Four
It is their third day of traveling under the ruthless African sun and all three of them are exhausted. Solomon says they are close to where the diamond is and that's enough to keep them pushing forward. Maddy feels like her body is on the verge of just shutting down spontaneously. Her joints ache with every movement and her skin feels tight and dirty, as though the grime she's been toiling in is melting into her permanently. Her clothes are constantly damp with sweat and filthy and she just feels awful. She knows, though, that this will be worth it in the end. Through every second of misery, she retains the hope that this suffering will pay off.
They reach a zone that has been devastated by the war. There are still miner camps established in the area so they navigate around as opposed to going through — it's safer that way, Solomon says. So they jog and then walk and then jog again, doing this for several hours, before reaching the base of a mountain. Solomon tells Archer that they are close. It's midday.
"Up this ridge," Solomon motions up. "On the plateau, I have buried it near a fallen tree."
"That's real specific, huh," Archer spits off to the side. He licks his lips.
"It is unmistakable," Solomon responds. "I know where it is, Mister Archer."
"Ja, ja, I hope you do, Solomon."
"I do."
It's nearing late afternoon and the sounds of gunfire and car engines rips through the African silence like a hurricane. Numbness rains through Maddy's limbs like an electric shock and the three of them stand stiff amidst the branches and leaves of a bush. Maddy feels Archer's hand on the small of her back and he tugs on her shirt.
"Get down," he says in an almost silent whisper.
He pulls her shirt again and she crouches down in the foliage. Archer draws his gun and drops his backpack quietly near Maddy. She can do nothing but look up and him and Solomon and try to gauge their next move. All the muscles in Archer's forearm tense to attention as he clenches his hand around the neck of the gun.
"Stay here," he says to Maddy. "Don't move, a'right?"
Maddy nods.
"I mean it Maddy," he drops to his knee suddenly and grabs her by the chin to make her look him right in the eye. "Don't fucking move, do you understand?"
"Yes!"
Archer looks Maddy's face over twice before standing again. This time, he feels like the one who is trying to commit a face to memory. This could be the last time he sees her and he wants to make sure he has something nice to think about if anything happens to him. He releases her face and squeezes her shoulder and then stands and shoves Solomon out of the bush. Maddy watches them.
The gunfire and engines roar closer until they blast past them and fade in the distance. Maddy feels intense relief and she stands to go and catch up with Archer and Solomon, who she sees are halfway up the mountain. She grabs Archer's backpack by the strap and makes a dash towards the mountain.
"How much more?" She hears Archer bark breathlessly.
"I can see the plateau, Mister Archer!"
"Hurry up, then!"
Maddy is almost powerless when Archer and Solomon start climbing the steep hill faster. She tries to keep pace with them, but she feels as though she's running on a treadmill. She moves quickly, but Archer and Solomon move more quickly and soon, they reach the plateau.
"Start digging," Archer orders.
Solomon drops to his knees and begins clawing at the soft dirt with his fingers. Archer stands over him and looks around impatiently. The sound of the army has disappeared but Archer feels more anxious than ever. Silence is never good in the jungle.
"Archer," Maddy pants as she pulls herself up onto the plateau.
"Christ, Maddy," he snaps. His gun is drawn towards her but he drops it immediately and storms over to grab her by the arm and pull her close to him. "I told you not to move!"
"The soldiers are gone," she breathes up at him.
"You need to fucking listen to me when I say something," he tells her harshly as he squeezes her bicep hard. Maddy winces. "We're out in the open here, it's dangerous."
"I'm fine," she tells him defensively.
"Yeah, of course you are," he scoffs. He lets go of her with a shove. "You and your fucking hero complex."
Three shrill gunshots ring through the air and Archer knows that the soldiers are close, or at least within firing range. Solomon, still on his hands and knees digging, drops completely down onto his stomach and lies flat on the ground. Archer shoves Maddy down and draws his gun. He scans the landscape with one sweep and shoots at the disturbances he spots in the grass before him. He is accurate and swift in killing the two soldiers that just fired at them.
"Get that fucking stone, Solomon," Archer says. "Hurry up!"
