“What’s going on?” asked Lang

  “It looks like the Americans convinced the Indians to leave the village and to burn everything they left behind to the ground.”

  “No,” groaned Lang. “This can’t be happening. What about the flowers? Can you see any?”

  Salazar shook his head. “Looks like they torched the fields surrounding their settlement, as well.”

  “They can’t have gotten too far. We have to stop them. They wouldn’t have left without taking some plants or seeds with them.”

  “Herr Lang, this smells like a trap to me. The instant we walk out of the jungle, we’ll be in the open.”

  “I don’t care. Tell Colonel Sosa to carry on and stop those people before they get away with my flowers.”

  Salazar nodded. He had no doubt Lang’s impetuosity was going to trigger a firefight. Perhaps now was the time to give Sosa an honorable death. He walked to Sosa’s side. “Colonel, Herr Lang wants us to push on through the village and stop the natives before they get away.”

  Where Salazar saw a trap, Sosa saw a chance to avenge the deaths of the men he had lost. “Very well,” Sosa spoke into his radio headset. Right away two groups of men crept out of the jungle and walked warily toward the village.

  “Okay, boys, I’ve got two squads in sight,” said Sam into Mitchell and Jackson’s earpieces. “One is moving down the right side of the village and the other, the left.”

  Mitchell lay on the ground next to a tree stump. He looked through his weapon’s telescopic sight and saw one of the mercenary teams. They had stopped to check out the smoldering remains of a hut. Mitchell waited until he saw a man give an order to the rest of the squad. He placed his sight on the man’s upper thigh and pulled the trigger. With a loud crack, his rifle fired. Mitchell saw the squad leader drop to the ground. The first man who moved to help the wounded merc received a shot in the knee. With two men down, the rest of the team dove for cover. After seeing what had happened, no one bothered to help the two men writhing in pain on the ground.

  Two more shots rang out. Jackson had engaged the other team of mercenaries.

  Mitchell moved slightly to the right of the stump so he could see better. His eyes widened when he spotted three men emerge from the jungle with rocket launchers on their shoulders. He threw himself behind the stump just as the rockets were launched. One went right over his head and detonated in the jungle behind him. The other two fell short and exploded on the ground, sending rocks and dirt flying up into the air.

  “Fire the right hand Claymore,” said Mitchell into his mic.

  Sam depressed the firing device in her hand, triggering the mine.

  The explosion shook the trees, as hundreds of ball bearings shot toward the trail the mercenaries were using. A couple of men died right away, while more screamed out in pain as the projectiles tore through their skin.

  Sosa stood up and pointed toward the village. Blood streamed down his cheek from where a ball bearing had struck him. His eyes looked like they were on fire. “Follow me!” he yelled out.

  With a loud hurrah, his men charged out of the jungle, firing as they ran.

  Mitchell saw the hired killers rush out into the open. It was time to leave. He jumped to his feet, fired off a quick burst and ran. Covered by the smoke of a nearby burning hut he ran as fast as he could to Sam and Gordon’s location. Out of the corner of his eye, Mitchell saw Jackson running for his life as well. At the fallen tree, Mitchell dove over the top and rolled over on his shoulder.

  “Fire the other clackers,” he said to Sam.

  Sam and Cardinal each picked up a Claymore arming device and pressed down on the handle. Instead of hearing a couple of loud explosions, nothing happened.

  “Do it again,” said Jackson, as he took cover behind the log.

  Sam and Cardinal squeezed the devices together several times. The mines failed to explode.

  “Second-hand crap,” said Mitchell to himself.

  Sam scooped up Cardinal’s sniper rifle and popped her head up. She saw a man stopping to remove the safety clip from a grenade. When he had pulled his arm back to throw the bomb, Sam fired. The merc dropped his grenade to the ground, shot through the underarm. He bent down to pick it up but was half-second too slow. It exploded, killing him and the two men nearest to him.

