A Long Time from Home Pt. 02 Ch. 04

"Do you need anything special?" He asked. "A snack or something?"

I shook my head. "No, but people need to stay away for now. I don't want them to make the cat jumpy."

That made him chuckle. "Got it." Then he gestured towards the enclosure. "It's all your, just don't go inside."

"Don't worry." I said as I walked to the enclosure.

The Jaguar looked up as I came nearer, so I sat down just outside the metal fence, reached out with my mind, and connected with the cat, so I could discover what was wrong.

It turned out to be female and since she didn't have human mind, I had to rely on her memory to discover what had happened, so it took me a while to piece the information together. She had given birth to two cubs, but after some time a male jaguar had entered her territory, so she hid the cubs in her den and went out to lure the male away.

Unfortunately, two humans armed with rifles had suddenly appeared, shot the male, and wounded her. She had gotten away, but weak from blood loss she had collapsed. Then she had woken in the cage she was in now and despite being in pain, she wanted to get back to her cubs.

I turned my head to look at Nova Salas and Hugo Alférez, who were watching me. "You said she was brought in yesterday?"

Hugo nodded. "Yes, around noon."

"I think she has cubs somewhere out there." I told her as I gestured at the big cat. "She has all the signs." I paused and added, "How long can jaguar cubs last on their own?"

Hugo shrugged. "That depends on so many factors that it's almost impossible to say. One moment, I'll get hold of the team that was here when she arrived. They must know where she was found."

He walked away and I turned back towards the jaguar, observing it for a moment. It was in much pain, but it wasn't aggressive as some animals become when wounded.

Taking a deep breath, I entered a Vis Meditation called Vigil (Baylon: The Watcher). It was originally designed to keep the Vis user awake while observing the surroundings, but I had discovered that using it had the same effect on cats as simply meditating or sleeping and as a bonus, I was awake while doing it.

It took a while before the jaguar reacted, but finally it got up and ambled over to the fence and lay down again.

I cancelled the meditation and reached out with my mind again, blocking some of the pain receptors in her mind, so she would feel better, but not so many that she would feel she was healed.

"Easy girl." I said softly, as I slowly reached so I could touch her fur through the fence. "We'll search for your cubs."

As my hand touched her fur, she turned her head to look at me, but as she didn't object to it, I entered another Vis Meditation, a healing one this time, and released a good amount of Vis Energy. Being a minor healing, it would only remove some of the smaller bruises and double the speed of healing for a week or so, but it was better than nothing.

I let my hand stay on her, gently caressing her as the Vis-healing took effect. Gradually she became less tense and placed her head on her paws again with a satisfied sigh, as the pain lessened.

"Now, rest and heal, while we try to find your cubs." I said in a low voice and looked over at Nova Salas to see if Hugo had returned. He had and was looking at me as if he didn't believe his own eyes. The same did the young man and two women who had joined them and I guessed that they were the team Hugo had mentioned.

When Hugo saw me looking over, he shook his head slightly. "If I hadn't seen this, I wouldn't have believed it." Then he shrugged. "Anyway, the jaguar was found near Paraiso Road only half an hour from here, but I doubt that we'll be able to find the cubs or where she was shot."

The younger of the two women snorted. "Damn Poachers!", causing the others to nod in unison.

"So, it's illegal to shoot jaguars?" I asked.

"Yes." Stated Nova Salas. "You didn't know that?"

"Nope. I don't hunt for sport and cats are in general not tasty." I said with a smile and went back to the subject. "If it's illegal, who do you suspect did the shooting?"

"Well, none of the local farmers." Hugo said slowly while thinking. "They can't afford the fine and have developed other ways of catching the jaguars that go after their livestock."

"My guess is poachers from Nicaragua." Stated the young man. "We're not far from the border and the punishment for hunting Jaguars is much harsher in Nicaragua, so from time to time they try their luck here."

"Bastards." Mumbled Nova Solas.

I ignored her and looked at the young man that have spoken. "I guess they would come here by car or boat. Is that correct?"

"Partly. As far as I know, a car is much more likely. They can park the car near their hunting area and go look for a Jaguar." He tilted his head. "Why do you ask?"

