Counterpoint (29 page)

The transactions were now in the name
of a company in the Cayman Islands. Carla smiled to herself and
thought it would be only fitting if Amy took over her late father’s
estate and she planned to stake her claim.

Carla believed the image she saw when
she last touched the statuette, was Amy and some tall, fair-haired
young man, who would make her extremely happy.

The first DVD Max tried, contained an
installation program and Max decided to try it to see what the
system was all about. Much to his frustration, after the software
analysed his computer, the programme reported the system was too
small. It then produced a detailed specification in a text file, of
what was required.

The minimum installation required 60
powerful PCs all linked together, or a large server. Max decided to
show the system to his son James, who is an expert in IT; perhaps
he could make something out of it. If Philippe had Project Oracle,
it must be worth looking at.

Everything was now packed, and they set
off for England.

During their time at the University
they would be staying at the Savoy Hotel, they had both become
accustomed to the five star accommodation, and saw no reason to
accept less.

Max contacted James halfway through
their course and arranged to meet him at his house in Dorset for
the weekend.

When they met, Carla was particularly
taken with James; she recognised him instantly from the image with
the statuette and began to wonder if it was her, not Amy in the
vision!

James was thirty, tall and had a strong
physique, possibly in need of regular exercise to prevent
developing into fat. His fair hair and fresh complexion, warm and
full of fun smile, blue eyes, bright and intelligent persona, made
him so easy to get along with. He was remarkably different from
Max, Carla discovered that James took after his late mother,.

After a brief look at the DVD’s, the
three of them went out to dinner. James said he would set something
up, if Max could provide money for the equipment. James estimated
it would cost about £100,000 for the initial set up. Max agreed and
recommended a limited company for tax reasons, particularly if the
project turned out to be a waste of time. They might even be able
to get a research grant from the government.

The University coursework was hard
going, but between them, they could get by quite well. Carla’s
photographic memory and Max’s basic understanding of the subject
pulled it all together.

Max thought how different it was to
study hard when there was nothing else to think about. No worry
about earning money to pay bills, no cooking, cleaning, and no
interruptions or distractions.

Sam was delighted with
the tutor’s final report about them and prepared details for the
next stage of the assignment. He explained to Max & Carla that
although the Congo Government had agreed to the survey, and it was
all official and above board, there was always the risk the team
could be
made to disappear
once any worthwhile minerals were
found.

“I see now why you wanted us to work on
this one,” muttered Max. “Not only are we trying to find the
minerals and the person leaking reports, we have to watch our
backs, as well. This just keeps getting better!”

The campsite near Plateau Bateke along
the Congo River was in the final stages of being set up. Near a
bend in the river, prefabricated, stackable cabins, three lifts
high, populated a large, recently formed clearing. Some of the
units fitted together, side by side to form the single storey
kitchen, mess-room, and administration building.

The cabins were small but exceptionally
well appointed. Each cabin had a living area with kitchenette,
television, phone, and computer terminal. There were two large bunk
beds in the middle of the back wall and at the far end, a cubicle
with shower, basin and toilet. The whole inside of the cabin
including the fixed furniture was a seamless moulding of white
plastic, designed to take rough usage, but easily cleaned. An air
conditioning and heat pump unit, in conjunction with the heavily
insulated structure, maintained a cool, dry, temperature controlled
environment. The perfectly sealed door and windows kept out dust
and insects.

The site was well chosen. It was close
to the area to be surveyed, and because it was on the outer corner
of the river, the large hard sandy area on the bend, formed by
centuries of silt deposits made a perfect spot to unload the supply
barges.

To enable the survey teams to penetrate
the dense jungle with their heavy equipment, they used a prototype
machine, developed by a company owned by The Organisation.

This strange vehicle, tracked at the
front, articulated in the centre and with a wheeled ballast trailer
at the rear, could slice its way through the trees and undergrowth
at a slow walking pace. Its massive jaws, like two halves of an
ice-cream scoop, would crush their way through even large hardwood
trees, just below the ground, like bolt cutters through steel. The
machine moved the severed tree to one side, off the newly formed
track. The driver of the vehicle used a virtual reality glove
control to operate the jaws, and he could work tirelessly, like
plucking dandelions.

Four independent, computer controlled
water jets on booms sliced through smaller shrubs, vines, and
branches. The fine jets of filtered water, under immense pressure,
cut through the foliage like a strimmer through long grass.

High-powered lasers in the early design
were troublesome, especially in such a rough and remote location.
They projected a dangerous laser beam over long distances. Heaven
forbid anyone caught in the beam; also, it could set the jungle
alight.

It would take three days to travel down
the river from Kinshasa and up river, southwest of Banza-Nzadi by
barge to the base camp, south of the mountains. To save time, Max
and Carla would drop in by parachute. Two other late members of the
team with parachute skills would each take Max and Carla with them,
hanging like baggage, and try to land on the sand bar at the bend
in the river. If they missed the ground, they would end up in the
trees on one side or the deep fast-flowing river on the other.

Bill and Ben “the Parachute men” as
they were called (but not to their faces) thought it was hardly a
challenge. Max and Carla were not convinced, though kept their
fears to themselves.

Their small aircraft circled over the
site at about 300 metres and dropped supplies. Bill and Ben
appeared to have perfect judgment; the uncontrolled chutes drifted
down and landed just where the sand met the jungle.

Men from the camp dragged the supplies
away like a small colony of ants.

Max paired up with Bill, Carla with
Ben. When it was time to jump Max could not bring himself to let go
of the door opening. He wanted to, but his hands would not release
their vice-like grip and his body would not move out into the
tearing slipstream. Bill just grabbed him and pushed him out.

