Brodie smiled, then looked back at the map. “Carmen also said she could see another flat mountain when she got to Mercer’s camp.” He studied the map. “Here is a big cluster of tepuis called Chimantá Massif… and here are some smaller, unnamed tepuis. So if my guess about the general location of Mercer’s camp is correct, then that matches up with these tepuis, which I’m sure could be seen from Mercer’s camp.”
Taylor focused on the map, computing the variables of speed and time from the probable starting point of Kavak, along with the terrain features. “Okay… if Kavak is correct, and if she went upriver for about an hour, and if you’re correct about the speed of a boat going against the current, then we’ve got a general idea of where this camp is.”
He assured her, “I took the land navigation course at Benning.”
“Did you pass?”
“I did. More importantly, I passed the real test in Iraq.”
She looked at him. “I have a lot of confidence in your skills. It’s your judgment that worries me.”
“Me too.”
She looked back at the map. “All right… A recon drone from Colombia or from a U.S. naval vessel could pinpoint the camp in a few hours.” She looked at Brodie. “Then a Delta team goes in and takes him.”
“Right.”
“That’s what we need to tell Colonel Dombroski.” She reminded him, “I will be present for this call.”
“As promised.”
“Good. So call him and let’s see if Worley has spoken to him, and if we’re being pulled from this case.”
“Okay, but to argue against that, we need to present Dombroski with our operational plan going forward.” He added, “We need to book a flight to the airstrip in Kavak.”
Taylor nodded, picked up her tablet, and ran a search, finding an international air charter company called Apex that claimed to run planes out of Caracas’ Francisco de Miranda Airport.
Brodie thought it would be better security to use the sat phone to call the U.S. toll-free number listed on the Apex website and he went out on the balcony to get clear sky. Taylor followed.
Brodie dialed, and a woman who sounded American and efficientanswered. “Apex International Air Charter Service. This is Ann Muller speaking. How may I help you?”
“My name is Clark Bowman, Ms. Muller, and I am currently in Caracas. That’s Venezuela. I need to charter a flight from Francisco de Miranda Airport to a place called Kavak, also in Venezuela, and I need to leave as soon as possible.”
“Yes, sir. And what type of aircraft will you need?”
“Well… a teeny-tiny aircraft.”
“Okay… how teeny-tiny?”
“Kavak has a teeny-tiny airstrip, so the aircraft has to be teeny enough to land on the tiny airstrip.”
“Yes it does… Let me go into my program and find Kavak. Can you spell—?”
Brodie spelled it for her, adding, “This is not the Kavak in Poland.”
“Yes, sir. You said Venezuela… here it is. Yes, this is very tiny. Sixteen-hundred-foot grass runway… no control tower… no runway lights… no refueling—”
“It’s just an airstrip, Ms. Muller. Hopefully with a wind sock. If it was an international airport, I wouldn’t be calling you to charter a puddle jumper.”
“Yes, sir. I’m looking at what we have in Caracas… It appears that we have only one pilot operating out of Francisco de Miranda Airport, and he flies a single-engine, six-seat Cessna Stationair, but he also has access to other aircraft that may be more suitable for this landing and takeoff. He’ll know.” She asked, “How many passengers will there be?”
Brodie glanced at Taylor, who was staring out at the city but undoubtedly listening to his conversation. “Two.” Unless they could take Carmen along. “Me and my wife, who is light as a feather. Speaking of which, we’re bird-watchers.”
“All right, that’s… interesting… Will you need a return or ongoing flight?”
“We will, but I don’t know when.” Or where, for that matter.
Taylor had obviously figured out the question and said to Brodie, “We are leaving the same day we get there.”
