*

Tara’s second hunt was less successful than the first; this time, she didn’t even spot anything. But Alejandro found a maracuya tree, so they again had fruit for a meal as they settled down to sleep.  Tara had proposed a sort of keeping of shifts, to watch for predators. Since Alejandro was healing up she had him sleep first and sat close enough to him to touch him while he slept. She kept her eyes open, watching for snakes and other creatures, not just the big ones, that might try to sneak up on them while he was laying there vulnerable.

When Tara woke him to switch, taking her best guess on time, Alejandro blinked. “Would a predator come near a fire? Couldn’t we just light one and then both sleep?”

Tara stifled a yawn, “You think a fire would keep things away or draw them in?  What about the snakes and such?” She scrubbed her sleepy eyes, looking at him with sympathy.  She knew he was tired too. Finally she said, “We’ll start a fire and sleep close to each other, maybe that will keep things from slithering up on us.”  

I hope.  

Tara knew she wasn’t going to sleep well, not while worrying about something coming up to eat, poison, or crush them in their sleep.  To say nothing of their human enemies. Looking up at the stars through the canopy, she thought again about Oriana and prayed that her lover hadn’t fallen into despair thinking her dead.

I’m coming Ori.  I promise. Don’t give up on me.

*

Day 2

Tara woke up with Alejandro’s arm around her. The man was snoring lightly.  Tara smiled at him. At least they’d made it through their first night. “Hey.” She said softly, listening to the sounds of the birds singing.  “Wake up sleepy head. I’m going to freshen up and see if I can’t find us some breakfast. Would be nice to start the day with some real food.”  

Tara extracted herself from Alejandro’s half-embrace and went to relieve herself.  After doing so she picked up her sharpened stick and began to wander around looking for some sign of possible breakfast.

And then, as if her father’s spirit was watching over her she heard the most wonderful sound.  “Be back soon.” She followed the noise, pausing from time to time just be sure it was what she thought it was.  There could be no mistaking the sound of a pig rutting around in the dirt. It was absolutely the most lovely sound she could have heard, aside from Ori’s voice.  When she came upon the small group of wild pigs it took everything in her not to giggle. Even lost in the jungle, Billy Mastrosimone’s daughter was going to make a proper breakfast.

This shot, whether out of skill or starvation, did not miss.  Tara skinned and gutted the pig, and carried it’s heavy little body back to the camp, excited to show her friend what she’d gotten them.  “I hope you’re hungry!”

“Get something?” asked Alejandro, obviously excited.

“How does ham sound?  Bacon?” She laughed. 

Alejandro’s facial expression said it all. “Amazing. I had some success of my own. Found a few eggs… just trying to figure out how to cook them.”

“I’ve got this collapsible metal cup.  We can break them into that or hard boil them in it.”

“Perfect.”

“I’ll skewer the pig.  We’ll cook bits of it on sticks, take some with us for the walk.  We might find food is harder to find down the path some so we’ll be happy to have it even if dried out meat isn’t the most delicious thing ever.”

Tara was riding high.  She’d needed a bit of a win.  After so many small kicks to the teeth, she was beginning to question the logic of this whole damn thing.  Maybe she was better off sticking with mafia style crime rather than delving into ancient cities and robbing tombs.  She couldn’t even safely get her team to the tomb let alone raid it.  

But, at least she had bacon and eggs.  Breakfast was at least a small reason to celebrate.  Tara ate as much as she could stand, knowing she needed the energy for the walk and not knowing if she’d be lucky enough to find prey in the next day or so.  She stuffed some of the dried up meat into her bag. She didn’t know how long it would keep for, but she figured at least for the next few hours if she felt peckish she might be able to gnaw on it.

As they ate their fill, Tara and Alejandro saw a pair of golden lion tamarins climb down and study them, curious.

Alejandro talked as he ate. “Going to be hard to preserve the food, like you said. Probably best for us to eat as much as we can, even if it slows us down a bit today. Never know when the next big meal will come from, right?”

Tara smiled at the tamarins when they started chirping.  She laughed, “They’re cute. Wow. I’ve never seen anything like them.  They must be some kind of monkey. Look at him, he ate a bug!” Tara was wildly amused at the little creatures, her eyes lighting up like a child, seemingly unworried about their situation for the first time since arriving.

Alejandro leaned back and watched Tara watch the monkeys; they could afford the distraction.

*

Day 3

As they walked along the riverbank, they found it slow going. Every day was a battle to make it through the trees. Sometimes it felt like they only made it a few miles, and the damned river flowing in the opposite direction just seemed to taunt them. 

Alejandro bit into his muracaya, handing another to Tara. “You know… I watch this river flowing by like this, and I wish it was heading west. Maybe we should just take it east? Riding a raft instead of walking all day. And we could keep traveling at night. We’d have a lot further to go. A lot further… but it might be faster. And it’d definitely be easier. My guess is that we’ve got another… ten days? At least? Heading west, that is. And if we turned up in Brazil, we could just hop a plane back to Peru, right?” He looked at her. “Am I crazy? Lazy? Brilliant?”

Tara chuckled, “Maybe all of the above?  The thing is, no one would be looking for us that way.  I gotta believe that Jo and Oriana won’t write me off like that.  And they both know that I’ve got more than a little experience roughing it.  Coming to and following a river back home is survival 101. If they are looking they’ll be looking for us along this path, not in the other direction.  I want to go that way as badly as you do, I’m tired of walking and I feel like we’re making no progress but we both know that’s not true. We’re getting there.  Let’s just try to find a way to keep our spirits up.”

Tara paused and then said, “Tell me about your first love.  The first time you were with a woman. Come on, entertainment.  Scandalize me.” She laughed.

“Fabienne Renardin. Guest at the hotel. She was 16. I was 15. I fell for her- hard.” He smiled. “I managed to get four days “showing her around” before her father caught on. Mostly, she showed me some things… what about you?”

“This assassin was trying to claim a $100 million on my mom’s head.  She broke into our house and was fighting her when I walked in. She used me as a human shield to escape my mother’s wrath.”  Tara laughed. “I was absolutely smitten from the moment she whispered in my ear asking my name. I’ve been chasing after Oriana Montini ever since.”

Alejandro raised an eyebrow. “She’s an assassin?”

“One of the best in the world.”  She smiled, proud of her lover. “The first time we made love was at Bacchus’ House of Pleasure.  She’d snuck in to find me in the middle of my attempt to rescue her from the man who had been keeping her and her sisters prisoner.  It’s a long story, but suffice to say that weeks of searching for her and years of pent up desires which I thought would eternally go unrealized equaled an experience I will never forget.”  

She looked at Alejandro and smirked, “Fabienne is a pretty name though.  You ever see her again?”

“She was beautiful. A few days and nights on the beach- then I never saw her again.” He shrugged. “It happens, I suppose. At least for most.”

“Have you ever had a relationship last longer than someone’s vacation to your resort?”  She arched an eyebrow.

“Sure. Not mostly, but yea. When I was… eighteen to twenty, I dated a girl from the town. Amaya Barrios. Beautiful girl, kind soul. We were together… almost three years.

“Sounds like things were serious.  Just move in different directions?”

“They were serious. She wanted to get married. Have kids. I’d take over my father’s hotel… I dunno. It seems… boring. Wasn’t ready for that. Still not. But hey, I’m only twenty six. Times change.”

Tara nodded, “I can see where you’re coming from, but I can tell you if you ever find someone you feel strongly about, you shouldn’t keep that to yourself or wait for life to slow down before you act on it.  Maybe it’s just the nature of my family history, but life is far too short to just… hope for something better to come along or excitement to keep popping up without there being consequences for it. In my experience or knowledge at least, excitement always leads to people dying.  People you love. People you may never get a chance to replace… take your dad for example.” She shook her head. “It’s why I decided no matter what people think about me, I couldn’t keep how I felt for Ori a secret forever. I had to at least tell her. Even if she rejected me, you know?”

“I get it,” said Alejandro, ducking beneath a branch as they walked. “But for me, it’s more about… I dunno… not waiting for things to slow down, but taking myself out of the fast lane. It’s just not what I want right now.” He paused. “Well… I guess right now I’d take the chance to make things a little less exciting.

“Afraid you’ll miss out on something if you do?”

“Living, I guess. Last week, I was a bodyguard and translator for a wealthy businessman who spent the week in Lima. I didn’t even have to pull my gun or throw a punch, and I made more than most people do in a couple months. Then I take my money and I do whatever I want. Enjoy life. I’m sure I’ll settle down someday, take over the hotel, have thirty kids or whatever… but I’d like to accumulate some experiences first.”

Tara laughed.  “Thirty? And I thought my parents were bad with eleven in the house before they died.”

