In the Valley of the Amazons-5: Betrayal

CHAPTER 1

Sean and I walked slowly back from the forges. We’d spent the entire day working with iron, making arrowheads and spear points. All we had to do now was attach them to the wooden shafts. He had his arms around his assistants—they’d played with each other all the way home, kissing and touching, expressing their love for each other. We had begun the walk together, but he had a few more distractions than I did and now he was more than a hundred feet behind me. I was just about to exit the woods when I noticed something I thought was funny—not “ha ha” funny—“wrong” funny. I turned to Sean holding up my left hand to say “stop” and my right hand to my lips for quiet.

“What’s wrong, David?” It was Misa, one of the assistant/live-in lovers.

I led them back into the tall grass. I whispered, “Take a look. Then tell me what’s wrong.” The women knelt forward for not more than ten seconds before returning. “Where is everyone?”

“My question, exactly. We need to find out what’s going on. Can we sneak up on the village?”

“We can,” she replied, “but it would be best if you stay here. Please do not be insulted, but you are clumsy in the woods.” She turned and both women melted away as silently as ghosts. They returned about a half hour later. “We could not see any of the tribeswomen, but we did see several men carrying funny rifles.” When I asked further I determined they were talking about AK-47’s. This was obviously a huge problem—one that would require care and planning. The four of us returned hurriedly to the forges. We decided to make as many arrows and spears as we had heads for. The women had their bows and could do a lot of damage if they had to. They weren’t in Hosi’s class, but they were no slouches either.

The good thing about the forges was that few of the tribe and even fewer of the men knew their location. They were deep in the mountains hidden in a small glen. Only the smoke would give away the location, and even then only when there was little wind—an extremely rare event. We reached there just as the sun was setting. We made several hundred arrows by the light of the glowing embers and more than fifty spears, connecting the iron heads to the shafts with thin, but strong plant fibers and sealing with a thin layer of beeswax. We carried all our weapons down the path, hiding them in the bushes and weeds.

I also carried a long rope, woven from a number of strong vines. It was almost fifty feet long. Finally, I brought two short pieces of iron bar, each about two feet long—leftovers from the manufacture of the spear heads. We reviewed my plan as we stole barefooted through the dark jungle illuminated only by the cloud-covered quarter moon. We snuck along the bank of the river until we were near the palace. That’s when we first noticed a guard pacing around the building. I took note of the time. He made one transit on an average of seventy-five seconds. We waited until he was around the corner before running to the side of the building. The women—stronger than either of us—lifted me by my waist until they each had a foot in their hands. One colossal boost lifted me onto the thatched roof. I used my iron bars to dig into the thatch and hold myself in place as they ran back into hiding.

They were there less than ten seconds when the guard turned the corner. I scrunched down into the thatch, my khaki clothing blending in well with my surroundings. He had turned the far corner again before I began making my way across the roof. Stopping at the skylight in our bedroom, I quickly tied the rope to one of the beams and lowered myself slowly to the floor. I tiptoed to Hosi’s bed and was just about to place my hand over her mouth when she whispered, “I knew you’d come. Be careful—there’s a guard outside the door.” I cut the rope holding her hands behind her back and kissed her gently.

“What happened,” I whispered back, “How’d they get past the patrol?”

“It was Jacob. He led them into a trap—an ambush. They were outnumbered and caught completely by surprise.” Surprisingly, what Hosi had said made a lot of sense. Jacob had practically begged to accompany me on the last trip to the city. I saw him on a pay phone when I exited one of the stores. He told me he wanted to let his mother know he was OK. Now he had betrayed all of us.

“Where are all the tribeswomen and the men?”

“Most are tied up in the throne room, others in the dining hall and the hospital. I think the men are in our old house. All are under guard. They could probably escape or beat the guards but they won’t because they know that I’ll be killed first if they do.”

“Well, I think we need to do something about that, don’t you?” I showed her the iron bars as I moved behind the doors. When I was ready she screamed. The door flew open and two heavily armed guards ran into the room. I smashed a bar across the rear guard’s head and the other’s on the backswing. To make sure I hit each of them again and again until I was sure they were dead. I dragged them to a corner as Hosi took their weapons and ammunition. I closed the door and we climbed back to the roof.

