Page 36 of No Questions Asked

“Why not?” I asked.

Salvador shrugged. “Years of mistrust. The government says one thing and does another, or does nothing at all. Desperation, more than a desire to work with the government, is what’s driving the villagers now. At least the government had a decent guy in here before he was abruptly pulled. Martim arrived just this morning. I spoke with him shortly after he arrived. He knows next to nothing about the tribes we are going to visit or the vaccine program. He also told me that he doesn’t have much faith in the vaccine trials, seeing as how it’s being run by a woman.” He looked apologetically at Natelli. “Sorry.”

“What a sexist idiot,” Gwen said indignantly. “Natelli is brilliant. She’s been the driving force behind the development of the vaccine.”

“You don’t have to convince me.” Salavador held up his hands. “He’s the problem, not me.”

Natelli patted her hand. “Thanks, Gwen, but I don’t need protection from Martim or his sexist attitude. It isn’t the first time I’ve encountered these views in my career. His opinion changes nothing. We proceed as planned and try to marginalize Martim as much as we can.”

I agreed with her, but I didn’t know how easy that would be. At this point, there wasn’t much we could do about it.

“Why would the government do that?” Slash mused. “Pull a team member who was already briefed, familiarized and entrenched with the team and replace him on the eve of the first expedition?”

“Who knows?” Vicente answered. “But I’m sure the government had their reasons and now we just have to deal with it.”

Slash didn’t look convinced, but said nothing more. I drank my coffee and tried not to worry about it.

After we finished breakfast, we filled up our water bottles and headed out to where the team was assembling. It was still early morning and the air was already impossibly humid and oppressive. While standing in the shade, I reached into my backpack and pulled out a bandana made from microfiber that Slash had bought for me. I tied it around my neck to help absorb the sweat.

While we were waiting for the last supplies and coolers to be loaded, Slash sprayed Gwen and me with insect repellent. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and jammed a hat on my head before applying extra sunblock to my face and the back of my neck. Finally I perched my sunglasses on my nose where they kept sliding down due to the suntan lotion.

Natelli returned and we stood together in a group. I counted ten people. Natelli, Slash, Gwen, me, Salvador, Vicente, Melinda, Martim and two security guards who would apparently also act as drivers. Natalie divided us up into two groups of five. I was in a jeep with Slash, Melinda, Vicente and a security guard. Gwen, Natelli, Martim, Salvador and their security man were in the first jeep, with Salvador providing guidance to the group.

I sure hoped he knew where we were going, because I didn’t want to get lost in this heat and humidity. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t last an hour. Natelli seemed to read my mind, because she began to reassure us.

“Salvador will ensure we get where we are going,” she said as we climbed in the jeeps. “The indigenous communities we will visit are scattered throughout this area, with many of them located in hard-to-find pockets of the jungle. Those on the banks of the Amazon are the easiest to find, but those areas are also the most dangerous for us since they’re also the locations most often frequented by pirates.”

I exchanged a worried glance with Slash and then looked back at Natelli. “Define pirates. We aren’t talking pirates like Long Beard, right?”

“Well, in a way we are,” she answered. “They’re thieves, pure and simple. But extremely dangerous thieves, who wouldn’t think twice about slicing our necks for financial gain.”

I swallowed hard. I appreciated she was keeping it real, I was even more thankful Slash was here with me, although I sincerely wished he were armed. Would two security guards be enough to protect us from danger?

Apparently Natelli thought they would, because the jeeps started and off we went. I was sitting in the back in the middle between Slash and Melinda, the computer bag and my backpack on my lap. Vicente sat up front with the guard, chatting with him in Portuguese.

I leaned forward, resting my hand on the back of the seat. “So, Vicente, what kind of animals can we expect to see in the rainforest?”

“A wide variety, of course. This area is one of the most biodiverse in the world. If you’re lucky, you might see a jaguar, some cougars, caiman, anacondas, bats and a wide variety of snakes, spiders and insects. We also have some of the most colorful and beautiful birds in the world. Keep an eye out for them.”

I’d stopped listening after he said cougars and scooted a little closer to Slash, who was viewing the area with interest. He didn’t seem the least bit scared, which was both annoying and comforting.

“Many of the villages we will visit are on the waterways, so we typically take the jeep to the river’s edge and maneuver our way in this manner,” Vicente said. “But our first village is landlocked, so we’ll take the jeep as far as we can and hike the rest of the way. I’ve been there before as well, and it’s not too far a walk from where the jeeps will stop.”

“What are we to expect at the village today?” Slash asked. “How advanced is their civilization?”

“This particular group has adopted some modern conveniences such as tools and guns and have used them to survive.” Vicente braced himself with a hand against the dashboard as we hit several bumps. “But keep in mind, many of the tribes have lived in the rainforest for more than a thousand years. They’ve adapted to the climate and the environment, as well as learned to coexist with nature and live off the land. It’s fascinating.”

“How much contact have they had with the outside world?” Melinda asked.

“Some. Tourism has both helped and hurt the rainforest. Helped in the sense that it provides income and discourages the slaughter, sale and smuggling of threatened and endangered animals. Hurt because the rainforest is being deforested at a scary rate to accommodate all the tourists.”

“A double-edged sword,” Slash said.

“Indeed. Most of the tribes remain highly superstitious and suspicious of foreigners, however, so we have to get in, create some rapport and trust, administer the vaccines, and get the heck out.”

“How long do you anticipate it will take us to get to the village?” I asked. The sun was blazing hot, and it appeared the road was following the river, so we were getting a lot more sun than we would have if we were traveling beneath the trees. Plus, it had started drizzling on and off which might have been helpful in cooling us off, except even the drizzle was hot and steamy.

“About two hours,” Vicente replied. “Hang in there.”

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