Читать книгу Fury's Goddess - Alex Archer - Страница 14

Chapter 7

“Do you even know where we’re going?”

Frank shot her a look. “I may never have been to Hyderabad before, but most cities are laid out logically.”

Annja sniffed. “Ever been to Boston?” She paused. “Just try not to get us lost, okay? It would be embarrassing if we had to call Pradesh for help.”

Frank shrugged. “Like I said, we didn’t come here to make friends. We’ve got a story to chase down.”

“Friends,” Annja said, “are one of the most important things in the world. And I, for one, do not want to make Pradesh feel like we were taking advantage of him. Or his mother.”

“So tell him you couldn’t sleep and you dragged me out of bed to come to this place. He’ll believe you… I think he likes you.”

“What?” Annja looked at Frank. “And just how did you arrive at that particular theory?”

“How he looks at you. The way he smiles. It’s obvious if you’re paying attention.”

Annja sniffed. “Frank, the only thing you pay attention to are creatures with breasts.”

“Well, I had time tonight when I wasn’t being mobbed by my more rabid admirers.”

“Any voice mails waiting for you?”

“No,” he said. “Maybe they have rules over here like they do in the States. Y’know, don’t call for a day or so afterward so you don’t seem too eager. Stuff like that.”

“Those women were there for one thing tonight—Dunraj. The only reason they mobbed you was because Dunraj told them to. And since they’ll do anything to please Dunraj, that meant they were going crazy over you.”

Frank was quiet for a moment. “So, what you’re really saying is that I missed my chance.”

“Frank!” Annja elbowed him. “Save your fantasies. I don’t want to hear about them.”

“Fine.”

Frank wheeled off the highway after another ten minutes. He frowned. “Okay, so this is where it will probably be tougher to navigate. Google was a little sketchy on details about this place.” He peered out of the windshield and pointed at a sign. “Does that say Road Closed?”

Annja studied it. “Frank, that’s written in Hindi script. I have no idea what it says. Hindi is not one of the languages I understand. Do you?”

“Uh, no.” Frank sighed. “Okay, we’ll just have to wing it.”

“Are you still thinking this was such a good idea?”

“Of course. We’re on the outskirts of the city. All we have to do is look for a modern residential dwelling. That shouldn’t be too hard to find.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Now, once I got off the highway, the map said to take a left and drive for a mile.”

Annja sighed. “I could be back in my hotel room sound asleep. I could be getting the rest I need to make sure this assignment is handled properly and professionally. Instead, I’m driving around a foreign city with a guy who has no idea where he’s going. Spectacular ending to a weird night.”

Frank pointed a finger at her. “Hey, it’s not actually the city right here. These are the outskirts, so that’s not the right terminology. But I know exactly where I’m going, Annja. I just like having you think I don’t.”

“Really?”

Frank bit his lip. “Kinda.”

Annja exhaled a breath and then forced herself to suck in another quickly. “Just shut up and find the place already, would you?”

For the next fifteen minutes, Frank maneuvered his way down back roads. It was incredibly dark. She spotted smaller homes with what looked like fenced-in areas for animals. Tall, spindly trees broke up the majority of the flat landscape. Wadis and canals dotted the rural area.

“Wouldn’t be too difficult to imagine a rogue tiger roaming around here looking for something to eat,” she said. “We’re only a few miles away from the heart of Hyderabad, but just outside that it’s so rural.”

“I thought tigers stuck more to the countryside.”

“We’re pretty country here, Frank.”

“I guess.”

They drove for several more minutes, the tires of the car bouncing over small potholes in the asphalt and dirt. And then Annja saw the glow of lights in the distance. “There. You think maybe that’s it?”

Frank shrugged. “I’d guess it would have to be. Are those mountains behind the development?”

Annja squinted. “Tough to see exactly, but the lights cast a glow out in that direction. We probably won’t know until the sun comes up tomorrow morning.”

“You mean later today.”

“What?”

