After such a glowing review what could I do but post the next bit of the story! And no hard feelings TT, we're all entitled to our opinion, so feel free to slag me off some more!

Rose and Munroe made their way to the car, a big off road vehicle. “Fancy yourself as a detective then Frank?” Rose enquired,  a trace of humour in her voice.
Munroe smiled. “I think I’ve detected why I’m here. There is something going on that is not only dangerous but so sensitive that only people whose discretion can be relied upon, people who won’t blab to the world about what they’ve seen, can be used to deal with it. And that’s where I come in. I’m here as an extra gun, a piece of firepower to help contain this whatever it is, aren’t I?”
Now it was Rose who smiled. “Perhaps you should have been a detecive ”.

The police station was a tempory, but well fortified building erected as a base for anti-slavery operations. For security it was surrounded by boulders to stop vehicles getting near, forcing Rose to park about twenty yards away. She had already radioed ahead to get  access to the man Munroe wanted to see and so the two of them came to be in an interview room with two Brazilian police officers and the man who was the subject of Munroes interest.  Munroe was surprised to find he was a doctor, and that he spoke English. He introduced himself as Dr Julio Riva and explained that he and his wife, Susanna,  also a doctor, had made a lot of money treating Brazils rich, and came to this area to, as he put it,  bring medical treatment to the rural poor. Then Susanna had disappeared, only to return  three months later. But she was dead.
Munroe stared long and hard at Riva, and it seemed to him that the doctor  was genuine, that his words were, as far as he knew, true. “What happened next Doctor Riva?” he enquired.
Riva didn’t reply immediately, he briefly covered his face with one hand, wiped his brow, then, in a slightly stumbling voice said, “She tried to strangle me.” His head sank slightly and he stared vacantly at the table around which they were sat.
“Are you ok? We can take a break if you need to,” Munroe said.
“No, I’m alright. I can tell you what happened Mr Munroe if you can assure me of this. Do you believe what I am telling you?” Munroe assumed that others Riva had spoke to had not. “I do believe you”.
He didn’t know if he’d completely convinced Dr Riva, but the man did continue.
“Susanna tried to strangle me. I,” he paused , struggling to find words that would convey his meaning, then looking directly at Munroe continued. “Mr Munroe I never hit my wife,” he struck the table with his fist “Never! I would die before I struck Susanna, but this was not her who came to me that day.  She was a corpse, dead. Had she been alive she would never have tried to hurt me, no more than I would have tried to hurt her. “ At this point Riva’s head sank into his hands and he began to cry. Munroe reached across the table and grasped his shoulder, “ Doctor Riva, your doing fine. Can you continue? Why are you certain Susanna was dead?”
The doctor raised his head, wiped away the tears  and began to speak again. “I’m a doctor. I could see by looking at her that she was dead. The colour had gone from her flesh, it was rotting, her teeth were falling out. And when she grasped my throat and began to squeeze I,” again he paused “I hit her. I wasn’t hitting Susanna I was hitting her corpse. I punched her ribs,  I think I broke one, but she didn’t feel it. No reaction of pain, and then I hit her in the face and again she didn’t react. I managed to pull free, and,” again he paused “ After reporting it to the police what do I find, that I am imprisoned, as if I’m a madman!” He grabbed Munroes hand, “Mr Munroe, I think you are a genuine man. Find the people who killed Susanna, and find out what they did to her. Please.”
Munroe got to his feet and shook Doctor Rivas hand. “I can make you no promises other than that I will do all I can to discover who is behind this.” The doctor clasped Munroe’s hand with both of his, “Thankyou”.

