I doubt we’d have much difficulty finding out.”
“Okay, fine. Let’s assume everything he says is true. We’d be heading off into the jungle in some unknown country-”
“You mean I would be.”
“Wait, what? Alison looked confused.
“I would be heading off into the jungle.”
“ You would be? What about me?”
“Because you, Alison, have a very big day tomorrow. You can’t miss this.”
“Are you kidding?” Alison raised her voice. “You think I’m going to just ship off while you and Dulce get on a plane bound for God knows where?”
“Yes,” replied DeeAnn, with her face forming a determined look. “Because everything is ready now. Including Dirk and Sally.”
Alison froze with her mouth open, working on her rebuttal. But she had none.
“Listen, Ali. I don’t want to argue. Do I think this is a brilliant idea? No. But we also don’t have a lot of time. If there is any chance Luke is still alive and we can help find him, then I have to try.” Her dark eyes softened. “He would do it for me.”
Alison glanced at her, then off to the side, finally closing her mouth. She sighed in resignation. “Okay. What are the risks?”
DeeAnn thought about the question. “Something happens to me…or Dulce.”
“Exactly!”
“I see what you’re doing. Could something happen to me or Dulce? Yes. It’s a possibility, but probably not a very likely one. Listen, Ali, something has already happened to Luke. We’d be talking about a low probability against one that’s already occurred. It’s not a terribly hard decision.”
“Dee, there’s a lot more involved than that and you know it.”
“I do, but when it’s all boiled down, it still comes down to whether we try to help. And I think we both know each other well enough to know what that answer is.”
Alison stared at her in silence. Her head began to shake back and forth. DeeAnn was right. As long as Alves and his security team checked out, it wasn’t a huge risk. It was really more about the logistics. And it was not as though they wouldn’t be coming back. “Well, I don’t like the idea of both of us being gone at the same time. It doesn’t seem smart.”
“We can stay in touch by phone. You have the satellite phone on the boat.”
Alison sighed again and covered her face with her right hand. Something about this didn’t feel quite right. It was too rushed. In reality, they still knew very little. The only reason to throw things together so haphazardly was because they didn’t know whether Luke was alive and, if so, for how much longer.
“Assuming Alves can provide what’s needed,” DeeAnn said, “there’s really only one thing left.”
They looked at each other and then both slowly turned around. The one thing was an awfully big ‘ if.'
18
“You want us to make another vest?!” Lee Kenwood was leaning over his metal workbench. Juan Diaz was on the opposite side, disconnecting wires.
Both Alison and DeeAnn stood at the end of the workbench, watching them. “Is it possible?”
Lee stopped and looked at them. “You mean when we get back from the open water testing?”
Alison glanced nervously at DeeAnn. “No, before we leave.”
Both Lee and Juan stopped what they were doing. “ Before we leave?”
Alison eked out a small grin. “Possible?”
The two engineers turned their gazes back to each other, considering. Juan shrugged first. “There’s always V2.”
Lee took a deep breath, still thinking.
“What’s V2? DeeAnn asked.
Reluctantly, Lee replied. “It’s the backup.”
“The backup what?”
“The backup waterproof vest.”
Both women’s eyes opened wide. “We have a second vest ?”
“Well, ‘second’ might be a stretch. It’s a second unit primarily for spare parts. We were planning to take it with us on the boat.”
“Does it work?”
Again, Lee and Juan
“Okay, fine. Let’s assume everything he says is true. We’d be heading off into the jungle in some unknown country-”
“You mean I would be.”
“Wait, what? Alison looked confused.
“I would be heading off into the jungle.”
“ You would be? What about me?”
“Because you, Alison, have a very big day tomorrow. You can’t miss this.”
“Are you kidding?” Alison raised her voice. “You think I’m going to just ship off while you and Dulce get on a plane bound for God knows where?”
“Yes,” replied DeeAnn, with her face forming a determined look. “Because everything is ready now. Including Dirk and Sally.”
Alison froze with her mouth open, working on her rebuttal. But she had none.
“Listen, Ali. I don’t want to argue. Do I think this is a brilliant idea? No. But we also don’t have a lot of time. If there is any chance Luke is still alive and we can help find him, then I have to try.” Her dark eyes softened. “He would do it for me.”
Alison glanced at her, then off to the side, finally closing her mouth. She sighed in resignation. “Okay. What are the risks?”
DeeAnn thought about the question. “Something happens to me…or Dulce.”
“Exactly!”
“I see what you’re doing. Could something happen to me or Dulce? Yes. It’s a possibility, but probably not a very likely one. Listen, Ali, something has already happened to Luke. We’d be talking about a low probability against one that’s already occurred. It’s not a terribly hard decision.”
“Dee, there’s a lot more involved than that and you know it.”
“I do, but when it’s all boiled down, it still comes down to whether we try to help. And I think we both know each other well enough to know what that answer is.”
Alison stared at her in silence. Her head began to shake back and forth. DeeAnn was right. As long as Alves and his security team checked out, it wasn’t a huge risk. It was really more about the logistics. And it was not as though they wouldn’t be coming back. “Well, I don’t like the idea of both of us being gone at the same time. It doesn’t seem smart.”
“We can stay in touch by phone. You have the satellite phone on the boat.”
Alison sighed again and covered her face with her right hand. Something about this didn’t feel quite right. It was too rushed. In reality, they still knew very little. The only reason to throw things together so haphazardly was because they didn’t know whether Luke was alive and, if so, for how much longer.
“Assuming Alves can provide what’s needed,” DeeAnn said, “there’s really only one thing left.”
They looked at each other and then both slowly turned around. The one thing was an awfully big ‘ if.'
18
“You want us to make another vest?!” Lee Kenwood was leaning over his metal workbench. Juan Diaz was on the opposite side, disconnecting wires.
Both Alison and DeeAnn stood at the end of the workbench, watching them. “Is it possible?”
Lee stopped and looked at them. “You mean when we get back from the open water testing?”
Alison glanced nervously at DeeAnn. “No, before we leave.”
Both Lee and Juan stopped what they were doing. “ Before we leave?”
Alison eked out a small grin. “Possible?”
The two engineers turned their gazes back to each other, considering. Juan shrugged first. “There’s always V2.”
Lee took a deep breath, still thinking.
“What’s V2? DeeAnn asked.
Reluctantly, Lee replied. “It’s the backup.”
“The backup what?”
“The backup waterproof vest.”
Both women’s eyes opened wide. “We have a second vest ?”
“Well, ‘second’ might be a stretch. It’s a second unit primarily for spare parts. We were planning to take it with us on the boat.”
“Does it work?”
Again, Lee and Juan
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