We sidled carefully to our children’s room. I lowered Hosi to the floor. I followed and she took her place behind the door. I woke Kela and whispered to her—this was her chance to be a warrior. She nodded and I joined Hosi. When I signaled Kela she screamed “Mama…Mama.” The guard opened the door, but did not enter. Kela screamed again and he took two steps into the room. They were the last steps he’d ever take. Hosi took out her frustrations on his skull, dropping him in an instant. We closed the door and talked for a moment, planning ahead. Hosi thought she had seen between twelve and fifteen attackers. Three were already down and I was sure we could take down the guard outside with ease. Hosi climbed to the roof and waved to Sean. She pantomimed shooting a bow. The next time the guard walked past he was struck fatally with two arrows, fired from the nearby shadows by Sean’s assistants. They dragged the body away as Hosi dropped the rope for them. A minute later there were five of us in the children’s room. Hosi took one of the bows and a handful of arrows. One of the assistants had the other bow, the other several spears. I had an AK-47, but I was praying I wouldn’t have to use it. Silent weapons would be much more effective now.

We tiptoed down the hallway toward the dining hall. It was smaller than the throne room so it figured there would be fewer guards. My watch showed the time at 3:47. The hallways were dark. We couldn’t be seen when we peeked around the corner. There were several lanterns lit in the hall. We could see the tribeswomen seated on the floor, their hands tied behind their backs. There were three guards spread out in the hall although two of them looked to be half asleep. We pulled back for Hosi’s orders.

“Misa, you take the closest guard. He’s only about ten yards away. Wait for my first shot. I’ll take the one who’s awake first then I’ll take the other while you take your shot.” She strung one arrow, as did Misa; Hosi placed another in my hand, signaling that I was to stay behind her. She sent Misa to the other side of the hall where she’d have a clear shot. Hosi leaned against the wall as she drew the bowstring back. She nodded to Misa who nodded, showing she, too, was ready.

Hosi released her shot. The only sign was a slight “woosh” through the air. A second later a second “woosh” as Misa released her shot, almost at the same instant as Hosi’s second. All three guards were dead in less than two seconds. The women looked up, but did not speak. They knew the importance of remaining silent. They were cut free in minutes. One went to retrieve Sean and our children. We all exited through the rear doors, melting into the jungle.

We now had almost two hundred warriors, but only a handful of weapons. Our next stop was the hospital. We snuck up to the building, setting another ambush. Sometimes the simplest tactics are the most effective, and this was one of those times. Ten warriors with spears went to the rear. Hosi and several others went to the front and sides where there were lots of windows. There were two guards inside along with perhaps a hundred Amazons. Hosi pulled back to instruct her troops. Again, it was the archers who were in the forefront with the spear carriers in reserve. Hosi identified the targets and nocked her arrow in the string. She once again took the farther target, leaving the closer one to her lesser companion. This time they shot simultaneously and again their aim was true. The warriors were released and we moved on to the next targets. The only sounds had been the startled “Ugghs” as the arrows struck home, shattering each man’s heart and the dropping of their weapons to the floor.

Hosi ordered the village searched. Almost a hundred bows and their arrows were found in one of the houses. Now we had an army, but we still had to be careful. We had taken out eight of their group, but even a half dozen men with assault rifles could do a lot of damage, even kill half the tribe.

Our next stop was Hosi’s old house. I had many happy memories there. We peeked in the rear window; I was reminded of the time we had eavesdropped behind Reta’s house, learning of her plot to kill the queen and take over the tribe. This time we looked in to see all the men—all except Jacob…the rat! I couldn’t wait until I ran into him. There were three which seemed like a lot until I looked at Scott and Kevin. Both had been beaten. Rini almost gasped, but her warrior training and discipline prevailed. I could see the hatred in her eyes. She’d skin these men alive given the chance. Now we had plenty of bows and arrows. Hosi called her troops together.

There were two windows and an open doorway, but one of the guards sat in a chair just inside the door, hidden behind the fireplace. It would be almost impossible to get to him unless…. I could see the wheels turning in Hosi’s head. She dispatched three warriors, all with spears. They snuck down three houses, keeping low then they turned left and crossed the narrow lane. Behind the facing houses they retraced their steps until they were behind my old house just across the street. Now they spread out, one on each side and one headed through the house for the doorway. I heard a brief whistle, more a bird call than anything else. Hosi and Rini took their aim from the rear window and fired just as Hosi yelled, “Now!”

