The Amazon Code (16 page)

“Archie, this isn’t
just
an expedition. There are
killers
after us. This isn’t your fight,” Reggie said.
 

“Nor is it yours,” Quinones responded. “It seems to me they want something from Dr. Meron, and therefore I believe she needs all the help she can get. I know of many of the tribes we may encounter, and which we’d be wise to stay away from.” Quinones stopped pacing and walked to the center of the room, a physical statement of assertion. “I am going with you, and that’s that. I see you’ve brought packs. I know you’re more than capable of keeping one more person alive, Reggie, and we can leave as soon as you are all rested and ready. It will be early, so I suggest you all get some sleep.”
 

Reggie smiled at Ben. Ben hesitated, then grinned back. Their team had grown by one.

26

THE DOG WAS A LABRADOR retriever mix, dark gray with lighter specks to match his white front paws. It was young, its feet still oversized compared to its body. But, like any young dog, it was fast.

Joshua found himself exerting more effort than he’d intended trying to keep up with the animal, who was now leading him through alleyways, across streets, and up the large sloping side of the city. He’d raced off after the runaway pet immediately after its owner lost it, but he hadn’t anticipated running behind the dog for more than a block or two.
 

The animal continued, jumping over a pile of trash at the end of the alleyway. Joshua stretched out and leaped over the trash pile, closing the distance between himself and the mutt. The dog looked back at him as his foot splashed in a puddle, its tongue lolling around out the side of its mouth.
 

Joshua could have sworn the dog was smiling at him.
 

“Come here, you little bastard,” he said, smiling right back. The dog slowed a bit as he reached the end of the alley and tried to decide which direction to turn. Joshua launched himself forward into a diving tackle and reached forward, arms outstretched.
 

He’d calculated the distance perfectly. The dog was about to run to the right, but Joshua spread his hands out and brought them around the animal just as he landed, his body inches from the dog’s. The dog huffed a quick panting breath of defeat, then allowed himself to be wrapped up into Joshua’s arms.
 

“You really thought you’d outrun me?” Joshua said. The dog’s huge brown eyes stared up at him, the jovial twinkle of satisfaction still in its eyes. “Let’s get you home, buddy.”
 

The dog had been walking with its master in a park three blocks away as Joshua was out on a morning run. The owner had tried letting the dog off of its lead to choose a spot, but the dog had other plans. Joshua began chasing after it as soon as he caught the terrified look in the owner’s eyes. He’d always had a soft spot for dogs, and he knew the feeling of losing such a loyal friend.
 

He walked back to the park, still carrying the dog. The owner, a young woman in her early thirties, saw him and began jogging over. When they met, Joshua allowed the woman to reattach the lead before setting the dog on the ground. The animal stretched its legs, whined once, then harrumphed and sat on the sidewalk. The woman tried to thank Joshua in Portuguese, but he just shook his head and smiled.

She tried thanking him again, this time reaching for a pocketbook.
 

He held out a hand. “No, please, it’s fine. Happy to help.”
 

His phone vibrated silently in his pocket, and he reached for it and pulled it out.
Perfect timing.
The woman got the hint, nodding profusely and thanking him as he turned away and answered the call.
 

“Joshua.” He spoke the word slowly, articulating it carefully, as was his custom. The person on the other end would be using a computer to analyze his vocal performance, matching it against the library of wavelength files he’d supplied to the Company. He waited for the caller to verify his identity while he forced his breath and heart rate down to a slower, steady pace.
 

He looked around the small park. No more than a rusting playground in the middle of a grassless knoll, the park was the only such feature on this side of the city. The mist had only recently lifted, and the dewdrops were still sparkling on the few blades of grass they had to choose from. Besides the woman and her dog, there was no one else outside. It was a pristine scene, even considering the weary, run-down area of town his team had been assigned to.
 

“Very good,” the voice on the other end of the phone said. “Joshua, we have an updated SITREP and possible location.”
 

Joshua grimaced. He hated his employer’s use of military jargon and acronyms. His contact at the Company, like his own father, had no military experience or training, choosing money and influence as their primary weapons of choice. The real work, the work that actually
mattered
, they left to people like Joshua.
 

“Go on,” he said, already growing impatient. The sound of the man’s voice only reminded him of his failed mission the night before.

“The plane landed in Manaus, and the group visited a home in the city. They stayed the night, and are now leaving.”
 

“And where are they going?”
 

“It’s impossible to know at this stage, but we believe they will be traveling by river, possibly preparing to embark up- or downstream.”
 

Joshua took in the information, immediately parsing it against what he knew of the situation. If they took a barge or public boat, it meant they would be with other people, tourists, and they would have to go in quietly. Collateral damage was not an option on this mission. The hotel attack was only planned because the Company wanted a quick turnaround. Joshua’s reconnaissance of the establishment convinced him that there would be no deaths, outside of a few of the group members too stupid to get out of the way as they came for Dr. Meron.
 

“And why would they choose to travel so slowly in that case?” he asked. “Why not take a plane, or drive?”

“We believe it means that they are heading into the rainforest; their destination is therefore most easily reachable via one of the feeder rivers, and there are no airstrips nearby. It’s the rainy season, so the waters will be flowing higher than normal, meaning boat travel is the most sensible transportation choice.”
 

Joshua knew this as well, but he didn’t interrupt his employer.
 

“In addition, they may have an additional team member. A professor, the owner of the house they stayed in. We can’t tell for sure until we have eyes on, but you need to be aware.”
 

Joshua nodded, still thinking. “Mission parameters remain the same?”
 