"Because it's extremely difficult to track a big cat through a jungle," I explained, "but people are an entirely other matter, so if someone may have noticed an unknown car near that road you mentioned, we might be able to find their starting point and track them from there."

His eyes widened. "That's brilliant!" He turned towards Hugo. "The volunteers can call the people they know in this area and have them spread the word.

The grey-haired man nodded slowly, not looking completely convinced. "Do that, Marco. At least we can give it a try."

The young man grinned and hurried down the path to the main building, almost colliding with Halima Jobe, as she came walking down the path towards us at the same time. To my surprise, the South-African security guard wasn't wearing her usual uniform but was dressed in pants of a light yellowish colour Petra had told me was called Khaki, boots of the same colour, and was wearing a bright yellow blouse to go along with it. It looked good on her, as it contrasted with her dark skin, and the only reason for my surprise was that it was the first time I'd seen her in civilian clothes, as she was normally dressed in the security uniform.

"Hello, Mr. Ivan." Halima greeted me as she came nearer. "I've brought the car as you asked."

"Thank you, Miss Jobe." I said with a smile. "However, we have a situation here. Have you dealt with poachers before?"

She nodded shortly. "Yes, sir.

"Good." I said and proceeded to explain the situation to her, ending with "So, how would you handle it?"

The South-African didn't hesitate. "We close down the three roads going towards the border through the area's we control..." She showed her teeth with a brilliant smile. "... Which are four roads now, with the area of the boarding school included. Then we contact the Park Rangers in the area and tell them what is going on and while they get ready, we launch helicopters to search the area."

"Not much use." Commented Nova Salas sadly. "It'll be dark in a few hours."

Halima's smile widened a fraction. "Even better. The choppers have infrared- and night vision systems, making it easier to find heat sources in the dark. That includes engines and humans." She shrugged a little. "We use it to help both the Park Rangers and the Coast Guard when they need it."

I haven't seen any helicopters at Villa Bonita, so I did a quick search of the memory I had gotten from Parker and discovered, that the estate had no less than three helicopters, but lacking the facilities for refuelling and maintenance at the villa, they were stationed at a small local airfield. As Halima had said, they regularly aided the local Park Rangers, the Coast Guard and other government departments, whenever there was an emergency where they could help. Apparently, it was part of an old deal Parker had made, where the aerospace company he owned was allowed to test their helicopters in Costa Rican airspace, as long as they were available to help.

Not only did I only have a vague idea about what helicopters could do, but it was also clear, that Halima knew a lot more about the modern way of hunting poachers than I did, making me nod and say, "Let's make it happen. Miss Jobe, you're in charge of this. Get the rest of the security guards in on it and let's see if we can find those poachers. Aside from stopping them, we need to know where their camp is so we can track where they have been."

"Yes, sir. Please excuse me." Halima said as she took a cell phone from her pocket and walked away from us.

"Are you friends of Giles Oldershaw?" asked Hugo curiously. "As far as I know, Oldershaw's chopper is the only privately owned helicopter in the area."

I turned to look at him. "You might say that. Do you know him?"

He shrugged slightly. "Yes, he was very supportive when I started the Center and gave some substantial donations to make it happen, though I think he lost interest after a while. I haven't heard from him in years."

I shook my head slowly. "He had a brain aneurysm some years back and though he survived, he became withdrawn. A couple of months ago he suffered another attack and unfortunately, he didn't survive. I'm his nephew and heir, but due to some legal stuff, nothing is official yet."

Hugo Alférez looked sad, as he said. "Sorry to hear that. He was a good man."

Fortunately, Marco, the young man that had run towards the main building earlier, chose that moment to return, so instead of commenting, I nodded a 'thank you' and looked at Marco. "Did you get the word out?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yes, and I asked people to call here if they knew something. Michelle agreed to take the phone."

"Good."

"So, what do we do now?"

"We wait for information." I said dryly. "Unless some of you have photos of the area around that road, in which case I would like to see them just to get a feel of the terrain."

There was a moment of silence as everybody looked around, but finally Hugo Alférez said, "I don't think we have any pictures. I mean... It's a road and nothing special."