The spear women leaped forward and threw. One struck the guard in the chest, the others in his abdomen. Hosi’s aim was true, but Rini was off, her arrow striking only the guard’s shoulder. In a second she was through the window and on top of the hapless guard. She punched him repeatedly, paying back the injuries they had given, until Hosi stopped her. He was bound and gagged while Rini ran to Scott. She cradled his head in her arms, pulling him to her breasts. She leaned down to her stricken lover, kissing him repeatedly.

It was now approaching 5:00 a.m. and time was drawing short. We had to act while we had the advantage of surprise and darkness. Hosi left a contingent of warriors to guard and tend to the men’s wounds. She sent one hundred to scour the village in search of any of the intruders that we had missed. Another hundred accompanied us back to the palace where the majority of the tribe was held.

Hosi split her forces. Twenty were sent to the rear. They were to check the back of the palace for any stray guards, although we thought they would stay with their prisoners until daylight, at least. My biggest question was, “WHY?” What was this all about? All I could think about was that there was money—serious money—at the root of all this. But how…what? As a geologist I knew that there were no significant quantities of precious gems or minerals in the area so that clearly wasn’t it. It appeared that few if any of the tribeswomen had been injured or killed. How did that figure into this?

We were sneaking past the baths when I told Hosi I was staying for a while. “Kind of a funny time for a bath, David.”

“No, I need some time to think. Besides, you won’t need me at the palace. I’ll just be in the way. I’m trying to figure out what this whole thing is all about.” Hosi kissed me and left a small contingent of warriors to safeguard me. I recognized all of them—they were all fierce competent fighters. I sat on a limestone bench, dropping my feet into the cool water. I cleared my head of all other thoughts. I knew that Hosi would be safe and my children were probably at the forges by now, well out of the conflict. I tried to put all the pieces together—ambush in the jungle, but nobody actually hurt or killed, invasion with automatic weapons, but nobody hurt or killed, tribe kept tied up under guard, but again nobody hurt. Why would they want to do this? Why would they want all the women in prime condition? OH NO! It hit me like a brick. I could think of only one reason for this and there would be a ton of money involved. Plus, unless I was mistaken we would soon have a lot more visitors. And now I knew where.

I pulled my feet from the bath and walked out into the night. “Any word yet from Hosi?” They shook their heads. We were joined by those who had searched the village and started our walk to the palace. I stopped them for a second, told them of my concerns, and asked a contingent to head to the falls. That area had to be secured. It wasn’t the only way to get all the tribeswomen out of here, but it was the fastest and safest.

We were almost a hundred yards from the palace when I heard shouting and several shots. I prayed Hosi would be OK. We ran to the site and met an invader running in our direction. He met more arrows and spears than I cared to count. I ran to the palace searching for Hosi. I found her—thank God—supervising the release of the prisoners. Four guards lay dead on the floor and three Amazon prisoners were being treated for bullet wounds. Fortunately, all appeared to be superficial.

CHAPTER 2

I pulled Hosi aside and held her. “Thank God you’re safe. I think I know what this is all about. These men came here to collect you as slaves. That’s why nobody was injured or killed. We can confirm it with that one you captured. If I’m right there will be one boat missing and we’ll have lots more company in the morning.” Hosi detailed a group to continue releasing the prisoners while we walked quickly to her old house. The men were there relaxing. Rini was treating Scott under Dennis’s orders. The captured attacker was ignored. “Let me deal with him, Hosi. I think a man will be more effective.” She nodded her consent as we walked in the door.

I walked into the man and removed his gag. “Let me explain something to you. You are going to die, but how will be determined by what you tell me in the next minute. I can put a bullet in your brain or I can take you down to the Amazon, cut your arms, and watch while the piranha devour you alive. That’s what we did with the last one who was condemned to death. I’ll give you a few seconds to think.” I stood and returned to Hosi. We stood silently while the men looked on. Less than thirty seconds later I returned.

“OK…all your friends are dead. The village is back under our control. Only a handful of women were injured. My wife, the Queen, killed five of your men by herself, so don’t think that she’ll have any mercy for you. Now…tell me why you are here. I already have an idea, but I want you to confirm it.”

“Slaves, Senhor.