The DMZ

  “Then you think that cargo you saw was these Muslim allies of Comandante Aguilera smuggling in some of Hussein’s old stockpile?” A shudder went up Julie’s spine. “But—it doesn’t make sense! Why would the FARC want to kill off their own people? And why would these Islamic terrorists want to help them do it? No—”

  Julie stiffened suddenly. “It’s not Colombians they’re after. It’s Americans! That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it? That’s the big strike they’ve been hinting at! And that’s why they were so worried about an American spy! They’re planning on hitting our American forces with that stuff—San José, or maybe even the embassy. Or—do you think they could smuggle these … these spray things into the U.S.?”

  Rick’s hands tightened on his weapon. “I don’t know!” he admitted harshly. “I wouldn’t put it past them to try it. But San José would be an easy enough target. Or our other bases down here. And the embassy wouldn’t be much harder. Whether Aguilera or the FARC are involved is another matter. Not that I think they’d blink an eye if every Colombian politician—or American either—came down with the disease. But if the guerrillas were dabbling in biological warfare, I can’t believe there wouldn’t have been some rumor in all these months. And don’t forget, neither Aguilera nor Flores were allowed near those cargoes.”

  “That’s right—I heard the comandante myself asking what was going on out here when I was under that drug. Or at least I think it was him.” It seemed suddenly incredible to Julie that they were sitting here on this jungle riverbank, quietly discussing weapons of mass destruction while a village of the dead lay within eyesight and a terrorist organization was plotting to strike somewhere else with disease and devastation. “Then—you’ve completed your mission after all! We know what they’re after. Now we just need to get it to Colonel Thornton. And the embassy.”

  Rick shook his head. “Not quite. There are still a lot of unanswered questions. That canister was part of the Iraqi bio-warfare program, but the agent I spotted was Iranian. Does that mean a new cooperation between those two countries, or is it some kind of pan-Islamic rogue organization, like al-Qaida? And where is this facility—or whatever it is they’re hiding out here? Why are they hiding it out here to start with? If they want to smuggle bio-weapons into the U.S., why go to all this trouble? It would be just as easy to smuggle them directly into the U.S. than to haul them into the jungle and still have to get them across the border. And the attacks on the surveillance plane and our Black Hawk. That was no bio-weapon that took them out. No, we’re left with almost as many questions as we started with.”

  Another shudder went through Julie, and she at last allowed her inwardly burning question to surface. “Yes, like—what about us? Are we contaminated too?”

  “You just thought of that?” Rick said grimly. “I hope not. We didn’t touch anything. If it’s anthrax, it isn’t transmitted from one person to another. And with the timetable on the disease, it would have had to be released at least a couple weeks ago. The sun and rains have likely eradicated any remaining spores by now.”

  “And if not?” Julie asked, and she congratulated herself that her voice was almost even. “How much time do we have?”

  “For antibiotics to be effective, they’d have to be started within the first few days. Which is the main reason anthrax is so deadly in a bio-warfare attack. People don’t know they have the disease until the symptoms are full-blown. By then it’s too late for treatment. And of course, if there ever was a real epidemic, there wouldn’t be enough antibiotics for the entire population.”

  Rick paused again, visibly hesitating. “There’s something you should know, Julie. If you’ve followed the news, you must be aware that there’s a vaccine for anthrax—has been for some thirty years.”

  “Of course I know,” Julie answered impatiently. “It was never given to the general population—no need and too many side effects. It was given only to parts of the armed forces.” She broke off to stare at Rick. “You were one of them.”

  It was a statement, not a question. Rick nodded. “Special Forces were among the first to be vaccinated, since they’re rated as part of the front line of defense against a biological warfare attack.”

  “That’s great! Then you’re safe, at least!”

