He turned around and faced forward, feeling like crap. Julia leaned closer and whispered in his ear. “Hey, I know you didn’t want to leave him behind. The guys know it, too. But you saved every one of us with this crazy raft of yours. If we had gotten off the river to try and find his body, we’d all probably be dead by now.”
He patted her hand, which was around his waist again. “Thanks. I know it was the right decision. But it sucks anyway. Leaving his body to rot in the jungle…shit. His parents don’t even have anything to bury. I always said I’d never leave a man behind.”
“Chris, he was dead. You saved the living. Now get us the hell out of here so we can all get home alive.”
He nodded his head and grunted, and took out the GPS computer again, zooming in on their location as he tried to find the closest landmark in Brazil. He leaned back over his shoulder and nudged Julia.
“Hey tour guide, you ever hear of a town called Salgado Filho?”
“I’ve never been there, and don’t know anything about it other than the fact that it has a small airport. We tried bringing supplies in from there once, but the roads were a mess through the highlands. Even though it’s much closer than Santos, the travel time was doubled, and that was assuming a truck would even make it through the crazy mountain roads. We’re talking single lanes, no guard rails, mudslides—you getting the picture?”
“Yeah, I think so. But it has an airport. That’s all I care about right now. I think you and Theresa may be going back to your school the long way.”
“Like, how long’s the long way?”
“Like, through Virginia,” said Cascaes.
“I can’t do that, Chris. I’ve already been gone for a few days without any word. My Guaranis are going to be worried, and people will start nosing around my office in town if no one can get in touch with me. If I don’t get back soon, it could compromise my cover.”
“Julia, I read you loud and clear, but right now, this mission has priority until my boss tells me otherwise. I will advise him of your concerns.”
“Yeah? Well I have a boss to answer to as well, and maybe you’d better speak to her before you go and screw up a few years of my work down here,” she snapped back.
He turned around and looked her in the eyes. “I am not here to screw up your mission. But I have lost a man trying to get this package home, and right now, that is the chief objective. We are getting off of this river and figuring out what happens next. Until then, just relax and wait and see what happens. We are all still a very long way from home, okay?”
“Fine,” she said coolly.
Cascaes called back to his men to start working towards the left bank. The river was quiet and free of other boats in the wee morning hours. It was tough maneuvering a mess of trees that was supposed to be a boat, and eventually Moose and Ripper said screw it and hopped in the water, holding one side of the trees and kicking their feet to push towards the shore. McCoy and Cohen had the others help secure their packs, then slid into the water also to help start kicking. Cascaes and O’Conner, in the rear, kept a sharp lookout for anything in the water that might pose a threat. Theresa couldn’t even look at them, picturing Moose being eaten by piranhas.
It took ten minutes of hard swimming to get the raft close enough to the bank for it to snag in the soft muddy bottom. Cascaes slid off the front and pulled the bow of the makeshift raft as far as he could, with the other four pushing from the other side.
“Okay people, let’s move quickly and quietly, and get into cover as fast as we can. Jones, the prisoner is yours. You are free to filet him if you gives you any trouble—you hear that, Raman? Behave yourself—I’m just waiting for an excuse to feed your ass to the fish,” barked Cascaes. He helped Julia down off the raft, not because she needed his help, but because he wanted to. She slid down the mess that was their boat into his arms, and they were face to face for a second. She was still pissed at him, but couldn’t help wanting to hug him. She thanked him curtly instead and pulled her pack down over her shoulder.
The team finished unloading people and cargo, then Moose and Ripper cut apart the ropes and netting and pushed the trees apart to float away inconspicuously. The team moved quickly away from the water into the woods, which were more forest than jungle. Cascaes sent Woods and Koches ahead to find a spot where they could dry out for a while and rest. They returned in fifteen minutes with big smiles.
“We have our new home away from home, skipper,” said Koches cheerfully, trying to catch his breath.
He led them up a steep, rocky hill. The top was so steep they had to pull themselves hand over hand to get to a small plateau. At the top of this ledge was a small cave in the rocks, and it was dry and fairly open, making it bright inside. Standing atop the ledge, they could see for a hundred miles over the top of the jungle and river below.
“Wow. This was some spot—good job, fellas,” said Cascaes. He smiled for the first time in quite a while. All of the men were immediately in a better mood as they took off their boots and muddy wet socks, followed by their cargo pants and shirts. Theresa and Julia, although a bit self-conscious, were too uncomfortable to really care, and followed suit down to their panties and t-shirts. The men broke out some dry towels and gave them to the ladies to use first, averting their gaze as best they could. The women stepped into the shelter of the cave opening to dry off, then threw the towels back out to the men.
Mackey and Woods built a fire, no longer concerned with being chased by Guaranis or terrorists. They were in the mostly uninhabited western border of Brazil, and anyone that would be close enough to smell a campfire, wouldn’t give a darn. When the fire was roaring, the men put together some tree limbs and hung their clothes nearby to dry. The two black sport bras hanging near the camouflage pants were a funny contrast as the two women sat closest to the fire wearing bright yellow Los Angeles Ministries t-shirts.
