Sinclair grabbed some paper towels and dabbed off the blood and vomit on Hayes's face while Kasen offered his canteen. Hayes weakly took the canteen as he sat up, his upper body wobbly. He took a swig, washed it around in his mouth, then spit to the side. Then he took a deep drink.

Orson was standing still, watching, hands on hips.

"We need a medic," Sinclair repeated.

Orson slowly nodded.

"All right. I'll take care of it."

He went over to the phone linking them to the ASTs and quietly spoke into it.

"An ambulance is on the way," he said afterward.

Then he went to his laptop, typed in a message and transmitted it.

Ruiz wiped the sheen of sweat off his forehead as he stood in the warehouse. Behind him were three large wooden crates resting on pallets. They contained the rest of the Golden Lily treasure from the cave that was supposed to be auctioned this evening. He checked his watch once more. It was time, but where was -

He looked up as the small door set into the large sliding door for the warehouse opened. The Japanese woman walked in. She was dressed all in black: slacks, shirt, and leather coat. She was carrying a metal briefcase. She walked up to the small table set in front of Ruiz and put the case on it without a word. Then she gestured with one hand, indicating for him to open it.

Ruiz hesitated as he considered the possibility the case was rigged. But his greed overcame his fear and he flipped the two latches and swung the lid up. Stacks of cash along with a plane ticket were lying on top, and a Japanese passport.

"As promised," the woman said.

"Only half the money. The other half will be given to you at the airfield after we ensure you have given us what we paid for and to make certain that you truly are gone. We don't want you having second thoughts."

A second thought was the last thing on Ruiz's mind as he checked the plane ticket and saw his picture in the passport along with a new name.

"Is this real?" he asked, holding up the passport.

"Yes."

He stared at the cash.

"Everything remaining is in the crates."

"I'm sure it is," the woman said. She was looking at him strangely, and he wondered what she was thinking.

His focus shifted back to the case and the money.

"Abayon," she said. Ruiz was startled.

"What?"

"Abayon. Why did he put these pieces out for auction? He's been sitting on them for over half a century."

Ruiz shrugged.

"He wants to help fund other groups. He has so much there…" He paused, not sure how much he should say.

"He has the Golden Lily, of which this is only a taste," the woman said.

"You knew that," Ruiz said.

"Or else you would not have sent the envoy."

"Who you killed."

Ruiz licked his lips.

"Abayon did that. I wasn't even there."

"What else does Abayon have planned?"

"Nothing."

"You lie."

Ruiz took a step back from the table.

"No. I have no idea. This was my job…" He indicated the crates.

"Abayon is very good at keeping things compartmentalized. I only know what I needed to know to do this."

"That is too bad," the woman said. Her hands were on her hips, the long leather coat pulled back. For the first time Ruiz noted a sword hanging at her side. A samurai sword.

"We have a deal," Ruiz said, his throat tight.

"Yes, we do."

The woman indicated the case.

"Take it."

Ruiz tentatively stepped forward, snapped the case shut and picked it up. He held it at his side.

"Our deal is complete now, yes?" the woman asked.

Ruiz frowned.

"Yes."

"Very good. I am a person of honor. I would never allow it to be said I do not fulfill my word."

"Well, that's good," Ruiz said. He glanced over his shoulder toward the back door. He froze as he saw a large black man with a wicked looking gun in his hand standing there.

"What the hell?"

"The deal is done," the woman said. The door behind her opened and another man walked in, short and muscular, with a submachine gun in his hands.

"Hey."

Ruiz held up the briefcase.

"I – "

"Made a deal," the woman said. She flipped aside the right side of her long leather coat and smoothly drew the sword.

"Both of us kept our word. But now the deal is over."

"Wait!" Ruiz begged.

"For…?" The woman cocked her head.

"Abayon is up to something else," Ruiz said.

"We know that," the woman said.

"That statement is of no help."

"A submarine. It involves a submarine."

The woman lowered the sword.

"If everything is so compartmentalized, how do you know this?"

"I talked to one of the men who was to be part of her crew. They kept the submarine hidden, probably in one of the coves on Jolo, but they had to get men to operate her."

"What does Abayon plan to do with the submarine?"

"The man didn't know," Ruiz said.

"He said it was an old submarine."

"That is not very specific."

"He was very drunk," Ruiz said.

"He said it was a one-way mission. They were all volunteers who had agreed to give their lives."

"That is all?" Ruiz nodded, a sheen of sweat on his forehead again.

"Good, then you will not mind giving your life either."

She gestured at the black man, and he drew a similar sword from a scabbard on his back.

"Take it," the woman said as the man came forward and laid it on the table.

Ruiz shook his head.

"No. This is not – "

"Take it or they will shoot you," she said.

"An honorable death is to be preferred over being shot down like a dog."

"But we made a deal," Ruiz whined.

"And I told you all I know."

"And we completed the deal. And you told me all you know, so you are of no more use to me. Now you must go through me to get out of here."

"But why?" Ruiz was frozen.

"Pick it up."

She tapped the table with the tip of her sword.

"There really is no choice."

Ruiz's shoulders slumped. There was now a third armed man in the warehouse. With a trembling hand, Ruiz picked up the sword. He awkwardly held it in front of him, blade vertical, trying to protect his upper body.

The Japanese woman smiled coldly. She stepped around the table, her sword gripped in both hands, blade held low. Ruiz did the unexpected, charging forward, the blade swinging in a wide arc at the woman's head. Unexpected to the members of the team gathered around, but apparently not to the woman. She ducked under the swing and jabbed her sword into Ruiz's stomach, piercing right through and coming out his back. Just as quickly, she withdrew the blade and, as the first gasp of pain left his lips, gracefully spun, blade level and extended, and severed his head from his body.

Ruiz's lips were still open in the gasp as the head bounced off the concrete floor.

The woman pulled out a lace kerchief and wiped the blade clean, then slid it back in its scabbard.

The corridor was six feet wide by eight high. The walls were roughly hewn rock, and Vaughn assumed that an existing tunnel had been expanded to make this passageway. He doubted that the technology existed during World War II to completely carve this out of solid rock. His assumption was confirmed as he noted occasional natural openings on either side as they moved farther into the mountain.

Their progress was stopped after about a hundred meters by an iron door that appeared to be bolted on the other side, since it did not budge when both he and Tai put their weight on it.

"What now?" Tai asked as she considered the door.

They had a limited amount of explosives, but using them was the last thing Vaughn wanted to do.