CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The Enemy at the Door
The door handle turned slowly.
Gila pressed herself against the wall.
Her mother stood beside her.
Thelma remained near the back of the warehouse, searching for another way out.
The voice outside came again.
"Gila, open the door."
She knew that voice.
She had heard it when she needed directions.
When she needed transportation.
When she needed information.
She had trusted it.
Now it sounded different.
Cold.
Calculated.
"You've been helping us," Gila whispered.
Her mother shook her head.
"No. He's been guiding you."
Gila looked toward the door.
"Toward the river."
"Toward the Circle."
The handle stopped moving.
Silence.
Then the man outside spoke.
"You know who I am now."
Gila didn't answer.
"I was hoping you would remember later."
She stepped forward.
"Why?"
A quiet laugh came from outside.
"Because you were always going to remember."
"Who do you work for?"
"The same people your mother stole from."
Gila's grip tightened around the wooden box.
"The Circle."
"Yes."
"Why did you help us?"
"Because the Circle wanted to know where your memories had been hidden."
Her mother stepped forward.
"You promised to leave her alone."
"I promised nothing."
The voice became colder.
"Your daughter was never supposed to survive."
Gila's mother stiffened.
"But she did."
"And now she remembers."
Gila looked at her mother.
"How much?"
Her mother hesitated.
"Enough."
The man outside laughed.
"Not enough."
Suddenly, the warehouse door shook.
Someone had kicked it.
Thelma looked around.
"Back entrance."
They ran.
The warehouse was larger than Gila had realized. Wooden crates filled the far side, leaving only a narrow passage between them.
They reached the back.
Locked.
Thelma pulled at the handle.
"Locked!"
Gila looked around.
There had to be another way.
Then she noticed a small window high on the wall.
"That."
Thelma looked up.
"Too high."
The man beside them pushed a crate underneath it.
"Not anymore."
He climbed.
The window opened.
"Go!"
Thelma climbed first.
Gila followed.
Her mother came next.
The moment Gila landed outside, gunfire erupted inside the warehouse.
She ducked.
"Run!"
They disappeared into the narrow streets.
Behind them, the warehouse door burst open.
Men poured outside.
The person who had betrayed them stepped onto the street.
He looked around.
Then smiled.
"They can't get far."
But he was wrong.
Because Gila and the others had already reached the waterfront.
A small fishing boat waited there.
Rymus stood beside it.
He looked at Gila.
"Get in."
She didn't hesitate.
They climbed aboard.
The boat pulled away from the shore.
Rymus watched the waterfront until the buildings disappeared behind them.
Then he looked at Gila.
"You finally know."
"Know what?"
"Who the real enemy is."
Gila held up the wooden box.
"The Circle."
Rymus nodded.
"And they know you have it."
"Why is it so important?"
"Because it isn't just evidence."
Gila waited.
"It's a map."
She frowned.
"A map of what?"
"Everything."
He looked toward the river.
"Every route. Every warehouse. Every transfer point. Every person connected to the operation."
Thelma looked at him.
"Then why didn't they simply destroy it?"
"Because they couldn't."
"Why?"
Rymus looked at Gila.
"Because your mother hid the information in a way only you could recover."
Gila remembered the strange flashes.
The river.
Her mother's voice.
The maps.
The people.
"How?"
"Your memories."
Gila looked away.
"Then why can't I remember everything?"
"Because the memories were divided."
"Divided?"
"Your mother knew the Circle would try to extract them from you."
Rymus paused.
"So she hid different pieces in different memories."
Gila felt a chill.
"How do I recover them?"
"You return to the places where they were created."
Thelma understood.
"The river."
Rymus nodded.
"The river. The old settlements. The abandoned stations."
Gila looked at him.
"How many?"
"Seven."
She stared.
"Seven places?"
"Seven memories."
"And the last one?"
Rymus's expression became serious.
"The place where your mother disappeared."
Gila's mother looked toward the horizon.
"The old station."
Gila looked at her.
"You know where it is."
"Yes."
"Then take us there."
Her mother shook her head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because that's where the Circle is waiting."
Rymus looked at Gila.
"She's right."
"Then we go anyway."
Rymus smiled faintly.
"You sound like your mother."
Gila didn't smile.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
The boat continued into the darkness.
But behind them, another boat had appeared.
Rymus noticed.
"They found us."
Gila turned.
The distance between the boats was closing.
"Can we outrun them?"
"No."
"Then what do we do?"
Rymus looked toward the riverbank.
"Disappear."
He turned the boat sharply.
They entered a narrow channel hidden beneath overhanging trees.
Branches scraped against the boat.
The pursuing vessel passed the entrance without noticing.
Everyone remained silent.
After several minutes, Rymus stopped the engine.
The forest swallowed them.
Gila whispered:
"Where are we?"
"One of the old routes."
"Does the Circle know about it?"
"No."
"How do you know?"
Rymus looked at her.
"Because I built it."
Gila stared.
"You built the route?"
"I built many of them."
"Then you really were part of the operation."
Rymus didn't deny it.
"Yes."
The honesty surprised her.
"You moved people."
"Sometimes."
"Artifacts?"
"Yes."
"Information?"
"Yes."
"Money?"
"Yes."
Gila's expression hardened.
"Then why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't."
The answer was immediate.
"But you can use me."
Gila looked at him.
Rymus continued.
"I'm not asking you to forgive me."
He looked toward the darkness.
"I'm asking you to survive long enough to destroy the people who created the system."
Gila looked down at the box.
For the first time, she understood that survival and forgiveness were two different things.
She could work with Rymus without forgetting what he had done.
She could use his knowledge without trusting his heart.
And she could uncover the truth without becoming part of his darkness.
She looked at her mother.
"Seven memories."
Her mother nodded.
"Seven."
Gila closed the box.
"Then we find all seven."
Rymus restarted the engine.
The boat moved deeper into the forest.
Far behind them, the Circle was searching.
Ahead lay the Amazon.
And somewhere within it were the memories Gila had been forced to forget.