Katherine Garbera - Deadly Desire

She thought about her dad and how much had changed since he’d left civilization. Not just in the way of available products, such as satellite phones in the private sector, but also in her. She was older now. More experienced with the CDC.

She wondered what had gone so wrong with her father.

Mac put his hand on her shoulder. She glanced back at him. “My watch has a GPS. I’ll program the coordinates in there so we have a backup.”

Jane gave him the coordinates. His watch looked as though it had been invented for NASA. He programmed it and then glanced up.

“I have some light sticks we can use once darkness falls. But I’m planning to keep moving if we can,” she blurted out.

“That makes sense,” Mac said.

“I’ve been thinking about hiring Aldo to come with us,” she said.

“I’ve got enough jungle experience to get us to the Yura.”

That was all well and good, but there was something about Mac that made her uneasy. He was hiding something and she didn’t really want to find out on her own in the jungle that her faith in him was misplaced. “I’m going to check in with Reynaldo, but I want to leave in five minutes.”

“Sure thing, boss lady.”

Jane walked away, ignoring his smart comment. He liked to needle her, and she didn’t know why. She spotted Reynaldo and he waved her over to him.

“Do you need anything for your journey?” he asked.

“We do need food. And some information.”

“I gave food to your man. What do you want to know?”

“Could you tell me more about the trouble with the Yura?”

Reynaldo glanced across the clearing at Mac and then drew her farther away from him. “Six months ago something weird started happening with them.”

“Weird how?”

“They stopped trading with us and refused anyone who journeyed to their village.”

“What do you mean by refused?”

“They wouldn’t allow anyone to come into the village. No food stores could be replenished. A white man…gave them orders.”

“Did you see him?” Jane asked. Was it her father? Or someone else? Maybe Mac?

“No. But Aldo did.”

“Was the man Mac?” she asked.

He shook his head. Jane started to ask another question but saw that Mac was moving toward them. “Thank you. Would Aldo be available to act as a guide?”

Reynaldo shook his head. “No. We are getting ready to start the Spring rite and Aldo is needed here. If you wait two weeks I can give you a group of men and a guide.”

She didn’t even have two days and well she knew it. “Thanks, but I can’t wait.”

Reynaldo nodded. He closed his eyes and put his hand over her forehead and muttered some words. Jane didn’t know what he was saying, but sensed he had blessed her.

From his neck he took a necklace made of shells and bamboo and handed it to her. “Be careful. The way is not always straight or clear but don’t doubt the path.”

Jane nodded. “Thank you.”

Mac joined them with his gear on, clearly ready to go. They said their goodbyes to Reynaldo and went back to get Jane’s pack.

“So what’s the plan?” he asked. “Just us, or did you find someone else to come along?”

“Just us. I’m not sure how far we can get tonight but I think I might go crazy if we stay here.”

“Yeah, I kind of had that feeling. Why is this so important to you?” he asked.

“Saving lives is always—”

“Don’t give me that. This feels personal.”

“It is. My dad’s involved.” She hoped he’d leave it at that because she wasn’t sure she even understood the deeper reasons why she was doing this. But she knew they involved being the one to right the past.

He moved closer to her, something she realized he did when he wanted to needle her.

“I think there’s more to it than that.”

“Well, save your brainpower. I just like to do my job well.” He was more perceptive than she wanted him to be.

“Whatever you say. You want to take the lead?”

She nodded and lifted her backpack up, sliding the straps onto her shoulders. She groaned under the weight of it. Damn, it was heavy. She wished she’d done a little more than just weight training at the gym. She was going to have the mother of all backaches before this was done. But it would be worth it if she could save her father and prevent more people from dying.

The scent of fruit and rotting vegetation hung heavy in the air. They were far removed from the real world. She closed her eyes and saw her father’s face. The pressure and the time clock beat loudly in her head once again.

“Tell me about this disease,” Mac said as they moved out.

“The symptoms are similar to Lassa fever as far as I can tell. As I said in Lima, I didn’t have time to do any tests on people.”

“Do you think it’ll spread to the brain?” he asked. Now he was acting like the other virologists she knew. She could almost hear his mind working as he processed what she’d told him and what he knew of viruses from the past.

“From what research I did…yes.”

“Is your father infected?”

She swallowed. “Yes.”

“How advanced is he?” he asked. There was no concern in his voice. He was just gathering information.

“I don’t know.” And somehow that made it worse. If she knew he was in the advanced stages, she could be better prepared. “He sent me two different packages. The second one contained his infected blood sample.”

“Did he include notes?”

“Yes.”

“Was his handwriting shaky?” Mac asked.

“No. It was the same bold strokes he always used.” She was tired of talking about this. It wasn’t helping. Somehow being here in the jungle made the threat all the more real. Right now she felt out of control. Only the glances she kept taking at the monitor on her GPS unit made her feel more in charge.

Less a victim of this Yura disease that might spread throughout the entire Amazon basin region. A disease that the government and Raul Veracruz both denied existed. She didn’t understand that. Raul had always been a top-notch virologist. She couldn’t believe he’d have missed something this lethal.

“When we stop tonight I’m going to have my assistant send me some further information on Lassa. Did you definitely rule that out?” Mac asked after several minutes.

“Yes. Why are you questioning me?” she asked. Did he doubt her research?

“I don’t want to give an untried treatment to people,” he said at last.

“Why not? The disease is fatal. A treatment gives them a good chance to stay healthy.” She’d bet that his doubt had something to do with his Southeast Asia experience. She wanted to know more about it. Had he put glory in front of human lives?

“Experience.”

There was an expression in his eyes that she’d seen once or twice on a virologist fresh from a hot zone. There was nothing like fighting a disease in its environment and coming home barely the winner. “Does this have something to do with—”

“I said experience . Leave it at that.”

She stepped away from him. He was surly now, as if it was okay for him to probe into her life but not vice versa. He wiped his brow with the sleeve of his shirt. “I don’t understand you,” she said.

He closed the gap between the two of them. There was something challenging in the way he crowded her. Man-woman challenging, and it made Jane take a step back. She wasn’t used to dealing with men who got in her face. She was kind of an ice queen at work and in the field she was all business. Damn. This trip was making her crazy already.

“That makes two of us,” he said.

When he pulled his arm away she realized the sleeve had blood on it. She searched his face in the waning light, finding a cut at his hairline. “Are you injured?”