by Dale Mayer
Pablo looked at him in surprise and then shook his head slowly.
“No, of course not,” Ryker said. “Because he can’t go home, can he?”
Pablo frowned.
“That’s where you got the money, right?”
At that, Pablo looked scared.
“You killed him. You took his money, and you’re the one who cleaned out each of the three people on the American team. You took all their stuff too.”
Pablo took several steps back.
“And now you want to get home fast enough so that you can’t get caught here, not by the local authorities, not by the American team and not by those two guerrillas in town looking for you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
“I do,” Ryker said slowly. “It’s not that you weren’t trying to be a guide, but you didn’t intend on going home poor, did you? And you planned to take over your uncle’s business. It wasn’t your uncle trying to get rid of you. He was trying to give you a step up in life. Old Man Alejandro was your mentor. But instead, you went after him.”
Pablo laughed and said, “You don’t know anything.” His tone was bitter. He pocketed his gun. “And I really don’t have time for this.” And he turned, but, instead of going back up the cliff, he headed down to the manager’s house. Ryker thought about stopping him. Only, as he turned to follow, Pablo fired several shots in Ryker’s direction. Warning shots nonetheless, but the meaning was clear. Following meant facing Pablo’s wrath.
Ryker slowly walked back, trying to work out how all this was put into play, when Miles contacted him and said, “And what’s going on?”
“I found Pablo. He’s at one of the houses just behind the medical center up here, close to the cliff.”
“Is he okay?”
“Well, he’s moving well enough,” Ryker admitted. “But I’m wondering if he isn’t responsible for the older guide’s death.”
“What?” Miles asked.
“Yeah,” he said, walking slowly toward the hospital. “I’ll be down there with you in about ten minutes. I’m just working my way through this.”
“But why would he do that?” Miles asked.
“I think it’s so he could take over his uncle’s business.”
“But he said his uncle was trying to take him out.”
“Yes, that’s what he said. But I wonder how true it is. I wonder, if we dig into this a little further, would we find out his uncle and Old Man Alejandro were trying to help Pablo up in life, and, instead of wanting that assistance, Pablo wanted to be the big chief and take it over?”
“I don’t think he liked being out in the jungle.”
“Maybe not,” Ryker said. “But this way, he could hire other guides, like his uncle did. And then he could stay home and not come back here.”
Miles was silent for a moment. “That seems pretty far-fetched.”
“Not when you add in two guerrillas have already been searching for him this morning, so Pablo stole one of our guns to protect himself. In fact, he just protected himself from me moments ago,” Ryker said with a sigh. “It doesn’t make complete sense yet to me. And it’s not like we could ever prove it either. Anyway, the hospital is just in front of me. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
He pocketed his phone and headed into the hospital, where Miles waited. They exchanged knowing glances but didn’t say anything in front of Manila.
As Ryker approached, Manila was just waking up. She smiled up at him. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself,” he said, walking over and dropping down to kiss her lightly. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty shitty,” she said with a wan smile. “But I’ll live.”
He nodded. “Understood. Sorry about that.”
She shook her head. “It is what it is. Did you find Pablo at all?”
He nodded and said, “But it’s a little weird. He was acting pretty strange.”
“He sure is,” she said. “But then, it’s also our life at the moment. I just want this whole episode over with.”
Ryker looked at Miles and smiled. “Do you want to grab some food?”
“Sure,” he said. “Stay here with her, and I’ll buy food from the hotel to bring back.”
“That’ll be good,” Ryker said.
And, with that, Miles quickly disappeared.
Ryker pulled up a chair. “I’m trying to figure out who shot you,” he said. “And honestly, I’m not getting anywhere. I did talk to somebody. One of the guerrillas who had been in the village”—to find Pablo—“and was heading back when you got shot. I didn’t get to see who it was, but he said they saw you getting shot, and it wasn’t them.”
“Wasn’t them?” she asked in confusion.
“Yes, as in, it wasn’t one of their fighters.”
“But if it wasn’t,” she said, “who was it?”
“Well, the message I got said it was somebody who I didn’t expect.”
She stared up at him. “I’m so confused.”
“I know. I am too.”
“Well, if we can leave on time,” she said, yawning, “none of it will matter anymore.”
“I hear you,” he said, as he squeezed her fingers. “I’ll ask the receptionist to see if we can get some coffee.”
“Sure,” she said. “That would make me happy.”
Ryker stepped out and talked to the nurse at the front, a different one this time. She nodded and said that she would bring some drinks for them. He then walked back to Manila’s hospital room, thinking about everything that had gone on. He wondered if this really would stop here or if it would continue and be something much uglier. He frowned at that.
As he stepped into her room, he asked, “Is there any reason for Pablo to shoot you?”
She stared at him in shock. “No, of course not. Why would there be?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Pablo was acting weird.”
“Maybe,” she said. “But he’s not in his own village, and he wants to go home. I don’t know how that’ll happen, but maybe he has a way. Maybe somebody from his family will help him get back there.”
