Josh grinned. “Pretty high.”
“Exactly.”
Delta had no idea how long she lay there, but when she came to, the sun had shifted and no longer cast its bright rays on her. Slowly opening her eyes, she expected to see nothing but flora and fauna. Instead, she found herself staring at a very large pair of black combat boots. Great! I escaped drowning only to be shot. Not having the strength to get up, let alone fight, Delta dropped her head back to the ground.
“What have we here?” came a deep male voice in English. “Looks like something my cat spit up.”
Delta cracked open one eye. That voice was distinctively American, and there was something oddly familiar about it.
With her cheek still on the ground, Delta peeked out of the one eye as a second pair of combat boots joined the first. Great! Delta thought. Closing her eye, she sighed. When she opened it again, a third pair of boots had joined the two others, but these were hiking boots—boots she had definitely seen before.
“Tanning, Storm?”
A grin spread across Delta’s face. Suddenly she felt two hands grab her waist and haul her to her feet. Finally vertical and on solid ground, Delta smiled at Josh before throwing her arms around Connie’s neck and hugging her tightly.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy to see your face,” Delta said, pulling away so she could put her hands on Connie’s face. Connie’s eyes were filled with warmth and love.
“I knew you’d be somewhere in the middle of the fracas.” Reaching her arms out, Connie pulled Delta to her and hugged her tightly.
“I found her,” Delta whispered as she hugged Connie back.
Connie pulled herself from the hug. “What?”
Delta nodded. “I found her.”
Connie looked around. “Where?”
Delta explained what had happened prior to her falling in the river. When she finished, she looked over at Josh and Sal. “Thanks for coming, guys.”
Sal grinned and her freckles moved. “Umm...no problemo. That’s Español for no problem.”
Delta smiled as she turned and hugged the diminutive woman. “You’re the best.”
“Actually,” Sal said, straightening her cap, “Josh is the best. He really moved us through the jungle. We caught up to you sooner than I thought.”
Manny.
Delta suddenly remembered. “Manny—Omigod—We have to find him.”
Josh reached out and grabbed Delta’s shoulder before she could take another step. “Whoa. Don’t you think you’ve had enough for one morning?”
Delta started to respond, but Connie cut her off. “Besides, you took a beating in that water. You need time to rest.”
Sal nodded. “They’re right, Del. No use in bringing more gunfire our way.”
“But Manny...”
“Point me in the general direction, Del, and I’ll see what I can do about finding him,” Josh said. Taking Delta by the elbow, Josh helped her to a seat on a log. “By the sounds of it, those yahoos are pretty well armed. We can’t just barge in there and demand Megan back, and it sure as hell isn’t safe to be traveling during daylight.”
Connie sat next to Delta and brushed her dark wet hair from her face. “Let Josh see if he can find Manny. In the meantime, you can rest and we can devise a plan that’s going to get Megan out of here alive.”
Delta looked into Connie’s eyes and nodded. Suddenly, the fatigue from her night under the palm fronds and her “swim” in the river blindsided her. “Okay. But we head to their camp tonight.”
Josh knelt in front of Delta and took one of her hands. “You trust me, don’t you, Del?”
Delta nodded. Besides Tony, her direction-challenged partner, Josh was the only other man she really trusted.
“Then trust that I’ll find your friend and scout out the situation. But you have to promise me one thing.”
Delta nodded.
“That you play this jungle operation by my rules. I’ve done this before, honey, and without a really good plan, it’s all over for every one of us. You hear what I’m saying?” Josh looked sternly at Delta.
Delta nodded again.
“Good. Now, whereabouts would you say you fell into the river?”
Once Josh had as much information as he could get from Delta, he started on his way, leaving the three women to set up a makeshift camp.
“Hungry?” Sal asked, offering Delta some beef jerky.
Delta shook her head. “I’m too tired to chew.”
