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“I have the forms from the Brazilian government to permit you to bring them into the country for research purposes,” Joao said, pulling out some folded papers from beneath his jacket. “Come with me, please. I’ll assist you as you go through customs.”

With that, he maneuvered us to one side, where we went through a special line and were expedited through the customs procedure. Once we were cleared, Joao ushered us down a hallway and back out onto the tarmac to another awaiting plane, a small one with propellers. To say it’d seen better days would be an overstatement. It looked rickety and badly needed a paint job. And that was on the outside. I didn’t even want to think of the condition on the inside.

I leaned against my suitcase and stood staring at the plane in shock, not quite believing he actually wanted us to fly in it. I shot a glance at Slash, but his face was expressionless.

It was Gwen who finally spoke. “Are you surethisis the plane to Coari?” Her voice squeaked and her eyes looked positively terrified, probably a reflection of mine. I wasn’t even able to speak yet.

“I’m sure.” Joao must have noticed the looks on our faces because he sought to reassure us. “I know it looks rather small, but it’s a quite dependable plane. It flies back and forth between Manaus and Coari every other day and has never had an incident...that I’m aware of.”

That wasn’t the most enthusiastic of endorsements. I gulped and looked at Slash again. He still hadn’t said anything.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” I managed to ask. “I think it’s a good time to mention I get air, car, boat and train sick when things get bumpy.”

“I’m certain it’s perfectly safe, Miss Carmichael,” Joao replied.

Easy for him to say.Hewasn’t going to fly in it.

“It’s an Embraer,” Slash said quietly.

I turned to him. “Excuse me?”

“It’s an Embraer, a Brazilian-produced version of the Piper Cherokee,” he replied. “It seats six. The wheels don’t retract and the aircraft is limited to about twelve thousand feet in altitude because the cabin isn’t pressurized.”

“That’s absolutely correct,” Joao said to Slash. “You certainly know your airplanes, sir.”

Slash dipped his head, but said nothing further. I wasn’t sure if the Embraer was a good or bad plane because Slash didn’t offer any further clarification, probably not to terrify us anymore.

“Are you sure there aren’t any other options for getting us to Coari?” I gave myself points for asking the question on everyone’s mind.

Joao nodded. “Of course. There are three options for traveling from Manaus to Coari. The easiest and most convenient is this airplane. Or you could take a boat up the Amazon. That trip would take about eighteen hours as the river is running high and fast right now, and there are a couple of small rapids that the boat would have to negotiate carefully. That’s if I could manage to secure a large enough boat and a guide willing to take you on such short notice.”

My stomach squeezed uncomfortably. A day on a boat on a jungle river with rapids sounded as bad, if not worse, than a plane ride.

“You could also take an SUV, but the trip is almost six hours and two hundred and twenty-five miles,” Joao continued. “Unfortunately, there’s only a paved road for about two thirds of the distance.”

I considered that a viable alternative until Gwen spoke.

“I don’t think we want to do that, Lexi. I heard that Vaccitex’s research director took the road trip and was bounced around inside the jeep so badly, she had a headache for days. She also bit her tongue and it hurt like crazy for days afterward.”

Exasperated, I threw up my hands. “That’s it? There are no other options?”

A smile touched Slash’s lips. “Hoping for a camel, perhaps?”

Gah! Did he have to remind of the time I almost killed myself riding a runaway camel? It hadn’t been pretty—a geek girl trying to tame an overexcited animal. It didn’t go well. I glared at him and then let out a sigh. “Fine. The plane it is.”

As we walked toward the plane stairs, the pilot came out at the top. He shouted something in Portuguese that Joao translated for us.

“Your pilot welcomes you and wants you to know he’s flown this flight nearly every day for the past ten years with almost no problems, so don’t be worried.”

I didn’t like the “almost” part, but seeing as how it wouldn’t help matters if I freaked out, I kept my reservations to myself. Gwen boldly climbed the stairs first. I followed her and Slash came behind me. The plane was small with three rows of two seats and a seat next to the pilot. Gwen chose a seat in the front row, while I headed to the back of the plane. Slash strapped into the seat next to me. While we were settling in, Joao and the pilot stored our luggage and carry-ons.

Finally, Joao bid us farewell. After he deplaned, the pilot did a quick walk around and check of the airplane. Apparently satisfied with how everything looked, he pulled up the stairs and climbed into the cockpit.

My cell suddenly rang, so I fumbled in my purse to pull it out. “Hello?”

“Hi, Lexi, it’s Mom, do you have a minute?”

“Mom? Ah, no, not really. I’m on an airplane that’s supposed to take off momentarily.”