Betrayed (33 page)

“These children—where are they? And where are the others of your company?”

How had he known that? Of course. The guards they’d barreled through at the checkpoint. And the radio in the man’s belt.

Vicki glanced involuntarily toward the overgrown trail where the four village men had disappeared. Yes, where were they? The hour Joe had allotted had come and gone, the glimpse of gray sky overhead darkening rapidly. Behind Castro II, the shadows at ground level were murky enough that the Jeep headlights suddenly sprang to life, the beam so bright in the gloom they’d have blinded Vicki had her head not been turned away.

Then she saw human shapes hurrying up the slope and the bright pattern of Mayan weave among the brush. One of Maria’s blankets wrapped around a child-size bundle. Then they’d found at least one of the girls. No, there was a second bright blotch emerging from the brush. “Alicia! Gabriela!” Vicki started toward them gladly. She could see that both girls were conscious, black eyes open wide, arms tight around their rescuers’ necks.

And they were alert enough to recognize a familiar face. “Vee-kee!”

Vicki was reaching for them when the roar of another ground vehicle drowned out their piping call. This time it came from behind the hurrying villagers. Vicki spun around incredulously as a dark box lumbered into sight up the track. Then headlights sprang on, pinning the villagers in their beam. An army transport truck. Vicki had time to wonder again where it could have come from. Then black shadows leaped down from the sides. The headlights transformed them into the brown and green of camouflage as they slammed the villagers to the ground, a thud of boots and gun butts audible even above the engine and angry shouts.

Vicki snatched at the girls as they began screaming, a horrible, thin, terrified sound, their arms strangling Vicki’s neck. A blow across her shoulders knocked her to her knees. She heard the sharp order that left her kneeling free in the mud, the two little girls clutched so tightly that she could feel their frightened, racing heartbeats, the panicked rise and fall of their breathing.

She didn’t realize part of that terrible screaming was coming from her own throat until strong arms wrapped around Vicki and the two children A voice that was surprisingly soothing and gentle murmured over and over against her hair, “It’s okay. You’re safe now. It’s okay.”

“It will never be safe!” ripped involuntarily from Vicki.

But the screams had stopped, the two girls subsiding into the whimper of a hurt animal against Vicki’s neck. For a grateful moment, Vicki let herself rest in the warmth of a steady heartbeat under her head, the unfamiliar security of a tight embrace.

Pulling herself away to accustomed independence, Vicki raised her head to whisper some polite thanks. Then the headlights caught the rugged features bent above her. The cold fury Vicki glimpsed there froze her gratitude on her tongue. Joe let her pull away without a protest. Rising with a fluid motion, he reached to lift the larger child into his arms. Alicia went with him willingly, allowing Vicki to straighten up with Gabriela.

The four village men had been yanked to their feet now. Vicki burned with helpless fury at the bowed despair of their posture, the filth that could have been blood or mud. Cesar had not hurried to his small cousins because two automatic rifles were thrust into his ribs. The girls were not even whimpering anymore. Vicki didn’t like the wide, frozen stare of their eyes.

Then, as Vicki and Joe carried them into the truck, they saw their cousin and came alive again. “
Tío
Cesar!
Tío
Cesar!”

Vicki allowed her bundle to squirm loose. Running to Cesar, Gabriela buried her face against him. As Joe released his own charge, Vicki swung around to Castro II, who was surveying the scene indifferently, boots spread wide in the muddy track to balance his overhanging belly.

“You see? We were only here to look for these children. Now that we’ve found them, we will be on our way immediately. Please—I hope you will forgive any misunderstanding.”

Castro II walked away and conferred briefly with one of the UPN men. Without a further word, he returned to the army Jeep, a snap of his fingers gathering his other passengers at his heels.

As the Jeep backed down the trail, disappearing around the bend, the UPN officer held out a hand to Joe. “The keys to your vehicle.”

Digging them out, Joe dropped them into the outstretched palm. The man handed them to another of the helicopter contingent, who climbed into the pickup and started the engine. A rifle barrel gestured toward the back of the pickup.

As Joe and Cesar obediently lifted in the two girls, Vicki saw with dismay that the transport truck was also backing down the overgrown trail, the four village men still with them. “Hey, wait a minute!”

