Project Far Reach

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The air port at his final destination, Rio De Janerio, was where Edward stood with his arms crossed. He'd had enough of this shit. He'd made it through the check out, and was now waiting at the road waiting for a taxi he presumed. He didn't really know, however, where he was going, or really how he would get there.

The view of the city was a grand site. Red dirt covered the ground like sand. An array of foreign vehicles and buildings overwhelmed his senses as the numerous cars and bikes breezed by him. It was hot out, and muggy to. A far cry from the beautiful rainforests he'd somehow imagined.

Several flocks of birds flew over head. He looked up, they were definately different than the ones he was used to seeing.

Edward looked to his right. A dark skinned young man was leaning back on his car. The young man had no shirt on and wore a cowboy hat made from straw, with faded reddish brown jeans, and boots. He looked over at Edward.

Eddy realized that he was holding a sign, looking closer he could see it said 'Marco Silva'. Eddy reached for his back pocket and removed the wallet that Stephanie had given him. Opening it up he saw the fake ID that certainly looked like him now, 'Marco Silva' was printed at the bottom, along with someone's signature. Eddy looked back up at the man, who was still looking at him, and started off towards him.

The young man stood up as Eddy drew near to him. Eddy stoped right in front of him. For a second he wondered if they man spoke English, but he decided to try. "I'm Marco Silva."

The man squinted accusingly at Eddy for a moment, as though he thought he might be lying. Then he spoke in a heavily accented voice that was foreign to Eddy, "You speak English very good. Are you American?"

Edward didn't know if the man was convinced or not, but decided to just play his cover. "Yea, I grew up in the states, but I'm coming home to see some of my family members."

The man still looked skeptical at him, "come on man, what happened? Did your work visa expire or something?"

"Yea, well I guess the cat is out of the bag now." Eddy said with a certain detachment that seemed to do the trick.

For the first time a smile crept over the young man's face, "haha ha, your a whity! In brazilian clothing, I can't believe it." The man was making fun of him. "I hope you know what your doing man. This is a big country."

Edward wished that he did. "So are you supposed to give me a ride somewhere?" Eddy asked.

The young man's smile disappeared, "yes, of course. Please get in the car. We have a two hour drive to your destination." The young man put the sign down and open the back seat door for Eddy to get in to.

Eddy got in the car and they left. Eddy didn't say much to the driver. He mainly stared out the window. It was a third world country out here, and it showed. Rows of oil palms and soy beans covered most of the landscape. The foreign music playing on the driver's radio was medicinal, and along with the bumping motion of the ride, he was fast asleep.

Disturbing dreams crowded over him like storm clouds. Sara, the dolphins, they haunted him. Finnally, he woke-- covered in sweat. It was dim out. As he sat up in his seat all he could see were trees around him. Only a narrow path had been cut through them, barely larger than the sides of the car they drove in.

The young man glanced back, realizing that Eddy was awake. "Hey, Marco. You're awake. I feel bad for earlier."

The man's accent was very strong, but Eddy could understand him, "Uh... what for?"

The young man looked back again, "I didn't introduce myself, my name is Alex Paulo." He reached back to shake Eddy's hand.

Edward shook the Alex's hands, he could use as many friends as he could get here he figured. He sat back in he seat and the long silence resounded. Eddy thought about what he should do. He tried to organize what had happened. Somebody wanted him dead, and he was hiding out. More than likely he was probably on America's Most Wanted; blamed for his wife's death.