Laura 02 The God Code (7 page)

“You be okay?” Victor asks.

“One step at a time,” Laura replies with a smile over her shoulder. Even though she is still nervous, her heart is not trying to jump out of her chest like an alien. Carefully she climbs the section on all fours, and is relieved to see the top of the mountain only a short distance away. The last part of the climb is easy, with the path ending on a plateau 300 feet long and 30 feet wide at the top of the mountain. There is a small structure in the middle with a grass thatched roof and benches for seating. A middle aged couple are enjoying a picnic under the structure. As Victor and Laura near the couple, the man gets up and greets them.

“I say dear chap, marvelous view isn’t it?”

“Yes it is.” Victor looks down at the lady, who is spreading Little Scarlet Strawberry Conserve on some scones.

“I am Graham Mills, and this is my wife Jo. Care for some tea and scones?”

“That would be lovely,” Laura replies behind Victor.

As Laura and Victor sit down, Graham turns his back to them, looking down the mountain, as he pours two cups of tea from a flask, then quickly sets the flask down and takes a small metal container from his pants pocket from which he pours a healthy dose into each cup. Laura and Victor’s attention are held by Jo asking where they are from, and they notice nothing. After returning the container to his pocket, Graham turns towards Laura and Victor, handing them each a cup. Both eagerly welcome the warm beverage, unaware of the contents of the cups.

Victor slowly brings his cup to his lips, and just as the tea touches his lips, he smells it. Even with the strong smell of the tea, he can smell the added contents. Before he can warn Laura, she takes a big gulp. Laura’s face turns red as she struggles to breathe, while tears form in her eyes.

“Puts the warmth right back in you hey?” Graham comments smilingly.

“Have you gone and spiked these nice people’s tea Graham?”

“Just adding something to the taste honey.”

“Whiskey?” Victor asks, having taken a sip, trying to catch his breath.

“Johnnie Walker Black Label, old chap,” Graham says proudly.

“Oh my,” is all Laura can get out once the burning in her throat subsides and she can partially breathe again.

“Have a scone dear,” Jo says, holding a paper plate with scones out to her and Victor.

“Thank you,” Laura comments as she takes one, carefully taking a small bite, then notices a tissue box next to Jo on the ground.

“You sick?” Laura asks.

“Yes, I have a sticky toffee cold.”

“Excuse me?” Laura asks, looking confused.

“A cold I just can’t shake, a sticky toffee cold dear,” Jo says as she holds a plate out to Victor.

“Thank you Jo”, replies Victor, not being as careful as Laura and taking a big bite.

“You from around Manchester, England?” Victor asks, trying to trace the accent.

“Close, we live in Huddersfield. We have a sheep farm out there.”

“You live on a farm? Wow that must be nice,” Laura comments, trying to imagine how it must be to live on a farm.

“Oh my, look at the time, dear we have to go.” Jo starts packing up their stuff into two backpacks on the ground.

“Jolly good, let me help you there dear. Sorry old chap, but we have to run. Need to hurry to catch our train back. Why don’t you come for a visit next time you are in England? Wait, let me see, yes, here you go, take my business card. Come visit us some day.” With that, Graham picks up his backpack, shakes Victor’s hand and gives Laura a hug before turning to take the path off the mountain. Jo gives Victor a hug and then Laura, whispering in her ear, “He’s a cute one, make sure you keep him.” Then she turns and makes haste to catch up with Graham, who is waiting for her at the edge of the plateau.

A light wind starts to blow the mist clear of the mountain, allowing the sun to punch holes in the mist, creating a magnificent scene of beams of light coming through the cloud formation, dancing over the mountain and Machu Picchu far below. Laura looks up in awe as a light beam hits the structure they are sitting under, as if they are on stage and under the spotlight.

As the mist continues to clear, the scene all around the mountain opens up, allowing them to have a full view of the ruins, and the river snaking between the mountains.

All around them are mountains, some smaller than the one they are on, others larger, their peaks snow covered. Victor and Laura sit huddled together, taking a break. Laura rests her head on Victor’s shoulder as she watches another cloud lazily drift by. I really am in the clouds. Victor takes a few pictures of the view and Laura, who then takes his cell phone from him and snaps a few pictures of him. Holding the phone out, she takes a picture of the two of them together.

