wet his lips as he scanned the terrain. “Positive vibes, remember?”

“That might work,” Spencer said, indicating a stretch where the trees pulled back from the road.

“Little short. We still have to be able to take off again.”

They banked and overflew the area again, but after ten minutes of widening circles it was obvious that the short area was their best shot. The sky above them darkened, and it began raining on approach. Drake shook his head. “Great. How does this get any worse?”

Spencer’s expression was dour as they dropped toward the earth, and he flinched when Joe came down hard and immediately fought to slow the plane on the mud, the bald tires refusing to grip as they hydroplaned forward, the plane yawing slightly as they decelerated. The section where the road narrowed came up fast, and Allie cried out when the left wing tip smacked against a tree trunk and shredded as though it were made of tinfoil.

They ground to a stop, and Joe shook his head. “Graham’s not going to be happy about that.”

“How do we get out of here now?” Spencer asked.

“Not many ways besides walking that I can see. Damn. We almost made it,” Joe said.

“Kind of like being almost dead, huh?” Drake asked.

“Let’s get our gear. No point hanging out jawing. We’re exposed here,” Joe said and threw his door open.

They climbed from the plane, and Spencer surveyed the fuselage as Joe retrieved their backpacks and distributed them. Branches had torn some of the remaining fuselage paint off, and the wing looked like it had taken a grenade blast. He shook his head as he studied the damage and turned to them.

“This thing’s definitely not going to fly again.”

“Probably not,” Joe agreed. “Hope we can find Graham another one for a decent price.”

“Be hard to find an older one,” Spencer replied.

“Got the job done,” Allie said.

“Or half of it, anyway,” Drake grumbled.

Spencer checked the GPS and shouldered his backpack, and then chambered a round in his AK. “We’re a good four miles. No question we’ll be camping out.”

“At least we’ve got tents,” Allie reminded him. “Positive energy, remember?”

“Right. I forgot about the vibes.” Spencer sighed in resignation. “Let’s get moving,” he said, and moved down the road as rain fell around him.

The walk turned ugly once they veered off the road and were forced to cut their way through the undergrowth until they could find a promising trail. Joe did most of the hacking, Spencer’s shoulder in no shape for exertion, and he traded off with Drake and Allie every half hour. Eventually they came across a track, and Joe knelt and studied the ground while they took a breath. When he stood, his easy grin had been replaced by a scowl.

“These are footprints. Judging by how fresh, maybe, two, three hours old.”

“How do you know?”

“The water level and the depth of the impression. The ground was dry when they were made. You can barely see them; but here, and here, it was spongy and they left marks,” Joe explained, pointing to the footprints.

“What do you think?” Spencer whispered.

“I think the flight in was the easy part.”

“But you know all the Shans, right?” Drake asked.

“Sure. But why would the Shans be traipsing around here?” Joe shook his head. “I’d bet this is some of the remaining Red Moon gang. Or maybe an independent group. But whoever it is, it’s not good. I figured we’d have the area to ourselves with all the action at the factory. Guess not.”

“Any way to tell how large a party?” Allie asked.

“Large enough that I don’t want to be on this trail. Looks like we keep cutting our way through.” Joe held the machete aloft and simulated a sword fight.

The journey took hours longer than they’d estimated, due to the circuitous route, and by the time they arrived at the base of the outcroppings, fog was creeping between the towering formations, enshrouding the valley. They paused at the gap between the peaks, and Joe scanned the surroundings.

“Maybe this time it would be a better idea to make camp a decent distance from the river? Just in case we have more visitors,” he suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Drake replied.

They followed the stream to the cave and then climbed the slope above it until they were perched a hundred yards beyond the rock pile that marked the opening — which they noticed had been rebuilt in order to conceal the cavern. They pitched their tents out of sight of the river, and by the time they were done, the sky was darkening.

Drake and Allie sat together as they ate their ration of energy bars, and he managed a smile when she was done with hers. “Hey, it could be worse, right? I mean, we’re in a tropical wonderland on a unique adventure, and with any luck tomorrow we’ll find our second treasure,” he whispered as they watched the sunset.

“Exactly. And the company could be worse, too,” Allie said, and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

“What happened to the ‘to be continued’ part? I was looking forward to that.”

“Let’s get out of the jungle first, okay? Not that a long day’s sweat and a layer of trail grime isn’t appealing,” she said, rising.

“On you it looks good.”

She beamed at him and shook her head slightly. “Good night, Drake. There really will be a ‘to be continued.’”

He watched her walk to her tent and nodded. “I’m banking on it.”