As soon as Annja broke out of the clump of trees, she felt the weight of the tropical heat descend on her like a four-hundred-pound nose tackle in a football game. After having been underground for so long, she’d almost forgotten the immense mugginess that awaited her back on the surface.

But now she recalled how much she was growing to dislike the jungle. She got an instant sweat on; her clothes felt like an oven, baking her in a skin of her own sweat and stink.

“Yuck,” she said.

Joey helped her out of the tree and grinned. “It was nice and cool down there, wasn’t it?”

“And how,” Michael said as he climbed out behind Annja. “This is going to take a little time to get used to again.”

Vic shook his head. “Time is something we don’t have much of. Not if we want to head Agamemnon off and save Manila from going nuclear.”

Annja looked at him. “Any chance you can get in touch with your people?”

“Not right now. I went dark on this mission, like I said.”

She frowned. “No way to call them in, even in an emergency?”

“I know it doesn’t make sense to you,” Vic said. “But by going dark, snipers can guarantee they won’t be tracked by the enemy. Having a radio means you can be triangulated. And everyone has access to that technology nowadays. It’s not like it used to be.”

“It doesn’t make sense to me because in case of emergency—like this—there’s no way of alerting folks about the danger we’ve discovered,” Annja said.

Michael sighed. “Well, if there’s no way to call them in, then we’ll have to make other plans.”

“What other plans?” Annja asked.

“We hoof it.”

“Fast,” Joey said.

Annja wiped her brow. The sweat was pouring out of her body so fast, it almost felt worse now than when she’d first started her journey in this rain forest. “What about water?” she asked.

Michael shrugged. “You’ve got three people here who can find water easily. Or did you forget that?”

She smiled. “Yeah. How could I?”

Vic stared at the area. “Which way did you guys come in?”

Joey pointed. “Agamemnon made his camp back there some ways.”

Annja looked at the small meadow bordered by more jungle. It seemed odd to her that there would be a meadow here at all, but as she studied the lay of the land, she knew it wasn’t really a meadow in the typical sense, but more just like a spot of high ground relatively free of vines and trees, except near the border.

“This is a good spur,” Vic said. “Perfect for a helicopter to come into. Which, of course, would be really nice.”

Michael pointed to the ground. “Agamemnon’s tracks.”

“Only one set?” Vic asked.

“Yeah.”

Annja frowned. “What about the warrior Hector sent with him?”

Joey pointed. “There.”

Annja looked and saw the cloud of flies buzzing. Only part of the bloody hand was visible from where she stood, but as she walked over, she could see the multiple stab wounds on the warrior’s back.

“He stabbed him in the back?” She shook her head. “There’s no low that guy won’t stoop to, huh?”

Joey sighed. “Seems not.”

“We’re lucky to have escaped that much,” Michael said. “Now we have a chance to put things right.”

“By tracking him,” Annja said.

“Exactly.”

Joey pointed. “We follow his tracks, we can get a good jump on him. I doubt very much that he can move as fast as we would be able to.”

Vic looked at Annja. “How are you feeling?”

“Hot and wet,” she said.

“And probably not in a romantic way, huh?”

“Not even close.”

Vic smiled. “Can you move?”

“I can move.” Annja closed her eyes partway. Looking into the other plane, she spotted the sword, which she’d put back away when she had to climb up the ladder. As soon as she saw it, a spurt of energy helped her feel a bit better.

But she wasn’t looking forward to trekking through the jungle. The heat felt a thousand times worse even though it must be early morning. She knew the sun would climb higher during the day and send its sizzling rays down to fry the jungle canopy below.

But she had to go for it. “The sooner we get going, the better,” she told Vic.

“Which direction?” Michael asked. “We can follow Agamemnon, or we can make for the coast.”

“Which one is closer?” Annja asked.

Joey shrugged. “We could catch Agamemnon probably in about three hours. Or we could abandon him for now and concentrate on getting out of here and being able to warn Manila. If we go after Agamemnon, there’s a chance we won’t catch him in time to stop the detonation.”

“I think,” Vic said, “that our choice is pretty clear. We have to get word to the authorities in Manila.”

“Agreed,” Annja said. “There’s no guarantee Agamemnon could even stop the thing from happening anyway.”

Michael nodded. “Okay, then we make for the coast.”

“Who wants point?” Annja asked.

Joey looked at Vic. “We can take turns. We start out on an easterly heading and that should bypass a lot of obstacles if I remember this section of the country well.”

Vic nodded. “East is how I would go, too.”

Michael cleared his throat. “I’ll take the first shift.”

