Michael Vey 9, page 20
“Then what are you going to do with me?”
“What are we going to do with you? Nothing.”
He breathed out in relief. “Thank you.” He fell to his knees. “Thank you so much.”
“Stand up.”
“Whatever you say, sir.”
“There’s no reason to thank me. We’re not going to do anything to you because the Amacarra felt it was their place to punish you. They said you had betrayed the jungle’s code, and they have a special punishment for that.”
Lars looked at me with wide eyes. “What punishment?”
“Have you ever heard of the tangarana tree? You must; you live here.”
He didn’t say anything.
“Hmm. Maybe you know it from one of its other names. The devil tree, the novice tree, and the justice tree.”
Still no response.
“Really? Nothing? I mean, I don’t even live in Peru, and I know what it is. All right, then, I’ll tell you about it. The tree doesn’t look much different from other trees. Kind of a dappled gray, with a smooth bark. Nothing spectacular.
“But you can always find it because it’s the one tree nothing else grows around. It looks like a pole just sticking straight up in the jungle. They call it the devil tree because it’s the home to a very special ant, called the tangarana ant. The tree and the ant have a rare symbiotic relationship. The tree provides a place for the ants to live and sap for them to eat. The ants, in appreciation, protect the tree. And they’re good at it. They’re an extremely aggressive and venomous fire ant. If an insect climbs onto the tree to eat a leaf, the ants immediately attack and kill it. If another plant or tree tries to grow anywhere near their tree, the ants kill it.
“They’re small, but their venom is so potent and painful that just one bite on a human finger would cause the entire hand to swell up, and make red streaks up the arm. That’s why people call it the ‘novice tree,’ because only a jungle novice would make the mistake of coming close to it. It’s not a mistake they’d make again.
“The reason they call it the ‘justice tree’ is because people who commit crimes against the jungle are punished by being tied to the tree. Could you imagine having ten thousand of these aggressive, angry ants crawling all over you? Ten thousand venomous ants, biting and biting until the wrongdoer dies of pain or shock.”
Lars looked over at the tribe, then said, “Shoot me. Please.”
“Like I said, this gun isn’t for you.” I pointed the gun toward the river and fired it until it had no more bullets.
“What are you doing?” Lars asked.
“Waking your guests before I set fire to their rooms.” I handed the gun back to Cristiano, then said, “McKenna, burn the place down.”
McKenna walked over to the main lodge building. “Like this?” She lit up her hand, then touched it to the thatch that overran the building’s roof. The thatch immediately caught fire. All around us, the lodge’s guests began running out of their rooms.
I nodded to the chief, and four of the Amacarra warriors walked up to Lars’s sides. Two of them took his arms.
“Please. Don’t let them take me. I’m Swedish. We’re peaceful people. We’re civilized.”
“Do you think Jaime would call you that?”
“I told you, the Chasqui made me do it.”
“Just because your hands didn’t do all the dirty work doesn’t mean they’re clean.”
I said to the chief, “He’s yours.”
42 Going Back to Puerto
While the Amacarra warriors dragged Lars off into the jungle, the chief and two of his warriors stayed back with the rest of us.
Zeus had joined up with McKenna, and now every bungalow was on fire. The roof of the main lodge had already collapsed.
“That is a great fire,” the chief said. “The gods will warm themselves.”
“Indeed, they will.” I turned to him. “Thank you for everything.”
“Thank you, Michael Vey. You and your friends have saved our people. Lyang gwang ren shr hau ren.”
“And you have saved my people, my friend.”
“Where will you go now?”
“We need to get out of here before the last of the Chasqui forces come after us. We’re going to take the lodge’s boat. The Chasqui don’t know we’ve taken down their camp, so I think that taking the river will be the best way back.”
“That is a good idea.” He leaned forward and embraced me. Then he stepped back, crossed his hands before his chest, and bowed slightly, all while speaking softly in his language. I didn’t know what he was saying, but from the reverent tone of his voice and demeanor, I knew it was something of great honor and veneration.
When he had finished, I said, “I wish the same to you and your great people.”
“Thank you, Michael Vey. We are in your debt. Just one more thing. We will end this battle now, when the Chasqui are at their weakest. Tonight we will hunt their chief.”
“You mean Amash,” I said.
“Yes, that is the name of evil. After the battle at our village, his forces are weakened. The cave he stole from us is now empty. They are in our jungle. We will use the jungle against them. We will use their own weapons against them. Most of all, we will use their hubris against them.
“They think we are weak and backward. They mock our ways and our spirit guides. This will prove their downfall. Two nights ago, one of our wise seers, a great sage of many years, saw in a dream the demon ruler, on his knees with a spear through his side.
“Tonight, after our battle, one of our warriors said he had seen their sovereign this very night, that he had joined his men looking for us. We will hunt him as we do the wild pig. This will be his last night of doing evil. He will go to the land beyond the clouds to be judged by the gods.”
“Be careful,” I said. “He is very dangerous. I wish you the gods’ favor.”
“Thank you, Michael Vey.” The chief turned and clicked his tongue several times, and the rest of his warriors came to his side. They all turned to me, touched their chests, then disappeared back into the jungle. I wondered if I would ever see them again.
