It was much deeper than Chase had feared. Natalia screamed, then the sound was cut off as her head went under the surface. The coldness of the water squeezed his chest like a giant’s hand. He raised his arms and pushed her back up, kicking furiously to hold position.
It wasn’t enough. The river was sweeping them along, deep enough that he couldn’t find bottom. Natalia gasped before being submerged again. A wave smacked against his face. He coughed, blowing water from his nostrils, then pulled his arm out from beneath Natalia’s legs while gripping her torso more tightly. Her head came up as her feet went down. She took in a choked breath.
With one arm free, Chase now had some control over their direction, however limited. ‘Keep your head up!’ he spluttered, trying to raise the young woman higher in the water as he headed for the other bank.
‘I’m trying!’ she wailed. ‘I can’t see!’
She was close to panic. Chase steeled himself and thrashed his free arm to bring them around, then raised her as high as he could before leaning forward in the water. ‘Use your legs, kick! We’ve got to swim for it!’
It took her a moment to take in what he was saying, but then he felt her move, thighs beating first against, then in time with his. The line of froth at the base of the trees slowly drew closer. ‘Keep going!’ Chase shouted as the toe of one boot made contact with the riverbed. He scrambled for purchase, foot slithering in the submerged mud before finding grip. ‘We’re almost there!’
Natalia managed to bring up one arm, making increasingly powerful strokes as they neared the bank. Both the Englishman’s feet found solid ground. He took her weight again, the water dropping lower with each stride. ‘Yeah, yeah!’ he grunted. ‘We did it, we’re there!’
He hoisted the young German up in both arms once more and half ran, half staggered the final metres to the bank. They entered the trees. The ground was far from dry, but to Chase it felt like a rocky desert. Panting, he lowered Natalia so she could lean against a tree. ‘Are you okay?’
‘No,’ she gasped. ‘I thought I was going to drown!’
‘Close bloody call,’ he agreed, coughing. ‘But we can’t stay here. They’re still coming after us.’
The shock of being submerged in chilly water had shaken her out of her drugged befuddlement. ‘Who is coming? What… what happened to me?’
‘You don’t remember?’
‘I… do not know.’ A pause as she searched her memories. ‘We were travelling, then… they stopped us! Some bandits—’
‘Yeah,’ he cut in, ‘but they aren’t really bandits.’
‘Who are they?’
‘I don’t know, but some of them were Russian. I think they took your whole group hostage just to get you.’
‘Russian?’ she exclaimed, shocked. ‘But why would Russians…’
Her words trailed off. To Chase, it seemed as if some horrible realisation had just struck her — but whatever it was, explanations would have to wait. ‘We’ve got to go. Can you walk?’
She pushed herself upright, wobbling before steadying herself. ‘I–I think so.’
‘Good. Come on.’
He took her hand to lead her deeper into the jungle. She hesitated. ‘What… what did you say your name was?’
He looked back at her. ‘Chase. Eddie Chase.’
Even in the gloom, he saw that she had managed a small smile. ‘Oh — like Bond, James Bond?’
‘Better than James Bond. Except for Roger Moore.’
That confused her, but: ‘All the same, I am very pleased to meet you… Eddie.’
‘Don’t thank me until I’ve got you somewhere safe. You ready?’
‘Yes.’
‘Great. Let’s go.’
Despite Natalia’s insistence that she could walk, it was not long before she began to falter, the effects of her captivity and the exhaustion of the swim catching up with her.
And that was not all that was catching up. Their pursuers had followed their trail to the edge of the river — and crossed it. Shouts and flashes of torchlight warned Chase that they were moving through the jungle behind him.
They were spreading out, though. That meant they had not found his and Natalia’s tracks — yet. So far all his efforts had been put towards simply running, but now a new option presented itself. If the Russians and Vietnamese dispersed too widely, he might be able to slip through the gaps in their net…
Natalia suddenly cried out in pain, almost tripping. ‘What’s wrong?’ Chase asked.
‘I stepped on something sharp,’ she replied, close to tears.
He crouched; she was holding one foot off the ground like a cat with an injured paw. Gingerly touching her bare sole, he found a large splinter of wood or bark jutting from it. He pulled it out and wiped away dirt, but there was not enough light to see if the puncture wound was superficial or something more serious. ‘Can you walk?’
She lowered her foot, flinching and stifling a gasp as she put weight on it. ‘I think there is still a piece in my skin.’
Chase swore under his breath as he turned to locate the hunters. He got a long enough view of one of the torches to judge its distance before it disappeared behind the trees. Less than two hundred metres away. And getting closer.
‘I’ll carry you,’ he said, picking her up. Another gasp, but this was of surprise. He set off again, glancing back every few steps to find their followers.
They were definitely fanning out. The current had swept Chase and Natalia further downstream than the Englishman had intended, and so far it didn’t seem that anyone had found where they’d made landfall. The odds of escaping were increasing. Very slightly, but Chase would take whatever he could…
Natalia mumbled something in German. Her voice was slurred, and she was having trouble holding her head up. An after-effect of the drugs? ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, concerned.
‘I feel… very tired,’ she answered. ‘And… sick.’
Chase suddenly realised that if she had no memory of being held in the cabin, then she had been kept unconscious the whole time — and had not eaten, maybe for days. Even if one of the IV lines had been feeding her nutrients, her body would be close to exhaustion, and she was now also cold, wet and hurt. She needed warmth and rest.
She would get that when they reached the rendezvous and were taken out of the jungle, but — he reluctantly had to accept — the Vietnamese and Russians would probably catch up long before then. Simply running would not be enough. He needed another course of action.
Natalia began to say something more, but the words faded away to silence. She went limp. Chase stopped, trying to assess her condition. Her breathing was worryingly shallow. ‘Shit,’ he whispered, moving behind a tree and looking back. One of the men was heading in his direction. A chill of dismay ran through him as he realised the man would cross his tracks. If he spotted any footprints, he would alert the others and bring them running like hounds.
Although…
He kept watching. Other lights winked in and out of view between the trees — but further away. Chase felt a surge of hope: the hunters had spread out too far. They would be able to pick out their companions’ lights in the distance, but their voices would be lost under the ceaseless hiss of the rain. Even if the approaching man found a footprint, he wouldn’t be able to call to anyone else. The mere fact that they had been communicating by shouts gave away that they didn’t have radios.
A new option presented itself. Attack.
Chase’s gaze went back to the torch, judging distance, direction… then he turned and surveyed his surroundings. He needed somewhere safe to leave Natalia. A large rock rose from the ground at an angle, bushes overhanging one side. He pushed the branches aside with his body before carefully laying the young woman down alongside the stone. When he retreated, the bush bent back into shape, covering her.