Final Challenge (15 page)

The helicopter tour would have seemed them a dream, unless the three were sharing the same. Souza showed them Manaus from the air first, with emphasis on the sites they had visited. Moving away from the city, they could see that it resembled an island of cosmopolitan life lost in the jungle. Then
they
took them to the meeting point of two rivers, just where the dark waters of Black River intersect with muddy waters of Solimoes River, the official point of formation of Amazon River, a few kilometers from Manaus, to show them to finish t
he largest fluvial archipelago
in the world, the Anavilhanas, eighty miles upstream from Manaus. But what struck them most was the enormous breadth of the river, over twenty miles in some areas, leading to, from the river border, any clueless visitor could confuse it with the sea.  

As culmination Souza invited them to dinner at a typical site, physically surrounded by jungle.  They were very tired, but although that Marvin went to bed, Kelly and Hanson could not avoid to end the night
knowing the Manaus nightlife of
the expert hand of Souza, approaching one of many sites with samba and local rhythms. When it came time to be accountable to sleep, it was two o'clock in the morning. The experience had been unforgettable, a kind of short vacation prior to the challenge that had led up to that paradise.

XXII

 
Next morning, knowing that his guests need a long and rewarding break, Souza went to pick them up at noon to take them to his offices in the Federal Police headquarters, located in the modern area. He invited them to enter a small meeting room. What struck them most was not the big map hanging on the front but the wonderful views of the city that could be seen from that fifteenth floor.  The jungle couldn't be caught by sight from there, so no one would say they were immersed in it, it was then when contrast impacted
on
them even more. 

  After noticing that the three had settled into their se
ats, Souza began to talk while
he was going down the blinds. The light coming through those windows was such that it was difficult to keep eyes opened.

- The first thing I would like to convey is that I feel totally identified and involved with the reason that have brought you here. Rest assured that we will endeavor to clarify this strange case. It's not just my personal opi
n
ion, I pass you the feeling of the federal police of Brazil as a representative of it.

- Thanks, Souza, we have no doubt about it, we are convinced that you are, at least, as good cop as host - Kelly made
it clear -

- Well, once complied with the protocol - the four smiled upon the occurrence of Souza - I will tell you that, although it might give the impression that we are at the heart of Manhattan, what you see out there is a mirage as you could confir
m yesterday. We're really at the heart of the Amazon, or as close to it. All that sounds anywhere, anywhere of the Amazon, ends up here as an echo. It's not just the beginning of a river, is the end of everything. - Stared at the face of continued skeptici
sm of Hanson - Yeah
, I realize that my words may sound like philosophical jargon, but have an undercurrent of pragmatism. I mean, this is more than just a cultural mixin
g point lost in the jungle. It’
s a supply center, most of the expeditions arrive and depart from here, and here ends
coming all people that maintain
some contact, of any type whatsoever, with this area.

Marvin stepped in to try to clarify whether the conclusion he had drawn from the words of Souza was the right one.

- Do you mean to say that Manaus is not only our main source of information but the only one?

- Right. Before taking any action or deci
de any motion, it's good to listen
the echoes although they come in a distorted form. Then you'll understand better when we deepen into the topic at hand - said Souza, who paused to take a pointer, then sat on a table below the map and carried on - the most inhospitable part , Amazon's heart, is huge, in fact its size can be estimated at thirty percent of the entire Amazon. Therefore, searching here - pointed with a pointer to a random spot on the map located upstream of the Black River - or here - pointed to another distant point of the previous upstream Solimoes River - to someone, to something that we even didn't  know is ridiculous, absolutely impossible. Now, if you notice, we have lots of white pins scattered all over the map, representing the colonies of non-indigenous people we have identified, defined as all those that are not settled or stable populations.

Marvin interrupted him.

- Excuse me, Captain Souza.

- Do not worry about the gal
lons, I'd like between you and me
there we
ren't any kind of hierarchies.
Please see me as your friend, simply.

- Thank you, i
t’s an attitude that honors you
. Well I wanted to ask, maybe my question may seem ridiculous or out of ignorance but ...

- Come on, Marvin, remember that you are among friends.

- These white pins, those colonies, what kind of activity have?

- Your question is not only ridiculous, but very successf
ul. Their activities are various
, the most abundant are the logging companies, mining, scientific expeditions.

- Legal? ... - Asked Kelly-

 
Souza took a while to answer
her
, he seemed to be searching the most adequate answer.

- Look, Miss Kelly - grinned as he set the pointer on the table - in theory, yes - paused again - Before proceeding, I would ask you that, th
e next comment I'm going to do you
, doesn't go out of here, because from a
n
official view, the answer should be different.

- I don't know what you are talking about but you can rest easy. For all purposes, this conversation never existed - Kelly reassured him -

- Well, it's all I needed to hear. I continue. While it's true that most of the white pins that we have here - pointed his index finger - pinned on the map correspond to legal settlements, we checked several that are not.

