Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 98561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
The woman inside pulled off her headset and massaged her ears. She had black hair in a bob cut and was wearing a green flight suit with about a thousand pockets. She opened the door and frowned at me. “You the one he was trying to rescue?”
I nodded and grabbed hold of the helicopter’s door frame to support me, panting too hard to speak.
“Where’s the rest of them?”
She had to wait a moment before I could form words. “They got captured,” I wheezed.
She cursed.
“I need your help,” I told her. “We’ve got to go and rescue them.”
“What?! Nooo. I had one job: come here at the right time and ferry you guys home.” She sighed and her voice became a little more gentle. “C’mon, get in and I’ll take you back to Quito.”
“No! He came thousands of miles to save me. I can’t let him die!”
For a second, the woman’s face softened. Then she shook her head. “It’s bad enough that I’m not going to get paid. I’m not getting shot too.” She nodded to the rear of the helicopter. “Park your butt, buttercup, we’re leaving.” She turned away and pressed some switches. The helicopter’s engine roared into life.
I looked at the seats in the back. All I had to do was sit down and I’d be back in civilization in an hour.
I shook my head. “No.”
She looked round at me in horror. “No?!”
“I…I have to try and help him.”
“By yourself? You’re going to get yourself killed!”
“I have to try.”
She stared at me for a moment, then sighed, shook her head, and put her headset back on. “Fine,” she said. “I did my part.”
She slammed the door, and I stepped back as the rotor blades spun up. The roar from them became deafening. The woman put her hand on the control column, about to take off—
She stopped and just sat there for a moment, her hand flexing on the control column. She glanced at me for a second, then turned to face front.
She started talking to herself. No, not talking, cursing. I couldn’t hear but from her expression, she was unleashing a white-hot flood of curses that would make even Colton blush. Then she flipped some switches and the engine shut down.
I watched in shock as she pulled off her headset and opened the door.
“Okay,” she muttered. “What did you have in mind?”
41
OLIVIA
An hour later, I was lying on the ground, peeking through the trees at a collection of white prefab cabins. It hadn’t been too hard to find the team. Antonio had only had to look at his maps for a few moments before he’d stabbed a finger at the disused oil company site. It was the only place in the area where the soldiers could take them. He’d offered his help but I’d shaken my head: he was needed in the village, where the Shuar were scrambling to prepare for the soldiers’ attack.
I had no idea what I was doing. I could see soldiers patrolling back and forth around the edge of the clearing, rifles ready in their hands. If even one of them saw me, I’d be killed or captured. And even if I got into the clearing, what then? How the hell was I going to get them out?
What would Gabriel do? I thought frantically. He’d plan. He’d study everything and then come up with some cunning scheme.
I stayed in the trees and sidled around the clearing to get a better look. I stopped when I heard voices coming from one of the cabins.
“Who do you work for? Who knows what we’re doing out here?” The voice was American and tight with anger. No answer came. Then there was a sound that made me flinch: the crack of bone hitting bone as someone was punched.
A second later, there was a low, Texas rumble I recognized. “That the best you can do?” JD!
I crept closer, pressing myself against a tree and praying I was invisible in the jungle’s shadows. Through the window, I could see the oil company guy with the glasses, the one I’d seen at the prison camp. He was pacing back and forth as he asked questions, but he wasn’t the one doing the punching. There must be a soldier in there, maybe more than one. I stepped sideways and peeked through the open door. The other team members were sitting on the floor with their hands tied behind their back. I glimpsed Cal and Danny and…there! Gabriel! My heart soared. He’s alive!
What now? I couldn’t just run in there. I wasn’t even armed.
I moved on, circling around the clearing. In the next cabin, I could see a military backpack on the floor. It was Colton’s: I’d walked behind him often enough to recognize his bedroll and the dark red steel cup tucked into a pocket. I craned my neck and saw a rifle leaning against the wall. That cabin must be where they’d put all the team’s gear. I stared at the rifle, thinking hard. The cabin was only about eight feet from the edge of the jungle. I might be able to sneak in there and take one of the rifles. But then what? I’d never shot a gun in my life.