The Evening News (102 page)

When the foot was free,
Fernandez
found it impossible to walk without
excruciating pain. Clearly his ankle was broken or very badly sprained
.”
That's not true; you've never let us down
,”
Partridge said
.”
You've been
our guide and good companion and we'll carry you. We need to make some kind
of litter
.”

Fernandez
shook his head
.”
Even if possible, there is not time. I have not
spoken of it, Harry, but I have heard sounds behind us. They are following
,
and not far away. You must go on, and leave me
.”

Jessica had joined them. She told Partridge, "We can't leave him here
.”

"One of us can take you on his back
,”
O'Hara said
.”
I'll try it.-
.In this heat
?
”

Fernandez
was impatient
.”
You would not last a hundred
yards and it would slow all of you
.”

About to add his own protest, Partridge knew it would be an exercise in
futility. FernAndez was right; there could be no other choice than leaving
him. But he added, "If there's help at the airstrip and it can be done
,
we'll come back for you
.”

"Do not waste more time, Harry. I need to say some things quickly
.”

Fernandez
was sitting beside the trail, his back against a tree; the brush
was too thick to move him farther in. Partridge knelt beside him. Jessica
joined them
.”
I have a wife and four children
,”
Ferna
ndez said
.”
I would like to think
someone will take care of them
.”

"You work for CBA
,”
Partridge said, "and CBA will do it.
I give you my solemn word, an official promise. The children's education-everything
.”

Fern4ndez nodded, then motioned to an M-16 rifle he had been carrying and
which lay beside him
.”
You had better take this. You may need it as well
as what you have. But I do not intend to be taken alive. I would like a
pistol
.”

Partridge gave him the nine-millimeter Browning, first slipping off the
silencer
.”
Oh, Fernandez
!”

Jessica's voice was choked, her eyes filled with tears
.”
Nicky and I owe you so much
.”

She leaned forward and kissed him on the
forehead
.”
Then go
!”

Ferna
ndez urged her
.”
Do not squander more time and lose what
we have won
!”

As Jessica rose, Partridge leaned forward, held Ferna
n
dez tightly and
kissed him on both cheeks. Behind him Minh and O'Hara waited to give a
farewell hug
.
Rising, Partridge moved forward. He did not look back.

The moment Miguel saw a boat beached at the entrance to the jungle trail
,
then recognized it as from Nueva Esperanza, he was glad he had made the
decision to join the Sion airstrip sortie
.
He was even more pleased when
Ramon
, leaping quickly from their own boat
as it nudged into shore, ran to the other boat and announced, "Un motor
estd caliente, el otro friofundido
.”
The hot engine meant their quarry had not been in the jungle very long
.
The cold, burned-out engine told them the other boat's speed had been
reduced, its occupants delayed in getting here
.
As well as Miguel, the Sendero group comprised seven wellarmed men
.
Speaking in Spanish, he told them, "The bourgeois scum cannot be far
ahead. We'll catch and punish them. Let us move like the wrath of
Guzma
n
!”

There was a ragged cheer as they
filed quickly into the jungle.

"We're a few minutes early
,”
Rita Abrams told the Cheyenne 11 pilot
,
Oswaldo Zileri, as they approached the Sion airstrip-first point of call
on their aerial itinerary. A m
oment ago she had checked her W
atch: 7:55
.”
We'll circle and watch
,”
he said
.”
In any case, this is the least likely
place for your friends to be
.”

As they had yesterday, all four in the plane-Rita, Crawford Sloane, Zileri
and the copilot, Felipe-peered down at the quilt of green beneath them
.
They were looking for any sign of movement, particularly around the short
,
tree-lined airstrip, which was hard to see until they were directly
overhead. Again, like yesterday, there was no visible activity of any kind.

