Chapter 121

Javier forced the group to walk quickly through the forest. He had overheard Shawn’s discussion with the authorities, so time, he understood, was running out. With frantic haste bordering on obsession, he hiked through the undergrowth. He growled and turned his head left and right every time a twig broke under someone’s foot.

The Russian, too, looked nervous, making sure he covered a 360-degree area with his pistol as he whirled it around wildly.

Shawn’s thoughts drifted to Catherine. He wished that the police would come fast enough to get her medical treatment. The wound hadn’t looked good, and his wife must have lost a tremendous amount of blood in a short amount of time.

After a few more moments of marching through the trees, the group entered what Shawn had seen earlier.

Dave stared at one of the most outstanding Buddha shrines he had ever seen. Loose ground encircled it, indicating that the enormous thing had been largely concealed and buried, if not totally underground for hun