by Amber Jacobs
Dark brows contracted in confusion. “Internet? E-mail?” The words sounded like gibberish to Leandra.
“Didn’t you have a computer before you went to India?”
Leandra shook her head. “They seemed stupid. I didn’t care about typing or numbers. Aren’t they just overpriced calculators?”
“Not anymore. Technology has moved fast these last four years. Come on. Let’s get up, get some breakfast, and then I’ll take you on a tour of the information superhighway.” She grinned as she threw off the covers. “Time to bring you up-to-date with the future, Jungle Jane.”
After breakfast, Ashley took Leandra into her study and introduced her to the sleek, new-looking computer having pride of place on her desk. Leandra watched, curious, as Ashley switched the machine on. Even before her exile to the steamy, Indian jungle, Leandra hadn’t cared for complicated gadgets or expensive electronic conveniences. She had preferred to live her life in the world of flesh and blood, where she could exercise complete control over her environment. Four years of living with nothing more technical than a toothbrush had only increased her estrangement from such modern appliances. Now, watching the computer monitor light up with a crisp, colorful illustration of an African rhino against the backdrop of the Serengeti, Leandra was unsure of how this device was supposed to help her.
Ashley fiddled with the mouse and made a few knowledgeable-looking clicks. “We’ll just get on the net and see what we can find.” After a few moments and some strange noises, which Leandra thought sounded very much as though Ashley’s actions had killed the machine, the screen started changing through a few different pictures, finally settling on one. Ashley glanced at Leandra. “We’ll need some keywords first,” she explained. “Then the computer will look for those words on the net and bring up a list of possibly useful sites. Let’s see, how about wildlife protection organizations.” She clicked away at the keyboard.
Leandra moved closer to the computer, her curiosity piqued. Ashley indicated the swivel chair beside her. “Sit down. It’s not going to bite you.”
Unaware her nerves had been showing, Leandra sat hesitantly in the offered chair. She watched in silence while Ashley studied the screen intently, scanning the search results.
“Okay, this looks good. We’ve got a lot of things here.” Mahogany eyes perused the names and brief descriptions carefully. “Here… This one sounds good.” Another point and click brought up a new window, with colorful animal illustrations and a whole list of directories. She gestured for Leandra to move closer. “See? If you click on the thing that sounds like what you want, it’ll take you to the next page. Like here, we’ve got info on poachers and poaching control, so we just move the mouse like so and click on it.” Like magic, a new window opened, featuring text on poachers. “We use this bar here to scroll down as we read, and this button here takes us back to the last window.” Ashley scooted her seat over a little to make room. “Here, give it a try.”
Leandra recoiled. “Oh, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not? You won’t break it just by touching it. Come on, just put your hand on the mouse and see.”
Leandra reached out to place her hand on the mouse. Moving it around, she found that the arrow on the screen moved with the motion of her hand. Her smile grew broader, as she managed to scroll down the page, reading the neatly printed words as she went.
“So, you have all this stuff on your computer already?”
“Not exactly. This is all on the Internet—it’s like a big, electronic library that you can access over the phone lines. People make these websites about stuff they like, or businesses create sites for advertising, selling, recruiting—things like that—without having to travel long distances. The Internet has a lot of uses, although some people just think of it as a global pornography source.”
Leandra flashed a wicked grin. “Well, that’s important, too.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Anyway, you find a group that looks like they could use your help, and you can even send them a letter to introduce yourself.”
Leandra absorbed this revelation and shook her head in wonder. “The world outside the jungle moves so fast,” she whispered to herself. “Four years seems like a decade.”
“Technology, in particular, has made some pretty rapid progress,” Ashley agreed. “Computers go out of date in a year, nowadays.”
Leandra eyed the humming machine with new respect. “Could this thing be used to do banking?”
“Sure. Why?”
“Maybe I could check if I still have an active account.”
“Well, if you weren’t using the Internet for banking before, you’ll probably need to speak with the bank directly to set it up.” Ashley gently nudged her aside and made a few clicks. “Let’s see…What was the name of your bank?”
“It was a little place in Switzerland called Holmes and Grey.”
Ashley typed in a search, and the name came up immediately. “Okay, this is it.” Opening the new page, she scanned the details and clicked on a link to their contacts, which brought up a list with numerous phone numbers. Ashley identified one with a finger. “Look, they have a dedicated number for international clients. They’ll need an account number and password before they can be much help, though.”
“I always used the same password for everything, so that shouldn’t be a problem. The account number, on the other hand…” Leandra regarded the screen with narrowed eyes, casting back through her memory for details she’d long ago abandoned. “I hated keeping any private info written down, so I made myself memorize this stuff. I had this trick for remembering the numbers by singing them in a song, so if I can just get the first few digits… It’s all in my head somewhere, but it could take some time to dig it out.”
“No problem. A lot of banks will accept your date of birth or passport number as identification if you’ve forgotten your account number, but I’m thinking this is the kind of place that won’t be so lenient, right?”
