“Anyone get look at actual bazaar?” Yorgi asked.
Blank looks were returned, so the Russian thief whispered again. “So far, there is only one way in. Yes?”
Dahl thought about it. “I’m assuming you mean the river?”
“Dah. The river.”
Alicia quickly shook her head. “Full of parasites. Piranhas. Maybe even a caiman or two. We ain’t swimming in there, Tarzan.”
“Speaking of Tarzan, you could probably branch-creep your way in from tree to tree.” Drake pointed up at the densely packed, incredibly thick branches. “But I don’t think even we are that good.”
“Too noisy,” Yorgi agreed. “And slippery, but one man could. I could.”
Hayden thought about it for a while before pulling a face. “It’s not enough. One man inside is not enough. I’m liking the sound of the river more and more.”
“I forgot my cossie,” Alicia said without humor, further hammering home her point of a few moments before.
“There’s always skinny dipping,” Smyth said with a rare grin. “I’m game if you are.”
“In your dreams…” Alicia paused, then said, “What the hell is your first name anyway?”
“Look,” Yorgi interjected quickly. “When I mention river I do not mean we swim. I mean we take boat. One of their boats.” He made a snaking gesture. “Cruise in.”
Drake knitted his brows together as the idea suddenly flourished. “Pretend we’re one of them? A guest? Yorgi, that’s brilliant!”
Hayden shushed him. “Keep it down. It’s risky. I can think of three big obstacles without breaking sweat.”
“Shit, Hay, look around. What isn’t risky?”
“So you’re thinking: Board a boat, seize it, hold its occupants hostage and take their places at the bazaar? Assuming they’re guests.”
Alicia grinned. “Fuck yeah.”
Dahl clenched a fist. “I’m liking the sound of that.”
Hayden looked to the skies. “I was going for sarcastic, guys. But, hell… do you think we can do it?”
“It’s a long river,” Drake pointed out. “Nothing says we have to nick the boat this close in.”
“IDs may be a problem,” Lauren said.
“Doubtful,” Hayden said. “It’s a terrorist arms bazaar, not a United Nations charity ball. Of course, there will be an entrance tag of some sort, which we will have to extract from whomever we grab.”
“Let’s hope it’s not fingerprints, facial recognition, retina scan…” Smyth started.
“Again, doubtful,” Kinimaka spoke up. “For similar reasons.”
“But we can still take the boat without assuming that risk,” Drake pointed out. “If we decide it’s impossible to gain entrance after that, then we can find another way.”
“Time is against us.” Hayden tapped her watch. “So, if we’re all agreed, let’s get going.”
“This is good,” Dahl said as they walked. “From inside we can identify weak spots. People we should acquire. The expendables. The VIPs. Booby traps. Weapons caches, that sort of thing.”
“And just as important,” Hayden said. “We could identify items that need safeguarding. Items that should never fall into a terrorist’s hands.”
“So plan is… a go?” Yorgi asked in a faltering attempt at American slang.
“Aye lad,” Drake gripped his shoulder. “It’ll be a scorching hot day in Hell when all these nasty bastards get their just desserts. We’re about to start fanning the flames. Stoking the fire. Lighting the—”
“Look,” Alicia interrupted, pointing ahead. “The river.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Drake followed Alicia as the team wound their way downriver, searching for the best spot from which to ambush a passing boat. As they walked, Hayden held up a clenched fist, her entire body freezing. Drake saw it immediately.
There, to the left, twisted around a moss-infested tangle of tree branches, dead undergrowth, and lumps of soil and vegetation, sat the biggest snake any of them had ever seen. Mottled browns and blacks and even a little yellow shone in the direct sunlight as a body the size of a man’s thigh coiled lazily. The entire group took a big step to the right.
Hayden went first, followed by Kinimaka and Lauren. Drake took his time, aware that they were pretty much safe but suddenly even more conscious of the dangers that lay all around and even underfoot beneath the carpet of mulchy leaves.
What we can’t see could kill us even faster than what we can.
He filed that thought away. Ahead, the river narrowed on both sides and where it was most slender the ground rose a little. Hayden motioned for a halt.
Alicia cast a glance backward. “A little close to our big friend.”
Drake sighed. “Anacondas are pretty slow. Even on your worst day I bet you could outrun one.”
“My worst day? Shit, Drakey, you don’t know me at all.”
He acknowledged that with a nod. Hayden beckoned them closer. “Let’s get into position and form a plan.”
And then they waited. The bazaar no doubt was in full swing by now as midday passed. The scorching heat blasted at them like a brazier. Drake took the time to apply even more insect spray and drain his canteen. It took an hour but at last Smyth signaled that a vessel was approaching the choke point.
“We’re on, guys.”
Drake ignored the muddy bank to eye the incoming vessel. The boat did resemble a barge, but with a long, smoked-glass cabin, a figurehead in bronze and various roof-antennae that screamed out the presence of a wealthy individual. He checked his weapons and his safely holstered machete and then took stock of his teammates.
“Let’s keep the noise down, folks,” he said.
They rose as the boat reached its closest point, then ran up and leapt from the raised bank and landed on the deck of the ship, boots striking the planking as lightly as possible. Of course, the three guards spotted them quickly and turned, rifles swinging from around their necks into their hands.
Dahl barreled into the first, smashing his body into the cabin bulkhead, the sound of breaking bones probably loud enough to make even the anaconda take note. Drake rolled into the second, taking his legs, and the two men went down in a tangle. Smyth landed carefully and threw his knife at the third — who was the furthest away — making him duck to the side and lose precious seconds. The knife stuck hard into a wooden upright, quivering. Smyth bounded across the space between them, catching hold of the guard as his weapon came up. The barrel pointed to the skies, but the man’s finger tightened on the trigger. Smyth wrenched at the man, throwing him bodily to the floor, the movement sending him sprawling. Then Smyth jumped on top, pinned his arms away from his body and reached up for the knife.
Drake pummeled his opponent’s kidneys from on top, ensuring the rifle was crushed to the deck and essentially unusable. When he sat up his enemy groaned. Drake clasped his knife and ran it through the back of the man’s neck, then glanced around.
Alicia and Hayden were by the cabin’s side door, pushing it open and slipping inside. Dahl confirmed his own foe wouldn’t revive later to give them away and then followed. Drake ran quickly after them, signaling to Kinimaka and the rest of the team that they should wait a while longer.
Inside the smoked-glass cabin the boat lived up to its opulent promise. Luxurious seats stood all around and the control panel flashed with hundreds of lights. Alicia stood beside the padded steering wheel with her hands around a man’s neck, while Hayden paused at the top of a set of stairs.
She put her fingers to her lips. Drake nodded and signaled that he would back her up. Dahl joined them too. Quietly, their team leader descended the wooden risers and gradually they began to make out the sound of a television. Raucous, bottled laughter boomed out intermittently amid cheers from what sounded like a well-sozzled audience. Drake felt the boat shifting and wondered briefly if Alicia had stopped its forward momentum or was guiding it.