Amazon Burning (A James Acton Thriller, #10) (33 page)

Leather’s
man, Trent, would also be making the journey back. He wasn’t a hundred percent
yet and Leather wanted him to act as security for Milton should anything
untoward happen and to file reports with the appropriate authorities should
they not return.

He was
also accompanying Chester’s remains.

Acton
had left Reading to suggest Laura go with them then smiled as she shot the idea
down quite abruptly. Reading himself hadn’t offered to leave, he fully
intending to stay with his friends and, Acton was sure, happy to extend his
time with Kinti, they spending the night together on the boat, enough noise
made that he had turned bright red this morning as the Bravo Team gave him fist
bumps and high fives until he finally told them to ‘bugger off!’.

Which
merely elicited a huge round of laughter.

The
Juliana pulled out of the inlet, everyone waving, and as soon as it was out of
sight the loading of the two remaining boats resumed. Leather’s team along with
Acton, Laura and Reading would take the captured boat, the Delta Team the boat
they had arrived in. The villagers were moving inland to join several other
villages until they received word it would be safe to return. Tuk and a group
of the warriors were determined to help, and with Kinti translating it had been
determined he intended to return to his village then track the enemy back to
wherever they had taken his family.

There
was room on the boats for some of the warriors but they had all refused, the
very thought terrifying them, which Acton thought was probably for the best.
After all, they were going up against guns and body armor and all they had were
spears and darts.

By the
time they reached their destination Acton was hoping everything would be long
settled.

He
climbed aboard with Laura then watched out of the corner of his eye as Reading
gave Kinti a long kiss goodbye, then with an obviously heavy heart, joined the
others as she waved, calling his name the entire time the boat left the inlet.

Acton
joined his friend at the rear of the boat as he stared back toward the inlet.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.

Reading
grunted. “Yeah, I guess. I just hope that Tuk and his group don’t make it
before we’ve mopped up this operation. I’d hate to see anything happen to her.”

“I hear
ya. This has been one hell of a vacation.”

Reading
sighed. “Best damned one I’ve ever had.”

Acton
chuckled. “Not the characterization I would have chosen, but from your
perspective, I’d wholeheartedly agree. She’s a beautiful woman.”

“Smart
too! She came up with the idea for making the rope glow so Leather’s team could
see it. She speaks multiple languages. Great cook.”

“She’ll
make someone a great mate someday.”

“Yeah,
somebody. Somebody other than me.”

“You had
to know going in there never was a future.”

“Oh, I
knew that. I just didn’t know how quickly and how strongly these damned
feelings would develop.”

“It’s
called love, my friend, and there’s no explaining it. Look at Laura and me. We
were in love after less than twenty-four hours together, and most of that was
under heavy fire. We didn’t get to spend hardly any alone time like you and Kinti.
After several days together, I couldn’t imagine being without her.”

“You’re
not helping.”

Acton
laughed. “No, I guess not. My point is that there’s nothing wrong with feeling
the way you do about her. But when we leave, it’s going to be one of the most
necessary and hardest things you’ve ever done in your life. There’s no way she
can come with us.”

“I
know.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Let’s go kill some bad guys so I can feel
better.”

Acton
slapped him on the back as they turned to join the others. On the open water
they were making excellent time north and in less than two hours were at the
coordinates marked on a map Niner had found when he searched the captured boat.

As they
approached the coordinates Dawson, from the helm of the lead boat, motioned for
both boats to go to the shore south of the position marked on the map. Acton
held onto the rail with one hand, the other around Laura’s waist as the boat
banked sharply, the engines cut. The two boats were quickly lashed to the shore
and everyone disembarked in silence, heading inland about a hundred feet then
turning north, Bravo Team taking point while Leather’s team, codenamed Charlie
Team for the mission, covered their rear while protecting the three civilians.

As they
advanced, Acton began to see evidence of modern man among the trees, pointing
it out silently to the others. Discarded cans, water bottles, wrappers. All
signs of the wasteful modern ways.