“Right.” Leandra took a pen and a sheet of paper from the desk and laid them in front of her. “This could take some time.”
“Want me to make some coffee?”
“How about orange juice?”
Ashley gave her an indulgent smile; since returning to civilization, Leandra had developed a strong thirst for orange juice, and she guzzled it by the gallon. “Sure. Keep trying, I’ll be back in a minute.”
It only took Leandra a few minutes of quiet contemplation before she recalled the first four digits of the account number, and with them came the tune she had used to commit them to memory. By the time Ashley returned with two tall glasses filled with juice, Leandra was humming to herself and hurriedly filling in the rest.
Ashley seemed to have no trouble reading her expression as she handed over a full glass. “You got it?”
“Got it!” Leandra confirmed proudly, smacking the pen down on the desk with a big grin. “Should we call now?”
“It’s a twenty-four-hour number, so I don’t see why not.” Ashley retrieved a portable phone handset and dialed the number from the computer screen. When it connected, she handed it to Leandra, who brought it to her ear just in time to hear a tinny, male voice offer a bright, friendly greeting.
“Holmes and Grey Banking Financial Services, this is Jeremy speaking, how may I help this morning?”
“Uh…Hi, I have an account I haven’t accessed in a while, but I’d like to set it up for Internet banking.”
“Certainly, I can help you with that. Do you have your account number and pass code?”
Leandra read him the details, ignoring Ashley’s amused snort when she heard her password was ARTEMIS01. There was a lengthy pause as Jeremy entered her information, and for a moment, she feared she’d recalled the numbers incorrectly. But then he asked a few additional security questions in a slightly more formal tone, and Leandra guessed this
was due to the fact the account had been inactive for several years. After she demonstrated she was who she claimed to be, Jeremy’s chipper attitude returned in full measure.
“Excellent. Now, do you have access to a computer at the moment? I can get you all set up here and then make sure you’re right to go.”
Jeremy walked her through the process for setting up her online banking; it proved to be simple enough that even a confessed Luddite like Leandra could manage it. Thanking the helpful Jeremy, she refreshed the screen and hung up the phone, considering the account details with a melancholy smile. “That should help me pay my way for a while.”
Ashley’s mouth hung open as she stared at the number displayed at the bottom of the screen. “Is that in dollars? American dollars?”
“Yep.”
“My God, Leandra…you’re rich!”
Leandra shrugged a little. “I was pretty good at what I did.”
Ashley was still staring at the screen. “Leandra, that’s millions!”
“Looks that way.” Leandra regarded the number, her smile transforming into a sad frown. “It cost me more than it was worth,” she said quietly. “That’s blood money, Ash. It can pay my way now, but more importantly, it can help me make up for some of the things I did.” She sighed. “The next time we go into the city, I’ll make arrangements to have the money transferred and the account closed.”
Ashley laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You’re a different person now, Leandra. Just the fact that you’re willing to make some kind of reparation shows how much you’ve changed.”
“Being sorry for the choices I made won’t bring back my parents,” she whispered. “It won’t bring back all the animals I hunted and killed, either. I left my exile because I love you, and I want us to be together…not because I’ve made all my amends.”
The two regarded one another for a long moment, then Ashley reached into her back pocket and pulled out a crumpled scrap of yellowed notepad. She handed it to Leandra. “Maybe this could give you a place to start.”
“What is it?” Leandra studied the handwritten note curiously.
“Before we left the park, I asked our guide, Tarun, for his contact details. He works mostly around the areas you used to patrol, and he has good contacts with both the rangers and the government. Best of all, he knows enough about you to appreciate how useful your experiences as a poacher could be to the people fighting them.”
Leandra considered the suggestion. She had been too distracted by her own anxiety on the drive out of the park to recall much about Tarun, who had been mostly silent the entire journey. “You trust him?”
“Well, I’ll admit I found his utter lack of curiosity regarding who was killing poachers to be a bit irritating,” Ashley admitted with a grin, “but in this case, it only counts in his favor. You wouldn’t have to tell him everything about Shar-Ranjana, but he sees the damage done by poachers all the time. I’d say he’s trustworthy.”
“It would be good to have eyes in the area. now that I can’t be there myself to protect her,” Leandra added. “You’re right, he’s a good place to start. But there’s more I can do than just help guide the rangers to target hunting sites.”
“I figured you’d feel that way, and I’ve been thinking about that, too.” Ashley reached for the mouse and clicked back through several screens. Leandra watched as she brought up a fresh, blank document. “I rub elbows with a lot of people who work for wildlife preservation groups; my work helps bring attention to their cause, so we often move in the same circles. I can think of several people we might reach out to, who’d be sympathetic to your situation. If you write them and tell them your story, I’m sure they’ll agree there’s a lot to be gained by working with you.”
Leandra looked from the screen to her lover and back again. “It’s not that easy,” she whispered. “I was a criminal, Ash. What if they condemn me?”
