Scene 5

The Castrated Monkey, a seedy bar in Georgetown, Guyana

“Tell me again why we’re here,” Greg said to me as we walked up to the seedy bar in the questionable part of town.

“We’re here to meet our guide,” I told him.

“And what kind of guide hangs out in a bar like this?” he asked.

“One of the best,” I told him.

We stepped into the dark bar and looked around. A large group of men were standing around a table on one side of the bar. Seated at the table were three people: a rough-looking local man who probably hadn’t bathed in months; an attractive dark-haired woman, dressed in khaki shorts and a green tank top; and a short, heavyset man who was dressed like a typical tourist, except for the bright green gloves he wore. The three were engaged in a drinking contest.

“There’s our guide,” I said, motioning towards the table.

“The guy with the gloves?” Greg asked.

“That’s Frank McGrath; he’s a member of X Marks and I’ve worked with him before. Let’s watch this to see how it turns out.”

As we watched, the local man at the table downed a shot glass of liquor and set the glass back on the table upside-down. He grinned at the woman in confidence but then his eyes glazed over and he fell over sideways with his chair.

The crowd around the table all laughed at the man and then turned to watch the woman. She wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead before picking up her own glass. She downed it quickly and closed her eyes in a grimace. She quickly recovered and placed the glass on the table.

Frank looked at the woman confidently and reached for his glass. He downed the liquor and put the glass down with no sign of discomfort. His broad smile was wide with confidence.

The woman watched Frank closely. She was hesitant as she reached for her glass, but she again downed the golden liquid. She shook her head to clear it as she placed the glass back on the table.

Frank’s face showed even more confidence as he reached for the next glass. He raised the glass in a toast to the woman before bringing it to his lips. He threw his head back as he drained the glass. He did not put the glass down, however. As he threw back his head, his motion continued and he fell over backwards, unconscious.

The men surrounding the table all cheered for the woman as she picked up the next glass and drained it. She reached over and gathered up the pile of money that was sitting on the table.

Greg looked over to me. “That’s him?” he asked. “That guy passed out on the floor is our guide?”

“I never said that,” I told him and waved to get the attention of the woman.

“Liz,” I said.

The woman looked in my direction at the mention of her name. Her face broke into a wide smile as she recognized me.

“Dave!” she bellowed as she stepped over and wrapped her arms around me.

Greg was watching this exchange. “I take it you know this woman,” he said. “Is she our guide?”

The woman and I broke our embrace, but still stood with an arm around each other as we looked towards Greg.

“Greg,” I said, “let me introduce you to Ms. Crane, another of my associates and our guide for this mission.”

Ms. Crane left my side and moved towards Greg. She ignored the hand he presented and grabbed him in a hug.

“Greg, luv,” she said. “It’s good to meet you. Just call me Liz.”

Greg was a bit flustered with her actions, but hugged her back. “Uh, yeah,” he answered. “Pleased to meet you.”

Ms. Crane pulled away from Greg and turned back to me. “So, where is the rest of our team?” she asked.

“They’re with Falcon at the airport. Greg and I came alone to get you,” I answered.

“Well, let’s go then!”

“What about him?” Greg asked, motioning to Frank on the floor. Frank was sleeping peacefully, with a big smile on his face.

“You’re right, we can’t leave him here,” I said. “Help me pick him up and we’ll take him with us.”