In the next two days, Hooker and Heinemann were busy making preparations for the trip to Quintana Roo. It was decided that the stopover would be Campeche, since Heinemann knew the man who ran the airfield there. Hooker assigned himself the task of procuring such supplies as would be unavailable in Campeche. He gave special attention to the weapons they would take along. His Colt .45 he intended to wear as if it were part of him. For longer range, he picked out a 30-06 Springfield-model Winchester for himself and a lighter carbine for Connie Braithwaite. He was somewhat reluctant about this, since the sight of a weapon in the hands of a woman always made him nervous. Connie assured him that she was no stranger to firearms, having excelled at skeet shooting with her husband. Hooker could only hope she would do as well if the target were live and threatening. He bought no weapon for Heinemann, since the German professed a dislike for all guns. Hooker decided it didn’t matter much, since they didn’t figure to do any shooting from the airplane.
As for any men they might pick up to accompany them into the jungle, they could make do with machetes. Hooker was not comfortable with the idea of putting firearms into the hands of Indians he didn’t know.
True to her word, Connie Braithwaite wrote checks for the expenses without complaint. She seemed as eager to get on with the project as Hooker was. Earl Maples stayed in the background handling the paperwork and grumbling steadily.
Klaus Heinemann, although he still maintained that the whole expedition was madness, threw himself wholeheartedly into the project. He made careful arrangements for the landing and refueling of his airplane at Campeche. At the Veracruz airfield, he supervised the removal of two of the Stinson’s five passenger seats and their replacement with an auxiliary fuel tank. The additional 300 pounds of fuel would increase the Detroiter’s normal cruising range of 680 miles by almost half. That would be enough to let them take off from Campeche and do a fair job of covering the flight path taken by Nolan Braithwaite before they returned.
On the night before they planned to leave, Hooker slept soundly. He had done everything he could to ensure that they got off to a smooth start. Nevertheless, he was awake well before the Big Ben alarm clock standing on the bureau next to the bed clanged its alarm. He reached over to depress the button. Beside him, Alita stirred like a cat. She moved closer to him while not yet awake. Her warm, smooth body lay against his from chest to foot.
He stroked her flank, and she made a little purr of contentment. She smelled good. A mixture of spicy and sweet, with the lingering musk of the previous night’s lovemaking. Hooker slid a hand up over her firm belly. He touched her breast.
“Mmm, good morning, Johnny,” she said. Then, raising her head to look at the clock, she asked, “Why are you awake so early?”
“I had enough sleep. Anyway, it’s almost time to start for the airfield and help the Kraut load up his machine.”
Alita raised her head and rubbed a downy cheek against his bristly chin. “Ai, for a little minute, I forgot you were going away.”
“It’s not forever.”
“Too long, all the same.” She made a face at him. “And with that rich blonde gringa.”
“I don’t want to hear any more about that,” Hooker said. “Jealous women are a giant pain in the ass.”
She squirmed around in the bed so her face was above his. “I know, Johnny, but I can’t help it. Just a little bit. If I didn’t have a little jealousy, how would you know that I adore you?”
He petted the black hair that fell to her shoulders in soft waves. It was always moist and fragrant in the morning. “Okay,” he said, “but just a little.”
She gave him an eager kiss, then pulled back. “Don’t you ever get jealous, Johnny?”
“About what?”
“The way men look at me.”
“Should I?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t do anything with them, Johnny. You know that. But they look at me.”
“No law against looking,” Hooker said. Then he added, “But they better not try to take it any further,” because he knew that was what Alita wanted to hear.
She smiled and snuggled closer to him.
Sure they look, Hooker thought. This loving, trusting, black-eyed girl with the supple body was something worth looking at. He held the girl close, thinking back two years to when he first looked at her.