The Portal (A Delphi Group Thriller Book 2) (12 page)

A female voice broke the silence. “Did you guys find something?”

Zane turned, snapping out of his thoughts. Katiya and Max were standing a few feet away. “Ah, yes… yes, we did.” He pointed to the opening. “Jorge found the trail.”

Katiya looked at the trail. “Great.” She turned toward Zane. “You sure everything’s okay? You look concerned.”

Zane worked his mouth into a smile. “Not at all. It’s just a bit narrower than I expected.” He nodded down the path. “The good news is that there doesn’t appear to be any flooding.”

Something seemed to catch Katiya’s attention. She squinted, then her eyes widened. “Oh my! Huicungo!”

Zane tried to follow her gaze. The only thing he saw was a line of palms about twenty yards away. The trunks seemed to be covered in sharp spines. “Hui what?”

Katiya led them to the trees. As they neared, she pulled out her phone. “It’s a huicungo tree.” She stood in front of the nearest one and took a few pictures. “There are billions here in the Amazon basin. Their seeds are used to make black rings.”

Brett frowned. “Black rings?”

“Rings… you know, the kind of ring you put on your finger.” She stepped closer and took a close-up picture of the spines. “Not only that, but there is a soft substance inside the seeds that is used to make cosmetics.”

“Okay, I thought you were an anthropologist,” Zane said.

Katiya looked back at him and smiled. “I am. But my first love was biology. I’ve always had a fascination with the South American rainforest. The beauty, the biodiversity.” She held her phone close to the trunk and tapped the screen. “At one point I even thought about making it my life’s work.”

“Hey, check it out,” Brett said, lifting a finger toward the upper portion of the tree. “Monkeys.”

Zane looked up. A family of monkeys had apparently been watching in silence until the group’s approach. Now they scampered across one of the lower branches. They were moving fast but seemed to be grayish brown with white faces.

“We must have disturbed them,” Max said.

“Saimiri… squirrel monkeys!” Katiya exclaimed, holding her phone up to video the experience.

As Zane watched, one of the younger monkeys tossed something toward them.

“Dang apes,” a male voice said from behind them.

Zane looked over and saw that Nash had joined them. The corporal lifted his rifle.

“Time to show them who’s boss,” he said.

Zane opened his mouth to speak, but it was too late. Nash squeezed the trigger, spraying bullets into the foliage above. The monkeys screamed in fear, leaping through the trees with lightning speed and disappearing into the jungle.

“Stop it!” Katiya shouted, running toward him.

“Hey, hey,” Zane reached out and pressed the soldier’s arm down. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Jerk,” Katiya said. “Those are protected animals.”

Nash backed away, glaring at the two of them. “They’re dumb apes.” He waved a hand at the forest. “We need to let all these beasts know we mean business.”

“Do not under any circumstances fire at animals unless someone’s life is in danger,” Zane said, fixing his gaze on Nash.

Bennett came running over, undoubtedly drawn by the gunfire. “What’s going on?”

Nash jerked his gun toward the huicungo trees. “Those apes started throwing—”

“One of the squirrel monkeys threw us some food, probably a peace offering, and your soldier started firing at him,” Katiya said.

Zane gave Nash a stern look then turned to Bennett. “Get your corporal under control, Sergeant.”

“It won’t happen again, sir.” Bennett turned to Nash and said, “Go help Corporal Wilson with the supplies.”

Nash hesitated.

“Now, Corporal!” he commanded.

Nash glowered at Katiya briefly then marched off.

Bennett turned to Zane. “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again, sir.”

Zane nodded as the sergeant departed after Nash.

Everyone stood in stunned silence for a moment. Finally, Zane said, “Okay, let’s gather our things.”

As the others moved off, Jorge said, “That one is going to be trouble.”

Zane nodded. “I’m hoping it’s just operational jitters. I’ve seen that before, particularly when a soldier is exposed to a new environment. But your point is well taken.”

Jorge gazed up at the foliage where the monkeys had disappeared. “I fear the jungle may have just marked us as the enemy.”

