And she screamed. One word, as loud as she could. Over and over. Waving frantically.
FRIENDS! FRIENDS! FRIENDS!
The translation repeated through DeeAnn’s vest. And kept repeating in unison with Dulce’s screams.
Still in mid-run, the gorillas’ eyes locked onto the smaller animal in front of them, waving her arms.
FRIENDS! FRIENDS! FRIENDS!
The gorillas cocked their heads sideways at the words, and they dug their hands into the ground, rumbling to a stop only feet in front of her.
The males studied the petite female for several long moments before looking past her, at DeeAnn and the others. Dexter ran forward and stopped next to Dulce, hidden nearly completely in the grass with only his small dark head visible.
The silverback stared at the humans and let out a bone-chilling scream but did not move.
“Drop your guns!” DeeAnn whispered.
Once again, both men let their weapons fall to the ground.
“Now step back again!”
In front of Dulce, the giant gorillas remained still. Their powerful chests heaved steadily with bursts of hot breath visible in the morning air.
No hurt! Dulce said. No hurt.
All four towered endlessly over the two smaller creatures, continuing to heave and watching the humans.
No one moved. They remained frozen, waiting. Until something else moved. Not the four males, but behind them––over the stretch of grass and in the shadows.
Slowly, still more gorillas gradually emerged from beneath the trees. They were all females and infants.
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“Okay,” Caesare said, “I don’t want to sound dramatic, but that was a little frightening.”
“SHHH!” DeeAnn snapped. “Quiet!”
In front of them, across the grass, a large group of females emerged, moving cautiously. The smallest infants clung to their mother’s backs and those who were older walked next to them.
They slowed repeatedly, watching the males, before resuming their approach across the plain.
One of the males glanced back at them before swinging around to look at Dulce. His heavy breaths were still blowing intermittently through his large nostrils.
Dulce dropped from her standing position and sat nervously back on the grass. Dexter, still next to her, moved backward a few steps.
All four males continued studying the two newcomers, dubiously, before their dark eyes rose to examine the humans again.
***
No one moved for an uncomfortably long time.
Finally, DeeAnn watched as the males relaxed and lowered themselves into a near-sitting position. When she stepped around Caesare and into the sunlight, the females in the distance stopped again before continuing once more, even more cautiously now.
DeeAnn eased forward sideways, toward Dulce and Dexter’s spots on the grass. She kept her eyes lowered and calmly lowered herself onto her knees, sitting quietly. Then she waited.
The silverback gorilla watched her intently, leaning forward onto a set of massive, powerful arms.
DeeAnn did not move.
Finally, he ambled his way forward and closed the distance, dropping into a sitting position within arm’s length of them.
DeeAnn lowered her head and spoke softly. “We are friends.”
When the vest translated her words, the silverback in front of her leaned backward in surprise. He studied her and then the strange device on her chest.
“Friends,” DeeAnn repeated.
This time the gorilla didn’t move. Instead, he stared more intently at the vest and leaned forward until he was within reach again. The giant primate eyed her suspiciously before reaching forward with his long arm and extending his finger, gently touching the hard surface of the vest. He quickly withdrew his hand then eventually reached out once more and poked at it.
“Friends,” she repeated.
The silverback squinted at the strange contraption, pondering it for a moment, before motioning with his arm and pointing to himself. Gorilla.
DeeAnn smiled and nodded. “Yes. Gorilla. Me no gorilla. I am friend.”
Now the other males moved past Dulce and approached, all staring curiously at DeeAnn as the words sounded from the device.
Friend.
“Yes. Friend.”
No hurt.
She shook her head. “No hurt.”
DeeAnn slowly reached up and muted the microphone, then turned over her shoulder, calling as calmly as she could to the men behind her.
“Come out here and sit down behind me. Just like I did. Single file with no weapons. And slowly.”
Clay, Caesare, and Ronin looked at each other in unison then calmly followed one another toward her. Softly. One by one, they each stopped and knelt down, approximately three feet apart and well behind DeeAnn.
“Now what?”
“Shhh,” she whispered. “Bow your heads and just sit there. Don’t say anything.”
She reached up and turned her mike back on. “We friends.”
The gorillas studied the men one at a time. The silverback looked back to Dulce then turned to the rest of the band behind him, waiting little more than fifty feet away.
Dulce grabbed DeeAnn’s arm with her black hands. Friends. Come. Dulce’s eyes looked at three of the smaller gorillas waiting with the group of females. All three were peering curiously back at her.
One of the youngsters suddenly leaped forward and scampered halfway across the grass, where it stopped again.
An excited Dulce responded immediately and ran out across the grass, each meeting the other. There they both stood, hunched forward and examining one another closely.
Finally, Dulce spoke. She was too far for the vest to capture the translation, but this time DeeAnn didn’t need it. She recognized the familiar gestures. Me Dulce.
