They did not slow down until they were back in the waiting room next to Control’s office, and it would still take them long to catch their breath, lost from laughter rather than exercise.
“Long time since I laughed so,” Guide said still trying to regain his breath.
“He asked for it,” Mole replied. “He has made my life miserable for the last few days. Will we get in trouble because of this?”
“I think not. Even though such practical jokes are not a custom anymore, there was a time when they abounded. I guess some classes are made of recruits more prone to humor than others. You will be the main topic of conversation today.”
“Glad to leave my footprints. As for the fat man, it was well deserved. I do not regret having done so. Next time he will be more cautious when thinking to harass someone.”
“Moving on, we leave in two hours and we haven’t eaten. I’ll pack some extra rations to take a snack along the way. Meanwhile, take the opportunity to say goodbye to whoever you want. It is most likely that you will never return to this place.”
His companion’s words brought a dark shade on his eyes. His experiences during his stay at the field had changed him and he was aware of this. His life had got a sense again. Finally he had managed to perceive himself as a part of the community. He had achieved such certainty of being on the right path that now he had got to see his former life as a big mistake. He had come to regret having wasted so many years, numbed from illusions while living a life that now seemed empty. Finally he was feeling alive. The idea of leaving behind this stage of his life was making him feel oppression on his chest.
He waited to get started until Guide had left the room. He went to find the professors. He needed to see them again.
As he was walking towards the office where he had spent so many hours during his first week in the field, he realized that he was not having trouble finding his way up there.
Somehow, the maddening exercise into which he had been forced every morning, when they had made him disorient and then asked where the north was, had proved to be profitable. Now he was feeling sure that he could find this or any other destination simply by following his instincts. And just like in this, he also was feeling certain to achieve whatever he decided to. Undoubtedly, the professors had done an excellent job with him.
He was still deep in thought when he found himself knocking at their door. From the inside, the distant voice of Kilgo invited him to go in.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he said in greeting as he entered.
“No way,” Kilgo said affably, but not looking up from the papers he was inspecting. “We knew you would come around before leaving. How are you feeling these days?”
“It is precisely about this that I have been thinking the last few hours. Somehow you have turned me into a new man.”
“No big deal,” interrupted the professor. “We just have helped you find out who you truly are, but you had to do all the work. We have only guided you.”
“I must confess that, when you told me upon my arrival that I was about to live a unique experience, I did not believe you. Even after you had finished with me I was bearing some doubts. But now I realize it was true. This is why I feel the need to thank you again.”
“Say no more,” Kilgo replied, and turning towards the door to the next room he called in a loud voice:
“Naim! Look who’s here!”
The bald professor showed in with a smile.
“I see you have come back. I hope not to play on us some of you pranks, like the one you played the cook. They had to bring him to the clinic to calm him down. Good job.”
At this time he had begun to feel bad for his victim; however, he could not feel sorry. Such was his new nature.
“Not at all,” he replied.
“As for ourselves, my colleague and I enjoy finding out that our work has proved profitable. A week ago you would not have dared to do such a thing.”
“This is precisely what I was saying to the professor,” he said pointing to the elder. “I have become a new man.”
“You mean in the same man, but some 70 years younger. As you should have been in your distant childhood,” Naim said.
“Now that you mention it, I come to see that it is true.” He approached, and giving him his hand said: “I must go. I do not know if we will ever meet again, so I have come to thank you for what you have done to me.”
He said goodbye with a handshake, first to one of them and then to the other. He left the office to find Sergeant Kim, leaving behind two smiling professors, proud of a job well done.
When he got to the sergeant’s office he found the door open. Inside, Kim was experimenting with the new gadget he had on top of his desk. The unexpected visitor startled him. He was completely absorbed handling the device, which he was quick to put in a drawer.
“You scared me. Fortunately it was not Bladek who found me with the door open. No one should see this device I have under consideration.”
“Do not worry. As for me, I have not even noticed it,” replied Mole amused. “I just came to say goodbye because I am leaving in less than an hour.”
“How do you feel about the gear? Will you have problems to make it work?”
“I don’t think so. You did a good job with me.”
Kim smiled. Then he answered:
“Good luck then, we all are counting on you.”
“And I will not disappoint you,” he replied. “Especially after what you made me swear a few days ago. I still think of my head rolling on the floor when I remember.”
“And it is I who shall be in charge of severing it, so better spare me the job.”
They laughed and strongly shook hands, although Mole could not help thinking that maybe what they were taking as a joke could eventually become true. After all, his first impression of Kim was still fresh in his memory; he had seemed really frightening to him when they met.
He left the office not knowing for sure if he was happy or worried. His conversation with the sergeant had forced him back into reality. He chose to forget about this and better headed with a lively gait to Control’s office, where he was hoping to find a more pleasant sight.
