Born Into Love (30 page)

Mercedes tried to smooth her hair. “We ran into unfriendly guys who took our stuff.” She shrugged. “Not much else to tell.”

“Looks like you could use some help.”

Her face brightened. “Soap?”

“You bet. We just set up the shower area thanks to a few rainfalls and a stream. I have an extra tee-shirt. Be loose on you, but you need it more’n I do.”

“We’ll be your first customers.”

He shook his head. “Our third set.”

“You have other guests?” Mercedes asked.

“Yep. They’ve been here two days.”

“Do you have a phone?”

“Nope. And neither do they.”

Her shoulders drooped. “Well, soap will go a long way to make me feel better. Can’t have everything.”

Diego glanced around hoping to see a general store. Many tribes wove beautiful cloth and made leather goods. “Can we buy a change of clothes here?”

“Not yet.”

“Any rooms available?”

“As you can see, we’re under construction, but we won’t turn you away. We got folks here now who’ve been everywhere including Timbuktu. Looks like you guys might have a few good survival stories of your own.
It should be a good mix.”

“Do you accept plastic?”

“Sure.” He pointed to the lodge farthest from his tent. “I can only offer that building. The men’re working on it. It still won’t have a roof by tonight.”

“It will be fine.”

“We got a generator to run the refrigerator and a few machines. That’s as modern as we’re gonna get.”

“Where’s the nearest town?” Mercedes asked.

“Downriver. But getting to the water’s a hike. Two miles that-a-way.”

“South?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow’s market day so it’ll be easier to hitch a boat ride.”

“You mentioned a shower with soap?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She marched off with the eco-agent.
He joined the carpenters as they prepared to finish a floor. They had no languages in common, but they worked together. The frame for the roof came next. Diego lifted bundles of thatch that would have taken five of the laborers. They found their rhythm and the roof formed over their heads.

When
he and the men shook hands at a job well done, Charlie re-appeared carrying a pile of clothes and a brown plastic bag. He gaped when he saw the finished building.

“How’d you do that?”

“Lots of elbow grease.”

He handed
Diego toiletries and a comb. “The guests chipped in.”

“Thank you.”

“They understand the jungle can be hell. Could’ve had the same thing happen to them.” Charlie tossed him a blue tee shirt that advertised a café in Santa Barbara. “Wear it in good health.”

He
wanted to repay Charlie for making them welcome. “Do you have another job? I am volunteering. And then I will shower.”

“The community room’s unfinished. The men’re having a break, but that’s next on the list.” He regarded the newly thatched quarters. “That’s a real nice job.”

“Not much daylight left. I will see if the men need me.”

“English isn’t your native language is it?”

“No.” They walked to the building-in-progress. “Will it have walls?”

Charlie
laughed. “If you and the guys feel up to it.”

“Where is Mercedes?”

“Here and I feel terrific.” She tossed him a fresh towel. Charlie’s shirt hid all but the cuts on her lower arms and hands. “Your turn. It’s heaven.”

Diego shook
his head. “Later. We have our sights on the community room. Then I will shower and join you in the lodge.”

“Sorry. Doris, Marcie and I are making rice and beans.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “Jim’s doing a salad.”

“Marcie, Doris, Jim?”

Charlie explained. “My guests. Jim and Doris have climbed Annapurna.”

Mercedes patted
Diego’s cheek. “You’ll meet them at dinner.”

It was e
asy for her to be comfortable with people. Even as a human he had been more reserved. “Enjoy yourself.”

“I’ve got paperwork,” Charlie announced. “See you in an hour.” He left for his tent.

Diego walked into the jungle and found fruit for Mercedes. How many times had he passed the antidote while Teodoro watched?

At dinner
he and Mercedes sat on a bench that he and a worker had hammered together in falling darkness instead of working on walls. The wood still smelled of life. Doris swallowed water she’d purified in a camping flask.

“So, Diego, what brought you to the jungle?”

“Return visit. I traveled here a long time ago. It is still beautiful and very exciting.”

Mercedes nodded. “I loved Ciud’Ak. A lot of tourists, but the beauty of the colonial buildings surrounding the plaza drew me right in.”

Marcie raised her lemonade in a toast. “Here’s to the next time. I think you’ll do better if you hire an official, state approved guide.”

At eight o’clock
he and Mercedes retreated to their lodge. She stretched out on a narrow hammock and Diego on the other. Charlie had dropped the netting earlier so insects had not been lying in wait.

She rolled from side to side making the hammock swing. “We’ll have to be at the river early. Charlie said I could take a sandwich from the fridge.” She yawned.

“Eat this first.”

She slipped her hand out of the netting for the fruit. “My favor
ite. I’ve decided to call them
Dámelas
.”

“You remember that from language class.”

“That’s right, señor. ‘Give them to me.’ It sounds pretty in Spanish and I like giving you a command.”

“And the name does not sound like an antidote.”
He emptied the pockets of his battered slacks—they were heaped in a corner--and spilled soil on the floor. He undid the hammock and laid the woven material over the dirt.

She licked her fingers. “I’m beginning to think we might get out of the rainforest alive.”

He had his doubts. Everything had gone too easily. Even the other guests seemed too obliging. When his beloved and the others slept, he hunted.

