Leap - 02 (11 page)

20

“She’s doing what?!”  Chris Ramirez’ jaw dropped open as he sat on one of the boat’s padded bench seats.

Alison took a deep breath and shrugged.  “She’s going.”

Kelly Carlson was leaning against the skipper’s chair with a similar look of surprise. 

The boat was a forty-eight foot Prowler catamaran.  Alison still wasn’t a huge fan of the government, but their generous funding certainly helped.  It also meant that Alison’s team had been able to replace their old boat with a larger model: one with more range and less mechanical problems.  The extra room also meant they were able to stay out in the ocean longer without the team feeling like sardines.

“And you’re just going to let her go?” Chris asked, appallingly.

“Well, I can’t exactly stop her now, can I?”

“Ali,” Chris said, with concern.  “I’ve been to South America.  I spent almost three years in Paraguay with the Peace Corps.”

“I know.”

“I’m telling you, South America is a dangerous place.  Unless you’re in a large city, it can be
very
dangerous!”

Alison didn’t say anything.  She remembered the stories Chris had told her when they’d met.  Especially the one night when their camps were raided, a few people in Chris’ group were nearly kidnapped, and a young woman in another group had been raped by two of Paraguay’s soldiers.  It still made her sick to even think about it.

Kelly crossed her arms and raised one of her feet, resting it on the rung around the bottom of the chair.  “How much do we know about this billionaire guy?”

“He checks out.  And he certainly seems genuine.”

“This is nuts,” Chris muttered, shaking his head.  He knew how strong-willed DeeAnn was and decided to take a different tack: one of practicality.  “How is she even going to talk to Dulce?”

“Lee and Juan are putting together a special vest.  One that’s self-contained.”

“Really.”  Chris rolled his eyes.  “This, from the guys who have to test everything a thousand times?”

“They’re still going to test it…but it will have to be done on the way down.”

“How the hell are they going to do that?”

Alison bit her lip.  “Juan is going with her.”

“What?!”

“He’s going with her.  He’s going to make sure the vest works.  Hopefully, they won’t be gone long.”

“And we’re still going out with Dirk and Sally?”

“Yes, but we’ll go Friday instead.”

Chris turned and looked incredulously at Kelly, who frowned but said nothing.  “Well, I hate to be a downer here,” Chris began, “but you and I both need to go.  Kelly is the captain, so without her we can’t even leave, and Lee is the technical expert.  So…who exactly is staying behind and watching the place?”

“Bruna.”

“Bruna?  She’s part time.”

“She said she can come in every day.  And she can always call on the maintenance crew if there’s a problem.”  Alison was expecting this reaction from Chris.  For months, he and Kelly had worked hard on the details of their groundbreaking trip with Dirk and Sally.  They’d covered everything, and last minute changes could present all kinds of issues.  The most obvious was that the building, not to mention IMIS, would be almost completely unattended.  And without Juan, there would be no one to check and rotate the backup tapes: an important task that had saved their bacon not too long ago.  Juan was also supposed to be on standby in case they had any serious problems out on the open ocean.

Chris shook his head again.  “This could be a real problem, Ali.”

Alison put her hands on her hips.  “Yeah, well what would you have me do then?  Put an ankle monitor on her and forbid her to go?  Maybe I can just get her arrested!”  She stood, glaring at him.  “There is nothing I can do.  Christ, there’s nothing I would
want
to do!  DeeAnn is afraid for her friend, Chris.  She’s desperately hoping she can help him before it’s too late.  Are any of us seriously suggesting she shouldn’t do that?”

He frowned and dropped his eyes to the floor, embarrassed.  “No.  Of course not.  We’d all do the same.”  He looked back up at her.  “I’m sorry.”  After a moment, he stood up.  “DeeAnn needs our support.  Let’s help her, and then we’ll figure out the logistics.” 

Alison finally exhaled with relief.  “Thank you.”

Built atop old sugarcane fields, the Mercedita Airport in Puerto Rico was located just three miles outside Ponce, and less than ten miles from the research center.  The airport, after expansion during the Second World War, now served over one hundred thousand passengers annually.