Joe looped his arm around her shoulder, ostensibly to help her climb into the pickup bed, but the strength of his grip was both warning and command.

The remaining UPN troops from the helicopters piled into the pickup, filling the cab before the less fortunate joined their captives in the back. Turning the pickup around, the new driver started back down the nature trail toward the plateau. No explanation was offered, and Vicki assumed they’d be driving all the way to the plateau. An unwelcome prospect as it was still raining, the temperature dropping sharply as night approached. Gabriela, curled up on Vicki’s lap, and Alicia, hugging tightly to Cesar, still had the blankets in which they’d been wrapped, but the others were now soaked through. When Joe wrapped his arm around Vicki and Gabriela, Vicki didn’t shrug it away, resting with relief against the warmth of his large frame.

In the end they remained in the pickup bed only until the track came to a gap where a landslide had ripped away the vegetation to one side of the track. Above a precarious slope of tumbled rock and earth hovered one of the UPN helicopters only feet above the ground. Beyond it, higher above the valley, was the second helicopter, and through its open side panel Vicki recognized the ugly shape of a bolted-down machine gun.

The UPN leader emerged from the dryness of the pickup cab. Two of his patrol unslung weapons to accompany their civilian passengers down the slope. Nightfall was complete now, but the pickup headlights and the helicopters’ own running lights made it possible to pick their way down over the precarious footing, Joe and Cesar carrying the girls. Waiting hands pulled them inside the hovering aircraft, and the door panel slid shut.

It was warmer inside but very dark and painfully noisy. The girls were crying softly again. Beside her, Vicki could hear Joe soothing the one he held. Something in its gentleness made Vicki’s throat ache. It had to be her own present helplessness and exhaustion that could leave Vicki almost envying a small lost child.
Why am I wasting my thoughts on him? He may be kind to little girls, but he’s furious with me
.

Not that Vicki could blame him. She’d practically promised there’d be no repercussions when she’d commandeered his services.
He’s the one who crashed through that pole. Yes, because I pushed him into it
. Was he afraid he’d lose his job? That Alpiro would throw him off the plateau?
So I’ll reimburse him a season of surfing if I have to clean out my savings
. Though Joe gently soothing a sobbing child didn’t seem someone who’d care only about his paycheck.
So he’s a mass of contradictions
.

Vicki’s unpleasant merry-go-round of thoughts seemed to go on forever. But it couldn’t have been more than a quarter hour before they landed. Not on the airstrip. The door slid open to reveal the army base parade ground. A blue-and-white Guatemalan flag above the nearest building identified the base headquarters. Only the UPN leader accompanied them from the helicopter, a hopeful sign they were not actually prisoners.

The room into which they were ushered was a clone of every other administrative office Vicki had seen in this country. The mahogany desk. The gilt-framed paintings. The leather upholstery and plush rugs.

And the VIP behind the desk. This one was the original Castro lookalike of Vicki’s arrival to this plateau. Colonel Ramon Alpiro, UPN commander. He was speaking on a radio phone that could have been the same one that connected the center to the outside world.

Vicki hardly glanced toward the commander. “Michael!”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Michael crossed the office quickly. Gripping Vicki’s forearms, he searched her face, then pulled her into a tight hug. “Vicki, are you okay? I’ve been worried sick.”

“Yes, I’m fine. We’re all okay . . . sort of. Oh, Michael, I’m so glad to see you. I was hoping you were here when I heard helicopters this morning. It’s been just . . . awful!”

Vicki caught her reflection in an ornate wall mirror. No wonder Michael had voiced concern. Her hair was plastered to her head, face and lips blue with cold. Behind her reflection, Vicki caught Joe’s expressionless eyes on her. Beside him, Cesar’s face was rigid with cold or fear. Vicki offered him a smile in the mirror that was meant to be reassuring but still looked wobbly. They’d been through an unpleasant experience, but it was over, and now they could relax.
Let the professionals take over
. That’s what Michael had told her once, and this time she was more than willing to do so.

Stepping back from Michael’s grip, she apologized with a shaky laugh, “I got you wet. I’m so sorry. I just can’t tell you what it’s been like.”

Vicki liked that he didn’t even brush at the damp splotches she’d left on his khaki shirt, and his easy smile banished the last of her anxiety.

