Quest (Dane Maddock Adventures) (37 page)

Kennedy’s eyes flitted across the river for a split-second, and then he attacked. He thrust for Dane’s midsection, but changed his direction at the last second. Dane felt the blade slice across his thigh. It would hurt later, but the adrenaline coursing through his veins dulled the pain.

Dane lashed out, cracking Kennedy across the forehead with the butt of his knife, and slicing back down at an angle, opening a gash over his collarbone. Kennedy’s return stroke was not quick enough to catch Dane’s throat, but it sliced open his shirt and left a shallow cut across the breastbone. Dane had been ready for the strike, though, and as Kennedy’s knife hand swept past him, he struck him with a vicious backhand swipe that nearly severed Kennedy’s wrist.

Kennedy roared in pain and leapt at Dane, his good hand clutching at Dane’s throat. Kennedy’s shout had finally caught Kaylin’s attention, and she screamed Dane’s name as he was borne backward by the heavier man. Dane plunged his knife into Kennedy’s exposed midsection, but it seemed the man was as far beyond feeling pain as Dane was. They were now only inches from a fifty foot fall to the rocks below.

“Ready to die?” Kennedy growled, his eyes afire with madness as he pushed Dane backward. Then his gaze fell on the grass pouch hanging from Dane’s neck, and understanding dawned on his face. “The seed!” He released Dane’s throat and ripped the pouch free.

The moment of distraction was all Dane needed. Free from Kennedy’s controlling grasp, he pivoted to the side and shoved Kennedy to the edge of the gorge. As Kennedy staggered and caught himself just at the edge, the small pouch holding the sacred seed slipped free from his grasp.

“No!” Kennedy cried as it fluttered down and was swept away by the fast-moving water. Roaring like an angry bear, he turned on Dane, who was ready for him.

Dane drove the heel of his palm up into Kennedy’s chin with all of his might. Kennedy’s eyes rolled back in his head and he wobbled, out on his feet.

“I think we’re done here.” Dane placed his index finger on Kennedy’s chest and pushed. Like a felled tree, Kennedy tumbled to the rocks below. Dane watched as his lifeless body was swept away. With a deep sigh, he turned away.

Kaylin waited on the other side of the river, her face buried in her hands.

Dane made his way across to her, and she fell into his arms. This time, it felt… different, like the comfort shared with an old friend. Whatever he had felt for her, or thought he had felt, was gone. He searched his heart, like a tongue probing the empty socket of a lost tooth, but he found nothing there.

“Are you all right?” he whispered.

“No,” she sobbed. “I just can’t take this anymore. I’m not like you, Maddock.”

“I know. I think I finally get it. You’re a tough girl, and you can handle yourself, but that doesn’t mean it feeds your soul to go traipsing through the jungle risking life and limb. I saw the look on your face when Thomas asked you to stay. I don’t even think you wanted to stay with
him
so much as you loved the idea of the life he was describing.” He held her at arm’s length and looked down into her teary eyes. “You’re a beautiful woman, a talented artist, and you love beauty. It’s not your fault your father also made you a badass.”

She laughed a little. “Not badass, exactly, but I guess I can take care of myself.”

Hand in hand, they headed off through the jungle in the direction in which their friends had gone.

“Exactly, but just because you can do something doesn’t mean that’s what you’re meant for.”

“Kind of like us? We’re not bad together, but maybe we aren’t meant for each other.”

“Could be,” Dane agreed. “Of course, I wouldn’t say no to being friends with benefits.” He fixed her with a roguish grin and she smacked his chest. “Ow! Did you forget my lovely knife wound?”

“I’m sorry!” she gasped. “I’ll tell you what.” Now she was the one who looked like she had something up her sleeve. “Get me somewhere where I can get a hot meal and an even hotter shower, and I’ll make it up to you.”