Mateus Alves’ Gulfstream G550 rested motionlessly under the bright sun, taking up almost a third of the wide lot reserved on the north side of the airport.  The door remained open, with a short set of stairs in place, as Alves arrived in an expensive, black sedan.  The driver exited quickly and opened the back door.  He stood, waiting while Alves and his assistant Carolina stepped out into the heat. 

They immediately made their way across the concrete lot to the stairs.  Alves climbed up and stepped into the Gulfstream’s plush, air-conditioned cabin just as his cell phone rang.

He stepped in front of one of the cool vents and retrieved the small phone from his pocket.  “Hello?”

“Mr. Alves,” said the voice on the other end.  “This is DeeAnn Draper.  I wanted to let you know that we’ve decided to join you.”

“That’s wonderful, Ms. Draper,” he replied, enthusiastically.  “I’m very happy to hear that.  How long will you need to prepare?”

“We can be there tomorrow morning.”

If Alves was surprised, he didn’t show it.  “I’m very grateful to you and your colleagues.  What can I do to provide assistance?  Perhaps send a car?”

“We should be fine getting there.  But yes, we will need a few things.  First and foremost, we’ll need about forty pounds of food.  All vegetables.  Mostly green leaves, but as much kale and celery as you can find.  And lots of berries.”

“Of course,” Alves answered. “Is there anything else?”

“Yes.  We’ll need a large cage.  Gorillas can become very excitable in strange environments.  Dulce will need a cage to travel in, with something soft to sit on inside.  And I need to be able to sit next to her.”

Alves nodded.  “Yes, yes, of course.  We’ll find a way to make it happen.  We’ll be ready for you both.”

“Actually there will be three of us.  One of our engineers is coming too.”

“Excellent.  We’re happy to have him.  We will be ready for all three of you then.  Please do not hesitate to call if you require anything else.”

“I think that will do it,” DeeAnn replied.  “I suspect you’ll have your hands full with that cage.” 

Alves chuckled.  “All right then, Ms. Draper.  We shall see you soon.  Thank you again.”

He hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.  He glanced at Carolina before looking past a set of white leather seats and couch to the square object at the rear of the cabin. 

A large cage had already been installed.

21

“What in the hell is that?”

Everyone was staring at the screen, puzzled by what they were seeing.  The Chinese corvette ship was suddenly illuminated, bathed in bright lights.  Figures could be seen appearing from below deck and quickly lowering a long gangplank to the dock.

Yet, what was really perplexing was the stream of lights that appeared from out of the dense jungle less than a mile from shore.  It was a stream of…headlights.

Borger zoomed in as far as he could.  Each set of headlights shone brightly against the vehicles in front of them.  Trucks.

Several more from Neely Lawton’s research team had joined them on the far side of the room now and stood observing over their shoulders as everyone watched the trucks back up against the gangplank.  One by one, the men from the ship retrieved dozens of crates from the trucks and carried them below deck.

“What are they doing?”

“Unloading
something
,” Clay said, hesitatingly.

After less than fifteen minutes, it was over.  The transfer of crates was complete and the bright lights abruptly disappeared.  The only lights left were those of the half dozen trucks, which appeared to refuel before heading back into the blackness of the jungle.

Clay and Caesare exchanged looks again.  “Well, that’s not normal.” 

Clay turned to Borger.  “Will, we need to find out how long this has been happening.”  He turned back to Caesare.  “And
we
need to call Langford.”

Given everything Admiral Langford had seen during his career, he didn’t surprise easily.  However, Clay and Caesare managed to accomplish that more often than he liked.

“You’ve got to be kidding?”  Langford leaned forward onto his desk, the phone pressed to his ear.

“No, sir,” replied Clay.

“Any idea what was in the crates?”

Clay shook his head on the other end.  “None, sir.  Borger might be able to enhance the image, but the crates looked sealed so I doubt it will show much more.”

“And how many were there?”

“Forty-eight.”

“So, let me get this straight.  We have a warship sitting in downtown Georgetown which does nothing all day, but it mysteriously receives and loads
something
onboard in the middle of the night, from out of the jungle.”

“Yes, sir.  That’s about it.  Borger’s working through it now to get us a timeline.  We’re going to have to get another dump from the ARGUS data first, which is going to take a while.  As far as we can tell, both the corvette and the Forel sub have been here a while.”

