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“Slash, thank God you’re okay.”

“Took you long enough,” he said.

“Jeez. You’re welcome.” I noticed that something was missing, so I tapped his bare chest. “Where’s your father’s cross?”

“I took it off before they captured us. Didn’t figure there was a good way to explain that. It’s in my pocket.”

“Good thinking.”

He angled forward so I could free his hands from the ropes. “How in the world did you pull this off?”

“I didn’t pull off anything. It was Amana, the chief’s daughter, and the other village women. They’re the realAmazonas. I was mostly a supportive bystander.”

I worked on unraveling his knots while filling him in on what happened. He stopped me when I got to the part about Vicente being a federal narcotics agent.

“Federal narcotics?” Slash repeated.

“I know, right? I didn’t expect to hear that. Anyway, he left me at the village and went to meet the agents at the same spot where we landed the helicopter. The intent was to come here on foot. But since we’ve already taken out everyone, there shouldn’t be any reason why they can’t land right here. Vicente is going to be surprised when he hears what we did.”

“I’m sure he is. I need to catch you up on everything that’s happened while you were gone. There hasn’t been time.”

“No kidding,” I said. “You and Vicente need to talk, as well. Looks like you both ended up on the same page regarding this creepyEl Esqueletoguy. And to think Martim Alves may be involved. I knew there was another reason I didn’t like that guy, in addition to his arrogant, sexist and self-inflated impression of himself.”

“You and me both. But we need to keep that information about Martim under wraps for now, especially if it’s still an active investigation.”

“Fine. I hope I never see him again.” I finished off the last knot and pulled his hands free of the rope. “My biggest regret is not punching him when I had the chance.”

Slash quickly flexed his wrists and fingers, getting the blood back into them. “Do you know ifEl Esqueletois here?”

“I have no idea. Some big boss guy was here. He was sleeping in a separate room. But it was dark and I don’t know whatEl Esquletolooks like or when he was supposed to arrive. I do know, however, that whoever was in that room will be unconscious for several hours. I helped take him down by sticking a dart into his neck.”

He leaned forward and kissed me. “You’ve turned into quite the agent. I’m beyond impressed.”

“Trust me, I was the weak link. The village women did all the hard work. They were amazing, Slash. Brilliant, actually.”

“I’m sure they were.” He pulled me into a one-armed hug and kissed the top of my head. “We need to quickly get those drug runners tied up and ready for the agents when they arrive. The villagers also have to get out of here before the agents arrives. Some of us will have to be here to keep an eye on things until they arrive.”

“Some of us, meaning you and me?”

“And Salvador. But right now, I need you on those laptops. We had a bit of luck and no one noticed them running. Can you check to see if the files have been uploaded?”

“Of course. But what are we going to do about Vicente? If he’s really an undercover narcotics agent, will he still work to help get the vaccines get distributed? Or was that just part of a larger operation for the government? If he abandons the project, will the entire project fold?”

“I can’t answer those questions, so, we’ll have to cross that bridge when the time comes. There are a lot of moving pieces. Right now, we have to take one operational aspect at a time. Since we don’t know when the federal police will arrive, whetherEl Esqueletowill show up with a new entourage, and how long the neurotoxins will remain effective, I think we should move the drugged men into the forest, away from the compound, so if they do awaken, they can’t alert anyone to our presence.”

“Fair enough. I’ll call Vicente as soon I finish up here.”

“Get an estimated time of arrival from him, okay?” He found the satellite phone he’d hidden in the building and checked it, plugging it in to give it some more juice. “Three percent battery left. Do you still have power on your satellite phone?”

“Not a lot, but more than three percent. I turned it off before we headed here to rescue you. Quiver Girl is keeping it safe for the time being.”

“Quiver Girl?”

“The girl using my bra as a quiver. Lucky for us, it turns out she doesn’t just shoot pretend arrows.”

“Impressive and good to know. The bow had to be as big as she is.”

“Didn’t hinder her accuracy one bit.”