“You’ve got a deal.” He laughed inwardly as they came in sight of the dark lagoon, where the others were just dragging two boats into the water. Maybe Bones was right. Dane needed to spend less time trying to figure life out, and more time enjoying it.

The return trek, though grueling, was blessedly uneventful. They encountered no more deadly natives, giant anacondas, or legendary beasts, not to mention ScanoGen agents. By the time they had returned to the main branch of the Xingu River, Dane felt like he was waking up from a bad dream.

“You know something, Maddock?” Tam stroked her baby eagle, which she had clearly adopted. “You guys are wasting your talents finding sunken treasure.”

“I don’t know about that.” Dane closed his eyes and laid his head back, soaking in the warm sun. “We’re pretty good at it.”

“You know what I mean.” She laughed as the little eagle snatched a grub from her hand. “Seriously, though.” She fixed him with a grave expression. “The government could use guys like you and Bones. Men like you are rare.”

“We’ve served our country. Now we’re doing our own thing, and we’re happy.”

“It’s not only that. Kennedy said the Dominion knows about you. What if they come after you? You and Bones might need us on your side.”

“We can handle ourselves.” Dane’s voice was as cold as his insides. She might be right. If the Dominion was truly the powerful organization Tam said they were, and he and Bones were on their radar, no telling what they might try.

“I know you can,” Tam sighed. “That’s why I need you. I’ve already talked with my superiors.” She held up her sat phone. “It looks like the Dominion is going to be my white whale.” She lowered her voice. “I’m forming a team whose sole job is to find out who and what they are, and put a stop to their schemes. I told them I want you and Bonebrake.”

“You’re taking me by surprise here.” Dane’s head was spinning. “I’m flattered, but, I don’t know. I like my life the way it is.”

“I don’t blame you, but if the Dominion comes after you, your life will never be the same.” She smiled down at the eagle, which now lay asleep in her lap.

“How are you going to get that thing through customs?”

“Don’t have to. I got our ride home all taken care of, and we ain’t flying commercial.” Tam grinned. “Sometimes it pays to work for Uncle Sam.”

“Works for me.” He looked out at the lush, green forest as it slid by, trying to imagine going back to work for the government. He couldn’t fathom it.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right now,” Tam said. “But think about it. I can just about guarantee you’ll be paid a visit by my employers sometime soon. Maybe you can decide on your answer by then.”

“We’ll see.” Dane closed his eyes again and lost himself in the gentle rolling of the boat as it cut through the water. He had thought trekking off into the Amazon was a challenge, but he had the feeling his life was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

The small grass pouch was no match for the rapid current and sharp stones that tore at it as it rode the water. It snagged on a limb and hung there, buffeted by the current, until it fell apart.

A gray seed, large enough to fill a man’s palm, floated free. For days, weeks, the water carried it deeper into the depths of the jungle, into land which no human foot had trod, until it came to rest on a sandbar.

A parrot, its emerald feathers glistening in the sunlight, took the seed in its beak and carried it away. Choosing a suitable perch, it set about trying to crack the seed, but soon gave up trying to penetrate its hard exterior. In a rustle of wings, it took flight, letting the seed fall to the ground.

It came to rest in a sun-kissed clearing, where it lay undisturbed. It baked beneath the warm sun, and, in time, it settled beneath the soft earth, nestled in its nourishing arms.

The rainy season came and went, and, in the fullness of time, the seed sprouted, and brought forth life into its secluded domain.

A tree grew in the jungle.

~The End~

I hope everyone enjoyed the latest Dane Maddock adventure. As always, I have taken some liberties with history and reality for the sake of crafting a fun and entertaining tale. The most obvious departures from reality relate to Percy Fawcett’s connection to the ship,
Quest.
Fawcett did not, in fact, travel with Shackleton and party on said ship, nor did
Quest
sink near Ascension Island. I hope readers won’t mind these alterations to history. I think these disparate elements came together to make a great story!

Until next time,

David Wood

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