'I was trying to impress you by not showing any pain,' Henre conceded with a laugh 'And look how silly I was. All that pain for nothing. I got you anyway,'

Fionella punched Henre gently on the arm as they opened a medical chest, jabbed a needle in Sean's arm and began to clean the wound.

'That hurt. What's that for?'

'Pain relief,' said Fionella as she bandaged and taped Sean's shoulder with a deftness indicated by many years of experience. He looked at her and smiled, his moment of appreciation broken when Henre interrupted.

'It's time to go. We have exactly ten minutes before the arrival of the helicopter.'

Fionella nodded and hurried into action. She fitted a bulletproof jacket to both herself and Sean and pulled on an ammunition belt and hat.

'Ouch,' whinged Sean as he climbed to his feet and hurried up the stairs to where Henre and Fionella were waiting.

They were looking at him with an uncomfortable intensity that caused him to stop in his tracks.

'There will be snipers out there. They will aim to kill and you will be their target. Do not believe for a second that the vest will save you because there are many other spots such as the neck or head that are vulnerable. It is absolutely imperative that you obey Fionella or myself and keep low to the ground'

'But -' Sean was about to interrupt when Henre cut him off.

'My word is God. You will listen and obey or you will die.'

Sean nodded. This was worse than the telling off he'd received from his father for stealing food.

'Okay, let's go.'

Keeping a low formation and using the bushes to provide cover, Henre drew his gun, indicating to Fionella to do the same. They moved with Sean between them and forced him into an uncomfortable run, all the while ensuring that they kept their noise to a minimum. Sean was nervous and even more fearful when an unexpected shot pounded into the ground only feet from where they were moving. Henre gestured to Fionella to begin to run in an S-shaped pattern with the intent to confuse the shooters and was pleased when it seemed to work.

The subsequent shots were inaccurate enough to put most professional shooters to shame.

'Oh, shit! We're almost out of time!' exclaimed Henre as he stepped up their pace, spurred on by the distinctive whirling sound of the nearing machine.

Sean ran instinctively, his feet pounding through the dense undergrowth as the amount of shots increased dramatically.

Fionella screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground.

Henre turned to run to her, but she yelled at him in anger. 'You know the priorities! Finish the mission!'

He nodded in agreement although the look on his face was one of intense fury and frustration at being made to choose between his wife and his duty.

He turned to Fionella only to be met with a stare that ordered him to obey her.

'Don't fail me!' she yelled as another bullet hit her in the leg. She screamed in agony.

Henre grabbed Sean by the arm and did not look back.

The helicopter had landed and in the excerpt typical of a motion picture, eight fully laden army operatives jumped to the ground, their guns fully loaded. They viewed their surroundings, took control of the situation and fired selective blasts into the trees before separating into double formations. Two to the left, two to the right, two to assist Sean to the helicopter and the last couple ran directly to Fionella.

In moments, the bush fell silent as the gunfire ceased and four snipers surrendered. Sean was bundled unceremoniously onto the helicopter, accompanied a few moments later by the remainder of their party along with Henre and a seriously ill Fionella.

Three men stayed behind to attend to the snipers.

Sean did not want to know what fate awaited the traitors below although it did not take much stretch of the imagination to know that they would be executed. He glanced out of the window and wished he hadn't.

He felt faint. The increasing loss of blood from his wounded shoulder, the overwhelming fear of being shot and the terror of witnessing an execution caused him to seek relief in the oblivion of unconsciousness.

In his cataleptic state, Sean sought a peaceful void that he was neither willing nor able to wake from. His body worked hard to mend the mental and physical wounds he had obtained during the last forty-eight hours and it wasn't until the smell of food penetrated his senses and tempted his empty stomach that he opened his eyes.

He heard a chuckle and gazed up at a round-faced, slightly tubby greying man with lined eyes and an unyielding stare.

'Stuff the smelling salts. This works every time,' he muttered as he handed Sean an egg and bacon sandwich with double layers of cheese, and a glass of apple juice, albeit longlife.

Sean accepted gratefully and ate the meal like a man possessed. He had no thought other than fulfilling the gnawing ache and quenching his thirst, which he achieved in record time.

'I'd love another,' he asked shamelessly.

The older man shook his head. 'You've been through a trauma. Too much food and you'll throw up.'

Sean nodded unhappily. He did feel a little queasy, his moment of self-indulgence interrupted when a slim, red-haired woman, a wiry slender man with an unwieldy mop of dark hair and his previous companions crowded around him. They were all looking at him as if he was a specimen under a microscope and he felt uneasy. He threw his hands into the air.

'So what! I'm hungry. No need to stare at me.'

'Sorry, Sean,' said the slim man with a strange accent. 'Let me introduce my friends. My name is Adam, this is Gillian and the tall man over there who thinks he's far more superior than us is Tom. The old bugger is the one you spoke to on the phone. His name's Georgio and the others are just people pretending to be our friends.'

The three men stuck their fingers up at Adam in a gesture of mock annoyance.

