Page 64 of Fear No Evil
Together, they clambered up to the trail, then half-jogged, half speed-walked toward thecasita. “How’s the hip?” Jake transitioned back to French.
“Ça va.”It’s fine. She wasn’t going to give Jake anything more than the phone to worry about.
They were nearly back at thecasitawhen the path gave a turn and there, blocking their way, stood David holding a stick.
Maggie was the first to recover. “Ah,bueno. Looks like you found something for Arias?”
David ignored the question and frowned. “Why are you so far from thecasita?”
As Maggie scrounged for an excuse, Jake threw an arm around her, pulling her body flush against his. “En serio,David? If you had a wife as beautiful as mine, you’d want time alone with her too.” As he nuzzled Maggie’s cheek, a furious blush heated her face.
Jake’s superb acting had the desired effect, at least. David’s expression went from suspicious to indulging. “Well, don’t wander so far next time. Come.”
As he turned and led the way, they obediently followed. Maggie was all too aware of the arm Jake kept around her. The sensory memory of her body pressed to his filled her with a longing, unfulfilled. She would never get to experience the passion Jake had hinted at to David—not unless she was Mrs. Jake Carrigan. Jake made that clear twelve years ago.
If only that were possible. This shared assignment was a one-off, not likely to happen again. Once Maggie proved to the company psychologist that she was ready, the CIA would assign her wherever she was needed—somewhere in Africa or Latin America, given her language skills. Sure, so long as Jake remained a SOG, there was a chance she might see him briefly, in passing somewhere, but she’d never get to spend time with him like this.
All they had left was the present. She would wring every drop of pleasure from it while she still could.
CHAPTER 13
When the first hint of dawn silvered the screens of thecasita, Jake swung quietly from his hammock to retrieve the sat phone. No one else stirred. The little house was filled with the sound of sleeping people.
The night before, when the building’s interior had been darker than pitch, he had pushed the defunct phone into the open bag of rice. All night long, he had surface-slept, ready to pluck it out again before anyone awoke to measure the rice in advance of the morning meal. If their plan succeeded, all the moisture in the phone’s casing would be gone, and the new battery would turn it on.
Feeling around in the kernels, he retrieved the phone, then brushed off the grains of rice before stuffing it deep into his pocket as he stood. Glancing over at Lena, he was surprised to find her still asleep. Of the two of them, she was the lighter sleeper. Perhaps she’d been awake much of the night, the way she was at the outset of their assignment.
Leaving her to sleep, Jake slipped out of thecasita, inadvertently rousing Chucho, who slept closest to the door. As Chucho lifted the flap of his tarp to blink up at him, Jake gestured that he was heading into the trees to relieve himself, and the youth disappeared under the flap again. David and the others never stirred.
Confident of getting reception down by the coca field, Jake followed a muddy furrow past the overgrown coca plants to the forest on the other side. Yesterday’s rain showers had finally subsided, leaving the earth smelling wet and clean. Droplets of moisture winked like diamonds on the ends of every coca leaf.
Serenaded by birdsong and the chatter of monkeys, Jake acknowledged the savage beauty of La Cordillera de los Cobardes. What a shame man had tainted this untouched wilderness with his greed and his warring nature.
Coming to the edge of the field, he tucked behind a bush, put his back to a tree, keeping a sharp eye out, and retrieved the new battery from his left boot. After inserting it into the newly dried phone, he murmured a prayer and powered it on.
When the phone gave a beep, he closed his eyes briefly.Thank You. As long as he could reach the JIC, everything would be okay. Holding down the number seven, he waited for his call to go through.
“Justice League, Hulk speaking.”
Harm’s deep voice was a welcome sound. “Hey, it’s Iron Man. I need to keep this short. I’m about five klicks away from Rebel Central, which means my coordinates should be close to one of those camps, probablyKi-kirr-zikis.”
“Roger that. You’re about four kilometers away as the crow flies.”
“Cool, so listen, the FARC have an ally in the form of the Venezuelan National Army. I would have told you that days ago if circumstances allowed. Also, we might not be onEl Castillomuch longer. We’re close to an agreement with our hosts. I’ll try to let you know if it pans out.”
“Hooyah. Roger that, we knew about the Venezuelans; just needed you to confirm it. And that’s great news about your progress. Saves us a lot of work if that pans out. Bet you’ll be glad to get out of there, huh?”
Honestly, Jake wasn’t looking forward to leaving. “Sure.”
“Sounds like we won’t need the coordinates of camp number three, either.”
“Hopefully not.”Arriba, perhaps on the trail beyond the waterfall, could remain in obscurity forever.
“We’ll wait to hear from you, then. If you can’t get through, no worries. We’ll know what’s happening by your trackers.”
“Roger that. Talk later. Over and out.” Jake powered down the phone and put it away, making certain as he did so that the hollow space inside his heel was dry. After lacing up his boot, he turned toward the bush to relieve his bladder.
He was watering the leaves at the bottom, peering up at thecasitathrough the branches, when the soft pad of a footfall made him turn his head. His stare collided with a set of large green eyes staring out of a round, spotted head with pointy ears.