Chapter One

Jaime pressed herself flat against the ground, waiting for the expected barrage of bullets...but the jungle had grown strangely quiet. Even the Whistling Ducks had been startled into complete silence. She heard one more gunshot, this one seemingly further away and in the opposite direction, and cautiously she scrambled to her feet. Her leg shook slightly as she put weight on it, but it held steady so she made her way up toward the house.

The door was open! Was someone waiting inside – perhaps an ambush? Her only options were to get to the radio...or to go miles through the jungle and down the road to the closest phone. Making her choice instinctively, Jaime picked up a small log in her left hand and a decent-sized rock in her right – and headed through the door. Aside from a monkey in the bedroom (that shrieked and ran upon being discovered), Jaime found herself alone. The radio equipment, in a locked chest beside the bed, was undisturbed. In fact, nothing appeared to have been stolen or even rifled through. She doubted the monkey had opened the door itself...so what had an intruder been doing in her house?

She sat on the bed and attempted to collect herself before radioing for help. When she took her first look at the damaged leg, Jaime sighed with relief. The bullet had winged it pretty hard (and done a noticeable bit of damage) but it had not lodged in the circuitry. The force of the shot had knocked the leg out from under her, but she could still walk, bend her knee and wiggle her toes. Everything seemed to be worked properly. She unlocked the chest and keyed up the radio.

"Jaime?" Russ answered almost immediately. "How are you?"

"I need you to get Oscar for me," she said very calmly. "I've been shot."

Oscar's voice crackled over the line within what seemed like seconds. "Jaime? Who shot you? We'll send Rudy and an extraction team down to -"

"Relax," Jaime told him. "It's not serious; it's a little hole in my leg, just above the knee. And I was shot...but I don't think I was shot AT."

"I'm not following you," Oscar countered.

Nightmares of several branches of the US Armed Services storming the jungle to cart her to safety flashed briefly through Jaime's head. "I'm pretty sure I heard a jaguar – or some kind of big cat – just before the shot," she explained, trying to reassure her boss that the Cavalry was not required. "It was probably just a poacher. Which is still a big deal, and they better hope I don't catch them out there...but really, everything's okay. I can walk – probably even run if I have to! Rudy can patch it up the next time I see him; not to worry."

"Jaime, I would really prefer -"

"Look, I knew I had to call you since a shot was fired. But I'm okay...and I have to go check on my 'students' now."

"Jaime, listen -"

"Gotta go, Oscar. I'll call you back later, okay? As soon as I know the guys are all safe." She could still hear him protesting as she clicked the radio off.

In spite of her assurances to Oscar, Jaime wasn't entirely sure what (if any) new danger might be waiting back in the rainforest across the river but what worried her the most was the responsibility she held for the three men she'd just dropped off to fend for themselves. She changed into a new pair of pants (minus the bullet hole in the old pair) and stepped back outside.

She moved quickly but stealthily across the river and through the maze of trees, ferns and foliage until she reached the small clearing where she'd left her charges. Ted sat alone on a rock, stiffly stoking a small campfire. Jaime was impressed. If he'd heard the shot, he'd kept his head and still managed to do what initially needed to be done. (There was even a nice ring of rocks to safely surround his fire.)

"Good work," she told him brightly as she strode into the 'camp'. "Fire is the first necessity. Without it, you can't boil water or -"

"What the hell happened out there?" Ted asked. He didn't sound annoyed or nervous...merely curious.

"Did you see anything?" Jaime probed.

"No – but I heard a couple of shots. The second one sounded pretty close."

"Where are the others? Have you seen them?"

"James is looking for fruits and nuts – or maybe he IS fruits and nuts – and Frank, I think, is getting water. By the way, we found the pot and the jug you left for us. Nice touch, letting us think we'd have to hollow out coconuts to boil water in. We almost did that, too."

"Yeah, well, I gotta keep you on your toes," Jaime told him. "So...what makes you say that about James?"

"Huh?"

"You called him nuts...?"

"Ah...he's just...well, he's young."

"Top of his class at Harvard, though – one of the brightest," Jaime pointed out.

"So I've heard."

"Jealous, are you?" she ribbed (wondering to herself what the real story was).

"Nah...we're all young once. He'll grow into his potential. I suppose."

"Well, that's very kind of you." Jaime had not yet formed an opinion about Ted – and this didn't help. He either had a sarcastic, somewhat sly sense of humor (which was something like her own) or he was one of the rudest, most boorish men she'd ever met.

Frank made camp next, lugging the jug which was now heavy with water. He poured it into the pot and placed it in the middle of the fire. "Mission accomplished," he announced, seating himself heavily on the moss. "By the way, did I hear gunfire?"

"Yeah, I think you did," Jaime acknowledged. "Did you see anything?"

"Nope. Sounded too far away, so I just kept doin' what I was doin'. And here I am."

"Great work," Jaime affirmed.

"Hey – I worked, too!" James called, emerging from the trees and juggling several large papayas as he walked. He set the fruit down on the ground and emptied his pockets, which were full of cashews. "Let's eat!" he said cheerfully.

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