Conquistador, page 22
“Be careful,” said Cardinal.
Sam winked at her boyfriend. “Piece of cake.”
With that, she reached up and took hold of a wet rock and grasped it as tight as she could in her hand. Next, Sam brought up her right foot and jammed it into a crack in the rocks. With almost no effort, she pulled herself up and repeated the move, this time with her left hand. Within minutes, she was halfway up the side of the hill. Sam paused to catch her breath and to reconfirm in her mind the route she would take to the top. When she went to reach up with her right hand, a rock holding her foot in place slipped. Sam felt her body fall. Instinctively, she jammed her left hand into a narrow crevice, stopping her fall. Sam hung there in the air by only three fingers.
Below, Jen and Julia cried out.
Mitchell shook his head when Sam waved at them as if nothing had happened before sliding her feet back into a couple of holes in the rocky face.
Sam thanked her lucky stars and continued climbing. Five minutes later, she was at the top of the hill. Sam lay on the ground, looking up at the cloud-covered sky, while she took a moment to regain her strength. She removed the rope coil from her shoulder and tied off one end around a tree. Sam threw the remainder of the rope over the side of the hill.
At the bottom of the hill, Cardinal removed his pack and vest. He tied them to the rope, along with Sam’s equipment, and waved up at her. Sam hauled their gear up, and waited for Cardinal to climb up and join her.
“Two up, five to go,” said Mitchell. “Ladies, you’re next.”
Julia looked around and said, “I’ve never climbed before.”
“Don’t worry,” said Mitchell. “Nate will tie the rope around your chest. Sam and Gordon will haul you up. All you need to do is help them, by using your feet to push you up the side of the hill.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“It isn’t. Now please remove your poncho and your pack and give them to Nate, and you’ll be good to go.”
The last person up was Mitchell. He shook his head when the rain stopped the moment he stepped foot on the top of the hill.
“At least it stopped,” said Yuri, philosophically.
Mitchell picked his gear up off the waterlogged ground and placed it back on his body. He looked at Cardinal. “I don’t see any other way up here. Did you leave a calling card behind for our friends to find?”
“I sure did,” replied Cardinal. “It’s in the tree off to our left.”
Mitchell looked over the trees but couldn’t spot the mine, which he took to be a good sign. He grabbed his canteen and took a swig of lukewarm water. “So, what’s the next clue we’re looking for?” he asked Jen.
“The village is supposed to be a day’s walk due west from the falls,” explained Jen. “We’ll know we’re getting close, when we come to a rocky formation Fernando called the devil’s pitchfork.”
“That’s really welcoming,” said Jackson.
“Welcoming or not, it’s the next sign on the road,” said Mitchell. “Let’s see if we can get at least halfway to the village before we have to stop for the night.”
Jackson checked his GPS and picked a trail running to the west to follow. With his rifle slung over his shoulder, he drew his machete and began to hack at the leaves and branches hanging across their path.
Unseen, a pair of dark-brown, almost black, eyes watched the intruders walk past. The slender youth stood motionless with a spear in his hand. As soon as the last person disappeared from sight, he turned on his heel and began to run. His father had often told him that one day people from the beyond the valley would come. To the young warrior, that day was now. He had to warn the rest of the tribe before the outsiders found them.
39
Daniel Ortega dropped to his knees. He removed his pack and let it fall to the wet ground. His chest heaved up and down as he fought to fill his aching lungs with oxygen. After running fifteen kilometers through the jungle, his legs felt like rubber. As the best tracker in The Scorpions, he and three other men had been sent on ahead to try and catch up with Mitchell’s people. Once he had found them, he was to tail them until the rest of the assault force arrived.
“Daniel, if I had wanted to run like I did when I was eighteen, I would have stayed in the army,” bitched one of his men.
Another man stood with his hands on his knees, throwing up his last meal.
“When you’re done being sick make sure you drink something, or you’ll go down with heat stroke,” said Daniel to the man.
The last mercenary in the group staggered out of the jungle and fell onto his hands and knees. He cursed Daniel, Colonel Sosa, and anyone else he could think of until he couldn’t think of any more expletives to use.
Daniel took a long swig from his canteen, before pouring some water over his head to help cool him down. He stood up and checked on his men. Aside from fatigue and a few blisters on their feet, they would all live. Although he couldn’t see the sun through the clouds, Daniel knew it would soon be dark. He left his men to rest while he scoured the ground for tracks. It didn’t take him long to find seven different sets of footprints. The prints led out of the jungle to the base of a rocky hill. Daniel let his eyes wander over the rocks. He could see the route Mitchell’s people had taken to get to the top of the hill.
A loud buzzing sound came from his pack. Daniel ran over and brought out his phone. “Si, Colonel,” he said, answering the call.
“Report,” said Sosa.
“Colonel, we have arrived at the base of a hill and will rest here for the night. The Americans were here. They are no more than a few hours ahead of me.”
“Excellent news, Daniel. Send your coordinates to Major Salazar. I intend to wake up early tomorrow morning and push onto your location.”