Once they were out of the interview room Rose  asked Munroe what he thought of the doctors story.
Munroe lit a cigar before replying, “Well he believes it. Is he being detained on the initiative of the Brazilian police or because the CIA told them to arrest him.”
Rose took a deep breath before replying, “Frank the CIA doesn’t order foreign countries to arrest people, we co-operate with them on security issues of joint concern.”
“Then is he detained by joint concern?” Munroe enquired.
“I’m not sure,” Rose replied”Why?”
“I was wondering if you have the authority to have him killed”.
“What? Why would we want to do that?”
“Because,” Munroe continued “He can’t be detained forever and when he’s released his tale could spook some people, maybe cause panic.”
Rose shook her head in escasperation, “We don’t have people executed because the balance of their mind is disturbed.” She paused for thought then continued, “You know I really hope I never have to work with you again. Let me tell you something else from your CIA file, and again I quote, it describes you as thoroughly evil with no redeeming features, and I can see why it says that!”
“No redeeming features? Other than that I’m pretty good with a gun, which is why your people keep employing me,” Munroe replied, smiling slightly as he spoke.
“That needs a reply, just give me a moment to think of one.” Rose responded.

But she did not get any time to reflect, both she and Munroe being distracted by a loud crashing noise from the room they had just left. It sounded like the outer wall being smashed in, and was followed by screams and gunfire. Both drew their guns and glanced at each other, neither sure what to do. Seconds later the metal security door of the interview room buckled like something within the room had hit it, then a hole appeared in the wall, a brick having been knocked out, then another. Through the haze of brick dust a shape roughly like a large hand, but black and shiny, was reaching through the hole to grasp  a brick and prise it out. Munroe acted on instinct and fired twice, each bullet hitting the ‘hand’ but with no noticeable effect. Rose slapped his arm , “Run !”

He needed no further encouragement. As they both ran down the corridor towards the exit door Rose, realising that Munroe was faster than her threw the car keys to him. “Get the car started! I’ll catch you up.”
Munroe ran towards their vehicle, to obsessed with escaping to be conscious of fear, his adrenalin flowing at maximum. Having started the car and turned it towards Rose, who was running towards him, his single minded desire to get away was interrupted by a scream. Rose had caught the sleeve of her jacket in a bush and was struggling frantically to free herself. Only yards behind her was  a black shape, at least seven feet tall, and closing on her fast. The turmoil that Munroes mind was in stopped him getting a clear impression of the things features, but the helplessness of Roses plight he could assess . While still steering the car with his left hand with his right he shot two bullets through the sleeve that trapped her, severing enough material for her to pull free. He opened the passenger door and she jumped in. Munroe immediately put his foot on the accelarator and they sped away, hurtling down the dust track they had arrived by.

It was several minutes later that, as Munroe continued to drive the car at its top speed, dangerously bumping over the holes and lumps of the jungle track, that Rose grasped his arm. “Frank, its ok, we’ve left it behind. Calm down.” For a second he didn’t respond and she added “We’re ok, slow the car down before you crash it.”
He slowed the vehicle, brought it to a halt, and after breathing hard  turned to Rose. “What the hell was that?”
“I’ve no idea!”  the expression on her face convincing him she was telling the truth. For several seconds both recovered their composure before Rose spoke again. “There is something more I think you now need to know, about the work the Thompsons were engaged in back in America. I don’t know precisely what its nature  was but it was medical research that had revolutionary implications. They were trying to combine micro electronics, and chemistry, and” she paused to think  “or something like that, to reactivate parts of a human body crippled by desease or injury. So they hoped, say, to develop a treatment that could enable a person confined to a wheelchair to walk again. Then the whole project was taken over by the military and a few months later they fled, to Khazakstan, I don’t know why, but they hoped they’d never be traced there. As you know we found them.“
“And killed them,” Munroe added.
“Yea, and don’t ask me why, even I only got told they were a threat to national security and couldn’t be allowed to live. But there is something I should have thought of  before. An attempt to bring deseased parts of the body back to life and tales of the walking dead. Maybe theres a connection. And these killings. They seemed to be random but now a doctor, a person with credibility, whom people might believe, claims his wife returned from the dead, and is then himself killed, assuming that’s what happened back there. That seems highly unrandom.”
Munroe stared into space as he contemplated her words. “But where does that monster  we just met fit in?”

