Amazon Burning (A James Acton Thriller, #10) (11 page)

Must
have been love.

And he
saw that same love in the two faces now staring at him, waiting for an answer.

“Why
not?” repeated Jenny.

“It’s
too dangerous.”

“I’m—we’re
willing to take the risk.” It was Mitchell who offered up their lives, Jenny’s
head snapping in agreement.

“We will
be jumping out of an aircraft at several thousand feet, precision diving  into
the Amazon River, then grabbing a line to take us to shore, that if missed,
means we will end up either dead or so far down the river as to need rescue
ourselves. Then we will be entering a rainforest filled with poisonous and
deadly animals and insects, along with natives known to practice cannibalism,
in the remote hopes to find Professors Palmer and Acton, who may not even be
alive.” He stared at Mitchell with no trace of a smile, knowing he was the
weaker willed of the two. “Are you sure you’re capable of that?”

Mitchell’s
bottom lip trembled slightly at the realization of what he had got himself into
began to set in. Leather could tell however that the boy was looking for a way
to save face with his wife so gave him an out.

“I would
suggest that rather than come with us all the way as you had intended, you come
with us to the staging area downriver. You can help us coordinate the evac once
we’ve found them, and coordinate with the authorities. I had planned to leave
one of my men behind to do it”—a lie, the job was a make-work project—“but with
you two here, it gives me the opportunity to take an extra experienced man
along.” He looked from Mitchell to Jenny then back. “What do you think?”

Mitchell
exchanged a quick glance with Jenny who also seemed slightly relieved for a way
out, both their heads quickly bobbing in agreement. “I-I-I mean
we
,
think that’s probably a better use of resources.”

“Agreed,”
said Jenny, gripping Mitchell by the arm.

“Good.”
Leather pointed at two seats at the far end of the row. “Now sit down and I’ll
brief you later.”

The two
nodded then dragged their unchecked bags to the two empty seats outside of
earshot. One of his men, Michael Trent, leaned over.

“Dodged
a bullet on that one, huh, boss?”

Grant
hadn’t met Mitchell, or seen his two left feet in action.

“You
have no bloody idea.”

Barasana Village on the Rio Negro, Northern Amazon, Brazil

“Bloody hell!”

Reading
rushed forward, shoving his way through the crowd, not giving a damn about
baring his teeth, and in fact he did several times as his anger grew, the sight
of his friend trussed up like an animal being brought back from the hunt for
dinner enraging him.

Fabricio
cried out from behind him, urging him to stop, but Reading ignored him, continuing
to barge through the natives barely half his size then came to a skidding halt
when half a dozen spears blocked his progress, their owners’ teeth bared,
animalistic growls erupting from their throats. Reading’s eyes flared, his
teeth on full display as he returned their growl, adrenaline fueling him with
rage and idiocy, there no way he could win here.

He
reached behind his back for the gun tucked in his belt when someone grabbed his
hand.

“No, senhor!
You will get us all killed!” hissed Fabricio from behind him.

“Tell
them to let him go!” shouted Reading, pointing at Acton who seemed in a
confused daze.

Fabricio
looked at the newly arrived hunters then, as if realizing for the first time
who their captive was, he slapped his hands against his face, gasping, “Senhor
Professor!” A rapid exchange in Portuguese ensued, the elder exchanging few
words with Fabricio, mostly listening. Then there was an exchange between the
hunters and the elder, then the elder held his spear up in the air, shaking it
and shouting something.

Cheers
erupted from all around, the spears threatening Reading were lowered, the
mouths closed, the normal smiles returning, and Acton was gently lowered to the
ground, his bindings quickly cut. Reading began to move toward his friend when
he stopped. The men blocking him bowed slightly and parted, allowing him to
pass unimpeded and he was soon on his knees, at his friend’s side. He helped
him up to a sitting position against a large tree, quickly checking for wounds,
finding one on the back of his head that was bleeding but didn’t look too
severe.

“Water!”
he yelled, Fabricio repeating the order and soon small clay bowls filled with
water were brought, Reading holding the first one to his friend’s lips, Acton
drinking it slowly. A group of women sat down around them and Reading was about
to object when they took Acton’s arms, smiling at him reassuringly. The women
quickly began to clean the wounds around the wrists and ankles, one tending to
the head wound.

He gave
his friend some more water and he slowly began to come around, his eyes finally
focusing on Reading.

Acton
smiled. “Thank God!” he murmured. “I thought I was dinner.”

“You’re
lucky you weren’t,” replied Reading with a smile. He turned to Fabricio. “Get
the med kit.”

Fabricio
nodded and shouted to someone on the boat. Moments later the med kit was at his
side, opened, leaving Reading to stare at the mess of supplies.

If only
Martin were here!

His old
Scotland Yard partner, Detective Inspector Martin Chaney, had trained to be a
doctor and would be perfect in this situation, but alas he was not. In fact it
had been months since he had heard from the man whom he had considered one of
his best friends.

No one
had heard from him.

And it
had him very worried.

He had
seen him that night in Venice along with Acton and Laura, but he had then
vanished without a trace, having filed an indefinite leave of absence before he
had even arrived in Venice.