"Then we wait", I said calmly, while sighing silently. If someone have had pictures, I would have had a chance of recognizing something from the jaguars memory, which could help us find the cubs. A thought hit me. "I haven't talked with the forest rangers. Do they use tracking dogs?"

Hugo Alférez nodded. "Yes. Otherwise, we wouldn't have a chance of finding wounded animals."

"Good point." I admitted.

It took almost two hours before anything happened and by that time, we were seated at a long table, eating a light dinner, that some of the staff had prepared for us, when Halima's phone rang and a moment later, she looked at us. "The helicopters found them, but they need a Park Ranger there to be able to do anything, so Elena and Afifa are coming here in the Banshee to pick us up here along with a Park Ranger named Sergio Ferrandis."

I nodded to myself. Elena and Afifa were the two helicopter pilots from Curtis' estate on the pacific side and according to their files, they were certified in a variety of civilian helicopters, besides the military transport helicopters they had been educated in.

The name Sergio Ferrandis made Hugo Alférez smile and nod. "He is a local and chief of the park rangers in this area."

"Good to know. " I said and looked at Halima. "When're they here?"

"In about ten minutes."

I stood. "Let's go out to meet them then."

"Sorry, but I'm staying here." Said Nova Salas. "Hunting poachers in the dark isn't really my thing."

"Good point." Said Hugo Alférez as he stood as well. "We'll see you later."

She tilted her head. "No offence, Hugo, but shouldn't you stay here and get everything ready 'til they return?"

Hugo hesitated for a moment and then sighed. "I guess you're right, but I feel like someone from the Center should be there."

"I can go." Suggested Marco eagerly. "I got nothing else planned tonight anyway."

Hugo looked thoughtfully at him for a moment, before saying. "Alright, Marco, but take care."

The young man nodded eagerly. "I will."

"See you later then."

The helicopter that settled down on a suitable piece of flat land was an impressive sight, looking like a monstrous insect, with a long, tubular fuselage stretching forward and two massive, swept-back wings extending from the sides. The cockpit sat atop the fuselage like the head of a predatory bird, giving it an intimidating, almost predatory appearance.

The sound was something else again. A thunderous roar of power and aggression that made my ears hurt.

I grimaced and looked at Halima, shouting to get heard over the engine noise. "Miss Jobe, if you want me in that thing, I'm going to need some ear protectors!"

She smiled and nodded as she shouted back. "They're in the chopper. I'll go get them!"

Once Halima, Marco and I were seated inside the helicopter, I was introduced to Sergio Ferrandis, an elderly man wearing the Park Ranger uniform. The ear protectors Halima had given me proved to contain the helicopters internal communication system, so we were able to talk with each other and Sergio Ferrandis wasted no time telling me how grateful he was for our help, as the Park Rangers didn't have any helicopters of their own to use against poachers, and that additional Park Rangers would arrive in ten minutes in their car.

"We're happy to help." I managed to say when he was done, just before I heard Elena say, "ETA is two minutes!"

Sergio Ferrandis looked surprised. "Already?! How fast is this thing?"

Halima looked over at him with a smile on her face. "About 300 km/h (186 mph)." She handed him a little black box with a button on the side and a cord connecting it to the wall. "You better get ready."

"Thank you."

"External speakers activated." Said Elena over the intercom a few minutes later "The show is all yours, Mr. Ferrandis."

The Park Ranger took a deep breath and held the black box to his mouth. "Attention. You're suspected of poaching and smuggling endangered species. You're instructed to lay down on the ground and keep still until further notice."

The black box had to be some kind of enhancer, because his voice was difficult to hear in the cabin, but I could hear it coming through the sides from the outside, audible even through the noise of the engines and rotor.

A moment later a strange clattering sound reached my ears, sounding somewhat like arrowheads hitting a shield wall, just faster and harder.

"They're shooting at us!" Shouted Marco in alarm.

"No worries." Replied Halima calmly. "This chopper is designed to transport soldiers into combat zones. Unless they have something bigger than assault rifles, we're perfectly safe here."

The intercom clicked on again. "They're shooting at us, Mr. Ferrandis. Do we have permission to shoot back?"

