Jungle Hunt

“That’s what I came to talk to you about. Those bastards at that village nearby are trekkin’ closer to us all the time. Pretty soon they’ll be stomping all over the place.” Kapleron’s lip curled at the thought.

“What would you suggest we do about that, keeping in mind that our employers want this operation to keep a low profile?”

“Ja, I remember, otherwise the problem woulda been solved already—a few of my maats and I woulda paid them a daylight visit. However, since that ain’t an option, perhaps a different approach is in order.”

“Oh?” Hachtman lengthened his stride, making the shorter man hasten to catch up. It was a faint jab at the other man, but he took his pleasure where he could.

“Yeah, look, apparently these Huaorani are attacking each other all the time—they stab their enemies with spears. We go in at night and take out the village, then it looks like one of the neighbors did it, not us. Just another hazard of living in the jungle, right? The locals all suspect each other, and we get off scot-free. Heh, if you wanted to live on something more than coconuts and guava, we could even hire ourselves out for ‘protection.’”

Pondering the rough plan for a moment, Hachtman was surprised to find he liked it. “That’s not a bad idea—it certainly covers all of our bases.”

“So, when do you want us to move on them?”

“Let me get back to you on that, okay?” Leaving the small man behind, he headed for a cab on one of the deuce-and-a-half trucks and climbed inside. Unzipping the case again, he connected his laptop to the battery of the truck and extended a small satellite transmitting dish. He drummed his fingers on the dashboard, waiting for the interminable lag as the satellite connection uplinked to his superior at the company.

“Good afternoon, Alec.” His boss, known only as Mr. Ravidos, never appeared on screen—the only thing Hachtman saw was the logo of Paracor, two crossed swords on a crimson field.

“Good afternoon, sir.”

“I assume you’re calling with an update.”

“Yes, sir. The first phase of the operation has been carried out, however, there is another village nearby that may need pacifying, as well. We’re checking into it right now.”

“Of course, you know that PSSI cannot be connected to any sort of wet activity in the area.”

“Yes, sir. We’ll have this section of jungle cleared and ready for companies to move into in the next five to seven days.”

“Good. Now that we have the rights to resell, our sales force is already lining up leasers for that swath. We’re making history here, Alec. Not only are we supplying the security for an area, but we’re also controlling the rights to exploit it—two income streams off one assignment.”

“Well, sir, you’ve always said that good business is where you find it, right?”

“Excellent memory, Alec. You pull this off smoothly, and there’ll be a big promotion for you when you come back to headquarters. You just make sure that there’s no one there to raise a stink about it, okay?”

“No problem, sir. By the time Piet and his boys are finished, there won’t even be a parrot to squawk about what’s going on down here.”

5

The honk of an automobile horn broke Nancy Kelleson’s concentration. She looked down to see the rows of figures swim into focus on the inventory sheet. In every column, red ink was the predominant color.

“Well, I might not have enough food, equipment or field supplies, but at least I’ve got a few more warm bodies to help out for the time being.” She pulled back her damp, blond hair—in the humid heat, it never got completely dry—and secured her ponytail with a leather thong. Rising, she pushed the rough, wooden door of her hut aside and stepped out to meet the new arrivals.

The pair of four-wheel-drive Land Rovers had pulled into the center of the village, surrounded, as always, by the population of the small enclave, about fifty men, women and children. Most were dressed in simple, brightly colored clothes that were a mixture of native and western styles. The children ran around barefoot and either bare-chested or clad in T-shirts and worn shorts. The women dressed in a mix of the traditional breechclout covering, also going bare-breasted. The men wore mainly simple shirts and pants or shorts. Some articles of clothing had been white a long time ago, to protect against the tropical sun, but they had all turned a dirty gray-brown over time.

As usual, Kelleson headed straight for the driver of the first vehicle, a short man with ebony skin, thinning, curly hair and an ever-present smile that revealed one missing front tooth. He directed the other passengers to unload their duffels and for the villagers to remove the supplies they had brought back. “How was the trip, Etienne?”

He looked up at her—the top of his head barely came to her jaw—and held out a stubby-fingered hand, waggling it back and forth. “Not as bad as the last one—we only had to stop six times to clear the road, a new record. At least we didn’t break anything this time. I think, however, that Major Medina will be paying a visit here soon—he seemed to be particularly interested in the new arrivals.”

“Just what I need right now.” Kelleson brushed an errant strand of hair out of her eyes and turned to the half dozen men and women standing to one side, their Caucasian skin, tans and new clothing demarking them as her fresh recruits. “I’m off to give the welcome speech to the newbies.”

“Good luck, we’ll have this squared away by the time you’re finished. Oh, one more thing—the Feri pump finally arrived.”

“Finally? Thank God for small favors, I say. I just hope it works as well as they promised. We’ll make that a priority—fresh, clean water will go a long way toward making things better around here. Thanks for the great news.”

The short man grinned again while hoisting a forty-pound sack of corn with distinctive Red Cross markings over his shoulder. “I bring it all back, good and bad—you know that.”

“Yes, I certainly do.” Squaring her shoulders, Kelleson approached the small group, noting that most of them looked to be either from Europe or America. She took a moment to watch as they all stared around at the strange new world they had just stepped into. “I trust you all enjoyed the trip here?”

