Chapter 1
Jordana Alves pulled her warm amber hair up into a clip as she got out of her car at her father’s house in Brasília, the capital of Brazil.
Her father, Pedro Alves, was the head of the newly developed Forestry Protection Agency.
Therefore, he had two guards stationed at his house, whom Jordana had to go through just to get to the weekly dinner she had with her father.
There were so many wonderful things about Brazil, from their national football team to the beauty of their culture and food, to how diverse the country was, and many other things.
There were mountains, beaches, forests, and so much more.
Jordana had gone to university in S?o Paulo, which was right down the coast from Rio de Janeiro.
She’d loved every moment of it and her family’s ties to Brazil.
However, that didn’t make her blind to the problems. Hence, the reason her father now had guards.
There was a lot of money in illegal activities that operated within the Forest. Everything from illegal mining, illegal logging, organized crime, drugs, and more.
Her father was the perfect person to run this political/military unit to help protect the and the indigenous tribes within it.
Nothing would make him back down. Eight years ago, Jordana’s mother, Bruna Alves, had been murdered.
Pedro had been a general in the Brazilian Army at the time and had been instrumental in exposing military corruption under the previous administration.
They sought to prevent him from exposing what he’d learned by murdering her mother.
It hadn’t worked in their favor. Her father had torn the military apart, proving not just the corruption, but an organized crime ring within the military itself.
When the new administration took over six years ago, the cases went to trial and justice had been served.
Her father had remained a general until President Vara started the Forestry Protection Agency.
Now, though, it appeared they were at war again.
“Dad?” Jordana called out in Portuguese when she walked into the house.
“In here, honey.”
Jordana headed into her father’s study. The second she entered, he put down the papers he was showing his best friend and brother-in-law, Dr. Benicio Silva.
Her father stood to give her a hug as Uncle Beni gave her a big smile.
Uncle Beni was her mother’s brother and while they’d always been close, he became a regular visitor at their house about six months after her mother passed.
Her father loved the connection to his wife and she also loved it when Uncle Beni and her father would start telling stories about her mother during Sunday dinners.
“I have news,” Jordana beamed as they walked to the dining room.
“You’ve decided to move back home?”
Jordana laughed and rolled her eyes. She was twenty-eight and hadn’t lived at home in a decade.
But that didn’t stop her father from asking every week.
“No. My work on Videira Salvadora Manchado is showing very positive results for fighting sepsis. If I’m correct, I can use this vine to make a new medicine that will be three hundred times more efficient than any treatment on the market right now.
We’re heading back into the to gather more samples and set up some tests.
I’ll be gone for twelve days. The plan is to spend a full week at base camp. ”
“I am very proud of you, honey, but no.”
“Pedro,” Uncle Beni said softly, “you don’t need to be so heavy-handed. She’s not a little girl anymore.”
Jordana went rigid as if her father slapped her. “Excuse me? I’m flying to Manaus tomorrow with my team.”
“We just took down a criminal ring of so-called businesses that were fraudulently receiving carbon credits while also illegally mining the forest. We know more are out there and they’re on edge now.
More criminals are hiding behind businesses than ever and they all want everyone out of the so they can mine it for every real they can get.
Money is the only thing they care about, certainly not scientists. ”
“I know, Dad. But it wouldn’t stop you, would it?
” Her father frowned since he knew the answer.
“Not only would this bring attention to the illegal logging of the Ipe and Shihuahuaco trees—since they’re the ones the vine grows on—but it will save lives all over the world.
I’m not backing down now. Besides, a group of us is going.
I’m using mom’s maiden name, and the lab I’m working with has hired guards to go with us, along with a guide. ”
Her father sighed, but smiled indulgently at her. “Your mother’s beauty and my stubbornness.”
“It’s not stubbornness. It’s doing what’s right.”
Uncle Beni gave her a smile and a wink.
Her father chuckled and shook his head. “Using my own words against me. I concede. Take the satellite phone and check in with me every night. Deal?”
“Deal.”
The trip to the wasn’t just a quick flight away.
It was a flight, driving until you literally couldn’t drive any more, and then riding horses or mules to the camp.
It took days to haul everyone and all their equipment to the research base several scientists used throughout the year.
Reservations had to be made far in advance, or in her case, a stroke of good luck the group that was scheduled to be there cancelled at the last minute when their funding dried up. Jordana’s group pounced on the opening.
There were two cabins with canvas tops and sides and a wooden floor—one for women and one for men.
An outhouse that was moved every month and a shower, if you could call it that.
It was a stall at the edge of the clearing that barely covered you from the eyes of the entire group.
It ran on rainwater. If there wasn’t enough water, you didn’t shower.
