*

“How did we all sleep last night?” asked Roland as he prepared breakfast for the five of them.

Tara smirked and checked her gear, making sure everything was in its proper place.  “I could stand for a waterfall and peaceful pool outside my bedroom every night of my life, I think.”  She said softly, her tone relaxed.

“Personally, I’m not sure I ever slept so well,” said Alejandro.

“Me neither,” said Jo.

Tara looked over to Oriana, wondering what if she’d say anything.  Ori just smirked. Standing up Tara wandered over to eat some breakfast.

“Well,” said Roland. “Big day ahead of us. If everyone’s healthy, we should just be a day or so out of this “silver crowned mountain”.

“Great name.”  Tara said munching on a bit of jungle ham and eggs.  “I’ll be glad to finally be in spitting distance of our destination.  With any luck the payoff will be as big as we’ve been led to believe and we won’t find a whole lot of nothing.”  She leaned back against a bolder. “Of course, the trip hasn’t been all bad, I suppose. A lot more interesting than my first trip in, and a lot less jumping out of planes, that's for sure.”

“Well, I’m enjoying myself,” said Jo, smirking.

*

When the workers were healed, the group set off north-east once again. In two more days of travel, they reached the mountain that signified the end of their journey. Chambers, using the map, led them to the appropriate path. After some searching, Tara found the crack, buried beneath vines, that served as the doorway into a secret passage the workers stayed outside on the mountain pass in a nearby cave; they were being paid to dig and to carry, but not for this.

Entering the secret passage and moving inside a mountain cavern, the five companions saw a long, decaying rope bridge. 

“I don’t like the look of that bridge,” said Ori. “No way it holds all of us.” She paused. “Send me across; I’ll anchor a line on the other side and then the rest of you can climb over.”

“Not a bad idea.  We can tie something around you, ideally if the damn thing gives way then we’ll have a hold of you.”

“Good thinking.”

Alejandro fetched a rope and tied it tightly around Oriana’s waist. Tara heard Ori mutter something about being tied up, but Aleandro just laughed and tightened the knot. 

“Give me enough slack that I can make it across,” said Ori as she studied the bridge.

“Take it slow, careful.” Tara instructed.  “Don’t do anything stupid like fall, okay? I know you got this.”

Ori winked, then moved out across the bridge. She kept her hands on the ropes as she walked out across the rotted boards. Occasionally, her foot would snap through one and Tara would feel her heart jump to her throat, but Ori managed to recover. 

The cavern they were in was huge, with a drop into an invisible darkness, and Oriana looked smaller and smaller as she made her way across. Eventually reaching a place where all the boards had gone, Ori switched to climbing on the ropes alone, holding onto one with her hands and standing on another. When Oriana finally stepped onto firm ground again, Tara realized she’d been holding her breath. With the climbing ropes she’d carried over, Oriana firmly attached two ropes into the rockface on the other side: one for the hands, and one for feet, just as she’d crossed.

Tara gave Oriana an excited thumbs up and then took a look at the massive gap that spread out between them, for the first time thinking about the fact that she herself was now going to attempt to cross it.  “Well,” She said to Jo. “... never let it be said Oriana is timid. Damn, that’s a long way down.”

“I guess I’ll go first then.”  Tara said making her way over to the edge, her breath quickening.  

“Believe it or not, I’m not sure which is scarier… this or jumping out of the plane.”  She laughed in the direction Alejandro as she prepared to cross. “Maybe this because I have more time to think about it?”

She looked at Oriana.  She’d just keep her eyes on Ori.  If she could focus on the journey to her, then maybe she wouldn’t think so much about what was down below.  Or rather, what wasn’t below her for a very long ways. With breath in and then out, Tara made her first step out onto the rope above the open chasm.  Inching slowly across she tried not to look down. Her eyes seeming to lock on the woman who was just on the other side, seeming so small. Somewhere in the middle she wobbled and wavered and clung to the rope so tight that she wasn’t sure she would be able to get her feet moving again.  

Finally, she’d reached the other side and she nearly leaped right into Ori’s arms.  Laughing her nerves were shot. “I said I’d follow you anywhere, but this … for the record, wasn’t fun.  Hopefully, there’s an easier way out than in!”

“Who’s next?”  She called out across the distance and she watched as the Professor made his preparations to cross.  

Tara looked to Oriana, “Never a dull moment, right?”

Ori smiled. “We had some dull moments in Hollowpoint. I’m looking forward to more.”

As the party continued on the path, they came to a hallway. Alejandro reached out and stopped Tara with a hand at her elbow, then pointed. “Look- wires. Some sort of trap?” 

Roland nodded. “Most likely those will launch some sort of projectile. If you would all stand back…” 

“Thanks.”  Tara said to Alejandro taking a step back away from the area where the professor was working to spring the trap.

Roland reached out with a stick and pushed the wire; a wall of spears shot out from both sides of the hallway.

“I once thought of being a holy woman… but not that kind.”  Tara joked with a bit of a nervous laugh.

