“But they could be anywhere off in that distance,” Rick said in a hushed voice, as he gazed off into the darkness.
Javier thought about that for a moment. “At some point, they will need to cross the river, if they are heading to the Cueva de los Tayos entrance.”
“They could already be inside the caves system,” Rick replied.
Javier shook his head. “That’s hard to do with prisoners.”
Rick realized he was right. Abseiling down a 65-metre deep shaft with a series of ropes, burdened with prisoners wanting to escape would be a near impossible feat.
“They might keep the prisoners above-ground, while they descend,” Rick suggested.
Javier nodded. “It’s a possibility.”
“It would at least slow them down, if that’s what they’ve done. That could be to our advantage.”
Javier considered that. “We’re almost directly north of the caves entrance. If they were going to cross the river, they would likely have done so fairly straight ahead.”
Rick agreed. “So then, we head forward, if they’re not there, they’ve most likely crossed the river.”
“Si,” Javier replied, frowning. “We will decide then if we also have to cross the river.”
Rick hoped not. They’d be vulnerable to being spotted on the open water.
Javier turned around. “We should go back,” he whispered. “Rejoin the others.”
“Right.”
They quickly headed back and then explained to Sofia and Luis what their plan was.
None of them had any intention of turning back.
The foursome headed deeper into the rainforest, following the trail that Javier had spotted. They were getting closer to the Rio Santiago. The area grew more humid and damp.
Finally, Javier held up his hand.
“Shhh,” Javier whispered, placing a finger over his lips. “I think we’re getting close. I can hear voices.” He motioned them to duck down out of sight. He fished his night vision goggles out of his rucksack. “I’m going to take a closer look. Stay here.”
Sofia and Luis silently complied. They could hear the voices, too, but couldn’t make out what was being said.
Javier crept forward. His small frame made stealth easier for him.
Rick, who’d been bringing up the rear, protecting the group from behind, once again decided to edge closer to Javier.
Javier was now lying flat on his stomach, peering through the foliage, with a deep frown on his face. He pursed his lips.
Rick took up position beside him. Sure enough, the prison camp had moved closer to the Rio Santiago, and closer to the Tayos cave system. He knew that was no accident.
“They’re searching for the metal library, aren’t they?” Rick whispered.
Javier didn’t answer. He stared straight ahead, peering through the night vision goggles.
Rick whispered as quietly as he could, “They’ve probably camped for the night.”
Javier only nodded as he searched for the prisoners. He tensed.
“I’ve found them,” he whispered to Rick. “Allí,” he said, pointing to the corner of the encampment. He handed Rick the goggles. “There are three of them, bound and gagged.”
Rick took the goggles. He spotted them. One older man and two younger men. Each had been gagged and tied to separate trees right next to one another. There were two guards near the three prisoners and two other guards patrolling the perimeter. There was a large tent erected in the center of the encampment. Rick watched for a while. He saw only one man come out, talk to one of the guards, then re-enter the tent.
Rick tried to beat back the dark memories of having been in this situation himself. He vividly recalled the total vulnerability, the fear of what was to come, the sheer powerlessness. Sweat poured down his back. Seeing this made it feel like it had happened to him only yesterday.
Focus, dammit, he scolded himself. You can relive your worst nightmares later.
“That must be Diego. Are the others your missing friends?” Rick asked, trying to shake off his anxieties and bury them as deep as he could right now.
Javier’s face was grave. “Si, but only two of them. I searched, but I could not locate the third.”
“Let me double-check,” Rick said.
He scanned the encampment, but Javier was right. No sign of a third prisoner.
“I don’t see him either,” he said in a hushed tone, placing a hand on Javier’s shoulder, “but that doesn’t mean he isn’t somewhere else. We just haven’t found him yet.”
“Her,” Javier corrected him, but he didn’t look convinced about finding her.
Rick wasn’t either. And now, knowing it was a woman, made him even more concerned about what could’ve happened to her. He didn’t want to think about the dark possibilities.
“We’ve got to make a plan to get them out of there,” Rick said. “Let’s find out all we can before we head back.”
Javier nodded.
After Rick and Javier had taken turns getting a good look at the guards, the weapons they carried, and the layout of the encampment, they slunk back and rejoined the others.
In a low whisper, Rick filled them in on all the details of what they had seen.
“That must be our padre,” Sofia said quietly, hope welling up inside her.
She took Luis’ hand and squeezed it, giving him an encouraging smile.
“I hope so,” Luis said, as he swallowed hard, doing his best to keep his emotions in check.
“They likely won’t be expecting us,” Javier offered.
“Especially not in the dead of night in a jungle filled with predators,” Rick added.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Javier replied.
“Ok,” Rick whispered, “we’ve got to figure out a plan to free them. We don’t know what kind of shape they’ll be in, so we’ll have to be smart about this.”
“Where do we go when we do free them?” Sofia asked, worriedly. “It’s a long way back to the truck from here.”
“Si, can we still make it that far?” Luis asked.
Javier clenched his jaw. He knew it was far riskier trying to make it back to the truck now. The chances of
