attempt to stop him. She was a tribal native. Her face, though deeply lined, had features not unlike the man who had helped Vincent torture him. Behind her, Ben saw the source of the scent that was filling the cave — a pot, boiling on a small fire, emitting wisps of gray smoke.
He managed to get upright and remain that way for a few seconds be fore a wave of dizziness forced him back. The woman caught him with one hand and lowered him down. Then she eased a small ladle between his lips and held his head as he drank the thick, aromatic liquid that was there. In just minutes, the pain was completely gone, replaced by a cascade of remarkably pleasant thoughts and images. Soon after, as she was replacing the dried poultice on his shoulder with a moist one, the light from the cave opening began to dim. The tumbling images slowed, then faded.
Minutes or hours later, when his consciousness returned, the woman from the forest was kneeling beside him. Her face made him smile.
'Hi,' she said, 'my name is Natalie Reyes. Do you understand me? Good. Here's some water. You must drink.'
Ben nodded and took cautious sips from an earthen cup. Behind Natalie, the other woman worked away at her fire and pot.
'Ben,' he managed after his lips were moist enough. 'Ben Callahan from Chicago. Are you Brazilian?'
'American. I'm a medical student from Boston.'
'Thank you for saving me.'
'My friend Luis did the saving, not me. The people who run the hospital murdered his sister for trying to help me. Friends of his down there told him you were being tortured. We were watching from right out there when that man with the bow followed you out of the hospital and down the road. Luis knew what was about to happen and he decided to save you.'
'I'm glad he did,' Ben understated. 'I never thought — '
'Easy,' Natalie said. 'There's time.'
Ben again forced himself upright. This time, the dizziness was minimal. His shoulder was carefully wrapped in gauze that looked as if it might have been used before. As his thoughts cleared, his expression darkened.
'No, there isn't much time,' he said excitedly. 'There's a woman in the hospital. Her name's Sandy. She's going to be killed — operated on and then killed. I think they are going to take her heart. They — '
Natalie calmed him with a gentle finger to his lips.
'You are very dry and dehydrated,' she said. 'You need water. If we can't get enough fluids in you, you won't be able to help anyone.'
'That woman behind you, she's giving me some sort of incredible drug.'
'She's a shaman, and a friend of Luis's. Her name is Tokima, something like that. She speaks a mix of Portuguese, which I understand fairly well, and some kind of tribal dialect that I don't understand at all, but Luis does.'
'Well, ask Luis to see if she wants a permanent job making me feel like this.'
'The color just left your face, Ben Callahan. That's your blood pressure dropping off the table. In a few more seconds, you are going to start feeling rotten — very rotten. I think you'd better lie down.'
'You can predict what's going to happen?'
Natalie checked his pulse, which was rapid and weak.
'Your cardiovascular system is under stress. You need rest and lots of fluids.'
'And some more of that medicine,' he said, just before he drifted off.
Ben awoke twice more. Each time Natalie Reyes was nearby, looking down at him with deep concern and caring.
'I saw you on the rock down there when that monster was hunting you,' she said at one point. 'You were so weak and you were so brave. Now that I know what brought you here, I think you're even braver.'
She gave him water, and the medicine woman, Tokima, treated him with some of her mixtures. Each time he felt stronger and sat up longer. Piece by piece they were able to share the accounts of how they came to be in Dom Angelo.
When Ben opened his eyes for the third time, Natalie was still there as before, but crouching next to her was the man who had saved his life.
'Luis,' Ben said, rolling to one side and extending his hand.
'Ben,' Luis said, his grip incredibly strong.
'Luis doesn't speak English,' Natalie said, 'but he's kind enough to speak Portuguese slowly, so I can translate what needs to be translated.'
'Tell him I'm sorry about his sister,' Ben said.
'You're a very sweet man to think of that,' Natalie replied. 'Brave and sweet. I like that combination.'
She had a brief conversation with Luis, who met Ben's gaze and nodded. Ben saw the intensity of a warrior in the man's good eye.
'The woman you are worried about,' Natalie said, 'is still unconscious in the hospital and on a breathing machine.'
'She's drugged,' Ben replied. 'She was kidnapped, and now she's drugged. Back in Texas she was screaming about her child. She yelled that she was being kept in a cage. Then someone, probably Vincent, shut her up.' He sat up with no assistance. 'Is there anything we can do?' he asked.
'Tell us exactly who came in with you on the airplane.'
'Three in the cockpit, four in the cabin — now three thanks to Luis. One of those is — was — Vincent's girlfriend. There were also two aft with the patient. One of them is an older woman — I think she may be an anesthesiologist.'
Natalie translated for Luis and got some information in return.
'At the hospital we have Barbosa, he's a crooked policeman? Santoro, he's a crooked doctor? Vincent's assistant, whom apparently you met? plus a few kitchen, housekeeping, and janitorial people.'
'Long odds,' Ben said.
'They're going to get longer. Another group — the nurses from Rio and those others surrounding the recipient of that poor woman's heart, are due very soon.'
'Somehow we've got to get her out,' Ben said.
'What do you mean, we?' Natalie asked. 'You are in no shape for battle.'
'I'm going to do what I can. I've come too far not to. Here, give me a hand.'
Ben reached out and was effortlessly pulled to his feet by Luis. For a few seconds, the cave reeled, but he braced himself against one wall and remained upright.
'Sweet, brave, and tough,' Natalie said. 'Nice. Okay. We've got the two of us, plus Luis, his girlfriend Rosa, and one other guy from the village that Luis says we can count on. How good are you at war strategy?'
'I got an A in it in college. Do I have time to get my notes?'
'Luis,' Natalie said, gesturing to Ben, 'I think we are five.'
Luis did not reply. Instead, he crossed over to where Tokima was working, and spoke with her. She nodded, took a small plastic pail, and headed off into the forest.
'Tokima has been healing people for many years,' he said. 'Perhaps eighty.'
Natalie translated for Ben, who merely grinned, nodded, and commented that although she had already worked a miracle for him, he hoped the medicine woman could give him something long-acting for the hours ahead.
'Does she know my insurance probably won't cover this treatment?' he asked.
Natalie translated for Luis, who actually smiled. Then the two of them spoke for some time, before she turned to Ben.
'As you probably know, there are many, many psychoactive drugs in the plants out there,' she said. 'Tokima has gone out to get the strongest of them all — a root. Luis only knows the Indian name for it, which is something like Khosage. Dried, ground, and smoked, it is a very powerful hallucinogen, but taken in excess, there is little time to enjoy the more pleasant and interesting effects. Violent vomiting and diarrhea, along with severe abdominal pain, disorientation, and even death will soon intervene. Assuming Tokima can find enough of the root, Luis thinks he can either get it into the food that is being prepared for lunch, or have one of the kitchen help do it for him. With any luck some of the people at the hospital with guns can be disabled, as well as those who are scheduled to assist
