'Nothing! Absolutely nothi -' Gillian swallowed her last word when she noticed a small crack in the wall to her left.

She unhitched the harness and hurried to the plaster, ripping away the panel like a person possessed. It came apart easily, having been opened recently to reveal a narrow passageway which Gillian stepped into without hesitation. She almost ran the winding thirty feet of precisely cut footings before dropping suddenly towards an ever increasing noise. At first she could not make out the source of the sound, but six feet revealed a small running stream and a tiny cave. She bent down so as not to hit her head and burst through the opening like a bull at a gate.

The first thing that struck her was the small amount of natural light filtering from a small fissure in the rock face situated over the stream. It was not enough to illuminate the cave, but it did allow her to look about without her torch.

With her heart in her throat, she ran to the group of huddled bodies lying in a small alcove to her left.

She paused. They were not moving.

Fear ran through her, chilling her veins and causing a total disassociation with her body.

Gillian's head was raging with anger and common sense, ordering her to take control of the situation and check to see if her friends were alive. Unfortunately her body would have none of it and she stood frozen less than three feet away. The unknown was so much more pleasant than the known, proving that ignorance was bliss.

'A little overdue, aren't you? If this was an exam date, you would have failed.'

Gillian gasped as a suitable response remained stuck in her throat.

She barely believed what she had heard. It was Richard's voice. Her dear friend!

Gillian stepped forward, fell to her knees and embraced Richard with the tenderness of a child. She burst into tears as Julia, Redmond and Mitchell sat up to greet her.

They were all alive.

Her wishes had been granted.

'I'm so sorry to have taken so long,' Gillian started to say as Julia squeezed Gillian's hand with what little strength she had left.

'It doesn't matter. What counts is that you found us in time.' Her thin face stretched in agony as she tried to lean forward and embrace Gillian.

Gillian burst into a fresh set of tears. 'I have so much to tell you all,' her fear giving way to a high, fuelled by adrenaline and excitement, 'but first I must get help.'

'Jilly, Love. Before you go, there's something you must know.'

Gillian gazed at the faces that barely resembled the plump, well-fed people she had last seen many days ago and knew what they wanted to tell her. As far as they were aware, Fred had died honourably and they were preparing themselves to give her the news they thought would devastate her.

She could not let them suffer any more than they already had.

'Fred did not die. Not initially anyway,' said Gillian.

Their faces lit up with surprise 'He was a traitor,' she added.

Gillian looked at their shocked expressions and realised she owed them one hell of an explanation. They did not know about Samuel, Arun, the kidnapping of her father and the time she wasted following Kinix's trail which had proved to be unnecessary in saving them. They were unaware that Fred had died, that she had met a wonderful man and that a pimply taxi driver was actually the one who paved the way for their rescue.

'I may have spent the last couple of days surviving on water and the odd wayward fish, but I am not so fragile that you have to protect me. I know that his body must have been a mess after that fall,' said Richard as Gillian cradled his head and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

'I am telling the truth. He did not die from the fall, but there's time for that later on. I need to get you out of here.'

The process was painstakingly slow as the survivors were moved one by one. Redmond was first with a broken ankle, followed by Mitchell who suffered considerable dehydration and then Julia and Richard who were both able to walk with the aid of an assistant. Their fortitude had been attributed to Richard's knowledge of the Mayans and his belief that they must have had a ready source of water to build the tunnel. His persistence had paid off and he had located the false panel that led to the stream. Whilst food was scarce, the occasional fish had been captured, giving sushi a whole new meaning.

Their survival was met with a rousing cheer of joy as everyone rushed to greet them. They were fussed over, attended to by the two physicians on site and given the best beds, linen and clean clothing available.

Everyone felt that sense of achievement, as if something good had come from bad and they were all enjoying the moment.

Gillian was forced to wait for the hullabaloo to pass before spending the ensuing hour filling Richard in on the events that had occurred over the last many days. He expressed surprise that she had managed to survive, let alone save them from certain death.

'I must read those Kinix manuscripts,' Richard reiterated for the tenth time during their conversation.

'Don't you think you should spend some time recuperating?' Gillian chastised.

'You know me. I'm a stubborn old bugger.'

'Only too well.'

Gillian laughed and handed Richard the manuscripts before noticing Adam by her side.

'Ah ... the Aussie!' Richard exclaimed. 'I heard you were flown out from Australia and were instrumental in locating the position of the last two clues.'

