Although she missed the U.S. she was truly happy in Brazil. She longed to drive a car to the local burger joint and wrap her hands around a nice juicy cheeseburger and fries. And don’t forget the onion rings and ice-cold Coca-Cola, she thought. She also missed pizza, no special type. She missed any kind of pizza, whether it was sausage, pepperoni or just plain cheese. For a second she thought of contacting the Princeton folks to see if they could bring down some pizza when they came. She laughed to herself and shook her head. That would be a very expensive pizza carry-out order.
Furthermore, Lee missed her husband and kids. Many years had passed since their death, but sometimes at night she imagined she heard her husband’s voice. To have all of them taken from her at once was a devastating shock; a shock from which she never expected to recover. But she did, to some extent. At least the pain was not so sharp. The emptiness was still there especially when she was alone. The jungle is a peaceful place to think over one’s life, but at the same time it is a disturbing place when remembering deceased loved ones.
A tear formed in Lee’s eye and ran down her face. She wiped it with her hand and continued to rock.
Lee’s husband, Daniel, was a successful lawyer in Columbia, South Carolina. They lived in a wonderful home out on the shores of Lake Murray. He was well established in governmental affairs and was a bright and shining star in South Carolina politics. They even entertained his running for governor or even for the U.S. Senate. The night of the plane crash dashed all of those hopes. Two hundred and ten souls aboard and only three survived; two babies and one young man.
She wondered what would have been if Amy had lived and gone to the University of Texas. She so loved UT, not only because her father went there but she dearly loved Austin. By now Amy would have graduated from UT and would be attending medical school. She wanted to be a pediatrician. She loved children as much as her younger sister, Erin, loved animals. Amy would have made a wonderful doctor.
Erin was Lee’s baby, a sweet child of fourteen when she died. She was too young to know what she wanted in a career but she always loved animals. Maybe she would have been a veterinarian. Lee smiled to herself. She remembered Erin’s dogs and cats. She couldn’t decide which she wanted so Erin had lobbied her father for one of each, a puppy and a kitten. She loved her animals so much, Rascal the spaniel and Hobie the cat. That led her to adopt still another cat and two more dogs; the Watson household was a veritable animal menagerie. All that was gone now, but they all lived in her heart forever. The rumbling of the storm was getting nearer, bringing Lee back to reality.
She listened to the bugs and frogs screaming in the trees. She heard the creaking of her rocking chair and more distant thunder. There was a flash of lightning off in the distance high in the clouds. Even with all the noise and other goings on, this was one of the most peaceful places she had ever been on earth. She loved it here. It was a place she could put her life back together and get her soul back. That’s when she heard a shout from the jungle. She rose to her feet as Tecal burst from the trailhead, smiling ear to ear. They were back! She stepped off of the porch as Tecal ran up to her.
“Mr. Ben coming very soon,” he said. “He send me ahead to tell you he coming and all is okay.”
“That’s great, Tecal. Thank you for letting me know,” smiled Lee. “I’ll bet you have missed your wife and babies.”
“Yes, Missy Lee,” said Tecal, still smiling. “They will be happy to see me.”
“Well, run along to her,” Lee said, waving her hand over toward the small village area down the road where Tecal and his tribesmen lived. “Oh, how long before they get here?”
“Not long time now,” Tecal said as he turned toward his village. “They here in twenty minutes or sooner.” Lee turned and stepped back on the porch. She decided to get some food and drink ready for the guys. One of Tecal’s brothers had brought in fresh meat this morning and Lee had spent the afternoon cooking it with some vegetables. Amazon stew she called it. There was cold beer in the refrigerator.
She barely finished getting the food ready when she looked out of the window and saw Ben, Dane, Hugo, and a couple with two of Tecal’s men walking up to the porch. They were back. The couple was a man and woman. They all looked dead tired, wet with sweat, dirty and out of breath. They really humped it big time to get back so soon. She couldn’t wait to talk with them.
“Welcome back!” she squealed hurrying onto the porch. Lee was so happy to see the guys back.
Ben smiled ear to ear as he dropped his pack and gave Lee a big hug. “It is great to be back, sis,” he said. “We have a lot to tell you and a lot of work to do.” His smile evaporated. “We have big problems.”
Hugo handed the two captives over to Tecal’s two men.
“You guys watch them. Don’t let them get away,” Ben told the men. “Feed them and give them a place to sleep. We’ll talk with them later.”
Tecal’s men led the two away, toward the village.
“Hey there, fine lady,” said Hugo, also smiling and walking over to Lee. Ben let her go and she embraced Hugo. “Wow, this is great!” cried Hugo, picking her up and twirling her around. “We need to do this every day.”
Dane laughed dryly. “Just like Hugo to find the best-looking girl for miles and stake her out.”
“Aww, quit. You flatter such an old woman.” A grinning Lee gave Hugo a small slap on the back as he lowered her to the ground. “You guys hungry?”
“Famished,” said Ben, placing his gun on top of the porch rail. “What’s for dinner?”
“You guys come on in,” said Lee. “I have stew and cold beer for you. How’s that sound?”
“Wonderful!” said Dane, placing his gear on the porch. “We can discuss our situation while we eat.”
The trio walked inside followed by Lee. Four chairs were gathered around the table in the middle of the room. She dispatched one of the native boys to get the beer from the refrigerator out back.
“Sit down, sit down,” she said. “The beer is coming and I’ll get the food.”
As the men sat down, it began to rain. The once far off storm had finally arrived. Lee was very happy. To her, feeding these guys at her table reminded her of her days as a mother and wife back in the United States. She stopped a second to savor her thoughts. Her eyes began to water. Her children were home.
The men devoured the large pot of Lee’s Amazon Stew along with local bread and the cold beer. The men were at peace for a few well-earned minutes. But that would not last. Dane began the task of briefing everyone of the situation. Hugo added his views with Ben and Lee asking many questions. Dane and Hugo brought everyone up-to-date on the information they got in Miami and what they learned over the past several days.
“So there you have it,” Dane explained, summing up the situation. “Now you know everything we know. Evidently Dana and Randall stumbled upon a German Nazi stronghold deep in the jungle. Based on what we’ve gotten from interrogating our captives, there are thousands of Germans there. We also know at least their major goal includes gold. We also know they have perfected a way to create gold from lead. I know it sounds outrageous but it is evidently true. They want to use this gold to rekindle a German empire, a Fourth Reich. How exactly, we don’t know. But more importantly, as of right now, I believe Dana and Randall are still alive but in grave danger. I want to go back and bring them out safely.”
“Not I, Kemo Sabe,” interjected Hugo. “We will go back and get them out. I’m going with you.”
Dane gave Hugo a big smile and placed his hand on Hugo’s shoulder. “You are the best friend a guy can ever have.”