by Paul Knox
Did Reece walk right into a trap?
He glanced at the INSITE app again. Then he sent a text to Xie.
Shanahan: Why doesn’t Chang have a tracking beacon?
Xie: This situation developed only yesterday. There wasn’t enough time to send one.
Shanahan: But you trust him?
Xie: The situation is urgent. I had no other options.
Shanahan: Reece’s pilots were both non-Spanish-speaking Asians in El Salvador. Please tell me this isn’t about dragons and reforming The Association.
Xie: It seems it might be.
7
DERIAN’S aim never wavered as Reece laid her gun on the ground and slowly stood up.
She thought about Chang hiding in the brush and remembered the life they used to have together. It had been carefree. And when Chang first discovered the illegal activities of his father and The Association, he only wanted out.
What if, she considered, Chang was sincere about the ‘disappearing for her safety’ thing? After all, he had always claimed her safety was his top priority, up until his dying day.
Flicking her eyes left and right, Reece tried to think of a plan, hoping Chang wouldn’t come running out and get himself killed.
She still had a second gun tucked into the back of her pants. But reaching for it would be risky with Derian’s gun aimed right at her and his finger on the trigger.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed the brave boy who spoke out earlier standing directly behind her. She knew he’d be able to see the gun; the handle obviously stuck out. But would he be able to help when the time came?
Reece slightly angled towards the boy, pretending to be surprised someone was behind her. She motioned with her eyes at him, sending silent cues.
“Look at me!” Derian yelled to Reece.
Reece complied, but not before she saw the boy’s nervous expression morph into readiness. The boy had seemed to understand.
Derian approached until his face was inches from Reece’s. Spittle flew from his lips as he spoke, enraged.
“How dare you come here and insult me and my family like this.” He stared at Reece, but spoke loud enough so that everyone around could bear witness. “For this, there will be punishment today.”
Rolando walked over, scowling, and bent down to pick up Reece’s gun from the dirt. As he did, Derian glanced toward him.
Reece yelled, “Now!” and step-kicked into Rolando’s hand, knocking the gun from it. She simultaneously smacked Derian’s gun sideways and grabbed his wrist.
Meanwhile, she felt the boy snatch the gun from her backside.
Reece pivoted 180° so that her back was snug against Derian’s front. Immediately, she commenced a Judo move. She crouched down and leaned forward, pulling Derian over and onto her back. Then she simultaneously pushed her butt into his stomach and popped it up, easily flipping him into the air and over her shoulder. While he was flying through the air like a pinwheel, she twisted the gun out of his hands.
He landed hard on his back and exhaled sharply. Reece turned to see Rolando scrambling for the gun on the ground. But then the boy started screaming.
“I’ll blow your freakin’ head off! Don’t freakin’ move!” With a high-pitched tone that only a prepubescent boy could hit, he continued, “I’ll freakin’ kill you!”
Everybody froze in shock. Reece put Derian’s gun to his head and yelled to Rolando, “I suggest you back away.”
Rolando did just that. He inched backwards, slowly. Reece kept her gun trained on both him and Derian, switching aim from one to the other, quickly. Derian stood up and backed away, too, joining his brother on a dirt path which led out of the village.
The young boy had sweat dripping down his face and was shaking. But no other boy had ever looked so serious to Reece in her life.
“Should I shoot him?” the boy asked with apprehension.
“No,” Reece said, extending her hand for the gun. “They’re not a threat anymore. You don’t shoot unarmed people who are retreating.”
Rolando and Derian, now many yards away, turned around and started running off.
Reece took her gun back from the boy.
“How did you flip him like that?” he asked. “He is so much bigger than you. Are you magic?”
Reece smiled at the boy. “Not quite. Believe it or not, that move is easier when your opponent is larger than you. Our size difference gave me the advantage. It’s physics.”
“Can you teach it to me?”
Reece eyed the kid. “Maybe so. What’s your name?”
“Mario… Mario Leon.”
“Nice to meet you, Mario Leon. Where are your parents?”
The boy lowered his eyes to the ground. “Gone to the spirit world.”
“Who takes care of you?”
“Sometimes my aunt and uncle. But mostly I take care of myself. We are all good to each other here.”
Reece scanned the group. Villagers had rushed over to the victimized women, helping them to their feet and offering hugs, escorting them away and to their huts. From what she could see, this was a small tribe of people that only numbered a few dozen adults at most.
They talked frenetically amongst themselves about the incident, while also pointing and nodding in approval at Reece.
Chang appeared from behind the trees, making his way over.
An elderly man with black Aztec-looking tattoos covering his skin, multiple large earrings, and colorful beads decorating his graying-black hair appeared from between the villagers. His expression was emotionless and his mien unreadable. Reece had no idea if he was pleased or disappointed.
He advanced straight towards Reece, speaking Spanish slowly and deliberately. “There will be a feast tonight in your honor. And a special place for you at the table.”
“Thank you,” Reece responded, hoping to not offend him. “I wish I could. But there are others that need my help today.”