“I can beat eleven, I think. Might have to start soon, though. Or have multiple wives.”

“My parents adopted-

“Tara. Don’t move. Back up. Slow.” Alejandro’s voice was like iron. Moving his hand slowly, he pointed. What had seemed like a large rock in front of them was the biggest black caiman they’d seen yet- a gargantuan monster that looked to be about twenty feet long from the tip of its nose to its tail. It was just a few feet ahead of them.

Tara did just as she was told, silently backing up slowly away from the creature, not taking her eyes off of it as she did.  

Alejandro grabbed onto her hand, and they steadied each other as they slowly backtracked. 

“I can’t believe that thing!”  Tara eventually allowed herself to speak.

“Fucking dinosaur… let’s take the long way around, huh?”

Tara nervously chuckled, “Black dragon.”  Her grandmother had certainly never seen anything as terrifying as that beastie before.  

“For the record,” said Alejandro as he allowed himself to breath normally again, “that’s roughly how I felt when Fabienne’s father realized how we’d been spending our time together…”

Tara squeezed his hand and laughed, not letting it go.

*

Day 6

“That’s… definitely a road,” said Alejandro. “Look. It’s a path.”

“Animals sometimes make these sorts of runs though.  Deer do it all the time. In Canada they are so deep they could pass for trails.”

“But… fishing nets?” Alejandro held up a net near the water, looking around for the owner.

“Okay… that’s not the property of an animal.”  She said smiling. “That’s got to be a good sign, right?  I mean it means we’re close to some town or village right?”

“Yea. Not sure it’s a good sign, though. The tribes can be really helpful to people sometimes. Others can be… well, really bad. And sometimes it’s the same tribe, just depends on the day.”

“Not guessing these tribes do much travel to the cities then?”  She sighed looking at the well-worn path.        

“No, but they can be friendly enough with some people on the outskirts. We can try to follow the path, if you’d like. Roll the dice, see how friendly they are. Or try to get a good look at them and see.”

Tara paused and considered the look on Alejandro’s face.  “You’re curious.” It wasn’t a question. After six days she was starting to get a bead on the man and starting to understand his thirst for life.  Even here, even in this situation, he still seemed undeterred.  

“A little… but if you’re asking for my honest recommendation, I think we should take these fish and fuck off. Some tribes would help us, give us food, point us in the right direction. Other ones will shrink your head and put it on a string.”

“Now you’re just trying to mess with me.  Head shrinking isn’t really a thing. Is it?”

Alejandro nodded. “Of course, we could find a tribe of beautiful woman who need a man…”

“If we found such a group they’d kill me and keep you to make dozens of pretty babies with.  You’re too pretty to let escape.” Tara tried to hide her smile.

“I know. I’d miss you. But it could be worth pursuing.”

“I feel so very appreciated.”  She said taking a fish. “Remind me of this conversation when we get back and I’m not worried about having a big strong man to sleep beside anymore.”

“Oh, come on. It’s not like that. This is the longest I’ve gone without getting laid since… Fabienne?”

“You’ve become a regular monk.”  She chuckled. “Well this is the longest I’ve gone without getting laid since I was a nun.”

“First of all, we can solve our mutual problem any time you’d like. Second of all, that nun thing sounds like a story…”

And so, Tara told her new friend about their trip to Italy and the infiltration of the nunnery in the hopes of learning Oriana’s origins.  She also laughed about how after getting kicked out, she joined Jo in a drunken barn party and promptly took a stroll out of the top of a hayloft.

“Needless to say, we do get into some misadventures the group of us… Jo, Ori, Me, and my sister Brigitte.  Never a dull moment. Fighting governments, mobsters, and now trekking the amazon rainforest. You could do worse than hanging out with my little coterie of misfits.  And suffice to say… when we’re not in the middle of a mission, we do know how to party.” She smirked.

Tara cleaned the fish they had stolen and made up dinner.  She used some of the more tart fruit that Alejandro had found to flavor it as it cooked on a hot rock she’d put beside the fire.  

“So, how did you end up dancing on a bar with my girlfriend anyway?”  She asked Alejandro as she served him some fish.

“I was dancing with another woman, then this beautiful girl- your beautiful girl- at the bar, yelled out that we sucked. So I asked if she thought she could do better, then she challenged me, and one thing led to another.”

Tara chuckled shoveling fish into her mouth.  “She is terribly competitive.” Tara added. “The girl you were dancing with must have been quite lovely.  I’m going to guess you didn’t look at Ori fast enough once she decided to try and make you look. Probably drove her nuts.”

“Maybe. Either way, she’s a hell of a dancer.”

“I’ve seen her dance before, she’s lovely.  My parents were amazing dancers. I’ve always thought dancing was just about the most romantic thing you could do with another person.”  She stared at her fish.

“The most?” asked Alejandro, who stood and began walking. “Walk and talk? If we’re not going to say hello, best not to be here when they find us.”

Tara finished her fish quickly, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and rose up to follow Alejandro.  “And yes. The most. I mean, think about it, it’s like making love to someone right in front of the world. It’s graceful, it’s physically demanding, it’s thrilling and if it’s done right, it can leave you with such a feeling of… connection to the other person.  I’d guess if it were a lover, you’d call it lust. And you have to work perfectly with your partner. It’s special. I can’t think of anything quite like dancing. I’ve been learning to dance since I could walk. My father used to have me stand on his feet and he’d dance me around the room to the music on this old crank record player we had.  I’ve been dancing almost as long as I’ve been hunting prey and reading books.”

She tilted her head towards Alejandro as they walked, “Isn’t that what you feel when you dance with a woman?”

“Something like that, yes,” said Alejandro with a smile. “Perhaps we’ll dance sometime when we have music again?”

Tara smiled, flattered by him again.  “Maybe.” She kicked a rock. “But I envy that you can dance with her in front of people.  That the world can watch the two of you and wish they were you, with her like that. And… I’m happy that you did dance with her.  She deserves to be spun around a floor … or bar … with people watching her. She’s lovely. She should be admired like that and often.  And even if I do know she loves me… I know she likes being around men too. And you’re a good looking man, and kind, and charming. She could have picked worse guys to go dancing with.”

“I appreciate the compliment. And I agree with you, about Oriana. Lovely. Admired. I envy you, if it makes you feel any better. The two of you have each other, jetting around the world. I haven’t found anyone to keep up with me, yet.”

Tara smirked, “You’re still young yet.  And whether you know it or not, you made quite the impact on Jo.”  she laughed. “I almost wish I’d gotten the details from her before everything went sideways.  I could have let you know how she really felt about the night you spent together. But yes, it does make me feel better that you envy what I have with Ori.  It is special. She’s my sweet volpe.” she sighed. “I just she’s not crying somewhere for me, thinking us dead.”

Alejandro didn’t have anything to offer on the latter subject. “Would you like to hear all the details of my evening with Jo? Could make the time go by a bit faster.”

Tara blushed a bit but when she looked at Alejandro she nodded, “Of course.”

*

Day 9

Tara woke up in the middle of the night; Alejandro was asleep and poking her in the small of her back, obviously in the middle of a wonderful dream. She was about to hit him when she realized that the jungle around them was silent. 

Then she saw the eyes at the edge of the firelight: giant, yellow, luminous.

As Tara’s eyes adjusted, she saw first the outline, than the details, of the enormous jaguar sitting placidly at the edge of the firelight. 

“Alejandro.”  Tara said softly, keeping her eyes on the cat.  She knew better than to make any sudden movements which was why she needed to wake her companion.  If he woke in the middle of what she was about to do, it might end in a great deal of blood. “Alejandro, wake up and be very very calm.  Don’t move. Alejandro answer me if you can hear me. Please don’t move don’t make a sound except to tell me you’re awake.”

“Mmmmm.”

Tara stared at the beast; it looked to be at least eight feet long, two hundred pounds of pure muscle. Sitting straight up, it looked curiously at the fire at the two creatures lying near it. Its muzzle was covered with blood, which made Tara feel slightly better. If it had just eaten… well, that was probably better.

Tara eyed the fire, looking for a stick if she had to resort to that, but what she knew about predators said that she might not need to try and scare the thing at all.  It was as dangerous a thing as she’d ever encountered. She was more terrified of this thing across the fire from her than Francesco Bianchi across the room from her. Brigitte had once screamed at a bear but it had been her father’s massive body which had encouraged the bear to walk away.  

Tara had learned later, after reading about animals a bit more, that if an animal thought it might be more trouble to fight a creature bigger than they were, or one they perceived to be bigger than they were, more often than not they would walk away.  Just like with humans, animals didn’t want to fight fights they didn’t need to fight. So, often times the best way to ensure your safety was to put up a good front. Not to be aggressive, but to give the illusion of power. In this case, the fire helped.