The men prepared MREs and boiled water from the river, then added pills to it to make it safe to drink. They all sat around together like Boy Scouts on a holiday weekend, trying not to stare at the pretty legs across the campfire. Cascaes and Mackey set up the phone and sipped hot coffee, a treat on this sunny but somewhat cooler morning. Their feet were still pruned from being wet for so long, and the sun-warmed rocks that they were standing on felt perfect.
Darren Davis’s secure phone rang a world away in his sterile looking office, where he sat across a desk from Dex Murphy and Leah Pereira.
“Wolf here,” he said on the second ring.
“Wolf, this is Jimmy. We have crossed the big border and are on our home field again. Rag One is still with us and our team is in shape to play, but we sure would like to get back to our stadium. I just turned on the transponder to show you our exact location. It should be showing up any second. I have the two extra players we picked up in-country, and they are concerned about showing their cards. I request a mailbox, ASAP, and suggest bringing the extra players home, but they are not happy about that. Awaiting instructions, over.”
Julia and Theresa sat at the other side of the campfire watching the two of them on the phone and knowing it concerned them, but gave them their privacy knowing it wasn’t their decision anyway. Wolf asked Jimmy to sit tight and leave the line open, as the three of them in Langley discussed their course of action. They ended up telling Cascaes to sit tight and wait for a call back in fifteen minutes as they scrambled over to the situation room to locate the team on a real time map.
They reassembled in the room downstairs after they called the director to update him on the mission and tell him they would be back in contact with the team. He was up to his eyeballs in another mission on the other side of the world and left it to Davis and Pereira to work it out. They pulled up the satellite maps and found the transponder signal, then zoomed in on the team.
The map showed the signal coming from a remote area near the Rio Uruguay. It was in the second most souther
ly state of Brazil, Santa Catarina. Leah looked at their location and zoomed out a bit at their surroundings.
“They aren’t that far from Salgado Filho. It’s a rough trip on foot, maybe a few days, but there is an airport there. What about a helicopter out of Salgado Filho to pick them up and bring them back to that airport, and then a plane to bring them home?” asked Leah.
“Possible, if we can get a bird down there. What about your two agents? Cascaes said they weren’t keen on leaving their location. I think Julia is a bit attached to her people down there,” said Davis.
Leah made a scowl. “It’s partly my fault. I have encouraged her involvement down there because it assuaged my own guilt for the things I have done over the years and I know it made her feel good as well. But she was down there to work CIA operations, not teach and feed the natives. She just helped pull off the biggest mission of her South American career, and now it’s time for her and Theresa to get the hell out of there. I’m shutting it down as of now. I want them home with your men.”
Davis exhaled slowly and crossed his arms thoughtfully. “Okay then, that’s final. Do you have decent contacts in Brazil that might help with a bird? Maybe we pick them up and just get them to the Atlantic. I can have a sub waiting for them within twenty-four hours. We’ve had them on standby down there since last week.”
Leah clucked her tongue and thought for a moment. “It may cost some money and some future favors, but yeah, I can get us a chopper. It needs to be a large one. We’ve got twenty passengers? It makes it a little more complicated.”
“Yeah. We’ll need a large transport helicopter. Got anything like that lying around?”
“Only one comes to mind, and this is going to be very interesting. Better leave that part to me. Tell our people what’s up, and give me a couple of hours to arrange for their pickup. Maybe just have them stay where they are for now.”
Leah hustled off to her own office, and Darren looked at Dex and shrugged. He called back Cascaes on the satellite phone.
“Jimmy here,” said Cascaes anxiously.
“Wolf here with an update. For now, I want you to stay where you are. We are attempting to arrange a FedEx truck to pick up the whole shipment. Sit tight and I will contact you again ASAP. Now I need to speak directly with the teacher.”
“Roger that, Wolf, wait one,” he said, and then turned towards Julia. “Jules!” he shouted. “Um, you have a phone call.”
Julia ran over to him, wearing only the oversized yellow t-shirt which she held down against her thighs. She had nothing on underneath, and Cascaes was having a difficult time not staring at the hard nipples poking out of the thin yellow material. He cleared his throat and looked away as he handed her the phone. She was maybe the best looking woman he’d ever seen in his life, and he still hadn’t even seen her with makeup or in normal clothes.
“Teacher, here,” she said, expecting to hear Leah’s voice. Instead it was Darren Davis.
“Teacher this is Wolf. Jaguar has just left my office. You are instructed, directly by Jaguar, to return with Jimmy and the package. School is closed, Teacher.”
Julia felt her stomach drop. “Wolf, I’d like to speak to Jaguar directly.”
“Negative, Teacher. School is closed, and that is official. You are to return with Jimmy and that is a direct order. We are making arrangements now. Sit tight and await further instructions. Get Jimmy back on the horn.”
Julia felt sick. She handed the phone to Cascaes, fighting back tears. She hadn’t even had a chance to say goodbye to any of her people. He took the phone from her, pretty sure of what had been said. “Jimmy here.”
“Jimmy, sit tight. I will try and get back to you with a few hours. Turn your transponder off and remain on location. Wolf out.”
