Connie returned her attention to the computer screen and typed in several numbers. “A friend of mine is an eco-botanist and she came down here to study with the indigenous peoples of Panama. She’s been out of the office for the last three days, but I know she checks her email every few hours. If anyone can give us the longitude and latitude of the Bri with pinpoint accuracy, it’s Cassidy Sheldon.”
“Cassidy’s down here now?” Gina asked.
Connie nodded. “Came down to study the migration of some nocturnal wasp or something.”
“Wasps? The world is going to hell in a hand basket, and she’s studying wasps?” Sal asked, tossing her towel into the other room. She may have showered, but her change of clothes had been yet another pair of fatigues.
“I’ve left her a message and an email.”
“What else were you doing online, Con?” Gina asked, knowing full well that Connie, who could type a blistering ninety words per minute, had not taken that long to send a quick note to Cassidy.
Connie grinned and jotted something down on the pad next to her laptop. “Oh, just cruising down the old information super-highway.”
Connie closed the laptop, but didn’t switch it off. “Once we get a bead on the Bri, we’ll send Gina and the boat back to the cliff where Delta fell and have her wait there. The rest of us will enter where we entered before, near the town of Rivas.”
“You don’t think a boat off the coast will warn Zahn?” Gina asked.
Sal chuckled. “The boat looks like one of those smelly old fishing boats. He’d never imagine it’s our getaway vehicle.”
Connie nodded. “The important thing will be to not come to shore until you see us or the signal flare.”
Gina sighed. “It’s going to seem an eternity before we see each other again, and waiting for a flare while bobbing up and down in the Caribbean will give me gray hair.”
Connie leaned over and kissed the top of Gina’s head. “As long as you’re around to enjoy every one of those gray hairs with our child, this will just be another adventure in the lives of Delta Stevens and company.”
Gina grinned warmly at her lover. “Another adventure? My love, when did you become the mistress of understatement?”
Connie shrugged. “What can I say? I have faith that she’s alive, that we can get to her, and that we’re going to save those people from General Zahn. All we have to do is follow our plan. It’s that simple.”
Delta wondered if her plan was too simple. She was missing something. She dreaded making a grave error in judgment by thinking Connie and Megan would know that she was going back into the jungle, back to the Bri, after Zahn. She may have underestimated his greed. She thought he would surely pull his men out after they had escaped his clutches.
Delta had made several mistakes; one had been misreading the fire burning in Megan’s eyes when Megan told her that she was going back after her friend Siobhan and the others that Zahn had captured. After finding Megan in the Bri village, Delta had been content to go home with her lover and finally stop feeling like she needed to save the world. But, to Delta’s surprise, Megan had said she was going back to Zahn’s camp with or without Delta.
That was a turning point in their relationship, one that would allow both women to see inside each other’s hearts and finally come to an understanding about the roles they both played. Delta was sure that Megan had meant it; that she would, indeed, go back after those hostages, because that was exactly what Delta would be doing right this minute.
“We get you to beach tomorrow evening,” Flora said, after speaking with her father, a smallish man with large, cracked hands and slicked-back hair. Delta had managed to stand and pace back and forth to test her leg, surprised by how good it felt. Whatever the old woman had been putting on it had seemed to do the trick. Looking down at the back of her thigh, where the first bullet went in, Delta realized that the wound had been sewn shut.
“Fish wire,” Flora said, smiling.
Delta nodded. It seemed that the lack of technology didn’t hurt people as much as sociologists and other researchers assumed.
“Papa say no good to go jungle at night.”
“I know, but my friends, my family, do not know I am alive.” The words pained her just to say them.
Flora nodded in understanding. “Papa can no go but to get bags and back. Entiendes?”
Delta nodded. Flora’s father’s boat commandeered by Zahn was probably being closely watched. If he attempted to take Delta to the authorities, it would mean trouble, or worse, for him and his family. It was a risk she wasn’t willing to take.