Tara very slowly pulled herself up to her feet, watching as Alejandro copied her. She would not yell.  She would not move rapidly. She would just stand at her tallest, trying to use the fire to her advantage to seem bigger and more frightening than she really was.  If the thing felt they were too much to bother with - especially with a full belly, Tara hoped it would simply choose to walk away. If it didn’t, if it became aggressive, well, there was a stick in the fire or her gun depending on how seriously aggressive the creature seemed.  She sincerely hoped it would not come to that.

It was the longest ten minutes of Tara Mastrosimone’s life. She stared at the beautiful, deadly creature and it stared back, occasionally licking blood from its muzzle. Eventually, it raised its haunches and Tara and Alejandro both tensed, but the jaguar turned and slipped away, silent as the grave on its padded paws.

“Well,” said Alejandro after a moment. “... don’t think I’m going to be able to fall back asleep tonight. Or ever again.”

Tara exhaled a ragged breath.  “I didn’t think it was going to work.”  She whispered. “For moment I thought we were dead.”

“What was?”

“Intimidating it.  You just successfully intimidated a jaguar, my friend.”  

“Listen, that’s the story I’m going to tell. And you. But between the two of us… I don’t think we intimidated that thing at all. I think it was just curious, and decided to move on.”

“Fighting us was more trouble than it wanted with a full belly.  Let’s go with intimidated. That’s how the tactic is described in the books, it’s what I’m sticking with.”  Tara turned around and looked at Alejandro. “I guess that means a long night of sitting fireside then. Maybe you can tell me about that dream you were having.  It just might have saved our lives after all.” She chuckled, releasing some of her nervous energy.

“Well, first promise me you won’t get offended…”

“Were you dreaming about Oriana?”  She arched an eyebrow.

“... yes. If it makes you feel better, you were also… present.” He smiled, as winningly as he could manage in the recent face of death.

“No, I’m not offended.”  She said honestly, settling down beside the fire looking out into the darkness, watching.

“It might just be the whole almost dying thing… but… and please forgive me for asking… would you want to…?”

Tara turned her head to look back at him, cocking it to the side slightly sounding a little surprised at the idea, “Now?”

Alejandro laughed. “Nevermind. I just…” He exhaled. 

“Stop.”  She said firmly.  “I’m not offended or upset.  I did enjoy being with Bacchus and I find you very …”  She searched for the right word. “Agreeable. I like you.  I can imagine you with Oriana and me, so the answer is I’d consider it, but only if Oriana wanted to.  I very much love her and I would do nothing to hurt her. Ever.” Tara looked at the man in front of her and considered him, her eyes going up and down him slowly. “I could see it.  We might enjoy ourselves, I think.” A small hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “Of course, you’d have very large shoes to walk into. My previous lover was a God after all.”

“I look forward to the challenge,” he smiled. “Shit, my heart is still racing. If not that, I suppose I could use a drink.”

Tara looked back to the fire, “It’s going to be a very long night.”  She sighed. “Tell me, is Jo a very good kisser? She looks like she’d kiss well.  Her lips they… they are lovely and she has the most perfect shape. That’s not to say Oriana’s isn’t nice.  Of course, but Jo is gifted with this most delightful softness, a roundness you just want to touch and hold against you.”

Alejandro had looked like he was about to say something at about four different points, but kept shutting his mouth. 

“Is it so hard to talk to a woman about such things?  I know men have such talk among themselves. I’ve heard it before.”

“It’s very hard, mostly because I’m still processing my mortality, and now I’m thinking about Jo. Ah, her lips. Very full. And you were right to compliment her body.” He nodded. “... I do wish she was here.”

“Me too.”  Tara said softly.  “She’s probably blaming herself for not coming with us.  She’s got the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known except my father.  She’s just a good person. Loving. Sweet. Excitable. She doesn’t want to stop chasing adventure for anyone or anything.  She has such a thirst for life.” Tara chuckled. “She’s my very best friend.”

“I can see why. She talks about you with the same… maybe reverence isn’t too strong a word.”

“We’ve been through so much together.  We’ve lost people together. Seen the best and worst of each other I think.  I know she’s seen the worst of me and she’s never thought ill about me despite it.  I don’t think there are many people in the world who would keep running off with me on these crazy adventures if I put them through half-as-much as Jo has been through for me.  Such loyalty.”

“Don’t be so sure,” said Alejandro, draping a purely friendly arm around Tara. “If we survive this… give me a call next time, eh?”

*

Day 12

The routine had been the same every day: wake up. Shoot something for meat if they didn’t have meat for dinner. Walk along the riverbank as far and as fast as they could, heading westwards. Keep an eye out for predators. Snack on fruit on the way. When the sun started going down, try to shoot something for dinner. Build a campfire. Try to sleep. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat, for nearly two weeks. The bullets were almost gone, and they were almost at the point of keeping them for defense, rather than for food. Alejandro had grown a beard, and though they bathed as regularly as they could when the water seemed safe and clear, Tara had passed through “feeling dirty” and now simply felt normal. She’d gotten used to the smell of herself and of Alejandro. Their clothes were tattered, and Alejandro tended toward despair, but Tara kept them both pushing west.

And then they heard it: a motor.  Tara could have wept. The sound meant life.  It meant people. It meant civilization. It meant this whole ordeal was nearly over.  

As the boat pushed upriver, Alejandro and Tara jumped and shouted; when the confused men on board responded, the two travelers leapt into each other’s arms and began jumping up and down in their joy and excitement.

Chapter 5: Reunion

The boat took them to a truck, which took them to the city, which sent them on the road to Lima, where Tara had Edgar Bryant wire her a small fortune. They got two hotel rooms, so they could both shower simultaneously, and they stayed in there for an hour each. With no phone number to call in Ayacucho, they took off immediately, renting another small plane despite Alejandro’s skepticism.

When they had safely touched down in the same airfield they’d left two weeks before, Alejandro rushed out of the plane and almost threw himself on the ground. 

The city, however, had changed. The people were gone, away from the streets, away from the sidewalks and businesses. It was a ghost town. There were no vendors to be seen, no bicycles or cars clogging the roads. The rare pedestrian walked briskly, keeping their head down.

Tara felt as though she’d stepped off the plane into another reality.  Where was the city she’d taken off from? “We had a local boy watching the house we were staying at.  We need to find the kid and find out what the hell happened here. I got a very bad feeling about this.”

“Si… me too. The only time I’ve seen a city like this was during a war- but… I don’t know. I can’t understand any of this. Perhaps I got too used to the jungle. Where should we go? The base? Or perhaps a bar to ask what is going on?”

“Let’s start at a bar, just in case someone is waiting for us at the base. I’m guessing if there is, it’s not Oriana.” 

“Why not?”

“Look at this place?”  Tara shook her head. “When we took off I thought I saw someone watching us.  Then we get shot at in the air, mid flight… and we come back to a city that looks like a ghost town?  Nothing about this feels like we’d find a warm welcome back at base. I want to know what’s going on before we walk into what might be a death trap back at our base of operations.”

“I agree. Just wasn’t sure why you said not Oriana. Ah. Right.”

They walked into a seedy looking establishment and took a seat at the bar, ordering a couple beers. The bartender stared for a moment at Tara, before Alejandro had a quiet conversation with the man, then gestured for some sols, the local currency, which Tara quickly gave him. The money disappeared and the man brought Alejandro in the back, leaving Tara alone for a moment.

Everyone in the bar was staring at Tara. One man stood up and left.

Alejandro emerged a moment later, quickly taking Tara by the hand and leading her out. “We need to leave. Now. I’ll tell you when we’re safe.”

Tara let Alejandro lead her away, sure she was already onto something of an understanding.  Fearful of what might have happened to her friends while she was lost in the jungle. “We’ll take a plane back to your father’s place.  We’ll be safe there. Try to find Oriana and the others. I promised your father I’d bring you back alive…”

Alejandro looked around, ducking down an alleyway. Finding a hotel, he had Tara wait while he got a room, then led her up the back stairs and inside. Leading Tara to the bed, he swallowed.

“Okay… well I don’t even know where to begin. No one’s dead. That I know of. Well, not our friends, anyway.”

The softer, kinder woman he’d been getting to know for almost two weeks seemed to disappear slowly being replaced by someone new.  A very hard-eyed woman, preparing herself to hear the worst.

“Do you know what a Nazi is?” asked Alejandro.

“I’ve heard of the movement.  The ruling political party in Germany. Some bad folks from the sound of things.”

“These Germans… they are in the city. I assume they are the ones that took your book and shot us down.”

