by Dale Mayer
Hearing a sudden noise below her, and knowing that the trees were home to predators of all kinds, she froze. She looked around and up, but nothing was above her. And, just as suddenly, causing her heart to freeze and a gasp of shock to escape, Ryker’s face popped through the fronds. He handed her a water bottle and said, “Here. This one’s for you. Don’t guzzle this one. Just take a sip as you need it.”
She nodded and whispered, “Thank you.”
And that white, toothy smile of his flashed again.
“I’m Manila,” she said.
“Ryker.”
She thought that had been his name, but it was unusual enough that she wanted to hear it again. But then hers was unusual too. She groaned as she carefully rolled onto her back, glad to see that the limb was where she had imagined it under the additional fronds atop it. “I’m so sore,” she whispered, her eyes closed again.
“And you will be for a few days,” he said. “We won’t get out of this fast or easy.”
“Who sent you?” she murmured.
“American government.”
At that, her gaze popped open, and she stared at him in wonder. “Seriously?”
He shrugged. “Black ops. So nobody in the government will acknowledge that I’m here.”
She almost laughed at that. “I presume Global, my company, contacted you guys?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I got my orders that you were here and to come and get you.”
“But how did you know I was specifically here?” she asked.
“GPS reading on your last recorded phone call,” he said.
She stared up in the sky and whispered, “Thank heavens. I tried and tried for hours to get a call through, and everybody kept telling me not to worry about it since I couldn’t get any connection. But I climbed a tree and managed to get through.”
“Well, that final attempt saved your life.”
“What will the guerrillas do when they find out we’re gone?”
“Tell their bosses, get into a lot of shit, and we could end up with five times that many gunmen after us,” he said. “And every one of them will be well-armed.”
“I noticed how young they were,” she said.
“I know,” he said. “Almost too young.” But he didn’t elaborate.
She didn’t need him to. That woman probably wasn’t even sixteen, but the soldier she was with had his hands all over her. “It’s not much of a life for them, is it?”
“It’s all they really know. Plus they have a huge built-in family instantly,” he said. “They belong to something, to someone, and that makes a big difference in their lives.”
“I don’t see how it could,” she said. “There’s no education, arts or normal family life.”
“Nothing is normal about any of it. And our life isn’t normal to a lot of people in many places of the world,” he said. “Stop talking and rest.”
She almost laughed at that. “Are you always so short on words?”
“You’re wearing yourself out. You need to conserve your energy, and we need to be quiet.”
At that, he closed his eyes, and she could watch everything unplug as his body reset. She didn’t know how he did it, and she wasn’t sure if she’d follow suit, but she switched, gently rolling over again, so she was draped over this huge branch. Then she closed her eyes and slept.
When she woke again, Ryker stared at her. She focused on him, blurry-eyed. “How is it you look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?”
“It’s not a term I understand, but, if you mean alert, it’s because of my training.”
She dropped her head back down onto the hard branch and groaned. “I’m used to rough conditions,” she said, slowing turning over, her back to the tree limb now. “And I’m used to hiking all over hell and beyond looking for rocks. I’m a geologist after all, but I can’t say I’ve ever slept in a tree before.”
“If you’re lucky,” he said cheerfully, “this will be the last time on this trip. But, other than that, you could find that we’ll be in one every day.”
“Don’t leopards go up trees?”
“I’m sure they do,” he said. “Not to mention the guerrilla sentries have their favorite lookouts. So up on the top is much better. But then, when you’re too high up, you’ll be looking down, and there’ll be no way to see what’s going on underneath.”
“What about the snakes?” she asked.
He looked at her curiously. “I didn’t figure geologists would be worried about snakes.”
“Well, I don’t generally go where there’s very many, and I’m always wearing boots,” she said. “But the snakes here—the anacondas and the boas—the ones that hang off the trees and just snatch you up, … they’re bigger than life.”
“And yet, you came here?”
She nodded. “I did. I’m looking for platinum, and that is the problem. I agreed to do these searches, but Global was also supposed to keep us safe.”
“And yet, you wanted to come without a team, I understand?”
She winced at that. “I was thinking that maybe it would be easier if I came alone or just with somebody to carry my gear. I didn’t really want two guides with us.”
“And how do you feel now?”
“Honestly, I think the guides had something to do with us being captured.” At his stare of surprise, she nodded. “The old guy was too suspicious. He was always standing off to one side, as if waiting for something to happen. I don’t know about the young one, but it’s possible that the older one betrayed him as well. Neither of them are here, so I rather imagine the guerrillas either told them to take a hike and paid them off or said that they would get paid down the road. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “The bottom line is, they were freed because they’re locals, and we weren’t.”
Just then she heard a weird sound. “What’s that?”
He held up a finger, tilted his head and pushed something against his ear. She realized he was in communication with his partner. “Someone’s coming,” he whispered. “Not a sound.”
