CHAPTER FOUR
“Kirk, I think we should wait until we see Gasi tonight before tracking in there,” Surya said. “Besides, I’m hungry.”
Kirk looked down the dusty path leading into the rain forest. It was well-used by the locals and the two they’d just interviewed assured him many tourists trekked down it too. There was a small flourishing open-air market and, although it was late in the day, a few stands were open, attracting some tourists who had opted to take a walk in the cooler hours.
Watching Surya questioning them had been a revelation too. She’d wiped off her lipstick and taken off her earrings. She’d buttoned up her shirt. Hell, she’d even changed her walk, putting a little distance between them. It was fascinating how she’d morphed into someone else before his eyes. Her voice was soft and lyrical as she spoke inMelayuto the two villagers, making them laugh with a line here and there. She had an easy smile on her face as she interpreted his questions in between her chatter. He could tell she was taking time loosening them up, telling them some kind of story until their faces became more animated and their demeanor turned more familiar. GEM contractors had a great reputation for working within foreign countries and were often an integral part of the social teams in organizations such as the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders. He wondered about her background, because she looked so natural in this setting.
“Why buy supplies here?” Kirk asked, frowning. “I understand it won’t catch anyone’s attention when two or three Caucasians shop around and walk in and out of the woods and all, but it’s still odd. Why don’t the terrorists send their own people to get supplies? Surely they would look even less conspicuous, hauling that much food?”
“Good question. It’s a good tactic, though. While they are negotiating to release the prisoners, the mercenaries guard the hostages somewhere no one expected,” Surya said. “Sort of distracting the enemy—rocket in one place, hostages another, negotiation, another.”
He mulled that over for a few seconds. It did make good strategic sense. If Surya’s theory was correct, he would have to tell Dec to coordinate at least two groups of SEALs for the operations ahead. How else could they track the whereabouts of the missile and rescue the scientists when they were at different locations? He would be busy in the middle of negotiating with the kidnappers and if they proved to be as cutthroat as their reputation, they’d be signaling to dump the dead scientists somewhere while pretending to agree with him about the terms and monetary exchange. Somehow, he must improve the odds of getting to the scientists while they were alive. The only way to do this was to do some tracking. He hoped this friend of Surya—Gasi—was as good as she said.
“Agreed,” he said. “I need to talk to my operations chief as well as Dec first anyway. They need to track our location.”
Surya tapped his water bottle. “Done. Duh. Did you forget we brought some toys?”
Kirk smiled. “I didn’t, but I prefer talk before action in this case because so many people are involved.”
Surya cocked her head. “Hopefully you have more action in mind later.” She gave him a sweet smile and added, “Although talking can be fun. Like foreplay.”
“I heard jungle sex is fun,” he bantered.
Surya shuddered. “That is so not what I have in mind.”
He couldn’t help teasing her, even while he was taking out his phone to dial Dec’s number. “You’ll never know until you try it. Wild monkey sex is—uh, it’s me. Is our link secured?”
No names in public. He opened the car door and slipped inside. Surya tapped the window and pointed toward the market. He assumed she wanted to walk around and check it out and nodded in agreement. Wiping away the perspiration on his forehead, he turned on the air conditioning.
“Yes,” Dec replied on the other end. “Give me what you got.”
“I have a lead,” Kirk began, and then gave a quick but detailed summary. He also provided their current location before cautioning he wasn’t a hundred percent. “The villagers’ observations are just that, observations. But they’re locals and very used to foreign visitors and their habits. Tourists buying too much food and supplies would catch their attention. Carrying the supplies into the forest during late evening hours is also suspicious. In the last few days, two have asked questions about guides into territory the locals said were dangerous. That’s also interesting.”
“It’s a good lead. What is the overall SITREP?”
“It’s not going to be easy,” Kirk replied. The situation was alarmingly serious. “I received communication from my supervisor on where the kidnappers want to negotiate. It’s about ten miles from here, which is another clue to our scientists being in the jungle near this village. That makes two different locations.”
“And then there’s the missile in a third place,” Dec added.
“That’s right,” he agreed. “Three different problems.”
Dec was silent for a few seconds. Then he said, “Hawk’s SEAL team will go to the jungle. We need more info about those dangerous territories you were talking about. You take over the negotiations and keep in contact. Wear the earpiece so you know what is taking place at the other locations.”
“Surya has a guide I can talk to about those areas. We’re meeting soon.”
“How’s working with the GEM translator working out?”
Kirk looked toward the marketplace. There weren’t too many people about at this hour, so it was easy to find Surya. She was talking to several youths standing at the edge of the stalls. One of them pointed to the path leading into the woods. With her coloring she looked very natural out there.
“It’s working out fine,” he replied, frowning slightly when one of the male youths walked closer to her. What was she asking those kids?
“Jed informed me you know her.”
Kirk sighed. Of course someone would inform Dec. Dec always knew things. “Yeah,” he admitted and didn’t volunteer any details.
“That bad, huh?”
“I…we…Dec, she and I will be okay, if you’re worried we aren’t getting along,” Kirk said, and hurriedly added, “She’s excellent at her job.”