“Hey, Electroclan,” I shouted. “Let’s get out of here.”
We walked over to the boat. Zeus hopped in first and fired it up while the rest of us climbed in. While we were still at the dock, one of the Makisapa guests came waddling toward us, huffing loudly.
“What about us?” she shouted. “I demand to be taken back to the city this instant.”
“You demand?” Zeus said. “Michael, this woman demands that we take her back.”
“This is a private charter,” I said. “I suggest you take it up with your host.”
“Don’t think I won’t, young man. Where’s Lars?”
“Probably sitting next to a tree somewhere,” I said. “Take us out, Zeus. Let’s get out of this stinking place.”
PART TWENTY
43 Pondering a Deal with the Devil
“I got hold of Cibor,” Johnson said. “He’s back at the hacienda.”
“What about the others?” Quentin asked.
“Still nothing.”
“We might have to go into the jungle after them.”
“With what army?” Johnson answered angrily. “That would be suicide. We couldn’t defeat them with all of us on our own turf, and you want to walk into their fortress with what’s left of us? We’ve lost enough friends already.”
“We don’t leave our people behind.”
“We don’t purposely lead them to their deaths either. This time we wait until we have the advantage. And I don’t know where we’ll find it. The Chasqui are powerful and diabolical on a level the Elgen didn’t come close to.”
“The Chasqui are Elgen,” Quentin said. “They’re just a mutant strain of the virus. They’re a sickness.”
“I will never understand why it is that people are always plotting to rule the world,” Jacinta said.
“It’s always been that way,” Johnson said. “From Genghis Khan to Hitler. If they can’t do it with swords, they’ll do it with gold.”
“So it is,” Quentin said. He breathed out slowly. “I can’t believe that less than two weeks ago we were having an Electroclan reunion in Boise. Now we’re almost all gone.”
“We don’t know that yet,” Johnson said. “I won’t accept that until I have to. But I won’t back another defeat. Next time I will not come undermanned and outgunned.”
Quentin’s expression suddenly changed. “I know who can help us. He has the weapons, the soldiers, and the motive.”
Johnson’s brow furrowed. “Who?”
“Torstyn.”
“Your friend who’s running a drug cartel?” ’
“That’s exactly who I mean.”
“Not on my watch. You’ll just trade one tyrant for another.”
“Torstyn isn’t in it for power.”
“Everyone’s in it for power. Why else would he help us?”
“He’s a drug dealer. The Chasqui have been cutting off his supply lines and targeting his customers. If Torstyn takes out the Chasqui, he takes out his competition.”
“And another drug smuggler wins,” Johnson said.
“I wish it were that simple,” Quentin said. “You know, when the Mexican marines captured El Chapo and broke up the Sinaloa cartel, drug trafficking and violence didn’t decrease. It nearly doubled. All the smaller cartels saw an opportunity and stepped up the violence to take over the Sinaloa’s place.” He shook his head. “Like it or not, the drug smugglers are already winning.” He looked down for a moment, then said, “If we help Torstyn defeat his enemy, nothing changes, except the Chasqui stop trying to take over the world. In that way, the world wins.”
“Making a deal with the devil will never work,” Johnson said. “It never has.”
“But it has worked,” Quentin said. “During World War II the US government asked the mafia to help guard the country’s coast. Defeating Hitler and the Nazis was as much in the mafia’s interest as it was in America’s. War and politics make for strange allies, but an ally is an ally. Besides, there’s another motive. Possibly an even more powerful one.”
“What’s that?”
“Torstyn always harbored a secret love for Tessa. She was here in the jungle with him. Alone. When she escaped from the Elgen, he was heartbroken. He never had another love after that. He carried that for years. And trust me, no one carries a grudge like Torstyn. He would come after the Chasqui for that reason alone.”
Johnson sat down to think as Jacinta walked in carrying sandwiches and drinks.
“I am sorry that took so long,” she said. “I thought you would like drinks. Jugo de piña fresco.”
“Where did you find fresh pineapple juice at two in the morning?”
“Where there is a will, there is a way,” she said. She looked at them, and the sadness of her words sank in. “Sometimes.” She set the food and drinks on the small table in front of the couch they were sitting on. “Has there been any word on Cassy?”
“No,” Johnson said.
“Any word from anyone else?”
“I spoke to Cibor.”
“How was he?”
“About as bad as you would expect.”
She nodded slowly. “And the others?”
“Still nothing.”
She breathed out slowly. “Please, eat.”
Johnson picked up his sandwich. “I just wish someone would call.”
PART TWENTY-ONE
44 Calling Home
The ride back to Puerto was thankfully uneventful. I wanted to call Johnson to update him, but the satellite phone was dead. We didn’t know where Johnson’s team was or what they were up to. We didn’t even know if the Chasqui had sent the bats upriver or not.
We passed only two boats on our way back to Puerto Maldonado. One was an old fisherman; the other was Chasqui. Ian saw the Chasqui boat long before they saw us, so we just stayed down (most of us were already on the floor of the boat sleeping), and Zeus and Nichelle waved innocently to them as they passed. The Chasqui soldiers ignored them, flying by us at full speed.