Rose sighed, “I wish I knew.”
She then looked  at Munroe and said  she was grateful for him saving her life.
Munroe grunted, and then glanced at her, unable  not to notice that the top two buttons of her blouse had come undone. She’d realised it to, and buttoned them up again. “Frank, I may be grateful, but if your thinking what I think your thinking, forget it.”
“Pity,” said Munroe “This would have been one hell of a first date!”

Rose and Munroe had not travelled much further when they encountered  a vehicle driving in the opposite direction, Al Nixon being its driver and sole occupant. After both had stopped and disembarked Nixon spoke first, his voice sounding anxious. “What happened? We got a garbled radio message, on the police frequency, we couldn’t make out what was said but the guy sounded terrified.”
“Yea,” Rose replied “He had reason to be. I think we can assume that no one there is still alive.”
Nixon was silent for a few seconds before replying.  “Are we in any danger Rose?” His voice was calm, that of a man used to hazardous situations. Rose wiped the sweat caused by the jungles humidity from her face, and paused briefly before replying. “Al, its,, she paused again ,“Its gonna take a bit of explaining.”
They were interrupted by a loud sound from the trees and Munroe, startled, whipped out his gun from his shoulder holster, as quickly and easily as a Western cowboy would, aiming it at the source of the sound.  A large parrot flew above them.
“Just a bird Frank. The jungles full of them,” Nixon smiled as he spoke.
Munroe watched the bird, a brightly coloured, beautiful creature for a few seconds, and  they all relaxed slightly, their nerves eased by this mildly amusing incident. “Maybe I’m getting a bit tense, but,” Munroes words were interrupted by a voice from behind them, “Please drop your gun Mr Munroe.”.
Munroe span  a half circle, his gun instantly training on the speakers head. He was a man of about sixty, quite fat and with white hair. At his side was a woman, black, and dressed in army style clothing, and much younger, no more than mid twenties. And they were flanked by about twenty men, also in an army type of clothes and  all armed with automatic rifles, aimed at Munroe, Rose and Nixon.
“Mr Munroe,” the man continued  “If I order my men to fire, their guns will cut your body into tiny pieces, so please co-operate with us.”
Munroes reply was immediate. “If you know anything about the human body you’ll know that when someone is shot they tense, meaning if they’ve got a gun in their hand it go’s off. As my gun is pointed at your head if your guys shoot me the next thing that will happen is your brains get splattered all over the ground.”
A few  seconds passed, and then the man with the white hair laughed. Though surprised Munroe kept his gun aimed at his head.
“Please.” the man spoke again, “I wish you no harm Mr Munroe. I want to employ you. Your fame as a master marksman has spread far and I could make good use of your talent, and I will reward it handsomely.”  Munroe hesitated. “Mr Munroe you and your friends have no escape. Please co-operate.” Munroe glanced at Rose and she nodded.
Munroe placed his gun on the ground and  one of the men came forward and picked it up, also taking Rose and Nixons weapons. The man with the white hair motioned to Munroe to approach him,and, feeling vulnerable without a firearm, he did so.
“My name is Edward Darling. You probably haven’t heard of me, but I’ve heard much of you. Your wonderful markmanship is legendary. People say you never miss.”
“People exaggerate,” Munroe replied.
“Ah, your typical of us British, so modest.“ It was only then that Munroe noticed that Darlings accent was English.” But let me introduce my personnel assistant, Marie,” Darling continued, turning to her, and the black woman smiled at in a way that made Munroe  think of a predator preparing to kill its dinner. Tall, beautiful, and with a striking confidence apparent in her demeanor. “So,” she said, “You’re the great white hunter whose come to teach us how to fire a gun. You may be surprised at how well some of us can aleady do that.” And with that she pulled her gun from its holster, which she wore on her belt, like a western gunfighter.
“Please Marie,” Darling interceded, “Put the gun away. We are all friends here.”
Marie did so. “Then test him” .
“Ah yes,”. Darling turned to face Munroe. “Mr Munroe I do have to be absolutely assured of your loyalty.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun which he placed in Munroes right hand. “Your two accomplices are of no use to me. Please dispose of them.”
“No problem,” Munroe said, and while Rose and Nixon both flinched Munroe fired twice. And nothing happened. In an involuntary action Rose had closed her eyes, and now opening them saw Munroe looking quizzically at Darling.
Darling laughed, and turned to Marie, “I told you we could trust him.” He took the gun from Munroe, “Just testing you Mr Munroe, please don’t take offence. Your friends may be of some use to me. They will be my honoured guests.” He then motioned to the man who had Munroes gun to return it to him. “I trust you completely now Mr Munroe, so I’m returning your gun to you. And its still loaded” he added with a smile.
And Marie now looked at Munroe differently than from before, more wary. “You only fired twice. If the gun had been loaded do you think you’d have killed them?”
“Yes.” was Munroes brief response.
“What are you like when you haven’t got a gun to hide behind.” she added, now regaining her composure.
Munroe smiled. “Absolutely useless, that’s why I’m always hiding behind a gun!”