She stared up at him in horror, and she remembered how dark it had been, and yet, how much of a trail they’d probably left behind. She winced. If she’d brought this on them, she’d be incredibly sorry. But she couldn’t do anything about it now except follow instructions and stay as quiet as possible.
Ryker didn’t even breathe as his gaze bored into hers. Only his attention wasn’t on her. He was listening to everything around them. She couldn’t hear anything, but she assumed he heard everything with how intense his gaze was. The problem was, just what did he hear?
Ryker heard the footsteps underneath them, but they weren’t as he expected. It wasn’t the steady footfall of somebody either tracking them or a group following somebody else’s lead. It was more of a limping and broken walk. He frowned at that and peered through the surrounding brush to get his suspicions confirmed. He grabbed a few of the details and then whispered to her, leaning over so he was above her. “The younger guide, did he have on a blue-and-white shirt with a tattoo on the side of his neck?”
She frowned and then quickly nodded.
“He’s below, but he’s dragging a leg. Was he injured before?”
She quickly shook her head and then placed her mouth near his ear, heat swiftly moving between them as she whispered, “We have to help him. Pablo is a young man, his whole life ahead of him.”
Ryker shook his head in an instant. “He could be a diversion.” She stared at him in horror, and he nodded, then continued, “They’ll drag us out of hiding with an injured friend.”
“Doesn’t mean he isn’t injured,” she said. “They might have tortured him.”
He nodded. “Possible, but we’re not moving.”
She took a long shuddering breath and closed her eyes, waiting.
He stayed where he was above her, letting his weight rest gently on top of her to keep her where she was. There was no way to avoid the softness of her breasts beneath him or her pelvic bones positione
d perfectly in place to where he was. He swore under his breath, realizing that he couldn’t have picked a worse position. But it was what it was.
Ten minutes later, after the sounds of the shuffling of the injured man headed toward the water, Ryker heard two more sets of footsteps and, this time, rapid ones. He placed a finger against Manila’s lips to keep her quiet.
She stared up at him in shock, and he nodded. “That’s them coming to check on him.”
She let out a slow breath again and whispered, “Bastards.”
He reached down, kissed her cheek gently, and said, “It’s a continual war to them. And you need to be aware that they might kill him too.”
At that, her horrified gaze filled with tears.
He dropped his forehead against hers and whispered, “We can’t do anything about it right now.”
She turned mute and pursed her lips for a good minute before she finally whispered, “You could.”
“It depends if it’s already over with or not,” he said with a frown.
“You could leave me.”
He gave her a look and whispered, “Not happening.”
Finally, several other footsteps headed in the opposite direction, laughing and joking. She glared at him with tears in her eyes, and he nodded. “But we don’t know anything for sure yet,” he said. He waited a good ten minutes before tapping his comm and sending a message.
Miles immediately responded. Injured man’s by the water. But he’s bleeding heavily.
Savable?
Hard to say. The predators will find him soon.
He’s young. He came into this not knowing what was going on. The other guide betrayed him.
Of course, Miles said. Betrayal from within.
Ryker looked down at Manila, and, for his own sake and hers, he would check on Pablo. “You stay here,” he told her. “I’ll see what condition he’s in.”
“What if he’s past saving?”
“I don’t know. What would you like me to do?”
With tears in her eyes, and he could see how difficult this was for her, she said, “You need to finish him then, before the wild animals come in and tear him apart.”
“We’ll see,” he said. And he quickly slipped his way down the tree, checking to make sure nobody was around. And once he hit the pathway, he raced toward the river.
There, off to the side, was the young man. Pablo. His leg was bent awkwardly off to the side. He’d been hobbling on it before but not doing so well, and now he had multiple lacerations, bringing fresh blood to the surface.
Ryker bent at his side and realized none of the cuts were deep, but they were bleeding pretty rapidly. He washed them with river water, then took off his shirt, thankful he had another long-sleeved but lighter-weight shirt underneath, and ripped it up, binding the wounds that he could, while the young man stared up at him. “If you can stay quiet,” Ryker said, “I might be able to save you.”
“They did this to me,” Pablo whispered.
“I know. And the other guide probably betrayed you.”
Pablo nodded. “Old Man Alejandro. I’d heard rumors, but I didn’t believe it, and I needed the money.”
Ryker bandaged the young guide’s wounds as best he could. Then he quickly raced to the river, scooped up more water and rinsed more blood off the young man. “We need to get you out of here,” he said.
Pablo slowly stepped to his feet and said, “My leg’s injured.”
“Hang on while I get a crutch,” Ryker said, pushing Pablo to sit again. Ryder headed back to the jungle, tapping out a message to Miles. By the time Ryker had a crutch constructed for Pablo, Ryker came across another stick that he quickly used as a splint to keep Pablo’s leg in the right position. “I don’t know if it’s broken or just dislocated, but we have to immobilize it so that you’re not putting pressure on all the wrong joints.” And he quickly set it right—causing Pablo to gasp in surprise—then bound the stick to his injured leg and once again helped him to his feet. Then he placed the crutch under his armpit and asked, “Now, can you move?”