We arrived back in Puerto at sunrise, almost the same hour of day that we had left on our mission. We docked the boat at Jaime’s friend’s dock and handed him the keys. Jaime told him that there were a bunch of rich guests stranded at the lodge without food and lodging, and Kale could charge them whatever he wanted to bring them back. He was grateful for the tip.
We thought of taking Jaime to the local hospital, but since the Chasqui were so connected with the town, we decided it would be best if we just headed back to the safe house to rest and regroup. Jaime hailed us some cabs, then called the house to alert them to our return so they could prepare for us.
The hacienda was a welcome sight. As before, we were met at the gate by security. Jaime got out of the taxi behind us and talked to the guard, who then lifted the gate. As we were pulling forward, the guard said, “Lamento sus pérdidas.”
I turned to Ostin in the back seat. “What did he say?”
“He said something about being sorry for our losses.”
“What is he talking about?”
Ostin shrugged. “He probably heard about Luther, Gunnar, and Bentrude.”
The taxis drove us up to the main house, and we piled out, relieved to be back. The first thing we did was get out of our filthy clothes—especially those of us still in the hated Chasqui uniforms. Jack wanted to burn them in effigy, but I figured that they could still come in handy, so we threw them into a pile in the laundry room.
I found some black cotton pants and a summer shirt that laced up the front. Not something I’d likely wear around Boise, but anything to get out of that Chasqui garb. Then I found the satellite phone charger and plugged the phone in to charge.
The staff fed us adobo arequipeño, a breakfast stew with marinated pork chop, cumin, garlic, and cloves; pork tamales; salchicha huachana, a sausage made from meat, pork fat, and achiote seeds; and scrambled eggs with onions and chilies.
The hacienda was well equipped with medical supplies, and one of the staff members was a former nurse from a Lima hospital. As the rest of us ate, she saw to Jaime’s and Jack’s wounds and gave Jaime pain pills so he could rest.
Taylor asked, “Is the satellite phone working?”
“It should be charged by now,” I said.
“Can I use it to call my parents?”
“Of course.” As I handed her the phone, I noticed there had been numerous calls from Boise and Johnson. “I’d better call mine too. You go first. Then we’ll call Johnson.”
Taylor sat down next to me on the bed and dialed her home. I lay in the bed. I could hear her mother’s animated voice when she answered. Taylor didn’t tell her that she had been held by the Chasqui, only that we’d rescued Tara and Jack. I guess she just didn’t want to get into all that yet. About fifteen minutes later she said, “Thank you, Mom. I need to give the phone to Michael. He still hasn’t called home…. Yes, I’m sure they are nervous wrecks as well. Okay, bye. I love you.” She hung up the phone.
“How’s your mother?” I asked.
“You know, relieved that I’m alive but now wants to kill me.” She handed me the phone. “Your turn.”
I sat up next to Taylor and dialed. She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek while I was waiting for someone to answer. It was my mother.
“Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick. Why haven’t you called?”
“We’ve been in the jungle,” I said.
“The phone works in the jungle.”
“We didn’t have the phone. It’s complicated.”
“What’s going on?”
“More than I have time to tell you right now. But we got Taylor, Tara, and Jack out.”
“Not Abigail?”
“We still don’t know where she is. Just that she’s not with the Chasqui.”
“Wait, you said ‘Taylor.’ Taylor wasn’t with them.”
“The Chasqui captured Taylor too. They took them all to the Starxource plant, where we rescued you. But we got her back.”
“And everyone else is safe?”
I hesitated. “No. You knew about Gunnar and Luther. We also lost Bentrude.”
“Oh no,” she said sadly. “I admired that young man. I’m very sorry. Let’s get you all home. We’ll send the jet.”
“Not yet. We haven’t talked to Johnson; he’s still out.”
“Out where?”
“We found out that the Chasqui planned to burn down the city of Arequipa with their electrified bats.”
“Arequipa’s a large city.”
“It has about a million people. And if we don’t stop them, thousands, maybe tens of thousands, will die.”
“What do you need from us?”
“Right now, nothing. Like I said, we just got back from the jungle this morning.”
“You sound tired.”
“I haven’t had a full night’s rest in almost a week.”
“I’ll let you go so you can sleep. I’ll pass your news along to everyone. You wouldn’t believe how worried Mrs. Liss has been.”
“Of course I would. She used to make Ostin wear a helmet to his clogging lessons.”
My mother laughed. “I forgot about that.”
“Ostin never will,” I said. “He has PTSD. And Taylor already called her family.”
“Good. They’ve been sick with worry as well.” She sighed. “Thank you so much for calling. You have no idea how many prayers I’ve said for you. For all of you. Come home safe.”
“We’re trying.”
“Call again when you can.”
“I will. We will. Bye.” I hung up the phone.
“How’s your mother?” Taylor asked.
“Same as yours.”
“Do you want to take a nap?”
“I need to call Johnson first.”
I dialed the number. Johnson answered immediately. His voice was hoarse and as heavy as stone. “Michael. Where have you been?”
