Page 66 of No Questions Asked

Slash motioned for Vicente and Salvador to wait while he slipped forward to investigate. He dropped his pack, and taking only a pistol and a pair of binoculars, he began a stealthy approach.

Although it was still daylight, dusk was probably less than an hour away. As it was, all the towering trees caused huge areas of shadows with occasional slices of light. He maneuvered so he stayed in the shadows until he found a perch where he could see into the clearing where all the noise was located.

Unfortunately, his view was partially obstructed by several tall tree trunks, so he could only see part of the event. He used the binoculars to scan the area. They’d definitely found a village, and it looked like most of the village had turned out for a wrestling match between two young men. It seemed like a lopsided match as one of the men was much larger than the other, but the smaller man was quicker and able to stay out of the bigger one’s reach. A tall man with a staff and a feathered outfit seemed to be officiating the match.

He did a scan for weapons, but didn’t see any other than spears and bows. Didn’t mean there weren’t any there, but he was hopeful. Outside of the circle, villagers were sitting on logs or standing around, and children were playing in groups. He did another, more careful scan, looking explicitly for Lexi.

He didn’t see anyone dressed in Western garb. Most of the men and women were dressed in loincloths and knee-length grassy skirts. Lexi should have stood out, but he didn’t see her. His heart skipped a beat, but he calmed himself, adjusting his position for a better look at the entire area.

He had just moved when he heard a noise behind him. Turning quickly, he pointed the pistol, then lowered it when saw Vicente and Salvador had crept up behind him.

“What are you doing?” Slash said in a low voice. “I could have shot you.”

“We’re here to help,” Vicente said, settling in on one side of him while Salvador took the other side. “So, let us help.”

“Where’s the gear?” he asked.

“Back where we dumped it,” Vicente answered. “We didn’t want to be encumbered if we needed to move quickly.”

A huge roar sounded from the crowd. Slash turned his attention back to the stone circle. The two combatants lying on the ground with the smaller man on top. Apparently the fight was over.

As the smaller man stood up, a young woman in a decorative loincloth jumped up and down excitedly. The feathered man with the staff brought her to the apparent victor, who beamed proudly.

“Let me take a closer look,” Vicente said, reaching for the binoculars. Slash reluctantly handed them over.

“It appears to be a marriage ritual.” Vicente adjusted the view. “The men are fighting for the woman. In most of the indigenous tribes, this ritual happens once or twice a year. Men in the same tribe, but from other, smaller villages often come together to vie for eligible women who are of age, or who’ve lost their husbands. The guy with the staff is likely the shaman—a combination of the village elder and a medicine man.”

“Who’s the guy with the feathered cape?” Slash asked.

“My guess is the chief, simply by the number of tattoos on his face,” Vicente said.

As they watched, the shaman knelt by the fire. Vicente swept the binoculars across the view. “Wait. The older woman behind the shaman is wearing a satellite phone.”

For a moment, Slash couldn’t breathe. He took the binoculars from Vicente and adjusted the binoculars. Sure enough, a satellite phone hung around her neck.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to figure out the meaning. Did it mean Lexi was dead? Had they stolen it from her? Found it? Before he figured it out, there was a commotion just out of his view. The man in the cape, the chief as Vicente called him, turned and ran to the left of him while everyone in the crowd stood to look in that direction.

After a moment, the villagers lost interest in whatever the chief was doing and sat down. The shaman held up tongs and returned to the victorious suitor.

“Watch this,” Vicente said.

Slash shifted the binoculars to watch as the young man who won the match took the wooden tongs and pressed something to the side of the woman’s face. She flinched, but did not scream.

“The marriage is now complete,” Salvador said. “She has his mark. All who see her will know she’s taken.”

As the couple walked to the side of the clearing, the shaman beckoned to someone in the direction of where the chief had gone. The man with the cape stepped into view holding the arm of a woman in a loincloth. There was no mistaking who it was.

Lexi!

Relief, sharp and brutal, slammed into his gut, making it hard to breathe. Outwardly calm, he gave himself a few seconds before he adjusted the binoculars for a better look. He didn’t like that the chief had his hands on her. Thankfully, she appeared unharmed, but was wearing the same type of decorated loincloth as the other women, except she’d bound her breasts with some kind of netting. She wasn’t struggling to get away from the man, but he could tell she was equal parts furious and frightened by whatever was happening.

Thank God he’d been in time. Thank God she was still alive. They could figure out anything else together.

He slipped his father’s cross from beneath his shirt and kissed it. Now he had to go get her.

He looked down, realizing he only had his semiautomatic pistol. It held ten rounds. It would probably be enough to reach Lexi, but he doubted he could protect her if they were subsequently attacked. The rest of the ammunition was in the pack he’d left a hundred yards back. He could run back and get it, but he didn’t know if he had enough time to stop whatever was about to happen. Vicente and Salvador also had guns, thank God, but he wasn’t anxious to start a shootout, especially with Lexi in the middle of it.

Before he could decide what to do, the man with the cape starting making a speech, his voice booming over the clearing, allowing them to hear.

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