He pushes himself up. "I am hurrying, Mister Archer," Solomon answers as he begins digging again.
"Hurry more!"
He pops the magazine out of his gun and replaces it quickly. He goes to look over Solomon's shoulder at the holes he's dug up, all of them empty. He curses audibly and spits off to his side.
"Dig faster, Solomon," he says again as he pulls his SAT phone from his pocket. He dials his contact's number and holds the phone to his ear. "Jesus fucking Christ."
"I cannot find it!" Solomon explains in a moment of frustration.
"What do you mean you can't find it?" He demands. "Solomon!"
"Wait, wait, it is here," Solomon says.
"Hello?"
"Bru," Archer feels relieved when his contact answers. "Bring the plane to these coordinates, a'right, are you ready?"
"Ready."
Archer tells his contact their coordinates as Solomon pulls the wad of fabric from the earth. He opens it up slowly and marvels at the pink diamond in it. No bigger than the size of an egg, it shines fiercely and feels sharp under the pads of Solomon's fingers. Archer sees him holding the stone and his heart begins to race. He hangs up the SAT phone and drops it into his pocket before storming over to Solomon to take the rock from him.
He's in awe as he holds it up to the light. "This is worth millions."
"What now, Mister Archer?" Solomon wipes his hands on his shirt as he stands. "Where is Miss Bowen?"
Archer takes his eyes off the diamond to turn to face Maddy. She's still lying on the floor. "Maddy, get up," he barks. "We're going to the top of the mountain, my contact is on his way with a plane."
No answer.
"Miss Bowen," Solomon says.
Archer shoves the diamond into the breast pocket of his shirt as he marches over to Maddy. He drops to his knees to grab her arm and pull her up. She's limp in his grip and it takes only a moment for Archer to notice the blood on her shirt.
"Fucking Christ," he grits his teeth. "Maddy!"
He puts her arm around his neck as he scoops her up in his arms. She's wafer-thin in his arms and he feels sick with culpability — this is one death that he's not sure he'll be able to live with.
"Is she dead?" Solomon asks quietly.
"No!" He yells. "Keep going, come on."
He motions up the ridge with his head and Solomon continues on their ascent to the peak. "Is she hurt?"
"What do you think, huh?" He pants. "She's fucking shot!"
He can smell the metallic scent of her blood and it's not helping his nerves in the slightest. He looks down at her and the way her head is just hanging back and jerking with the movements of his steps is so unnerving. She looks dead.
"We must get her to a hospital," Solomon says to Archer.
"I fucking know, Solomon!"
Maddy's eyes flutter open at the loud sound of his voice.
"Maddy, Maddy," Archer says urgently. He stops for a moment to get a better hold on her body. "Keep your eyes open, huh."
"Did you get your stone?" She asks slowly.
Archer strains to hear her voice. "Ja, ja, I got it."
"Good."
Her eyes begin to close again and Archer panics and almost trips over a rock. He catches himself and shakes Maddy. "Keep your eyes open!"
She forces them open and looks up at him.
"Keep your fucking eyes open, Maddy!"
"No, I can't," she sighs. "I can't."
"You want your story, don't you?" He growls.
"Maybe in another life," she smiles weakly.
"Maddy, goddamnit!"
He and Solomon reach the peak of the mountain and Solomon clears a space on the dirt for Archer to lie Maddy down. Archer gets down on both knees and lowers her onto the ground carefully. He fixes her head and her arms and legs and looks up at Solomon helplessly. Solomon doesn't know what to do and he offers little in response. Archer removes the diamond from the breast pocket of his button down shirt and shoves it into the pocket of his pants housing the SAT phone. He pulls his shirt off and balls it up in his fist. He pushes Maddy's blood soaked shirt up. Her torso is bloody and dirty and Archer sees that she's been shot in the side. He presses his shirt to the wound so hard that she yells out in pain.
Archer flinches and grabs her chin to shake her head. She opens her eyes after a moment and big tears come spilling down her temples. She draws in a ragged inhale that she almost chokes on.
"Keep your eyes open, Maddy, we're almost out of here."