by David Wood
All eyes went to the surrounding trees, scanning the branches for the giant predators. Matt hefted his Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine gun and his expression made it clear he was ready to shred anything that moved. Willis kept his Mossberg trained on the sunning anaconda, his finger on the trigger. He despised snakes, and all manner of what he termed, “squiggly things.”
“Come on Maddock! Let me take care of this thing.” In the shadowed lagoon, Willis’s eyes seemed to glow against his dark skin. “It ain’t hungry now, but it just might be by the time we come back this way.”
“No. The ScanoGen people might be somewhere close by, and they’d hear the gunshot. If it can be helped, I don’t want to warn them that we’re catching up to them.” They had taken a risk and traveled through the night. One person in each boat took a turn piloting the craft while the other two slept in the bottom of the boat, using mosquito netting for a blanket.
They had not let Kaylin take a turn, a decision about which she vigorously protested. Maddock reminded her that she was on this expedition against his better judgment, and that her carping was liable to draw the attention of unfriendly natives or worse. Now she satisfied herself with the occasional resentful look, or an “I told you so” stare whenever Maddock or Bones yawned.
“Fawcett claimed to have killed an anaconda that was sixty-two feet long.” Kaylin gazed at the snake in admiration. “He was generally ridiculed by scientists, but I think he might have been telling the truth. That thing has got to be close to that long.” She raised her camera and snapped a few pictures. “Hey Bones, why don’t you swim over there and stand next to it so I can get some scale perspective?” She winked at him.
“Will my middle finger be enough scale for you?” The anaconda chose that moment to slither away at a glacial pace, slowed no doubt by its heavy burden. “See that? It’s camera shy.”
The banter ceased as Maddock’s boat slid gently onto the bank, followed moments later by the second craft. Willis and Matt sprang out of their boat like commandos storming the beach, alert for danger.
“You’re not fooling anybody,” Bones told them as he helped Kaylin to shore. “You two think if you stand there like you’re on guard duty, you won’t have to help unload the boats.”
“True that,” Willis said. “But I got out first, so guess I’m gonna be the guard.” He looked at Matt, who was glowering at him. “What? What? You too slow, ranger boy. Get to work.”
“How did I ever get lassoed into hanging out with a bunch of SEALs?” Matt slung his MP5 across his back and turned to help Simáo unload their boat, while Maddock and Kaylin unloaded the other. In a matter of minutes, they had divided their provisions and loaded up a backpack for each person. Matt and Willis hid their boats within a thick stand of trees, camouflaging them with foliage. Bones, meanwhile, scouted the jungle nearby. He returned just as the rest of the group was donning their packs and getting ready to move.
“We’re definitely in the right place,” he pronounced, “and so is ScanoGen. They left plenty of prints on their way out of town. I also found their boats hidden close by.”
“Hopefully that means the guy inside the anaconda is one of theirs.” Matt bared his teeth in something between a grimace and a grin.
“How many boats did they have?” Maddock wondered how many men they’d be facing.
“Three. I couldn’t guess their numbers by the tracks they left behind.” Bones was thinking along the same lines as Maddock. “But if you figure they needed room for supplies, there can’t be more than a dozen in their group. Probably fewer.”
“Minus the one inside the snake,” Matt added.
“All right. Let’s move on, then.” Maddock consulted the map on which Jimmy had projected their path, then re-checked Fawcett’s rough map. “It looks like we’re headed that way.” He pointed in the direction from which Bones had come. “Think we should just follow ScanoGen’s trail?”
“As long as they’re on the right track, why not?” Bones nodded. “If it looks like they’re drifting off course, we’ll change directions.”
“We’ll need to move as quietly as possible.” Willis and Matt did not need to be told, and perhaps neither did Kaylin and Simáo, but Maddock did not wish to leave anything to chance. He and Bones took the lead, with Matt and Willis bringing up the rear.
