When Alan awoke, he felt refreshed and lucid once again. He immediately called Varig, TAM, and UniWorld airline shuttles, but none of them had available that day the leg from Campo Grande to Sao Paulo. He cursed his luck, but already he knew the daytime flights were near impossible to get on short notice; he would have to wait until the 4am shuttle. As he booked this flight, he reasoned it out. He really had no reason to be nervous. The jaú and transmitter were back in the river. The Syndicate was unaware of his presence in the Pantanal. And he would soon be gone.

But the millions of dollars’ worth of drugs buried outside and a dead fisherman tugged at his mind. He would have to leave as soon as possible. He would go to his research site, retrieve the dorado, tie up the loose ends at the research center, and be on his way. He would drive to Campo Grande as quickly as he could, return the rented dorado and equipment to Projeto Peixe, and before he knew it, be on a connecting flight on the way out of the country.

However, things didn’t go exactly as planned. Everything he did seem to devour the minutes, and by the time the rental boat was returned to the local dock, it was near noon. Then, on one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions that seem so unduly consequential, which seem to define one’s fate more so than all one’s careful planning, Alan stopped at the local bar to grab a sandwich to eat.

The place was nearly empty, but Alan recognized one of the patrons. It was Paulo, a local mechanic/handyman/carpenter/jack of all trades. A man who often approached Alan looking for any kind of odd job, and did quite a good job at them all.

Paulo immediately walked over. He seemed nervous.

“Alo, Doctor. Todo bom?” Asked with overbearing concern, thought Alan.

“Todo bem, Paulo. How are you?”

“Men ask about you in Jabuti. This morning.”

The tension and shock surged in Alan’s body as if he had touched a bare electrical wire. “ “What?” he asked incredulously.

“Men come to the Jabuti. Ask many questions. Ask of jaú. Some say you visit about jaú.”

Alan just starred, unable to think.

“Also beat Moacir bad. Very bad.”

Alan’s face twitched. They were quick. Very quick. But, of course, it’s critical the Syndicate move fast. They may have even retrieved the jaú with scuba drivers and found it cut up, without the drugs. Naturally, they went to the village first, and naturally someone would mention me.

The Syndicate may have thought village, but they are thinking me now. That is for sure. I’m their only threat, as long as I’m alive.

Alan’s first impulse was to just get in his car and drive to Campo Grande. But his passport was still in the research laboratory, and all his personal belongings, and it was just ten minutes away. It was worth the delay. Or so he thought.