by JC Ryan
Rex signaled Luciana to come with him and went to get some food from Flo to keep his promise. They’d gotten just beyond the square when Luciana caught his hand again and tugged.
“Stop a minute.”
He stopped, and suddenly found Luciana in his arms, pressing a kiss to his lips.
“You are a good man, Ray Davis.”
He smiled down at her. “Miss Mamami, the kiss I like… very much. The good man thing… hmm… you better hold off on that until you know me better.”
“Just an observation,” she answered.
***
LATE THAT NIGHT, dinner over, the Markses filled in on the details of the mission to find and eliminate the Shining Path chapter, and the doctor still attending to the children who had been brought one by one, Luciana urged Rex to go with her to her quarters and in a whispered reminder, not to forget his sleeping bag.
Rex couldn’t help but notice when the Markses gave each other significant looks, and Flo held out her hand. Barry dug in his pockets and came out with some Peruvian coins, which he dropped in her palm. She refrained from saying the hateful “I told you so.”
If she did, Rex didn’t hear it.
Luciana wasted no time in coy misdirection. As soon as they walked through her door, she pointed for Rex to put his sleeping bag down next to hers, and then she knelt to arrange a bed with one spread out to its full width, and the other spread on top. They were different brands, and the zippers didn’t quite match up, but it wouldn’t matter.
Moments later, they were sitting cross-legged, facing each other on the joined sleeping bags.
But before she made another move, she had those questions she’d mentioned before.
“Who are you really, Ray?”
Nervous, he asked, “What do you mean?”
“You knew what to do for the village to defend themselves. As if you’re a trained warrior—more than that… a skilled and experienced one. You took out five men singlehandedly with five single shots. You’re an obvious professional at jungle warfare. Who are you? CIA?”
Rex grinned. It was too close for comfort, he had to stop this line of questioning in its tracks. He leaned closer and pushed the strap of her tank top off her shoulder. “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to…”
She started laughing before he finished the sentence. Rising effortlessly on her knees, she lunged forward to tackle him and landed on top of him. Kissing him fiercely, she murmured, “We’ll see who kills whom.”
Rex laughed and pushed her back gently. “Just one second. He raised his head and said to Digger, “Boy, I need you to guard outside.”
Digger started smiling and tilted his head.
“C’mon Digger be a good buddy and help me out here.”
Digger woofed once and left.
Rex turned his gaze to Luciana and said, ‘Okay, now what was that about who was going to kill who?”
Twenty
AS IF THE time since Junior had left to raise one million dollars was not filled with enough trouble of its own, the latter turned up on the morning of the sixth day with much more than just the money. Rex met Junior, who was accompanied by twelve heavily armed men on the edge of town after the village men who were guarding the trailhead stopped them.
Rex needed only one look at Junior and his throng of louts to see straight through his plans. He was surprised, but he didn’t show any signs of it, though he chastised himself in silence for ever thinking Junior would not have a few tricks up his sleeve.
Aha, so that’s how its going to be. You’re not going to share it—you’re going to take it all. Well, young man, we’ll have to see about that.
Nevertheless, he kept an easy smile on his face as he greeted Junior. “Whoa, Junior. Seems like you’ve saved us the trouble of having to make a trip to go and hire guards.”
“Yeah, well I had a bit of spare time, and Uncle Rich managed to pull a few strings with a friend of his who operates a security company. I am glad you agree that it will save us time. That’s what I intended.”
Rex kept the smile on his face and nodded while he made a quick assessment of the twelve men. It didn’t take him much more than forty seconds to surmise that these ‘guards’ were a bunch of amateurs, yobbos hired off the streets by Junior for a dime a dozen, so to speak. But Rex knew that a stupid guard with a gun was just as lethal as a clever one.
This bonehead has turned a non-violent situation into a potential war. As if we didn’t have enough trouble already. You’ve now put us and the villagers in harm's way. But if trouble is what you want, trouble is what you’ll get.
Rex looked down at Digger who was staring up at him and let out a soft yelp as if to say, “I’m ready, just tell me when.”
“Okay, I guess we need to go and figure out where we’re going to put the men up?” Rex said.
Junior answered, “I think we’ll have half of them guard the site, and the others can keep an eye on the village while they wait to change shifts.”
Rex had controlled the urge to sigh in relief as he immediately grasped what Junior hadn’t – the idiot was dividing his forces.
Divide and conquer – and he’s done the dividing for me.
Obviously, Junior’s reason for the suggestion was so that he and the men could control the dig and hold the village under virtual siege at the same time. But Rex knew as soon as Junior discovered that there was actually no dig, all hell would break loose.
Without hesitation, he told Junior it was a clever idea and changed the subject. He asked Junior if he’d seen the pit trap nearby.
“I did. We had to detour around it. I meant to ask you what that was all about.”
“We had a ‘friendly’ visit from the local chapter of Shining Path,” Rex replied. “They wanted money to leave us alone. We decided we didn’t want to give it to them.”
“Wow! What happened?”