Surprised, the young man took several steps and turned and smiled. “It’s much better. Thank you.”
“You’ll still find the pain to be pretty bad,” he said, “but I put the leg back into place.” As Ryker turned around, Miles and the two male team members stood there.
“We have to leave here, and we’ll cross the river to throw them off,” Miles said.
“I’ll get Manila,” Ryker said. He left the three men with Miles and raced back to the tree. By the time he clambered back up, she sat there, waiting for him.
“Are they all down there?” she asked.
He nodded. “We have to go fast.” He shouldered his packs and hers and then looked at her and sighed. He slipped one pack to the other side to give her one, and then told her to get on his back. Awkwardly moving as quietly as he could, but knowing he raised a ton of noise, he made his way down to the ground and lowered her to her feet, then raced with her at his side to the river.
The men studied the river, when the older one, Benjamin, said, “We can’t cross that.”
Ryker looked at it, checked upstream, and said, “More rocks are up there.”
“Just means we’ll hit more rocks when we go under,” Benjamin said.
Ryker led the way and turned to see Miles swing the young guide up in his arms, telling him, “It’s better to save your strength for what you can do,” he told the guide when the man opened his mouth. “These rocks will be much worse.”
Ryker made it to where the river was wider. Most people went to where it was narrower, but then it meant a faster-moving current. A wider water surface meant it would take more time and effort to cross but at a slower-moving current. He looked at the two men and asked, “Do you think you can cross this?”
Andy nodded bravely. “I think so. I can swim well. But then, once I go under, I don’t know. We’re fully clothed.”
“No choice,” Ryker said. Then he looked at Manila. “What about you?”
“I’m good,” she said as she struck out ahead of him, standing close to the bigger rocks.
The danger of that was the fact that the current once again wrapped around the rocks with the intent of pulling her off. He motioned for her to go where it was flatter and wider. She followed his lead, and it took about twenty minutes to get them across, but then Miles was still struggling to move with the young guide in his arms. Ryker stepped back halfway and held out his arms.
“We’re okay,” Miles said with a shake of his head. “Just show me where the better footing is. I can hardly see.”
With that, Ryker guided Miles across. When they were all on the other side, Ryker said, “Get into the greenery first, and then we can talk.” Safely on the other side, they stopped and glanced back at the river.
“How long before somebody comes in from the scent of blood?” Andy asked.
“Too soon. We can’t stop here,” Miles said.
“And, if we’re really unlucky, they are already on our trail,” Ryker said.
They continued making their way farther inland, before Benjamin complained, “Stop. I need a break. Besides, where are we going?”
“To a pickup point,” Ryker said.
“What kind of a pickup?” Andy asked.
“Hopefully a helicopter.”
“Yes,” Benjamin agreed. “Call for one now. What’s the holdup?”
“We’re deep into guerrilla territory. Our people are searching for a mostly abandoned area, free of the drug cartel and of the guerrillas, with a clearing to land in too, where they can pick us up without all of us being shot down midair—or causing a war between our countries.”
“Tell them to look harder and faster,” Benjamin grumbled.
Ryker glared at him. “If not, we’ll head to the ocean and get a ride from there.”
“We’re heading to the ocean now,” Manila said. “And I really want to stop and take a look at an outcropping of rocks up ahead.”
> Immediately Benjamin and Andy protested.
Ryker looked at her and asked, “What rock formation and what are you looking for?”
“It’s one of the reasons I came to this region,” she explained. “It wouldn’t take long. I just need to scoop up a couple samples and take some photographs.”
He stared at her in disbelief.
“Remember? I’m looking for platinum,” she said. “The world’s reserve is very low, and everybody is out looking for more.”
“You’ll have a hell of a time mining it here.”
“Not my problem,” she said with a shrug. “I’m the geologist. My job’s just to find it.”
“We’ll see,” Ryker said, but that’s all he’d say. He wanted to ignore her request, but he knew that she would just as likely come back again—and on her own that time—if she didn’t get a chance now. Or Global would send another whole team back, and that would put even more people in danger. “Do you know exactly where it is?”
“No, just a vague pointing in a general direction. But we sat and looked at the maps last night,” she said. “And I figure it’s a little bit farther in this direction. You just happened to be taking that direction as well to escape. And, therefore, I was thinking that, if we got the chance, it wouldn’t be a problem.” Her voice at the end was hopeful, entreating.
“Of course it’s a problem. Don’t listen to her,” Benjamin snapped. “She’s all about work.”
“Of course. That’s why I’m here,” she said in a calm voice.
But Ryker could hear the tension in her voice. “That’s not the point,” he said. “Whenever you think you need to veer off, let me know. In the meantime, we’re going straight forward and straight ahead. We’re aiming for the coast. I think we have twenty-two miles to go.”
The others groaned, whereas she nodded grimly and said, “Then we better get moving. I understand we’ll have to spend another night out in the open at this rate. And that’s not something I want to consider.”
