Amazon Burning (A James Acton Thriller, #10)

by J. Robert Kennedy

  We’re going to have to force them into the forest, I know it!

  With the last all clear received, he activated his comm. “Proceed!”

  “Fire in the hole!”

  A series of explosions surrounded the entire facility as the poles holding the netting in place overhead were blasted in sequence, the net collapsing in the middle, dragging the couple of dozen poles with it, these twenty foot metal beams tearing across the ground, damaging anything they hit. The building he was in shook as a beam was dragged across the roof of the breezeway, tearing it apart, and he heard screams from the cage as a beam was dragged across the top of the chain link, it thankfully holding. Within seconds the entire netting and its infrastructure had been dragged into the pit, as if it had never existed.

  The final explosives were for the compound buildings themselves and the runway, and would be detonated when everyone was safely away.

  Which meant it was time to leave.

  “There, see, everybody is okay, and it’s all over now,” said Laura calmly, removing the mattress she had been lying under and tossing it aside. James rose with her, piling his atop Laura’s, then began to lift other mattresses off the terrified natives, natives who had probably never heard sounds that loud in their lives. Some were so terrified that as she tried to remove their mattresses, a small tug-of-war played out, she letting go after a second try to move onto the next, the more nervous she knew would come around as they saw their friends give up their cover.

  “Very good,” she said, smiling, careful not to show her teeth. “You are all very brave.” She realized she was talking to them like children, but she could think of no other way to speak to them other than to be as calm, soothing and friendly as possible. “You are all as brave as my friend Tuk, and he was like you. Tuk had never seen people like us before, and now he’s my friend.”

  A young woman rushed over to her, dragging an older woman with her, both with expressions of disbelief written over the faces. The young one grabbed Laura by the sleeve, a flurry of words erupting from her, none of which she could understand, followed by the one word she did. Tuk.

  Did they know him, or was Tuk another word in their language?

  “Tuk?” she asked, singling out the word.

  The young one’s head bobbed in excitement as the older woman grabbed at her heart, a smile spreading on her face. The girl pointed at her eyes, then at Laura’s eyes, then said the single word again, “Tuk”, her intonation questioning.

  “Did I see, Tuk?” She nodded deliberately, pointing at her eyes. “Yes, Tuk, yes!”

  She pulled out her phone and brought up a photo of her and Tuk that had been taken the morning before they went their separate ways. She held it up for them. “Tuk!”

  The young girl looked at the photo and jumped back, scared. She then stepped forward and grabbed the phone out of her hand, talking to it, the word “Tuk” repeated several times, then she tried shaking the phone.

  Laura laughed as she realized the poor girl thought Tuk was in the phone. She held out her hand, smiling, and the girl put the phone back in her hand. “Watch.” She took a photo of James then showed them. Nods seemed to suggest they understood that Tuk wasn’t in the phone, since James was still standing where he had been.

  Instead, the girl and the older woman, who Laura was beginning to think might be Tuk’s mother, hugged each other, crying with relief.

  This must be Tuk’s people!

  Potts looked over his shoulder as the road widened into the mine site. The transport vehicles with the enemy troops were within sight, maybe five minutes behind them, the road too rough to go too fast on. Their vehicle had carried them half the way, but the rest they had covered on foot at a sprint, Donny’s wounded shoulder and his recovering ankle holding out admirably. As they turned the corner they saw a completely changed site, none of the netting in place, sunlight pouring in.

  “They’re coming!” he shouted, waving his arms to get everyone’s attention, their comms still not working on last check a few minutes ago. He spotted Dawson and Leather coming out of one of the buildings, running toward them.

  “Report!” ordered Leather.

  “Our vehicle broke down and our comms were jammed. They’re not even five minutes behind us. Five transports, each carrying a platoon, about one hundred men. We took some fire from two individuals who came out of the forest, probably the missing men from last night. Donny here’s been hit in the shoulder, but not bad. We’ve only got minutes, sir!”

  Dawson was already walking away, trying his comm. “Jammed!” He shouted instead. “Man the machine guns! A company of the enemy is not even five minutes out!” Immediately Bravo and Charlie teams raced into position as Dawson ran toward the cage. “Professors, get the civilians and the natives out of here now. Head south as fast as you can. We’ll delay them here as long as we can, then try to join you. Whatever you do don’t wait for us, just keep running south, then head south-west. You should eventually hit the river. Use your satphone to call for help.”

  “Got it!” replied Acton as they began to urge the nearly panicking natives out of the cage. They didn’t know what was going on, but he could tell they knew something bad was happening. Apparently though some sort of trust had been established as a young girl was urging the others to follow her and Professor Palmer.

  Leather ran back from the road, binoculars in hand. “They’re mobilizing about half a klick down the road, spreading out fast. They’ll have us outflanked in minutes.”

  Today just might be a good day to die.

  Acton took the lead, his gun out, Reading directly behind him to the right, Laura to the left, the natives and environmentalists behind them. Jenny was helping Terrence who seemed to have regained most of his strength, and Turnbull was being carried on a stretcher by his four friends. As they moved forward Acton kept glancing to his right, knowing the enemy was in that direction, then froze, raising his hand, bringing everyone to a stop. He pointed.