Frank pointed at the clock on the dashboard. “Good morning. Time for that continental-breakfast buffet downstairs.”

Annja sighed. “All right, whatever. We’ve got bigger things to deal with right now.”

“Like big, ferocious tigers. Or strange, mysterious beasts.”

Annja frowned. “More like those two roving police patrols Pradesh mentioned while you were pretending to be asleep. Remember?”

Frank groaned.

“Let’s find a place to park the car and go on foot.” Annja peered out the window. “That probably means sneaking through drainage ditches and whatnot.”

Frank slowed the car to a stop and then looked at Annja. “Uh, correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t places like that be exactly where a hungry tiger would creep while it’s looking for meaty things to eat?”

“Absolutely.”

The look on Frank’s face was precious. A mixture of fear and excitement.

Annja patted him on the shoulder. “Well, we’re here now and I’m wide-awake, so it would be a waste not to use this chance to get a closer look.”

Outside, the humid night air buzzed with mosquitoes, but Annja had gotten used to being ravaged by them enough over the years.

Frank, however, promptly began smacking himself silly as the hordes attacked his pale skin.

“Try to ignore them,” she said. “Otherwise, they’ll drive you right out of your mind.”

“Easier said than done, Annja.” Frank smacked another one and left a smear of blood across his cheek.

“Then think of it this way—that blood on your cheek can be smelled by a tiger, so it’s probably in your best interest to not kill the bugs that have just taken your precious fluid. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

Annja pointed to the trunk. “You brought the gear?”

Frank walked back to the car and popped the lid. Inside, Annja saw his small backpack. “That’s it?”

“What?” Frank reached into the bag and brought out what looked like a regular DSLR camera. He held it up. “This is a Canon Eos 5D Mark II. Shoots full high- definition video and does really well in low-light conditions. It’ll work just fine for tonight. And if the cops do catch us, they probably won’t even realize we were shooting video footage on this.”

“How much room on the memory card?”

“Plenty. Plus, I’ve got two extra memory cards with me. But I don’t think we’ll need them.”

Frank rummaged through the bag and came up with something that looked like a handheld vacuum cleaner. “What the hell is that?”

“A handheld FLIR—forward-looking infrared detector. It comes in handy on nights like this when you want to scan the immediate area and make sure you aren’t walking into the jaws of a hungry tiger. Or a scary monster, for that matter.”

Frank switched the device on and a small LCD screen lit the night. He moved it around, aiming it into the darkness. Then he pointed at the screen. “The warmer the potential target is, the darker red it will be. The device takes an ambient-temperature reading of the air around us and then uses differences to designate heat signatures of animals and other living stuff that might be lurking in the night.”

Annja smiled. “Now, that is a good piece of gear. I could have used something like this on a number of occasions.”

Frank shut the trunk and handed Annja an extra flashlight. “I don’t recommend using the lights unless it’s absolutely necessary. Our night vision will go to hell if we switch them on.”

Annja took the FLIR from Frank. “Would you prefer I take point on this excursion?”

“Well, you are the host of the show, after all,” Frank said. “How would it look if the cameraman was suddenly leading these outings? I wouldn’t want your reputation to suffer.”

“Oh, thank you for your concern. But you’re right. I’d probably look like I was scared, and we can’t have that, can we?” Annja moved the FLIR around to get used to scanning with it. “I can actually see the lay of the ground in front of us with this thing, too.”

Frank nodded. “It’s very handy.”

Annja studied him. “All right, are you ready to do this?”

“If you mean potentially run into cops, get attacked by a man-eating tiger and run afoul of the nicest guy in Hyderabad, then absolutely.”

Annja smiled. “How are your nerves?”

Frank put a finger on his neck, felt for his pulse and then nodded. “Completely shot.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” she said. “Try to stay close but not too close. Everything will be just fine. I promise.”

“Really?”

“No, but it sounded good when I said it, didn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

Annja studied the darkness, scanned it with the FLIR and then looked back at Frank. “We’re clear. Let’s go.”