Blood Forest (Suspense thriller) (27 page)

27

A
shaft of light hit Ike’s eyes and they fluttered open. The tent flap hung open where Delani’s head peeked in.

“Sorry, mate, must have dozed.”

Ike started moving, wondering how long he’d been out, when Nessa’s head rolled off his shoulder. She sagged to the tent floor, her neck limp. Ike caught the motion and the meaning of it froze him in place. All the events of the previous night came back, every last detail.

They had fallen asleep together. But only Ike had awakened.

Delani noticed the way Nessa’s body slumped as well. Instead of scolding Ike for falling asleep on his watch, he said nothing and ducked out of the tent.

Ike crawled over Nessa, her body already cool to the touch, and gently rolled her head back so she lay in what looked like a comfortable position. She had died asleep and, as a result, looked far more peaceful than many of the corpses he had encountered. He pressed his face against hers, feeling her cold, clammy cheek.

Only then did he remember the ring. In a panic, he dug his hands into the blankets, searching frantically until his fingers closed around it. He looked at Nessa, still and lifeless, then down at the sparkling ring and slipped it into his pocket.

Brandon bit into his stale granola bar and yanked it back and forth until the stubborn thing broke apart. He ground the remaining chunks between his teeth. He had found the bar in Sam’s pack and decided it would make a good breakfast.

Raoul stood nearby, jiggling a small flask, a sour expression on his face. When he saw Brandon watching him, he said something in French and shook his head. Brandon could only smile helplessly.

Delani hurried over suddenly. He kicked Gilles awake and turned to address the three of them. “We need to get moving. Daylight’s burning.”

“Is Dr. Singer going to be able to walk okay?” Brandon asked.

Delani hesitated. “Dr. Singer is dead.”

The words hit Brandon hard. He saw a similar look on Gilles’ face as the Congolese mercenary rose to his haunches.

“We’re leaving this forest right away,” Delani went on. “With Singer dead and Tabibu gone, we have no business here anymore.”

Gilles let out a relieved sigh and rose to his feet. He and Delani began rolling up their belongings.

Meanwhile, Brandon felt the ground slipping out from under him. They were just going to
leave
? “Wait a second,” he said, addressing Delani.

The South African stood up, coming eye-to-eye with him.

“What about Sam?”

Delani stooped to retrieve his pack from the ground. He slung the heavy thing over his shoulder.

“I’ll pay you,” he said quickly. “You don’t have business here, right? Well, I’ll pay you. How much does it cost to hire you?”

“No amount of money will convince me to stay here.”

Brandon looked to Gilles for support, but the mercenary only avoided his gaze. Raoul watched nearby, but the Frenchman couldn’t offer any help.

Ike emerged from the tent. He straightened his clothes and rubbed his hands over his face, before shouldering the assault rifle and joining them. Brandon did not miss his sunken expression.

“We ready to head out?” Ike asked.

“Almost.”

“Good,” he replied. “I might need some help with the tent.”

“Gilles and I will get it,” Delani assured him.

The two Africans strode past him. Gilles clapped a hand over Ike’s shoulder. His visage remained stern.

Brandon collected his belongings—his and Sam’s. Raoul came over to help, humming a quiet tune as he worked. Ike moved to the perimeter of the camp and stared in the direction of the river.

Once his things were secure, Brandon went to stand behind the Australian. “Delani wants to leave right away.”

“That sounds like a smart idea to me,” Ike replied without turning.

“Sam and Alfred could still be out there.”

Ike strode through the undergrowth suddenly. Brandon followed.

Ike crouched when he reached the river. At first his eyes looked across the stream, scanning the jungle for militia soldiers. They fell to the wavering water, becoming lost in the sun’s reflection, much as Sam had done so many days before.

Brandon inhaled sharply at the thought of his wife and opened his mouth to speak. The Australian’s hand slipped into his pocket and produced a sparkling item.