Jo barked out a laugh, and the others smiled as they continued walking.

Tara patted Jo on the back, “This is why you’re my best friend.  You get me.” She gave the other woman a wink and pressed onward.

This time, it was Tara who paused, pointing at the hallway in front of her. “Look at the floor. Those stones in the center seem different.”

“I believe that’s a pit trap,” said Roland. “I’ve seen those before with Joseph. If we walk around the edges of the passage, we should be safe. Following his advice, the companions made their way around. When they had made it through, Ori stuck out a curious foot and tapped- the floor gave way to reveal a pit full of spears.

“We should now be approaching the first of nine rooms, nine being a sacred number. If the legends were correct, the Incan rulers would be able to move quickly through these rooms, knowing all their secrets. Fortunately, we have Joseph’s research, compiled over many years.”

As soon as Tara walked into the next room, she glanced to her right and saw a giant statue of a snake. In the other three corners were a wolf, a jaguar, and a fox.

“Well, that’s…”  She wasn’t sure what it was.  Fate? Destiny? Really strange coincidence.  It made her smile nonetheless. “Interesting” was the word she finally decided upon.

Roland walked to the inscribed pillar in the center and read out loud from the journal.

The first fears all, the second fears none

The third eats what it can, preferably number one.

The fourth fears the second, but only when alone.

Respect us in order to reach the hidden throne.

“Some sort of riddle.”  Tara said considering the statues and the words.

“There’s a lever in front of each animal,” said Alejandro.

“The Inca were quite advanced in their use of hydraulic systems,” said Roland.

“I’m guessing if we pull the wrong lever in the wrong order something really bad is going to happen.”  Tara mused.

“I think that’s a fair assumption,” said Ori. “At best, nothing happens. But it makes sense. If anyone rushed the place to try to steal the treasure, first they get blasted with spears, then they have to stop and figure out a riddle.”

“Well let’s see… the first fears all.”  She looked at all of the statues. “Wait what was that one about but only when alone?  Whichever that is, it’s the wolf. The wolf only fears things when it’s alone.”

“The strength of the wolf is the pack?” asked Ori, remembering the message to Brigitte.

“Exactly.”  Tara said with a bright smile.  “So… the wolf is fourth. The wolf only fears this one when it’s alone… I’m thinking it can’t be the snake.  Probably not a fox either. Wolves would feel superior to a smaller creature but the Jaguar, that makes sense.  Potentially that makes the Jaguar the second.”

“The third eats what it can… foxes will kill prey but they’ll steal food too.  They have a wide variety of stuff they’ll eat but it would love a snake. So… snake is one… jaguar is two… fox is three and wolf is four.  I think.”  Tara said thoughtfully.

“Alright,” said Ori. “I’ll pull the fox one. Alejandro, the jaguar. Tara, the wolf. Roland, you’re the snake.”

The professor laughed as he headed over to the letter. “Lies of omission only!”

Tara chuckled.  “I’m sure it wasn’t personal, professor.  If you prefer, Jo can pull it.” However the man seemed to accept his position without further complaint.  

The four of them pulled the levers in Tara’s order, and a stone door slid open.

“Okay!”  Tara said excitedly.   

“One down, eight to go!” said Jo.

As they moved into the second room, it was obvious that it had been affected by some sort of earthquake or other disruption. 

“There used to be a mechanism here,” said Roland, “but it appears to have collapsed. But the journal suggests…” he glanced up, pointing to a lever above, near two cracked stone columns.

“I can reach it,” said Ori. 

“Maybe we should take a look around for traps?  Just in case the place has become a little more dangerous unexpectedly thanks to that earthquake.  Whatever trashed this place may have made it so the traps will trigger even if we do the right thing.”

After a quick look around the group seemed confident that there was nothing here to fear.  And so Oriana made for the lever.

Placing her back on one column and her hands and feet on the other, Oriana used her physical skills to shimmy up and reach the lever. Tara, Alejandro, and Roland all found themselves watching Oriana very closely, while Jo just saw them staring and rolled her eyes.

Ori reached out and grabbed the lever, bracing herself and pushing it open; another door slid open. Oriana slipped, and she began falling toward the ground, but she landed like a cat and rolled forward. She looked slightly worse for wear, but came up with a victorious grin.

“Well done.”  Tara complimented Ori and looked towards the door that had opened before making her way towards and through it.

The center of the next room had six circular stone pedestals with unlit braziers on top. On the far end of the room was a mural on stone. It depicted a woman holding a silver dagger aloft, pointing it at an angry serpent that seemed to recoil from her.

Around the mural is writing that the professor needed some time to translate.

“To go forward, you must return. To glow brightly, the sky must burn!”

Tara paced around, her brow furrowed, looking at the braziers on the tops of the pedestals.  “They are high up. It might mean burning the sky but that almost feels too easy and what’s this to go forward you must return business?  Does it mean we need to go back into the next room to find another path forward maybe? We could always step back into the other room but I swear, if there was another door we should have found it while we were looking for traps.  I thought we were pretty complete in our search.”