“Nazis?”  She looked, surprised.  “That is about the very last group of people I expected to hear we were up against.  Holy shit.”

“Well… according to the bartender friend, there were a few around a couple weeks ago. Then, the rumor in the streets is that these Germans shot down a plane full of gold… and have since been hunted by a demon. Every day, another dead German shows up. Sometimes two. Sometimes three. More of them keep arriving. There might be more Germans here than locals, said the bartender, and he sounded like he was only half kidding. A pile of dead Germans- and an Incan curse.”

“He’s not kidding.  Oriana can be very… dark.”  She said softly. “You don’t want to know what the woman can do with a machete.  I didn’t think she’d be in a corner crying for me when I said I was hoping she wasn’t convinced I was dead.  This was what I was afraid of. I need to let her know I’m alive somehow.”

“How?”

Tara sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, she put her face in her hands and rubbed her temples, thinking.  

“You need to say hidden, by the way. The Germans are rewarding people for information on foreign women.” 

“Yeah well the asshole who left right before you was a rat, I read it on his face clear as day.  They’ll know we’re here, wish I could bank on that meaning Ori would know it too but I can’t. If I’m the target I need to get you out of her as soon as possible.  The last thing I need on top of Nazis trying to kill me is your father pissed too. He’s got to be scared out of his mind by now. It’s been almost two weeks since he’s heard from you.”

“I can protect myself- and I called him from the hotel. He’s fine. He is used to me running off. I always come back.”

“I have a nasty habit of losing bodyguards,” She said looking at Alejandro more fondly than she dared to allow herself in the jungle.  “Usually just about the time I decide I actually like them. If you go getting yourself killed while protecting me I may never hire another so long as I live.”

“Deal. But…” he rubbed his brow, thinking. “... why don’t we try to go to the rented house tonight, after sundown? I can’t imagine they’d leave without leaving some sort of note for you.”

“Alright.  After the sun sets.  I can’t imagine the Nazi group hasn’t already locked that place down tighter than a nunnery, but it’s worth a shot.  Every idea I have involved either a lot of dead Nazis or some big show of my undying love that will no doubt end in our capture and possible execution so… let’s go with sneaky instead.  Maybe it will yield something useful.”

Alejandro nodded. After locking the door and closing the blinds, they both lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking. In time Tara rolled over and draped an arm over Alejandro’s stomach and rested her head on his chest.  He patted her shoulder reassuringly.

What a fucking mess…

*

Tara had fitful dreams as her subconscious imagined Oriana at her lowest point- imagined how Tara would feel if she thought Oriana had been killed. For weeks.

When darkness fell, Alejandro and Tara, her head wrapped in a shawl, exited their hotel and made their way to their former base of operations. The streets were silent, and most people didn’t give them a second look.

When they reached the house, it seemed deserted. Tara was undeterred  Going up to the door she pulled out her swiss army knife from her satchel and picked the simple lock using one of the tools inside making utter garbage out of what was once good shears.  

“Shall we?”  She said going inside.

Alejandro nodded, closing the door behind him.

She put the knife back and pulled out her gun, just in case, and began walking from room to room looking around for any sign of her friends or what they might have left behind for her to find if she’d survived the crash  She still believed that Ori and Jo wouldn’t have written her off as dead right away and if they thought she might be alive, the would have wanted her to have found some directions or information knowing she’d come back here.  Granted the Nazis might have taken anything that had been left behind but Tara had to know for sure.

Instead of a message, Tara found a teenaged boy walking out with his hands in the air. He spoke rapidly back and forth with Alejandro, who put his hand out and lowered Tara’s gun.

“He says that the foreign woman and man are with his family. They have a farm outside the city.”

“Ask him how he knew to come here and find us.”

“He says the woman pays him to come here and wait every night for other foreigners to come by- but that he should only speak to them if they had a foreign woman with dark hair and spoke English.”

“Ask him for whatever message, or identifying information Ori gave him.  She’d never send some kid back here asking us to follow him without something to prove it wasn’t a trap.  She’s smart… she’s done stuff like this before surely she’s sent him with some password or something.”

“He says ‘hayloft’.”  

Tara chuckled and put her gun back.  “Tell the kid I’ll follow him to hell if we gotta.  Lead the way.”

*

Half an hour later, a half-dead truck came to a halt in front of a dilapidated farm. Tara and Alejandro stepped out, and Tara saw Jo sprinting at her, running in full force for a hug. Jo was crying and unintelligible.

“You’re alive!”

Tara threw her arms wide and took Jo into her arms.  Holding her friend tightly she tried not to cry. “Where’s Ori?  Is she okay? Please tell me you know where she is.”

Jo just shook her head, but she quickly spoke to avoid confusion, “I think she’s… alive. And physically okay, but Tara… shit, there’s so much to tell you.”

“We know about the Nazis.  I know she’s killing them. I just hoped she was in touch with you.”

“Tara, she thought you died.” Jo pulled back from Tara so she could look her friend in the eyes. 

“I know.  We need to let her know she’s wrong.  We need to get her the hell out of this place. Nothing is more important to me than her and you being safe.”

“You guys didn’t come back, and we were worried, of course, but Ori was the one reassuring us, telling us things would be fine. When it was a whole day you were gone, we started digging around the town. That’s when we learned about the second plane taking off- and it having guns. Ori snuck in and stole some papers from someone that talked about you guys getting shot down over the jungle. When she came back to us she was…” 

Jo’s voice failed her.

Tara put a hand on Jo’s cheek.  “It’s going to be okay now. I’m going to find Ori, I always do.  Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”

“Okay. I believe you. But you should know…” Jo tried again. “... it was like Ori wasn’t in there anymore. She took us out here and left us. And I was crying, begging her not to leave, and she didn’t even say anything. Just walked off toward the city. And Tara… the way she’s killing people… I’m hoping it’s just stories, but…”

Her voice failed her again, and this time it seemed like Jo didn’t want to find it. 

Tara put a hand on her shoulder and looked to Alejandro.  “Well, we’ll figure that out too. For now, look who I brought with me and he’s got a lovely beard.”  Tara joked.  

“You should have seen him in the jungle, he stared down a jaguar for me.  Saved my life. Very heroic. He has a dozen stories to tell you all about it.”  Tara leaned and kissed Jo’s brow, hugging her again. “Do you have something for my hero to drink inside this place, perchance?  God knows we could use a good meal and a stiff drink.”

Jo nodded, then walked over to hug Alejandro too. “Glad you’re alive, too. Sorry I didn’t say that earlier, I just-”

“I understand,” said Alejandro. “Let’s go inside, figure out what we’re going to do.”

***

Tomas ran down the street as fast as his feet could carry him.  He wasn’t to be out alone much these days. His mother would not be happy if he delayed in returning.  He rounded the corner to the building that his family had been living in ever since his father passed away when he heard the roar of a plane’s engine overhead.  

Glancing up at the sky he marveled as dozens of small bits of white came fluttering down onto the city.  Dashing out into the street he held up his arms and managed to catch one of them, a slender bit of paper.  On one side he found pre-printed information in a language he could not read. It made no sense but it bore at the top what appeared to be a winged staff with two snakes curled about it.  He was sure he’d seen that symbol somewhere before, though he could not remember where.

On the other side was a hand drawn tiger and fox, heads pressed together, tails curled about themselves and pointed at each other.  In someone’s handwriting he could read in his native tongue that someone had written the words:  ‘I belong to the dragon and the wolf. In my veins is the blood of the powerful bull and the lioness. Even death itself cannot prevent me from returning to you, my family.’

Tomas did not know what this strange note meant, but he tucked it into his pocket, just in case and dashed inside his house.

*

“Two more died last night,” said Alejandro, as he walked inside the barn where Jo and the professor had been hiding. One in a brothel, the other just walking down the road.”

“She’s going to get killed if she keeps up like this.”  Tara said pacing. “I was sure she’d hear about the notes.  I was sure she’d come to you, Jo.”

“She will,” said Jo. “I’m sure of it. We only started spreading them around yesterday. And she’s… very focused. She might not notice as quickly as the others.” She frowned. “I’ve got some good news, though!”

Tara nodded, of course, she was right.  “What’s that? I could use some good news.”

“We were able to move the six workers Alejandro had hired out here. We’re ready to move as soon as Ori comes back.”

“I can’t even think about that right now, but… I guess it’s a good thing.  I’m glad you’re looking ahead. Right now I’m … stuck.”

“I know. Just… trying to be positive. And I get it. I… the stories are pretty horrible. And the way she just left me- didn’t even turn around. If I didn’t know how much the two of you cared about each other, I’d…” Jo shrugged. 