He
knew he wouldn’t be returning.

He had
been shot and in a coma for months before waking just prior to their final
mission for the Triarii, a two-thousand year old organization descendent from
the Roman Empire’s Thirteenth Legion. They had assumed it would be over for
them, but with Chaney a member of the Triarii, he knew his involvement would
continue, their mission to protect humanity from the perceived power of the
crystal skulls never ending.

Reading
prayed his friend was merely on some top secret mission for the organization,
and would resurface one day as if nothing had happened.

I
miss you, old friend.

Fabricio
knelt down on the other side and began to expertly wrap the now cleaned wounds,
first spreading a disinfectant powder causing Acton to wince.

“Laura?”

Reading
slowly shook his head. “Nothing yet. We’re here to try and get these people to
help us.” He patted his friend on the shoulder. “At least now we’re only
looking for one.”

Fabricio
began to wrap Acton’s ankles when he spoke. “The Chief has agreed to help us
look for your wife, Senhor Acton.”

Acton
grabbed Reading by the arm, relief on his face. “Did you get my last message?”

“The one
with the coordinates? Yes.”

“We’ll
start there.” He struggled to get up when Reading pushed him back down.

“You’re
in no condition to go anywhere.”

“I’ll be
fine.”

“No,
you’ll just end up slowing us down.”

Fabricio
tied off the final bandage. “It no matter. They won’t leave until tomorrow
morning.”

“Why?”
cried both Reading and Acton.

“Today
is a festival day. They no help today. But tomorrow, they all help.”

Reading
and Acton exchanged frowns. “I’m not sure what else we can do,” said Reading,
knowing Acton wouldn’t be happy.

Acton
struggled to his feet, failing, then glared at Reading. “Either help me or get
out of my way.”

Reading
grabbed his friend by the arm and pulled him to his feet. Acton grabbed his
head then immediately collapsed in Reading’s arms. He was quickly surrounded by
a group of natives who helped carry him into one of the communal lodges and lay
him on a bed. They propped him up on piles of furs and brought him water and
soup as Reading sat by his side.

Acton
looked over at Reading. “Sorry for snapping at you.”

Reading
batted the words away with a flick of the wrist. “Nothing doing. I would have
decked you if I was in your position.”

“No
doubt.” He peered out the door. “What time is it?”

Reading
looked at his watch. “Coming up on two in the afternoon. We’ve already lost
half the day. Rest up, heal up, eat and drink lots, and you’ll probably be able
to come with us.”

Acton
nodded, then winced. “Can you check if we’ve got any Tylenol on the boat?”

Reading
rose. “Be right back.”

As he
left a group of giggling girls rushed into the lodge and began to tend to Acton.
“Have fun, Jim, just remember you’re a married man now.”

“Not a
word of this to Laura!”

Reading
roared with laughter as he quickly covered his mouth in case his teeth were
overexposed. Suddenly he felt someone grab his arm. He looked down and it was the
girl from earlier. She was smiling up at him, her expression suggesting to him
she wanted a good shagging. Someone else gripped his other arm and the suddenly
intimidating thought of a threesome flashed across his mind. He tore his smile
away to look at what other beauty was also expressing an interest and nearly
shite when he saw the gay man from earlier, smiling at him, his expression
suggesting to him he too wanted a good shagging.

God
help me.

One Day’s Travel from Rio Negro, Northern Amazon, Brazil

Tuk was pleased. They had made very good time, Lau-ra cooperating
with him and keeping a good pace. He had chatted with her the entire time,
hoping that she would learn to understand his language. Perhaps it would come
back to her, since in her previous life she must have been able to speak. He
had even tried several of the other dialects from neighboring tribes, but had
garnered no reaction other than smiles and motions.

Communication
was progressing, however. Several hand motions had been established between
them for such things as water, food, relieving oneself, and for having a rest.
It was working quite well, and when they would rest, she would ask him for the
names of various things around them such as the sky, trees, ground and the
river. She already knew more words than he could count, and he was pleased that
he was learning her way of saying things too. Surprisingly he found it much
easier to learn her words than she did his, but then again he was always very
smart, and this one may not be as gifted as he. By no means was she stupid, he
could tell, there no dull look behind those eyes he had seen on some people,
but perhaps languages were not her thing.

He had
tried to teach her his full name, something she would need to know for the
bonding ceremony, but she had failed. He had learned hers however.
Lau-ra-pal-mer.

It was a
three day journey to his village, but they had covered some ground last night,
and were up at the crack of dawn this morning with few delays and a rushed pace
to put distance between them and the Spirit People, so he was optimistic that
by tomorrow morning they would be at her final destination, at least until the
Cleansing Ritual was complete.

Then
she’d be free to join him in the village.

It would
be arduous, torturous even, but she was strong, and he was certain she’d
survive it. Many didn’t, but they were willing to accept their fate in order to
be accepted back in the tribe, the Cleansing Ritual a way to purge the body of
the evil that it had been exposed to, to allow the individual time to reflect
on their misdeeds, and to prove their worthiness in the Mother’s eyes. If at
the end of the isolation they were still alive, then all was forgiven and
forgotten, the Mother having found them worthy to remain amongst the living.