Paine Ellsworth

EXCERPT FROM P O I S O N   F A L L S . . . Mbouti was right.  Reviewing thoughtfully, Hume remembered the hateful, sidelong glances from the other board members, but never from Trask.  Some of the members had been vocal in their tactful ways of putting Hume down.  By comparison, Trask had seemed supportive, even defensive of him.  Mbouti was right.  They should all go to the research facility in India. "What is that noise?" Emilio's ears perked when he heard a sound like muffled drums being quickly beaten.  A familiar sound, he was immediately drawn back to his last day on Tortuga, his last day at home in Haiti.  The helicopter came in low and fast over the warm savannah.  It sported the huge, royal blue BTI logo.  A man was leaning out and training a high-powered rifle on the Landrover.  A ricochet caused the three men in the truck to duck and look up.  Mbouti began yanking the steering wheel to the left and then back right in an effort to evade the torrent of bullets.  Two small burning pieces of steel found their way through the roof into the seat.  They knew instantly that they were going to need cover from the metallic rain. As suddenly as the attack had begun, it stopped.  Something had diverted the men in the helicopter.  Mbouti stopped the Landrover, opened his door and jumped out.  Hume and Emilio followed.  A second helicopter, also with BTI insignia, had joined the scene and had fired on the first.  The man with the rifle in the first whirlybird was firing back. Mbouti saw a cave in the hills to the north and motioned for everyone to get back into the Landrover.  The second helicopter was hit and whirling around out of control.  Its pilot managed to regain enough stability to retreat, and they disappeared to the east.  The first gunmen resumed their chase toward the hills.  In a hail of gunfire the Landrover stopped a short way from the cave.  Some of the bullets had penetrated the hood of the truck.  Steam was rushing out the front and sides.  The three men raced into the cave. The sound of the helicopter grew faint.  "Have they left?" asked a shaken Emilio. Still breathing fast, Mbouti answered, "Not likely they have gone.  Most likely they land.  They know that truck is hit.  Here, doctor, you take rifle for to hold them.  An idea I have," and he was off in a flash. Hume, also still out of breath, had no time to protest or to ask Mbouti about his plan.  He and Emilio stayed near the mouth of the cave to await the attack that was sure to come.  They soon received what they expected.  A burst of gunfire pierced the rocks just above their heads.  Emilio pointed his handgun, but Hume touched his arm and whispered, "Wait, Mbouti's out there."  Then the firing stopped.  Several minutes passed without a sound. Hume heard a faint click to his right.  He turned slowly to see a man he did not know standing three feet away pointing a rifle at his head.  "Well, Dr. Hume I presume?" he laughed.  "I always wanted to say that. . . ." DigiTale™ Formatting! "DigiTale's a sight for sore eyes!" The green-pastel background of DigiTale™ virtually eliminates eyestrain during long reads!