Amazonia

Jessie, now six years old, stood at her grandmother’s shoulder, dressed in a yellow flannel nightgown with Disney’s Pocahontas on the front. Her tousled red hair looked as if she had just climbed out of bed. She waved at the screen. “Hi, Mommy!”

“Hi, sweetheart. Are you having a good time with Grandma and Grandpa?”

She nodded vigorously. “We went to Chuck E. Cheese’s today!”

Kelly’s smile broadened. “That sounds like fun. I wish I could’ve been there.”

“We saved a piece of pizza for you.”

In the background, her mother’s eyes rolled with the exasperation of all grandparents who’ve had encounters with the giant Chuck E. Cheese’s rodent.

“Did you see any lions, Mommy?”

This earned a chuckle. “No, hon, there are no lions here. That’s Africa.”

“How about gorillas?”

“No, that’s Africa, too—but we did see some monkeys.”

Jessica’s eyes grew round. “Can you catch one and bring one home? I always wanted a monkey.”

“I don’t think the monkey would like that. He has his own mommy here.”

Her mother placed an arm around Jessica. “And I think it’s time we let your mommy get some sleep. She has to get up early like you do.”

Jessica’s face fell into a pout.

Kelly leaned closer to the screen. “I love you, Jessie.”

She waved at the screen. “Bye, Mommy.”

Her mother smiled at her. “Be careful, hon. I wish I could be there.”

“You’ve got enough work of your own. Did the…um…” Her eyes flicked to Jessie. “…package arrive safely?”

Her mother’s face drifted to a more serious demeanor. “It cleared customs in Miami about six o’clock, arrived here in Virginia about ten, and was trucked to the Instar Institute. In fact, your father’s still over there, making sure all is in order for tomorrow’s examination.”

Kelly nodded, relieved Clark’s body had arrived in the States safely.

“I should get Jessie to bed, but I’ll update you tomorrow night during the evening uplink. You be careful out there.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a crack team of ten Army Rangers as bodyguards. I’ll be safer than on the streets of downtown Washington.”

“Still, you two watch each other’s backs.”

Kelly glanced to Frank, who was talking to Richard Zane. “We will.”

Her mother swept her a kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you too, Mom.” Then the screen went dead.

Kelly closed the laptop, then slumped to a chair by the table, suddenly exhausted. She stared at the others. Her gear was already packed and stored on the Huey. Free from any responsibilities for the moment, her mind drifted back to the red serpentine tattoo wrapped around a blue palm, the symbol of the Ban-ali, the ghost tribe of the Amazon.

Two questions nagged her: Did such a tribe exist, a tribe with these mythic powers? And if so, would ten armed Rangers be enough?

Three

The Doctor and the Witch

AUGUST 6, 11:45 P.M.

CAYENNE, FRENCH GUIANA

Louis Favre was often described as a bastard and drunkard, but never to his face. Never. The unfortunate sot who had dared now sat on his backside in the alley behind the Hotel Seine, a great decaying colonial edifice that sat on a hill overlooking the capital city of French Guiana.

A moment ago, in the hotel’s dark bar, the miscreant at his feet had been hassling a fellow regular, a man in his eighties, a survivor of the dreaded penal colony of Devil’s Island. Louis had never spoken to the old man, but he had heard his tale from the barkeep. As with many of the prisoners shipped here from France, he had been doubly sentenced: for every year spent in the island hellhole ten miles off the coast, the fellow was forced to spend an equal number of years in French Guiana afterward. It was a way to ensure a French presence in the colony. And as the government had hoped, most of these pitiable souls ended up staying here. What life did they have back in France after so long?

Louis had often studied this fellow, a kindred soul, another exile. He would watch the man sip his neat bourbons, reading the lines in his aged and despairing face. He valued these quiet moments.

So when the half-drunk Englishman had tripped and bumped into the old man’s elbow, knocking over his drink, and then simply tottered on past without the courtesy of apology or acknowledgment, Louis Favre had gained his feet and confronted the man.

“Piss off, Frenchie,” the young man had slurred in his face.

Louis continued to block the man’s exit from the bar. “You’ll buy my dear friend another drink, or we’ll have it out, monsieur.”

“Bugger off already, you drunk wanker.” The man attempted to shove past.

Louis had sighed, then struck out with a fist, bashing the man’s nose bloody, and grabbed him by the lapels of his poor suit. Other patrons turned their attention to their own drinks. Louis hauled the rude young man, still dazed from the blow and a night of heavy drinking, through a back door into the alley.

He set to work on earning an apology from the man, not that he could really talk with a mouthful of bloody teeth. By the time Louis was done kicking and beating the man, he lay in a ruin of piss and blood in the alley’s filth. He gave the man one final savage kick, hearing a satisfying crack of ribs. With a nod, Louis retrieved his white Panama hat from atop a rubbish bin and straightened his linen suit. He stared at his shoes, ivory patent leather. Frowning, he plucked out a pristine handkerchief and wiped the blood from the tip of his shoes. He scowled at the Englishman, thought about kicking him one last time, but then studied his newly polished shoes and decided better.

Positioning his hat in place, he reentered the smoky bar and signaled the barman. He pointed to the old gent. “Please refresh my friend’s drink.”

The Spanish barkeep nodded and reached for a bottle of bourbon.

Louis met his gaze and wagged a finger at him.

The barman bit his lip at the faux pas. Louis always went for the best, even when buying drinks for friends. Duly admonished, the man reached for a bottle of properly aged Glenlivet, the best in the house.

“Merci.” With matters rectified, Louis headed for the entrance to the hotel’s lobby, almost running into the concierge.

The small-framed man bowed and apologized profusely. “Dr. Favre! I was just coming to find you,” he said breathlessly. “I have an overseas call holding for your attention.” He passed Louis a folded note. “They refused to leave a message and stressed the call was urgent.”