“They might, but I doubt it. They need all the help they can get, especially from someone like you.” She stood up and gave Leandra’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Just take a minute to think about what you want to say. We don’t have to do anything with the letter, at least not right now, but you’ll be taking that first step.” Placing a soft kiss on her lover’s braided hair, Ashley turned and left the room.
Alone, Leandra regarded the computer monitor with trepidation. Her fingers traced along the edges of the keyboard, as a thousand memories flooded through her mind in ghostly waves. The faces of her parents and her beloved brother. Images of carnage she had been responsible for. The tired, drawn faces of drug addicts and young kids whose lives she’d helped destroy with the narcotics she’d smuggled and sold. Haunting, pain-filled cries of animals as she’d confined them in locked cages, to be shipped all over the world. The memories rushed through her mind so fast, Leandra had to close her eyes to keep them from overwhelming her. When she opened her eyes again, it seemed her whole life had come down to this one moment…to the emotionless, bleak screen of the monitor and its sterile non-judgment.
Leandra took a deep breath, laid her hands on the keyboard, and slowly began to type.
When Ashley poked her head into the study later, she couldn’t help but grin at what she saw. Leandra was perched on the swivel chair with her legs tucked under her, one hand on the mouse and the other resting beside the keyboard. The monitor displayed a detailed, intricate map on which dozens of small figures raced around. The computer speakers relayed sounds of battle and cries of victory. As she stepped into the room and circled her lover, Ashley’s grin grew wider at the expression of fixed intent Leandra wore—an expression reminiscent of the one she’d worn while hunting in the jungle.
“Hey, you.” Ashley raised an eyebrow when Leandra glanced up from her game. “I thought you were writing a letter.”
“I did.” Leandra turned back to the screen. “I followed the help directions and figured out how to save it. It wasn’t so hard. Then I was looking through these disk things and I found this game.”
“Warcraft, right? That’s Casey’s.” Ashley stepped closer and watched the miniature soldiers launch another attack. “I’m impressed you figured it out so fast. I could never really get into it. Having fun?”
“Yep. These orc thingies are stupid. I’ve almost taken them down.” The exultant gleam in Leandra’s eyes was indication enough that she was completely involved in the game.
“You should be careful,” Ashley advised. “These games can be addictive.” She paused when her warning elicited no response. “Did the letter turn out okay?”
Leandra’s hand stilled on the mouse a moment. “I think so, but I’m open to suggestions. It actually felt a little like I was writing a job application…which I suppose is what it is, huh? Here, take a look.”
With a few clicks, Leandra minimized the game and brought up the document. Ashley leaned over her shoulder and scanned the lines on the screen:
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to you in the hope that I may be of assistance to you in your wildlife preservation efforts. In particular, I believe I could be of great aid in your fight to curb the black market animal trade.
In a previous life, I made my fortune as a smuggler, poacher, and dealer of exotic animals. I slaughtered entire herds of endangered animals for profit and pleasure. I was responsible for trafficking shipments of rare wildlife to other countries under torturous conditions. And I helped refine the art of smuggling butchered animal parts so the black market trade could continue, despite laws that might otherwise have been effective in their efforts to restrict it. In short, I was one of the people you are trying so hard to exterminate…and it is for this reason that you will find this letter unsigned. I don’t wish to appear untrusting, but I understand the disdain you must have for one of my former profession.
Four years ago, something happened which changed my life and forced me to recognize the te
rrible creature I had become. I was saved—to my way of thinking—by the very animals I would have hunted and killed without mercy. In penance for my crimes, I turned my back on civilization and dedicated myself to protecting the lives I had once sought to exploit. Living among them, I gained a deeper and more personal appreciation for the creatures I had once viewed only as prey. When poachers came, I fought against them in defense of my new family.
Now, however, fate has once again altered the course of my life, and my exile has come to an end. I can no longer live in that solitary world, and so I must seek other ways to atone for my crimes. To that end, I am writing this letter to you, hoping that you will be able to see past the creature I once was and help me continue my path to redemption.
I have a great many skills at my disposal, which I have no doubt would be of great service to your mission. Not only do I understand the methods and means of the poachers you are trying to stop, but I also understand the ways of the animal world. The jungle was my home for four long years, and the animals I lived with were my only family. I know that if you could find it in your heart to look beyond the person I once was, my talents and resources could serve as powerful weapons in your war against the men who are destroying the natural world.
I would dearly like to meet in person to discuss how I might benefit your cause, and anxiously await a response. I hope it will be one of a positive nature.
Sincerely,
“The (Former) Indian Menace”
Ashley gave Leandra’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. There was so much sincerity and pain and hope in those words, she only hoped whomever they sent the letter to would find it as moving as she did.
“It’s good,” Ashley said, her voice catching a little. She cleared her throat. “Really good. We can tailor the wording a little, depending on who we’re reaching out to. Like I said, I know a few people we could try contacting. Sending the letter anonymously is a good idea, but we’ll need to figure out a way for them to reply that won’t expose you until you’re ready. I’m thinking a prepaid mobile phone would probably be best.”