  “Time for you two to leave,” said Mitchell to Sam. “Nate and I will pin them down while you get away.”

  “Like hell. I’m not leaving you,” replied Sam.

  “This isn’t a request. It’s an order. Head down the trail for about a kilometer, and wait for us there. Give us thirty minutes. If we don’t show, forget about us and try to link up with Yuri. Got it?”

  Jackson let loose a burst into a couple of men trying to flank their position. He yelled, “Do it, Sam!”

  Sam gritted her teeth and took Cardinal by the hand. “Gord, trust me. Keep your head low and let me guide you.”

  Mitchell waited until his friends were gone before getting up on one knee and firing a three-round burst into a mercenary carrying a squad automatic weapon in his hands.

  The sound of bullets flying back and forth was like a whip cracking through the air.

  Salazar had followed Sosa into the maelstrom. The smoke from the fires made it hard to see where the gunfire was coming from. All around them lay their men. Some were trying to escape the hail of bullets, while others lay still on the ground.

  The headlong rush from the jungle had quickly slowed to a crawl. With casualties mounting by the second, no one wanted to be the next person hit. Most of the men still injured had gone to ground or were hiding behind whatever cover they could find.

  If he was going to do it, now would be the time. Salazar stepped close behind Sosa and took a quick look around to ensure no one was looking in his direction. He placed the barrel of his weapon against his old boss’ back.

  Sosa turned his head and looked up. “What are you doing, Vladimir?”

  “This,” said Salazar, as he pulled the trigger and fired a single shot into Sosa’s heart. His body spasmed and fell face first to the ground. “Sorry, my old friend, but you’re old news. Besides, I need the money your company has amassed more than you do.”

  An excited voice spoke into Salazar’s headset. It was one of the platoon commanders. “Patron, red and blue platoon leaders are both down. What do you want us to do?”

  Salazar poked his head around and took a look. There were even more bodies on the ground now than there had been only a minute ago. He keyed his mic. “Can you outflank them?”

  “We can try.”

  “Do it!”

  Salazar pulled his head back and dropped to one knee. He rolled Sosa over and began to rummage through his pockets. When he found the man’s phone, he smiled. “Thanks for everything,” Salazar said, putting the phone with all of its contact numbers away for safekeeping.

  “Uh, Nate, they’re moving into the jungle on the left,” said Mitchell to Jackson. “They’re going to try and get behind us.”

  “I saw that,” replied his friend. “But I’m beginning to run low on ammo. How about you?”

  “Same.”

  “Screw this,” said Jackson. “They all can’t be bad.” With that, he picked up the nearest Claymore clacker and checked that it was wired up correctly before squeezing it a couple of times in his powerful hands.

  A second later, the mine detonated. There were only a couple of men in the kill zone, but the noise of it going off was enough. Everywhere, The Scorpions stopped dead in their tracks and refused their leaders’ orders to advance.

  “What do you think, time to leave?” said Mitchell.

  Jackson nodded. They slipped away from the bullet-ridden log and crept into the jungle. As soon as they were out of sight, they began to jog. They didn’t stop until they ran into Sam and Cardinal, hiding behind a tree.

  Mitchell felt a pang of remorse when he saw the bandages Sam had placed over both of Cardinal’s eyes. “I know this is a silly question, but how are you doing?”

  “I’ve had better days,” replied Cardinal.

  “How did it go?” Sam asked.

  “It’s going to take them some time to sort themselves out,” replied Mitchell. “I’d like to think that they’d call it a day after that fight and go home, but they won’t quit, not when billions of dollars are at stake.”

  “Folks, we can walk and talk at the same time,” said Jackson. “Let’s put some more space between us and our friends.”

  Mitchell’s satphone buzzed. He looked and saw the call was from Alejandro. Mitchell answered the call and got right to the point. “Where are you?”

  “I’m about six hours from your location,” replied Alejandro.

  “We’re no longer there.”