“Where’d you get that?”

“She gave it to me,” Ike said defensively. “I didn’t steal it.”

“I didn’t mean . . .” he trailed. He studied the mercenary’s distant gaze for a moment. “Did you love her?”

Ike looked over, surprised by the question. His eyes went right through Brandon then fell again to the ring, which he rolled in his palm. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “That’s really hard to say right now. It sure as hell
feels
like I did, but that’s just . . .”

“Then say you did,” Brandon told him. “And don’t ever forget it.”

After a moment, Ike gave a small nod. They sat in silence, listening to the trickle of the stream. He wanted to give Ike a few minutes. The Australian had been through a lot. But Brandon’s patience was slipping.

“Sam and Alfred are still out there. You guys can’t just give up now,” he finally said. “I’d be willing to pay you to stay.”

“We can’t do that now,” Ike replied. “We’re outnumbered. There’s no way we can fight all of them.” He stood up and turned from the river. “Look. You think she’s alive out there, right? And Temba’s with her?”

Brandon nodded.

“Then you got to trust in the fact that they’re gonna find their way back to the village. Where else would they go?”

“I don’t know.”

“The best we can do is to meet them there. It beats searching around in this jungle and getting ourselves lost too, doesn’t it?”

He shrugged. Ike had a point. Alfred, Temba and Sam wouldn’t pointlessly scour the forest looking for Brandon and the mercenaries. They would make their way back to Raoul’s village.

“C’mon. Don’t give up yet,” Ike said walking back to camp.

Delani, Gilles, and Raoul had collected their belongings. The tent and bedrolls rested in one corner of the encampment and, not far away, Nessa’s body rested wrapped in a bedroll.

The first thing Ike said when he entered the clearing was, “I’m not leaving her behind.”

“I thought so,” Delani replied. “We’re leaving the tent and all of the bedrolls. The American is going to leave his wife’s pack behind if he wants to come with us. Or he can carry it himself, but we’re not waiting up for him. You can carry the body.”

“Fair enough.”

Brandon didn’t respond. He was beginning to see how things would proceed. To Delani, their contract had expired. Raoul and Brandon could tag along, but only if they didn’t slow the mercenary company down. Brandon studied the Frenchman, wishing they could communicate. He seemed to be the only ally he had left.

“What’s the plan?” Ike asked.

“We make full speed for the village,” Delani replied.

“And then?”

“Then we have a Jeep.”

Ike paused then spun around, gazing at the canopy. “You know this river’s gonna lead them straight to the village, right?”

Delani nodded. “But we’ll have the Jeeps.”

“Let me see if I get this straight. We head straight for the village with these soldiers right on our tails. And while they’re massacring and raping, gunning down that bloke Marcel and all of Temba and Kuntolo’s little friends, we’ll slip off into the night scot-free. Is that right?”

Delani let out a deep sigh and crossed his arms.

“You know, I’m not okay with that,” Ike replied coolly. “We made a promise to poor Temba we’d keep his village a secret and here we are leading them straight to Marcel’s front door.”

“The pygmies did it for the money,” Delani said. “Don’t bring them into this.”

“Even so,” Ike said, stepping closer to Delani.

“I’m worried about getting my company to safety,” Delani explained softly and dangerously. “If there is an easier way to do that, then let me know.”

“There’s another way we can go,” Ike reasoned. “The militia army hacked us a trail straight through the forest. You can bet it leads to a road.”

“That would be suicide,” Delani argued.

“Once we’re out there we can lose them and make for the village.”

“Enough, Ike, there’s nothing here for us. I’m not risking our lives anymore.”

Ike turned to Gilles. “Help me out, mate.”

Gilles held his hands up. “This place is cursed, Ike; the sooner we are out, the better.”

Ike shook his head. Brandon thought about the militia attacking the village; if that happened he’d have no way of finding Sam.

“I can’t . . .” Ike began.

