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  Brian looked like he was about to punch him, but Detective Johnson intervened to try to calm the situation. “Mr. Baxter, I think it’s best if you take a walk to try to calm down.” Brian released his grip on Detective Mitchell and headed to the hallway outside of the meeting room.

  “I have some additional information,” Detective Johnson whispered to his partner after Brian had left. “I just received word that one of the sports management companies paid the ransom for Michael Porter last night.”

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Detective Mitchell said loudly. The other people in the room looked at him wondering what had gone wrong. He quickly lowered his voice again to a whisper. “They didn’t pay the ransom into the account we were given or else I would have known about it.”

  “I know,” Detective Johnson whispered back. “They somehow had another account to be used and they transferred the ransom to that account last night. They said they have negotiated a huge endorsement deal for Mr. Porter because he won the Olympic gold medal and the deal is worth millions to them.”

  Detective Mitchell became even more frustrated. He knew he was going to have trouble controlling people from other countries, but he now realized he had even lost control of those on his own soil.

  *** Chapter 21 ***

  “Você está bem?” the doctor asked Maria again as he cut the ropes that tied her to the overhanging branch. Maria didn’t reply but just held him.

  The other guards had come running when they had heard the gunshots. “Voltar para suas postagens!” the doctor yelled at them when they got there. They could see the dead bodies of two of the other guards, but lowered their rifles and headed back to their posts.

  The doctor held Maria for several minutes as she trembled. She refused to cry but she could not stop the trembling no matter how hard she tried. The doctor pulled her dress closed around her and then used a piece of the rope to tie it together around her waist. He pulled his surgical mask up over his face and then helped her make her way back to the compound.

  The other hostages had heard the gunshots and feared the worst. They were all relieved when they saw Maria was still alive. “I think she’s okay,” the doctor said as he passed Maria over to Eric who tried to comfort her. “I think I got there before they hurt her.”

  “Oh my God Maria, are you alright?” Sylvia Girard said as she came running over to help take care of her. Maria was still trembling as Sylvia held her and took her over to the other side of the compound.

  The doctor looked directly into Eric’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said. “If it makes you feel any better, I killed both of the guards involved.”

  It should have made him feel better, but for some reason, it didn’t. Eric felt his spirit dropping and could sense that the morale within the other hostages was dropping as well. Chip’s condition was better since the doctor had treated him, but he was still very weak. Michael had regained consciousness but the guards had beaten him so badly that he was barely able to talk or move. Mr. Taylor was looking like he could have another heart attack at any moment. And Eric couldn’t even bear to think about what had happened to Maria.

  Eric took a deep breath and headed over to talk to Jacob and Emily Davis. “How confident are you that your father will be sending a team of marines to rescue us?” he asked Jacob.

  “I can guarantee it, sir,” Jacob answered as if he was a marine himself.

  “Well, I’d like you two to let the others know that help is on the way,” Eric said. “We’ve got to give everyone hope that everything is going to turn out okay.”

  “Consider it done,” Jacob said without any hesitation.

  “But do it quietly,” Eric said. “I don’t want to alert the guards that a rescue team is on the way.”

  Eric watched as Jacob and Emily Davis went from person to person telling them about their father’s rescue operation. He could see each person’s spirit lift as they were told. However, when they tried to approach Maria and Sylvia, Sylvia waved them away. Sylvia continued to hold Maria as she cried.

  Eric desperately wanted to help Maria but he wasn’t sure what he should do. He wandered over and sat down on the ground near them. Although he didn’t say or do anything, he just wanted to be close to Maria to let her know that he was there for her.

  * * *

  The next morning one of the guards came into the compound and waved his rifle at the four Japanese men. “O resgate foi pago,” the guard said. The four men looked confused.

  “Your ransom has been paid,” the doctor said to the four Japanese men. “You are being released. The ransom has also been paid for the two Australians,” the doctor said pointing to them, “and also for the U.S. Olympic athlete.”

  Michael struggled to get to his feet as the bruises that he had received in the beating were now apparent. He wondered whether one of his ribs might also be broken. He headed over to help Chip to his feet. Chip was looking a lot better today as the infection in his leg seemed to be getting better and he no longer had a fever. “We’re both Olympic athletes for the U.S. team,” Michael said.

  “Sorry,” the doctor said, “but the million dollar ransom was only paid for one of you. The one who won the gold medal.”

  “I’m not leaving here without Chip,” Michael said, looking defiant. “We’re team-mates.”

  “Are you sure you really want to do that?” the doctor asked. “It could cost you your life.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Chip said to Michael. “They’ve paid your ransom so don’t pass up this opportunity to get out of here. Besides, I’m not going anywhere without my brother.”

  Michael looked torn. “Why would they pay the ransom for me and not you?” he asked in frustration.

  “Because you’re the U.S. Olympic gold medalist,” Chip said.

  “Not anymore,” Michael said. He pulled the gold medal from underneath his shirt and put it around Chip’s neck. “I’ll be back to get you out of here, one way or another. I promise.”