After a bit of consideration, “I think we should try to light the braziers.  At worst we might up the room, but if it’s the burning of the sky in the riddle maybe we’ll understand the rest once that happens?  I’m open to other suggestions if anyone has one.”

They lit they fires, but nothing seemed to happen.

“Maybe we need to look at where we walk in; is there something there?” asked Alejandro. 

Jo hustled over and, without asking, pushed down on something that looked like a switch. The door swung open on the other side of the room, and the redhead grinned.

“Well done, Jo!”  Tara gave her friend a pat on the back as the group continued onward.  

The next room had a floor of red and blue plates stretching out across the whole floor; they could see the open door on the other side of the room.

“Looks like some sort of weird chess board.  I’m not sure I want to just walk into a room that appears to have nothing in it but an open door beckoning us from the far side.  Nothing in this place has been that simple.” Tara looked around the room from the open doorway.

The professor flipped through the journal, looking for information. 

“Maybe certain colors are safe to step on, a pattern in the tiles or something?  Wouldn’t put it past them to have another pit trap.”

“Nothing on this one,” said the professor, “But that seems likely to me. We could try to test each color and see what happens.”

Tara picked up a rock.  “I could toss this in and see what happens if anything.  Barring the collapse of the whole damn room it shouldn’t be too tragic.”  Tara hesitated to see if anyone would say no, and when she didn’t she tossed the rock out; it didn’t seem to do anything.

“Might not be heavy enough,” said Ori. We could go back and try to get a heavier rock from the second room?

“Might not be a bad idea.  We could literally check each tile before we step onto it.  If we’re wrong all we’ve done is taken a long time to cross the room with a big rock in tow.  And, if that’s the case the Professor can leave that part out of his story.” Tara chuckled.

“Which color should we test first?” asked Alejandro.

“Red has always been a lucky color in my family.”  Tara said. “Try a red one.”

Alejandro and the professor lifted a heavier rock from the second room and placed it down on the red tile. Nothing happened.

“Well if they turn out to be color coded, that might be good.  Let’s move it to a blue one. Careful now, who knows what the hell is gonna happen, if anything.”

When they moved it to the blue one, a dart shot out and bounced off the rock, nearly hitting Jo on the ricochet.

“Don’t pick it up!” said the professor. “I’ve no idea if poisons would be effective after hundreds of years, but I wouldn’t want to chance it.”

“Well, a blue one so far is unlucky, but I wonder if it’s a color thing or a pattern thing.”

Alejandro shifted the rock to another blue tile; this one fell through the ground, revealing a drop below to a pit full of spears.

“GREAT!”  Tara exclaimed.  “I bet we can look through the hole and see which tiles are triggered and which are set up to break and fall into the pit!  We should be able to map a path forward now. Let me just get a look down in there and see what we can see.” Tara knelt carefully down and peeked into the hole to see if it was obvious which tiles were secure and which were traps. It looked like the red ones were safe.

“Nona Bella, I love you!”  She said looking around the underside of the tiles.  “Red looks safe.”

The five companions began crossing the tiles slowly; sometimes there were a few blues or reds grouped together, and while most of the reds could be reached though normal walking, there were a few steps that were farther away than others. Fortunately, everyone made it across okay to the other side. Before they walked through the door, Roland stopped everyone. “Joseph made a note here, stressing the fact that it was important for Incan leaders to kneel and trust in the gods.”

As they walked inside, they found a chamber with an enormous ceiling; as they looked up, the door closed behind them. 

Tara startled at the sound of the door closing behind them, her head snapping back to look at it, before looking forward into the room ahead of them.

After a moment, the floor began to rise.

“Professor!”  Tara said loudly, clearly worried and unsure what to do.

“Uh… kneel!” shouted Roland.

Tara, not knowing what else to do, dropped to her knees as she was told to do, praying that this wasn’t the moment that she needed an archaeologist instead of an English professor.  

Ori dropped to her knees, tugging Jo down beside her, and Alejandro and the professor followed them.

The professor was still reading the journal as the ceiling got closer. “Spikes!” he yelled. “Spikes on the ceiling- don’t get pinned!”

Everyone looked up, scrambling out of the way. It looked like Alejandro and Jo could have been in some trouble if they hadn’t moved. When they had only four feet left, the room stopped. moving. Navigating around the spikes, the five adventurers crawled through the door; next to it was a lever that would presumably lower the room again.

“Can you imagine going to this much trouble to get to your work or home?”  Tara chuckled. “Even if you knew where all the traps were!”

“I think,” said Roland, who was sweating profusely, “that suggests how valuable a vault this hidden ‘city’ might be.”

The sixth room was a maze, and it looked as if time had damaged it similarly to the second room. In a few spaces, the group needed to crawl through a narrow passage; Roland got stuck, and they spent half an hour with handheld tools chipping away the rocks from around him. Eventually, they cleared a passage and moved through. 

The seventh room was a large room, with a stone statue of an Incan warrior facing them; his upturned hands were out in front of him, and the professor needed some time to transfer the inscription at the base of the statue.