Along the jungle trail, Nicky was finding it increasingly difficult to
maintain the punishing pace. Jessica and Minh were helping him, each
grabbing an arm and partially pulling him, partially lifting him over
difficult patches as they continued forward. Eventually Nicky might have
to be carried, but for the moment the others husbanded their remaining
strength
.
It had been about t
en minutes since they left Ferna
ndez. Ken O'Hara was now
up ahead, leading. Partridge had dropped back to his position in the rear
,
from where he occasionally glanced backward. So far there had been no sign
of movement
.
Above their heads, the trees appeared to be thinning, more daylight coming
through their branches; also the trail had widened. It was a sign
,
Partridge hoped, that they were nearing the airstrip. At one point lie
thought he heard the distant sound of an airplane, but could not be sure
.
Again he checked his watch: nearly 7:55
.
At that moment, from somewhere behind, came a short, sharp
crack-unmistakably the sound of
a single shot. It had to be Fernan
dez
,
Partridge reasoned. And even in using the Browning, from which Partridge
had deliberately removed the silencer, the zealous stringer-fixer provided
a final service-a warning that pursuit was close. As if in confirmation
,
several other shots followed
.
Perhaps the pursuers, h
aving seen Fernandez-presumably
dead-thought they saw others ahead and had fired at random. Then, for whatever reason, the firing ceased
.
Partridge himself was near exhaustion. Through the past fifty hours, with
scarcely any sleep, he had pushed himself to the limit. Now he was having
trouble keeping his attention focused
.
In one of those moments, mentally meandering, he decided that what he
wanted most was relief from action . . . When this adventure ended he
would resume the vacation he had barely started and simply disappear, be
unavailable . . . And wherever he went, perhaps he should take Vivien-the
only woman left to him whose loving was available . . . Jessica and Gemma
had been the past; Vivien could be the future. Perhaps, until now, he had
treated her unfairly, should consider marriage after all . . . It was not
too late . . . He knew it was something Vivien would like . .
.
With an effort, he snapped back to the present
,
Suddenly they had emerged from the jungle. The airstrip was in view!
Overhead an airplane was circling-it was a Cheyenne! Ken O'Hara-reliable
to the end, Partridge thought
was loading a green-banded cartridge into
the flare gun he had carried all this way. Green for Land normally
,
everything is .clear
.
With equal suddenness, from behind, came the sound of two more shots
,
this time much closer
.”
Send up a red flare, not a green
!”

Partridge yelled at O'Hara
.”
And do
it fast
!”

Red for Land as quickly as possible, we are in danger!

It was several minutes past eight o'clock. In the C
heyenne II
above Sion
airstrip, Zileri turned his head toward Rita and Sloane. He told them
,
"Nothing's happening here. We'll go to the other two points
.”

The plane turned away. As it did, Crawford Sloane called out, "Hold it!
I think I saw something
!”

Zileri aborted the turn and swung the airplane back. He asked, "Wher
e
”

“
Somewhere down there
.”

S
loane pointed
.”
I'm not sure of
the exact spot. It was just for a moment . . . I thought His voice mirrored his own uncertainty
.
Zileri flew the plane in a circle. Again they scrutinized as much of the
ground as they could. When the circle was complete the pilot said, "I
don't see a
thing. I think we should go on.”
At that moment, a red flare curled upward from the ground.

O'Hara fired a second red flare
.”
That'll do. They've seen us
,”
Partridge said. The airplane had already
turned toward them. What he needed to know now was which way the plane
would land. Then he would pick a position to fight off the pursuers and
occupy it while the others boarded first
.
The answer quickly became evident. The Cheyenne 11 was in a tight
descending turn, losing height fast, and would come in over their heads
.
After that, it would land facing away from the jungle trail from where
the shooting had been coming
.
Looking back, Partridge could still see no one in sight, despite the
shots. He could only guess the reason for shooting. Perhaps someone
,
while advancing, was firing blindly, hoping for a lucky hit
.
He told O'Hara, "Get Jessica and Nicky down by the landing strip fast
,
and stay with them! When the plane gets to the far end, they'll swing
around and taxi back. Go forward to meet the airplane, and all of you get
aboard. Did you hear that, Minh
?
”

"I heard
.”

Minh, with an eye glued to his camera, was imperturbably
taking pictures, as he had at various moments throughout the journey
.
Partridge decided not to worry anymore about Minh. He would take care of
himself. Jessica asked anxiously, "What about you, Harry
?
”

He told her, "I'm going to cover you by firing down the trail. As soon
as you're aboard I'll join you. Now get going
!”

O'Hara put an arm around Jessica, who was holding Nicky's good hand, and
hurried them away. Even as they moved, looking back toward the jungle Par
tr
idge saw several figures now in sight, advancing on the airstrip, guns pointed forward
.
Partridge dropped behind a small hillock nearby. Lying on his belly, he
rested the Kalashnikov in front of him, the sights of the automatic rifle
directed at the moving figures. He squeezed the trigger, and amid a burst
of fire saw one of the figures fall, the others dive for cover. At the
sa
me time he heard the Cheyenne II
swoop in low above his head. Though
he did not turn to watch, he knew it should be landing now.

"There they are
!”

Crawford Sloane shouted, near-hysterical with
excitement
.”
I see them! It's Jessica and Nicky
!”