The Adventurers

Chapter 7

Long shadows angled away from the line of boats like inky rivers, jiggling with the passage of water as they kept their single file along the edge of the dense jungle. The sun gradually dipped below the tree line and the shadows filled in with a solid charcoal grey. Sax said something to his native paddler and the man raised a hand and made a signal to the boats following. In a few minutes they angled into the shore and beached on a muddy embankment.

The natives immediately began setting up a small camp while the soldiers turned their flashlights to the weeds and roots of the plants and trees to make sure no dangerous creatures were watching and biding their time.

Smoke from the fire drifted straight up in the thick air and the smell of roasting fish permeated the campsite.

"A welcome break," Chessery grunted, walking about stiff-legged, hands on her buttocks. "I should have packed a cushion for that boat seat. I'm going to have a permanent ridge in my bottom." She stopped talking, catching Jed eyeing the area of complaint.

"Sorry" He busied himself with setting out his mess kit.

The natives took their cooked fish and moved to the edge of the site away from the soldiers, preferring to eat alone and talk among themselves, leaving Sax, Jed and Chessery and Anson, the other soldier, by the fire. Sax held a long branch in the flames stirring sparks in small explosions into the night sky.

Their food was taking longer because they didn't eat it like the natives, and they also enjoyed some tubers that were roasted in the coals. The group sat silently staring into the fire, each tending to their own thoughts. Finally, Jed spoke up and asked about the treasure they sought, his curiosity outweighing his caution in front of Sax.

"It is a pursuit worth the candle." Chessery smiled and flicked a glance at Sax. "Believe me."

"And is that supposed to give us some kind of satisfaction?" Sax asked, digging the cooked tubers out of the coals and dumping them onto a plate.

"I thought following your commander's orders provided your satisfaction."

"When it's for a good cause."

"Aah, and here I thought you were doing it for me." She teased blatantly.

"Only you do for you, Chessery, everyone else gets tricked or cornered." He passed the food to the others then picked up his twig and tossed it into the flames. When he spoke again it was right in her face. "It's always all about you."

"I believe that was your position as well at one time, was it not?" She replied, blushing. Jed watched him fight back a retort and then remove himself from their company.

"May I be so bold as to ask about your first meeting?"

Chessery turned a steady gaze on him and thought carefully before shrugging an agreement. "It was about seven and a half years ago. I was just a teenager on my family's property in the Republic of Congo."

"Africa?"

"That's where the Congo is, Jed." She allowed him to blush an apology.

"And Sax was there too?" The minute he asked he knew he'd done it again. Her look was sympathetic and he shook his head, miming a zipping of his lips.

"For years it was a rat's nest of political intrigue," she began. "Killings, coupes... nothing was stable until the early nineties and that didn't last long. Many of our friends and neighbours; were either killed or driven off by then. An accused racist, Pascal Lissouba defeated Sassou-Nguesso in the presidential election of 1992. Not long after, armed factions supporting Sassou-Nguesso entered into an all out war that destroyed most of the capital. Angola got into the act and helped Sassou-Nguesso to toss out Lissouba."