Max saw the tail of the aircraft pass
over him, high above, followed by Carla and Ben. The buffeting
stopped, and Max’s body was almost weightless now as he plummeted
downwards. He hardly had time to take in the experience before the
chute opened and the harness bit into his inner thighs as it yanked
his body to a slow descent. Max just hung there feeling decidedly
helpless as Bill manipulated the control wires. Looking up, he
could see Ben doing the same, with Carla dangling and grinning with
delight. The little Minx!

The sand bar rose up to meet his
dangling legs at a frightening rate, “Hell this is going to bloody
hurt” he muttered to himself.

At what seemed to be a split-second
from impact the harness jerked Max almost to a stop, and his feet
lightly touched the ground. Bill certainly knew what he was doing,
and Max was full of admiration for him.

Carla landed a few metres away, popped
her harness release, and ran to Max, beaming all over her face.

“Glad someone enjoyed it, ” he heard
himself say.

The survey team came out to welcome the
four new arrivals. Bill and Ben were soon laughing and joking with
them. The all-male team’s eyes were on Carla though; testosterone
was rushing through their bodies as they looked at her and
postured. They hardly acknowledged Max; he made his way silently,
following the group towards the camp.

Suddenly everyone froze on the spot. A
snarling black shape leapt out from the dense jungle, onto the wide
track in front of them. The large Black Panther paused, looking at
the group with its cold, large yellow eyes, deciding which one was
to be the victim. It snarled again, slowly and menacingly moving
towards them. Right on cue, just as a group of prey always does at
this point, they scattered, all but Carla, who was the closest and
Max who had been at the rear of the group.

Carla was now its target.

Max saw her reach slowly down under her
jeans to the inside of her left ankle. He ran towards her, grabbing
a long straight pole as he did so. The big cat crouched low
growling threateningly at this unexpected reaction.

Max was to be the target now!

Standing just in front of Carla he
faced down the beast, its large, sleek powerful body and vicious
jaws intimidated him. He was close enough to see into its large,
deep pink mouth, he saw its tongue vibrate at the root as the
creature growled, and drool dripped to the ground.

“Leap to the left the moment it springs
at me,” commanded Max through clenched teeth.

He adjusted his grip on the stout 1.8
metre-long pole, working the end on the ground, into the soil, with
the toe of his boot behind it.

He aligned the top, slashed through to
a chisel-point with a machete, in front of his face.

The big cat let out a loud hissing
growl and charged.

Dread and fear swept through Max as he
realised his silly plan had not been thought through and his heroic
attempt to save his precious Carla was going to end in a horribly
painful death.

Anticipating the Panthers possible
trajectory and the point at which it would leap on him, he dropped
down on one knee and pushed the pole forward at about 45
degrees.

“Now” The beast had committed itself to
striking at Max’s throat and could not alter its flight, having
sprung. Max was now crouched. The chisel pointed top of the pole
skidded along the Panther’s sternum and penetrated below the
ribcage, through its guts to the spine. As it felt the point, its
massive body doubled up, and every muscle stiffened like
deep-frozen meat.

The Panther’s cry of agony, must have
penetrated deep into the jungle, it deafened Max.

As Max fell sideways, a clenched hind
paw struck his right shoulder like a giant’s gloved fist.

Max was twisted and knocked back
falling heavily to the ground. The Panther hit the ground much
harder on its side, spurting blood and slithering guts from its
torn belly.

A few synapse fired randomly in its
dying brain, causing limbs to twitch for a moment, then all was
still.

Carla rolled over and looked at Max
lying still and then at the dead animal. Men rushed over and helped
her up, preventing her from getting to Max. She heard them say how
Max had been struck and sent flying back like a rag doll, must have
broken his neck or back.

Grief swept over her.

The medical man in the team went over
to examine Max. “He’s still alive,” he shouted as Carla fought to
get to him. “Better wait till he comes round,” said the medic
“before we try to move him, in case he has spinal injuries.”

As Max regained consciousness, he could
hear the clamour of excited voices. Someone, looking at the dead
Panther shouted “Christ! Look at the size of its bollocks!” Another
replied, “I’ll get the Doc to chop them off and sew them on you if
you like.” A roar of laughter rang out at the suggestion.

“The man is coming round,” said the
medic.

Max’s vision cleared, and he was
looking up at a circle of anxious faces. He focused on Carla.
“We’re okay then?” He said. “Yes, ” she said, relieved, “That was
risky wasn’t it?”

“Not as risky as you trying to shoot it
with your popgun.” Then he caught himself, no one there was to know
they were an item, acquaintances, yes, but nothing more.

After an examination, the men helped
Max get up. He limped painfully over to the dead cat and looked at
it. What a great shame he thought, a magnificent creature like
that, I wonder why it suddenly went for us?

He looked at the enormous open mouth.
Inside he could see a large swelling around the back teeth on one
side. A piece of splintered bone had become wedged between the
teeth and gum, causing massive infection. The medic agreed: it must
have driven the beast mad with pain.

The newcomers were introduced to the
rest of the team, waiting for them with drinks, in the mess
room.

The leader of the survey team was Ed
Yates a stressed looking man in his late 30’s. He had done all the
early research on the Geology of the area and put the package
together for The Organisation to finance. On the face of it, he
would be unlikely to leak any good strikes to anyone else. Bill
Potter was the Medic and second in command, a much respected
48-year-old veteran. He had not made much out of his life so far.
Apparently, he was unmarried and had no living family, to worry
about. In his position, he would know everything the survey turned
up, and this could be his last chance to get out of the business, a
rich man. The remaining 20 men were all experienced in the work;
none of them would have access to the test results, but could
probably identify a potentially good find if they saw it. Keeping
an eye on everyone was not going to be easy for Max and Carla, who
had their own full time jobs to do, as well.