“He could also cross the jungle again,” Ryker said. “It might take him a couple days, but it’s not an impossibility.”
“But better if he doesn’t go alone,” she argued. “That can’t be good.”
“Maybe not,” he said. Just then, the nurse arrived and brought a trolley with some coffee and water. He helped Manila to sit up and then brought a small table over for her. He thanked the nurse and brought Manila a cup of coffee and some water. She drank the water thirstily. And then realized he’d forgotten to get her a shirt. “I have a spare shirt in my pack,” he said. “I’ll head back to the hotel and get it for you.”
“Do you think I still need a guard?”
He frowned at that. He looked over to see the nurse standing there, staring at the two of them in surprise.
“You don’t need a guard here,” she said. “Just a few of us in town are guerrilla sympathizers.”
“I know,” Manila said. “I’m just a little worried. I was shot, so I don’t want the same shooter to come in and find me here.”
The nurse looked at Ryker and said, “If you won’t be very long, I can stay here with her.”
Ryker considered it and pulled out his phone. “Hey, Miles. Have you left the hotel already?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Grab a spare T-shirt of mine for Manila. They cut hers off when we entered the hospital.”
“Well, if you want, I can come straight there, and then you can run up and get the T-shirt,” he said. “I’m a few blocks away. Let me come now.”
Ryker thanked the nurse and said, “My partner will come to sit with her while I leave.”
The nurse nodded and walked out.
He thanked her profusely because it really was an act of kindness. But then suddenly, Miles showed up with a big grin on his face. “Go, go, go, go. The guys are getting restless though.”
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Ryker nodded and raced from the hospital, then headed toward his room in the hotel. He didn’t know what to do about the two guys still standing outside, guarding. He didn’t even think of it as he headed into the other hotel room, but they watched him go in there and then frowned. He ignored them and closed the door to find both Benjamin and Andy sitting there.
“Why the hell can’t we go out and do something?” Benjamin whined.
“Stop pissing me off. We’ll be leaving soon, with or without you,” he said. “Make sure you’re ready and packed.” He opened up his bag and searched through it to find his spare T-shirt. With that in hand, he closed to pack up. But then he stopped and noted that his bag full of weapons had been opened. He looked at it, frowned and asked, “Were either of you in this bag?”
They both shook their heads. “We haven’t even been here very long,” Andy said. “We didn’t touch anything.”
Ryker gave them each a long and measured look, then glanced back down, his mind immediately cataloging that a rifle was gone and so was a handgun. He knew that Pablo had the handgun. And, most likely, the missing rifle was the one that had been used against Manila. The tumblers in his brain were falling into place. He glared at Benjamin just to see him flinch.
Ryker thought more about it and then reached down and picked up both bags and walked out with them. He didn’t give any explanation, and the two guys standing watch on the other room cried out and said, “Hey, what are you doing in that room?”
He glanced at them. “You guys suck as watchdogs.”
“Why?” asked the younger of the two.
“Because Manila was shot. She’s in the hospital.” And, with that, he raced down the stairs.
One guy followed and said, “But we were standing outside the other door, watching all day.”
He nodded and turned to look at him, then asked, “What about those other guys? Did you see them?”
“Yeah, one,” he said. “We saw him a couple times today.”
Figuring he meant Miles, he said, “The other one dressed like me?”
The guy shook his head. “No, not him. The shorter heavyset older guy.”
“You saw him several times going to this room?”
“Close to your room.” The guy looked confused. He pointed back up the room and said, “Going to your room. Or, at least, the other room.” And then he stopped, obviously not very clear as to just what he meant.
Ryker thought about it and nodded. “So, he was in the room that I just came from, earlier today, on a separate occasion?”
“Yes, several times.”
“Did you see him take anything?”
He shrugged and said, “Sometimes.”
“A weapon?”
He shrugged again.
Ryker asked, “So, how many times did you actually leave this place versus standing watch?”
“When we had to go to the bathroom,” he said. “And sometimes we had to get food.”
“So, even with two of you, both of you had to go to the bathroom at the same time, and both of you had to leave together to get food? Right?” he said. “That figures. So, in other words, you don’t know what you saw and didn’t see him leave.”
The guy nodded. “I was really surprised when I saw him the second time because I hadn’t seen him leave the first time.”
“Of course not,” he said. “Thanks.” And he headed out and back to the hospital. As soon as he got there, he handed her the T-shirt and then pulled Miles outside. “So, were you aware Benjamin’s been in and out of our hotel room?”
Miles shrugged. “I’m not surprised. Andy maybe has been too. So have we.”
Ryker told him what the one guard said.
“Are you thinking that Benjamin took the weapons? In which case, why would Pablo and Benjamin help each other?”
Frustrated and irritated, Ryker looked at Miles and said, “I don’t have a clue. I just know this all has to have an explanation somehow.”
“Well, it will,” Miles said. “This is something we need to get to the bottom of before we leave.”