“Jo, you have to understand.  She’s as weak as she’s ever been in her whole life.  Broken. She didn’t want you to see her like that. She couldn’t bear it.  She’d rather die than let anyone see her weak.”

“Doesn’t seem weak to me,” chuffed the Professor. “I heard one of these assholes got their throat ripped out.”

“Physical strength does not mean other kinds of strength, you should know that perfectly well professor.  A great mind also does not make one capable of physical feats of strength. Nor does a big heart make one Hercules.”  she shook her head trying to not be angry at the professor. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t know Oriana the way she did.  

“She’s in a very bad place right now, but you have to understand, her upbringing wasn’t normal.  What that man who raised her did… he made a killer and she’s just reverted back to the only thing she thinks she’s good at - the only thing in the world she thinks she’s meant to do and do well.  She’s lost her way, but that doesn’t mean she can’t find it again. She loves you Jo. She kept walking because she didn’t want you to be a part of what she thought she had to do. Don’t you see… she wants them to kill her.  She’s hurting and she’s doing dangerous vile things hoping eventually one of them will end her pain. That’s why I had to put out the note like I did. It might be the only way to stop her. I’m not sure if she saw me right now she’d even trust her own eyes.”  Tara’s shoulders slumped slightly. “I don’t think she’s in her right mind.”

“Based on what we’ve been hearing… I’d agree with that,” said Alejandro.

They all tensed as a vehicle drove up to the farm; it was dark, too late for a normal visitor. Alejandro was first to peer out the door of the barn. “It’s her,” he said. “How should we play this, Tara? Just send you out? Call out to her?”

“She’s here to see Jo.  Probably to ask if it’s true.  Jo, you wanted to know how she feels about you - well, here you go.  I think maybe …” Tara paused and looked at Jo and then shook her head.  “No. Wait that’s a bad idea. I’ll go.”

Tara took a deep breath.  “Stay in here no matter what.”  She warned all of them. “I mean it.  Don’t come out unless I call.”

Tara opened the door a little wider and stepped outside, pulling the door shut behind her.  

At the sound of the door, the outline of Oriana pulled a gun and pointed it toward the barn- toward Tara, who was still covered in shadow.

“I’m used to knives being pointed at me by you, not guns.”  Tara said in a calm voice, raising her hands slowly to show she had no weapon.  “Maybe you could lower that and I can come to you so you can see it’s really me?”

Oriana froze, then lowered the gun- slightly- and seemed to wait. 

Tara crossed the yard slowly, much like she had moved when she stood in front of the jaguar.  Not wanting to startle the predator before her.

As soon as Tara stepped out of the shadows, she saw the gun fall from Oriana’s hand- then the woman dropped to her knees, falling forward on her hands.

The second Oriana broke, clearly realizing it was her, Tara dashed towards her.  “Ori!” She called out before reaching her. “It’s okay! It’s okay! I’m here now.  It’s over. We’re together. It’s okay.” She reassured her, dropping to the ground beside her.

As she got closer, Tara realized that Oriana’s face and arms were covered in dried blood.

“Oh Ori!”  She gasped trying to control her reaction to the sight of her.  “I’ve missed you so much.” She tried to stay focused not on what Ori had been doing but on the woman so much in need of help before her.  “You’re not hurt are you?” She hoped the blood on her wasn’t her own, in some ways, but in others it almost would be easier to accept. The idea of her running around wearing the blood of her enemies was incredibly difficult to digest.  Her grandmother had been called a Dragon and had supposedly been willing and able to do all manner of terrible things; what Ori had done, it made her grandmother’s crimes pale in comparison.  

“Tara.” It seemed like saying the name was what broke Oriana’s mask, and she started to cry, holding onto Tara so tightly that it hurt.

“I’m here.”  She whispered, holding Ori in return, trying not to let the pain bother her, or the smell of old blood.  “It’s me. It’s really me. I jumped out of the plane before it crashed. I had to walk through the jungle, but I wasn’t going to be kept from you.  I told you, I’d always come for you… I’m here. Just as I said.”

Ori loosened her hold, but she still didn’t let go of Tara. She seemed like she was willing to sit on the ground outside of the barn all night unless Tara moved her.

“I’m going to shower you.  Put you in clean clothes and you and I are going to sleep in each other’s arms for as long as you need.  We’ll put all this behind us.”

“I’m fi-” Ori stopped herself. “I was really scared, Tara.”

“I know you were.  I was too. I know exactly how you felt.  I would have done the same if our roles had been reversed.”  

Ori shook her head, but she let Tara bring her to her feet.

Tara kissed Ori’s hair.  “But none of that matters anymore.  It’s over. It’s done. We’re just going to wash this away. Are you hurt?”

Ori shook her head, and Tara could see where her tears had left streaks in the dried blood on her face. “It’s… not mine.”

“Come on, stand up.  I’m going to tell the others it’s safe to come out now.”  Tara looked towards the barn. “It’s okay! You can come out.”  She called back towards the barn. “Just give us some space, please.”  Tara helped Ori to stand and did not remove her hands from the other woman’s body, sure that Ori wanted and needed the contact right now.  In fact, it was her plan to do just as she said. Shower her. With her. Not leave her for a moment. She’d stay with her until every drop of blood was off her body as best as they could manage.  She’d stay with her after when they dressed and take her to a bed so she could try to rest peacefully, safe in Tara’s arms.

Chapter 6: Resolution

Tara woke up the next morning in the hayloft, with Oriana’s head buried against the crook of her shoulder. Oriana’s hair was shorter, but starting to grow back. It looked as if she’d sliced off her ponytail with a knife a couple weeks before.

Tara lay beside Oriana, touching her gently, here and there.  Watching her sleep, thanking God that she had not only gotten out of the plane and the jungle with her life but that Oriana had come back to her.  It occurred to her then how many times she’d been in this position, in one fashion or another. It was a theme with them. Oriana always falling back into the dark cracks that were still left behind on the surface of her spirit from that monster Bianchi. No matter how much Tara hoped that the echoes of all that were gone, it never would be.  It was foolish to think of Oriana as an object to be repaired. Her past was part of who she was, it would never be fully gone and there would always be a chance that this or something like it might happen again. If she was going to love Oriana forever, it meant loving this in some ways. Was she as messed up as as Ori to not be bothered by it?  How would the others react to Oriana after what she’d done? How would they react to her for not letting it change her relationship with Oriana? Just accepting it. She exhaled deeply and kissed her lover gently, watching her chest rise and fall, enjoying the peace and quiet of the moment.

“Hey,” said Ori, blinking and looking up at Tara. “I’m glad that wasn’t a dream.”

“Me too.  Been dreaming a lot about this moment out in the jungle.  Was a very long walk with Alejandro. I named my blisters after you and Jo.”

“You’ll have to tell me all about it. Again. I know you said some things last night, but I wasn’t really…”

“The only things I said that mattered last night, was that I loved you and I’m here.  Nothing else. All of which is still true.”

“I love you, too,” whispered Ori.

Tara smiled at hearing it.  “Jo’s been terribly worried about you.”

“I was mean to her. When you were dead, I just didn’t give a shit.”

“You protected her from what she wouldn’t have been able to handle.  You care too much for her to pull her into shit she’s not meant for. I think you did the right thing.”

“... I hope you’re right. That might be a generous interpretation.”

“Look, only you know what you were thinking.  You could go down there and tell her you meant to be mean to her.  It might make you feel better in the long run. Hell maybe she’d forgive you for it, she’s a nice person.  But, if you decide right now that my story is right… you can give her a hug and tell her how you really feel.  Tell her how much she means to you and that you’re sorry that she was hurt, cause, I know you are. None of that is a lie.  She’ll cry with you. Tell you that you were an asshole and then everything can go back to the way it was… and when she gets drunk with you one day and you end up talking about the things you know you did, or she asks, cause she heard shit… you can tell her, honestly, that you’re glad she never had to be a part of it.  It was just something you had to get out of your system.”

“Okay.” Ori held on to Tara.

Tara exhaled again.  “I think, that if I have a goal now, it’s to make sure you understand very clearly that while I love that you wanted to make them hurt the way you were hurting - I also want you know there is so much more in this world to live for than just me.  And I know on some level you must realize it to be true. You lost Lucia and I know you hurt for her still too… and yet, after you lost her, you met me. The world is full of Tara’s-

“No. It’s not. But I get what you’re trying to say.”

 “I know you get it, but it still bears saying.  The best way you can honor someone’s life, the best way you can love me if I go before you, is being happy.  Fuck vigorously,” She laughed. “Drink deep. All the things mom wrote on that rock. She’s not wrong, Ori. I would have done the same if you had died.  I would have cried and killed and then I would have fucked my way across Europe and drunk like a fish. I would never have been the same. I would be ruined for ever loving again but I would have had fun trying to find someone who could come close to being the woman you are.”