“Sure, if you call twenty hours crammed in five airplanes, followed by an eight-hour drive into the bush enjoyable.” The speaker was a tall, rail-thin guy with short, black hair and wire-rimmed glasses. His comment brought weary chuckles from the other three men, a grin from one of the women and a glare from the other one.

“First, let me welcome you to this Huaorani village in the province of Sucumbíos, Ecuador. My name is Nancy Kelleson, and I’m your headperson for this SARE project. Over the next six months, we’ll all be helping this village become more self-sufficient, installing a new well, clearing and planting fields and teaching Spanish and English and their country’s history to the children.” She looked each person directly in the eyes as she spoke. “Make no mistake about it, this is not a vacation or pleasure trip. You all volunteered for SARE with the expectation of seeing the world and working hard, and I can guarantee that you’re going to get both in about equal measure.”

She extended a hand to encompass the cluster of single-story wooden huts with thatched roofs, all surrounding a cleared main square. In the back of all the houses, looming over all of them, was the thick, verdant jungle. “The first rule I want all of you to take to heart is that the moment you set foot here, you entered hostile territory. The jungle can kill you as easily as breathing. It will swallow you up without mercy, pick your bones clean and leave what’s left to bleach in the sun before being covered by the foliage in less than a week. Treat the jungle and its denizens with the respect they deserve—you won’t often get a second chance.”

All eyes were on Kelleson, the group’s shared fatigue forgotten for the moment as she spoke. “The second thing to remember is that we are in a Third World country, so things are done differently here. Always keep your identification papers on you at all times, and do not go anywhere without a native as guide. There are soldiers in the area, some from the Ecuadorian Army, some from the Colombian Army, as we are near the border between the two nations. If you are stopped for any reason, be patient and polite. Sometimes mentioning SARE might get you out of the situation, other times it might cost you some money, if you’re lucky. Either one is preferable to spending any time in a South American jail.

“Why don’t each of you take a moment to introduce yourself and tell the rest a little about why you decided to come here?” As each member of the group spoke, Kelleson evaluated them. There was a last-minute arrival with the group, a tall, well-built man in his late-thirties, with black hair and ice-blue eyes. He said he was Matt Cooper, a freelance journalist who was here to see how SARE was helping the indigenous population, but his intent gaze put Kelleson’s senses on alert. She’d seen that stare before and it never boded well for the people around a person like that.

Cooper was definitely older than most of the others, about Wilberson’s age, and also carried himself differently. Whereas the other members were staring around in surprise or awe, his gaze had seemed to size up the situation efficiently, almost as if he were checking for escape routes—or figuring out how to defend the place from an invasion.

Kelleson made a mental note to keep an eye on him as she addressed the rest of the group again. “It’s good to meet all of you. I imagine you’re pretty strung out from the travel, so the rest of the day is a light one, to give you time to become acclimated to the area. Two more tips that will make your stay here a more pleasant one. First, I know they harped on it during orientation, but I’m going to repeat it again—stay hydrated. The temperature here can reach a balmy forty degrees Celsius—that’s more than one hundred-five Fahrenheit—and you’ll sweat more than you might think. Remind yourself to drink often—and yes, you’ll get used to the taste of the chlorinated water soon enough. If the pump for the well works, there will be better water shortly.

“Second, although I know we’re in the rainforest, it can still be pretty cool here, especially at night. That combined with rain can cause a chill that could develop into something worse. Be sure to dress appropriately. That always means long sleeves and pants when going out into the jungle, as there are dozens of plants and insects that would like to get a piece of you. Are there any questions so far?”

Wilberson piped up again. “Where are we sleeping?”

“You’re fortunate enough to be staying in my old tents for the next few weeks, until you build your own hut. It’s part of the reclamation effort to expand the village, so I hope you all know one end of a hammer from the other. Take the rest of the afternoon to look around, introduce yourself and get the lay of the land. Again, do not go off into the jungle by yourself until you know your way around—it is far too easy to get lost here. Come on, I’ll take you to your temporary quarters.”

As they walked, she noticed Cooper already attracting attention from the children of the village, each of whom would shyly come up and take something from his hand, then dart away with smiles and laughter. When they reached the three surplus Army tents, Kelleson wasn’t surprised to see the looks of dismay on the volunteers’ faces.

“I know they don’t look like much, but the mosquito netting is intact, and trust me, most days you’ll be working so hard you won’t notice where you’re sleeping. Besides, just think of this as incentive to get your hut completed more quickly, right?”

One of the college students—Mike, she thought—pushed back the stained canvas flap with a whistle. “Boy, SARE wasn’t kidding when they said we were roughing it.”

“No, and even with the Amazon getting more of a priority lately, we’re still lucky to have this stuff.”

The South American Relief Effort, or SARE, was a small but growing Third World relief organization that had been founded and dedicated solely for providing assistance to the indigenous tribes on the continent. The non-government organization accepted volunteers with diverse skills to help out all across the continent. For Kelleson, it had been the perfect opportunity to escape her checkered past, leaving that old life behind to start fresh, which she had seized with both hands. Once involved, she discovered that she actually liked the amazing stress of helping people better their lives in some of the worst parts of the world. She had been here for three months so far and would stay as long as it took to complete her mission.