Early the next morning, a cable car climbed up through the air above Rio, heading towards the summit of Sugar-loaf Mountain. On a bright, clear day the whole of Rio would have been visible through the windows, but now the city was smothered beneath a thick blanket of early-morning mist. Rain drummed impatiently on the cable car roof.
Given the weather, it was little surprise that the cable car was quiet, most of the tourists preferring to wait for the mist to clear. Only a group of Germans had braved the journey in the hope of a sudden burst of sunshine. They stood at the far end of the car, keeping a wary distance from the only other occupant: a teenage boy staring out into the whiteness, his face covered in cuts and bruises. To the Germans – who had been warned about the young gang members from the favelas – he looked like trouble.
Lost in his own thoughts, Luiz was barely aware that anyone was looking at him. The turmoil of the previous few days was starting to catch up with him. He was aware that he was on the verge of crashing with exhaustion. Not yet, though. There was still one more thing he had to do.
He had spent the night at Juan Oliveira’s, the policeman patching up his wounds as best he could. They sat in front of the TV, watching news reports showing the aftermath of the carnage at Fernandes’s house. The reporter hailed the arrest of the Doctor as a triumph for the intelligence services and the police. There was no mention of Trojan Industries or Luiz. The camera suddenly cut to an interview with Jorge Cruz, who beamed with delight as he praised the efforts of the police. Luiz snorted dismissively and changed the channel.
Later that evening, Trojan Industries called Oliveira to pass on the word that Ana had been released and told Luiz to meet them on top of Sugarloaf Mountain at nine o’clock the next morning. Why on earth they had decided to meet in such an out-of-the-way place, Luiz couldn’t begin to understand. Oliveira had offered to come with him, but the next morning a call from his bosses had sent him hurrying to the station instead. They said goodbye quickly, respect on both sides. No matter what Luiz thought about some of the cops who worked in Rio, Oliveira was a good man.
Now, as the cable car continued to scale up the mountain, rocking slightly in the breeze, Luiz was acutely aware that he was meeting Trojan alone. For reasons he couldn’t entirely put his finger on, that made him apprehensive. Ahead of him the dark silhouette of the cable-car station loomed out of the mist. The trajectory of their ascent flattened and then they came to a juddering standstill at the top of the mountain.
As the doors opened, Luiz zipped up his jacket and stepped out into the fresh air. Though the drizzle had abated, the view was still obscured by a swirling white mass. From memory Luiz knew that the summit of Sugarloaf was little more than a rocky outcrop. There was nothing up here save for a lone drinks stand, which rewarded the more adventurous types who had ascended on foot.
Looking around him, Luiz caught sight of a tall figure standing by the guardrail, peering out hopefully into the mist. It was Darius Jordan. The head of Trojan was dressed in a long grey overcoat and carried a briefcase in one hand. Just like a normal businessman. Seeing Jordan calmly standing there, Luiz couldn’t help but feel resentment wash over him for everything that he had been forced to go through.
At the sound of Luiz’s footsteps, the American turned round and smiled. ‘Luiz! You got here all right?’
‘I guess,’ muttered Luiz. ‘Could we not have done this downtown?’
‘Perhaps you’re right,’ Jordan agreed. ‘Believe it or not, I’ve spent the best part of two weeks stuck inside that warehouse and I just wanted to see Rio before I left.’ He gestured wryly at the fog. ‘I thought it was going to be a nice day.’
Behind them, the Germans had bustled over to the opposite side of the summit, leaving Luiz and Jordan entirely alone.
‘It might still be a nice day,’ said Luiz warily. ‘But it’s pretty lonely up here right now.’
Jordan frowned. ‘What do you mean? Why do you think I told you to meet me here?’
As Luiz shifted his stance, muscles tensing in case he had to run or fight, realization dawned on Jordan’s face. ‘Do you think I asked you here so I could kill you?’
‘Maybe,’ Luiz replied defensively. ‘After all, you don’t need me any more. Maybe you want to make sure I don’t talk to anybody.’