“... I did fuck someone. I feel like I have to tell you. Otherwise it’d be a lie.” She paused.  “It was one of my targets.”

Tara chuckled dryly.  “Was he any good?”

Ori quieted. “I don’t know. He didn’t finish.”

Tara’s mirth melted a bit.  “I feel like maybe now is a good time to tell you something.  Just so we’re really, really clear. I told Alejandro about us.  I … I also told him that I know that there are some things that I can’t offer you and that if you ever wanted to-”

“I don’t need anyone else but you, Tara. That’s not a lie.”

“I know it’s not.  I know you love me and I’m enough.  Vanilla ice cream is a sweet treat and I love it, it’s enough… but chocolate exists and it’s not bad either.  I’m not going to ever be angry with you for that sort of thing. I think the best thing I learned from Bacchus is that… sex is sex.  Love, is much more. It would crush me for you to pick someone over me for the long haul. But for a night? An hour? A fling… a dance on a bar?”  She shook her head. “I’m not saying this to hurt you. I’m saying it because right now, while we’re as close as we’ve ever been, I know you won’t doubt my sincerity or think I’m martyring myself for your pleasure.”

“I don’t want to even think about being with anyone else right now. I feel like I just got you back from the dead.”

“Good, then what I’ve said isn’t about any person, it’s about us.  I don’t want that discussion to have ever been about another man or woman.  I wanted it to be about Tara and Oriana. Just-”  

“Tara?”

Tara took a breath as she heard Ori say her name, fully expecting what would come next. 

“Shut up.” Ori kissed Tara through her smile.

*

When Tara and Oriana made their way down to the ground level, where the others had slept, they found Alejandro, Jo, and the Professor debating their next course of action. They all glanced up at Oriana in particular. Ori walked slowly over to Jo and gave her a reticent hug, whispering in her ear. Jo returned the hug and nodded.

“Well,” said the professor. “I think it’s time we discuss next steps, no? The three of us have already started doing so. The major question we’ve settled on is whether we try to steal back the journal, if it’s even here in the city, or whether we simply set out and hope for the best, trusting ourselves to deal with whatever we find- and I still remember a few things, of course.”

Tara settled down onto a large feedbag using it like a chair.  “I’m almost shocked to hear you want to press on at all, professor.  Nazis have nearly killed us a few times, two of us jumped out of a plane and spent nearly two weeks in th jungle nearly dying several times along the way, and… well, nothing has gone exactly as we planned.  I feel like this whole expedition has been cursed from the get go. I mean, if I believed in curses. Which, I don’t.”

“Well, they haven’t successfully killed any of us. And we’ve killed how many of them?”

“22,” said Ori in a monotone voice, staring down at the ground. 

“Jesus.”  Jo muttered. 

“You see?” said the Professor. “It’s 22 to 0. 1 if you count that pilot fellow.”

“Well, okay so we’ve taken less losses than they have, and yes Alejandro and I do know where the mountains we’re looking for are but …”

“And,” added the professor, “the two of you are now more equipped than ever to guide us successfully through the jungle, aren’t you?”

Tara glanced to Alejandro.

“At this point,” said Alejandro, “we could all be on the radar of these Germans. I doubt they’d do anything too bad on U.S. soil, but down here? I feel like I’m pretty well fucked if I don’t have more resources.”

“I’m really getting to where I hate these fucking Nazis.”  Tara muttered. “Okay so, better question, is anyone in this barn even hesitant about continuing to hunt for this treasure?”  Tara looked at all of her companions.

“I honestly just want to get out of this city,” said Jo. “This place is bad news. A walk in the woods sounds like nice break, and if there’s a bunch of money at the end? I’m in.”

“I want to go,” said Ori. “To finish the mission, I mean. I feel like if we went through all this, and then just went home… what’s the point of all this? Even if we get there and find out that the treasure was a lie, at least we’ll finish things.”

“Alright then.”  Tara said. “We finish the mission.  What’s the odds they haven’t already gone into the woods as Jo puts it?  I mean, the journal is probably with their team, so, I don’t know that going into town to search for it makes a whole lot of sense.  Maybe we just get our asses to the place we saw in the mountains and hope we cross paths with them and take it then?”

“Makes sense to me,” said Alejandro. “And this place is crawling with bad guys. Probably lots of traps- and they’re definitely on edge.”

“I don’t know that they’re out there,” said Ori. “They don’t have the map, and they’re not sure where to start. I think the blonde is in charge, and I think she’s here in the city. I’ve been meaning to get to her, but…” Ori trailed off. 

“She’s not likely to put that book down.  We’d have to lift it off her corpse I’m betting and killing her will mean killing a lot of men most likely.  I doubt we’re going to slip past her protection unnoticed. If we go into the jungle again it’s possible you’re right and they don’t follow us because they have no clue where to begin.  So they don’t know where to look for us.”

“So just head into the jungle then?” asked Oriana.

“The journal basically tried to walk you through traps and the like, am I right professor?  Gave some insight into what we might find there? I mean, what are we choosing to leave behind if we don’t go for the book - let’s be clear about this.”

“Knowledge about the traps we’d face, any sort of puzzles or mazes we’d have to get through,” said the professor. “We could make it through without it, but it might take us longer. Still, if we’re careful hopefully no one would get hurt.”

“Knowledge.”  Tara sighed and shook her head.  “You had to use that damn word…” She drew a deep breath.  “Well, looks like we’re going to get to kill more Nazis. We’re going after the book.”

The team nodded, some more emphatically than others, but everyone was on board with the plan.

“What I recommend,” said Oriana. “Would be to use me as a diversion. I have another target already scouted. We’ll find the woman, pinpoint her location, then I’ll hit my target to spring their reinforcements to get to that area.” She looked at Tara. “I won’t be risky. And I’ve been dodging them for weeks. One more time should be doable. When I do that, the four...” she looked at the professor, “three of you can hit the woman and get the book. What do you think?” She looked at Tara, and so did everyone else.

“Let’s do it.”  Tara said, agreeing with everything Oriana had suggested.

***

Oriana’s target, one of the new arrivals who seemed important, was on the outskirts of the city; she planned on hitting him loud enough to draw attention. While everyone converged on her, she’d slip away and leave the rest to attack the blonde, who was staying in the Plaza de Armas. Some initial scouting had revealed her location in one of the apartment buildings, and she appeared to have men around her at all times.

Tara hadn’t done many things like this, certainly Oriana was much more experienced, but she was strongly motivated in this case - much as she had been in Italy.  These Germans had done more than enough to push Tara’s buttons and she found herself eager to finally meet this blonde woman and put an end to her.

Having Alejandro along was a bit of a comfort as well.  The man seemed quite capable and she was sure that if he was half as good as he seemed to brag he was that they’d be fine.  Jo, after all, was no slouch and always dependable. Three of them verses a handful of men not expecting to be hit - well, it seemed like maybe the odds were in their favor for once.  Tara would just try not to think about Oriana on her own and how she might be doing. That, after all, was a distraction from her mission that she didn’t need right now.

“Buenos días.”  A freshly shaven Alejandro walked in the front door of the Plaza de Armas past a German standing outside smoking a cigarette.

“Guten Morgen.”  The German responded, giving the gentleman who passed him no more consideration than he gave most of the locals.

He simply stared off towards the rising sun, thinking about what was sure to be just another day like so many others since coming to this God forsaken land.  He took a deep breath of the still warm and humid air, enjoying the peace and quiet that was shattered in less than a minute later by a massive explosion on the other side of town.

The German could see a small fireball, felt the small shockwave that came with the sound and then reached for his weapon as the sound of gunfire came immediately after. 

Tara watched from her hiding place nearby as the man called out something in German.  Other soldiers came running out of the building and jumped into cars and sped off towards Oriana’s planned distraction.  Once out of sight, Tara ran toward the front entrance, following hot on the heels of Alejandro who was already inside making use of his weapon.

Tara sprinted up the stairs, taking two at a time.  When an apartment door she was passing came open suddenly, Tara was ready and didn’t hesitate in firing on what was most likely one of the blonde’s bodyguards getting a very rude awakening.  

As Tara rounded the corner up onto the top flight of stairs she could see Jo ahead of her.  Having come in the back entrance, the red-head had gotten to the top faster and it was a very good thing she had.  She watched Alejandro, just outside the apartment door finishing off a man in front of him, his eyes forward and focused on the task at hand.  He never saw, never heard, the man coming up behind him.  

