When ra finished, she turned to the ck guide and switched to English. That''s when she realized just how brutal this stretch of rainforest really was. Supposedly, a lot of Southeast Asian intelligence agencies used it for their deadliest training—if you couldst fifteen days in here, you only qualified as a rookie.


    She couldn''t help wondering why Dn had brought her to a ce like this, all of a sudden. Not that she was scared. Deep down, she trusted herself. Still, this was thest ce she expected him to take her.


    The guide led them to the edge of the forest and handed each of them a signal re. "If you need a helicopter rescue, use this," he said. "But remember, the trees are so thick that even if you fire it, you''ll need to be somewhere high up or in an open spot for anyone to see you." The trees here were massive-over fifty meters tall, with almost nowhere to climb or stand, just a few branches way up at the top. And as if that wasn''t enough, there were agents lurking inside who wouldn''t hesitate to steal your re just for the hell of it. Most of these people had seen so much death, human life didn''t mean a thing to them.


    The guide said a few quiet words to Dn, telling him he could still change his mind. Someone like him had no reason to risk his life in a ce like this.


    But Dn just took ra''s hand and walked in without a word.


    ra felt a weird sense of unreality. If they really died out here, maybe Dn would even be happy—at least then he wouldn''t have to face whatever was waiting for him outside.


    The deeper they walked, the more the noises of small animals faded into the background. By dusk, the sky had gone from dim to pitch-ck in what felt like seconds.


    She nced at Dn, who was ying with a wildflower, spinning it between his fingers like he was perfectly at home. He lookedpletely rxed, as if this was nothing new.


    ra crouched down to build a fire, deciding they''d spend the night here, under a rock ledge that would keep the rain off them.


    "You''ve been here before?" she asked.


    Dn''s fingers curled around the flower. "Yeah."


    He didn''t sound like this was his first or even second time.


    Once she got the fire going, ra dug a pack ofpressed biscuits out of her bag and tossed it to him. "You seem to know your way around. Been here a lot?"


    He didn''t eat maybe he just wasn''t hungry.


    She patted the spot next to her. "We''ve been walking all day. Aren''t you tired? Come sit."


    Finally, he let go of the flower and sat beside her.


    ra opened the wrapper, took a bite, and leaned her head on his shoulder. She''d already dusted the ground with bug repellent, so she felt safe enough to rx. "You know what''s weird? I feel like I''ve been here too. It''s all sort of familiar, but I can''t really remember."


    She finished eating and slid her head down to rest on hisp, stretching out and sighing. "The deeper you go, the more poisonous stuff there is. Who else would be this chill in a ce like this? We''re acting like we''re on some kind of vacation."


    Dn looked down and gently pinched her cheek, a smile tugging at his lips. "Get some sleep."


    ra noticed he''d gotten even quietertely. He''d never been much of a talker, but now it felt like he was pulling further and further away. Whatever the old man had given him—it was still messing with his head. He remembered bits and pieces, but it seemed to make him even more closed off.


    They still had six days left in here. She was determined to make the most of it, so that when he looked back, he''d have something good to hold onto-something that might give him a little confidence in them.


    In the middle of the night, a sudden gunshot split the silence, followed by someone begging for mercy.


    ra frowned and sat up slowly. "Should we check it out?"


    Dn shook his head. He had no interest in anything except staying here with her, away from everyone else.


    ra took a deep breath and yanked him to his feet. "Come on. Let''s go."


    He followed reluctantly.


    About two hundred meters ahead, they saw a group of men with assault rifles surrounding three guys and two women. One of the women was trembling and crying, her eyes red and swollen.


    The gunmen shouted at them in somenguage ra didn''t recognize-definitely not English, and nothing she could make out.


    She looked over at Dn. "Can you understand them?"


    For some reason, she just knew he could.


    "They''re telling them to call home and ask for money," he said quietly.


    Most people who ended up in this ce were mercenaries or agents-people with


    nothing to lose. If you didn''t pay up, they''d torture you just for fun.


    They weren''t even in the deepest part of the forest yet. Those poor people had just gotten unlucky.


    ra wasn''t looking to y hero. She''de here mostly to spend time alone with Dn, hoping that facing a little trouble together might help bring him back to life.


    She was about to turn away when Dn added, "They''re all from North American families."