The door was locked. He knocked twice and got no answer, so he dared to open it, but only to find out she was not there.
Somehow disenchanted, he reached into his pocket for the red floret he had cut minutes earlier when crossing the esplanade after having visited the professors. Sighing, he left it on the desk and went out of the room, now walking slower, to meet the appointment that Guide and he had with their driver. It was time to leave. He had no pending matter in the field.
When he got to the meeting point, Guide was inspecting the gear one last time.
“Help me check that everything is on board,” he said, “we don’t want any last minute surprises.”
The next ten minutes were devoted to open and close all those black canvas bags, marking on a checklist all their contents.
“It seems that everything is in place,” he said finally. “Let’s go!” he added, now addressing the driver who had been watching all the time.
The man in charge of driving was wearing civilian clothes, just like his passengers, intending to go unnoticed during the journey. The car looked like any other that might be found around; it rather gave the impression of being an old model.
Although the stretch could be covered just under three hours, it would take them more than four and a half to complete it, as when being close to destiny they would leave the vehicle identification system at a predetermined point to then continue at low speed from there, so that enemy’s satellite detection systems would take them for some farm machinery, which abounded in the region. The border areas of the territory were watched for any activity out of the ordinary in an effort to prevent unwanted incursions.
As they rolled toward the gate they spotted Control, standing at one end of the esplanade, waving her right hand in farewell. Her hand’s movement was drawing a red line, letting
guess that she was holding something. Mole did not have to speculate upon what it was. He knew in her fingers was the floret he had left on her desk. Suddenly his joy was back. He had recovered his good mood, lost a while back.
The squeaky gate opened before them, freeing them from the field with its creak. Mole counted the days that had elapsed since his defection. This Friday the sixth week was starting, but it felt like a lifetime had passed since then.
The journey was marked by the silence into which they all had fallen. They just exchanged the words indispensable for the connivance they had been forced into. Mole noticed the resemblance between the driver and Voice, though the former looked younger and in better physical condition. They could have been brothers. He was amused thinking that this might actually be, even though definitely the second one seemed to be much nicer than the first one, because the man in charge of the vehicle was in a continuous bad mood.
Near destination the car left the main road to go on along a dirt road. The first rains of the season had come to the region and puddles and mud were hampering the progress of the car, making it skid and jump. The splashing of mud on the windshield at times hindered visibility.
The drizzle that had been present during the last half hour threatened to go on all night, portending them a wet and cold ride, and the overcast sky had brought darkness, lessening the daylight hours of this summer day.
The 20 minutes it took to go the rugged route let them finally meet with the rest of the party. The venue was a farm abandoned years before which looked ruinous and dark, and drew a baleful silhouette in the dim evening light. The trailer that had left earlier from the camp had arrived on time. The horses were tied under the remains of an old roof to keep them from the rainy weather, and were zealously guarded by the boy and the driver in charge of the delivery.
As they saw them approaching, the driver came out to meet them while his partner stayed back in attentive attitude, and thus he stood until having become sure of the identity of those who were coming. Everything was in order. They would return to their base as soon as the expedition had been dispatched. The inclement weather would not bother them, though it certainly would make things harder to the riders.
It just took them 15 minutes to be ready to go. They said goodbye to the three men without any ceremony. Then they began their way with a calm step, as if trying to get acquainted with the rugged landscape they were about to cruise.
23
The cloudy sky and the absence of visual landmarks in the limits of the territory were forcing Guide to use ancient positioning methods. A compass was no more than a curiosity; however, under the circumstances it was the best option for someone wishing to go unnoticed by electronic surveillance systems, so it was precisely one of these the leader of the expedition was holding in his right hand.
After sunset, the little light of the first few miles of their journey was over, giving way to the dazzling thunderbolts that were lighting the landscape in flashes amid an uproar. The riders’ silhouettes against such an illuminated sky evoked an image of the past, as if they had been taken from an old western, one of those that had seen their best years more than a century before.
When they reached the mountains, leaving behind the easy ride of the valley, the tenacious rain finally stopped and the lightning faded, giving way to the croaking of frogs and the sound of raindrops dripping from the treetops that now were all around them. The aromas of wet forest at night were brought by the wind, inviting them to breathe deeply to delight their noses, while some of the inhabitants of the mountain had begun to show.
The chanting of an owl, the race of a rodent to hide, the nervous steps of a fleeing deer, and even the distant roar of a mountain lion, who had come back to inhabit the woods, were bringing back to the intruders the feel of being a part of nature that modern life so easily takes away.
“It seems it’s not raining anymore,” Guide said, breaking a silence that had lasted for more than two hours.
“This air is incredible,” said Mole. “I don’t remember feeling such an intense night for a long time. It makes me feel alive.”
