Predator

44

Danny glanced into the bag, then at Liam, extending his hand. Liam hesitated but eventually handed over the goods. Danny had touched elephant blood before, but usually to rescue them. Valuing two tusks with cold cash was a first for him. Ivory, mainly composed of calcium carbonate, was highly sought after by these desperate people.

He pulled out one tusk, like a real buyer, nitpicking and complaining, "This one's a bit short."

"Long-tusked elephants are getting rarer, you need luck to find one," Liam responded. The ivory was tossed back into the bag, clinking together.

"Got any other goods?" Danny asked.

"We captured a young one, but it's still tuskless, needs a few days," Liam said. "New stock will be ready in a week."

Danny quickly glanced at Amelia. Too long. Could she wait that long?

"In a week, will there be better goods?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Danny handed over a small suitcase. "Then let's trade near the Grumeti River in a week. It's the end of May, might catch some migrating antelopes, get some hides and horns too."

Liam nodded, counting the money. "Contact S for the details."

"Pleasure doing business."

Danny's figure gradually merged into the crowd. Amelia glanced hurriedly at the crowd, then met Liam's smirking gaze. Her mouth went dry, and she swallowed nervously.

"What's wrong? You seem tense." He grabbed her clenched fist, gently prying it open and massaging her sweaty palm. "Interested in that guy?" Liam led her out of the market. "Or hoping he'll rescue you?"

"I just think...he's not a good person," Amelia lied.

Liam's smile widened. "Really? I agree, he looks like a scoundrel."

They moved through the crowd, faces masked with excitement, greed, and indifference, speaking in a language Amelia couldn't understand. The stench of filth invaded her nose, and she pulled the handkerchief higher over her face.

"Come here," Liam commanded.

Liam pulled Amelia into his arms, and she bumped her nose against his chest, inhaling his scent as she stepped back slightly.

"Most people in this black market come from Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi," he said. Amelia had been there before, where tin shacks stood tightly together, with railways running through the slum that housed 800,000 people. They had to work hard to earn less than a dollar a day.

"Most of the evil you see stems from poverty. When the lower class can't compete with the upper class, they compete with animals. When they're starving, they don't care about the lives of animals."

"They just wanted to eat at first, but once the floodgates open, they can't be closed."

"And what about you?"