Delta looked at the two worried faces staring at her. If they were reflecting the shape she was in, she must really be in trouble. Glancing at her hands and her clothes, Delta sighed. Her black cotton shirt hung in torn strips, as if someone had tried to cut it with dull scissors. Her arms looked like someone had rubbed a cheese grater over them. Her bloody left eyebrow throbbed, and she wasn’t sure she could take another step on her wobbly legs.
Connie continued stroking Delta’s head. “You sure know how to scare the shit out of me.”
Delta barely nodded. “Sorry, Chief.”
“Where have I heard that before? And how many more gray hairs are you going to give me?” Connie moved to Delta’s feet, pulled her boot off and poured water from it. “You sure you’re okay?”
Delta nodded and grinned. “I saw her. Megan is alive.”
“Of course she is. Megan’s a survivor, Del, and she’ll do whatever she needs to do to come home. You have to believe that.”
Whatever she needs to do...Is that what Megan was doing back there?
“Doesn’t make it any easier.” Delta put her head between her knees and started to cry. Finally, she was safe enough to release the pent-up anger and sadness that’d been pressing on her ever since she’d seen Megan blowing that guy on the rock.
Connie put her arms around Delta and held her tightly. “Come on. Let’s get you out of these clothes so you can rest easier.”
“But—”
“But nothing. When Josh gets back, we’ll figure out what we need to do to get Megan back, but for the time being, rest.
Dropping her jeans, so she was only in her bra and panties, Delta lay on the soft carpet of leaves covering the ground. Behind closed eyes Delta saw Megan’s face float in and out of her mind’s eye.
Megan was alive.
And soon, Delta was going after her.
When Delta woke up, she spotted Connie sitting nearby, just staring at her. Josh and Sal were nowhere in sight, and by the looks of the sun, Delta had been asleep for some time.
“How long have I—”
“Three hours. How are you feeling?”
Delta stretched and her muscles and joints screamed at her. “I ache all over.”
“I bet. Up to eating?” Connie opened a bag of trail mix and handed it to Delta.
“Thanks. Did Josh find Manny?”
Connie shook her head. “Josh’s come and gone a couple of times, but so far no luck.”
“Then maybe I should go.”
Connie stopped Delta as she tried to stand. “Josh is nervous that those guys might still be looking for you.”
Delta sighed. “More than likely. So?”
“So, we’re not going anywhere until nightfall, so you might as well relax.”
Delta reached into the trail mix and pulled a handful from the bag. “Relax. Yeah, right.”
Connie studied Delta for a moment before reaching over and taking her free hand. “I’ve seen that look in your eyes before, Storm. Something’s up. What is it?”
Delta sighed again. Connie was her perpetual mirror, always reflecting the truth about how she really felt. There had never been a time when she could hide her feelings, fears or frustrations from Connie. “You were right. I’m so far out of my element, I might as well be on Mars.”
Connie brushed a strand of hair away from Delta’s eyes. “Being out of your element has never stopped you before.”
“Yeah, but it feels like I’m playing a game where everyone knows the rules exce
pt me.”
Connie picked the peanuts out of Delta’s palmful of mix. “That’s an unfamiliar feeling for you, isn’t it?”
Delta grinned. “This place has an eerie effect on me. I don’t know what it is, but something in me is changing, something I can’t put a finger on.”
“Nature is definitely mysterious.”
“Is that it? Is being this close to the heart of life what’s making me have all these strange thoughts and feelings?”
“Strange? How so?” Connie asked.
Delta thought about this for a minute before answering. “Even though we’re in foreign, if not hostile, territory, there’s something oddly peaceful about this place. I can’t really describe it, but I feel...connected, I guess. Maybe that’s it. Although I’ve been out here by myself, I never really felt alone. Does that make any sense?”
Connie nodded. “I suppose that’s why tribal people deal with nature so much differently than we do.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look around you, Del. This is the most alive place on the earth. Life happens here, and we’re part of it. We may not belong here, but nature embraces us nonetheless.”