TOMMY

“It was just a short walk through the jungle that brought them to a concealed entrance to Darlings underground  operation., and once inside the scale of it took Munroes breath away. It was a huge complex of tunnels, all clean, brightly lit, leading in many directions. Darling spoke in Portuguese to some of his men who then led Rose and Nixon away down one of the tunnels. “Don’t worry Mr Munroe,  they will be well looked after.”
“As he was prepared to shoot them,” Marie interjected,“I doubt that he’s much concerned with their fate.”
“Marie,” Darling spoke with a slight smile, “Don’t you have duties to attend to?”

“Now Mr Munroe, let me introduce you to my nephew, Tommy. Tommy, Mr Munroe is our guest. Please show him around.”
The man Darling referred to was a slightly corpulent person in his mid twenties. “Its nice to meet you Mr Munroe,” he said, shaking Munroe,s hand and smiling broadly,  with a noticeable shyness and uncertainty in his manner. It seemed to Munroe that Tommy was desparate to be favourably accepted by him. “And its nice to meet you,” he responded, “and if your going to show me around lets start with where my colleagues have been taken.” Munroe glanced at Darling, expecting him to forbid this, but he didn’t react and Tommy just said “Sure. This way.”

It was  a short walk through the gleaming corridors and Tommy talked without break, saying how he hoped Munroe enjoyed his stay, that his quarters he would find luxurious and more such welcoming conversation. Munroe was unsure what to make of this garrulous, friendly yet, it seemed, rather uncertain man. So he spoke only to acknowledge the others  points of conversation, until they arrived at the cell in which Rose and Nixon were now imprisoned.

“You son of a bitch!” Nixon shouted at Munroe. “You were ready to shoot us to save yourself.”
“No, I could tell by the wieght of the gun it wasn’t loaded .“
“What if had been?” enquired Rose.
Munroe ignored the question , “Meet Tommy, he’s our hosts nephew.”
Tommy smiled broadly, putting his arm through the bars of the cell to shake hands with both Rose and Nixon. “I hope your both comfortable, its quite nice accomadation.“ They couldn‘t dispute that it was, the cell being fitted with armchairs, a concealed toilet and two beds with curtains that could be pulled around them. And both, like Munroe, were uncertain how to react to Tommy. Rose was the first to try and engage him in conversation. “What are you and your uncle doing here Tommy?“
Tommy looked at the floor and in an uncertain voice said “I‘m not sure. I think I should tell you there are microphones here and conversations are always monitored.”
Rose glanced at Munroe, hoping he could add something. She thought he might have gained some insight into this environment but he stared blankly back at her.
“Well,“ Nixon spoke with heavy irony, “ Now we‘re all introduced to our captors family maybe we should all go on a picnic.“
“Al.“ the tone of Roses voice made him aware she wanted him to be quiet. “Tommy,“ she looked at him “You must love your uncle, but is he doing bad things?“
Again Tommy looked at the floor. “My parents died in a car crash when I was a baby and uncle Eddie has looked after me. Honestly I don‘t know what he‘s doing here.“ Again he showed a noticeable desire to be accepted.
All were silent in thought for a few seconds then Munroe looked at Tommy, “Have you heard any talk of the walking dead Tommy?”
“No.” His facial expression  convinced Munroe he was being truthful.
“Alright Tommy, would you like to show me around this place?”
“Yes, uncle Eddie said I should do that.”
“Fine.” Munroe turned to Rose “See you soon.”
As  Munroe and Tommy left Nixon turned to Rose, “I can’t believe that he’s just walking around this place, with our ‘hosts’ nephew while we’re locked up! And he’d have shot us without hesitation out there if he thought it would save himself.”
“Al” Rose smiled slightly as she spoke, “calm down. If the position had been reversed either of us would have shot him.”
“With relish!” Nixon replied. Then he kicked the bars of the cell in frustration.