“You ready to head back?” Victor asks as Laura hands him back his cell phone.

“Do we have to? It is so lovely up here.”

“Jup, the entry gate will close in just over two hours.”

Laura nods, then takes Victor’s hand, who is already standing, helping her up. The trip back is far easier and less eventful, with Laura now able to notice and enjoy all she missed on the way up, due to being afraid. Laura and Victor reach the entry gate two hours later, where they then proceed to the exit point of the ruins. They are both hungry and looking forward to sitting down at the cafe just outside the ruins while enjoying a soda and a sandwich, unaware that death is waiting for them.

“Oh, can I stamp my passport?” Laura asks just as they exit the ruins. Victor laughs and nods. He removes his backpack and opens a side pocket, taking Laura’s passport out and handing it to her, then pulls his out as well. Good thing he decided to keep their passports and the cash in his bag. Does Laura remember that the passports are fake? Should I remind her? No, it adds to the rarity of the stamp.

Few people can brag about a Machu Picchu stamp in their passports, even fewer have a stamp in a false passport. Across from the entry gate, in the restaurant at the Sanctuary Lodge, Nikolai slowly stands up and slings his backpack over his right shoulder. As he walks out, he glances at his wrist watch. Victor should be exiting the ruins soon. He carefully makes his way out of the restaurant and down a few steps to the ground level. No one pays any attention to him as he walks past the busses towards a hiking trail. Nikolai follows the hiking trail down for a short distance, until he is sure no one can see him from the ruins or cafe. Peering through the branches, he makes sure he is still able to see the busses and people at the gate. Nikolai scans the path he is on, making sure no one is on the hiking path, before he leaves the path and pushes his way into the bushes. After finding a good hiding spot, he goes down on his knees and removes his backpack. Opening the bag, he takes out a towel that is rolled up around something. Unrolling the towel on the ground, Nikolai smiles as he looks at his sniper rifle. Expertly, he assembles the rifle, and then takes position, waiting for a clear shot. Using the powerful scope, he scans the crowd coming out of the gates.

Nikolai’s heart skips a beat. Victor is standing next to Laura in line to stamp their passports. Just in time, a perfect shot. Goodbye Victor. Nikolai takes aim at Victor’s head, and starts to squeeze the trigger, then holds it. His breathing is slow and steady. Another visitor to the ruins has moved between Victor and Nikolai, blocking Nikolai’s view.

Slowly the man moves away, and Nikolai adjusts his aim, keeping the scope’s crosshairs on Victor’s left temple. Nikolai inhales slowly and holds his breath, readying to fire.

“Shit, damn tourists!” Nikolai utters beneath his breath as a woman blocks his view. There are just too many people walking past for Nikolai to get a clear shot, he will have to wait for them to move to the busses. Impatiently he waits for Victor and Laura to stamp their passports. Nikolai smiles as Victor and Laura move to the small cafe near the gate. The cafe has an open seating area, a perfect place to kill them. Nikolai keeps the crosshairs on Victor and Laura as best he can while they buy food at the counter and then sit down at a table to eat.

“Perfect,” Nikolai comments as he skillfully holds the crosshairs over Victor’s head. A sadistic smile forms on his face as he starts to pull the trigger.

“Shit,” he mutters as a man suddenly blocks his view. The man stops to talk to a woman who is sitting at a table next to Victor and Laura’s.

“Ask her what she wants to eat and get out of my way.” Nikolai mutters beneath his breath. Expertly he holds the scope in position, ready for when the man moves.

“Come on, get out of the way,” Nikolai says impatiently, as if the man can hear him. The seconds slowly tick by and it takes another 30 seconds of agonizing waiting before the man lazily walks away.

Nikolai gives a sigh of relief as he sees Victor and Laura again, however Laura has moved positions and is now directly in front of Victor.

Nikolai has orders to shoot Victor and if possible Laura as well, now he can do both with one bullet. Carefully he aims for the middle of Laura’s neck. The sniper rifle is not powerful enough to go through her skull and also kill Victor, but it will go through her neck and so to Victor’s. It will be a slow agonizing death, paralyzing both from the neck down until they die from blood loss. Gently he squeezes the trigger, millimeter by millimeter.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

The voice behind him frightens Nikolai so much that he jerks the gun up just as he pulls the trigger. The bullet goes right over the cafeteria and slams into the wall of the path to the ruins, right behind a tourist who scratches his head in bewilderment at hearing something behind him but not seeing anything.