The Park Ranger had started to shake his head, but before he could say anything, Elena continued. "Otherwise, the Park Rangers in the cars will have an extremely warm welcome."

He cursed in Spanish. "Give them a second warning and if they shoot again, you have my permission, but please don't hit the vehicles. That is where they usually keep the animals."

"Roger that, Mr. Ferrandis." Answered Elena and repeated the warning, before she banked left as the chopper was hit by a second salvo.

A movement out of the window caught my eye and as I looked out, I saw another chopper swooping in. This one looked different as it had two rotors instead of one, both spinning gracefully above its sleek fuselage. Just like the one we were sitting in, the cockpit was enclosed by a large canopy made of glass and I imagined that it offered excellent visibility for the pilots. It also had short, swept-back wings extending from the sides and as I watched, lines of fire erupted from one of the small pods under the wings, racing towards the ground, followed by one from the other side.

"Halima, what am I looking at here?" I asked.

"A Dragonfly M3 Archer attack helicopter." She shouted to be heard over the noise from the engines and rotor. "They're not the kind of helicopters we normally have here, but two of them have been conducting live testing of a system upgrade this week, so we asked them to join the search." She paused and then added. "They're going to make those poachers sorry they decided to come here."

"Two vehicles approach from the north." Reported Elena over the intercom. "Can that be your Park Rangers, Mr. Ferrandis?"

"One moment, pilot." He said and used his cellphone to call someone. A moment later, he confirmed that the approaching cars were indeed the Park Rangers.

"Elena, can we land somewhere around here?"

"Not right here, but a kilometer up the road there's a place where we can land." The pilot replied.

"Do it." I told her and looked at Ferrandis. "I assume you want to join your people?"

"That would be best." He agreed and unstrapped a rifle. "Those poachers usually don't play nice, so you people better stay back."

Getting out of the chopper (I still didn't know why the machine was called that), Sergio Ferrandis took the lead, followed by Marco, Halima Jobe and I, as we walked down the road to the place where the poachers had made their camp. It was down a small sideroad, but it was easy to find as the other helicopter was hovering above it, searchlights illuminating the area.

The Park Rangers had arrived before we did and four of them were escorting two poachers to their cars, while the remaining two were searching for the vehicles.

In the open space between the vehicles there was a bloody heap, that was barely recognizable as the last poacher.

It was the first time I had seen the effect of modern military weapons, and they were shockingly effective. The bullets had torn through flesh and bone with ruthless efficiency, the torn and bloody clothes clinging to the ruined body like a crimson shroud of death.

Behind us, I could hear Marco throwing up at the sight of the mangled corpse but ignored it. I had seen death countless times before, but in that moment, I understood the brutal ease of modern weaponry. Granted, in the past people had been able to kill each other quite effectively, but the difference was that with the invention of modern weapons, one attacker could kill numerous enemies at the same time. A feat that hadn't been possible since Baylon times, where the powerful mages could destroy small cities if they wanted to. However, to reach that level of destruction, a mage had to study and train for several hundred years, while modern weapons were a product of technology, meaning any normal person could reach that level of destruction with a modern machine of war and only a few years of training.

Unless I was mistaken, it also meant that the nation with the most money to invest in the most advanced machines of war would dominate the world. That didn't mean that said nation would rule over everybody else, just that the sheer threat of those machines of war combined with a willingness to use them once in a while to remind people of them, would make most other nations comply with that nation's wishes without the need to use force. It had been so with most nations close to strong empires throughout history and with modern communication and speed of travel, a strong nation could influence most of the planet.

A quick search of Parker's memory showed that there were no less than three strong empires at the moment. USA was by far the strongest, followed by China and Russia. All three nations had strong armed forces and advanced technology, though the USA was clearly in front on that account. At least according to Parker and I had no reason to doubt his assessment until I had learned more about the world.

"Not a pretty sight." Commented Halima, when she discovered what I was looking at.

"I've seen worse." I replied and looked over at Sergio Ferrandis. "Any animals in the trucks?"

"We'll find out in just a moment." He replied with a grim smile. "I'm glad that these criminals have been taken out. From the look of it, it's not the first time they have done this."