The Amazon Code (29 page)

He looked away, and Julie was suddenly struck with the realization that he had shared more than he had intended. His emotions must have been getting the best of him, and he poured out more information then he’d wanted to. He cleared his throat, then seemed to visibly loosen, shaking out his muscles and tense posture and replacing it with something that looked like a nervous bodybuilder trying to appear relaxed.

Julie looked around at the rest of the men standing near the trees, surrounding her and Amanda. They stood ramrod straight, each of them fully attuned to the forest and its noises, waiting for any sign of impending attack, from man or beast. They were all dressed the same way as Joshua, but he was the youngest of the group and the only one who had spoken to her so far. She didn’t understand their hierarchy, or how Joshua had assumed command of this contingent, but it didn’t matter. He was the one she needed to talk to; he was the one she needed to convince.

“Joshua, what do you want from me and Amanda?”

He thought about this a moment, then answered. “You already know what I want from you. It’s what the company wants me to do with you. Find whatever it is you were looking for, ensure Dr. Meron’s cooperation, and remove any possibilities that someone might talk.”

Julie summoned whatever remaining courage she could find, and stared down the man standing in front of her. “Then what are you waiting for?”

Joshua’s voice dropped to a whisper, and she had to strain to hear. “I needed to know for myself, but I think what I’ve been suspecting is true.” He paused, looking around to make sure his men were still at their posts, not focusing on his conversation. He was talking so quietly now there was no way any of them — or Amanda — could hear. “Juliette, Ben and I are looking for the same thing.”

47

“I’M GOING TO ASK YOU one more time,” Reggie said. “What are you doing out here? Why not just kill us all when you had the chance?”
 

Reggie walked behind Rhett, pushing him along when the kid fell behind or veered off course. The kid hadn’t spoken a word since Reggie returned, but Reggie knew he could outlast him. Rhett’s hands were tied behind his back, the rope then tightened around his waist to form a sort of belt that further secured his hands. Ben walked in front with Archie and Paulinho, and the small Brazilian boat hand, Carlo, followed directly behind Reggie. They were traveling in the direction had Reggie pointed them, aided by a hand-drawn map. After losing the maps in the river, Archie Quinones and Reggie had taken a few minutes to recreate on some scraps of paper — to the best of their ability — the maps, as well as the intersecting lines they’d discovered. Between Archie’s knowledge of the area and his own navigational skills, Reggie thought they could remain pointed toward their destination.
 

He hoped.
 

He’d never ventured this far into the Amazon before, and not many outsiders had. Those who had were typically on an exploratory mission, usually funded by a large organization or government, and they had the resources to support them. Still, large groups of people went missing every year in the Amazon Basin, due to high flooding, predators, or hostile natives. Others simply got lost.
 

Reggie wanted to make sure he and his group made it out of the jungle safely, but even with his skill set he knew it was a tall order. They’d soon be battling not just human and animal predators, but the elements as well. Dehydration could set in quicker without a constant supply of fresh, pure drinking water, and food would prove to be more and more difficult to obtain as the rations of MREs and coca leaves they carried in the packs wore thin.
 

On top of that, Julie and Amanda were gone, taken by the mercenaries. He’d wanted to scream when he found out, but he forced himself to push the emotion back and allow the logical side of his person to take over once more. He had decided they needed to move forward and accomplish their mission, allowing the mercenaries to meet up with them later. It was a difficult call to make, considering he now had no control over Amanda’s and Julie’s survival.

He was impressed with Ben’s ability to see his point of view, as well. Ben, unlike Reggie, had skin in this game. He and Julie had arrived here together, and Ben would do whatever he could within his power to make sure they left that way. To agree with Reggie that their best possible course of action was to push forward and attempt to find the lost city would not have been an easy decision to make.

He stepped up closer to Rhett and pressed his fist between his shoulder blades. “You ignoring me now?”

“What do you want to know?” Rhett whirled around and faced Reggie, stopping short. “You’re just trying to get me to talk, you don’t actually need any information from me.”