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Clay, Caesare, and Ronin remained seated, weary, until DeeAnn eventually turned back around and spoke to them. “Sorry. This may take a while. Just try to be patient, and don’t make any sudden movements.”
“Don’t worry,” Caesare joked in a loud whisper. “Me and the big one will be best friends before we leave.”
DeeAnn laughed under her breath and turned back around. “Believe me…you don’t want to know how they become best friends.”
***
It took almost twenty minutes before the rest of the band finally closed in and sat behind the males, facilitated primarily by the playful interaction between Dulce and the rest of the youngsters.
For his part, Dexter watched until the other gorillas got closer, but soon retreated to safety behind DeeAnn.
One of the female gorillas, sitting next to her mate, appeared utterly fascinated and continued to press for answers.
How you talk?
DeeAnn pointed at her vest. “I use the metal.”
The female blinked and continued examining the rest of her contraption.
Why metal?
DeeAnn frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”
After her words were translated, the female asked a different question.
Where go?
“We’re looking for something special. A place.”
You no bad.
“No, we’re not bad.”
She shook her head. You no bad.
DeeAnn smiled. “No.”
The female then turned back around, following Dulce with her dark eyes. How you Dulce?
“I don’t understand.”
How you Dulce?
“I don’t—”
How you with?
“Oh,” DeeAnn mused. “She was…lost. And I found her. I take care of her.”
A few of the gorillas looked at each other but none replied. The inquisitive female scooted a few inches closer and gently handled DeeAnn’s vest, tugging on one of the straps.
“No, no. It has to stay with me.”
She let go and pursed her giant lips before slapping a hand onto her head.
�
�Dee,” Caesare voiced hesitantly from behind them, “I know this is kind of amazing and all, but we do need to keep moving.”
DeeAnn turned slightly to the side and nodded reluctantly. She looked back at the female gorilla and her mate. “We have to go.”
Go you place.
“Yes. To the place.”
The silverback, followed by the other males, stood up, remaining protectively in front of the band.
When DeeAnn rose, to her surprise, the female rose with her.
Go place. Come back.
DeeAnn smiled and looked at Dulce, happily playing in the grass with the others. “We’ll try.”
When they reached the far side of the grass, they turned around to see the band of gorillas fixed where they were, all watching them.
Ronin was the first to speak. “I found that very interesting.”
DeeAnn couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah. Me too.”
Together, they continued. None of them, not even the gorillas, were aware they were being watched.
***
The climb toward Mount Bisoke was steep, and the southeastern side was particularly difficult to navigate. The forest became increasingly dense from the higher volumes of rainfall, which left the group struggling for their footing. Nevertheless, they pushed through heavy vegetation that towered above them.
Finding the faint remnants of a footpath, Caesare ducked under branches and continued trudging through what was left of the trail. He grasped a large branch from a nearby bush, using it to steady himself up one of the more slippery sections. He then held it out until Ronin took the branch and passed it to DeeAnn.
When they stopped to rest, her eyes drifted to Ronin’s sleeve, at something she spotted earlier. “What do you have on your arm?”
He glanced down and pulled the sleeve back. Attached to his right forearm was a long band of silver metal, covered in what looked to be faint etchings of circuitry.
Caesare studied the device. “What is that?”
Ronin paused, thinking. “It is hard to explain. It is part of my…equipment, as you would say.”
“What does it do?”
This time Ronin frowned. “That is harder to explain. It is my energy source.”
Caesare raised his eyebrows at Clay. “Nifty.”
Clay looked as though he was about to say something but instead checked his watch, stepping past them just as Ronin lowered his sleeve. He marched forward through the knee-high bushes, toward a widening in the trees, and peered down at the slope below them. He then looked back at Caesare and DeeAnn. “Any idea how close we are?”
“From the directions I read in the journal, we should be very close.”
Caesare removed Borger’s photographs from a large pocket and checked his GPS unit. “Same here. Shouldn’t be more than another half mile, tops. That way.” He pointed in the same direction down the slope.
Clay nodded wittingly and turned back toward the trees. “Take a look at this.”
Pushing forward one by one, they all stopped next to him. Through the widening, a small valley lay below. Bathed briefly in the sunlight, below the mountain’s cloud cover, groups of many large plants could be seen. What was unusual was that, unlike the rest of the mountain, this small pocketed area was packed wall-to-wall with what appeared to be the same plant. Perhaps a half mile in width, the sea of giant green plants interspersed with millions of small dots of red.
DeeAnn squinted in bewilderment. “What is that?!”
Before anyone could answer, Ronin stepped forward and made a small wave with his right arm. The air in front of them began to waver, and the distant image suddenly grew larger.
“What the hell was that?!”
“A closer view.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Caesare said incredulously. He stared again at Ronin’s covered armband. “How did you do that?”
The shorter Ronin looked back at the image shimmering before them. “Manipulating energy holds more potential than any other technology. You will find this as well.”
“No kidding.”