  Rick shot Julie an odd look at the relief in her voice. Had he thought she would resent the fact that he was safe and not her? “But you aren’t—at least not completely. Julie, I don’t want to alarm you unnecessarily. My personal feeling is that odds are good against contagion. But we can’t take any chances. We need to push downriver as fast as we can—get you on antibiotics as soon as possible. If we’ve found one village, we’ll have to hope we find another. If we take one of those canoes, we can double or triple our speed. We’ll have to forget trying to be inconspicuous. There’s no time for that anymore. Right now I’d turn myself in to the first person with a radio or telephone, guerrilla or not!”

  But Rick did not rise immediately from where he was hunkered down. His tight expression did not reflect the decisiveness in his words but was bleak and harsh.

  “What is it, Rick?” Julie asked quietly.

  “Nothing.” Shoving the AK-47 up onto his shoulder, Rick made a movement to rise, but Julie knew him too well by now to be fooled. She put out a quick hand to stop him.

  “Come on, Rick. Don’t shut me out! We’re in this together. What is it? You’ve completed your mission—at least as far as possible. You’ve done everything you can. So tell me what’s wrong!”

  The irony of her question struck Julie even as Rick wryly answered, “What’s wrong? Not a whole lot—except a village back there full of dead people. For all we know, there could be others out there dying right now who don’t even know it yet.”

  Rick slammed his right fist into the palm of his other hand. “I just can’t help feeling we’re out of time. These people aren’t going to be waiting around for us to make our report to the authorities and bring back an investigation team. They’re going to strike! My mission is to find out where and how and when. And I haven’t fulfilled that mission.”

  Julie stared at him. “But what else can you do? Even if that canister came from some kind of biological warfare lab out here, there’s no way to find it. You said yourself, you could wander around forever out here without stumbling over the place.”

  “Not necessarily. Have you asked yourself why they picked that village for their little biological experiment?” Rick didn’t wait for Julie to respond. “Okay, maybe they needed a test case to see if their biological agent was effective. But why this one? And those sacks of rice and that machete—where did they come from? There isn’t a store for days around here—even if these people possessed money. No, outsiders have been in that village. Outsiders bringing supplies. And what other outsiders do you know of in this area? Even the guerrillas stay clear!”

  Julie’s breath caught as she followed his reasoning. “Then you think those villagers worked for the terrorists? That those supplies were payment? That maybe this lab, or camp, or whatever it is, is close by?”

  “Not too close,” Rick said. “They would never release biological agents where a change of wind could carry it into their own camp. But close enough that village hunters might have stumbled into their base and been conscripted as labor. Close enough that a boat ferrying cargo to it might have spotted the village. And I’m betting they died for the same reason as the crew of that surveillance plane, and the Black Hawk crew, and John and his party. These people aren’t risking any witnesses.”

  Rick made an abruptly dismissive movement with his hand. “Anyway, that’s irrelevant at the moment. Right now we need to get you to safety.”

  Julie swiftly moved closer to Rick and knelt before him. She was almost touching his knee and could feel his warmth through the camouflage material, along with the tension of his body. “Just forget about me a minute, Rick. If you were by yourself—if you didn’t have to worry about me—what would you do?”

 
A muscle bunched along his jaw, and he turned his head from Julie to stare out over the river before admitting harshly, “I’d go look for the place. I’m estimating a twenty-kilometer radius—partly because it would be futile to cover anymore than that, and partly because I don’t think the settlement would be considered a threat any farther away. Unless they’re prepared to wipe out all indigenous life in the area.”

  “And if you did go looking? A circle with a radius of twenty kilometers is still a lot of territory,” Julie said steadily. “If you found them, what would you do? You’re only one man. They would kill you if they caught you.”

  “I don’t know, but I’d have to try something.” Rick turned a direct look on Julie. “This is what I do for a living, Julie. There are always risks in this business. But the risk to one operative is an acceptable price compared to the lives at stake here.” He shrugged. “But that’s immaterial, since I’m not on my own.”

