The Oracle (Fargo Adventures #11) - Clive Cussler Page 0,74
on the desk. “Is that coffee, by chance? I could use a cup.” Wendy found a mug and filled it for him as he told them about the supply truck abandoned near the lower trail. “Sam believes it was a decoy and that Mrs. Fargo fled with the girls on the upper trail into the Gashaka Gumti preserve. They’re following. How far behind, I don’t know. But I expect he’ll call as soon as he’s ready to start the air search.”
“Thank goodness,” Wendy said. “It was horrible not knowing. Pete came out, found the supply truck gone, the building on fire, and that SUV left outside the gate on its rims. Trying to figure out what happened—”
“My understanding is,” Lazlo said, “Nasha saved the day.”
“I can’t tell you how relieved I was when Pete told me that she’d somehow called Mr. Fargo,” Wendy replied. “All I knew was that she was with us one minute, gone the next.”
“I wish we knew more,” Lazlo told her. “But the call cut off abruptly. We assume since she’s not here with you, she’s with Mrs. Fargo and the other girls. Mr. Fargo’s almost positive they managed to escape. But we think they’re still being pursued.”
Pete saw the toll that statement took on Wendy. And not just because of Remi. Wendy considered each child in her care as part of her family. He clasped his hand around hers. “If anyone can keep those girls safe, Mrs. Fargo can.”
“I know,” she said as Lazlo’s cell phone lit up with a video call from Sam.
“Do you have a map?” Sam asked. Zara’s father stood behind him, both beneath a thick canopy of trees filled with a chorus of birds. “Remi and the girls left the trail. I’m hoping to find the most logical route.”
Pete glanced up at the area map tacked to the wall behind the desk, dismissed it as not being detailed enough. “Wendy, do we still have the topographical map from when we were searching for the school site?”
“In the file cabinet,” she said, retrieving it from the top drawer.
They unrolled the long tube of paper, tacking it to the wall next to the other map. “Any idea where you are?” Lazlo asked.
“I’d say about two miles in . . .” Sam aimed his phone so they could see the area. On the left, the mountainous forest rose into a blanket of clouds. On the right, the granite-studded valley stretched out to the horizon.
Pete looked at the map. The school was marked with an X and the trail was marked with a dotted line.
Wendy traced it with her finger, approximating where Mr. Fargo might be. “If we’re reading this map correctly,” she said, “it looks like the trail follows a riverbed, then veers off.”
“Remi might follow it for a source of water,” Sam said.
“Let’s hope she didn’t head that way,” Pete replied. “If the rain is as bad as predicted, there’s a good chance of flash floods.”
As if in warning, the first few raindrops started to fall.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
The rain does not recognize anyone as a friend; it drenches all equally.
– NIGERIAN PROVERB –
Sam and Okoro moved out into the clearing once the military Mi-17 helicopter landed, the two men ducking as the rotors whipped the rain and mud around them to a frenzy. There were four soldiers on board, along with the pilot and copilot.
“Welcome aboard,” one of the crew shouted, handing them both helmets with headsets. The pilot glanced back at Sam as he settled into the seat and buckled the restraints. “Understand you’re experienced at this.”
“Search and rescue in California,” Sam said.
He acknowledged and guided the craft upward, giving Sam an unparalleled view out the port side door of Gashaka Gumti park and the surrounding area. At first all he saw was the endless treetops of the surrounding forest. But when he caught sight of Okoro’s farm, as well as the road leading up to the school, he was able to orient himself to the clearing they’d just left. “That’s where we lost the trail,” he said, pointing out the rain-splattered windshield.
The pilot turned the craft. “Any idea where they might be headed?”
“My wife would know we’re searching for them. She’d definitely head for open ground. We also heard gunshots this morning coming from the northeast. I’m assuming that was the kidnappers.”
The pilot and copilot exchanged looks. “They were shooting at us,” the pilot said. “But I’m not sure they were the kidnappers.”