Page 46 of Final Approach

The detective snorted with what I took as agreement before taking another bite, closing his eyes as he chewed. Good. Hungry people were angry bears. Fed people—they were a little more pliable.

“What got you into law enforcement?” I asked while using the hatchet in my hand to slice off a few stalks from an overhanging tree as he ate. “I always wanted to wear the uniform, but couldn’t agree to all the rules, you know? So many rules.”

Dark eyes popped open, and his gaze turned back to me. Slowly, he nodded. “Hay demasiadas reglas,” he agreed. Too many rules.

“That must be challenging,” I mused, tossing the branches I’d just cut into the growing pile. “I am not so good with rules, either.”

“Rules are meant to be broken,” he said before he crumpled the empty wrapper and threw it on the ground. Then he turned back to the task at hand.

Fantastic, he was a litterer, too. Satisfied I had at least pulled a few words out of him, I let the conversation fade. Now I was the sycophant, flattering my enemy for my own personal gain.

It didn’t matter. I’d do anything to protect Marley. The crush on my friend was rapidly developing into something I didn’t have a name for. Obsession seemed too—well—obsessive. Fixation was more apt.

Picking up the wrapper, I thrust it into my pocket. To think my most traumatic thought two days ago had been about being dumped by a man I hadn’t even loved, and now I was shadowing a shady law enforcement officer in the middle of the Darién Gap to protect a woman who didn’t even know I cared for her.

Staring at the detective’s back as he worked, I idly sliced a few more branches and considered the gravity of our situation.

Could we possibly pin the cocaine smuggling on him? My gut churned like a sea of hungry sharks as I considered the ramifications of that discovery. No matter what, we were going to have to dump the bricks under the cover of the jungle before we were rescued. And where in the gods’ honest fuck was Jamie?

Marley remained convinced of his innocence. I’d kept my mouth shut, mostly to keep the peace, given I only had a memory that could mean nothing. But the more I considered the possibility, the more I grew certain of his culpability. It killed me to acknowledge it, and killed me more to recognize my failure in reading him properly. I hadn’t the proof, but I’d bet my very satisfying dick Jamie had a hand in that drug transport.

If Aileron discovered the hidden cargo, far more than our jobs were on the line. Life in a South American prison was no life for me—I was certainly no Madman.

Not the time for that anxiety spiral. Once we had food and shelter secured for the day, Marley and I could come up with a plan.

It appeared the river was far larger than we’d thought—at least, I’d thought—and in the distance I could see another deep bow as it traveled eastward, a pocket of water sitting at the very edge of my vision.

Whether it was truly a pocket of water or a figment from broken eyewear, I couldn’t be sure, but it was worth investigating.

“Hey,” I called to Diaz, who was staring into the trees as if contemplating a run for it. “I think I see water up ahead. Let’s check it out, yeah?”

He chose not to answer, but did turn in the direction I’d pointed to and started forward. Alright then, onward.

A stagnant pond wouldn’t do us much good for drinking water—but if the pool appeared clear enough, I’d happily soak my clothes for a few moments. The sweat and stink had become distracting.

A tinny, shiny something caught my eye, stuck in a small bush at the edge of the riverbed. I drew closer and picked it up. A candy wrapper? Turning it over in my hand, it was a Bocadin chocolate bar with Spanish nutrition info on the back side of the wrapping.

Odd. Had someone roamed the night while we slept?

More curious than unsettled, I pocketed the wrapping and continued forward. My stomach grumbled at the thought of a tasty treat, but I ignored it. My thirst this morning had been bad enough, but the small bottle of vodka had taken away the pain in my limbs and settled the anxiety in my brain.

Just a nip. The psychological terror of the jaguar and the emotional turmoil of the surprise drugs and still missing friend had taken its toll. I was a mere man, in need of a small drink. And it had worked. I was right as rain again, albeit a little hungry, thanks to sacrificing my one protein bar of the day. I’d feast on an avocado later.

Holding my hatchet tightly in one fist, I followed Diaz up the steep incline to a different shallow pool—the rocky bank had hidden this one from view. The water stank of death, and I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. No clothes washing then. Right.

“Let’s keep going.” I gestured toward the second, much larger pond that was not a figment of my imagination. “If there is a safe spot to wash, I’d take that over a dick suck right now.”

Diaz broke his silence and laughed. The sound was rough and low, reminding me of the chortle villains made in cartoons before dipping their victims in vats of acid.

Remembering he’d allegedly drugged a cuffed criminal without his consent, I made a mental vow to never make a sexual joke in front of a man who clearly got off on rape-y behavior. I clutched my hatchet tighter.

Another sharper incline, another body of water, much larger than the first. The rocks were far more jagged here, sharply jutting at awkward angles. I climbed over easily with my rubber-soled trainers, but Diaz slipped behind me in his dress shoes before pulling himself over a larger rock the size of a small vehicle. I leaped over a crevice about the depth and width of Madman and assessed the pool.

It was far deeper, but hard to determine its exact depth with a broken lens. It was also far wider, big enough for two men to sit in comfortably. More confusing was the cluster of floating refuse on top—what appeared to be another batch of food packaging and a hunk of oddly shaped, brightly colored plastic.

The ghostly fingers of discomfort walked their way up my spine. Surely, no one from our group had been this far away in the dead of night?

Seeing no creatures lurking in the water, I reached out to pull out the unknown object, and nearly dropped it back into the pool when I saw it was a child’s sandal.