  Dark figures could be seen spreading out rapidly, coming directly toward them and already ahead of their position, sweeping forward.

  “Fall back!” he whispered harshly, motioning for everyone to turn around, the natives at first confused until one of them spotted the figures, warning the others.

  They rushed back toward the camp and Acton tried his comm, afraid they might startle the defenders if they burst into the open, but there was nothing but static.

  As they approached the edge of the cleared area he rushed ahead. “They’re coming!” he shouted, but no one heard him as every machine gun nest opened up.

  Niner squeezed the trigger for a second, firing off a burst from the confiscated Chinese machine gun, Jimmy at his side feeding him ammo. They had plenty, the Chinese well supplied, but he didn’t want to waste it. They were outnumbered almost six to one and he had a funny feeling today was the day he was finally going to take a dirt nap.

  But not without taking out my six!

  He was sure he had easily accomplished that prerequisite already, and as he squeezed off another controlled burst, another shadowy figure in the forest dropping, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked to where Jimmy was pointing and cursed.

  The civilians and the natives were coming out of the forest, obviously already outflanked.

  He pointed at the buildings. “Take cover in there. Shoot through the windows if you have to!”

  Acton nodded as they whipped by, yanking open the door to the building that had housed the prisoners. Niner squeezed off several more bursts, providing cover for the refugees.

  If we die today with them still here, we’ll have accomplished nothing.

  The thought pissed him off.

  He fired again.

  Acton slammed the door shut as the last of their ragtag crew cleared the threshold, locking it behind him, knowing that a gun or a good shoulder would have it opened easily, but at least there would be some warning. Reading was already racing to the other end to lock the door there. Acton p
ointed at the dead Venezuelan soldiers from earlier. “Get their weapons and magazines, including knives. Anything we can use.”

  Laura and two of the environmentalists began to strip down the soldiers as Turnbull was placed on the floor near the rear wall and away from any windows. Acton turned to Mitchell. “Feel up for fighting?”

  “Absolutely, sir!”

  “You and Jenny, take two of the AK’s and three clips each and cover that end,” he said, pointing to where Reading was returning from. “Remember your training. Opposing fields of fire, watch out for grenades. These guys aren’t coming to take prisoners.”

  “Yes, sir!” Mitchell and his wife tore ass toward the other end, Jenny covering the door, Mitchell the window in the cell facing out to the forest.

  “Give me those knives,” he said, bending over as Laura handed him three large knives taken from the belts of the dead soldiers. Acton turned to the natives and picked the strongest looking ones he could see, handing them the knives by the blade. The men smiled, nodding their understanding.

  It’s do or die, and these guys deserve a chance to defend themselves.

  Acton turned to the environmentalists. “Who here knows how to use a Glock?”

  All of them stepped forward and he chuckled.

  Ask that in Britain and you’d probably be asked, “What’s a bloody Glock?”

  He handed his gun and ammo over, replacing it with the remaining AK-47, Laura handing out two handguns and some ammo taken from the soldiers. “Arm yourselves with whatever you can. Try to conserve your ammo.”

  “They’re coming!” It was Mitchell’s voice. Acton looked down the hall and saw Jenny joining her husband in the cell. Acton rushed to the already opened window, motioning for the natives to move farther inside the building. Laura directed them into two of the rooms facing the pit, motioning for them to all get low. The men with the knives positioned themselves at the door to the rooms as Acton took up position at the window, immediately spotting two of the enemy emerging from the trees.

  “Hold your fire!” he whispered to Laura, who passed the message down to Reading, who again passed it down to the Mitchells.

  Acton counted three, then four, then six, crouching, advancing cautiously. He remained just out of sight, barely a sliver of his head in view, the glare of the sun overhead, from the east obscuring their view, the awning over his window casting a shadow that hid him even more.

  The last emerged into the open, out of sight of the machine gun nests.

  He rose from his hiding place, squeezing the trigger, signaling the others to open fire.

  Dawson checked left and saw half a dozen Chinese coming into sight, but before he could turn to engage they were all wiped out by he assumed the occupants of the building.

  Good goin’ Docs!

  He returned his attention to the portion of the forest he was covering, just left of the road, squeezing off a few bursts at shadows, making sure to keep left of where Spock and Mickey were positioned. They were in depressions on either side of the road, taking out targets of opportunity while they could, but with orders to fall back as soon as the enemy got within fifty yards.

  Speaking of…

  Spock tore around the corner, Mickey on his heels as they sprinted toward his position. “Bring the rain!” shouted Spock, prompting Dawson to open fire on their former position. Screams could be heard as he made use of his precious ammo, but seconds later he was out.

  “Reload!” he yelled as Mickey and Spock dove behind their hardened foxhole, Atlas reloading. He felt the slap on his back and opened fire as the cleared area between the road and airfield filled with dozens of troops. He took out at least a dozen before they hit the ground, returning fire, his sandbags taking some serious hits.

  This could be it!

  Tuk held up his hand and the entire procession came to a halt, quiet within seconds. He listened and frowned, the strange noises he had heard when his village was attacked occurring once again, not far from here. He turned to face the warriors, fear written on many of their faces, the sounds so alien to them. Kinti translated once again his words as he spoke them.