Cascaes looked at her, but she turned her back and walked off to sit next to the fire with Theresa again. She leaned over and told Theresa that their mission was pulled and the outreach program had ceased to exist. They’d be going home with the team.
Theresa was stunned. “What about the office? Who’s going to do the immunizations and get the supplies down there?”
Julia looked at her and started weeping, then hugged her and said “No one! No one, Theresa!” through her tears. “They closed the whole fucking thing! We don’t even get to say goodbye.”
The other members of the team looked at each other nervously. They felt awkward, not only because the two women were half naked and not paying attention to their t-shirts riding up their exposed legs and behinds, but because they were both crying hard in front of everyone. Moose took off his t-shirt and threw it over their exposed legs, then poured them two cups of coffee as the others got up and pretended to be busy adjusting their clothes over the fire. They added wood and kicked up the flames. Moose knelt down and gave them each coffee. They thanked him as they wiped off their faces with the backs of their hands.
They sipped the hot coffee and gave smiles to Moose, who patted their shoulders and gave them some privacy. Julia took a deep breath. “I’m so pissed, Theresa. Years of my life down there just taken away without even a conversation about it. Nothing! I should just quit and go back on my own.”
Theresa frowned. “Julia, the program worked because the CIA funded it. If they close it down, it’s closed. We have no other resources. Whatever good we did, it’s done. We helped a lot of people the last few years. It was never why we were there—don’t forget that.”
“I know it wasn’t why we were there, but we did more for those people in three years than their own government did in three hundred. They aren’t going to understand why we just left. All they are going to know is that we abandoned them without so much as a fucking goodbye.” She was crying again.
“Get a hold of yourself. Julia, we work for CIA. We had a great cover and did a lot of good, on our own, beyond the job description. But don’t forget what Vega and those other animals did to the locals. He’s out of business now, thanks partly to us, and the butchers who killed McKnight and all of his staff are either dead or going to Langley,” she said, pointing to the cuffed and blindfolded Raman, who sat next to Jones.
“I am upset to be leaving without a chance to say goodbye, too, Julia. But when I left Fallujah I didn’t get to say goodbye to all my marine friends, either. And some of them never made it home. Don’t forget why we work for CIA, Julia. We help as many people with our real work as we did with the cover story. Remember that.”
Theresa sipped her coffee and let her words sink in. Julia stopped crying and sipped her coffee, too, then patted Theresa’s arm. “Okay,” she said quietly, “Just need to make some mental adjustments, ya’ know?”
As soon as the clothes were dry, everyone redressed. McCoy combined a bunch of MREs into some kind of buffet concoction which seemed better than the meals individually, and they all ate together, quietly enjoying the view of the green landscape below, divided by the meandering brown river.
Cascaes sat down next to Julia, their feet hanging over the edge of the ledge.
“Some view, huh? How ya’ feelin’?” he asked quietly
“Okay, I guess.”
He sat playing with his food for a while. “I’m sorry about all this. I know those people meant a lot to you.”
Julia looked at him, no longer mad at him, but frustrated at the whole situation. “It’s just that we had just gotten the school built, ya’ know? The kids were so excited. Things were really improving down there, and I had so many connections. I could have worked this deal another ten years,” she said.
“Yeah, I guess so. I know the kids will miss you. I kind of miss them myself, even if it was only a couple of days. You see how they took to Moose? That was too funny.”
“Yeah,” she said with a smile. She looked at the big man, engaged in conversation with Theresa. “He’s probably the biggest human being they’ve ever seen.”
Cascaes smil
ed and saw him smiling and laughing with Theresa. “Yeah, his heart’s that big, too. I mean, he’s as tough as they get, and I’ll go to war with him anytime, but he’s really a big teddy bear. I think he likes Theresa.”
“No shit,” she said with a laugh. “And Theresa is tough as nails on the outside, too, but she’s also a sweetheart. And fearless.”
“Sounds like you,” said Chris.
“I don’t know. I don’t scare easily—and I’ve done my share of crazy missions, but I don’t hide my emotions as well as she does.”
“So if I can’t read anything, it’s because nothing is there?” he asked.
She smiled and cocked her head at him. “Ya’ know, I was really pissed at you before. Kinda’ held you responsible for my being pulled out of here. But really, I know it isn’t on you, the company was going to do whatever they were going to do regardless of my opinion. That being said, what happens if we both end up back in Virginia?”
“What do you mean,” he asked cautiously.
“I mean, are you still taking me on a real date? So far, your idea of dinner and a night out isn’t all that great.”
“I’d love to take you out when we get back. No fooling.” He said with a smile.
“Good,” she said. “Because as Theresa says, I kinda’ like you, like you.”
Cascaes was dying to kiss her, but eighteen other people behind him prevented him. She read his mind. “Try in Virginia, and I’ll let you,” she said.
He laughed out loud. “Deal!”
Their private conversation was interrupted by the beep of his satellite phone. It was back by Mackey, who grabbed it.
“Jimmy Two here, over.”
He was surprised to hear Leah’s voice instead of Davis’s.
Into the Jungle Page 18