BLACK CITY (Ulysses Vidal Adventure Series Book 2)

by Fernando Gamboa

  I got up after him and looked around. My gaze was caught by the black opening in the rock. “How about there?” I suggested. “Looks interesting, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Don’t forget,” he said, “that we have no light.”

  I looked at Luizao, who seemed not to have taken his eyes off us since his boss had left and pointed at him. “But he does.”

  As nonchalantly as I could, I walked over to him. He was a muscular mulatto, getting on for six and a half feet tall. At that moment he was just taking a Camel cigarette out of its packet.

  Taking that opportunity, I took out my lighter and offered him a light before he had time to put the cigarette to his lips, as if he were an attractive dame I was picking up at a bar.

  He looked at the lighter and moved it away with one of his massive hands, almost disdainfully.

  Right, I thought, not such a good start.

  “Your name is Luizao, right?” I asked with my best smile. “You see… the professor and I were thinking of looking around in that cavern back there.” I spread my arm toward the dark threshold. “I was wondering if you’d lend us your flashlight for a while.” I put my finger on the tip of it where it was poking out of his pocket, then pointed at myself.

  I realized too late—when I saw the expression on his face—that the language barrier combined with my gestures had created an appalling misunderstanding. He thought I was making advances to him.

  He looked at me from top to toe with disbelief, muttered an incomprehensible insult, and with an unmistakable gesture told me to get out of his sight, unless I wanted to lose some teeth. But I just stood there, like an idiot, thinking of how I could clear things up. Meanwhile he took out his own Zippo lighter, lit his cigarette, and blew smoke in my face as a last warning.

  I turned around and grabbed the professor’s arm as if I were inviting him for a stroll. We walked back to the fireside.

  “No luck?” he asked with a lopsided grin. “Maybe you weren’t his type.”

  “Very funny…” I said. “But I think we have a problem.”

  “A problem?” he asked patiently, rather as if I had just pointed out to him that we have two eyes and a nose on our faces. “What problem?”

  When we reached Cassie’s side, I urged him to sit with his back to the irritable Luizao.

  “I think these people aren’t who they say they are,” I said in a low voice.

  Professor Castillo fixed me with his gaze to make sure I was not just joking with him. “What do you mean?”

  The pieces began to fall in place in my head. “I suspect that Lieutenant Souza and his men aren’t a rescue team after all,” I said. “And that they haven’t come here for our sake.”

  My old friend squinted with skepticism.

  “What are you talking about?” He turned to look at the big man in fatigues with his weapon at the ready. “They’re not here to rescue us? So why else would they have come, then?”

  53

  Now the three of us were sitting around the fire in a tense silence keeping our backs to Luizao.

  “It seems to me you’re getting a bit paranoid,” Cassie said when I told her and the professor about my suspicions.

  “I certainly think you’re exaggerating just a tad,” the professor said. “The fact that the guy has a lighter with the construction company logo on it doesn’t mean these people aren’t who they say they are. I mean, I’ve got a lighter from a bank in my kitchen, and I’m certainly not a banker.”

  “In the first place,” I said trying to be patient, “it wasn’t a cheap plastic lighter, it was a Zippo. That’s a lighter made of steel that you don’t give away to just anybody. And second, it is more than just coincidence that it should have the letters AZS on it. Those are the initials of the same company that wants to flood these lands. Think about it… there’s something fishy here.”

  “Don’t be a jerk, wey!” Cassie said. “I can think of a thousand reasons why he would have that pinche lighter without the need to resort to a conspiracy theory.” She winked and added, “Maybe you’re just feeling rejected because he turned you down?”

  “Don’t mess with me, Cassie. I’m serious.”

  “Well, you don’t sound it. What you’re implying is a pendejada.”

  “I’m not implying anything. I just told you what I saw, and if you two use your brain you’ll see there’s something that doesn’t fit. Personally, I can’t swallow the story that they received the order to rescue us but they don’t know where it came from or who gave the warning. Besides, who could it have been? Nobody knew we’d be here… hell, we didn’t even know ourselves!”

  “You’re right about that,” the professor said thoughtfully. “And we didn’t tell the Menkragnoti we intended to come here either.”

  Cassandra pointed toward the pyramid. “Perhaps a plane saw the bonfire we built and gave the warning,” she said, reluctant to give in.

  “We would have heard it,” I fired back.

  “Not if they were flying very high.”

  “Do you really think commercial airline pilots have nothing better to do than report every bonfire they see in the jungle?” I said, more sarcastically than I had intended.

  She gave me a furious look. “Go to hell, carajo!”

  Professor Castillo, however, spread his arms and said, “Very well, Ulysses. So what’s your theory?”

  “I don’t have one.”

  “For heaven’s sake, we know each other well enough by now and I can tell when something’s bugging you. Come on, shoot.”

  My old friend was absolutely right, but the only conclusion I had reached was so crazy that even I found it hard to accept.

  Partly expecting them to decide I had lost my wits and tie me to a tree any minute, I suggested hesitantly, “What if… these guys were really employed by the construction company? The same one, let me remind you, which so generously provided us with a plane to reach the Menkragnoti village. And then, in case you’ve forgotten, dropped us off on a sandbar in the middle of the river at the mercy of the alligators.”