In another part of the complex Darling and Marie were engaged in conversation. “You should kill them all Eddie, they are a danger to our whole operation.” Marie spoke with real venom.
Darling smiled at her.  “Marie you don’t understand how I got where I am. I always employ the best, that’s why I have you here. And believe me Frank Munroe does what he does better than anyone else.”
“But he’s walking around with a gun in his pocket!” Marie almost shouted,  “What if he escapes? And whats the point of letting the other two live?“
Darling sighed, “You are my most valued employee Marie but you still have much to learn. Munroe cannot escape from here and even if he did where would he go? We are in the middle of the rain forest and he will be aware of that. And as for his accomplices if I have them killed that leaves him alone in a strange environment. I want him to feel relaxed, safe here. So I let him talk to his CIA associates, and let Tommy show him around. And who could make him feel more at ease than my nephew?  So lets forget Mr Munroe for a while, after all it is time for your gymnastic practice and you know how I love to see you in a leotard.”
Marie relaxed a little and grinned, “You’re a dirty old man!”
“And happy to admit it!” Darling responded.

Tommy, meanwhile, was continuing to guide Munroe around the complex. “Rose is very pretty,” he said, with a slightly embarrassed smile, “is she your girlfriend?”
Munroe could not help but smile. “No. Do you have a girlfriend Tommy?”
“No. I don’t really have any friends at all. Never really had a chance to make any.”
Munroe thought for a few seconds before replying. “Is that because living with your uncle has prevented you meeting many people?”  Tommy looked at the floor, and Munroe, sensing his discomfort, spoke again, “You don’t like questions about your uncle, do you? Never mind, lets just continue with you showing me around.“ Tommy smiled, “My uncle has been very good to me,” he paused, “and I think he could be good to you to.”
“Ok.” said Munroe, “Whats in here?” he pointed to a door they were approaching, his attention having been caught by sounds of activity from behind it.
“That’s the gym.” Tommy replied. “We’ll go in and see whats up. Some of the people here are really good at gymnastics.”

And so they were, as Munroe saw after they had  entered the gym. Men and women performing gymnastic activities of every sort filled the room but one in particular he noticed. It was Marie. Clad in a red leotard, she moved with a balletic, beautiful grace as she  piroettied and somersaulted with a physical perfection that was breathtaking to behold. And she saw him, and after approaching  with a series of somersaults that brought her to within about two feet of him she directed a kick towards his groin, stopping it only an inch from making contact. Almost simultaneously she threw a punch at his nose, again stopping an instant before contact. She  then stood erect , staring Munroe directly in the eye. “Had those blows been for real my foot would have crushed your testicles and my fist would have broken your nose.”
“And if I thought your blows were for real I’d have have shot you.” Munroe responded. “Marie,” he continued, “this banter we are having is very entertaining but shouldn’t we move on? We are on the same side now.”
“Are we?” Marie glared at him. “Mr Munroe I don’t trust you an inch and if you betray us I’ll deal with you personaly! And for real!” And with that she stalked off.
Munroe took a cigar from his jacket pocket, then remembering that smoking would probably be forbidden in the gym put it it back. “Maybe I should work on my chat up lines,” he said to Tommy.
Tommy smiled, his nerviousnesness being apparent. “Marie can be moody but she’s ok when you get to know her.”