“She’s going to get herself killed.”
“If she hasn’t been discovered yet, any attempt to contact her might put her in danger.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do? Cintia’s practically a shut in. She’s not up for this.”
“Is the tracker working?” Lazarus asked.
Pierce went back to the first e-mail and clicked on the hyperlink. After a few seconds, a map opened up and showed the location of Dourado’s satellite phone. He had to zoom out to establish the exact location, a spot near the Brazilian border with Venezuela and Guyana.
“It’s still transmitting,” Lazarus said, “so she probably hasn’t been discovered yet.”
Pierce felt a glimmer of hope, but it faded almost as quickly. “This is the middle of nowhere. It will take hours for us to get there. Days.”
Lazarus studied the tiny screen on the phone for a moment then shook his head. “Open that link on the computer. Let’s see what we’re dealing with.”
Carter made room at the table and a few minutes later, they were looking at a larger satellite photo of the same region. A yellow dot marked Dourado’s phone amid a background of green and brown. “It’s not moving,” Pierce said. “They must have reached wherever it is they were going.”
“Mount Roraima.” Carter tapped a nearby spot on the screen. “These plateaus—they’re called tepui—are some of the most isolated and pristine ecosystems in the world. They’re so remote that they may still support primeval life forms. Maybe that’s what Cerberus is after. Some unique organism that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.”
“There have been rumors of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures living there for more than a century,” Pierce added. “Mount Roraima was the inspiration for The Lost World by Edgar Rice Burroughs.”
“Conan Doyle wrote The Lost World,” Carter said, offhandedly. “You’re probably thinking of The Land That Time Forgot.”
He blinked at her. Ordinarily he would have let it slide, but he was tired and cranky. People that he loved were in danger, and his nerves were raw. “Burroughs,” he insisted. “It was my favorite book growing up.”
“If it was your favorite, I’m surprised you don’t know who wrote it.”
Lazarus cleared his throat, quashing the pointless debate before it could escalate into something uglier. “Gallo is an expert on Greek mythology, right? Why would Cerberus need to take her along to Roraima?”
“I don’t know.” Pierce closed his eyes, searching his memory. “Kenner is on the trail of our old friend Hercules. And we know Alexander traveled around much of the ancient world. It’s possible he came here, too.”
Thanks to his prior association with Jack Sigler, Lazarus knew all about Alexander, and he didn’t need Pierce to elaborate. “So it’s not just about rescuing your people. We also have to stop Kenner and Cerberus from getting their hands on whatever it is they’re after?”
“Pretty much.”
“What about Fiona?”
Pierce shook his head. “Cintia said they only had Gallo.”
“So we also need to find out where they’re keeping Fiona,” Lazarus said. “Now we just need a plan.” He studied the satellite imagery for several seconds. “No roads. The nearest airport is hundreds of miles away.”
“If we go in by helicopter, they’ll hear us coming from miles away.”
Lazarus stared at him thoughtfully. “You could get us a helo?”
“Sure.” Pierce recalled that Lazarus’s diverse skill set included knowing how to pilot a helicopter. “If there’s one available that is. Short notice might be a problem, but I can afford one if that’s what you’re asking.”
Lazarus considered this for a moment, but then he shook his head. “You’re right. A helicopter would make too much noise. There is another way for us to get there fast and undetected, but…” He cocked his jaw sideways. “I don’t know if we could pull it off.”
“We’ve got to get them back, no matter what. Tell me what you need, and I’ll write the check.”
Lazarus let out his breath in a sigh. “For what I’ve got in mind, money will be the least of our problems.”
31
Cerberus Headquarters
Fiona jolted awake, and she was greeted by a spike of pain that threatened to split her skull. She reached up, probing the spot where the ache was most concentrated. There was a lump the size of a golf ball on the side of her head, and a rough crusty substance in her hair. Dried blood.