Ghost Flight

59

Jaeger’s eyes glowed with relief. It would have been one hell of a blow to lose the Indians right now. ‘So, I’m curious. Tell me – how the hell did I survive the fall on the bridge?’

‘You were unconscious, but your arms remained locked around the pyhama.’ Puruwehua glanced at his brother. ‘Gwaihutiga and me – we climbed down to fetch you. But it was my brother who finally prised you free and lifted you to safety.’

Jaeger shook his head in amazement. The simple understatement embodied in the Indian’s words masked what must have been a moment of sheer death-defying terror.

He eyed the young Amahuaca warrior – for Puruwehua was far more than just a translator in Jaeger’s eyes now. ‘So what you’re telling me, Puruwehua – the bravest damn frog in the entire jungle – is that the debt of life is owed both ways.’

‘It is,’ he confirmed simply.

‘But why Gwaihutiga?’ Jaeger asked. ‘I mean, he’s the guy who most wanted us killed.’

‘My father decreed otherwise, Koty’ar.’

‘Koty’ar?’

‘Koty’ar: it is what my father named you. It means “the permanent companion”; the friend who is always at your side.’

Jaeger shook his head. ‘More like you’re the koty’ar to us lot.’

‘True friendship – it goes both ways. And as far as Gwaihutiga sees it, you are now of our tribe.’ Puruwehua eyed Narov for an instant. ‘As is the ja’gwara, and the small man from Japan, plus the big bearded one on your team.’

Jaeger felt humbled. He stepped across the short distance to Gwaihutiga. The Amahuaca warrior rose to his feet at his approach. They came up against each other, face to face, each about the same height and breadth. Jaeger extended his hand for Gwaihutiga to shake in a gesture of heartfelt gratitude.

The Indian stared at it for an instant, then brought his eyes up to Jaeger’s face – his gaze a dark pool of nothingness. Unreadable. Again.

For a long moment Jaeger feared that the gesture had been rejected. But then Gwaihutiga reached out, gathered both Jaeger’s hands and cupped them within his.

‘Epenhan, koty’ar,’ Gwaihutiga announced. ‘Epenhan.’

‘It means welcome,’ Puruwehua explained. ‘Welcome to the friend who is always at our side.’

Jaeger felt emotion well up in his stomach. Moments like this, he knew, were rare. He was face to face with the warrior leader of a largely uncontacted people – one who had risked his life to save a complete stranger and an outsider. He grabbed Gwaihutiga in a momentary embrace, then pulled away.

‘So, tell me, guys, any idea how we get down from here?’ Jaeger asked, not knowing quite what else to say. ‘Now the rope bridge has been blown in two.’

‘This is what we have been discussing,’ Puruwehua volunteered. ‘We have no way to cross the river, and from there to take the route down. The only alternative is the path you originally planned to use. But it is a three-day detour, maybe more. We will reach the target long after those we are trying to beat—’

‘Then there’s no time to waste,’ Alonzo cut in. ‘Man, we’ll run the entire way if we have to. Let’s get goin’.’

Jaeger held up a hand for silence. ‘One second. Just the one.’

He glanced around the faces ranged before him, a wild smile playing across his features. It had been a given in special forces that they’d always endeavour to do the unorthodox and the unexpected, to outfox the enemy. Well Jaeger was about to do the unexpected big time – right here and now.

‘We’ve got the parachutes back at the cache, right?’ he declared. ‘Eight of them – double that number if we separate out the reserve chutes.’ A beat. ‘Anyone here ever done a base jump?’

‘Done a few,’ Joe James volunteered. ‘Almost as wild as taking a hit on an Amahuaca snuff pipe.’

‘I too have base-jumped,’ Leticia Santos confirmed. ‘It is good, but never as exciting as dancing at carnivale. Why?’

‘Base-jumping is basically the shortened version of HAHO-ing from 30,000 feet – only you’re jumping off a cliff face or a tower block, as opposed to a C-130’s open ramp, and you’ve got a fraction of the distance in which to pull your chute.’

The raw excitement was burning in Jaeger’s eyes now. ‘That’s what we’re going to do: we’re going to grab our chutes from the cache and jump the Devil’s Falls.’

It took a few moments for his words to sink in. It was Hiro Kamishi who raised the first – wholly sensible – objection.