Chapter 19

One of the laborers escorted
them to the river. His presence made the trip easier and they arrived in attire suitable for jungle travelers thanks to the kindness of strangers. They climbed aboard the first motorized launch. The breeze as they navigated downstream alleviated some of the heat. Along the way they saw sections of shore collapse into the creamy waters of the river. On the banks tee-shirted children wearing shorts waved and Mercedes returned the greeting. A small dugout canoe, fish hanging from a pole, pulled into the first outpost of thatched huts and the children raced to the edge of the water. He sat next to Mercedes and pointed to the
caimanes
that hugged the shallows and lurked in low-lying vegetation.

“They aren’t going to climb aboard, are they?” Mercedes asked.

“Not unless they are really hungry.”

She
poked him in the ribs then finished a second sandwich courtesy of Charlie’s kitchen with a seed for dessert. “Hot tea with sugar would be good now.”

“When we reach the village you can indulge.”

The boat had a bow-to-stern wooden canopy, but the sides were open. They sat toward the front with their legs and arms catching the rays depending upon the bends in the river. Finding complete shade was out of the question. Vendors selling decorative gourds and woven baskets filled the other seats. Most of the handicrafts were tied to the roof.

The pilot steered the craft to the middle of the river where the current sped faster and the motor worked less.

“Why are you so quiet?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you be relieved?”

“There is still time for a surprise. I am on guard.”

“How far do you think Remy’s gotten?” she asked.

“If he used a helicopter, he could be loading the artifacts at one of the coastal ports.”

“I hope we find a phone at the village. We’ve got to report the theft. Then I’ll call Annie.” Another worry surfaced. “How’re we getting out of the country without ID?”

“We will find a way.”

“I’ve got my driver’s license.”

“Where?”

“Left boot. Real New York plastic.” She’d expected him to smile. When he didn’t, she pursued. “What’s wrong?”

“I sense a threat, but I cannot identify the source. The danger feels. . .organic.”

“A premonition?”

“Yes, a bad one.”

She suppressed a shiver. “Maybe it’s stress.”

“Perhaps.”

She dug in the sack Charlie had given her as they left the lodge. “Look! Bug spray! Sun block!” She passed him the tube. “These are two battles we can win.”

He
covered exposed parts. It would not do to have his skin flake and steam. A sheet of parrots burst across the river.

Mercedes smiled. “This is corny,” she said, “but they look like flowers.”

“You have been poisoned, coerced, beaten and bled and you still find beauty. More reasons for me to love you.”

She squeezed
his hand. “I feel safe. But I’m not about to relax. What if we run into more bat people? What if Remy hunts us?”

Shouts from shore cut her off. Diego concentrated on the village. “Good. The settlement is larger than I thought.”

A mix of boats, including two double-decker tourist crafts, lined the plank dock. With only a plastic bag of supplies for luggage, they were the first to disembark.

Mercedes grabbed
his hand “I’ll mingle with the tourists. You eat. I can handle myself.”

“Yeah, right.”

Mercedes burst out laughing. “I’m corrupting your speech. Now watch me make friends.” She smiled at several female tourists who were ogling woven baskets. They smiled back. “See? I’m not alone.”

* * *

Diego
fed on a large pig that had drunk its fill from a stream. He retraced his steps into the village on a narrow path. The only dwelling offering a room, a feeble structure roofed with sheets of tin would be the best they could do. Moisture had attacked the wooden door. A hairy millipede darted under a spent banana leaf as he sensed Diego’s approach.

The gaunt proprietor behind a homemade wood table greeted
him with a nod and a lack of curiosity that Diego considered a plus. At one time his shirt had been orange. After a brief discussion the man accepted his credit card, but limited the amount to a hundred nuevos soles.

“Do you have a phone?”
he asked.

“Across the way.”

Children accompanied him to the general store, a plywood structure with a sagging roof and unscreened windows. Mercedes joined him as he entered.

“You look better,” she whispered.

Inside they found canned goods, overripe bananas and hard candy wrapped in cellophane. Some shelves held soaps and creams and second-hand clothes. He asked the woman for ten handfuls of candy. One brave child stepped forward to accept the bag. Then the children ran as a pack into the main street, the only street, squealing and jostling each other for a share of the sweets.

He
had bought privacy and he hoped, made them happy.

Linking to the American embassy required fifteen minutes.
He identified himself and asked to speak to the ambassador mentioning that he and the ambassador had met.

“Señor Castilla, I regret to inform you that the ambassador is out of the country.”

“I am calling to report the theft of artifacts from a previously undiscovered site.” His next contact assured Diego that immediate action would be taken.

“Where are you now, sir?”

He gave the specifics as dictated by the storekeeper. Suddenly, Mercedes’ eyes widened in horror and she shoved him into a corner.

“The colonel!”

He covered the mouthpiece. “Did he see you?”

“No. He went into the hotel. He’s dumped the uniform and had a haircut.”

Diego updated the embassy. But the colonel’s presence created an immediate threat and he disconnected.

“What’s that bastard doing here?” Mercedes whispered. “Do you think he’s alone?”

“Remy could not have paid him. He needs time to reach the black market. He must be waiting for something or someone.”

“What’s our next move?”

“To take him alive.”

* * *

He and
Mercedes mingled with bird watchers and social studies teachers as they arrived. She let it be known that they were waiting for the nighttime caiman hunt mentioned by an earlier tour guide.