Missions of the Retrieval Team - Land of the Kilts

[Jock Scot]

I have LARGE flask of Oban with me. For medicianl purposes of course.

Oh of course!And my medicine, quinine, is in the tonic water.

[davedove]

Commercial Break

A library

We see a woman and two men moving among the shelves selecting books. One of the men stretches up to select a book from a high shelf. We see him wince in pain and then reach down to rub his leg. The other man notices and walks over to him.

“What is it Greg?” the tall bearded man asks.

The first man keeps rubbing his leg as he answers. “Dave, it’s that wound from the Yucatan incident. It still hurts when it’s raining out and I pull on it too much.”

The woman overhears and approaches. “Greg,” she says, “I couldn’t help overhearing. I have something that should help.” She reaches into her bag and pulls out a small tube. She hands the tube to the first man. “Here, try this.”

The man takes the tube and reads it. “I.C.E. Balm?” he asks.

“Yes,” says the woman. “I.C.E. Balm is the latest product from the laboratories of the I.C.E. It contains several rare herbs that help ease the pain in injured and overused muscles. Give it a try.”

Scene changes to a dining room

We see the bearded man and the woman sitting at the table talking as the other man approaches and sits down to join them.

“How’s the leg?” the bearded man asks.

“Just great Dave,” he answers. He then turns to the woman. “That I.C.E. Balm you gave me really did the trick. It’s been raining all day and my leg hasn’t bothered me a bit.”

“Glad I could help,” the woman answers. “And be sure to try I.C.E. Balm on all your aches and pains.”

[Standard]

[U][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]“Glad I could help,” the woman answers. “And be sure to try I.C.E. Balm on all your aches and pains.”

Boy I wish I had some of this stuff today. It sure would help these old bones.

So Major when do we get to continue on our adventure? I feel that the natives are getting restless to get moving again. ith:

[Jock Scot]

Boy I wish I had some of this stuff today. It sure would help these old bones.

So Major when do we get to continue on our adventure? I feel that the natives are getting restless to get moving again. ith:

Hold on a tad! I can't rush my G & T, you know!

[Livingston]

Boy I wish I had some of this stuff today. It sure would help these old bones.

So Major when do we get to continue on our adventure? I feel that the natives are getting restless to get moving again. ith:

Hold on a tad! I can't rush my G & T, you know!

Easy there. Single malt is to be sipped, not gulped. Jock and I haven't finished our drinks yet and if you rush us..... well, you just can't tell what will happen.

[davedove]

Boy I wish I had some of this stuff today. It sure would help these old bones.

So Major when do we get to continue on our adventure? I feel that the natives are getting restless to get moving again. ith:

The uniformed guard strikes Standard in the depths of the slave mine in South America.

"Stop reading the internet and get back to digging!" (translated from Spanish)

[davedove]

Scene 32

The Guyana Highlands

We followed Pivat through the jungle. When we asked where he was leading us, his only response was ‘Hekata’ as he pointed into the jungle.

We soon came to where my team had approached the clearing, where Ms. Crane and I had left the rest of the team.

Ms. Crane led me around the site and pointed to the tracks we found there. “See here,” she said, pointing to a set of large tracks. “These are the animal tracks I told you about.”

As we examined the tracks, Pivat spoke up. “Buddylog rabett,” he said.

“Bloody large rabbit,” Ms. Stork translated for us.

Bloody large was right. As we examined the tracks, I did a quick estimate in my head. The animal that made these tracks must be as big as a horse.

As we looked around, Ms. Crane pointed out the tracks of our team and the dogs, plus the tracks of several other men.

“Eesway,” Pivat said, pointing in the direction the tracks led.

Pivat led us further into the jungle. As we walked, I was able to get more information about the camp from Ms. Stork and Marta. Apparently, when Ms. Stork’s team had entered the area, they had been ambushed and captured by the slavers.

When they had been taken to the camp, the men and women had been immediately separated. The women were all taken to the small building we had noticed. Ms. Stork had not known where the men were taken, but from my descriptions assumed they must be working in the mine.