  “Men! Warriors! Be not afraid! The strange sounds you hear are merely the Panther People’s spears! They are fast, they can’t be seen, but they are thrown in the direction they point the stick in their hands, so if you see one pointed at you, get down! Remember, the Spirit People are on our side so do not harm them! And should fear enter your heart, remember that the Mother is on our side! She will protect you! And should She feel it is your time to join Her in the afterlife, then embrace it! For today we fight for Her children and Her forest, Her bounty meant for us, not for the Panther People who would steal it. So push the fear aside, hold your spear tight, and let’s earn our honored place in the afterlife!”

  The warriors roared and Tuk turned, yelling at the top of his lungs as he sprinted forward, Kinti at his side, and as each foot touched the ground, he swore he could feel the Mother herself vibrating with the courage of the thousand warriors he led.

  Chen raised his hand.

  “Cease fire!” he yelled. “Cease fire!”

  His troops held their fire, keeping their weapons trained on the enemy positions, they themselves beginning to hold their fire. Chen motioned for a megaphone and was tossed one by one of his men.

  “Colonel Leather and friends, this is Dr. Chen. You are surrounded by overwhelming numbers on all sides. There is no hope of winning this battle. I suggest you surrender now and save yourselves. I guarantee you will not be killed.”

  He heard several laughs from the opposing side.

  “I give you sixty seconds.”

  Dawson took the opportunity to have Spock and Mickey redeploy to one of the machine gun nests that had been left unmanned when he saw Leather sprinting from his position, rolling into the foxhole with him and Atlas.

  “What do you think?” asked Leather as Dawson took a bead on Chen as the cocky bastard strode out into the open, a dozen of his troops surrounding him on all sides but the all-important front.

  “There’s no way they’re letting us live. This is too big a secret. Best case scenario they force us to work the mines.”

  “I’d rather be dead with honor than a slave like my great-granddaddy,” said Atlas.

  “Agreed,” said Dawson.

  Leather extended his hand. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to fight by your side, Sergeant Major.”

  Dawson shook the man’s hand, his face grim. “Who dares, wins, Colonel.”

  Leather smiled at the citation of the SAS motto. “Then let us dare.”

  He raised his weapon, taking aim at the troops in front of them, but before any shots were fired, a dull roar began to the south, spreading around the entire area, getting louder as it did so.

  “What the hell is that?” asked Dawson.

  Atlas looked to the trees. “Sounds like we’re in the middle of a football stadium.”

  Dawson’s eyes narrowed. “Could Tuk’s people have got here already?”

  Leather shrugged. “If they sprinted and travelled at night, absolutely. But they were barely fifty if that. That sounds like hundreds, if not more.”

  Atlas looked around nervously. “Then who the hell is it?”

  Dawson frowned. “Whoever or whatever it is, let’s just hope it’s on our side.”

  Chen looked around, as did his men. The sound was getting louder and now surrounded them from all sides it seemed, except for the road, though that gap he had the sense was closing quickly. His men were nervous, looking about and slowly backing away from the mine site, even he having to resist the urge to move.

  As he listened it became quite clear it was the shouting of people, hundreds of people, thousands of people. How many he had no idea. The one thing he was sure of was that they were natives, which meant spears and darts.

  And he had body armor.

  “They’re merely natives with nothing but spears!” he shouted to his men. “Prepare to teach them
a lesson!”

  His men stopped retreating, turning their attention to the forest, slowly moving out of the line of fire of the defenders when everything stopped.

  Chen looked at the far side of the compound, where a single, small native stood, a woman approaching from his right.

  TikTik gasped, jumping up excitedly as she pointed out the window at the lone warrior who had appeared from the forest, soon accompanied by a woman. “It’s Tuk!” she cried, the rest of the villagers pushing to get a look through the two windows available to them. She felt a flush of jealousy as the beautiful woman stood by his side, and she wondered if he had taken a mate.

  Her chest tightened, sadness gripping her as she realized what she had wished for her friend had come true, her guilty heart aching as it tried to reconcile the fact she was now available again and he wasn’t. But she also knew her mother and father, especially her mother, would never let her mate with him, that much they had made abundantly clear.

  She felt a hand grip her arm and she turned to see Mother smiling at her, tears filling her eyes as if she knew exactly what she was thinking. She turned back to the window, looking at Tuk simply standing there, spear in hand, nobody doing anything, defenders or aggressors. It was as if the Mother Herself had held her breath, waiting to see what this lone, weak man would, or even could, do against the magic of the Panther People.

  And then he spoke, with a confidence and volume she had never heard from him in all her years. It gave her goose bumps as she swelled with pride, knowing in an instant that this was no longer the Tuk of several days ago, but a new Tuk, a Tuk worthy of being the mate to any woman he should so desire.

  “I am Tuk! Warrior for the great Mother! In Her name, I demand you surrender your spears or die!”

  The woman with him was shouting in a different language, one she didn’t recognize, but as she finished, the entire forest surrounding them erupted in, “Tuk! Tuk! Tuk!”