Chapter Fourteen
JAIME
"Do you know what they're doing?" I asked Rudy ( for only the ninth or tenth time since Oscar and Steve had left for Lima).
Rudy shrugged. He was incredibly patient. "They told me exactly what they told you, Honey: phone calls."
I still suspected he knew more, but pestering him wasn't doing any good. What sort of phone calls would they travel almost an hour by jeep to make? The kind you don't wanna make in an open-air Market, I guess. I decided to give Rudy a break and change the subject. (Except I wasn't sure how to phrase my next question.) "Rudy...?" (Well...it was a start.) "If...um....if you told everyone I died, wouldn't the NSB want proof?"
"They'd have my signature on the legal documents; that would have to be good enough."
"Yeah, well, I'm betting certain people would demand the government's 'investment' back."
Rudy nodded sadly. "Ghouls," he muttered. Then his face brightened. "Let's see what Oscar and Steve come up with before we start thinking along those lines, okay?" I didn't smile back at him. I was busy trying to shove those morbid thoughts out of my head. "They'll be back soon," Rudy went on. "How would you like to surprise them?" Okay. He had my attention. "I'm thinking you could really benefit from some nice, fresh air."
Now he was speaking my language! "Really? I can get up?"
"Up – and out," he affirmed. "Let's get some color in your face again. I'll help you."
I was already halfway out of bed! Rudy grabbed me around the waist just in time when I started to sway. "You're okay," he said gently, holding me upright until I could get my own bearings. "You just need to find your equilibrium."
It's a really odd sensation, having mechanically-engineered legs that are fully capable of holding me up...and yet still feeling like they might give out at any second. I guess it makes sense, since I hadn't been on my feet in a week (and had been so sick), but it just felt....weird. Slowly, with Rudy supporting me every shaky step of the way, we made it out the front door and onto the grass. The effect was almost magical! It seemed like my body was pulling energy and strength directly from the sun. 'My' monkeys played in the trees, dipping lower than usual, like they were trying to say they'd missed me. And on a low branch over by the river....the bright red Macaw!
I could feel Rudy watching me, and finally I was able to return his smile. "You really love it here," he said softly. "It shows."
I nodded. We watched and listened to the jungle, the river and the rainforest for a wonderfully long time, and then... "They're coming!" I told him. "I can hear Steve running!" In another minute, Steve came bursting through the trees, headed toward the house. "Hey, you!" I called. Steve stopped short, turned and jogged over to where we were sitting.
"You look great," he told me.
"You always say that."
"And I always mean it."
He was beaming, obviously bursting at the seams with some sort of news...and it was driving me crazy. "So....what happened? Who did Oscar call? Steve, what's going on?"
"Let's wait for Oscar," he stalled.
Those couple of minutes seemed like forever. Literally. Oscar ambled toward us, slowed a little by the jungle humidity but with a new lightness in his step. "Babe, I've got good news," he said, beaming. "Of course, it isn't set in stone – it's solely your decision and only a suggestion and an offer on my part -" (He was probably remembering when I'd yelled at them that morning and was hoping for no repeat performances!)
"Oscar!"
"How would you like to be the Director and Facilitator of the OSI's Survival Training Program, Amazon Division?"
"There's an Amazon Division?" I knew about desert training and forest survival...but jungle training?
Oscar chuckled. "There is now – and you're the ideal person for the job. You'd be able to keep your home here and still return to Washington – or anywhere you choose – whenever you wanted to. And it should clear you with the NSB since you would no longer be in retirement. So...what do you think?"
Was there any question in their minds what my answer would be?
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