  “Where are you, then? Is Julia safe?”

  “As of this morning, she was doing fine. Listen, I don’t have time to explain everything. Do you still have those reporters with you?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “Alejandro, you have to inadvertently fly over the native village, so the reporters can see the devastation. Don’t worry, we’re all okay, but the village has been razed to the ground. Make sure the reporters record everything. Perhaps drop a line that hired guns for some greedy corporation must be behind it and then let them run with the story.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would we let the world know about the village?”

  “Because at some point, the story about an undiscovered native tribe is bound to get out. Unfortunately, by the time the government sends someone to investigate what happened, the village, along with all of the natives, will have been wiped off the face of the Earth during the assault.”

  “Got it. I’m on my way.”

  “Alejandro, be careful. These bastards have a stolen military MI-26 helicopter at their disposal. If you see it, steer well clear of it.”

  “Will do.”

  “Good luck, and I’ll call you later tonight.” Mitchell ended the call and slipped the phone back in its pouch.

  “You sneaky S.O.B.,” said Jackson. “In the future, people won’t go looking for something if it no longer exists.”

  “That’s the plan. Now, let’s see if we can catch up with Yuri before last light.”

  47

  “They’re gone, Patron,” reported a mercenary with a sweat-stained face.

  “Which way did they go?” asked Salazar.

  “They’re following a trail that leads to the northwest.”

  “Take a squad and track them down. Whatever you do, don’t engage them until we catch up with you.”

  “Si, Patron,” replied the man.

  “Señor Salazar, the helicopter is en route,” reported a short man with a radio on his back.

  “How long until it gets here?”

  “Two and a half hours.”

  “Thank you.” Salazar looked around at what was left of The Scorpions.

  A bearded mercenary reported to Salazar. “Sir, during the fight we lost twelve men. A further twenty-one require medical assistance of one kind or another. We’ve only got fifty-two men still on their feet.”

  Salazar nodded. The news was worse than he had anticipated. However, Colonel Sosa’s death had rallied The Scorpions to Salazar’s side. What was left of them wanted revenge.

  Gerhardt Lang sat on a tree stump with his head in hands. A mercenary stood guard next to him. Salazar was in no mood to talk with the annoying man anymore. He checked his watch and saw he had plenty time to deal with the other part of his scheme. Salazar’s heart began to race at the thought of the money he was going to get his hands on. He snapped his fingers and pointed at Lang. The man guarding him hauled him to his feet and pushed him over to Salazar.

  “Señor Salazar, this is intolerable,” whined Lang. “I demand that you let me go.”

  “Soon enough,” replied Salazar. “But not until you have transferred the other half of the money you owe us into our Swiss bank account.”

  Lang chuckled. “I don’t think so. We have a business agreement.”

  “And I’m altering that agreement. The money, sir. I want it transferred.” Salazar handed Lang a satphone, stepped back, and crossed his arms.

  “This is blackmail. What if I won’t do what you’re asking?”

  “Then I hope you like torture. Rodriguez is well-versed in the art of extracting information from people like you.”

  Lang looked at the man guarding him. The mercenary smiled at him and drew a knife from its scabbard. In an instant, his bowels turned to jelly. “Please, no. I’ll do whatever you want. Give me the blasted phone.”

  Rodriguez spoke to Salazar in Spanish. “What do you want me to do with him once you have the money?”

  “When it gets here, load him on the chopper. But make sure you tell someone to help Herr Lang out of the door at about five thousand meters up.”

  “My pleasure, Patron.”

  The last thing on Salazar’s list waited for him somewhere in the jungle. With women, children, and the elderly mixed among the villagers, they wouldn’t be able to move too fast. By last light tomorrow, he would take what he wanted and be richer than any man had a right to be.

  48

  “Do you smell that?” said Jackson, sniffing the night air.

  “No,” replied Mitchell. “What do you smell?”

  “Pork. Someone is cooking pork.”