Reggie grinned. “Fine. You’re right. But I think after the boat incident, you owe us at least one.”

“Shoot.”

“Same thing I asked a minute ago,” Reggie said. “Why not just kill us all when you had the chance? Back at the cabin, or on the boat? Hell, why not just crash the plane? Definitely no survivors that way.”

“That wasn’t my mission,” Rhett said.

Reggie let out a one syllable laugh. “Your
mission
? How old are you, boy? 25?”

Rhett’s face reddened, but to his credit he did not let the anger affect him more than that. “I’m 27, just out of law school. And yes, this is my
mission
. The company sent me here, to make sure the others get the job done. You’ve already underestimated me three times on this trip; what exactly makes you think I am unqualified?”

Reggie chewed on an imaginary piece of tobacco as he looked the young man up and down. Then, with one fluid motion, he swung his right foot around behind Rhett’s left knee. He carried through the movement, lifting Rhett completely off the ground for a second as his legs fell out from beneath him. Rhett hit the ground hard on his back, his hands and rear end taking the brunt of the blow. He yelped in pain, and rolled sideways, anticipating further attack.

Reggie put his right foot back down on the ground and continued fake-chewing. He laughed, then walked over, grabbed Rhett by the collar of his shirt and yanked him to his feet. There was a thick layer of dirt caked on the side of Rhett’s face, and the young man wore a sneer that almost made Reggie pause.

“
That
is why I think you’re unqualified. What kind of company are you working for, anyway? They sent
you
?”

Rhett breathed heavy gulps of air as he tried to calm himself down. The sneer never left his face.

Reggie cocked his head sideways, and he noticed Ben and Archie, Paulinho just behind, walking over to listen.

“Their leader’s name is Joshua,” Rhett said. “And he’s not going to stop. None of it matters now. They’re not going to let any of us go, including me. Even if — somehow — this doesn’t work, they’ll send another group. And another. They
won’t
stop. You ought to just kill me now.”

“You’re resilient, kid,” Reggie said. He nodded toward Ben. “I’m actually surprised Ben didn’t already do that. Besides, what’s the fun in that?”

Ben walked over and roughly pulled Rhett around so they were face-to-face. “You’re lucky I don’t just kill you right now.”

Reggie held up a hand. “Easy, Ben. Let’s make sure he’s telling the truth first.”

“Why would I lie to you about that? Don’t you understand what’s going on? There’s
nothing left
for you here. They have the girl, they know where to go, they’re not going to stop until it’s finished.”

“Then why send you?” Ben asked.

“They’re thorough, the company. They don’t stop until the job is done, and when it makes most sense, they’ll opt for redundancy over saving resources.”

“And their leader? Joshua?” Reggie asked. “Is he as…
qualified
as you?”

Rhett just smiled, his eyes remaining cold and locked on Ben.

Reggie pushed Rhett away, causing him to stumble for catching his balance and walking forward into the trees. Paulinho and Archie were still in front, but Ben held back next to Reggie. Carlo, ever the watchful sentinel, silently began walking at the back of the line when the group continued.

Keeping his voice low, Reggie turned to Ben. “What are you thinking?”

“I should have killed him when I had the chance,” Ben said.

Reggie shook his head. “Push that aside for now, Ben. There’s more at stake here. This ‘company,’ whoever they are, and whatever they’re after, is obviously willing to spend a lot of money to accomplish their goal. And it seems like there may be some sort of distrust in the organization. Why else would they send two teams?”

“This isn’t a
team
, Reggie,” Ben said. “This is a
kid
.”

“And this kid has gotten the jump on us quite a few times already. I don’t intend for it to happen again, and I know you don’t either. That’s why we need to figure this out. Why send both of them?”

Reggie waited for a response, but Ben was silent.

“If these guys really are working for the same company,” Reggie continued, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s telling the truth — this organization might send more. That means logistics are more difficult, communication is harder…”
 

“Can we use that to our advantage?”