Langford leaned back again, thinking.  “This is becoming damn peculiar.”

“We agree, sir.”

“Okay, go through everything as quickly as you can.  Call me back by oh-seven-hundred and give me an update.  I need to bring this up in tomorrow’s security briefing.  Something tells me we’re not going to like what we find out.”

“Yes, sir.  We should be nearing Guyana by sunrise.”

“Good,” nodded Langford.  “Make sure you and Caesare are ready to go ashore.  I want to know what that ship is taking onboard.”

22

Chris and Alison stopped the large van in front of the Gulfstream jet and saw Mateus Alves in the doorway.  Excitedly, he began to descend the stairs with his assistant close behind.

Alison climbed out and then stepped back to pull the large side door open, sliding it smoothly backward.  A moment later, DeeAnn’s head emerged from the inside and she stepped down onto the ground.  In her hand was a chain, which revealed itself to be attached to Dulce’s collar when the gorilla curiously peeked outside.  DeeAnn promptly reached in and picked Dulce up into her arms, then turned to look at the airplane.

Unfortunately, she had no way to communicate since she’d left her original translation vest back at the facility.  After explaining to Dulce where they were going, the small gorilla became very excited.  She wanted to help, but she was equally excited at the prospect of making a new friend.  Dulce had known other primates, including monkeys, but it was in Mexico under horrendous living conditions.  There was no telling what kind of trauma or cognitive associations she still carried with her.  Animals in a panic, especially gorillas, were very unpredictable.  Dulce had seemed relatively calm during the preparations.  Now watching Dulce’s eyes nervously examine the large plane, she wondered if she was making a mistake.  Especially when she felt Dulce’s arms tighten around her.

Behind her, Juan climbed out carrying a medium-sized cardboard box with the newly designed vest inside.  In his other hand, he carried a large suitcase filled with computer equipment, as well as his clothes.

Leaving the driver’s seat, Chris circled the back of the van and came up behind the others, grabbing two more suitcases for DeeAnn.

Alves and Carolina had stopped at the bottom of the stairs, waiting politely.  Alison turned to DeeAnn.

“You’re sure about this.”

“Yes,” DeeAnn replied, peering over Dulce’s small, furry head.  “We’ll be back before you know it.”

Alison smiled but didn’t reply. 

“Don’t worry, Ali.  We’re not staying long.  Our home is here now.”

Alison maintained her smile and reached out, gently rubbing Dulce’s head.  The small gorilla purred and said something, but it went unanswered.  She looked at DeeAnn and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around both of them.

“You have the number for the boat’s satellite phone, right?”

“I sure do.”

Chris stepped up beside them, pulling the two bags.  “Everybody ready?”

All eyes turned to DeeAnn, who in turn looked down at Dulce.  The two then walked across the small tarmac.

As they neared the plane, a male crewmember emerged and quickly climbed down the stairs, waiting to take their bags.

Mateus Alves smiled warmly as they approached, glancing down at Dulce.  “Welcome, Ms. Draper.  We are very grateful for your assistance.  We have accommodated all your requests and hope you will be comfortable.”

“I’m sure we will be,” she agreed.  “May I introduce Juan Diaz, one of our computer whizzes.” 

Alves smiled again, revealing a perfect set of teeth.  “Welcome, Mr. Diaz.  We are very happy to have you join us.”

“It’s my pleasure, sir.  Anything for Ms. Draper.”

Alves laughed.  “Indeed.”  He then turned to Alison.  “Ms. Shaw, thank you again for allowing this brief interruption to your team’s work.  You are very generous.”

Alison smiled and shook his hand.  He probably didn’t realize that she had no choice.

The crewmember took the bags from Chris and promptly returned up the stairs, disappearing inside the plane.

Alves clasped his hands together.  “Are you ready to depart?”

“We are.”  DeeAnn turned, winked once more at Alison, and followed Carolina up the stairs.  Juan stepped in behind them, leaving Alves standing with Alison and Chris.

“We’ll have her back soon, Ms. Shaw.  You have my word.” 

