Part 3 (2/2)
Gilles nodded slowly, pretending to show the man considerable respect, but his friendly smile didn't fade.
”For those who don't understand the maze of streets and the flow of traffic, London is a very dangerous place indeed,” Alfred continued, his tone light-hearted. ”The streets are small, designed for horses and carts, and they are thick with cars of all kinds and sizes, moving to their destinations without concern for the pedestrians in between.”
Gilles' face grew a little more serious. ”You were in a car accident?”
Alfred nodded a little. ”One day when I was twelve I found myself late for school. I lived in a congested part of the city-it's called Kennington, in the Borough of Lambeth. Living there, I suppose you get used to it, and particularly when you are in a hurry you forget about the danger.”
Alfred paused. He remembered the day clearly. The sky was overcast and gray. He had been weaving down streets and alleyways having missed the bus that would take him to Stockwell Park High School.
”I was crossing Camberwell, right before it meets Clapham Road. Traffic was backed up all around. A line of cars was almost parked on Camberwell-I think that up ahead there had been an accident and the cops had closed down the street. When I saw that, I ran through the cars without thinking. I completely missed sight of a bus coming in the farthest lane.”
He remembered the sounds of honking horns and a few cursing individuals, as he weaved through the lines of automobiles until he reached the bus lane on the other side.
Across the fire, Gilles listened with rapt attention.
”Buses in London are big hulking beasts, built into two stories to hold more people,” Alfred explained. ”When I saw it coming out of the corner of my eye, I panicked-naturally. I turned to duck out of the way, but I tripped and fell on the ground.”
With his hook, Alfred pointed to his good forearm, making a slas.h.i.+ng gesture close to the wrist. ”The tire rolled right over here, shattering the bone. The weight of it tore the flesh, stretching my skin over the pavement.”
Gilles winced as he visualized the gruesome accident. He rubbed a hand gently over one of his own wrists.
”I didn't feel the pain at first, just a pulling sensation from the bus dragging my body. It wasn't until after that the pain started to sink in and, well, I don't think I have to tell you it was agony.”
Gilles snorted and shook his head. The mercenary was likely no stranger to pain. Alfred had spotted various scars on the man's body.
”I knew I was dead, lying there in the street.”
Gilles asked, ”Is that why you are a doctor?”
Alfred shook his head. ”I'm not a doctor, really. I'm a chemist. Throughout my youth, I suffered pains and complications due to my arm. I was constantly on medicines that suppressed my immune system and weakened my body. So I was often sick.
”Then I learned about Echinacea angustifolia, the narrow-leaf coneflower. The plant was used by North American Plains Indians for hundreds of years to bolster the immune system and fight off infections. Its chemical make-up can be broken down into a list of chemical const.i.tuents that-”
Alfred paused, looking carefully at the man across the fire. ”Well, in the interest of not being too longwinded, I began to become interested in the chemical actions of plants. Finding the science in the magic you could say.”
Gilles laughed. ”Science. Magic. What's the difference?”
Alfred laughed with him. ”Exactly.”
”So you are a magic man?”
”Call me what you will. But since I discovered my love for phytochemistry, I have not once been sick.”
Gilles looked skeptical. ”Not once?”
”Not once,” Alfred insisted. ”Not even a sniffle.”
A sound came from the forest. Gilles was on his feet in an instant, his rifle in both hands.
”Rebels?” Alfred whispered.
Two dark silhouettes approached in the gloom, and soon the campfire reflected in the lights of their eyes.
”Calme,” a voice called from the darkness. Delani and Ike stepped into the firelight, looking ragged and exhausted.
Alfred breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the two men. ”Thank G.o.d you're both here.”
”Where's the Jeep?” Nessa asked as she strode over to them.
”The rebels got it,” Ike said.
”Where is Kipwe?” Gilles asked.
Delani lowered his head.
”He's with the Jeep,” Ike answered.
Nessa turned and walked away. Gilles, Delani, and Ike all fell silent. Their silence was the only emotion they would show. These men were hardened, familiar with brutality and loss. Alfred pushed his gla.s.ses up his nose, feeling the moisture underneath. Sweat.
A breeze blew through the forest and the campfire flickered angrily.
After a few moments of heavy silence, Alfred got up, relinquis.h.i.+ng his spot by the fire. The three mercenaries sat quietly around the fire as the chemist made his way over to the remaining Jeep to find his colleague.
Nessa sat in the front seat, pouring over the map with a flashlight. As Alfred approached, she glanced at him before turning back to the map. He climbed in beside her.
”That's unfortunate,” Nessa said without looking up.
”It is.”
Nessa had two maps of the Ituri Forest that she was comparing, one hand drawn and the other computer generated.
”There's a town here on this Bantu map that isn't on the one we got from our contact in Kinshasa.” Nessa tapped the hand-drawn map with her finger. ”The area we're looking for would be right here on this map. I'm sure the map's not completely accurate, but the location corresponds with an unnamed village.”
”The village may not really be there,” Alfred offered. ”The political environment changes so much and the forest is a mystery even to the people that live there.”
”Still, this village is not far away,” Nessa went on, pointing to another marked location. ”We could go there and ask around.”
BaKokwa, as it was labeled, seemed to be no more than a day's travel down the road. ”That sounds reasonable,” Alfred said with a nod.
Neither of them noticed Ike approaching until he stood right next to them. ”Delani wishes to terminate his contract with H. Hurley International,” the Australian said.
Alfred looked up in surprise. ”Come again?”
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