It’s taken me months to become accustomed to the vivid green after the dry outback in Australia. The heat was something I was used to, if not the humidity.
And Reed isn’t being paranoid, as there have been attacks in the past. The mine site had been broken into and miners had also been attacked.
While our vehicle is unmarked. It is new and regularly uses these roads as we move between sites. The mine is also new, only a year old and run by an American company that was determined to make a good impression by building schools and fixing roads as part of its social commitment to get the permits from the government.
Everyone is here for the emeralds.
The SUV crawls along.
I close my eyes, content to wait in the air conditioning. I’d gotten a call mid-morning to check out some digging that’s been happening at one of the secondary sites. Those kinds of calls mean something has been found in the test holes. What I do now is a bit more complex than when I used to stare at a rock wall with Dad to try to locate an opal vein.
Unofficially, I’ve been a mining geologist since I was eight. After Mom died, Dad would take me gem hunting with him. Back then, it was for opals over the school holidays. What we found was enough to fuel my interest in making his hobby my career.
I never thought I’d end up on the other side of the world.
The car stops again.
Reed growls, and I hear the click as he takes the safety off his rifle.
My heartbeat quickens as I glance at him. Then I see the armed men walking along the side of the road.
“Might be nothing. Sit tight,” he says as if there’s somewhere I can go if things take a turn. “Belt done up?”
“Yeah.” My seat belt is buckled. I’d heard of gem sellers getting taken, but that’s because they carry emeralds and money. We don’t have any of that.
A driver. An ex-soldier turned private security, and a geologist are not exciting targets. Neither Reed nor I have a rich family to pay for our releases either. Being the only two Australians on site made it easy for us to connect.
Even though he’s friendly, too much for it to be called professional, and I’m pretty desperate to get laid, I have a rule that I don’t sleep with people on site. Word has a way of getting around, and I don’t need that rep.
Has watching them train been noticed by more than only them?
When they ask me to join in, it seems like they mean their exercise, but after this morning I’m pretty sure that’s not what they’re talking about. I shouldn’t be thinking about that. I need to concentrate on what’s going on. Reed seems to have forgotten about this morning. He hasn’t mentioned it once. He’s barely looked at me.
Reed checks behind and swears. “We’re stuck between vehicles.”
He pulls out a radio and contacts the base. “This is an FYI. We have a road-block situation.” He gives our location, but I don’t know who he’s talking to.
“It will be fine. Wait.” The driver glances at me in the rearview mirror.
I frown. Traffic can be slow, a car might be broken down, or livestock might have gotten loose. Add in the weather…
The armed men are moving closer. They check the car in front and let it pass, then they beckon our car forward. Reed lifts the rifle, so it’s visible to anyone peering in the vehicle. Hopefully it’s enough to dissuade trouble.
The driver swallows, and the sour scent of sweat is blown back to me by the AC.
My heart is thumping on my ribs.
Reed glances at me. “Your door locked?”
I double check, but it is.
“This isn’t a police check point. Drive on,” Reed orders the driver. “The road is clear.”
By clear, he means traffic is moving once it’s cleared this impromptu check point. The SUV creeps forward, and the driver rolls down his window.
“What are you doing? I said drive.”
“I need to know what’s going on.”