Alves climbed up the stairs after them, with noticeable difficulty.  With one final wave, the white metal door was pulled closed.

DeeAnn was pleasantly surprised to see the size of the cage.  It was larger than usual, which provided a much more comfortable place for Dulce during the flight.  After takeoff, DeeAnn immediately slid over onto the couch and gingerly reached in through the bars.  Dulce quickly placed her dark hand inside DeeAnn’s.

Alves sat in one of the nearby leather seats, observing the connection between the two.  “She loves you.”

DeeAnn smiled without looking away.  “It’s mutual.”

“It’s quite obvious.”  Alves leaned forward.  “I must apologize, Ms. Draper.  I’m afraid I don’t know as much about your program as Luke did.”  He suddenly caught and corrected himself.  “I mean, as much as Luke
does
.”

DeeAnn displayed no reaction to the mistake.  “I hadn’t been aware he was following our work.”

“Well, forgive me if I sound improper, but I suspect he’s been following
you
as much as your work.”

DeeAnn looked up abruptly at Alves, considering his words before letting her eyes drop.  “I wasn’t even sure where he was.”

Alves shrugged, in a supportive gesture.  “I obviously don’t know about your history, but I sense he cares a great deal about you.  Of that, I am sure.”

“You do know this is a long shot, right?” DeeAnn said, motioning to Dulce.  “I’ll be honest, even if we can find your capuchin monkey, I’m having a hard time imagining what information he might have that would make a difference.”

Alves’ eyes softened.  “I suppose I should be candid as well.  I’ve never had any children, Ms. Draper.  And I’ve become quite fond of Luke.  His passion and the righteousness he feels for protecting others, especially animals, made me come to feel for him as I would for a son.  I’ve never seen that level of compassion in a young man before.  Many of his beliefs reminded me of why I decided to establish the preserve in the first place.  You’ve known Luke much longer than I have, but our goal is the same.  I will do nearly anything to find him, even if it’s a long shot.”

“That makes two of us.”

After a momentary silence, they both turned around and watched as Juan laid the new vest on a small table in front of his seat.  He proceeded to attach two cables to the vest, plugging the other end of one into a power outlet.  The other cable went into his laptop.  After a short wait, he focused on the small screen and began typing.

Lee and Juan had given DeeAnn a rundown on the vest before they headed to the airport.  It was larger than her old model, and heavier.  It was unavoidable since more equipment had to be built in.  The majority of the hardware was distributed carefully around the waist area, very similar to the waterproof version they had designed for Alison.

The difference with DeeAnn’s new vest, though, was the batteries.  It had more than four times the number of batteries to allow it to work as a completely self-contained unit, thanks to Steve Caesare.  The prototype batteries he had sent over had a much higher energy capacity than the lithium variety.  Another benefit was avoiding the need for any wireless transmission, reducing energy consumption even further.  Instead, the smaller, slower processor would do all the work to communicate directly with Dulce, using the existing translation data that IMIS had already identified back in their lab.

One major limitation that both vests suffered from was line of sight.  There was not only a microphone and speaker on the front of DeeAnn’s vest, but a small camera as well.  Both vests had to “see” to translate.  Whether observing dolphins or gorillas, it was the only way to allow the computers inside the vests to correctly identify and translate their expressions and words.  Alison had already seen this challenge when testing the underwater unit.  It would prove to be just as limiting for DeeAnn and Dulce.

Juan studied his screen and continued typing.  Neither Lee nor Juan wanted to alarm Alison and DeeAnn, but their concern over those translation errors was growing.

Juan leaned back in his plush chair and continued watching the information scroll down his screen.  So far, so good.  He glanced up and noticed the others watching him.

“A couple more hours and we can do some tests,” he said to DeeAnn.

DeeAnn smiled and tried to remain calm.  She realized at that moment the terrible mistake she’d made with Dulce.  The IMIS system had been so astonishingly effective at translating between herself and Dulce, far better than any other technique.  Because of it, DeeAnn hadn’t taught Dulce more than a few words in sign language.  And without the vest, she couldn’t speak with Dulce, even at a basic level.  She was completely paralyzed.

To make matters worse, Dulce was beginning to look very nervous insider her cage.