  “No, you’re not. So let’s both go!” Jumping to her feet, Julie adjusted her knapsack over her shoulder. As Rick stared at her, she added impatiently, “Come on! Let’s go look for this place.”

  Rick didn’t move. “You don’t know what you’re saying, Julie. It could take days to search an area like that. And we don’t have days if we’re to get you to civilization before your window for medical treatment is over. Besides, there’s no way I can take a civilian on a high-risk mission like this.”

  “You can’t stop me!” Julie answered calmly. “Look, you said yourself the risk of contagion was small. Certainly a whole lot less than the risk of these people carrying out another terrorist attack. Like you said, there are people who could be dying out there. More people who could die if we don’t find out what’s going on and try to stop it. Do you think I want that on my conscience anymore than you do?”

  Julie got right in front of Rick, squatted down, and looked deep into his eyes. “You know I’m right, Rick! If you were in my place, knowing the risks, that’s the decision you’d make, isn’t it?”

  Rick met her gaze, his own hard and somber. Then he looked away and burst out forcefully, “Yes, I would!”

  “Then let me make it!” Julie pleaded. “Don’t you think I can see the urgency of this as much as you can? I’ve already caused you enough trouble on this mission. Now we actually have a chance to make a difference, I have a chance! I can’t just head downriver knowing I held you back from saving people’s lives. Let me do what I can to help.

  “Besides …” She paused. “Whatever—or whoever—is hiding out here is bound to have communication, right? We might be able to get off a warning—and call for help—faster this way than by wandering downriver to who knows where.”

  “I’d thought of that,” Rick admitted. “But it doesn’t mitigate the danger.” He shook his head slowly, his eyes not leaving Julie’s face. “I really shouldn’t let you—”

  “You have no choice,” Julie interrupted firmly. “This is my decision, not yours.”

  Rick got to his feet and reached down a hand to Julie. “Let’s call it a mutual operational plan. How about a compromise? We’ll give it two days. If we haven’t found anything by then, we head back to the river and downstream. Okay?”

  Julie nodded as he released her. “Okay!”

  “Let’s do it!” Unslinging the AK-47, Rick moved out toward the sunshine beyond the overhanging branches of the avocado tree. He’d taken only one stride when he stopped, turning to look down at Julie.

  “You know,” he said slowly, “all those months I was in the guerrilla camps, I had to keep my faith private. I couldn’t pray with another person—I’d almost forgotten what it was like. But I’d like to pray with you now before we move out. Would you mind?”

  Julie shook her head wordlessly. Shoving his weapon back on his shoulder, Rick held out his hands. Julie, bemused, placed her own into his. It was the first time he had touched her except in the line of duty—helping her to her feet or over a log—and his hard palms against her smaller ones were warm and callused, not trembling like hers but rock-steady.

  He made a last swift scan of the river before he began to pray, and even then he didn’t close his eyes or relax his watchfulness as he cleared his throat and quietly prayed. “Our Father, the forces of evil seem very strong in the world right now and our own strength very small. We can’t see the path ahead. We don’t know what is happening beyond this jungle right now. Not a whole lot in our universe is making sense, and what does is pretty frightening.

  “But You know. You hold the threads of the universe in Your hands, and You see where every path leads, including ours. Be with us now. Guide our path and our decisions. We don’t demand safety for ourselves because sometimes You have other plans for our lives. But I’m convinced You brought us to this place for a purpose, and I pray that You will use our actions today to bring an end to this evil that threatens our world.”

  “Amen,” Julie echoed softly. She had to swallow tears at the bottom of her throat as she withdrew her hands reluctantly from his. I don’t just like you, Rick Martini! Julie discovered with a sudden shock. At this very inconvenient time for extraneous emotions, she was terribly afraid she was beginning to fall hopelessly in love with him.

  TWENTY-THREE

  THEY WOULD TAKE A CANOE AFTER ALL. Squatting down on the beach where the canoes were drawn up, Rick explained his strategy.

