Evil eyes.
“I’m surprised you took my bait and exposed our virus problem to Martinez,” Antonio said.
Their headgear had communication equipment that restricted them from being overheard. Antonio had switched it to a private channel. How intimate, Charly thought dourly.
“I got tired of your prevaricating,” she retorted. “Don’t think I’m not onto you.”
“Interesting. And what’s your opinion of me?”
“You manipulate. You, Renata, and Luis. Even Nico. It seems the only person who’s honest in your household is Ida.”
Antonio chuckled. “I’m surprised you’re taking Ida’s side.”
“I’m not taking her side. I still think she’s judgmental, but I prefer to know what I’m up against, who I’m up against, instead of constantly having to watch my back.”
The billionaire fell silent after that. All that could be heard was the squishing of their suits.
An occasional drunk or vagrant would accost them, but they were quickly confronted by Antonio, and BOPE officers would suddenly materialize and spirit them away.
Still, Charly could feel they were being watched from the rooftops.
It could even be one of the perpetrators waiting for Charly to show up. The PPE would disguise her face in case they weren’t sure exactly who Charles Bennett was, only that he was small in stature. That was if they still were working under the assumption that he was male.
Somehow that rubbed Charly the wrong way.
“We’re almost there,” Antonio said after their protracted silence. “You should trust me to have your back,” he said finally. “My manipulations, as you call them, have everything to do with setting things right.”
“You’re forgetting it’s your oversight that got you into this mess.”
“You’re being judgmental,” he threw her term back at her. “And I’m not denying responsibility.”
“You have to give me all the facts. What got you into this mess in the first place?”
“There are things I can’t show you until I’m sure of your cooperation.”
“Proprietary information?”
“Yes.” Antonio said. “We’re here.”
Here was the foot of a small hill. Their path was lit partly by moonlight and Charly could see shadows of tall grass or maybe shrubs. She hesitated, but Antonio went ahead, illuminating their way with a powerful LED lamp.
“X marks the spot,” he murmured. The instructions weren’t exactly a map, but more of coordinates that Nico had plugged into their GPS units. Antonio switched channels. “Nico, we’re here. Can you double check our location?”
There was static over their comms before Nico’s voice came on. “Yes. You’re in the right spot.”
Antonio turned to her. “I’m heading into the vegetation. You don’t have to come, but I’d rather not lose track of you.”
“I’ll come with you,” Charly gulped. “Are there creatures we should be wary of?” Of course there were, but she had to ask.
“I can’t assure you there are none, but we’ll be careful, okay?”
Not very reassuring, but when Antonio held out his hand, Charly didn’t hesitate and grabbed it. He led her through tall grass, thankful for her gear—including the mid-calf boots—seemed sturdy enough to prevent a bite from creatures of the slithering kind.
They left the rest of the team and trudged across the uneven ground heading up a gradual incline. Charly knew or rather felt when they’d reached their destination. Even if it was only Antonio’s hand that she held, she felt the string of tension stretch tight between them before he let go and moved several steps forward.
“Found him,” he said.
Charly soon came into a clearing.
“How long do you think he’s been dead?” Antonio looked at her.
“Renata said she’d last saw Pierre four days ago.” It was Nico who answered.
“I’m not a medical examiner,” Charly said. She crouched beside the body and set the diagnostic kit on the ground. “He’s in rigor mortis but hasn’t bloated yet, so eight to thirty-six hours. For our purposes, your quick reactive Ebola test kit should be able to trace the virus.”
“It’s one of the best,” Antonio said.
Charly mentally rolled her eyes. Anriotech was known for its Ebola test kits. They’d received recognition in Africa for delivering a much needed and effective product.
Antonio got down beside her. “What’s your initial assessment?”
“He never had Ebola. The cytokine storm overwhelms the body and makes the victim bleed out of the eyes. Death usually follows.”
“I know that,” Antonio said. “But what if he was killed before he got to that stage.”
“That’s possible, if someone wanted to get us all infected.”
“You’re very calm about this.”
“We’re suitably geared. It gives me a level of confidence.” She glanced at him. “So, thanks for that.”
Antonio didn’t respond, or maybe he grunted his response. Charly didn’t know, because her focus right now was testing the lifeless body before her.
Ebola victims were buried immediately and only an expert in handling the diseased body was allowed near it, so Charly still had to be careful.
Research had shown the virus was detectable in oral samples for four weeks after death, which was good news for them, so they might determine if Pierre was killed before the Ebola spread. Charly was actually surprised Antonio had the stomach for what she was doing in taking samples from a dead body. It made her wonder what level of gore he was accustomed to. After retrieving the sample cells and entering it into the test kit, it was now a waiting game. It took fifteen to twenty minutes depending on the quality of the source.
Antonio was aware of this and updated his team to be on standby.
Charly stood and used her own flashlight to look around.
“What are you looking for?” Antonio asked.
“Anything odd in particular. Anything belonging to our victim.”
“My team will do the sweep.”
“I prefer to do some of my own.” Thank you very much, Charly thought. She
