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“ThatEl Esqueletois involved in this. This is our chance to get him.”

“How?”

“I’ve got to contact the authorities. But first, it’s time you knew something about me, Lexi. I need you to keep it confidential, but I’m with the Brazilianpolícia federal, or the federal police. I’ve been working undercover narcotics for eleven months trying to findEl Esqueleto.”

I stared at him in disbelief and shock. “You’re a federal agent and you never said anything? I thought you were a translator.”

“Iama translator, or I was until I was recruited three years ago by the police for their undercover narcotics unit.”

This was a lot for me to process at a time when my brain was holding everything together by a thread. “Explain to me why, if you’re a federal agent, you’re working for Vaccitex as a translator?”

“It’s a complicated situation, but basically, I’m part of a larger operation. The government genuinely wants to help the native populations with the malaria vaccine, but when we received intelligence indicating thatEl Esqueletohad set up a lab in this area, we decided to combine efforts and put an agent on the project in order to keep track of a suspect who’d also been assigned to the vaccine project and was under suspicion for being onEl Esqueleto’spayroll. Due to my language skills, it was a simple decision for them to assign me to the operation.”

It took me a few seconds to get there. “Wait. That suspect is Martim Alves, isn’t it?”

When Vicente nodded, I clenched my fists. “Are you kidding me? That jerk is working for a drug lord?”

“Possibly. We don’t have proof of that...yet. It’s why Gabriel and I had to follow him instead of you in the rainforest the other day. We had intelligence that indicated a drug operation might be taking place in this remote area. Our suspicions were raised when Martim angled hard to get the oversight position on the Vaccitex project to supposedly help the government protect the native populations in this region. We believed he wanted the position to be able to giveEl Esqueleto’smen advance warning if, for some reason, the vaccine participants strayed too close to the new operation. We saw it as an opportunity to get a line onEl Esqueleto, so as I said earlier, the government immediately dispatched me as the translator for the project. It took them a bit longer to recall the man who’d already been assigned to protect the natives and replace him with Martim. I felt bad for the natives because Martim is such an idiot.”

“So, that’s why he was a last-minute addition to the project,” I said.

“Yes. But everything went to hell the minute you were kidnapped. We’d no idea what was going on, whether it wasEl Esqueletoor someone else. But when no ransom note appeared, we had to think it was something else. But in no way did I want the villagers, Slash and Salvador to be captured and in their hands. These men will not be merciful, so we must hurry.”

I handed him the satellite phone. “Okay. Call for backup. Now.”

“We can’t.” He carefully took the phone, but didn’t disconnect. “Slash told you to keep the line open because he’s providing us an operational advantage. And don’t try to convince me he’s just a computer guy, because I know specialized training when I see it. Why he’s here with you, I don’t know, but we can sort that out later. Right now, we can’t break that connection, not even to call for help. It’s our only advantage to getting everyone out alive. We need to know what they’re doing and planning. We also need to know if and whenEl Esqueletoarrives. We must get back to the village quickly and retrieve the other satellite phone to call for backup. If we jog, it should take us under two hours.”

A lot could happen in two hours. But Vicente and I couldn’t save them with one pistol between us. No one seemed in imminent danger of execution, although that could change instantly. It looked like we had no other choice. The thought of me jogging through the jungle was hilarious, except this situation wasn’t even remotely funny.

“What’s in your backpack?” I asked.

“Ammunition and water.”

“No guns?”

He shook his head. “Only this one.”

There had to be a quicker, better solution, but I didn’t see it. “Do you know how to get back to the village?”

“I think so, but we’re going to have to move fast. I need you to keep up with me. Can you do it, Lexi?”

If it meant saving Slash and the villagers, then I could. I absolutely could. Narrowing my eyes with determination, I nodded. “Let’s get out of here.”

Chapter Forty-Six

Lexi

It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, to turn my back on Slash and the others and begin jogging back to the village. I was stressed to the max, straining to hear the sounds coming from the phone that Vicente now wore around his neck. So far it was just random talking, no gunshots...yet.

Despite the extreme humidity and the sweat pouring off me, adrenaline and determination gave me strength to keep a steady pace with Vicente. I only tripped a few times, but nothing that actually brought me down. During the jog I made a sincere promise to myself that I was going to take exercise more seriously. We stopped every now and again to hydrate and catch our breath, but I was eager to push on and so was Vicente. We could still hear random talking through the phone, so we presumed all was well for the time being.

My hopes rose when I spotted a faint trail that looked vaguely familiar. “I think we’re going the right way,” I said, panting.

We crossed a rocky patch and started walking along the vegetation line on the other side looking for where the trail continued, but the path seemed to have disappeared. For a moment, we stood there looking around, completely unsure which way to go next.

Vicente was softly cursing in Portuguese, I think, which wasn’t a good sign.

“Which way?” I asked.