“You can’t?” Delani asked. “If you can’t, Ike, then by all means do what you want. Stay here and fight. Maybe the lying American or the drunken Frenchman will help you, but Gilles and I are leaving.”

With that Delani gestured for Gilles to pick up his pack and they headed east along the river. Raoul glanced back and forth between the mercenaries, confused and wide-eyed. Brandon’s attention stayed on Ike, who shook his head and clenched his fist.

The AK-47 dropped from Ike’s shoulder and came up in his hands, cocked and ready. Ike stared down the barrel at the back of Delani’s head.

Brandon’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t intervene.

“Delani!” Ike yelled.

The South African turned around. The moment he saw the gun pointed at him he reached for his pistol, but thought better of it as Ike took aim. For a few long seconds, the river trickled in the distance. Somewhere a cackle rose and fell silent, a distressed animal.

“Take one more step and I’ll put two bullets in your head,” Ike warned.

Brandon felt too close to Ike’s line of fire and wanted to back away, but he feared any movement would bring attention to him.

“I can’t let you do it,” Ike said. “I can’t let you. Not today. I’ve done it before. I’ve just sat by and watched, but I can’t do it anymore. I don’t have it in me.”

“What are you talking about?” Delani asked, his voice wavering.

Ike used the back of his forearm to wipe sweat from his brow so he didn’t have to divert his weapon. “I’m staying. You can bet I’m staying, mate. But it won’t do any good if you go leading them straight to the village anyway. So I’m going to have to shoot you if you try.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Of course, I would,” Ike replied immediately. “You don’t believe me? I’ll tell you why. Because you and me and Gilles, we’re killers. Worse, we’re hired killers. Those people back in that village are nothing of the sort. They went through that whole trouble of hiding themselves, just so they could live in peace and not
have
to kill. That puts their worth above you and me, if you ask me.

“I’d value just one of them above us three at this point. Hell, Brandon here’s worth more to me than us. So is the drunk. We’re a sorry lot, mate. The world would never miss us. We’re nothing if we’re not protecting them as far as I’m concerned. You might be here for the money. Maybe
your
contract is up. That’s not why I’m here. If you do it. If you take one more step in that direction, I will put you down and I won’t hesitate. Or you can forget about it and come along with me. What do you say? It’s your choice.”

Brandon read the look in Delani’s eyes and realized the inherent flaw in Ike’s tactics. The moment Ike lowered his weapon Delani would raise his.

“Two hundred thousand dollars,” Brandon blurted.

The two mercenaries refused to turn from each other, but both looked at him out of the corners of their eyes.

“I’ll pay you two hundred thousand dollars if you go with Ike’s plan. I don’t have it with me, obviously, but I’m good for it. Ike knows—he’s seen me on television.”

“That’s true,” Ike said quietly.

Delani’s cold gaze fell on Brandon.

“Two hundred thousand dollars for a couple of days in the jungle
has
to be worth it,” Brandon said.

“It won’t change our odds,” Delani replied.

“Well, that’s okay. Ike’s got a plan,” Brandon countered. “I’m gonna guess it’s a good one. Raoul’s in. I can’t ask him, but I know he is. I’ll do everything I can to help. Anything you ask. I’ll even write up the check now. That way, if something happens to me, you’re still guaranteed the money.”

“You have a check on you right now?” Delani asked.

“It’s in my pack,” Brandon promised. “I’ll go get it.”

He headed to his pack. Two hundred thousand dollars was a small price to see his wife back safely. He’d go much higher if they asked. When he looked back at them, he witnessed an exchange between the mercenaries.

After several moments, Ike lowered the AK-47.

They followed the river west, staying along the north bank. While they took a roundabout route, straying far into the forest, Ike broke away from them and skirted the riverbank. He hoped to spot the militia soldiers passing on the opposite bank. They needed the rebels to see they had turned around or else the army would follow the river straight to the village anyway.