‘What about the Amahuaca? Puruwehua, Gwaihutiga and their warrior brothers? It would not be… wise to leave them behind.’

‘We’re seven – so that leaves nine spare chutes. Plus we can tandem a good number of ’em down.’ Jaeger glanced at Puruwehua. ‘You ever wanted to fly? Like that eagle you told me about – the topena, wasn’t it? The white hawk that can steal a chicken from the village?’

‘The topena,’ Puruwehua confirmed. ‘I have flown as high as the topena, when taking nyakwana snuff. I have flown over wide oceans and to distant mountains – but these are the mountains of my mind.’

‘I’m sure you have,’ Jaeger enthused. ‘But today, right now, you’re going to learn to fly for real.’

Puruwehua’s gaze remained expressionless, devoid of even the slightest hint of fear. ‘If it is the only way down and the quickest, we will jump.’

‘We can get seven of you down for certain, maybe more if some fly solo,’ Jaeger explained. ‘And at least this way we can be first to that wreck.’

‘We will jump,’ Puruwehua announced simply. ‘Those who cannot will descend via the long route – the path – and from there they will chase after and harass this Dark Force. In this way, we hit them from two sides.’

Gwaihutiga volunteered a few words, punctuated by the brandishing of a weapon. ‘My elder brother says that after today, we will follow you anywhere, even over the falls,’ Puruwehua translated. ‘And he used a new name for you: Kahuhara’ga. It means “the hunter”.’

Jaeger shook his head. ‘Thanks, but here in the jungle it’s you guys who are the true hunters.’

‘No – I think Gwaihutiga is right,’ Narov cut in. ‘After all, Jaeger means “hunter” in German too. And today, here in the jungle, you have been given that name for a second time, and by an Amahuaca warrior who could not know the meaning of the original. That has to signify something.’

Jaeger shrugged. ‘Fine. But right now I feel more like the hunted. Right now I’d rather avoid a fight with whoever we’re up against. That means getting to that air wreck first, and there’s only one way to do that.’ He glanced towards the falls. ‘Let’s get moving.’

‘There is perhaps one problem,’ Narov ventured. ‘The flying bit I am happy with, not so the landing. I have no desire to end up dangling from the canopy again, getting eaten alive by Phoneutria. Where do you intend that we land?’

In answer, Jaeger led the way to the very lip of the Devil’s Falls.

He glanced over, his arm jabbing downwards. ‘See that? That pool carved out of the jungle at the base of the falls? When we were planning the expedition, we considered that as an alternative touchdown point. We discounted it, for any number of reasons. But right now, we’ve got zero options: that’s where we’ll land.

‘One of the reasons we discounted it,’ he continued, ‘was we figured it would be full of caimans. Are there, Puruwehua? Caimans? In that pool at the base of the falls?’

Puruwehua shook his head. ‘No. No caimans.’

Jaeger eyed him. ‘There’s something else, though, isn’t there?’

‘There are piraihunuhua. How do you call it? A black fish that eats bigger fish. Sometime even large animals?’

‘Piranha?’

‘Piranha,’ Puruwehua confirmed. He laughed. ‘There are no caimans because of the piranhas.’

‘Man, I hate freakin’ fish,’ Alonzo growled. ‘Hate ’em. We’re gonna jump off a cliff, fly down a waterfall, land in a river and get munched alive by the world’s most deadly fish. A Jaeger classic.’

Jaeger’s eyes glowed. ‘Oh no we’re not. You follow me in close and land in the same patch of water that I do – we’re going to be just fine. All of us. Don’t linger. It still isn’t a great time to take a bath. But trust me, we can do this.’

He flashed a look at each of his team. The faces that stared back at him were streaked with sweat and grime, pockmarked from insect bites and furrowed deep with stress and exhaustion. His eyes came to rest upon their cameraman. The only one who wasn’t ex-military, Dale seemed to possess hidden reserves of strength, not to mention sheer guts and determination.

Incredibly, nothing yet seemed to have beaten him.

‘That spare camera,’ Jaeger announced. ‘Let’s double-check that the date, time and location function is disabled. When we do this, I want the camera rolling. I want you to film. And I want you to shoot everything you can from now on. I want a record of everything, just in case of the worst.’

Dale shrugged. ‘I take it you’re going first. I’ll set the camera running when you jump the Devil’s Falls.’