Recon ready. Interesting concept, as though reconnaissance was somehow less demanding or dangerous than combat action. But in reality, Terry was as good as he ever was … with the exception of his right hand. After intense training and practice, he could now shoot as well with his left, but there were always situations when strength in both hands was required. So what. Bloody fine. He’d deal. This was the only way he knew he could benefit the team. If he returned with a definite location, they’d be that much closer to a rescue. If nothing else, they’d have leverage they didn’t have ... or eliminated one possible avenue.

The drive took three hours but when he found the exact grouping of mountains, he carefully parked behind a cropping of huge boulders then found a tree branch. Sweeping carefully, he managed to completely obliterate his tire marks on the dusty path from the point where he turned the wheels. From there he followed the trail, easily wide enough for a car or jeep.

The sun was high and hot and the air shimmered with floating dust. He climbed the subtle rise, imagining what it would have been like for a young boy to camp there with friends. A pampered kid like Carlos would have found it magical, far from his demanding father, enjoying the frightening darkness, the laughter, the freedom. Thoughts of Henry floated in his mind. Surely Henry enjoyed such forays into the unknown, talk around a campfire, getting dirty, the animal quality of pending manhood.

With that image came a decision he’d been battling for months. How simple the answer came. He knew now, he wanted children and he wanted them with Eva. He wanted another chance to be a father. A good father. Maybe he could convince her to begin efforts when this unsavory situation was solved, even before the wedding formalities. After all, a wedding was one day, a marriage would be forever. At least this time, it was the plan.

As the path turned toward the face of a rocky mountain, he squatted and closely examined the ground. The weather report confirmed that there was a light rain the night before and the higher he moved the less dusty and more packed the ground.

There it was. Whoever was there earlier, most likely before the rain, had done the same thing to hide their tracks but they hadn’t been as careful as Terry. One … two … three places were still clear, only a few inches of tire treads but at least two complete footprints. Terry straightened and looked around. Broad daylight. They wouldn’t be back until dark, he was sure of it. Instinct told him Carlos was very near. All he had to do was find signs of captivity and he could leave, report his findings and get this show on the road.

He examined behind boulders to assure there were no vehicles hidden and searched for evidence of a hidden structure. Odd, there were no guards but the victim was very likely hidden well enough. They were probably confident no one would look there anyway. He squinted in the sunlight. It had lowered to that place west-bound drivers hated most, distorting his vision. At that height, he took in the vista of rough landscape. This would be difficult; there were a hundred places to hide even a building in that terrain.

Behind one of those massive rocks he noticed a crevasse, a narrow opening. He might have ignored it if there weren’t also several footprints. A cave. Of course.

Checking his pistol – loaded and ready – he slowly worked his way into the darkness, stilled and listened. Not a sound except the whisper of air breathing in and out of the damp space. In his pocket was a small flashlight, but he chose not to use it until he had no choice. Letting his eyes adjust, he inched forward. The distant plopping of water caught his attention and he moved in that direction. A dead end. Back tracking, he was again on the original path. Several yards further, one opening led left, another right. Sliding his foot carefully and reaching out his hands, he could tell that both spaces were similar. He stilled, listened. Only silence except for the dripping he’d heard earlier, now far behind.

The darkness was oppressive. He sniffed, seeking any scent of human waste or filth. Chanced were, Carlos was not living in luxury. Something, not instinct, told him to take the left tunnel. Using only his sense of touch, he continued, his ears perked for any clue. Finally he decided to attempt using the flashlight.

As he reached into his pocket, his foot having slid forward and deciding to put his weight onto it, the ground suddenly crumbled away and Terry was in freefall. Biting the inside of his mouth to hold back a shout of surprise, he finally hit what he suspected was the bottom. His head had cracked against a protruding rock and he knew without even touching it that he was bleeding. The biggest concern was his ankle.

He remained still for several long moments, listening to hear if he’d been discovered. Nothing. Gasping as quietly as possible, he first touched the back of his head. There was indeed a small gash oozing blood onto his collar, but not so much to be concerned. Next he twisted his body to reach his ankle. Bloody hell, swollen like a motherfucker! Just what he needed. Now he had to take inventory.

His weapon, still intact and snug in the holster. The flashlight, still deep in his parka pocket. What was missing? The aching in his ankle increased and again he handled it. Mentally demanding movement in his foot and receiving a painful response, he was assured it wasn’t broken. Just a fucking sprain. Now, where was he? Yes, what was missing?

Buzzz … buzzz. Buzzz … buzz.

Damn! The cell phone! Where the bloody hell was it? The sound was coming from above and no doubt Dino was trying to reach him. Thank God the bloody thing was on vibrate, but in the silence of the tunnels, it sounded like an oncoming train. Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck. He had no choice, he had to stand and reach up, discover how far he’d fallen and if the phone could be within reach.

More twisting and suppressed groans until he could maneuver his good foot under his arse and hoist himself up by griping the rough wall. But before he reached for the phone, another concern welled. He pulled the flashlight and aimed it down. Sure enough, he was lucky to have landed on a platform. Just inches away gaped a wide hole, so deep the light couldn’t reach the depths.

Buzzz … buzzz. Buzzz … buzz.

Stabling himself precariously on the roughly four-foot safe platform, he reached up. Unsure if the nearest ledge was the top or just another deceiving level, perhaps the one he’d cracked his head on, he momentarily considered flashing the light up. Not a good idea. Should anyone be in that cave, a ray of light was a sure giveaway.

Buzzz … buzzz. Buzzz … buzz.

His fingers touched the edge of the flat cell phone. He grunted quietly, raised higher on his good foot and toyed with the item. Between the vibrating action and his manipulation, he could tell it was getting closer to the edge. Then suddenly the toe of his boot slipped on the damp ground … just as the phone teetered at the edge and fell. Reactively he put weight on the bad foot only to be dropped again to his hip.

The cell phone plummeted mid-buzz, soaring past his waiting hands and blessedly caught between his knees.

“Thank you God!” he whispered and quickly opened the phone.

“Where the fuck are you?” shouted Dino’s voice.

“Hush, mate, listen carefully and take notes.” Terry proceeded to whisper exact directions to the cave, including the wrong turns and dangerous drop inside.

“Get your ass back here, Terry,” groaned his partner. “You’ve done the job. We’ll go in and find Carlos.”

“Wish I could. Man down. In the fucking drop. Damaged ankle, slight head injury. Wait!” Terry heard voices, held his breath until they drifted away. “Don’t call, I’ll call you,” he hissed and hung up, grinning as he imagined Dino’s irate reactions to that.

He quickly turned off the phone and pushed the flashlight deep into his pocket, fingering to switch it off too. And … he listened. The voices were moving away. Damn, obviously he’d turned the wrong way, but in truth, if he’d located Carlos he would now also be a captive. Although there was a twisted ankle to deal with, at least he was nominally safe and hidden and had gotten the word to Dino. All he could do now was wait it out.

But shouting drifted along the tunnels … then a howl of pain followed by the slamming of something that sounded like a steel door. Poor Carlos was not going to make it much longer.

“Come on, Dino. We’re runnin’ outta time here,” he thought as he hunkered down for the duration. His next thought was a heartfelt apology to Eva. Hopefully when this was all over and Carlos was out of harm’s way, he wouldn’t be too battered. How much of this could she take? Definitely not the frame of mind he needed to be in under the dire circumstances.

More voices, more shouts then the sound of tromping boots. Then nothing but silence and darkness. His head dropped back against the cold damn rocks. “Bloody hell,” he whispered.