“I understand. But you see, I must go when it’s dark so they cannot see me.”
Flora sighed. “Back into jungle?”
Delta grinned at the beautiful woman. She looked like she had just stepped off a postcard. “Yes. Back into the jungle. My friends will be expecting me there. But until then, is there anything I can do here to help?”
Flora thought for a moment before nodding. “Grandmother make medicines for you. Need herbs. You okay to go with me?”
Delta tested her leg once more. The old woman sure knew her herbs. She also knew how to stitch as well as any doctor. “I can’t think of anything I’d like better than to go herb hunting with a beautiful woman.”
Flora frowned. “Huh?”
Grinning, Delta extended her hand. “Okay to go with you.”
Taking Delta’s hand, Flora walked slowly to the door. “You dream much.”
Delta nodded, thinking of the nightmarish visions she’d had during her fever. “Yes, I did.”
Flora nodded. “Tell me about you. About North America. Tell me things.”
Delta looked over at her while pushing the ugly thoughts about the United States to the back of her mind. Delta could acknowledge that her view of American society was somewhat screwed, but she didn’t feel as though this was the time to break a young girl’s dreams.
“What would you like to know?”
A huge sigh escaped Flora’s lips. “Tell me about colleges.”
Delta stopped and turned to look at her. “Colleges?”
“Sí. Entiendes?”
“Entiendo.”
“Entiendo,” Connie said, jotting a number down before hanging up the phone. Everyone else except Gina had left on a variety of errands. This time, they would be prepared when they entered the bowels of La Amistad. Before, they’d gone off half-cocked, unaware of the very human dangers lurking there.
They had plunged into unfamiliar territory without regard for their safety, and barely made it out alive. This time, they would be prepared with the right weapons, compasses, first aid, filled canteens, and accurate maps. The jungle would not best them, as it had before. They were prepared: not only for the rainforest but also for that bastard, General Zahn. This time, he would be the hunted, not the hunter. His own arrogance and machismo would have prevented him from returning to Colombia and leaving the second vein of gold. He would never be expecting them to come back for him. That pomposity would be his downfall.
Megan had told them there was a second vein the general had plans to mine. And while it would be difficult tracking him down, Connie was sure the second vein must be somewhere near the first. After a quick seismological check on one of the web pages she’d found, Connie concluded the second vein was possibly within a mile of the first. If it were, Zahn would be there, a handful of hostages already doing his bidding.
If they could find Delta, if they could get her to the boat and to a hospital before her wounds killed her, they would return to the general and attempt to rescue the others Megan had left behind. If… if… if…
“You okay?” Gina came up behind Connie and rubbed her shoulders. Any other time, under any other circumstances, Connie would have melted beneath her lover’s touch. But not now. Like a cobra coiled and ready to strike, Connie’s muscles were tensed, ready to spring into action when the time came. She would not rest, would not relax until she had Delta back.
> Connie released a sigh that could have cut glass. “I’m scared to death.” Connie’s voice came out weak and small. Turning around in the chair, she buried her face in Gina’s growing belly. They had a child on the way, goddamn it, and Delta was the godmother. She couldn’t be dead. A life without Delta was unthinkable, unimaginable. The rest of forever would be bleak without Delta Stevens. Connie couldn’t raise a child in a world that didn’t have Storm in it.
Storm. It was the perfect nickname for a woman who stormed into any situation before thinking.
Delta was Connie’s Storm, and had been ever since they met when Delta was just a rookie. It was odd to think of a time when Delta wasn’t the consummate professional she was now. Back then, Delta drew action to her like nothing Connie had ever seen. She seemed to get out of one mess and immediately step in another. It appeared some things would never change.
“What if we don’t ever find her?” Connie asked quietly, allowing tears to run down her face.
Gina held Connie tightly against her. “What does your spirit guide tell you?”