- But ... - Hanson tried to seek a clarification to an answer that meant the same as saying that Souza and his people did not comply well with their work
–

- Yes, I know exactly what you're thinking. But we have our reasons, do not hesitate. Try to explain. First, our staff is limited. In addition, entering certain areas of the forest is not only risky, but doing so in a very unfavorable, on foot and with few resources, means that the offender plays with advantage for to flee at least. Unless the settlement is causing significant damage t
o its environment, or they are
drug traffickers and dangerous criminals, say ...

- You make the "blind eye" - said Hanson helping
Souza to finish his argument
-

- Exactly. There is another compell
ing reason. It’s
better to have them controlled  that invading their territories, displacing them to other sites and get that they and others are tipped off, or they don't trust our informers.

- Although it is unconventional, I recognize that it may be the most effective policy in this case - nuanced Marvin -

- Do not be the slightest doubt, experience is our guarantee. The fact is that, ultimately, the white pins you can see include both a type as those of another.

- I dare not ask why not turn to distinguish two colors - Hanson joked provoking the laughter of the four. Then Souza continued -

- The truth is that all of them white or not, I can assure you that these pins covering nearly 100% of settlements, ie that we've got almost all of them located. If there is someone or something living in that area back to us, is because they have done it very well. Too much well, almost impossible, I think.

- And the red tacks? – asked
Kelly -

- They represent the known settlements of tribes, both belonging to indigenous areas recognized as such or not  - replied Souza
–

Hanson raised his arm to make an observation which had long been was mulling over.

- As I see, say red thumbtacks ... tend to stay away from white.

- Right. When there's a new settlement by colonists,
occurs due to whatever reason,
indigenous tribes tend to move away. They know white man and how destructive he is, they have suffered on their flesh.

- And they
are still suffering ... I guess - pointed out Kelly looking an affirmative answer from Souza  -

- Indeed. Therefore tend to go deep into the forest, when they don't do it, in the fighting comes true massacres, authentic exterminations.

- And ... once they get such distance? - Asked this time Hanson -

-
No doubt the initial shock is the worst. Thereafter, if the white settler continues to advance, the tribes are retreating. That is, once confirmed the settlements, the clashes are disappearing. Now - picked up the pointer and marked an area where there were no color pushpins -.

- It seems that there aren't
identified settlements either
settlers or tribes. But perhaps could be due to living conditions unsuitable for human beings - Hanson intervened thinking aloud. Souza grinned and nodded his head approving his argument, then returned to speak -

- Very insightful, my friend. No doubt your reasoning certainly seems right to all of us. However, there's no geophysical or environmental feature in this area - pointed to a nearby area on the map with lots of pins - that distinguishes it from the previous one. They are extremely similar in everything.

- Unless ... - K
elly was thinking out loud, so he
paused - there's a pin that you have not identified.

- Or some pin has fallen from
the map - Joked Hanson finding
unanimous laughter and especially Kelly's.
–

Then Souza
gave them the explanation that all were waiting.

- We're let approaching the hypothesis
that I have thought about. As
Miss Adams put me in history, I decided to do some research. Notice again this area. If you observed it in detail, the red pushpins are too "clustered" around, as if something or someone had been moving them.

- That is, an unidentified white pin - Marvin concluded -

- I think so - said Souza - We could say that we sense that there's a settlement in that area by the effects produced by it, althou
gh we have no knowledge of its
existence. 

Marvin felt
more than a glimmer of hope in the words of Souza, so he asked
him
more with heart than head.

- What do you suggest we could do? I guess that doing a sweep of the suspect area would be very complicated.

- Phew ... well, you
don't know how much! Starting
with its size, covering about fifty square miles. And ending with its hard and difficult accessibility. It would take months, many months to have any chance of success.

- Do we have any other choice but to resign ourselves? ... - 
Hanson
said ironically
in shape
of question -

  Souza left the pointer on the table and folded his arms.

- We can still gather a bit more of information - Souza responded decisively - 

The three stood looking at him expectantly, waiting to clarify the background of such sentence. Souza, aware of unusual interest that his words had created, didn't delay his answer.

- As I said earlier, Manaus is just like the echo of th
e heart of the Amazon, an echo
that can arrive distorted and, therefore, can be difficult to interpret.  

Hanson, true to his character,
jumped as if moved by a spring.

- What are you trying to tell us? Is there anything else? ...

- No,
at le
ast at this time. But it
could
. Let me explain. A few days ago a scientific expedition that had been in a ne
ighboring area to the conflict
came back, and commented that,
in a stop they did in a settle
ment of an indigenous tribe of
Deni ethnic was rumored that during the last years, had been disappearing several hunters of another settlement relatively close to the pin that we lack - took back the pointer and pointed on the map
–
The
settlement in question is located here, Solimoes River upstream and about seven hundred miles.