Jo raised her weapon, took aim, and shot.  The German’s blood splattered across Alejandro’s back and then fell to the floor at his feet.  When he turned it was Jo’s weapon he saw, still pointed at the place where his would-be murderer had been standing an instant before. 

Alejandro’s eyes went wide. “Thanks- owe you one.” 

Tara joined the platform outside the final apartment on the top floor.  It was clear the man had been guarding this room and likely there would not only be the blonde inside, but surely further protection.  Tara had seen this situation once before, in her mind she was standing outside Francesco’s cabin, ready to burst through the door when Crupi had gone in first instead, shielding her from the bullets that would have taken her life.  He’d died there, in her arms. Tara swallowed the lump in her throat.

“One of us kicks the door open - Alejandro, your legs are best suited.  Jo and I, we’ll be ready to shoot whoever has their gun on the door. Then we go in.  Alright?” Tara positioned herself low, hoping that whoever was going to shoot at them would miss her, shooting over her head.  She pointed her gun forward and gave Alejandro a nod.

His massive boot raised up he hit the door with tremendous force, sending it splintering open and then all hell broke loose for a count of three.  When the gunfire stopped, Tara and Jo were still standing and the man inside lay in a puddle of his own blood.

The three stormed the room, not immediately seeing the blonde Tara looked towards the bedroom and gave it a nod.  Taking position again they repeated the process, this time they weren’t shot at. There was no one instantly visible, just an open window with the curtains blowing in the breeze.

Tara sprinted across the room, and again her petite form came in handy as she slipped out the window like a shadow, onto a fire escape.  The blonde was trying to flee. Tara skipped the stairs and lept like a Tiger pouncing upon its prey. She impacted the woman hard and the two of them rolled down a few metal steps.  Brawling, Tara dropped her gun. Undeterred she threw a punch, connecting with the other woman’s face, leaving a nasty cut across her arguably pretty mouth.  

The woman kicked at Tara, trying to get her off.

Tara could hear Jo above her climbing out the window, “I can’t get a shot!”  She called out as the German woman grabbed for Tara’s throat. Tara took hold of the other woman slamming her upper body against the steel rails repeatedly, trying to concuss her, the two rolled again as Tara took a boot in a soft place.  Grunting, she gave up her tactic and went back to pummeling the other woman until at last she managed to find herself on top, pinning the blonde to the platform her head and shoulders hanging over the edge of the fire escape.  

Jo had descended the stairs and finally gotten close enough to train her gun on the blonde who was saying something at them in German that Tara could not understand but she rather felt she understood the emotions behind it.

“Stop! Stop!” the woman finally yelled in English. “Surrender!”

“Where’s the journal!?!”  Tara snarled in the other woman’s face.

“Can we talk? I will give you the journal- and more! Just let me up, let’s talk!

Tara dragged her up to her feet and marched her up the fire escape, back to the room.  Jo’s gun on her the whole time. Once inside, Alejandro took hold of the blonde and put her into a chair, now keeping his gun on her as well.

“Who are you?” Tara demanded.  “And how the hell did you even find out about the Professor and this treasure?”

“My name is Uta Brickner. I am an archeologist. If you let me live, I can make things very easy for you. But if you kill me… things will be much harder.”

Tara studied her. Bricker was a handsome woman, around Tara’s height but stouter. Another explosion was heard from across the city.

“My men and I have reached out to the natives who live close by in the forest. We’ve arranged their help. This expedition… we’re abandoning it. It’s been a disaster. Let me live, and the natives will help you. If I die, then my father is going to kill you- and he’ll tell the natives to hunt you, as well. My father is a very important, powerful man. He’s not someone you want as an enemy.”

Tara chuckled.  It was a dark sound, something odd coming out of the normally warm and kind woman.  It came from a place that Tara seldom let herself go , “Do you know who I am?”

“I assume you’re the American who has been killing our people, the ones hunting for the dagger and the treasure.”

“No.  I’m the woman you shot down over the jungle.  The woman killing your men is finishing the job right now… and if your father is here, I assure you, he’s among the bodies.”  Tara grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it over. She sat down. “Tell me about this dagger, interest me and convince me you’re useful and maybe I take you with us.  Piss me off and I’ll shoot you. I have zero fucks left to give you and I think you’re pretty - but I’ve killed pretty girls before.”

Uta looked at Tara for a moment, then dropped her eyes. “The dagger of Chac Chel… an ancient Mayan artifact rumored to have incredible power- the ability to destroy and remake the world as the wielder sees fit- if they have the willpower to wield it. Some of my colleagues are occultists; they believe that this dagger is real, that it could be used as a weapon. Most of us believe it has tremendous archeological and cultural value… and I am useful to you because you need an archeologist. A real archeologist. Roland Chambers is a fraud.”

“Chambers is looking for a payday and he’s never lied to me about that.”  Tara offered.

“He’s not an archeologist,” insisted Uta. “He’s a professor of English at Princeton.”

“Neither am I, sweetie.  I’m a fucking gangster.” She chuckled, “Just one who appreciates history a whole lot - enough to want to come down here and take a look around for herself.  If Chambers is what you say, though, why did his colleague send him that journal and map? And again, how did you find out about it?”

“Because we did our homework. Chambers and Martin were roommates in college. Close friends. Chambers had been on some expeditions with Martin and was writing a novel based on him.”

Tara glanced to Jo and Alejandro for a moment and considered the woman’s words.  Considered Chambers’ actions and deeds since the beginning. The chances were good she wasn’t lying which meant, Chambers’ desire to get the journal was because he was afraid he couldn’t do what he claimed he could.  He wouldn’t be able to get them through the mazes and puzzles he suggested were there. It was why he was reading the book, why he didn’t want to talk about the very topic that was supposed to be his life’s work when any other professor would have droned on and on about it.  

“Oh… shit.”  Tara said softly.  “She’s not lying. Chambers can’t get us through the crazy stuff at the city  He has no idea what he’s talking about without the book and even then it’s dubious at best.  He’s planning on writing a fucking dime store novel about three beauitful women who took him on a trip into the jungle to find the Lost City of Gold.”

“He… could still get us through things,” said Jo. “He’s been doing lots of reading. I did think it strange that he was reading the same books on the plane that he gave to you, Tara, but I assumed he was just being thorough.”

Tara shook her head, “No. He’s a fanboy, a creative sort… he knows as much about surviving the jungle as I do… less I think.  Which means, he would have likely gotten us killed. He’d tell us to go left when we should have gone right and we would have dismissed our own instincts thinking him an expert.”  

Tara looked at the blonde, “It doesn’t change who and what you are - you tried to kill me.”  

“Not me!”

“You’re going to claim that just because you’re an academic that you’re not one of these Nazis?”  Tara shook her head. “You came with them, Sister. You brought this shit here and people have died because of who you chose to make friends with.”

“You need me. Without me, the natives will be your enemy. And my father, as well. You won’t make it far.”

Tara nodded.  Glancing to Alejandro and Jo, Tara saw that they were stone faced. Alejandro had his arms crossed leaning against the wall. They both looked to Tara. 

“This town was a happy place before you and your friends came.  Lively. It’s a ghost town now. People are afraid to be in the streets…”

“That’s because of your friend!”

“She’s not killing locals, she kills Nazis.  Don’t put that on her.”

“Why do you keep saying that like it’s horrible? We’re the legitimate government of Germany and-”

Tara pulled her grandfather’s knife and stuck it in the woman’s heart.  “There’s the truth.” she said. “We’re. You’re one of them. I’ll take my chances with your father and the natives.”  She said near the woman’s face watching her die.

Alejandro watched it happen, though Jo turned away.

After the woman had breathed her last Tara pulled her knife out and wiped it on the woman’s shirt.  “Now we know about the knife at least and that there’s another person to worry about other than her.  This father of hers… he would have come up behind us and tried to take everything from us after we’d done all the work.  Fuck that.”

“I think you did the right thing,” said Alejandro. “She might have been able to work with you, but there’s no way she’d just let Oriana get away with what she’d done.”

Tara nodded in agreement.  

“Chambers may not be an archeologist but he’s going to pull his weight on this team, starting now.  He’s going to be in as much danger as all of us, I don’t think he’ll put our lives on the line without good reason.  He wants to live to spend his money and write his book.” Tara put the knife away. “Besides, I’ve always wanted to be a character in a dime store novel.  Now… let’s go find Ori.”

*

When Tara, Jo, and Alejandro arrived at the farm, Oriana was already there, sitting outside the barn and sharpening her knife next to a nervous-looking Chambers. 

Tara walked straight towards Oriana and Chambers, she stalked like a cat crossing a courtyard, no hesitation all grace and power.  Her eyes were not on her lover though, they were on the professor. When she reached him she opened her palm wide and full-on slapped him across the face.