Delta reached over and held Connie’s hand. “Well, I’m glad we’re embracing it together.”
Connie grinned warmly at Delta. “Thank God for that.”
Delta finished her trail mix and looked into Connie’s face. “What do you really think the chances are, of getting all of us out of here alive?”
Connie glanced over at the rushing river before answering. “Honestly?”
“Honestly.”
“Sixty-forty.”
Delta nodded. “Well, that’s better than fifty-fifty.” Looking around, Delta raised her left eyebrow in a question. “Where’s Sal?”
Connie jerked her head to the left. “On guard duty.” Rising, Connie reached out and helped Delta to her feet. “Feel like a little walk?” “You’re kidding, right?”
“There’s a family of white-faced monkeys about a few hundred yards from here. I’d like a closer look.”
“A little obsessed with learning, aren’t we? Don’t you ever feel like your brain is full?”
This made Connie laugh. “Never. Come on. We have nothing else to do until nightfall, and we’ve been hustling through this damn forest so fast, I haven’t really been able to get a good look at it. Besides, it’ll do your joints good.”
Following Connie into the rain forest, Delta suddenly felt her old fighting spirit again. “There’s just one more thing.”
Connie waited. “Yes?”
“Change those odds to seventy-thirty.”
When Megan finally rejoined the others in the cavern three hours later, she noticed how diligently the captives were working. At first, she thought it was because of her, but Siobhan assured her this was not the case.
“What’s going on then?” Megan asked, as she stepped into the knee-deep water.
“Two people tried to escape into the forest and were killed.” Siobhan didn’t look up from the screen she was using to sift through the silt. “Didn’t you hear the guns?”
Megan nodded slowly. So, that was what the gunfire was all about. She’d thought they were target-practicing or shooting monkeys. “Who were they?”
Siobhan shrugged. “It was a man and a woman, but that’s all we could find out. The soldiers shot them and left them both to die and be eaten by the animals. Can you believe it?”
Megan inhaled deeply the musky, damp air. The underground stream flowing through the cavern brought a different kind of air to breathe. It tasted old and stale. “Were they from the other cavern?”
Siobhan shrugged. “Must be, because we’re all accounted for. I thought at first...”
“That it was me?” Megan lowered her voice as she reached her small trowel to scoop silt up from the bottom of the stream.
“Yes.”
“Maybe they were newly captured and escaped,” Megan offered.
“Perhaps. How was your...morning?”
A hot blush rose to Megan’s cheeks. “Could have been worse, I suppose.”
“The guards say he likes you. A lot.”
“I guess. I’d rather not discuss it. It’s bad enough I have to do it, talking about it only makes it worse.” Running her hand through the silt, Megan plucked out a small gold nugget the size of a pea.
“You’re going to live through this, aren’t you?” Siobhan asked quietly.
Megan shrugged. “I sold my body to survive when I was younger. It’s taken me three years to find my soul, and I don’t intend to live without it again.”
“Even if it guarantees your survival?” Siobhan lowered her voice when the guard at the entrance shifted his feet.
Megan brought up the small trowel. “Surviving and living aren’t the same thing. I’ve done both, and if I can’t continue living, I’d rather not survive.”
Siobhan bowed her head. “Then I suppose that means you’ll continue with your plan?”
“Especially now. They’ll never expect someone to run after the shootings today. It’s perfect.”
Siobhan’s eyes filled with tears. “I’ll be scared without you.”
Megan touched Siobhan’s face with the back of her hand. “Don’t be. I’ll come back with help. Keep believing, keep hoping, and keep yourself alive.” Megan paused and glanced back to the guard as Siobhan started to cry quietly, trying to stifle her sobs so as not to draw attention. “Don’t cry, Siobhan. I believe in those two women I told you about. They won’t let me down.”