  The rest of the hostages watched as the guards led Michael, the four Japanese men and the two Australians out into the forest and to their freedom.

  *** Chapter 22 ***

  Detective Mitchell looked at his watch while waiting in the meeting room. The TV screens showing the policemen from Germany, Australia and Japan were lit up for the video conference. They were still waiting for the Brazilians to join and it was now five minutes past the scheduled time for the conference.

  “I understand that we’ve found some of the hostages,” General Davis said when he stormed into the meeting room.

  “Please sit down with the others,” Detective Mitchell said, trying to remain in control of the room. “We’re waiting for the Brazilian police to confirm whether the people they found are, in fact, two of the hostages.” The general and the detective glared at each other. Although the detective was supposed to be in charge of this case, the General had never been comfortable with being second in command of anything.

  The General noticed that his ex-wife was one of the people sitting in the room waiting for an update. This seemed to surprise him as he thought he had made it quite clear to her that he would be taking care of the situation. Mrs. Davis shook her head in derision. She had seen her husband exhibit this controlling behavior too many times to count. Fortunately, the confrontation between Detective Mitchell and the General was interrupted by the TV screen showing the feed from Brazil coming to life.

  The monitor showed the officer from Brazil along with the two people who had been found. “I’d like to introduce Klaus and Anja Weber, two of the German hostages who have been released.” They looked worn and tired, but in pretty good health, all things considered.

  “We’re glad to see that you’re safe,” the policeman from Germany said. “Do we know the status of Gregory Schneider?”

  “We believe he was killed,” the Brazilian officer said. “I’ll let Mr. Weber provide the details.”

  “We think Greg was killed trying to escape,”
Mr. Weber said. “Greg and Michael cut their way through the wire fence and tried to escape into the forest the day before we were released. We heard a couple of gunshots after they escaped and they only brought Michael back to the camp.”

  As they listened, Kevin and Lisa Porter hugged each other knowing that their son was still alive.

  “We think Greg was shot by the guards but we never saw his body,” continued Mr. Weber. “We hope we’re wrong and that he got away.”

  “We hope so too,” Detective Mitchell said. “If possible, we’d like you to confirm the identities of the people who were kidnapped along with you.” The police had obtained a list of names from the manager at the hotel of the people who were supposed to be on the tour.

  “We’ll try,” Mr. Weber said, “but we don’t really know the others. We just met them on the tour.”

  “I understand,” Detective Mitchell said, “but we’ve got some pictures of the people who we believe were kidnapped.” The first two pictures they were shown were Lucas and Oliver Williams.

  Mr. Weber squinted to see the pictures that were displayed on the screen. “I think those are the two Australians,” Mr. Weber said. He looked at his wife for confirmation. “Yes, they were kidnapped as well.”

  The next pictures displayed were the four Japanese executives. The pictures they had of them showed them dressed in business suits. “I know there were four Japanese men that were kidnapped, but I don’t know if that’s them or not. They look so different in those pictures.”

  They showed them pictures of Jean-Pierre and Sylvia Girard, Owen and Anita Taylor, and Jacob and Emily Davis. “I remember Jean-Pierre Girard for sure,” Mr. Weber said, “because he hurt his shoulder. I think the others were there as well.”

  “Were Jacob and Emily Davis hurt in any way?” General Davis interrupted.

  “I don’t think so,” Mr. Weber said. Hilary Davis let out a thankful sigh when she heard the news.

  The next pictures displayed were for Eric and Chip. “Oh, that’s Eric,” Mr. Weber said immediately. “I know that he’s one of the hostages. He was one of the people who was trying to take care of us all. He brought all of us water. I think the other one is the kid who was really badly injured.”

  Brian could hardly breathe when he heard that. Detective Johnson put his hand on Brian’s shoulder to try to console him. “What type of injury did he have?” the detective asked.

  “He had a huge gash on his leg from the barbed wire,” Mr. Weber said. “I know that Eric was really worried that he was going to die because it got infected. But Eric and Maria convinced the guards to get him a doctor so I know he got treated before we were released.”

  “Who’s Maria?” Detective Mitchell asked. “We don’t have anyone named Maria listed as one of the hostages.”

  “I think she worked at the hotel,” Mr. Weber said. “She was on the tour bus with Greg.”

  “We might all be dead if it wasn’t for Maria,” Anja Weber said. “She was the only one who understood what the guards were saying. It was Maria and Eric who convinced the guards to get a doctor and to bring us food and water.”

  Detective Mitchell started taking notes to try to get additional information as to who Maria was. “Can you tell us anything about the doctor?” Detective Mitchell asked.

  “Only that he was a very good doctor,” Mr. Weber said. “Eric said he did a great job stitching up his brother’s leg and he fixed Jean-Pierre Girard’s shoulder with help from Eric and Maria. I think he might have been American.”

  Detective Mitchell seemed surprised by that last statement and was going to pursue it further, but General Davis interrupted and asked the next question. “Can you describe the location where you were being held?”