He remained tall, unhurried and unchanged. “I understand.”
Reece asked, “Does anybody have a phone?”
“Some of us have phones. But there is no signal in this part of the mountains.”
Chang had come over and now stood beside them. The elderly man flicked his eyes to regard him for a moment before returning his attention to Reece.
“I’ll translate all this later for you, if you want,” Reece said to Chang.
He nodded, wide-eyed at the striking, peculiar display of indigenous markings and jewelry on the elderly man.
Reece asked the elder, “What is the quickest path to a car?”
“If you stay, there are some of us Pipils who own cars and work in the city. They are all away now, and won’t return until after dark. We live a remote life. The closest road is two miles—” he pointed to the east— “that way.”
“They hike two miles to and from their car every day?” she asked, surprised.
The elderly man spoke as if Reece misheard him. “There is a well-defined path. It is only two miles.”
“Did those two men with guns just hike two miles in?”
“Yes.”
Wow, Reece thought. Whatever they wanted must be important.
She asked, “After reaching the road, how far is it until civilization?”
“Half a day’s walk.”
The man must have sensed the frustration from Reece, because he suggested, “If you go through the jungle—” he pointed to the west— “that way, you will reach a dirt path that leads to a small town with stores and houses and roads of the type you seek. You can make the entire journey in less than three hours. You will find lots of ‘civilization.’”
“Great, thank you.”
“I suggest you take a guide with you. The journey can be treacherous for those unfamiliar with the ways of the land. Young Mario here looks ready and willing to help you on your path.”
Mario’s face broke out into a large grin—but immediately faded when Reece spoke.
“I appreciate the offering. But
we’ll go alone.”
The man’s expression didn’t change. “If you wish.”
The sound of a low rumble interrupted the conversation: Chang’s stomach. Reece felt famished too, not yet having eaten anything since the flight last night.
“What may I call you, señor?” Reece asked the elderly man.
“Chief Tekulut.”
“Chief Tekulut, even though we can’t stay for dinner, do you have any food we could eat right now?”
8
REECE AND CHANG sat in a large circle with Mario, the chief, a few other adults, and about seven children.
Smoked fish, berries and other exotic fruits adorned their plates along with handmade corn tortillas called pupusas, stuffed with beans and pork.
Some women and mothers sat nearby on beautiful hand-crafted chairs. They sat busy chatting and weaving deep blue and red yarns together on intricately decorated looms, with symbols and animals carved into the wood.
While they ate, the children pestered the chief for a story. His expression never changed, though he seemed oddly receptive to the young ones’ requests.
Finally he announced that he would, indeed, tell them all a story. “In our guest’s honor, I will start from the beginning.”
Mario asked eagerly, “All the way back to Atl Balam?”
The chief pretended to ignore Mario and turned to Reece first, saying, “You should hear this.” Then he pointed to the cloudy skies and whipping leaves at the tops of the trees. “A bad storm is coming. I had a vision that an important day is near—one I have been waiting for my entire life. I believe this storm is the zenith of the evil, and the new day following will herald the coming of that day.”
Reece didn’t know what to say to that. Since her mouth was currently full of pupusa, she simply nodded respectfully.
Chief Tekulut peered at everyone in the circle one by one, making eye contact before moving on to the next. After that, he shook a rattle dramatically and made some animalistic noises with his voice.
And then he became animated, telling his story.
The year was 666 B.C. when the city of Atlan fell.
Atl Balam—the Halach Uinic, or lord-ruler of the ancient city—stopped running momentarily to survey the skies behind his troops. Black smoke plumed above the rainforest treetops, an offering to the gods.
But this was not his offering.
Atl Balam wished that he could say his city had been attacked, but no. If it had been, he would fight—and win. But the raiding and destruction of his people’s land and burning of their homes was his own kingdom’s doing.
And the attackers—his people—knew about the sacred gold tablets. And the uprising wouldn’t stop until they had them to sell for their own pockets.
“Go!” he yelled to Ilhuicatl, his friend and highest-ranking nacom.
Ilhuicatl turned and motioned forward to the hundred and fifty men who dragged baskets behind them as they ran, and the few hundred soldiers surrounding them all.
“Run!” Atl Balam commanded loudly to the elderly, women and children.
“I will find you!” he declared to Colel, his loving queen who ran past him, leading the downtrodden.
For a moment he glimpsed a great sadness in her eyes, yet they still shone her fierce, relentless spirit.
Each who passed the noble Atl Balam, in the way a stream flows around a large rock, nodded in respect at the Halach Uinic who carried a bow and poison-tipped arrows on his back.
Atl Balam’s spear—decorated with deep-green jade jewels—rested softly against his well-defined arms, parallel to his proud stance. If any chaos rumbled underneath his skin, it was not seen by a single soul.
The discontented were coming. And they wanted the gold.
As his people ran on, leaving Atl Balam in the rear, he stole one last look at their ancient home. He couldn’t see their sacred lake from here, but knowing it was still out there brought comfort.