'Fat good it did us. The whole reason for doing that was to open the lift to get you out,' replied Adam.

Richard had a twinkle in his eyes as he sat upright on the temporary stretcher.

'I studied the first manuscript and clues thoroughly. Believe me when I tell you that whilst decoding the evidence was not necessary to save us, Kinix holds a mighty secret that needs uncovering.'

Gillian eyed him thoughtfully. 'Good luck, my dear friend,' she was about to say when she recalled the small Kinix tile in her pocket. She plucked it out and handed it to Richard.

'My dear departed fiance and his illustrious leader, Arun,' Gillian spoke with a bitter sarcasm, 'missed this and a number of other tiles that were considerably thinner than the rest at the base of the tunnel.'

'Hmmmm,' Richard grinned like a Cheshire cat and carefully rotated the tile in his hand. 'Let me think on this, but right now you need to go and find your father'

CHAPTER FORTY.

Georgio was so deep in conversation with the President that it took ten minutes before Gillian could gain his attention.

'So, what did he say?' she asked.

He grinned before reverting to an expression that demanded her concentration.

'The President has a window of twenty-four hours in which he can keep Arun's arrest a secret. Along with an increasing time frame also comes a greater risk of Arun's drug trafficking ring escaping before we can name and shame them. Added to this complication is the fact that Arun is considered a supreme leader and his absence will not go unnoticed.'

'We have twenty-four hours to locate where the drugs are manufactured?'

'Yes, and only then will we have the irrefutable proof required to bring him down.

'Along with the assistance of Sean's book?'

Georgio nodded before continuing. 'The President's original intention was to do it quietly, to remove the filth while keeping the whole operation a secret, but considerable pressure from his advisors suggested that it would be better to make an example of him. To show the world that power and wealth does not make you immune to prosecution. The only catch is to find his place of business.'

'The same place where my father is being held,' said Gillian.

Georgio nodded. 'The President hopes we are killing two birds with one stone.'

'Well ... Tajumulco was the name that Reynata gave us,' responded Gillian.

'That is also confirmed on the list of names Sean discovered,' concluded Georgio before adding, 'Peter and Reynata will be here shortly.'

Gillian did not respond. She sat in a stunned silence. 'How could I be so pathetically stupid!' She held her head as if she was in pain. 'Samuel,' was all she said.

Georgio looked at her in confusion.

'Samuel was his son. He will know where it is,' she said.

'Of course. I can't believe I missed that,' Georgio looked disgusted with himself.

'But where is he?' mumbled Gillian in deliberation, suddenly realising that she had not seen Samuel since the rescue.

Georgio frowned and confirmed Gillian's thoughts. 'I haven't seen him either.'

She raised her hands in confusion just as a familiar voice filled her consciousness.

'Hello, Dear. I would love to say you are looking great, but to be honest, you look a little worse for wear.'

Gillian turned in excitement and enveloped her Uncle Peter in a huge bear hug. She planted a kiss on his cheek, one which he returned with equivalent affection.

'These are my good friends Georgio and Adam,' she said.

'Ahhh. I know Georgio, but I have not met this young man before,' smiled Peter as he shook Adam's hand. Nice to meet to you, Son. And this is my friend Reynata.'

Gillian turned to welcome the woman with the intent of friendship, but she paused in her tracks. The woman was quite tall, perhaps five foot ten. She was slender with an athletic build not unlike Gillian's own figure and had glorious, long brown hair that swept over the left side of her face, concealing her eye and cheek. Her eyes were blue and she had an olive skin that would tan easily given exposure to the sun. A gust of wind caught Reynata's hair, blowing it away from her face long enough for Gillian to see that the concealed side of her face was badly scarred.

She gasped. Not with the intent to offend but that the vision was merely unexpected.

Gillian frowned, disgusted by her own reaction.

Reynata smiled and used a gloved hand to stroke Gillian's red hair, lingering with affection.

'It's a reaction I'm used to, Dear. Don't feel bad.'

'I do apologise. I had no intention of upsetting you.'

'I have lived with this for a long time. I am not easily offended.' Her smile was warm and tender.

Gillian gazed at her in length, quickly forcing her eyes away in fear of lingering too long. She did not wish to be impolite, but there was something about her that she felt drawn to. It was not her looks or the knowledge that she had seen Reynata in a photo. It was the sense of familiarity that was very similar to the emotions she felt with Samuel. Her eyes were deep and understanding. The smile brought a feeling of comfort.

