Project Rescue - A Shifter Novel (NaNoWriMo19)
Chapter 26 - Bug Out

“Follow me exactly. Hold on to me if you need to but stay right behind me,” Matheus insisted.

I wondered if he would have told me but then again I would have stayed in the cave, not moving until I heard from one of them. Matheus needed to be a little more explanative when he sent a person down a tube of death.

“I know. I’ve never used it and didn’t think anyone else would either,” Matheus explained.

“I said all of it out-loud didn’t I?” I asked quietly.

“Yes, and now all the shadows know how much of an idiot I am when it comes to my personal life. At least they still know I can make gadgets,” Matheus groaned out.

I shrugged my shoulders. I wasn’t going to apologize and he wasn’t expecting one. “So, are we going to get out of here before they blow your house?”

“Follow me.”

I grabbed hold of Matheus’s shirt as Madrid grabbed hold of my shirt. Nobody wanted to go kaboom. We walked following Matheus’s steps, not stepping out of line once. When we made it to a cave structure we stopped.

“We’re here,” Matheus commented.

I looked around, noticing the cave was well equipped. There were hammocks hung in one corner. The other corner had more monitors that again slid into the rock face, protecting the monitors from any wet weather. I looked more and in another corner was a table with ten chairs. The next corner was a cooking station.

I heard a noise and turned around to see a rock face cover the front of the cave. You couldn’t tell if it was a real rock or not. “Does the seal look the same outside?”

“Yep. I didn’t want anyone to see the cave and I could hide my equipment. It has its own ventilation system and solar power. I hid an antenna in some hollowed branches on the top of the cave, so we are all set,” Matheus explained.

“You made this whole damn cave,” Madrid asked incredulously.

“Yes, I did. It wasn’t too hard and I had help from Manuel.”

“You did well.”

All of us heard, “They are still inside getting ready to go through the tunnel. As soon as they are in we will...wait one.”

All of us heard the blast and felt it a little under our feet. It seemed as if the shadows set enough charges to level a city block. The ground shook and groaned for a minute. Then it was as if the explosives didn't go off. And, the cave-like structure stayed standing. I didn't see any cracks and I looked hard.

“Need coordinates. Glad it’s raining or else there would have been a bigger fire. Sorry to say but two people jumped before the blast. One was Barbosa and the other was his interpreter. They ran off a good clip away. Headed to you now,” another shadow responded.

“At least Antonio made it out safe. I wished he would have pushed the fucker into the house first though,” Madrid commented.

The three of us walked to the monitor, looking to see if we could replace where the monster was. He was a very good clip away from the house. The fire was still going but the rain was keeping it down.

Matheus pulled his computer from a panel on the other side of the monitor and typed in the coordinates, letting the shadows know to contact us to have him lead them in. We got a copy from all six of the team members. We took a look at the monitor to make sure they didn’t have trouble coming their way.

“You have a lot more cameras this time and they are at a different angle too,” I stated, watching the monitors with the men.

“Yes. I figured out if the enemy wanted to know how I knew when to blow shit up they would look up and replace the cameras in the trees. So, I put them higher into a hollowed-out compartment in the tree. They are covered with their natural foliage but rearranged to not show.”

“And, you also have telephoto lenses, right?” I asked.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Matheus asked.

“I guess I’m starting to figure you out. Not all the way but some,” I answered laughing as quietly as possible.

“Oh, damn! I forgot to tell you, you don’t have to be quiet in here. I have the same noise cancellation but even better.”

Madrid and I nodded our heads, still looking at the monitor.

I hope Madrid's facial expressions were better when he wasn't paying attention. I could tell Madrid didn’t know how Matheus could do so much. How he built all this cave system, outfitted it, and booby-trapped it, too. Not only that, he built two houses and he bet he had the same set-up as he did here.

I was thinking about how smart my mate was and how sexy looking he was. Even bugging out of the house, walking for a while, and making sure we knew what he had done. An incredible mind was very sexy to me. I wanted someone who challenged me and he was the one who could do it. And, I was very thankful for him, and Madrid.

“Look, they found the other cameras,” Madrid announced.

“Not all of them. Watch and see.” We watched the monitor. “Antonio is only pulling the most noticeable ones and leaving the ones that are hidden better. I hope he knows what he’s doing. I knew Barbosa wouldn’t want to pull them down himself, lazy ass,” Matheus commented.

I laughed. I had to agree with Matheus. If the monster could get anyone to do his work he would. The only thing he wouldn’t let anyone else do was his books. He didn’t want any of the men to see his books. I had gotten a look at them once. I made a copy of the last few pages, turning them into the council.

“We’re at the first location, go-go gadget, now, let’s see if you can replace us,′ the team leader bragged.

“You got it. And, I won’t use my monitors to replace you. Right now they are on Barbosa. Let’s see how good you are. Watch for any of Barbosa’s men. The General will be watching to see if there are any near you,” Matheus commented back, smiling like a kid at the candy store.

“I’ll be right back,” Matheus happily said as he grabbed me and kissed me back on the mouth. He was smiling as he opened the rock and walked out.

“Be careful,” I quickly said, touching my lips where Matheus kissed. I guess he got me back from before but I didn’t care, I rather enjoyed his kiss. Now, to watch him and keep him safe.

I watched the monitors with Madrid, pacing a little. My stomach was in knots and my heart rate almost doubled. I was worried the monster would replace him and kill him where he stood. I wouldn’t put it past him. Matheus had all but said they were at war. Now, the monster would double up his men to look for all three of us, not knowing about the team. It was a good thing Antonio signaled them or we would have been dead as a doornail.

I decided to look around and see if there was anything to cook. I didn’t know if there was meat or not but it was better than watching Matheus pick up the men. I found a regular freezer and refrigerator, one I guessed was on the solar panel, and looked in and rooted around. I found some meat, smelling it to see if it was good. I found a pan on a rock shelf and pulled it down on the burner. I cut the meat into cubes, slowly browning the cubes. I looked around for any spices, replaceing some in a weatherproof lockbox. I found the water in a few huge jugs and put some of it in the pan after the meat had browned enough. I turned the gas on and lit the burner with the lighter I had in my pocket that I borrowed from Matheus. After putting the meat and spices on the burner I looked in the refrigerator for vegetables, replaceing a lot of them. I was all set to make a stew that would serve all of us. Good thing the pot was huge.

“Wait, Matheus, you have two of the idiots of Barbosa coming your way,” Madrid told Matheus. “You’re going to need to hide, they are searching in grids. Do it now!”