Rex couldn’t help the feral grin that emerged as he answered, “We arranged a welcoming party for them. Seventeen of them are still guests of the village, you might say. You’ll find them buried in a pit a mile or so outside the village.”
Junior’s face paled. “Seventeen?”
“Yes. Soon to be eighteen, unless the doctor has performed a miracle, and maybe nineteen. The last one’s fate is to be decided by the village elders. Oh, and we left six more dead on the trail between their encampment and the main trail.”
Rex was watching Junior’s reactions closely, and he was certain Junior had known about the attack, but probably not all the details about the final results. But aside from the autonomic facial and body reactions, over which he had no control, Junior didn’t give any indication the news was anything but a surprise.
Rex didn’t care about that. His purpose was to put a bit of fear into Junior and keep him off balance for as long as was necessary to allow him to put the plan that had been forming in his mind the last few minutes, into action. The first part of it was to prevent Junior and his entourage to go up to the dig right away.
He led Junior and his men to the village square and asked him to wait while he found Pidro and got instructions for housing the half who would be posted in the village.
Junior said they had tents, and he’d just have them set up in the town square.
“That may not be possible. The prisoner will be kept here, and a public execution may be in the offing. Let me just talk to Pidro.”
“Who is Pidro, by the way?” Junior asked.
“One of the elders. He was elected leader when Alexandro disappeared.”
Junior’s bewildered expression indicated Rex hadn’t given him enough information to allow him to adjust to all the changes. But that was all the information Rex was willing to give him for now, though. “I’ll be right back. Just have your men relax right here.”
He hurried to find Luciana and brainstorm how to stall the rest of the plot until they could get reinforcements for the police, who had arrived before he and she were back with the Shining Path goons and were
camped at the coordinates they’d chosen near the ancient site.
To keep Junior from immediately dispatching half his men to the site, they decided the best way to stop that was an ‘impromptu feast’ to celebrate Junior and his men’s arrival. Luciana went to enlist Flo in the preparations and then to call for police reinforcements, while Rex searched for Pidro to get him to rally the villagers for the feast.
Before he found Pidro, the doctor intercepted him. “The man you brought here injured expired last night,” she said.
“Not unexpected,” Rex answered.
“I didn’t have the staff or equipment to repair his liver. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m not sorry, and you’ll find neither will the villagers be,” Rex said. “What about the children? Anything else to report on their situation?”
“They’re all in a stable condition for now. All of them are suffering from both Leishmaniasis and varying degrees of radiation poisoning. I’ve begun treatment for both conditions. I suggest you and the parents get together and determine how and where they got exposed to radiation, to prevent other children from being exposed.”
“What about the sand flies?” Rex asked. “Any help for that?”
“I doubt it. But it wouldn’t hurt to find out where the children play and try to eradicate the source. It won’t be a long-term solution, but there is effective medication for Leishmaniasis, and they will eventually build up antibodies. The main worry is the radiation poisoning.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Rex said. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m on an urgent errand.”
“You aren’t plotting something against the ruffians who arrived this morning, are you?” she asked, an artificially sweet tone in her voice.
“I’m glad you and I are in agreement about their personality types,” he said, grinning. He left her staring after him and continued to Pidro’s house.
The more urgent errand was to detain the ruffians until Luciana could get police reinforcements up here. Once they’d handled that, Rex would turn his attention to tracking down the mystery of the radiation poisoning. It weighed on his mind, though. That it only had affected the children, and only some of them, was puzzling.
Within the hour, preparations for a feast were well underway. Rex returned to Junior and told him unfortunately there was going to be a delay, because the villagers insisted on a proper traditional feast like they did for all newcomers, and that it would offend them if they didn’t attend. So, frustrating as it was for him, it was going to take time to roast the alpacas and get everything ready.
Junior was not happy. He kept on mumbling and grumbling.
“Relax, buddy, you’re on Andes time. There’ll be plenty of time to get your men to the site,” Rex said cheerfully. “It isn’t going anywhere.”
Rex ignored Junior’s increasing anxiety and pretended he didn’t notice it. “Your men will have to share quarters, I’m afraid,” he said. “There are only three more empty huts. Will they mind?”
Junior appeared annoyed, but he answered mildly enough. “I’m sure it will be fine. If it’s too small we can use the tents. Where will I be staying? In the hut next to where you and the Markses were before?”
“I’m afraid that one’s now occupied. You can take your pick of the three Pidro has indicated, and your men can share the other two.”
Rex urged Junior to follow him as he led him to three widely-separated huts. At least one, he knew, had been hastily vacated by a young couple so the plan would work. With the separation and subtle surveillance, the thugs wouldn’t be in a position to mount a surprise attack. Rex suspected Junior wouldn’t deploy them that way, anyway. He assumed they were supposed to take over the antiquities site and carry off the spoils.
Junior selected one of the houses and ordered his men to split up and move into the other two. There was grumbling in the ranks, but he quelled it with a few sharp words, and the men complied. Rex saw them settled and went to tell Pidro it was done.
Pidro wanted his advice. They didn’t have a problem executing the Shining Path member, he said. But someone had mentioned it might be better to let official authorities deal with him. What did Rex think?