The morning came with its usual burst of sunlight streaming through the canopy. And with it, the birds and innumerable animals woke to begin another lazy day. Delta checked her watch: almost 6 a.m. She rubbed her eyes before rolling over and saw Sal squatting on her haunches, packing her blanket and sheathing her huge hunting knife.
“Morning, Glory,” Sal said, grinning.
Suddenly, Connie appeared out of nowhere, catching Delta off-guard. “How in the hell do you do that?” Delta asked.
“Do what?”
“Creep up on us?”
Smiling widely, Connie joined them at the river bank. “My Native American ancestry. You white folks might say that moving quietly is in our genes.”
“Along with bullshitting and telling tall tales. You know, when your daughter is born, you’re going to have to stop with all this hoo-ha or you’ll confuse her.”
Sal and Connie both cocked their heads questioningly. “Hoo-ha?”
Bowing her head to hide her grin, Delta barely managed a nod. “Gina asked me to start watching my language so when the baby comes, we’re not talking like truck drivers.”
Connie straightened up. “She said the same thing to me, goddamnit!”
The three women laughed as they checked their gear and refilled their canteens.
“You know, you two were crazy to come down here without me and the big guy.”
Delta looked around and realized Josh was not around. “Speaking of which, where is Josh?”
“He wanted to make sure the morning bathing between Megan and that guy isn’t a daily occurrence.” Sal thrust her arms into the straps of her backpack, then cinched it around her waist.
“And if it is?”
“We’ll fall back and wait for Josh to follow them to camp,” Connie responded.
“You know I have to go with him.” Delta ran both hands through her hair.
“That would be stupid, Del.” Sal’s voice was matter-of-fact as she stared up at Delta. “Josh can get there and back without being detected. As good as you may be, you’re...umm...not good enough to accompany him. You’ll only put us all at risk.”
“Sal’s right. Let Josh find it first before we go in there with guns blazing. We still don’t know exactly what we’re up against.”
Delta hated to admit it, but they were right. They needed a good plan—needed to know what the numbers were, what weapons they had, and how many others, beside Megan, were trapped there.
Getting caught wouldn’t get them any of the information they still needed.
“Josh is used to being outnumbered, Del. He and his four buddies snuck into a village where the Cong had set up base. In less than three hours, Josh’s men had killed over fifty soldiers. Trust me. He’s very good at this.”
Looking down into Sal’s eyes, Delta recognized the admiration and devotion Sal held for the man who must have truly loved her father.
“Sal, is there more to your relationship with Josh than what you let on?” Connie asked.
Grinning at Connie, Sal answered, “He’s my family. We’re tight. I guess you could say we’re like you and Delta.”
Delta shook her head. “What Connie is delicately trying to say is, are you two doing each other?”
“Hell no! I love him and all, but there’s no sexual chemistry, if you know what I mean. Besides, Josh likes...frufru women.”
Connie and Delta laughed. “Not ‘fru-fru’ women!”
“Josh and I are friends, you guys, come off it!” Connie put her arms around Sal and hugged her. “You are too cute for words.”
“Could you gals keep your voices down?” came Josh’s voice from behind the foliage. “I think even the Panamanians probably heard you. Jesus! Trying to get us all killed?”
“Damn it!” Delta said, whirling around at the sound of his voice. “How do you two do that?”
Josh grinned, displaying white teeth against his black beard. “Connie was born with it. Me, I practiced.” Josh checked Sal and Connie’s backpacks before continuing, “Sal’s old man was like a wild creature, just like Connie and me. I watched that man wade through quicksand like it was water. I followed his lead as he moved through the jungle as silently as a shark cuts its way through the ocean. He could go where others couldn’t because he became part of the earth.”
“Wade through quicksand? How does someone do that?” Delta asked.
“People who are not of the earth will try to fight it, and that’s what drags them down. If you’re part of the earth, you know how to be so that it actually buoys you up.”
Delta looked over at Connie, who smiled, but said nothing.
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