Adam grinned as Georgio interceded.

'I understand that you are keen to rest, but we brought you here because of the important information you have for us. We really need to determine what you know and unfortunately, we must do it now. As you may be aware, a number of our close friends are in imminent danger if they are not dead already and we are behind schedule. Your book is so imperative for our success against Arun that we decided to wait for you.'

Sean did not immediately respond. He reached into his pants and pulled out a small packet which he handed directly to Georgio.

Georgio considered the document for a moment, his expression revealing very little about his true thoughts.

'What are you going to do with it?' asked Sean.

'My boy, this is the key to disbanding Arun's drug ring, but if I release the details too soon, his cohorts will disappear and any evidence disposed of. We must catch them in the act of selling and purchasing the drugs first! However, saving our friends are our first priority,' Dale concluded before continuing. 'Our only concern is that we have no idea where Dale would be held. We were hoping that you could help.'

Sean shrugged and gazed at the ground. He had just seen a look of desperation in Gillian's eyes and he did not know what to make of it. Her wild expression of anxiety worried him.

Georgio also noted the uncomfortable exchange. 'Dale is Gillian's father.'

Sean suddenly understood. He would try his best. 'Give me a moment,' he asked as the little group nodded.

Sean thought about Dale and frowned. Dale had given him confidence, understanding and friendship and he easily recalled the conversations he had with him on the plane. He learnt more about the man in an hour than during any of the surrounding times and although he couldn't pinpoint one thing in particular, he did remember his conversation about a woman call Reynata. It had only consisted of a few sentences, but the context revealed that this woman had suffered greatly at the hands of Arun over a period of many years. If she was with him, it was possible that she would know where he lived. Surely Arun would have taken Dale to the same place.

Sean quickly revealed this information to Georgio who immediately dialled a number on his mobile phone. He spoke to a man called Peter who Sean recognised as Dale's uncle.

Adam and Gillian looked at Georgio in expectation as he hung up the phone.

'Tajumulco is the name she gave me. This is confirmed by the same name that appears on the list Sean has just provided. Reynata has agreed to fly out here and assist with the search for Dale.

'Who is this woman?' asked Gillian. The look on her face was one of confusion.

Sean caught Georgio gazing uneasily at the ground, leaving him with a feeling that there was something Georgio knew about this woman that he did not wish to reveal.

'We are expecting Peter and Reynata in approximately three hours, so we are going to use that time trying to infiltrate Samuel's little congregation down at Tikal. Departure is in five minutes. Gillian and Adam are coming with us, but you are going to the White House with Henre. Fionella will stay here as she is not well enough to travel,' said Georgio.

'Why?' Sean stuttered in fear and shock. He had never met anyone famous in his life and here he was about to meet the President of the United States.

'Arun's influence is so widespread that it will be impossible for anyone other than the President to give it credence. Anyway it was the President who authorised our involvement in the first place.

'Fuck!'exclaimed Sean. What if he embarrassed himself? He could stutter, forget his words, fall over, fart, dribble, faint or anything else that would bring permanent shame to him and his family.

'You forget one thing, Sean. It is your bravery that got us to this position. You're a hero and the President knows that. Stand tall, boy, and be proud of what you have done.' Georgio patted him on his shoulder on the way out.

'Now, hurry, Sean. The helicopter is waiting.'

Georgio smiled and saluted as he left the building.

Morale within the little group was so low that Richard felt depression seep over him like an uninvited visitor. They were beginning to succumb to the ravages of dehydration and starvation, and the once buoyant conversations had dwindled to little more than an empty shell of relevance.

Richard looked at his wife and felt a tremor of fear. She had become pale and lethargic. Her usual optimistic and vibrant nature had receded to little more than a shell of its former self. He knew that she had begun contemplating death.

He also feared that they were going to perish undiscovered, clearly caught in something that had far greater repercussions than their insignificant lives. And where was Gillian? It was so unlike her to abandon her friends without an attempt at rescue. He knew she would pull out whatever stop necessary to save them, only making her absence more distressing. If she had deserted them, it would only be if she had been physically stopped. Richard shuddered involuntarily as he dared contemplate her death.

For the first time, tears had begun to well and he chastised himself for his weakness. Men did not cry, but the overwhelming sense of inadequacy made him feel like a failure. His friends would die, his wife would shrivel up before his eyes, and to make the situation worse, the sounds of heavy-duty machinery had increased to an extent that the ground vibrated and dirt had begun to fall around their bodies. At first Richard had been excited. He envisaged a rescue and the joyful looks on their faces as they escaped this tomb, but it soon became clear that they were not here for them. The digging continued incessantly around the clock and the terrible reality dawned on him.

The words 'treasure hunter, pirates, plagiarism' crossed his mind and the recollection of the glorious paintings he had seen in the lift told him why. There were undiscovered riches here and that's what they wanted.

Richard gazed into the eyes of his companions and saw dejection slowly begin to override hope.

He knew that they did not have long.

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.

