Midnight Rainbow Read Free Page A

none of it touched
Priscilla. She might have been a tropical princess, sipping daintily at her
iced drink, ignoring the jungle that ate continuously at the boundaries of the
plantation and had to be cut back regularly.
                  Well, he'd seen enough. Tonight was the night.
He knew her schedule now, knew the routine of the guards, and had already found
all the trip lines. He didn't like traveling through the jungle at night, but
there wasn't any choice. He had to have several hours to get her away from here
before anyone realized she was missing; luckily, she always slept late, until
at least ten every morning. No one would really think anything of it if she
didn't appear by eleven. By then, they'd be long gone. Pablo would pick them up
by helicopter at the designated clearing tomorrow morning, not long after dawn.
Grant backed slowly away from the edge of the jungle, worming himself into the
thick greenery until it formed a solid curtain separating him from the house.
Only then did he rise to his feet, walking silently and with assurance, because
he'd taken care of the trip lines and sensors as he'd found them. He'd been in
the jungle for three days, moving cautiously around the perimeter of the
plantation, carefully getting the layout of the house. He knew where the girl
slept, and he knew how he was going to get in. It couldn't have been better; Turego wasn't in the house. He'd left the day before, and
since he wasn't back by now, Grant knew that he wasn't coming. It was already
twilight, and it wasn't safe to travel the river in the darkness.
                  Grant knew exactly how treacherous the river
was; that was why he would take the girl through the jungle. Even given its
dangers, the river would be the logical route for them to take. If by some
chance her departure were discovered before Pablo picked them up, the search
would be concentrated along the river, at least for a while. Long enough, he
hoped, for them to reach the helicopter. He'd have to wait several more hours
before he could go into the house and get the girl out. That would give
everyone time to get tired, bored and sleepy. He made his way to the small
clearing where he'd stashed his supplies, and carefully checked it for snakes,
especially the velvety brown fer-de-lance, which liked to lie in clearings and
wait for its next meal. After satisfying himself that the clearing was safe, he
sat down on a fallen tree to smoke a cigarette. He took a drink of water, but
he wasn't hungry. He knew that he wouldn't be until sometime tomorrow. Once the
action was going down he couldn't eat; he was too keyed up, all his senses
enhanced so that even the smallest sound of the jungle crashed against his
eardrums like thunder. Adrenaline was already pumping through his veins, making
him so high that he could understand why the Vikings had gone berserk during
battle. Waiting was almost unbearable, but that was what he had to do. He
checked his watch again, the illuminated dial a
strange bit of civilization in a jungle that swallowed men alive, and frowned
when he saw that only a little over half an hour had passed.
                  To give himself something to do, to calm his
tightly wound nerves, he began packing methodically, arranging everything so he
would know exactly where it was. He checked his weapons and his ammunition,
hoping he wouldn't have to use them. What he needed more than anything, if he
was to get the girl out alive, was a totally silent operation. If he had to use
his carbine or the automatic pistol, he'd give away their position. He
preferred a knife, which was silent and deadly. He felt sweat trickle down his
spine. God, if only the girl would have sense enough to keep her mouth shut and
not start squawking when he hauled her out of there. If he had to, he'd knock
her out, but that would make her dead weight to carry through vegetation that
reached out to wrap around his legs like living