Nancy Drew Strikes Again

“Ugh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” I said, as we exited the dense forest.

“What?” Deanna asked, wiping her brow with a blue bandana. Her dark, frizzy curls had exploded around her face in the humidity. I gestured at the group of men huddled at the cave entrance.

Duke Harrington III, a gorgeous dark-haired asshole and my arch nemesis, stood next to his right-hand man, Louis Simon. Binoculars hung around Duke’s neck and his safari-like shirt billowed in the wind.

“Damn it,” Deanna cried.   

“Oh, great. Nancy Drew and her little bestie are here,” Duke said, noticing us. I crossed my arms, glaring at him.

“Just because we don’t have Daddy bankrolling us doesn’t mean we don’t know what we’re doing,” I said. “Deanna has a Ph.D. in Latin American and Caribbean history while E! News reported that you gambled away your tuition money at a casino in Monte Carlo.”

Duke grinned.

“You’ve been reading up on me, baby?”

“That’s what you got out of that?”

“As fun as this is, we need to go so we get back before dark,” Louis said in his French accent. Louis, a blonde poet type and the brains of the operation, stood next to two burly guys with huge backpacks.

“He’s right,” Deanna said, checking her watch. I gave Duke the finger and strode inside.

“Be careful,” Duke called.

“Like I haven’t done my research,” I said, clicking on my flashlight. Except before I could analyze the rocky terrain, something came flying out of my peripheral to the left. “Down!”

Deanna and I both dropped as a swinging rock flew through the air and smashed into the other side of the cave. Despite what that arrogant jerk said, Deanna and I had over a decade of experience between the two of us, meaning she hadn’t hesitated at my warning. A whistle sounded behind us as we stood and dusted ourselves off.

“Nice one,” Duke said. I resisted the urge to growl at him and kept walking.

Duke and Louis followed twenty feet back, letting us do the dirty work, as Deanna and I moved forward silently not wanting to disturb the natural environment. It wasn’t always a trip wire or a hole in the ground that got you.

“We’re half a mile in,” Deanna said after about ten minutes. “The tomb isn’t far off. I would expect more obstacles any second now.”

The tomb Deanna referred to held a golden mask that’d been buried with a prominent chieftain hundreds of years ago. Rumor said it could be worth thirty million dollars. It would also be a crucial piece of Venezuela’s history, which was why we wanted to preserve it and turn it over to Venezuela’s public art collection.  

I flashed my light toward the top of the cave and several steps ahead of us, checking for more traps. A sudden yelp and a thud had us spinning around. One of Duke’s guards screamed in pain from where he’d activated an iron bolt. It’d gone straight through his leg. I tried not to vomit at the sight of the pouring blood.

“We have to keep going,” I told Deanna. She nodded. If Duke found the mask first, he’d sell it to the highest bidder and the Venezuelan people would get to see it.

Ten steps later Deanna yelled, “jump!” This time, I followed her instructions as a swinging blade whipped by under my feet.

“Sorry, Nance” Deanna panted, catching up to me. “I didn’t realize the rock I’d stepped on was attached to something until too late.”

“No worries. We must be getting close.” The air had gotten colder and more stale as we ascended.

“We’re at point eight three miles. We have zero point eight left,” Deanna said. Significant because the distance equaled the number thirteen times seven, both important numbers in early Latin American culture.

“We’ve avoided two traps and triggered three so two left?” I asked, thinking along the same lines. Deanna nodded.

“One has to be on the tomb, though.”

“Agreed.”

Several more minutes passed as we crept through the dark and damp cave, a strange tangy scent in the air. Finally, Deanna’s watch buzzed.

"This is it,” she said. I looked around but found nothing. I picked up a rock and threw it into the dark abyss while Deanna frowned and started feeling along the walls. Suddenly, a rumble started under our feet, growing stronger and louder as time went on.

“What did you two do?” Duke asked, joining us.

A sound I never wanted to hear again reached my ears.

“Run!” I yelled.

Deanna sprinted beside me.

“What is it?” Duke asked, he and Louis running with us. Despite his insults, we’d crossed paths enough he knew we weren’t the green kids he wished we were.

“Boulder,” I grit out as I ran.

“What?” he asked.

The rolling sound got louder and the shaking increased. Louis tripped and fell, crying out. Duke cursed, turning back, and Deanna and I ran faster, passing the bodyguards. When they saw us, they too began to run but were slowed by the injured one.

Deanna went down on one knee and I grabbed her hand, dragging her along until she was back on her feet.

“Hurry, we’re almost there.”

Sunlight streamed in up ahead and we sprinted the last bit before we flung ourselves out and to the side. A massive boulder slammed into the mouth of the cave seconds later, sealing it shut.

“Shit, that was close,” I said.

“You think they made it?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I noticed an alcove they could’ve hidden in one click back.”

“Why didn’t we stop there?” Deanna demanded, brushing dirt off her backside.

“Because we need to get to the second potential location before Duke.”  

“He’s going to be pissed we left him here,” she said.

“He has a sat phone. Daddy'll have him out by tomorrow. Besides,” I grinned, holding up the keys to Duke’s rental car. “We’ll be long gone by then.”