  “I have no idea where we are. But we entered the DMZ with the guerrillas from the north.” With a stick, Rick was drawing a rough map of Colombia in the damp earth. “John and his two companions flew into this area too, somewhere south of San Ignacio. And their pilot testifies that they headed downriver from there, deeper into the zone. So if my hypothesis is correct and our terrorists discovered the village while ferrying cargo to their base, odds are they’d be coming downstream past the village in the same direction we’ve been heading. So we’ll head on downstream and keep an eye out for a likely turn-off within that twenty-kilometer radius.”

  There was one thing more to be done before they embarked.

  “I know you don’t think there are survivors,” Julie said hesitantly as Rick inspected the canoes, “but we can’t leave without at least checking. I … I just couldn’t feel right! Please, Rick, even if it was too late to help them, at least they wouldn’t die alone. And you said it isn’t contagious from person to person.”

  Rick glanced down at her pleading face, and his mouth tightened. “I’ll go! You stay here—no, don’t argue! For me, there’s no risk. It would be foolish for you to expose yourself again.”

  Rick was right. It would be senseless to expose both of them. So while Rick strode up the bank, Julie sank down under an overhang to watch an adolescent caiman test his snout against the stakes of the bathing area. The reptile had time to try the full length of the barrier and drift downstream before Rick returned. His face was even more forbidding than before.

  He shook his head at Julie’s questioning look. “Don’t come near me!” he added sharply as she rose to her feet. “Not until I’ve scrubbed.”

  They had no more soap, but Rick submerged himself completely in the shallow water, shedding only his belt, weapons, and ammo vest, ducking even his head beneath the water. Removing his shirt, he scrubbed arms, face, chest, even his boots with handfuls of sandy soil from the water’s edge as though he were scrubbing away the memory of what he had just seen as well as any lingering germs.

  “That bad?” Julie asked quietly when he waded ashore.

  “That bad,” Rick answered grimly. Wringing the water from his shirt, he picked up his ammo vest and weapons and tossed them into the nearest canoe. “I don’t know if that did any good, but at least the smell is off. I hid the canister in case we get a chance to come back for the evidence. Let’s go!”

  Julie helped Rick push the canoe off the bank. Lying inside were several hand-carved paddles and two long poles. Hoisting herself into the stern, Julie picked up one of the poles and waited for Rick to climb into the front before thrust
ing the pole into the riverbed. Rick’s eyebrows went up as the canoe glided smoothly out into the water. But he picked up a paddle without comment, and Julie was relieved to find that he was as expert with it as she.

  How the villagers normally got the canoe past the barrier of stakes, Julie couldn’t tell—maybe lifted it over. But Rick had an easy solution for that. No one would be using this beach as a swim area anymore, so Rick simply leaned over and yanked out a section of stakes while Julie used her pole to maneuver the canoe through.

  The sun was almost directly overhead, and out on the river it was blistering hot, heat waves reflecting from the water to burn Julie’s face as she paddled. Rick had spread his shirt and boots and socks to dry on the bottom of the canoe, and Julie averted her eyes from that muscled back bent over the other paddle. This was no time to allow personal feelings to distract from the urgency of their mission, she reminded herself sternly. Certainly Rick wasn’t distracted. His lean profile as he turned it to study the bank was set in that tight look of concentration he always wore when focused on the task at hand.

  Get a grip on yourself, Julie ordered herself. A week from now, one way or another, this would all be over. If it went well, she would be back in Washington. And Rick would be—where? His next assignment, presumably. Would he ever be curious enough to look her up sometime?

  First, we’ve got to survive this. Julie set herself to watching the banks. Rick was looking, she knew, for a likely turn-off for a cargo barge. A tumble of rapids to their left was an impossibility. Rick shook his head as Julie spotted another small stream. It was wide and placid, but too shallow for anything bigger than a canoe.