“Bring to me the greatest weapon, that kings covet, puts warriors to ruin, and ends all battles.”

They looked around to see all manner of weapons and devices: spears, daggers, hammers, bows, arrows, as well as a shovel, a pipe, and some farming equipment.

Tara repeated the professor’s words and looked at the pile of items, the implements of an age so long ago she couldn’t even fathom it.  The tools here would be considered treasures by those who studied history for sure.  

“Ends all battles.”  Tara said again, looking at the shovel for a moment, considering whether it fit the other parts of the riddle.  “Kings might covet it…” Tara was clearly not as confident with this riddle as the last.

“I was thinking that too,” said Ori. “Shovels end a battle, burying the dead. But why would kings covet a shovel?”

“Building cities with it?  Not sure how it puts warriors to ruin other than burying them.  I’m not sure this is the answer. Did the Incans bury their dead?  Do we know?” Tara looked to the Professor.

“Some were mummified,” said Roland, deep in thought, before seemingly having an epiphany. “Ah! I think you’ll agree that I’ll earn my keep with this one, Tara. The pipe; it was used in a ritual to end wars. Kings covet peace to rule their kingdoms, peace ends battles of course, and it brings warriors to ruin by eliminating their chance for glory!”

Tara paused and nodded.  “Not bad, Professor. Not bad at all.  I think you might be right.” she smiled.  “Would you like to do the honors?”

“Of course,” said the professor. “This is also thematically appropriate. If this was the last great storehouse of Incan resources, consider the lessons imparted: kneel before the gods, value peace… as well as the others.” He lifted the pipe and place it into the hands of the warrior, where it seemed to click in; the statue lowered slightly and the door opened up.

“Here we go, almost there now.”  Tara said, eagerly anticipating what might be beyond this door.

“Two more?” asked Jo. “Ninth has the treasure?” Tara nodded.

The next room opened up to an expansive cavern, stretching into darkness in all directions; a stone path extended out into the cavern towards a gigantic stone skull a hundred feet in the distance.

“It’d be almost impossible to take this by force,” said Oriana, her voice sounding small in the cavern. “Crossing that bridge as an enemy? No way. Five good soldiers could hold that against a thousand.”

“If I’m ever a Godmother, remind me to build one of these in front of our home.” Tara gave a wry grin.

“A giant skull?” asked Jo.

“A bridge that five good men could hold against a thousand.”

“Guns make it a little tougher nowadays,” frowned Ori.

“Alright, fair enough, no moats and giant bridges will be implemented at Hollowpoint.”

The five of them moved out into the giant empty space, making their way toward the skull. When they reached there, they saw handholds leading up to the eyes.

“You got to admit, the giant skull doesn’t really inspire confidence.”  Tara said looking up at the massive thing before them.  

“No… no it does not,” said Alejandro. “Should we climb up to the eyes? Those look like handholds.”

“Well if there’s doorbell?”  Tara said with a hint of amusement.  “It does seem to be a possible way in, if somewhat challenging - though maybe not anymore so than all the other things we’ve gone through so far.  Shall I try to go up first? Take a look and see what can be seen? I feel like we’ve had Ori doing all the climbing work so far, maybe we can share the load some.”

Tara attempted to scale up the skull as soon as they arrived, keeping her eyes open for any possible traps that might be accidentally triggered along her climb up.

“I’ve got a switch over here in my eye,” said Alejandro. “Do you?”

“Yeah!” said Tara.

“Try to hit the together,” said the Professor. “On my count… 3...2...1..”

Tara and Alejandro both threw their switches, and they were rewarded with the sound of a sliding stone door.

“Teamwork makes the dream work.”  Tara dropped down from the skull and looked around for the door which was opening.

As the “mouth” of the skull dropped down, five other mouths joined it in a similar motion. The next room was filled with gold: coins, chalices, jewelry, and ingots. There were piles around the edge of the next room, leaving only a brief path to travel around it.

“Oh… shit,” said Oriana, staring.

“Have you ever seen such a thing all your life?”  Tara’s body trembled. “It’s like I’m dreaming.”

There was stunned silence for the moment, broken by Roland’s mirthful laughter. “Oh, Joseph. You were right, you son of a bitch. I’ll build a library for you… a museum, even…”

Alejandro walked over to one of the piles, letting gold coins run through his fingers.

“Worth all the trouble, friend?”  She asked Alejandro.

Tara grabbed hold of Ori’s hand, “Let’s find you something pretty to remember this by!  How’s this for jewelry shopping!” She laughed and tugged Ori further into the room to look around for something truly awe inspiring to gift to her lover.

Alejandro noticed the other three doors first. “What are these?” he asked. “More treasure rooms? What are these patterns on them.”

Tara glanced toward Alejandro’s voice, glancing at the marks which he was referring to.  “Wait a moment.” She said as Ori had begun looking through the various gaudy items made of priceless gems.  “I think those’re constellations… stars at least, you might be able to create patterns with it. Maybe it’s a lock to another door?”