  “We were close to a river, but a long way into the rainforest,” Mr. Weber said. “They put hoods over our heads so we couldn’t see anything, but we walked for several kilometres through the forest before they loaded us into a jeep, and then we drove down a path for several more kilometres before we came to anything you could really call a road. We thought they were going to take us into the city but they took us back out into the forest. We thought they were going to kill us.” He reached over and gave his wife a reassuring hug.

  The Brazilian police officer displayed a map showing the area with a red “X” marking where the Webers had been found. General Davis focused in on the map. “Could you send us a copy of that map?” the General asked. Detective Mitchell glared at the General for taking over the meeting, but knew that the map might be useful in determining where the hostages were being held.

  “What did the camp look like?” Detective Mitchell asked.

  “Well, like I already said, it is close to a small river because they would let us go there to go to the bathroom. The camp was like a huge tent with brownish-green tarps over the top. The walls were made of a wire fence with barbed wire running through it.”

  After they had answered all of the questions, the Brazilian police officer thanked the Webers for all of the information they had provided. “We’re hoping that the information you have provided will help us locate the rest of the hostages.”

  General Davis had already left the room. With a map and the information that he now had, he was confident that his marines would be able to rescue his son and daughter.

  *** Chapter 23 ***

  Michael hated having the hood over his head as he marched through the forest along with the two Australians and the four Japanese men. It made him feel so claustrophobic and he desperately wanted to rip it off of his head to relieve the fear that was growing inside of him. But he knew that the guards would probably shoot him if he did. He tried to focus his thoughts on just taking one stride after another, something he had done countless times during races when he was fighting the pain he felt in his legs and his lungs. But this was different. The problem was inside his head. He pretended he was running the 10,000 metre event and counting down the strides required to complete the race. He desperately hoped they would reach the end of their march through the forest before he reached zero.

  The two Australians who were tied to the rope in front of Michael were also fighting their own fears. But they would periodically whisper encouragement to each other. “It won’t be long until we’re back on the beach in Australia,” Lucas whispered to his brother.

  “On our surf boards,” Oliver whispered back. Oliver imagined the cool spray of the surf to try to block out the stifling heat they felt in the rainforest.

  The four Japanese men that were tied to the rope behind Michael followed along like soldiers. They didn’t seem to need to communicate with each other to offer encouragement. It was almost like it was their duty to persevere through this hardship without complaint.

  “Pare de andar!” yelled one of the guards and they all came to a stop.

  Michael felt himself being pulled forward as the two Australians in front of him climbed into the back of a military-style truck. He crawled on his hands and knees along the bed of the truck and collapsed beside the Australians. However, as the four Japanese men crawled into the truck, Michael found himself being pulled backwards by the rope that tied them all together. As he did, he felt the hood start to slip off the top of his head, not all the way, but enough so that he could see out of the bottom of the hood by looking down. He really couldn’t see anything but the truck bed but it helped to relieve his feelings of claustrophobia.

  Suddenly the truck started up and they drove for what seemed like an incredibly long time. They were being tossed around on the bed of the truck with every bump they hit in the road. And with every bump, Michael was reminded once again of the beating he had received from the guards. The cracked rib and bruises throbbed with every jarring bump. However, he knew he was lucky to be alive. They could have just shot him and left his body alongside the river like they had with Greg.

  As Michael laid there getting jostled around, he realized that he could see the guard that was sitting in the back of the truck through the
opening in the bottom of his hood. The guard briefly removed the bandana covering his face to wipe the sweat from his face and neck. Michael knew it was a face he would never forget.

  * * *

  Back at the compound, Sylvia continued to try to comfort Maria. “I’m okay,” Maria said. “The doctor shot them before they could hurt me.” She was starting to regain her composure.

  Gradually, the hostages started to congregate in the centre of the compound. After Michael, the two Australians and the four Japanese men had been released, the others seemed to move closer together to support each other. “Did the doctor say they paid a million dollar ransom to have Michael released?” Owen Taylor asked.

  “Yeah, I think so,” Eric replied. “I suspect that there’s a million dollar ransom for each of us. They probably targeted the tour bus because they knew people on the tour were pretty wealthy.”

  “Well, we’re pretty well off,” Owen said, “but our family doesn’t have two million dollars to pay in ransom for me and my wife.” Owen hugged his wife before continuing on. “We’re over sixty five years old now and this was supposed to be our vacation of a lifetime. We’ve been saving for this trip for several years and it was supposed to be the start of our trip around the world. Instead…,” he started to say, but then didn’t finish his thought. “How about you? Do you have someone who’ll be willing to pay a million dollars for your release?

  “Yeah,” Eric said. “My dad. Actually, it would be two million dollars for Chip and myself.”

  “How about you?” Owen asked, looking at Jean-Pierre and Sylvia Girard. “Does your family have money?”

  Jean-Pierre and Sylvia looked at each other before deciding whether to answer. “Sylvia’s family is quite wealthy,” Jean-Pierre said, “but they cut her off from their money when she married me six years ago. They didn’t approve of our marriage so they were hoping to use that as leverage to break us up. It didn’t work and we haven’t taken a cent of their money since. We do okay on our own. I make enough to take care of Sylvia and our two kids.”