  “Yeah, I smell it, too,” said Cardinal.

  A second later, Mitchell got a whiff. He began to salivate. It was almost eight at night, and no one had eaten since breakfast. “You guys stay here. I’m going check it out.”

  “You sure you don’t need me?” asked Jackson.

  Mitchell shook his head. “No. Stay here with Sam and Gordon until I get back.”

  All of a sudden, a slender man stepped out of the jungle and onto the trail right in front of them. In his hands was a bow. He took one look at Mitchell’s party and lowered his weapon. He said something and six more men emerged from their hiding spots.

  “Good Lord, its Pyata,” said Mitchell, relieved to see the young warrior.

  Pyata saw the bandages on Cardinal’s face, took his hand from Sam and led him down the trail. A minute later, they emerged into a clearing. The entire village sat around a dozen small fires. The smell of freshly cooked meat hung thick in the air.

  “Ryan,” called out Jen, as she jumped to her feet and ran to him. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

  “It’s going to take more than a band of mercenaries to keep me from your side.”

  Jen led her husband to a bonfire. Cesy and Julia were there. They sat on the ground eating some meat wrapped in leaves.

  Cesy looked up and smiled. She tapped Julia on the arm and spoke to her. Julia wiped her mouth clean and said, “Cesy wants to know what happened earlier today, and if the bad men are still coming.”

  “May I sit?” asked Mitchell.

  Julia moved over a little, giving him some room by the fire. “Before we get into what happened today, does she have a shaman who can treat fire ant bites?”

  Cesy called an elderly-looking woman to her side. Seconds later, the woman shuffled her way over to check on Cardinal.

  “You should really try the wild pig,” said Jen, handing Mitchell a rolled up leaf.

  He took it and looked inside. There was a large chunk of meat along with some petals from the medicinal flower.

  “Go on, eat it. It’s not going to kill you. They use the flower for everything, from tea to seasoning for meats, to medicine. I guess that’s how they manage to live so long.”

  Mitchell reached in and grabbed a small piece of meat and bit into it. The pork had more than a hint of chili. “Say, this doesn’t taste bad at all.”

  “Told you.”

  For the next hour, Mitchell and Cesy spoke at length about the firefight and what they had to do if they wanted to survive the coming day.

  As the people from the village settled down for the night, Mitchell and his team met over by a secluded fire.

  “How are your eyes?” Mitchell asked Cardinal.

  “I still can’t see out of them, but a woman put some paste on my blisters, and I can’t feel the pain anymore,” he replied.

  “It was made from those flowers,” said Sam. “I guess it’s a bit of a panacea.”

  “Okay folks, we’ve got to face the facts,” said Mitchell. “Come first light, our friends will be coming after us. We may have given them a good drubbing today, but we all know they’re not going to stop.”

  “Gordon can go with Jen, and I can help fight,” said Yuri.

  “I already thought of that, but it won’t be enough. We don’t have any more Claymore mines, so we’re probably still going to have to face odds of at least ten to one.”

  “Not that the mines would help,” said Jackson. “Half of them failed to go off when we needed them to.”

  “At least everything else works,” replied Yuri.

  “So what are you trying to say, Ryan?” said Sam.

  “We need Pyata’s men to help lower the odds against us,” said Mitchell.

  “I know they want to fight,” said Julia. “If you were to ask them to help, I know they wouldn’t say no.”

  “Ryan, bows and arrows against automatic weapons is precisely what you were trying to avoid, isn’t it?” said Jen.

  “Yes, but I have no intention of wasting their lives,” replied Mitchell. “Their value is more psychological than anything else.”

  “So boss, what’s the plan?” asked Jackson.

  “Before I commit us one way or the other, Julia can you ask Cesy if there is a piece of canalizing ground between us and the plateau?”

  “Pardon?” said Julia.

  “Sorry. Is there a piece of ground which narrows and would be good to fight from?”

  Julia nodded her understanding and walked away.