They moved into a ragged line with Michael about twenty feet ahead of the rest of them. Vic eyed Annja. “Remember to stay close to me. If we get separated, we may not find you again.”

“The last thing you’ll do is lose me. I’m not staying in this jungle any longer than absolutely necessary.”

Michael moved fast. By the second hour, it felt as if they’d covered at least four miles, but Annja knew that gauging distance under the canopy was difficult. It took time, even moving fast, to bypass the small rolling hills and the thick carpet of vegetation that sought to mire them in a morass of vines, weeds and downed trees.

They called a rest a few moments later and Vic used his knife to cut into a tube vine. He held it up so Annja could drink first and she greedily lapped up the tepid moisture, feeling it recharge her, but only just a little.

Vic, Joey and Michael took turns taking a quick drink.

“We have to keep moving,” Joey said.

Vic glanced at Annja. “How you holding up?”

“I’m holding,” she said.

“All right.”

Michael said something to Joey, but Annja couldn’t hear what it was. She frowned. “You want to share that with me?”

Michael shook his head. “No.”

Vic frowned. “Hey, guys, this isn’t the time or place to comment on Annja’s ability in the jungle. I think she’s more than proved herself back there in the caves. She’s not used to moving as fast as we are in the bush.”

Michael started to say something, but then stopped. Joey patted him on the back and he moved off.

As Vic came forward, he looked at Joey. “What the hell was that about?”

Joey shook his head. “I’ll tell you in a few minutes.”

Vic shook his head and kept walking with Annja behind him. Joey opted to bring up the rear this time.

As she walked, Annja felt herself grow angry. What right did Michael have to grouse about her lack of energy? He’d been taken captive, as well, hadn’t he? And she hadn’t seen him take on that crocodile by himself, climbing on to its back and stabbing it in the skull.

Even if it hadn’t worked.

She was doing her best. And now she had to deal with his machismo, too? What was it about some guys that they had to complain about an apparent weakness in females? She wanted to strangle him.

She frowned and kept trudging on. Ahead of her, Vic seemed pretty upset, as well.

She heard very little noise from behind her.

She glanced back. Joey was moving through the woods very quietly, but also very fast. He’d drifted back some ways, and she could only just catch flashes of his clothing as he continued to move toward her.

Why had he drifted back so far? Hadn’t Vic told her the importance of keeping them in sight?

She sighed. Well, he could probably follow a trail anywhere. He didn’t actually need to see where he was going.

She’d heard about some tracking schools located in the United States. Maybe when she got home, she’d look into getting some training. It seemed to be a valuable skill to have.

Annja grinned. Yeah, she’d look into it, right after that drippy, gooey cheese-steak sub and French fries she was going to devour at Bobby Ray’s back in Brooklyn. That, a good long soak in the tub and about a month of sleep.

Annja’s mouth swam in saliva. “God, I’m hungry,” she said.

The thought of getting out of the jungle seemed to lift her spirits. If they could just keep on going, who knew? Maybe by tonight, she’d be in a luxurious hotel room in metro Manila as she waited for her flight home.

That would be nice.

Vic chopped his way through more vines. Even he was starting to look winded. Annja could see how much sweat was pumping out of his pores; his camouflage was stained dark by each cut he made.

At least I’ve got him, she thought. There’s no way I would have survived if we hadn’t hooked up.

The thought of decapitation sprang into her head again. She frowned. Agamemnon really needed to be put down, and soon. A crazy megalomaniac like that didn’t deserve a place on the planet.

She felt a presence behind her and looked back.

Joey was coming up on her fast.

She braced herself.

As he moved past her, he whispered. “We have to move quickly, Annja. Please.”

“I’m going as fast as I can,” she said.

“You need to move faster. Trust me.”

“Why? Because if I don’t your brother will get even more upset at me than he already is?”

Joey glanced back and then urged her on. “Annja, my brother isn’t upset at you at all.”

“He’s not?”

“No.”

Vic saw them talking and stopped. “What’s going on?”

Annja nodded at Joey. “He wants me to go faster.”

Vic sighed. “Joey, ease off, man, okay? I’m sure Annja is going as fast as she can.”

Joey nodded. “And as I told her, we have to move faster.”

Vic’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

At that moment, Michael reappeared. He looked at Joey and nodded.

Joey frowned. “Agamemnon left us a surprise.”

“He did?” Vic asked.

“We’ve got a kill team on our tail. And they’ll be able to fire on us within the next few minutes,” Joey said.

“We’ve got to take them out,” Michael said in a whisper.