They trudged through the jungle, following the obvious trail Marguerite had left for them, as Ned described his vision. The cold heartedness of what this man had done to Marguerite's family made everyone's blood run cold, and made Veronica more determined to see him pay.

            Everyone knew better than to talk to Roxton as he ran through the jungle. His stance at the head to he small band spoke volumes as to his current state of mind. He always blames himself for things that are not his fault, Veronica thought as she hurried to catch up.

***

            Marguerite followed Beaumont into a clearing, where he promptly turned and grabbed her hands and tied them together and shoved her to the ground. Then he sat on a fallen log and sighed as his joints popped.

            "Getting soft in your old age I see," Marguerite mocked from the ground.

            "Rickety and decrepit, yes. Soft, not a snowball's chance in Hell. Once we get to the cliffs three miles from here I'll be setting up an ambush. You can watch me pick them off, one at a time. Who would have thought your little trail of bread crumbs could come in so handy."

            "But I told them not to try and stop me, I left the trial so they could find there way off the Plateau."

            "We aren't going in the direction of the way off. I want to get rid of our tail before we get that far. And you know as well as I do that Lord John Roxton isn't going to let you just leave. He is too much like Darien."

            "What are you talking about?" Marguerite demanded.

            "What do you think I mean?" Beaumont sneered as he lit a cigarette. "Your old boyfriend was in the way, so I got rid of him. And pinning it on you, I just think that was a touch of brilliance on my part, don't you agree?"

            "YOU KILLED HIM!?" Marguerite struggled against her bonds, furious to the point of hysterics. All these years blaming her self.

            "Shut up," he commanded, slapping her across the face. "You act as if your surprised, you didn't really think I was going to let you get away from me after spending all those years training you. What a waste."

            The coppery flavor of blood filled her mouth as she sat stunned, hatred seething through her veins. He grabbed her under her arm and dragged her to her feet. "Let's get moving, I want to be ready when they show up."

***

            They reached the cliffs within the hour, and Marguerite had to be forced at gunpoint to climb the steep path to the top. "Your as stubborn as a mule, Margie, why can't you just except your fate."

            "And what fate is that, Frances?" she hissed in return.

***

            "It looks like they stopped here to rest, then continued in that direction. And Beaumont must have finally caught on to Marguerite's trail. There isn't nearly as many broken twigs or footprints leading away," Roxton explained as he examined the ground.

            "I know that area," Veronica interjected. "There are a lot of sheer cliffs and open terrain, a great place for a trap."

            "How do we get around it?" Malone asked.

            Roxton turned to his friends. "I say we split up, Veronica, you and I will circle around behind them, and Challenger and Malone, you follow the trail to the clearing. And be careful, I don't want to carry either of you back to the tree house. Stay behind the tree line."

            As they split up Veronica asked, "Do you think she knows all the things he's done to her?"

            "If she doesn't, I'm going to take great pleasure in extracting each and every confession out of him."

***

            Marguerite heard her friends long before she saw them make their way through the foliage. Something is wrong with this picture, she thought. Roxton and Veronica never make noise, and wouldn't let the other's make any either it they were hunting. She would know, she had been hushed enough times. Then it dawned on her what they were up to. She would have to distract Frances long enough prevent him from discovering the ruse.

            Challenger was the first to step out of the jungle, followed closely by Malone. As Beaumont took aim Marguerite screamed, "IT'S A TRAP!"

            Frances quickly fired his rifle as Challenger and Malone took cover, attempting to return fire, but constantly worried they would hit Marguerite. "Challenger, how are we supposed to cover them if we can't shoot at Beaumont?" Malone called from his hiding place.

            "Fire at the rock below them if you have to, just keep his attention in this direction." They caught glimpses of Roxton and Veronica scaling the rock, just out of Beaumont's view.