“Sir, the hill is very steep. I will make sure that we leave a rope behind for you to use.”
“Good idea,” said Sosa. “As soon as the sun comes up, I want you and your men to push on. I expect a call from you by noon, telling me that you have caught up with the Americans.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” responded Daniel.
“Until tomorrow, then.”
Daniel switched off his phone and placed it back in his pack. He laid his AK down on top of his rucksack and looked at his men. “Let’s get a fire going. I want to dry my clothes out.”
“Why?” asked one of his men. “You’ll just get wet when it rains again.”
“Fine, suit yourself. Stay wet. Anyone can be miserable.” Daniel found some relatively dry wood and started his fire. Before long, they were all sitting around it, drying out their soaked uniforms.
“So what’s the game plan for tomorrow?” asked the mercenary who had complained about the fire.
“At first light, I’ll climb to the top of the hill and lower down a rope for the rest of you to use,” explained Daniel. “After that, we’ll pick up the Americans’ tracks and follow them.”
“Are we going to be running again, like today?”
His team groaned when Daniel nodded. “Rafael, it won’t be as bad as today. I suspect we’ll catch up with them in a couple of hours. We can then slow down and tail them at a distance.”
“Thank God; I wasn’t looking forward to another fifteen-kilometer sprint through the jungle.”
“You’re all being paid extra to be out here with me, so quit your bellyaching. I’ll take the first watch. Rafael can have the next one. Get as much rest as you can. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
40
Morning came far too early, as far as Ryan Mitchell was concerned. It seemed as if he had just put his head down when Jackson shook him awake. He was tired and hungry.
“Here, have this,” said Jackson, as he gave Mitchell a cup of coffee.
“You’re a lifesaver,” replied Mitchell, wrapping both hands around the mug to warm them up.
“Ryan, I know you’re going to think I was abducted by aliens in the middle of the night and replaced, but we need to cut back on the rations.”
Mitchell cocked his right eyebrow. “You’re right. I don’t believe you are who you say you are. What have you done to my friend?”
“We need to go to two meals per day if we want to keep on eating. If, for whatever reason, we turned south and tried to make it to the river it would take us a couple of days to get there. Who knows how long it would be before a boat sailed by and picked us up?”
Mitchell couldn’t fault his friend’s logic. “Okay, breakfast and supper it is.”
Jen sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She wrapped her poncho around her shoulders. “Something smells good.”
“Nate made some coffee,” said Mitchell. “Want some?”
“Yes please,” she replied, taking the cup out of Mitchell’s hands.
“I guess I’ll never see that again.”
“That’s right,” said Jen as she took a sip.
“While we eat breakfast, can I see your tablet?” asked Mitchell.
Jen fished around in her pack and gave her husband the device.
It took Mitchell a few seconds to find where they were using his GPS and the satellite map uploaded into the tablet. He tapped Jen on the shoulder. “Where did Fernando say the devil’s pitchfork was supposed to be located?”
Jen set her coffee down and pointed to a spot on the map about five kilometers from their present location. “Julia and I combed the map and the journals for clues, and the best we could come up with was that position.”
“The two of you haven’t let us down so far. If it exists, it’ll be there.”
“Ryan, we’ve got visitors,” said Cardinal.
Mitchell went for his rifle. “Where?”
“At the falls.”
“How many of them?”
Cardinal turned his monitor so Mitchell could see the screen. “Looks like four of them.”
“A scouting party?” said Yuri.
“Looks that way,” replied Cardinal. “I’m only picking up movement on the top of the falls.” He looked into Mitchell’s eyes. “What do you want me to do?”
“Wait until they’re all in the Claymore’s kill zone and then set it off.”
Cardinal nodded and took a seat on the ground. Mitchell watched over his shoulder. Cardinal’s eyes were fixed on the four red dots moving around on his screen. Without any remorse, Cardinal remotely armed the mine and pressed the fire button. The four dots stopped where they were. Cardinal studied the screen for a minute to see if any of the mercenaries had survived the blast. When none of them moved, he stood up and slid his tablet back into his pack.
“Did I miss something?” asked Julia, rolling over in her poncho.
Mitchell shook his head. He didn’t want to unduly alarm her. She was nearing exhaustion. Julia’s nerves were already frayed enough.
Jen offered the cup of coffee to Julia. “The only thing you’re missing out on is this fine coffee.”
“Pack up while you eat,” said Mitchell to his friends. “I’d like to find the next clue no later than noon today. If it’s there, the native village may not be too far away.”
Between the desire to get the job done and the growing anticipation of finding out if the expedition had been worth the risk, the march to the devil’s pitchfork was made in record time.
“I don’t see anything that resembles a pitchfork,” said Jackson, looking a rocky outcropping poking out of the ground. “If I squint my eyes, I think I see a seal playing with a ball on its nose.”
“We may not be in the right location,” said Mitchell. “Jen and Julia made an educated guess back in the States, based on the information they had at the time.”