“I really do like the way you think, Ben,” Reggie said. “But no, not really. Not out here at least. We need to get to the end of the line, find the city, or whatever it is that’s out there, and get the girls back. Then we tackle the problem of who’s behind all of this.”

Ben nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

They walked along in silence for a minute or two, neither man speaking as they followed directly behind Rhett. They crossed a few small streams and trudged through some low-lying swampland, eventually reaching a higher platform of trees and bushes.

Reggie wondered if Ben was still thinking about the exchange they’d had with Rhett a few minutes ago, but it was Ben who broke the silence first.

“And Reggie?” Ben asked.

Reggie looked over at Ben, waiting.

“You just say the word. Let me know when I can kill this little runt.”

Reggie smiled a true, genuine smile, nodded once, then continued pushing through the rainforest, toward whatever lay ahead.

48

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE’S your brother?” Julie asked. She’d just told Joshua Jefferson about Rhett and his supposed sabotage.
 

“Keep your voice down,” Joshua said. “That’s not information I would like my men to overhear.”

Julie sighed. “You’ve got us tied up, guns pointed at us, in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. The least you could do is explain what the hell is going on.”

Joshua glanced around, making sure — for the hundredth time — none of the men walking around and in front of them could overhear them. “I told you already,” he said. “The company has been lying to me. Something’s going on, and it involves my father. There’s
no way
he would send my brother out here, and certainly not on company business.”

“But you? He would send you?”

“Look around, Julie,” Joshua said, his whisper raised to an excited level. “I’m
trained
for this. I’ve led men into the darkest corners of the earth, and brought just about every one of them back alive. This is what I do.”

“Steal innocent women and tie them up to use as bargaining chips later?”

Joshua looked away, then down at the ground as they walked. “Julie, come on. I told you the truth. I thought this was… I assumed something different.”

“You assumed we were murderers and the only way to protect your company was to kill us?”

“Stop. Be reasonable for a second. I know it’s hard to ask, but trust me. I was given orders, just like always. I always follow the orders, and then I get paid. I’m good at what I do, and I don’t ask questions.”

Julie just stared at him.

“I’m starting to ask questions, Julie.” He looked over at Amanda. Julie followed his gaze, and her heart immediately fell. No one had touched her since they’d tied her wrists, but she looked beaten. No one had spoken a word to her, but she looked distraught. Julie wanted to call out, to say something to her that would lift her spirits, but it was hopeless. There was nothing she could say or do that would make Amanda feel any different about the situation. She almost wanted to ask Joshua to speak a little bit louder so that Amanda could overhear their conversation, for whatever good it might do.

Instead, she just waited for Joshua to continue.

“My father has worked for this company for as long as I can remember. After I quit my job with a private security detail, the company recruited me. It didn’t take much — I was always intrigued by what my dad did, even though he rarely spoke about it at home.

“I was trained, given a brief overview of the expectations, then went through a barrage of psychological examinations. After that, I started running missions for them. I’ve been leading a group of men since then, all chosen by the company, and never the same group.”

Julie was slightly taken aback by this statement. It seemed honest; genuine. At the same time, it didn’t seem like any sort of military structure she’d ever heard of.

“They’re secretive, all of them. I’ve only been contacted by three or four members of the organization since I’ve started working there, including my own father. But I haven’t actually heard his voice in months.”

“Why are you telling me all this,” Julie asked?

Again, Joshua looked around. “They’re working on something, and my father is a part of it. But I’m a pawn, someone they can send to do their dirty work for them. And that ‘dirty work’ has been getting a lot dirtier lately.”

“Sounds like it’s time to put in your letter of resignation,” Julie said.

Joshua scoffed. “If only it was that easy,” he said. “This isn’t the type of company you just
leave
. Once you’re in…”

“Okay, so what do you need from me?”

Joshua looked at her strangely. “Need? What you mean?”

“There’s a reason you’re telling me all this,” Julie said. “And I think it has something to do with the fact that you don’t trust your employer, and that I am out here because I want to
find
your employer.”