This follows Book 3 part 2 of the tale, where Our Hero seduced Resha enough to trust her on a trip to South America, ostensibly so she can perform at a bachelor party before Tango's wedding.
On Day 1 of his trip his two grandfather's, the Chief and the Patron, try to outdo each other with life-changing surprises for their successor. While dealing with business he manages to let Gracie see his face for the first time, as well as appreciating the rest of his body. Sin-Sin lends a hand to help finish things. Then at bedtime he allows Resha to run the show in his very crowded bedroom.
Most of the chapters advance the story, especially for his two grandfathers. For those who want to skip ahead to bed, Chapter 18 involves intimacy with Gracie (Cynthia lends a trigger finger) and Chapter 22 starts in bed with Resha, who is then joined by Gracie and one of his female distant cousins, in various very friendly arrangements.
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Chapter 14. Excitement Upon Arrival
Overnight Flight LA To Peru, Then To The Mountain
July 10 - 11, 2008
Thursday evening, July 10, I travelled with Resha, Irene, Frida, and Estella on the Red Eye leaving LA for Peru. The flight was nine hours nonstop from LAX to Lima in a commercial jet that was less than a year old. In Lima we switched over to a chartered Caribou passenger/freight plane that was at least a decade older than me for the flight the colony - meaning a total of over 12 hours in transit. The two flights were a marked contrast.
For many, a long night flight means a date with a sleeping pill, booze, or the combination of both. Sleep is the most efficient use of time. But for me, sleep was not an option. I did not realize that Resha had never flown as an adult. In her childhood she flew long distances to Nigeria and India with her parents, but they could make sure she was sleeping. On this trip Resha was scared, curious and a little bit anxious, she needed constant attention. I could not get her to settle down. Since I was responsible for her being there I really felt the need to keep her company, so I told her the history of my two peoples: the Indians on the mountain and the Spanish in the colony.
I suppose that, during the final leg on the Caribou I could have arranged some privacy to comfort Resha in our usual friendly manner, there was sufficient private space behind the cargo, but with the others alert neither one of us was really in the mood.
I was very thankful when the two-engine bush plane finally passed over my mother's birthplace in the mountain while descending to the colony. I was able to point out to Resha the tribal grounds where my maternal relatives like Zar, Brisk and Nia were from. A few minutes later I was able to point out the colony.
When the plane was on final approach the fault line was like an impossibly high wall on one side of the plane. The runway ran parallel to the Wall, less than a quarter mile away, but because of the height the Wall looked closer than it was. It was like some immense being had placed a straight edge on the surface of the earth and pressed down, creating a cliff that was straight and very long, stretching as far as the eye could see. At one point the cliff was about 1,500 feet high. The fault line formed a sheer wall for almost 20 miles of it's total length.
The plane set down on the grass runway the Patron had finished since I was last here. It was an improvement that should allow larger aircraft to land. The runway was really a series of buried lights in a large field that had been closely-leveled in sections, there were no painted lines or paved areas so it just looked looked like a normal grass field from space. Sections roughly 100-feet long were leveled and sloped for water runoff, with ground lights installed.
The problem with a dirt, asphalt or concrete runway was that on Google Maps or a recon flight a perfectly straight line of any length was a sure sign of human activity and would attract attention. This field had been here since the ice age and only two or three sections were done at a time, so once the grass grew back in each section it wasn't noticeable from above. If noticed, the short bare sections being leveled looked like plantings of native Amazon indians, not the actions of white men.
I should mention that, when a straight long runway surface shows up suddenly in an agricultural area with very few people around, both Brazil and Peru militaries have a tendency to bomb first (they need the practice, so they might make multiple visits) and then send in helicopters full of troops. They don't take prisoners. They have to practice somewhere to keep their "kill-the-pesky-civilians" skills up. The feeling is that only foolish drug folks have enough of a need to build a runway in such a region. Such people are bad for business unless they bribe all the right military officials.
The Patron avoids notice by using small float-equipped planes. These tend to have relatively short range and limited capacity but are useful for high-value cargo. He needs to charter planes like the Caribou to move large loads. Passengers are booked in excess space. On this flight we had two freight pallets and a bulk fuel container on board. Passengers like me were a free extra.
The length of the grass runway was supposed to be as smooth as gravel but without the dust. The grass grew quickly so the work was not likely to be noticed, but with enough time he had a long runway. Once it was established the tropical grass was resilient. He wanted to get a large jet, like a 737, but I had my doubts about that working on grass. Also, even with drainage, grass becomes a mud field when it rains, and there is a reason the Amazon basin is called the "rain forest."
We taxied toward a shaded/camouflaged tent currently used as a temporary hanger keeping eyes in the heavens from seeing any activity. We taxied in that direction. The canopy was large enough to cover a C-130 plus a few smaller planes. The Caribou would pull under to unload cargo then take off again. It would return when we were ready to leave.