Inca Kings

CHAPTER THIRTY

It took only a matter of hours to find Bruno again. A cog in a chain as brutal and controlling as the Cusco Militia could hardly wander far from its assigned position. After all, the machine only ran productively when all of its parts worked and stayed together. Cusco itself was a noisy den of activity, outdoor markets buzzing with life and making a killing on coca and muna leaves — magic leaves that helped alleviate the symptoms of a new tourist’s altitude sickness.

The Spanish colloquial feel didn’t spread through the entire town — descendants of the Incas still pulled llama trains through the heart of it. The main cathedral attracted many visitors, an impressive baroque structure, but it was the surviving Inca-built walls that fascinated Drake as he strode through the streets — bound together without mortar and incredibly strong, they were an ancient accompaniment to the stone streets.

“It’s like the Incas never left,” he said aloud as they tracked Bruno down. “Despite the Spanish.”

When he clapped eyes on the team, the Cusco Militia’s “transporter” was less than happy. Alicia approached first, giving him the eye, and forced him down a narrow alley. Soon, they found a doorway where they could crowd around.

“It wasn’t my fault,” he blurted out.

“What wasn’t?” Hayden held a hand up, no doubt wondering what he might spill.

“The massacre. Landlords weren’t earning their keep. I told you — I am transport only. I do not make decisions like this.”

Drake decided that they should manipulate more than bully at that point. “All right. We believe you, pal, but now you have to help us.”

Bruno’s eyes shifted uneasily. “Help? How?”

“Dantanion,” Hayden said. “He’s been recruiting, yes?”

“Umm, I guess.”

“You guess?” Alicia hissed, thrusting her body so close Bruno jumped back and collided with the door, making the frame rattle.

“Yeah, well, okay. He been recruiting. Had a batch yesterday. Another today. He recruiting more now than ever.”

“I’m happy to say we had a hand in that,” Smyth grunted.

Drake wasn’t so sure. He wondered what happened to the fresh recruits that turned them into the flesh-eating, capering servants of an unutterable evil. In the beginning though, they were surely as innocent as anyone.

“Today’s batch,” Hayden said. “They still here?”

“Yeah. I’m heading over now to prepare them.”

“Prepare?”

“They transported in a container, placed inside a truck. Then driven to drop-off where men wait. Then,” he shrugged, “taken to mountain house.”

“How many?”

“Four today. Three yesterday. It is not often easy to get—” he stopped suddenly, clearly realizing his next few words might risk his life.

“Any ideas what happens to them?” Kinimaka asked.

“I do not ask questions. Most times, it is better not to ask. From what I see they’re led into the mountains like a herd of goats. I do not know any more.”

“Luckily for you, we don’t need to know any more. But today, Bruno, you have five. Not four.”

He stared, genuine surprise obvious by his outburst. “Are you mad?”

“Time will tell,” Hayden said. “So, you ready?”

“Yes, yes,” Bruno said. “I can do that.”

No doubt it increased his takings. Drake made a point of catching his attention. “Listen up now,” he said. “If you blab a word of this to Dantanion or any of his men, we will all take a piece of you. It will be slow and it will be final. Do you get me?”

“I will say nothing. That is truly what I understand.”

They allowed Bruno to lead by half a block, following the man to his warehouse where he said the container was stashed. The walk didn’t take long, maybe fifteen minutes, but it felt like the fastest quarter-hour of Drake’s life.

“No way do you need to do this,” he tried one last time, falling in alongside the boss. “We always find a way. We could hit Dantanion whilst his men are out hunting.”

“And risk losing another villager? No.”

“We could infiltrate through the mountains.”

“Too risky and you know it. They know every inch of those mountains. We know nothing of them. Even the village elders don’t venture that far.”

“Barrage? A full on assault.”

“Maybe. But that risks everyone.”

Of course, he’d known all along that Hayden would never back down. Alicia had known too and had prepared some last-minute personalized advice.

“Remember what they do up there, Hay. If they offer you any food with the words ‘hung’ or ‘well’ or ‘dong’ in them, just say no. For me, you’re heading in a bit near the knuckle.”

Hayden groaned.

“Close to the bone,” Drake said.

“A knob of butter,” Alicia went on. “Would be far better to choose than a buttered knob. But even then I’d be careful.”

The team wasted no goodbyes as Hayden turned a corner to the right and they went left. Drake fought down every instinct, every impulse that raised its heckles in protest. Would a traumatic event help her with her personal woes? He saw the sense of her actions, and he saw the recklessness.

He saw her cravings too.

Hayden heading into the lion’s den was the only way they could continue to help the villagers.