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“Remember, you take no chances. Don’t deviate from the plan at all. The cellphone we’re sending with you is Bluetooth capable, but it won’t work when you’re deep in the caves. Don’t hesitate to use one of your weapons. And if it looks like you can’t save the boy, get the hell out of there. I’m serious, Alexa.” His expression underscored his words. “We both know who Tillman is after. Patrick is bait. If you can get to him without going near Tillman, fine. If not, we’ll find anotherway.”
But she knew there was no other option. She suspected he did, too. “This will work,” she said with far more certainty than she wasfeeling.
“It’d better. We’ll have a police presence all over the mountain. He isn’t getting away this time.” Ethan took her face in his hands and kissed her hard, with more than a hint of desperation. “I don’t want to lose you again.” He turned and strode away. Despite the gravity of the situation, his statement had her knees going weak. She took a moment to savor his words. The emotion behind them. And then she started to climb, heading toward the cave Patrick had disappearedinto.
“Were you wishing her good luck?” The words drifted up to her. Steve Friedrich. “I want to wish her good luck,too.”
Alexa smiled at the bit of levity. Whatever awaited her in the caves, it’d help to remember those who awaited her outside them. She wasn’t alone. And soon, Patrick wouldn’t beeither.
She stayed in decent shape. Raiker’s training courses were brutal, otherwise. But she wasn’t a rock climber, and the bluff was steep, with loose rocks in some areas that made the ascent even more difficult. The utility belt around her waist weighed her down. The radio Tillman had left was clipped to the front of it. An extra flashlight and a bundle of ChemLites to the back. She was panting by the time she got to the narrow opening through which the boy had disappeared. It was marked by a torn piece of white cloth held between two rocks. From Patrick’s T-shirt? Alexa paused to switch on her helmet lamp. She checked the length of rope wrapped around her waist. Readjusted the belt. Dropping to her hands and knees at the mouth of the cave, she threw one last look over her shoulder at the menbelow.
And then Alexa turned to face the yawning dark entrance. She hauled in a deep breath and plungedinside.
Almost instantly, she experienced a clawing sense of panic. She stilled, allowing herself time to become accustomed to the rough-hewn rock pressing in all around her. The beam of light from her hard hat lit the way but showed only inky blackness ahead. She took one of the green ChemLites from her belt. With a few deft moves, she bent, snapped and shook it to activate the illumination and set it next to the cave wall. The sticks would serve as her trail of breadcrumbs so she could find her way out again. Ethan said they lasted up to twelvehours.
Alexa hoped she wouldn’t be in here for anywhere near that long. Gritting her teeth, she began tocrawl.
Twice, she had to get on her belly and worm her way along. She saw skittering movements on the walls as she passed. Did Nova Scotia have cave crickets? She should know the answer to that, but the facts hovered distantly, just out of reach. Better not to think at all. To focus on her mission, on the plan Ethan had drilled intoher.
Focus on savingPatrick.
She didn’t know how long she moved, alternating between hands and knees and belly before the area in front of her abruptly widened. She sat up and hauled in a greedy gulp of air, rolling her shoulders and lifting her elbows outward, the freedom of movement gratifying until something swooped toward her face. Another whizzed by her ear. Bats. Alexa shuddered and ducked down again, hands shielding her head. Now would have been a great time to have Ethan around to put his vow about dealing with the animals to thetest.
She took out another ChemLite to leave. Startled wildly when she heard avoice.
“Welcome,Alexa.”
Her earlier fear forgotten, her hand dropped to her side where the Taser was strapped, her eyes straining to see in the darkness. It was another moment before she realized that Tillman’s voice was coming from the radio clipped to the belt around her waist. She fumbled to free it, lifting it to her lips and pressing the button to transmit. “You know my name.” Her voice sounded husky. “But what should I call you?” He couldn’t know that they’d already identified him, and there was nothing to gain by making Tillman moredesperate.
“How about…Anis Tera.” The staticky voice echoed eerily in the smallchamber.
“From Anisoptera? Very clever. And fitting.” Bent over, she ran forward until the ceiling and walls closed in on her again, and she had tocrouch.
“I knew you’d understand.” His words were hard to make out. The radio probably wasn’t going to work for long. The further she got into the caves, the less likely it would transmit. “Just as I understand you. We all seek absolution, Alexa. I’m delighted you recognize your need forit.”
She bit off the retort she wanted to make. Just having Tillman allude to Olivia might push her over the edge. “How do you know of thisplace?”
The chuckle that came through the radio had ice bumping through her veins. “Oh, I’m familiar with most of the province. I lived in twelve or fourteen places in Nova Scotia when I was a kid. My time on Cape Breton Island was my favorite. Watch for the glow sticks as you move through the branches of the cave. They signal where you are toturn.”
“Where else did you live on the island?” But there was no answer to her question. Ahead she saw a dull glow on her left. Her mouth twisted grimly. Tillman had come up with a similar idea to the Chemlites to illuminate the path forward. She replaced the radio. When Alexa reached the marker, she tried to crawl to the left. The passageway was tight. She had to change position a few times before she was able to squeeze through. A sudden realization hit her then. Tillman was a small man from all accounts, but he could never have gotten himself turned around as she had. Where washe?
Time ceased to exist as she inched her way through the cave. The chill of the surrounding rock seeped into her bones. How was she going to find Patrick if the markers didn’t lead tohim?
And would she be ready if they instead steered her straight to AmosTillman?