Tara turned one of the circles, positioning it perfectly until it resembled the stars she’d gotten used to seeing in the jungle; she heard a click, and it opened up to a room filled with gemstones. The other two rooms were filled to the brim with silver.

Tara, Alejandro, Jo, and Roland moved through each room in a daze. It was five minutes before they noticed Ori was missing.

“Ori?”  Tara called out, dripping with gems and metal coins spilling out of all her pockets and satchel.

“I’m in here!’ yelled Oriana from the gold room. She’d climbed the pillar in the center and was hanging off the top of it, thirty feet or so off the ground. As Tara ran in, she saw Ori’s legs disappear as she climbed up.

“Look what I found,” said Ori, holding up the silver dagger of Chac Chel. “Although I don’t feel particularly able to remake the world. The golden idol thing that the professor was talking about it up here too.”

Tucking them in her satchel, Ori slowly climbed back down.

Tara chuckled, “Well, just in case, don’t go making any wishes to remodel anything okay?”

“What do we do with all this?” asked Jo. A minute later, the five of them were sitting in a circle, coming up with a plan. After a long discussion, they came up with a rough idea. Carry as much as they could out of the jungle with them, heading further north to avoid any Nazi traps in Ayacucho. After a day or two of celebration, Tara and Ori would load a plane and fly north with as many of the coins, jewels, and riches as they could. 

Roland, Alejandro, and Jo would supervise the excavation, then tour Europe with some of the rarer pieces; Roland knew enough people who would be interested, Alejandro would act as the translator, and Jo… well, Jo would enjoy a European tour more than anyone, as well as applying her charm. 

Ori seemed to relax at this. Alejandro and Roland were friends- but they were new friends. Jo, she trusted absolutely.

“I wish I had thought to lug a camera along,” said Tara. “I would have loved to have gotten a photo of all of us there to remember this by - Gavin will never believe the story. Even with all the money, who could believe such a thing?”

“I wonder how long it will take the rest of the world to find this place.”  

“Speed is of the essence, I think,” said Alejandro. “We’ll get this place emptied out as quickly as possible, then we’ll leave on our European tour. Tara, we’ll need your help setting up bank accounts, I think. Do you know someone who can help with that?”

“Absolutely.  Edgar is gonna shit a fucking brick.”  Tara laughed. “Yeah, I can handle it. I got a guy.”

“So that’s the plan, then,” said Roland. “We’ll get out to Mancora, get our initial shipment north with Tara and Oriana, then the three of us will take the same workers- before they can blab- back into the jungle with a few dozen more, and we’ll empty the place before anyone else knows it's here. Then the three of us skip out to Europe and sell the more rare artifacts.”

Tara made note to grab up a few items in particular that she liked that she wouldn’t sell.  Things that she would use in time as gifts and for important moments she hoped she’d live to see.  Brigitte’s wedding, Gavin… maybe some of the kids. They would deserve a small bit of this which they could start their lives with or keep as a special treasure to be passed on with the story of family adventures.  In this way, like the journals were for her foremothers, Tara and Oriana would not be forgotten.

It was hard wanting to leave such a place, even with pockets full of coins and treasure and the promise of creature comforts back in the real world, at least for Tara it was.  There was so much she knew could yet be learned in such a place. It wasn’t just money, it was these people’s journals… knives… guns. The legacy they’d left behind just as the Lucianos, Byrnes, and Mastrosimones had left.  While she was giddy at the idea of turning a profit on them, saving her family’s future, she also kept in mind that these were once sacred to someone the way her grandmother’s rings were to her mother. The way her grandfather’s knife was to her.

Once they had done all they could to take back as much as possible, they were off again.  And Tara knew she’d never again see that place or any place like it - God willing. At least not in this lifetime.

*
 

The weeks it took them to get out of the jungle flew by, moving much faster than the trip in. Their steps seemed lighter, even though their packs were full. After a brief conference, they decided to ditch most of their food and nonessential supplies to rely on what they could hunt.  After three weeks of walking, they emerged in a town in northern Peru, where they bought a truck to take them to Mancora.

When they arrived, Oriana and Jo slipped into the background, letting Tara, Alejandro, and Roland greet Alejandro Vega Sr. It was later in the evening, and they soon retired to their beds. Tara was woken almost immediately by a phone call. Ori’s voice.

“Tara. Go get Vega Sr.- get a doctor. Bring her to my room. Jo’s hurt. She’ll live but…” Ori hung up the phone.

Tara didn’t delay, she barely threw on something to be presentable and dashed off to get Vega Sr. and the moment she was in his presence she was immediately begging him to call for a doctor.  Not explaining herself, fearful that wasting even a moment would be too much she simply made her demands and pressed him to get the doctor to the room they were headed to next.

Once the old man had made a quick call for help, he and Tara headed to Ori’s room.  Tara had left him a little behind her, running faster than the older man could move.  

When Tara burst through the door, Jo was lying on the bed- which had a great deal of blood on it.