The farther they trekked from the lagoon, the denser the jungle grew, with the shafts of sunlight sifting through the treetops fewer and farther between. The unnerving silence continued, with no sounds of any kind, save their soft treads and the occasional rustle of branches up above. He glanced back to check on the others. Kaylin appeared transfixed by the beauty and mystery of this dark place untouched by modern civilization, though her knuckles were white from the tight grip with which she held her M6 Scout, a multi-purpose weapon, an over-under weapon that fired both .410 shotgun shells and .22 bullets. It wasn’t a high-powered combat weapon, but it was the right fit for her. Maddock had no concerns about her using the weapon. She was the daughter of his and Bones’ former commander, and knew how to handle any number of firearms.
Simáo, on the other hand, was trembling and sweating profusely. He periodically stopped short, aiming his bolt-action hunting rifle in the direction of some unseen enemy. The third time he did this, Bones threatened to take the weapon away from him. The guide shook his head profusely and muttered something in his native tongue; but after the scolding, he ceased pointing his rifle at every sound.
They had hiked for hours, following the trail left by ScanoGen, when the path suddenly fell away in a deep trench that had been reclaimed by the native flora. Maddock halted at the edge and held his hand up for everyone to stop. It was difficult to discern the lay of the land beneath the dense foliage, but he could make out a series of circular terraces rising up behind the trench. This was not a natural formation, but something many centuries old, or perhaps older.
“It’s like a moat,” Kaylin whispered, looking down at the circular ditch that wrapped around the terraces. “They’ve found formations like this in Xingu National Park, though not as formidable as this.”
“This must be the next landmark.” Bones tapped the paper Maddock held in his hand. The image, carved so long ago, looked like a layer cake, and had baffled Maddock until this moment.
“Circular terraces, one on top of the other, ringed by a ditch. You’re right. This is it.” His heart pounded. Despite the perils inherent to the Amazon, he would have been thrilled with the tantalizing possibility of discovery, were they not facing the threat of armed men from ScanoGen somewhere up ahead. “Okay, the map makes it look like we’re supposed to go right over the top of this thing. I wonder if we couldn’t just go around?”
“Help me!” No sooner had the faint voice floated up from somewhere below than the crack of rifle fire shattered the silence. “Don’t shoot! Please!”
Cursing, Bones snatched Simáo’s rifle and gave the man a shove. He landed hard on his backside and sat glaring at Bones in bitter resentment.
“Don’t you realize there are people out there who want to kill us?” Bones hissed. “If they’re anywhere close by, they heard your shot, and they know we’re right behind them. Idiot!”
“I thought it was the dead ones.” The man trembled, the anger already gone from his eyes.
Maddock didn’t have time for native superstition. He raised his M-16. “Whoever you are,” he called down into the ditch, “come out slowly.”
A small, bedraggled man crawled out of the foliage and wobbled to his feet. Maddock could not imagine anyone looking more out of place in the depths of the Amazon than this slender, fair-skinned man.
“Andy!” Kaylin gasped. “What are you doing here?”
“You know him?” Maddock frowned.
“This is Thomas’s colleague. The man who gave me the Fawcett picture! The one who was kidnapped.”
Maddock gave Andy a hand up the embankment, and the little man stood trembling as Kaylin hugged him. His quaking finally e
ased enough that he accepted a drink of water from Matt’s canteen before sinking to the ground.
“Tell us how you got here.” Maddock squatted down so he could look Andy in the eye. Depending on how long the man had been wandering in the jungle, his information might not be reliable. He seemed lucid, however, as he began his explanation.
“The people who kidnapped me brought me down here with them. I didn’t understand at first. I mean, I didn’t know anything at all about Thomas or what he was up to. They held me forever, it seemed like. They’d interrogate me, sometimes hurt me, but I didn’t know anything. Finally, I started making up stuff just to get them to stop, but I think they knew I was lying.” He swallowed hard. “I thought they were going to kill me, but one day they told me I was going on a trip, and they brought me out here.”
