Out of the Jungle

Minutes later the chopper swooped down the valley following the road, the pilot not daring to fly too low for fear of hitting a tree and this was what saved us, we were in the shadow of the tree canopy as the chopper swept by. I stood beside the Range Rover and stared down the valley at the disappearing chopper, listening to its engine, waiting for the tell-tale splutter that told me that the sugar was doing its job in disabling the motor. First it was a cough followed by a surge then several coughs then nothing, the engine was dead. The noise when the chopper crashed to the valley floor was loud and the fuel fired explosion lit up the sky around the crash site, there could be no survivors and phase one of the plan was complete.

I climbed back into the Range Rover and squeezed Carmen's hand, telling her that we were safe for the time being. The drive down to the main highway (I have to chuckle to myself when I hear this narrow road called a highway, the multi-lane road finished no more than five kilometres from the capital). When I reached the intersection I turned right, away from the capital. "Where are we going?" Carmen asked.

"We have a rendezvous with a chopper that will fly us out of here to Florida, in minutes we will be free." Some five minutes later I turned off the road into a clearing beside a chopper, it did not have the markings of any air force or government agency. A man stepped from it and approached us.

"We were expecting you, the satellite picked up the explosion as his chopper crashed and that was our cue to begin the next phase."

"What does this all mean? Who are these people and who are you working for?"

"I'll explain it all once we're in the air." It was hard to make myself heard over the chopper's clatter but I managed. "After you were taken home from Milan I was devastated and needed to do something about it. I approached the guys that initially asked me to establish contact with you but they were as much help as tits on a bull. I had to do something so I went to Interpol and told them what had happened and what I had managed to find out. They were keen to help, they'd been trying to shut down the cartels for some time but certain government agencies that shall remain nameless kept interfering, and they felt that they would have to go it alone. I was asked to help them and in exchange they would provide me with the training and the necessary gear to carry out my part in this operation, or should I say these operations, you see shutting down one cartel will only shift the operation to a rival cartel. What this operation will do is to take out the two major players. We estimate that Che's chopper had at least a tonne of pure cocaine on it when it went down, that will put a major dent in the operation.

After a short refuelling stop somewhere, I assumed that because it was an island it was in the Bahamas but don't hold me to that, we landed at an airfield just outside Miami where we were met by a contingent of official looking men and women. Carmen and Miguel were asked to go with a couple of plain clothed women who were identified as Interpol officers, while I was asked to accompany the men to an office for de-briefing. An hour of going over and over my story and I was taken to a hotel and Carmen, and Miguel who was totally bewildered with his surroundings, he had never seen the ocean before and just stood and stared out the window.

"What will happen to us now?" Carmen asked me as we sat on the sofa looking down on the beach that night.

"Firstly we are going to get you a visa to enter Australia and then we fly to Sydney, I want you to meet my parents, and then you and I are going to get married and live happily ever after."

"Mmm, that sounds nice, especially the part about meeting your parents, I will have to thank them for producing such a wonderful son and letting me have you all to myself." Her lips found mine and were not about to lose them any time soon. My hand found her breast that not that long ago soothed the frightened Miguel, her nipple hardened under my touch and her hand found my cock ready and waiting for what was to follow, love making with no fear of being interrupted, Miguel was asleep at last and probably wouldn't surface until morning, it was just the two of us, the rest of the world didn't exist.

Two glorious days of loving later we flew to LAX and boarded the first class section of a QANTAS A380 Airbus, now this is the way to travel, the cabin crew were captivated by the awestruck Miguel and he was spoiled rotten for the whole trip. My parents were at Mascot to meet us, I'd filled them in on Carmen and Miguel but even so they were not prepared for the beautiful woman walking beside me, clutching my hand and so obviously in love with me. "Mum, Dad, this is Carmen and this is Miguel, your grandson."

After the initial shock of meeting their grandson it was all hugs and kisses and tears as we walked out to car park.

"Xavier tells us that you are an opera singer." My mother said as she and Carmen fussed about in the kitchen.

"Yes, but I'm not famous like your Joan Sutherland was before she retired."

"But you were very good for a short while, do you see yourself going back to singing?"

"I would love to but we have not discussed it. I will not do it if Xavier doesn't want it."

"I don't think that he will object, not when I tell him what I did as soon as I heard that you were coming to live in Australia. I went to see the Musical Director of the Sydney Opera and explained that you were coming and asking if they were interested in you auditioning for them. You are to see them next week!"

Three months later the sign outside the Opera House proclaimed a season of La Boheme starring Carmen Ortiz. Carmen was singing Mimi once more, this time to critical acclaim. I sat and watched her being interviewed by the ABC Classic Radio opera presenter. "Carmen, the Sydney Opera has been invited to take this production of La Boheme to New York and the Met, are you looking forward to finally realising that dream?"

"I would except for one small problem."

"What is that?"

"Mimi was not pregnant."