“What the hell do you think you are doing sneaking up on a park ranger?” Nikolai replies, regaining his composure.

“Park ranger? What are y-” His words get cut short as a bullet enters his skull, right between the eyes. Two more rounds enter his body, both finding his heart. The man’s lifeless body sinks to the ground.

“Idiot,” Nikolai murmurs as he holsters his pistol and chambers a new round in the sniper rifle. Luckily for him both his pistol and sniper rifle are silenced. Taking aim, a shock goes through him as he realizes the bench Laura and Victor were on is now occupied by another couple. Frantically he searches the crowd. Did Victor hear the shot go over even with all the people talking? Nikolai freezes as he spots Laura and Victor standing in line to get on a bus.

Quickly Nikolai makes ready to shoot. As soon as the croshairs find Victor, he pulls the trigger. The rifle kicks against his shoulder as the round leaves the barrel.

At the exact moment Nikolai fires, an empty bus passes between Nikolai and Victor. The veins on the side of Nikolai’s face bulge out as he glares at the bus. Did I hit Victor or the bus? Nikolai’s breathing is steady and deep as he listens for screams from the other tourists when they see Victor dead…..Nothing. So I did miss. Damn. I will have to go to plan B.

Quickly Nikolai disassembles the rifle and packs it back into his backpack, then swings the pack over his shoulders as he makes his way to the busses. Victor carefully scans the crowd and bushes. Every muscle in his body is tense, ready for action. I am sure I heard a bullet go over us while we were eating. But it makes no sense. Sure, it is possible for a sniper to miss, but by such a distance as not to hit anyone else is very unlikely, and why did the sniper not try again? Still, I do not want to be a sitting duck, it is better that we get out of this place. We can finish our sandwiches on the bus. Victor’s attention turns to the conductor who is counting the people waiting for a bus, splitting the line into groups and assigning each group to a separate bus. When the conductor reaches Victor and Laura, he splits them into two separate groups, Laura to the next bus to leave and Victor to the following bus.

“Excuse me sir, but we are together,” Victor informs the driver.

“I only have space for one more on the first bus. You can both go on the second bus.”

“Thank you,” Victor replies, just as something in the corner of his eye catches his attention.

Quickly Victor turns and scans the crowd. I am sure I saw a man with an old backpack passing between the busses and people, where is he now? Something is off, I have seen that backpack before. That man has popped up too many times to be a coincidence.

“You can take my place. I am travelling alone and am in no hurry.” The voice rips Victor out of his thoughts. An elderly Scottish gentleman in front of Laura smiles at them and indicates for Victor and to take his place.

“Thank you very much sir,” Victor replies as he steps towards the first group, taking the man’s position, with Laura next to him. The conductor just shrugs his shoulders and asks the people to start climbing aboard the first bus. When it is Victor’s turn to get on the bus, he gives one last look at the crowd, then climbs aboard, unaware of the small bomb that is placed inside one of the bus’s front wheel wells.

“You can take the window seat this time,” Laura says with a smile.

“You sure?”

“Oh yes, I had enough of looking down at the wheels hanging off the side of the road thanks, too much action for me in one day.”

Victor quickly scans the other passengers on the bus, before taking the window seat in the second row. Laura tiredly sits down next to him, still sipping on her soda. She had finished her chicken wrap as they waited for the bus. The bus driver quickly climbs in and checks that all is okay on his instrument panel. Satisfied that everything is working, he gives a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure everyone is seated, then starts the bus and pulls away.

Laura stares past Victor at the gate to the Ruins. A knot forms in her throat, and she has difficulty holding back the tears. Sadness fills her heart at leaving such a magnificent place. The bus passes the gate to the parking area and starts to follow the narrow dusty dirt road down the mountain.

“Can we come back here one day when it is safe?” Laura asks.

“Of course, and I will even make an advanced booking for us for the same room with the hot tub if you want.” Victor winks in reply.

Laura blushes, and her body starts to respond as her thoughts go back to the previous evening. Quickly she covers her breasts, not wanting others to see her body’s response, then comments smilingly, “You are so naughty.”