Rex assured him he thought that was the way to go. “I think we can make a case that we did the right thing when we killed the attackers,” he said. “But executing one without a trial might be a different matter.”
“We have given him a trial,” Pidro remarked. “We found him guilty.”
Rex suppressed an indulgent smile. No doubt there was a trial, what was in doubt was the fairness, and then by whose definition of ‘fairness’. “And what was the penalty?”
“Death. That’s what I am asking you. Should we execute him, or let the police do it?”
Rex solemnly assured him that letting the police do it was the best policy. With the evidence they’d provide, the police would have no choice but to take custody of him. What happened after that would take place far away, in Cuzco or even Lima. And even if the guy somehow got off on charges of murder or terrorism, he’d no doubt avoid this place.
Pidro seemed to be happy with Rex’s advice and left to tell the rest of the elders.
Next, Rex rejoined Luciana in the Markses’ hut, where she and Flo were preparing their contribution to the evening’s feast. Flo had mastered the intricacies of the primitive stove and was coaxing it to produce, of all things, peanut butter cookies. For a moment, Rex wondered where she got the ingredients, but they must’ve been in the supplies that they brought up the mountain with them. He didn’t spend too much time thinking about that or bother asking. He loved peanut butter cookies and thought the villagers would go wild for them as well. For a fleeting moment, he questioned the wisdom of introducing sugar-filled bakery goods to the village, but the assembly line was already in operation. So, he was working on a plan to get his hands on one of the cookies. Flo was too busy to see Rex wink at Luciana and put his finger on his lips, and when she turned to take a pot off the stove, he filched a cookie off the table.
Luciana had a hard time not laughing out loud.
While Flo was none the wiser about one of the cookies missing, Rex munched on it while he filled everyone in on the doctor’s report and Pidro’s plans for the prisoner.
“What about these thugs Junior has brought?” Barry asked. “What are we going to do about them? We had a simple plan. Get the cash from Junior, introduce him to the cops. Get him arrested, find his uncle to arrest him, and everyone live happily ever after. Except Junior and his uncle.”
“Well, things have changed. But depending on whether Luciana was able to get the police reinforcements organized, we can still sort it out.”
She nodded. “They’ll be at that valley Junior uses for his infiltration in about four hours, they told me. I suggested they stay out of sight until morning. They’ll have an easier time capturing six men than all twelve.”
“That’s as good a plan as any,” Rex said. “Once we have the six here in the village secured, we can head for the site to help. We shouldn’t be too far behind Junior and the six with him. And just to be sure, I will take care of Junior and the six up there. You all will stay here.”
Luciana harrumphed but didn’t say anything.
Rex was satisfied with the arrangements, and for the rest of the afternoon he would make the rounds of people who might need his help with the feast arrangements, offering it where he could. But first, they had to try to play out the reverse scam. Junior might have brought the million dollars with him to lower their guards until he had the treasure site secured. If so, Rex intended the Markses and the villagers to have it.
He suggested to Barry that they should confront Junior about the money. They’d play good cop, bad cop if necessary, with Barry doing the talking as good cop.
***
REX HAD LEFT Junior cooling his heels in his assigned hut. On reconnaissance, it seemed Junior felt safe in the village. In any case, he hadn’t set a guard outside his door.
He an
d Barry approached and called out a greeting before entering the door opening through the alpaca-wool hangings. They found Junior just sitting up from where he was lounging on a sleeping bag.
“Barry! Good to see you, man! Ray. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
As planned, Barry, with a bland expression on his countenance, answered. “If you’ll remember, we had a business arrangement. Did you bring the money?”
“Yessir, I surely did.” Junior got up and crossed the few feet to his gear. From the pile of bags he’d dumped there, he pulled a battered-looking briefcase. Rex was astounded it wasn’t inside a more easily carried duffle or backpack.
Junior hefted it and carried it to the rickety table in the room and said, “Sit! Sit! Make yourselves comfortable.” He took a three-legged stool at one side of the table. On the other side was a wide bench, where Rex and Barry crowded to sit.
Junior hunched to read the silver dial of the combination lock and thumbed it back and forth while mouthing the combination to himself. When a subtle click sounded, he pushed the buttons to open the latches on either side of the briefcase. With a flourish, he twirled the case to face Barry and Rex and opened the lid in almost the same motion.
The case was tightly packed with banded one-hundred-dollar bills.
“There you are. One million US dollars,” he announced.
Barry reached for the case and pulled it toward him. Rex was stunned. He hadn’t actually expected Junior to have the cash, he was more prepared to listen to some cock and bull story about why he didn’t have the money or why he wouldn’t hand it over yet. It seemed Barry was also sceptical, as he reached in and selected a bundle and broke the band, flipping through the bills with his thumb.
“Barry, dude,” Junior said with a nervous laugh. “Don’t you trust me? It’s all there.”
Barry smiled. “Sure I do, Junior. But my motto is, ‘trust but verify’. That’s okay with you, isn’t it?”