“What I don’t want to happen,” Ryker said, his tone forceful and adamant, “is to take back with us something that’ll reverberate even at home again.”
“Meaning?” Miles frowned. “I should keep an eye on Benjamin?” Then, looking around at Manila, he smiled at her and asked Ryker, “Do you want me to head for food or …?” And he left his words hanging.
“Go get food,” Ryker said, mostly for Manila’s benefit, then dropped his voice to add, “but keep an eye out for Pablo and watch Benjamin’s every move. Something’s going on here that I don’t like at all.”
“Will do.”
“Miles,” Ryker called out. When Miles turned around, Ryker said, “Watch your back.”
On that note, Miles lifted a hand and took off. Ryker turned and headed back to Manila’s hospital room.
Chapter 14
“So what’s going on?” she asked as Ryker entered.
“Lots of smoke and mirrors,” he said.
“You didn’t find out who shot me?”
“Not yet.” He shook his head but told her what he discovered.
“So, are you thinking it was Pablo?” She stared at him in horror. “After all we did?”
“I’m not saying that,” he said. “We can’t say that yet.”
“I’d love to talk to him and to see for myself,” she said. When Ryker remained quiet, she asked him, “You don’t think Benjamin shot me, do you?”
“Do you?” he asked her.
“Of course not. He’s all piss and vinegar and no action. No balls. That man is a crybaby, a whiner.”
“He doesn’t like you. He’s made that abundantly clear.”
“Just like he hates any woman with a degree who makes more money than he does.” She waved her hand. “He’s all bluff and bluster. A blowhard.”
He noticed Manila had the T-shirt on. “How did you get that over your shoulder?”
She laughed. “It’s big enough that I could pull it up my arm and then pull it over my head without having to do much. At least I’m much more capable of moving now,” she said as she sat up slowly. She pushed the table away and hobbled off the bed.
“Whoa, where are you going?” he asked, stepping closer.
“To the bathroom,” she said. And she walked out of her hospital room door and to the bathroom across the hall. He waited outside while she went in and used the facilities. There, Manila washed her hands and her face. She was feeling a lot better, but then she was still on decent drugs. She took a moment to twist her hair up and in a braid.
When she stepped back out again, Ryker met her.
“I just wanted to get all the blood off,” she explained.
He nodded in understanding. “I got it,” he said. And he helped her as they walked back to her room. When there was a commotion outside, he looked at her, frowned and stepped out the doorway.
“It’s probably nothing,” she said.
But instead, it was something. It was Pablo, running. He still had the handgun, but he wasn’t pointing it at anybody, just had it ready, like someone was after him. Ryker watched him closely. As soon as he was inside Manila’s hospital room, he closed the door. Then he looked at her and Ryker and said, “I didn’t mean to.”
“Didn’t mean to what?” she asked, turning to look at him in surprise. “You look so much better,” she whispered. “Obviously you’re feeling much better too.”
He nodded and motioned at her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I will be,” she said. Then she motioned at the gun. “Why are you carrying a gun?”
He took a deep breath. “Because I want to go home.”
She stared at him in confusion. “Could you explain that, please?”
“I think somebody will try to kill me,” he cried out.
Ryker stepped forward. “And why is that?”
Pablo gave him a haunted look.
“What have you done?�
� Ryker asked, pressing him for an answer.
Pablo shook his head and said, “I can’t say.”
“You have to,” Manila said in a quiet voice. “At times like this, the truth is really what we need to set us free.”
“It won’t set us free,” he said. “It won’t set us free at all.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I’ve done something terrible,” he said.
She sat here, waiting. And when Ryker went to force the issue, she held up a hand and said, “Let him speak, Ryker.”
Pablo looked at her with tears in his eyes. “I owe my life to all of you,” he said. “I wouldn’t have made it out of that jungle without you.”
“And?” Ryker asked in a hard voice.
Pablo stared at Manila and walked closer but immediately, Ryker stepped between the two of them.
“Unless you give me that gun, you can’t take one step closer to Manila.”
Pablo stared down at the gun. “I didn’t even think I could use it,” he said. And he pulled out another weapon from his pocket, which turned out to be a knife. “And this was Alejandro’s.”
Manila stared at it in surprise. “That’s the knife that you and he were always arguing about?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Ryker held out his hand and asked, “May I see it?”
Pablo shrugged and handed over the knife, but he didn’t hand over the gun.
Ryker took the knife and said, “I want the gun too.”
Pablo stared at it and then finally gave it over.
Ryker immediately put it behind his back, stuffed into his waistband, and examined the knife. “This was Alejandro’s, huh?”
“Yes,” Pablo said.
“And did you have anything to do with his disappearance?”
“I told him that I had thrown his knife into the jungle, and I pointed in a direction where I had it. I was partially teasing, and partially I really wanted the knife too. So we were fighting and throwing, and then I just—I picked it up, and I threw it. My boss was really angry at me, and he headed toward the jungle.” Pablo was visibly shaking as he spoke.