  “Surely you don’t think…”

  “Wait, Doc, I’m not finished.” I paused to collect my ideas. “We convinced Iak that finding the city of the ancient men was the only way to save his tribe. Well then, why shouldn’t the company CEOs have reached the same conclusion? Only… backward?”

  “What do you mean, backwards?”

  “If there’s no Black City, there’s nothing to stop them from flooding the forest.”

  “But the city exists,” he said waving his hands around him. “It’s undeniable!”

  “If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody to hear it… does it make a noise when it falls?”

  The professor stared at me for a few seconds. “Are you trying to say… that these men’s intention is nothing to do with rescuing us?” He swallowed before he went on, “That Souza and his team are here to make sure no one ever hears about this place?”

  I felt I did not need to say anything. He had already answered his own question.

  “But if that’s the case,” he insisted, unable to accept that possibility, “why are we still alive? If they meant to silence us, why not shoot us the moment they set eyes on us and be done with it?”

  “I can’t say. I don’t have all the answers.”

  “Maybe I do…” Cassie said thoughtfully. “What if they want to use us as bait?”

  “As bait?” the professor asked, baffled again. “Bait for what?”

  “Not for what but for who.”

  I slapped my forehead. “Of course! Do you remember how surprised he looked when we mentioned that Valeria’s expedition might not be far away?”

  “And don’t forget about Iak,” Cassie said. “They went after him the moment we told them where he was, even though we made it quite clear he had no interest in being rescued.”

  “I’m afraid that they’re only keeping us alive because we might be useful when it comes to catching the others. They don’t
think we could possibly suspect what they’re really planning to do, so they don’t even need to watch us…” I could not help smiling bitterly. “After all, who would want to escape from someone who’d come to rescue them?”

  “And then, when they’ve got us all…” Cassie said gloomily.

  The professor raised his hands in the air. “Now wait a minute, listen to yourselves!” He looked at us in turn reproachfully. “You’ve got into a sort of vicious circle of conspiracy theories! You’re taking for granted that they intend to kill us all just because that guy has a fucking lighter with the construction company logo on it. Are you crazy? Have you gone out of your mind?” He shook his head in disbelief.

  Looking at it coolly, I could not deny that my friend was right. All the same, somehow I was sure that he was mistaken. And if it was a matter of making mistakes, I thought it best to bear in mind the saying divers like to repeat: “a hundred just-in-cases are much better than one I-thought-that.”

  “I get your point, Doc,” I said, “and you may be right, but… I don’t want to take the risk. We have to leave.”

  Just at that moment Souza’s voice sounded behind us and the words froze in my mouth. His hand gripped my shoulder, a little too forcefully.

  “Leave?” he said, almost jovially. “But we’ve only just met!”

  54

  “I really hate being right,” I grumbled. I was sitting in the dark on the cold damp ground and my hands and feet were tied with strips of black plastic.

  Cassandra and the professor were beside me in the same situation. Equally tied up, equally fed up, and equally in the dark.

  There was just the slightest sliver of afternoon light coming from the distant entrance, barely enough to see the tips of our own noses.

  Ironically, they had taken us inside the very cave I had wanted to explore just a few minutes before. I guessed it was to avoid seeing us and at the same time prevent us from calling out or trying to run away. In the blink of an eye we had gone from being bait to being nothing more than hostages.

  “Why didn’t you keep your big mouth shut?” Cassie reproached me for the third time in a row.

  “How could I know that guy was right behind us, listening to our conversation?”

  “I’d guess Luizao warned Souza by radio that he felt we were onto something. By chance he caught us in the act,” the professor said in a resigned voice. “But there’s no point arguing about it. I’m afraid we would have ended up like this sooner or later.”

  “Well, it’s really better this way,” I said. “Now we know what to expect.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Cassie snapped, “I don’t know how to thank you!”

  “Do you think they’re watching us right now?” the professor whispered trying to ease the tension.

  “It wouldn’t make much sense in the dark, but all the same, I’m sure they’ll have someone at the entrance. Why are you asking? Thinking about going for a stroll?”

  “We could try.”

  “You mean hopping like kangaroos, with our hands and feet tied, Doc?” Cassie asked bitterly. “Great idea, Professor. They’d never find us, would they?”

  “I didn’t say anything about going outside,” he retorted.

  She was quiet for a moment. “You’re not suggesting…”

  “We could go on further into the cave,” he said. “I don’t see any other way.”

  “In the dark and with our hands tied?” I laughed hollowly. “Are you serious?”

  “We could use your lighter.”

  “That’s the first thing they took away, along with my diving knife,” I said angrily. “Those guys sure know what they’re doing.”

  “Well, we have to think of something,” he said in a thin voice. “We can’t just stay here while they look for Valeria with the idea to…” He left the sentence hanging in the air.

  “Just stay here?” Cassie said. “Let me remind you that our future prospects are even worse than your daughter’s.”

  “Yes, of course,” he muttered. “I’m sorry.”

  “There’s nothing to apologize for, Professor,” she said. “I can understand your concern.”

