Page 58 of Wild Temple
We followed him into the kitchen, and he grabbed a few beers from the refrigerator, then passed them out. Sweat misted the amber bottles. We popped the tops with a hiss and clinked bottles.
"To new friends and wild adventures," Duke said.
We all took a swig of the cold beer. It hit the spot.
One was the limit.
We needed to stay sharp. We had a long afternoon and evening ahead of us.
Duke cut straight to the chase. "Well, I guess this isn’t a social call. What can I do for you?"
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Duke pulled open a trapdoor in the floor. A ladder led down to a tunnel below. "Follow me, gentlemen. I think you'll like what you see.”
He climbed down the ladder, and we followed his lead.
He’d lit the place with clear Christmas lights. They gave a soft glow to the underground sanctuary. It spanned the square footage of the house and then some. Tunnels on either side led in opposite directions. I don't know how long it took him to dig it out and haul off the dirt, but it was no small feat.
Since the home was up on the hill, he had drainage pipes strategically placed throughout the underground bunker. It kept the subterranean space from flooding. That was a good thing because he had a full arsenal of expensive and illegal weapons—fully automatic AK-47s, short-barreled M4s with suppressors, magazines, boxes of ammunition, fragmentation grenades, rocket launchers, and a couple of .50-calibermachine guns. There were more claymores, landmines, and even some tank busters.
In another corner, there was plenty of survival gear—MREs, powdered food, sleeping bags, backpacks, tents, and an abundance of fresh water. There were pickled vegetables, sacks of beans, rice, and other staples. Duke was ready for the apocalypse. He had enough down here to survive for a couple of years and fight off anybody who tried to take his stuff.
"This is quite the stockpile," I said.
"You can never be too prepared,” Duke replied. "The world is a crazy place. Nobody’s got any idea what's coming. The world is already at war. They’re fighting it with computers right now—crashing systems, screwing up infrastructure.” He continued his animated rant, arms flailing. “I've done the math. They ain’t dropping nuclear bombs on this island. Ain’t nothing here but tourists and drug traffickers. The real problem is going to be the aftermath," he said. "Everybody and their brother are going to come here looking for fresh land that ain't been irradiated. That's going to be the real invasion.”
The Marine Recon tattoo on Duke's arm told me he’d probably seen the worst of what mankind had to offer and was prepared to face it head-on. He had the eyes of a guy who had seen heavy combat. A look that never quite fades.
"How did you come by all this stuff?" I asked.
Duke gave me a sharp look. It was a question best not asked. Especially around here. “Don’t you know? They grow on trees. You just walk around and pluck ‘em right off.”
It didn’t take complex math to figure out that Duke had a side business of running weapons in the area. Between locals like Caspian, the Chinese Triad, the Russian Mafia, and other international syndicates, weapons would be in high demand. The Golden Triangle was fertile ground for chaos and black-market goods.
“Since you’re a friend of Rex’s, I’ll give you friend prices. And because you’re at odds with Caspian, I’ll give you an extra discount.” Duke smiled.
We negotiated a price for a slew of goodies. We didn’t have enough cash on hand to cover it, and we still needed walking around money. Jack promised he’d transfer some crypto when we got to an area with cell service. Rex vouched for us. We just needed to stay alive long enough.
We loaded up with as much as we could reasonably carry. With enough guns and ammunition to supply a small platoon, we left Duke’s and made our way back to the road, mindful of the booby traps. The four of us hopped into the Jeep and set out for the Twin Sisters.
The sun angled toward the horizon. We'd burned the better part of the day and still had a long drive and a longer hike ahead of us. By the time we arrived at the Twin Sisters, there was maybe an hour of daylight left. We unloaded the gear, shouldered our backpacks, and headed out for adventure.
We took the steps down to the waterfall. At the base of the falls, standing atop slick rocks, a few tourists snapped selfies.
Unconcerned with the scenery, we moved around the basin, and followed the trail that led to the chasm. We hiked through the twists and turns, and it dumped us out at thesheer cliff face. A narrow ledge that would make a goat think twice led across the cliffside to the jungle. It was the part of the journey where most people turned back. Heavy backpacks made the trek even more precarious.
Rex inched out and put a foot on the ledge that was barely wider than the sole of the shoe. He hugged the stone wall that was almost vertical. He crept out onto the ledge, inching step by step. One wrong move and the journey would be over before it began.
Rex was about halfway across the ledge when JD stepped out to follow him. I stayed back with Brooke as she looked down the sheer face of the cliff to the valley below. It was a long way down. A fall from this height would not be pretty.
"You don't have to do this if you're not comfortable," I said, trying to take the pressure off.
"I don't have much choice, do I?”
"There's another beach town about an hour north of here. You could take the Jeep and check into a hotel. You'd probably be safe there.”
Brooke shook her head. "No. I'm seeing this through.”
