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“This is where it ends. Two may enter, but only one will leave.”
“Why?”
“It is the way it must be. When you are through, you must place this in the matching piece on the other side.”
He shoved the piece in my hand, then started forward. I grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “Gordo, what are you talking about? What other side?”
“You will see.”
He was so calm about all this, but was talking so cryptically. It was unnerving. I never saw it coming. He was in front of me one second, and then he was gone, pierced against the wall by a spear to his chest.
“Gordo!” I shouted, rushing forward. I tried to yank the spear from his chest, but it was pierced all the way through, cutting into the wall behind him. Blood gurgled from his throat, dribbling down his chin as his eyes met mine one last time.
“You…must complete…you must find the gold. Return it…to its rightful…resting place.” The air hissed out of his lungs and his head slumped forward. I pressed my fingers to his throat, feeling no pulse under my fingers.
I spun around, looking for anyone else around me. “What the fuck!” I shouted, sure someone was going to jump out and tell me this was all a practical joke. I looked down at the piece in my hand and knew what I had to do. I would finish this for Gordo if it was the last thing I did.
With my heart pounding in my chest, I turned to the far wall and spotted the divot that matched this piece. I didn’t know if it was a trap or not, but I was positive Gordo would not have given his life unless he was sure I would be able to continue from here. I placed the piece into the wall and pushed.
The wall opened up, revealing a smaller room with what looked like an altar at the far side. This was where the gold had to be returned. I slowly spun around the room, taking in all the beauty, and finally looked back at Gordo. A life had to be sacrificed to reach this room. And now it was my duty to make sure his legacy wasn’t forgotten.
51
CASH
“You know,there’s not a single fucking thing about that story that explains where this guy comes into the picture.”
FNG frowned slightly. “Well, I was getting to that, boss. You sort of interrupted me.”
“Because this story is going nowhere!” I snapped.
“Boss!” IRIS shouted, running toward us, shaking his head. “We’ve got him cornered in another building.”
“Why didn’t you just call me over comms.”
“No reception,” he answered. “The parking structure is interfering.” He stopped beside me, hands on his hips as he peered inside the car. “Who’s this guy?”
“Gordo,” FNG answered. “He’s?—”
I cut him off before he could spin another tale. “He’s someone FNG knows.”
“From your mission year?” IRIS asked.
“Actually—”
“It’s not important right now,” I cut him off again.
IRIS looked at me funny, but FNG was getting pissed. Good, because I was fucking irritated as hell that I had to continue to listen to these stories, never knowing which elements were true.
“It’s actually very important,” FNG snapped. “If you would just listen?—”
“Why?” I questioned. “So we can hear more half stories? So you can tell us that he’s connected, but then tell us it’s classified? We still don’t know how it is you managed to get a stake in your body!”
He flushed bright red, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. “Okay, I’ll level with you on that one. It’s…a little embarrassing.”
“More embarrassing than your wife killing a cartel while you were passed out on the ground?” I asked, digging the knife in just a little deeper. I didn’t feel bad, though. After all the tall tales, he could take a little heat from his coworkers.
“Actually…yes. After all that happened, we were finally free.”