Would
it kill you to put your garbage in your pack and dispose of it later?

One good
thing about the garbage however was that it left little doubt they were getting
close to whatever it was they were looking for. Dawson froze as clenched fists
shot up. Dawson was pointing at his eyes then ahead. He motioned for everyone
to take a knee as he and Niner advanced.

The
jungle seemed quiet, as if whatever had lived here had been scared away at some
point, the stench of fear keeping away new arrivals. Acton could feel his heart
slamming against his chest as they waited, the breath held in his chest
beginning to burn.

He
exhaled, slowly, making it worse as he then needed half a dozen breaths to get
back to normal, all sounding extremely loud to him.

No one
seemed to notice.

The rest
of Bravo Team suddenly rose, advancing, Leather touching his earpiece.

“Charlie
Team hold,” he whispered.

Acton
looked down at the Glock 22 in his hand, his trigger finger resting along the
barrel as he prepped himself for whatever lay ahead. He heard Laura breathing
to his left, slightly faster than normal, Reading to his right, his breathing
heavier though from exertion rather than fear. They had all been fairly
sedentary the past month, though Acton and Laura had hit the treadmill daily
during the World Cup. Reading had said a vacation meant a vacation from everything,
including the treadmill. A month later he was complaining about the ten pounds
he had gained and the fact he was winded after a flight of stairs.

Now he
was paying the price.

Acton
knew Reading hated being a burden, and when he wasn’t able to keep up with
Acton when chasing after Laura, Acton knew the man had been embarrassed and humiliated.
He had no doubt the gym was in Reading’s future as soon as he was back home in
London.

If I
know him he’ll shape up after this.

“All
clear,” said Leather, everyone rising and walking toward the Bravo Team
position. They still walked cautiously, all examining the ground and trees
overhead. As they pushed through some brush Laura gasped.

A large
dirt road, hidden from above by the tree canopy, extended from the river to as
far as the eye could see to the east, a near perfectly straight line. It was
wide enough for two good sized trucks to pass each other, albeit carefully, and
seemed well maintained, the foliage not allowed to creep back.

“How
would they have made this?” asked Reading.

“Some
sort of Jungle Cutter like from Indiana Jones Four,” replied Acton. “That was
based on a T-55 tank and fictional but the basic premise is sound. They
basically have large spinning saws that cut at an angle so anything they cut drops
off to the sides. Look.” He pointed to the previously unnoticed logs at near 45
degree angles along the path the road took. “A secondary set of blades on the
same vehicle saws off any remaining stumps low enough so vehicles can pass
without getting caught on them, an integrated wood chipper breaks down the
stumps and spits it out to the side”—he pointed at the obvious debris—“then a
final vehicle comes along with a grinding bit that tears apart the remainder of
the stumps at ground level to make the ride smoother. They then fill in the
holes with concrete and gravel where they find it too rough to drive on.
Unfortunately human beings became far too efficient at knocking out roads in a
hurry during the mid-twentieth century.”

Reading
frowned. “It looks like the techniques haven’t been lost to time.”

Dawson
strode over to Leather’s team surrounding the civilians. He pointed back toward
the river. “There’s a landing there. I’d like to leave one of your men behind
as a lookout, just in case we get some unwelcome guests.”

Leather
turned to his team, pointing at one of his men. “Donny, you’re up.”

Another
man stepped forward. “Sir, if you don’t mind, perhaps I better take it. I
twisted my ankle back there a bit and it’s pretty tender.”

Leather
nodded. “Okay, Potts, you’re up. If you see anything, radio it in and get your
ass out of there. Make your way back to where the boats are moored and if
you’re able to, take one and get back to civilization. I don’t want you trying
to reach us on that ankle.”

“Yes,
sir!”

Potts
headed for the shore, Dawson looking at the GPS. “We’ve got about three hours
to those coordinates at a good pace. Let’s move while we’ve got daylight to
burn.” He turned back to his team. “Niner, Mickey, you’re on point. Get about a
mile ahead and maintain radio contact.”

