Taylor returned. “Sat phone works. He’s on the way.”
“Good. Want a bite?”
She sat and said to him, “Please don’t go into my overnight bag again.”
He looked at her. “My apologies.”
“That’s all right… We’re operational, so… whatever you need.”
He didn’t reply.
They sat in silence; then Taylor said, “Collins says he has never stayed overnight in Kavak, and he’s concerned about his plane. He says he’s slept in his plane in places like this, and he may do that tonight.”
“We’ll see.”
“Now that Collins is joining us, we don’t have a cut-out guy to call Dombroski. So we need to call the boss now.”
“I’d rather wait until we’re actually on a boat going upriver.”
“Why?”
“So I have more to report. Also, I don’t want to keep using the sat phone if Worley’s people are looking for our signal.”
“Worley is not the enemy.”
“No, but he is our competitor. And he has his own agenda.” He added, “I’m not giving him our location unless he needs it.”
“It’s us who may need him.”
“Maybe. But in this game you have to know what bridges to cross, and what bridges to burn.”
“How can I argue with your eloquence?”
“You can’t,” he assured her.
“We will call Dombroski five minutes after we get on that river.”
“We will.”
A petite woman wearing a yellow sundress and nothing on her feet appeared carrying a large tray, which she set down on the table.
Brodie said, “Good morning, Mrs. César.”
She smiled and Brodie was glad to see her teeth weren’t filed to a point. Maybe he’d read too many National Geographics when he was a kid.
She put three mugs of what looked like steaming coffee on the table, and three wooden bowls of steaming hot mush, each topped with a fried egg. She said something to Taylor in Spanish and Taylor replied, then said to Brodie, “César will return to see our travel permits when the pilot gets here.”
Hopefully César didn’t give a rat’s ass about the travel permits and would take twenty bucks instead, but if he was reporting to Mercer’s camp, he would mention that the bird-watchers had no permits. Brodie said, “Ask her what this stuff is.”
Taylor exchanged a few words with César’s wife and said to Brodie, “It’s ground manioc root, with an egg and coffee.” She added, “All locally sourced.”
“Obviously.”
Taylor thanked the lady, who turned and left.
Sitting on the tray were three wooden spoons to highlight the authentic experience. “Where are the napkins?”
“In Caracas.”
Brodie took a spoon and tapped the egg. He’d eaten bowls of shit in third world countries on three continents, and invariably the shit was topped with a fried egg for some reason. Sometimes the eggs even had embryos in them. Sometimes salmonella. He sipped the coffee, which was bitter and made with suspect water. Cream and sugar would have helped. He wondered what they ate and drank in Mercer’s camp. And who paid for it. He had lots of questions for Kyle Mercer if he should actually find him.
Taylor said, “Be polite and eat that.”
“I’ll ask Mrs. César to wrap it for later.”
“Don’t insult her. I’m sure food is scarce here.” She spotted Collins and called out to him. He smiled and waved as he made his way toward the pavilion, carrying his flight bag, which meant he planned to stay, or he didn’t want to leave it in the Cessna. By now, Brodie thought, Captain Collins—John—had concluded that his passengers were not using their real names, so maybe Sarah was single. Brodie sometimes wondered if his job would be easier if he was a beautiful woman. Probably not.
Collins came into the pavilion, took a seat opposite Taylor, and looked at the food.
Brodie encouraged him to dig in.
He admitted, “I ate. I always bring a sandwich when I fly to these native villages.”
“Thanks for sharing.” Brodie asked, “So you’ve been to Kavak?”
“Yeah. I think three times.”
“Do you know César, the chief tour guide?”
“I think I met him once.”
“You know anyone else here?”
Collins shook his head. “I just fly in with a few people who are part of a tour group, I get out, stretch, use the baño, maybe have my sandwich, then leave.” He added, “I don’t stay longer than I have to.”
“Why is that?”
Collins shrugged. “Not much to do here if you’re not in a tour group.”
“You could hire a guide and take a boat on the river.”
“I need to have the aircraft in sight.” He reminded Brodie, “I’m not on vacation.”