“I can tolerate a lot from members of this team, but lying?  I’m sorry Professor that’s where I draw a line… time come clean, about everything.”

“I never lied to you! I may have omitted some- ouch!”

Tara smacked him again.

“You’re an English professor.  You didn’t think that detail was important before you dragged me and the people I care about into a deadly situation?”

“I never told you a lie, simply that I was a professor at Princeton! And… well, why would you take me along if I told you everything? I’ve been on several trips with Joseph, and I’ve studied his work extensively. I have knowledge!”

Tara’s nostrils flared as her brown eyes bore holes into the man’s skull.  “You mislead me on purpose and I made the mistake of trusting you instead of doing my own homework.  I won’t make that mistake again in the future, believe me. So thanks for that little lesson, I would have thought a man in your position would have been a lot more worried about contacting mobsters to help him - but I’m guessing you really do believe this treasure is as big as you claimed or you wouldn’t have put your ass on the line like this which is the only reason I don’t put a bullet into you now for leading us on this fucking hellish trip.”

Tara stepped back and clearly made an attempt to calm herself, trying not to think about how this man put Oriana in the position to slip so far back into the dark place she’d struggled so hard to climb out of.  Who knew what the consequences of her actions here in South America would be or how long it would be before she slept well again? Tara paced.

“We’re still going after the treasure,” She finally said.  “You get a cut based on your contributions along the way assuming we survive and that’s still very much up for debate if you believe what that Nazi bitch had to say about her father and the natives.”

Chambers looked like he wanted to ask about the details of his “cut” and whether the original deal was still in place, but he apparently decided it was wiser to leave the subject alone and simply nodded. “I am very sorry- no more lies of omission on my part, I assure you.”

“Good.”  Tara tossed the journal into the man’s lap.  “Now tell me what we know about the dagger of Chac Chel.”

“It’s allegedly a magical weapon of the Mayans, used for destroying the world in some stories and remaking it in others- often both. It’s one of the two or three most valuable single artifacts that we could find, if some of the rumors are to be believed. There’s also a golden fertility idol of the Chachapoyas, as well as an Incan necklace of the sun-filled with gemstones. This is in addition, of course, to the alleged storerooms of gold and silver.”

Tara looked to Oriana, “The Germans want the knife for the power they think it has, brought along their own archaeologist, the blonde our Professor hooked up with.  Apparently she has a very scary Daddy who is going to be very put out at finding I put my grandfather’s knife through her heart. Also… apparently they had some deal going with the local natives for their help getting to the city.  She claimed, right before I shanked her, that they’ll be our enemies now.”

“We should hurry then,” said Ori, sheathing her knife behind her back. “Going to take some time for them to communicate, if she was telling the truth. And the local infrastructure here is… disrupted. I blew up their communications center.”

Tara smirked and leaned down to kiss Oriana, “That’s my girl.”  She said brazenly.

Ori smiled through the kiss. “Ready to show me this jungle of yours, Tiger?”

Chapter 7: Exploration

Tara’s second trip into the rainforest was strangely familiar- and easier than her first. Soon, she and Alejandro fell back into their old routines, keeping an eye on Oriana, Jo, the professor, and their six workers.

More than once, Tara was grateful that Alejandro had grabbed onto the coordinates. They knew their exact destination, even if the path was a bit unclear.

Chambers seemed to go out of his way to be helpful, and the group made steady progress through the rainforest. Tara once again grew accustomed to the sounds, sights, and smells of the jungle- and this time, she felt much safer. With plenty of food to supplement their hunting and ten other companions, the jungle seemed less threatening, although of course she still respected it.

In retrospect, her earlier trip with Alejandro had been fortunately dry. There had been a couple days where they’d had to hole up and wait up the rains, but those happened more frequently during their first week. 

At first, the party was very talkative as they walked and ate, all getting to know each other and their pasts. But as they continued to travel, they found themselves settling into comfortable silences, the way that Tara and Alejandro had together. Their shared journey forged their relationships- even with the professor, who had the group in stitches re-enacting the events of Tara slapping him.

The workers tended to keep to themselves, speaking to Alejandro when they needed something, but with the language barrier, it was like two separate groups traveled together, although Tara did go out of her way to be kind and earn their loyalty.

After two weeks of travel, they reached the “starting points” near the mountains and began following Joseph Martin’s map. It seemed like they were within a day or two or two of their destination when their first real difficulty hit them: four of the workers fell sick and feverish.

Alejandro and Tara scouted around together and found a spot to set up camp: a secluded grove with a few empty caves and a waterfall. Here, they’d have shelter from the rains and clean water. Soon, the group had set up camp there: two campfires, with the sick men secluded from the others. They didn’t seem to trust Jo to care for them, but she gave the other two workers very specific instructions, as well as medication.

Returning, frustrated but resigned, Jo plopped down next to Tara on the logs they’d set up around the fire. 

“Looks like we’ll be here today- maybe tomorrow. One man had a parasite- he’ll have to dig it out of his arm- but they should hopefully all make a good recovery within a day or so.”

Tara grimaced at the mention of digging a parasite out of a man’s arm.  “Glad to hear they’ll come around. How are you holding up?” She said looking at her friend with concern in her eyes.

“I’m fine. A little bothered by the fact that these men will reject a medical professional just because I’m a woman, but I know you already tried to talk to them. It’s fine.”

“If a man would rather die than accept help from a woman, maybe the world is better off with him dead.”  Tara said coldly. “You’re a good person, Jo. You’re smart and caring, a better person than most men I’ve met in my life.  It’s their loss if they don’t accept your help. You’ve done all you can.”

Jo nodded, smiling at Tara appreciatively. “You know, if we do have to get stuck somewhere… this place is beautiful.”

“It’s taken some getting used to, but the second time is a bit nicer than the first.  Of course, that could be partly because of the company. I’m glad you’re here. Oriana, even Roland.  I mean, Alejandro was as nice a guy to sleep beside as a girl could hope for… and funny as hell to chat with, but I am happy to be back with my family.  You. Ori.”

“Oh, I meant this place in particular. The waterfall, this pool. The caves. The grove. Fuck the jungle. It was cool for a day, but… I’m ready for civilization.”

Tara laughed. “Me too.  Once we’re done with this one I think we should spend some time at that resort again.  I could use a few days on the beach to dry out.”

“God, yes.”

“I wonder if it’s actually out there.”  Tara said looking off in the direction they were heading earlier.  “This city, the treasure… part of me wonders if we’ll get there and all of this will be for nothing but a bunch of broken pottery and rotted remains - skeletons.  If that even.”

“Could be,” acknowledged Jo. “But Roland is pretty confident about Joseph Martin’s research. And if there was nothing to it, why would all those Germans be there as well? Either way… it’s a good story. I did say I wanted more adventures, right?” she laughed.

“You’re probably right. I just…”  She looked to Oriana, but didn’t finish her thoughts out loud.

“I don’t think you need to worry about her,” said Jo. “She was in a really bad place when she thought you were dead, but you’ve seen her out here in the jungle. She seems back to normal. God, I thought she was going to bust a rib laughing at Roland’s impression of you.”

“Until I do die… and I will Jo, eventually.  What happens then? To her? To you? To my siblings?  I’m out here trying to find gold and silver to start a business so I can take care of everyone I love but the ironic thing is, in the end I don’t get to decide how the world reacts.  I’m just along for the ride. I don’t know if I’ve done anything for Oriana but make her suffering more keenly felt one day. At least before me she didn’t have this, which means she wouldn’t know what it was like to lose it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve changed that girl. Given her goodness in her life she never had before. Maybe one day she’ll be devastated to lose you, but isn’t that better than just having an empty life?”

Tara didn’t have an answer for that.  Instead, she leaned her head over onto Jo’s shoulder and watched Oriana from a distance, happy that she was here with her now and that for the time being, everything was okay.

“It is, just for the record,” said Jo. “And if you’re worried… maybe get her more involved with other people, too. Like your siblings and the girls Ori brought back from Sicily. Maybe if she’s closer to them, she’ll have more to live for.”

Tara craned her neck to look at Jo and gave her an appreciative smile.  “You’re really rather bright, you know that, don’t you?” Her mind wandered to her mother’s journal, her thoughts about Gavin on the worst day of his life.  What she’d thought had made him decide to keep moving when he should have stopped by all rights. Jo, of course, was right. Oriana had too few people she felt as strongly about as she felt for Tara.  That had to change.

“I’m not just a skirt,” Jo mock-protested before laughing.

“Damn it.  And here I thought you were just here as my personal eye-candy.”  Tara joked and poked her friend in the ribs.

“That, too.”