“Now, we settle accounts with Jamaisvous,” he stated.
THE TRIP BACK to Old San Juan was speedy and uneventful, except for the discovery that the injuries inflicted upon Soto’s foot were worse than he’d let on. He apologized profusely for being unable to accompany the others to El Morro, but Ryan would hear none of it, and insisted Jorge stay with his friend.
“There’s enough of us here to take care of business,” he told the two men.
When the group of companions reached the imposing fortress, all was quiet inside. No table had been set for breakfast, and other than the cook and her daughter, no sec men-or, for that matter, no Doc Tanner or Mildred Wyeth or Silas Jamaisvous-were to be found.
“Gateway,” Jak suggested, and they traced then-steps back along the path taken mere days before when Jamaisvous had led them up into the living quarters of the fortress.
“Halt, Cawdor!” a voice rang out.
The barrel-chested sec guard stood firm at the open hallway leading to the inner bowels of the fortress where Jamaisvous had installed his modified gateway and temporal laboratories. The hefty Tec 10 blaster was held ready, a silent deterrent backing up its master. There was nowhere to duck for safe cover in the hall, a tidy piece of extra security that the guard seemed well aware of from his position.
“Hold up,” Ryan said to the others. “I don’t think we’re welcome.”
“Where’s Luis?” the sec man asked.
“He ate something that didn’t agree with him,” Ryan said blandly.
“Que?”
“Forget it.”
The guard sneered. “Where is the rest of your merry band of chupacabras hunters?”
“They’re back at home with their families,” Krysty replied. “Glad to be alive and proud to have accomplished something to help their people instead of cowering up here in this fortress.”
“They’re all scared. Too frightened to come up here to El Morro. Frightened the chupacabras is going to come hopping out of a rathole and bite them on the ass!”
Ryan’s visage managed to grow even more defiant. “So you say, but I didn’t see you volunteering to go tramping around in El Yunque either.”
“I was not assigned. My duties were here.”
“Sure, much easier to let someone else take the risks, isn’t it?” Dean said.
“You watch your mouth, boy, or I’ll-”
“You’ll what?” Ryan challenged. “Which one of the matching set are you, anyway?”
My brother is busy. You have no right to be here. Unless you want to take this beyond words, I suggest you back up. Now.”
Ryan felt the anger flare inside his brain, but he kept it under control, leashed. “Step aside, Lopez. I’ve got business with your boss.”
The guard frowned. ‘ ‘Dr. Jamaisvous left strict orders not to be disturbed.”
“Your precious doctor has been playing you and your people for fools,” Krysty said. “We just got back from ground zero for chupacabras.”
Lopez looked at the long-limbed redhead with a confident smirk. “El chupacabras doesn’t exist. Old tales told to children to frighten them into bed.”
Ryan jerked up his bandaged hand to the fresh scabbing on his face. “I didn’t get these cuts shaving, Lopez. Nor did any of the rest of us. Every scab and bruise you see on us came from one of those mutie sons of bitches, and your master, the mighty Dr. Silas Jamaisvous is the one responsible for unleashing them on San Juan.”
Lopez wasn’t convinced. “You lie. How is this possible?”
“I’m not saying he did it on purpose-mebbe he screwed up somehow when he came to San Juan and took over this fortress. But I do know he’s the one behind the chupacabras problem, and I want to discuss it with him. Now.”
“My brother has been as polite to you as possible. I think words are not going to convince you, Caw-dor.” On that note of menace, the second of the twin sec men, Lopez’s brother, Garcia, stepped around the comer behind the group, his matching Tec 10 leveled and ready.
Ryan kept his cool on the surface. Things were going south triple fast, and every second they spent in pointless debate with Jamaisvous’s watchdogs was a second more that could spell disaster for Doc and Mildred, neither of whom had been found in the upper levels of the living areas of the fortress.