“It’s a nice night,” replied Guide, minimizing the excitement of his companion. “We’ll have to go slowly for some time, this slippery ground will not let us move faster.”
The conversation went no further. The rhythmic sound from the horses while moving prevailed again, gradually numbing the perception of the horsemen, till they fell into a kind of hypnotic state that would last until dawn.
Daybreak took them by surprise when they were reaching the top of the mountains. Their continued ascent of the previous hours had put them above the clouds already, which now had turned into the fog that covered the lowlands. The light of dawn was finally allowing them to get a clear view, in which the red horizon tinged the landscape in a thousand hues.
After a turn of the path a small hollow suddenly got in sight. The rain had created a lagoon on its bottom and it was surrounded by abundant tall grass. Guide came to a stop and dismounted while making a sign to Mole to do the same.
“This is a good place to stay for a while. The horses can rest and feed while we take a nap. I estimate that we have done about half of the way, since we are in the highest part of the mountain. We will continue in the evening.”
“Glad to hear this,” said Mole. “I need the break, my back is hurting.”
The morning was cold and the merciless mountain wind was beating their faces, although deep down the hollow this condition became less intense.
“You better stay in the shade and avoid the sun on your face because you should not look particularly sunned when we get there; you might attract attention.”
“I understand. You’re right. As soon as I have 28 unsaddled and tied near the water I will find shelter under the trees.”
Minutes later they were having their rations, covered under an awning of thin fabric that stretched between two trees. They would have to spend the rest of the day right there; until sunlight had faded by the evening marking the time to resume the trip.
Mole was exhausted. He could not understand how it could be that Guide was looking as brisk as when they left, still moving nimbly, while he was suffering from pains throughout his body; and the funny thing was that every time that they had ridden together, the same thing had happened.
Anyway, he would rest as much as he could, because the next stage of the trip promised to be as strenuous as the one they were just concluding.
The sight of the sun approaching the horizon put them into action again. The stretch scheduled for the upcoming night was longer than the former one. It would comprise around 40 miles, of which slightly fewer than 30 would be steep slopes, so Guide was in doubt that he dark hours would be enough to cover them. He decided to take advantage of the last hour of daylight.
Although they had been in enemy territory since the last hours of the previous stage, the surveillance of this remote region was not as intense as what they would find once being close to their destination. A little ahead they would enter an area regularly patrolled by rangers, which would increase the risk of being spotted. This, added to the difficulties of traveling a rugged terrain, would continuously keep their adrenaline high.
Luckily the weather had improved. The sky was clear of clouds in the direction they intended to take and the wind was feeling a little warmer, helping the ground not to be as slippery as the previous night, when they had had some tough times.
They picked up the camp and saddled their horses, which after the break and food were once more ready for the heavy work of the day.
They resumed the march with the same calm step of the former night, trying to save their horses’ energies to meet the challenges that the route would impose them later on.
This time Guide’s explicit instruction had been to refrain from speaking or producing any sound different from those unavoidable when horseback riding. They could not guess who might be listening or when could this happen.
By mi
dnight the waning moon came out in the clear sky, illuminating the way just enough to let them put away the night vision devices. The horses could go more safely and the riders somewhat relax from the stress of having to accurately handle the reins.
Near dawn Guide ordered to halt. Thanks to the providential appearance of the moon in a clear sky they had managed to speed up their pace enough to comply with the program. They were on the side of a mountain when they dismounted. Having secured the horses to a tree, they walked to the top.
Daylight let them see a valley covered with short grass, which brought a smile of satisfaction on the face of Guide.
“We have arrived,” he said triumphantly. “For a moment I thought we would not be fulfilling the schedule. We must find the cave where they will meet us later. Follow me!”
They went back to the place where the beasts had begun to nibble on the vegetation and taking them by the reins walked along the slope to find the entrance to a cave hidden by bushes.
They separated the branches obstructing the access and entered. Inside they found a pile of pasture and two buckets with water.
“I see they have done their part. Let’s unsaddle the horses to let them rest. We must wait a few hours.”
“I am tired,” said Mole. “I think I will take a nap.”
After a while both of them were sleeping in a corner of the dark enclosure, waiting for their contacts to come.
It was noon and now the cave’s inside was illuminated by green light filtering through the thick foliage that hid the entrance. Those inside this uncomfortable space were eating one more of their rations when a shaking of the foliage that guarded the entrance made them stay still.
Making their way inside, two men draw their silhouettes in the backlight of the opening. They were dressing like weekend hikers. Both of them seemed to be in their 40’s and were sweaty from the effort of climbing the opposite slope.
“I see you have arrived on time,” said the first one.
“As scheduled,” Guide answered in a proud tone.
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