AN: Super short and long overdue, but here it is!

Chapter Nineteen

Anne Walker tilted her head back and breathed deeply of the thick, humid air. The bustle of the Colombo marketplace ebbed and flowed around her in frenetic patterns, kicking up little puffs of sand that clung to her bare calves. She had never been more grateful to be home.

Next to her, August grumbled and shifted his weight. They hovered near a stand, pretending to examine the wares while they waited. August tugged at the collar of his black tee-shirt, which was already stained with sweat, and then pushed his curled fringe back off his forehead. She couldn't help but swallow back a laugh at his miserable expression.

"Something funny?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"It's just nice to be home," she answered idly, lacing her arm through his and leaning against his shoulder.

"Would've been nicer if home wasn't so close to the equator." August shook his head and flexed his free hand, which she'd discovered in the last few days was a nervous tick. "What's taking her so long?"

"Relax, it's only been fifteen minutes since she left," Anne said. "She's arranging a ride for us, not buying a drink." After landing in Colombo, they had taken the two hour drive to Neluwa, just south of the Siharaja Forest Reserves where the hidden temple city resided. Once there, Natasha had slipped away to find transportation for them, claiming to have contacts in the city. Anne wasn't particularly surprised; as far as she could tell, the Russian had connections everywhere.

"I wouldn't mind a drink right now either," August responded. "Is he still tailing us?"

"He's watching us from the café across the street," she said, glancing across to where Eyal was sitting at a rickety table. "So tell me, when did I become the calm one and you're the panicky newbie?"

August smirked and elbowed her in the side. She hated to admit just how much she liked that damn smile of his. "I just want to get moving. I don't like lingering in the city like this, too many people and too great a chance of someone spotting us in the crowd. We don't exactly blend in with the locals." He leaned forward and pretended to scour the table of handmade jewellery in front of them. He really was a rather convincing actor; it made her feel less ashamed of the fact that she hadn't realised he was blind until after more than a day of knowing him. "This one's lovely, don't you think?" he asked as a cover, gesturing vaguely.

Reaching out, she traced her fingertips over a necklace made of pale shells and felt something in her heart clench. She rolled her wrist where her bracelet used to hang and frowned. She turned her head away and out of the corner of her eye she caught a faint motion. Glancing over, she locked eyes with Eyal, who gave a short nod and then stood.

"Eyal just gave the signal," Anne announced softly and she felt him stiffen with anticipation against her side.

"Thirty seconds, then we follow him," August reminded her under his breath, and she squeezed his forearm to show that she understood. As he ran his fingers over a silken scarf, she could tell that he was tense and listening. She counted in her head, and when she reached the thirty second mark, she tugged lightly on his arm.

"Honey, come, look at this," she said with false enthusiasm and steered him through the crowded street. "I've missed this," she admitted as they walked, the thrum beneath her voice betraying the casual tone. "The markets and people and bustle. You don't get this sort of feel in America. There everyone is always just rushing on to the next thing, but here everything feels so organic and alive."

"And humid," August added cheekily.

Anne snorted and shook her head. "You can complain about anything, can't you?"

"You're not the one wearing a black shirt and jeans," he pointed out. "Please tell me we're headed somewhere in the shade."

"It'll cool down once we get into the jungle, so quit being such a baby," she said, laughing. August shot her a petulant look that only made her laugh harder. They travelled the rest of the way in silence, Anne focusing on keeping track of Eyal's darting figure weaving ahead of them.

Finally they rounded a wide bend into an open area, half-hidden behind a large warehouse of some sort. Natasha and Eyal were waiting with a wiry Sri Lankan man, and beside them were a pair of large four-wheel ATVs.

"We're ready to leave," Natasha announced without pre-empting. "I've arranged our transport."

"ATVs?" Anne asked in amusement. She had expected something much more subtle and primitive, donkeys perhaps, but these would definitely get them there more quickly.

"Brilliant," August said eagerly, his face lighting up. "I've always wanted to drive one of these."

Anne laughed while the others looked at him, stunned. "Nice try, Daredevil, but I want to make it there in one piece," she rebutted. "I'm driving."

"You know the way from here?" Natasha asked and Anne nodded. "Good. Let's move then, before anyone realises we're here."

Anne took August's hand and led him to the ATVs, setting his hand on a back fender. She swung a leg over the seat and made herself comfortable, and then looked back at August, who hadn't moved. "Well hop on, cowboy," she teased.

"Yee-haw," he said dryly. She watched as he traced the edge of the machine until he found the seat, and then awkwardly climbed on. Once he was straddling the seat, he slid forward and settled in behind her. "Okay, I'm ready when you are, princess."

Smirking, Anne revved the engine and the ATV shot forward. Behind her August yelped in alarm and hastily threw his arms around her waist to stop himself from falling off. "That wasn't very nice," he shouted over the rush of the wind as they sped away from the noise of the city.

"No, but it was funny," she responded, laughing. August grumbled something in reply but whatever it was she couldn't hear it.

The outer edges of the city gave way to wilderness, and Anne watched the jungle swell up and surround them. This was her land, the places she knew the best. For the first time in almost a week, she felt like she had the upper hand. Or was on even ground, at the least.

