This Green Hell

Alex nodded in response. ‘I don’t see our chopper, Banks. I assume you know we’re in a bit of a hurry.’

Captain Garmadia spoke before the American sergeant could respond. ‘There has been a complication that has necessitated a slight change of plan. Please follow us for new instructions.’

Alex felt the knot of frustration in his belly tighten. He turned to Sam, discontent plain on his face. ‘Lieutenant, get the team ready to leave on my return.’

‘You got it. Want me to tag along?’ Sam raised his eyebrows.

Captain Garmadia smirked slightly at Sam and took a step towards him. ‘Stand at ease, soldado, this is just procedure. You and your superior need not be alarmed by my request.’

Alex shook his head at Sam and set off at a brisk pace towards the buildings, not waiting for the other two men. He heard them break into a run in order to catch up.

* * *

Garmadia put on a sprint to get ahead of Alex so he could lead him into the building and down to a meeting room at the end of the corridor. Banks followed in what Alex thought was amused silence.

A man in his late fifties stood up when Alex entered the room and gave him a flat smile. He didn’t bother saluting, just held out his hand. Alex could see by the insignia on his uniform — three gold stars with red circles underneath — that the man was a colonel either in the artillery or infantry. A working soldier; good, he thought.

‘Colonel Eladio Lugo,’ the man said. ‘You must be Captain Alex Hunter. An old friend of mine speaks very highly of you; Cabeza Dura, we used to call him — it means “hard head”. Many years ago he trained some people for us.’

By that description, Alex guessed he meant Jack Hammerson.

Lugo gestured to some chairs around an enormous walnut desk and spoke briefly to Garmadia in Spanish, who nodded in reply and turned to smirk briefly at Alex.

‘I believe Captain Garmadia mentioned there has been a complication,’ Lugo said. He turned a map around so Alex could see it. A red circle had been drawn around a dark green zone roughly halfway between the cities of Asuncion and Concepcion and close to the Paraguay River. There were no markings for towns, roads or any other sign of human habitation.

Lugo sat back and folded his hands across his flat stomach. ‘This complication is something far more dangerous to us than bandits or mercenaries, Captain Hunter. The area has been closed by an extreme quarantine order from the highest level. Even our people cannot go in, neither can our vehicles, aircraft or helicopters — nothing. Until the source of infection has been identified, or has burned itself out, we must wait.’

He leaned forward and brought his hands together on the map, looking hard at Alex, perhaps expecting anger or some other type of outburst. Alex, however, barely reacted to the information. His voice was even and unemotional.

‘My team will be completing its assignment. We are going in, whether I have to buy or steal an aircraft. We leave in thirty minutes.’

One of Lugo’s eyebrows went up and a small smile touched the corner of his mouth. ‘Are you sure you are not related to Cabeza Dura?’

Sergeant Banks finally spoke. ‘There are no planes, Captain Hunter, or choppers. They’ve all been deployed to the Bolivian border for security exercises. Even if there were, you’d probably be shot down if you tried to fly across the exclusion zone. I’ll do what I can to help, but we’re a little restricted on foreign soil.’

Colonel Lugo had turned the map back around and was examining its green lines and swirls. He spoke without looking up. ‘It is a problem we are becoming more familiar with, Captain. As we push further into the jungle, we are seeing more and more sporadic outbreaks of disease — such as the hantavirus hotspots. We fully intend to keep such infections out of populated areas.’

‘You North Americans need to be reminded that you must follow the rules while you are guests here,’ Garmadia said with a self-satisfied grin. He allowed his eyes to drift across to Banks. ‘While all of you are guests here. The United States needs this base; you don’t have too many friends in Latin America anymore, Captain Hunter.’

Alex could feel the blood surging in his chest and a small bloom of pain in the centre of his head. He sat immobile and tried to keep his breathing calm. His eyes remained, unblinking, on Garmadia. The smaller man swallowed, perhaps thrown off by not getting the reaction he had expected. He went on, this time sounding a little less sure of himself.

‘You probably think you will walk out of here, make a phone call and go over our heads, but be warned that it could be us phoning your superiors.’

Alex’s eyes slid across to Colonel Lugo. He saw that the man’s face had gone a deep shade of red.

‘That is enough, Captain Garmadia,’ Lugo said. ‘North America is like a big brother to us. There will be no insulting of family — especially while I am in the room.’

He held Garmadia’s eyes a moment longer, the glance carrying a warning, then returned to the map and the HAWCs’ destination. He opened his mouth about to speak, but Garmadia was there before him.

‘If I may remind you, Colonel,’ he said, raising his finger, ‘even the Minister for Foreign Affairs has said that we must look to our own neighbours for our security in the future, rather than bowing before fading superpowers —’

‘That’s enough!’ Lugo exploded and slammed one hand down on his desk. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second then opened them again, a roguish smile creeping across his face. ‘Captain Garmadia, I was about to send you out of the room, but I believe you may be of assistance on a little trip I am about to authorise.’

He turned to Alex. ‘It is true what Sergeant Banks has told you. There are no aircraft available to you now, and the zone is under mandatory quarantine. However, I believe your CDC scientists should be allowed to enter the area to assist our country with any diagnoses and, we hope, the containment of this health hazard.’ He smiled and pointed at a red line running down the interior of the country. ‘This is the main road all the way to Asuncion — and you can’t be shot down travelling by vehicle, can you? You have two choices. First, leave the highway at Pozo and head towards Concepcion, where you can obtain a boat and travel down the Paraguay River to this spot close to the camp.’

Alex did some quick calculations: just over 200 miles by truck, forty by boat, then another forty-mile trek. A lot of distance over some tough terrain. He wasn’t sure how the scientists would cope.

‘But if it was me,’ Lugo went on, ‘I would be tempted to drive to a point just past Pozo and obtain a guide there to take you through the jungle to the camp. This way you avoid the river altogether, which is unpredictable coming into rainy season. Two-fifty miles by truck, then about twenty miles through some dense jungle — should take maybe two days, or less if you have a good guide.’

Alex looked up from the map and nodded.

‘Good. How long until you can be ready?’ Lugo asked.

‘We’re ready now, Colonel.’

Lugo looked over his shoulder. ‘And you, Captain Garmadia?’

‘What?’ Garmadia’s smirk vanished.

‘I think you would be of enormous assistance to our North American friends in providing translation services, obtaining a guide and generally showing them some real Paraguayan hospitality,’ Lugo said. ‘Only a few days. I’m sure your wife will not miss you. Get yourself a light field pack and be out front in twenty minutes. That’s an order. Dismissed.’

Garmadia looked as though he had just received an electric shock.

Lugo rose from his desk, clapped the Paraguayan captain on the shoulder and walked him to the door. As the two men left, Lugo leaned in close to Garmadia’s ear. Alex could hear the colonel’s muted words as though they were whispered into his own ear.

‘You may have the ear of the minister, but I have the ear of the President. Take care, Captain, and take care of them, or I will make sure you are stationed deep down in the jungle permanently.’