Scene 42

Jungle Outpost in the Guyana Highlands

I had tensed when Secuaz pointed the gun at me, but no bullet came.

As I watched, the Lieutenant’s eyes widened in disbelief. He slowly lowered the gun as he looked down. A circle of blood was rapidly soaking into his uniform on his chest. He looked back at me one last time and tried to raise the gun again. He never made it, however, as his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed in front of me.

I quickly turned around to see who had shot Secuaz. Several yards behind me, Marta Pombo had stepped out from between two buildings and fired her weapon. She slowly lowered the pistol from her firing stance and quickly walked towards me.

“Thank you,” I said to her.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Fine,” I answered. Suddenly, two guards stepped into the clearing and began firing their rifles at us. “Down!” I yelled as I pulled her to the ground.

She quickly spun to return fire, but it was unnecessary. From behind the guards, Frank dove at them with a battle cry, knocking them to the ground. The guards fought back, but they never stood a chance; Frank had his fighting gloves on.

Another three guards burst into the clearing, apparently running for their lives as five dogs followed them into the clearing. The guards saw the natives with their bows and skidded to a halt. Looking back at the dogs and then again to the natives, the guards dropped to the ground in submission. The dogs then surrounded the guards and barked at them, sometimes darting in to snap at the guards. Shortly thereafter, Vmac and John trotted out of the jungle.

I looked around the clearing. The natives were quickly rounding up the few remaining guards. Ms. Stork broke away from the natives, along with Pivat, and walked over to us.

“Where are they?” she asked.

“This way,” I told her and led her over to where Jock and Greg were guarding the women.

The two men parted as we approached and we entered the building. When the women saw me, they shrank back in terror. Ms. Stork quickly stepped forward and calmed them, letting them know I wasn’t one of their captors.

“Where is she?” Ms. Stork asked the women.

The crowd of women parted to reveal Ms. Hawk lying on a cot. Ms. Stork and I quickly moved to her side. We knelt over her to examine her.

She was unconscious and very pale. The guards had beaten her severely.

“Can we do anything?” I asked.

Ms. Stork shook her head sadly. “If I were a physician and this was a medical facility, then probably, but I can’t do anything for her here. She has suffered too much damage.”

I felt Pivat’s presence behind me. He leaned over to look at Ms. Hawk.

“She urt bad?” he asked sadly.

“Yes, Pivat, she is,” I told him.

“Aye get ep!” he declared and ran from the building.