ZANE SURVEYED THE faces gathered around him on the beach. Beads of sweat glistened on foreheads, and several were already sucking on canteens. Their time on the river had probably given them a false sense of comfort. From this point forward, there would be no percolated coffee in the morning and no oscillating fans in the evening. Instead, there would be unrelenting heat during the day and a horde of flies, mosquitoes, and other biting insects at night.

For several in the group, the jungle trek would be the toughest thing they’d ever faced. Until you’d experienced it for yourself, you couldn’t begin to imagine how tough it is to live in a place where your very survival is challenged each and every day.

Zane’s eyes soon rested on Katiya. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, exposing the soft lines of her face. It was hard to imagine she was only a few years away from forty. If anything, she seemed even more beautiful here in the tropical heat.

As she blew her bangs out of her eyes, she seemed to catch him staring at her. The hint of a smile crossed her face. Did she know what he was thinking? He smiled back then averted his gaze.

“We’re finally here,” he announced. “This marks the beginning of the most difficult phase of our journey.” He nodded at the boat. “The quicker you realize that we’re leaving comfort behind, the better off you’ll be. Each day will involve a certain level of suffering and a certain level of danger. Recognition of that reality is going to be your first step in understanding how to cope and how to survive.

“Marcos will take the boat back to a village a few hours away. If for some reason any of you don’t think you’re going to be able to make it, this is your last chance to turn back.” Max snickered and looked at Katiya. The others remained silent. Zane continued. “It looks like we’re all in. Good. We depart in five minutes. No exceptions. Please check to make sure you have everything you need because, absent a medical emergency, we’re not coming back until our work is finished or we run out of supplies.”

As they began to gather their things, Zane held up a hand. “Let me remind you of one other thing. This is not going to be a democracy. Democracies don’t survive in the jungle. It’s a dictatorship. If you have questions or need assistance, feel free to ask Jorge or me.” He placed a hand on Jorge’s shoulder. “He probably knows this place better than you know your own backyard, so we’re going to rely on his expertise.”

Amanda cleared her throat. “What is our schedule going to be like? It seems like it might be better to travel when it’s a little cooler.”

“That’s a good question,” Zane replied. “We will try to avoid the midday heat as much as possible. My plan is to spend most of our time traveling in the early morning and late afternoon.”

“So no night travel?” she asked.

Zane shook his head. “You don’t travel in the jungle at night. Too many dangerous creatures prowl around after dark. It’s the most dangerous time in the jungle, so we’ll have no choice but to stop and set up a defensive perimeter.”

Brett pointed at something in the distance. “It looks like we may not have to worry about the sun for much longer.”

Zane turned and looked across the river. A wall of coal-black clouds was moving in their direction.

Not again.

“You said it’s going to be too dangerous to travel at night,” Amanda said. “What’s to stop us from getting attacked in the middle of the night?”

Jorge looked at her. “If I may, the jungle is never safe, at least not in the way you think of safety. But we will make it as secure as possible under the circumstances. For example, we’re going to keep a fire burning every night. No exceptions. It’s… how you say… an insurance policy against the biggest predators.”

“Not only that,” Zane said, “but we’re also going to put up a state-of-the-art motion-sensor system. We’ll supplement that with nightlong patrols.”

Amanda nodded, but the assurances didn’t seem to have their intended effect. It was as though she realized that the high level of protective measures indicated the seriousness of the threat.

Zane glanced at his watch and said, “We depart in two minutes.”

“YOU FOUND A boot print?” the Oracle asked.

Zane held the satellite phone tightly against the side of his head as he strode down the jungle path. “Yes, at the head of the trail.”

There was a moment of silence. Either there was a delay in the signal or the Oracle was digesting the new information. Finally, his reply came through the speaker. “I wouldn’t be too concerned, Watson. During the planning phase, Salvador told me the trail was still used occasionally.”

“Not this particular stretch.”

“I specifically remember Salvador telling me that.”

“Ross, we’re entering a bit further down than most groups, including the researchers and tourists. They generally want to get off their boat as soon as possible. We went further up the tributary to save time. Once we cross the stream later this morning, we’ll be on the main trail. It would be normal to find prints there.”

