Taylor to get dressed. She pulled up her pants and put on her T-shirt.
The men made exaggerated sounds of disappointment—though maybe not so exaggerated.
Brodie wondered if Maggie Taylor was now thinking that a firefight would have been a better option than this.
Taylor said something to el jefe, which apparently surprised, then amused, him, and he replied, “Emilio.”
Brodie didn’t know if Taylor was in Sarah Bowman mode or Civil Affairs mode, but it was a good move to get the guy’s name.
Taylor looked at Emilio and addressed him by name, then lowered her arms and began speaking to him in a respectful but firm tone of voice, interjecting the honorific “señor” a few times. Brodie could make out the words “turistas,” “Kavak,” and even “César,” who Brodie was sure Emilio was acquainted with. Brodie didn’t know the Spanish word for “bird-watcher,” but he hoped Sarah Bowman did.
Emilio listened impassively, then said something to her, and Brodie could make out the word “Pemón,” so Emilio was asking why they didn’t have a guide.
Taylor replied, probably pleading ignorance, and Emilio nodded.
This seemed to be going well, despite Taylor’s explanations smelling faintly of bullshit.
Emilio didn’t look like the sharpest machete in the jungle, but he seemed to be listening and trying to think of his next move. Brodie suspected that Emilio had someone higher to answer to, and Brodie hoped that higher authority was Señor Kyle. Because if these guys were working for a drug cartel, or were jungle versions of mountain men from Deliverance, then Maggie Taylor was in worse danger than Brodie, whom they’d just shoot and throw in the river. At least with Kyle Mercer, Brodie and Taylor would have a civilized conversation in English before he decided if they were the Bowmans or someone else.
Emilio was now saying something to Taylor about the sat phone he was holding, and about the Glock in his waistband.
Taylor seemed calm as she replied, and Brodie knew that having a gun in Venezuela was not prima facie evidence of anything. In fact, it was a fashion accessory.
The sat phone was a bit of an outlier, but not an unusual thing for a tourist to have in a place where the closest cell tower was two provinces away.
Again, Emilio nodded, but Brodie was beginning to recognize this tail-wagging as an interrogation technique that he, Brodie, was very familiar with. Maybe Emilio wasn’t as stupid as he looked.
Brodie noticed that the five other men were listening to Emilio and the gringo lady who spoke passable Spanish. Three of the guys were smoking, and they’d all lowered or shouldered their AKs, which neither Sergeant Brodie nor Captain Mercer would approve of.
Brodie thought it was time for him to speak up, so he said to Taylor, “Tell them they can keep everything except our passports. We need to get the boat back to César.”
Taylor translated, and Emilio smiled and said something to Brodie as he theatrically motioned him to get into the moored boat, saying, “Adiós, señor.”
Brodie didn’t think Emilio was serious, and in fact the other men laughed, so Brodie smiled to show he was a good sport, but kept his hands on his head in case someone was looking for an excuse to shoot him. This was definitely starting to go sideways, so he again did the math. If Emilio got within arm’s reach of him, he could easily snatch the Glock, blow off Emilio’s balls and get off five more shots, left to right, and nail the smoking and joking jerk-offs in less than four seconds. Except maybe they weren’t the complete jerk-offs that they appeared to be. One way to find out.
Brodie said to Emilio, “Please, señor, take what you want, take my watch—”
“Cállate!”
Brodie figured that meant “Shut up,” so he did, but he began unstrapping his watchband, and Emilio nodded, probably reprimanding himself for missing it.
Brodie kept his left hand in the air and offered Emilio his watch with his right. Emilio stepped toward Brodie, then made eye contact with him and stopped. They looked at each other, and Brodie saw Emilio figure out he wasn’t looking at a scared-shitless tourist. Emilio gestured for Brodie to drop the watch.
Brodie hesitated, then dropped it on the bamboo deck, and Emilio motioned him back before he picked up the watch and said something to his men, who laughed. He then spoke to Taylor, and she gave him her watch. He said, “Gracias, señora,” then added something else that he apparently told her to translate.