  “You shouldn’t worry, you two,” I said, trying to cheer them up with a touch of optimism. “We still don’t know exactly what they mean to do with us, but sooner or later there’ll be a chance to escape. We just have to wait and be ready when it comes.”

  Cassie looked up with a hint of hope. “Are you saying that you have a plan?”

  I turned to her with a smile, although I was fully aware that she could not see me. “Does praying count?”

  The hours passed. Outside, night fell, and inside the cave absolute darkness enveloped us.

  We had stopped talking a while ago, since none of us felt like it. So, when the sound of footsteps coming from the entrance reached our ears, I knew someone was approaching, maybe with the intention of getting rid of us once and for all.

  A flare of whitish light flooded the cave and shone on the damp walls. A few seconds later, Souza and Sergeant Gerais turned the corner and came to stand in front of us. Both of them were carrying powerful flashlights.

  “How do you feel?” Souza asked with sarcasm. “Are you comfortable enough?”

  I tried my best to look calm. “The room is pretty quiet,” I said. “But the service could definitely be better.”

  Souza gave a little laugh and shone his flashlight on our faces. “I’m glad you’re in such a good mood,” he said,” because I’m going to need your help.”

  “Go to hell!” Cassie said.

  He did not flinch. “I haven’t told you why I need you yet,” he went on. “Perhaps we could reach an agreement.”

  “An agreement?” the professor asked.

  “That’s right, an agreement. You help me and I help you.”

  “Could you be a bit more specific?”

  “Well…” He cleared his throat. “The people we work for, as you rightly guessed, don’t want the existence of this place to be known. So, I’d like you to help me find your Indian friend and the members of the other expedition. According to some traces my men have found, it looks like they’re somewhere around here.”

  The professor was unable to hide his pleasure at hearing this. “You mean you haven’t found them yet?”

  “Hold your horses, my friend. It’s only a question of time before we do. But the sooner we find them, the sooner we’ll have done with this.”

  I could not believe what I was hearing. Surely this was nothing more than pure cynicism. I could barely hold back my anger. “Let me get this straight,” I said. “You want us to help you catch the others… so you can eliminate us all more easily?”

  “Eliminate you?” Souza asked with a look of surprise. “Who said anything about eliminating you? Our intention is to make you sign a document of confidentiality and then take you back to civilization. We aren’t murderers.”

  “You’re mercenaries,” Cassandra said. “I don’t see much difference.”

  The lieutenant smiled wearily. “I prefer to call us “Private Security” Miss Brooks. And that difference,” he added gravely, “is what’s keeping you alive.”

  That unsubtle threat gave way to a long silence.

  “And what if we don’t sign?” Eduardo asked at last.

  Souza brought his face close to the professor’s. In an intimidating tone and loud enough for all of us to hear, he said, “For everyone’s sake, let’s hope that possibility doesn’t come up.”

  After clarifying this, Lieutenant Souza invited us to discuss things for a few minutes and left us alone again.

  “He’s lying,” I said. There was not the shadow of a doubt in my mind. “As soon as he’s got us all, he’ll kill us. You can be sure about that.”

  “But why would he do that?” the professor asked. His desire to find Valeria as soon as possible made him deaf to anything else. “He’s given us his word—”

  “He’s lying,” I repeated.

  “You don’t kno
w that.”

  “We don’t know he’s telling the truth either. That confidentiality thing sounds like a load of crap to me.” I took a deep breath and asked him, “Are you familiar with the Ockham’s razor principle?”

  “What?” he asked, surprised. “Of course I do. But what’s that got to do with—”

  “Ockham’s razor principle states that all things being equal the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Isn’t that right?”

  “Yes, it is. So?”

  “Think about it, Doc. The easiest explanation is that Souza is lying. It makes no sense to complicate things by making us sign confidentiality contracts, then take us out of the jungle and trust that we’ll never talk. I’m afraid that the easiest thing for them to do is to shoot us and throw us into a hole. Problem solved. And that’s exactly what I think they’re going to do.”

  55

  “So? What have you decided?” Souza asked the moment he came back. Luizao was with him.

  “We’ll cooperate,” I said. “But you’ll have to give us your word that you’ll get us all out of this jungle alive, including the professor’s daughter.”

  “Absolutely. Then will you sign those confidentiality contracts?”

  “Yes, we’ll sign them.”

  “Wonderful. Anything else?”

  “Well, since you ask… it’d be nice if you untied us.”

  “Oh, sure. Nothing else you’d like, is there? Some refreshment? Or maybe a foot massage…?”

  “Excuse me?”

  Sudden cruel laughter came from behind the beams of the flashlights. “Let’s see” Souza said, abruptly serious. “Do you really think I’m an idiot?”

  “I don’t understand…”

  “I’ve been listening in on you since I left you alone,” he said off-handedly. “I left a radio right here with an open channel, and I’ve heard every detail of your childish plan for escape, from start to finish.” He took a moment to breathe. “So you were going to pretend to collaborate submisively until you saw the chance to run away? Pathetic, quite honestly. Although I have to admit the razor thing was very interesting. It’s true what they say about never going to bed without learning something new.”