“Mexico? Did I say that? Huh. I can’t remember. But that guy is an American,” I said stupidly. I was a horrible liar in the spur of the moment.
Carter tilted his head at me and narrowed his eyes. “Duh. Was it the ‘goldurnit’ that tipped you off or the ‘higgledy-piggledy’?”
“No, I mean… you were right in what you said earlier. Maybe he can help us. Maybe he can give us access to those computers. Maybe he’s on our side.”
I could only hope. But then again, what if Buck was voluntarily working for Santiago? What if he’d sold him the seed and was working for him as part of the deal? Surely not. But we’d have to be careful regardless.
Carter threw the medical supply bag down on the velvet sofa and slumped down next to it. “And how do you propose we do that when we’re guarded all the time?”
“I need to think.”
“By all means. But think fast because I can’t turn heartburn into parasitic myocarditis no matter how common Chagas disease is around here.”
I ignored him and wandered over to the window to peer out. From here, I could see a courtyard with creeping pink trumpet flowers planted in pots and climbing on columns. There was a large, sparkling blue pool behind the house and to the left, which led me to believe we were in an east wing. Dense trees started off to my far right, but the area ahead, beyond the pool, was clear of trees. A corner of what I assumed was the landing strip was visible in the far left distance. I couldn’t see enough of the area to determine whether there was a plane or not.
I didn’t see any sign of a path or access road from here. The road we came in on might have been the only way in or out besides the runway. Or unless you had sturdy boots and a machete.
But if I could get word out… maybe my crew could figure out where we were and bring in a plane.
“What I would give for a sat phone right now,” I muttered, beginning to pace.
Carter sat up and snapped his fingers. “You can use my Horn!”
I shot him a look. “Thanks, but I thought maybe I’d try and figure out an escape plan instead of taking a video game break. We really need to focus on this right now, Duchess.”
He rolled his eyes. “No, listen,” he said, grabbing the med bag and rifling through it. “My Horn is special. It has upgrades. It’s tricked-out.”
I winked at him. “I can’t disagree with that. Bah-dum-bum.”
Carter sighed in disgust. “Stop. I’m being serious.” He found what he was looking for and pulled it out of the bag in triumph. His purple sparkly Horn console looked as useless as ever. “Let me show you how to use it.”
I couldn’t help but tease him a little more. “I’m familiar with your fancy horn. Pretty sure I showed you last night…”
“My HOG has a sat link,” he snapped.
I stared at him as the words sunk in. Suddenly, I was striding across the room to grab the device. “Holy shit. Holy shit.”
“Yeah, that’s what I mean. We can contact my cousin and ask for help.”
I sat next to him and handed it back. “Get it started, and then let me talk to him.”
He powered on the game and opened the messaging page to type out his first message.
KevsCuz: I’m being held hostage by a Venezuelan drug lord.
“Kev’s Cuz?” I lifted an eyebrow.
“Two guesses who came up with my username.” Carter shrugged. “Kev says being related to him gives me cred. He’s a pretty well-known player, I guess.”
HogDocKev: Carter!! YAY! Hey, what level are you on? I’ve defeated orcs, trolls, moon kittens, zombies, fae, and clowns, but I haven’t encountered any drug lords. Also, can you bring me down some chips?
“What the fuck?” I asked.
Carter sighed. “He thinks I’m talking about the game, and he’s clearly forgotten I haven’t lived at our grandfather’s house in half a year.”
KevsCuz: I’m in Venezuela. No, I cannot bring you chips. I need help.
HogDocKev: Sick!! I’ve been waiting for you to ask me for help for YEARS. So did you run out of pips? Remember, you can get cheat codes. Also, if there’s no chips, can you see if we have popcorn? Or we could get pizza. My treat.
KevsCuz: Kev. Focus. I’m not talking about the game. I’m literally in a drug lord’s compound in the mountains north of Socopó, Venezuela. I need your help.
“Fuck this,” I said, grabbing the Horn. I began typing my own message.
KevsCuz: Contact Huxley at 615-555-0102. Give him this username and tell him Riggs needs him in this chat ASAP.
HogDocKev: Fine. If you think there’s someone who can help you with this game more than I can…
Carter grabbed the device back.