Ice: The Immortality Trinket

XII: Loyalty

It's not a surprise Neto called me over. I'm almost as useful to the Bloodhounds as he is, possibly even more. I still haven't forgotten his threats, and how much of a piece of work he is. Nothing will stop me from getting the Immortality Trinket, even if all it achieves is getting it out of Neto's hands, and even if I have to act all goody-two-shoes.

I knock on Rodrigo's hut. The voice from within is not him, though, as Neto informed me over the phone.

"Come in Lacroix. I need your assistance," he calls out. I enter and see him standing there in the middle of the room, staring at a soft board with his hand on his chin. De Vries and Gillespie are just behind, communicating with their hands. I cross my arms and await his request.

He turns to me. "I apologise if it inconveniences you so, that I've called you here."

"It's no problem, Neto."

He fixes up his hair and looks around for something. "If that's so..." he says as he grabs a file full of papers from under a desk, "I would like you to take a look at these."

I take it from his hands and turn to the first page. It's around 40 pages of research on the wetlands of the Araguaia and the various structures around it. I take a look at the top and see 'Vicente Neto' credited.

"In this, I do remember citing a piece of work that mentions a structure next to the Araguaia. They speculated that it was built in the 14th century or thereabouts. This appears to line up with what you sighted when you went with MacMillan and Anderson."

I nod while pursing my lips as I flip through the file. This is heaps to digest in such a short time. I am curious at what he's getting at, though. This could be the biggest clue we have on the location of the Immortality Trinket so far. Excluding this, it's a lot of riddles and hearsay. It's a miracle we've even made this much progress.

"You want me to keep this, or...?"

"Keep it," he states. "You'll be needing it for future reference. It'll be beneficial." He leans against a wall and peruses his nails nonchalantly. "May I ask you something?"

It's not like him to ask me for permission, but I've got better things to do than wonder about his proclivities. "Yeah."

"Why did you bother bringing MacMillan along?"

I should've expected that.

"Well, she's my friend. I like having her around and she wouldn't let me go alone."

Neto lifts an eyebrow, curling his fingers. "Am I not supplying enough protection with the Bloodhounds?"

"That's why she was adamant on following me to Brazil." I recall her reaction when she found out about what Neto did. "Because she knows an armed group will be hanging around me."

He scoffs at what I said. "She doesn't share the same belief and faith in the Trinket as you and I do. Don't you find that—" he pinches his fingers—"a little off-putting, at least?"

I mentally shrug off those thoughts. "Of course not." Sure, Eliza doesn't give a rat's arse about the Trinket and thinks I'm on some wild goose chase, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have my back if I need it.

"Now, I would say I'm an expert in lots of things, but friends... I don't quite get." Behind his back, De Vries extends her middle and index finger stuck together, wiggling it to Gillespie who smirks back. "I'm putting forward the idea that she may be a burden to this entire operation if you give her too much free rein. Like recently."

Fair point there. Have to make sure Eliza's under a leash in the future.

"I'll give her a word or two about it, but I can't guarantee anything for now. She's got a bit of a temper that I've been on the receiving end of, a few times."

Neto chuckles. "I can picture that. One more thing, I—" His phone rings before he can finish his sentence. "Sorry, please excuse me for a moment." He holds up a finger and leaves the hut. That leaves De Vries, Gillespie and I standing around.

"So," the American blond starts as Neto conversates rather loudly outside. I'm thankful for people that initiate the conversations in these awkward moments. "you enjoying your stay in Brazil?"

"Hm, if I wasn't working with Neto, maybe I'd be able to appreciate the scenery." I actually did have plans on bringing Eliza along to South America for a trip, but that was years ago. Ah, I reckon she'd have loved relaxing here and making all sorts of drawings of the various animals and plants. "Don't tell him that, by the way."

What I didn't reckon was for both of them to agree.

"I know right?" whines De Vries, slumping her shoulders. I turn to her, confused. "Ja, most of us here do not like him. Money is what motivates us, and we get paid if we do our jobs."

"Nienke's right. He can be really grating most of the time. And if he gets really tested, you don't even wanna know," adds Gillespie.

"I do know, because he blackmailed me."

"Ah, right. Sorry for forgetting. It's just that blackmailing's kinda normal for his standards."

"Yep," I recall. His bloodied hands and how he wiped it off without a care. Menace. An idea pops into my head as I'm thinking about his people's loyalties.

"Would you two, hypothetically speaking of course, work for someone else if they offered more?"

They look at each other with curious looks. De Vries questions my intentions.

"What are you getting at?"

As I was about to lay down my offer, Neto peeks through the door. "Lacroix, dismissed." I curse in my head. The two in front of me were really nice, so I extend my hand for the both of them.

"Pleasure to be working with you, De Vries and Gillespie."

"Ugh, man we gotta start calling each other by our first names. We're not blue-collar workers," Gillespie jokes.

"Alright then. Be seeing you, Nienke and, I believe your name was Alexander?"

"Just Alex. And sure, see you later."

>>

I hear my door creak and turn around. It's Eliza, entering my room.

"Hey. Just wanted to check up on ye. Been pretty quiet for a while." She points to my desk. I check my watch and find out it's almost sunset. The room's in dire need of a lit oil lamp, I just haven't realised it in all the hours of writing and checking.

Damn, now that she's mentioned it, my eyes are tired as hell. Eliza sits on my desk, looking worried.

"Take a break, lass. You canny be workin' yourself to near-death all the time."

"Appreciate the concern, but I'm so close to finishing this. Give me a—"

She swipes away the file and tosses it over to the bed. "You wanna finish it? Do it, after you've caught a wink, aye?"

"Lizzy!" Kelli shouts from across the hut. "Do you have a spare pencil? Fuckwit rolled under a floorboard!"

Eliza groans and yells back. "Aye, it's in ma pencil box!" She ruffles my hair and gives a smile before leaving the room.

"Hey, sleep tight. And don't mind us."