“I don’t get it,” Maddock said. “Weren’t they taking a risk bringing you along?”
Andy managed a rueful laugh. “What danger am I? They’ve got all these fancy weapons, and they all look like... them.” He pointed at Matt and Willis. “And you guys.” He nodded at Maddock and Bones. “They didn’t even handcuff me or anything. Just shoved me into the plane, then the helicopter, and so forth. When we got to the edge of nowhere, the girl told me I was free to run away any time I wanted. Everybody laughed like it was some big joke, which it was. I’m useless.”
“What girl are you talking about?”
“Her name’s Tam, or at least, that’s what they call her. She’s in charge, but I don’t think the guys in her group like that very much. She questioned me at different times along the way, stuff about Thomas. I tried to bluff her into believing I knew some final clue, thinking she’d keep me alive, but she didn’t buy it. They kept making little comments about getting rid of me. We’d see a caiman and this one guy, Cy, would say it looked hungry for professor meat, stuff like that. I was starting to wish they’d just go ahead and get it over with. I hate this place.” He glanced up at the trees and shuddered.
“So, how did you manage to get away?” Maddock could not conceive that this little academic had outfought or outwitted his captors.
“She let me go.”
“She let you go. Just like that?” Bones interjected, suspicion heavy in every word.
Andy shook his head. “We got up to the top of that hill, or whatever you call it,” He indicated the terraces, “and we found the tunnel.”
Bones did a double-take. “What tunnel…”
“That can wait.” Maddock said. “One thing at a time. Go ahead, Andy.”
“So, the others started going down into the tunnel, and the girl told them to give her five minutes, because she had something she needed to do. She took me down into the ditch, fired her gun off into the woods, and then gave me a canteen and told me to stay hidden until she came back for me, and that’s exactly what I did until you got here.”
“That’s odd.” Maddock rubbed his chin. “Do you know anything about her? Anything at all?”
“She’s a killer. She doesn’t know I saw, but I watched her bash a guy’s skull in with a rock because he put his hands on her. She told the others a native had done it. I don’t know if they believed her, or if they just didn’t care. Every one of them is cold-blooded.”
Maddock remembered finding the body of the dead man. “How many of them are there?”
“Eight,” Andy said after a moment’s thought. “There were eleven, including me. Tam killed the one guy and an anaconda got another.” He shivered. “Two of the remaining guys are guides, locals, but they seem as nasty as the rest of the group.”
“So, five professionals at most. I’ll take those odds.” Bones patted his M-16. “Do they have any idea we’re after them?”
Andy shook his head. “I don’t think so. At least, they didn’t let on that anyone was after them. I heard one of them, Kennedy, say they had the only map, so I’m guessing they think they’re in this alone.”
“Good.” Maddock smiled. “Let them go on thinking that. How far ahead of us are they?”
“Less than a day. It was just this morning she let me go. I don’t think I’d have lasted through the night, though. I already drank all the water she left me and lost the canteen while trying to get to you.”
“It’s all right. We’re glad you found us.” Kaylin gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
Maddock disagreed, but there was no point in saying so. Andy wasn’t cut out for this environment, and was liable to get himself killed. Maddock doubted the professor was even capable of walking quietly in the woods.
“I will not go!” Simáo, like the others, had been listening in silence, but now he was on his feet. “That hole is the… the doorway to the land of the dead ones! You will all die if you go there.”
Maddock contemplated this turn. They didn’t need Simáo. Frankly, they had really only needed his boats, but his services as guide had come with the rental. He had been of some use at the outset, but as soon as they left the beaten path, he had been of little help.
“Can you find your way back to the boats?” The man nodded. “Bones, the ScanoGen boats. Could you hotwire one if you had to?” Bones rolled his eyes, which, coming from Bones, was a strong affirmative. “All right. Give him back his rifle.” Bones gave him a quizzical look, but handed the weapon back to Simáo.