“No,” the voice said. Joshua’s ears perked up slightly. “
If
they in fact head into the jungle, we will have no need for the stealth we’ve required thus far. The objective is the same — we need Dr. Meron, alive, or we need whatever it is she is looking for — but there will be no local authorities in the rainforest to wonder about any ‘loose ends’ you need to tie up. Once they leave the city, we’re interested in speed.”
 

This is good,
Joshua thought.
The sooner the mission was accomplished, the sooner he could get back home. He was usually more than happy to be in the field, but this particular mission was one he despised. His father’s emails explaining the parameters and objective were strange enough — usually he’d get at least a phone call with the mission details — but his contact at the Company had also proven to be nearly insufferable to work with. The man called every day, expecting an update, offering his “advice” to Joshua about how best to control the unfolding situations, and even suggesting how he should manage his team. He’d held his tongue so far, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to refrain from comment much longer.
 

“I’m pleased to hear that,” he said. “My team is growing restless, and given last night’s —“
 

“Please, do not worry about last night,” the man said. “We are hoping to include more data points for our next intelligence briefing, and —“

“If you would have allowed my team to do our
own
intelligence gathering, this wouldn’t have been an issue…
Sir.
” Joshua said.

There was a long silence, and Joshua steeled himself for a dressing-down. The first million dollars had already been safely wired to his accounts, but he was very interested in receiving the
other
half of the money as well, upon successful delivery of Dr. Amanda Meron to the Company’s headquarters. He hoped he hadn’t just argued his way out of a job. He waited for the man’s response.
 

“Unfortunately we cannot do that,” the voice said. “It isn’t an issue of trust, but of
data sensitivity.
”
 

Joshua almost asked what the difference was, but caught himself.
 

“We will remain cognizant of the developments, and provide you with remote support in whatever way possible. You are in charge of the ground team, as well as your particular
methods
for retrieval of the Company’s interest, but we must retain control of the reconnaissance.”
 

Figures
, he thought.
Whatever
. “What is the remaining time on the beacon?”
 

Joshua didn’t know the details, but the Company had ensured him they were tracking the target using a GPS beacon. He wasn’t given the specifics, another fact that irked him, but he knew the Company operated in ways that seemed frustrating to him. He assumed the beacon was placed in a bag one of the group’s members was carrying.
 

“The device will be charged for a total of at least two days, but starting this morning it will go into a low power mode, and will only emit a signal every hour, then every four, until it dies.”
 

Joshua shook his head.
We shouldn’t have started tracking them until we
knew
they’d go off the grid
, he thought. But he knew they would have done a lot of things differently, had he been fully in charge of the mission. He made a mental note to renegotiate his contractor status with the Company next time he was in the office.
 

“Fine,” he said. “Then I need to get my team on the road. I’ll be out of signal range, even from the satellites, once we hit the heavy jungle cover, so my updates will be sporadic.”
 

“Understood. Thank you, Joshua.”
 

Joshua hung up the phone and started walking back to their safe house nearby. He saw the woman and her dog rounding the corner near the edge of the park, heading back in his direction after a lap around the square. He smiled, waving as he crossed the street.
 

The dog whined again, its tail wagging as Joshua left them behind.
 

27

BEN’S GROUP SET OUT EARLY the next morning from Archie’s home. The old man had a surprising cadre of equipment, and he and Reggie had spent an hour that morning discussing what to take and what to leave behind. They finally settled on just adding some smaller survival tools and devices to the three packs they already had. Reggie was mostly unimpressed with the offerings, claiming much of the gear was “too old,” “outdated,” or “just for looks.” The two men took turns throwing friendly insults at one another as the rest of the group worked on cooking, eating, and cleaning a massive breakfast.

Their location was within walking distance from the house, only two blocks south, so they began walking up the gentle sloping street just as the sun was inching over the horizon on their left. When they reached a small shack set off from the street a few paces, Archie stopped and pointed at the building. Ben looked above the tiny building and saw a simple, hand-painted sign written in Portuguese, with an English translation just below it:
Boat Tours.
He was surprised to see another hand-painted sign covering the only window on the shop’s face: “
Closed.”

“It’s open,” Archie explained. “They just don’t do a lot of marketing. Helps keep the tourists out.” He turned around and addressed the group. “Wait here. I’ll be able to get us a pretty good rate.”
 

Archie walked across the cracked concrete walkway that led to the shop’s front door and banged on the window. Footsteps sounded from inside the building, and a heavyset, drooping old man yanked the door open. Ben watched the two older men exchange words, the shop owner exaggerating his speech with wild arm and hand motions. Finally, Archie turned back around and smiled. He walked back to the group.
 

“Great,” he said. “We just need to find the boat down at the docks. They’ll call down and tell the captain to expect us.”
 

Without waiting for a response, Archie began walking south again, the group in tow.
 

Ben sped up to match Archie’s pace. “Tell me again why we have to take a boat? Wouldn’t it be faster to fly?”

Archie shook his head. “No, it’s the end of the rainy season, so much of the lower areas are flooded. The rivers are easier to navigate, but runways are either nonexistent or in unknown condition.”
 

“What about flying over to Peru or Bolivia first, then heading north into the area we’re looking for?”
 

Archie chuckled. “The place we’re going is as remote as any; some of the most unforgiving environment on the planet. You do not just ‘hike in’ from those countries — the only place to fly to in Bolivia right now is La Paz, and then you’d need to cross Las Cordilleras and the Altiplano, and of course navigate the cliffs and falls to get down to the levels of the upper basin. If we survived that, we’d then need to figure out how to get downstream the rest of the few-hundred miles we’d need to travel, since we didn’t bring a boat. The forest is so dense in these parts that traveling is only possible on the river, and believe me, we will want a boat.”