Connie pulled away and wiped her face. Gina seldom mentioned Connie’s spirit guide, since it was a part of Connie’s heritage that she kept private. But she had, indeed, done so. “That she’s alive. I’ve searched every corner of my heart to see if I’m simply clinging to false hope, but she’s still there. Delta’s still alive.”
“Then, hold onto that. You know Delta. She’ll find some way of letting you know where she is. Just keep believing in her. That’s what she needs from you right now.”
Connie nodded, sighing deeply. “You, more than anyone, know that I’ll feel it the moment her spirit is no longer of this earth. But, oh god, honey, I don’t know if I can handle that.”
Gina stroked Connie’s hair with one hand and pressed her head deeper into her large belly with the other. “Hopefully, you won’t have to. I know how much it scares you to think you might, but you can’t think that way. You must believe like you always have.”
Connie slowly rose and wiped her face. “I need her to be the godmother of our child. I need her to listen to my stories, to laugh with me, to think I am as insane as she is.”
Gina gently wiped Connie’s cheeks. “You need her, sweetheart. It’s as simple as that.”
Connie gently pulled away and walked over to the large plate-glass window. It felt like they were in a goldfish bowl. No drapes, not many lights out. It was a three-quarter moon, and she wondered if Delta was looking up at it as well. “Yes, I need Storm. It’s odd to think that I need someone as reckless, as crazy, as hopelessly idealistic as she is.”
Gina stood beside Connie and took her hand. “You’re both pieces of some strange, cosmic puzzle, babe. If anyone can find her, it’s you.”
The tears continued their descent, and Connie was afraid that once she really started crying, she would never stop. “I’m going to give it everything I have.”
“As she would expect you to.” Gina walked over and lightly touched Connie’s lower back before drinking some water from a glass on the small wooden nightstand. “If she is out there, sweetheart, she’s expecting you. You need to think like Delta thinks.”
Connie chuckled and wiped her eyes. “God, now there’s a scary thought. No one thinks like Delta Stevens.”
“Maybe not, but you can. You must.”
“I know. I’m trying.”
“What about Megan? How is she holding up? She seems so different than when she left.”
Connie turned to Gina. Everything seemed so different now. “The Megan we used to know would have folded before now. But that hooker is long gone, and has been replaced by a stronger, tougher woman who’s more likely to kick ass than give up. Don’t underestimate her or the power of her love for Delta. She’s not kidding about going back after those people, Gene. She is more like Delta than I would have ever thought possible.”
“I can’t even imagine it. She’s changed so much.”
“Wait and see. Megan is ready to do business with this General Zahn. There’s a fiery vengeance in her eyes that, quite frankly, frightens me a little. But, he underestimated her before. If he does so again, it may very well cost him his life.”
Gina nodded. “Revenge is a dish best served cold. You don’t think she’ll endanger us in her effort for retribution?”
Connie shook her head. “You know, I’ve asked myself that question a dozen times, and I just don’t know. I don’t know the new Megan as well as I did the old. If she thinks Zahn is responsible for Delta’s… you know… I honestly believe Megan will kill him or die trying.”
Gina reached up and lightly stroked Connie’s face. “You two keep each other safe, you hear me? I’m not going to raise this baby by myself.”
Connie kissed Gina’s open palm. “I’m so glad you came. It was against my better judgment, but I think I was wrong.”
Gina pretended to be surprised. “What? Did I hear you correctly? Did you say wr—”
“Shh, as long as Delta isn’t around to hear me say it. Yes, I was wrong. I guess I’m just as bad as any man who acts like his pregnant wife is incapacitated, huh?”
Gina grinned. “You have been a bit overbearing, sweetheart, but I think it’s cute. You just love me, that’s all.”
Connie kissed Gina tenderly on the lips. How this woman put up with her and Delta’s shenanigans for so long was beyond Connie. Gina’s life had even been threatened by a crackpot named Elson Zuckerman, who had stalked Connie in a deadly computer game. Only Delta’s involvement had kept them all safe and alive. Gina Tarabini was the salt of the earth, and Connie loved her more every day.
