Page 43 of No Questions Asked

Get ashore? What in the world was he thinking? In fact, what was wrong withallthese people?

“No!” I practically shouted. “What we need to do is go after that boat, right now.”

Vicente tried to calm me. “Listen, Lexi. Salvador told us the tributary ends shortly. Both boats will end up on the shore, where they’ll have a better chance against the pirates.”

“We still have to help them,” I insisted.

“We will.”

Our driver finally maneuvered the boat onto a small beach that was mostly hidden from the main channel. Gabriel and the driver leapt from the boat, and everyone worked to pull it up on the beach and hide it.

“Okay, let’s go.” I headed down the shore in the direction where the other boat had disappeared. When I didn’t hear anything I turned around and saw Martim and our boat driver heading in the opposite direction. Gabriel, Vicente and the other guard stood looking indecisively between us.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Martim ordered everyone to go this way,” Vicente said, lifting his hands.

“But the boat went this way.” I pointed down the shore.

“I know, but we have to listen to him. He outranks us. He’s a government official and we have to do as he says.”

“Well, I don’t.”

“You can’t go after them alone, Lexi,” Vicente argued. “Please. It’s crazy.”

“Fine. Call me crazy. I’m going after the other boat with or without you.”

“That’s not a good idea. In fact, it’s areallybad idea.”

I didn’t care what he thought. I didn’t care whatanyof them thought. I was furious and fed up. They could do what they wanted.

When it became clear I wasn’t going to follow, Gabriel frowned and handed me the satellite phone. “I’m sorry, but Vicente is right. We must follow Martim. But if you will not go with us, at least take the phone. Call if you get into trouble.”

I took the phone and slipped the cord around my neck.

Martim shouted over his shoulder at us, presumably insisting we follow. Vicente tried one last time to convince me to come with the others, but I turned away from him and plunged into the rainforest alone.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lexi

Why did this stuff always happen to me? Two days into the trip and I was suddenly alone in the rainforest. That little black cloud had followed me to South America after all. Couldn’t I ever get a break?

Even though I knew it was the right thing to do, being alone in the rainforest was not the best plan I’d ever had. I couldn’t wander aimlessly—I would die for sure. I needed a solid plan of action.

Stopping by a tree, I reviewed everything I knew to this point. I was following the river from the cover of the jungle in case any more boats full of bandits sped by, but other than that, I had no idea what was next. First, I needed a better look at the phone. After I was sure no other boats were visible, I went to the shore and pulled the satellite phone off my neck. I studied it a minute and pulled out a small piece of paper in the little plastic pouch taped on the back and read the instructions, which were, thank God, in English.

I read the instructions carefully, pumping my fist when I saw the phone had a GPS feature. I examined the phone, turned it on, and walked around until I had a signal. I did a little jump of happiness when I saw the small icon indicating that location sharing was turned on.

“Yes,” I breathed.

If I assumed the satellite phone was with the group, then I had a direct map leading me to them. Unfortunately, the phone location shared coordinates only, since there was no graphical mapping interface on the phone. Fortunately, comparing coordinates to determine a direction was merely a math problem, and I was really good at math problems. I quickly got to work, comparing my coordinates to theirs. When the calculations were done, I figured the group, or at least the phone, was no longer on the water, but on the shore, about a half mile to my south southeast.

It seemed simple, but I’d been turned around and needed to figure out which direction was north. To try and figure it out, I started moving in what I thought was the right direction, noting how the coordinates changed.

Just as I was calibrating my sense of directions, I heard a gunshot in the distance. It startled me so much, I almost dropped the phone. I froze and strained my ears listening for more noise, but heard nothing. It hadn’t sounded like the pop of a pistol, but more the flat crack of a rifle. That alarmed me more than I wanted to admit.

My hands shaking, I checked my direction once more and realized I needed to head directly toward where I’d heard the sound. I moved as quickly as I could, given that a path did not exist and I had to plow through dense undergrowth. As much as I hated straying from a direct route, I figured I’d make better time following along the shoreline as much as possible.

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