A semi-permanent lab was also set up. Like the cabins, it had a wooden floor, canvas roof, and canvas sides that could be locked down as needed.
There was also a cooking area, which was really just a brick grill.
The entire area was blocked with a fence in hope of keeping wild animals out, but with jaguars, monkeys, and snakes all able to climb trees, it was mostly there to make people feel better.
Regardless, this was the place that was going to help her change the world.
Botany was her passion and her life’s work.
Her mother’s grandmother had been an indigenous tribeswoman who fought against the loss of their rights.
She’d sent her only daughter to university so she could fight them at their own game.
Jordana’s grandmother had married a military man.
That’s how Jordana’s mom had met her father.
Her father had been a new recruit under Jordana’s grandfather.
While Jordana had never met her great-grandmother, she’d learned all the lessons about plants, medicine, and the that had been passed down to her grandmother, then her mother, and finally to Jordana.
It was what had inspired Jordana to get her degree in botany and biopharmaceutical science.
“Are you ready to go into the jungle today?” Enzo asked as he strapped on his giant backpack.
“I am. I can’t wait to get more samples. I’m starting to run low at the lab. I’m going to try to take the whole vine so I can make cuttings and grow my own samples.”
“I have everything needed to test the trees to see if they benefit from feeding the vine,” Luiza told her as she stood up from tying her boots.
“Ready?” Thiago, their guide, asked.
Her team nodded and Thiago took the lead with Jordana and her team falling into line behind him with Gustavo and Danilo, their two guards, trailing them.
The was thick with trees, plants, roots, and water—be it rivers, creeks, or even quicksand.
There was no quick trip into the dense part of the forest where they were headed.
Thiago knew of a place where several of the tree specimens she was looking for were growing and it was a two-hour hike through the forest. If they were walking on a road, they would travel six to eight miles.
Here, they would only be going two miles from the camp.
The heat didn’t bother Jordana. Even the humidity that soaked them all didn’t bother her.
She loved exploring the plants and trees along the way.
She’d remembered what she had been taught since childhood—that one was used to treat a fever.
That one is for constipation. That plant for an upset stomach.
Nature provided, you just had to know where to look.
Now, the tree boas, the swarms of termites, the giant centipedes, and the fire ants were another story. From dart frogs to vipers, there were so many animals in the jungle that could kill you. Jordana would rather stick to her plants.
“Here we are,” Thiago said, hacking away at some giant leaves so they could see what he saw.
Jordana smiled as she walked by him. Trees everywhere. And more vines than she’d ever seen. They’d get their samples and then some. “Okay, let’s get to work.”
They worked for five hours. At that rate they needed to hurry back to camp. The last thing they wanted was to be stuck in the middle of the jungle at night. Danilo took the lead followed by their guide. Jordana, Enzo, and Luiza talked nonstop about what they found as Gustavo took the rear.
It took twenty minutes, but they finally made it back onto the path—if it could even be called that—that led back to camp.
“I need to learn the growing time of the vines,” Jordana said, before she froze. Luiza bumped into her and Enzo turned to see why they were no longer right behind him.
“Don’t make a scene,” Gustavo said, pointing the giant rifle at them.
“What is this?” Thiago demanded.
Bang!
Monkeys screamed and birds burst from the trees. The jungle went quiet as Danilo stood over Thiago’s dead body. The jungle seemed to shift and four men emerged from the shadows. Jordana’s breathing still hadn’t returned to normal as she eyed the armed men.
“Which one of you is Jordana Alves?” a man with dead eyes asked.
“She is!” Luiza screamed, pointing at Jordana.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Luiza was shot dead a second before Enzo.
Jordana gaped at her friends’ bodies. Her mind was running wild, but one thing was for sure. Her father had been right. She was in serious danger.
“What do you want?” Jordana asked, even as her voice shook with nerves.
The man chuckled. “You. We want you.”
Jordana wanted to ask more questions, but a dirty rag was tied around her mouth and her hands were tied together.
A mule was pulled from the jungle and Jordana was tossed over it like a sack of grain.
Her boots were removed and tossed into the jungle.
The rope that tied her hands together was connected to her feet under the belly of the mule as her head dangled over the side.
Her body was secured to the mule with ropes crisscrossing her back. Then they were on the move.
She couldn’t get a clear impression of where they were headed since the only thing she could see was the ground beneath the mule’s belly as they headed deeper into the jungle. Her backpack, her phone, and her shoes now belonged to the jungle along with the bodies of her friends.
Panic should take over. She knew that. Instead of panic, she heard her father’s voice. If you’re breathing, there’s a chance to escape. Use your head. Fight. Stay alive. Do whatever it takes. I will find you. As much as Jordana wanted to give in to the fear, she had a job to do. She had to survive.