Men would come and go, but lakes, mountains, and the sky would remain unchanged.
He had taken a blood oath to protect the gold tablets. And that was exactly what he would do.
The chief stopped and glanced at Reece’s plate, now empty. “Do you desire more food?”
“I’ve had enough. Thank you so much for your hospitality. And the story. It was…larger than life.”
The chief nodded.
Reece continued. “I’ll look into Rolando and Derian’s whereabouts. I’ll see what I can do to make sure they never harass you or your people again.”
* * *
Once again, Reece trekked through the rainforest. She focused on one careful step at a time.
“Wait up—don’t leave me,” Chang called from behind in a joking-not-joking manner.
She turned around, seeing him appear from behind a large, vine-covered tree trunk.
“Sorry,” she said. “We need to hurry.” Sizing up the grayish tone of the once-white clouds, she added, “For more reasons than just Sandy and the women.”
“Just a couple more hours through this craziness, right?” Chang asked rhetorically before switching topics. “So what did the chief say back there with that big story? All the kids ate it up—and I’m not talking about the food.”
“Some mythology about their ancestors, I think. And a bunch of gold tablets the people were fighting about.”
“I see. No wonder the kids liked it. Sounds like an epic fairytale.”
“Maybe.”
“Those were some incredible moves back there, Reece. Flipping a grown man?” Chang let out a stifled laugh. “But, do you have any idea what those guys really wanted?”
“Probably the gold tablets.”
“What?” Chang stopped walking momentarily. “Are you kidding me?”
Reece smiled, amused at the stunned look on Chang’s face. “A little. But I did hear them demanding something gold. Maybe the story has a little more backbone than a fairy’s tale.”
“Did you show them the necklace you found?”
Reece felt around her neck. She still had it on, tucked under her shirt. “I forgot about that with everything going on.” Then she mumbled, “Interesting.”
As they traversed forward, they passed a stream—for the second time.
Chang glanced around nervously. “Weren’t we just here twenty minutes ago?”
Reece surveyed the surroundings. It was hard to tell; everything looked the same—a giant jumble of trees, green vines, branches and thorns. But Chang was right. She recognized the stream.
“How did we go in a circle?” he asked anxiously, his breathing beginning to intensify. “Are we lost in the jungle?—and it’s about to storm?”
“We have to keep trying.” Reece set out forward, faster.
Chang dutifully followed. Neither of them spoke for several minutes. They never passed by the stream again, and for a moment Reece had hope.
They trudged along and soon began making small talk again. Two exotic birds seemed to be calling to each other from the trees near them. They listened to the beautiful song as they sidestepped a mossy log.
And then Chang cleared his throat and asked, “You never told me about your feelings for Duke.”
9
“WHY DO YOU keep asking about him?” Reece asked with a sideways grin.
“Would he have charged into the gun battle, unlike me? I should’ve helped you.”
“I’m glad you didn’t, Chang. No one in their right mind would run at two gunmen who had hostages.”
“You did.”
“Maybe I’m not in my right mind.”
“You’re one of a kind, Reece. You always have been. I wish…well, never mind. I bet Duke is everything I never was.”
Reece turned to Chang and placed her hand on his chest, stopping him. “I’ll be honest with you. Duke reminded me of you. He’s the same as you. Nice, a gentleman, easy-going and smart—but with the one exception of not being involved with an international criminal empire.”
They both shared
a smile.
Then sadness returned to Chang’s eyes. “I never wanted to be a part of The Association, Reece. And I never wanted to die that day—or have a near death experience, or whatever. I just wanted a family with you. And security. I’m sorry for everything.”
Reece’s breath stuttered. Recent thoughts of Duke flew through her mind. So did old memories of Chang. She quickly turned around and started walking again, hoping Chang wouldn’t see the confusion on her face.
“What’s that?” Chang asked, pointing ahead. “Something white is up there sticking out of the trees. It must be big. A building?”
They scrambled up the side of the hill to find a horrible sight. The wrecked plane.
Chang announced, panicky, “All this time and we’re just back where we started?”
Reece stared in disbelief.
They were absolutely lost. At this point, their only hope was trying to find the village again.
All this wasted time, Reece thought.
Then she heard something move in the forest behind them. “Shh,” she hushed to Chang. They both slowly moved to cover, their eyes glued to the sound’s source.
To their surprise, a boy popped out. He waved in Reece’s direction.
“Mario?” Reece called, stepping out from behind the tree.
Flashing his pearly whites from ear to ear, Mario said, “Hola, Señora Reece.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I followed you. I have nothing better to do. Why do you keep walking in circles?”
Reece couldn’t help but grin along with Mario’s contagious smile. “I think we’re…lost.”
“I thought so.” He asked eagerly, “Do you want me to lead the way?”
Not waiting for an answer, Mario set off with the two in tow. Chang had a really difficult time keeping up now. Even Reece barely kept pace with the boy. He cut through the jungle like a diver through water.
* * *