The American barked with laughter. ‘Jesus, Luiz, you don’t think much of us, do you? We’re not callous murderers – we’re good guys trying to stop some very bad people. I’d love it if we could play by the rules, but it doesn’t work like that. The world’s not black and white. After all you’ve seen, surely you can understand that?’
Luiz shrugged.
‘Don’t you know how grateful we are?’ Jordan asked. ‘Thanks to you, Trojan’s first mission has been classed as a success. We’re free to continue our operations. We’re flying out of Rio this morning.’
‘Oh? Where are you going?’
‘I don’t know yet. Could be anywhere. The Comando Negro isn’t the only gang in the world. This is a global problem, my friend.’
‘So you’re going to go to another country and you’ll make someone else do what I did?’ There was a challenge in Luiz’s voice.
Jordan sighed. ‘We didn’t make you do anything. We didn’t put Ana in jail. You could have walked out of my office, phoned your parents and taken it from there. I told you at the time, Luiz – there’s always a choice. Maybe, in a while, you’ll see that.’ The American held out his hand. ‘Shall we shake hands before we go?’
Luiz thought back over everything that had happened to him in the past fortnight: his sister’s arrest, the fights with the Compadres and Quarto Comando, Joker’s death, Angel’s death, the look in Livio’s eyes when he realized that he had been betrayed…
‘Go screw yourself,’ said Luiz.
Jordan nodded slowly and withdrew his hand. ‘I had hoped you might see it differently. A lot of good things came out of this. A violent gang has been broken up, a massive drug-smuggling network has been exposed. The Doctor will spend the rest of his life in prison. And, perhaps most importantly…’
He turned and pointed over to the drinks stand. Through the gloom, Luiz could see three figures: two adults and a smaller figure. He recognized the two adults – Richard Madison, who gave him a cheery wave, and Valerie Singer, who took an expressionless drag on her cigarette, and between them –
‘Luiz!’ cried Ana Alves.
His sister came tearing towards him and threw her arms around him, sobbing violently. Ana’s clothes were bedraggled and grimy, and she was shaking, but she was alive. Luiz hugged her numbly, barely able to believe that she was actually standing there with him.
‘Are you OK?’ he said. ‘You’re not hurt?’
‘No, I’m fine. Just happy to be out of jail. I never want to go back there again.’
As he hugged his sister, he saw Darius Jordan smile at him. After a pause, Luiz gave him a nod of recognition. Maybe it had been worth it, after all.
Ana looked up at him, her face streaked with tears. ‘I’m so sorry, Luiz. I promise I’ll never do anything like that again.’
‘It’s OK,’ Luiz said quietly. ‘You’re safe now. That’s all that matters.’
‘I couldn’t believe when those people came to get me out,’ Ana continued. ‘They’ve been really kind.’
Glancing up, Luiz saw that Darius Jordan was no longer standing beside them, and Richard Madison and Valerie Singer had disappeared from the front of the drinks stand. The only people visible on Sugarloaf ’s summit were the German tourists, who talked excitedly among themselves as the first ray of sunshine cut through the mist. Trojan had vanished.
‘Where have they gone?’ Ana asked quietly.
‘I don’t know,’ Luiz replied truthfully. ‘But I don’t think we’re going to see them again.’
‘They didn’t even tell me their names.’
‘Yeah, they’re like that. You’ve got more important things to worry about anyway. By my reckoning, we’ve only got a few hours to get back home before Mum and Dad arrive.’ Luiz grinned. ‘And you might want to have a shower before then. Did they not have soap in jail?’
Ana punched him playfully on the arm. ‘Speak for yourself, sweaty! You smell like a goat! And what happened to your face? Have you been fighting again?’
‘It’s a long story. Maybe I’ll tell you on the way down. Can we get off this mountain now?’
Ana looked out wistfully over the guardrail at the brightening sky.
‘Look,’ she said, ‘the sun’s starting to come out. Now that we’re here, can we not wait for a few minutes – just until the mist clears?’
Luiz sighed. ‘I guess so.’
Brother and sister stood side by side, watching in silence as the fog burned away and the sun came out over their city.