“It looks worse than it is!” said Ori, in her serious mission-voice that Tara knew so well.

“Oh my god-”  Tara exclaimed caught off guard utterly by the sight.  “What happened!?!”

“She got sliced in the face with a knife and shot in the leg because she didn’t listen to me.”

“I’m sorry!” yelled Jo, in pain. “I thought I could do it!”

“Who did this!?!”  Tara demanded. “Where are they now?”

“Dead!” yelled Oriana and Jo together as a doctor moved in immediately and began to work on Jo.

Tara sighed and shook her head before looking to Vega Sr.  “I’m sorry to again be the cause of such… distress at your lovely resort.  As soon as Jo can travel we’ll… we’ll depart so that we cause no more issues.”

“No need to apologize,” said Vega Sr. “And don’t be ridiculous.” He cleared his throat. “Will there be any issues with the police?”

“No,” said Oriana.

“The leg will need a few days to heal,” said the doctor, when he was finished working on Jo. “Fortunately, no bones were broken. The face is… well, I’m sorry to say that you’ll have a scar for the rest of your life, Miss.”

“All the best people do.”  Tara said reassuringly to Jo.  “Gives you character, mystery. A beautiful woman with a scar?  That’s a story every man wants to know.”

Jo laughed, but she was obviously still in pain.

As she was made comfortable, everyone else filed out; Ori stuck close to Tara, waiting for a chance to speak with her alone.

As soon as she could step away with Ori, Tara asked, “What aren’t you telling me?  How did this happen? Did our Nazi friends find us?”

“They were here, watching you and Alejandro as soon as you stepped off the truck. I ducked into the crowd to make sure they couldn’t report in. Jo tagged along, wanting to help. I’d set things up, but Jo made a move early, tried to take him herself. He must have caught her reflection, and things went to hell. In the scuffle, Jo got shot, then I grabbed the gun and he got Jo with the knife. We were in a basement, no one saw. He was the only person I saw watching you, so I think we’re safe now.”

“Fantastic.”  Tara sighed. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt and it’s good he didn’t get a chance to report to anyone but if he isn’t checking in often I suspect they might figure out we’ve returned here anyway.  I don’t think we should stay any longer than it takes to move Jo safely. What do you think?”

“Yea. I don’t think this was a priority for them, leaving a single man behind. We’ll spend the morning in the sun- we owe Jo that much- then leave immediately after. I’m feeling antsy, sleeping with this much treasure around.”

“You and me both.  Plus, I want to get back to the States, call and check on the kids, check in with Viktor.  By now he must think I’ve gone awol. The man gives me a button and I disappear… I suppose a large donation up the chain might help soften the blow of me being gone so long.  It will be nice to be back at Hollowpoint too.”

“I think we can afford it…”

“It’s all coming together now.  A fresh start. A new beginning.  Some stability and a chance to build our own dreams and see them come to pass.  It’ll make all these struggles worth it when we’re finally settled into our very boring routines back in Philly.”  She smiled warmly at Ori, reaching out and pushing a bit of her hair off her face.

“I’m looking forward to that. More than the beach. More than the treasure.”

“Really?  You’re not just saying that?  I mean… I worried that maybe the pace was a bit slow for your liking back in Philly as it was.”

“I liked it. This was fun. We’ll do something like it again, someday, I’m sure.. But for now… Hollowpoint. And building our life in Philadelphia.”

“Our life in Philadelphia.” Tara nodded.  “I like the sound of that.”

Epilogue

As the plane that had once belonged to Tara Byrne descended toward Philadelphia, Ori reached out and squeezed the hand of Tara Mastrosimone, soon to be known as Madam M.

“How are you feeling? Finally being home?” asked Ori. “I know we’ve only been gone a couple months, but it feels like years. Maybe a decade, even…”

“Older.  Changed. Happy though.  I think it all helped put some space between me and the war in New York, losing my parents and what have you.  Maybe I needed something like this to close the book on some of the past and start moving forward.”

Tara wet her lips, “Speaking of… I need to ask you a very big favor.  It’s a hard ask. I know it’s normally exactly your thing, but I think maybe you’re the only one who can do it.”

“Anything,” said Ori.

“Before we left, Malcolm sent me a note.  Gavin’s worried about him, and I didn’t think much of it at first cause I mean… Gavin is a worrier.  He’s like a professional at it. He loves everyone and just wants people to be happy and when they’re not he’s… well he’s always trying to make things better.  I figured he was overreacting. Then I read Malcolm’s letter. He thinks that Cerise’s training regimine isn’t enough. That she’s … not working him hard enough or pushing him the way she should.”

“He’s… nine. Or whatever he is. He shouldn’t be doing too much this early.”

“Exactly.  The fact that Gavin and Cerise are trying to let him train means the kid is pitching fits.  I think he’s doubled down on the whole angry thing. First his parents and then mine… the kid has an agenda and it’s gonna get him killed if someone who knows what the hell they’re doing doesn’t step in.  He asked me to ask you about planning a training routine for him. Apparently he thinks whatever Grandpa Gavin and you do might be good enough for him. That might, well, it felt like a very dangerous word.  The kid has clearly got to talk to someone.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to him. But you should be there, too. Just to make sure I don’t say the wrong thing.”

