a doctor from New Zealand who’d worked with aid groups around the globe. Colin was the former science advisor to Britain’s health secretary. Juan had been a surgeon with Argentina’s military.
All were followers of E.D. All had left their positions to join her. They were the best of her organization, her disciples.
They revered her.
They knew her as Dr. Auden and they adhered to her rules.
They did not sit near her, or speak to her unless she initiated conversation, as she did now.
“Give me the outline for tomorrow, Colin.”
“At daybreak the contractor will arrive with men to carry our equipment overland. It’s rough terrain and should take us half a day to reach the field station. We can proceed in the morning.”
“Anyone else care to add anything?”
“Well—” Juan cleared his throat “—we can’t stress enough how dangerous this operation is. No one has ever seen anything like this before.”
“Do you wish to withdraw?” Sutsoff said. “Would you prefer to wait here while the others bravely make their mark in history?”
“No.”
“Your point then?”
“Thank you for the honor to be part of your team.”
They retired to their tents, one for Sutsoff, one for the guys and one for Fiona and Pauline. As the fire died, Sutsoff sensed something breathing, brooding, waiting in the darkness.
And she smiled.
43
At dawn, columns of mist curled from the river, enshrouding the camp and the spectral forms floating in the water.
Four dugouts, each with half a dozen figures waiting. A bird shrieked as Juan poked his head from his tent, fumbled for his glasses, waved to the group then roused the others.
“Our help has arrived.”
Sutsoff approached the group and offered a respectful greeting, using some of the dialect she’d learned from tapes Pauline had sent her.
Yes, they knew of the new discovery, said one man who had a command of English. It was frightening, he said, but other than the river people, no one knew what was happening.
“Have the white doctors come to help?” the man asked.
“Yes, we are here to help.”
Sutsoff’s team washed, dressed, rekindled the fire for breakfast and broke camp. Juan and Pauline saw to the men whom they’d hired to carry the research team’s equipment overland to the field station.
Payment was fifty U.S. dollars for each man, a fortune by regional standards. Juan instructed them on the equipment, while Pauline distributed ropes and straps, ensuring each man carried a reasonable load. Heavier items were secured to carrying poles and two men were tasked to carry either end.
The trek began in good time.
Sutsoff took her place near the head of the line behind Juan and two of the older local men, regarded as expert guides. The dark forests appeared impassable. But the locals knew the way, following paths made by elephant herds that had come to water at the banks of the river.
The woods came alive with the buzzing of insects. The pungent smells of mud, decay and the fragrance of the flora challenged her senses. Trees rose like skyscrapers, their branches forming a natural roof pierced by shafts of light. While birds and monkeys screamed, the vegetation rioted with creeping crimson vines and giant purple, blue, orange and yellow flowers.
The load bearers carried items on their head or on their shoulders or strapped to their backs. Sweat glistened on their bodies.
When the expedition stopped for breaks, the locals expertly helped themselves to bananas, oranges or pineapple that were abundant. Their sharp knives sliced with swift surgical precision and they slurped the sweet juices. To the side, Juan crouched and used a stick to draw a crude map in the earth. The elder guides consulted it, then spoke with Juan and Sutsoff.
“We should be at the field station in two hours. That’s late morning—earlier than we’d hoped,” Juan said.
“Good. We’ll start work immediately,” Sutsoff said.
The group had gained its second wind as the terrain sloped downward, and in a little over an hour they had reached the field station. It was a crude wooden shack, no bigger than a garden shed, where Juan had spent the past three months conducting research.
“We must move quickly,” Sutsoff said. “We must finish our work today. We’ll camp here tonight and leave in the morning for the barge and my rendezvous with the float plane. I need to get a flight from Yaoundé and get back to my lab as soon as possible.”
Everyone moved with military swiftness and order. Equipment was uncrated and positioned. Sutsoff’s pulse quickened as Juan and two of the elders led her down a path beyond