Without thinking, Gillian grabbed Adam's hand for support as they rattled and bumped their way to the Tikal site in a Jeep made for work instead of luxury. It was their plan to drive as far as possible without causing suspicion and walk the remainder of the way in a small group consisting of Georgio, Adam, Tom and two armed guards. They had contemplated calling the army which would have negated the risk to their lives, but Georgio feared this would cause Arun to retreat into hiding, causing them to lose the possibility of cracking open the drug ring and further endangering Dale's life. As a group they had determined it was better to wait until the President had deployed his own task force and sent a contingency to Tikal.

'We're here,' announced Georgio as he clambered eagerly from the car and waited for the rest of the group to join him. Gillian watched his expression, noting his obvious eagerness with interest. She knew him well enough to understand that his enthusiasm was a representation of how desperately he sought retribution. He wanted nothing more than seeing such a lecherous criminal in jail where he belonged.

'Okay, my plan is simple. We're here to observe and act only if the opportunity arises. Ideally, I would like to release Dale's men who may be able to assist us in saving our friends.'

Gillian grimaced which Adam took as a look of sadness at the mention of her father's name and squeezed her hand in encouragement. She held on tight, enjoying the compassion that he offered. She did not need to explain to him that the inevitable was closing in on them. That it was only a matter of time before they found out if their friends had lived or died.

Stepping into single file, they battered their way through the ancient trees, untouched and witness to many generations of Mayans. Gillian often wondered what these trees had seen in the past and found herself contemplating the many tales they could tell. Her inattention caused her to miss the usual marker, the pyramids, so she had to rely on her knowledge to point them in the right direction. Her unfailing guidance was assisted by the distinctive sounds of the machinery and they reached the edge of the treeline unimpeded.

Using a low line of undergrowth as cover to view Arun's progression, the little group sank to their knees and watched.

'Oh, hell. Their numbers have doubled!' cursed Georgio.

Gillian squirmed. She was uneasy and noted that her friends shared the same tense posture. The increase in men at the site clearly meant that Arun was close to a discovery of importance and this did not bode well for them.

'We've no chance of even getting close to that place,' confirmed Adam as Gillian nudged him gently and was about the say something when the trees were abruptly parted.

She was yanked to her feet by her long hair. Gillian screamed in fear and pain as Adam jumped to her rescue, only to find himself surrounded by five very ugly and fearfully imposing men twice his size and bulk.

Gillian felt her hair being ripped from the scalp and a large set of arms wrapped around her waist and across her neck. An extreme mix of adrenaline, terror and agony circulated rapidly through her veins, causing confusion in her mind. She longed to fight, to kill these bastards, but there was one small problem called restraint. The possibility of escape was nil considering Georgio, Tom and their two armed companions were equally bound and contained.

Gillian could not see Adam. Her heart beat at such a rapid pace that she felt nauseous. Where was he? In her confusion she had not seen what happened, but Adam's absence allowed her to consider the possibility that he remained undiscovered.

God ... she hoped so. His freedom gave her hope.

'You look nervous,' sniggered her captor as he ran his hand slowly and deliberately across her chin, down her neck and into her top. He eagerly squeezed and manipulated her left breast until Gillian gasped at the unexpected intrusion.

Georgio looked furious.

'Rail! Let her be. Samuel asked for them to be delivered to him untouched.'

The man reluctantly complied, ensuring he wrenched her arms behind her with such force that the tendons ached.

Gillian screamed. The man kissed her open mouth in retribution before yanking her in line and marching them out onto the lush, treeless ground and towards the distant marquee that Samuel had assembled for his private use.

They felt like monkeys in a zoo, glared and laughed at by the workers as their captors revelled in the glory that came with detaining intruders.sd Gillian felt embarrassed and humiliated, none more so than when she was presented to Samuel. She had failed to outwit him and he was to have the last laugh.

Samuel chortled loudly. 'Well, now, what do we have here? I thought you'd kicked the bucket back in the jungle, but your resilience continues to surprise me. It's such a shame that I'll have to hand you over to Arun. I could've had fun with you.'

Gillian spat at him. 'You're fuckin' kidding if you think I'm going without a fight. There is no way my father will let you win.'

Samuel grinned with a maliciousness that was chilling 'I think it's too late for your father.'

Gillian's heart sank as Samuel shoved her unceremoniously to her knees and forced her into a submissive position.

She was terrified and almost beyond rationale. Her heart was suffering from severe palpitations and she was trembling. Every second that passed seemed like a lifetime until she could bear it no longer.

She looked up, fully expecting to receive the extent of his fury at her disobedience, but instead she was met by a set of deeply confused flashing eyes.

Gillian did not know how to respond. This was most unexpected. Samuel was Arun's instrument, incapable of feeling, compassion or sympathy, yet she swore that he was suffering some sort of emotional battle.

The glazed expression, unmoving face, twitching facial muscles confirmed a man who was suddenly uncertain what his next move was going to be. He was confused and out of sorts. His intention had been to hurt her, to punish her, but for some inexplicable reason, he had changed his mind and Gillian failed to understand why.