“Roger
that, BD.” Niner and Mickey took off at a good jog, carefully watching the
sides of the road for any signs of the enemy, while everyone else got in a
staggered column with Acton, Laura and Reading in the middle. The pace was
brisk but reasonable, the conversation light, and Acton soon forgot they were
on their way to possibly die when Dawson held up his fist and everyone dropped
to a knee, turning toward the jungle on either side. Acton shoved the earpiece
that had fallen out unnoticed back into place.

“Bravo
Leader, Bravo One-One. We’ve spotted some sort of hardened checkpoint about
half a klick ahead, over.”

Dawson’s
voice came over the earpiece, replying to Niner’s report. “Bravo One-One, Bravo
Leader. Any sign of activity, over?”

“Negative
Bravo Leader. We’re in the bush, approaching the position. It appears…no, wait.
I’ve got eyes on two hostiles. Doesn’t look like they’ve spotted us, over.”

“Do you
have a clear shot on both targets, over?”

“Affirmative,
Bravo Leader. Permission to engage, over?”

“Permission
granted. Take out the targets, over.”

Two
shots rang out from down the road, and only two shots.

“Targets
eliminated, outpost secure. They’ve got a radio here, BD. They’re probably
supposed to check in at some point, over.”

“Hold
your position until we arrive, out.”

Dawson
looked at Leather. “I think we’ve lost our element of surprise.”

Leather
grimaced then shrugged. “Story of our lives?”

Dawson
chuckled. “Too true.” He circled his hand over his head. “Double-time!”

Acton
started to jog with the others, Laura in front of him, Reading behind,
muttering to himself.

“I
should’ve gone with Greg, the lucky bastard.”

Tuk looked over his shoulder and was impressed to see Kinti right
beside him, the warriors of her tribe, along with several others, behind them.
When they had delivered the women, children and elders to a neighboring village
and told them of what was happening, the warriors there had been enraged as
well and were determined to join them. Word was spreading as messengers were
sent throughout the forest and at each point where they would rest, they were
joined by an ever growing group of men determined to help the Spirit People who
were going to fight on their behalf to free their imprisoned neighbors.

Tuk had
nearly cried when the first village’s warriors had asked to join them. To think
that complete strangers who had never even heard of his tribe would be willing
to fight the Panther People, who he knew now were merely Spirit People in
strange coverings, warmed his heart and gave him hope. He just prayed that his
family and friends were still alive.

He also
knew, from Kinti, that the Spirit People weren’t spirits, but men just like him
from very far away. They spoke different languages than the tribes, they had
different ways and different tools, but underneath their coverings they were
human just like he was, therefore just as vulnerable.

Which
meant they could die in their attempt to help his village.

“We
should rest here,” he said, noticing Kinti beginning to tire. “It will give
others time to join us.”

Kinti
nodded as they came to a halt, calling out the order in the languages she knew,
it being spread amongst the hundreds now with them. Food and water was broken
out, and the ragtag army sat in silence, catching their breaths as they had
been running at a near sprint, some of them, like Tuk and Kinti’s people, for
most of the day. The sun was getting low in the horizon, but Tuk was determined
to travel through the night if necessary. They were making excellent time and
should be at TikTik’s village not too long after nightfall where they could
rest for a few hours then continue to his village where they would track the
Panther People at the crack of dawn.

Somebody
said something and Tuk looked up, not understanding the words. He rose as an
imposing warrior approached with several others from his tribe, their markings
not familiar. Kinti greeted them in several languages, their leader stopping
her at her third attempt, clearly understanding. She translated for Tuk.

“Is
this
your leader?” Even without the translation Tuk could hear the shock in the
man’s voice that someone as pathetic and weak as he could be leading such a
group. And in his mind, he
wasn’t
the leader. He had said he was going
to go to his village and track the Panther People, then the others decided to
join him. Everyone here he felt was merely following him through the forest,
not following
him
.