The women were taken in turn from the building to be trained by the guards, to get them ready for their new jobs around the globe. In other words, brutally assaulted to break their will before shipping them away as sex workers. Ms. Crane and I had managed to rescue Ms. Stork and Emily on the way to their first training, and we had freed Marta before hers as well. Other women in the camp had not been so lucky.

Emily, along with her single father, had been part of an eco-tour along the Rupununi River when they had also been captured. Emily had not seen her father in days.

Marta was a member of the Brazilian Civil Police and had been investigating the drug and slave trade in the area when she too had been abducted. The guards had thought it funny that they had captured a member of the police. She had taken Emily under her care and was doing her best to shield the girl from the brutality of the guards.

“Did you see Ms. Hawk?” I asked.

Ms. Stork nodded sadly. “Yes, they brought her in yesterday. Apparently she had put up quite a struggle and the guards beat her in retaliation.” She paused.

“What is it?” I asked.

Her eyes met mine and I could see the combination of sadness and anger there. “She hasn’t regained consciousness since they brought her into the women’s cell.”

I turned away from her as we walked through the jungle. My concern for my associate, my friend, was nearly overwhelming. I glanced over at Emily and wondered how many young girls hadn’t been fortunate enough to be rescued.

“Whatever it takes,” I said, “we’re shutting this place down!”

[Standard]

The uniformed guard strikes Standard in the depths of the slave mine in South America.

"Stop reading the internet and get back to digging!" (translated from Spanish)

Standard wonders how a mine collapse would affect the guard's day? A kilted Scotsman with Welsh hardrock mining ancestors might not be the best choice for the guard to single out.

[davedove]

Scene 33

The Guyana Highlands

We spent the night in the jungle and continued our trek the next day. About mid-day we reached a sheer basalt cliff, obviously the base of one the tepuis.

“Eesway,” said Pivat, leading us around the base of the cliff. After a couple of hours, we came to a cut in the cliff and Pivat led us into the narrow opening.

As we walked along, the walls continued to narrow until they narrowed down to end in an opening into the mountain. The opening was large enough to drive a truck into.

Pivat led us into the opening. As we walked along, our eyes slowly adjusted to the lower light levels. There was just enough light shining in from the opening that we could make our way along the passage. I noticed that the floor slanted slightly upward as we moved deeper into the mountain.

We came to a spot in the passage where the floor suddenly rose at a greater angle. Pivat pointed up the slope. “Hekata,” he said and started to walk up the slope.

At the top of the slope, the passage suddenly opened wide into a tall chimney-like chamber. A small opening at the top allowed some light to shine down the chimney. The light glistened off of water that was falling from the opening in a long waterfall. A path corkscrewed around the chamber leading upwards.

“Roda Pipple,” said Pivat with reverence in his voice.

“Road of the People,” Ms. Stork translated. “I wonder if this is how this tribe originally came to live on this mountain.”

“A land they now call Hekata. Headquarters, right?” I asked.

“Very good, you’re catching on.”

The path was slippery from the falling water and we were soon soaked through. Fortunately, the path was still as wide as a road and we had no problems climbing it.

As we neared the top, Pivat stopped us and then stepped forward. Just ahead the cavern opened and I could tell it led outside. The hunter stepped up to the opening and called out, “Ees Pivat! Aye bing pipple ta Hekata! Rekest persom enta!”

“Avanse anbey recny!” came a reply from beyond the opening.

Pivat turned and motioned for us to follow him.

As we stepped out of the passage into daylight, another command was spoken, “Alt!”

Pivat motioned for us to stop walking. Two men dressed in the kilt-like garment approached us and pointed their drawn bows at us. A third man approached after them. This man seemed to be in charge.

“Ooday?” he asked Pivat.

“Day Pipple a Konnal, Sarjen,” Pivat announced. He pointed to me and said, “Ees Mayja.”

The man looked me over carefully and nodded slightly. “Tayka Capin,” he ordered.

Pivat gestured for us to follow him as we left the guards.

“It looks like we got past the Sergeant of the Guard,” I said to my companions.

[Livingston]

This is getting interesting. That passage in could be a bottleneck to keep the bad guys out....or good guys in....