“I do so love you, you know.”
Gina kissed Connie’s nose. “You are my knight in shining armor, and I have no doubt that you’ll find Delta and rescue those other women.”
Connie placed her hand on Gina’s belly and rubbed it counterclockwise. “Did you decide which name you wanted?”
They’d had several name discussions since conception, but only two were acceptable to them both. When Connie had left for Costa Rica, they had yet to decide on a name.
“I like either Cheyenne or Dakota, babe. It’s so sixties. So retro.”
Connie grinned. Delta had given her a bad time about being a Navajo and naming her baby after another tribe, but Connie didn’t care. They were cool names that couldn’t really be shortened into some silly nickname, and they had a strength to them that many names didn’t possess. “Retro? What have I told you about watching too much MTV?” Wrapping her arms around Gina, Connie hugged her tightly as she stared at the moon. Yes, she was glad Gina had come down. She needed her strength, her foresight, and, most of all, her grip on reality.
And that was important to a woman who felt frighteningly on the edge of it.
Turning to face the three-quarter moon, Delta closed her eyes. She wanted Connie to hear her thoughts, to know she was alive. By now, Connie would be a nervous wreck, and Delta knew she would reach deep in her Native beliefs to see if Delta was still alive. Delta wanted her to know it, beyond any doubts.
Connie would convince everyone that Delta was still alive, and she would search every corner of her heart to see if she could ascertain which direction Delta would head.
Delta had gone over her choices a thousand times and each time, she arrived at the same conclusions. Connie and Megan would scour the water, the coast, and every hospital in a hundred-mile radius. After finding nothing, they would come to the only possible solution: the Bri. Connie had been there with her, when she had become a Bri warrior. Somehow, Connie had projected her spirit into the middle of Delta’s drug-induced vision to let her know she wasn’t alone. If Connie Rivera had the power to do that, she certainly had the ability to find the Bri again. They had united Delta and Megan once before, and they could surely do so again. They were the only ones Delta felt she could turn to, and she was confident that Connie would know that.
Connie seemed to know more than anyone Delta had ever met. And it wa
sn’t just that she was a genius, it was that she could see inside of people. Maybe it was her Native American roots or maybe she was just perceptive. Whatever it was, it gave Connie a greater command of the world around her than the average person. And right now, Delta was counting on her to be well above average. It would take every bit of Connie’s vast abilities to do what Delta need her to do. First, she needed Connie to know that she was alive. Then, she needed Connie to go with whatever her instincts told her Delta would do. The options were limited. Delta could not trust any of the authorities that, by now, had probably been forewarned about the tall American woman who might show up in a hospital. Zahn’s influence must extend far and wide for him to have the kind of operation he was running in the middle of the jungle. Connie needed to remember these things. She needed to get inside Delta’s head and heart and figure that Delta would return to the only place she felt was safe.
Turning from the moon, Delta rolled over and looked at the wound on the back of her leg. Flora’s grandmother had done an incredible job of sewing her up, and Delta had managed to keep up for most of the afternoon, until she tired and had to come back with Flora.
The day had been an interesting one. After she and Flora found and harvested various plants, her grandmother, who looked older than dirt, explained to Flora what each did and what she needed to mix with it in order to achieve the desired results. Delta had asked Flora if she didn’t already know all this, and Flora explained that her grandmother could not read or write, so all her knowledge had to be passed down orally. Even if Flora had already learned what her grandmother had told her, she said it would be rude to say as much to an elder. So, Flora listened quietly and then translated as best she could for Delta, who found the entire process fascinating.
Her thoughts about the day made her grin. If someone had told her a month ago that she would actually find herbal medicines interesting, she would have laughed them off the planet.
Storm Surge (Delta Stevens Crime Logs Book 6) Page 4