They drove through the winding jungle roads for several hours, criss-crossing broadly across the jagged mountains. She followed the trailhead names that she'd had to memorise on joining the monastery, working their way around toward the caves hidden in between the mountains. The skies were full of colourful birds, and rivers and streams cut through the patchworks of brilliant green. August's arms were wrapped securely around her and his warm body against her back was a comforting presence against the chilly jungle air.

It must have been close to noon when they finally reached the familiar collection of trails that she knew signalled their turn-off point. Slowing down, she pulled up to a stop and waited for Natasha and Eyal on the other ATV to catch up to them. "This is where we have to head off the road," she said when they'd stopped. "There's a ravine a couple miles straight east from here, and the temples are in the caves in there. We're going to have to go a lot slower though, 'cause it's narrow and easy to get lost. I've only ever been here once and we went on horseback so I don't know how well these will fit."

"We'll stay slow and close behind you," Natasha said, loosening her grip on Eyal's waist to lean closer so she could be heard.

Anne nodded and then glanced over her shoulder at August. "You doing all right back there?" she asked.

"I'm good," he answered, turning his head toward her voice. Anne couldn't fight down a bubble of laughter when she saw that the wind had blown his fringe until it was nearly standing up on end. "You sure you don't want to let me drive for a while?"

"I'm completely positive," she said. She patted his hand on her hip once before accelerating the ATV again and steering them onto the narrow track between the trees, nearly concealed by the tangle of foliage. It had been several years since she had last made the trip to the hidden temple and the plantlife had grown up over the path so they had to travel slowly as Anne picked out the faint traces of their roadway.

"I have to admit," August called over her shoulder, "this place does smell lovely. All that fresh water and plants and such."

"It's beautiful here," she replied. "I wish you could see it."

"I'll make due with what I've got," he said simply and inhaled deeply. Since they had slowed down slightly, he had loosened his grip on her waist and his hands were a warm, comfortable weight on her thighs. She sincerely hoped his bat ears couldn't hear the catch in her heart rate that caused. Anne shook her head and forced herself to focus entirely on the path ahead of them. They couldn't afford to get lost, not now that they'd diverted from the marked trails.

The mountains swept up from the ground ahead of them and it didn't take long for the sun to disappear behind the ancient, ragged peaks. The ATVs whined as the road began to swing up and down in great arcs, following the natural progression of the land. Anne felt her body tensing with each mile that passed, knowing that they were getting closer. Nearly there. The whole thing was nearly over. They were nearly safe.

A final curve of the trail brought them into a wide, open ravine in the cleft between twin peaks. The side of the cliffs were dotted with caves and small dwellings built directly into the stone walls. Livestock shuffled in their pens and smoke drifted lazily from the chimney of a few of the homes. Anne's heart leapt into her throat as she gazed upon the village, centred around one particularly wide cave, and she let off the accelerator. "We're here!"

. . . . .

Henry Anderson sneered as he ended the phone call and leaned back against the seat in his towncar. Conrad had called him from Sri Lanka to inform him that they had unearthed a series of tunnels beneath the monastery that appeared to have been collapsed by explosives. The foolish boy thought that they had finally found the concrete evidence of the weapon factories that he had promised their father he would find. Henry knew that he was on to so much more. Those tunnels would lead him to the sandglass, and Mercer was already in place to recover the dagger for him. Everything was coming together.

Before he had even ended the call, Henry was on his way to the airport. He was going to be there when they broke through to the tunnels. After all this time, victory was within his reach.

The car was just pulling into the CIA airfield - he wouldn't be wasting any time dealing with civilian airplanes at a time like this - when his mobile rang again. He glanced at it long enough to see Jai's number fill the screen before answering. "Anderson."

"We'll have him by the end of the day," Jai said with smug pride. "That tip was right, turns out August landed in Colombo early this morning. We've had him IDed here, and followed his trail to a small city outside the jungle reserve. The guy who sold him transport offered us the tracking GPS. We're just getting ready to head in after him now."

"This is good news," Henry said, his lips curling. Mercer and his men had already been on his trail, and they would most likely apprehend August before Jai even got close, but it was encouraging either way. This way, on the off chance that Mercer's men failed again the way they had in Oklahoma, there was a second plan in place. No matter which one of them did it, August and the stolen dagger would be delivered to Henry when he reached Sri Lanka. "I am flying in to join Conrad, he has made a discovery at the monsatery. You can meet us there when you've finished. And remember, Jai," he added, "take that traitor down by any means necessary."

"Yes, sir," Jai agreed and there was nothing but conviction in his tone. Henry smirked; the middle Anderson wouldn't hesitate to kill August if it came to it. All the better for Henry. The last thing he needed was that bastard spreading his stories and causing more trouble than he already had. He tucked his phone back into his jacket and then climbed out of the towncar.

"We're ready to go when you are, Mr. Anderson," the attendant said and saluted him.

"Let's go then," Henry said and passed the man to mount the steps into the plane. "It's far passed time for this whole thing to be finished."