“Deal.  I don’t want you to discourage him persay.  He’ll go rogue. Kid with that much anger inside pretending he’s okay?  Gavin’s right to worry he’ll run first chance he gets if he thinks we’re trying to shield him from the path he wants to walk.”  Tara shook her head. “I want to make sure he’s safe and he doesn’t do anything without the family. No lone wolves even if I don’t like the path they’re picking.  It’s not my call. One day the boy will be a man. I just don’t want him suffering under any romantic delusions.”

“Okay,” said Ori. She squeezed Tara’s hand as the plane started its final approach to the runway. 

“Well,” said Ori, “we’re home.”

As the plane rolled to a stop, Tara was looking at Oriana, who was looking out the window. She saw Ori’s eyes go wide and a strange, unfamiliar, fearful look break upon her face.

“Oh… shit.” Oriana then did something that Tara had only seen a few times; she froze. When she looked out the window and saw the dozen of trucks and hundreds of U.S. Army soldiers standing at attention, she understood why.

Ori swallowed, holding onto Tara’s hand. “... let me go out there, try to buy you some time. Maybe you can use the emergency exit. Run away.” Even as Ori said it, she knew that it was futile.

“I have no idea what the fuck this is about… but I sure as hell am not letting you buy me time to run.  This isn’t Italy. If they’re out there, well, we should find out why.”

Ori looked out the window. “They have… a tank.”

“All the more reason not to blink.  Be calm. We’ve done nothing wrong aside from failing to make a few declarations coming into the country.  In my experience, there isn’t an American who can’t be made to see our way of things with money and that’s something we actually have.”

“I’m not even a citizen,” hissed Ori, as the stairs were attached to the plane. 

“Details.  Easily fixed if they’ve come here looking for something from us.  Hell maybe this works out in our favor.” Tara tried to remain calm and continued to bluster, bluffing was the only play she thought she had here and she wasn’t about to throw in the towel before she knew what she was facing.  She’d done some crazy shit, but nothing worthy of a tank. Whatever this was, it bore listening to.

A hardy looking man of about forty with close-cropped blonde hair entered the plane, flanked by two particularly large soldiers carrying rifles. “Good afternoon, ladies. My name is Colonel Theodore Hart. May I sit down?” He gestured to the seats across from the two women, facing them over the table.

“Welcome to my plane.  I’m Tara Mastrosimone. My associate, Oriana Montini, though I suspect you know that already.  Please, make yourself comfortable. Can I offer you a drink?”

“No, thank you. And if I were part of the main Army corps, you’d be right to assume that I didn’t know anything other than how to point and shoot. Fortunately or unfortunately for you, I’m an intelligence officer.

Tara leaned back in her high back leather chair.  Her attention locked on the Colonel. “What can I do for the United States Government tonight, Colonel?”

“To begin with, perhaps I should clarify what I am not interested in. Perhaps it will put you at ease. As an officer in the Military Intelligence Corps, my responsibilities are limited to foriegn threats to these United States. Crimes that occur within our borders are, frankly, neither my responsibility nor my interest. Are we understood on that point?”

Tara nodded, “Crystal clear.”

“That being said,” continued Hart, “I do have some limited authority to detain people or goods and contact those who would be particularly interested in.. other activities.” He watched Tara closely, ensuring that she wasn’t a dolt and that she understood the situation.

“Well, I think I understand your position a bit better, Colonel, thank you for the clarification.”  Tara said politely.

“Excellent. So perhaps you’ll explain to me how two dozen SS officers of the German Reinch were killed in some asscrack of a city in South America.”

“Oh.  Glad to.”  She said, turning her head to Oriana.  “Ori, would you be kind enough to bring the dagger to the Colonel?”

Throughout the whole conversation, Ori had been staring at the man like he was a snake. Then she nodded at Tara and left, as the two soldiers watched her closely.

Tara turned back to the Colonel, “I was contracted privately by an American citizen to escort him on a trip into the Amazon.  Pretty straight forward arrangement until these Germans started trying to kill us. First they attempted to poison my boss, then they shot down my plane over the jungle.  After that my associates did what they could to make certain I got back alive. The Germans were unfortunate casualties as they were very bent on killing anyone who looked to be after what they wanted… which… Colonel, was this item.”

Tara nodded to what Ori was holding.  Ori returned with the dagger, handing it to Tara.  Tara took the dagger and gave it to the Colonel.

“Which associates are those? The ones that removed three cells of German agents in a week?”

“I’m happy to answer that question, Colonel.”

“No you’re not, or you’d be answering it instead of explaining how happy you are to answer it. What’s your concern?”

“It would be a damn shame for the person capable of doing that to be deported to another country.  That person or persons should be American citizens. I’d rather have them fighting on our side than for someone like the Nazis or maybe Mussolini.  Is there any chance that if I give you the gory details you could make that happen?”