As he waited for the reply, Zane looked ahead. Jorge and Bennett were about ten yards in front of him, discussing something as they walked. Taking a quick glance back, he saw Katiya and Max about an equal distance behind him.

“Was the print fresh?” the Oracle finally asked.

“It looked that way. Jorge has some tracking experience as well, and he thought it had been there about twelve hours, maybe more.”

“Where there any other prints?”

Zane heard the haunting howl of a monkey overhead. He tilted his head back up just in time to see several dark forms swinging through the tops of the trees. They seemed to be moving in the same direction as the team. Zane frowned.

“Watson?”

“Yeah, sorry… no, there weren’t any other prints on the path.”

“What about the beach?”

“I was the first one off, and I didn’t see anything, although I must confess I wasn’t looking very closely. Then, by the time we found the other print, everyone had disembarked and was walking all over the sand. At that point, there was zero chance of finding anything.”

“Did you tell the group?”

“Negative.”

Zane looked up. The monkeys had grown silent, but he could still see their dark forms moving through the canopy.

“You made the right decision. No need to rattle the cage until you have something more solid. For now, I’d say it’s best to keep everything under wraps. I still think there is a harmless explanation for the print, but you need to stay alert.” After a brief pause, he asked, “Anything else to report?”

“No, nothing out of the ordinary.” Thunder grumbled low in the distance. Zane turned and saw a wisp of dark gray through the holes in the canopy. “We’ve got another storm on the way. We’re going to try to get across the stream before it hits. Once we’re on the other side, we’ll set up camp.”

“Copy that. Chris has been able to use your signal to plot the group on a virtual map here, but it’s good to get verbal confirmation.”

There was another grumble behind them.

“Ross, we may get cut off soon. Before I go, any more information on the crater?”

“I’m glad you mentioned that. Chris noticed something that seemed out of place. We ordered some new images, but it’s not likely we’ll have them until sometime tomorrow. They’re having to reposition the satellite.”

Zane frowned. “Something seemed out of place? I don’t follow.”

“It could be, but we won’t know until we get a chance to look at the new pictures. That area hasn’t been photographed in a while, likely because it’s not considered a region vital to national security. As you probably know, the new cameras can pick up much greater detail than the older ones.”

Zane nodded, even though the Oracle couldn’t see him. “Right. Like going from standard definition to high definition on your television.”

“Precisely.”

“Copy that. Before I go, how’s my girl?”

“Huh?”

“Keiko.”

The Oracle laughed. “She’s doing fine. Just a little miffed that she missed you when you were here.”

Keiko was the world’s most advanced humanoid. Created by Ian Higgs, the father of Amanda Higgs, Keiko incorporated technology that was a generation ahead of its time. She had the appearance of an Asian woman in her thirties and could move, speak, and think in a way that blurred the lines between humans and machines.

Her brief history read like the plot of a thriller novel. After Higgs was murdered on the streets of London, the robot remained in the possession of the deceased man’s employer, the Renaissance Group, a multinational conglomerate led by the Russian billionaire Alexander Mironov.

When a Delphi team led by Zane Watson and Carmen Petrosino had begun working against Renaissance, Keiko changed sides, assisting the Americans in thwarting Mironov’s plans to commandeer the CERN particle physics laboratory in eastern France. Although difficult to understand, the switch seemed to have been the result of ethics programming by Ian Higgs.

During the events at CERN, Keiko had triggered a self-destruct explosive that took out members of the Renaissance team, including Mironov. After the fighting was over, Delphi took possession of the humanoid’s remains, transporting her back to the United States. There, a team led by Brett Foster restored the robot to her former state.

“Please tell her I’m sorry,” Zane said, remembering that the humanoid had been taken down for programming when he was there. “It was just bad timing. Tell her she’ll be my top priority next time.” There was loud clap of thunder, this time closer. “Look, Ross, I’ve got to go. The storm is right on our heels.”

“Copy that.”

“I’ll be back in touch tonight if anything comes up. Otherwise, let’s talk tomorrow morning.”