“It could be anywhere around here,” said Sam. “We could spread out and look for it.”
“I think staying together is the wiser thing to do,” said Mitchell. “Besides it could be just around a bend in the trail.”
“How about a five-minute pause?” said Yuri. “I’d like to trade my wet socks for my last dry pair.”
“Good idea. Everyone, take five,” said Mitchell, slipping his pack off his back. He sat on the ground and proceeded to brush the dirt off his M4 rifle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jackson standing as still as a statue. His eyes were focused on a pair of trees. Right away, the hair on the back of Mitchell’s head stood straight up. He slowly got to his feet and switched off the safety on his weapon with his thumb.
“Gentlemen, this is where I earn my pay,” said Julia, pretending to rearrange something in her pack. “There are two of them standing there. I spotted them the same time as Mister Jackson did. Please step back and don’t do anything that could frighten the natives.”
“I don’t see anyone,” said Jen, looking into the jungle.
“People, the more we act like we don’t see them, the less skittish our newfound friends will become.”
Mitchel gently tugged at Jackson’s arm. “Let’s let Julia take the lead. You and I can take a seat and pretend like we’re on sentry.”
“One of them has a bow and the other a spear,” whispered Jackson.
“They don’t mean us any harm,” explained Julia. “They’re studying us and are probably wondering where the hell we came from.”
“It’s not just two of them out there,” said Cardinal. “I can see six more.”
“Everyone remain calm,” said Julia in a soothing voice. “We’re probably surrounded.”
The leaves parted and a thin man no taller than a boy walked out. In his hands were his bow and arrow. He wore a loincloth and nothing more. His face was painted red from his hairline down to his upper lip. The man saw Julia, brought up his bow and said something to her.
Mitchell’s hands tightened around his rifle. If the Indian went to pull back on the string of his bow, he intended to fire a shot into the air to scare the man off.
When Julia didn’t answer the man raised his voice and repeated his question.
Julia nodded and said a few words in the Tupian language.
The man with the bow hesitated. He tried a few other words.
Julia did her best to respond.
From behind the man, an older woman walked out of the jungle. She was naked except for a slender cloth wrapped around her waist. Her copper-colored skin was painted like the man’s. She walked straight at Julia and stopped when she was less than an arm’s length away. She brought up a hand and touched Julia’s dirt-stained shirt. The woman turned her head and said something which caused several onlookers hidden in the jungle to laugh.
Julia stood motionless and let the woman examine her. She smiled when the native ran her hand over her face.
“I think I would have peed myself, if someone had walked out of the jungle and began to examine me like that,” whispered Jen to Mitchell.
“Julia knows what she’s doing,” replied Mitchell. “She’s letting them see her as human, and not some monster that appeared out of nowhere.”
The elderly woman stopped and looked deep into Julia’s eyes. Her head canted to the left while she stared. All of a sudden she clapped her hands and pointed at Julia. With a wide smile, the woman said what sounded to Mitchell like Arasy.
Several other natives moved out of the trees and repeated the word, “Arasy.”
“Julia, do you know what that means?” asked Jen.
“Yes. It’s a Tupi word meaning mother of the day. It’s another way of referring to the sun as it rises in the morning.”
“Why are they calling you that?”
“I have no idea.” Julia tried a few more words in Tupi, to see if she could establish a working language they could both use.
“I thought we were going to try and minimize our contact with these people,” said Mitchell, looking around at the dozen or so men and women who had emerged from the forest.
“That was the plan,” responded Julia. “Our friends seem to have other ideas. Hopefully, the vaccinations you all took on the flight down here will help minimize the threat of passing on a disease to the natives.”
The elderly woman pointed once more at Julia before speaking.
“I think this woman’s name is Cesy. She wants us to follow her back to their village,” explained Julia.
“That’s the reason we came down here,” said Mitchell. “I hope you can find a way to tell them how much trouble they’re in, because come tomorrow morning, we’re going to have one hell of a time keeping those mercs at bay.”
What happened next surprised Mitchell. He had expected the Indians to be as curious about the rest of the newcomers as they were about Julia. Instead, they all but ignored them and swarmed around Julia, repeating the name Arasy.
The walk to the village took less than half an hour. Unbeknownst to them, they passed the devil’s pitchfork, but it had long been covered by jungle vines and leaves fallen from the trees all around it. As they grew near, more and more naked children excitedly ran up to take a peek at the outsiders before squealing in delight and running off to hide in the jungle. The tiny village was built next to a narrow running stream. There were ten dwellings, some which looked like they could hold several families in them, while a couple of the others were clearly for smaller groups of people. Several smoky fires were tended by elderly women and young children.
“Look,” said Jen as she pointed at an orange-and-red flower growing out of the ground. “I bet that’s the mythical flower mentioned in the journals.”
“I see another one,” said Sam.
“And another,” added Yuri. It seemed everywhere they looked they saw the legendary flower.
Mitchell figured there were about eighty people living in the village. He looked at Jackson. “Aside from the kids, no one seems the slightest bit interested in us.”