“I want you,” Maddock said to the guide, “to take Andy here back to the boats. If you ration them, your provisions will hold the two of you long enough to get back to your village. Look out for him until we come back, and I’ll double what we paid you.”
Simáo nodded vigorously. He likely would have agreed to anything that would get him out of this place and away from the “dead ones,” whoever they were.
Maddock turned to Kaylin, but she waved him away.
“Don’t even bother, Maddock. I’m staying with you all the way.”
“But we know where the ScanoGen people are now, and we’re headed right for them. You’ll be safest if you keep as far away from them as possible.”
“I’m safest with you.” Her tone was hot, but her eyes were soft. “I always have been.”
Maddock could tell it was pointless to press the argument any farther. They bade Andy and Simáo goodbye and good luck, and headed down into the ditch.
The climb to the top terrace was a challenging one, and they were all scratched and dirty when they reached the top. Maddock took a breather and looked around. The mound on which they stood was below the level of the tallest trees. All he could see in every direction was dark green.
Chunks of sod and rotten wood lay strewn about, indicating the opening to the tunnel had been camouflaged prior to the arrival of ScanoGen. Less work for us, Maddock thought.
The way down was a dark, sloping passage with no obvious steps or handholds. Maddock leaned closer for a better look, and crinkled his nose at the dank, musty air.
“Too bad there’s no rain,” Bones said, kneeling down next to him. “This would make one hell of a waterslide.”
Maddock chuckled. “Actually, I know we haven’t had any luck since we left the main branch of the Xingu, but if we can get a signal, we should try to raise Corey on the sat phone before we go down there. Maybe Jimmy can pinpoint our location before we go in.”
“What’s the matter, Maddock?” Bones elbowed him. “Afraid we’re going to get us a little Jules Verne action going on underground? Maybe slide to the center of the earth?”
“Afraid we’ll get to the bottom and have no way back up is more like it. I’m surprised the ScanoGen people didn’t secure a rope before they went down, in case they had to climb back out.”
“Well, we can’t all be as smart as you, Maddock.”
Matt tried, but was unable to get any connection with the sat phone. Maddock wondered what Corey was thinking right now, sitting and waiting for them to check in, and hearing nothing. Everyone took a moment to secure their packs and get ready to move.
Maddock stood, looked down into the waiting darkness, and t
hen back at his friends.
“All right, who wants to be the first one down into the creepy, dark tunnel?”
Chapter 19
“Everything is going as planned, gentlemen. My team is in the process of completing the job as we speak. I estimate we shall be able to move on to the next stage of the project in less than two weeks time.” Salvatore stared across the table at the two smartly-dressed men in power suits and forced a polite smile.
Senator Nathan Roman of Utah, member of the Senate Arms Committee, sat back, a condescending smile painting his face. “You understand, Mister Scano, that we can tolerate no more delays. There are deadlines to be met, and you are far behind the promised timetable. If we are forced to start over somewhere else, I fear our armed forces will choose to do business elsewhere. In fact, the government might be forced to dig deeper into some of ScanoGen’s more questionable practices.”
The man did not intimidate Salvatore in the least. A Senator, no matter how powerful, derived his power from the consent of the governed, a fickle lot at best. One scandal and the good senator just might find himself back in Utah selling real estate. In fact, the groundwork for such a scandal had already been laid in the form of a young lady who would soon be leaking cell phone pictures of the senator engaged in some very embarrassing costume play. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. He glanced at David, and saw a shadow of a smile cross the man’s face. Senator Roman would play ball soon enough. It was the other man who worried them.
“Now, now, Nathan. There is no need to bandy threats. Mister Scano and ScanoGen have always been reliable business partners, and doubtless that will not change. I have every confidence in them.” The man turned an icy smile toward Salvatore.
Frederick Hadel was an enigma. He was the leading figure in a large, independent religious organization known as The Kingdom Church. What bothered Salvatore was that was all they knew about him. Hadel had clout, there was no denying it, but how much he had, and whom he had under his thumb, had eluded Salvatore and his people. That bothered him.