“Well, that’s exactly what you’re going to need to tell me. This base has been on full scramble for the last hour or more. All I’ve been able to get straight was that a sizable party of intruders, including foreign citizens, had assaulted UPN enforcement and invaded the restricted territory. Possibly involving a stolen vehicle.” Michael’s gaze shifted to rest coolly on Joe, then Cesar. “All of which Taylor here has been insisting is impossible.”

Only at his gesture did Vicki notice Bill standing in the doorway. She directed him a faint smile before she took in an icy glitter in the blue eyes and stony expression. Her heart sank. Somehow she’d expected him to understand.

Then she caught Bill staring at Joe. It was Joe he was so furious with. Vicki would have to make it clear that this was her fault and hers alone. She turned back to Michael. “It wasn’t like that.” She explained quickly.

Colonel Alpiro was still talking on the radio phone, a cold eye on his visitors, but otherwise ignoring them. He had very pointedly not invited them to sit.

Vicki wrapped up when Alpiro returned the receiver to its cradle. “Michael, I know these people are working with you. But you wouldn’t believe the way they’ve treated us and the people who were with us. As though we were criminals. They’ve taken four of the search party somewhere. And those poor little girls. On top of everything else that’s happened to them, I can’t imagine how traumatized they’ve been by the way this was handled.”

She searched Michael’s face for agreement, but he looked grave. “I wish it were so easy. But I’ll see what I can do.”

Colonel Alpiro swiveled his desk chair around as Michael crossed over to engage in a low-voiced conversation. After a few moments, Michael beckoned to Bill Taylor. He joined them.

As they talked, Vicki drifted over to check on the girls. They had fallen asleep. A glance at her two companions showed Joe’s gaze intent on the huddle behind the desk, but Cesar met her anxious smile with a slight relaxing of his tense stance.

Vicki was turning away when she noticed a collection of frames on the wall. Another clone of those other bureaucratic offices—the diplomas, military honors, VIP photos. She stiffened. It couldn’t be! Not here too. This was beyond coincidence.

There was a movement beside her, and Vicki looked up to catch Joe’s questioning gaze. Then he glanced at the photo, and she saw a flare of—recognition? He shifted his feet to settle the girl in his arms to a more comfortable position. The movement left his broad frame blocking the photo display.

“Vicki?” Michael’s calm summons drew Vicki across the room. The three men had turned back around, Colonel Alpiro leaning forward in his chair, the other two standing on either side like a tribunal.

The questions that emerged from Vicki’s mouth were not the ones she’d planned. “This office—does it belong to the army commander? Would it be possible to speak with him?”

Every eye in the place was on her as though she’d suddenly flipped her lid, Vicki thought with some hysteria.

Colonel Alpiro answered with cold indifference, “
Comandante
Pinzón is no longer at this base. He and his family are visiting your country for an indefinite period. Orlando, I believe. Dees-nee. This base has now been ceded to UPN command. My command. Anything you wish to inquire, you may address to me.”

Michael had told Vicki that UPN was assuming command here. Then the photo was Alpiro’s.

Without giving Vicki a chance to avail herself of his offer, Colonel Alpiro went on with icy authority, “It has been decided that despite your great transgression—” his eyes rested on Joe—“due to the mitigating circumstances of your distress, the valuable labor your facility provides our country, and indeed the very mission of la Unidad para la Protección de la Naturaleza that all charges will once more be dismissed. You are free to depart.”

Michael cleared his throat softly.

Alpiro raised a hand. “And also, so that this unfortunate circumstance may not arise again, this facility will be organizing a task force to deal with such situations. Children do, after all, run into mischief on occasion. In the future, we are to be contacted as soon as such a situation arises. There will be no more need to take matters into your own hands. Nor mercy for those who choose to do so.”

Perhaps his beaming smile toward the two sleeping girls was meant to be fatherly. To Vicki, it looked smug and self-satisfied. Nor had she forgotten—or forgiven—just what had happened up there on that cold, dark mountain.

Alpiro’s settling back in his chair was a clear dismissal, but Vicki stepped forward. “What about the men from the village who actually found the children? Where are they? Have they been released too?”

