Chapter 2
Jason's premonitions had been correct - accessing the radio tower overlooking Amanaki Town's locality had been all but easy. One look at his left hand was a sharp reminder that the jungle was a force to be reckoned with. During his ascent to the top of the steep incline on top of which the tower sat, he had, more than once, experienced difficulty. The deep cut into his left palm was perhaps the worst of his injuries. He had been forcing his way through a particularly thick patch of stiff, unyielding branches belonging to some variety of what looked like a tropical palm tree when the ground beneath his feet simply seemed to disappear. It had swiftly transpired that he had been walking along a loose, rocky outcrop which extended out over a hidden cave entrance. Long story short, the only way in which he could prevent himself from falling to the rough surface below was to grab onto the gnarled trunk of the nearest of the strange palm trees. He had saved himself any broken bones, but his hands had been much worse for wear. It was nothing that an improvised bandage couldn't rectify, at least for the time being, but it certainly hadn't made life any easier - especially when it came to handling the semi-automatic weapon he'd been provided with.
Once again, he mentally replayed the five minute crash course in weapon operation he'd received before being sent on the demanding mission of disabling the rogue signal jammer atop the Amanaki radio tower. The first thing he'd learned was that it was vitally important to be able to swiftly discard spent ammunition clips and replace them with fresh ones. He had practised this reloading technique a few times, with varying success. He fumbled through the small supply bag which he'd received courtesy of a generous local benefactor. Amongst the small assortment of first-aid supplies and food, it was not too difficult to find the couple of extra ammo clips entrusted to him by the vendor at the Amanaki 'general store'. Safe in the knowledge that he had enough firepower to stave an attack from any oncoming threats - human or otherwise - he re-secured the bag, made sure that his makeshift bandages were suitably secure, and cautiously slid out from his hiding place for the last five minutes.
He felt incredibly exposed, having made the journey to the top of the hill under the cover of the thick, exotic vegetation adorning the tropical hillside. The thick leaves had both occluded him from any observers along his improvised route and had also provided cooling shadows amongst which he could escape the sweltering heat of the day. He pushed the final few palm leaves aside to reveal the top of the hill he'd spent the last fifteen minutes ascending. Up close, the radio tower certainly looked worse for wear. It stood alone, its wide base spread across the top of a sun-baked sandy clearing. There was a small wooden hut at the far end of the clearing. It was connected to the tower by a few limp wires extending from its roof. Jason reasoned that it must house a transformer or power generator of some description. He knew for certain that the signal jammer itself was located at the top of the tower. He suspected that the pirates had installed it there to ensure that it would be particularly difficult, if not impossible, for any passing locals to disarm it. He couldn't help but wonder why the residents of Amanaki Town had decided to task him with this seemingly impossible feat a mere few days after his impromptu arrival on the island. "Should have thought of that before forcing your way through the jungle to get up here" he mused as he turned his mind to the task of hauling himself to the top of the tower using nothing but the few hanging ropes and twisted walkways visible along the steel structure.
"It's not really as bad as it looks" he told himself as he surveyed the ground below him from his new vantage point. He had managed to climb to the first fragmented walkway surrounding the tower by pulling himself up onto the roof of the wooden electrical hut. From there, it had been a simple matter of putting his feet in the right place and making sure to avoid shifting his weight onto any of the rusty metal rivets which seemed to be holding the lower part of the structure together. He was by no means at the top yet, but he had made the first important step. He walked as far as he dared along the listing walkway until he found another opportunity to climb. This time, it came in the form of a simple wooden ladder propped against the inner edge of the tower. A careful ascent later, and he was able to haul himself onto the next level of the tower. It was likely that the tower had initially been accessed for maintenance by the use of a network of catwalks and ladders surrounding the main scaffold, but clearly, maintenance was not on the minds of whoever now used the tower for communication. "I'm probably the first person up here in years". This thought as not a comforting one. Jason swung himself out over the edge of the shoddy platform beneath him to look skyward. The flashing red beacon atop the tower looked awfully distant. He crawled along the now wooden platform beneath his feet in search of a way to hoist himself even higher. He found a crude rope ladder attached to one of the large metal girders which spanned the height of the tower. He was about to pull himself onto it and climb when he was distracted by a bright glimmer on the ground below. He jumped back as quickly as he could and forced himself down until he was flat against the dusty wooden platform. His heart sank as he realised that his problems had just become a lot more serious.