Gillian shook her head. She was feeling rather uneasy but could not place the origin of her discomfort.

The last words Gillian heard Reynata say as they climbed aboard the helicopter to commence their journey to Tajumulco was: 'I had a daughter with that colour hair.' Her voice was muted and sad.

The ride to Tajumulco took less time than Gillian's daily morning slog to work and she barely had time to organise her thoughts before the 2640 feet high mountain rose into view. The highest mountain in Guatemala, Tajumulco, was listed as protected in 1956 and is rumoured to sit atop an extinct volcano with twin cores. It would make the perfect hiding place for Arun due to its inaccessibility and potential for multiple underground caverns.

Gillian analysed her feelings and was surprised to discover that she did not experience the same nervous sensations she had when looking for Richard. She had been unsure if Richard had the ability or opportunity to survive, but she felt certain that this was not the case for her father. A few things came into play. First was that her father was amazingly resilient and the second that the society Arun had created was missing their ahaw. It was unlikely that they would perform a sacrifice without him although it was possible that he had been subjected to torture.

She fervently prayed this was not the case.

Gillian grimaced, her eyes gazing at, but not seeing, the rich reds and luscious greens of the landscape backed by the hot afternoon sun and blue sky.

Peter took her hand. 'Come on, Love. We're here.'

Gillian looked up and smiled, gratefully accepting his assistance and stepping from the helicopter onto the sparse earth.

Her brain clicked into action.

Tajumulco was frequently scaled by mountain climbers and to date there had been no reports of any unusual activities in those areas. Following her directions, they chose an area rarely seen due to its inaccessibility less than 8000 feet from the summit. It was the most logical position and bought an immediate reaction from Reynata.

She gasped loudly and collapsed to her knees in the dirt. The horror on her face was indescribable. Her eyes were wild and primal, reflecting a long-hidden fear and unspeakable terror.

Peter ran to her immediately, comforting her and whispering in her ear.

Everyone stared although they meant no disrespect. It was hard to ignore someone so visibly in pain and Gillian admitted that it made her a little uncomfortable. She did not know how to react. Some part of her longed to run and comfort this strange woman, but another part made her wary. It was an unusual reaction for Gillian who found her sudden onset of emotions very troubling.

Georgio bent forward and murmured in Gillian's ear. 'She was left to die here many years ago, brutally mutilated and alone. She bears many scars both physically and mentally, including the loss of her children and the removal of the fingers on her left hand.'

'Oh,' was all Gillian said as she gazed at the black gloved hand and admired the obvious strength this woman possessed.

'I will lead,' said Reynata, her smile forced and haunted as she stood upright and marched with determination up the steep rocky incline fraught with large boulders and tufts of hardy grasses.

The walk was not as long as expected and although the temperature had dropped considerably, Gillian was hot and sticky. She did not easily perspire, but the stress and uncontrollable nerves had begun to take their toll on her. She knew they were nearing the entrance which undoubtedly meant espionage and the potential of gunfire. It was to be expected that Arun's home would be well protected.

Moments passed before Reynata muttered the words: 'We're here.' She pointed to a narrow chasm fitted between a small rock face.

Gillian studied their position carefully. It was an isolated area and it would be impossible to seek help if they needed it. She was further worried about Reynata. They could not in good conscience ask her to accompany them any further, but she was the only one who had ever been inside. Her assistance would be invaluable.

Gillian looked at her and suffered that same flutter of familiarity that had overcome her earlier, and it was really beginning to bother her.

Shit ... she had to get over it. Gillian forced her brain to pay attention to the task at hand.

Tom volunteered to go first, but to her credit, Reynata stepped in. 'I will lead. I'm the only one who has ever been in there.'

Reynata shuddered but set her face in a mask of steely determination and ran towards the entrance without waiting.

They all drew their guns and hurried after her, following her lead through the arrangement of rock formed by nature and enhanced by the human hand. Years of experience easily allowed Gillian to pick the excellent imitation moulded over the natural shape to create a hidden pathway. She knew it would be fraught with dangers and Reynata's guidance saved them from incalculable grief.

They reached the colour-coded door within record time, but the lack of intervention was cause for concern and Georgio ordered them to stop before they entered.