personnel. Two soldiers dressed in casual clothes sat on folding chairs, checking IDs. If they were trying to look inconspicuous, they were unsuccessful. Their size and skin color gave them away. Thankfully, other soldiers fared much better. Their painted faces and camouflage uniforms blended in with the nearby woods, making them virtually invisible. They scanned the terrain with their sniper scopes, poised to eliminate any trespassers who tried to approach the cave. Although this island was South Korean, this hillside temporarily belonged to the United States of America.
Members of Payne’s team flashed their credentials and were given immediate access to the site. Led by the soldier from the SUV , the trio climbed the path behind him, careful where they stepped. First Jones, then Kia, then Payne, his eyes darting back and forth, noticing everything. Azalea bushes, no longer in bloom, dotted the lower landscape, as did fields of long brown grass that rustled like dead leaves every time the wind blew. Up ahead, larger trees lined the basalt trail, roots and trunks squeezing out of narrow fissures in the stone. Fingerlike branches waved overhead, swaying against the breeze, as if urging them to stop. Under their footsteps, rocks crunched like broken bones, the sound mixing with the stale scent that wafted down the hillside like a waterfall of stench. The entire place felt macabre, like nothing Payne had ever experienced before. In his mind, he likened it to the setting of an Edgar Allan Poe story.
“Good Lord,” Payne said. “What in the world is that smell?”
The driver answered coyly. “It’s the reason you’re here.”
7
Fifteen feet from the cave entrance, each member of Payne’s team was given three things: a surgical mask, surgical gloves, and crime-scene booties to be slipped over their shoes. Yet no instructions or details were provided.
Jones eyed the driver. “Are you worried we’ll contaminate the scene?”
“Just the opposite. We’re worried about the scene getting on you.”
“What does that mean?”
The driver inched backward. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Kia frowned. “You’re not coming with us?”
“Not a chance. I saw it once and that was enough for me.”
Confused, she turned toward Payne. “Sir, what’s going on here? What is this place?”
He shrugged while sliding his mask over his nose and mouth. “We’re about to find out.”
In the summertime the six-foot crack in the stone mountain would have been covered by leaves and vines that dangled from the overhead cliff. Now the only thing protecting it was the team of snipers who hid in the trees. Payne studied the natural opening, looking for clues as to what might lie ahead. The only thing that stood out was the stench that seeped through his mask. It was a smell he recognized, one that foreshadowed a change in their assignment.
This wasn’t going to be a rescue mission. It was something far worse.
Turning on his flashlight, Payne took a few steps inside and let his eyes adjust to the gloom. Jones and Kia followed closely. The breeze that had been prevalent on the outside had relented, replaced by dampness in the air that made the stone floor slick and the walls seep. The year-round temperature in the caves on Jeju was roughly fifty degrees, but the high humidity made it feel colder. Moisture clung to their clothes, their hair, their skin. So did the ghastly stench. It was far worse than a sewer. It was like walking into an autopsy.
Payne focused on Kia. “Are you squeamish? If so, I need to know right now.”
“No, sir. I’m not squeamish. Why?”
“Because this is going to be bad. Worse than anything you’ve seen before.”
Kia grimaced. “How do you know?”
“Experience.”
“You used to investigate crime scenes?”
Jones answered for him. “No, we used to cause them.”
Payne said nothing as he turned from Kia. He knew she was aware of their background with the MANIACs and the types of
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