Clay turned back to the shimmering air before them and looked closer at the image. “I think those are poppy plants.”
“You mean poppy plants…as in narcotics?” DeeAnn asked.
“As in opium and heroin.” Clay stepped to the right, looking through the air and further up the mountain. “There’s a lot more up there. And those plants are big. Bigger than they should be.”
The air suddenly began to vibrate, and the magnified image proceeded to evaporate.
“It does not last long,” Ronin offered.
Clay nodded and looked back to DeeAnn whose expression conveyed that she had already grasped what they had just found. “My God. This is it. This is what Dian Fossey found.”
“I think so.”
“A valley of drugs,” she whispered.
“Not just any drugs. The most addictive and deadly.”
Caesare shook his head. “Just like Afghanistan.”
“But these plants are bigger than they should be. Much bigger.”
“Which probably means they’ve had help.”
Clay nodded. “Like the plants in Guyana.”
“So there’s something in the water here too,” DeeAnn said.
“It looks that way. Likely leaking out of the second vault and someone else discovered it, like this Ngeze person—”
“Then this is what he’s been protecting,” Caesare finished. “The biggest, and maybe the most powerful, poppy plants in existence.”
“A drug trade that no one else in Africa could match.”
“This is why?” DeeAnn placed a hand over her mouth. “This is why Dian Fossey was really killed, because of drugs?”
“Probably. If it is in the water, then this is a place that would probably grow anything Ngeze planted here. And why he kills anyone who comes near it.”
“But if that’s true—” All of a sudden, DeeAnn was interrupted by Dexter unexpectedly leaping and scrambling up a nearby tree trunk. She stopped and watched as he neared the top and looked out over the other trees. And began screaming!
She immediately covered her ears as protection from the high-pitched screeches and whirled around to Dulce, clearly concerned. “What? What is he saying?!”
Dulce studied him in the tree. He say humans here. Many humans.
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It was all Clay and Caesare needed to hear.
“Get down!” they yelled together over Dexter’s screaming, pushing DeeAnn and Dulce forcefully to the ground.
In a flash, Ronin jumped over them and faced the same direction the small monkey was looking. He waved his arm again, causing the air to waver before another magnified image appeared. At least a dozen figures, highlighted in red thermal silhouettes, could be seen above them. Together they formed a half circle around the area.
“Son of a bitch!” Caesare growled, crouching down. He looked to Ronin. “How far?”
“Perhaps a few hundred yards.”
Clay faced Caesare gravely. “Maybe within earshot.”
Small explosions suddenly hit the trees around them as bullets ripped into the bark. Others zipped by and tore through the foliage behind them, barely preceding the sounds of gunfire.
All three men hit the ground. “And clearly within shooting range!”
The noise quickly escalated into a barrage of gunfire from dozens of rifles, all shooting together.
Instantly, Ronin moved again, waving at a much larger area in front of him. This time the air exploded in flash of bright light and the shots became muffled. The wide expanse of air seemed to solidify, and several clusters of bullets appeared frozen before them in midair––stopped as though in a thick, invisible glass.
“It won’t last!” Ronin yelled. “Run!”
Clay and Caesare were immediately on their feet, pulling DeeAnn and Dulce off the ground like rag dolls. Dexter screamed and jumped to the ground where Caesare scooped him up with his free hand. Lowering his
head and surging headlong into the wall of thick bushes, Caesare quickly plowed a path for the others to follow.
They made it almost fifty yards before Ronin’s wall evaporated, and the thunder of shots returned. A fresh hail of bullets continued zipping through the forest, destroying everything in their path, searching for the Americans who were now blindly running as fast as they could.
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Above them on a small ridge, Amir Ngeze watched as the trees and vegetation below shook wildly under the heavy barrage, trunks splintering and branches falling violently to the ground.
Finally, Ngeze held up his hand, halting the attack. He waited while the last of the echoes faded in the distance.
There was no movement beyond the few trees left swaying after the bombardment. There was no return fire. Nor any screams or cries for help.
Ngeze couldn’t keep himself from grinning. They had caught the Americans completely off guard. He motioned several of his men forward to check the area and watched them descend slowly down the embankment. The small group headed through a sparse swath of trees before disappearing again into heavy foliage.
Ngeze waited impatiently for confirmation. He didn’t know why the Americans were here, and frankly, did not care. They’d gotten close enough to his poppies to tell him that they were interested in more than the Fossey woman after all. He had to expect they were after his secret.
And since the Sentwali boys had indicated that two of the men may be soldiers, Ngeze was not about to take any chances. It was far easier to simply bury their bodies and pay off people in town to tell a fabricated story, if asked.
Judging from the continued silence, some of Ngeze’s remaining men slung rifles over their shoulders and prepared to descend and clean up the mess. It was something they had done many times before.
But as they took their first steps forward, one of the men below reappeared. He peered back up the embankment and shook his head.
Ripple (Breakthrough Book 4) Page 32