Chapter 10 - The Trap Springs Shut
The heavy rumble of the returning tow truck vibrated through the concrete foundations of the trestle bridge, growing louder with every passing second. The wooden decking groaned and creaked under the massive weight of the vehicle as it reversed its path, hunting for them in the dark.
"They're coming back," Leo whispered, his hazel eyes wide in the beam of Jax's flashlight. He quickly clutched the edge of the canvas-wrapped ledger against his chest. "Jax, what do we do? We can't run across the open bridge with the truck blocking the exit."
Jax stood up inside the narrow concrete alcove, his massive frame tensing as he listened to the screech of tires stopping directly above them. The engine idled with a deep, menacing thrum that rattled the dust loose from the ceiling of the alcove.
"They didn't just come back to look for us," Jax said grimly, his dark eyes narrowing as he stared up at the wooden slats overhead. "They know we're trapped in this pylon. They're going to drop the bridge."
Before Leo could process the warning, a deafening explosion echoed through the canyon. The entire pylon shuddered violently, and a rain of concrete dust and splintered timber cascaded down around them. Vance had planted a charge of industrial mining explosive at the main support cable just twenty yards away.
"Get down!" Jax shouted, throwing his arms over Leo as another concussive blast rocked the bridge structure, severing one of the primary steel tension cables with a high-pitched, screaming snap that echoed off the canyon walls.
Above them, Vance’s voice bellowed through a powerful handheld megaphone, cutting sharply through the roar of the idling engine and the whistling wind.
"I know you're down there, Jax!" Vance’s amplified voice mocked, dripping with cold, cruel triumph. "You and the brat can crawl out like rats, or you can stay down in that concrete tomb and wait for the rest of the charges to blow! Either way, that ledger stays with me!"
Leo looked up at Jax, his face pale but remarkably resolute. He held out the heavy canvas-wrapped package containing the ledger and the cassette tapes. "Take it, Jax. If they blow the pylon, at least one of us has to get the proof out to the federal marshals in Phoenix."
"I'm not leaving you, Leo," Jax said firmly, his voice laced with an unshakable vow. He crouched down, pulled his hunting knife from his boot sheath, and jammed it into the crack of the iron access hatch to keep it from jamming permanently from the blast damage. "I made a promise fifteen years ago when your father went into that jail cell, and I'm not breaking it today."
"You didn't break it, Jax," Leo said softly, reaching out to touch the weathered leather of Jax’s vest. "You just took the long way around to keep me safe."
Suddenly, the sound of boots hitting the wooden planks above them signaled that Vance’s men had dismounted the tow truck and were descending the rusted maintenance ladder attached to the outside of the pylon. Heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed down the metal rungs just feet away from their hiding spot.
"They're coming down the ladder," Jax whispered, his muscles coiling tightly as he gripped his hunting knife in his right hand. He looked around the cramped concrete alcove, searching desperately for an alternate exit, but found only solid rock and the sheer drop of the dry canyon below.
"There's no other way out," Leo realized, his voice trembling slightly for the first time.
"There's always another way," Jax growled, standing up to face the entrance of the alcove just as the heavy iron rungs began to rattle from the weight of the descending enforcer. "Stay behind me, Leo. No matter what happens."
The rusted access door to the ladder shaft slowly began to swing open, revealing the dark silhouette of an armed biker holding a sawed-off shotgun, silhouetted against the pale desert moonlight.
May you like
Jax didn't wait for the man to raise his weapon. With explosive speed, Jax lunged forward out of the shadows, slamming his shoulder into the intruder and sending him tumbling backward off the ladder into the dark, bottomless abyss of the canyon below.
---
