Shen answered, “I think this section floods here because the gorge is pretty narrow, so with a more open flow on the other side I doubt it would break its banks so easily. If anything, a faster current might help us.”

Joel added, “We’ll have to give it a try anyway—the river’s our only realistic option for getting out of here. We’ve known that all along.”

Tom smiled. He would’ve liked to see Alice and Shen’s expressions. Aside from Joel talking as though the river escape had always been his plan, he was ignoring one other obvious route, because those cocaine smugglers had been heading somewhere, even if it was just a remote jungle airstrip. And as unlikely as that option seemed right now, they’d have to consider it if going down the river proved impossible.

He guessed they’d find out about that soon enough, though, because after a little more organization, they set off in a long nocturnal column, up the hill and toward the bluff on the other side. Every five minutes or so as they walked, the jungle lit up around them, throwing startling shadows. After each lightning flash, there was another flurry of talking, often about the lack of rain or thunder.

By the time they reached the bluff, there was probably only another half hour of darkness left, but the weather finally broke and a steady rain started to fall. That produced another flurry of activity as people reached for waterproof gear, then searched for spares they could give Joel and Chris.

Daylight came, finally without the orange hue, but the sight from the bluff only served to subdue them even more. The jungle seemed to stretch out forever in front of them, rain-soaked and featureless except for the muddy brown of the river snaking off to their right.

But whatever the others thought looking out at that view, Tom felt a frisson of nerves and energy, a slight elevation in the adrenaline flowing around his bloodstream, a desire to move on and find out. It felt like many days had crawled past since he’d first imagined this escape, and this was the ultimate test of Tom’s plan.

If it succeeded, Joel would take the credit, and Tom didn’t mind that so much. But if it failed, there’d be absolute certainty, in some minds at least, about whose fault it was.

CHAPTER 44

They walked the last leg with the rain falling constantly, water seeping and steaming through the jungle floor around them, forming into tiny streams, so that in the end it appeared the river was coming to meet them.