Hart leaned back in his chair. “Speaking on behalf of military intelligence… I’m intrigued by the possibility.” 

“My uncle, you’re aware of who William Byrne was?”  She asked politely folding her hands in front of her.

“I am.”

“William Byrne was assassinated by a team of operatives employed and trained by the Italian Government.”

Hart sat up, listening. “We’re aware of the rumors. What do you know?”

“Not rumors.  When the tides began to change that group had to get funding somewhere and they turned to the Godfather of Venice.  The man had a grudge against my parents. A hundred million dollar hit on my mother alone. William Byrne was a way to draw my mother out of hiding.  The reason I bring up this team of well trained, beautiful, deadly young women is that not all of that team was obliterated. A member or two might yet live.”

Hart drummed his fingers against his armrest as he listened to Tara speak. 

“And they may be working with Americans now.  Happily not in Italy and if they had to go back to Italy that would end most unfortunately.  I’m sure you have heard about the ruckus in Naples where three young women took out a bunch of military officers and were supposedly executed?”

Ori shot Tara a look that clearly conveyed “stop telling him things.”

“No. I’m not. I am focused on American interests, as I said.”

“Colonel, I want to help you in the future.”  Tara began. “My Uncle believed in America so much that he went into politics when he had every reason to not do so.  This person not being in the hands of European nations is in America’s best interest. I’m just asking for protections for this person, that their rights as a human being are given the same defense that yours and mine are.  In exchange, I’m happy to help in whatever way I can. I’m sure the same would be said of whoever took out those SS officers and soldiers.”

“And if I were to ensure that this person is protected from European nations by the United States, do you think it likely that this person volunteers to help said United States when it calls in the middle of the night?” He paused, before she could speak again. “Assuming these calls are rare, involving situations where it would be better for American interests to be represented by less official persons?”

“Every person who I know who has had the honor of calling themselves an American is a patriot, Colonel.  If we can serve our nation, rest assured, there wouldn’t be any hesitation - assuming those calls are indeed rare.  I just don’t want this person to become some sort of disposable weapon to be written off if things were to get complicated.  I want this nation to love them as they love this nation. If that makes sense?”

“It does,” said Hart. “Perhaps you can begin by writing a full report of any German activity in Peru. Take your time- make sure your details are correct.  I’ll be in touch with any follow up questions.”

“That we can do.  I would be curious for a bit of information in return - if you can provide it.  I had the misfortune of crossing paths with a woman by the name of Uta Brickner.  She claimed her father was someone I should be quite concerned with.”

“From what I heard, the misfortune was hers. And Brickner is a senior officer in the German SS. If you pissed him off… well, all the more reason to work closely with Uncle Sam.”

Tara nodded.  “Good to know.”  She stood up and offered her hand to the Colonel.  “I’ll have a report for you asap. Thanks for stopping by.”

Ori blinked. Tara was talking like the man had come over for tea, and there was a fucking tank outside.

Hart shook her hand. “We’ll be in touch.” Then he stood, nodded to the soldiers, and departed.

Tara exhaled and collapsed into her chair rubbing the bridge of her nose hissing out the word, “Fuuuuuuuuck,” slowly.

“What just happened?” asked Ori.

“The US Military Intelligence just learned that a woman with the capability of killing dozens of men without getting caught in a foriegn country was lading in Philly.  They decided to come up here with their guns and other toys to invite you aggressively to join their little club.” Tara sighed.

“Oh. That’s what I thought.”

“I … negotiated for you to get citizenship.  Which, is a risk for them. As long as you weren’t one they could put a collar on you and make demands and use you like an attack dog.  Citizenship comes with rights and rights mean they have to work with you… not use you. Of course they aren’t going to give away that control lightly so I had to agree that we’d work with them on a volunteer basis if they gave you those rights.”  She rubbed her temple. “So… you’re going to be an American who very proudly, on rare occasions, works for your government. The upshot is, once you have that citizenship - if they try to abuse you in any way, we have means to fight that other than with guns.”

Tara turned her chair to look at Oriana and took her hands in hers, clearly worried that Oriana was feeling betrayed.  “Ori, I’m never going to let anyone use you - or hurt you - or abandon you. I won’t. I didn’t fight Francesco and every other person since just so I could hand you off to some American soldiers.  You’re a person, not a fucking weapon and as god as my witness if they forget that even for a second…” 

Ori leaned against Tara. “I love you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t see this coming.”  She wrapped her arms around Oriana. “I should have-”

“You’re supposed to say it back, I think. And it’s my fault for killing all those people. I wasn’t… subtle.”

 “I love you, Ori.”  She kissed the side of Ori’s head.

“... do you think they’ll let me borrow a tank?”

Tara choffed.  “Only you would be thinking about that a time like this.”  She sighed. “Maybe. Right now though, let’s just go home.  What do you say?”

“Home sounds good to me. Maybe we’ll stop at the bank first. Make a deposit.” Ori grinned.