The smug smile froze. “You are referring to
los delinquentes
detained this evening in the restricted zone. We will consider that you were not aware you were consorting with smugglers and poachers. But so my
teniente
informs me they have been identified. Perhaps this is the reason they were so easily able to assist you in your own search. They are currently being held for interrogation. Their future will be determined by the outcome of that interrogation.”

“But that’s absurd! They were just villagers helping us in the search. You can’t—
we
can’t—leave here without them. If anything, we’re the ones responsible because they just came along to help us. Please, Michael, if you could just explain!”

Vicki had turned to him with absolute confidence. Hadn’t he resolved every other difficulty without blinking? It was with shock that she saw the shake of his head, felt the pinch of his fingers above her elbow. She looked to Bill for support, but he showed no expression at all.

“Vicki, Colonel Alpiro knows his job. He’ll handle this,” Michael said quietly. “Come on. Let’s get these kids back to their home.”

Vicki didn’t so much as look at Alpiro again as Michael steered her out of the office, the others right behind. She waited until her feet touched the gravel of the parade ground to explode, her frustration only exacerbated by her efforts to keep her voice low.

“Michael, I can’t believe what just happened back there! Those men were not smugglers or poachers. They were just villagers. Relatives of Alicia and Gabriela who were helping us look for them. And you know it. You can’t let these guys get away with arresting them. This isn’t twenty years ago when the army could just grab people without cause.”

“No, I don’t know it! Nor do you. By your own account, you know nothing about those men.” Michael ran a hand through his short hair. “No one’s denying they went in there with you. But we’ve no reason either to doubt Alpiro’s claim that these men are known smugglers who’ve been wanted by UPN for some time. If there’s been a mistake, the interrogation will show it, and they’ll undoubtedly be released. You said they knew their way around up there in a manner that must be considered suspicious.”

An army Jeep sat under a nearby floodlight. Michael lifted a hand to catch the attention of the driver. The engine sprang to life.

“Sure, they knew their way. They lived there before the biosphere. Cesar can tell you about them, if I can’t. Michael, I can’t believe you’re just taking Alpiro’s word for this. We saw how they mistreated those men. So much for a new, reformed army. Or police! Surely Colonel Alpiro will listen if you put your foot down. Tell him you’ll withhold funding if he doesn’t release the villagers. Or—or
something
!”

“Frankly, I’m just relieved he didn’t arrest you. As he had every legal right, by the way. Crashing a checkpoint? Vicki, what were you thinking? No, Ericsson, that was your bright idea, wasn’t it?”

“We were thinking of saving Alicia and Gabriela’s lives.”

Michael swept inexorably over Vicki’s protest. “Understand this: the only reason you’re not in a detention cell with your village friends is because I pulled some strings. And because I could honestly assure Alpiro the three of you had never left the nature trail, which
is
cleared to Ministry of Environment personnel, if not in the way you went about it. Just take the break you’ve been given and be glad for it. Let Alpiro handle his own business. He knows this area—and its people—a lot better than any of us.”

“Now you sound like Marion over at the embassy. Just be glad you didn’t get arrested for something you never did anyway. Take the break and run. Meanwhile, forget about anyone else who’s getting hurt and what’s right and fair.”

“This is not the place for this discussion.” Michael’s tone was harder than Vicki had ever heard it.

The Jeep had now pulled up beside them. Michael spoke briefly with the driver, then turned to the others as the other UPN officer climbed out. “Taylor, I’m informed your vehicle is just coming down from the mountains. I’ll drive you over to pick it up and drop off these kids. Then we’ll continue on to the center, where perhaps we might finish this discussion in a little more privacy.”

Michael opened the door for Vicki to climb into the front seat. With some reluctance, Vicki did so, then held out her arms to receive Gabriela from Joe. The others jumped into the back.

Vicki had assumed they were now completely free, but as Michael got into the driver’s seat and pulled away, another Jeep fell in behind them. Beside the driver was the UPN unit leader who’d accompanied them from the biosphere.
Making sure we don’t stray again
.

The journey to the village was a silent one except for a whimpering from Gabriela, who’d woken up with the bouncing of the bumpy road. If Vicki was now feeling the hunger and thirst and fatigue of the last hours, how much more these two children, despite those few tortillas? At least they seemed appreciative of their rescue, both girls sitting up with whispers of relief when the first lamplights of the village appeared.